The life and work of a pioneering Oxfordshire anti-bullying campaigner will live on thanks to the efforts of special groups.

Tim Field, who died aged 53 from cancer in January, devoted his life to battling against workplace bullies after suffering a break down when he experienced it from a manager himself.

He launched the national Workplace Bullying Advice Line from his home in East Hendred, near Wantage, later moving to Culham Innovation Centre.

His achievements will be remembered in the first Tim Field Memorial Lecture, to be held in Oxford on Saturday, October 28.

The event is being organised by the Oxfordshire Employees Bullied out of Work (Oxbow) group and Birmingham-based organisation Dignity at Work Now (Dawn).

Oxbow chairman Jennie Chesterton said: "Tim was a great friend of our group and used to talk at our meetings. He was an extremely dedicated man."

Keith Munday, of Dawn added: "Victims of bullying who met Tim Field knew he was someone who genuinely appreciated their suffering.

"He was able to empathise with their feelings of desperation, vulnerability and isolation and his achievements in the decade in which he devoted his life to raising awareness of the insidious consequences of workplace abuse were staggering.

"Tim deservedly achieved an international reputation for his work, and his ability to convey, with insight and clarity, the true nature of bullying in the workplace.

"This is something we need to think about very carefully if we're to do justice to the memory of a good man who has left an enduring legacy for those wishing to share, and achieve, his vision of a bully-free world."

Mr Field had enjoyed a successful career developing computer services until a new manager took over in 1992, and started undermining him which led to him being forced to leave his job after suffering a breakdown.

The lecture will be delivered by Prof Charlotte Rayner, of Portsmouth University, who is researching bullying in the workplace for the Amicus union, as part of a £1m Government initiative.

She said: "Yelling or screaming at someone is relatively rare. Often it's more what people do not do. It can be very hard to say you're being bullied until the pattern emerges."

Bullying Insights: Views from the Sidelines is at the Friends Meeting House, 43 St Giles, Oxford, on October 28. For details, call Jennie Chesterton on 01367 710308.