OLD AMPLEFORDIAN OBITUARIES

The following pages contain a number of obituaries of Old Amplefordians who have died since the last Journal. A full list of Old Amplefordians’ and Ampleforth Society Members’ deaths is available on the website: www.ampleforth.org.uk/society

JAMES DOVE (T95) died 21 October 2018, aged 41 James was one of six brothers including Nicholas (A64), Richard (A93), Simon, John (J62). His mother, Christina, had lost her husband ten years previously. Following adventurous ancestors, he was into anything and everything, entirely mischievous, funny, a prankster, willing to take risks, in short he loved living life. He loved life completely and he lived it intensely. At the Dragon School he learnt to dance the ‘Slide’ among other boring stuff and went on to Ampleforth and then Bristol University, where he learnt the arts of social life, which often involved driving to London. On holiday with his family in Palm Beach he got a speeding ticket on roller-blades. Suffering first diabetes, then financial hardship after his father’s debacle at Lloyds insurance, he was then diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Rather than surrendering to self-pity and becoming bitter, James threw himself into life with even more abandon and enthusiasm. He remained a friend to many, always quick with an infectious smile, a funny line and always eager to seek out another adventure. He needed love and support, and always seemed to have a devoted and stunning girlfriend at his arm until he met Candy, to whom he was going to be married. His exuberance and flamboyance were his courageous counter to the limits that increasingly closed in on him. He would laugh with all the problems of life and left behind his love to support his many friends and family whom he left so prematurely.

CHRISTOPHER DAVID (O44) died 26 December 2019 aged 93 was ordained priest from the Beda in 1955 and served in parishes in Wales before deciding to leave the priesthood. He trained as a teacher and started and ran pastoral centres at Wick Court, Bristol and Crosby Hall near Liverpool. From his family home near Monmouth, he and his wife Gill organized convoys of lorries taking supplies to refugee camps in Croatia during the Bosnian war. They moved to Lanzarote in the 1990s, where they set up Niños del Tercer Mundo, which raised money to build schools and community centres in the developing world. Christopher and Gill supported the Chambo seminary in Ecuador; they were asked by the bishop to take charge for a time, which they did for several months. After Gill’s death, Christopher returned to Lanzarote, where he held a weekly meditation group. A deeply spiritual man, he would always support and take the time to listen to those to in need. His cousin Guy Neely (E50) wrote: “Nothing very remarkable but his life shows how much former priests can contribute, and what others might do in the post-sacerdotal era into which we are moving.”

PROFESSOR NEVILLE MORAY (D53), died 15th December 2019 aged 84 became an eminent psychologist after reading medicine at Worcester College, Oxford and specialised in psychology. He taught in Scotland, Canada, USA, Japan and China with professorships in engineering as well as psychology. After four years in Canada in 1970 he headed the department of psychology at Stirling and then returned to Toronto as Professor of Industrial Engineering as a specialist in ergonomics. After his final retirement he sailed his 26 ft yacht across the Atlantic.

PETER CHARLES KING (T60) died 1st May, 2020 aged 78 was born in Carlisle, where his father, a doctor, had moved to escape from London during the war. When Peter was very young the family moved to the East Riding of Yorkshire where his father had a general practice. It was here that Peter, encouraged by his mother who was a keen horsewoman, learned to ride. He later owned a racehorse, Duomo which he rode in point-to-points. At Ampleforth after Gilling, he made friends who he remained in touch with for the rest of his life. In 2012 to celebrate his 70th birthday he organised a trip to the Italian Derby in Rome with 4 of his old schoolfriends and their wives. Abbot Timothy Wright, also a contemporary, was living in Rome at the time and the group were able to meet up with him. After a year in Paris studying at the Sorbonne, Peter obtained a position in a firm of solicitors in London. He qualified as a solicitor in 1968 and was offered a job with a shipping insurance firm. This was the start of his career as a solicitor specialising in the complicated world of shipping insurance. His work took him abroad and he had contacts all over the world, many of whom became friends. He remained in this industry, working in the City of London until his retirement in 2006. One group of friends became known as the Friday Club, meeting on the last Friday of the month for many years. In 1972 he and Prudence Whiting married and together with Peter’s mother they settled in Kings Langley in Hertfordshire. Peter’s family was very important to him and he was very happy to spend weekends at home in contrast to his busy professional life. In addition to horseracing he was keenly interested in cricket and boxing. In retirement Peter renewed his association with the Society of St Vincent de Paul and helped an organisation in Watford providing accommodation for the homeless. His warmth, kindness and humour and occasional eccentricity belied great determination. He was extremely good at dealing with problems and when he undertook a task it was done very thoroughly. He always read instructions very carefully before assembling any new piece of equipment and was very methodical in all his dealings. He was wholehearted in his actions. Peter’s faith and grace stood him in good stead until the end of his days.

CONOR FFRENCH DAVIS (T59) died November 2020 aged 79 was born in Dublin, the son of Francis ffrench Davis, a market gardener and his wife, Ingrid (née MacDermot). After Francis was killed in the second world war, Ingrid moved Conor and his brother, Dermot, to Co Mayo when she remarried in 1948, to Myles PeryKnox-Gore. This marriage gave him a stepbrother, Simon, and later two half-siblings, Sarah and Mark. Dermot was killed in a traffic accident aged seven. After Ampleforth, Conor studied veterinary medicine at Trinity College Dublin. He married Prue Smith-Wright in 1962 and graduated in 1964. Their first son, Dermot, was born in the same year, and then they moved to Matlock, Derbyshire, where Dominic was born. They soon returned to Ireland and set up home and Conor’s veterinary practice near Kentstown, Co Meath. Two more sons, Stephen and Michael, were born there, followed by two daughters. He treated small animals in the evenings, trained the occasional racehorse and somewhere in between ran his own small farm. He kept many animals but pigs were his favourite. He was in his element leaning over a gate and scratching a sow’s back. Ferociously intelligent and well read, Conor loved sharing his knowledge and would lecture his children on anything under the sun. He loved music of many varieties, Irish traditional, baroque, early gospel, flamenco, reggae, fado and much more. He also adored cricket and with his neighbour established Knockharley cricket club. For the last seven years he had to cope with Parkinson’s but his hearing never gave up on him and there was music to the end. He is survived by Prue, his children and grandchildren, and his half-siblings.

MICHAEL CLANCHY (D54) Died 29 January 2021 aged 84 was born in Reading in 1936, the son of Henry, a Royal Navy captain from an Irish Catholic family, and Virginia, a New Zealander. After Ampleforth he gained a 2nd in history at Oxford in 1959. He married Joan Milne in 1963 and they had a daughter and a son. In 1964 he became a lecturer at Glasgow University and wrote a number of books that were well received. In 1985 he moved to London and taught at UCL. His life of Abelard led to his election as FBA. He spoke on BBC radio several times.

STEPHEN HARWOOD (W49) died 19th FEBRUARY 2021 aged 90 His early life was overshadowed by war. At the outbreak of WW2, aged seven, he learned his father, Commodore Henry Harwood, was a national hero after commanding the victorious British forces at the Battle of the River Plate. The threat of German invasion also meant his prep school, Avisford, in West Sussex, was moved north to Junior House, Ampleforth, where it remained for the duration of the conflict. In 1944, Stephen transferred to the senior school and St Wilfrid’s where he became friends with the future headmaster, Fr Dominic Milroy. School holidays were spent in Orkney where his father was stationed in deteriorating health after a period as C-in-C, Mediterranean. By the time his father died a year after he left school, Stephen was already a cadet in the Royal Navy. Due to poor eyesight he joined the newly formed Electrical Branch and gained a place at Trinity College, Cambridge and a degree in

Mechanical Sciences. During the 1970’s Stephen was part of the team that developed the Seawolf missile and the Stingray torpedo. For his family the benefit of these shore appointments meant that he could enjoy more time at home, although he did spend periods at sea, most notably in HMS Ark Royal. Stephen left the navy in 1980 and joined John Brown until his retirement in 1993. He was always a countryman with a love of gardening, fishing, nature (especially butterflies) and golf. After retirement he became chair of his local CPRE and warden of a local nature reserve. He died on 19 February 2021, aged 89, leaving his wife, Julia, daughter Kate and three sons, Christopher (C78), Jonathan (C80) and Anthony (C83).

JAMES PIERS MACKENZIE-MAIR (O56) died 9TH MARCH 2021 aged 82 Born in Mumbai, India. At Ampleforth he excelled at rugby and swimming, which developed his sense of fair play that was an asset later when he had many dealings with union leaders in the haulage industry. After Ampleforth and Trinity College, Oxford, he did National Service in the Seaforth Highlanders. An adventurer at heart Piers emigrated to Canada in the late 1960s. He worked and lived throughout the country, developing a love for the expanse of the country especially the landscapes of the West. In the early 1980s he settled in Toronto and met and married (in 1981) Lise (née Girouard.) Lise died in 1995 but during their marriage they enjoyed many happy times and travels to various places in the world. Piers continued to live in Toronto until his death. His Old Gregorian nephew and family moved there in 2018, so in his final few years he was close to his family and home once again. He died on the 9th March 2021 in Ajax, Ontario.

MAJOR GENERAL JEREMY PHIPPS, CB (T60) died 16th March 2021 aged 78 was the son of Alan Phipps, a naval officer, who was killed in 1943, never seeing his son, and Veronica, sister of ‘Shimi’ Lovat (C29) who later married Fitzroy Maclean, MP, who had served in the SAS in North Africa with her cousin David Stirling, (O34). At Ampleforth, Fr Walter recalled that Phipps learnt little history, but did cast a “very pretty dry fly”. His step-father persuaded him not to follow his father into the Navy but to join the Army. The story is that he found out too late that QOH stood not for the Queen’s Own Highlanders, which incorporated his grandfather’s regiment the Cameron Highlanders, but the Queen’s Own Hussars. After commanding a troop in BAOR he was the first cavalry officer after the war to pass Hereford selection and followed his stepfather into the SAS. After service in Oman and Brazil he returned to his regiment for service in Northern Ireland. He married Susan Crawford, an equestrian artist, whose father had been a naval cadet at Dartmouth in the same intake as his father. In 1979 he took part in the Fastnet Race, helping to rescue a French crew in the Force 10 gale. Back in the SAS, he was the operations officer who helped plan the operation ending the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980, though when the order was given to go in, he had just gone off duty and was eating rhubarb and custard in the C & G Club. After a posting in command of his regiment, he received a double promotion to command an armoured brigade (enquiring beforehand if his accommodation would have a north window – otherwise his wife would not be accompanying him) before being appointed Director of SAS. After he retired from the army he became Director of Security for the Jockey Club. Retiring finally in 2011 he and his wife retired back to the Borders where he continued to enjoy gardening and fishing. He died of lung cancer, leaving Sue and his son and daughter, Jake and Jemma and five grandchildren.

JOHN COLUM CRICHTON-STUART, 7th MARQUESS OF BUTE (W73) died 29th March 2021 aged 62, left Ampleforth before his ‘O’ levels to pursue a career in motor racing, preferring to be known as Johnny Dumfries, at first earning a living as a painter and decorator. Despite breaking both ankles in a karting accident, he learnt how to prepare a racing car alongside other young men with similar ambitions. In 1984 he won the Formula 3 championship and two years later graduated to Formula 1, racing a single season for Team Lotus but found his progress blocked by his team mate. He never made his way back into F1 but did achieve the first win of the Le Mans 24 hour race by a member of the aristocracy since Lord Selsdon in 1949. He retired from the circuits in 1991, with the reputation of a likable, unpretentious man, talented enough to have made more of a mark. Two years later, on his father’s death, he became the 7th Marquess of Bute. Thereafter he devoted himself to the upkeep of the ancestral home, Mount Stuart, a Victorian gothic pile near Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. He turned disused farm cottages into holiday homes, revived the Bute Fabrics company, which had been founded by his grandfather, and opened the great house to the public. He also inaugurated the Mount Stuart Classic, in which competition cars of all kinds raced through the grounds, although it lasted only two years.

JAMES THOMAS MACDONELL DALGLISH (A68) died 8 April 2021 aged 71 James, the eldest of three, was brought up close to Richmond Park. He went to Gilling aged eight, and two years later was captain of Rugger, playing 2nd row for Gilling, Junior House, Colts and then 1st XV for nine of his ten years in the valley. At JH he was Head Monitor, then joined St Aidan’s in 1963. He had jobs for big chaps: Drum Major, Thurifer in the Abbey, double bass in the orchestra. He threw discus, javelin and shot for the school and spotted for the Shooting VIII, but his proudest sporting result was 16th in the Cross Country, winning £5 from John Willcox, 1st XV coach, who had bet him he couldn’t make the first twenty. After Sea Scouts, where he absorbed Fr Thomas Cullinan’s progressive views, he moved on to Rover Scouts. He liked the autonomy, with nights spent at Redcar Farm which the Rovers were fettling to be a residential centre. Among the visitors they hosted were underprivileged children and Borstal inmates. A fuse was lit. Fr. Brendan Smith made James Head of House, a good match as both perceived the irony of monks educating winners to remain winners. James was always Jim (or Big Jim) at school and work.

His size and quiet confidence gave him the persona of gentle giant with whom boys did not mess and around whom bullies did not prosper. An aborted year of science A levels probably spurred him to seize all the school experience, take advantage of what Shack offered, catching up in maturity what he had lost in education. He saw the big picture, what he could learn and profit from. From science James switched to HEE, opening windows on to injustice, and a door into a different future. He left in 1968 to read African History at SOAS where he was drawn to radical politics. James’s loyalty to socialist figures and ideas remained life-long, but his involvement became muted after 1969 when a small Senate House demo became a Special Branch ambush. James was arrested and spent three nights in Ashford Remand Centre. In due course the fabricated case against him was dropped. James described this in a letter to the Guardian in 2020, noting that the demo was a success: London University severed links with UC Rhodesia in 1971.

In his first year James had digs in Islington. This planted a life-long devotion to Arsenal FC and launched an unusual career, for further up Liverpool Rd was an Adventure Playground (AP), run by volunteers. Islington was not chic back then: for some children the playground was their only safe haven, and the young men at the AP the only protective male role models they knew. James became a volunteer, and on graduating from SOAS a full-time employee at an AP in Southwark. He was promoted to ‘Peripatetic Play Leader’ for the London AP Association, their senior worker.

Also at SOAS James met Avril. They married in 1974, creating a West London home for themselves, two sons, visitors, family and friends world-wide, dispensing hospitality, beds, family news, advice and home-grown tomatoes. 1970 brought the first of several trials when James’s father lost his sight. He died in 1976. James’s mother was left paraplegic after an accident in 1980. James and Avril lost their first child after two days of life. He took these disasters in his stride, along with new responsibilities. They moved back to his mother’s house to support her transition to life in a wheelchair, and maintained the house as centre of a larger family life until her death in 1998. When her sister died in 2006 James drove weekly down the M4 to care for his aunt’s partner until his death.

After ten years of Playgrounds it was time for a change. James took a Diploma in Public Administration at the LSE, where he learned to row. He became Recreation Office for the Borough of Lambeth. The politics became unbearable after a few years, and he qualified as a primary school teacher. He relished the company of children, opening their eyes to the world, sharing songs, nonsense and fun.

After five years at a primary school in Hounslow, it was no surprise when James took consecutive jobs at special schools, for ten years teaching West London’s most challenging children. To this he brought endless patience, evident good will and implacable resolve. A teacher’s job was to lead children to connect cause and effect, and the hardest of cases were still entitled to education. Indeed, to James the casualties of society and dysfunctional families were those to whom most was owed. It was putting children and their voices and needs first which enabled him, tall, posh and white as he was, to work successfully in Afro-Caribbean areas. James also modified his vowels and dropped a few consonants, which helped. His ability to mix was partly from his father (Ampleforth novice for eight months) who spent much time in public bars, not the more genteel saloon bars adjacent. James’s job at a special school in Wandsworth yielded a photo of him with members of So Solid Crew, which he proudly hung in the loo.

From his teens James was keenly aware of others. It was not his style to lecture: he was carer as much as teacher. Those who had a problem got more listening to than talking to. His style was to plant teasing questions to lead pupils or supplicants to work out answers for themselves. James was chair of trustees 1993-98 at Wentwood, a college teaching independent living to young adults with mental disabilities, for which he was well qualified. He stood as a Labour councillor for Richmond for years, with no expectation of success, but to support the movement; General Elections saw him on the streets for Labour. He was proud to have met figures such as Ken Livingston, and it amused him to award Labour the acronym TiGMOO (This Great Movement of Ours), heard so often at meetings.

On leaving Shack James played rugby for Rosslyn Park for two seasons. He became a keen skier, and a Ski Club rep, as his mother, an Olympic skier, had been. James’s two sons were skilled oarsmen, and he willingly ferried them to rowing fixtures and training before dawn for years. He sang in his church choir and Chiswick Choir, whereof he was chair for three. James loved the Proms and encouraged family and friends to join him there. He would queue at the Royal Albert Hall from 0500 on the first day of booking before buying dozens of tickets for a well-planned Proms season of music and socialising. He endeavoured to read ‘War and Peace’ every year.

In his last job at Surrey Council, James coordinated Social Services and Education functions to ensure that children in care received education. It was stressful. James suffered a first heart attack in 2010, and his health deteriorated over the next eleven years. The birth of twin grandsons in 2017 brought Avril and him great joy. When Covid-19 arrived he wryly remarked that he was at risk on four separate counts: age, heart, lungs and diabetes. As ill-health confined him he continued to savour small things: reading to his grandsons, an Arsenal victory, a Boris blunder, posting photos of his formidable whiskers dyed pink or green. He died at home, Covid-free, in Avril’s arms. Restrictions allowed a small choir of three OAs and one niece to sing him onward.

aged 55 gained a scholarship from Moor Park to Ampleforth where he did well before studying modern languages at Bristol where he became mentally ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and for the next twenty years was in and out of hospital. Though able to do some work, his concentration was poor and his ability to look after himself deteriorated. On a number of occasions he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act, a truly frightening and horrible experience for him, but sadly necessary for his safety. Visiting him was difficult as he was often withdrawn, sometimes hostile or threatening. His sense of humour had been extinguished by schizophrenia. When not in hospital he lived on his own but needed constant support. He enjoyed holidays and meals out with his family. He owned a succession of cars and enjoyed driving, until driving the wrong way up a one-way street led to a crash from which he escaped unhurt but not knowing which country he was in (Luxemburg). As he moved into middle age his psychosis declined, though he still mumbled in response to the voices in his head, and he remained on medication. Gradually physical problems developed – diabetes, slight asthma, a cataract in one eye and, the most debilitating of all, Parkinson’s. He lived in a bungalow until, after two falls, he caught Covid in hospital and needed constant care until dying just after being visited by his mother.

NOEL WHITE (C53) died 16th May 2021 aged 85 was born in Whitley Bay to Christina and Stanley White, an only child. He came to St Cuthberts House under Fr Sebastian Lambert. He worked with Fr Leonard Jackson in the Cinema Club and met his future best man and good friend for life Chris Davy (C53). National Service took him to Cyprus, Israel and Egypt. After an apprenticeship at GEC in Coventry, Noel returned to Newcastle and started working for British Rail as a Signalling Design Engineer. In 1969 he was introduced to Margaret on a blind date by one of his office friends and they got married in 1972 and two children and two grandchildren followed, all of whom he loved and was very proud of. In 1994, after over 30 years of service for British Rail, Noel took early retirement and they bought a static caravan by the beach in Scotland, a place where they both loved to relax and enjoy walking together with their dogs. Photography, steam railway engines, volunteering at Tanfield Railway occupied his time and he was also a member of the Rail Sport National small bore rifle shooting team where he won many national trophies and accolades. As well as volunteering in the Cathedral cafe Noel took guided school tours of St Mary’s Cathedral, explaining the history and artefacts along the way, receiving lots of thank you letters from the schools. Noel died suddenly yet peacefully at home in the arms of his wife Margaret with their dog Isla by his side.

MAURICE ALOYSIUS FRENCH (W48) died 20th May 2021 aged 91 was born in Bletchingley, Surrey to the Hon. Bertram and Maud French, who were both émigrés from Ireland. After leaving Ampleforth, where he was a contemporary of his life-long friend Fr Dominic Milroy, Maurice joined the Royal Fusiliers, following in the footsteps of his late maternal uncle Maurice Dease, who had been awarded the first Victoria Cross of World War One. In 1952 he sailed to Korea as part of the Commonwealth Brigade and took part in the Battle of the Hook, where he was Mentioned in Despatches as Regimental Signals Officer. His military career took him to countries including Sharjah, Turkey, Germany and Norway, and his last job in the army was running the Officer Training Corps at Bristol University, which he greatly enjoyed. After retirement, Maurice remained closely involved with the School of Infantry shoot in Warminster, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), and the Fusilier Museum at the Tower of London, where he served as chairman of trustees. He wrote several books about his family and two volumes of memoirs. At the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War in 2014 at Mons in Belgium, he enjoyed giving an impromptu lecture about his distinguished uncle to Prince William, the prime minister David Cameron and the Irish President Michael D. Higgins. Maurice was married first to Heather Tarbutt and then for 40 years to Lavinia Burke, until her death in 2005. He had three daughters, Nicola, Claudia and Emily, and three sons, all of whom went to Ampleforth: Dominic (W76), Patrick (J84) and Hugh (J94). He also had 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of whom he was immensely proud.

NIGEL JOHN IVO STOURTON CBE, (D47) died 22 June 2021 aged 93 was born in Mauritius – where his father, Ivo (later Sir Ivo) Stourton, was serving as a colonial police officer – and remembered a happy childhood in Bermuda. During World War II Ivo Stourton was posted first to Zanzibar and then to Aden, and Nigel, his siblings and their mother Lillian moved to South Africa to be closer to him. In 1942 Lillian, after visiting her husband in Aden, lost her life to enemy action; her ship was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean. It marked all her children deeply. Nigel Stourton’s education was disrupted by war and the demands of empire, and he was sixteen when, in the autumn of 1945, he first arrived at Ampleforth. Although he spent only two years as a pupil, his links with the Ampleforth community endured for the rest of his life. After National Service Nigel Stourton joined the Special Air Service during the regiment’s post-war incarnation in the Territorial Army. In 1949 he was recruited by the Bank of England but, as he later said, “could not get my head around the utter boredom of the tasks I was set”. He opted for the more adventurous world of British American Tobacco, which he joined in 1951. BAT took him to Nigeria (where he met his wife Jenny), Sierra Leone, Malta, Switzerland, and Ghana – where he lived for seven years, being appointed OBE for his services to Anglo-Ghanaian relations. His final BAT posting, in 1980, was to the newly-independent Zimbabwe; his brief was to reform the BAT subsidiary there following the end of white-minority rule. After his retirement in 1982, Nigel Stourton focused on charitable work, most successfully as the chairman of the Orders of St John Care Trust, which he helped to establish, and which runs highly regarded care homes. He served as Hospitaller of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta, organising the annual pilgrimages to Lourdes; his battered black boiler suit and thoughtful management style are still remembered fondly by regular pilgrims. And in the early 1990s he helped drive aid convoys to help victims of the Balkan wars. In 2008 he was appointed CBE in recognition of his charitable works.

In 1974 Nigel and Jenny Stourton had bought a house in Wensleydale, some forty minutes from Ampleforth. The area remained their home for the rest of his life, and they continued to enjoy close connections with the Abbey. Nigel Stourton was buried at the Church of St Simon and St Jude at Ulshaw Bridge, on the River Ure, a place he loved. The tiny chapel provided room only for his immediate family, but a substantial crowd gathered in the graveyard to wish him farewell. Sheep from the surrounding pastures lent their voices to the prayers at his interment, and a soft rain came down from the dale.

LT COL RONNIE HUGH DERENZY CHANNER MBE HLI RHF (D56) died 7th July 2021 aged 83, was born in Bearsden, in Glasgow, on 11 January 1939, one of five children and son of Hugh and Nancy. He came to Ampleforth in the mid 50s and was in St Dunstan‘s in the time of Fr Oswald Vanheems. A keen sportsman, he claimed until his final days to be the holder of the record for the Ampleforth Steeplechasehelped by the fact that it was not run in recent years. After Ampleforth he went to RMA Sandhurst and the Army for a full career before retiring to Malta, where he and his wife Esme had married so many years earlier. His brothers, sons and grandsons were all in St Dunstan’s and he remained always a friend of Ampleforth.

MICHAEL ROBIN OGILVIE LEIGH (A58) died 2nd August 2021 aged 80 at home in Ledbury, Herefordshire. He was the eldest son born to Sheila Mari Ogilvie and John Evelyn Thomas Leigh in Edinburgh in October 1940. After his father was killed in a point-to-point accident, Michael and his brother David were raised by their widowed mother on farms in Oxfordshire and Herefordshire. He was a natural athlete and excelled at sprinting and long-jump. He held the school triple jump record for many years. After Sandhurst, Michael joined his Father’s regiment, the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in 1960. His military career took him to various postings, including two years as an instructor in Land Warfare Training in Australia and commander of the United Nations Support Unit in Cyprus. His sporting skills became renowned amongst his regiment, winning the Army long jump title and going on to represent the Combined Services. He married Gilla in 1964 and together they had three daughters. Michael retired from the army to Herefordshire in 1986 as a Lieutenant Colonel, where he undertook a career in mixed farming and was able to indulge his love of nature and pursue his passion for field sports. He approached farming as he had his military career, proudly winning numerous awards for his cider orchards and hops and ensuring his staff (and dogs) were on parade bright and early every morning. His numerous community and charitable activities resulted in his appointment as High Sheriff of Herefordshire and Worcestershire in 2008, a position he approached diligently. In 2010 Michael sold the farm and moved to Ledbury with Gilla to enjoy his retirement and be closer to his Church. He continued to administer the Eucharist to sick parishioners and was Chairman of the St Vincent de Paul Society until his death. Michael is survived by his wife Gisela (née von Moers), brother David, his three daughters and seven grandchildren.

(T59) died 14th September 2021 aged 82 He had battled with Alzheimer’s for years and went into full time care at the start of lockdown before anyone realised how little his family would then see of him. Ian left Ampleforth before taking A’levels, soon shunned the world of insurance, went to RMA Sandhurst, where he became a Senior Under Officer, and was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment in 1963. He served in Germany and Northern Ireland and attended the Indonesian Staff College for which he had to learn Indonesian. In 1980 he married a WRAC officer, Christine, and shortly afterwards went to Beaconsfield for a Russian Interpreter course which took him back to Germany. After the Wall came down the family, which now included a daughter and two sons, went to RAF Scampton where Ian served in the newly formed Joint Arms Control Implementation Group. They were optimistic days and seemed to Ian, who travelled in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Czech Republic etc with the British and other NATO teams, to be a fine way to end his military career before spending 10 years at GCHQ. The war had rather spoiled Ian’s family life but his years at Ampleforth, where he made lasting friendships, did much to rectify that. He put his children in the care of Richard Coghlan (T60) at wonderful St Richard’s and enjoyed a 70th birthday trip to Rome with Richard, Peter King (T60), John Robertson (T60) and wives where a jolly good time was had with Abbot Timothy Wright (T60). Ian’s faith endured, he served our local parish in Winchcombe and, at the end, the hospital allowed a priest to administer the last rites with all his family present.

GERARD ASTLEY BIRTWISTLE (E46) died 26th September, 2021 aged 93 was born on in Hoghton, Lancs. His parents were James Birtwistle and Muriel (née Marwood). He was one of eight siblings. After Gilling and JH he joined his brother, David in St Edward’s with Fr Raphael Williams.

He served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers and was a member of the Occupation Force in Trieste. Later, he joined his three brothers, Michael, Edmund and David (all OA’s) in the family textile business but left after a few years and moved to London to become a marine reinsurance broker in Lloyds. In 1954 he married The Hon Diana Barnewall, the sister of his best school friend, the Hon Anthony Barnewall. Their father was Lord Charles Trimlestown, also an OA. They moved to Surrey and had four daughters. Caroline, Emma, Lucinda and Sophie. On retirement he spent his time gardening and travelling with Diana. He had loved his school days and much enjoyed coming to Ampleforth to watch his grandson, James Pawle (H) play cricket. His faith was enormously important to him throughout his life. Anthony’s connections with Ampleforth are numerous: His great uncle, Thomas Marwood was one of the first pupils in the mid 19th century. His uncles, Gilbert, Basil, Cyril M.C. and Reggie followed on. Reggie became Father Stephen Marwood OSB, housemaster of Oswald’s. Anthony’s oldest brother, Michael was Head Monitor. He and Edmund were in Wilfred’s under Dom Columba Cary-Elwes. His brothers in law were Patrick Pritchard, Ian Maclaren and also the Hon Raymond Barnewall (now Lord Trimlestown). His nephews are Mark and Jeremy Birtwistle, Patrick Pritchard, Hugo and Marcus Kirby. His brother Michael, married Glen Craig whose brother Derek was killed riding his bicycle down Sutton Bank. There is a memorial to him as you come into the Abbey.

BRIAN SWEENY (E57) died 7th October 2021 aged 81 was born at the Dorchester Hotel to Margaret Whigham (later Margaret, Duchess of Argyll) and American businessman Charles Sweeny. He was one of the youngest students to be admitted to Oxford University, Christ Church, at age 16. A financial investment consultant, Sweeny spent many years working in New York and London and was a long-standing member of Whites Club.

MARK BLASZCZYNSKI (O76) died 21 October 2021 aged 63 came to Ampleforth in 1971 from his prep school, Assumption House in Ramsgate. He developed a wide range of interests from music, in which he played the clarinet and piano, joining the orchestra and contributing a composition to one of the end of term recitals, to more practical interests such as woodworking, in which he distinguished himself by winning the Alpha Prize in 1975 for a chess table he had designed and made. He was a member of the Sea Scouts and the RAF section of the CCF, and at one time nursed an ambition to make the RAF his career. His abilities in maths and science took him to Imperial College, London where he graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1979, after which he joined Westland Helicopters and underwent a period of RAF training with a view to pursuing a flying career. But instead he pursued a career as an engineer in the field of oil and gas drilling, which took him all over the world and in which he became prominent, his services being much in demand in the use of greener speciality fluids in oil extraction, particularly in difficult terrain. Mark loved animals and, when back in the UK from time to time, was a volunteer helper at Battersea Dogs’ Home. After a period working in Cairo, during which he found time to help a local vet, he returned to England bringing with him two cats that had found a home with him there.

He was without doubt a private person and sometimes gave the appearance of being shy. But the reality was that he loved to laugh and had a sharp sense of humour, much enjoyed and shared by those who knew him. He was generous and selfless, always putting the needs of others before his own, and gave generously to charities. Friends were vitally important to him and he became godfather to the children of some of them. He also enjoyed adventures such as climbing most of Mount Kilimanjaro, and later to the base camp of Mount Everest, and cycling around Cuba. And there were more plans in the pipeline before his illness took hold of him. Coping with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, he somehow managed to maintain his humour and optimism to the very end. He died peacefully surrounded by his family. He never married, his lifestyle somewhat precluding a normal family life, but he always remained close to his family and leaves two sisters, Magda and Danusia, and their children as well as many friends from all over the world. His presence and the warmth of his personality are greatly missed by all. His funeral in Richmond was very well attended by his many friends from the oil industry as well as friends from Egypt and other places he used to work.

aged 60 His Mother, Freda, (Mrs Mac) was matron of Bolton House from 1968 to 1980 and the family home was nearby in Nawton. Alex studied pharmacy at London University and then medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London. In 1994 he became a GP partner in the former mining village of Cotgrave in Nottinghamshire and he continued to work there until his retirement in 2020. He was a dedicated doctor, sometimes caring for several generations of the same family. He was renowned for his extensive medical knowledge and for his reassuring, informal manner, which was much appreciated by the ex-miners and the other patients that he served. Alex had a particular interest in the needs of disabled children and of the residents of a local dementia nursing home, and he worked tirelessly to help them. He was the chair of governors of two local special schools for over 25 years. In a rugby career spanning over 50 years, Alex was a prop-forward for his medical school, Harlequins and the Paviors in Nottingham. He would never hesitate to travel to play for the Old Amplefordians when called to do so. He Alex died in October 2021 after a year’s illness. He was a devoted family man and leaves a widow, Sue, and two adult sons, Edward and Dominic. He is greatly missed by his patients, who turned out in their hundreds to pay their respects.

PATRICK REYNTIENS OBE (E43) died 25th October, 2021, aged 95, loved being at Ampleforth and then joined the Scots Guards but was taken ill just before leaving for battle and then served two peace time years in Germany before studying at Regent Street Polytechnic and then at Edinburgh School of Art, where he met his wife, Anne Bruce. It was Edward Nuttgens, well known to Ampleforth, who started him on stained glass, which was to become his life’s work, later in association with John Piper to whom he was introduced by John Betjeman. Their first project was the chapel at Oundle School and this was such a success that other commissions followed swiftly, including 50 church windows, notably Coventry Cathedral and the magnificent lantern tower in the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool. When the 1960 nave of the Abbey Church was built much of the stained glass was his, including the memorial window in the Holy Cross Chapel, depicting George Hume (D41, later Cardinal Basil) and his sixth form contemporaries on their performing troupe tour for war charities. He later added more stained glass in the South Transept. In 1964 until 1977 he and his wife ran an art school: she would teach day courses while he taught stained glass students who came mainly from America for a year, including a ‘cathedral crawl’ round Europe in a camper van. He also taught at the Central School of Art In London. He published several books, including The Technique of Stained Glass and wrote as an art critic for The Tablet, The Oldie and the Catholic Herald. He never lost his sense of mischief ‘Nobody knows I’m a lesbian’. A documentary film ‘From Coventry to Cochem’, traced his career until 2009. His wife died in 2006 and he leaves four children, including John who worked with him as a stained glass artist.

MICHAEL JOSEPH MAXWELL STUART (B50) Died 1st November 2021 aged 89 was first cousin of Fr Walter. An ardent Catholic and supporter of Ampleforth in every way, enjoying many retreats, he sent his son Justin Stuart (C92) in his footsteps. He died peacefully in his sleep.

FRA’ (ROBERT) MATTHEW FESTING, (C67) 79th Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 2008-2017 died 12 November 2021 aged 71, read history at Cambridge and served in the Grenadier Guards in Northern Ireland and Belize and held the rank of colonel in the Territorial Army. He was an international art expert and served as Deputy Lieutenant in Northumberland. In 1977 he became a Knight of the Order of Malta, being profoundly moved by his experience of helping the sick with the Order in Lourdes, where he first went on pilgrimage in 1974. Between 1993 and 2008, he became the Grand Prior of England, the first holder of that role for 450 years. During the Kosovo War in the late 1990s as the Balkans descended into violence and civil war Fra’ Matthew borrowed a battered old truck, piled it with food and medical supplies, picked up a few volunteers and drove to the Balkans from Northumberland. In 1998, Fra’ Andrew Bertie (E47), the then Grand Master of the Order, recognised Festing’s bravery by awarding him the Grand Cross of Justice, one of the highest ranks in the Order. Festing himself was elected Prince and 79th Grand Master on 11 March 2008. During his decade of service he travelled all over the world strengthening diplomatic relations with countries and seeing for himself the Order’s works. He led dozens of pilgrimages to Lourdes and other Marian shrines, taking personal care of disabled pilgrims. He resigned the position of Grand Master on 28 January 2017.

BRIAN BEVERIDGE (A51) died 12th November 2021 aged 88 was the middle of five children, including Jim (D47, died 2005), Hugh (W55, died 2004) and Clare – who married Captain Jeremy Elwes (A39, died 1999); he was thus the uncle of Gervase (B73), Giles (A75), Robert (079) as well as John Beveridge (T82). Hugh Elwes (081) was his Godson. Brian’s father, Arthur, was in the RAMC and when stationed at Pocklington used to come to Mass at Ampleforth and got to know Fr Paul Nevill which led to the three brothers coming to the school; Brian came to St Aidan’s in1946 and did well, playing in the 2nd XV and swimming for the school. He read medicine at UCD where he was Captain of Swimming: in a match against English Universities, his opposite number was his former swimming captain at Ampleforth. He specialised in Ophthamology, preparing for Fellowship at Edinburgh while working in the Edinburgh Medical School, keeping himself by intermittent work in Casualty, General Practice and as an RAMC Territorial Officer. After locum work in Nova Scotia and registrarships in Birkenhead and Northampton, he went to Moorfields and became a consultant at Whipps Cross in 1973. In 1968 he had married Victoria Wright and they had three sons: Richard, Dominic and Edward who followed him into Medicine, practicing Psychiatry in London. Brian built a private practice in East London which became his full-time occupation for eight years after he retired from the NHS in 1994. He was elected to the newly formed Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 1989 as a Fellow. He travelled extensively, training junior doctors in Lagos, Nigeria and delivering conference papers in India and Australia. Brian was active in the Third Sector, as president of the Essex Blind Charity and a Board Member of Medact (a group of Physicians against the Arms Industry). In June 2019 he was left partly paralysed by a stroke and died 12th November 2021, survived by Vicky and his sons.

SIMON EDWARD BASIL MOSTYN (T64) died 26th November 2021, aged 74 was born in Tamworth, to Jute Tuzinkiewicz & Hermione Mostyn. After attending Ampleforth with his brothers Paul & Jan, a twin with Wanda, he lived on a barge in Chelsea. He had an all consuming passion for vintage cars from an early age. He built his own Austin 7 Special, which he drove around London at great speed. Alison was introduced to Simon, but only saw his overall clad legs, sticking from under a car he was mending. They married in 1973. He joined the Legal & General and trained as a chartered surveyor, specialising in Commercial property management. In 1985 he moved with his burgeoning family to The Kings Court, a medieval hall house in wild West Wales, where Henry VII held court, on his way to the battle of Bosworth. He worked as District Valuer in Carmarthen, often seen whizzing along the country roads on his favourite CZ motorbike, files strapped to the back. Always dapper in his pin stripe suit and colourful ties he was one of the most knowledgeable and well respected valuers in the country. Retired in 2013, they upped sticks to Wiltshire where Simon truly embraced his new found freedom. He loved birds, gardens, tinkering in his shed and volunteering with the ‘old codgers’ fixing things around the village. Simon was a shy, private person, a bit of an enigma, truly kind, who loved a joke. He leaves Alison, Polly, Sam, Fred, Megan, Harry, 11 grandchildren and Dinky his beloved ginger cat. A complete one-off who is much missed.

MICHAEL FESTING (C57) died 16 December, 2021 aged 82, was the elder brother of Fra’ Matthew Festing (C67), sons of Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing and served in the Rifle Brigade and was a Knight of Malta.

RICHARD COGHLAN (T60) died 21 December 2021 aged 79 went on to Sandhurst after heading St Thomas’s, serving in the Royal Engineers and then the 9th/12th Royal Lancers before becoming Headmaster of St Richard’s Prep School at Bredenbury Court, from where came many boys to Ampleforth.

Lt Col JOHN NICHOLAS LEONARD (B53) died 12th January 2022 aged 86 was born in Ireland and grew up on a farm outside Dublin with his sisters Margaret and Annette and 2 brothers Patrick (B51) and Peter (B57). At JH and then SHAC, he excelled both in the classroom and the field. He secured a place at Oxford to read Geography which he bitterly regretted having to give up as he was needed to help run the farm back home. When Peter his younger brother finally took over the farm, he headed off, via a short stint in London with Lloyds, to join the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the last remaining southern Irish regiment in the British Army. His military career with the regiment and then NATO took him and his family to Singapore, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Turkey. He was the first southern Irish officer to be given a command in Northern Ireland during the peak of the “Troubles” and was based in the city not in barracks. “Much later did he confess that an IRA safehouse had been found a few doors up from us and that he hadn’t told my mother that I had found a spent bullet case on the drive. The other postings were glorious. In the late 1970’s he drove the family from England to Izmir in Turkey and filled our lives with exploration and adventures, often with a fly rod in hand.” He retired to a village outside Andover in Hampshire where, as governor, he turned around a local school in special measures, he ran the parish council, trained hundreds of pony club children how to shoot straight and significantly improved his golf handicap. In his latter years he turned his hand to the gardening and it was on a crisp, bright, January afternoon as he was gardening, his heart decided to stop. A small prayer in his wallet seemed so appropriate: “The kiss of the sun for a pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, One is nearer God’s heart in the garden Than anywhere else on earth”. A countryman, a man of deep faith, and loving husband and father, he leaves behind his wife Mercedes and children Philip (C84), Joanna, Brigid, Juliana and 8 grandchildren.

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT (T64) died 17th January, 2022 aged 76 was the eldest of three sons of Commander Ted Wright, who taught maths in the school for many years. He excelled at cross-country, both at school and at St Andrews. After five years’ service in the Instructor Branch of the Royal Navy he set up as a solicitor in Northallerton with his younger brother, Simon (T74) (killed in a road accident in 1995 on his way to represent a client in Court) where they jointly ran a large and successful practice for many years. At Ampleforth Chris had been a keen member of the Beagles and when he moved near Catterick he joined the Catterick Beagles, and in due course he became Master of the Hunt for many years which he thoroughly enjoyed. He was a keen countryman and a regular visitor to north Yorkshire’s many race courses. He died with the Last Sacraments after three years in the Ripon British Legion care home with cancer.

JONATHAN FITZGERALD (E60) died 20th January 2022 aged 78 was born in Dublin, the younger brother of Anthony (T59) and, after Gilling and JH, left in his 3rd year in St Edward’s. He died in London after a lifetime of severe arthritis.

CHRISTOPHER GOODMAN (A80) died 4th February, 2022 aged 58 was born in 1963 to David (B50) and Helen Goodman who moved to Oswaldkirk in 1974 to build a house in the garden of Dick and Dorothy Goodman: Dick teaching Chemistry in the College for many years, being one of the first four laymasters. Chris went from JH to St Aidan’s and particularly enjoyed music: organ with Simon Wright and piano with Otto Greenfield. After school Christopher gained experience at Nicholson’s Organ Builders in Malvern before taking a Business Studies Course at York College. He then started his own business, teaching the piano, travelling round to local villages, later at home in Nunmill Street, York. He also played the organ for 25 years at St Oswald’s Church in Oswaldkirk and at St Clement’s in York. His collection of ‘Singing Together’ and ‘Music Workshop’ was added to the BBC Archives and he was interviewed about them on Radio 4. Christopher attended the local Gym especially enjoying Body Building. He lived in York for 25 years, slowly developing Parkinson’s Disease. He never complained and coped courageously with his illness. He then moved to Helmsley, near his parents, where he had wonderfully helpful neighbours. In the week in which he died unexpectedly of heart failure, aged 58, he enjoyed local shopping with his father, his own birthday party and joining in with his regular Scottish dancing in his parents’ home.

DR JAMES GERALD DANAHER (B43) died 13th February 2022 aged 97 Within an hour of being born on 7th October 1925 baby Gerry Danaher was being passed around the bar of the neighbouring golf club in Stockton-on-Tees. His proud father Dr Jim Danaher, the local GP, having a considerably jollier time than his proud mother, Nora, a diminutive 4’ 10” lady who’d just given birth to an 11lb baby. She survived, thankfully, though the marriage did not, and it was soon decided that Gerry would be raised by his father while Nora moved back to Tyneside with his 2 older sisters, Moira and Oonagh (who sadly succumbed to diabetes soon afterwards). At the outset of war in 1939 Gerry was evacuated to school in Dublin. After 18 months at Blackrock

College he finally persuaded his parents that he’d rather take his chances with Hitler, and was delighted to be brought back and enrolled at Ampleforth. Here he thrived for the rest of his school career, becoming captain of swimming and athletics, and subsequently heading off to study medicine at Trinity College, Oxford. After house jobs at St Thomas’ and Chesterfield Royal and two years in the RAMC, Gerry –devoutly Catholic at this stage, and attending Mass daily – was thinking about joining the Community at Mount St Bernard Abbey, but the need to care for his mother ruled this out. 10 years of locums in London, often with 100 hour weeks led to a decade of single handed general practice in Raynes Park before becoming a partner in Wimbledon. At the age of 48 he married Mary and had four children –“I feel like I’m on the Cresta Run” he said and set up his own practice in Leicestershire. They remained very happily married for 48 years full of teenagers, dogs, seaside holidays, grandchildren and all the rest, and Mary cared for him devotedly until the end. Anyone who knew Gerry knew that “population, population, population” was his thing. He had a lifelong interest in the causes of poverty, and in the 1960s it became clear to him, and many others, that the rapid redoubling of populations which was taking place in parts of Africa and the Middle East was not sustainable. He believed that the provision of effective family planning, to those who wish to avail of it, was as vital to the prosperity of developing countries as it is to our own. And that without it poverty, hunger, water shortages, conflict and the migration of millions of desperate people would be inevitable. In retirement Gerry was able to devote himself fully to the campaign for worldwide access to contraception. Gerry was an extraordinarily kind, humble and generous man who was loved by his patients and by all who knew him. His natural warmth, keen intellect and unfailing sense of humour made him wonderful company. His curiosity never dimmed. He could talk knowledgeably on almost any subject, from the First Council of Nicaea to Zambian demography, before breaking into old show tunes or laughing about the latest celebrity scandal. And even at 96 he was learning Shakespearean speeches, which were performed with great panache for visitors. He died on a Sunday. The gospel acclamation that morning was his favourite verse from his favourite reading - the one that he’d requested for his funeral: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” (Matthew 11:25). Gerry loved coincidences, and thought of them in the same way as Einstein - “when God winks”. He’d have especially loved that one.

aged 89 Born in Banstead, Surrey, John was the eldest of four brothers and a sister, who grew up across the road from the Catholic church which the family attended every Sunday. At six, he was sent to board at Gilling Castle, which must have felt a world away from home. But, once settled, he stayed at Ampleforth for the next 12 years, moving to St Oswald’s House, where he was followed by his brothers, Alan, Philip (Pip), and Bobby. He made lasting friends at school, including Dom Adrian Convery who was house master to the next generation of Vincents, beginning with John’s son, Peter. The Vincent boys were at school during the war years, spending holidays with relatives in Cornwall. John hated those holidays but he was happy at school, successful academically, good at sports and, eventually, head boy. The Vincent name made a fairly impressive indent on most of the school’s awards tables: John is rumoured still to hold the record for the 100-yard dash, though metrification may have helped him hang onto that accolade after 1970. He remained active in the OA Golfing Society, serving as secretary 2003-7 and always enjoyed coming back to North Yorkshire. John went up to Oxford, a little early as he had expected to do national service but was rejected on the rather prosaic grounds of flat feet. He went to New College as, later, did Pip and Bobby—Alan broke the mould by going to Cambridge—and read classics mods, but graduated in law. He then began work in the family accountancy practice, which he, and then Bobby, were the third generation to join. But times were changing and, in the late-1960s, the firm merged with Buzzacott and John left for a new career in commerce, joining the manufacturing firm, Trianco, as company accountant. Honesty and probity characterised his personal and professional life. He was always the kind of accountant who pays all his tax. Personally, John was much happier at Trianco but in the early 1970s the company was struggling. They saved the product rights, and what was left of the company relocated to Sheffield, where it is still manufacturing. But John was headhunted by a small family-run Danish firm and spent the rest of his working life as UK director of Hudevad radiators. Throughout this period, he had the support and companionship of his wife, Margaret (née Jervis). They had married in 1959, after being introduced by a mutual friend, Tom Fattorini (O50), and brought up their three children through the 1960s and 70s. As for many men of his generation, the assumption was that John would be the breadwinner and it was a responsibility that in many ways defined him. But he also had a talent for enjoying life, which came to the fore once he’d retired. For some men, leaving the world of work can be hard, but John and Margaret pursued many interests and hosted wonderful family holidays for a growing number of grandchildren. Family, friends, and faith were the centre of their life and they brought much joy. With Margaret, he created a stable and loving family home. He had a dry, even slightly sardonic, sense of humour and in company—which he loved—and with friends—whom he valued— he didn’t seek to dominate. In their long and happy marriage, he gave his wife and family room to grow and space to develop. He was a reliable source of practical help and advice, always stepping up in a crisis—though not always without some initial panic. He was understated but perceptive, much more likely to give a quiet, kind word than to grandstand. He thought through his actions and was always alive to possible consequences. He was careful and steady, and throughout his long and happy life he showed just how valuable and enriching these quiet and often unremarked values can be. As his brother Pip said, he was always a sensible chap.

(WILLIAM) PHILIP GRETTON (B65) died 5th March 2022 aged 74 was born to Peter and Judy Gretton in February 1948 in Devon, the third of four siblings. He attended Donhead Prep School, before coming to St Bede’s and gained an exhibition to Cambridge, where rowing and friends played a significant role. Philip trained as an accountant with Cooper Brothers and met Niccy Tollit, whom he married in 1974, before settling in Wappenham, Northamptonshire. A very happy period in Philip’s life, his sons Edward (94) and Tommy (O95) were born in 1976 and 1977, with Jessica arriving in 1981 following a move to Middle Bouts Farm, Worcestershire. He learnt to ride with Niccy, and hunted for more than 20 years with the North Cotswold Hunt, with which he was closely associated. Philip then started his own accountancy business in the late 90’s, serving a number of local businesses, working from home right through until his retirement. He served as a Worcestershire county councillor for more than 15 years, including 8 years as a Cabinet Member. Combining public service and politics was Philip’s absolute passion, never wavering from his ardent euro-sceptic position. Having diligently cared for her for many years, Philip lost Niccy in 2011. He himself was then sadly diagnosed with PSP, a situation he faced with stoicism and courage. Despite his very much reduced quality of life in the last 5 years in particular, he never lost his charming manner and continued to enjoy visits from friends, round-the-clock political commentary and seeing his six grandchildren growing up.

(AUGUSTINE JOHN) ROGER IVESON (O58) died 9th March 2022 aged 82 was a solicitor in the family partnership in Hull. One of his high profile cases was representing the prison officers involved in the 1976 riots at Hull prison. He later practised in Driffield in all branches of the law. He enjoyed representing the ordinary man and would always give up his time to anyone asking for help. He married Di in 1965 and had three children all of whom, like him, played rugby for Driffield. Roger had played rugby for Yorkshire and at one time was given only 24 hours to live after fracturing his skull but was playing again after six months. He was also a very successful rugby coach.

AIDAN WALKER (D76) died 11th March, 2022 aged 63 He was born in Corbridge, the youngest of 4 children. During his early years, the Walker family lived in Riding Mill, and it was during this period that Aidan first developed an interest and love of Cathedrals and buildings that later developed into his future direction and career in architecture. The Walker family moved to Leicester in 1966 and Aidan was sent to the Benedictine prep school at Alderwasley. In 1971, he followed the family tradition and went to Ampleforth. It was in St Dunstan’s that he made some of his longest and best friends. Father Dunstan was soon replaced as Housemaster by Father Leo. If the move from the Old School buildings to the then ultra-modern architecture of Nevill House influenced Aidan’s interest in architecture he hid it well. Instead, during this formative period, he took the opportunity to express the more rebellious and nefarious side of his sense of humour. Always careful to cover his tracks, he was involved in several ‘practical jokes’ normally at the expense of the increasingly exasperated Fr Leo. It was always suspected, but never proven, that he was involved in carrying the School Matron’s Mini to the top of the Big passage and painting Fr Leo’s Golf Wagon white to look like an ambulance with big red crosses. Aidan was always a keen walker, frequently going quite long distances across the local moors, to Kilburn, Oldstead, Scawton, Hawnby - basically anywhere with a pub that was off the beaten track. He was in the Sea Scouts under Frs Richard and Jeremy and spent much time sailing at the Lakes, as well as hill-walking and caving. He completed the 45-mile Lyke Wake Walk on the second attempt – on the first abortive attempt the group encountered 100 mph gales on top of Carlton Bank and witnessed the roof of the glider hangar being ripped off by the wind. He bagged his first Munros on expeditions in Scotland. Besides playing tennis he was the House Captain of Cross-Country and later received university colours. He read architecture at Bath, with an elective year in Johannesburg. On graduation, he joined Wallace Gilbert Wolstenholme and later moved to several other smaller architectural practices in London. Aidan then met and married Pippa, moving out of London to set up his own practice in Shropshire. He specialised in architectural work for educational establishments providing apprenticeships, and for charities that provided education for children who had been excluded from mainstream schools, or who had special needs. For this, he drew on his detailed knowledge of Churches, monuments and buildings developed over all these years. It also meant that wherever you were in the country, he would be the most well-informed and enthusiastic guide to travel with. He settled into family life in Much Wenlock with Pippa, and then Benedict and Harriet. This was the start of many intrepid adventures. As a family, they travelled the country and the world, often meeting family and friends on their travels and almost always doing some walking. Aidan’s love of walking continued to the end and he was about to embark on the Pennine Way. Aidan was always generous with his time. He was a kind-hearted and genuine friend to many and had a wonderful sense of fun. He was a huge contributor to his church and local community and a family man through and through. Poignantly, Aidan and Pippa were busy planning for the weddings of both Benedict and Harriet later this year when his life was suddenly cut short.

CHRIS McCANN (A69) 24th March, 2022 aged 71 was born and raised in Liverpool. He enjoyed time at Gilling and went on to be captain of Ampleforth at swimming and led St Aidan’s to winning the House rugby cup. In addition to this, he played flank for the 1st XV and earned a reputation for his fearless flying crash tackle. He was proud to have been the Drum Major in the CCF Band. However, Chris’ greatest memories from school were predominately centred around the people, both masters and contemporaries, many of whom remained close friends until his passing. After leaving school he moved down to the south coast where he fell in love with sailing and touring the countryside in his red MG. In the summer he would be on the water at every opportunity often ending the day with a barbeque surrounded by family and friends. It was in Bournemouth where he met his wife Mary and settled by the sea. He worked for the majority of his career as a building society manager but later moved to Scotland for 10 years with his family to work for his brother Peter (A58)’s clinic, Castle Craig Hospital, which he found greatly rewarding and where he was well loved. In his retirement he moved back to Bournemouth and took up playing the concertina so that he could take the sailor stereotype one step further and play his own sea shanties on the boat. Throughout his life Chris kept the values he learnt from the valley, such as the importance of family and community, close to his heart and was a true Gentleman. He will be remembered as a kind and generous man always ready to lend a hand or offer advice. Most of all though he will be remembered for his zest for life and love for everyone. He leaves behind his wife, Mary, and two children, Rosalie and Charles, who meant the world to him and who miss him greatly.

ANTHONY ERIC ANDRE FORD-JONES MB BS (J67) died 31March, 2022 aged 74 was born in Salisbury, and at Ampleforth, began a close friendship with Fr Alban Crossley while helping with the JH Scouts. After qualifying at Guy’s hospital he moved to Canada and specialized as a paediatrician in Ontario, where he married Lee Pearson and had two daughters, Carrie and Polly. Anthony made the most of life, constitutionally happy and believing that he could, by being happy, make the world a happier place. Forever humble, he met every person and situation assuming he could learn something. Contrary opinions made him curious and sparked his sense of fairness and he could always be counted on for considered thoughts. He loved music, and enjoyed playing his joyful button accordion as well as choral singing. He read widely, loved words and languages and immensely enjoyed photography. He found cooking with care, however simple, to be a great source of joy. There is nothing he would not try to fix in his workshop and while he believed in do-it-yourself, (and thrift), new technologies intrigued him. He advocated locally for children and youth in many ways. He rallied medical colleagues to declare an environmental emergency. In 2014 he received the Distinguished Community Paediatrician Award.

ROBERT MONTEITH (C70) died 3rd April 2022 aged 70 followed his father and uncles to Ampleforth where he spent his happiest days, making friends who remained steadfast throughout his life. After studying agriculture at Cirencester he undertook a variety of occupations, before settling at Cranley. Like previous generations of his family he was a devoted member of the Order of Malta, participating enthusiastically in its activities, including the provision of services to sick pilgrims at Lourdes, and he was deeply influenced by the Order’s spirituality.

DESMOND SEWARD (E54) died on 3rd April, 2022, aged 86, was born in Paris and went from Ampleforth to St Catherine’s College, Cambridge. He wrote extensively on medieval France and about the military religious orders on which he was considered an authority. He was fluent in French and read Italian, Latin, medieval English and Norman French. He was noted for conducting research on primary sources at relevant foreign locations, and wrote historically-oriented travel books. His work was translated into ten languages, including Hebrew and Japanese. Seward’s work was generally well received by critics as offering a balance of readability and modern scholarship. The Tablet, reviewing his book ‘The Dancing Sun: Journeys to the Miracle Shrines’ (1993), observed that Seward had approached the subject as a sceptic but was “honest about the fact that his journey is also in part a search for reassurance for his own faltering faith”.

TIM LEWIS (A61) died 14th May 2022 aged 79 was born in 1943 in Ipswich, started at Gilling in 1950. He forged a successful career with Coutts & Co, where he held managerial positions at branches in Lombard Street, Park Lane and Cavendish Square, before returning to head office, organising the Queen’s visit in 1978, and progressing to assistant company secretary. Retiring in 1996, he took up a full-time role with the Freemasons, of which he was a longstanding and senior member, having been particularly drawn to the Christian orders. He became Grand Secretary of Mark Masons Hall in St James’s, one of the most high profile positions in the organisation dealing with Masonic matters worldwide, including regular overseas visits often accompanying Prince Michael of Kent. In his spare time, Tim was an enthusiastic orchid grower, amassing a collection peaking at over a thousand plants. He was a longstanding member of the Orchid Society of Great Britain, holding the position of treasurer for several years, and contributing both his plants and his time to the society’s stand at the Chelsea Flower Show, which on more than one occasion won a gold medal.

aged 94. After Gilling he joined his older brother Hugh (E43) in St Edward’s and was eventually Head of House, Master of Hounds and played for the First XV. In 1946 he served with 10 anti-tank regiment in Dortmund, before a posting home and some very happy weeks clearing Butser Hill near Portsmouth of wartime ordinance. He trained as a doctor at St Thomas’s, going to Newfoundland as Medical Officer to the British Schools Exploring Society and to the Far East as Senior Surgeon of Orcades, involving a horrendous passage across the Red Sea on which four passengers died but also providing an opportunity in Gibraltar to commandeer a lifeboat to row across to say “hello” to his future wife, Jackie, a nursing sister on another Orient ship. They married in 1959 and together built up a general practice in Camberley. Jackie became Alan’s ‘secretary-nurse’ whilst bringing up their three children. Alan was a superb and dedicated clinician with a reputation for being a sharp diagnostician. Eventually the single-handed practice morphed into a much larger concern, working out of a purpose-built surgery and with a strong reputation for research and teaching. Alan had an extraordinary thirst for, and commitment to, knowledge. His enthusiasm for marathon running in the early 80’s led to an interest in exertional heat illness which was killing 2 to 3 soldiers every year and causing the collapse of many more. For 15 years Alan engaged in a single-handed battle with the army and Ministry of Defence. This ultimately led to a BBC programme “Dressed to Kill”, in which Alan appeared, and to his widely quoted paper in The Lancet in 2000. As a result of Alan’s disruption, the army changed training routines and battle dress worn, and many young lives were saved. Alan was awarded an MD in 1967 for his work in which he coined for the first time the phrase “patient adherence to treatment”. In 1980, not content with two post-graduate degrees, Alan undertook his third, a PhD in anthropology at University College London. His research took him to Africa and led to a thesis that he successfully defended eight years later. Alan’s faith was strongly held and very important to him. He greatly admired the Rule of St Benedict and in 1985 became a Benedictine oblate. He was deeply compassionate and, appalled by the suffering of farm animals, he and Jackie became vegetarians. Jackie’s death in 2009 was a huge blow, made worse by the distressing events around her final weeks. This experience led Alan to submit evidence to the independent enquiry into the use of the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP), which ultimately led to the phasing out of the LCP. Alan is survived by his three children, Mark (E80) and James (E84), a daughter and six grandchildren. Of his surviving relatives are other Old Amplefordians – his nephews William (D74) and Martin (D81), and his cousin Derek Clark’s (B31) sons.

JOHN FRANCIS HARWOOD STEPHENSON (W51) died 27 June 2022, aged 91, joined the Monastery after leaving school but later left the Community and spent most of his life working with the BBC. He had been on the Ampleforth expedition to Russia in the early 60s. In his latter years he joined his sister, Clare Johnston, on the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage. On one occasion, when a priest failed to show, his impromptu leading of the Stations of the Cross with a group of pilgrims moved them to tears.

CHARLES CAZALET (E53) died 29th June 2022 aged 87 had a long career with Shell and enjoyed living in Holland for several years where he made many lifelong friends. He spoke several languages and his proudest moment was when a Dutch colleague asked which part of the Netherlands he was from. He later taught some of them to his grandchildren and also in the University of the Third Age in Sydenham. He was a devoted record keeper and logged, filed and labelled everything from the fruit harvest of his garden to his extensive music collection. He adored his family and was kind and generous to all who enjoyed his hospitality.

DAVID CRAIG (H66) died 6th July 2022 aged 74 was born in York on 1st November 1947. His father Alfred, son of the chief clerk of HM Dockyard, Malta, was professor of surgery at the Royal University of Malta and the island’s senior surgeon. David’s mother Emily, née White, was a Yorkshirewoman and wartime nurse. David was educated at St Edward’s College in Malta before coming to Ampleforth. As a tall and fearsome fast bowler he set an unsurpassed record of five years in the 1st XI. On leaving school his only ambition was to be a rock guitarist (a dream which never left him) but his Maltese godfather, Marquis John Scicluna, arranged an internship with Credit Suisse in Zurich – including a stint in the airport branch observing “all sorts of dealings which seemed to me in contravention of all the bank’s rules”. He made his name in the Eurobond market for Hambros in the 1970s and then as deputy managing director – “the backbone” according to a colleague, – of the London operation of Morgan Guaranty in the early 1980s. In December 1983, with three colleagues and $25 million of institutional backing, he left to form his own niche firm, International Financial Markets Trading (IFM), investing in arbitrage opportunities across a range of securities markets. One such opportunity was the market’s mispricing by a wide margin of “Giscard bonds” – French government debt on which the return was tied to the price of gold. After IFM bought a large holding, the price moved up to parity with physical gold, netting Craig’s team a spectacular profit. But it was not always easy: as one of London’s first leveraged hedge funds, IFM was, in Craig’s words, “severely tossed around” in the crash of October 1987, teaching him what he called “Rule 101 for confronting losses: Get out, stop losing and live to fight another day.” His private investments included the online greetings card venture Moonpig and – reflecting his love of music – Operadio, a streaming service for opera buffs. In 1984 he married Sara Plummer, a general’s daughter and a banker herself. They lived for some years in the Hall at Oswaldkirk before moving to Terrington. Afflicted increasingly by Parkinson’s, he was often on the Lourdes pilgrimage. As the cruel disease advanced he did his best to maintain an active life: though he had to give up riding his Harley-Davidson, he could still shoot and swing golf clubs to surprisingly good effect. He held several school and monastery advisory roles and there are many family Ampleforth connections as evidenced at his funeral in the Abbey Church.

JOHN ROBERT JACQUEMOT WATSON (E50) died on 28th July, 2022 aged 89, was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. After Gilling and JH he went into St Edward’s House. Following his National Service, where he read Russian in the Joint Services School for Linguistics at Cambridge qualifying as a Russian Interpreter with the rank of Flight lieutenant RAF, he went up to Trinity College, Oxford where he read French, English Literature and Law. On coming down he initially joined the family firm of J H Burluraux in Newcastle before branching into Export Sales Management, mainly in Eastern Europe, the USSR and China. From 1986 to 1993 he and his wife, Joan, lived mainly in France where he took over an existing French company in the leisure field before setting up a completely new company – Yachting Mediterranée, which looked after vessels belonging to an international clientele of some thirty owners running a boat charter operation.

MARK GIROUARD (C49) died 16th August, 2022 aged 90 was born at his family’s home on Upper Berkeley Street, Mayfair, the son of Blanche (née Beresford), a novelist and the eldest daughter of the sixth Marquess of Waterford, and her husband, Richard Girouard, a stockbroker. His mother died in a car crash when he was eight, during his first term boarding at Avisford preparatory school and he was not allowed to attend the funeral. With his father in the army his first experiences of country houses came through holidays spent in Britain and Ireland, at establishments including Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, with his great-aunt the Duchess of Devonshire. At Ampleforth, where he was known as Coconut on account of his sparse brown hair, he enjoyed exploring buildings such as Rievaulx and Castle Howard. He did his National Service in Africa where he manged to stab himself while unfixing a bayonet. He read Greats at Oxford, sharing digs with Thomas Pakenham (E51). From 1958 to 1966 Girouard worked as a staff writer at Country Life, which gave him the opportunity to “get paid for the highly enjoyable work of digging and delving, and with luck finding neglected rolls of architectural drawings under country house billiard tables, or boxes of mildewed building accounts in their attics”. He would normally be put up as a guest by the owners, so when the Earl of Carnarvon at Highclere Castle, Hampshire, made him eat alone, separately from both servants and nobility, he was wryly put out. While at Country Life he wrote The Victorian Country House (1971), which looked at the plumbing as well as the exterior of the houses. This was followed in 1978 by Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History, which sold more than 140,000 copies in hardback. He was a founder member of the Victorian Society and refused to vote Conservative ever again when the Euston Arch was demolished. He was a distinguished squatter: occupying two condemned 18th century houses to prevent their demolition, giving dinner parties during his seven week occupancy. Later, while he was training as an architect, he met and married Dorothy Dorf, who designed some of his books. They had a daughter, Blanche, but eventually separated. His final work was A Biographical Dictionary of English Architecture 1540-1640 (2021) which was very well reviewed. Free of pomposity, puckish, self-effacing and urbane, he was much loved by all sorts of people for his kindness and sense of fun.

JAMES PEEL (B82) died 24 July, 2022 aged 58 was born in London in February 1964 and spent his early years in Hampshire where he started prep school at Sunningdale School, then run by the cricket-mad Dawson twins. Ampleforth followed, joining his brother Robert (O79). Here began his great love for rugby, shooting and CCF. He and an Ampleforth pal opted to spend their “Year Out” on an Israeli kibbutz, a new thing at the time, during which they somehow managed to notch up a night in jail for climbing the Sphinx. Then to London to work for a spell with Barclays in Cockspur

Street. James married Belinda (Billie) Smith in 1987. About this time he became a very active member of the Honourable Artillery Company clocking many happy years – and injuries – with them. Moving north and working in Leeds in recruitment gave James the opportunity to play rugby union. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and work took him to Birmingham, working first for Veolia and finally for the French firm, Vinci, in facilities management. He was with that firm when he died. James’ life revolved around his friends, family, cricket, rugby, shooting, dogs, Formula One, and being on the farm, helping his mother with the sheep. In 2021 he married Mike Monticello, his partner of 19 years, who nursed him through his ghastly, fatal illness from cancer.

CHRISTOPHER HOPKINS (A45) died 12th August 2022 aged 92. During medical school he bought a 1925 Rolls Royce for £39 with John Bunting (W44) and John Odoni (B44) and went on pilgrimage to Lourdes, Compostella and Fatima, eventually being put up in the English seminary in Lisbon. As a keen sailor he crewed in RORC races and helped deliver yachts to Gibraltar or Norway. After two years in the RAMC he went into General Practice in Southwold. See also Bernard Bunting’s review of his book Recollections of a Southwold GP in this issue.

GUY NEELY (E50) died 28th August 2022 aged 90 spent six months at Gilling as a Day Boy in 1940/41, with fees of £10 a term, before returning to St Edward’s House in 1945. He read History at Christ Church, Oxford and, after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and National Service spent forty years in the City, including time as Finance Director of Glaxo and National Bus and as Treasurer of the Mercers Company. In retirement he worked with Charities and his local community and was a Special Minister of the Eucharist from 1987. When asked by his wife, Anne Cave, and their children, on their Diamond wedding, how he would like to be remembered, he quoted Belloc. “There is nothing in this world worth having save laughter and the love of friends.”

JOHN LOVEGROVE, MB BS, FRCS (J64) Died 31st August 2022 aged 76, was born in Brighton to Sam and Elizabeth Lovegrove, the second of five brothers to be educated at Ampleforth. From Wellbury prep school he went on to Ampleforth in 1959 where, amongst many contributions, he played hooker for the First XV and was a keen member of the Rovers, visiting the Cheshire Home at Alne. He was by nature unassertive, quietly thoughtful, kind, caring and conscientious and from an early age wanted to be a doctor so went on to study medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He was very artistic and as a junior doctor made a life size plywood ‘cut-out’ of an intimidating hospital matron with a cat o’ nine tails in one hand and a poor fearful junior doctor peering nervously out of her top pocket. In those days matron’s rule was paramount! He gained FRCS at the young age of twenty-eight. To widen his technical expertise, John spent ten years serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps, rising to the rank of Colonel. He was awarded a Mention in Dispatches in recognition of his “gallant and distinguished service” during two tours in Northern Ireland and he received a Montefiore Prize for being judged the best army surgeon in that year. John married Julie, a physiotherapist, with whom he enjoyed an adventurous life in Germany, Cyprus, Nepal and Hong Kong, together with their two sons, David and Nicholas. He was passionate about raising awareness of, and treating, bowel cancer. He ran 35 marathons in a T-shirt which proclaimed “JUMBO – walking, running, crawling to fight bowel cancer”. His nephew Simon, (E85), recalls:

“He was an outstanding surgeon whom I was lucky enough to witness in action during my pre-medical school ‘work experience’ in Nepal. Methodical, calm, and totally committed to doing his level best, he performed many operations in the Gurkha military hospital in Dharan. Despite having fairly primitive surgical instruments by today’s standards, he was flexible and innovative in approach and almost always had really good clinical outcomes. He was the ultimate general surgeon. He seemed very comfortable with all manner of operations including obstetrics, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, paediatrics and even complex respiratory procedures. However, what really struck me was John’s ability to listen carefully to patients. In this respect he was an excellent physician; few surgeons have this natural gift. A human being doing his best, in difficult circumstances and with limited resources, for a fellow human. Six years later I headed to Dewsbury District Hospital, with a car full of anxious medical students whose Final Exams were imminent, to seek John’s guidance and reassurance. He put us up in the mess where, having re-joined the NHS, he was living in temporary accommodation at the time. For two full days he drilled us on all manner of surgical scenarios until the early hours and woke us with a cup of tea to join him on his 7.30am ward round. As we drove back down the M1 all five of us medics breathed a sigh of relief knowing we had the surgical long and short cases and viva voce in the bag. The RAMC and the NHS were lucky to have him, and so were we. John’s increasingly obsessive dedication to his work adversely impacted his ability to live a balanced family life. He and his family became evermore challenged by a resultant decline in his mental health. He died with his sons by his side and is greatly missed by his whole family. John was brother to Edwin (J61), David (J70), Simon (J73) and Richard (E80), uncle to Dr Simon Lovegrove (E85), James Lovegrove (E93), and great uncle to Charles Brett (O21), Sam Lovegrove (DO 22), Emil Lovegrove (DO), and Louisa and Emily Brett (St Margaret’s).

FRANCIS WILLIAM GIBSON CAZALET (E56) died 6 September 2021 aged 83 spent his early childhood during the war in Cairo until, with his mother and brother, Charles (C53) were evacuated to South Africa, where they stayed with cousins on their farm in the Transvaal until returning to Egypt in 1944. At Ampleforth he made friends easily and read history and rowed at Corpus Christi, Oxford, after National Service with the Royal Fusiliers in the Persian Gulf. After a few years working in the paper industry and marrying Rosemary, who lived next door to his shared flat in Fulham, and by now aged 30 and father to a baby boy, he took the bold decision to take a pay cut and move into teaching. Former pupils and colleagues have described Francis as an inspirational teacher whose unorthodox approach successfully combined authority with a sense of fun and a store of witty anecdotes. His final appointment, as head of history, was at Tonbridge School in Kent where he coached rowing, took an active part in the CCF in the rank of Captain and also looked after Catholic boys, taking them to church where he was a reader and Eucharistic Minister. He took early retirement in 1993 to pursue a new career as a one-on-one English language tutor for European industrialists, military officers and other professionals, as well as continuing his genealogical research into the Cazalet family. This involved first-hand investigation of their French Huguenot (Protestant) origins in the ruggedly beautiful Cévennes mountains, as well as their travels around Europe and the world, including almost 150 years as British expat merchants in Tsarist Russia. He was respected for his strong and deep faith and was instrumental in the conversion to Catholicism of one who later became a priest.

FR WALTER BEALE (JH52) died 6th September 2022 aged 83, was the youngest of four sons of Roy and Isabelle (née Adamson) Beale who came to Ampleforth. However he left JH when his family emigrated from their home at Glenforsa, Isle of Mull (where several Ampleforth monks often spent their holidays) to farm in what was then Southern Rhodesia. After school at the Jesuit St George’s College he trained with Brendan Conway (later an Oblate of the Ampleforth monastery of Christ the Word) for the priesthood: they were the first white men to be ordained as diocesan priests in the country. He served as a Chaplain to the Rhodesian army in the war of independence, piloting his own light aircraft to different parts of the country, crashing the aircraft more than once. After independence he returned to England to serve in several parishes in the Diocese of Portsmouth. He took a catechetical course in Louvain and for a time was attached to an Apostolic Congregation in France. As his health deteriorated he lived for some time with his nephew William Beale in Cheddar where an oxygen line was rigged in the local church enabling him to celebrate Mass regularly. He moved briefly to a nursing home in Burnham on Sea and died in hospital in Weston Super Mare. His funeral was in Portsmouth Cathedral, concelebrated by the Bishop and many priests of the diocese and his cousin Richard ffield OSB.

JOHN BOWES-LYON (E60) died 18th September 2022 aged 80 arrived at Ampleforth in 1955 from his prep school at Avisford in Sussex, which was still regaining its feet following evacuation to Ampleforth during the war. John, while not excelling in sums or languages, nevertheless showed aptitude for history and the arts and whereas he was never to impress the examiner with the highest grades, he found that both schools were happy to encourage his interests. His housemaster at that time, Fr Jerome Lambert, was characterised by his uniquely individual style of running a house to the benefit of those fortunate enough to be its members. On one occasion John’s cousin, Andrew Parker Bowles, who was Head of House at that time was asked to check reports of boys smoking while taking a bath. From behind John’s bathroom door a large curl of Havana smoke was seen rising to the ceiling, but subsequent admonishment was not seen to be as important as the confiscation of the remaining Romeo and Juliettas. On leaving Ampleforth John joined the art auctioneers Christie’s where he flourished and quickly established a reputation for engaging new clients, but this was interrupted by his Godfather, Lord Derby, who persuaded him to join the newly formed TWW or Television Wales and the West. He found himself unsuited to media life so he returned to the world of the art auction, this time with Sotheby’s. Here he was able to confirm what was of real interest to him and rose to working in the Chairman’s office and becoming a director. These were the growth days of interest in fine art and opportunities presented themselves in frequent succession through the 1970’s so that when the late Michael Tree suggested a partnership for a new company called Mirador Fine Art, John joined him with alacrity and the two of them positioned themselves in suitably grandiose but customer friendly premises in St James’s Street. Subsequently John worked in Manhattan where his voluminous address and contact book was enlarged even further. John became a Knight of Malta in the 1980’s but, being a great friend of Matthew Festing (C67), he felt unable to continue in its work after Matthew resigned as Grand Master. His wide circle of friends from all over the world were saddened when in 2018 John suffered a major stroke at his flat at The Albany in London which left him without speech, though he remained cheerful in his Amesbury Abbey nursing home until he died, surrounded by his brother David (E65) and sister Fiona’s families.