We were saddened to learn that Piers Cross passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on 29 March. Piers was a central figure in the WASH sector for many decades, in many roles at WSP and advising IRC, and was a driving force behind the Sanitation and Water for All partnership.
He played a critical role in the development of RWSN, when he was Chair of the network between 2004 and 2008, by re-shaping the Handpump Technology Network (HTN) to the Rural Water Supply Network that we have today.
He leaves a great legacy and his words of wisdom and wit will be sorely missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him.
Nous sommes désolés d’apprendre que Piers Cross est décédé le 29 mars, entouré de sa famille. Piers était une personne clé du secteur de l’eau, de l’assainissement et de l’hygiène pendant plusieurs décennies, et a tenu de nombreux rôles à WSP et en tant que conseiller de IRC. Il était également une force motrice du partenariat Sanitation and Water for All.
Il a joué un rôle critique dans le développement de RWSN, lorsqu’il était à la tête du réseau entre 2004 et 2008, en assurant la transformation de ce qui était à l’époque le Réseau des technologies sur les pompes manuelles (Handpump Technology Network) au Rural Water Supply Network que nous avons aujourd’hui.
Son héritage perdure et ses mots de sagesse et d’esprit manqueront à tous ceux qui ont eu le plaisir de le connaitre et de travailler avec lui.
P.S. La famille Cross a accès à son compte email dans les mois qui viennent, donc vous pouvez envoyer vos condoléances si vous le désirez à cette adresse email: piers.cross {at} gmail.com
Estamos anunciando la noticia triste de que el día 29 de Marzo Piers Cross falleció, en compañía de su familia. Piers era un personaje clave en el sector de Agua, Saneamiento e Higiene por muchas décadas y en muchos roles, como líder en WSP o como asesor de IRC, y era un motor detrás de la iniciativa Sanitation and Water For All.
El también desempeño un papel fundamental en el desarrollo del RWSN cuando era presidente de la red entre 2004 y 2008 y en el rediseño de lo que era el Handpump Technology Network de aquel entonces hacía el Rural Water Supply Network que somos hoy.
El deja un legado muy grande y su sabiduría y su humor serán extrañados por todos y todas que tenían el placer de conocerle y de trabajar con él.
Kelly Ann Naylor, RWSN Chair
P.S. The Cross family will continue to monitor his email account for a few months, so please feel free to send any well wishes to this email address: piers.cross {at} gmail.com
Tributes to Piers from past and present members of the RWSN Executive Steering Committee – you can leave yours in the comments section below:
‘Piers Cross was at the helm when I first got involved with RWSN, as it transformed from HTN. His passion, commitment and humour were instrumental in inspiring me to became actively involved in the network and ignited my passion for rural water services. He will be sorely missed by the sector as a whole and by those of us who were honoured to call him a friend.’ – Dr Peter Harvey, UNICEF
‘The water community, and specifically many of us individually, are better thanks to his wisdom and passion. As a former employee under him in WSP, I will fondly miss him. We pray that his soul rests in eternal peace.’ – Maimuna Nalubega, African Development Bank
This week, I attended the 
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 