INVESTIGATING KGS HISTORY
Obituaries
Earlier this year the KGS Senior History Society visited Kingston History Centre at the Guildhall to research early records of the School. The visit was arranged following the recent discovery of a number of historical coins bequeathed to KGS by literary alumnus, R C Sherriff. Prior to the visit, the students examined the interesting coins, which date back to 1658, alongside the catalogue of early documents relating to the School. They then developed enquiries around what the KGS documents might tell them about the coins and what was going on in school at that time. They carefully examined archival files which documented the resignation of Schoolmaster Edward Hooker in 1663 and the appointment of his successor, Charles Parkehurst. Other interesting findings included the discovery of rent raised by the School from an orchard at the Bittoms (now a car park!) and that students had to attend lessons every day except Sundays, Holy Days and Saints Days, as stated in the Statutes and Ordinances dating from 1670. We were also lucky to view the original Charter signed by Elizabeth I in 1561 which established the ‘free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth’. This research trip was the first stage of an ongoing Senior History Society project into R C Sherriff’s coins. It was great to see this keen group of historians engaging with the early history of the School and it is hoped this trip will be established as an annual event for future students.
TERRY CHARMAN (OK 1969) We are sorry to report the death in February 2019 of Terry Charman, historian and KGS old boy, following a long illness. Terry had very fond memories of his time at KGS, where he developed his passion for modern history. Indeed, while on a school trip to Heidelberg, Terry famously secured an interview with Albert Speer, having found the telephone number of the former Nazi armaments minister in the local directory! After leaving the School, Terry studied modern history and politics at Reading University and then embarked on an unlikely career in banking. However, the pull of history proved too much and in 1974 he joined the Imperial War Museum, where his career would span over 40 years. Terry had the most extraordinary depth and breadth of knowledge and was very much loved and respected by his colleagues at IWM. A writer, lecturer and storyteller of singular ability, he pioneered an entirely fresh, personal approach to IWM exhibition-making, where the voices of the past came alive in the Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum North and the Churchill Museum. This is his supreme legacy to the Museum. He is author of The German Home Front 1939-45 and Outbreak: The World Goes to War. He has also acted as an adviser on films, TV and radio documentaries and programmes, such as Foyle’s War, Schindler’s List and the theatre and film productions of War Horse. Terry lived well. He loved good food, good drink, good company. He was, like Winston Churchill, ‘easily satisfied with the best of everything’. Those who knew him will cherish memories of Terry’s fund of stories (many of them scurrilous!) his kindness, his extraordinary generosity and his wonderful sense of fun. Julian King (OK 1971) James Taylor (Imperial War Museum)
We are also very sorry to report the deaths of the following alumni: Alastair Crompton (OK 1957) Issi Palmer (OK 2014) David Puttock (OK 1949) Spencer Spencer-Skeen (OK 1950) Ivor Vials (OK 1953) 11