Dr Rex Walford went missing after a boat capsized on January 2 in Shepperton, Surrey, although four people survived the search was called off for the Cambridge Don on January 10.

The hearing, opened last week, confirmed that the recovered corpse was Dr Walford and that he drowned to death.

A Surrey Police Spokesman said: “The post-mortem for Dr Rex Walford, 70, was carried out at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey on Tuesday February 1 where the cause of death was established as drowning.

“An inquest has been opened and adjourned.”

A memorial service has been scheduled for February 16, at Ely Cathedral.

Dr Walford was the head of education at Cambridge University in the 90s, a president of the Geographical Association, vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society and member of Royston Corvus Amateur Drama Society