OP News Spring/Summer 2022

SPRING SUMMER 2022

OP

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURE SPORT FOR THE SOUL CAREERS A ROAD LESS TRAVELLED RESEARCH BATTLEFIELD TRAUMA CARE ARCHIVIST’S ACCOUNT “BY WHOSE BENEFIT…”

CONTENTS 03

From the Head

06 SPORT FOR THE SOUL

04

School News

06

Sport for the Soul

11

Research and Response

14

OPs on how sport helps them

14 Giving Day Report

GIVING DAY REPORT Your support made Perse Giving Day a success

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Archivist’s Account

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OP News

18

Careers Workshop

18 CAREERS

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Staff Profile

21

Obituaries

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Upcoming Events

ON THE COVER Perse pupils learn to sail traditional half-decker sailing boats on their Summit 10 trip to the Norfolk Broads in April 2022.

Choosing a degree apprenticeship over Cambridge University

20 STAFF PROFILE Paola Dellamaggiore

FROM SCHOOL THENEWS HEAD

DAVID MARLIN

THE OLD PERSEAN AND OLD LEYSIAN SQUADS LINE UP BEFORE THEIR MATCH TO REMEMBER FORMER PERSE AND LEYS TEACHER, TOMMY DANN. READ MORE ON P.4.

From the Head

S

pring is always a wonderful time of year, but literally and metaphorically Spring 2022 feels particularly special. After two years of Covid “winter”, the easing of the pandemic is allowing the school to come back to life.

The rigid socially distant seating plans that characterised the Covid classroom have gone, as too have compulsory face coverings that reduced infection risks but impeded learning.

The Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre has re-opened for face to face performances, and the Perse Players relished the opportunity to perform Matilda the Musical, Jr. Music concerts and choral singing are once again entertaining us, whilst pupils and their parents are enjoying playing and watching sport. The Perse Exploration Society is back doing what it does best with watersports, climbing trips and summer camps all being planned.

The Perse is blooming once again and you can see it in the smiles and excited laughter of children having fun and learning.

But after such a long period of restricted activities interspersed with lockdowns, we are having to pace our recovery. This year over 4,000 teacher and pupil days of school were missed because of Covid, and there are academic, pastoral and extracurricular gaps to fill. This will take time, and it is right that exams have been

modified in 2022 and reduce the content and flag which topics will be assessed so pupils can prepare more effectively.

Whilst for many young people Covid was not a great threat to their physical health, the pandemic has had a negative impact on pupil wellbeing and mental health. Prior to Covid it was estimated that 1 in 9 children may have a mental health condition, and unfortunately this has now risen to 1 in 6. In school we have increased our pastoral, counselling and medical provisions to better support students at a time when NHS mental health services are stretched to breaking point. I hope this extra support, and a welcome return to normal school activities, will be beneficial.

And, finally what do the following all have in common – Lego People, Van Halen, Garfield, Reese’s Pieces, Grease, Dallas, Grange Hill and Paul Spiers?

The answer of course is they all made their debuts in 1978. This summer we will say farewell to Paul as he hangs up his lab coat and hockey boots for the last time and retires from The Perse after 44 years of outstanding service.

We wish him and his family well for the future.

With best wishes, Ed Elliott 3

OLD PERSEANS

School News

SPORTING Success Perse pupils continue to succeed in their sporting endeavours.

Bella Howarth (Lower Sixth) has been selected for Loughborough Lightning Cricket Academy, whilst Maddie Brooking (Lower Sixth) has been selected for the Saracens Mavericks’ U19 netball team. The U18 and U15 rugby teams made it to the semi-finals of the National Schools’ Vase and Cup, respectively. Meanwhile, the U18 girls’ hockey team were crowned Cambridgeshire champions and were runners up in their national final. The boys’ indoor hockey teams were also successful, with U16 teams becoming East of England champions and moving onto the finals. Finally, two Perse pupils, Will Bacon (Upper Sixth) and Liliana French (Lower Sixth) have been selected for the England A team in the British Schools Smallbore Rifle Association National Match. Will also finished third in the Nationals 50m Rifle Long Range Challenge.

TOP OF the Table The Perse was named the top independent secondary school in East Anglia in Parent Power: The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2022.

The Guide ranks schools by exam performance at GCSE and A Level. The Perse came in 15th place nationally from over 1,600 schools.

SCHOOL SITE Update Earlier this year, a planning application was submitted for a new indoor sports centre to be built on the Long Road playing field. The development would be open to community groups as well as Perse pupils, and would include a 25m swimming pool, a climbing wall, and a second indoor sports centre for games such as basketball and badminton. If planning permission is granted, the aim is to begin construction later this year, with the facility opening in early 2024. The drawing here is based on the plans of the building, and illustrates what the new centre might look like. There are also plans in the works for an extension of the science blocks.

GOLD STANDARD for Perse Physicists

In January, four Perse physicists achieved gold awards in the first round of the British Physics Olympiad. Emma Harris (pictured here), Daniel Chen (both Lower Sixth), Jay Sardesai and Iain Lam (both Upper Sixth) were four of only 170 students nationally to get the top grade from over 2,000 participants.

Emma’s success followed her previous gold award in the Astronomy and Astrophysics International Olympiad, a feat she hopes to replicate this year.

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SCHOOL NEWS

ROUSE AWARD Research The 2021 Rouse Awards saw four Upper Sixth pupils show off their research skills. Tom Davies designed a new road stud, responsive to light, temperature and sound using 3D printing techniques; Elizabeth Follows (pictured here) conducted a review into the effectiveness and ethics of resettlement schemes in Indonesia; and Lucy Collier wrote a short story in the style of Jane Austen, having researched her techniques and themes. You can read more about the fourth winner – Charlie Toff – and his research on page 11.

TOMMY DANN Memorial Match Tom Picton-Turbervill (2014) writes: “On Saturday 19 March, over 1,500 friends, family, colleagues and students of Tommy Dann gathered at Shelford Rugby Club for the Tommy Dann Memorial Rugby Match.

The match was played between Old Perseans and Old Leysians, both schools where Tommy coached and where he was hugely respected and widely loved. The fantastic turnout at his memorial match is testament to the number of lives he touched. The game was played with true heart and spirit and the historic sporting rivalry between the The Perse and The Leys was re-ignited in a truly positive way. The sides were well-matched, but the Old Leysians claimed the victory, winning 19–12. Over £10,000 was raised for the Jonny Wilkinson Charitable Foundation through ticket sales, an auction and donations. It was an event that Tommy would have relished and a fitting way to remember a wonderful man.”

DAVID MARLIN

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MATILDA Production In March, the Perse Players performed Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical JR. Across three days, Thursday 24 until Saturday 26 March, two casts took to the stage in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre and entertained a large and enthusiastic crowd. It was the first such production that could take place with a live audience since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Saturday’s performance was developed specially for audiences who might benefit from a sensory-adapted version of the show, which included changes to lighting and sound to make the show accessible to all.

Approximately 1,300 people saw the show, and a simultaneous charity collection saw £600 raised for both the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and East Anglia Children’s Hospices. Director Andrew Pritchard said: “To have a show that’s about chasing your dreams, building relationships, tackling massive challenges and overcoming huge obstacles felt like a really great production to do.”

OLD PERSEANS

Sport for the Soul We all know that exercise is important for our physical health. But it can also help our mental health, our confidence, and our interactions with others. Old Perseans play different sports at different levels and for different reasons. Here, four of them reflect on how sport provides them with breadth and balance in their lives.

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SCHOOL FEATURE NEWS

Michael Pepper (2016) Michael is a professional cricketer, playing for Essex Cricket’s first team as a wicket-keeper and batter.

SPORT FOR ME has always been my passion, whether it was playing golf, kicking a football or rugby ball around, playing racquet sports or backyard cricket.

Having an older brother was always helpful, as we were able to do all of these sports together.

Every Christmas holiday we used to go and visit our family in South Africa where I, my brother and my cousin would spend all day every day playing cricket. This was outside in the garden during the day, and next to the fire on the patio at night. Ultimately, we turned the sitting room into a net during the winters. Being the youngest out of the three, it was often tough, but all it meant was that it was a bigger challenge for me to do well. During the South African summers, we were lucky enough to go and watch the national team play. More importantly, this introduced me to my role model, AB De Villers. The way he was able to change the game, revolutionise batting and his sheer love for all sports really grabbed my attention.

From then on, my love for cricket only grew.

Going to The Perse from Year 3 was vital for my cricket development, being able to work with good coaches who also love the sport. This allowed me to play for the Cambridgeshire youth sides, having something to look forward to and love doing on the weekends.

The transition to professional sport is somewhat out of your hands. You simply have to impress the right people at the right time. All I could be in charge of was my performances and my attitude, as ultimately this is what you are judged on. Looking back, it has definitely been the right decision for me. I always had a childhood dream of playing professional sport, especially cricket, just like I suspect many sports-mad youngsters have. You dream of being like your role models. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to be the role model for the younger generation.

Moving from school cricket to professional cricket was not only a huge honour, but also a huge leap and a steep learning curve. My early experiences were invaluable in keeping me going and having belief in my own ability. Having to remind myself to work hard and keep doing the basic fundamentals right, albeit at a much higher level, was vital. Being able to train and work with role models such as Alistair Cook and many others at Essex reminded me of the need to constantly work hard every day. Even at their stage in their career, they are still willing to learn and try to be better. This taught me both that there is always room for improvement in everyone’s game, and also to avoid becoming complacent. There is no replacement for hard work.

Sport has been so influential in all aspects of my life, as well as being incredibly beneficial. Sport is always full of new excitements and something to look forward to; there will always be new challenges that could bring even greater rewards. These challenges and rewards bring such an incredible benefit to my mental and physical wellbeing. The euphoria I get from making not only physical gains in sport, but also the enhanced mental wellbeing I experience through playing competitive professional sport is hugely satisfying, and you could say rewarding for my soul.

Being involved in a team has taught me the value of camaraderie and building strong bonds whilst training and playing as one. Through professional, or any team sport, you are constantly reminded that no point is scored in isolation. The selflessness of always putting your team and teammates first, the friendships made because of the long days together, celebrating each other’s achievements as well as your own – all of this is incredibly special.

Playing professional sport for a living has influenced all aspects of my life in a positive way. You are acutely aware that everything you do has to be of a professional standard, both on and off the pitch.

You are surrounded by people with the same manner and attitude. This has not only made me approach my life in a more professional way through areas such as diet and training, but has also instilled in me the idea of teamwork. I greatly value the help I have received over the years, and have developed a sense of responsibility to give back my time to those people who have helped me on my sporting journey so far.

In summary, sport has given my life the structure and purpose I was looking for from a young age.

It is not only what I do most days, but it also gives me a barometer and measure of how to approach all other aspects of my life outside of sport. I consider the opportunity to play cricket for a living a huge privilege that I am grateful for every day.

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Matt Leach (2011) Matt is a long-distance runner, who recently finished ninth place in the 2021 London marathon in a time of 2hrs 15mins.

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE of running was the Kingshott School ‘steeplechase’. This is a long-standing tradition with every student taking part, with races of different lengths according to age. In my first year, aged five, and without any training, I managed to achieve a top three placing. Fortunately, the Head of PE was a keen crosscountry runner who encouraged me to join training sessions and represent the school in local races. Two of the classic ingredients for a sporting career were thus established – some degree of natural talent and early encouragement. From this point onwards, running has always played a fairly large role in my life.

I was able to continue running when I moved to The Perse, and also joined my local club. However, running was not my only sport at this time. I also played a lot of cricket (spin bowling being my particular forté). Dr Pyle organised the running club during my time at The Perse, a major annual event being the Roman Road Run starting near Hildersham and ending at the school. Breaking 60 minutes was a key goal for me at the time and one that I finally achieved in the Upper Sixth, after training for the longer distances.

My running career stepped up a level at Cambridge University where the club (the ‘Hare and Hounds’) became a major focus of my athletic and social life.

The training increased significantly to 50–60 miles per week by the end of my first year. Critically, much of this was done with my fellow club members. Although running is to a large extent an individual sport, the shared physical and mental challenge of, say, a 6x1 mile session in the cold rain produces strong bonds, and many of my training partners from the University club remain among my closest friends.

Cambridge was also where I started to work closely with Phil O’Dell, my coach, whose years of experience were invaluable in helping me to learn how to balance training and racing in order to deliver optimal performance. He also helped with simpler practical insights such as bringing a tracksuit to a session to avoid getting cold. I have been very fortunate to have worked with several coaches and mentors over the years. Not only do they provide great running advice, but they also bring life experiences that can be very helpful.

Sport is international, and running has given me the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures. A memorable personal experience was a trip to Japan in 2018 to participate in an ekiden relay.

These are multi-stage road relay races that are hugely popular, sometimes attracting TV audiences of over 40% of the population. An ekiden relay is a point-topoint event, so each person in the team starts at a different location on the course. Rather than touching hands from one runner to the next, or passing a baton, each team has a sash that is transferred from runner to runner. Our ad hoc team of ex-Cambridge runners managed to finish third behind a very impressive high school team, but the most memorable part of the event was undoubtedly the strong local spirit and atmosphere during and after the race. It was incredible to experience a different running culture.

Overall, running for me is about the combination of both the social aspects and the individual challenges: how to keep improving in races through consistent training and small but significant improvements?

Social interactions and racing were both significantly curtailed during the first year of Covid-19, where for much of the time I trained on my own with no races in the foreseeable future. I enjoyed simply going out running, purely for its own sake. With fewer cars on the roads and less pressure due to the lack of races, I was able to take time to more fully explore San Francisco, where I now live. I discovered new routes and took on new challenges, including the city’s many steep hills. Just running for the sake of running.

TWO OF THE CLASSIC INGREDIENTS FOR A SPORTING CAREER WERE THUS ESTABLISHED – SOME DEGREE OF NATURAL TALENT AND EARLY ENCOURAGEMENT. FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS, RUNNING HAS ALWAYS PLAYED A FAIRLY LARGE ROLE IN MY LIFE. 8

SCHOOL FEATURE NEWS

Megan Carmichael (2021)

the prospect of another day not playing tennis. At the time, I could not think of anything worse. My fondest memory from that point in my life was crying on my first day back at the courts at Hills Road, because I was so happy to be home.

I have always felt that playing a sport was my personal superpower. Subconsciously, it has had an undeniable effect on my self-esteem and confidence, but more importantly it has built a foundation of selfbelief that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

My coach, ever the poet, once described self-belief as a brick wall: Even though confidence may come and go like the sand on top of the wall, self-belief is built and cemented in the battle on court. That image always stuck with me, and over time, the belief that I can do whatever I put my mind to has grown. That foundation is a core part of who I am. Along with self-belief, sport has given me many other traits that are fundamental to my personality: my passion, my discipline and my relentless fighting spirit (some might say stubborn, but I prefer the former).

It would not be fair to give sport all of the credit, as sportspeople are not defined by only their sport.

During my time at The Perse, I met some of the kindest, smartest, and most trustworthy athletes with whom I have had the good fortune of developing relationships.

If you asked me what I loved about them, I certainly would not say their skills on a hockey pitch. But it is undeniable that sport has only enhanced our lives, whether it be by providing a distraction from day-today life at school, or allowing us to experience formative moments in personal development, like the first time I was presented with a gold medal at Nationals.

I would not be the person I am today without sport in my life, and to me, nothing is more soulful than that.

Megan left The Perse last year to study psychology and play Division 1 Tennis at California’s University of the Pacific. She is the first female Perse student to receive a full sports scholarship to any Division 1 university.

THERE HAVE BEEN more times than I would care to admit when I have sat on the bench at the side of a tennis court with my head in my towel after a crushing loss. I have missed countless social gatherings to spend another hour or two practicing because I was not quite happy with my forehand. My poor friends have put up with relatively constant moaning about how tired and sore I am, beyond the duty of any good friend.

But when I am inevitably asked, “Megan, why don’t you just quit?” I have never been surer of an answer.

Because I love it.

My journey to falling in love with tennis began when I was four at the local David Lloyd club in Cambridge.

My mum was a keen player, and she and my dad would often hit together for fun. She had only hoped to put me into tennis so that she could have another hitting partner. I do not think she predicted where tennis would take me, but I will always be grateful to her for unknowingly changing my life.

My first tennis lesson, as you can imagine, was terrible. Four-year-old me was not a good tennis player. But boy did I love it. As time went on, I graduated from the kids’ group sessions at DL to having my own private lessons, and eventually moved on to the academy at Hills Road. There, I connected with my personal coach, who has come to be a father figure to me. Fast forward to 2020 and I signed a contract to play Division 1 Tennis at the University of the Pacific in sunny California – my dream since I first found out that was possible. As I write, I am currently in my second term at UOP, preparing for our spring season, which kicks off in February. I would not want to be anywhere else.

For me, tennis is not just a hobby, or a means to get me where I am now. Tennis is my life. It has honestly taught me more about life than I learned at school (sorry Mr Elliott!). I have navigated through high pressure situations, dealt with difficult relationships with other players and coaches, and persevered through emotional challenges when faced with an injury that took me off court for three months.

The old adage “you don’t know what you have ’til it’s gone” rang true for me during that recovery period from injury. That was probably my most enlightening moment on my journey with tennis. I truly felt like my soul was suffering, and any slight happiness at the prospect of resting and taking a break from destroying my body on court and in the gym day in, day out was overshadowed by 9

OLD PERSEANS

my friend, Michiko, on Saturdays. When Michiko got a place in the Tokyo Marathon in early 2011, it motivated and encouraged me to think that I could run a marathon too. We entered the Amsterdam Marathon for October 2011. After months of hard training, I felt a building sense of excitement when I stood at the start line. The last 10km were a real struggle, but the crowds and atmosphere got me through, and I completed it in 4:05:55. We were physically drained, but excited and overjoyed at the same time. It was an amazing experience and a big game changer. We could not help talking about our next marathon on our way home. Marathons are addictive!

Through running over the past few years, I have met so many inspirational people and have made many great friends, whom I truly treasure. Running helps me to stay positive and gives me mental strength as well as physical strength. Whilst I was going through a hard time when my mother and brother became ill and passed away, I continued running. No matter how hard the marathon is, I know that if I keep moving one step at a time, I will get to the finish line. Training for the marathons and chasing personal bests became a big part of my life.

The next chapter of my running journey began in 2017: completing the six World Marathon Majors.

These are a series of the six largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Boston, New York, London, Tokyo, Berlin, and Chicago. The idea to complete the six Majors came to me when I got injured in 2016, and was unable to train or run for a while. I applied for the Berlin Marathon with my qualifying time and got a place, which urged me to recover from the injury to challenge the ‘Big Six’.

I did the Berlin Marathon in 2017, the Boston and New York Marathons in 2018, the Tokyo and Chicago Marathons in 2019 and completed the set in London in 2021. I became a six Major finisher, exactly ten years after my first marathon in Amsterdam in 2011. What an adventure it has been.

One of the exciting aspects of running the Major Marathons is that you run the same race as the world’s best runners. How cool to say that I ran in the same race when Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon in 2017, and when Shalane Flanagan came third in New York in 2018!

I feel very lucky to have found running. It gives me confidence that I can take on anything in life and it has become part of my soul. It helps me clear my head from all the daily worries and anxieties. I feel freedom, and when running with friends feel a sense of community and belonging to something more than just running.

Now, I look forward to finding my new challenge.

All I can say is, “do not wait for a knock on the door.

Take up an activity and see what happens…”

Mali Storan Mali works in the Bursary Office at The Perse, and received her Six Star Medal after completing the six World Marathon Majors last year.

THERE WAS A knock on the door on a Tuesday at 7pm. It was my friend, Julie, who was standing at the door and waiting for me to come out to run. Julie introduced me to the wonderful world of running when she moved in next door in 2007 and started a new running group in our village. She is my inspiration and always will be.

As I had always been an active person, having played tennis since I was young, I did not think fitness was my issue. I was wrong! At first, I struggled to run three miles without stopping. I never thought that I would run marathons when I first began running in 2007.

Running opened up a new world to me. I always thought it was an individual sport but soon learnt that it is quite sociable. There is no opponent team or individual to compete or win against. Instead, we train together and encourage each other towards our own goals and targets. Soon, I started to run faster and further and entered a 10km race in 2009, my first official race. The race was hard, but it gave me great satisfaction when I crossed the finish line and was given a shiny medal around my neck. I was hooked.

The next challenge was a half marathon in 2010.

I collapsed at the finish line after having given it all and thought, “a full marathon means twice this distance? It is impossible!”

Running was quickly becoming a big part of my life.

Along with the group training, I started to run with

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SCHOOL FEATURE NEWS

Research What caused the improvements in survival rates during the Afghanistan War? and severe, ranging from long-term conditions like angina and asthma, to the emergencies of traumatic amputation, fragmentation injuries, and brain injury.

One of the goals of my project was not just to focus on the technological changes, but also the systematic alterations that enabled a higher standard of care. Firstly, I researched how evacuation had evolved in Afghanistan. The main example here was the introduction of Medical Emergency Response Teams (MERT), a group of emergency doctors, anaesthetists, critical care nurses and their protection team, who could be en route to a wounded soldier within minutes. The effectiveness of MERT in quickly evacuating casualties in a country with limited road infrastructure, mountainous terrain, and the threat of IEDs was undoubtedly large, given that studies have consistently shown that the time taken to get medical care is paramount in mitigating mortality.

Other strategic and organisational changes to trauma care included the implementation of treatment strategies like Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), the <C>ABC paradigm and Damage Control Resuscitation (DCR).

CHARLIE TOFF

Charlie Toff (Upper Sixth) was a 2021 Rouse Award winner for his investigation into the reasons behind the changes in armed forces personnel’s survival outcomes during the course of the war in Afghanistan.

T

he British military presence in Afghanistan has come to an end, but the lessons learnt from the conflict continue to be influential in informing medical practice in both the military and civilian spheres. The Afghanistan War, in which British troops fought between 2001 and 2014, presented a novel mechanism of fighting, and with it, novel mechanisms of injury. The asymmetric, insurgentbased style was something rarely seen before.

Combatants favoured the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), which accounted for over half of both pre-hospital battle deaths and injuries overall among UK soldiers. Despite this, the survival rates of British and allied personnel gradually improved and eventually reached a level unseen in previous conflicts.

My research aimed to answer why this was, what lessons were learnt, and which factors, if any, were most influential.

After reviewing the different injury types, causes of death and survival times, I found that the vast majority (80%) of potentially preventable deaths were due to haemorrhage, whereas most cases of immediate or non-preventable deaths were due to head trauma. Furthermore, evidence suggested that the area in which the greatest impact could be had was in pre-hospital treatment. I therefore chose to focus my research on the treatment of prehospital haemorrhage in the context of IED injuries.

The injuries that arise from an IED are widespread

•T CCC is a method of organising a casualty’s immediate care and is split into three sections, dependent on the stage of a firefight. This was shown to increase the likelihood of a patient reaching hospital alive.

•< C>ABC stands for <Catastrophic Haemorrhage> Airway Breathing Circulation, and is innovative in that it reflects the most likely thing to kill a patient – bleeding. As the medic treats the patient, they prioritise each category in order. Although data on this in isolation could not be found, after the implementation of <C>ABC in 2006, a review of casualties who died after entering a hospital showed that a higher proportion were due to head injury as opposed to haemorrhage.

•D CR is a set of principles that aim to reduce the incidence or severity of coagulopathy (a condition in which the blood fails to clot normally) in trauma patients and enable them to reach definitive care.

Technological change was also abundant in Afghanistan. In my research I found that it is often 11 11

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& Response

ONE OF THE GOALS OF MY PROJECT WAS NOT JUST TO FOCUS ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES, BUT ALSO THE SYSTEMATIC ALTERATIONS THAT ENABLED A HIGHER STANDARD OF CARE.

the simplest interventions that make the difference in pre-hospital care. For example, the tourniquet saw a resurgence, having fallen out of favour in the mid-20th Century due to the perceived risk of complication.

However, tourniquets were hugely effective in halting bleeding; they were associated with a survival rate of 96% when placed prior to shock, compared to 4% when placed afterward. They had a near-zero complication rate.

The final factor I investigated was the speed at which medicine evolved in Afghanistan. I was made aware of this after speaking with experts, and upon review, I concluded that the rapidity of the evolution of medical practices was extremely important. One doctor I spoke to talked about how there tends to be a ‘lagging phase’ in survival rates at the start of a conflict as doctors determine how to best treat its unique injury patterns. The speed at which this evolution occurs is obviously critical. Another doctor explained that this came about in Afghanistan due to the small number of military medics through which best practice was rapidly disseminated as it was discovered. Furthermore, there is a well-developed system of review and improvement in place within the Ministry of Defence. These factors were likely, although unproven, to have had a large influence in ensuring that the ‘lagging phase’ was minimised and that many unnecessary deaths were avoided.

Overall, I concluded that I could not determine a single most influential factor. The changes described acted synergistically to improve survival outcomes and the data available to me does not assess one change in isolation. An interesting caveat to my research, though, is that the increase in survival rate stalled after 2012. This may have been due to lower casualty numbers, but it could also mean that another major shift in doctrine had been needed to avoid a plateau. Whatever the cause, the unfortunate reality is that in our next conflict, we will likely need to relearn everything again. What worked in Afghanistan may not work against a near-peer rival or in a different geographical setting, and the old methods will almost inevitably fail somewhere along the line, resulting in yet more preventable death.

COMMANDER ANTON FRIES

Surgeon Commander Anton Fries (1997) served in the Royal Navy upon leaving The Perse. He is now Assistant Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Health, San Antonio.

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hank you for the honour of commenting on Charlie Toff’s wonderful piece of work describing, and critically appraising, the medical advances that proved so effective in the recent conflicts in Afghanistan. These improvements were all the more impressive given the concomitant increases in injury severity, due to the sophistication of enemy IEDs. Most impressive is the insight of Charlie’s central theme: that in such a febrile environment of rapid innovation, determining which novel interventions are most effective, and which are less so or even deleterious, is extremely challenging. This level of academic rigour speaks to a deep understanding of scientific methodology.

The terrible truth is that a cadre of service members treated on my first deployment in 2006, who sadly succumbed to their injuries, would have survived with the same injuries had they occurred on my second tour of duty in 2012. This pattern of improved survivability during sustained conflict was observed in all the major wars of the 20th Century.

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position of Chief of Trauma at Harvard University. He recounts the story of his team’s efforts to develop novel haemostatic agents on episode 125 of the ‘Behind the Knife’ podcast. Presciently, speaking in 2017, he says this rapid progress through regulatory channels would likely never be repeated.

Sadly, not every innovation trailed in this hubristic time was successful. The most well-known example was the off-label use of Recombinant Factor VIIa blood clotting factor. This showed early promise in the early 2000s as a systemic haemostatic agent. As clinical evidence of its side effects accumulated, its use was eventually stopped in 2011. A meta-analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that increased rates of arterial thrombosis meant the risks outweighed the benefits.

I am sure that Charlie’s assertion that rapid medical evacuation to definitive echelons of care remains the most significant predictor of positive outcome. In 1996, Dr Demetriades, Professor of Trauma Surgery in Los Angeles, published a paper showing that in over 5,000 major trauma victims delivered to their trauma unit, those delivered by private transportation had half the mortality rate of those treated on scene and delivered by paramedics, despite equivalent injury severity scores. Pre-hospital care has improved since that time, but repeated studies have confirmed that time to definitive, surgical care is the main determinant of survivability. The role of advanced field medics should be to speed this evacuation, but also to have the expertise and experience to recognise the relatively few indications where delaying to perform an out-of-hospital intervention may be beneficial.

Finally, Charlie’s conclusion that injury prevention is better than advancing military trauma care, through decades-long conflicts, seems even more poignant as the final withdrawal from Afghanistan took place last year. And, whilst ‘only the dead have seen the end of war’ and ‘medicine is the only victor’, the current capabilities of the UK military, combined with public and political appetites for overseas intervention in the shadow of Iraq and Afghanistan, suggest that the likelihood of large numbers of British soldiers conducting high-intensity warfare for extended periods is thankfully remote.

Indeed, survivability in the early stages of conflict is often significantly lower compared to that seen at the end of the previous war. Our late Surgeon General Admiral Walker coined the phrase ‘Walker Dip’ to describe this phenomenon. In peacetime, military health systems invest significant time and resources to address this problem. However, from another perspective, to spend eight years doing anything but not get any better at it, would be even worse.

At Perse Scouts in the 1990s, we were taught that applying tourniquets to traumatic wounds was very dangerous, due to the risk of inadvertently damaging other structures or, worse, them being left on for too long resulting in unnecessary amputation. When I arrived in Afghanistan with the Royal Marines in 2006, we had no Combat Applied Tourniquets (CATs).

Each commando was given two by the departing paratrooper he had been sent to relieve. Their Medical Officer gave me his medical bergan, which contained a few more CATs and some Quikclot pouches, and advised me to save some space for extra ammunition.

As Charlie describes, the use of tourniquets was found to save lives on the battlefield with minimal complications. Finally, as a surgical registrar working in the Bristol Trauma Unit in 2016, I treated patients who had had civilianised tourniquets applied in the field by paramedics – a clear example of established medical dogma being reversed by wartime advances and then benefiting civilian practice.

The story of the invention of Quikclot is also worth reviewing and is especially timely given the recent focus on the Food and Drug Association (FDA) approval of Covid-19 vaccines. Quikclot was approved in two weeks by the FDA between 9/11 and the deployment of US Special Forces to Afghanistan in 2001. The physician most responsible was Dr Hassan Alam. I was a medical student on his trauma service in Washington DC in 2003, before he took over the

WRITTEN OCTOBER 2021

I AM SURE THAT CHARLIE’S ASSERTION THAT RAPID MEDICAL EVACUATION TO DEFINITIVE ECHELONS OF CARE REMAINS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF POSITIVE OUTCOME.

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OLD PERSEANS

GIVING DAY In April 2022, our first ever Giving Day raised over £114,000 for bursaries and outreach at The Perse. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Perse Community, the School will be able to continue providing an excellent education and supporting fantastic enrichment opportunities for young people.

O

n Thursday 21 – Friday 22 April, The Perse held its inaugural Giving Day. This was a 36hour online fundraising event, which gave the Perse Community the opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Dr Perse, our founder, and to raise funds for for the School’s bursaries and outreach programmes.

Bursaries enable talented young people, who otherwise could not afford to come to the School, to receive all the benefits of a Perse education. They help their recipients to develop into conscientious and ambitious individuals, equipped with the knowledge and skills to succeed in whichever path they choose.

The outreach programme supports a greater number of young people in a more specific and targeted way. The Perse collaborates with a number of partner schools in our local area to deliver workshops and peer mentoring in particular subjects. These range from masterclasses in maths and science, to introductions to activities that students in our partner schools may not otherwise experience as part of their regular curriculum, such as coding or learning to play a musical instrument.

The £114,000 raised will go directly towards funding bursary places and developing the community outreach programme. The impact this will have will be immediate and tangible. In the words of

one OP who received a bursary: “The opportunities available… allowed me to endeavour to reach things I never dreamed of. The bursary fund opens the doors not just to The Perse, but to the chances that come as a result of such a remarkable education.”

Perse Giving Day was a whole-school event. Pupils got involved through a charity foodbank collection, held in March. Over 2,800 tins, packets and jars of food were collected for Cambridge City Foodbank from pupils at all three school sites – enough to feed 47 families each for three days. Moreover, a generous donor had pledged that, should pupils collect over 1,615 food items, they would donate £10,000 to the bursary fund. Thanks to all the Perse pupils, parents and staff who got involved, we smashed that target and unlocked the £10,000 donation. The collection gave pupils the opportunity to reflect on the importance of valuing one another and helping those in need.

Members of the Perse Community were also invited to say why they were proud to be part of the School by filling out their #ProudlyPerse postcards. In the words of one Persean: “Everyone here is celebrated for being an individual, however weird and wonderful we are!”

We will be sharing more about the impact of Perse Giving Day 2022 in the coming months, including what exactly the money raised will be going towards.

For now, however, thank you once again to everybody who made a gift to the campaign. Your support is a real testament to your generosity and empathy, and is greatly appreciated.

PERSE GIVING DAY 2022 IN NUMBERS

£114,000 raised for

229 MEMBERS of the

BURSARIES AND

Perse Community

OUTREACH

DONATED… …of whom 145 were NEW DONORS

Support came from 9 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

If you would like to know more, please visit

Figures correct at time of printing

the Giving Day website at givingday.perse.co.uk, or contact the Development Office.

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ARCHIVIST’S SCHOOL NEWS ACCOUNT

Archivist’s Account

“By whose benefit…”

David Jones, School Archivist, gave a Pint of Perse talk in April, in which he explored The Perse’s history of providing free and assisted places. The original intent of Dr Perse survives to this day with the School’s bursary scheme. This edition of Archivist’s Account is adapted from that talk.

T

THIS PORTRAIT OF JEREMY TAYLOR WAS PAINETD BY E. BETTERIDGE (OP), AND IS A REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL, WHOSE HOME IS ALL SOULS COLLEGE, OXFORD. BETTERIDGE’S VERSION HANGS IN THE UPPER SCHOOL.

David Jones joined The Perse in 1974 as a history teacher and was House Tutor at School House until 1982. He retired from teaching in 2008, but has continued at the School in his role as Archivist.

he words of the title come from the Founder’s Prayer, which thanks our benefactors ‘by whose benefit this whole school is brought up to godliness and good learning’. Dr Stephen Perse’s benefactions are well documented, but what of those who benefitted?

Records of early pupils are sparse, but the school’s first historian, Sir John Gray, identified some from college records. As Dr Perse had intended, the majority were from humble backgrounds, went to the university, and frequently became clergymen. The Church was then the chief career for the ambitious. None rose higher than Jeremy Taylor, the barber’s son who became a bishop and the greatest preacher of his time.

Taylor grew up in Petty Cury, Cambridge and in 1619 entered the newly-founded Perse School as one of its first free scholars. In 1626, aged thirteen, he entered Gonville and Caius College and was soon awarded a Perse Scholarship, followed three years later by a Perse Fellowship. He was ordained at the unusually early age of twenty and his precocious talents were soon manifested in his sermons.

The early evidence of his powers led to an invitation to preach at St Paul’s Cathedral, where his brilliance astonished the congregation. Archbishop Laud was impressed and marked him down for advancement, moving him to a Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford and making him his private chaplain. By the time the Civil War broke out in 1642, he was chaplain to King Charles. The King greatly admired him and by royal mandate made him a doctor of divinity.

In the war Taylor suffered with his master, being imprisoned in 1645 following Royalist defeats. He attended the King shortly before the latter’s execution and received his bible, watch and some jewels as a mark of special favour. When Taylor was released, he spent the years 1650–53 in retirement at Golden Grove near Carmarthen, where he wrote many of his best-known books, including Holy Living and Holy Dying.

Another spell of imprisonment ended when the monarchy was restored, and in 1661 Taylor was made Bishop of Down and Connor. This was a difficult post, given the disputes among the Irish clergy at that time, and it was a tribute to Taylor that he was appointed. The task wore him out and he died at Lisburn in 1667. He had been vice-chancellor of the University of Dublin and had commissioned the building of Dromore Cathedral, where he is buried.

In 1934, at Dr Rouse’s suggestion, a copy was made of Taylor’s portrait and it hangs in the school to this day (pictured here).

Taylor, and others since, whether famous or not, used the benefits of their education to contribute to the good of society. In the words of the Founder’s Prayer (put into the past tense) they ‘answered the good intent of our founder, and became profitable members of the Church and commonwealth’.

15 15

OLD PERSEANS

OP News

Having completed her studies in Fine Art at Newcastle University, Gabby Martin (2016) launched a music career. She released her debut EP, Love in a Cold Place, in March 2022. After appearing as one of the Christmas artists on BBC Look East, Gabby has since featured on BBC Radio 6 Music as one of their BBC Introducing tips for 2022. She has also been signed by the Creative Artists Agency, an influential talent agency based in Los Angeles and London.

Gabby says she is “looking forward to an exciting year of live shows and further opportunities”. You can hear her music and see her upcoming shows at www.gabbymartinmusic.com.

In November 2021, Michael Pepper (2016) extended his contract with Essex Cricket, and will play with the team until at least the end of 2023. Read more about Michael’s cricket journey on page 7.

William Roberts (1995) recently named a new climb after Richard Crabtree. He writes: “on a recent weekend in Scotland, I found myself opening a new climbing pitch on the Onich Slabs cliffs near Fort William.

I climbed the route using ice axes and crampons rather than hands and climbing shoes – a technique known as dry-tooling.

As the first to go up this route I was given the naming rights. I chose “Crabtree” in honour of Richard Crabtree – the man who handed me my first ice axe some 30 years ago! I owe my love of mountaineering and climbing to him and I hope that this pitch makes an appropriate memorial to the man who introduced so many of us Old Perseans to the great outdoors. The next day, we iceclimbed up Ben Nevis and, three decades after climbing Snowdon with Richard and the 5th Cambridge Scouts, I finally finished my personal Three Peaks challenge”.

Chris Hall (2009) has shot to TikTok fame, with his videos reaching an audience of nearly 100,000 people. Some of the short sketches Chris produces even feature a certain School’s tie! He has also appeared as a presenter on MTV Movies, and recently interviewed director Steven Spielberg about his recent film West Side Story. Chris is also a dancer, choreographer, and personal trainer.

In January, Lewis Naughton (2018) appeared on the Channel 4 show George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, after he converted an abandoned 1920s railway carriage into a sauna and gym. Lewis is currently studying Architectural Engineering at Loughborough University, and used the skills he learned both there and at The Perse to complete his project. He said: “renovating the railway carriage and being filmed was a fantastic experience and opportunity to put my skills to the test”. You can watch Lewis’ appearance on the programme on All4 now.

16

SCHOOL OP NEWS NEWS

In April 2021, Cambridge University Press published The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, a new, complete English dictionary of Ancient Greek over twenty years in the making. Michael Sharp (1987) played a crucial role as Senior Editor for CUP’s Classics and Byzantine Studies publications. Michael writes: “the life and career in classics, which I have been fortunate to pursue, would never have been possible without the rigorous and inspirational teaching I received at The Perse from Richard Shannon, Stephen Kern and Paul McKechnie”.

The RDC Foundation continues to provide opportunities for young people looking to explore the great outdoors.

The Foundation is named after former Head of Geography and Scout Leader at The Perse, Richard Crabtree. Nick Adlam (1998), trustee, writes: “the RDC Foundation has now been running for just over two years. To date, the Foundation has supported over 50 groups to buy equipment to get young people into the outdoors, and has provided grants for 20 intrepid young individuals undertaking their own adventures. The trustees are immensely grateful for the incredible generosity of a number of Old Perseans who make these good deeds possible.”

Readers who are interested in supporting the RDC Foundation can visit www.rdc.foundation to learn more. Richard was awarded the Polar Medal (pictured here) in 1986.

In October 2021, Matt Timmiss (2011) directed a music video for Charli XCX’s song ‘Good Ones’. The video is a special Halloween version of the single, and features five drag queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame performing the song.

Matt’s earlier documentary, City of Queens, is now available to stream on Sky and NowTV.

The Royal Historical Society has welcomed Tristan Alphey (2016) as one of its Early Career Fellows. Tristan is currently continuing his DPhil in History at St. Cross College, Oxford, where he studies early medieval Anglo-Saxon nicknames. You can read his blog at www.anoxfordhistorian.com.

Book Publications Josh Simons (2011) has recently co-edited A Political Economy of Justice, alongside Danielle Allen, Leah Downey, Yochai Benkler and Rebecca Henderson. The book was published by Chicago University Press in April. He also has a second volume forthcoming in the autumn with Princeton University Press, titled Algorithms for the People: Democracy in the Age of AI. Josh is a Research Fellow at Harvard University.

Jonathan Crofts (1981) has recently published Meadows, Mansions and Munitions: Stories and Lives of Cambridge Park, a meticulous work of local history of Southwest London, with an introduction by Sir Vince Cable. Jonathan has lived in Twickenham since 1993, and has followed local history ever since through reading, talks, walks and visits, as well as his own research and photography.

17

OLD PERSEANS

REERS W A C O

RK SHO P

A Road Less Travelled Fabian Dodds (2021) turned down an offer from Cambridge University, instead deciding to undertake a degree apprenticeship with Dyson. Here, he tells us about what lay behind his decision, and what his experience so far has been.

‘I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.’

I dreamt of the days when I might be working on projects with obstacles to overcome and targets to hit left, right and centre.

When the time came to submit my UCAS application, I felt very comfortable with the idea that I was to spend four years at university learning all about engineering, and then would start a job as a graduate. I wrote my personal statement, filled in the forms and sent everything in mid-October to meet the early deadline. But throughout the process, I had a nagging thought in my head of an idea my aunt had mentioned to me a couple of times in the year previous. A friend of a cousin had ‘gone to do some apprenticeship-type thing at Dyson and it sounds

F

rom a young age, I always felt drawn down the path of engineering – much to my parents’ annoyance at the vast piles of cardboard scraps and copious quantities of sticky tape from projects and prototypes. In my head, this had always felt like a standard ‘school then university then work’ situation, where I would gain a lot of theoretical knowledge before ever fully trying my hand. However, over my time at The Perse, I learned how much can be fitted into a schedule alongside academic study and discovered my desire to be kept busy and challenged.

18

SCHOOL CAREERS NEWS

really good – have a look online’. I briefly scanned the website and was impressed but, through the Russell Group goggles, could not see how I would pick it above any of my university choices. Due to the nagging thought, I had a second, more thorough look at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology (DIET). I’m not sure whether it was through genuine intrigue or just exam worries and the lower grade offer making it an extra insurance choice, but I decided to apply.

The DIET Degree Apprenticeship is a fouryear course working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and a Level 6 Apprenticeship Qualification in Design Engineering. Both of these are awarded by Dyson. Throughout, two days a week are designated lecture days, and on the other three undergraduates work on live projects within new product development teams. Along with this comes a potentially debt-free university experience with salary paid and no tuition fees.

Being external to UCAS meant that there was a different application process with a Dyson-specific personal statement and a CV. By deciding so late, I had given myself ten days until the deadline. In order to write a convincing application, it was obviously important to know precisely what I was applying for and the more I read, the fire started to burn a little brighter.

At first, it was seeing the accommodation that first years live in on campus, The Dyson Village, which are individual pods located in the Wiltshire countryside.

Then, it was seeing the projects that students are working on and given the opportunity to learn with hands-on. Looking back now though, the main idea that bubbled under the surface within me and ultimately led me to where I am was the fact that it was so new and pioneering. I am in the first cohort to be studying the degree as awarded by the Dyson Institute rather than through a partner university, as had been the case for the previous four years.

Slowly but surely, DIET began to creep up my list of university choices.

I submitted my documents, received confirmation and completed the online aptitude assessment.

Then I waited. A few weeks went by. At this point, Dyson was still certifiably mid-table behind both Cambridge and Southampton and roughly on par with Bristol in my choices. Then everything came at once. Within the space of about a week, I had been invited to a Cambridge Zoom interview – this being in late 2020 – and a DIET phone interview, both of which happened in early December, and had received an offer from Southampton. I was then asked to sit a technical interview with Dyson, also via video call, in early January. About three weeks later, and after four weeks of national lockdown, came Cambridge results day and I received my offer. At this point I was

ecstatic; I had wanted to go to Cambridge to study engineering before I knew what university was. So then why am I not there?

A week after this, I got a phone call. I had an offer from DIET. Almost exactly six months before results day, I had a decision to start making. It was not an easy one, as they are both fantastic institutions, one with a phenomenal amount of history and alumni, the other with none. One might think that, over the next six months, until I actually had to make the decision and submit the paperwork, I would hear many people’s thoughts and opinions and listen carefully to the experiences of both Cambridge alumni and current Dyson students. That I would weigh up the practicalities, the statistics, the pros and the cons, but that nothing would ever be fully conclusive.

One might imagine that it could have been a very difficult, drawn-out decision. However, in the end it was remarkably easy and quick. The second I put the phone down, something clicked inside me and I knew that I was going to Dyson. In the end, my decision came down to the same motivations as had followed me throughout life: the need to be busy – balancing work and study; the chance to grant myself future opportunities – gaining four years work experience before graduating; and the dream of working on real-world projects – which I have been doing now for about six months.

I am now halfway through my first year and have not regretted my decision for even a second. I am sure that if I had made a different decision, then I would also be enjoying myself. Nonetheless, I remain glad that I chose to follow the motivations that I always had. These motivations may have shown themselves in a different way. It may have taken me a while to realise that this is what I was doing. But I now know that when I face difficult decisions about my future – of which I am sure there are plenty to come – the same incentives I have always followed will show me what to do, and that will make all the difference.

Fabian had a difficult decision to make when it came to his choice of higher education.

19

OLD PERSEANS

STAFF PROFILE

Paola Dellamaggiore Hebe Chamberlain and Kilda Myers (Upper Sixth) sat down with Paola, Catering Manager, to talk about her time at The Perse.

Where are you from and where did you grow up?

There is a bit of a mix in my family.

My dad is Italian, and my mum is half-Spanish/half-Italian. We lived in South America. Argentina is where I grew up and lived most of my life.

What brought you to Cambridge and The Perse?

A friend of mine was doing a Master’s in Cambridge, where she met her now-husband, so I came to the wedding. I stayed for a few months, and then decided to stay permanently. I came to The Perse because I needed a job during the daytime. Before this, I was working in catering at St John’s College, serving the Fellows. I needed to change my hours and had to find something else to do during the day. That is how I came to join The Perse.

I think I have been here for over ten years now. I started working here a few years before the Upper became fully co-educational, accepting girls as well as boys.

Before that, it was just the Sixth Form that had female students.

What is your favourite memory of your time so far at The Perse?

I think it would be the first day that we opened the café in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). I met all these new students that I did not have contact with before

Why Hebe and Kilda chose to interview Paola: “Paola is known as a crucial member of the catering team, and we always hope she is on duty. She enjoys getting to know the students, so we have decided to get to know more about one of the School’s friendliest faces.”

– mainly those in the Sixth Form.

Having a relationship with them, talking to them, seeing them coming to buy a coffee and sitting at the tables – these are some of the best memories I have. I still remember the first students that came in. They started talking to me and introduced themselves.

Two of them came back a few years ago to watch the cricket, so when I saw them we had a chat and took a picture together. All the OPs, when they come back, say: “why do you have the PAC now? We never had that before!”

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Big question! I think my proudest accomplishment is that I am doing what I wanted to do in life.

I come from a family who are 20

all very well organised and who all have different jobs. They all went to university, but I wanted to do a different thing. So, my accomplishment would be just living the life that I wanted to. I left home and pursued my own goals. Of the whole family, it is only me who one day said: “you know what? I want to do different things, and not follow the same path”. I did what I wanted to, and that makes me happy.

What is your go-to recipe when you are cooking at home?

I must be honest and say that I do not enjoy cooking. I do cook, but I do not love it. However, I do love pasta. We ate a lot of it when we grew up because we made fresh pasta with my mom. Pasta is something that I will have on Sunday, for example – and then I have cake.

If you could give a piece of advice to Perse students, past and present, what would it be?

I know that you are all here, obviously, to achieve an education and then to move to a good university. I see how stressful it can be for you, but I think while you are here at The Perse, you should try to enjoy the process of learning. Remember all the people that are trying to help and support you, like the teachers here. Know that you will get there no matter what you do. I am sure you will all do very well. Some of you, I think, do not see how hard you are working. From my point of view, I do see that. I think my piece of advice would be that you should all be more self-confident and believe in yourselves – because you are all brilliant.

SCHOOL OBITUARIES NEWS

Obituaries We are saddened to report the deaths of the following OPs. Complete obituaries can be read in full on Alumnet.

Christopher Parry (1956) Pete Atkin (1963) writes: My first memory of Christopher is from the summer of 1956. He was Head Boy and about to leave, and was hosting a preliminary visit by a dozen or so of us eleven-plus boys who were about to start. His friendliness and his enthusiasm surprised me, and deflated my anxieties about the forthcoming big change in my life. These qualities never left him.

His family had moved to Cambridge in 1945 when his father became a teacher at Impington Village College after the war. He won a scholarship to St John’s College Choir School, and then to The Perse in 1948. There, he was taught English in the Mummery by Douglas Brown, who became his mentor.

The Mummery was home for a revolutionary kind of practical teaching of English, pioneered at The Perse, a story which Christopher told in his book English Through Drama (1972).

From 1956, he worked at a Quaker mental hospital in York as an alternative to military National Service, and then went on to read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

In 1961 he came back to The Perse to teach English as Douglas Brown’s successor.

In 1962, he married Josiane Chadeau in Nantes, and in 1968 they and their son Nicholas moved to Sittingbourne. Christopher taught at the Adult Education College there until they moved on in 1970 to York University, where their daughter Marianne was born. Finally, the family moved to Bangor University School of Education, where Christopher taught English, Drama, and PGCE until his retirement in 1994.

I was in the Sixth Form at The Perse when Christopher returned to teach. My A Levels did not include English, but I learned a lot from him in his General Studies class. He rashly encouraged my would-be creative activities and unobtrusively introduced me to several writers whose work still matters greatly to me. Most importantly, his encouragement never failed, then or since, and his company was always a delight.

His health began to fail after a nasty fall in 2018, but there are many of us who will continue to feel the benefit of his skills, knowledge and generosity of spirit. Christopher died in Le Croisic, on 15 January 2022. He was 84 years old.

Paul Humphrey Gilbert (1961) Robin Alexander (1961) writes: Born in Cambridge in 1942, Paul Gilbert entered the Perse Prep in 1949 and proceeded to the Upper in 1953. A talented draughtsman, he contemplated applying for art school, but on the strength of his seemingly effortless examination performance was persuaded to follow the well-trodden path to Cambridge University. He was one of the last students to experience the rigours of Douglas Brown’s course of preparation for the December entrance exam, and in 1961 won a scholarship 21

to read English at Downing College. But, reacting against the culture he encountered there, he transferred to Moral Sciences and immersed himself in philosophy, gaining a first.

In 1964 he moved to Oxford for postgraduate study, and in 1967 he obtained a lectureship at the University of Hull. He remained there for the rest of his career. He became Professor of Philosophy and successively Head of the Departments of Philosophy and Humanities, retiring in 2007.

As was to be predicted from his youthful achievements, Paul’s mature scholarship was formidable. He made significant published contributions both to political philosophy (including Terrorism, Security and Nationality (1994) and The Philosophy of Nationalism (1998)) and, sometimes in collaboration with his Hull colleagues, to the philosophy of mind, such as Human Relationships (1991).

But it would be a serious mistake to view all this as the mark of a dry academic. Paul made philosophy both enjoyable and relevant to pressing contemporary concerns. He was an immensely approachable, humorous and engaging companion, whose lively mind encompassed much more than his work.

Paul Gilbert died on 2 January 2022, shortly before his 80th birthday. He is survived by his wife Daphne, his four children, and nine grandchildren.

OLD PERSEANS

Roger Norris (1955) Mark Rainbow writes: Roger was born in 1941 in Hayes, Middlesex. He moved to Surrey in 1946, and then to Cambridge.

He attended The Perse from 1952 to 1955. He maintained very fond memories of his years there, supporting it and keeping in touch throughout his adult life.

Roger studied at Trinity College, Dublin between 1959 and 1963, reading Ancient and Modern Literature. He then worked as a librarian at Kilburn Polytechnic, studied and gained a Diploma in Librarianship at Sheffield University, and became briefly Assistant Librarian at Edinburgh University.

He moved to Durham permanently in 1966, to take up the position of Deputy Chapter Librarian at the cathedral. Roger was born for the role, rapidly learning and teaching himself as much as he could about his new home and its inhabitants, past and present. He truly loved the city, joining many of its organisations and institutions.

If anyone had a problem or query, academic or personal, Roger was there to help. He was a great listener, with an abundance of empathy. Professionally, he knew his collections and would do his utmost to share their treasures with others. He was once showing a party of archaeology students from Prague some of the cathedral’s manuscripts.

When he was told that there was no document in the Czech Republic as old as the one he

had just shown, Roger gave one of his great smiles and handed it to a young woman in the group, saying, ‘you hold onto that while I find something else’. She said afterwards that it was the high point of her visit to Britain.

In early February 2020, he suffered a serious heart attack, and after hospital treatment he could not be as active as he had been. Nonetheless, he continued to read and learn. He always delighted in seeing or hearing from friends. In late 2021, following a fall, he was again hospitalised, and later transferred to St Mary’s Care Home, where he died, peacefully, in the company of friends, on 19 December.

Howard Bird (1963) Philip Helliwell writes: Howard trained in medicine at Cambridge and St Thomas’ London, undertaking registrar jobs in general medicine and rheumatology at Bath before coming to Leeds as a research fellow in 1977. He was appointed Senior Registrar in 1978 and subsequently as a Lecturer for six years, until his appointment as a Senior Lecturer in 1984. In 1991, he was made a Reader in Rheumatology and in 1995 a Professor of Pharmacological Rheumatology.

Howard went to Leeds to work with Verna Wright. He was given the task of establishing a clinical pharmacology unit. This was situated at the Royal Bath Hospital in Harrogate, in a building next to the hospital, affectionately known as the ‘Bird House’. Howard and colleagues pioneered specialist rheumatology nursing, publishing a (sadly now no longer available) textbook on multidisciplinary care. He was aware of the lack of formal rheumatology education for nurses and set up and also taught on the first short, accredited English National Board course for 22

rheumatology nurses in the UK in the 1980s.

Howard was an inspiring teacher and supervised numerous postgraduate students with great care and commitment, whilst still managing to publish nearly 400 original scientific papers, as well as numerous chapters in books. He was also editor of the British Journal of Rheumatology from 1991–97.

Howard was a leader in the field of joint hypermobility, coauthoring what is still the major textbook on that subject. This interest complemented his work with performing artists who developed musculoskeletal pain, and, after retirement, he continued his work at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.

Howard was an accomplished pianist, which was a way he was able to ‘wind down’. He was mild mannered with an excellent sense of humour: no-one will forget the raucous laughter that used to emanate from his office on a Wednesday morning, during his weekly meeting with Verna. Howard was unflappable, a good friend and mentor, and an excellent colleague.

Richard Duke (1950) Anthony Hamilton-Briscoe writes: Richard ‘Dickie’ Duke attended The Perse from 1944–1949 and remained immensely proud of his alma mater throughout his life. On leaving school, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was sent for flight training to RAF Thornhill in what was then southern Rhodesia.

SCHOOL OBITUARIES NEWS

The journey to Rhodesia took five days. Dickie recounted that, at age 19, little he encountered on this memorable trip had been covered in his geography lessons!

Dickie was awarded his pilot’s wings in 1952, after which followed a colourful and varied flying career that spanned seven decades and took him to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He spent much of his flying career as an instructor, and was remembered as a patient and meticulous teacher who instilled the highest standards in his students.

He flew aircraft of all shapes and sizes over the years, amassing over 7,500 flight hours. At one stage considered for the Red Arrows, he also earned a place in Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft for test flying the smallest manned aircraft.

One of his hairier escapades was crash landing a Vampire during a night sortie from RAF Bruggen in 1953. The Quill drive (thinner than a pencil) that joined the fuel pump to the gearbox had sheared due to metal fatigue. When that happened, the engine, generator and hydraulic pump failed at the same time.

He chose not to abandon the aircraft, as prescribed, recalling in understated fashion: “The thought of falling, head first into the inky black put the fear of God into me and I gave up the idea immediately; I do not think anyone had ever done it before at night and I was not keen to be the first.”

Impressively, Dickie managed to glide the aircraft back to the airfield, with it coming to rest about 150 yards from the end of the runway.

Dickie married Jill Oram in 1959 (who sadly died in 2015), with whom he had three children, Jacqueline, Sarah and Peter. He is survived by these, along with his nine grandchildren. Upon retirement, he moved to Norfolk, where in his earlier years he had taught himself and his children to sail. There, he was able to continue his passion for field sports and bird watching. Dickie passed away on 16 January 2020.

Dickie Duke was a man who loved life and loved flying. He was great fun, often naughty, charismatic, humble – and a true gentleman.

David Webber (former staff) David Webber worked at The Perse from 1959 to 1996. After graduating from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences, David joined The Perse to teach physics. He was to stay at The Perse for the whole of his career, taking on the roles of Head of Physics, Head of Science and subsequently Second Master.

In 1960, when Princess Alexandra officially opened the new school site on Hills Road, David and John Clarke (1961) demonstrated their then-state-ofthe-art computer. It was reported in The Pelican that the three laughed when H.R.H. asked: “am I supposed to understand this?”, to which Clarke replied “No”.

David was known and respected for his quiet efficiency, attention to detail, and involvement in many areas of school life. He was a colleague of absolute integrity, who managed the difficult balancing act of being both the headmaster’s right-hand man and a member of the Common Room. This is exemplified by his diplomatic reply to a sensitive question: “I can neither confirm nor deny that rumour”. This was delivered with the faintest of smiles and a twinkle in the eye, characteristic of his dry sense of humour.

He agreed to serve a further year to facilitate the transition between two headmasters, Martin Stephen and Nigel Richardson, before retiring in 1996.

In retirement, David served his local parochial church council.

He also enjoyed bell-ringing and gardening. David passed away on 7 November 2021 and is survived by his wife, Win, and sons Andrew (1979) and Richard (1982).

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We remember Brian Armes (1957) Died 10 July 2021, aged 82 years Alex Badenhorst (2020) Died January 2022, aged 20 years Mary Bedford (former staff) Died 21 February 2022, aged 92 years John Farrow (1959) Died 6 February 2022 aged 81 years Barrie Frampton (1951) Died 18 November 2021 aged 88 years Richard Graves (1948) Died 21 September 2021, aged 91 years Richard James (1957) Died 21 January 2021, aged 81 years Donald MacDonald (1940) Died 24 December 2021 aged 99 years Peter Mahaffey (1967) Died 22 September 2021, aged 73 years Jonathan Pinhey (former staff) Died 10 September 2021, aged 87 years Alasdair Pountain (1965) Died 6 August 2021, aged 74 years Daniel Roberts (1962) Died 28 September 2021, aged 76 years Ralph Schaverien (1935) Died 29 January 2022 aged 104 years Edward Sibson (1957) Died 24 March 2022 aged 82 years Anthony Stern (1962) Died 10 February 2022 aged 77 years Cecil Waddington (1947) Died 21 December 2021, aged 92 years

OLD PERSEANS

Getting involved We are always delighted to welcome OPs back to The Perse to help with our careers programme, or to deliver a lunchtime talk to pupils as part of our 42 Society lecture series. If you would like to find out more about ways to get involved, please contact PerseADO@perse.co.uk.

Dates for Your Diary Upcoming Reunion Dinners 2022/23: Class of 1990s Get event invitations and updates via email – update your contact preferences with the QR code below Old Perseans Cricket Friday 24 June Dr Perse Society Concert and Afternoon Tea Monday 4 July, 2pm Email perseADO@perse.co.uk to sign up Please RSVP by Monday 20 June

Please visit perse.co.uk/alumni/events or contact the Alumni & Development Office by telephone on +44(0)1223 403808, or email perseADO@perse.co.uk

Staying in touch Old Perseans and Friends @OldPerseans Old Perseans Alumnet

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ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE WWW.PERSE.CO.UK/ALUMNI

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THE PERSE SCHOOL HILLS ROAD CAMBRIDGE, UK, CB2 8QF

The Perse School is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with number 05977683. It is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales with number 1120654.

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TEL: +44(0)1223 403 808 PERSEADO@PERSE.CO.UK