Dr Davis Webster was born in Bexley, Kent. He attended Forsters Primary School, Bexley Grammar School, and went on to pursue higher education at St. John's College, Oxford (Open Scholar) where he received a B.A. in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) 1st Class Hons. in 1970. He continued his studies at St. John's College, Oxford enrolling on a D.Phil. His thesis was titled: Semi-synthetic studies on serine proteases. He was then employed as a Post-doctoral Research Assistant to Dr. H.B.F.Dixon (1974-1980) in the Dept. of Biochemistry at Cambridge University.
Since 1981 Dr Webster has been self-employed as an itinerant pedagogue teaching a range of biological and biochemical subjects to a variety of students at a range of educational establishments. This originated in Oxford as a little tutoring of undergraduates for his old tutor and also his D.Phil supervisor which became supervising after his move to Cambridge whilst doing his post-docs. He began at Clare in 1975 and gradually came to realise he was better at teaching than research so was able to transition to a teaching career when the latter terminated.
He has taught A level Biology, firstly at some Cambridge private colleges e.g.C.C.S.S. and then for about 20 years at Hills' Road Sixth Form College. He was also a part-time Open University tutor/associate lecturer on 2nd and 3rd level courses and demonstrator, tutor, senior tutor and course director at O.U. Summer Schools for almost 30 years.
Dr Webster is now retired from all but the supervising which he still does for Clare, Christ's, Robinson, St. Edmund's, Sidney Sussex and Lucy Cavendish so he is now in his 46th continuous year as a supervisor. Dr Webster has been supervising the single medic Lucy Cavendish then admitted (in what was a total intake in all subjects of 17) since about 1981 or thereabouts, and has continued to do so ever since (not forgetting the vets who came on board soon after).
