In Memoriam

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

William (Bill) English (1948)

December 1931 to January 2020 We were saddened to receive news from Bill’s daughter, Sarah, informing us that he had sadly passed away in January 2020. Here are a few words of tribute from the family.

Bill was born in County Durham in 1931 and, due the loss of his father when he was aged two, started at Reed’s in 1942, leaving in 1948. At School, he inherited the nickname ‘Joe’, the moniker which his older brother – Derek – had also held.

Even in his early teens during the War years, he knew he wanted to be an artist. He got his diploma in painting at Sunderland College of Art in 1952 which was followed by four years at the Royal Academy Schools where he was awarded the silver medal for painting. He then taught at Leeds College of Art before new horizons were opened up by a year travelling on the continent courtesy of a Travelling Scholarship awarded from the Royal College of Art. Bill was an able draughtsman, equally at home with portraiture, still life and landscape subjects. Bill regularly exhibited in mixed exhibitions in London and around the country, and had solo exhibitions throughout his life.

After Leeds and travelling, for five years Bill was Head of Pre-Diploma Studies at Harrogate School of Art. He was Head of Fine Art at Derby College of Art and Design (1964 to 1967) and at Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham (1967 to 1972). He completed his professional career with 16 years as Principal of the then Norwich School of Art from 1972 to 1988. To all these posts, he brought openness to the specific needs of the place. He was an everencouraging enabler rather than a manager, and involved in all the School’s creative areas; not just fine art, but complementary studies, graphic design, sculpture, the Foundation course. At the same time, he immersed himself with terrific energy in the local art scene. Only two years after joining the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society, he was elected its Chair. Further afield, Bill was always an active member of the Chelsea Arts Club, becoming its Chairman in 1989-90.

After retiring from Norwich School of Art in 1988, Bill and Helen’s time was divided between their home in Norwich and their Spanish retreat near Figueres in the north east of Spain. They were married for over 54 years until her death in 2013 and have four children, seven grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

Robert Davies (Capel 2008)

December 1989 to May 2020 We are indebted to Robert’s mother, Ann, for this heart-warming tribute to her son. Our deepest condolences are extended to her and the whole family.

Robert was born on Christmas Eve 1989, absolutely the best Christmas present ever! As a young boy he set his heart on going to Reed’s. At his entrance interview, Mr Jarrett, the Headmaster at the time, asked him why he wanted to come to the school. Robert didn’t hesitate: ‘For the long holidays.’ Fortunately this honesty didn’t count against him and Robert went on to enjoy life at Reed’s and always remained proud of, and interested, in the School.

After completing his A Levels, Robert read History at Brunel University. He also worked as a freelance writer, writing live football online commentaries which were published on websites including those of The Sun, The Times, NBC and Fox. He continued this freelance work for a further four years after graduating in 2011, also supervising and editing the work of other freelancers.

Whilst Robert enjoyed writing, teaching had always appealed to him, so he decided to spend a year or two teaching abroad to see if it was something he’d enjoy doing long-term. He completed his TEFL qualification and in 2015 went to teach English at Muan High School in Mokpo, a city located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Here he also edited a bi-monthly online magazine/newsletter aimed at English teachers in the region. Robert loved life in South Korea and spent much of his free time hiking and exploring the area and nearby islands.

The following year he moved to north eastern China where he taught at a school in Cangzhou before returning to South Korea for a further two years to teach at Pagoda One, the largest adult language institute in the country. Based in Seoul, it was early on during his time here that Robert met his girlfriend, Youngah. Working hours in Asia are extremely long and holiday leave is very restricted, but Robert still found time to travel and explore parts of Thailand (where he volunteered at an elephant sanctuary), Hawaii, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.

After an enjoyable and fulfilling four years, Robert decided to concentrate on his writing and editing. He returned to the UK at the end of December 2019 to continue his freelance work, with Youngah due to follow in April on a two-year visa although the lockdown in March meant her visit had to be postponed. Robert was due to begin a Masters in International Journalism at City University in September 2020 and had plans to maybe return to Asia to work at some point after its completion. One of the articles he wrote during the lockdown was about how COVID had brought a spotlight to the prevalence of cults in South Korea during the time of the pandemic. This was published in The Diplomat, a leading foreign affairs magazine.

Outside of work and travel, Robert loved reading, sport, politics, history and music. He was a keen runner and cyclist. He was also an avid follower of boxing, setting his alarm for the very early hours of the morning to coincide with the televising of bouts in the US.

It was absolutely wonderful to have had Robert in our lives. He was honest, loyal, kind, gentle, thoughtful, had a great sense of humour and was superb at buying presents! He also had a formidable memory and was a fascinating source of knowledge about a wide range of topics. We will all miss him desperately.

Robert chose to leave an endowment gift to the Andrew Reed Foundation so that other children can benefit from Reed’s in perpetuity.

Simon de Lannoy Holden (Blathwayt 1957)

June 1941 to October 2020 With our deepest condolences to Simon’s family on the tragic and unexpected loss of their father; thank you for providing us with this fitting tribute.

Simon was born in the midst of the Second World War; second child to Raymond (a bank manager) and Monica (an elocution teacher) and he lived his early years in Mobberley in Cheshire. He had a happy childhood, although his father went off to war and sadly never returned, having been based in the Seychelles, working in signals and intelligence for the RAF.

Simon’s early schooling was in Knutsford, at Yorsten Lodge School. His secondary education was at Reed’s, funded partly by the Reed’s Foundation and partly by the RAF Benevolent Fund. Both foundations were very close to his heart and he was an avid supporter of them throughout his life. He was (in his own words) academically ‘OK’, but he was very good at sport, later becoming Victor Ladorum during his time at Reed’s.

He returned to Cheshire following his education and enjoyed life in South West Manchester in the ‘swinging sixties’. He had a passion for motorbikes and attended technical college studying and receiving a HND in engineering. He went on to work as a civil engineer for Cheshire County Council, based in Runcorn, and was involved in building parts of the M6 motorway. During his time here, he met Joyce Proffit, a departmental secretary. They courted, married in 1966 and lived in Hartford, Cheshire. Marcus was born in January 1969 and Clive followed in November 1971. They moved from Hartford back to Mobberley in 1973 and in 1975, Simon and the family emigrated to Botswana. Sadly, he separated from Joyce in 1976, and she and the boys returned to England. Simon later met and married Wendy in April 1986 and they enjoyed a long marriage spanning nearly 35 years.

Botswana began Simon’s love affair with Africa. Despite some periods in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and back in the UK, his heart lay in Africa: Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, a brief time in Ghana, and then nearly 25 years in Zambia. He was proud to call Africa home.

An engineer throughout, most of his career was involved with building roads. Following a period building the Luanshya to Mpongwe road in Zambia, he remained in the country and established Holden Rigs in 2006, which was a drilling and blasting company for the copper mines.

Simon was lots of things to lots of people. Father, husband, grandfather, friend, boss. He was kind and generous, made huge efforts to keep in touch with friends and family, he was funny and he was a true gentleman. The community in Zambia described him as the ‘gentleman of Luanshya’. He was gregarious, the life and soul of the party; he often commented that he was born one beer under par.

It is with great sadness that we reported Simon’s untimely death in hospital in Lusaka on 29th October 2020. He will be forever remembered in the hearts of his family, friends and those who were lucky enough to meet him.

Steven (J S D) Nicholson (Bristowe 1976)

January 1957 to October 2020 We are indebted to OR, Robert Andrews (Bristowe 1976), for passing on the sad news about Steven and for putting together this touching tribute.

Steven joined Bristowe in September 1970 and left in 1976, having stayed on for a third year in Sixth Form to try, I believe, for the Oxbridge exams. However, this must have been unsuccessful as he studied music at Bristol University and then took a PGCE at Reading. He played clarinet, piano, viola and bassoon and was a wealth of knowledge on all matters musical, and in the world of literature too.

His first job was at Feltonfleet School in Cobham and then St Edmund’s College in Ware. He owned a flat in Cobham for many years but decided to travel, living and teaching in France, Denmark, Turkey and Portugal to name but four countries that I can be sure of!

He returned to the UK after Brexit to help organise care for his mother (who died in February 2018), but at the end of 2016 he was sadly diagnosed with cancer with a prognosis of two to five years. That he lived to have nearly four of those was a blessing, but the impact of the COVID pandemic caused much of his medical and social support to collapse, and he tragically passed away in October 2020.

He last visited me in October 2019 when this picture was taken, and I visited him at the end of August 2020 when we managed some clarinet and piano playing, although sadly no piano duets on that occasion.

Barrie Tyler (Blathwayt 1954)

October 1937 to December 2020 We were incredibly saddened to hear the news about Barrie’s death from his wife, Jacqui, both loyal supporters of the Foundation. We send condolences to the family and thanks to his daughter, Alison, for this tribute.

Barrie, and his older brother, Douglas, who also attended Reed’s, were born in Watford after the death of their father, soon after the Barrie’s birth. On leaving School, Barrie went into the army and became a dental hygienist, but left to get a job in banking near his mother so that he could support her.

Barrie met his wife, Jacqui, on a blind date at the local tennis club; they married in 1963 and had a son, Angus in 1967 and myself three years later.

Barrie’s passion had always been gardening so, when he was 40, he and Jacqui opened a small garden centre in West Wycombe using his banking knowledge to quickly develop it to its maximum potential. He moved on to build a much bigger garden centre on a plot of land near St Albans which, with a lot of hard work, became very successful and was even seen on BBC television a couple of times (once for creating a black rose which caused a huge amount of interest as it was very convincing, but was actually an April Fool’s hoax!). Even the Royal Households had put in an order of the famous black rose!

Barrie decided to retire early from the hard graft and sold the garden centre 20 years later. He set up a couple of other small businesses, one of which was his other passion, art. He was a keen painter using oils and he painted some lovely paintings, particularly the family dogs.

Education was very important to him and he was so pleased to be able to not only send his own children to private school but also his three grandchildren: Amelia, Harry and Toby. Recently, 13-year-old Harry said: ‘I want to do well at school so that I can get a good job and be able to send my children and grandchildren to a private school, just like Grandad did for me’. Harry also said that he would be proud to wear his Grandad’s old school tie in honour of him for what he achieved and did for all of us, for which we will always be grateful.

Barrie said numerous times that he had had a good life; he looked back on his school life with fond memories and often remarked how grateful he was to the Reed’s Foundation as without it, he wouldn’t have otherwise achieved what he did.

Ralph Wyatt (Bristowe 1942)

March 1926 to December 2020 We send grateful thanks to Stephanie, Ralph’s daughter, for this charming obituary and wish her, his wife, Isobel, and younger daughter, Sally, all the very best.

Ralph was born in 1926 in Axminster, Devon. His father was a tenant farmer who died, suddenly, in his 40s leaving three young children and his wife virtually penniless once the debts had been paid. It was 1932 during the Depression years and Ralph was just six-years-old, the youngest of the family. His mother, Dorothy, had a very hard time finding enough money to make ends meet.

Someone told Dorothy about the London Orphan School and the system of taking in boys by the number of votes they received from subscribers. Dorothy wrote many letters and succeeded in sending Roy, my father’s older brother, to the School in 1933. Ralph was able to follow him in 1934 at the age of eight. This must have been an enormous relief to Dorothy as it meant the boys were not only educated but accommodated, fed and clothed for free.

When WWII broke out, Ralph was lucky enough to be one of the boys evacuated to Totnes and had many good memories of his time spent there. He remembered that, although the accommodation was cramped, outside they were free and able to wander far and wide. He must have been rather a handful as he had the distinction of being made Prefect, demoted and reinstated three times – surely a School record!

My father remained grateful to the School, for the education and strict upbringing he received, and for the good it did for his whole family at such a hard time.

After Reed’s, Ralph studied agriculture at Reading University and, having graduated, was offered a job working for the Department of Agriculture as an advisor. So, there he was, driving

around the farms of Sussex at the age of 22 giving farmers of many, many years’ experience, the benefit of his vast knowledge! He must have made a hit as he was soon offered the managership of a large farm based at Bosham, near Chichester in West Sussex. He met and married my mother, Jean, in 1953 and had two daughters, my sister Sally and me.

Sadly, our parents divorced and life was very different as Ralph married for a second time.

Many years later, after the death of his second wife, Ralph had the good fortune to meet Isobel. They married when Dad was 70 years old and had a really good life together in and around Wimborne and also enjoyed many interesting cruises. They were able to catch up with Dad’s fellow students from his time as an evacuee in Totnes, reunions that he loved to attend. Dad enjoyed table tennis, he was part of a local club and still playing until recently. He was a keen member of the U3A (the University of the Third Age) and he was an enthusiastic supporter of Wimborne in Bloom. His bottom became well known around the town as he weeded and gardened!

He will be remembered with much love and many smiles as a mischievous and beloved younger brother, a fun-loving uncle, and as a much loved and loving husband and our very dear father.

John Waterman (Watford 1937)

March 1921 to September 2020 We are grateful to Jane Waterman, daughter of John, for allowing us to publish this special obituary of her father; her ‘PS’ also made us smile!

With great sorrow and tender memories, we announce the peaceful passing of our husband, father, grandfather and greatgrandfather, John Richard Waterman, in his 100th year. John was born in Tunbridge Wells to Edward and Gertrude (née Butler). His father died when he was five, leaving his mother to care for him and his sister, June. He went to Reed’s at age seven and then to Leeds Polytechnic to study

Gordon Denholm (Bristowe 1943)

October 1927 to September 2019 In January this year, we were sad to learn from the new owner of Gordon’s Brackely home that he passed away in 2019. Despite attempts to contact his family, we have no more information. However, we are pleased to have found this lovely picture of Gordon with Ralph Wyatt (see previous tribute) taken at Reunion Day in 2009. engineering in 1937. In 1939, he joined the Territorial Army and transferred to the Royal Artillery in the fall; he said the Army was easy after a British boarding school.

In 1941 he went overseas to India and then to Iraq, where the highlight of his visit was spending his 21st birthday in Bagdad and having a bath! He fought in the battle of El Alamein and, in 1942, joined the Special Air Service (SAS) in Egypt, with parachute training in Lebanon and signals training in Cairo. In 1943, the Special Boat Squadron (SBS, a unit within the SAS) was formed under Lord Jellicoe and John became his signals sergeant. He spent the rest of the war in the Middle East and the Aegean region having all sorts of adventures. On August 15 (VJ Day) he flew home from Italy in the glass nose of an RAF bomber to the green fields of England.

In 1946, John joined the British Foreign Office and went with the Control Commission to Germany, where he met the love of his life, Beryl Blackett (also in the Control Commission). They were married in September 1947 and were partners in love and life, living in Germany for eight years and travelling through Europe in their little car, Maybe. They had two daughters in Germany (Susan and Michèle), a son (Anthony) after they returned to England in 1955, and another daughter (Jane) after they emigrated to Canada in 1957. John worked for NCR Corp for 31 years, travelling all over North America, and retired in 1986. John and Beryl spent a month in Hawaii every year for 27 years, and also visited Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia, celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary last year. He was the last survivor of the WWII SBS, or as the current soldiers say, the last of the ‘old and the bold.’

We will miss his sense of humour, the twinkle in his eye, and watching him enjoy his ‘wee droppie’ every evening. His spirit will live on in our hearts and our memories forever.

PS: The third photo is one of my favourite photos of Dad as a teenager. In the mid 1930s, the test of any good Reed’s boy was to sneak out, go to town and get back into the School, without getting caught. But one had to prove to the other boys that they had successfully made it to town. So they would get a photo taken. But in those days, that meant they had to sneak out twice: once to get the photo taken and once to go pick it up when it was developed! This third photo is proof that my Dad passed the test and was never caught!! Note he is in his overcoat and school uniform. No wonder he became such a good commando in the war.

Bill Crawforth OBE (Blathwayt 1948)

February 1931 to December 2020 We send grateful thanks to Emma Crawforth and David Crawforth, Bill’s daughter and son, for this tribute to their father.

William Crawforth was born in Paris to English parents, but left aged two. We remember our grandmother telling us that he was mute until they got to England, apart from a time when she caught him speaking French to a man who was painting their home. This story seems completely appropriate as our father didn’t waste words but he did enjoy company and formed strong friendships throughout his life.

The tragedy of our grandfather’s death in World War Two marked our father’s childhood and resulted in him moving from his Yorkshire home to Reed’s, then based in Totnes. Taking him to their reunions in his eighties was a pleasure as the ‘boys’ recalled their early days. Rationing meant they were often hungry, but they were still prepared to walk several miles to the sea and back just for fun.

This kind of endurance and stamina continued throughout his life. Friends remember his determination while walking around Paris and London once he’d lost power in his legs; this probably delayed the onset of his muscle-wasting disease. Once he could no longer walk, our father took to speeding around on powered wheelchairs. It was sometimes terrifying to watch him charging down a road in the face of traffic because he thought a pavement wasn’t adequate.

Family was at the centre of our father’s life. He loved spoiling our grandmother and was deeply fond of his only cousin, Janet. There was such a tight bond between our warm and patient mother, Felicity, and him that he was devasted when he lost her to brain cancer less than five months after diagnosis.

Our father had a brilliant eye for design. Between school and National Service in the Royal Engineers, he trained to be an architect. It was the perfect career for him, marrying his artistic ability and understanding of the physical world. He also got to boss a lot of people around, which suited him too! He was thrilled to be awarded an OBE in recognition of his work towards the end of his career.

On retirement, he trained as a lighting designer and set up a not-for-profit business designing schemes for churches. He couldn’t stop designing interiors, drawing out plans for all of our homes. On my final visit to him in hospital, he told me he’d solved a problem with a hospital bed curtain that fell off its rail every day. On that visit he also told me he’d been dreaming of good food and going out walking in beautiful countryside, both pleasures he could no longer enjoy. He also told me a very dark and funny joke, which ties in with another thing said by more than one about our father: he had a very naughty sense of humour.

We will miss his wise counsel, both on life in general and how to be.

Sanjay Patel (Capel 1984)

September 1968 to March 2021 We are saddened to report the death of Sanjay in March 2021, whose father, Bipin, called to let us know that his son had had a heart attack. At the time of printing, we were waiting for a full obituary but know that after being very active at Reed’s, he went on to work for Morgan Grenfell, then as a commodity broker with bases in the UK and UAE.

Ian Cockwill (Bristowe 1939)

July 1923 to March 2021 Despite missing her husband terribly, his widow, Margaret, was kindly able to let us have a few words of tribute.

Ian was born an only child in July 1923 to parents Gladys and James. Very sadly, his father passed away when he was only seven-years-old, and so his mother had to send him to Reed’s as a boarder, where he remained until he was 16.

After leaving School, he went to work at an accountants before joining the Navy at the age of 17. He was based on a destroyer in the North Sea and on minesweepers clearing the channel; he loved his six years in the Navy.

During that time, he met his first wife Sylvia. Unfortunately, the marriage broke down and it wasn’t until recently that he found that they had a son together called Leonard. With this second wife, Jacqueline, he lived in Hove and they were blessed with two children, Alan and Tina.

Ian became interested in estate agency, and at one point set up his own business, Cockwill & Son. When he moved on to run an estate agency called Meecroft in 1956, he met me. Our friendship and romance was to span 64 years and we truly were soul mates. We were blessed with a daughter, Joanna and, as a family, moved around following Ian’s career, even living in Paris and Versailles for some eight years before returning to the UK.

We married on 7th June 2002 and our fascination for world travel soon developed, taking us to Canada, Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok, as well as cruising. We travelled extensively for ten years until ill health meant that Ian was confined to a wheelchair and so, instead, we stayed at the same hotel every year in Gran Canaria where we got to know all of the staff.

Ian’s example of generosity and kindness and, of course, his amazing dry sense of humour remains an inspiration to his family. The way he lived his life, with dignity and kindness will be remembered forever. Through his dedication to his family, he was a loving inspiration who was deeply proud of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We were totally committed to each other and I miss him profoundly.

Christina Ward (Dogmersfield 1948)

January 1932 to April 2021 This tribute was kindly sent by long-standing friend, Loraine Nagioff, with the blessing of Christina’s niece, Bryony Dickens.

I met Christina 35 years ago and we became very close friends when we worked on a flower project at our church. We found we had so much in common: we are both very committed Christians and both worked in the music profession. At that time, Christina was working at Trinity College of Music in London and had worked at the London Opera Centre. At other times, she accompanied singers and instrumentalists all throughout the year. She also did her ‘One Woman’ shows which were enjoyed by so many audiences; she could play absolutely anything that was put in front of her on the piano.

Christina loved the simple pleasures of life: her garden brought her endless joy; she was an avid reader; knitted a lot and did endless crosswords. She loved travelling and also did a lot of voluntary work for St Helier Hospital and Age UK on a weekly basis. Housework was never a top priority, but if her sister Betty was coming, boy, did the house get spruced up. She also loved meeting up with her friends of whom she had many from all walks of life.

My wonderful friend taught me what was most important; she was very content and had her priorities right, and she lived life to the full. Even after a car accident in her 70s when she was in a neck brace, she was determined to take her gold tap dancing award! Well into her 80s she went to weekly health and beauty classes, tap dancing classes and played the piano as much as possible. She also got a part to play Mrs Frazer in the show Stepping Out which she had seen many times.

There was no stopping her; she had amazing energy. She also really loved the Lord. Her whole life was centred on Him. I shall miss my dear friend so much but she has left me with so many wonderful memories and these will keep me going until we meet again.

Celia Alvey (née Marson) (Watford 1943)

March 1927 to June 2021 With thanks to Celia’s son, David, informing us of her death and providing this tribute to his mother, one of our most revered Old Reedonians.

Celia Edmed Alvey was the daughter of Claudia Edmed and Cecil Brittan Marson, born on 8th March 1927. She attended Reed’s School with her sister Ros, but never came across her OR husband-to-be, John, whilst at school. Celia became a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital in London around 1945 and remembered seeing some of the first V1s land in London from the hospital window. She met John, a good-looking rugby player, who, apparently, after Saturday rugby matches, used to stand under her window in the nursing home and serenade her until she let him in! They married on 28th December 1955 and had three sons: David, Peter and Stephen.

Celia adored being with her six grandchildren: Katie, Charlie, Simon, Claire, Ben and Harry, but also found time to swim most days in the sea at Emsworth beach, well into her early 70s. However, beach is a misnomer; no sand, just mud, lots of weed and, of course, very cold. It took years for dad to persuade her that swimming in the pool at the hotel in Hayling might be a better choice!

Kevin Fuller (Capel 1977)

June 1969 to July 2021 Kevin was well-known to many ORs and we are grateful to John Raquet and Trevor Firth, in particular, for sharing their tribute to a dear friend.

Kevin sadly passed away on 28th July 2021, following a 20-year brave fight against progressive MS.

Our first recollection of him was joining Capel in the third form in 1972, Kevin having had the advantage of two years in the Close. He was this slight built chap who was more at home in studying and music and less involved in sport – certainly in the early days.

Despite a few altercations with Housemaster, Tom Stedman, in his final year, Kevin and Noel Brown were appointed Deputy and House Captain respectively. Kevin excelled at studies, gaining both excellent O and A Level grades. He also became a very accomplished cross-country and 800m runner, benefitting from his lanky gait. Those at Reed’s at the time will remember in our final year, when the whole of the Capel crosscountry team, took nine of the top ten places, Kevin at the fore.

Kevin decided upon a career in law and went to the Law College in Guildford. Remaining local, he also joined the OR Rugby Club and, unlike his less notable performances at School, developed into a very competent and fast winger and became a regular in the 1st XV. We all remember him, though, as someone with the good looks that always seemed to end up with a girl somewhere. Very quickly after becoming a fully qualified lawyer, Kevin decided to set up his own law firm in Esher (Fuller & Co), and many of us have fond memories of him acting on our behalf. His business took off and it led to him driving around in sports cars, especially, his beloved Porsche.

Sadly, his unexpected marriage to Tracey did not last, but he became even more involved with the ORs, sitting for a number of years on the ORs Committee and, we believe, was invited to be a Governor at the School. He also moved from rugby to hockey where Trevor Firth and a number of former Reed’s players joined Surbiton Hockey Club and participated at all levels within the club. MS, as an illness, is still very much an unknown medical condition despite years of research. We have total admiration for Kevin on how he faced up to the illness. He was so positive and upbeat, determined there would be a cure. He adored opera and continued to go to London to see his favourite performances, and even met up with Simon Keenlyside (now Sir Simon). However, slowly he became less active, less able to drive and, as always, many friends found his decline in health difficult to address and understand and so he saw less of them.

For his 50th birthday, by then wheelchair bound, his friend Graham Smith invited the Tenors Unlimited to his party with many ORs present too. His bravery in his fight with MS was there for all to see when he was determined to stand and thank everyone for a wonderful evening.

Naturally, his parents and family were devastated by his death and we know that many ORs were saddened to hear the news; a number gathered for his funeral in Cobham and toasted his life as he would have wanted. The one common theme in the many photos shown was that Kevin was always smiling. We will never forget his bravery, his positivity in the latter years and his enthusiasm for living life to the full in his earlier years, and we can rest easy knowing that he will be smiling down on us every day.

Chris Methold (Bristowe 1970)

August 1953 to August 2021 With many thanks to Diana, wife of Chris, for finding the time to write this touching tribute.

Chris passed away peacefully on 2nd August 2021 having eventually been diagnosed with terminal cancer in January. We were able to hold a wonderful thanksgiving service for Chris’ life later in the month which was attended by nearly 100 family members and friends plus further receiving over 300 hits on the YouTube channel where the service was streamed. Chris had been involved in planning most of the service, particularly the music. One of the many condolence cards we received was from Louise and her husband Peter Maple (Bristowe 1976) in New Zealand!

Chris joined The Close as a boarder and soon became part of the musical life of the School and Chapel. He enjoyed singing, became Head Chorister before his voice broke, and so learned to play the French horn. He was later involved in organising joint ventures with the Yehudi Menuhin pupils in concerts and other musical activities and often enjoyed school visits to London to attend recitals. Chris got on well with Graham Hoskins, his Reed’s music master, who was persuaded to play Widor’s Toccata from Symphony for Organ No 5 at our wedding in September 1974. We were very pleased to have had dinner with Graham and his wife Jane last year during a visit to the Norfolk Broads.

Chris spent most of his working life in the family garage business, Methold Engineering, in Ripley, Surrey, with his elder brother David (Bristowe 1961). They opened a second garage in Middleton-onSea, West Sussex, where he had a Seat franchise and later enjoyed selling classic sports cars. He ended his working life as a chauffeur, where his love of people and doing what he could to help them was very much in evidence.

Chris was a people person through and through and is hugely missed by me, his two daughters and sons-in-law, Claire and David and Louise and Andrew, plus his four adored grandchildren: Daniel, Edward, Sophie and Alex. He had over 750 contacts in his phone and was very popular and well respected by all those who knew him, not least his many church friends whose love and support have been invaluable this year.

Roger Smalley (Capel 1955)

July 1940 to August 2021 We were notified by Ann Dean, Roger’s sister and fellow OR, of his death and are grateful to her for these kind words.

Roger died aged 81 after a long illness. During his years at Cobham, he attained many interests. The School did not have a swimming pool in those days, and so he was one of the boys who dug out their own pool!

As a member of the School Choir, he sang in many of the cathedrals in the south of England, and when Guildford Cathedral was first inaugurated, he was the first to sing a solo there. After this, choirs and music in general were always an important part of his life. He was also a keen chess player.

Roger had four children, all successful in their own field. He was kind and courteous, intelligent and funny, and at times could be infuriating! He is sadly missed.

Chris Last (Capel 1959)

August 1942 to August 2021 Fellow OR, Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959) informed us of his passing and, with Chris having no known family, kindly put this tribute together.

Chris came from Bengeo in Hertfordshire and was a good athlete, with an interest in classical music.

I believe after leaving Reed’s in July 1959, he went on a teacher’s training course possibly at Alsager College. We believe he taught at Buckhurst Hill County High School for boys which closed in 1989 and so transferred to Roding Valley High School in Loughton where he stayed until he retired.

At a Reunion Day marquee lunch around 2007, he mentioned that he had retired from teaching and had started as a freelance landscape gardener. He lived in Loughton, Essex, only a few miles from my current home but I sadly never bumped into him. His interests were Morris Dancing, and as other ORs have discovered, he was a member of two Essex groups in Chingford and Blackmore. He also had an interest in Lithuanian folk music and visited that country many times.

Sadly, Chris was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2018 and developed pneumonia in the last week of his life.

Eddie Trinder (1939)

November 1923 to September 2021 We are very grateful to the wider Trinder family for allowing us to represent Reed’s at Eddie’s funeral and giving permission to include an edited version of the touching eulogy given by Bob Stephenson. Eddie was a man of his generation, a private man who was always interested in the lives of others but spoke little about his own past.

He was the youngest son of Thomas William Trinder and Eveline Hobbs who married in 1914 in Hitchin. They had Eveline in 1917 and Thomas in 1919. Sadly, after a distinguished career as a Company Sergeant Major in the Cambridgeshire Regiment, Eddie’s father died in 1926 at the Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Maghull Liverpool, an insitution that cared for patients who had suffered from shell shock and/or epilepsy. He was 44.

Following their father’s death, Thomas and Eddie spent their formative years as Foundation students at the London Orphan School in Watford. Eddie left school at 16 in 1939 and, by then, Thomas was a wireless operator in 48 Squadron. Aged 22, his plane, a Hudson V Light Bomber, was shot down on 7th January 1942 during a bombing raid over Bergen in Norway; his war grave is located at the Mollendals Cemetery in Bergen.

Sadly, we know little of Eddie’s early adult years, other than the fact that after the War, he had a daughter Anne, who emigrated to Australia. We do know, however, that Eddie spent much of his professional career working as a hearing technician, latterly as Chief Research Officer at the Medical Research Council Neuro-Otological Research Unit at the National Hospital, London. This clearly fitted well with his lifelong fascination with how things worked, and his preference for trying to dismantle and fix things rather than replace them. As part of his work, Eddie and his brother-in-law were involved in installing a hearing loop in St Albans Abbey.

It was during this period of his life that he met and married Doreen. They were a devoted and inseparable couple who always welcomed the visits of family and friends and loved to travel. They led a happy and independent life together in retirement for many years in St Neots until Doreen sadly passed away in 2017, after being well cared for by Eddie during her years of suffering with Alzheimer’s. In his 90s, Eddie spent his final years being well cared for by the kind staff at Hill House in Ellington.

Eddie’s was a long life well lived and, in closing this tribute, I can think of no better words than those of his friend Patrick in a recent message: ‘Eddie was a private man with that quiet dignity and politeness that marks out a true gentleman. He cared deeply for his Doreen and did everything he could to bring contentment and happiness to both their lives.’

Norman Morris (Capel 1949)

September 1932 to September 2021

Norman was born in Drumcondra, a suburb on the north side of Dublin. He was the youngest of seven children but, sadly, never knew his father who died when he was just six months old. His mother, a seamstress, who found it difficult to make ends meet, sent Norman and his closest brother, Ronald, to Reed’s in Totnes. They were aged only five and seven respectively. Times were tough during the War years but, despite this, Norman wrote several articles and letters years later about his time spent there, which held many fond memories of larking about in the countryside and having a massive amount of freedom.

On leaving Reed’s, aged 17, Norman joined the 31st East Surrey Regiment. Even though he was off-duty, it was on an army mission in Tripoli that he lost the sight of his left eye due to stray shrapnel – at a football match, of all places. As luck would have it, this injury meant he did not take part in the Regiment’s next mission to Korea, from which few of his comrades returned.

Back in the UK, Norman took to working on farms in Somerset and was part of a team that dry stoned walled a number of field boundaries. He was a very capable gardener and grew a wide range of fruit and vegetables during the early family years in the countryside. This led to him study at Newton Park College, now part of Bath Spa University, qualifying as an agricultural teacher. He spent many years teaching this subject along with Science at Ladymead School in Taunton, and was very proud of his teaching skills. Norman loved to play bridge with his friends, and sang in several choirs, including the Rural Church singers, delighting congregations and audiences with a wide range of classical styles and, of course, beautiful renditions of some ancient Christmas Carols. His musical interest also extended to playing the recorder, which he did for many years. Somewhere amongst all this, Norman took up golf and, as a feisty independent kind of man, it was a great sport for him to let off steam.

After a number of years living in the beautiful grounds of Tetton House in Kingston St Mary, Norman came to Cotford St Luke 11 years ago; he could often be seen whizzing around the village on his electric buggy getting his shopping. He was happy with his independent ways and spent a lot of time indulging in his passion for crime thrillers.

Many of his neighbours helped him towards the latter part of his life, as he became less able, for which Jane, Clare and Ben, his surviving children, are incredibly grateful.

Our condolences to all families and friends of loved ones who have sadly passed away this year. #FIDE