The Lecture commemorates Philip Geddes, who studied at St Edmund Hall and was a journalist of considerable promise. After graduating he joined the staff of the London Evening Standard, then moved to the staff of the Daily Express. In December 1983 he was in Harrods, the Knightsbridge store, when orders were issued for the building to be evacuated. Realising there was a story to be had, he went to investigate. He was killed by the blast from a bomb planted by the IRA. Philip Geddes was just 24. The Geddes Memorial Lecture is a chance for student journalists to meet prominent figures in the media world, and to hear their views on the state of journalism today.