Neil W. Ashcroft was a British physicist, best known to anyone in the field of condensed matter for his thorough, clear and rigorous textbook "Solid state physics", written in collaboration with N. David  Mermim.  His research interests included matter at high densities and in reduced dimensionality; superlattice hetero-structures; and metallic hydrogen and its electronically ordered alloys.  His seminal theoretical contributions to high pressure studies  opened the path  to room temperature superconductivity. He will be remembered as someone always open to discussions and to offer help to budding scientists.  Prof. Ashcroft was one of the founding members of the advisory board of Papers in Physics.