59
OMNIA
Issue 05 Spring/Summer 2019
THE REV’D CANON PETER CLIVE EDWARDS (TEACHER 1976 – 1983)
Peter Edwards taught at Caterham School between 1976 and 1983. He was an extremely active member of staff as an English teacher, the first Head of General Studies which he successfully established in the Sixth Form Curriculum, and Assistant Headmaster of Lewisham. Outside the classroom, he was fondly remembered for his imagination and enthusiasm in the drama department producing many school plays and revues in his time at Caterham. In 1983 he began ordination training at St Stephen’s House and was ordained deacon in 1985 and priest in 1986 in the Diocese of Southwark. Peter served his title at St Augustine’s, Lee in Grove Park before moving to Christ the King, Salfords where he was vicar from 1990 – 1997. In 1997 he moved to St Mary’s, Newington before moving to Spain in 2003. After a short sabbatical rest, he took up a post in 2004 as chaplain in the team in the Parish of the Holy Spirit, Costa Blanca, and became senior chaplain in 2009. In 2012 Peter was made a canon of Gibraltar Cathedral. He retired in 2015. The chaplaincy team writes: “Under his proficient pastoral oversight as Senior Chaplain he nurtured a warm, open, accommodating and gently Catholic expression of Church life across the eight congregations of the chaplaincy. With this he combined gifts of meticulous pastoral care, a sense of humour and a confident, no nonsense approach to Church life. He was warmly accepted and appreciated as a colleague by the local Roman Catholic clergy and did much to deepen ecumenical relations in Costa Blanca.” Peter had many
friends around the world and will be remembered both as a caring and loving person who sought out the vulnerable and weak, and also as a strong-minded person who was a great advocate for catholic teaching and order. He was committed to bringing people to a personal faith in Christ and was the Spiritual Director of Southwark Anglican Cursillo from 2000 – 2004 and was equally committed to the ordination of women to the priesthood, being involved in the early 90’s with the founding of the Society of Catholic Priests. He will be remembered by his friends and family as a loyal friend, an entertaining colleague and a faithful priest of many years. His embrace of modern technology did not dissuade him from regular hour-long telephone calls during which he was able to recount stories and happenings in the most entertaining and sometimes extraordinarily detailed way – he was a master of the English language and a great storyteller. Peter was much loved by his stepmother Shirley, with whom he had an easy, happy and companionable relationship and his cousin Mary and his nephews and nieces and his life-partner Ian with whom he lived in Spain. Peter died on Friday 4th May 2018 aged 68. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. ■ This obituary incorporates the announcement featured in The Telegraph.
IN MEMORIAM David Bennett (OC 1968 – 1974) Tim Healy (OC 1977 – 1984) Malcolm Naysmith (OC 1948 – 1955) Ronald Saltmarsh (OC 1943 – 1948)
DAVID OWENS (OC 1942 – 1948)
David Owens 29th November 1930 – 20th October 2018 David recalled happy memories of school particularly a day in early June 1944 when the Harestone Valley Road was filled with American vehicles waiting to cross the channel for D-Day when he gratefully received some drinking chocolate powder from a generous American soldier. Chocolate was rationed then so it was something which always stuck in his mind! Interested in radio at school he made a one valve receiver and after national service with the RAF, he joined the BBC. With the advent of commercial television he joined Southern Television in Southampton as a Sound Supervisor in their outside broadcast department and then continued with TVS television retiring in 1990. One special moment of retirement was crossing the English Channel in his 10 foot long speedboat Apollo arriving into Calais harbour waving an orange duster shouting ‘nothing to declare’. He was an active member of The Hovercraft Museum in Lee On The Solent, the local Scout group and the Gosport United Reformed Church. His funeral was well attended with over 200 people and the wake was held at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport. This photo was taken at the museum during the wake featuring the submarine Alliance with David’s speedboat in the foreground. ■