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On September 18th, 2003, the RPS 150th Anniversary awards were held at BAFTA in London and Jeff Blyth was there to receive the Saxby Award.

In his citation, Jonathan Ross stated:

"Jeff Blyth could be regarded as one of the unsung heroes of British holography as his work with holographic emulsions have benefited many workers in the field and the reflection hologram recording and duplication techniques he pioneered in the late 1970s/early 80s have been widely copied. He has been generous with his knowledge, sharing his discoveries at conferences and in workshops and as an instructor at the Royal College of Art. His extremely hands-on and approachable methods have provided an accessible introduction to holography for many beginners. He was one of the founding members of the RPS Holography Group, with which he is still associated and continues his work into applications of holography at Cambridge University."

Dr. David Pizzanelli, PhD RCA, (Holography) who seconded the nomination wrote: "Jeff Blyth is recognised as being one of the pioneering holographers in Europe, being one of the first to use the contact copy method of replication for silver halide holograms. By first making a master plate (H2) from a laser transmission hologram (H1) and tuning the colour to exactly match the recording wavelength, the process allows for the mass production of copies (H3s) on film or plate. Jeff¹s early work in companies like Hollusions Ltd and Third Dimension Ltd inspired some of the best work in the UK and Europe using the contact copy method. Jeff was also the first person to demonstrate the fallibility of holography as a security device using this technique, on the popular science programme Tomorrow's World and has been zealous in his efforts to ensure that the industry is realistic in claims for the medium."

Kevin Brown endorsed the proposal by saying "I have known Jeff since my involvement in holography from 1982. Indeed, he was a founder member of the Holography Group of the Royal Photographic Society, of which I have been a member since 1983 and now chair. His contribution to holography and other fields of 3D imaging is quite literally immeasurable, as he has always been one to quietly and modestly carry out ground breaking work in these fields. His knowledge of the chemistry of holography as well as photography has benefited countless professionals, artists and enthusiasts over the years and his current work as a research fellow at Cambridge University is truly original looking at new uses for holograms which will in turn benefit the important fields of health and medicine. Jeff is a natural teacher and has been instrumental in demonstrating holography in a straightforward way. He has achieved this through presentations at conferences worldwide and also through meetings and courses organised by the Holography Group. He is a published author of papers and has been cited in learned journals and books alike. I have no hesitation in supporting his nomination for his outstanding contribution to the understanding of holography and its applications."

Kevin C Brown BSc C Phys M Inst P, Chairman The RPS Holography Group.

Amongst many other distinguished recipients of RPS awards present at the ceremony were Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE, the film producer, and photographers Don McCullin, Albert Watson and Jillian Edelstein.

Graham Saxby & Jeff Blyth