In Memoriam

Our tributes to ORs and friends whose deaths we have sadly learned about this year.

Anne Wills (née Porter) Former Matron

To February 2017 This tribute has kindly been written by Maureen Savage who knew Anne when at Reed’s. She writes:

I heard from Rodney Wills last Christmas that his wife Anne had passed away on 1st February 2017. Anne was appointed by the then Headmaster, Mr Drayson, in 1958 as the School House Keeper, responsible for catering and the hiring of Matrons. Mr Exton commented at Speech Day in 1966 that Anne was leaving after eight years at the School, in which time she had given invaluable service.

However, she was leaving for the best of all reasons: she was engaged to be married to Mr Rodney Wills, who taught Mathematics from 1960 at Reed’s and became my late husband, John Savage’s Assistant Housemaster at the Close. Rodney and Anne married in August 1966 and settled in Upper Poppleton, near York.

Anne gave birth to a daughter, Barbara in 1969 and Rodney joined the staff of Bootham School, York, until his retirement. Sadly Anne’s health declined; she was cared for at home, unable to walk for some time and finally entered a nursing home, where she celebrated her 90th birthday and their golden wedding anniversary. Rodney is now in a retirement apartment at Easingwold, near to his daughter and her husband’s home.

Brian Coveney (1953)

May 1938 to May 2017 This is an extract from the eulogy given at Brian’s funeral, reproduced with kind permission of his daughter, Joanne Coveney.

Brian was born on 28th May 1938 in Kingston-upon-Thames; he passed away suddenly four days before his 79th birthday. His father died from injuries in the war when Brian was two years old, hence him attending Reed’s School, leaving in 1953 aged 15.

In 1954, Brian joined the Navy and stayed until 1962. During this time, he served on HMS Mercury, HMS Wilkieston and HMS Protector as well as mine sweepers. One of his tasks was to sail to the Falklands and return with a breeding pair of penguins! They sailed into England down the Thames and delivered them to London Zoo.

He left the Navy in 1962 and joined the police force. He also trained to become a football referee and spent many weekends refereeing local games. During this time, he met his future wife to be, Jane, and they married in 1968.

Brian left the police force and moved with his wife and two daughters to Wall Heath near Wolverhampton in 1971. He worked in sales for over 25 years, retiring in the late 1990s.

He lovingly nursed his wife Jane, through her determined fight against cancer, only to lose her in February 1992, which left him understandably heartbroken.

In 2006, he bought a villa in Spain where he lived for five years, obtaining dual citizenship in the hope that the warmer climate would help with his aches and pains. He returned from Spain to Wall Heath in 2011 to spend more time with his daughters, son-in laws and two grandchildren. He was a fun-loving, adventure-seeking man with whom you always knew where you stood. No mincing his words. Very organised, very articulate, and always gave 100% even down to how to load the dishwasher properly.

Nobody (including himself) realised his time was being called to an end, making it a massive shock to family and friends, but we take solace from the fact that he is now free from pain and reunited with his ever-loving wife Jane.

Clifford ‘Cliff’ Dennis Evans (1945)

April 1930 to September 2017 This tribute has been kindly written by Janice Folley and Alyson Rainey, daughters of Clifford. They write:

After a long battle with dementia, Cliff sadly died on 18th September last year aged 87. His last few years were spent at a wonderful care home in Hatch End, where staff and residents loved him and made his time there as much like home as possible.

Cliff was born in April 1930, in Finchley, to Lily Rose Caroline Evans, and Edgar Wallace Grenfell Evans. Cliff never knew his father as Edgar died of tuberculosis in October 1931, leaving Lily to bring up their only son alone – no easy feat in the 1930s and 40s!

Cliff spent his time at Reed’s School in the 1940s. He spent some of the war years in Totnes and Paignton where he was evacuated with his mother. He married in 1962 and became father to two girls, Janice and Alyson. His wife, Barbara, passed away in 2002 just before their 40th wedding anniversary.

During his adult life, Cliff qualified as a physicist from one of the London universities. Cliff worked as a computer researcher and spent most of his working life at Kodak in Harrow (over 40 years!). After his official retirement, he continued to work as a lecturer at the University of Westminster and became an honorary professor!

He had many varied hobbies – Morris dancing, accordion playing, attending concerts, travel and photography to name but a few. He was passionate about opera and always said his trips to Glyndebourne every year were just as good as any holiday. He was a member there for nearly 70 years, and we managed to ensure he carried on going until the year before his death.

Cliff was a committed Christian and was always at the heart of church. His ashes have been scattered in his beloved church in Pinner.

John Priestley (Mullens 1944)

January 1929 to October 2017 This tribute has been kindly written by Sheila Priestley, loving wife of John:

All the world’s a stage And all the men and women merely players They have their exits and their entrances And each man in his time plays many parts William Shakespeare

That was John – a man of many parts, and all of them good.

John was at Reed’s School from 1937 to 1944 and seemed to have enjoyed his time when evacuated to Totnes during the War. He stayed in touch with some of the friends he made and they had several reunions. On leaving Reed’s, he went home to Kent and finished his education at Maidstone Grammar School for Boys where he attained his School Certificate.

He did not go on to further education at that point but followed the example of his stepfather and opted for farming, with a view to going to Wye College in Kent. At that time, college places were reserved for men returning from the armed forces, so John opted for National Service and spent two years as an Army Officer on the Berlin Airlift. On leaving the Army, he was accepted at Cirencester Agricultural College where he gained a National Diploma in Agriculture. He returned to Kent but, instead of pursing a farming career, he bought a small brickworks where he made handmade bricks and tiles from clay dug from land owned by Sissinghurst Castle. At the same time, he worked for the Hops Marketing Board.

Success naturally brought about changes to his business and it was taken

over by a larger company. John stayed allied to the building trade until he retired at the age of 55. This did not last long as he turned his hobby of stamp and postal history collecting into lucrative employment when he became a partner in a collectibles shop. Here he stayed until he could no longer cope with the car journey.

In his spare time, he worked hard for any community of which he was part. In Staplehurst, he organised fêtes and other fundraising efforts; was treasurer to the Parochial Church Council and a member of the Parish Council. In Hawkhurst, he became active in the Rotary Club and even more so when living in Winchelsea. While there, using his knowledge of postal history, he contrived and headed a mammoth fundraising initiative whereby two long distance equestriennes rode from Rye to London to deliver Rye Bay fish to HM The Queen, thus emulating the Ripiers (carriers) in the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth. This raised funds for the regeneration of the Rye Memorial Hospital which was his main concern and for which he worked hard, serving as Chairman of the League of Friends for twenty years, until he ended his days in their care.

John was essentially a family man. He married his wife Sheila in 1958 and they had almost 60 years together. A daughter, Jill, and a son, Tim, later gave them four lovely grandchildren: Verity, Harriet, Helena and Jack. He adored them and they adored their ‘Pop-Pop’. Truly a man of many parts.

Nick Wadley (Mullens 1952)

April 1935 to November 2017 This is an extract from an obituary which appeared in the Guardian on 29th November 2017, written by Nick’s wife, Jasia Reichardt: Nick was aged 82 when he died. He was an art historian and artist or, as he would prefer to say when he was asked what he did, he wrote and drew.

Nick was born in Elstree, Hertfordshire, the youngest of four children of Kitty, an administrator at the Bank of England, and Wilfred Wadley, an accountant for the RAF. He went to Reed’s School in Cobham and graduated in fine art at Kingston School of Art and in art history at the Courtauld Institute in London.

From 1962 Nick taught at Chelsea School of Art and in 1970 became head of art history. He took early retirement in 1985, although he continued to give lectures. His books included The Drawings of Van Gogh (1969), Cubism (1972), Cézanne and His Art (1975), Noa Noa, Gauguins’ Tahiti (1985), Impressionist & Post-Impressionist Drawing (1991) and The Drawings of Franciszka Themerson (1991).

Nick curated a number of exhibitions and his own drawings were shown in exhibitions in London, Warsaw, Italy and Japan. (Note from Editor: we were also lucky enough to have three pieces of Nick’s work exhibited at the Menier Gallery during the School’s Bicentenary celebrations.) He contributed essays to exhibition catalogues, books and journals. Between 1996 and 2001, he made punning cartoons in collaboration with Sylvia Libedinsky, which were published in the Daily Telegraph and Financial Times. He illustrated books by John Ashbery, UA Fanthorpe, Lisa Jardine, Madeleine Renouard, Robert Walser and Tom Whalen.

Drawing increasingly became more important. There were drawings of paradoxical situations: funny and worrying simultaneously. These found their way into his own books, as well as onto postcards in which, with considerable frequency, the author became visible in the drawn line.

Often the meaning of the words that

appeared with the drawings was replaced with something unanticipated, as if words could have another dimension. One of Nick’s colleagues once talked of ‘his lovely sense of humour, floating gently between innocence and irony’.

Nick is survived by me, and by Caroline and Chris, his children from his first marriage, and six grandchildren, Ben, Auberon, Bix, Millie, Ben and Matthew.

Hylke van Slooten (Bristowe 2005)

May 1987 to November 2017 This is an extract from the tribute by Ben Edwards, Director of Sport, at Hylke’s memorial service held at Reed’s on 3rd May 2018:

As a teacher you come into contact with so many people but few leave their mark on you in the way that Hylke did.

‘Bob’, as he was affectionately known, became a pioneer within Reed’s hockey and, without him knowing it at the time, he helped lay the foundations for the programme that we now have at the School. To make your debut in the 1st XI, on arguably the strongest school circuit in the country, as a 13-year-old whilst still in The Close and living in a foreign country, marks you out as a special individual, let alone being one of the best players on the pitch.

Hylke acquired the name ‘Bob’ on his debut. En route to Cranleigh in 2001, the likes of Julian Doyle, Jack Coleman, Tim Parminter, Ali Hamilton and Ramsey Conyers, in the Upper Sixth, asked this shy-looking boy his name to which he replied, in a thick Dutch accent, Hylke. They didn’t quite catch what he said and so the process repeated itself until, after the fourth time, Julian said, “We’ll just call you Bob” and so it stuck. For the next six years, he was simply Bob, and what a player Bob was.

The character, humbleness and maturity he showed were well beyond his years and he was an inspiration to those who played with him. Despite being several years younger, his leadership qualities stood out and he displayed tenacity in abundance. Team mates, opponents and definitely umpires knew he was on the field. However, this drive to compete and to challenge himself and his team mates (as well as the umpires) was always hidden behind a huge smile, but even that smile didn’t fully mask his single-minded determination to succeed.

As Hylke continued to progress through the ranks, the natural representative selections occurred and he started playing for Surrey and then South West. He was selected for England trials and got through three subsequent rounds of trials before being selected for England U16s on the grounds that he gained an English passport. His first tournament with England U16s saw him head to Berlin for a four-nation event and, in what must have been a bitter-sweet moment, saw him as part of an England side that defeated Holland.

We were all so proud of his success and his England selection; his achievements in the game see him stand out in the pantheon of Reed’s greats. Hylke made 85 1st XI appearances for Reed’s and, alongside co-captain, Simon Cole, the team only lost one game.

Last November, I was honoured to be present at a very moving but inspiring

tribute to Hylke’s life at his funeral where, even as non-Dutch speaker, you could pick out the esteem in which Hylke was held amongst the Dutch hockey fraternity, having played for Holland and their premier league for years. On my return, I addressed the Reed’s 1st XI and spoke about Hylke’s school career and how he was a pioneer of the success that they were now enjoying. He was the first Reed’s player to represent England at Hockey; since then a further 10 pupils have gone on to do so, following the path he blazed. In this day and age everybody has or loves a # and so there was only one that was applicable for this year: the 1st XI adopted the #BOB to inspire them. Ironically, they had a great season, matching the achievement of the side Hylke captained, only losing the one game to an impressive Whitgift side in the national quarter-final.

Hylke should rightly be regarded as arguably Reed’s greatest player and I hope he continues to look down on us and enjoy what he sees. Thank you for the memories Bob, you’ll never be forgotten.

Please read about the special bursary fund that has been set up by Dirk & Marieke, Hylke’s parents, in his memory. (see Foundation section).

Paul Syms (Blathwayt 1980) March 1962 to December 2017

We are saddened to report the death of Paul at the end of last year, and send our sincerest condolences to all his family.

Derek Weston (Capel 1945)

June 1929 to December 2017 This is an extract from the eulogy given at Derek’s funeral which was held on 22nd December 2017, reproduced with kind permission of his widow, Eileen and family:

Derek was born in Highbury, north London, on 9th March 1929. After his father died when Derek was nine, he went to Reed’s in Watford as a Foundation scholar. Two terms later, the School was evacuated to Totnes where they took over the Seymour Hotel on the banks of the River Dart.

Derek enjoyed his years there very much and most of us have heard the many hilarious stories of their escapades that he loved to tell time and time again.

After an extended period of National Service in the RAF, Derek started a career in the Civil Service at the Ministry of Health. Marriage to Eileen followed in 1955 and, after moving to Lindfield in 1961, their children, Rosemary and Christopher, arrived in quick succession.

On retiring, Derek and Eileen moved to Alfriston where they spent nearly 30 years of happy retirement. They enjoyed walking on the Downs, travelling and gardening. Best of all Derek loved being a grandad to Eleanor, Lara, Amy and Howard.

Looking back, Eileen cannot believe how much fun they have had. There have been so happy moments and continued laughter with their many friends, both at home and abroad, and of course the family. It has been a wonderful 62 years that Eileen and Derek shared together. This is short tribute from life-long friend and fellow OR, Ron Sheppard (Capel 1945):

As one of the dwindling numbers of ORs who went to Watford and Totnes, I was very saddened on hearing about Derek’s death. We were at the School during the War years and continued to be close friends afterwards; indeed, I was his best man at his marriage to Eileen. We enjoyed holidays on the Norfolk Broads, sometimes with other contemporary ORs, and kept in touch throughout our lives, meeting up on various occasions as well as at OR Reunion days. I know that Derek, like myself, had a sense of gratitude to Reed’s for the care and quality of education we received, despite the lack of facilities and limitations in that period of time.

Peter Fairnington (1945)

January 1929 to January 2018 David Coleman, nephew of Peter, informed us that sadly his uncle had passed away. He writes:

Peter passed away quietly on 7th January 2018 at The General Hospital in Westonsuper-Mare. He was born Peter Fairnington Brown on the 30th January 1929 in South Shields, Durham, but changed his name to Peter Fairnington in 1979 (which is why he was known as P.F. Brown at School).

Peter’s father, Leslie, had been in the Navy & Royal Flying Corp in the First World War. He then became a signaller on commercial liners and latterly worked for the BBC moving his family to Leeds in 1937. It was here that Leslie became ill and died of pneumonia on 5th January 1938; Peter was nine years old. Peter, with his mother and sister, moved back to Shooters Avenue and, with help from the BBC and the Reed’s Foundation, he and my mother Nina were sent to the London Orphan School in Watford, renamed Reed’s in 1939. While at Reed’s, Peter was evacuated to Totnes in Devon during the Second World War, which might explain his move to Weston-super-Mare in the late 1970s. On leaving Reed’s, he became a draughtsman, and worked in various engineering companies. In or around 1946, Peter became a vegan, which must have been quite challenging at that time. I have various letters from companies he worked for informing him of the canteen menus. I know when I used to visit him and my grandmother, meal times were full of questions by me. He remained a vegan his entire life. He was a very keen amateur radio operator and had many friends around the world. This interest must have been passed on to him by his father, but he also had interests in spiritualism, phrenology, palm reading and astronomy.

He became interested in the secondhand book trade and opened his first bookshop in Kenton, Harrow. Then, in the early 1980s, he opened the Manna Bookshop in Weston-super-Mare where he continued to work right to his death. A very popular person in the local area, his funeral was well attended.

He had great memories of his time at Reed’s School and kept with him the Bible, Book of Common Prayer, Book of A & M Hymns and Communion Book, which he was given when he left School. In his Will, he requested that these should be returned to School.

Clarice Richards (née Marsh) (Dogmersfield 1945)

March 1927 to January 2018

We were kindly informed by Carolyn Richards, daughter of Clarice, that sadly she passed away on 7th January 2018. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

Anne Jones (née Collinson) (Dogmersfield 1952)

May 1937 to March 2018

We were kindly informed by Jeanne Humphrey (Dogmersfield 1951), sister of Anne, that sadly her sister passed away on 30th March 2018. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

Lawrence Couling De La Rosa (Capel 2015)

September 1996 to January 2018 This tribute has been kindly written by Marcus, brother of Lawrence, who knew him like no other. He writes: Lawrence Couling De La Rosa is a hero, a natural leader and the best brother I could have ever asked for. He was one of the strongest individuals I have ever met in my life. These are only a few words of many to describe my brother. His presence was known and felt everywhere he went and by everyone who met him. He was a man of many talents: from being the toughest rugby player on the pitch to a fantastic singer to his incredible talent as an artist. Even as a toddler, I always looked up to my older brother. He set a great example to me and I always wanted to follow in his footsteps. He was my inspiration, my mentor and most importantly, he was my best friend. Out of us Couling brothers I was definitely Robin to his Batman. Through hard times and good times he would always look out for me. That was the type of person he was. I’ll never forget his amazing laugh and he had a wonderful sense of humour. We would like to remember Lawrence as happy and having the game of his life. As a family we are honoured to have had him in our lives and we are incredibly proud of him. And as the song says, ‘One Larry Couling, there’s only one Larry Couling’.

John Nethercleft (Blathwayt 1942)

November 1926 to March 2018 This tribute has kindly been written by Tony Wiggins, a friend and fellow Old Reedonian. He writes:

I was very saddened to hear of John’s death earlier this year. He and I lived quite close in east Kent but did not meet until many years after he left Reed’s School in 1942. This was at a School reunion at Cobham. Like many pupils, after leaving School we seem to have been fully involved in National Service, further education, employment and family so our many years at Reed’s School were – at

that time – just a background memory.

John Nethercleft (back right) with Tony Wiggins and wives at Totnes Reunion

I seem to remember seeing a notice in a national newspaper around 2008 about a reunion of former Reed’s scholars to be held at Cobham. I attended and that was where I met John Nethercleft and found out about our close proximity. There was a significant difference in our ages and I could not remember him from our time in Totnes, although I did remember someone finding a dead cormorant on which a very significant bounty was offered, as they preyed on salmon in the River Dart. Apparently, the finder was John Nethercleft! Since that initial meeting, John and I (and our respective wives) met up regularly at OR reunions in both Cobham and Totnes as well as at local events particularly in Sandwich.

John will be sadly missed by his wife Margaret, their family, local friends, Old Reedonians and the many mutual friends we have made in Totnes.

Julia Pink (née Taylor) (Dogmersfield 1952)

July 1934 to June 2018 This lovely tribute has kindly been written by Dorothy Roberts (née Griffiths), a friend and fellow Old Reedonian. She writes:

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Julia died suddenly on 13th June 2018 at the age of 84. Having spent a week with friends in Boston in the US, she was taken ill at Boston Airport, rushed to hospital where she passed away with an aortic aneurysm.

Top: Julia Pink (left), Dorothy Roberts (right) Bottom: Julia on right with Dorothy on left

Julia attended Reed’s School and we were at Falcon Manor and then Dogmersfield together. She was always proud of the education she had received at Reed’s. Julia came to last year’s reunion and was due to be at the 2018 event too. She loved animals, especially her cats, and had lived at Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire for many years with her husband Tony, who sadly died on Boxing Day 2017. They were due to celebrate their Golden Wedding this year.

Julia worked at Kodak for many years and later became a manager of the book department for W.H. Smith. She had many hobbies and was very involved in a theatre group, appearing in many shows and plays. She was very interested in Formula One, gardening and, as a member of Covent Garden, went to see many ballets. She loved watching TV quizzes and appeared in several herself. She was due to appear on Eggheads last January but, due to Tony’s death, she had to withdraw. Julia and Tony loved to travel and it was in Boston that they met up with their friends Nancy and Ralph Dexter and they continued to meet up annually over the next 25 years. It was when visiting them in June that Julia died. Julia had many friends and she will be sadly missed.

Please see Julia’s posthumous account of her time at Reed’s in the ‘Recollections & Reflections’ section.

Neville Malcolm Smith (Mullens 1950)

To August 2018 This touching tribute was written by Shaun & Amanda, son and daughter of Neville. They write:

Neville died peacefully on 12th August 2018, aged 84, after suffering with dementia for the past two years. Neville was a pupil at Reed’s together with his brothers, Brian, Michael and Terry and sister Patricia. He enjoyed school, especially sport, and was a very enthusiastic cricketer, establishing himself as a fast bowler. Academically, he enjoyed both Maths and English and excelled in both.

After school, he joined the RAF as part of National Service but he left before seeing active service, joining the bank, Glyn Mills, as a clerk. It was here that he met his wife Gill; they married in 1961 and in 1965 came the birth of daughter, Amanda, followed in 1967 by son, Shaun.

Neville’s career progressed within the merged Williams & Glyn bank where he forged a career in the expanding Cheque Clearing Operations department. In 1985 Williams & Glyn was subsequently purchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland where Neville became the Head of London Clearing Centre until he retired in 1994.

During his retirement Neville concentrated on his love of bridge and joined as many clubs as he could. He dabbled with golf but, although generally good, he couldn’t master the art of the golf swing as he naturally tried to hit a “cover drive” from his years of cricket.

Around 2014, Neville started to have difficulties with his memory. Supported by his wife, he was able to remain at home until 2016 when Gill, suffering from cancer, was unable to support him any further so he moved to a nursing home. Gill died late in 2016, but we visited him regularly and tragically witnessed the suffering Neville was subjected to by the cruel illness of dementia.

We and his three grandchildren wish him rest and peace away from this illness. We will remember him fondly as the character we knew before dementia took our father away.

Michael Dover (Capel 1971)

October 1952 to July 2018 This lovely tribute has kindly been written by John Hill, a friend and fellow Old Reedonian. He writes:

We are saddened to report the death of former School Captain, Michael James Dover, born 23rd October 1952, who died on 23rd July 2018, after a long six-year battle with cancer. Michael was at Reed’s from 1966 to 1971 (Capel) and was School Captain in 1971.

A pillar of the local Haslemere and Hindhead community in Surrey, Michael served as Hindhead town councillor from May 2003 until he died, and was Mayor of Haslemere from 2005-6.

He had previously served with the 5th Royal Inniskillin Dragoon Guards, seeing service in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Germany and Cyprus, before embarking on a second career in marketing. Sadly he was forced to take early retirement in 1990 following a serious car accident.

A dedicated volunteer, he was a director of AT-TEND, formerly known as the National Association for the League of

Hospital Friends and, as one of Haslemere’s longest serving town councillors, he worked tirelessly for the benefit of residents. Whilst mayor, he launched a 10 year campaign for more parking at Haslemere station, and he was eventually successful in seeing the construction of extra parking, which doubled the spaces available. His vital work was recognised with a plaque erected in his name in 2017.

As a town councillor, he set up various volunteer groups, and was tireless in promoting and providing improvements to the local open spaces, parks, churchyards and play areas. Paying tribute, friend and fellow former town councillor Brian Howard said: ‘A master of gentle arm twisting, Michael had a way of getting people to agree, even sometimes volunteer, for things they didn’t know they wanted to do’.

Michael leaves a wife, Fillar (Bente), and children, Jamie and Marie.

Basil Green (former Bristowe Housemaster & Director of Studies)

To September 2018 This tribute has kindly been written by Richard Warnock, a friend and fellow former Housemaster at Reed’s:

Basil Green, who sadly died on 6th September 2018, was educated at Whitgift School and Chatham House before going to St John’s College, Oxford (although he had also gained a place at Cambridge). It was at Oxford that he met his wife of 55 years, Audrey. After National Service, when he was in the Intelligence Corps, he worked for ICI and the Reed paper group before changing career to teach at Chatham House. He came to Reed’s as Head of Chemistry, became Bristowe Housemaster and later Director of Studies before retiring first to Norfolk and, after Audrey’s death, to Thanet in Kent.

If to some, Basil could seem forbidding, stern and serious, he was also very caring with a quiet sense of humour. More importantly, he was thoroughly professional, energetic and enthusiastic in whatever he did. At one stage, the Director of Music, Graham Hoskins, introduced the award of a Welsh “stirring spoon” to the member of staff who stirred the most, but it had to be in a constructive way, not simply a negative moan. After Basil had won it on a number of occasions, he was awarded it in perpetuity, much to his own amusement and, perhaps, quiet pride.

Another example of these characteristics came when the England rugby team were going through a poor set of results: the then Headmaster, Rodney Exton, and Basil had members of The Close rugby team demonstrate in the gymnasium, to some of the national selectors, how to keep possession and not go off on solo runs like Andy Ripley. In staff meetings he could be a persuasive advocate both for positive change or for keeping the status quo whichever he felt was best for the School. He had little time for those who were critical, but who did nothing to address the situation.

Basil was not just a teacher (although Frank Anstis would testify to his abilities in the classroom with both the bright and the less able); he was a schoolmaster in the best sense taking part in all aspects of school life. Apart from being involved in rugby and hockey, often in conjunction with Mr Exton, he was instrumental in developing sailing and the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, believing that it was important to create more opportunities for those pupils who were not necessarily good at the major games. As was typical with Basil, he then became involved with the organisation of the two activities in Elmbridge.

His life in retirement mirrored his time at Reed’s showing a similar energy and commitment to service in Norfolk and Kent. In Norfolk, he became chairman of the village primary school; was a guide at Norwich Cathedral and a local museum; and helped at the sailing club and a nature reserve. In Kent, he enjoyed walking, sailing and a museum benefited from his help.

Basil was a King’s Scout and through his time at Reed’s to his death, he was the same Basil - a man of wide interests and a whole-hearted contributor for the good of others.

Clive Holgate (Bristowe 1958)

November 1941 to September 2018

We received news from OR Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959), who had been in contact Michael Holgate, Clive’s OR son, that sadly his father had passed away in hospital in Manila on 29th September 2018.

We send our sincere condolences to Clive’s family.

A full obituary will appear in next year’s edition of the Reeder magazine.