The Old Radleian 2020

the Old Radleian 2020

Cover image: One of Ben Robinson’s (2007) expedition colleagues checking for ‘soft spots’, after getting stuck the previous day in the Moroccan Sahara.

Munir Abdul Aziz (1985) Azizul Adnan (1985) Ak Hamid (1988) M Salimi Saidin (1983)

Anson (1951)

Letter

from John Moule, the Warden

Dear ORs,

It was the poet John Keats that said, “There is nothing stable in the world; uproar’s your only music.” The wild romanticism of a tragically short life adds potency to the message. His was indeed a life of ‘uproar’, but it was also a life of ‘music’. Despite circumstance, Keats wrote some of the world’s most enduring and beautiful poetry, but also perhaps because of circumstance. As we reflect on 2020, I suggest ‘uproar’ and ‘music’ are useful metaphors.

At the end of a tumultuous year, it is all too easy – and understandable – to focus on what we have lost; economically, socially, personally. For some in our community, that will be all too painful and real. At Radley itself, we can bemoan the absence of so much that is creates the fundamental rhythm of College life: daily chapel for the whole school together, team sport with matches against other schools, Warden’s Assemblies, Common Room gatherings, full theatres, packed concerts, dinners, drinks... community. There has indeed been ‘uproar’.

As we reach the end of a year, however, I want to point to the ‘music’ of Keats’ quotation too: those things that have emerged from the experience which are

not just impressive pragmatic reactions making the best of a bad situation –innumerable and important though they are – but the surprising and lasting things that will endure long after the crisis fades, and perhaps emerged because of it. I have found myself saying time and again over recent months, perhaps in somewhat clichéd fashion, that there are silver linings to the Covid cloud.

Five examples. Firstly, the boys surprised us. We had worried they might not cope with online learning; they would fall behind and lose engagement. We feared that Cocoa could not work, that music would be impossible and there was no value in even trying to keep sport alive. We underestimated them. They responded magnificently and the commitment, the variety, the innovation, the enthusiasm was a privilege to witness.

Secondly, we surprised ourselves. As a staff, we had to get up to speed with new technology in a matter of weeks in order to run a virtual school. As the first day of the Summer Term approached, I know colleagues were nervous as to how and whether it would work. I know too

that they were quickly into their stride and that what might have been deemed impossible were it not for necessity, in fact proved to be manageable and rewarding. A clear theme of focus in our strategic planning for the next five years – technological innovation – had a turbo charge applied to it, to the lasting benefit of all.

Which leads me to a third theme. When I was asked by Council towards the end of 2019 what I thought the strategic priorities for the next five years ought to be (in advance of a new framework emerging early in 2021), I emphasised the following: a continued drive to increase the number of funded places available to bring boys to Radley; the development of partnerships, especially at local level, both to develop skills, experience and awareness in our boys and to serve the groups and communities we partner with; the advancement of digital skills; the development of resilience in the boys and a review of the academic curriculum to ensure it was fit for purpose. Covid-19 has not changed those priorities; rather, it has sharpened them and acted as a catalyst. It is a real encouragement that the aims of the college are very much fit for purpose in extraordinary times.

The whole school gathers for Chapel outdoors in front of the Old Pavilion, September 2020.

Fourthly, we have been reminded that exams are not the be all and end all. One of the proudest moments of my career was in May when I pressed the button on an email which circulated details of an ‘electives’ programme to boys and parents. Dons had put together over a hundred options of short courses exploring something they were passionate about... and it was a rip-roaring success. As we slip back into exam routines we must not lose the quirky, varied, ‘fascinating for its own sake’ aspect of education; nor forget the talent in the Common Room to teach it, nor the enthusiasm of the boys to respond.

Finally, it has been a joy to see the community stay together and find new ways to connect. Recent ‘catch-ups’ with the Radley community in Asia and in the USA/Canada have been a new and innovative way of reaching out. I know that the online archives events have been very popular and there’s even the online wine tasting about to happen as I write. Covid-19 has driven us apart, but it has also brought us together. And as I think of the boys joining online lessons from all corners of the world, often rising ridiculously early or staying up till the

small hours in order to be part of it ‘live’ and not miss out, the strength of the community has struck most of all.

That leads me back to Keats. There has been ‘uproar’ and as it subsides, we will still have the ‘music’. But he was wrong. Amidst the change, and amidst the things we have learned, it has been the things that we have rediscovered that perhaps loom largest. The things that have always been at the heart of a Radley education: boys achieving, staff inspiring, the school adapting, education being much more than grades. And above all, community. In other words, the things that underpin is and make us who we are. There is stability.

So we look forward to 2021. The cloud will continue, but we have reason to hope that normal education will resume as the summer months approach. We will rightly return to the love of those refreshingly normal routines but we will, perhaps, appreciate them all the more. I look forward in particular to that first hymn in the newly extended Chapel with us all together; I suspect we will test the roof. And we will continue to build on very stable foundations.

Gazette

Radleian Society Welcome

After twelve years as Chairman of the Radleian Society, Rupert Henson stepped down from his role in September 2020 at a very surreal Committee meeting & AGM held over Zoom. We were all acutely aware that this was not the right way to say goodbye to an individual who has contributed so much to the Radleian Society. His steady hand at the helm has seen the Society go from strength to strength; broadening our events programme, presiding over the launch of our business network, Radley For Life, supporting the development of our career tools and online Shop, and of course, championing the Old Radleian Sports Clubs & Societies, including the mighty Rangers!

We will ensure that Rupert receives a fitting tribute, hopefully in person at the Radleian Society AGM in April 2021. We are also thrilled to make him and Thomas Seymour, recently retired Chairman of the Foundation Trustees, Vice Presidents of the Radleian Society.

As we allow the dust to settle, it is my pleasure to take on the short-term merged role of President and Chairman of the Radleian Society – although admittedly I had not expected to take this on at such a challenging time!

The Radleian Society, like so many other organisations, is facing the need to make significant changes to its operations right now, particularly our events programme which is such an important part of what we do. In recent months we have embraced the virtual events world, and I am pleased to say that we have already run several successful online events including networking talks, glimpses into the archives, international ‘catch-ups’ with the Warden, university zooms with dons and a Winter Wine tasting!

Editor’s Note

On coming back to work after being furloughed for so many months, putting together this year’s edition of The Old Radleian was always going to be different.

With no Lusimus in July and no opportunity for an Impact Report to provide an update on bursaries and fundraising, I wanted to include more news on life at College and on the activities of the Foundation. So, you can read about how the College responded to a virtual term and then a lockdown one. There are also details of how the generosity of our donors is making an impact and how the Chapel build is progressing.

But, The Old Radleian is still very much about the wider Radleian community, one that includes ORs, parents, past parents and staff. And at a time when so many of us have been restricted in our social interactions (and even how much we can leave the house), it is good to know that our community spans the globe. This was a theme I was keen to explore this year. From ORs who’ve come to Radley from far afield, to ORs, who’ve ventured out and made their way in the wider world, you’re seemingly never far from an OR!

I hope you enjoy this read and do get in touch to share your news as we move into a, hopefully, brighter 2021.

Simon Brand Editor

The feedback so far has been very positive and I am pleased to report that we have connected with a host of new people as well as some familiar faces.

2022 is the 175th Anniversary of Radley’s founding, and we are planning a number of important projects to celebrate the 175 years that have passed and to step forward into the next 175 to come! One of the most significant of these projects currently in progress is the 175th Anniversary book.

Entitled ‘Untold Stories’ it explores the history of Radley College through the backdrop of its founding principles. It should be a fascinating read, incorporating as it does many voices from the Radley community that will add to the dialogue of its author, Clare Sargent, Radley’s Archivist. Please do take the time to read the leaflet enclosed with this copy of The Old Radleian which describes the book in more detail, and most importantly how to take advantage of the early purchase £10 discount!

I finish by reminding you of the importance of the Radley community at this time. Now more than ever before, we need to come together to support each other in our lives and in our careers.

Sam Melluish (1976) Radleian Society President

Development Director’s Introduction

As 2020 draws to a close, there is no doubt that the events of the last 12 months will have profound and far-reaching implications. And as such, we might consider that this is one of the most important times to be at the heart of education.

The current generation is already known as Generation Covid, and the Shells who entered Radley in September 2020 will be entering the workplace in 2030, and we can be certain that they will enter a world different than any of us can fully predict today.

Over the next five years that they are with us at Radley, we must find ways to prepare and equip them with the best education that will enable them to pursue their chosen career path, but we must also ensure that we continue to develop vital skills such as resilience, creativity, emotional intelligence, empathy, entrepreneurship and technology.

The College has already shown extraordinary adaptability in response to the national lockdown earlier this year with how quickly Virtual Radley was conceived and delivered during the summer term, but we have also had to continue to evolve and change throughout this Michaelmas term. As we begin to make plans for 2021, we do so with clear understanding that changes will occur. However, we cannot standstill and wait for normality to return, but we must embrace uncertainty and innovation in equal measure.

The strength of Radley College today is built upon our founding ethos of inspiring boys to become outstanding young men. This will never change. The strength of the Radley community is built upon a network of outstanding men and their parents. When a boy joins the school, his family embarks on a lifelong journey with Radley which will change and evolve with time.

The Radleian Society’s purpose to “Bring the Radley Community together so that we can better help each other” and the Radley Foundation’s core aim to support Radley College to “Provide a world-class education for boys” creates a perfect balance of mutual

support. The Development Office exists to support both current boys and Old Radleians, and our work is undertaken in partnership with the Radleian Society Committee and the Foundation Trustees.

Despite the disruptions of 2020, Radley is well positioned for the future. Interest from parents has never been higher, and in September we welcomed 735 boys back to Radley, the largest cohort ever in the history of the College. This was an historic moment to celebrate as the boys returned after an absence of almost six months. The future looks promising as we seek to increase numbers in 2021 to 750, which will be the full extent of increase in the number of boys.

However, Radley does not exist in isolation, but is part of a landscape where the educational divide has increased and progress for social mobility has diminished. The vision that the Warden and Council adopted five years ago, is even more relevant today – to seek more boys from different backgrounds and to ensure all our boys are equipped to be global citizens. We cannot accomplish this on our own. This vision can only be realised with full support from the Radley community who are willing to share expertise, to offer career advice and guidance, provide mentoring opportunities and to provide financial support to our current and future cohort of boys.

In 2020, the power of our highly digitised world has transformed the way that we work and how we interact socially. The Radley community is finding new ways to stay connected and the Development Office is here to support you.

Elisabeth Anderson Development Director

The Radley Foundation - 2020 update

The Radley Foundation in its current form was established in 2000 to increase substantially the funds available for meanstested scholarships and bursaries, and to assist the College with significant building developments and improvements.

After 20 years, the Foundation is incredibly proud to have raised almost £30 million in donations and future pledges, and we are grateful to the 3,542 donors from across the Radley community. This is an extraordinary testament to the loyalty and generosity of Old Radleians and friends.

As the Foundation celebrates its 20th year, we reflect not only on the funds raised, but the impact of this generosity. It is only with time that we can see the lasting impact of these donations and the work of the last two decades, and we can begin to see momentum build as we track our progress.

While the Foundation was started in 2000, philanthropic support has always been a part of Radley’s fabric with the first ever donation being received from a well-wisher on 4th April 1847.

The Funded Places programme is now producing impressive results. In the last five years we have more than doubled the number of boys on fully funded places, doubled the number of boys on means-tested bursaries and also doubled the total cost of these awards. The progress that we have made in recent years has only been made possible with the help of philanthropy.

In 2020, the two elements of our campaign were to grow the Silk Fund to provide wider access to the school through part and fully funded places for more social inclusion, and to raise funds for the Chapel extension. The Warden launched the campaign earlier this year, but all plans changed rapidly at the end of March and our primary focus shifted to support the boys through the summer term with Virtual Radley. We are still very much committed to the Silk and Chapel Funds and are relaunching our efforts in 2021.

Thank you to all who have contributed to the success of the Radley Foundation over the last two decades. We look forward to creating even greater impact over the next 20 years.

Elisabeth Anderson Development Director

Chairman of the Foundation Trustees

I write to you with great pride as the new Chairman of the Radley Foundation.

Notwithstanding these extraordinary times, the Foundation is in great shape after 20 years. Both the trustees and I have the generosity of thousands of donors to thank for the current state of play. Not to forget the wisdom of Richard Morgan who came up with the idea of the Foundation and the execution of the likes of Anthony Robinson to get it off the ground in its early days.

Looking to the future, I am hugely enjoying working with the Foundation’s new Development Director, Elisabeth Anderson. It gives me joy to work with someone who has such energy and drive, not to mention her experience in many different fields including two UK school Foundations (Bryanston School and Fettes College).

Whilst the Foundation sits as a separate legal entity from the College, it is very much aligned with the vision of the Warden and Council. I live relatively close to the College, as well as working in Oxford, and as a result I get the chance to visit fairly regularly and see for my own eyes the benefit that the Foundation delivers. I see the College as being a highly progressive institution, slightly different to the eye since my time but undoubtedly wedded to the same core values.

The Foundation has always been close to my heart. My first major

Foundation Trustees

engagement involved a group of my old Radley mates (Tom Cornell, Nick Walford and Julian Walker) organising a team to raise money for the Foundation through competing in the Kindrochit Challenge in Scotland a number of years ago. I adored my time at Radley but I am only too aware of how lucky I was to be given the opportunity to go to such a place. The Foundation is opening up such fortune to families who could not begin to afford a private school education.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank, first and foremost, Thomas Seymour. Thomas has been, simply put, the most fantastic Chairman of the Foundation over a number of years. Whilst I may have size 12/13 feet - his shoes are going to be extremely big to fill!

Thomas remains a trustee and I do not doubt that I will be picking his considerable brain as we progress.

Whilst on the subject of thanks, I should highlight the work that Henry Cosh did prior to Elisabeth’s arrival. I thought I had energy and enthusiasm – until I met Henry! I last visited the Foundation’s office at the top of Mansion in September - relatively soon after Elisabeth started in the Development Director‘s role – and it was so lovely to feel the buzz amongst the team. I much look forward to working with them all over the coming years.

Will Maydon (1986, B) Chairman of the Foundation Trustees

Guy Heald (1963, C)

Thomas Seymour (1965, C)

Richard Huntingford (1969, E)

Gerald Kaye (1971, B) Ex officio

Sam Melluish (1976, B)

Viki Chapman (Former Parent)

David Smellie (Former Parent) Ex officio

Will Maydon (1986, B)

Building on our foundations

Since the launch of the campaign in January, we have been overwhelmed by the warm response from the Radley community in support of the Chapel and Silk Funds – despite the obvious setbacks of this very strange year. Our immense gratitude goes to the Old Radleians, former parents, current parents, former staff, current staff and friends who have supported the campaign so far.

Campaign donors

The Silk Fund

Thanks to generous support, the Silk Fund continues to grow to help talented boys, this year supporting seven who would otherwise be unable to afford the full fees. The Silk Fund is an integral part of our broader funded places programme which too continues to grow to fund families in need at a variety of levels and brings us closer to our target of 20% of all fee income to be in the form of fee remission. Year on year boys arrive from different backgrounds, bringing a wealth of experiences and enriching the Radley community.

Dennis Silk himself benefitted from a bursary when he was a boy at Christ’s hospital. His subsequent career and care for others encapsulates the values of the fund founded in his honour. Some Senior Prefects from his time as Warden have shared their reflections:

“Dennis was exceptional and he changed our lives - and hundreds of boys after us. And we learnt later that this journey of achievement had begun when a young Dennis, son of an impecunious missionary, was awarded a full bursary at Christ’s Hospital. That is why the Silk Fund is a perfect memorial to his achievements and our gratitude.”

Rupert Middleton (1968)

“Inimitably modest and selfless, Dennis’s express wish was to make the modern Radley education, which he did so much to mould, more accessible through the provision of bursaries. I can’t think that there is a more fitting way to honour this great life, that touched us all, than the Silk Fund.”

Nigel Burgess (1969)

“I know that he was thrilled by the establishment of the Silk Fund and he would wish it to flourish, so that it can provide the education to others that we were privileged to receive.”

James Dingemans (1977)

“The Silk Fund is a fitting legacy for a hugely influential educator who believed so wholeheartedly in the power of education.”

Mark Durden-Smith

(1982)

Dennis’s and the fund’s impact have been far reaching, supporting 34 boys throughout their education – or, in other words, about 170 years’ worth of education since 1991. But the Silk Fund is not simply about what boys achieve when they are here, but also what they go on to do when they leave.

Support of the fund enables boys to make an impact on the wider world as they grow into educated, thoughtful and kind young men. Our Silk scholars have gone on to become doctors, NGO workers, teachers and researchers – a few examples of the wide-reaching impact the fund truly has.

Thank you to all who have supported the campaign so far...

Old Radleians

Former Parents

Parents

Staff

Former Staff Friends

CHAPEL Progress as of September 2020

Hamish Aird Sub-Warden (1990-2003)

Works on Chapel have progressed well, and we are on target for the building phase completion in March 2021.

Chapel is, of course, more than simply a building – it is, for all in the community, a place to come together to find comfort and to reflect. It is at the core to Radley life and we are very much looking forward to coming together again soon.

Richard Morgan Warden (1991-2000)

“Chapel really matters. Gathering the whole school together Chapel is at the heart of Radley life.”

“Radley Chapel remains a place to seek after truth, enjoy togetherness, make inspirational music and reflect in quiet moments.”

Architect’s impressions (courtesy of

McPhail Warden (2000-2014)

Purcell)

“Walking across Chapel Quad when the choir was rehearsing was affirmation that Radley remains a college united by shared values.”

Angus

Additional photos of plans can be viewed on the College website: www.bit.ly/RadleyChapelFund

The Radleian Society committee

The Radleian Society Committee represents the Radley community in its make-up, including as it does Old Radleians from a variety of generations, former and current parents, and Radley Common Room. I felt this was a good time to introduce you to these individuals, who represent you and your views through their work. We meet three times a year to discuss our events, communications and careers programmes. Currently, in this virtual world, they continue to guide us and ensure our relevance – I’d like to thank them whole heartedly for their efforts on behalf of all of us.

Caroline Monaghan Radleian Society Manager

Max Blanshard (2004, B)

Jo Rooth (1985, E)

Henry Morris (1996, E)

George Coles (2003, G)

Struan Ridgwell (1984, B)

Simon Fickling (1996, E)

Will Bailey (1968, D)

Simon Shaw (1978, A)

Sam Melluish (1976, B)

Viki Chapman (Former Parent)

Patrick McMeekin (1999, B)

Richard Greed (Radley Common Room)

ORs @ Radley 2020 Events

Careers advice

One may have thought that the Covid pandemic would have put paid to the increasing number of ORs returning to the College to offer their insight and expertise to the boys. But with lockdown keeping people at home and the school conducting lessons virtually, ORs and members of Council stepped up to the plate.

In April, a series of lunchtime lectures and Q&A sessions entitled “A Career In...” was launched. Aimed at that year’s 6.2 and 6.1s, each talk covered an industry in which the speaker was an expert, with a view to giving the boys an opportunity to uncover details about prospective careers. At such an unsettling time, being able to tap into this wealth of knowledge was invaluable for the Sixth Form as they looked to make decisions about their future career paths.

The talks covered Law, Diplomacy, Medicine, Energy, Property & Real Estate, The Hedge Fund Industry, Media & Marketing, Cross sector working: Banking to Biotech, Communications & Media, Asset Management, and The Armed Forces.

The series was introduced by a talk given by Sir Charlie Mayfield (1980 and former Radley parent) entitled: “What does the crisis mean for the economy and jobs and what could you do about it?”

Zoom Talks and Livestreams

The whole community has come together throughout the lockdown period and into the 2020/21 year, as ORs, Parents (both past and current) and Council members have lent their expertise to help enrich the boys’ knowledge. Current Radley parent, Scott Pendergast, is Director of Strategic Planning and Partnerships at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and took the time to give a virtual lecture to the boys in April, right in the eye of the storm of the international COVID-19 crisis.

In the Drama department, Henry Hereford (1989) took time in November to help Ned Blackburn (6.2) with his audition pieces for Drama School.

And the boys got an insight into the world of two elite sports from OR England internationals. In May, rugby player Will Stuart (2009) and fellow pros, Ollie Thornley and Ben Earl ran a Q&A session, detailing their lives and journeys from school to professional rugby and much more. This was followed in June by polo professional Malcolm Borwick (1990) giving a livestreamed interview on his ‘Life in Polo’.

25 Year reunion

The Old Radleian leavers of 1995 returned to the College in February to celebrate their 25 Year Reunion with a number of current and former dons.

Hall, Chapel and JCR all featured, along with Social tours, as these ORs reconnected with their school friends and remembered their school days.

ORs and past dons in Hall at the 25 Year Reunion in February.

Virtual events

With the resumption of our event programme in September, the Radleian Society has played host to a number of well-attended virtual social events, aiming to help keep the community connected and entertained during the various levels of lockdown.

Old Radleians range in age from 19 to 90+ and all have been catered for, with current dons catching up with our most recent school leavers during their lockdown at universities in our ‘Friendly Faces of Radley’ Zoom calls. For our more senior ORs, archivist Clare Sargent has been hosting online sessions that looked at Radley in the 1940s and 1950s. These have been very well received with ORs sharing stories of their time here:

Many thanks for putting together that peep into the archives of the 1940s. It brought back an odd mixture of memories.

Reference was made to the don, Richard Waye. There were usually slight sniggers and smirks in Chapel whenever we sang ‘Help us on our way’.

In keeping with the international focus of this issue of The Old Radleian, we have also arranged for ORs and parents in the Far East and in the USA to join the Warden for ‘virtual tea’. Here they’ve been able to catch up with all the latest College news and strengthen the bonds of the Radley community.

And finally, to help everyone get ready for Christmas, Robert Cochrane (1986) led an online Wine Tasting event (with real, not virtual, wine). Over 60 people joined in the tasting, with over 300 bottles uncorked on the night!

Our virtual events will continue into 2021, so watch this space!

The 1950s Archive virtual event had over 50 ORs join the call, with impromptu singing of numbers from old Dons’ Plays!

Radley Connect - leveraging the radley network

The Radleian Society recently ran a survey for those who left Radley 7 years ago, to find out what they experienced in their careers after they left Radley. One of the most dominant themes was that boys wished they had used the Radley network earlier on for advice. As one Old Radleian put it: ‘If you can start internships in your first year of university you have a big advantage, so I would have liked more contact with the alumni network earlier on’.

The challenges the boys are facing when entering the world of work today are greater than ever before, not just because of the pandemic, but also because of the way the workplace has transformed. Individuals are much more likely to change jobs or careers regularly and a positive attitude to adopting new skills in order to grasp opportunities.

To find out more about what Radleians are encountering after Radley, we interviewed Sebastian Aldous (2012, E)

What was it like for you when you first left Radley?

When I left Radley I went to Durham university to study Ancient History, and I didn’t actually find Durham that different to Radley when I got there. The most significant thing was the change of pace. Radley is such a full-on environment, and I found that at university I actually had a lot more time on my hands! This meant I was able to think about starting my own business and work out the skills I needed to do this, and because Radley had taught us how to keep ‘on top of things’, I have been able to build my business and do my degree at the same time.

Had you always wanted to start your own business?

Yes, I always wanted to start my own business, and a lot of this came from the things I tried at Radley – including attempting to sell a lot of stuff from China from my Shell room! Some of my ideas were better than others, I started the photography society, and I remember the school really supporting me to do this, with people like Mr Holden being a great mentor along the way. They let me use a room and set up the cameras and computers to process the photographs. Thinking back it was great that when I wanted to ‘just start something’, the school embraced it and helped, we were lucky.

When did you first start thinking about setting up your business after you left Radley?

I had always enjoyed working with technology, and as I had more time on my hands, I spent my first term at university learning how to code. I spoke to my brother about the idea of a helping students to talk to employers online, but doing it in a more personal way than the big recruitment agencies, and together we started to work out how we could actually make this into a business. Describe your start-up and how things have gone so far. My business, Varsity Careers Hub (VCH), is a software enabled recruitment firm, a platform that connects highly qualified job seekers with top companies. There are lots of larger recruitment

firms out there, but they don’t do what we do, which is much more efficient because it is so targeted. Through our software, companies can find exactly the profile of individual they need and approach them in a very personal way, eliminating a lot of legwork. Students can also use the software to find and easily approach the right kind of company for them. We have a highly qualified ‘human’ recruitment service that works alongside the platform, which companies can also use to find people. Currently we have over 20,000 students and more than 150 employers using VCH, and we have recently scaled up our team to 6 people with two more planned hires for January; our revenues are growing quickly and we are going in for another SEIS funding round in early January so we are currently looking for investors for that.

How has the Radley network helped you so far?

I hadn’t really had any connection with Radley since I left, so I decided to get in touch with the Radleian Society office to find out the best way to access the Radley network - I wanted to be quite targeted in my approaches and make sure the relationships were right. They looked through their platforms, Radley Connect and LinkedIn, and identified several people for me to connect with who had the right experience. They asked them on my behalf if they were happy to talk to me, and I had some excellent conversations with various people, some of which are still ongoing.

One OR, who had himself set up his own business, gave me some excellent advice around getting ‘my books in order’ right from the beginning. He said I needed to make sure I set my business up in the right way, get the accounting, admin, and legalities right before we start to grow. He also introduced me to someone in a similar space who gave me advice on my software and how to improve and test it. This was invaluable at this stage as I had zero experience.

The Radleian Society also put me in touch with Tom Cornell (1987), who is very well advanced in his career. I remember being nervous about talking to someone with so much experience on the phone, but I am so glad I did. We continued to talk every couple of weeks and he then introduced us to several big companies, who were traditionally quite hard to get hold of, to help us develop meaningful partnerships early on. He advised us on our big decisions, assisted us in commercially evaluating our business and has been a brilliant sounding board throughout the last year – he is now a fully fledged investor/advisor and is helping us to raise investment so we can expand.

What advice would you give to others who are starting out in their careers?

Make sure you use the Radley network as early on as possible to test out your ideas and get advice in a safe environment. Try and do it in quite a targeted way, so you are not spamming people them, and make sure you have thought through your ideas before you approach them so you aren’t wasting their time. If I’m honest, if I had done it earlier I would have saved myself about a year’s worth of work!

If you would like to find out more about VCH or are interested in participating in the funding round then please reach out to RFL who can put you in touch.

Radley for Life - Business networking events

Marketing and Networking

The RFL Business Networking events for 2020 have, through necessity, been quite different from each other.

In March, George Prest (1988), founder of the Blood Global agency, and a partner in You & Mr Jones, chaired a vibrant and in-depth discussion on the Future of Marketing with a panel of experts in the field – Emma Cookson (pictured below), Tim Sparke (1988), Remi Pedro and Simon Peck (1985).

Working in TV & Film

Ahead of our next Business Networking event on the Creative Industries, due to be held in January, we talk to our lead for this event, acclaimed television producer and creator of Netflix’s hit, Sex Education, Jamie Campbell (1990).

What made you choose to go into a career in TV?

It was pure chance. I went to film school after university, with the intention of becoming a

film director. I had a lucky break, making a documentary which Channel 4 ended up broadcasting in 2001. Documentaries were a very exciting medium at that time – and so I decided to focus on that, always keeping an eye out for the opportunity to make TV drama, too.

How did you start your journey?

In a literal sense, I started my journey by making some films using Max Horsey’s camera and editing equipment, when I was in the lower sixth at Radley.

In October our second Business Networking event was, by necessity, held virtually. In it, Neil Munz-Jones (1978), author of The Reluctant Networker, took the 30+ ORs and Parents through how to approach Networking.

Two-thirds of people are reluctant networkers as opposed to natural networkers, and this was borne out in a poll of the attendees, but Neil started off by debunking some networking myths including: “it’s all about going to events to work the room” and “it’s just a politically correct way of using people you know to get what you want”.

He then went on to share his Top 10 tips for Networking. The take home for those in attendance is that there is not one ‘right way’ to network, and everyone needs to find a style that works for them.

You can watch the video of this virtual session here: www.radley.org.uk/radleian-society/business-network

What do you think helped you to progress your career the most? Probably that break I got in the year 2001, with Channel 4 broadcasting the documentary I had made.

What has been your greatest high and your greatest low so far in your career?

My greatest low was a drama series being greenlit but then being cancelled, in 2016. The greatest high was Reed Hastings (the boss of Netflix) announcing that Sex Education had been watched by at least 40 million people in the first month after its launch.

What advice would you give others who wish to join the world of TV?

Work out as early on as you can the role you’re most excited by, and be as innovative and tenacious as you can in moving towards that role.

How do you think being at Radley impacted on your career, the positives and the negatives?

The structure frustrated me in some ways – but also helped me to be quite focussed. Ironically, I also found that challenging the system was – when I was at Radley – not considered a bad thing at all.

Who was the person that inspired you most while you were there?

Other boys, particularly those who were good directors, writers and actors. So that, for me, was Tom Crowther, Will Mufti, Harry Wallop, Tom Benyon, Mike Grist, Nick Hiscocks. Jim Hare, who taught drama, was also very influential for me.

Max Horsey, in his very quiet way, was immensely encouraging of the films I made with Tom Crowther and Rik Barker.

COLLEGE UPDATE

world.

It is quite remarkable how different the world feels from a year ago. In October 2019 the College’s concerns were around Brexit, political risks for the sector, pensions funding and the outcome of the coming General Election.

However good any organisation’s risk register is (and “threat of a pandemic” has featured on the College’s register since before the SARS pandemic of 2009) nobody could have anticipated the impact of Covid-19, nor the whole new vocabulary arising out of it with words like furlough becoming common parlance.

So much has changed. But the fundamentals have not. A year ago, our desire was to grow our endowment and provide more funded places to candidates who could not otherwise afford to come to Radley. Our financial strategy revolves around doing this and around mitigating risks of financial shocks to the school. A year on, these needs are as great as ever.

As the Covid crisis unfolded, our instinct was to look after and support our staff, to deliver as near a full education for our boys as was possible (not just academically, but in all aspects co-curricular and also pastorally), and to support our parents, many of whom were in turn facing uncertainties of their own. Indeed, some parents suffered terrible hardship, and a number are still only beginning to experience the long-term impact on their employment, their financial planning and their wealth. Luckily, through prior-year planning, the College has built up funds to support unexpected hardship and there have been more calls on one such fund, the General Bursary Fund, than at any time in the last two decades.

Thus, Summer Term 2020 was different for everybody from any other term experienced in recent history. The College could not open its doors to its boys, and, as a result of lockdown, over 250 operational staff were placed on furlough, all on full pay. Boys still received an education, through Virtual Radley (see pages 20-23 for a flavour).

In view of a Virtual Radley, we discounted fees in the Summer term by 30%. Despite furlough grants, and a number of cost savings, the College lost around £1m during this period, but we entered the 2020/21 year with confidence. L Social opened in September, demand for places at Radley has been as strong as ever, and the term started with 736 boys – almost all back on campus, but with a small number from overseas still receiving a virtual education. Our Chapel extension project is progressing well, after a short delay, and we expect the newly enlarged Chapel to open before Easter 2021, and the new organ to be installed in Summer 2021. We are also enormously grateful to those parents who gave back their fee discount to support the College, enabling us to supplement our funding of hardship payments and other causes.

We continue to manage the College in a Covid-safe way, and we are of course reviewing this on a regular basis. We have wanted to insulate parents from the financial impact of the changes we have had to make. School fees were frozen for 2020/21 and the costs of our various safety measures have been borne out of reserves. Given the College’s land sale in 2019, more money is being invested in our endowment funds and more is now available for bursaries. Our decision to invest money through Oxford University Endowment Management, whose whole investment philosophy is around the long-term preservation of capital, while delivering growing annual returns, has been timely in light of the impact of Covid on the markets, and, to date, this has helped shield us from the worst of the impact of the pandemic on asset values.

While Covid has led to an inevitable impact on short term financial performance for the College, it has served to remind us how important it is to have financial resilience, and to be able to take, with confidence, long term decisions around the best interests of the College. Young people are resilient, and as staff and parents we have much to learn

Bursar, Andrew Ashton, and Academic Director, Stephen Rathbone, reflect on the 2019/20 academic year and how Radley has adapted to the vastly-changing

Boys taking part in Covid-safe CCF training, with masks being a new addition to the uniform for some.

from the way our boys rose to the challenges of Covid. I am delighted at how resilient Radley staff have been, and how committed they have been in ensuring we rise to the challenges we continue to face, and deliver the best possible outcomes for our boys and for the College’s long-term prosperity to benefit future generations.

I was asked at a staff briefing in October, “Has Covid delivered any benefits for the College?”. It was a great question. None of us would have wished what has happened, and, as I write, it still feels as if we all have a long way to go. But we do indeed have much to take with us from the lessons forced on us by Covid. We are more technologically enabled and more confident in the use of technology. We have seen first-hand the importance of cash and reserves – indeed relearnt the lessons I feel every generation must learn, that you value what you have, you protect it, and nurture it for the future. Finally, we have a greater sense of community, and the importance of supporting each other – not just on campus, but in our local communities around Radley, Abingdon and Oxford – and there are some great initiatives taking place which should stand the College in good stead. To choose just one, it is the College’s involvement in supporting the expansion of Radley Primary School, in which we have brokered agreement between the county education provider and Radley Parish Council for a joint project to deliver an improved school hall for the enlarged Primary School. Something that will benefit the community of Radley Village, including many of our staff, for generations to come.

Andrew Ashton Bursar

One of the marquees used to provide additional meeting, teaching and dining space for Michaelmas Term in Chapel Quad. Behind it, the work on the Chapel extension continues.

Social bubbles gather in front of the cricket pavilion as the Chaplain leads the College in prayer on the first Sunday of Michaelmas Term.

Academic report 2019-20

Covid and VUCA

As for all schools across the world, this has obviously been a challenging period. Teachers, pupils and parents have had to adapt to ongoing disruption and uncertainty. Indeed, I have a favourite new acronym from the lexicon of international relations, economics and business: VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). Everyone knows that these words encapsulate our times. Yet, as with so many other institutions, the problems of Covid-19 were also an opportunity to do things differently and, in many cases, better.

The Covid-19 lockdown forced hard questions about the nature, quality and level of online provision, the planning of which dominated the Easter holiday. We tried to present online almost everything which normally happens in the Radley day - to the best standard we could manage. Due to a huge effort by all concerned, we succeeded. Using Microsoft Teams and Zoom as our main platforms, Shell, Remove and 6.1 programmes moved forward and, in some cases, further so than would have been the case in normal times. Although dons took care to check for proper understanding on our September return, we had a genuine sense – reinforced by many tranches of feedback from boys and parents - that the experience, if not always easy, was enjoyable and stimulating. Making allowances for those abroad or with WiFi issues, online participation was excellent. Additionally, end of term exams for these year groups went well. We had very few cases of cheating (we think!) since many parents working from home (WFH!) were happy to supervise. I thank them here for their help during Virtual Radley. Moreover, most boys wanted to do things properly.

Academic Results

When national exams were cancelled, there was little joy, the main sentiments being disappointment and anxiety. Open Book Exercises (OBEs) were deployed to help those who had been brutally cheated of examinations to end courses with some dignity and sense of closure. OBEs could not in good faith be used to shape our Centre Assessed Grade (CAG) submissions, but overall the experiment went well and OBEs can be used as part of future internal assessments. For these year groups we also laid on a programme of electives, which was very well received. One felt a great pastoral (not simply academic or transactional) responsibility toward Leavers - given the circumstances - and I think we fulfilled it. Some of them inevitably drifted off into jobs, voluntary work or adolescent hedonism, but it was cheering to see how many stayed on board to the end.

With the Vth form, the vast majority continued to want to be educated over the summer term. A very stimulating programme allowed them to prepare for A-levels, choose from a range of ‘stretch’ courses and learn some life skills - including cookery and car maintenance. A tremendous element of the package was the inclusion of our 22 (now 25) Sixth Form Entrants, whose sparky contributions helped them to feel part of Radley long before they arrived. In my voluntary elective on The Falklands War, a boy from the Caucasus unostentatiously proved himself more knowledgeable about that topic - and indeed international relations in generalthan might be expected at his age. This kind of experience gives the ‘five year’ Radleian a taste of global competition for university places and jobs.

A

A* 26.9%

Others Other 6.1% B 26.9% A 40.1% Other 13.1%

Grade 7 18.6%

Grade 9 40.5%

Grade 8 27.8%

Qualification results for Radley at A-level (above left) and (I)GCSE (above right).

The substitute for exams – the CAG process - was thorough and involved schools placing pupils in a strict rank order for every subject. The great majority of boys achieved strong results, with a combination of the government algorithm and Gavin Williamson’s delayed climbdown from its harsher effects producing 26.9% A*, 67% A*-A and 93.9% A*-B at A-level and 40.5% 9, 68.3% 9-8 and 86.9% 9-7 at (I)GCSE. For university destination, many Radleians headed towards the staples of the Russell Group - Exeter, Durham, Bristol and Newcastle - but many other locations also welcomed our successful entrants. Six boys took up places in foreign universities, including Boston and Dartmouth. Oxbridge results were thin. Our average over the last decade is twelve places total per annum, so a mere five at Oxford (no one was successful with Cambridge) was a real disappointment. We have greater hopes this year.

Adapting and progressing

Theoretically, there was little risk of introspection during an international pandemic, but to avoid any danger of it, a fantastic range of external speakers (including kind members of Council) made for a fertile lecture programme - which included a parent holding a senior position in the WHO, two OR Olympic rowers, fourteen careers talks and a very timely presentation on the (Covid-19-enhanced) dangers of social media and the internet. I was always very aware, as I hosted these online discussions, that parents and non-Radleian siblings – and maybe others too – were listening behind the blacked-out screen.

And our inherent adaptability towards use of technology surprised many dons and boys! We were extremely well-led by the IT Department - who patiently coached us - but equally, there was a tremendous ‘swapshop’ culture of self-discovered ideas and tips, communicated by dons and boys to each other through the short films which they had very quickly learnt to make. Even the least technically proficient (like the author) moved ahead exponentially in terms of competence and confidence.

The challenge now is to ensure that this huge institutional advance is consolidated and made a gateway to more rapid technological progress. It will be. The will is there. After all, the wider situation is one of VUCA... We want to help boys ‘bank’ the gains of Virtual Radley. Via Microsoft OneNote/ClassNotebook, all work is chronologically organised as it was set and marked, in an online file whose contents cannot be left in the rain outside the dining hall/lost in Social/blown across the pitches. All this said, there is a balance to be maintained between online and paper work and we continue to research the best route towards this. Additionally, online marking allows dons to complete the task far more rapidly. We can also get around the problem of dons’ (possibly) indecipherable handwriting! Therefore, at the most basic educational levels - of written work and its setting, completion, marking and filing – Virtual Radley has allowed us to look and work smarter.

One important feature of online learning was the emergence of the ‘quiet men’, by which I mean those boys of whom it is often individually written, in normal times, that ‘he does not say much in class’. I have often felt this was something unfairly emphasised in any context - the most quiet often being the most attentive and absorbent - but during Virtual Radley we saw how these ‘quiet men’ became animated and vocal. The challenge was to make sure that they carried on speaking this term.

It was fascinating to see how many boys were mobilised by the diverse range of modules provided by dons showcasing favourite topics and interests. Some of these were profoundly idiosyncratic - and all the better for that – and this is perhaps best typified by Kevin Mosedale’s The History of Pylons. Common Room and boys so enjoyed the experience that we hope to embed this exciting development into our annual programme. So, even after all the stresses of the last two terms, academic departments are in good shape. We have recently appointed new Heads of Year for Shell, Remove and Vth, who will work closely with teaching departments to ensure boys are monitored even more closely in the academic realm and cared for even more effectively in the pastoral. The Head of Scholars, another new post, will now ensure all named academic award holders in lower school (plus those who mark themselves out as able and industrious once they arrive) are constantly nurtured and challenged on a school-wide basis. Radley is an academic school as much as an ‘all-rounder’ one, but this message is perhaps not always as well articulated or understood as it could and should be.

Finally, the Academic Director is carrying out, over the next four years, a comprehensive review of the curriculum. Penetrating questions need to be asked by any school of itself in a time of huge technological, social, economic and cultural change. Do we teach the right things, in the right ways? What are we missing? Are we equipping boys primarily for life, or for exams? At Radley, do we look out into the world - ‘over the fence’ - enough or are we, at times and in certain contexts, a bit too insular, complacent, and sometimes, even smug?! Mature organisations which want to survive and thrive ask themselves these questions. It will be an exciting process, the results of which will be communicated to readers in due course. As Admiral John ‘Jacky’ Fisher - the great reforming genius of the Royal Navy before WWI - wrote in his biography ‘Memories’ (1919): ‘Audacity and Imagination beget Surprise’. Through our attitude to education, we aim to demonstrate both those qualities so that we can continue to surprise ourselves and the wider world about what this great school can achieve in the modern age.

Stephen Rathbone Academic Director

Left: Virtual teaching across departments during Summer 2020.

A snapshot from Kevin Mosedale’s enrichment talk on the History of Pylons - visit his blog at www.pylonofthemonth.org

L Social

It has been quite a journey. It doesn’t seem long ago that I watched the laying of L Social’s foundations in May 2019. Since then, this quiet corner of the Radley estate has been transformed into a happy, bustling hub of activity. Admittedly, there were some nerve-racking moments along the way – without a great deal of personal experience of construction projects, it was hard for me to see how the building work would be completed on time: COVID19 lockdowns, bad weather and resource shortages all made a September finish seem unlikely. Yet, thanks to the incredible efforts of David Anderson, Estates Bursar, and others, we were delighted to open the L Social doors on the first day of the Michaelmas Term 2020 to an excited group of boys in their blue and yellow ties.

The sensitive architecture of the new Social buildings provides a wonderful fusion of old and new; history, and history in the making. Rooms that once were occupied by Radley greats sit alongside exciting, modern spaces that capitalise on enviable views of College Pond, Mansion, Chapel and Peachcroft Farm.

Of course, a new Social is more than bricks and mortar, and it has been a joy to see how the staff and boys have worked to build a distinct L Social culture. Whilst COVID restrictions mean we have had to interact in rather more limited ways across the College, many of the boys have suggested it has been a blessing in disguise: boys have necessarily had to spend a lot of time with those in their own Social bubbles. We have quickly established a sense of togetherness, and the strong bonds that have formed between the boys and staff have meant they have supported each other admirably, and risen collectively to new challenges.

It has been particularly impressive to see both old (those who transferred from other Socials) and new boys becoming pioneers, taking ownership of their space and taking forward their ideas: a social library; a new system for organic waste; and a piano room that fills the Social with beautiful music. The 6.1s and 6.2s have helped me enormously with their enthusiasm, leadership and good counsel.

And, the committed and caring pastoral team – especially Debs and Mrs Davies - have been integral to the positive and creative atmosphere that we can all enjoy.

The spirit within the Social was aptly demonstrated after the L Social Shells were crowned winners of the Haddon Cup – a debut victory. On the performers’ return, they were greeted outside by the rest of the L boys, who were waving their torches and singing: a true champions welcome, illustrative of the respect and appreciation the boys have for each other. I consider it a great privilege to have been part of L Social’s journey so far, and, as we expand to fill every year group, and as the final facilities are completed, I eagerly anticipate the adventures to come.

Ali Hakimi L Social Tutor

‘A’ Ryder’s Dozen

In July 2020, at the height of lockdown and the end of Radley’s first ever ‘virtual term’, Tom Ryder ended his twelve year stint as Tutor of A Social. Whilst the College may have been unable to give its

full thanks to Tom and Gail at the time, we hope this small tribute, showing the hundreds of boys who have passed through their care, goes some way towards illustrating their impact at Radley.

Covid lockdown prevented a ‘live’ 2020 Social photo being taken, so a suitably artistic replacement was created by Tom.

These photographs have been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be re-ordered by visiting: www.gsimagebank.co.uk/radleycollege and using token login: 7tpmbn2020

Olly Langton

As befits a scholar and excellent teacher of Early Modern History, Olly Langton deserves the title of ‘Renaissance Man’. After his first incarnation at Radley as a boy (1994 to 1999), he returned as a don from September 2007. In between times he had taken a First in Medieval History at Edinburgh, taught in Ecuador, and then at Ludgrove for two years. It was there, over the course of a Common Room cricket match and the post-match barbecue, that Olly was persuaded to return to Radley’s History Department. Gerald and Janet Barber still haven’t forgotten; but Ludgrove’s loss was inexorably Radley’s gain.

As well as teaching History, and becoming a specialist Early Modernist in the classroom, Olly was the Resident Sub-Tutor in A Social for SR, and then for TRGR. He also liked to try his hand on the stage, directing a Remove Play - The Royal Hunt of the Sun – and taking part in Dons’ Plays such as The Happiest Days of Our Lives and JRWB’s Peter Cook Evening. On the rugby field he coached the Midgets 1 and 2 XVs, alongside such luminaries as MKTH, DJP, TCL and CPMM, before taking up a floating role as referee and talentspotter across the Midgets year group. He coached Colts 1 football with two G Social Tutors (PWG and TCJ), but his real passion was Midgets 1 cricket. Here generations of Radleians were taught excellent technique, starting in the winter nets, but also the conduct and behaviour expected of Radley cricketers. Remember that this was the era of the introduction of the DRS at Test and later one-day level, but woe

betide any Midgets 1 cricketer who dared to question an umpire’s decision, or behave in an unsporting manner. Olly firmly believed that cricket was also about life and the values one should espouse, so Midgets 1 XIs played hard, but always fair.

Fortunately almost as soon as he returned to Radley in 2007 he met Rosie, and Xander, Cleo and Lettie all later followed at respectable intervals. Olly was appointed Tutor of J Social in 2013, following MKTH’s move to Abingdon, and he quickly made it his own, perhaps helped by his own Orchard House experience. Vertical groups were established, photos of boys were everywhere, and excellent pastoral care (aided and abetted by Rosie, Trish, LRIS, AFCN and JEP) became standard. His even-handedness and patience were legendary, although he was not above the odd flash of passion (mostly privately) when frustrated by a boy’s behaviour. J often made the finals of various competitions, with Partsong being a particular favourite, and again, J boys could be relied upon to compete fiercely but in the right way. And the boys in J invariably fulfilled their potential in whatever sphere, as well as leaving wellarmed for later life, given various initiatives emanating from the Tutor’s kitchen or study.

Olly now leaves to take up the headmastership of Belhaven Prep School, but if ever a man has Radley running through him like a stick of rock it is he.

David Cox

I first met David in the summer of 2004. He was rowing in the Magdalen first boat, coached by Donald Legget, and I was coaching the Radley 2nd VIII. It seemed a good idea to share training outings. As always, I used the opportunity to get Donald to sound out the crew to see if any was considering a career as a Maths teacher. Teaching was on David’s radar – his father had followed the same route – but David was still deciding. As it turned out he spent three years in the city as an Investment Banking Executive, working for Rothchild’s, before deciding that his talents could be put to better use. When I next spoke to David, he was teaching at Latymer Upper School. He didn’t need to apply for a job at Radley. Once on the radar, Donald and I made a pincer movement and ‘head-hunted’ him. What a good move that turned out to be. David has been at Radley for ten years. During that time he has taught excellent lessons, both at Radley, and also at Magdalen College Oxford. He has an extraordinary knack of moving seamlessly from explaining Pythagoras’s Theorem to low Removes, to multivariable differential equations to second year undergraduates. David is clever. With one of the top firsts in his year at Oxford, he combined his clear academic ability with the great teaching skill of making Maths accessible to any student in his class, of whatever ability.

But it is not only as a teacher and as a Mathematician that David excels. As a sportsman David did not only captain the Magdalen VIII that was Head of the River in 2005. He played Eton Fives for Oxford University, and squash for his College. He plays flute

and French Horn to a high standard. He was in the Suffolk Youth Orchestra. And just to top it all, he was a member of the winning BBC2 University Challenge team in 2004. David is the person for whom the term ‘polymath’ was invented. Thus Radley also benefited from David’s input as rowing coach, master i/c fives, D of E, master i/c academic scholars, master i/c Oxford University graduate scholars... One of the things that features heavily in Mathematical proof is what is called the ‘transitive rule’. Basically it is along the lines of ‘if you do A then B will happen; if B happens then C will happen; if C happens then D will happen’, and so on. In decision making it is useful to be able to see the consequences of ‘doing A’, before actually doing it.

As time wore on, David found it increasingly frustrating that not everyone shared his intellectual capacity to see where decisions would lead. Fortunately, in recent years, he found a distraction. In September 2016 a young theology teacher arrived at Radley. With typical mathematical logic, and application of the transitive rule –‘Step A: invite her round for a coffee…’ – the rest is history. David, Laura and Samuel move to Eastbourne College in September, where David will run the Maths Department. Lucky Eastbourne on making such a first rate appointment. Lucky Radley to have enjoyed ten years of such an excellent teacher and all-round schoolmaster. And lucky me to have had someone of such talent, helping me to run the Radley Maths Department for the last ten years. GW

Laura Cox

Laura Cox (then Laura Taft) joined us in September 2016 and rapidly made a big impact on the recently renamed ‘Theology Department’. A graduate of Cambridge, and with previous teaching experience at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, she had all the academic credentials, plus some lifechanging experience of work with underprivileged people. Her potential was soon realised as Laura left a profound impression on boys and colleagues, who recognised an energetic, rigorous

and meticulously organised teacher, passionate about her subject. When Head of Department, Rev. Tim Fernyhough left Radley to resume full-time parish work a year later, Laura was appointed his successor. In my first appraisal with her in the role of Head of Theology, I was presented with a bold and detailed five-year plan, which was beautifully phased and entirely logical. No one had ever presented me with quite such a thing. Over the next three years, there was no doubt that this plan was being enacted calmly and methodically. A particular strategy was to maintain the Department’s emphasis on theology proper, whilst catering to a growing interest - within the school and beyond - in philosophy and ethics. This has proven to be a wise move.

And what are the tangible results? Laura has left a legacy of a hugely popular and expanded Department - both in terms of those sitting GCSE and A-level and of the number of dons teaching it. More Radleians want to study the subject and its relations at university. Laura is both a clear-sighted manager and outstanding classroom teacher. She is also very resilient. Her appointment as Head of Theology coincided with new examination courses. To say that the preparation of these had been rushed by the authorities is an understatement. In the case of A-level Theology, there was literally no specified textbook in the first year of exams! This meant that Laura effectively had to write one herself. Yet no one need have worried, as the book was superlative and consequent results were extremely strong. Confidence in her leadership grew and grew. More boys signed up. Laura doggedly argued for more resources. Extra teachers had to be taken on to cope with increased uptake. Laura’s commitment to her pupils was second to none. She engendered enormous loyalty in them and showed great interest in developing the intellectual life of the school beyond the classroom, through lunchtime and evening discussion groups. Along with David Cox and Iain Campbell, she could see that many boys were itching to stretch the philosophical component of their brains far beyond the sometimes limiting parameters of examination specifications. She made excellent use of the Oxford graduate programme to enrich breadth and depth of thought at Radley. Although she has done a lot on the practical level, I think she will be best remembered for having made boys think far more effectively for themselves. This is a priceless gift to have bestowed upon them. We wish her, David and Sam all the very best for the future, as they move to the South Coast.

Stephen Molyneux

“Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing” but when Stephen arrived at Radley in 2015 from Manchester Grammar School, immediately there was an air of grace about him. Arriving as Head of Economics and the only member of the Department, this offered some challenges with a school that has so much unique jargon. For example, what was APT? What does ‘being on cocoa’ mean? Despite this, Stephen settled in seamlessly and his calm unwavering approach to any scenario was a defining trait. His experience as an educator and depth of subject knowledge was immediately recognised by the boys and it is a Department which continues to thrive and grow as a direct result of his leadership.

At an early meeting discussing the use of IT in classrooms, Stephen announced to colleagues that he taught from ‘the perfect set of notes’ and he certainly is a details man. He also brought with him a no-nonsense approach to teaching and demanded exceptionally high standards of the boys. These allowed them to exceed their expectations and is a reason that he is so fondly spoken of by those whom he taught. Stephen presents a quiet exterior initially, but to those who got to know him, both in and out of the classroom, it is his dry sense of humour and excellent companionship that will be greatly missed. It was on his first circuit of delivering Social Prayers to various Socials that the true character was revealed to the boys of a man who enjoys the simple pleasures of life.

Stephen carried himself as the consummate professional in all that he was asked to do. Whether that be on a damp, cold afternoon following another gruelling session with the Colts B footballers or in sunnier conditions with the Cricket Club. In addition, in his role as a Sixth Form form master and through his attachment to K Social as well, Stephen was an all-round schoolmaster in the truest sense of the word. In many ways, Stephen evokes a bygone era where honour and duty were considered not as optional extras but as essential qualities in this crazy journey we call life. As Stephen retires, we wish him all the very best for the future with his wife, Karen and sons, Daniel and William. Much of his free time in the build up to retirement this Summer was spent gaining various cricket umpiring qualifications and a new outfit to go with it. Whilst this summer may not offer much opportunity for his umpiring, I am sure that as normality returns, the Cheshire cricket leagues will value his integrity and honesty as much as Radley has. In the meantime, “good times never seemed so good”.

Sonya Milinova

Sonya brought a healthy dose of iconoclasm to the Department in her seven terms. With high expectations of the boys, she was relentless in enforcing standards which saw them bloom. Though daunted at first, they became most loyal when they saw she had helped them realise their potential; one boy directly quizzed the Warden as to why he was letting her leave. Her sets’ results were nothing short of sensational. Her own impressive academic record was coupled with a drive to keep developing. She would fillet exam board advice, robustly challenge stale thinking and produce popular resources. She even vinyled her cupboards on which to write helpful timelines. She was a dedicated, passionate coach for RCBC. Her high standards in her leadership of the 50-strong J14 squad led to excellent results and one of the best years the club has had in terms of retention. As in the classroom, Sonya was generous with her time and experience, guiding aspiring young coxes on how to get the best from their crews. She would also jump in and cox crews if someone was missing, just so they could complete their session. She spent four terms as the Resident SubTutor in A Social. Reading stories to Shells and gifting houseplants to her form, she showed a sympathetic side. However the boys knew they should behave on her watch and were careful not to play music too loudly, knowing they would be asked to justify their tastes. Yet she was shrewdly observant of pastoral issues, making her invaluable in her role. She was ready for a new challenge and the boys at St. Paul’s are likely providing that. A voracious reader, she will particularly miss the library and its friendly staff. We wish Sonya, fiancée Andy, and his boat trailer, the best of futures.

TCHN

Makoto James

On paper, Max James looked a rather predictable type – Old Etonian, organ scholar at Christ Church, Oxford – but as soon as he arrived, it became clear the reality was much more interesting. First and foremost, he is an outstanding organist; before Oxford, he spent two years studying the organ and harpsichord in Toulouse, and his performances of French organ music have been memorable. He was immediately at home in the organ loft, and has enjoyed playing his part in the Radley hymn-singing tradition, particularly in re-harmonising last verses with style. He took over half a dozen organ pupils as well, pushing them hard to achieve great results; and he’s a serious harpsichordist, often found in TMM’s room working through the Goldberg Variations. But there is a lot more to the role of Assistant Organist than this, and he has been busy right across the department: playing in the orchestra; teaching theory and aural; playing accompaniments for boys; and yet finding the time to offer individual boys support and encouragement (as well as chasing them up if they miss things – a vital role in such a busy school). He has been invaluable, too, in running the logistics of major events such as the Beethoven festival in March.

This has been a frustrating year for him to be at Radley, with no Chapel services in the Summer Term. He spent much of the term stuck at home in Cambridge, with no access to an organ at all, although he continued to be a vital part of chorister and choir practices, both by running live rehearsals on Zoom, and by recording ‘training videos’ for the boys to learn their parts.

His ever-mutating facial hair on these videos has been legendary. He’s a flexible, energetic and adaptable musician, and he will be missed.

Charlotte Potts

When Charlotte’s application for a year’s maternity cover was presented to us we knew that we had struck gold. At the time Charlotte was completing her undergraduate degree course in geography at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. It was obvious when we met Charlotte that she would add enormously to the Department.

In the end she added more than any of us could have anticipated, presenting an attitude that in one year she was going to fully immerse herself in College life. In the classroom she has been nothing short of outstanding. Boys have loved her lessons: a balance between the rigour of exam rubric and wider discussions beyond the confines of the specification, typified through her work with the Harris Society, including a UN-style debate led by Dr Fiona McConnell.

During the term of online learning, Charlotte developed tutorials shared among the department and led a hugely popular pre-university course for 6.2 students. As a sub-tutor in H Social, Charlotte has guided a Shell form through their first year, alongside her evening duties and cocoas. Charlotte has also been an ever-present coach of the cross-country team, with her skills extending to driving a minibus to far flung regions of the West Midlands! Add some reeling, a duty night in the JCR and time spent as a very welcome member in Common Room, leaves little room for much else.

Nonetheless, Charlotte has found the time for further study and leaves Radley to embark on a Masters degree course at Maastricht University in Public Policy and Human Development. As much as we would all wish Charlotte to stay, this is the right move and one which provides a new challenge. She departs with our best wishes and heartfelt thanks for all she has added to the department and the wider College life.

JMS

Alice Montgomery

Aloysius Atkinson

Any concerns about the wonderful Maud Hurley’s departure on maternity leave were swiftly forgotten as Alice stepped into the breach. Refreshed by a break from a career which had seen her teach at Downe House and run a department at Frances Holland School, her own distinctive style enhanced the College’s offering. Boys warmed immediately to her gentle and cheerful disposition and found unusual focus after bursts of her classroom yoga sessions. Such calm contrasted with the manner in which Alice would arrive in College, cycling hurriedly from Radley station. She showed an indomitable spirit, arriving to teach with such energy despite the constraints of regularly cancelled trains, a flaky nanny, sick children and unexpected downpours.

Alice invited one Old Radleian back to speak on architecture, declining to mention that he was her brother; it should have been no surprise that she would fit well. A specialist in twentieth-century art and architecture, she was sanguine and professional in teaching new material, from the Napoleonic Wars to contemporary pottery. She found it hard to be restricted to just teaching as a part-time don. Indeed boys valued her beyond her excellent pedagogy. She was soon invited to suppers in Social and other College events, attesting to the swift but sure impact she made. Alice was always generous with her time and her expertise, providing wise counsel to both experienced and new dons, and indeed new parents, for which we are grateful.

The family demands of lockdown forced Alice to return the reins early to Maud; the inability to say thank you and farewell properly is sincerely regretted by both the Department and the boys. Her mark on Radley is out of proportion with the relatively short time she spent here. Alice loved working at Radley; we thank her for her dutiful approach.

Recruiting mid-year can be nerve-wracking but, last January, we had a decent field. One applicant stood out when he requested a late start to his interviews, though his politeness won him a College room. I met him early, one shoe-lace untied, his shirt crumpled and his talismanic hair unkempt. The omens weren’t favourable. He then entered a classroom, asked each boy their name and what interested them about Luther - the interactions that followed, with a veteran 6.2 unit, made his appointment irresistible. Admired equally for his caring tone in emails and his confidence when admonishing, he showed excellent schoolmaster instincts. He wears his academic record (an Oxford First and an MStud) lightly but loved helping others unleash their enthusiasms, with unusual numbers entering essay competitions.

He showed fine form during a discussion on Machiavelli, effortlessly switching between explaining the respect that Leo X would have commanded and savaging the chronic incompetence of Gavin Williamson. The boys knew they were at the feet of a master; one 6.1, with wide-eyed admiration, commented “Sir, Mr Atkinson is a machine. He knows EVERYTHING!” His enrichment course on Financial Crime was exceptionally popular. Ever-willing, he committed to CALSOC feet-first and to supervising basketball, where, in his first match, he ordered the opposition to pipe down on account of their behaviour. In G Social his legacy is a crate of non-alcoholic beer, in J he was virtual.

He applied to us (after a cover role at Ardingly, and then financial journalism at the Mail) when he got a tirade of abuse from a Canadian gym that he had cold-called whilst investigating a money-laundering operation. I am not sure whether we did anything so wrong but he leaves us to follow his calling to the Dominican order. After just 2 terms, we will miss all this.

radley under lockdown

Here we take a glimpse at some of the innovative ways in which the College, its staff and its boys adapted to the needs of running a virtual school throughout the 2020 lockdowns.

When the Covid pandemic hit in March it affected all aspects of life across the country and Radley was obviously no different.

Faced with a monumental challenge of changing provision from a boarding school to a virtual school, Radley had to put all its contingency plans into action. Overnight the College went from 1100 people on site to almost none.

To get a more in-depth view of the College during this time, the ‘Glimpses of Virtual Radley’ video is still available to watch in the Radley Stories section of our website.

Here you can also find many videos of performances given during lockdown. www.radley.org.uk

Lessons

For both boys and dons moving lessons online via video calls involved a “fast learning curve”, but despite “a few tech issues along the way”, it was amazing how quickly everyone took to this new way of teaching and learning.

From screen-sharing live ‘whiteboards’ to recreating entire science experiments (complete with suitable explosions!), the educational experience was certainly different. However, the outcome was the same - engaged boys receiving the highest quality teaching, with an added benefit to the dons of “being able to mute boys!”.

Sports

It would have been very easy for sports and competition to have fallen by the wayside, with teams dispersed throughout the country. But training videos were created by the Sports department to allow specific skills to be practiced at home.

The boys then channelled their disappointment at missing their favourite sports by really buying into the programme provided. This was born out by the fact that when (virtual) fixtures came about, the College performed extremely well, with several victories for RCBC, as well as remaining unbeaten in Strava running races.

Music and Drama

The College’s musicians received 500 one-on-one lessons a week, as well as performing in weekly lunchtime and evening concerts. These included ensemble pieces with boys recording solo tracks that are edited together, a trickier prospect for all involved...

Rehearsals for the musical continued and not only were scripts and songs learned virtually, but so was a dance routine! A collection of readings written and performed by boys was put together in a video called ‘The Lockdown Monologues’ and the Peter Cook Cup was competed for and awarded on screen.

Co-curricular

Space in the timetable was still given to the important Radley enrichment course, with car maintenance, first aid and wine appreciation amongst the varied topics covered. Another of the benefits of virtual learning was the ability for lessons to step out of classrooms, such as boys creating instructional cooking videos in Spanish and Chinese.

Radley boys and staff also took on numerous charity endeavours, giving back to the wider world at a time when we all looked to come together at the same time as keeping apart.

Chapel and Socials

One of the key foundations of Radley is, of course, Chapel and every evening a livestream of the service was broadcast, allowing boys and their families to access collective worship at the College in these extraordinary times.

Another great Radley tradition, that of Cocoa continued and, whilst the snacks may have been missing, it provided a much-needed chance to chat with staff and friends. It also gave the PHMs a chance to see how clean the boys kept their rooms at home!

Stephen Giddens, C Social Tutor, created a high-resolution social photo of C Social 2019-2020 using ‘selfies’ from the boys and dons in situ during lockdown. This retains the unbroken social photograph series and captures what was a unique term. Even distanced, the sense of belonging to a strong and supportive community is clear.

Radley under Lockdown

With no boys and no sport taking place, the groundskeeping team took the opportunity to completely re-seed Bigside, clearing out old grass that had been there for nigh on 150 years.

A challenge from French don, Simon Barlass to his form to recreate classical paintings unlocked some real ingenuity. George W reproduced Raphael’s ‘Madonna del Granduca’ (left) and Raphael C’s made his own take on Vermeer’s ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’ (right).

Radley boys stepped up to the plate, taking part in charity events over lockdown, with (left to right) a charity bike ride, cooking for Food4Heroes and manufacturing face masks from recycled denim amongst them.

Radley under Lockdown

Coming out of lockdown

With the new term approaching in September 2020, it wasn’t clear even if the school would reopen, not how many boys would arrive, but the College was able to welcome nearly all 700+ boys back. Clearly, there were many ways in which things were different. Social bubbles (in Socials!) were introduced, one-way systems in corridors, and marquees sprang up in Chapel Quad, Bigside and between B & F Socials. These provided for more distanced meeting and teaching spaces, and additional space for the boys to dine.

But in essence it was Radley as ORs would remember. Lessons, Socials, Chapel, Sports and Activities, all approached in different and Covid-appropriate ways, continued to be at the heart of life at Radley.

None of the above would have been possible without the Radley community, boys, dons, staff and parents, approaching these challenges in a way that would make all ORs proud.

an

of the continuity of

Boys arrive ready for

open-air Chapel Service held outside Mansion in September 2020, an example

collective worship. One of the marquees is visible to the right.

A rare sight indeed. Looking over Bigside, both rugby posts and cricket sightscreens are visible on the sports pitches, with cricket being played in the first half of the Michaelmas Term.

Covid-security didn’t stop the Shells from enjoying their burgers after the Tug of War.

MALAYSIAN & RADLEIAN

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Malaysian government granted scholarships to students to undertake A-levels at independent schools in the UK. Radley was one of them. Here we talk to four of these ORs about their experience of coming to the College, how it has influenced them and how they influenced Radley.

Munir Abdul Aziz (1985)

What were your first impressions of Radley?

Breathtaking. Impressive. A little overwhelming. But I had never come across so many people who wanted to know how I was getting on.

How did you settle in to life at Radley? The first thing to get used to was the routine and the various rituals of the day. Once one got used to it, life was very much easier. The Social was special. I could feel a sense of togetherness. It was not difficult to make friends. But it was clear to me that the place was dominated by one manSocial Tutor, Patrick Derham.

He had his finger absolutely on the pulse of everything. I am not sure how he managed it. He was very driven and focused on getting the best out of everyone. There is also no kinder and chattier soul than Alison Derham.

What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you?

Patrick. He made me believe that I deserved to be at Oxbridge. He did not let on very much about his background when I was at Radley but after I left and ceased calling him “Sir”(!) we became friends and he shared many aspects of his early life with me and made me understand why we had such a strong connection. When I left Radley I told him that he had been a father figure to me.

What do you feel you brought to life at Radley?

I brought a different perspective to Radley. Richard Morgan was installed as Warden on the day I started at Radley and he called me the first bilingual Radleian! Even in 1991, Radley was already changing.

I think I was also quite different to the Malaysian scholars who had preceded me, the vast majority of whom I learnt had chosen Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry as A Levels. I on other hand chose Maths, History, Ancient History and Economics.

I remember Patrick telling me that Gary Wiseman was astonished at my choices. I remember we laughed about it. Patrick had asked me to write him an essay and was convinced that I would do well in my chosen subjects. He put me in his History set (which was the top set) and it was not long before I proved myself.

Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley? Patrick. All my dons were kind and I

also remember JR Summerly and John Nye well. Both Patrick and JR Summerly spent a lot of time coaching me for the Oxbridge interview and process generally. I think they made a big difference. I took the old Mode E route and got a EE offer. I remember Patrick sharing the news with me over a phone call in a phone box in London during the Christmas holidays. I could say that day changed my life. But I think perhaps the first time I met him was an even more important moment that changed my life.

There was also Mr Nye who was my Maths don and Badminton don, BJ O Rourke who was 3rd XI hockey don when I was in VI One and a Mr Davenport who I think was the first Economics don at Radley.

A photograph of the 1992 3rd XI Hockey team that still hangs proudly on the wall in Munir’s study at home, with him seated front row, far right.

Next steps

University College, Oxford, where I took a First in Jurisprudence. In fact a double first as I also took a first in Moderations in my First Year. And after that, a LLM at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. I became an Overseas Barrister in the same year I took the LLM at Cambridge. I returned to Malaysia to practice law in 1997.

Career highlights to date

I am a Principal or Equity Partner of Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s leading global law firms. I am a Corporate M&A Partner and have had a number of leadership roles in the Firm.

I am currently the Managing Partner of its Malaysian operations (known locally as Wong & Partners to comply with local Bar regulations). I worked in Baker McKenzie’s Melbourne office in 2001 and in its London office between 2004 and 2005.

Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving?

Yes. Mainly Patrick and Alison and my year group in C. Giles Ripley, Monty Wates, Paddy Pritchard Gordon, Mark Peck, Nicholas Thompson. I would try to meet with them whenever I am in London. I think it gives them a good excuse to catch up too.

Fondest memory of Radley?

Being awarded the Richards Gold Medal and having ones name recorded for posterity on the inscription outside Hall. Followed closely by being able to show it to my son Imran who attended Radley between 2015 and 2017!

Azizul Adnan (1985)

What were your first impressions of Radley?

Having dutifully followed the directions given by school as to which train to take from Paddingon station, I arrived at Radley on a dreary September afternoon. A handful of other students and I brought from the station to the school on the school pick up, with our belongings slowly getting wet from the light rain.

I was struck by how remote the school felt, with it surrounded—then as now—by the vast expanse of English countryside. Once in school, however, there was little time to contemplate; I was quickly caught up in the hubbub of daily school life.

How did you settle in to life at Radley? Having been in a boarding school in Malaysia prior to coming up to Radley, it wasn’t especially difficult to adjust to life away from home. The food, however, proved challenging because I had made the personal decision to abide by strictures against non-halal food. Breakfast was the highlight meal of the day. All other meals would be either cauliflower cheese or fish. I didn’t complain. It was just the way things were, and I accepted it.

There were very few Asians at Radley then, so the few of us were clearly very different from the rest. We were not made to feel different, though. I can say without equanimity that I was treated as any other boy at school. There were, however, a small number of boys who went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Two in particular that I should mention are Tim Burchmore (1985), also in A Social, and Tom from F Social, whose last name now escapes me.

What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you?

Life in a foreign country with a different culture and value systems would inevitably leave an indelible mark on any impressionable teenager. We were encouraged to think, reason and disagree, whereas school at home placed too much emphasis on rote learning and regurgitation.

What did strike me about Radley in particular was its emphasis on participation. There was always a place for you at Radley, to participate in an activity at a level that was appropriate for you. For instance, there were eight XVs at rugby,

which meant that a person not blessed with physical stature could nonetheless enjoy playing the sport at a level that was appropriate to him.

This did not mean that the school did not strive for excellence at sports, for example, but the approach of the school made it clear that sports was very much for the students and less about the school. This permeated through whatever the school did, be it academics, sports, the choir or any other extra curricular activity. This focus on the student rather than the school was, in my view, a defining feature of Radley.

Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley?

Two in particular, PMJ as master of A Social. Very little that went on in A Social escaped Mr Johnson, as he had a very hands-on approach to managing the house.

The second was Mr Alan Dowding, who stood out as a gentleman who would treat even the most irascible schoolboy—of which there were many in the Business Studies class—as though he were a responsible adult.

Next steps

I went on to read law at Cambridge. Having had the benefit of an education at Radley, I think I regarded anything else as a failure! There was really no excuse: with the dons at the school, all a student needed to do was to do the work. The trickiest part was extracting an offer from the university.

Career highlights to date

After university, I joined the Securities Commision Malaysia (the capital markets regulator in Malaysia). Thereafter I worked in an investment bank before practicing as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. I’ve spent the last 6 years at the High Court of Malaya, having been elevated to the bench in 2014.

Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving?

I corresponded for a while with Tim Burchmore but I have since lost contact with him. Unfortunately, not having a social media account does not help.

Fondest memory of Radley?

Nothing quite compares to the smell of the fields in autumn and the sound of several hundred boys chucking an oval ball around.

Azizul Adnan in his judicial robes.

Ak Hamid (1988)

What were your first impressions of Radley?

I can remember coming up the drive on my first day at Radley and thinking it wasn’t a very big place, compared to some of the schools in Kuala Lumpur. Back in the late 1980s there were much fewer buildings than now, but we kept going through Memorial Arch and then the size of the place hit me. I was blown away. Then I saw the golf course and that made my day!

I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, but having had friends who’d already gone to UK public schools, I had heard plenty of stories (both good and bad!) and so was ready for whatever came. I was then very pleasantly surprised by the welcome I received. My Social Tutor, Richard Usherwood made me feel extremely welcome and I didn’t encounter any snobbery from the other boys. They went out of their way to take the time to speak with me, which given most of them had been together for at least three years, made such a difference. At the time I don’t think I fully appreciated the ease with which I was welcomed, but with hindsight, it’s obvious the efforts that everyone made.

How did you settle in to life at Radley?

I found the first two to three weeks very difficult. Despite being well-travelled and having lived in Guildford for a year as a child when my mother was studying for a PhD, I had never really lived abroad. Finding myself in a dormitory in a completely foreign environment was hard and I felt lonely during this time. But this quickly passed and it didn’t take me long to feel at home, although communal showers were definitely a bit of a shock, as there aren’t many of those in Malaysia!

Once I felt more comfortable, making friends was very easy and the other boys at Radley were great. Being keen on table tennis helped, and whilst maybe not officially being H Social champion, I was certainly good enough to earn a few brownie points with the other boys. Soccer and golf also helped developing friendships and I still remember the camaraderie of my time there. I knew the school would give me all the opportunities both educationally and away from the curriculum. Radley had everything and so it was easy to get involved. I never felt any pressure, but instead there was lots of encouragement to do the things that you wouldn’t even think

to do before, and there were plenty of firsts. Rowing (I fell in on my first time sculling); Beagling (which I enjoyed until I saw what happened to the hare when the dogs got it right in front of me); Real Tennis (which was such a bizarre find for a squash player); I even tried riding for the first time.

Rugby was hard, but that was mainly trying to understand the rules. For my first game I was put on the wing in the 6th XV. Richard walked me down to the far pitches and on the way tried to explain the rules because by the time we got to the pitch, I was playing! I still don’t know the rules, but still watch matches...

Oh and the food. I loved the food and tell my kids about fried bread and baked beans for breakfast.

What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you?

Radley definitely taught me two things, resilience and confidence. The confidence came from being able to thrive in a new environment and rise to new challenges on a weekly basis. As an example, in one maths lesson, we looked at mechanics, a new branch of maths I’d not come across before. I felt a certain amount of pressure to be a maths whizz due to being Asian, but I didn’t know this at all. Rather than have to admit to this, I got a book and taught myself Mechanics over the course of a weekend.

Being able to interact and make friends in such a different environment required resilience.

During the holidays, I went to London and was basically taking care of myself. This gave me a huge degree of independence, and it was really the beginning of my adult life.

What do you feel you brought to life at Radley?

I like to think I brought a different perspective as there were not many foreigners there at the time, maybe 6 from SE Asia across the whole school. My attitude to work was different, and I hope I inspired my H Social mates to achieve more than they thought they could through applying themselves a bit more.

I also remember bringing a different culture and religion to the school. One year, Ramadan was right in the middle of summer term, which with the long days meant fasting from about 3am to 9pm at night. Many of the other boys were absolutely shocked at this and it led to a lot of questions from them as to why and I was able to explain the reasons behind it.

Missing daytime meals, did mean that the cooks gave me the key to the larder to allow me to eat, and so every night me and some mates would go down, I would break my fast and we would help ourselves to a feast.

Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley?

My Social Tutor, Mr Usherwood really made me feel at home. Mr Hardy, my biology don, was a wonderful teacher and incredibly supportive. He recognised my passion for the subject and I went on a school trip to Kenya with him. My greatest regret was not applying to his College (Balliol) which he recommended to me.

I also remember an art teacher, who was also very encouraging. One year, I did a project, recreating a Picasso painting. At the end of term, just before going home, I couldn’t find it and it turned out she had framed it and put it above her desk. I was honoured and humbled, but still took it back with me anyway, and it is hanging over my mother’s desk at home.

Next steps

I went to Nottingham University to study medicine, choosing it because it offered a more progressive, integrated medicine approach. In hindsight, I wished I’d tried harder to get to Oxford or Cambridge, as Mr Hardy recommended.

Career highlights to date

I gained a 1st class honours in Medicine and a PhD in Urology, before working in Oncology at Queens’ Medical Centre, Nottingham. I went on a fellowship to Australia for one year before returning to Nottingham, but three horrendous winters later and with a wife and young family, we decided to move back to Australia to raise the kids in some sunshine!

I currently work as a Robotic and Minimum invasive surgeon and am Head of Training at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, WA.

I kept in touch with some ORs for a few years, but over time this has dwindled away. The only one I still speak to is a fellow Malaysian OR, Azmil, who I’ve known since 8 years old.

Fondest memory of Radley?

I miss wearing the gown and going to Shop for tuck, but my fondest memory is after Prep every day, Cocoa with the other boys and the Matron.

It was something I always looked forward to.

M Salimi Saidin (1983)

What were your first impressions of Radley?

As one of the first two Malaysians to come to Radley on the programme, I didn’t have the benefit of anyone else having gone before me, but I had previously been at an elite boarding school in Malaysia. Built in 1905, it was modelled on British public school and so it wasn’t too much of a shock to the system. After a week spent orientating at Bedford Schol with the other Malaysian students, we were sent out to our respective schools.

On entering the drive at Radley, I thought it was a grand school, architecturally similar to my previous school in Malaysia, just on a grander scale! I knew that it was a good school and was one steeped in tradition and I intended to get as much as I could from this experience and enjoy my time here.

I remember the huge acres of green spaces and the golf course, as I went past F Social to see the Warden Silk [in what is now the L Social Tutor’s House]. This was the first and last time I had to go to the Warden’s house in all my time there.

How did you settle in to life at Radley?

I was put in F Social and it felt like I got given the worst room. It was on the top floor, right at the end and had two walls exposed to the weather. With there being no central heating, it was bloody cold and from leaving the warmth of Malaysia to a winter in Radley was a real shock.

The other Malaysian boy who also came to Radley was in H Social and so I quickly became aware that I needed to make friends or else I’ll be living alone. It was through shared classes that I was able to befriend other boys, particularly Further Maths. We were both good at Maths, having already done much of the subject before, in fact Mr Nye even got us to come up and solve the problems on the board. But being able to tutor and help classmates with subjects like this helped foster friendships. In fact, my friends were so grateful for the help that in my second year at Radley, they bought me tomato juice every night before Chapel, in lieu of being bought pints of thanks because I don’t drink alcohol!

Not every subject went quite as well though and I was initially bad at Chemistry, having learnt it in Malaysian. It took a while to transfer that knowledge into English, but I got there.

The programme had a high level of expectation and so sports weren’t high on my list of priorities, but I loved playing rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. I enjoyed the friendly approach rather than being highly competitive, which meant I could take part but still concentrate on the studies.

I took all the opportunities presented to me to get involved and I remember being in the Social play, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which was fun.

Salimi, front row far left, with the boys of F Social

Left: Salimi with F Social Matron, Lynda Laing - “like an adopted mother to me”. Right: Salimi during a visit to Europe.

Over my two years at Radley, only the first Term was a bit miserable to start with, due to the cold weather, the language difficulties in Chemistry and feeling a bit homesick. After Christmas and New Year I felt I had settled in and enjoyed the rest of my time there.

What do you feel was the biggest impact your time at Radley had on you?

It was not so much the academic learning that impacted on me, you can learn those things anywhere if you put your mind to it, but instead it was the softer, social skills. Despite coming from a boarding school already, it was not easy coming into a different culture. You have no choice but to adapt and to learn, and it was that lesson of being able to thrive in a different environment, that set me up for my life.

In my career, I moved several times to different and unfamiliar countries and cultures, and each time I thought “I survived Radley, I can survive this”.

It was tough to start with, but battling through emotions to achieve what I came there to achieve built my character.

What did you feel you brought to life at Radley?

I think the biggest impact we had when we first came, was that we were probably the first Malaysians to attend. There were very few foreigners at Radley in 1986, and most boys didn’t even know where Malaysia was. For the first few days, we got given ‘the look’, and you could tell they were thinking “What are these strange boys doing here?”.

But after they got to know us, they saw that

we were boys like them and so hopefully we helped the other boys be more comfortable with people they weren’t used to.

Having Cocoa in the Matron’s lounge was great. I loved it and it was another chance to socialise. Every night I got asked questions about Malaysia and I like to think this allowed the other boys to be curious and find out about something they didn’t know about. It helped me make friends and gave them the opportunity to interact with someone different. I also like to think that the next batch of Malaysian ORs had things a little easier as we had helped open up the understanding of other cultures.

Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley?

The most cherished person for me was not a don, but F Social Matron, Lynda Laing. She was so kind and took great care of me. It felt like I had an adopted mother who really looked out for my well-being and I feel indebted to her.

The Academic standout and don that have most respect for was Guy Waller, my Chemistry teacher. Thanks to the language problem, I ended up in the bottom set, set C, but I think we got the best teacher and I ended up doing very well! All boys had a Chemistry test each week and the results went into a league-style structure with all boys. I went from being in the bottom half in the first few months, to being first or second place, and when I was told that I should move up to set A, I said “No thank you, I want to stay in Mr Waller’s class.”

He also coached cricket and got Imran Khan to come and give us some tips!

Next steps

The aim of the programme was get students to Oxbridge colleges, but I had set my sights on doing Civil Engineering. So when I filled out my UCCA, I put Imperial College and Bristol as these were the best schools for Engineering. When my Social Tutor, Charles Hastings, saw it he was furious that I hadn’t selected Oxford or Cambridge, but I was able to explain my reasons and persuaded him it was the right choice. However, when I turned down Imperial for Bristol, he was doubly furious, but I had decided I didn’t want to be in London and the Imperial course was too full of boys. After 12 years of all-male education, I wanted somewhere with a bit more variety, including girls!

Career highlights to date

After university, I went back to work for the programme sponsors in Kuala Lumpur before getting a position at ExxonMobil. I’ve been there for 27 years now having worked my way up from being a Design Engineer to Project Management in the oil and gas field. It’s such an international company that I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try new things. These include three years in Nigeria, leading a project for the government in partnership with Exxon. This was very like being thrown in the deep end again!

My next project took me to Korea, and I then spent a further three years in Houston, Texas. Each new project gives a new team, new boss, new department, and often a new country so work doesn’t get stale. I’m now back in Malaysia leading projects here.

Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving?

I still call England my second home, my wife also went to University there, and we spend at least a week in the UK whenever we get a chance. I was able to visit Radley in January 2020 before lockdown, but with the school closed for the holiday, I walked across the golf course and up Cheesers.

Fondest memory of Radley?

This is a difficult one to answer as I have lots of small memories, but one I always remember was walking around Pond. I found the Radley grounds so calming and serene and it provided a lot of inner comfort. Every time I walked around Pond and through the grounds, I was at ease with myself. Nothing beats the serenity and atmosphere of this part of Radley and it helped clear the stress from my mind.

‘SONGA MBELE’MOVING FORWARD

Presidents & vice-presidents, muezzins & the Mountains of the Moon. These are just some of the highlights of Ross Anson’s (1951) 50-year career in security across Africa.

It is just after midnight on 25th January 1971 and the unmistakable sound of gunfire echoes out across Kampala.

In a bar just off Kampala’s main street, Ross Anson (1951) sits with some Ugandan friends, but on hearing the shooting gets into his car and starts heading towards the industrial area where the gunfire is coming from. Here he takes up the story:

Just as I was passing the side street leading to the main government offices, I heard a shout “Simama!” (“Stop!”) and almost simultaneously a bullet came through the front passenger window of the car, exiting through the driver’s window – my window. It must have passed no more than six inches in front of my face and left my ears buzzing. On looking towards the direction from which it had come I saw military Land Rovers and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) surrounding the government offices. It was then I realised I was witnessing a military coup.

I knew my best course of action was to go home and stay there and had almost reached home when, on rounding a corner I was blinded by a bright light shining directly at me. An APC was blocking the road. I quickly got out the car and stood in the road where I could be seen, with my hands on my head. A voice from the APC told me “Songa mbele” (“Move forward”), then “Simama” (“Stop”).

I heard more voices and someone saying “Huyu ni mzungu tu” (“It’s a European”). Just as I was wondering whether being a ‘mzungu’ was going to be a good or bad thing tonight, a soldier brandishing a machete came from the shadows at the side of the road.

The soldier patted me down asking whether I was carrying any weapons to which I replied in the negative, although I did have a side arm in the door pocket of the car. Eventually a voice from the APC asked where I was going. I explained where I lived and was told to continue on my way and not leave home again.

The following morning was chaotic with the sound of sporadic gunfire all around. This died down in the afternoon and I managed to make my way to the office using back roads to avoid the city centre. My arrival was met with some surprise as they had heard I’d been shot and had informed London head office accordingly.

It was only later that I learnt my car was identical in make, year and colour to that of the army commander.

So how does an Old Radleian end up in the middle of Idi Amin’s takeover of Uganda, and just as importantly, what made him drive towards(!) the sound of gunfire that night?

Kampala Road, Kampala, c.1970.

Reproduced courtesy of www.hipuganda.org

From Africa to Radley

Born in Kent in 1937, Ross was whisked off to the Sudan, where his father had been seconded to the Sudan Government, beginning his lifelong relationship with the African continent.

My earliest memories are of the agricultural research station just outside Wad Medani, and with holidays spent in Britain and Kenya, early life was quite an adventure for me.

With the Second World War coming to a close, a return to the UK to continue his schooling saw him head to Summerfields Prep near Hastings, before arriving at Radley in September 1950.

Coming from an African upbringing, via a school with less than 80 students to one with close on 400 was quite daunting, but the transition was quite seamless. At Radley sports became my life and I became something of a physical freak, going for a run round the pitches before breakfast each day and spending both the short and long breaks in the gym, culminating in a place in the first XV in 1954. Academically though, I was pretty average and managed to scrape through with six ‘O’ levels and no ‘A’ levels, but where I was to go next really wasn’t clear.

Thankfully, one thing that Radley did teach me was leadership, and this helped me enormously. It’s a skill that I’ve relied on throughout my career in the wider world.

Life in an up-country station in Uganda was fairly rudimentary, with few having mains electricity and Fort Portal was no exception. Lighting was by kerosene lamps, water for washing and bathing heated in a wood fired drum in the garden outside the bathroom and cooking was on an iron ‘Dover’ stove fueled by charcoal. Television had not yet reached Uganda and social life centred round the European club which had a generator, tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course and a well-attended bar. Comparisons to Radley (both in the 1950s and now!) will be left to the reader...

The answer to that was to once again be, Africa. After coming out of his National Service in the Navy in 1958, Ross came across an advertisement from the Crown Agents for positions in the Uganda Police.

To me this came as an opportunity to get back home to Africa so I applied and after interview in June 1958 was accepted as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent. After training in the UK, I arrived in Uganda in September and was posted to Fort Portal, a small town 1500m above sea level in the foothills of the Ruwenzori, the legendary Mountains of the Moon immortalised by H Rider Haggard in his novels.

As OC Police station I was in charge of investigations ranging from theft of bicycles to robbery and murder. I was also responsible for immigration from neighbouring Congo and a Justice of the Peace; all this at the tender age of 21!

Towards the end of 1959 it became apparent that independence for Uganda was just a matter of time. Local politicians were becoming restless, holding rallies throughout the country that often created civil unrest, a real burden for the regular police. In order to help, the government created a new branch, separate to the regular police, christened ‘Special Force’. Seven different companies each of about 50 other ranks were formed and placed under the command of junior expatriate officers with previous military experience. Ross was posted to be in command of number five company and immediately transferred to headquarters in Kampala.

After some time policing the, sometimes fractious, UgandaCongolese border, “It was here that I first met Idi Amin”, Uganda achieved independence in October 1962 and it was decided to Africanise Special Force. He was posted to police headquarters as staff officer operations, before transferring to CID, his last posting before leaving the Police in September 1967. Along with two other expatriate officers, Ross had identified the need for a properly organised private security company and, with the government’s blessing, they formed the Night Security Organisation (NSO) based in Kampala. Business increased with securing contracts from the majority of diplomatic missions, parastatals and industries, there being no competition. And this is how you end up with an Old Radleian driving towards the sound of gunfire in Kampala on a late night in January...

The 1st XV in 1955, with Ross in the middle row, third from the left.

Fort Portal Market in the late 1950s.

Reproduced courtesy of www.hipuganda.org

Moving back - and then forward again

After a couple of days life returned to something approaching normal and Idi Amin was installed as President. In early 1972 Idi Amin decreed that all Asians should leave the country within 30 days and their businesses taken over by indigenous Ugandans. Later the same year at midnight on 12th December the government further announced the nationalisation of Britishowned companies, including Securicor to whom Ross and his partners had sold their business. He continued managing the business under the new regime, but after six months things had become untenable, so he resigned and returned to the UK.

After four years in sales for ADT in the UK, an opportunity arose to assist their Saudi Arabian representatives in developing the security side of their business.

I arrived at Jeddah in the first week of 1977. Contrary to expectations, I had no trouble settling in. Having lived in Africa I was used to heat and the calls of the Muezzins summoning the faithful to prayer brought back memories of my childhood in Sudan. The humidity on the other hand was something else. I don’t know what the factor was, but when stepping out of my flat in the mornings I felt as if someone had dropped a wet blanket over me.

I was shown to what was to be my office which I was to share with a cynical ex-British army sergeant major who didn’t suffer fools gladly. Fortunately, we got on well together and amongst other things he taught me how to brew beer from readily available ingredients. I found a mound of requests for tenders on my desk and got stuck in right away; something which appeared to astonish senior management who were used to newly arrived Brits spending their first few days complaining about the lack of this and that, earning themselves the label of ‘Whinging Poms’.

After successfully convincing the head of the emergency police to establish an up-to-date control and alarm receiving centre at his headquarters, Ross’ contract came to an end in January 1981, and where else should he end up but back in Uganda, this time helping Chubb Securities tender for a multi-million-pound government project to improve security on several buildings, including the state house.

It was estimated that surveying the buildings and preparing the tender would take about a week. However, my experience in preparing tenders in Saudi proved invaluable and Chubb offered me the position of project manager based in Kampala. I accepted and spent the next nine years in Uganda, somewhat longer than the original estimate of one week!

There was plenty of work for Chubb to do in addition to the government survey. Amin’s troops in their retreat northward carried out extensive looting including attempts to blow open the strong rooms of the banks that were in their path. Hot on their heels the invading Tanzanian troops tried the same. Both had little success but damaged the strong rooms to such an extent that even the authorized bank staff couldn’t open them. The majority of doors had been supplied by Chubb in the past and were damaged beyond repair and so Ross’ company was best placed to replace them.

Then Vice-President, now President-elect, Joe Biden visiting the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in 2010.

Presidential protection

By 1990 business in Uganda was becoming too routine, and Ross continued to travel around Africa, working as a director for a number of security firms. Over the next 20 years he went from Mombasa, to Kampala, ending up in Kenya, where he took over management of the jewel in their crown, the American Embassy in Nairobi.

Highlights of my tenure were when Hilary Clinton and later Joe Biden, both of whom I had the privilege of meeting, paid official visits to Kenya. Throughout I worked continuously with the secret service officers who were part of the Clinton’s and Biden’s entourage and I must admit I took an impish pleasure in wearing dark suits and shades in order to blend with them.

All good things must come to an end and in 2012, Ross handed over management of the Embasssy project to his successor and retired from regular employment to take up consultancy.

In over 50 years of living and working across the world, there are many more stories that could be told, but for this Old Radleian the pull of ‘getting back home’ to Africa has always been one that has been too strong to resist.

Ross Anson alongside Warden Milligan in the 1955 Prefects photo.

Copyright: AFP/SIMON MAINA

BURSTING THE BUBBLE

Robinson (2007) talks about leaving the ‘Radley bubble’ and finding his own path in the wider world - a path that has lead from Senegal to Somalia and beyond.

Eight years ago I left Radley College, I really had no idea what real life had waiting for me, no idea what the world outside the bubble really looked like. In 2012 I stepped, stubborn, ignorant, sheltered, possibly even naive but always with a smile, outside of my comfort zone.

You guessed it, the real world was a shock and I wanted to fully explore the world outside of the bubble, so I needed a job. A flight costs 100 hours of work at £5 an hour, 5 hours of work earns you enough to eat and sleep for one day, money doesn’t grow on trees or get given to you for nothing. To go on my first expedition with Raleigh International I had to work 2 jobs, 70-hour weeks and carry a whole load of plates from kitchen to table and back again.

When I look back, I see how lucky I was to even entertain the idea of going abroad, seeing the world and getting to experience remote places filled with laughter and happiness. Stepping though the jungles of Costa Rica, experiencing the volcanoes of Nicaragua, the wildlife in South Africa or the kindness of Kenya became the norm to me.

I know the ability to do what I did is not available to everyone and the privilege that I had has definitely contributed to the moderate successes that I get to see now. This small glimpse of the real world in its rawest, unadulterated, most unfiltered form captured my imagination, I wanted to know what else lies beyond the bubble?

Part 1 – The bubble gets bigger

In 2013 I went on my first expedition to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Raleigh International – an international development organisation who mobilise young people around the globe to facilitate change. Raleigh is an organisation that champions the collective power of young people whilst working on natural resource management, water, hygiene and sanitation, building infrastructure, leadership and personal development. It was the perfect first step on my journey out of the bubble. I remember so clearly buying my first trekking pack, dry bags, boots, medical kit, water purification tablets and real socks (the most crucial item in any expedition kit) for Expedition 13A. The bubbling excitement of driving to the airport, meeting other fresh faces, sitting on a plane and being propelled into another world. The smells, sights and sounds of San Jose, the chaos, the people, the beauty, the overwhelming feeling of being uncomfortable, out of control and lost. What am I doing? Was the first question. Do I really want to leave the bubble? Was my second.

A million questions racing through my mind before I even got to Raleigh’s field base, before I started any training, before I went out onto the project sites. Yet, a moment of clarity emerges – I chose this. Over the next 10 weeks I build paths through Carara National Park to foster eco-tourism, lived in a rural Nicaraguan village (literally) building the walls to enable a better education system and trekked 250kms through the mountains, jungles, salt

Northern Cameroon, the land of civil war, Chinese logging trucks and smiling people.

Ben

flats, volcanoes and lakes of Nicaragua – the single most physically demanding activity of my life so far. Whilst to write about the contents of these life shaping and character defining experiences would definitely fill part of, if not all of, the Old Radleian magazine, I would like to focus on one, not so humble at the time, element – me.

Hindsight is, of course, 20/20. Reflecting back on moments where the direction of your life changed is much easier than identifying it at the time. But this was the life re-defining moment for me. Whether it happened over the course of the 10 weeks in central America, sometime after, or I just woke up one day and my universe shifted on its axis I can’t remember, but one thing I knew was that my focus shifted from personal gain to universal equality. From wanting to be a Formula 1 race engineer to devoting my life to sustainable change and using the privilege I have to help others. To try and use this new passion I discovered on the other side of the world, for people, culture, difference and kindness to make a positive impact.

Part 2 – The bubble goes Pop

Its 2018, fast forward four years through a mechanical engineering masters, a business building recycled plastic bottle houses in Nepal for earthquake victims, being appointed a trustee of Raleigh International, various other international development projects and a whole lot of hard work. I am sitting on a ferry to Morocco by myself, in a Land Rover that I’ve rebuilt into an overland truck as part of a company I started to bring poverty-alleviating technology to rural communities throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, thinking – What am I doing? Driving from London to Cape Town over 14 months, 30 countries, 55,000kms, conflict, war, deserts, corruption

and the biggest challenge so far. Why? And again, it hits me, I chose this. All of the experiences in university, starting my first business and getting to travel the world for work had stretched the bubble I lived in to encompass a vast area. No longer was I defined by the privilege that I had encountered in my younger life, my bubble was starting to become global. Then the bubble popped.

Twenty minutes after arriving in the Moroccan port of Tangier Med I was robbed, euros or your life. I was alone, there was no support system, no bubble. Still now, it makes my heart race remembering the feeling of my life in someone else’s hands. I only lost 100 euros, not my life. Reflecting back, it was my entry to the real world, not comfy, safe, reliable Europe but Africa, where lives are lost every day because people can’t eat, can’t drink safe water, can’t obtain safe energy or even a place to sleep. It was the harsh reality that just because I was born in a place, I had always had these things and others did not.

The following 14 months were quite the adventure; driving 400kms into the heart of the Mauritanian Sahara Desert, navigating roads of mud in rainforests of the Guinean Mountains, a prison cell in Ghana, a war in Cameroon, swimming with crocodiles and hippos in Namibia, Victoria Falls in Zambia, falling asleep listening to the lions in Kenya, the magical Tanzanian beach life, avoiding militia groups in Mozambique, South African sunsets over the ocean, falling in love in Cape Town and, and, and, the list could go on.

Whilst this list does sound like the plot of a Wilbur Smith novel, I try not to romanticise it. When asked about the expedition, the word that always comes to mind is tough, unbelievably tough. The lows are incredibly low but the highs are off the chart. Fear, danger, anxiety have a place in every day and the knock-on effects still follow me around, growing weaker as time passes but still there. As with the Raleigh Expedition, it was a life changing experience and only stoked my passion for the equality of people and drives my ambitions for the future.

Raleigh Expedition 13A, wearing ‘white’ shorts…

Living the dream on Kenyan Roads

Bursting the Bubble

Part 3 – Now what? Where is the bubble?

I asked in the opening paragraph, what else lies beyond the bubble, and so far, a fair amount. Over 60 countries, hundreds of cultures, languages, moments of joy and also despair. But what now? The answer - Project Sahel. During the London to Cape Town Expedition I started a PhD (as I ran out of cash 5 months in!) with the aim of creating poverty alleviating technologies for rural communities across the globe based on my experiences throughout Africa. Now, I want to combine the research skills I have built during my PhD working with the world leaders in my sector and my love of the African continent with my previous expedition experience to launch Project Sahel.

Project Sahel is a scientific research expedition that simply looks to understand the energy needs of the Sahel Region (the southern border of the Sahara Desert) through a novel method I developed as part of my PhD. We will train local Sahel based researchers to carry out the work, run an expedition from the most western to most eastern point of Africa (Senegal to Somalia) to promote the research, make a series of documentaries highlighting some incredible stories through the voice of local people and in the end leverage the data set we produce to work with private sector organisations giving 100,000 households sustainable energy access. This is my Everest.

The budget is close to £1,000,000, the stakes are high, the rewards are immense and in the end hundreds of thousands of lives will change for the better. This is my contribution to creating a fairer and more equal world.

In an ideal world, the cash, resources, connections and partners would appear before me and that would be that. However, as I’ve learnt since that first expedition you have to work a lot of hours at 5 pounds an hour to earn £1000 let alone £1,000,000! This is where I need help - corporate partners, expedition sponsors, CSR programs, research institutions, film makers, explorers, scientists and medics – this is where I need you.

Not only can this be my contribution to creating a fairer and more equal world, it can also be yours. You can experience the joy of changing someone’s life for the better who has always struggled to survive.

But be under no illusions this is not charity, this is not westerners imposing technologies on Africans, this is sustainable development driven by Africans for Africans. This is creating research skills that will allow young Africans to change the world they live in, this is creating opportunities for African education, business and improved livelihoods – a privilege that we as ORs have had all our lives. This is creating a fair and equal world for all no matter where they are born.

If you would like to be part of Project Sahel, then email: benjamin.robinson@nottingham.ac.uk

Top: Checking for ‘soft spots’ after getting stuck the previous day in the Moroccan Sahara.

Above: Project Sahel

WHEELBARROWS TO BEER BARRELS

2020 sees the 50 year anniversary of the opening of the Junior Common Room, and this most auspicious occasion in

Boys self-serving alcohol at Radley. This was the proposal put forward for consideration to Dennis Silk in just his first year as Warden. As an idea it was quite progressive for the time and according to Michael Hodgson (1965), Senior Prefect in Michaelmas Term 1970, the Warden’s concern was that the facility would attract the more rebellious elements and might get out of control. Therefore, in the Summer Term 1969, it was suggested to Martin Stanley (1965) that the Warden thought the position of inaugural Secretary of the JCR might be one that would suit him.

Martin had been a stalwart of the 2nd XV that year and so already had a good relationship with the don in charge of the creation of JCR and 2nd XV coach, Peter Le Roy (PJL). The two of them set to work, going on fact-finding trips to other schools to get ideas on how this sort of enterprise might work, and the JCR committee put together the rules and regulations, in conjunction with Common Room. By Martin’s own admission, when it came to the administration and set up of the JCR, “whilst it was nominally me, the stark reality is that he [Peter Le Roy] did most of the work, and I swanned around pretending I understood what was going on”.

But whilst the administrative work for the JCR may have been Common Room-led, much of the physical work to transform the cellars under Mansion was actually undertaken by the boys themselves. As an article about the JCR in the The Radleian from Lent term 1971 states, it “was started off with two years of voluntary labour by the boys who scraped off the plaster on the roof and lowered the floor a foot then during the summer holidays professional builders finished the job...

Through the terms from 1969 to 1970, voluntary labour was used and those who worked down there’s work was much appreciated, though (needless to say) work there took longer than expected. Things seem to have changed a lot since Summer 1970, when it was a complete quagmire with the air full of dust, with various figures toiling in the gloom, carting barrow-loads of mud, chipped brick, glass and plaster from seemingly endless piles. The worst work was the removal of the plaster from the ceiling, during which one was invariably covered with debris ranging from fine dust which got everywhere to chips which got into the eyes and even the occasional brick!”

the history of Radley could not go past unremarked.

The extent to which the boys were involved, is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that even the Senior Prefect of Lent Term 1970, Simon Eliot (1965), recalls “time in the bowels of the Mansion scraping paint off the bricks. I had a much-reduced academic timetable for various reasons and therefore spent longer than most during those cold weeks trying to make the cellars habitable.”

However, by the time the JCR was opened by the Warden in Michaelmas Term 1970, Martin Stanley recalls that the boys were left to run it by themselves, with just guiding oversight provided by PJL. Boys were rostered on to perform the barman duties, with responsibility for cashing up and closing up. With two handpull pumps and barrels behind the bar, the aim to have a grown-up, clubroom feel was a success from the off. The same article for The Radleian notes that “Amusements in the Clubroom are talk, darts, dominoes and drink (the last inevitably being the most popular) and last term the Clubroom was used very successfully by ‘C’ social for their social dance”. There would be many more Social dances and other events in the years that followed, however music was (and is still) avoided in general in the JCR. The idea that this would be a place for conversation as “members chat over their beer”.

The question was, would this experiment work?

Right & Below: JCR being used for a school dance with one of the local girls schools, c.1972.

A springboard to success

The JCR story is taken up by David Sellar (1967) – who, with his two brothers, followed their father to Radley, and whose own great-nephews are currently in K Social.

“

I was asked to take on the role of Hon Secretary in 1971-72, with the continuing President, Peter Le Roy. We had regular committee meetings in the Singleton Library with formal minutes kept in a hardbacked book.

The JCR was open for 1-1½ hours on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays, with a shorter session on Sunday. The ‘on tap’ beers, which were rotated, usually included Whitbread, Watneys Red Barrel and Morlands of Abingdon. The bottled beers were generally more interesting and some much stronger, Newcastle Brown being a much in demand brand. Over 18s were allowed 1½ pints on a Saturday!

We had a memorable JCR dance in Summer 1972, with music provided by Will Bailey’s newly formed disco. This was the springboard for great success over many years. The girls were a lively crowd from St Mary’s, Wantage (latterly merged with Heathfield). I recall ascending the ‘lighthouse steps’ to the roof of the Mansion with the head girl. Amazing view from there as well!

At the end of my time at Radley we realised that we would remember our experiences for the rest of our lives. The building blocks for our future was built on the strongest of foundations: compassion, steadfastness and humility being some of the core values.

Reproduced with kind permission of Will Bailey

‘This civilised club’

Fast forward five years and The Radleian 1976 gives the JCR a report that any OR would have been proud of after their own time at the College.

“In the six years of its existence, the club has not yet had to be closed for bad behaviour. This record is one few schools can equal, and is due in the main to the cellar in which the club operates. Its admirable preparation has given the room a congenial and friendly atmosphere, often remarked upon by visitors. Members take a pride in the club-room and in general very good care is taken of it.”

The amusements on offer had increased, with bar-billiards joining the existing dartboard, as had the number of beers on offer. More recent ORs may also be astounded to know that pints costed between 18p and 24p a pint! The dances continued, with termly offerings organised by the committee for the JCR members. “The success of the JCR cannot be denied. Its position and importance in the leisure life of the senior boys grows term by term”. And its importance continued to grow.

Strong spirits

JCR was also used for other social events. Robert Hall recalls, not so much a memory of alcohol, but the winter of discontent… During the industrial unrest of the miners’ strikes of the early 1970s, Radley, like the rest of the UK had frequent power cuts. That meant we moved around by torch or candlelight in the evenings.

At that time I was sharing a study in the Octagon with Tony Shelley,

whose dad, Norman, was then a very well-known actor, particularly on the radio, where he played Dr Watson to Carleton Hobbs’ Sherlock Holmes. Not sure who cooked up the idea, but Norman agreed to read ghost stories in the JCR; spooky goings on by flickering candlelight….we were all looking behind us by the time we went back to socials through the empty passages and pitch black campus..!

When Peter Leroy left Radley in 1984, his vale records how what was “potentially a flash point in college life” was run through the committees with “an appropriately jovial atmosphere, thereby sustaining morale in the senior part of the school, providing an important link between young and old.”

eJCR

Fifty years later and the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown saw the Radley summer term move entirely online as the boys did not return to the College. One might imagine then that JCR would lay dormant, awaiting the start of the new academic year (hopefully!) in September. However, as lessons and pastoral care became virtual, so did JCR. Boys joined up with their friends over Zoom and sat in ‘groups’ to chat over a beer, just as would happen in the JCR.

These proved to be lovely social occasions and soon the boys were keen to ‘catch up’ with dons in the more informal environment fostered by JCR. So, the Zoom invitations were extended and dons and boys were able to virtually ‘drop in’ for a drink, even using appropriate photos of JCR as a backdrop on the calls! A fitting 21st century example of the jovial, morale-boosting atmosphere of JCR’s early days.

The JCR in more sedate use in 1977.

Above: Keeping the spirit going through lockdown, from the email advertising the video conferencing JCR sessions.

Right: Perhaps the invention of Radley Pool? Jake Hubbard (2015) sent in this picture of Sam Perez Quane (2015) ‘assisting’ in a game of JCR pool in December 2019.

As the boys returned to College in September 2020 for the start of the new academic year, it was not immediately clear how the JCR might run. But by making use of the marquees set up on site and also the more open space of New Pavilion, JCR sessions for the sixth-form boys have been able to continue.

These sessions have provided a very welcome opportunity for groups to get together, suitably socially-distanced of course. And whilst at present, it may not be in their traditional, and now 50-year home, of the cellars underneath Mansion, the ethos is still the same as in 1970.

The original article in The Radleian from Lent 1971, introducing JCR, concludes with the sentiment that it was “in the process of becoming an integral part of Radley life”.

This process took very little time to come to fruition, and for the boys here over the past 50 years, JCR is as much a part of life at Radley as Hall, Socials, Bigside and Chapel.

Below: A photo from 2020 that could almost have been taken at any point in the last 50 years - Radley boys chatting over a beer in the JCR.

“YOU CANNOT FURLOUGH FISH”

Sam Petty (2002)

All has been upside down with my business but we have been making face masks and thankfully these have been very popular.

We usually print British art onto pocket squares, cushions, ties, and scarves but have turned our hand to face masks! Artwork includes local artists, iconic William Morris, collaborations with cartoonist PUGH and the National Motor Museum.

10% of the sales go to the Covid 19 response fund and we have also launched a rainbow range of products with profits to the NHS.

Philip Jenks (1976)

Philip Jenks has spent most of his career with Harriman House, the book publishing company he set up in 1992, but now works full time on his daughters’ videography business, Jenks&Co. Since 2010, Daisy and Kitty have been filming parties and weddings and have made a name for themselves with ‘lip-sync’ videos.

“It’s a great job: they have a ringside seat at happy family events, create a product which people like, and word-of-mouth keeps them busy.”

What could possibly go wrong? A-hem. On 15th March, Jenks&Co had 37 bookings. On 20th March, 0.

“The only good thing was the clarity: either we changed tack or went bust,” says Philip.

The problem was that with live events cancelled, Daisy and Kitty had nothing to film. The solution, they thought, was to persuade hosts to put on a ‘remote party’ in which guests would film themselves lip-syncing at home and send their clips back to Daisy and Kitty who would edit them into a video of ‘the party that never happened’. But would anyone go for the idea? They weren’t sure, but with no other ideas, it was worth a try.

So they asked Matt, their IT developer, to build a system which would allow clients to create a project on Jenks&Co, choose a song, add guests, allocate lines, and send out email invitations. It also had to provide a way for guests to upload their clips back to the system and for Daisy and Kitty to import them into their editing software. Matt coded manically for four weeks and in late April, Jenks&Co launched its new ‘Home Movie’ service with an email to its clientbase.

The response was instant. By then, people had been in lockdown for five weeks. Families and friends had been unable to celebrate birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. The opportunity to collaborate on a funny, silly, uplifting lip-sync movie was a way to release all that pent-up social energy.

New products from Sam Petty’s business, David Wilson, showing fine art prints on facemasks and rainbow scarves to support NHS fundraising.

Jenks&Co has now done over 230 lockdown movies for all sorts of family occasions. As well as lip-sync, it now offers a ‘Spoken Word’ option in which guests film themselves speaking, not miming to a song. “If someone is 80, the last thing they want is to watch their relatives jumping around to ‘Bust a Move’,” explains Philip. “Far better to have them speaking messages of congratulation, and to add photos and favourite soundtracks to the movie.”

...or, how ORs in business have responded to the problems and opportunities brought about by the Covid lockdowns.

You cannot furlough fish

That sentiment is a pointer to the business’ future. Philip now thinks of Jenks&Co less as a videographer of events and more as a keeper of family memories, with photo-scanning and conversion recently added to its repertoire, because “so many families have boxes of loose photos, shelves of albums, and drawers full of slides and negatives which need to be safeguarded”.

The key, he says, is that Jenks&Co doesn’t just hand the client back a hard drive; it puts the images and footage online, lets the client decide who can access them, and makes it easy to create photo albums and videos out of them. “Most photo archiving services start and stop with storage. For us, storage is important, but we think it’s much more fun getting clients to *do* things with their archive once it’s online.”

Was COVID a blessing in disguise, then? “No, it’s a scourge, but from a business point of view it pushed us in a more interesting direction.”

www.jenksandco.tv

Alex Ledger (1997)

I left Radley in 2002 and for the last 15 years I have run an Adventure Sports company called SkySchool, which teaches people how to fly a specific type of microlight called a Paramotor. We’ve operated predominantly overseas because of the weather limitations in the UK however due to Covid-19 our clients, who are mainly British, could not travel abroad. We therefore returned to our base in Oxfordshire and fortunately the weather turned out to be amazing.

The moment lockdown was eased we were inundated with people looking to make the most of the weather and take to the skies.

At the end of a particularly glorious day of flying in late May I was out running near our training location and bumped into a family friend, Oscar Manville-Hales (2009), who also happens to be an OR. He had recently left Edinburgh University and was looking for work as a photographer and film maker but due to Covid-19 there was not much work for him. I therefore invited him to join us at the flying site the following day and continued on my run half expecting him not to turn up. What a fortuitous meeting it turned out to be!

Since then we’ve been flat out teaching people how to fly. During this time Oscar has become an integrable member of the team and produced some amazing work, which has led to an ever-increasing number of people signing for a course. Now that the UK weather is starting to change, along with people’s attitude to travel, we are heading back to the continent and I’m glad to say that Oscar will be joining us. Covid-19 could have utterly destroyed our business, however by reverting back to basics and working with like-minded people, such as Oscar, who wanted to make the most of this difficult situation, we managed to not only survive, but thrive.

I have continued to work with Oscar, filming in the UK, France, Portugal and Spain and we’re in the process of setting up a production company together - Whitecap Media - with Oscar as the Head of Creative/Videographer and me as the Producer.

So all very exciting!

Alex Ledger (1997) giving advice and guidance to a SkySchool student.

Desmond Lenahan (1974)

My Sales Promotion agency (www.parademarketing.co.uk) built on 20 years’ experience and with products in Travel & Leisure, servicing the UK Automotive Sector (www.conquestpromotions. co.uk), had been enjoying a phenomenal ‘Boris Bounce back’ sales increase between December 2019 and February 2020, but then... lockdown. In effect my whole business disappeared down the drain in a matter of days!

As an owner/director of a small company, I was faced with no income, or support from the government as my business model fell between the gaps of any Government grant/loans schemes, so in effect we were running on empty. But, taking a page from the great Winston Churchill, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”, by 27th March I had set up www.conquest-health.com.

With my last cash in the bank, I purchased the total UK Nursing & Care Home database, then found a PPE wholesaler to supply my customers. Between April and July I managed to turn over £300,000 of sales and build a loyal and ongoing customer base in supplying PPE products.

However, let me add, during this period, the chaos on supply and delivery from overseas suppliers was something of a nightmare with ‘missing’ containers and horrible profiteering from increase in prices with no warning, all the while communicating with Care home owners who were advising me of their terrible death rate in their homes and the lack of support from the government on supplying the PPE required. It was not a pleasant experience, but I can genuinely state that I have helped support and save lives with my services when there was little else being provided.

From July onwards I increased my product range to provide long term Infection control products, with quality electronic Hand Sanitizer units and Temperature capture face recognition and Track & Trace applications, with over a 100 care homes now using these. We also made a full video presentation to show how these are applied in care homes: www.conquest-health.com/sanitisersunits

Further to that, in August I successfully merged both my Promotions agency experience with the PPE sector and launched with the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, the first branded Scarf mask campaign with Laura Ashley brand. This included my business delivering all design & creative, manufacturing & production, and e-commerce in the UK, supporting over 20 employees and helping a further business survive the current crisis.

So, what can I add or pass on to young Radleians? As Anthony Hudson stated to me before my first game for the Radley XV, having won my place as scrum half up from the colts, “Always expect the unexpected, anticipate the challenges and never, ever give up. In life, like rugby, you have a choice, once hit, either lie down and stay down, or get up and keep going.” So when I broke my leg playing against Sherborne, the last game of that season, I was rewarded with six months in plaster and an unknown future in playing again. However, I returned in the following season and reclaimed my position to play for the XV, maybe that advice helped me ‘see the opportunity in every difficulty’ and has stood me well in times like these.

James Wilson (1983)

The travel industry has indeed been hit hard. It’s difficult to think of any comparable previous occasion for companies, where demand for their product reduces to virtually zero overnight, as all non-essential travel to all countries was banned, and then on top of that, they’re actually having to refund most of their takings over the last six months, with reduced human resources due to furlough.

However, I’m positive for the future as I don’t think people’s innate desire to travel, enjoy new experiences, meet new people and connect with family and friends will diminish. As we become an ever more tech-focused society, close human relationships and being with friends, family and colleagues will become even more valued.

People are getting ‘Zoom fatigue’ now, missing human interaction from working at home; and beginning to realise that the more they purchase goods online from multi-national companies, the more High Street closures there will be, adversely impacting local communities. Coronavirus has helped accentuate the benefits of booking travel through a human being. Most people who booked online themselves, have battled to get through to someone on the phone; and have found that they have less protections in place, in terms of refunds.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still a huge market for online transactions and it will continue to grow; however I believe that there is a trend towards more personal relationships in business, and a significant proportion of travel/holiday bookers will now

Desmond Lenahan (1974) has begun work with the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday to provide Laura Ashley-branded face masks.

prefer to book with someone they trust, and someone who can look after every aspect of their travel ‘journey’, from initial booking to arranging refunds or changes on their behalf.

Travel Counsellors as a Company is well positioned to weather the Coronavirus storm. Other than Head Office, there are no further buildings to pay rent on, as everyone works from home. Business owners like myself, have the flexibility to work hours that suit us and to manage our business as we wish. Strong customer relationships, passionate and knowledgeable business owners, and a commitment from the company to back this up with huge investment in IT and the very best systems are key.

People buy from people, and more than ever companies that succeed are going to be ones that value their relationship with their customers, and put them at the heart of everything they do.

Joseph Kelly (2011)

I’ve come to you with a story of how a business has found a silver lining of the pandemic. After graduating from Durham this year I launched Nomad Cooks (www.nomadcooks.co.uk), a freelance private chef marketplace. Essentially, you can book a private chef to come and cook in your home for you and your friends for a reasonable price.

The pandemic has delivered an opportunity for us where customers are more fearful of going out to eat so prefer eating restaurant quality food in the comfort of their own home.

Gerard Hughes (1976)

As an avid collector of interesting and performance cars, the advent of Covid and its associated shutdown meant that I was unable to visit physical showrooms or auctions to view, buy or sell cars. Knowing too that the problem was not unique to me, I decided to partner with a longtime friend and build an online auction site to cater for enthusiasts who were facing a similar dilemma.

The website www.selectinggear.com has taken off and the level of interest we are receiving from all quarters is huge. We have developed the model further as we have emerged from lockdown, to become a hybrid model of online auctions, but with physical bases around the UK. The plans to go much further are in place, but to date the focus is very much around interesting and unusual cars for enthusiasts.

Nicholas Jackson (1948)

The day lockdown started I decided to make use of this time to write another opera, my third.

My wife Nadia, who is French, suggested Antoine de Saint Exupery’s Le Petit Prince as a subject and I finished the opera just six weeks later. It normally takes me two or three times as long to write an opera and being locked down with nothing else to do and nowhere to go certainly contributed to the shortened time scale.

The opera was recorded in October for a virtual performance at Drapers’ Hall and shown in November to members of the Draper’s Company as well as to members of the Oxford & Cambridge Club.

It was performed by Post Graduate students at the Royal College of Music with back-drops designed by my wife.

The Drapers’ Company annual concerts were initiated by me when I was Master in 1995. To do these effectively is a very costly business, so two or three concerts have to be recorded on the same day. Luckily the RCM were very helpful in finding me some brilliant young singers and players for the performance.

Ben Mills (2010)

I graduated from the University of Exeter this summer having completed my exams during lockdown. However, before results day, and towards the end of the first lockdown, I began setting up my own business; a Craft Distillery on the family farm outside of Burford in the Cotswolds. BIG GRIN.

I believe that the economic meltdown caused by lockdown forced many, and especially young people, to become more entrepreneurial. Over lockdown, I watched as friends set up their own ventures; some started selling masks, others their own artwork, and one even illustrated her own book of cartoons.

Covid-19 certainly affected the Big Grin brand creation – in the current climate, many brands are striving to bring a smile to people’s faces, and this greatly influenced the brand ethos. I wanted to set up a craft distillery brand that, instead of being smart, sophisticated and botanical orientated, was fun and entertaining.

However, when we can’t have a launch party, attend trade shows, or organise a tasting, how can we ever hope to spread the cheer? Digital and social media marketing have become crucial as we try to build up the hype before the launch of our Gin and Vodka in late November.

Dealing with other businesses has also not been easy, with lead times long as suppliers faced a backlog of enquiries following lockdown. It is bizarre that I am yet to meet some familiar faces who have been so crucial to the company’s development, with our brand designer and technical consultant remaining but blurry figures on the other side of a screen.

With our bottle shop up and running, we have found business becoming more local and community driven with the absence of tourists passing through the Cotswolds. It seems that local communities around the country have become far more supportive of small independent businesses.

Patrick McMeekin (1999)

SEATSERVE enables fans to order food, drinks and merchandise from the existing concessions at stadia and have it efficiently delivered to their seat. Operationally, this distributes the demand for bars throughout a matchday, easing queues at KO and HT!

After a great experience of this concept in the US, I took on the UK license nearly 5 years ago, comfortable that its day would come. Since then, one of the key features we built is called TimeSlots, where fans can preorder for delivery within a specific 10-minute period of the game. By limiting the capacity of each slot (much like supermarket deliveries), we generated anticipation around the most popular times, causing them to sell out in advance and forcing other fans to order at different times, when the bars still had available capacity to fulfil them.

With the return of Premiership rugby in September, we were able to get back in to matches. At Harlequins, we generated nearly a third of their total revenues prior to the gates even opening. Whilst at Kingsholm a week later, the operation was so efficient that it never even hit capacity, making us wonder for the first time whether in-seat delivery could actually exceed what a bar might normally take on a matchday.

The potential impact of in-seat delivery on memberships, sponsorships and matchday revenues has always been compelling, but as elite sport emerged from its initial lockdown, SEATSERVE was recognised as an essential way for venues to establish and maintain social distancing. Whilst Covid has obviously been devastating for the live events industry as a whole, necessity remains the mother of innovation.

Arthur Voelcker (2002)

I am a co-founder of ChalkStream Foods, based in Hampshire and 5 years ago we set out on the trout revolution to get this fish back onto menus again. We paired up with four farms based on the Test and Itchen rivers and now grow them to the average size of 3kg. Over the last 5 years we have built a reputation of having the highest quality trout and serving some of the best restaurants in the UK as well as supplying events such as Royal Ascot and Wimbledon and more recently have started exporting to the USA.

From consistently selling 6-7 tonnes a week in March we lost 90% of our business as the country went into lockdown and the food service industry shut overnight. This was a hugely depressing moment for us but we had to adapt. You cannot furlough fish! Within 24 hours we had a box scheme up and running and had leaflets made that we spread around the local area. Most delivery slots were full but we were able to supply people with amazing fresh and smoked ChalkStream trout and through word of mouth we managed to get back up to around 5 tonnes of fish per week that was all going direct to people’s homes.

This rapid change to retail from wholesale was a huge effort and strain but it meant that we reached a whole new audience that we would have never reached before. We also had a huge breakthrough when Jamie Oliver got behind us and did a video to all his followers to try our trout and within 12hrs of airing we had sold 1300 boxes providing us with a much needed boost that could not have come at a more needed time.

Business is still very challenging and the tightening of restrictions has put a dampener on the wholesale trade that had returned. We would like to offer a 10% discount to ORs on their first order, as the smoked trout is a great alternative to smoked salmon. www.chalkstreamfoods co.uk

A SEATSERVE order being delivered at The Stoop during a Covidcompliant Harlequins home game in September 2020.

James Shaw-Porter (1985)

After several years of discussion, many months of intensive planning and with impeccable timing, OR’s David Pardoe (1988) and James Shaw-Porter (1985) launched a new rural property business, Rosehill Advisors, on 2nd March this year.

With three initial partners and a strong team with a wide range of rural land and property expertise, David and James set up Rosehill Advisors to offer the highest level of service to rural landowners, which they considered has been lost by the growth of national land agency firms.

Based in Hampshire, but operating across the South of England and beyond, Rosehill Advisors offers the full range of traditional land agency services, property project management for new builds and restorations of country houses as well as consultancy and for residential development land.

Managing Director, David Pardoe commented “the timing of our launch was unfortunate to say the least and our first few months were somewhat nerve-wracking with only 3 weeks of business before the lockdown began. However, the lockdown has encouraged many people based in London to move to the Country and this has created many opportunities for us to offer our services to help new clients make their move and deal with the issues that arise with ownership of land and estates. Also, the changes that are coming in planning law and farm subsidies over the next few years will be significant as the current systems change and we are very well placed to help our clients navigate the new environment”. www.rosehilladvisors.co.uk

Alexander Prescott (1996)

On Friday the 13th (unlucky apparently for more of us than we previously thought) March 2020 our department and much of Scotia bank enacted the Business Continuity Plan or BCP. Like many companies our BCPs are thoroughly field tested to ensure continuous uninterrupted operations and continued support to our customers, employees and business partners.

Curiously however, for myself at least, the enactment of the BCP didn’t really change my work much. I’ve been working remotely and at home for over a decade; and was part of one of the first major remote work programs for another Financial Institution. Additionally, my wife, Claire, continued (and continues) to go to work during the pandemic at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital as a Clinical Resource Leader (RN). Fortunately to date the strict implications of COVID screening across Canada, and at the Provincial level have actively helped ‘flatten the curve’ and kept her place of work free of COVID.

The challenges caused by the lockdown and BCP became more apparent about a month after the closure of the office and the subsequent implementation of a bank-wide travel ban; my main role is managing the delivery of Retail branch projects in Western Canada. Projects Management became a remote activity using considerably more local resources while many construction sites continued to operate; albeit at a limited capacity. Team management became a priority as we started to change our Management strategies to focus even more on deliverables; and improved the use of collaboration tools; in our case Microsoft Teams has become indispensable.

An additional activity that I found myself involved in was the procurement of acrylic (plexi-glass) shields; an aggressive deployment across our network of over 1000 locations within 3 weeks required considerable coordination with our vendors; and in true Canadian spirt everyone pitched in and of all the financial institutions in Canada I’m proud to say we managed to keep over 90% of our branch network open; helping local businesses and customers. It was certainly a change from our normal country wide rollouts.

One element that we did have to adapt fairly quickly was our Social Committee; our department prides itself in offering various events throughout the year; many of which are tied to local charities; and despite the lockdown we were able to continue to provide virtual entertainment in the way of online live quizzes; the oddly popular Bingo (must be a retro ‘thing’!) and indoor scavenger hunts to name a few. In fact, we successfully ran a ‘Virtual Summer Camp’ with about 60 employees at the end of August, which by all accounts has been a resounding success.

Daniel-Konrad Cooper (1996)

The lockdown has presented an enormous challenge for the UK’s Theatre, Film & TV industry, but potentially also a new set of opportunities for independent projects and innovative thinkers.

I was fortunate enough not to be midproduction when the lockdown began. So many pieces have to come together to make a film and the planning involved takes many months – not just the cast and crew and location availabilities, but details down to the time of year, which informs whether leaves are on the trees and how many hours of daylight you get for your working day.

The indefinite hiatus put on projects has of course been frustrating, but there’s a chance for innovative small projects to complete swiftly as restrictions ease, and the demand for content continues with not much fresh film-product coming to a market with increased demand for content.

My latest film The Man in The Hat was released in cinemas across the UK & ROI on 18th September and the number of cinemas that have taken it is not solely

testament to its quality – the big Studios have pulled their releases, mindful of audience reservations and volatile government restrictions. This presents an opportunity for versatile Independent films to fill the vacant screens for those audience members willing to brave the mask-wearing theatrical experience.

Fortunately, this film is also rather good! Ciarán Hinds stars as The Man In The Hat on a road trip across France in a tiny Fiat 500 in this musically-rooted comedy directed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare In Love). The entertaining, optimistic and visually sumptuous adventure might be just the tonic we need after the challenges of 2020.

Similarly mobile and innovative thinkers will be finding fresh opportunities across industries. The risks are far lower for smaller operations and the potential upside potentially far greater.

1940s

Peter Blencowe (1943)

Arriving at Radley in Morgan’s Social in September 1943, I must, at 91, be one of the few ORs of that era still going strong, enjoying life with a much-loved wife. Always looking out for new challenges, I have recently completed my Memoirs. It was really written mainly for our four children and their spouses and our ten grandchildren. It is entitled Stages of Life and one of its stages is, of course, ‘Radley 1943-1948’.

Happy memories of a Radley very different to that of today, but I am sure retaining much of its excellence.

We are fortunate to have a large garden courtyard and a big meadow to walk in, in our supported living complex, Penstones. Our main aim in life is to keep the other residents laughing. We understand that apart from cheering them up it’s good for the immune system!

Meanwhile I continue to carry on with the third volume of my autobiography. My Editor tells me there is already enough for two volumes! If so 3 will be called Dignity and Impudence Revisited and 4 will be Maturity or Years of Indiscretion

My family in Witney, Great Bedwyn and Adelaide, South Australia, continue to thrive, but at a distance, naturally.

Hugh

Aldersey (1945)

In Australia we have survived repeated droughts, severe bushfires, floods and now the dreaded CV and still life in lockdown continues!

The world’s decision makers and a proportion of the masses have yet to comprehend that the ancient proverb applies to the CV, ‘Give it an inch and it will take a mile’!

Robin Phipps (1948)

Given up competitive sailing, ankles given out. Too much sport. Taken up snooker with friends at Royal Motor Yacht Club. Last played in social library 1952. No threat to Judd Trump.

Also passed on our much loved house on the banks of river Charente at Cognac to our oldest daughter, Lorna. Still visiting, but driving the distance increasingly tiring. At my age nothing better than sitting watching the Cognac oarsmen row by and comparing their prowess with past College successes whilst drinking the local brew.

One daughter, Elissa, busy compiling questions for University Challenge, Mastermind etc. The other, Lorna, having sailed the Pacific with four friends, has passed on love of sailing to children, Robin and Millie. Other twin granddaughters, Maia and Nina Robyn busy trying to ‘find’ university and the next step in life.

Christopher Hill (1948)

Christopher has written his memoirs with the title Looking In: some observations

Peter Milln (1943)

Almost 91 and still alive and reasonably fit and well. Glad to have moved into a retirement village when I did (I thoroughly recommend them). It is still possible to enjoy a reasonably social life (not more than six together).

I would love to hear from any Radley folks of the war years who may remember me. Most of my contemporaries of D social have now sadly gone.

Bob Ely (1944)

After a brilliant family Christmas, not surprisingly I, like everyone else, have been affected by the Virus. I now have a full time, live in, Carer, June, who came to Radley with me to join in the super celebrations for those who left more than 75 years ago.

So politically palatable, but inadequate safety rules continue to kill off tens of thousands of innocent people, mostly in high density areas. On the bright side, we are having plenty of rain and there should be a good grain harvest this year. Many of us have had to relearn how to perform many tasks and, as some of these methods are superior, they will be permanent. Best wishes to all.

Dmitri Kasterine (1945)

Moving house to Central NY state near Cooperstown. Our 29-year-old son, Nicholas, fed up with the fires in California, is likely to join us, as there is plenty of land to build his own house and continue his farming.

Very busy with the photography selling prints to collectors. Not many chances to do portraits these days. Waiting patiently to see a fully exposed face. Tennis almost at a standstill as West Point is closed to the public and the indoor courts now an infirmary.

He is self-publishing, in hard covers, at a cost of £15, with the profits to be given to Medecins Sans Frontieres and to a South African charity devoted to feeding poor children.

Would anyone wishing to buy a copy please send the £15 to Christopher at: Rother Cottage, Dodsley Grove, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9AB.

Robert Dawes (1949)

Robert is in the process of building a second, fully-working model traction engine in his garage.

Having completed a smaller version already, once the larger version is finished, he plans to provide rides to families in the local community gardens to raise money for the Air Ambulance on Exmoor.

1950s

George Metcalfe (1950)

I am a LibDem candidate for Canterbury City North in next May’s elections for the Kent County Council. I lost my seat on the Canterbury City Council last year by three votes, where in 2016-2017 I served as Lord Mayor. If elected I shall be 84 and hope to serve until 88.

Back in the 1950s I stood as the Liberal candidate in the school’s mock General Election, supported by a college band marching up and down in front of the Mansion. Came second!

Independently, I am currently chairman of the English Speaking Union for Canterbury and East Kent.

Rod de Courcy-Ireland (1951)

I returned from the Southern USA in the first week of March, just before the border shut down.

After one game of duplicate bridge, that world came to an end, understandably so with an elderly 100 plus people in an enclosed place and nearly all over 75 years old! That didn’t leave much to do apart from walks around the neighbourhood! However, my golf club opened on May 20th and I have now played 78 rounds!! I’m aiming for 100 before closing at the end of October. I’m afraid the number of rounds hasn’t made much difference to the number on the score card! But is has been healthy to be out in the fresh air getting a ‘Golfer’s Tan’!

My winery in Picton, Ontario, is a different story. It was described as “an essential business” because the Liquor Control stores were so, and then remained “open”. However, the regulations forbade Tastings, which is a usual and essential part of a winery retail room! We do have a wood fired pizza oven, and free delivery of a pizza and bottle of wine gave us a bare minimum of revenue! Tasting re-started in July, under strict regulations, and people were so keen to get out of the big cities that visitors started to show up.

As winter approaches my world will start to shut down again - no golf, no bridge, no winery visitors, no travel to the South without health insurance etc! Maybe going to the Algarve will become an option! In the meantime, I am alive and healthy and thank the good Lord for that.

Richard Exham (1956)

We are very lucky here in Western Australia with comparatively few Covid cases and very few deaths. During the shutdown in March when we were all having to isolate we decided to make the most of it and redecorate our house. Now that we are no longer required to isolate and with life getting back to normal we’ve got something to show for it!

Joscelyn Godwin (1958)

Janet and I live a block from Colgate University in Upstate New York, where I taught from 1971-2016. Our three grandchildren are a thousand miles away in Georgia. I am always writing (latest book The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd: Macrocosm, Microcosm and Medicine); translating (Introduction to Magic, by Julius Evola and the Gruppo di Ur); giving lectures and papers (last year in London, Amsterdam, Plovdiv, Houston, and New York); playing harpsichord continuo, recorders and viols; and furthering my family’s artistic legacy, including that of my father, Edward Scott-Snell, who was Art Master at Radley before my birth.

Tony Pearce-Smith (1950)

Well, the garden’s in pretty good order, having received a fair amount of attention between pauses for a cold drink during the astonishing lockdown weather with which we were blessed during April, May and June. So, when this pandemic is just a bad dream next Spring or Summer, any OR who ventures into the East Midlands would be most welcome at The Old Barn, South Luffenham, Rutland, for a cold drink and a game of golf croquet.

The lawn is challenging, with a Lordsesque slope, but should not present too many problems for enthusiastic dry bobs and even the odd wet bob. Contact via The Boot, South Luffenham.

Now there’s a challenge!

Jonathan Towers (1953)

I am in my 20th year as joint Honorary Secretary and Hon Treasurer of the Under Sheriffs Association (and 30th as Hon Treasurer). This year all our meetings have been by Zoom (or postponed) but we are obviously not alone in that. Otherwise, more generally, I enjoy walking and shooting and country pursuits, and continue to enjoy life despite my wife and I having to “socially isolate” ourselves on account of our age.

Robin Grist (1954)

After many enjoyable years on the War Memorial Committee I have stood down and my son Colonel Charlie Grist OBE (1988) has taken my place. He is still serving and much more up to date than I.

For exercise, I have excavated a ruined 19th century cottage on my woodlot and researched its jailbird owner. London connections continue as Fellow of the Temenos Academy, Honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and member of the Silver Society, for whose journal I have written on American topics. Other recent writings are on colour theory, music therapy, Renaissance literature, Theosophical history, Masonic iconography and material culture.

My Fifth Form master, Christopher Turner, called me a ‘dilettante’, and I am proud to have lived up to that, but most grateful to my music master Donald Paine and my language teachers, Peter Stuart and Geoffrey Savory, who gave me the skills to earn a living, too.

John Lubbock (1959)

The Orchestra of St. John’s started concerts again in September. We performed two one-hour concerts in one evening with two distanced audiences. Also our concerts in special schools with the charity Music for Autism have been very well received via Zoom.

1960s

Duncan Forbes (1960)

Although 2020 is an inopportune time to launch a business, I have become a publisher and self-published my sixth collection of poems called Human Time. The imprint is Voicemail Press and further details are on the recently updated website: www.duncanforbes.com

Guy Greaves (1960)

With some slight trepidation I attach a photo (see below) of my Tideway Scullers School Masters G crew which won its division in the Quintin Head of the River on the Tideway, in January of this year –I’m the one at the back.

There hasn’t been much competitive rowing this year – the other Heads of the River races on the Tideway and lower Thames early on were cancelled due to bad weather and then the Pandemic closed down the main Head of the River races due to be held at the end of March, the Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta. Competitive rowing has only just restarted.

The point of my note is that, on arrival at

Radley in 1960, being the smallest boy in the school and not a great fan of cricket, I was put in the back of a boat on the river and told to steer it.

60 years later I feel that I was very fortunate to have been able to compete in one of the few races held this year – and win our division.

As a footnote, I was Captain of Boats in 1964, represented GB for 3 years between 1967 and 1969, have been actively involved in Masters rowing for the last 20-25 years and am currently Vice President of Tideway Scullers, having been President for 12 years until last year.

Paul Isolani-Smyth (1960)

During this sad covid Spring/Summer, with many plans cancelled or put on hold, my wife Teresa under the auspices of our local Church helped prepare food for homeless people in London, and continued her telephone befriending of elderly lonely people. I have written some poetry - 26 so far - one of which I wrote on return from our short break in the Cotswolds, as follows:

The Eternal Cotswolds

The glorious golden Cotswolds bathed in honeyed hues are warmed by Summer sunshine this August afternoon

Their gateway is bright Burford with its steeply inclined hill which takes us down the High Street ending at Windrush, til

We take high road to Stow on Wold the Cotswold summit town a place of rural elegance under old St Edward’s tower

These villages of golden stone here with the country chime their character and gentleness evoke a grace sublime, of

Country rhythms ,& mannered charm with fine old Pubs and Tea Rooms from Burford’s Golden Pheasant, to Priory, and Angel too

Old Stow on Wold has Lucy’s Place a sweet and dainty Tea Room with carrot cake, a wondrous bake of Tea the fitting crown

Proud Moreton in her ancient marsh a market town supreme The Redesdale Arms a place of charm and pre-eminent cuisine

The Cotswold fields, by small stone walls their boundaries are traced and by sweet rivers, Windrush, Churn, and Evenlode embraced

This is a part of our sweet Land that captures England’s soul: old fashioned kindness, beauty, charm: The things that make us whole.

Mike Lewis (1960)

I was lucky enough to receive a BEM in the recent Queens Birthday Honours for charitable services. I had been Chairman and fundraiser for SSAFA in Powys for about 12 years.

I am not sure whether I ever mentioned that I was High Sheriff of Powys in 2015 and am also a DL in the county. Late developer?

Simon Sanders (1960)

Whilst writing a piece for the OR in memory of Nick Hayes, I realised that I had never sent any news of myself to the OR since leaving Radley in 1964. So, for anyone who remembers and who may be interested:

On leaving Radley I spent three years in Europe improving the language skills for which I had shown some aptitude at Radley, and then started work in 1968 with Allied Breweries in the export of scotch whisky.

In 1970 I married Zoë, daughter of D.C. (‘Ceddie’) Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis, OR and former Don – we celebrated 50 years of happy marriage this year and have two daughters, both married with their own families (pictured below right).

My career in scotch whisky export sales and marketing continued with Allied, who moved us to Scotland in 1978, working in Glasgow and living near Helensburgh. After 25 years with Allied I left to work in Perth to manage the export sales of The Famous Grouse scotch whisky, and we moved eastwards to Fife, near St Andrews, where we still live. The combination of a heart attack in 1998 and the takeover of the company in 2000 offered me the chance to retire early.

In those twenty years of retirement so far, I’ve tried to do lots of different things –I’ve played lots of real and lawn tennis, I’ve worked as a carer, I’ve played drums in a couple of bands, I’ve shot and worked a gun dog, I keep and milk goats, I’ve enjoyed a lot of carriage driving with my wife, I ran a small charity helping adults with disabilities, I’ve been a member of the Children’s Panel, I sing in a male voice choir, and so on …. no outstanding talent, but a wide variety of applications. A product of an ‘all-round’ Radley education?

As for Covid, we have not left home very much but are fortunate to have things to do and space around us in a beautiful part of the country.

Clive Seigal (1960)

Some ORs may be interested to know that I recently published a very short book on Amazon called Stop Abusing Our Language.

I have perceived a steady deterioration in the quality of our spoken language as heard throughout the media today. With time to spare during lockdown, I decided to write this book in a desperate effort to arrest this decline.

Some friends describe it as more a prejudiced rant than a balanced appraisal of modern spoken English. But I think most of them have found some worthwhile snippets worthy of consideration.

Nicholas Park (1961)

I retired at the start of the Autumn Term after 51 years at Brockhurst Prep school, near Newbury. In 1969 I started under Jonathan Pudden, OR, under whom I served as Deputy Head. In the fullness of time I was appointed Head and then handed over those reins to David Fleming, also an OR. After headship I devoted most of my days to teaching science and geography, always my preferred subjects. Having been an enthusiastic rower at Radley and later at Oriel College, Oxford, I specialised equally enthusiastically in coaching cross country running and athletics at Brockhurst, in addition of course to the usual plethora of prep school sports.

As so often happens in schools, in 1973 I married Jane, who was the school matron of the day. As we now approach our fiftieth wedding anniversary, we are suitably proud of our three children and five grand-children, often remarking how fortunate we have been.

Away from the immediate confines of Brockhurst, I spent nearly twenty years as a part time inspector with the Independent Schools Inspectorate; for even longer I have led services in St Mary’s, our church in the school grounds and for whom I remain a Deputy Warden.

Many OR readers of these words will have heard of or have themselves rowed at the annual National Schools Regatta. I was fortunate to be asked to help at the event when it was still held on the ChildBeale estate near Pangbourne. The NSR soon outgrew that Arcadian reach of the Thames and moved to Nottingham to the international six-lane course at Holme Pierrepont; more recently it has moved again, this time to the eight-lane Eton College facilities at Dorney.

For very many years Jane and I have manned the raft marshal’s office on the waterfront. This activity became one of our summer term highlights, with opportunities to meet again many former Brockhurst pupils and their parents in addition to being part of a very amicable regatta committee.

David Pountney (1961)

I was knighted on St Valentines Day and that was the last thing that happened really. Everything else was cancelled. I wrote two libretti to fill the void: A Feast in the time of Plague and its companion The Plague in a time of Feasting. The former was performed at Grange Park Opera.

Chip Somers (1961)

Chip Somers has at clinic in Harley Street specialising in alcohol and substance problems and a podcast called Soberful, which is a free service to help people who think they may have a problem.

Andy Du Port (1962)

In February, Kate and I embarked on a Hurtigruten Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes (a few miles from the Russian border), arriving home just as Covid started to make a nuisance of itself. Frustratingly, our plans to spend a few months sailing were thwarted, but we have since managed some splendid periods afloat in the Solent area.

My third book on sailing matters (this time about VHF radio procedures!) is about to be published, and I am now looking for something else to keep me busy during the winter. We might even go sailing on Christmas Day - again.

In the meantime, I am missing sitting on the West Sussex Magistrates’ Bench, having been chucked out for committing the crime of turning 70 in 2019.

David Reynolds (1962)

Just thought I’d let you know that my new book, Slow Road to San Francisco, was published in August, postponed from June because bookshops were closed by virus measures.

This story of my driving slowly across the United States on a single old two-lane road from the coast of Maryland to San Francisco in the summer before Covid, meeting people and exploring, seems to appeal to readers now - perhaps because they can’t easily travel to the US or walk into bars and chat to people, as I did repeatedly!

May I quote one of the reviews? ‘What a book! What a joy of a book, plunging you straight away into the very body, bosom and blood of America.’ Lucinda Lambton, The Oldie Magazine. www.slowroad.co.uk

Charles Stokes (1963)

This year I celebrated my 70th birthday with my family by Zoom, and also five years living in Edinburgh, which we enjoy enormously, rather like London life 40 years ago. I am struck by the number of fee-paying schools in proportion to

the population, and was pleased to meet the Chaplain of Glenalmond College which has a broadly similar Christian foundation to Radley’s and against whom we sometimes played rugger.

Having lived most of my life in the Thames Valley I was initially daunted by the Highlands but now find them relaxing and sustaining. We visit the further parts of Wester Ross two or three times a year, a five hour journey from Edinburgh. Scotland is huge!

I retain links with London, where my son lives and works for the British Museum. I remain a member of the Worshipful Company of Glovers, and in Edinburgh have joined the Royal Company of Merchants, where my induction was led by the splendidly whiskered Master (pictured right).

Charlie Cleverly (1964)

Canon Charlie Cleverly retired in September 2020 after 18 happy and fruitful years as Rector of St Aldates, Oxford. St Aldates served 60 hot meals each day throughout lockdown to the homeless community among whom they have worked for many years.

In 2019, he published The Discipline of Intimacy and his wife Anita (with whom he led St Aldates) published Deep Night, Bright Morning

He and Anita have moved to Woodstock.

Julian Cribb (1964)

In 2019 Cambridge University Press published Food or War, and in early 2021 will release my latest book, Earth Detox: how and why we must clean up the Planet on the poisoned state of our planet. These are the fourth and fifth volumes in my series about the existential crisis facing humanity in the 21st Century and what is to be done about it. As a writer, all these lockdowns make one quite productive, I find.

I just managed to slip in a couple of fly fishing forays to Mongolia and NZ (pictured below) before the borders slammed shut, to exercise those skills learned on Radley lake on misty morns and soft summer eves of yore (Warden Milligan fed well on my captures…).

Mark Holford (1964)

Mark became the 34th Master of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists on 7th October. The

Installation Ceremony would have normally taken place before a large congregation in the Church of St Bartholomew the Great (near London’s Smithfield Market). Instead Mark and his three Wardens were installed in a private ceremony in the Company’s Hall. In the evening there was a virtual Installation dinner for 150 people with the guest speaker, being Tom Mangold, former BBC Panorama journalist.

Mark is also chairman of Red Squirrel Wine and Klipboard (a SaaS business helping manage mobile workforces), a trustee of Les Azuriales Opera Trust and Liveryman of the Glass Sellers’ Company. Mark is also one of the UK’s leading collectors of modern art glass and during the year has delivered four online lectures about his collection, three of which can be found on Youtube. There are about 200 ORs who are members of City of London Livery Companies. They were planning an OR Livery dinner in 2020 but this has been postponed until Autumn 2021.

John Bridcut (1965)

John Bridcut’s portrait of one of the world’s most admired conductors, Bernard Haitnik, aired on BBC Two this September. Written, narrated and directed by John Bridcut, it was filmed during the lead-up to his retirement at the age of 90.

Tom Colville (1965)

Approaching entry to my eighth decade in a couple of years with interest, while keeping active and amused in the Scottish west highlands. Still enjoying water sports while introducing others to cruising this coast in company by Drascombe (pictured right).

My lifelong enthusiasm for tinkering and longer travels (when permitted) in a veteran early Land Rover persists. Some of the stories do continue to appear online and within club magazines. Offering challenges and space which our grandchildren can share is proving wonderfully rewarding.

John Goldsmith (1966)

I thought some of you might be interested in what I have been up to recently as my company Goldsmith and Young Ltd celebrates 40 years in the business of classic car restoration.

I left Radley in 1971 and joined the Royal

Navy for a short service commission in the submarine service which ended in 1976.

I spent a short time in a family business which sadly came to grief in 1980. Without any university qualifications I was at a disadvantage when trying to get a job - applying for over 52 jobs and rejections in the early 80s which included a 6 week spell on the dole which certainly opens your eyes to the way the world works sometimes!! In desperation I turned a hobby into a business and put what little money I had (£1500.00 credit on an access card in those days) into renting a railway arch near Queens Circus in Battersea London. I had always wanted to own an Aston Martin and had bought a badly maintained DB4 for £2000 in 1974 at the age of 21.

The next five years worth of free time was spent trying to keep the car going with no money. However I learnt a great deal and with the boldness of youth took the decision to start Goldsmith and Young in the Battersea railway arch. Every penny I had was sunk in the business and it was a hand to mouth existence for many years with cash flow up and down like a yoyo.

However, perseverance, hard work and some luck kept us going and we moved down to Mere in Wiltshire just off the A303 in 1984 where we still are. There have been many ups and downs but we are still around.

I enjoy historic racing with the Aston Martin Project 214 car (pictured above) which we built from scratch between 2012 and 2019. I also achieved a big personal ambition more recently when I managed to qualify as a private pilot and am now the proud owner of a 1964 PA24 Piper Commanche.

I am now reaping the rewards of all those years of hard work and enjoying owning both the 214 car and G-AXMA. 2021 here we come after a disappointing 2020 due partly to Covid19 and Brexit - both of which have had their toll on G and Y. However we are far from being alone in that regard!

David Taylor (1968)

David discovered that the website of The Metropolitan Opera House in New York was showing a different free opera every night from their vast back catalogue of operas that they had broadcast live to worldwide cinemas over many years.

He never expected to find that he could learn a huge amount about opera during lockdown. The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Glyndebourne were also showing weekly operas and he enjoyed many of these too. It was a particular surprise to see David Pountney (1961) being interviewed backstage during an interval about one of the operas he had directed.

Opera viewing brought him a great deal of delight and hopefully did for many other people as well. His favourite? Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s Turandot

Anthony Goddard (1968)

Not so much a business story but a change of career. At the age of 65 I have been ordained as a Deacon to work in my local church as a Self Supporting Curate. I am also working with the Church Revitalisation Trust to promote a new path to Ordination in the C of E for people of mature years to serve as self supporting ministers in rural parishes.

If you want to know more, please contact me at Anthony.Goddard@CRT.org

William Greig (1969)

During the lockdown I enjoyed a 7 week on-line course on ‘POETRY’ provided by Cambridge University where I studied in the 1970’s.

This autumn I start an on on-line Certificate in English Literature provided by Oxford University and I am hoping to prove you are never too old to learn!

John Nugée (1969)

I have recently been appointed a Lecturer in the Politics department at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, my first foray (at age 63!) into the world of teaching.

I have also had my book on financial and market sayings The Wisdom of Markets published, available from the publishers, OMFIF Press (contact james.fitzgerald@ omfif.org) or via online booksellers.

1970s

David Evered (1970)

I work from my home in rural San Diego County, California, as in-house intellectual property counsel for Lisa Frank Inc, protecting Lisa Frank’s artwork and trademarks (pictured below). Son Morgan, 26, is training to be an aircraft technician in San Diego, and daughter Grace 23 is at home taking courses at the local college. My wife Jacline enjoys playing the harp and working on her French language skills.

Having sung in the choir at Radley I have kept the singing going as a tenor in the Pacific Chorale based in Orange County, although this is currently on hiatus due to Covid-19.

Christopher Sandford (1970)

Christopher Sandford conducted an epistolary war in 2020 with the governor of the state of Washington, USA, where he now lives, over the latter’s interpretation of some of his COVID-related powers of restraint over the community.

On a slightly more productive note, Christopher’s new book on the early 20th-century international swindler Victor Lustig, The Man Who Sold the World, will be published by The History Press in Spring 2021.

Hugh Wolley (1970)

I’m working part-time as FD/CFO/COO/ NED for a number of companies, either high-tech or in food and farming, mostly in East Anglia (pictured below). I’m Renter Warden of the Tallow Chandlers Livery Company.

We are on the verge of selling our house of 30 years, but will stay firmly in North Suffolk which we adopted as home, perhaps moving a bit closer to the sea and the golf course. Walking in 2020 has been necessarily restricted to local paths and walking with golf clubs, but I hope to get back to some mountains next year.

Southern Africa continues to call, so we hope the restrictions permit what has now become an annual visit in 2021. We are often followed by sons Jasper (2004) and Adam (2001), Adam with his fiancee Ruby and next year perhaps with his daughter Margot (b. 3 Jul 20). Philip Portal (1970)

I live a very international life, which I love, between London, Zurich and Cascais, Portugal. I have been married for 33 years and have 3 boys who work respectively for an NGO in Iraq, in the education of special needs children and as a professional classical pianist in London.

- Lead partner and Managing Director for Zurich based wealth manager and multi family office, ISGAM AG.

- Trustee of CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a UK charity reducing the rates of particularly male suicide

- Trustee and on the Court of the Clothworkers Foundation and Company respectively; in line to be Master in 2021.

- 7 years Chairman of the Royal British Club of Portugal, until 2016.

Charles Sugden (1972)

Delighted to report that amid the pains of lockdown, a bright light has beamed. My contemporary, Jeremy Atkins (1972) and his daughter helped me to publish my first ebook through Fernhurst Books. They were so helpful. A Cello Teacher’s Companion Guide is the result. Available on Amazon and Kindle and most ebook distributors.

Bruce Gascoine (1973)

I retired from my career of 40 years in Investment trading, sales and fund management and closed my consultancy business to focus on my activities in the rowing world. Having completed my British Rowing Level 3 Senior Club Coach qualification in 2019, I was employed as the Head of Rowing at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, based at the Longridge Activity Centre in Marlow. In pursuit of further education, I have just embarked on an MSc with the University of Gloucester in Professional Practice in Sports Coaching, which incorporates the BR Level 4 rowing coaching qualification.

I continue to be a registered coach on the GB Junior rowing programme and as the Captain of Juniors with Shiplake Vikings Rowing Club. Whenever I have time, I enjoy sculling in my single, or with my wife Marguerite, in our double sculling boat, or our 100-year-old Thames double skiff ‘Kingfisher’.

Stephen Carey (1973)

Dr Carey (pictured below) has moved from the NHS to take up a post as Civilian Consultant Psychiatrist with the Ministry of Defence, looking after the East and North of Scotland.

Charles Hawkins (1973)

I have been appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Cambrian Credit Union, a body existing to offer savings and loans across North Wales and Mid Wales. We are driven by a desire to make a difference both to individual members and to the way that financial services operate in Wales. I also remain Chair of our village’s Community Group, which has been working hard during the first half of 2020 to battle the impact of C-19 on our Community.

Wade Newmark (1973)

Despite the trials and tribulations of COVID-19, my home-care business continues to thrive, and we have been selected by the U.K. government to represent the industry in the latest Parliamentary Review, a key forum for driving public policy. Compassion, Care and Kindness is what drives us: values which were always at the heart of Radley which still power my passion 40 years on.

I travel the country visiting my home with my trusty companion Hetty, the Welsh terrier, who is welcomed like a rock star wherever she goes. One of the big joys about running care for the elderly is that wherever I go, I’m easily the youngest person in the room. In my 60th year, that brings a smile to my face every time. That’s priceless!

Ian Lamdin (1973)

I’m fortunate enough to be living in California and working for Vaxart, a company developing a vaccine (taken by pill, not injection) for SARS-CoV-2, so we’re considered an essential business that has stayed open throughout the pandemic, although I work from home some days.

Ant Jackson (1974)

Best wishes from Western Australia. I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary this year. My wife, Wendy, and I have two children, Rebecca (24) and Robert (21). Robert is presently finishing a double degree at UWA in Philosophy and Mathematics. He is aiming for honours in the latter. I am working full-time as a Consultant Specialist Anaesthetist.

We are very fortunate that WA has been relatively COVID free.

David Chalk (1975)

In the normal course of events, I would be Master of the Drapers’ Company this year – but like many other Livery Companies, we have deferred this to 2021/22.

Meanwhile, my homecare business in Gloucestershire, Windrush Care is busier than ever. There is increased demand for private care at home, but also now an understandable reluctance for families to move relatives into care homes.

Sam Melluish (1976)

Sam Melluish was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to Young People and charity in his role as Chair of the Committee, Art for Youth London.

Mark Foster-Brown (1977)

Mark is Chief Executive of Adjuvo, which is an investment syndicate that funds and supports early stage companies in the UK.

We have many members connected to Radley, as either ORs or parents. Keen to support ambitious OR entrepreneurs and Founders, and to recruit new members.

Andrew Huxley (1977)

Having run the 2019 London Marathon on behalf of The Mission to Seafarers (pictured left) they asked if I would be an Ambassador for a Virtual fundraising initiative. Having agreed to make a short video I then decided to take a challenge as I had been training for the Manchester and London Marathons that had been cancelled. My challenge was to run 500 miles in 90 days which was accomplished with time to spare and in the process raised around £1000 for the charity.

William Lane (1977)

On 27th September 2020 I was admitted as a Companion of The Society of St Francis (c/SSF) at St Hugh’s Church, Durleigh.

Richard Reed (1978)

Following 30+ years in a range of senior commercial roles at Procter & Gamble, Kellogg, Reckitt Benckiser and Boots, and overseas roles in Geneva, Warsaw, Dublin and Amsterdam, I now find myself living just south of Nottingham and working as a Management Consultant.

The business of dispensing help, guidance and advice to companies in all sectors has been a perfect way to stay connected to the world of FMCG and retail.

Happily married to Jenny for 29 years and with three grown up children successfully navigating the challenges of medicine, teaching and university respectively!

Attending DRWS’s funeral was a glorious reminder of all that is good in Radley’s values - long may they continue to anchor the good deeds of ORs everywhere.

Sally Lines (nee Fielding) (1979)

I believe my last update was in 2016/17 when we’d taken over as tenants of The Queen Victoria pub in Shalford, near Guildford in Surrey. Thank goodness we’re not doing that any more or we’d be under incredible stress by now with C-19 challenges.

Being a pub landlord was an experience, we turned it around and made it profitable for the first time in 40 years and its success was hugely rewarding but it was also allconsuming and exhausting, even though it was mainly my husband’s venture - I was only an occasional helper because of also being Chief Executive of The Grange Centre for People with Disabilities in Bookham.

We left both the pub and my job at The Grange in September 2017 and went sailing for 7 months in our modest 36ft sailing yacht down to La Coruna in NW Spain and back (pictured left), while I finished off my Masters in Voluntary Sector Management with Cass Business School.

2200 nautical miles later and we moved to a small village in Somerset called Winsham where I took up the role as Chief Executive of The Road Safety Trust which I continue to enjoy today. We are the largest independent grant funder of road safety initiatives around the UK, all of which share our goal of reducing road deaths and injuries and improving road safety.

Our members are the UK-based police forces which participate in the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) and our trading company where all our funds come from is the one that runs the speed awareness courses, amongst others. I’m sure a number of ORs like me (and Dad!) have benefitted over the years from these courses and now stick well within the speed limit…

It may provide some comfort to know that approx. £1 of the course fee paid comes up to the Trust which is then able to support initiatives that improve all our safety on UK roads.

My email hasn’t changed if any ORs want to get in touch, either about our Radley days or in a professional capacity: sally.lines@hotmail.com

1980s

George Freeman (1980)

Another quiet year in Parliament. Returned to the Front Bench in 2019 as Minister of State for Decarbonisation & Digitalisation at Dept for Transport. Re-elected Dec 2019 with 22,000 Majority. Sacked in Feb reshuffle by Dominic Cummings.

Back growing the Big Tent Ideas Festival and Hope in Racing.

Remarried, to theatre Director Fiona Laird, in Covid-compliant ceremony in August. KBO.

James Hamilton (1980)

I left the army (Light Dragoons) in 2011 to work in Abu Dhabi for a local defence policy-consultancy firm. After some time with them, I moved to head Inmarsat’s government-focussed SATCOM business for the Middle East and North Africa.

We returned to the UK in summer 2019 to join Cobham Aviation Services, though still looking after our Middle East business, and still travelling extensively (pre-Covid…) back to the region.

After 30-odd years of living in army or rented houses, we have finally bought our own home and are coming to terms with being our own landlord! We are settled in Wiltshire, in the Chalke Valley (of History Festival fame), and are loving the countryside.

We have two teenage boys.

James Thomson (1980)

Having left in 1984 to study Geology at Oriel, Oxford, I have swapped hard hats. Embracing my three passions of affordable housing, policing and education, last year I joined MJ Gleeson as CEO - building low-cost quality homes for first time buyers. Two thirds of our customers are key workers, three quarters under the age of 35.

In May, I was elected as Chairman of the City of London Police Authority Board, having passed on the baton as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the City of London School. It had been selected last year as Top London Independent Secondary School by The Times.

Hugo Vaux (1980)

Our youngest, Freddie, started in E Social in Sept 2019, so its great to be able to get to be involved in Radley life again (Covid willing!!).

Lucy’s business @thepyjamahouse is going from strength to strength and IBM continue to test my “little grey cells” on a daily basis.

Mark Durden-Smith (1982)

Mark Durden-Smith hosted a virtual, family friendly quiz on Tuesday 5th May, in aid of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, for which he is a Trustee. The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust was founded in memory of Charlie Waller

(1982), who tragically took his own life in 1997 aged 28, to increase awareness about the signs of depression amongst young people and encourage those who suffer to seek help.

James Huntley (1983)

James is senior attending physician in children’s orthopaedics and trauma, at Sidra Medicine, the landmark children’s hospital in the Middle East. (Pictured above-right, in the desert, with the EastWest statues.) He recently co-authored and edited a large textbook: The pediatric and adolescent hip: essentials and evidence. There is likely to be a run on this book, so get your copy now to avoid disappointment.

Joseph Adams (1984)

Joseph and family continue to abide by the Salish sea, enjoying the mountains, lakes and beaches of Vancouver Island.

James

Castle (1984)

I work with adults with learning difficulties such as autism, downs syndrome and cerebral palsy. We have animals on site and so in September, I paddled 140 miles down the Thames to raise £2500 to build a new donkey stable.

A quick calculation shows that I was on the water for 63 hours, with an average of 45 strokes a minute. This gives 2700 strokes an hour with 170,000 total strokes. This makes an average of 24,300 strokes per day which is the equivalent of doing 6.9 marathons. Needless to say, my arms ached a little.

Passing by Radley, I was able to have a dry night under the covered slip, which was fantastic. I left RCBC at 6am and got to Reading at 8pm in the dark. A long day paddling.

I finally finished at LRC (pictured right), where I was a member for many years, both as an oarsman and an Umpire.

James Shakespeare (1984)

My ministry as Vicar of St John the Evangelist, Hills Road, Cambridge, continues. I am Deputy Rural Dean for South Cambridge. This year I’ve also joined with others in supporting our NHS, as a Locum Chaplain at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. I continue as Assistant Director of Ordinands, and in a new role (in 2021) as Ely Diocesan Spirituality Officer.

I also head up vocations for the Third Order Franciscans in our Area. Life is full of challenges, and I also cherish our Parish’s local relationship with Homerton College, Cambridge, as well as with Ordinands and Curates in training for ordained ministry.

Rick Wates (1984)

Rick Wates has been awarded an OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours for services to young people and services to young people with disability.

The Wates family set up the William Wates Memorial Trust in memory of Will Wates who left Radley in 1995. The trust supports projects that encourage

disadvantaged young people to stay away from a life of crime and fulfil their potential.

Tobin Ashby (1985)

I have moved in the last two years to a new house in Amersham with my wife and two teenage daughters, seeing more than expected of it working at home through lockdown. I am still in the law, moving to become a partner at insurance-specialist law firm, Kennedys, in London from November 2020.

George Lewis (1987)

2020 has definitely been a strange time for us all. It has been full of transitions, both spiritually and technologically. Many of my lectures and events had to be and still are held through Zoom.

It is unfortunate that we are not able to share ideas in person, but we must try our best to remain connected because it’s important, especially now, that we provide each other with support. We are bearing witness to a great change in our world, so it’s vital that we keep our communities strong and united during these uncertain times. That is why I’ve been hosting classes and lectures online.

I recently finished my September book club through Zoom; this was a wonderful way to bring people together during a time of social distancing. Now, I am hosting online video lectures to help people understand our current times through Zoom, Vimeo, and Wix.

I’ve been working on my new website as well, a user-friendly site that details my different works and services. I decided to fully redesign my site during this transitional period as a way to provide people with easier access to my talks, artworks, and therapy sessions. I wanted to make sure that the site was easy to navigate as well as detailed so people can easily find all my projects with just a click.

I’m also in the process of releasing a new book this December called The Boy and The Boy King. It is an imaginative story influenced by my son and my trips to the Middle East. It is full of child-like curiosity and extraordinary friendships. I feel very thrilled to finally share something so near and dear to my heart with my fellow ORs!

Along with my book, I have had the pleasure of working with Steinway & Sons. I recently painted a beautiful snapshot of the clouds and ocean on one of their

magnificent pianos. I call this work La Mer Steinway, and it represents the continuation of my journey to reveal the profound relation between oceans and cosmos. You can take a look at La Mer Steinway (pictured above) on the Steinway website: www.steinway.com

I’ve also been dedicating a lot of time into my healing centers. Due to the pandemic, I’ve instituted some restrictions in order to keep everyone safe. I’ve resorted to holding private sessions so I can still provide a place for meditation and healing to those who need it.

Self and community growth is crucial during times of transition, so that is precisely why I’ve been devoted to creating different spaces where everyone and anyone can talk and heal individually as well as collectively.

www.jupiterinpisces.com

Alistair Peck (1987)

Have two great sons (Alex and Theo) and am married to the lovely Mel. Renovating a place in Kent.

Haven’t started up my own technology business nor have I trekked to Siberia on a yak. Life is simple and good though.

Charles Hope-Dunbar (1988)

Just to let you know that myself and my wife, Clare (nee Corry, brother of James Corry (1997) had a second child in February 2020 – Jonty Edward HopeDunbar, a brother to Fergus.

Jim Eliot (1989)

I’m now a songwriter and record producer based in Hay-on-Wye, living with my wife and three daughters and a horse and dog.

I have had a number one album this year with Ellie Goulding, co-written the theme tune for the Netflix Our Planet series with David Attenborough, and am currently

working in Los Angeles, Sydney and South Korea as well as in Hay-on-Wye.

Robin Martin-Jenkins (1989)

House Mastering at Harrow. I now have more respect than ever for Mike Spens and Bob Holroyd!

Roger Vacher (1989)

After 12 years of living in Luzern, I became a Swiss Citizen together with my daughter Calanthe and am much relieved to be counted as members of this marvellous and genuine democracy where they also know how to hold real referenda.

Convened an OR evening in Zürich for all living in Switzerland earlier in 2020/ late 2019 just before the outbreak of the pandemic and am looking forward to another in 2021 if we ever bury this lurgy. Feel free to reach out to me or the LinkedIn Group “Old Radleians Switzerland” if living here (or thinking of doing so) and would like to connect.

1990s

Jamie Campbell (1990)

My company Eleven produced the first two series of the Netflix show Sex Education and we are now filming the third, in Wales.

Christopher Hughes (1991)

I founded TechTrain International STEAM Academy, in HCMC, Vietnam, in 2019, with a mission to enhance students’ power over technology tools they inevitably confront in their lives: (Mobile & Web Applications, Electronics & Robotics, Coding, AI, Graphic & Game Design, 3D Modelling & Printing) and to address a growing skills gap, one mirrored globally. In 2019 and 2020, we were delighted to welcome Radleians and ORs as internsboth in Vietnam and remotely from the UK - for short stints of 3-6 months.

Vietnam, thankfully, has suffered far less from Covid-19 than its Western counterparts, the local economy continues to flourish, and as such we hope to expand our venture.

We are always open to further applications from Radleians interested to intern. www.techtrain.edu.vn

Ben Spiegelberg (1991)

I am an Orthopaedic Hip and Knee Consultant practicing out of The Lister Hospital, Chelsea Bridge and Spire Bushey Hospital (www.londonkneeandhipsurgeon. co.uk).

The irony of my specialty isn’t lost on me given my frequent visits to the John Radcliffe Hospital as an Orthopaedic patient with various broken bones from my rugby playing! My boots are well and truly hung up now and I’m busy with work, family, 3 kids (Henry, Bella and Amelia) and a new lockdown puppy!

Nick Stamp (1991)

I helped set up a renewables & cleantech corporate finance business called Longspur Capital Markets in May, although as of mid September I still haven’t met any of my nine colleagues face to face yet!

I’ve also managed to get engaged and married in the summer/autumn as well! Despite heavy Covid restrictions, I’m pleased to report that OR guests Nick Dibden (1991, C) and Gavin Smith (A) have been involved in the (appropriately

limited) celebrations. Planning on something a bit more ambitious to celebrate next year, with any luck.

Pete Hawkins (1993)

I have been getting on with my Summer Exhibition since the beginning of the year, and this is my fourth batch of paintings (examples pictured right) in association with the Artist Support Pledge.

A brilliant idea that arose from the depths of this tricky time we find ourselves in, a man called Matthew Burrows created a platform on social media called the Artist Support Pledge. The simple concept where an artist posts images they are willing to sell for no more than £200. Every time they reach £1000 of sales they pledge to buy another of the artists work for £200. It is a great way to get your hands on some well-priced pieces which can be used to start or increase a collection and love affair with art. So please contact me if you are interested in any of these paintings. www.pete-hawkins.co.uk

William Stemp (1993)

In January I’ll be starting my 15th year in Spain, and in February will be completing my 5th year in Berkley España. Really enjoying work, although this year has put the proverbial “spanner in the works”; however, we are finding our way through!

Charlotte will be 9 in February, Sasha was 5 in June and Juliana and I celebrated 13 years of marriage in May (pictured right). If anyone post-Covid is in Barcelona, do look us up.

Marc Edwards (1994)

I’m still a TV sports presenter most often seen reading an autocue on BBC World and BBC News (pictured below).

Philip Hoare (1994)

Philip is living in south Northamptonshire with his wife Clemmie and children Harry (5) and Emilia (3). Philip continues to work for Savills selling and advising on some of the best farms and estates across central England.

Tom Barber (1996)

I’m writing this from my simple albergue bunk bed in Logroño, Spain, about 600kms from Santiago de Compostela. I began this adventure 5 weeks ago from picturesque Le Puy-en-Velay, France (pictured above).

With everything that’s happened this year I felt the only sensible decision was to go for a very long walk, a pilgrimage in fact, however one that’s more queer pagan than Christian in intention.

The Camino is exceptionally quiet, it’s getting harder to find hostels that are still open, but thankfully there are a few other courageous kindred spirits to keep me company along the way. 900kms completed so far, spectacularly wet at times, especially crossing the Plateau d’Aubrac. France was otherwise divine and charming of course, and traversing the

Pyrenees in glorious autumn sunshine was a day I’ll never forget.

Spain is a mess. The ominous European second wave is here and I’m having to flee regional restrictions in Navarra and Rioja. With a bit of luck, I’ll finish at Finisterre by mid-November, and will catch a boat or train back to the UK for 2 weeks of blissfully relaxing and restful quarantine!

After an extended Christmas break I’ll be back teaching yoga in Berlin and organising retreats around Europe, if I’m allowed to of course - otherwise perhaps a boat trip next.

Alex Beard (1996)

I’m writing to share two things I’ve been working on for the past 6 months, which might serve for some distraction during a break from lockdown. Firstly I made a three-part documentary for BBC Radio 4 on the future of Knowing, Teaching and Learning called The Learning Revolution.

It features thinkers like David WallaceWells, Daisy Christodoulou, Andy Clark and Alison Gopnik, and institutions like 42, Green School Bali, Agora and Michaela School.

Second, I’ve written a Long Read for The Guardian: Can Computers Ever Replace the Classroom? It explores AI in education – the promises and dangers – through a look at the Chinese tech companies signing up millions of student users, developing smart learning environments, and experimenting with facial-monitoring in the classroom.

I’d love to know what you think. Though given the 1.4 billion children out of school, teachers working virtually, schools stepping in to support kids’ wellbeing, parents trying out home-schooling, and kids turning to tech, I’m sure that you are busier than ever.

Sending all best wishes to you, your loved ones and communities - and hoping that the current crisis will help us all value our teachers and carers even more highly.

Olly Tatlow (1996)

I’ve just completed a decade working for Reckitt Benckiser and now live in Sydney where I look after the ANZ region which had a busy year with sale of Hygiene products.

Louis Eggar (1996) incredibly is moving

to Sydney from Melbourne next year and we’re keen to understand if any other Old Radleians in this part of the world- if so please let me know as keen to organise something locally in ‘21.

Henry Reily-Collins (1997)

The Hydropower business is really evolving now after 13 years of hard, patient and diligent work. From humble beginnings installing one of the UK’s first fish-friendly turbines, Hallidays Hydropower is now instrumental in building five of the largest low-head hydropower sites in the UK.

A lot of our bread and butter work includes the ongoing maintenance of hydropower projects through ‘Hydro Maintain’. Working on these magnificent beasts is mucky work, but we have a great team who thoroughly enjoy what we do and we get to work with some really cool tools and equipment.

All this hard work in the UK has a greater purpose however. We believe in making fish-friendly hydropower technology (pictured below) affordable and accessible to the world. This has been my dream since I saw my first turbine start to generate electricity from the Letcombe

Brook in Oxfordshire. I said to myself, “why can’t everyone who lives near flowing water have a way to harness at least a little bit of that power without it costing the Earth?”

Working hand to mouth, and with our earned 13 years of knowledge and experience, our innovations team have now designed, built and tested the world’s first lightweight, modular and fish-friendly turbine that can be transported to any corner of the world, be installed without the need of large cranes or machinery and costs just a fraction of any other low head hydro turbine.

We’re really excited and would be happy to talk to any ORs with experience, investment or networks to help us expand this opportunity globally.

Please show your support and follow our work @HallidaysHydro.

www.HallidaysHydropower.com

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (1997) Married Princess Beatrice in a private Windsor ceremony on Friday 17 July (pictured above right).

James Tennant (1997)

Honoured to have won the 2020 Michael Jacobs Award from the Gabriel García Márquez Foundation for Journalism. Thank you to the judges Jon Lee Anderson, Daniel Samper Pizano, Ernesto Picco for recognising MRS GARGANTUA, my new non-fiction work. A story of circus monkeys and gorillas in Havana; artificial insemination & the Ku Klux Klan; eugenics, and immigration policy, in the States; Christopher Columbus; Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba; a stuffed cow and a dead sparrow; and a cameo by Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton.

Most proud to be the prize’s first Englishlanguage winner, and to have known Michael Jacobs when he was still with us. Here’s to you, Miké.

Nicholas Ashford (1998)

Along with Freddie Bellhouse (1998), Nicholas continues to acquire and develop UK SMEs though their Fordhouse fund.

Jiyann Daemi (1998)

Have been living in New York with my wife and 2 daughters for the last 6+ years having previously been in Hong Kong & London beforehand. Welcomed our 2nd daughter into the world at the height of COVID concerns in April which lives long in the memory!

Currently working for a Canadian investment bank which so far has been a great experience. A few of us ORs kicking around NYC and meeting for beers now and again - so if there’s anyone else out there that fancies it do get in touch.

Benjamin Wheeler

2000s

Edward Smith (2000)

I am living in Warwickshire with wife Kate and children Florence and Lawrie (pictured right). Working as an Intensive Care and Anaesthetic registrar in Coventry.

Harry Ingham (2001)

Charlie Duffell (2000) and Harry Ingham are now brothers-in-law (married to sisters). At Radley, Charlie didn’t know who Harry was, but Harry knew exactly who Charlie was. They have never been happier.

Adam Wolley (2001)

Have enjoyed a busy Coronavirus Year welcoming a baby girl, Margot (pictured below), into the world and starting a new business. ‘The Fitting Room’ is offering Bike Fitting and custom Titanium Bikes in

Asa Bennett (2003)

After more than five years at The Telegraph, I’m delighted to be joining the Department for International Trade as chief speechwriter from mid-October. Looking forward to joining Lizz Truss and her team next month to help fly the flag for Global Britain.

Humphrey Maddan (2003)

After seven fulfilling years I left the Army in August. My last posting was at the tri-service innovation hub. Currently developing a product for the health and fitness industries.

Jonathan Quicke (2005)

In 2014, having finished at Newcastle University I joined Sandhurst commissioning into the Light Dragoons in

2015. Since then deployments in Tunisia, Poland, the US, amongst a few have certainly kept me busy taking me up to summer last year.

In August 2019, I deployed out to Egypt to work as the Liaison Officer in the British Embassy where I spent four months as the link between the British Army and the Embassy with the key role to assist the Defence Attaché and his team to deliver defence engagement activity in both Egypt and the UK. It was a hugely interesting place to be and a fantastic opportunity to get out and explore Egypt (pictured opposite right).

Having returned from Egypt in Dec 19, I then jumped straight into the fold to prepare for the first full deployment of British Troops to Mali. In December 20 we will be deploying as part of a 250 Strong British Task Group called the Long Range Reconnaissance Group (Mali) led by the Light Dragoons, to join MINUSMA, a UN peacekeeping force in Mali.

The mission for the Task Group will ultimately be to help protect the people of Mali, and implement the Algiers peace agreement in country. To achieve this the Task Group will be conducting Long range patrols operating up to 300 miles away from our Headquarters to have a presence on the ground across the country in order to properly understand the complexities of what is going on, to allow the UN to react.

When we return from Mali I will be taking over Adjutant of the Light Dragoons.

the Surrey Hills.

Tom Brougham (2002)

At the beginning of this year, my wife and I bought a cafe with bedrooms, in an old 17th century coaching inn (pictured right). It is in the wonderful village of Sherston, on the Wiltshire/Gloucestershire border.

Not only are we lucky enough to be down the road from attractions such as Westonbirt Arboretum and much of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside, we are also within easy reach of Bath and Bristol. The building is currently coming to the end of some extensive renovations and we are looking forward to meeting both local customers, alongside those visiting from further afield. Our son, Hugo, will also celebrate his third birthday in November!

Hamish Blythe (2007)

We’ve launched Trilo’s Alpha after almost two years of working on the model and building out the product. Tobin and I have been working night and day to overhaul the payments space. All payments are made simply with your phone, and no cards are needed. Every payment is made securely and easily through your banking app.

We put our all into you ensuring we have the simplest, easiest, and most rewarding way to pay. Whenever you shop you get a Boost, ranging from a free beer (yep, you read that right), to money off, or even an upgrade. This Boost is invested in you directly from the merchant. To improve your experience, and increase their sales. For merchants, we’ve scrapped transaction fees entirely. No longer do the have to pay a penny of what they earn in transaction fees. Instead, merchants can invest their revenue in themselves, and into you, their customer, with the Trilo Boost.

Today you can fund a tree for a fiver with Trilo, helping the environment, and giving Trilo a whirl in the meantime: plant.trilo.io.

Soon we’ll be live with our first partners. To begin with we’re working with ChargedUp and Nimbla to power their payments and customer engagement.

Jon Tarcy (2007)

Last year I filmed a recurring role in the TV show Outlander for Starz/ Amazon Prime (pictured below). It was an incredible experience shooting up in the Highlands of Scotland.

Alongside that I’ve been producing short films, and also occasionally running workshops for Radley Drama, one with Tom Milligan (2005) who I was in Les Miserables with in 2009.

Freddie Wright (2007)

On 1 September 2020, I qualified as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. I qualified into the London M&A and Capital Markets practice of Vinson & Elkins RLLP, the law firm with which I completed my training contract.

Bertie Beor-Roberts (2009)

I spent the first half of the year working for the government’s Infected Blood Inquiry, which continued unabated even after we were all sent home to work.

I’ve since secured pupillage at a set of commercial chancery barristers, which I’ll be starting next October. The pandemic wiped out most of the weddings I was due to film or photograph this year, but happily I’ve managed to fit in three in the gap between lockdowns – two of which were for Radleians or their families!

Will Marsden (2009)

Will was placed by Reprieve - a charity founded by Clive Stafford-Smith (1973) – with the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center for the summer.

He has assisted attorneys in capital defense work, representing indigent defendants on death row in their final stage appeals. He has been working on a project that exposes racial disparities in jury selection in Harris County, Tx.

His report will soon be published in the New York Times amongst other leading news outlets.

Mark Mainz

2010s Hon Members

Ned Campbell (2010)

I appeared in Guy Ritchie’s latest film The Gentlemen (pictured right)!

Tristan Kleinwort (2010)

Billy Sims-Hilditch (2010, B) and I completed a fundraising cycle during the first 2 weeks of August, where we rode the length of the UK: 1000 miles, in aid of 3 charities close to our hearts.

The charities are Climb 2 Recovery, The Ghurka Welfare Trust and Cancer Research UK and we raised over £11,000.

Alex Bruce (2011)

I left J social in 2016 and have just finished at Newcastle University. Whilst in my final year a friend and I developed a business idea selling sustainable mystery boxes comprised of vintage clothing called LB Vintage Boxes.

They make excellent presents, whilst the bespoke nature of them means that each box is catered to your specific stylistic needs and requirements! Furthermore, by using vintage clothing we are trying to mitigate the consequences of the fashion industry on the environment.

Over lockdown, we both consolidated and built on our success so far and the idea formed the basis of my Masters application, which resulted in me being accepted into the London College of Fashion to study for an MA in Fashion Entrepreneurship and innovation. This means that next year I will be mentored/ coached for a year to develop the idea, with the goal at the end being to pitch our box idea to potential investors.

Our email is boxes@lbvintage.co.uk and our Instagram is LB Vintage Boxes.

Max Rumsey (2012)

Upon leaving Radley, Max Rumsey went straight to work in the film industry; not expecting to pursue a degree. After two years, and discovering that his true passions lay elsewhere, he decided to switch paths.

In 2020, he matriculated at Oxford University, reading Sanskrit. In his first year, he was made captain of Oxford University Polo Club, leading the Blues Team to three accomplishments, previously unattained throughout OUPC history.

Firstly, winning the top division at the Universities’ National Championships, out of 202 teams competing across all divisions. Secondly, maintaining a completely unbeaten season, across all matches & tournaments (including Winter & Summer Varsity wins vs. Cambridge). Thirdly, winning the accolade “Blues Team of the Year” at the Oxford University Sports Awards, thus reputing them to be “the best sports team at Oxford University.”

Additionally, in his first term, he was a member of an undefeated Balliol College Rugby XV, and took-up Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and Gregorian Chant. He also recently played the lead role in a student film, despite no-longer seeking a career on screen. All of this has been completed, alongside, on average, 5-6 hours of daily meditation (which he seeks to pursue in much greater depth, as a central focus, in the decade after graduating).

Patrick Derham (Hon Member)

After 38 years of teaching, and 24 as a Head Master, I left Westminster School in the summer. It was the strangest final term as very sadly the school was empty from St Patrick’s Day so a strange way to end my career. Have started new chapter though as Chairman of soon to be launched online education platform. Always good to practice what I have preached for so long which is to never miss an opportunity to come out of your comfort zone. Currently working remotely from Charlbury and pride of place in my Study is the wonderful Tom Merry cartoon (Map of Ireland) that the best History A-Level set I taught at Radley all those years ago presented to me at the end of the first year of The Irish Question Special Subject.

Kenis Barker (Hon Member)

Still living in Bloxham and thoroughly enjoying retirement. Main interest is volunteering at Broughton Castle - tour guide and archivist. About as different to my Radley life as you can get! Covid has meant no tours this year, but I can archive from home.

Dave Fielding (Hon Member)

We have moved to sleepy South Somerset as the garden became too difficult to handle and to be near another OR (our daughter Sally) who is a great help. Several of my former maverick students have been kind enough to get in touch, and they are a great help in keeping spirits up! Good Geo comes my way! Do get in touch with the Radleian Society if you wish to bring me up to date. I enclose a photo (pictured below) with self far right and Sue far left, dwarfed by grandson and even one of her granddaughters!

Four run Hadrian’s Wall

As the September warmth faded and further lockdown restrictions loomed, four ORs - Olly Arnott (2003), Will Willis, Rupert Grace (both 2006), and Angus Oliver (2009) - took a step into the unknown. With almost no preparation the four of them set off on the long trek north to the most western point of the former border between Roman Brittania and Caledonia - Hadrian’s Wall. The objective was simple, yet menacing - to run the length of the wall.

The four took a train to Carlisle before settling into a pub in the Cumbrian village of Bowness-on-Solway - where the most westerly point of the wall lies. A pie and a pint formed the perfect athlete’s base layer for the two days that lay ahead, and at 6am the following day, the voyage began.

The tradition when running the wall is to take a stone from the picturesque estuary of the River Esk and to carry it to the other side of the country. Thus, with pebble in pocket, the four set off in pursuit of the halfway point - the Twice Brewed Inn...

“Stopping for breaks at roughly every 10km, we soon arrived at Carlisle Castle and the first half marathon of the run was complete. Two hours later and the first moment of serious jubilation - yet serious concern - came when we hit the first marathon mark: we were 42km in and morale was high, but we were yet to see a single stone of the famous wall. Less than a mile later and all fears subsided as the remarkably wide, and in places, tall wall came into view.

With another 26km still to run, it was time to get nitty gritty on the muddy trails of Northumberland countryside. It was not long until the fatigue began to kick in. Olly had blisters, Will’s knee began to ache and Angus’ lack of training began to take its toll. The light was fading and the cold settling in, but after Angus had performed one of the most extraordinarily immobile series of stretches on a hotel bar floor, it was time to push on.

Rupert led the way, relentlessly navigating the rest of the pack

through their aches and pains. Olly then took over, leading a peloton of hobblers until they finally reached the halfway 68km mark. We indulged in Guinness, pizzas, garlic bread, steak pies, burgers and chips, and with the pub’s staff looking rather shellshocked at the quantity of food we had eaten, we settled in for bed.

Up again at 6am the following morning and after Angus had fallen out of bed as he tried to look at Olly’s two-pound-coin-sized blisters, we hobbled towards the first stop at the Sycamore Gap. The gap is a remarkably idyllic natural break in Hadrian’s Wall where an old sycamore tree stands - a spot made famous by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Will’s knee was now in tatters, but having passed the doublemarathon mark and with stunning 360-degree views from the Roman Military Way ridge, the morale was high. We passed cows and bulls, and sheep and rams, and did not see any trace of civilization for miles and miles. The wall only got bigger and Newcastle was firmly in our sights. We settled into - and likely stank out - a pub in Chollerton for lunch, but fatigue and delirium set in. Every kilometre felt like a mile, every gradual slope felt like a mountain, and as the stunning wall that we had run alongside for so long began to disappear again, motivation began to dwindle.

It was only once we had passed the 100km mark did the finish line begin to feel obtainable. The monotony of running on roads continued, but as we entered the suburbs of Newcastle, we gathered a spring in our step with Wall End in our sights.

Finally we arrived. Three marathons, 127.7km (79.3 miles), 17 hours and seven minutes. Needless to say we were exultant. We threw our pebbles from Bowness-on-Solway off the Millenium Bridge and into the River Tyne, and limped off for another extraordinarily large meal and, given our fatigue, an unsurprisingly cheap night on the toon.”

Angus Oliver (2009)

Rupert Grace, Angus Oliver, Will Willis & Olly Arnott take a short rest at Sycamore Gap.

Honouring an uncle: Guy Dickinson (1962)

In February 2020, my son Oliver and I travelled to Myanmar, formerly Burma, to visit the grave of my uncle, Guy Ernest FitzGerald Wethered (1933), who died of wounds received whilst in action there in 1944.

Guy Wethered was born in Edinburgh in 1919, where his father Joseph Wethered (1887), also an OR, was stationed as a colonel in the Gloucester Regiment. At Radley he was head of his Social – G Social (Nugee’s) – and a school prefect. He was in the 1st XV and the hockey XI and was also an extremely talented musician, winning the Wharton Prize for best pianist in the school on two occasions.

He went on to read History at Oxford University (Christ Church) and in 1938 represented them in the relays and in the University Sports at the half mile. His best performance came in July 1939 when, aged 19 and still a Freshman, he won the half mile for Oxford & Cambridge vs. Harvard & Yale at White City in a time of 1 min 52.2 seconds. That same year, he was elected secretary of the OUAC and would very probably have gone on to be selected for the Olympics but for the war.

He was gazetted to the Gloucester Regiment (“Glosters”) after leaving Oxford to join up in the second half of 1939, initially in the ranks as a Cadet and then Private but becoming an officer in 1940. In October 1942, the regiment left for India and service in the Far East. He became a Major at the age of 24 in February 1944.

His Radley obituary details how he died fighting at Pinwe, Burma, attacking a Japanese bunker on 22nd November 1944. His sten gun jammed, he continued to attack the post using his helmet as a weapon. He was then shot by a sniper trying to rescue injured colleagues and died of his wounds.

My uncle was talked about a great deal when I was growing up so I was always very conscious of his story. He seemed a very special person, and being in G Social (Kings) too during my time at Radley (1962-1966), I had his example to follow! Not quite up to his high athletic standard, I was however a member of the 1st VIII in 1966. I then went on to study Medicine and became a GP in Weymouth, Dorset.

Guy Wethered in the 1937 1st XV, middle row, far right.

Winning the 800m final at White City in 1938 whilst running for Oxford University.

Guy (centre) with two colleagues on deployment with the ‘Glosters’ in the Far East.

Above: The Taukkyan War Cemetery, where over 33,000 Commonwealth soldiers are commemorated

Right: Guy and Oliver at Guy’s grave, along with Thet Mon (left) one of those responsible for the care of the cemetery.

My son and I decided to visit much more of the country whilst there. I am pretty sure I would never have been if not for my uncle, and I am very glad we did.

Even the Burmese embassy didn’t know where Pinwe was, but we eventually located it! However, it turned out to be too far north and we wouldn’t be able to get travel insurance with being a war zone again now, sadly. This time a civil war, with a complicated situation involving Kachin State independence fighters and several other groups.

Despite being unable to visit the north, we saw Mandalay, sailed down the Irrawaddy River, visited Bagan, Lake Inle and many other places. A fascinating country with lovely people. We ended up in Yangon and visited the immaculately kept Taukkyan War Cemetery where Guy is buried. A very impressive place.

His own father had died in 1942 so (mercifully in some ways) never knew what happened, but neither my grandmother nor my mother, Guy’s mother and sister respectively, were ever able to visit the cemetery. I had therefore decided some time ago to do so, on their behalf as well as my own.

This trip with my son was one I will always cherish and was, I hope, a fitting tribute to my uncle.

Honouring an uncle: Richard Medrington (1969)

In my first week at Radley someone asked me if I was anything to do with The Medrington Trophy. I wasn’t sure, so I wrote home, “Well, am I?” It turned out the trophy, to be awarded annually for the best one act play or short story, had been donated to the school by my Grandmother in memory of my uncle, Flying Officer Henry (HNT) Medrington (1937).

I was in A Social and our Tutor, Peter Way, had been a close friend of Henry’s during their time at Radley, though it was some time before I found this out. There was a mostly unspoken grief in our family surrounding Henry, partly, I think, to spare my Grandmother’s feelings. She had lost her husband before the war and Henry’s death, unconfirmed for many months, had hit her very hard. I remember the way she and my Aunt would look at me sometimes, shaking their heads and saying, “So like Henry.” I have a trunk full of my Uncle’s photos, letters, poems and plays, and from them I have been able to piece together an image of a tall, cheerful, deeply sensitive and hugely talented young man.

In his last year at Radley, Henry was extremely busy – a School Prefect, Wilson Librarian, Hon. Sec. of the Drama Society, and not only co-directing but also (due to a “bug” affecting several cast members) taking extra parts in the school play, John Drinkwater’s Abraham Lincoln. This extract from a letter home gives a flavour of his enthusiasm for what he called “the drama”:

We had a vast success at Radley. Pete Way was down (from Cambridge) and he thought so… I didn’t just enjoy it because I was the assistant producer, and the Hon Sec. of the Society and was taking three parts or even because it was such a success, or because when we looked at the audience, we could see how rapt they were. I enjoyed it because of the electric atmosphere, the way everybody was bent on it all being a success, the way they kept out of the way when I or someone else had a quick change, the way the make-up people worked and the stagehands and furniture people sweated without getting any glory or thanks – all for the common cause. I think everyone is better off after even having one minor duty in a play. If only people co-operated in politics as they do backstage! I am going to be a “voice” in the forthcoming Marionette performance next Sunday. I haven’t had time to rehearse yet but know my part. It should be quite fun.

His thrill at being part of a close-knit team, with on-stage and back-stage working together in harmony, seems to indicate someone ideally suited – not to say fated – to be part of a bomber crew. He went on to join Peter Way at Cambridge, where he was immediately active with the University Amateur Dramatic Club, but within a year he was on his way to Canada to train as a bomber navigator.

I chose Aircrew rather than any other service because I should be more likely to gain first-hand experience of, and insight into, the habits of men in danger.

By June 1944 he had his wish, flying raids over Germany in Lancaster LM626 out of East Kirkby in Lincolnshire. In his spare time he was always writing, and wrote movingly about his fellow crew members, with whom he formed close bonds in the months before his death. His best friend was the Wireless Operator, Cumbrian, Thomas Jackson.

Sometimes I am overworked, tired and a little exasperated. I look at Jacko and grin. He leans back, half sideways with his most engaging smile and gives me as insolent and elegant a V-sign as ever insulted a Navigator. I feel a new man. I am no longer alone, I become instead one engaged on a hard job with friends who also find it hard and who understand and who will help... Give me Jacko and you can keep your intellectual snobs and your hypocritical, pompous leaders of men, public school education and all. Put two pints into Jacko, hear him admonish a fellow - “Up your pipe with a wire brush!” Why, you are alive, and your blood is not clotted any more, it runs eagerly.

On 17th December 1944, on his 25th mission, the plane came down in Normandy, exploding on impact. Only three bodies were identified and this gave five families, including ours, hope that their sons had bailed out and survived. It wasn’t until October 1945 that their deaths were finally confirmed.

Henry Medrington at Radley.

Henry with the RAF in Canada (rear row, fourth from left)

Interest in Henry and the crew increased in the run-up to the 75th anniversary of the crash. A group of former RAF aircrew have done extensive research specifically into the 57 Squadron’s mission on that night. It is a fascinating ongoing investigation, which anyone interested can follow at: www.onenightindecember.wordpress.com

Last year a memorial plaque was erected in the town hall at Bourgtheroulde, the site of the crash, in memory of the eight crewmen who died. My wife Elspeth and I accompanied my cousin and her husband to attend the commemoration there last December. The town has really taken the story and the crew to their hearts and the ceremony was deeply moving. I read Henry’s poem, Sonnet to a Friend and Elspeth read a French translation which brought many to tears.

My late father, Stan (SLC) Medrington, was also at Radley, a few of years ahead of his brother. He ended the war as a Major in the RASC. A keen sportsman, he played centre three-quarter in the 1st XV of 1936, famous for their victory over the mighty Australian tourists from King’s School, Parramatta (alongside future H Social Tutor DTM Birks and one GEF Wethered!). I did not display the same degree of sporting prowess or popularity, and I look back on my days at Radley with mixed feelings, however in my last term I was head of A Social and directed Rattigan’s Harlequinade

With encouragement from Peter Way I also entered a one act play for the Medrington Trophy and was proud to go up to receive my book at the end of term prize giving. After all the other prizes had been handed out Dennis Silk surveyed the high table and found there was still one award remaining. He turned to the assembled school and said, “We’ve forgotten to give Medrington his trophy.”

And so I left Radley, with some relief but with that final round of applause ringing in my ears.

I have maintained the family connection with ‘the drama’. Since 1984 I have been running my own touring theatre company. We may not have been pitted against an Australian rugby team, but we can say that we have performed on several occasions at the Sydney Opera House. www.puppetstate.com

Richard Medrington, third from the right, at the plaque unveiling commemoration in Bourgtheroulde.

SONNET TO A FRIEND

If I should not return, well, there will be No opportunity for grief, or sighing, For I aspired to the High Destiny, Wished to have died, yet feared the thought of dying.

No more of that, no sweated lonely bouts With subtle sly insinuating dread, No strangling of my hope by unseen doubts. Be thankful then, for I am better dead.

Yes I have loved to live, through the short years But covet still the new-discovered sea. I will accept your envy, not your tears. Pity yourself, but do not pity me.

I’ll have no weeping mourners, sombre clad, The Lord gave and the Lord reclaimed - Be Glad!

Henry Medrington June 30th, 1944

The memorial plaque to Henry and his crew, unveiled in Bourgtheroulde on the 75th anniversary of the crash.

New Releases from ORs

Food or War Randomly Moving Particles

Human Time The Straits of Treachery

Ours is the Age of Food. Food is a central obsession in all cultures, nations, the media, and society. Our future supply of food is filled with risk, and history tells us that lack of food leads to war. But it also presents us with spectacular opportunities for fresh human creativity and technological prowess. Julian Cribb describes a new food system capable of meeting our global needs on this hot and overcrowded planet.

This book is for anyone concerned about the health, safety, affordability, diversity, and sustainability of their food - and the peace of our planet. It is not just timely - its message is of the greatest urgency. Audiences include consumers, ‘foodies’, policymakers, researchers, cooks, chefs and farmers. Indeed, anyone who cares about their food, where it comes from and what it means for them, their children and grandchildren.

Human Time is the first new collection of poems by Duncan Forbes since Vision Mixer was published in 2008. They are all more recent than those included in Lifelines, a Selected Poems published by Enitharmon in 2009. His work has now been published or anthologised by Faber, Secker, Penguin, Bloodaxe and Enitharmon, as well broadcast on radio in the UK and the US. He has performed his work widely and his poems have won various awards and prizes including a Gregory Award and The Times/ Blackwells prize. He has twice won a Stephen Spender prize for a poem in translation.

Mixing free and formal, seriousness and humour, the current collection is also much concerned with mortality, impermanence, memory and time passing.

Randomly Moving Particles is built from two long poems that form its opening and close, connected by three shorter pieces. The title poem, in a kaleidoscope of compelling scenes, engages with subjects that include migration, placement, loss, space exploration and current British and American politics. It is a clarifying action and reaction between terra and solar system, mundanity and possibility, taking us from the grit of road surfaces to the distant glimpses of satellites. The final poem, ‘How Do the Dead Walk’, combines mythic reach with acute observation of the familiar, in order to address issues of contemporary violence. It is altogether more dreamlike, even in its tangibly military moments, grasping as it does at phantoms and intermediate plains.

Andrew Motion’s expansive new poetry collection is direct in its emotional appeal, ambitious in its scope, all the while retaining the cinematic vision and startling expression that so freshly lit the lines of his last, Essex Clay.

With its rich cast of characters set against the stunning backdrop of Messina, the Straits, and the surrounding countryside, this novel brings early nineteenth-century Sicily vividly to life. A tale of war, treachery and divided loyalties set during the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Wars September, 1810. British raids across the Straits of Messina, attempting to disrupt preparations for the French invasion of the island, have been repulsed with heavy casualties.

George Warne, a bright young officer, suspects treachery. Back in Messina, ordered to investigate, Warne uncovers a shadowy underworld of spies, traitors and informers where nothing is quite as it seems and where danger lurks around every corner. If the longthreatened French invasion erupts, will Sicily’s defenders be prepared?

‘Winner of the Society of Army Historical Research Fiction Prize 2020

Julian Cribb (1964) Cambridge University Press

Duncan Forbes (1960) Voicemail Press

Andrew Motion (1966) Faber & Faber

Richard Hopton (1976) Cambridge University Press

Worcester Moments: River, Religion and Royalty

A Coincidence of Novembers: Writings from a life of public service by Sir Patrick Nairne

Mind, Memory and Quantum Entanglement

Austen Chamberlain and the Burden of Expectation

Andrew Reekes (Hon Member)

For 1400 years Worcester in the English Midlands has played a unique part in the history of our Island and the world beyond. At a vital bridging point over the River Severn and watched over by its beautiful cathedral, Worcester has witnessed the comings and goings of monarchs and regicides: saints and sinners; scholars and charlatans as well as warriors and composers.

In Worcester Moments: River, Religion and Royalty author and historian Andrew Reekes, once a pupil at King’s School, explores this enthralling story through the prism of 20 episodes in the vibrant life of the city and its people.

“Why has the month of November had a special significance – a month in which I seem to have often experienced some particular, even notable, event, change, or development?

Chalk it up to chance? Difficult to be sure about that.”

Sir Patrick Nairne led a remarkable life with a ringside view of history in the making. He fought with the Seaforth Highlanders in North Africa; worked in the post-war Admiralty and Ministry of Defence; organised the first EU Referendum in 1975; led the Department for Health and Social Security; contributed to the Falkland Islands Review Committee; monitored the consultation process in Hong Kong before the territory was handed back to China; and served as the first Chair of the Nuffield Council on bioethics.

Patrick was one of the most notable British civil servants of the later twentieth century, and in his later years, after being master of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, began to write about his fascinating life and career. In The Coincidence of Novembers, Patrick’s son –curator and writer Sandy Nairne – assembles his father’s writings, including autobiographical pieces about the family, his love of art and his beliefs.

Despite the scientific advances made over the last 150 years, there is one field of investigation that has defied all attempts, and that is an acceptable explanation for mind and memory.

This book is an autobiographical account of how the author in the late 1960s, whilst working for large property development companies, became disenchanted, and in his spare time, was diverted to seek an answer to the mechanism behind thought, when he first realised that nobody had any inkling of the operation of memory.

The slightly bizarre way in which this came about and the resulting explanatory hypothesis was drafted initially from 1978 over two years taken away from the office. The way in which it is described is in the first person singular, not having been derived in more familiar academic terms, but it has received support spasmodically since then, from one or two sources of scientific authority. Over the last few years one of its central themes, that of the significance of randomness, has been shown to correlate well with the recent results of experimental research on quantum entanglement, the astonishing effects of which physicists are hard pressed to rationalise.

From his birth in 1863 Austen Chamberlain was groomed for the highest public office by his father Joseph Chamberlain - one of the great political figures of the Victorian and Early Edwardian age. But Austen never escaped from his father’s shadow and his promise was never fulfilled. Although he held major positions in the India Office, the Admiralty and the Treasury like his father, he never became Prime Minister. Why was Austen the “nearly man” who is now largely forgotten, while his younger and less-favoured brother, Neville, reached the pinnacle of power?

In Austen Chamberlain and the Burden of Expectation, historian and author Andrew Reekes explores this “golden boy” of the Chamberlain Dynasty who failed to achieve his father’s expectations.

Andrew Reekes (Hon Member) History West Midlands Edited by Sandy Nairne (1966) Burley Fisher Nick Greaves (1957) Cambridge University Press

History West Midlands

The War Poems of David Raikes

edited by Tim Raikes (1947) and David Raikes (1963) Treberfydd

An anthology of poems of David Raikes (1938) was published privately by his family in 1954, nine years after his death, but his work is little known. This selection of his poetry is being published to mark the 75th anniversary of his death, and of VE Day, which followed just three weeks later. It also follows on from ‘Let it be hushed’, an exhibition at the Found Gallery in Brecon which used David’s work as part of its commemoration of VE Day.

This booklet contains 15 of the nearly 60 poems that David Raikes wrote between 1940, when he was 16, and his death when his plane was brought down by enemy fire in April 1945.

Trafalgar and The Battle of Salamanca

by Benito Pérez Galdó

The Wisdom of Markets and the Madness of Crowds

Sara Coleridge and the Oxford Movement

In these two novels Galdós faithfully records the turbulent times in Spain under the shadow of Napoleon. His hero, Gabriel Araceli, an orphan from Cadiz, witnesses the Battle of Trafalgar as a boy on Spain’s mightiest ship, the Santisima Trinidad. He survives the battle and subsequent shipwreck to continue his adventures which lead him to the Battle of Salamanca in 1812, after which he finally secures both the hand of his beloved Ines and the approval of Wellington. On the centenary of Galdós’s death in 1920, this new translation offers English language readers an opportunity to appreciate a Spanish view of two great events in British military history.

His account is full of incident and well-drawn characters who mingle happily with historical persons and events.

In this light-hearted look at the various sayings and axioms that have grown up in the financial markets, author John Nugée draws on his 40 years in finance to explore the psychology and emotions of the investment world, explaining what the various axioms mean and what they tell us about the mindset of those that work in and make up the City’s markets.

The book explores the human emotions of greed, fear, optimism and stubbornness. It discusses how different people react to risk and losses, the value of intuition and the dangers of consensus, the importance of planning and having a strategy –and the even greater importance of flexibility when the plans go awry. It may not make you into a second Warren Buffett, but it might help to explain where you went wrong on the way.

The book is written in non-technical language, with a minimum of jargon or theoretical economics, and absolutely no equations. It is illustrated throughout with cartoons by Will Assheton.

‘Sara Coleridge and the Oxford Movement’ presents Sara Coleridge’s religious writings to modern readers for the first time. It includes extracts from her religious works which have remained unpublished since the 1840s. These writings present a forthright and eloquent challenge to the patriarchal hegemonies of Victorian religion and society. They represent a bold intervention by a woman writer in the public spheres of academia and the Church.

Sara Coleridge’s religious writings of the 1840s present the most systematic and original critique of the Tractarian theology developed by John Henry Newman and his Oxonian colleagues. Sara Coleridge advances against a theology which she regards as repressive, authoritarian and conceptually flawed, a radical Protestant religion of inward experience and reason, underpinned by a Kantian epistemology.

The book includes passages selected from Sara Coleridge’s unpublished masterpiece ‘Dialogues on Regeneration’, written in the last two years of her life. This collection of Socratic dialogues is the most original and innovative religious work of the Tractarian era.

translated by Rick Morgan (1964) Brown Dog Books John Nugée (1969) OMFIF Press

Robin Schofield (Hon Member) Anthem Press

espresso Pizza

The book is a collection of short, entertaining and thoughtprovoking essays on leadership, finance, politics, work life, home, health, the environment, science and technology, culture, and international affairs.

Orlando has worked as both a journalist and an adviser to companies worldwide: “I started writing espresso when fighting a major legal action against a corporate bully.” says the author, “I won with costs, but wanted to help others spot the telltale signs of destructive behaviour in the earliest stages. This expanded to cover all the domains of our lives, and not just work.”

During the last twenty years, Orlando has been at the forefront of the digital revolution worldwide; including the launch of the internet in Europe, the BBC’s transition to digital tv, and Europe-wide online music services.

Everyone loves pizza, right? Saver of parties, empty fridges and hangovers the world over - pizza has come to the rescue of the human race more times than is worth counting. So, if you can’t imagine your world without dough, cheese and tomato, then this is the book for you.

All things pizza are here - from its history and family tree, to world famous pizzerias and even an exploration into the pizza variants we love to hate (hamburger crust pizza anyone?). The Pizza Pilgrims, Thom and James Elliot, have spent years researching the best pizza that the world has to offer, all while running their own legendary pizza joints across the UK.

Oven fresh and packed with interviews, pizza facts, movie scenes, world records and even pizza tattoos, Pizza is illustrated with all manner of pie-based fun and written with a hearty dose of humour. The perfect companion for the pizza lover in your life. Fact.

Slow Road to San Francisco

A Life of Spearfishing, Diving and Polo

Tony Buxton (1945) 78265

As he moseys from east to west, driving slowly, stopping frequently he meets a huge variety of Americans - white, black, Hispanic, Asian, native American; Christian, Muslim, atheist, Mormon, Mennonite; rich, middling, poor. They talk about everything from slavery, Indian reservations, fracking and forest fires to baseball, beer, the blues, Butch Cassidy, and Marilyn Monroe.

Everyone has something to say about Donald Trump, from those who ‘love him’ to those who ‘hate him’. ‘Reynolds follows the direction of history, the direction taken by explorers and pioneer settlers. As he travels he conjures a vivid picture of the US then and now; its landscape and its people in all their diversity

A truly astonishing account of the author’s progression from a laidback spearfishing guide in Sri Lanka to an international celebrity. His services were much in demand by the rich and famous, including the grandson of America’s richest man.

They invited him to their homes, where he experienced a lifestyle that he hardly knew existed and met three of his four wives. His passion was exploring the underwater world where no one else had been. He was the first person to dive in the Maldives, India and Thailand. He eventually ended up in Singapore where he formed a very profitable joint venture with oil giant Exxon to underwater clean tankers. With the money he made, he took up the expensive sport of polo. He was playing in international tournaments all over the world and the life of a veritable Playboy socialising with international celebrities. Among his closest friends were Kings, prime ministers, presidents and movie stars. He finally ended marrying four times and living in the Palace of a wealthy sultan.

Orlando Kimber (1971) Kindle edition

Thomas Elliot (1997) & James Elliot (1999) Quadrille Publishing

David Reynolds (1962) Muswell Press

SCIENTIST, EXPLORER, SOLDIER, SPY

College Archivist, Clare Sargent, looks at the story of two Radleians who both made their mark abroad. Disclaimer: It should be made clear from the outset that it is not compulsory for Radleian explorers to come to sticky ends.

A.K. Boyd’s 1947 History of Radley College contains a single reference on page 279 to one of the more alarming events of the Edwardian era:

In April 1910, the School was shocked to hear of the murder in Central Africa of the eminent Old Radleian explorer and naturalist, Boyd Alexander.

Kenneth Boyd himself was the Senior Prefect when news reached the school of the murder of one of its great OR heroes, so his use of the word ‘shocked’ nearly forty years later reflects his own memory of the news. In his history it is grouped with other significant events for the school in 1910: the death of John Hetherington, who died of meningitis in the Infirmary in May and in whose memory the Hetherington Scholarship is still awarded, the gift to Chapel of the cross and candlesticks made by George Sedding which are still in use, the newly formed OTC (now CCF) had its first camp at Farnborough and was inspected by Lord Kitchener, and the newly built Dining Hall was used for the first time on 1st November for the All Saints’ Day dinner. Local events juxtaposed against news from the international sphere.

Alexander: African expeditions

Boyd Alexander came to A Social, along with his twin brother Robert, in 1887. He represented the school at boxing, but was not in any of the elite sports teams nor a prefect. Consequently, we have no photo of him as a school boy in our records. The Radley Register lists him first and foremost as a soldier. After leaving Radley in 1891 he served in West Africa, initially commissioned in the Gold Coast Constabulary, a militia battalion, and then from October 1900 until 1907 as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade. In that time he took part in operations against the Ashanti in the War of the Golden Stool, including what the Register records as ‘the relief of Kumassi’. This was a defining incident in the relationship between the British Empire and the Ashanti kings in which the British representative, Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, after making a serious political blunder concerning the Ashanti royal throne, ended up besieged in a small stockade near the royal compound at Kumasi.

Two relief forces of 1,000 men were sent out to rescue him in June and July 1900, in one of which Boyd Alexander took part whilst still in the militia. But the Register entry then lists the expeditions which he led during the nineteen years between leaving Radley

in 1891 and his death in Darfur in 1910, and it becomes very clear that being a soldier was simply what allowed him to be an explorer. Indeed, it seems amazing that he any time at all to take part in the ‘relief of Kumassi’. His own explanation can be found in his most celebrated book From the Niger to the Nile, published in 1907:

Every explorer looks upon the map of that part of the world which particularly calls him, and endeavours to find a spot that still affords opportunity for the special powers he may possess for finding out the secrets that it hides. ...with the hope that a locality, showing geographical peculiarities, might also reveal marked differences in its fauna. This last idea naturally took a strong hold on me, for I will now confess that my ruling passion is ornithology, and all my exploration might be described as taking the course pointed out by the birds.

His passion for ornithology began as a schoolboy collecting specimens for his personal museum in his home in Kent. It was undoubtedly fostered by the active Natural History Society at Radley, with its own museum housed in Covered Passage, and the support and encouragement for science introduced at the school by Warden Robert Wilson.

Boyd Alexander (1887)

Alexander was a systematic scientist not just a schoolboy collector. In 1893, two years after leaving school, his first published note appeared in the Zoologist, where he recorded an example of Harcourt’s StormPetrel (Oceanodroma castro), which had been picked up on the beach close to Littlestone, on the coast of Kent. It was the first British example of this species. In the spring and autumn of 1896 much of his time was spent on the coast of Kent studying the nesting-habits of the birds and their migrations, and his observations were published in three papers which appeared in the Zoologist of that year. Many of these observations were especially valuable as recording the movements of the various species on that part of the coast of Kent.

In 1897 he made his first major expedition to the Cape Verde Islands. He spent four months exploring, recording and collecting specimens. His ‘excellent and exhaustive paper’ on the Avifauna of the Cape Verde Islands was published in 1898. His most important discovery was the Raza lark (Spizocorys razae), only met with on the little desert island of Raza, which occupies an area of about three square miles. It is an example of the type of localised, island-based evolution which inspired Darwin’s work in the Galapagos Islands. It is now critically endangered.

In 1898 he joined the ‘Cape to Cairo Expedition’ and explored the lower part of the Zambesi and its tributary, the Kafue River. He identified several new species of birds, again all published in Ibis the journal of the Ornithological Society. He was beginning to be highly regarded as a scientist and explorer. This was confirmed following his expedition to the island of Fernando Po in 1902. Here he discovered a large number of new species, including the long-tailed TreeWarbler (Urolais mariae) representing a new genus and species. The expedition resulted in a series of nearly 500 specimens representing three new genera and 103 species, of which thirty-five proved to be new to science: ‘I owe this remarkable success to having traversed the high ground, my predecessors having confined their attentions to the lowlands.’

His next trip made him world-famous. It must be remembered

that this was the era of the great Polar explorations when Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott were planning their race to the South Pole, eventually reaching it in 1911. Boyd Alexander’s expedition across Africa from west to east by its widest extent via Lake Chad also captured the public’s imagination. And like Scott and Amundsen, it was motivated by scientific exploration, specifically ornithology.

The Alexander-Gosling Expedition took three years from 1904 to 1907 to cross Africa from the Niger to the Nile concentrating on exploring the countries bordering Lake Chad. It resulted in the deaths of both Alexander’s companions, his younger brother Claud and his co-leader, Captain GB Gosling (Rifle Brigade). Twenty-nine new species were identified and the west-east route mapped for the first time. For his geographical discoveries Alexander received the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of Antwerp in 1907, and the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1908. He was also elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland in 1907 and made a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. He was still working on the ornithological publications when he was killed in Darfur in Sudan.

Burr: Balkans, Bolsheviks and bugs

The year after Boyd Alexander left Radley another boy who was to become one of its most celebrated explorers and scientists joined the school. Malcolm Burr, B Social 1892, became both a Prefect and a member of the Cricket XI. Unlike Alexander, who was primarily self-educated as an ornithologist and went straight into military service after school, Burr went to New College, Oxford, eventually being awarded a DSc.

For AK Boyd he was an example of the best type of Radleian in an undistinguished period: [Radley] did not attract genius, and rarely first-rate ability;

Two of the new species of birds identified by Alexander during his expeditions across Africa: (left) the Long-Tailed Tree-Warbler (Urolais mariae) and (right) the Raza lark (Spizocorys razae).

but it turned out men who played a distinguished part in very different walks of life (from P.A.M.Nash, let us say, to Malcolm Burr), as well as a general product of an agreeable type.

After Oxford, Burr studied at the Royal School of Mines in London, becoming a mining engineer and geologist. Like Alexander, the day job took him around the world, specifically to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and to the Balkans, exploring as a geologist. But his passion was entomology.

Like Alexander, he was a keen member of the Natural History Society at school. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London in 1896, whilst still at Radley. He contributed to the first systematic survey of the flora and fauna of the Radley district published in 1905. In 1910 he became the Co-Founder and Honorary General Secretary of the International Congress of Entomology. By 1912 he was Vice-President and Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. Also like Alexander, his first scientific papers on his ‘hobby’ were published within a few years of leaving school when in 1900 ‘Notes on the Forficularia: descriptions of new species and a new genus’ appeared in the Journal of Natural History. Between 1900 and 1910 he conducted fieldwork in Sri Lanka, the Iberian Peninsular, Hungary, Sokotra and Abd-el-Kuri, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Burma and Prussia, indentifying new species and new genera of Dermaptera (earwigs) and Orthoptera (crickets and grasshoppers) in all of them. The species Epilandex burri was named in his honour. He became an expert on the geology of the Balkans at this time. Entomology may not seem the most glamorous of hobbies, yet

An example of Epilandrix burri, the species of Sri Lankan earwig named in honour of Malcolm Burr (1892).

Malcolm Burr’s discoveries and travels had caught the public’s imagination so much that Wallace Hester included a caricature of Burr in his series of ‘Men of the Day’ as ‘Science and Sport’ published in Vanity Fair magazine in 1913.

He was also a gifted linguist and it was this, alongside his scientific expertise, which gave him entry into Turkey following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, into Bolshevik-era Russia, particularly travelling in Siberia, and in Africa in the 1930s. Between the world wars he wrote travel guides, publishing In Bolshevik Siberia, the land of ice and exile in 1931 and A fossiker in Angola in 1934. In 1934 he was photographed by Howard Coster in a series now in the National Portrait Gallery.

He returned to the Balkans in 1939 but was expelled in the summer of 1940 by the Yugoslav government, charged with being implicated in sabotage against the German railways. This charge was strenuously denied by the British government. On his return to England he served with the Ministry of information and was placed in charge of the Balkan Press Reading Bureau in Turkey in 1942 to 1943. This unit monitored radio broadcasts in the Balkans which were inaudible in London or to British forces in Cairo. He worked for the Ministry until 1945. After the war he stayed in Turkey, where he became Professor of English at the School of Economics in Istanbul. His connections, knowledge of these alien territories and linguistic expertise took him into the British Ministry of Information in World War 2. How much his explorations had been linked to spying between the wars is only conjecture, but geology, earwigs and grasshoppers took Malcolm Burr to places very few British visitors could reach at that period. His book The insect legion was published in 1939.

He was killed in an accident in Istanbul in 1954, aged seventysix. His collection of world Dermaptera, containing many type specimens, and his manuscripts were presented by him to the British Museum (now the Natural History Museum) and his rich collection of European Orthoptera, including many collected by himself, to the Hope Museum, University of Oxford.

Clare Sargent

Malcolm Burr (1892) as pictured in Vanity Fair in 1913 in the series ‘Men of the Day’.

OR Letters

Chestnut Avenue

Following a recent visit to the midlands, my wife and I called in at Radley to harvest some acorns from Chestnut Avenue.

“My day” at Radley began in the summer term of 1969. I have always been slightly out of step and was only one of a relative handful of boys to begin my Radley career that term. I had elected to be a Wet Bob and so was obliged to demonstrate my prowess (or not) at swimming to the late Gordon Hill. For weather reasons the pool was not open for the first couple of weeks of term as it was considered too cold which was an issue as it was then an outdoor only facility.

As a result I could not start rowing so I found my way to the Forestry Section run, at that time, by Dr Hugh Cardwell. This consisted of a small group whose main activity was propagating and planting trees around the College. Dr Cardwell described tree planting as gardening for the future and had a strong belief that each generation had a duty to pass the

college grounds onwards with plenty of healthy trees. I was pleased to read in March 2020 Lusimus that this tradition is being successfully continued by Benedict Pollard.

At the time the College was obliged to deal with elm disease so this “mission” was, indeed, relevant. Chestnut Avenue is a double avenue with, at that time, elms on the outer avenue and sweet chestnuts on the upper inner avenue. The lower avenue, just beyond the Radley Oak, was planted some fifty odd years previously to “my time” with lime trees that are still doing well.

By the time I joined, the Forestry Section had propagated more than a hundred healthy oak specimens and had begun a process of interplanting the outer avenue with these young trees. There are a surprising several thousand different varieties of oaks around the world with a wide diversity of leaf, bark and fully grown size. Doctor Cardwell’s vision was to plant as many different examples as we could obtain acorns to propagate that he tirelessly sought from botanic gardens

worldwide. Now the trees are fifty years plus old it is easy to see the diversity. At the time we were planting, the avenue was being used for grazing by the College Farm so we built oak tree guards around the young trees that we prefabricated on a “home made” jig. Some of those original guards are still on site and serviceable.

Doctor Cardwell retired in, as I recall, 1972 when the Forestry Section was taken over by Richard Pollard. On my recent visit I was glad to see that the outer avenue was largely completed and quite a few oaks were planted on the inner avenue as well including a Holm, or evergreen, oak. There are a few gaps that, I hope, may be filled one day as the sweet chestnuts reach maturity and will need to be replaced.

Being at Radley at all was a privilege and all the more so having had a part in a worthwhile project that is there for future generations to enjoy. Since my time at Radley I have continued to work with trees and have planted other avenues. Chestnut Avenue at Radley is, however, a particularly special one.

Antony Dilnot (1969)

Looking down the lower avenue towards where College Oak sits at the far end, on the right hand side. Chestnut Avenue (or ‘Cheesers’) stretches behind this spot, away towards Abingdon.

The VIth form lecture was one of the many initiatives that Warden Silk introduced to Radley in the early years of his reign. He had wide contacts, not least in the cricket world and it was through the MCC, he met Lt.General Sir Oliver Leese and invited him to come to Radley in 1970 to give a talk on the Battle of Alamein.

The General was a most distinguished soldier who had fought in both World Wars. In the First, as a young officer, he was wounded three times and won the DSO for bravery; in the Second, he was evacuated from Dunkirk and two years later was specially selected by Montgomery to command XXX corps in the Alamein campaign before succeeding Montgomery as commander of the Eighth Army in Italy, when the latter was summoned home to plan the invasion of Europe.

It so happened that on that Friday when the General was due to speak, I was down to teach the bottom form IV2, both in the last period of the morning and in the afternoon. Whether the Second World War was in our History syllabus I cannot remember but the chance to hear the General, who had played a central role in defeating Rommel’s Afrika Corps, was compelling. Therefore, without telling the Warden, I took the form down to that hard and uncomfortable Science Lecture Theatre, where they sat on the floor looking up at the General who swung his long legs, whilst sitting on the demonstration bench. The Warden was surprised to see us but being the man he was, greeted us with a smile and a wave.

The talk was stunning. This was the experience of history, for as Mr Churchill said, “Before the battle of Alamein we never had a victory” and after it, “we never had a defeat”. It also happened to be the last major battle fought solely by British and Commonwealth forces. So this could be compared to hearing Uxbridge talk about the battle of Waterloo, though Sir Oliver had both his legs. We listened in some awe to someone so central to this key victory. Maybe there is a transcript somewhere of what he said but I can remember him saying that Rommel was very dangerous in attack but not nearly so good in defence. When IV2 and I met in the afternoon - I

was their form master and they had to suffer me for both English and History – It was clear that they had enjoyed the talk immensely. “What do we do now?”

I asked. Silence. “Write to the General to thank him,” I said. Thus early the next week the General received 25 individual letters of thanks – correctly addressed and signed, as you would expect from a Radleian. He was so delighted that he rang up Warden Silk and said that he was sending tickets for a box for the Alamein reunion at the Royal Albert Hall.

Some weeks later, I drove four boys up to London to be greeted by one of Monty’s aides – the military always manage these situations so well. The place was packed and it hummed, beer was stacked ceiling high in the corridors, the faces of those veterans were bright with anticipation but hiding the deep sadness at the memory of mates who never returned home. The evening was choreographed so that everything led up to Monty’s arrival on stage. His almost diminutive figure was greeted with a roar and a standing ovation. He had to wait a long time before he could speak. I remember his words clearly: “The problem with this country is that people do not know where they stand. I’ll tell you where I stand. Queen and Country.” The roaring broke out again as I wondered where else in the country could such

a statement have won any approval. It must be remembered that this was the era of student riots and very strong antiestablishment, anti-monarchical feelings. When eventually Monty was allowed to leave the stage and the rush was on for the beer, we were ushered into a large reception room. Monty duly arrived and we all shook his hand, somewhat tongue-tied. He loved every moment of it but was preoccupied with some Oxford undergraduate, an Old Radleian, with fashionably long hair. The Field Marshal kept saying, “Is there anyone here who can lend the boy half a crown to get his hair cut?” He sounded remarkably like a Social Tutor.

Some fifty years later, I think of how, in the nineteenth century, there must have come a time when there was only one person left alive who had dined with Wellington at the Waterloo Banquet. So it is in the twenty first century, there will come a time when only one person will be left alive who saw, let alone met, Monty, at what turned out to be his final appearance at the Alamein reunion. The chances must be high that that person will be an Old Radleian, former member of IV2, who wrote a thank you letter to Lt.General Sir Oliver Leese.

Richard Morgan Warden (1991–2000)

Monty and the Radleians at the Alamein Reunion

Montgomery at Radley in 1947, giving a lecture to the corps on how the battle of El Alamein was won.

Declamations

I was fascinated to read Warden Moule’s piece on the Declamations and how much he enjoys them. But he makes no mention of how they were revived during World War 2 by Warden Wilkes.

I was half through my time at Radley (1942-6) when John Wilkes introduced two new activities. One was called ‘Projects’ and involved writing an original piece of research, and the other ‘Declamations’. My research on the life of St Francis of Assisi was based in my family’s friendship with the young Society of St Francis, which was an Anglican movement to reintroduce Franciscan life into the Church of England, which was based at Hillfield in Dorset that I used to visit from my home in Crewkerne. My

Project was examined by Fr Charles Neate, the chaplain of Eastborne, and led to my being appointed to the Upper Sixth Form. It also led me in 1955 to being received into the Catholic Church (again partly due to Charles Neate’s influence), and I am of course delighted that Radley is now open to Catholic families.

My elder brother David, who sadly died of meningitis in 1932, was taught classics by Paul Foster who later became a Dominican friar and influenced a number of his pupils to ‘cross the Rubicon’, one of whom became Head Master of Ampleforth. Another joined the London Oratory, and another was the outstanding cricketer and Senior Prefect Hugh Dinwiddy, whom I got to know well in his old age.

I recall entering Declamations several times with contributions in both French and English without ever winning a prize. The first French piece was from Corneille’s play Horace, which 17th Century drama was made famous by Lord Macaulay in The Lays of Ancient Rome. A later one was from Daudet’s Lettres de Mon Moulin called ‘Le Cure de Cucugnan’ in which he describes his descent into hell in search of his deceased parishioners. The English pieces I recall (and can still repeat!) were Milton’s description of the Fall of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost which begins “Queen of this universe, do not believe these rigid threats of death.” This was set for the fifth forms. Another that I chose with the help of Mrs Dussek was the dying speech of John of Gaunt (from Richard II) which began “Methinks I am a prophet new inspired...” and goes on to a panegyric in praise of England “this precious stone set in a silver sea...this blessed plot, this earth, this realm. This England.”

Yes, Declamations was and still is a valuable activity.

Martin Blake (1942)

Mr. Wilkes was an ardent believer in the duty of public schools to share their benefits with others less fortunate, and well before the Fleming Report was issued secured the support of the Berkshire Education Committee for a scheme of free places for boys from elementary schools. After some show of reluctance by local headmasters, the new ‘Decimal’ system was started in 1942, and has since operated with complete success, fourteen free places having been filled to date. Another agricultural class was started in 1940, this time based on the Labs and not on a neighbouring farm. Later on ‘Declamations’ were revived, with notable success; and a system of ‘Projects,’ generally theses on self-chosen subjects, was introduced, to encourage boys to carry out a piece of work in their own time and in their own manner. It was stated in the last chapter that Warden Ferguson’s period in work was the period of the ordinary boy; this was emphatically the period of the scholar.

An extract from AK Boyd’s, History of Radley (p356)

Jake Cheetham (2002) reprised his Declamation in the theatre at Epidaurus on a school trip to Greece in 2006.

Sports & Societies

Radley Mariners

GB Athletes

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (2007), Tom George (2008) and Charlie Elwes (2010) spent 2020 continuing to train throughout lockdown towards the Tokyo Olympic Games, currently rescheduled for 2021. All three were named provisionally to race in the VIII for the Summer Games before they were postponed. Ollie finished second at Olympic trials in the pair with Olympic Champion Moe Sbihi. Charlie and Tom finished fifth together.

Here, Ollie talks through some of the trials of lockdown training. “In the first day of lockdown, I did 32km on the machine and a weights circuit in my kitchen. This was quarantine training at its finest. It was primitive and riddled with imperfections; exactly the way I like it.”

“I am still hacking away on the rowing machine in a perpetual state of sadomasochism in an empty shed. It’s mentally testing but part of me relishes this type of training even more.”

“There are a thousand excuses to back off but I know that the time we have now is an opportunity to train harder and smarter than our competitors around the world. The athletes who deal with this period the best will be the ones who thrive next summer. As a team, we have gotten to grips with functioning remotely extremely quickly. I am in daily contact with our strength & conditioning coach, our physiologist as well as the chief coach and all of our data is being collated into a stack of excel spreadsheets. Without doubt, the diligence and willingness to adapt from our support staff has made the isolation training more bearable. I won’t sugarcoat it though, it is tough logging miles and miles of solo training outside of the team environment.”

“So now I find myself, a year out (again), raring for the final run in. Pick whichever proverb that you deem most apt. The past 12 weeks have taught me countless lessons that I will no doubt exploit as we push towards Tokyo 2020+1.”

Breaking records

Tom has also been training hard during lockdown, so much so that in May he broke the GB Rowing Team 2km indoor rowing record.

Tom George in training outside his parents’ garage.

Not only that but this was an indoor record set in his parents’ garage!

He is the first British athlete to break the 5:40 barrier, recording a time of 5 minutes, 39.6 seconds, an absolutely mammoth achievement. He is currently ranked as the eighth fastest of all time worldwide, with only ten people ever having rowed under 5:40.

“I did have a moment afterwards where I thought about how everything I’ve done so far in my rowing career has been with the goal of winning the Olympics; to achieve something like this makes me actually feel like I’m on the pathway to doing that.”

Mariners Virtual Racing Radley Mariners took part in multiple lockdown fixtures against Hampton, Dulwich, St. Pauls and St. Edwards.

Each fixture consisted on clocking the fastest cumulative times over set distances on the ergo or on foot. These took place every other weekend through May-July. Over 20 Mariners competed throughout these fixtures.

Left: Charlie Elwes and Tom George in the pair at Olympic trials.

Right: Ollie Wynne-Griffith training with his pair, Moe Sbihi, before lockdown.

Radley Rangers: 2020 Season Review

Played 6 Won 1 Lost 4 drew 1.

Hurlingham

It was a strange season that was finally allowed to begin when Lockdown 1 ended in mid-July on a scorching day in South West London, the setting for a long day chasing leather for both sides. Only the first few overs with the ball promised an advantage over the side batting first, and Ned Greville Williams (0-32 off 8) and Hugo Eyre (1-52 off 8.4) started well. However, there was no tumble of early wickets that was needed to derail the fair conditions and, whilst there were maidens and wickets, the general theme was the Hurlingham batsmen occupying the crease for a very long time, fast sprints from Rangers collecting the ball from the boundary, and a total of 324 that the impressive Radley batting line felt compelled to chase in fear of its reputation.

In return Marriot began the assault with a fast and fluent 36. But neither he, Hearn (20), Hoddinott (1) nor MartynHemphill (6) really managed to justify the Hurlingham’s vast declaration. At 74-6 it seemed that our only the comfort was to be the tables of six in the Hurlingham’s garden, the Pimms on tap and typical after match celebrations. But Folkestone (78*) and Ned Greville Williams (44) shook off their reputations as lower order batsmen and returned the favour to a very strong Hurlingham bowling attack armed with a Test Match Duke. They scored all around the wicket, and firing the ball to all parts they fearlessly saved the game. Finishing with 242/7, the game was a draw. Needless to say, I would expect they will be fielding their best side in this fixture again next year.

Yorkshire Gentlemen (2-day match) Credit is due to Mungo Fawcett for getting a decent side together against the odds: the covid travel window had briefly opened, and he was recruiting from an even smaller-than-normal player poolof those who had neither headed for the beach nor refused to leave home for fear of a second wave. OK, the side wasn’t 100% Old Radleian stock, but pandemics tend to make beggars out of match managers trying to choose a side. The first day went swimmingly: 1) no rain 2) 219 for 7 declared, although

the skipper would have been grateful to have known he was on 48 just before he declared, and 3) Col. O’Kelly out for a golden duck (what a contrast to his two unbeaten centuries against us a few years ago!).

When Eadie, the Rangers’ long-standing first slip, reads that he was caught neatly off Purton in the grippers by Biggart, he will undoubtedly acknowledge that if he had been in residence it would have sailed past and probably heralded yet another ton for the Colonel.

A sporting YGs declaration 35 runs in arrears should have been followed by a thrilling exhibition of allegro batting to set up the sort of nail-biting finish that encourages past-their-prime cricketers such as yours truly to keep returning North. However, it was not to be. Nobody will know what happened next. Prevented by Covid from staying at QM and indulging in what are always euphemistically known by the YGs as “the activities”, the Rangers headed off to Fawcett Towers for “a quiet barbeque”.

There were none of the usual tell-tale signs in the pavilion the next morning - no strange smells, stains or burns, no doors off their hinges - to provide clues as to the extent of the Rangers’ Saturday night self-abuse. However, the scorebook tells the story concisely: we were bowled out for 86 in 21 overs and beaten by 9 wickets.

Hampshire Hogs

In what was billed as the last game of a covid-shortened season the traditional match managing double act of Henry Mills and Christian “there’s no “S” in my surname, Henry” Hollingworth found new ways to surprise. They, or rather (according to Henry) Henry assembled a side with the usual traditional ingredients: 3 former Radley 1st XI captains; 7 past & present cricketer cup players, 2 of whom had been retired for over 20 years; 8 bowlers including 2 leggies (one unused); 2 keepers (one 6’5” tall. The first surprise was when he donned the gloves and made the purists shudder); and only 2 ringers.

It was a strong side that was only ever going to disappoint. The only question was how. The game started tamely as

the Hogs batsmen demonstrated their ‘patience’, to the increasing irritation of the Rangers bowlers. They eventually declared at 220 for 7, but not before providing one of the co-captains with an excuse to leave early (admittedly the x-rays revealed that it was a break). This was the second surprise, because it prevented the other from exercising his usual prerogative of sauntering from the ground an hour or two before the end of play to get home in time for a bath before his dinner party.

The final surprise was the way our starstudded side batted, rattling along at nearly 6 an over but blowing up 40 runs short with fully 20 overs still available. This meant that we seemed to have thrown away our last chance of obtaining just one victory in the Hon Sec’s 30th, final and only win-less season in charge.

Radley

However, Radley continued the theme of It’s Been A Funny Old Year by beginning its cricket season in the Michaelmas term. A last minute decision to allow a rare visit by Outsiders into the campus’ giant bubble permitted the Rangers to squeeze in one more game, the first time RRCC had played RCCC for some years. It was only right that this privilege was granted to the very youngest ORs, and also that the captaincy was granted to Alex Haynes, who would have captained the 2020 Radley 1st XI had there been a season.

Sadly, no spectators were allowed in, so we were unable to witness in person this memorable game, although SHD valiantly kept us abreast of the game’s progress via social media. Led by Betley’s 69 off 49 balls the Rangers batsmen, many of whom are destined for illustrious Cricketer Cup careers, posted 232 all out. A steady procession of wickets shared amongst our bowlers kept the boys out of the game and they fell exactly 100 runs short. It was a pleasing return of this fixture from the Rangers’ perspective, having been on the wrong end of several drubbings from College XIs over the decades.

So we ended the season with the disappointment of only one victory, and we all wish Johnny Wright the very best in turning things round when he steps into the Hon Sec’s well-worn shoes next year.

Rupert Henson & Jonny Wright

OR Golf Society 2019/20

Remember the good old days? We sat within touching distance and now we are penalised if we sit within 2 club lengths, and if you are in the wrong tier you cannot sit at the same table.

We did meet this year, for the Society’s Autumn Meeting in October. We had an excellent day at Royal St George’s. Despite the current issues, the St George’s team welcomed us and fed us wonderfully well. A field of 29 competed in the morning medal and foursomes in the afternoon, after a rather lighter lunch than normal. The committee’s initiative to limit the cost of the meetings to £100 (£35 for under 30’s) has been a success and will be continued in 2021.

Autumn 2020 Meeting

Simon Peck (71) winner of the ORGS Scratch Cup. Our scratch cup was presented by Mrs Charles Jeffreys in 1957 following the death of her husband. The cup was a trophy that Charles had won at East Brighton Golf Club in January 1914. Charles Jeffreys was Senior Prefect in 1896 just 9 years after Royal St George’s was founded.

George Foxall (44 pts) won our Stableford trophy presented by our captain Harry Douglass, on his first appearance on a count back from Jo Oram (44 pts) winner of the Veterans. Ollie Meade King (43 pts) won the under 35’s prize following his 49 point win in 2019! The afternoon foursomes for the James Rogers Trophy was won by Archie Stirling and Sam Aldridge (40pts).

With so many matches cancelled, it is disappointing to have so few results to report on in 2020, but it did mean an unbeaten year (beating the Radley College team 2 ½ to ½, and Old Haileyburians GS Won 8 ½ to 1 ½). However, there is cause for great optimism.

Our Hewitt side for 2021 is looking stronger and stronger with good young players with very low handicaps. We had a new look Bernard Darwin team ready to take to the course when the Bernard Darwin committee had to take the decision to cancel this year’s competition. The annual Robin Turner knock out is well supported with enthusiastic reports from matches. I want to thank our captain Harry Douglass, the Committee, and the Match Managers for their support. They make my life so easy. We had full teams for all matches before they were disappointingly cancelled.

The committee’s aim is to put the society in a very strong financial position to allow us to continue to subsidise matches and meetings well into the future. In this way we can encourage more and more Old Radleians to participate in OR golf. Due to everyone’s generous contributions and our treasurer, Adrian West’s guidance, the society is in excellent health.

We can look forward to 2021 with great anticipation. Thank you to those members who have contributed in one way or another to the society in 2020. If you have not played with the society in 2020 please join us in 2021.

Will Bailey

Awards at the Autumn Meeting (clockwise from top left): Simon Peck (1985); George Foxall (1998) and ORGS captain Harry Douglass (1992); Jo Oram (1964); Sam Aldridge (2005) (left) & Archie Stirling (2004).

Rugby

Will Stuart (2009), pictured rear row, fourth from the right, was a member of this year’s Triple Crown and Six Nations-winning England squad, earning his first cap in February. He took part in all four games, coming off the bench on each occasion. He made his first start for England against Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup in November.

Radleian Society Racing Syndicate - 2020 update

College Oak has had a wonderful year on the racecourse, winning on three occasions, and giving his connections a lot of fun culminating with a lovely win at Ascot last weekend. There promises to be a lot more to come from this progressive youngster.

Having finished runner up on his racecourse debut in a bumper at Fontwell, he reappeared after a summer break to win his bumper (National Hunt Flat race) and was placed in two novice hurdles prior to the Covid pandemic halting life…

After an elongated summer holiday, College Oak has come out this season and continued his progression in fine style. He won a novice hurdle at Uttoxeter on his seasonal reappearance and started handicapping with a workable handicap mark.

We all want Saturday winners, and I was thrilled to see College Oak doing exactly that at Ascot in late October. He needed every yard of the 2m3 to get up on the line, and being out of a sister to a Gold Cup winner, we’ll need to go up in trip in due course. He jumps really well, and will develop into a smashing novice chaser next season, but for now we can exploit our novice hurdle status and as that was a conditional jockeys’ race we’ll not carry a penalty for that win if we run back in a novice hurdle.

I look forward to seeing how College Oak develops over the course of the next year, but he looks a really promising individual and I am thrilled that the Radleian Society have a talented horse on their hands.

Tom West (2009) agreed a contract extension at Wasps earlier this year and played for them against Exeter in the Premiership Rugby Final (above right).

Jamie Snowden

College Oak (right) breaks for the front at Ascot.

Obituaries

Ronnie Howard (Common Room 1960–1988)

Ronnie Howard was born in September of 1935, the eldest son of Frank and Iris Howard in Ealing, West London. Soon joined by his younger sister, Zona, and then a younger brother, Colin. At the start of the second world war they were evacuated to Henley-on-Thames. Holidays were taken on the Isle of Wight and Ronnie discovered he loved pottering around boats.

Then school at Shrewsbury and he was given a choice of playing football and cricket or going rowing and there was only going to be one winner, he started his career as a “wet bob.” He was selected for the school first VIII for an unprecedented three years and competed in events around the country. National Service then took him to Germany. The idea of rowing for the army seemed more interesting to Ronnie so he started the British Army of the Rhine Rowing Club and proceeded to “row” his way through his National Service.

Oxford University followed and a degree in Geology. Once again he was drawn to the river, he rowed in the Boat Race in 1957 losing by 2 lengths to Cambridge, this spurred him on, he became President of the Oxford University Boat Club in 1958 but ended up rowing in the second crew, Isis. The following year he was in the Dark Blue boat and as President quashed a mutiny where a number of Americans wanted to oust him and select their own crew, Ronnie had a very clear view of rules and acceptable behaviour, the mutiny was crushed when the President of Cambridge would only communicate with Ronnie, the 1959 Boat Race was then won by Oxford by 6 lengths in a time of 18 minutes and 52 seconds, their fastest time since 1911 and largest margin since 1912.

In 1960 Ronnie spent the year completing his degree at Oxford and was not allowed to competitively row for the university as the previous year’s shenanigans had taken their toll on his academic studies. Ronnie didn’t like the idea of not being on the water and so adopted his mother’s maiden name and put together a crew called Cherwell and rowed as Ronnie Brandon. The Oxford crew won the Boat Race for the second year running and was selected as the Olympic VIII to go to Rome. Ronnie completed the Olympic

trials and was selected as a reserve in the Olympic Squad, unfortunately he never got to compete.

His career at Radley College started the same year, immediately taking an interest in coaching rowing as well as teaching Geography, Geology and Maths. He was drawn to the Boat Club and over the next 10 years transformed it. A Boat house was built, new launches were built, new pontoons on the river, a new boatman to maintain everything, new trailers to transport the new eights. He exuded an energy and drive to excel and a calm, resolute determination that if you want to get something done you can. During the 1960’s he coached a plethora of Oxford University and Radley College crews with many of them going on to victories at Henley Royal Regatta and to represent Great Britain. All of them benefitting from Ronnie’s perspective and life lessons. There are no short cuts to bypass dedication and hard work.

I will always remember the parting comment he would say to me as I set out onto a racecourse as a junior oarsman –“Row well, win!”

He was an integral part of the National Schools Regatta which was held along a stretch of the Thames at Pangbourne, unfortunately the river was not wide enough for a full-length course due to an erroneous island. Ronnie’s solution was to remove the island, so with derring do, Ronnie and a number of colleagues embarked on some night time raids.

A couple of weeks later the island was submerged below river level, Ronnie then contacted the Thames Conservancy to dredge the river as a matter of urgency to remove this terrible hazard to navigation. This venue lasted until 1973 and Ronnie was then involved in moving the National Schools Regatta to Holme Pierrepont and the newly built National Watersports Centre.

In the mid 60’s he met Margaret, who taught with his sister Zona, and managed to persuade her not to disappear to New Zealand for a third stint and they were married in the spring of 1968. A bouncing baby girl, Anna was born at the start of 1970 and a devilishly handsome, charming son, me, was born in the middle of 1971. He was devoted to all of us and we have many amazing memories of holidays in North Wales and making the most of the facilities at Radley before it became more commercialised. There was a never-ending number of VW campervans that would be filled with crews to the point where the suspension was buckling and then driven to events across Europe. Whenever it was time to get a new one the old trade in would die on the way back to the VW garage. There was an endless stream of students who would turn up to be taught knitting as part of the Wednesday afternoon activities, I recently discovered this was because Margaret would arrive back from work mid-afternoon and offer them all tea. She was a fantastic cook, and here they would tuck into a smorgasbord of homemade biscuits and cakes.

In 1973 he was selected to Umpire the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race. In the odd years Oxford put forward 3 possible umpires and Cambridge select one of them, in the even years it is vice versa. Ronnie umpired the boat race in 1973, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, and 89, a total of 7 times which was a testament to his character. He would always get nervous before the event as it grew a wider and wider TV audience, if there was ever a football match where the players were accosting the referee he could be heard mumbling about the referee’s decision being final and how it should not be allowed.

By the mid 1970s the Howard family lived in a house owned by Radley College. Ronnie and Margaret decided that they ought to purchase a home so they could get on the property ladder, all the family holidays had been taken on Anglesey in North Wales. However, at the time, English owned properties in that area seemed to be burning down with monotonous regularity. So, Margaret persuaded Ronnie to have a look down in Cornwall, this included a trip to the Roseland and they instantly fell in love with the magnificent area and the opportunity to indulge in some of the best sailing waters in the world. A sailing fleet inevitably followed, starting with a Mirror dinghy that he built himself, then a Wayfarer, every few years he managed to justify getting something bigger, Margaret was never very excited about the idea of camping at sea, preferring to head to the beach where we would meet up for a picnic.

Ronnie loved Gilbert and Sullivan and had memorised a huge amount of their work, we would have family trips down to the Minack Theatre to watch Pirates of Penzance. He also loved eggs and every time boiled eggs were on the menu we were treated to a rendition of a few lines of “I am so Proud” as the top of the egg would come off!

“Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!”

Ronnie moved to St Mawes full time in 1988 after Margaret’s untimely death and his retirement from Radley, and he adopted the role of both Mum and Dad to Anna and I. He had a go at everything even if it was new to him, the menus were eclectic. Sometimes we were treated to peaches and gravy, sometimes sweet and sour mince, but he tried and we loved him for it!

He threw himself into the newly formed Roseland Gig Club. He immediately started applying his coaching techniques to the traditional rowers and became one of the first chairman of the club. He loved coaching these crews although his confusion of the “pasty stroke” took some time to understand. He was surprised to learn that this was because the handle was pulled “passed the body” and hence “passed he” in the local dialect. Along with Brenda Pye, who was Commodore of the sailing club at the time, they negotiated an affiliation between the two clubs that still exists today. Steve Redgrave, who,

at that time was a double Olympic gold medallist, was persuaded to make the trip down to Cornwall to launch the Rhos, the second Gig in the club and then at the 150th anniversary of Henley Royal Regatta he organised a trip for a number of Gigs to have a demonstration race down the course. That year Steve Redgrave was competing in the Silver Goblets for Leander and in one race wore a Roseland Gig Club “Rhos” singlet.

The most important lesson that Ronnie imparted during every training session at the Gig Club was to “make it fun”, a mantra they stand by today which has helped make the Roseland Gig Club one of the most successful in Cornwall.

His sailing boats were now increasing in size, and he would often go on trips up and down the coast with Anna, myself, Zona or Colin. Whoever he could persuade really, and if no one was available he would go on his own or cruise in company with some of his contemporaries, Mike Ifould, Brian Roberts, Brian Wheeldon and Mike Beaman to name but a few. He loved these trips, the sailing and keeping his vessel ship shape. Ronnie inevitably became involved with St Mawes Sailing Club. His various roles were Sailing Secretary, Rear Commodore (Sailing) and Club Secretary. However, his most notable achievement was the development of the club handbook. Traditionally it had always been a list of members with a short letter by the Commodore, Ronnie with the help of Richard Baylis, who managed the advertising, instigated details from each class with history and annual reports, photographs, notable trips that members had undertaken. The modern handbook had been born and with it a level of quality that is unsurpassed across Cornwall. Ronnie also enjoyed watching the racing on the water and became a regular committee boat for championships with his trusty Vancouver 28, Chunky, and Ron Medlyn as Race Officer, the two Rons.

In 2008 Evie was born and he was instantly smitten with his first Grandchild, he would spoil her as much as he could and was forever being chastised by either Sarah or me for feeding her ‘cough sweets’ which were, in reality, wine gums. Evie would feign a cough; Grandad would immediately offer out the treats! Evie loved getting him to put up her favourite flag which he did whenever she asked.

Now Evie’s favourite flag as a toddler was a colourful rainbow flag, she had been persuading him to put it up for 3 or 4 years before anyone let on this was a flag used mainly by the gay community. Ronnie didn’t care, he just wanted to see Evie smile. Three years later and Thomas was born, and he had another grandchild to spoil. He was thrilled to see Thomas out learning to sail as part of the clubs Junior Sail Training scheme.

In 2018 Anna married Dave but sadly at that point he was too elderly to make it up to the wedding, he would have loved to have been there. His last years were tough, growing old is not kind but he still had his sense of humour and I believe he has passed this down the generations. I was sitting on his bed with Evie and Thomas at Woodland care home just over a year ago, Ronnie had broken his hip and was being craned into a wheel chair, the staff were, as ever, fantastic however I was not allowed to help for insurance reasons. I playfully elbowed Evie and suggested that one day she would have to look after me like this.

Evie looked back at me, rolled her eyes and said, “We will have taken you to Switzerland well before you get to this stage!” Ronnie would have chortled at this!

So goodbye Ronnie, Daddy and Grandad. Thank you for being the nicest, kindest, most gentle, giant of a man. You inspired us all!

Ronnie Howard died on 9th February 2020.

Jeffrey Evans (Common Room)

An image of Jeff, smiling, limping and with a cheerful greeting never less than forte, lives clearly in my memory, as it will, doubtless, for so many of those whose lives were touched by this natural schoolmaster. Jeff was his own man, a rebel perhaps, loath to be bound by teaching convention or Ofsted diktats. An instinct for communication with young minds led him to tread original paths as he inspired them to share his love of literature. Dedication to his pupils marked Jeff out, for he served them in so many areas of school life - in G social, where he was sub-tutor, in the classroom, in the CCF, in numerous societies - particularly debating, drama and music and in his commitment to team coaching on the sports field.

A headmaster’s dream - and yet also potentially the reverse, for Jeff had a razor-sharp (but always witty) mind and spoke as he found, a characteristic which meant that he was distanced at times from others in the common room. Yet storm clouds of difference dissipated rapidly, letting the real Jeff shine through. Here was a passionate devotee of his subject and a man of great humanity, a committed evangelical Christian able to identify with those suffering under life’s sorrows. It was a loss for Radley in so many ways when he moved to his final post as Head of Department at St Bees, where he flourished happily in the company of Max, his beloved black labrador. I will not be alone in sorrow at recently learning of his premature passing aged 68 as a result of a heart attack in March 2018, six months after I last saw him at his Cumbrian home.

Written by Robert Gower.

Jeffrey Evans died in March 2018.

Frank Grenfell (Common Room 1972–1979)

Educated at Eton and Cambridge (where he read Natural Sciences), Frank Grenfell’s first job was in satellite communication with the Post Office (British Telecom) but he decided the business world was not for him. In 1967 he joined a government run scheme to train as a Physics teacher in Uganda, staying to become Head of Physics at Busoga College, Mwiri. In 1972 he returned to England, teaching Physics and coaching rowing at Radley. In 1979, he moved to Canford School, where he met Susan Madeley, and within the year he had married her.

In 1983 they moved to Eton. Frank continued to coach Rowing, becoming River Master in 1991. Their three children, Andrew, Peter and Elizabeth, were born and raised here and he was enormously proud of them. The boys he taught appreciated his uniquely engaging style of teaching and many chose careers in science as a result. Frank spent a lot of time researching Eton Blue and his booklet on the subject is in the Eton College Library. He gave himself wholeheartedly to the life of the school and shared a deep commitment to the forming young men of character and integrity.

In 1993, Frank took his young family out to India for a sabbatical year to teach at Woodstock International School in Mussoorie, in the foothills of the Himalayas.

On his retirement in 2004, he moved to Oxford, where he has been involved and committed in the life of St Andrew’s Church. He taught part-time at St Gregory Comprehensive, Magdalen College Schol and The Oratory, as well as private tuition. A keen cyclist, he was the treasurer for Bike Safe, a charity campaigning for a community path along the Eynsham Road. His main hobby however, was researching and updating his family tree, putting it into digital format for all his relations. He and Susan spent the last four years travelling the world, in 2018 walking from Amalfi to Sorento. His diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease in January 2019 did not stop him from going to Israel and

Frank Grenfell

he always remained positive and cheerful throughout his rapid decline in health.

Frank Grenfell died on 3rd December 2019.

Seymour, AJC (1932, G)

Tribute read at his funeral: 102! It’s an astonishing age for anyone to reach. When he was a mere 91 we asked him to tell the secret to a long life, which, according to him, was simple. Never stay in wet clothes. Eat good food. Have no truck whatsoever with foreign food. And take regular exercise.

Adrian was a very loyal man. Loyal to his country, his family, his regiment, his schools and his university, and – last but not least – his friends. He was of the generation who all knew what they were doing when they heard of the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936, and there aren’t many of those people left alive today. Although there were four years between Adrian and his younger brother Francis, they were very close as children. They were both were educated at Cothill and then Radley. At Radley, Adrian overlapped with Desmond Llewelyn, later familiar to many as ‘Q’ in several James Bond films. However, never was there anyone less like Q than Adrian! He was totally uninterested in modern technology, which was probably why, many years later, he and his 1950s Fordson Super Dexta tractor got along so well together. Certainly no one could have persuaded him to use a jetpack or an exploding fountain pen. In fact, it took the rest of his family about ten years to persuade him even to use a ‘ball point pen’.

On graduating from Christ Church, Oxford, where he had studied Agriculture in anticipation of becoming a land agent, Adrian was already doing his National Service with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when war broke out, but he soon switched to the Scots Guards, his father’s old regiment. For a while he was stationed at the Tower of London, where prisoners of war were kept until they were escorted by him and others to camps around the country.

He crossed the Channel in July 1944, 46 days after D-Day, as part of the Third Guards Armoured Division. After fighting across Normandy and on into the Netherlands, he ended the war near the Baltic in Northern Germany. In

1947/48 he was stationed in Trieste in northern Italy, which was a happy time for him. Here he formed several life-long friendships and, for the first time in many years, he had the chance to travel. After postings both in London and abroad, he was sent to work in the London office of a fierce general, who had a pretty daughter, Elizabeth. By the time he and Elizabeth had become engaged, the fierce general – who had mellowed a bit – had become Deputy Constable of Dover Castle, so they were married in Dover Castle church in the snow on St Valentine’s Day. That same year he had a visible role in the queen’s coronation procession, and later worked on Operation Hope Not, the code name for planning Churchill’s funeral.

On leaving the army he and Elizabeth bought Wantsley, a small farm in West Dorset where they lived for forty years. Here they bred generations of prizewinning Dexter cattle and miniature ponies. They also had bloodhounds, and competed successfully in working trials for over fifteen years. He came to church here, served on the PCC, and was generally well-known in the area. After a nasty tractor accident in 1975, he started a new career with the British Fields Sports Society (now the Countryside Alliance). In those days ‘conservation’ was the new buzz word, a concept he was quick to embrace as it tied in with his own love and knowledge of the countryside. Yet that decade will forever be marked by the death of his younger daughter Angie, who was killed in a car accident in 1979, aged only 21.

He had a great love of cricket, with a wonderful memory for matches he had been to. By the time he turned 102 he was, we think, the third-oldest living member of the MCC. The highlight of his own playing career was as the captain of the winning battalion team in an army competition in 1953. As a spectator his career lasted much longer: he first went to a Test match at Lord’s in 1926 (against Australia, ending in a draw) and his last visit there was in 2005 (again against Australia – Australia won), and so it is quite fitting to say that he had a good innings.

For his grandchildren, weekends spent at Wantsley involved a revolving timetable of activities such as ragwort extermination,

an introduction to horse racing via Channel 4, learning the finer points of shoe-polishing, and many other things that were, to them, simply ‘Grandfather stuff’.

After he sold the farm, he spent the next seven years with our family at Home Farm, Bryanston. Here he enjoyed living in a village again, and became a familiar figure in the area, striding out in all weathers until well after his 90th birthday, still ramrod straight.

His last years were spent in the wonderful care of the kind-hearted people at Millbrook House. Although old age took its toll, he retained his dry humour and held onto the ‘correct form of things’ as much as he could. For as long as he was mobile, he continued to struggle to his feet every time a female resident came into the room, and his shoes received their daily polish.

In the letters we have received over the last few days he is almost always described as having been a real gentleman, a very kind man. Someone who had worked for him described him as the kindest man he had ever met. As one writer put it, ‘He epitomised the best of that pre-war generation of military men: kind, brave, stoic, modest and with a great sense of duty.’ Another wrote, ‘we can enjoy reflecting on a full life nobly lived.’

September 2020.

Adrian John Conway Seymour died on 12th

Adrian Seymour revisiting Radley in 2009.

Hewitt, G (1933, G)

During Gordon Hewitt’s time at Radley he was made a sergeant in the OTC as well as being a Classified Signaller, and also rowed in the 3rd VIII. After leaving Radley in 1937, he worked for a year in Hamburg, before returning to the UK and joining the TA. On the outbreak of war, he initially served in the Royal Artillery as part of the 51st Highland Division, and was fortunate to avoid the surrender at St Valery in 1940. He later joined the 2nd Highland Light Infantry in a beachgroup invading Sicily, where he was mentioned in despatches in August 1944 and was promoted to Major. He was attached to the 8th Army Headquarters Staff and spent most of the rest of the war on the Adriatic.

After the war, he joined his father at W T Copeland & Sons at their Spode china works in Stoke-on-Trent, where he would remain for the rest of his career. He travelled widely on sales and worked his way up to Managing Director.

On retiring from playing rugby, where by his own admission he became a ‘very useful hooker’, he continued his involvement as a referee. He helped form the Staffordshire Rugby Referees on their breakaway from the North Midlands and continued to whistle until aged 50! He was a founder member of North Staffs NADFAS (now the Art Society) and started a Church Recording group, which he continued to do well into his 90s. Marrying Sybil Fraser, together they had three sons, one of whom would continue in the family tradition and become a wellknown studio potter in North Carolina. He remained in contact with Radley throughout his life, from donating money from his own village Welcome Home Fund to the War Memorial Fund at Radley, to organising a Staffordshire ORs dinner in 1964 for those not able to make it to London for the official OR Dinner.

Gordon Hewitt died, aged 100, on 2nd April 2020.

Tyson, JEA (1934, A)

After leaving the College, John Tyson went up to Pembroke College, Oxford, from where he donated to the War Memorial at Radley. He remained in contact with the College until the 1990s.

John Edward Alexander Tyson died on 3rd May 2019.

Jones, GR (1935, E)

Roy’s Eulogy, by his wife Pat: Always known as Roy, although I understand he was called ‘Gerry’ during the war, he was born in North Finchley, London, on the 22nd April 1922.

Roy was educated at Elstree Preparatory School from the age of 7 to 13 and then at Radley College at Abingdon, near Oxford, from 1935. A wonderful school, which Roy always kept in touch with. As an Old Radleian he was invited to lunch and a service in the chapel several times. We enjoyed many lovely occasions looking around the old and new buildings and meeting with many old students and some of the recent ones. Roy’s joy was rowing, especially at Henley. He was a ‘wet bob’ i.e. rowing, in contrast to a ‘dry bob’ i.e. cricket!

Many years ago, he took me to see the boathouse, along the path he used to cycle down and showed me where there used to be a swimming pool. He had to be able to swim two lengths before he was allowed on the river.

He shared a study with John Whiteley, later Lord John Marchamley – they were great friends for the rest of their lives until John died in 1994 – we enjoyed many happy days with John and his wife over the years, mostly when we lived in Devon, where John had a farm.

I know that Roy loved Radley life and then came the war. At Radley, Roy had joined the Army Cadet Corps, so after leaving school, he enlisted in June 1940 at the age of 18. Initially he was an Infantry Rifleman in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps (soldiers marching double time!). He then went to Glasgow University until 1941 as a special entry Royal Artillery Cadet. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery (Anti-Tank) Regiment and was a Captain from 1941 until 1946, when he became a civilian again.

Roy saw service in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Italy & Greece. Several years ago, we travelled to Monte Casino in Italy to visit the War Cemeteries in the area, with the help of the War Graves Commission. In the Casino Cemetery we found the grave of one of Roy’s fellow Officers, who had died during the battle and had been buried near the river. After the war all bodies were removed to the War Cemetery and headstones erected, where possible. Roy laid a poppy spray on his friend’s grave and he wrote a lovely card to him which said:

For Dougie and all other Gunners of the 14th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery ‘Tight Line’ Roy Jones

We held a short ceremony with a Padre and a Piper, which was very moving.

Roy Jones, third row, fifth from left, with the E Social Platoon, 1939.

Roy used to tell me that he was the only man ever to use oxen to haul anti-tank guns in Italy!

When Roy returned home, he joined his Father’s office in London for a couple of years, but as he caught Pleurisy during the War, he was advised to move into the country. He joined a Government Sponsored Agricultural Scheme. He was employed at two farms, in Devon (cows) & Kent (apples) and completed a year’s course as a Student at Shuttleworth Agricultural College, where he gained a diploma.

Realising in the early 1950s that there was no money in farming unless you owned the land, he decided he needed a new career. Roy’s father, was asked to value the estate of a small family Brewery in Yorkshire and during this work, it was agreed that Roy could become a pupil at the Brewery for a year, without remuneration, when he would learn the art of malting, brewing and pasteurising of beer. Additionally, he studied bottling, transport, managed house and tenanted house administration, along with free -trade sales. Other studies included repairs needed to the pubs, accounts and tenancy changeovers. All in all, a very comprehensive training programme. Roy then became a Managed House Manager for Hammonds Yorkshire Brewery in Bradford, Huddersfield and York. I met Roy when I started work as a Junior Secretary in the Tenanted House Department around 1958 in the Bradford Brewery and Roy and I were married in York in December 1960. Sadly, it would have been our Diamond Anniversary in December this year.

During the first years of our marriage, we moved several times to employment at different Breweries. Brewing was so very different in those days – very gentlemanly, mostly family Breweries and a very close-knit trade. Roy worked for Flowers Brewery in Luton, Greenhall Whitley in St Helens, Lancashire, and Ushers Brewery in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, where Roy became the Personnel Manager. This appointment was offered mainly because the Managing Director, Alan Seward, had been a fellow pupil at Radley College! Sometimes it is ‘who you know’. I remember Ushers had a dray with two Shire horses, which was often seen around the Trowbridge area delivering barrels of beer.

Eventually, Ushers Brewery was taken over by Watney’s Brewery and Roy worked in London at Watney House and then at Mortlake Brewery on the River Thames, where he could watch the boat race every April. The family continued to live in Wiltshire.

Roy retired when he was 68 and continued for several years working with the Royal British Legion, escorting widows and family members to visit War Graves in France, Holland and Belgium. He thoroughly enjoyed this work. Over the years Roy was Secretary & Chairman of the Welfare Committee and a Member of the Okehampton RBL Committee. The Welfare work was very important to Roy and he spent many hours visiting military members and their families to arrange financial help. He took great pride in joining the Okehampton Remembrance Service at the church, which is on the top of the hill. The British Legion Members and Soldiers stationed at Okehampton Camp marched up the hill and back down again – in rain or shine, every year. It was always an impressive ceremony and I was always so proud. He did this for 15 years until we moved to Thorverton, a village near Exeter. Roy was very keen on motor sport, horse racing (many trainers are Old Radleians), football and cricket and he always kept an eye on Radley rowing at Henley! He was also a keen Somerset Cricket supporter. Bob and he had many conversations about the latest sport personalities or recent matches be it football, cricket or rugby and they went together to see Somerset play in Taunton. Bob took Roy to several Cricket matches at Taunton, before he became too frail to go out for the whole day. They enjoyed fish & chips and a pint of beer for lunch.

At the age of 93 Roy was taken ill with a brain haemorrhage but after an operation in Derriford Hospital and 10 weeks recovering in hospital, he was able to move into the RBL Residential Home, Dunkirk Memorial House in Bishop’s Lydeard. Roy was a Resident for over 4 years. Although not very mobile, his mind was still very sharp and he loved reading. He had the Telegraph every day and the Spectator every week, so he was able to keep up with politics, news and sport. He still had a lovely personality and the girls at the Home loved his sense of humour and he was always teasing them.

Dearest Roy - Bob and I, Anthony & Diana and your 6 Grandchildren will always love you and miss you, although we will always have lots and lots of lovely memories to keep and treasure.

Goodbye my lovely man. – rest in peace after your wonderful and very interesting life. You will always have a special place in my heart.

Gerald Roy Jones died on 12th April 2020.

Thornhill, AL (1935, H)

Alan Thornhill, sculptor, was born on 16th December 1921 and died on 4th March 2020 at home in Gloucestershire. He is best known as creator of the Putney Sculpture Trail, the largest outdoor collection of work by one artist in London. Born in London in 1921, Alan grew up in Fittleworth, Sussex, and was educated at Brambletye and Radley College. He went up to New College in 1939 to read History.

In late 1940 Alan enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment. He took part in the D-Day landings and later became a conscientious objector after the bombing of Dresden. Alan returned to New College from 1946-48. He taught English in Italy briefly after the war, and having had Reichian therapy in Norway decided he wanted to work creatively with his hands. Alan enrolled at Camberwell Art School where he began his life-long exploration of clay. There he met painter Sheila Denning whom he married. In 1951, he set up Hawkley Pottery near Stroud, Gloucestershire. His pots were selected for the Council of Industrial Design’s Index of Good Design and shown regularly at the Guild of Gloucestershire Craftsmen.

Alan Thornhill

Photo credit: AKPurkiss

Growing tired of the repetitive nature of pottery, Alan began to make figurative sculptures in clay, exploring the theme of communication. On moving to London in 1959 he set up a studio in Putney which he maintained until his death.

Alan pioneered a radical and improvisatory approach to claywork which involved dispensing with an internal armature and allowing content to emerge from his unconscious. Abstract pieces of the 1960s developed into large semi-formed groups of figures. Pacifism, Jungian psychology, and world conflicts were themes which emerged organically in his work. Alan also made a large number of portrait busts from life including Tom Stoppard, Sir Colin Davis, A S Neill, Basil Bunting, Mannie Shinwell, and Enoch Powell. In 1981 Dennis Silk, Headmaster of Radley, sat for his portrait.

Alan taught ceramics at Kingston School of Art and Barking Regional College and sculpture at Morley College in South London for seventeen years from 1970. Aged 80 he became a trustee and then teacher at the Frink School of Figurative Sculpture in Staffordshire founded by Rosemary Barnett FRBS.

In later life, Alan painted prolifically, creating self-portraits, still lives and landscapes of Gloucestershire and France, together with large bold charcoal drawings. He moved from London to Stroud in 1994 with his partner Kate Shuckburgh and in 2012 had a major retrospective at Stroud’s Museum in the Park.

Alan had 12 one-man shows including at the Drian Gallery, The National Theatre, the Orangery in Holland Park, Putney Exchange, St Catherine’s College, Oxford, and Kingscote Park in Gloucestershire. Nine large bronze groups of figures by Alan now form the permanent Putney Sculpture Trail, opened in 2008, along the Thames Embankment in South London. Alan is survived by three children, Anna, Teresa with Sheila Denning and Philip Bittner.

A documentary film about his life and work made by his daughter Anna is visible on his website: www.alanthornhill.co.uk

Alan Lytton Thornhill died on 4th March 2020.

Mosenthal, BH (1936, F)

According to his own words, Commander Basil Mosenthal had a ‘not particularly distinguished career at Radley’, but he fondly remembered being a stage hand on the Dons’ plays.

Leaving Radley in 1939, he pursued a Naval Cadetship and entered the RNVR in 1941. He went on to be granted a Regular Commission in 1947, rising to the rank of Commander in 1961. He would go on to become a bestselling marine author and publisher, producing many simple illustrated books on various aspects of sailing.

Ohlenschlager, RN (1939, E)

Brigadier Richard Norman Ohlenschlager MBE came to Radley in 1939, a member of E Social (Hope’s), and was appointed Senior Prefect in 1943. Upon leaving Radley, and with the fear of being sent down the mines as a Bevin Boy, he joined up in 1944, enlisting in the Artillery, a branch of the forces he was to remain in throughout his service career. After a stint at Edinburgh University to ‘learn the basics of gunnery and do some growing up’, he took up his post as a subaltern.

Over the following years he rose through the ranks to be Lt Col of 42 Median Regiment, RA in 1966 and then Brigadier of the Royal Artillery 1st Division in 1968. After study at the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1972, he continued to work in the MoD, before his final posting as Commandant of the Royal School of Artillery from 1976-78.

Richard was awarded an OBE in 1963, having been on loan to the Government of the Federation of Malaya.

He corresponded with Vyvyan Hope for many years after leaving Radley, remained close with a number of his school friends and returned several times to visit the College after his retirement. During his last visit in 2018, he noted how different it was from his time there and that Radley was obviously in good shape.

His son, also Richard (1965) was also at Radley, also in E Social.

Richard Norman Ohlenschlager died on 25th April 2020.

Haddon, R (1940, A)

Richard Haddon was born in Iver on the 18th March 1927, to Geoffrey and Norah who were living at a house called Glaisdale, Ritchings Park, Iver, Bucks. Richard was an only child but was surrounded on the estate by other Aunts & Uncles living nearby, and, together with his cousin Maurice, would play with other children on the Ritchings Park Estate. (Aunt Julie lived for a time opposite with his Grandmother, Puggy). He became known for re-packaging chocolate bars, with mud-pies to sell to unsuspecting passers by!

When Richard was old enough, he went to Rutland House prep school in Hanwell, travelling by steam train. This led to his lifelong interest in model railways. He excelled in his Academic studies and did well at school Athletics, winning prizes for both. He would also cycle up to St Albans to visit his Aunt Julie, who The bust of Dennis Silk by Alan

Thornhill.

Richard Ohlenschlager with Warden Wilkes in the 1943 Prefects photograph.

by then had moved and set up a Family Photography Business. Due to his dislike of cricket, he was enrolled and won a place to Radley, arriving in Michaelmas Term 1940. He joined Paton’s (A Social), was introduced to rowing, and enjoyed cycling down to the river to mess about in boats. Sometimes bunking off to Oxford, when he should have been sculling. He excelled at all things academic, literary and the dramatic arts. He had inherited from his Grandfather Trevor an aptitude for Art, enjoying his membership of the Marionette, Art and Drama Societies. Drama in the ‘Old Gym’ was his forte helping out with painting the scenery. He was cast in the School plays, with his celebrated performance as Falstaff in Henry IV Part 1, still fondly remembered today!

The review at the time: ‘...a really distinguished presentation of that blackguardly but adorable old blighter; in fact I have never seen in any performance, amateur or professional, that aristocratic quality which should be present in him however much drowned in sack and knavery, so well maintained; and the startling depths of Haddon’s voice got over another difficulty when someone under twenty plays someone over sixty. His gestures too were natural and free; he was at ease upon the stage, and had evidently been sensitive to the discerning production that underlay his performance.’

The Haddon Cup was presented to the College by his parents to nurture future Radley talent. Richard went on to become Senior Prefect - his study being on the corner of Croome’s arch looking onto Paton’s Quad.

He won a place at Christs College, Cambridge, and joined the College University Mummers, taking roles in plays such as I killed the Count and Noel Cowards The Young Idea. The war intervened when he was called up to join the Royal Marines (U4 Squad of the 34th Amphibian Support Regiment) driving ‘Duks’ in preparation for the invasion of Japan, luckily they were never called upon.

He returned to Radley to take part in the centennial 1947 celebrations playing the role of Warden Wilson in the review ‘Radley Rectrospect’, performed in front of Princess Elizabeth.

After the Marines, he joined Wessex Films run by Ian Dalrymple & Alexander Korda with the responsibility of writing the script for the film, The Wooden Horse, produced at Pinewood. It was here that he met many of the ‘names’ that he would bump into later in his career. Around this time his mother Norah died from TB, having been poorly through most of the war. Luckily soon after Richard met our mother Barbara, introduced by Sandy Burgess (OR), his great friend from Radley. Richard and Barbara married in 1951 at the Parish Church in Windsor, setting up home in Datchet with their standard poodles, ‘one white and one filthy’! Horton Cottage was the first of the many houses they would move into over their 66 happy years together. Along the way the family grew with the arrival of Nicholas in 1956, Julian in 1959 and Gail in 1961. Godparents being their lifelong friends, Sandy & Rosalind Burgess, Trevor and Ann Clark, Charles Harvey and Betty Henry.

Richard meanwhile moved from films into Publishing. His Encyclopedia, Modern Book of Flying, and Pictorial History Book are on offer on Ebay today! In 1954 he produced some freelance reporting work for the magazine Everywoman, interviewing Norman Wisdom, Kenneth More and Richard Burton. He was invited to join the family firm Haddons, an advertising company, producing commercials. Whilst working there that he became disenchanted with the way the firm was being run and applied to join BAT advertising department based in No 4 Cowley Street, Milbank. He became Head of Advertising within 5 years, ably helped for the rest of his career by his devoted secretary Joan Collins.

With his creative flair he commissioned commercials from advertising agencies and production companies and made many friends from all parts of the world. His career travels took him to: Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, West Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Lebanon, Cyprus, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand.

Richard ended his time at BAT, heading up the Group Public Affairs division for BAT Industries, ably assisted by his great team, who remained in contact with him to this day. In 1982 he retired and would continually say in later life that he drew a BAT pension for longer than his salary!

He and Barbara moved down to Sussex from Ascot, before returning to be closer to their Grandson, Jonathan. For a brief time, Richard sat on the Local Parish Council. He enjoyed his garden, his Family, foreign holidays and spending time with Jonathan (OR) visiting old school haunts such as Papplewick and Radley. After a brief time in Gloucestershire, they returned to settle by the coast in West Sussex. Upon the death of his father, he found a diary in his attic written by his Uncle Colin, an early pioneer in British Columbia. He wrote an enquiry letter to his old ranch and was amazed to receive a response from the Residents. He was particularly grateful that he managed to find and mark his Uncle Colin’s grave in Kaslo, BC. He appreciated the enormous help from the Gray Creek Historical Society in this and would proudly show friends their publication of Colin’s diaries and stories.

In later years he enjoyed life with Barbara by the sea, chatting to friends, old and new, and downing copious amounts of G & T’s! So Long, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye! ‘Be Seeing You……..’

Richard

died on 24th April 2020.

Haddon

Richard Haddon at Gaudy 2010, with his back to the cricket.

Aldersmith, MF (1940, C)

Upon leaving Radley in 1944, where he had played for the Hockey 1st XI, Michael Aldersmith went up to New College, Oxford, on an RAF Course. He would spend the next 37 years in the Air Force, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. His service took him all over the world, from the USA, to Singapore, to Brussels where he worked at NATO Headquarters.

Upon retiring, he moved to Scarborough with his wife, Irene, where he remained involved with the RAF as President of the local Aircrew Association Branch.

Michael Frederick Aldersmith died on 2nd August 2012.

Allen, HC (1940, E)

Hugh Allen’s Radley career saw him appointed as a Prefect and represent the 1st XV and the 1st VIII in 1943/4, where he was also Captain of Boats in 1944.

Upon leaving the College, he joined the Grenadier Guards in January 1945 and served as a Guardsman until the end of the war. At the end of his service in 1947 he applied for a job with the Nestlé Company in Vevey, Switzerland. It was to be a company he worked for for over 40 years, retiring in 1988.

Whilst in Switzerland, he married Jennifer Parker in 1952, and together they had two children.

Normand, PI (1941, D)

From The Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2020: Lieutenant-Commander Ian Normand, who has died aged 92, flew fighterbombers in the Korean War, and as a naval aero-engineer and test pilot was one of the first men to fly at more than 1,000 mph.

Normand was flying the Seafire Mark 47e, the ultimate and definitive version of the famous Spitfire, at the Navy’s Operational Flying School when the Korean War broke out. He progressed to the Hawker Sea Fury, the last propeller-driven fighterbomber in the Navy and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ever built. In it he learnt aerial combat, bombing and deck landing in the carrier Triumph in the English Channel. He joined 804 Naval Air Squadron in the carrier Glory when she was on her third patrol off Korea. There, the Fleet Air Arm had reached pitch perfection: each pilot sometimes flew three and even four sorties a day, serviceability was extremely high, and aircraft landed and took off at halfminute intervals.

Normand was rated as an exceptional pilot, and when Glory was relieved after two more patrols, he was one of the pilots selected to take his experience to the carrier Ocean and 802 Naval Air Squadron. Between March and November 1952, he flew 150 sorties over North Korea against bridges, tanks, and artillery positions.

On April 22, on his afternoon sortie, Normand lost power but nursed his aircraft to a safe landing on an offshore island: one of the Navy’s highly skilled aero-engineers, he professionally noted “fuel starvation” in his flying logbook.

Patrick Ian Normand always claimed that he was born in prison: in fact, he was born on July 13 1927 at Fort House, Johannesburg, where his father was governor of prisons for the Transvaal. Normand Snr had ridden with the Matabeleland Mounted Police on the Jameson Raid of 1896 and had been awarded the DSO at the Siege of Ladysmith, but when he was forced out of office by the Afrikaner government of South Africa, the family returned to Scotland. Apart from a few years when his mother escaped the bitter weather to convalesce in South Africa, young Normand was educated in Britain.

In 1944, when the Admiralty still enjoyed a vision of immortality and was the only service recruiting permanent career officers, Normand passed the examination for special entry into the Navy. After a spell at the naval college at its wartime home, Eaton Hall, Chester, in 1945 he started studies at the Royal Naval Engineering College at Keyham, Devonport, to specialise as an engineer. His four-year degree course included several months at sea in the carriers Illustrious and Victorious where he gained his auxiliary watchkeeping certificate on steam plants, before sub-specialising in aero-engineering. Normand took on his first flight in July 1950 and flew solo after just five hours and 40 minutes’ training.

After Korea, from 1953-55 Normand learned to fly in the jet-engined de Havilland Vampire and the Hawker Sea Hawk and, as a maintenance test pilot, he took delivery of new aircraft from the manufacturer. Then, after a three-month helicopter course, Normand joined the course at the Empire Test Pilot School, Farnborough.

On graduation he worked on armaments and flight testing, then tested catapults and arrester gear for aircraft carriers, before beginning a study of reheat orifices in supersonic aircraft. Much of this later work was done in the Fairey Delta 2 which, with its revolutionary drop-nose and swept-back wing, was a forerunner

Hugh Clifford Allen died on 4th July 2020.

Hugh Allen (middle row, centre) as Captain of Boats of the 1944 1st VIII.

of Concorde. Only three years previously, Lieutenant-Commander Peter Twiss had smashed the world air speed record in the FD2, and in July 1959 Normand became one of the first half-dozen men to follow Twiss and fly at more than 1,000mph. Contemporaries regarded Normand’s flying skills as “amazing”, especially after he demonstrated inverted spins in Hawker Hunters.

Other appointments in Normand’s 30-year naval career included senior air engineer and maintenance testing at RNAS Brawdy in Pembrokeshire and RNAS Abbotsinch, Glasgow, and senior air engineer the teaching staff at RNEC Manadon. In 1966 he returned for three years to RAE Farnborough as a tutor at the Empire Test Pilot School, and in 1969-71 he served on exchange at the US Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River as head of flight testing. His final appointment was at Boscombe Down, where he wrote and amended pilots’ notes, the essential guides on how to fly each type of aircraft.

Normand was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1970. On leaving the Navy, in 1975-76 Normand worked briefly for Chemring Group – best-known at the time for the manufacture of “chaff”, a defence against radar-guided missile threats to aircraft – where his father-inlaw was a non-executive director. But commercial life did not suit Normand, and he joined the Civil Aviation Authority. He was initially responsible for issuing licences to operators, but in 1980 he became a flight operations inspector. Required to maintain his pilot’s licence, he would invite friends and family to join him on flights which were often jaunts to Calais or Le Touquet for lunch, returning with duty-free alcohol, or helicopter flights along the Thames.

When Normand retired from the CAA in 1989 after a 40-year flying career he had flown more than 3,000 accident-free hours in 124 different types of aircraft, both fixed-wing and rotary.

Normand was a keen rough shooter who often developed lasting friendships with farmers and landowners, and an eager gardener who left a succession of married quarters with beautiful gardens. As a glider pilot he gave much time to teaching others, and, until electronics made home servicing impossible, he would never

engage a third party to maintain or repair his cars.

In 1951 Ian Normand married Mary Bishop, the elder daughter of Sir Harold Bishop. She died in 2001, and he married Christine Houseley (née Try). He is survived by two sons and two daughters.

Patrick Ian Normand died on 28th June 2020.

Fawcett, JH (1942, D)

John Fawcett’s Radley career was exemplary and a forerunner of his future diplomatic career. Arriving in 1942, he was Junior Scholar and Heathcote Scholar in 1943, James Scholar in 1946 and won the Gold Medal in 1947. Awarded the Open Horace Waddington Scholarship in Classics to University College, Oxford, for which he received a 1st Class degree, he initially went into industry with the British Oxygen Company Ltd. This included a stint working in South Africa, and it was not long after his return that John entered the Foreign Service in 1963.

His distinguished diplomatic career took him initially to India, Trinidad and Iceland, before his first Ambassadorial posting to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1974. From here he moved

to become Head of Chancery in Warsaw from 1975-78 and then was Deputy High Commissioner in Wellington, New Zealand, from 1978-86. His final ambassadorial post before his retirement was to Bulgaria from 1986-89. He was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1986.

Throughout his later life, John took more and more interest in mathematics, in particular the fractal nature of octagons. His article on this subject was published in the Mathematic Association magazine in 2017.

John Harold Fawcett died on 14th December 2019.

Napier, LAH (1942, F)

From The Daily Telegraph, 5 August 2020: Major General Lennox Napier, who has died aged 92, won an MC in Malaya in 1957 during the Emergency; later, as chairman of the Rail Users Consultative Committee, he held the government to account over its privatisation plans. Napier, then a captain serving in Malaya with 1st Bn The South Wales Borderers (1 SWB), was in charge of training for jungle operations against the Communist terrorists. He was also an expert in night ambushes and was responsible for killing

Ian Normand in the cockpit of his Hawker Sea Fury.

several terrorists at considerable risk to himself. He led his young trainees in many enterprises where the presence of terrorists was suspected. On one occasion, he led a charge which flushed out two terrorists. One was killed and Napier led the pursuit for the other.

He achieved the unusual feat of overtaking a terrorist in his own country. The man turned at bay and fired continuously at Napier who, disregarding the bullets, ran the fugitive into the ground and killed him. The citation for the award to Napier of an MC paid tribute to his inspiring leadership, high courage and aggressiveness over a period of 18 months which “accounted in no small measure for the successes which the battalion has achieved”.

Lennox Alexander Hawkins Napier, was born on June 28 1928 on his fathers’ farm near Broadway, Worcestershire. He was educated at Radley before going on to Sandhurst and was commissioned into the SWB in 1948.

He joined the Regiment in the Sudan, where it was part of the occupation force in Eritrea, the former Italian colony. Two postings to Germany interspersed with three years in Malaya was followed in 1963 by his appointment as the British Liaison Staff Officer in Singapore and Malaya. This was followed by a move to Aden in 1967.

Napier captained the SWB rugby XV and followed the fortunes of the Welsh international side keenly. He was a good rifle shot, competing regularly at Bisley. An excellent horseman, he rode both at point to points and at a number of meetings under National Hunt rules. In 1967, he assumed command of 1 SWB. The Battalion subsequently merged with the Welch Regiment at a parade at Cardiff Castle before Prince Charles, their new Colonel-in Chief. Napier, the first CO of the newly formed Royal Regiment of Wales (RRW), took the Regiment to Belfast in August 1969 in the early days of the Troubles. After instructing at the Joint Services Staff College, followed by a spell at the MoD, he commanded the Berlin Infantry Brigade. He worked closely with the American and French forces and took a keen interest in the politics of the city. His last three years in the Army were as GOC Wales and as Colonel Commandant of The Prince of Wales’s Division. In 1983 he took up the honorary role of Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Wales. During this appointment the Regiment celebrated 300 years of service to the Nation.

Held in great respect and affection by all who served with him, on leaving the Army, he became an Inspector of Public Enquiries on roads and motorways. He also made a notable impact on the railway industry as chairman of the Central Rail Users Consultative Committee, using what he termed “forceful charm”. He

subjected the government’s proposals for privatisation to rigorous scrutiny. “In the way it is being planned,” he was quoted as saying, “it could be a pantomime without a happy ending.”

Appointed MBE in 1965 and advanced to OBE in 1970, he was subsequently appointed CB in 1983. He was also active in Wales and Monmouthshire as Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Gwent.

Major General Lennox Napier married, in 1959, Jennifer Dawn Wilson. She predeceased him and he is survived by two daughters and a son. He followed in a family tradition going back five generations by completing his military career as Colonel of the Regiment.

Lennox Alexander Hawkins Napier died on 21st July 2020.

Wells, FG (1942, H)

Francis Wells was Senior Prefect during Radley’s Centenary celebrations in 1947 and had the singular honour of welcoming the then Princess Elizabeth to the College with a speech given entirely in Latin.

He remembers how in preparing for the speech he found to his dismay that he was “expected to address Her Royal Highness as ‘juvencula’, which my Latin dictionary translated as ‘heifer’. I remember my relief on finding its subsidiary meaning of ‘young girl’.”

Francis Wells as Senior Prefect in 1947.

Lennox Napier (middle row, first left) with the 1st XV in 1945.

Whilst at Radley, he was both Junior and Heathcote Scholar in 1942 and 1947 respectively and played for the lst XV in 1945-46. Upon leaving Radley he won an Open Minor Scholarship in Mathematics to King’s College, Cambridge, achiving a 1st Class, Economics Tripos.

His career as an economist blossomed and he worked for the UN Economic Commission for Europe from 1952-56 before taking a post with Courtauld’s Ltd. He then went on to the OECD in 1962, becoming Deputy Director in 1974, a post he held for the next nine years. In 1983, he became a freelance economic consultant and translator until his retirement.

He married Betty Bjorn in 1954 and together they had one daughter and one son.

Francis George Wells died on 2nd December 2019.

NB: For those interested in hearing Francis’ speech to HRH Princess Elizabeth, the original recordings of the event can be found on our archive page: www.radleyarchives.org.uk

Rosier, R (1943, D)

Roger Rosier was a School Prefect in his time at Radley. He married Anthia Carey in 1954, and they were parents to a son and a daughter, and grandparents and great-grandparents to 14 children, who will dearly miss him. “He was a lovely man who will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor.”

Roger Rosier died on 20th April 2020.

Cornwell, AEF (1943, F)

A successful academic whilst at Radley, he was Junior Scholar in 1943 as well as a Prefect in 1947, it was on Bigside in the Summer Terms that Anthony Cornwell showed his prowess. Playing for the 1st XI in 1945 and 1946, he was appointed Captain of Cricket in 1947, a position he also held in Fencing. He would go onto play first-class cricket for Dorset and the Free Foresters.

On leaving Radley, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, to read Law, but never practised at the Bar. Instead moving first to Montreal, Canada and working as an advertising writer before moving to the USA, where he met

and married a Greek American, Anna, a Research Psychologist. He continued working as an advertising executive in California and New York, including as creative director for a New York firm, eventually returning to the West coast and living in the Seattle area. He was the elder brother of the writer John le Carré.

Anthony Ewart Frank Cornwell died on 26th August 2017.

Clutsom, MAB (1944, E)

Michael Clutsom left Radley in 1948 and in 1951 he joined Shell International as an Insurance Adviser. He would go on to work there for the next 36 years, completing a diploma in Management Studies at the British Institute of Management during his time there. He married Susan Spaull in 1961, together having 2 daughters. Upon retiring he took on volunteer charity work and fund raising and was a Probus Club member. He remained in contact with the College throughout his life.

Michael Arthur Boyd Clutsom died on 2nd April 2020.

Hudson, CN (1944, E)

Renowned gyncaecologist Professor Christopher Hudson’s career saw him not only develop a technique, ‘Hudson’s procedure’, that would greatly help the survival of women with ovarian cancer,

but also help enhance pregnancy care in developing countries including Nigeria and Pakistan.

Joining Radley in 1944 as an Entrance Scholar, his academic achievements were not at the fore, but whilst at the College he gained a love for rowing that would stay with him. He obtained a Scholarship to Queens’ College, Cambridge, in 1949, before moving on to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he rowed and coached for both Boat Clubs.

His clinical career saw him win several prizes (including the Hayward Prize, Edgar Gentill Prize, Victor Bonney Prize and the Faculty of Medicine Gold Medal from the University of Sydney), write 92 academic publications and five textbooks, and advise on numerous university and National health committees all over the world. Later in his career he carried a banner for the management of HIV in relation to pregnancy, which had considerable influence on attitudes and care of these patients, and it was this care for all of his patients that made him such a brilliant surgeon.

He was devoted to Barts, where his students loved him for his enthusiasm and his Bonfire Night barbecues, and he eventually retired as Emeritus Professor of Gynaecology. He continued to pass on his expertise as a Training

Anthony Cornwell (middle row, centre) as Captain of Cricket in 1947.

Programme Director for Junior Doctors and was involved in a Safe Motherhood programme in Ghana and Pakistan. In 1957, he married Caryl Shaw, whom he had met on a hospital ward whilst as a patient, recovering from a knee operation, and together they had three children.

Christopher Neville Hudson died on 8th February 2020.

Walton, DJ (1944, E)

Declan John Walton was a pupil at Radley (E Social) from 1944 to 1949. His brother Julian was a member of the same social exactly ten years later.

He was born on 13 August 1930 near Fermoy in County Cork, the son of Ernest John Walton, a Yorkshireman who had worked for a lumber company in Siam and retired to Ireland, and Diana Florence Cooke-Collis, a member of a County Cork landed family. His childhood was spent in a beautiful house overlooking the river Blackwater, the idyll spoiled only by the cruelties of an abusive governess; however, her strict discipline proved an asset when he went to boarding school and found that his powers of concentration took him to the top of the class.

He was educated at Castle Park School near Dublin before proceeding to Radley. It was not a good time for the college, with many younger dons serving in the war and their replacements not always suited to the profession of schoolmaster. Declan greatly enjoyed the history classes of the eccentric genius R.B. McDowell, later Junior Dean of Trinity College, Dublin, and one of the foremost historians of his generation. McDowell taught by lecturing, becoming so absorbed in his subject that he never noticed anything his pupils were doing, however outrageous; he never washed, was incapable of keeping order, and insisted on taking early morning classes from his bed.

When told in later years of Walton’s career in the United Nations, he exclaimed in surprise: “Walton? A very wild boy!”

From Radley, Walton continued to Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1952 with a first class honours in Modern Languages. He then worked for four years as an “average adjuster” in the world of marine insurance with Marsh & McLennon in Montreal. When Ireland was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, he was ideally qualified for a post,

and in 1956 he began work in the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva. He was soon actively involved in the care of those fleeing from the brutal suppression of the Hungarian uprising. From 1959 to 1962 he was the Commissioner’s representative in Morocco, with responsibility – in collaboration with the Red Cross – for the care of some 120,000 refugees displaced by the Algerian War of Independence, and subsequently for their repatriation.

He then worked in New York with the UN Economic and Social Department, and in Rome with the World Food Programme, before joining the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1968 as Chef de Cabinet to the Director General. From 1981 to 1985 he worked as an independent consultant, specialising in long-term planning, with assignments in Nigeria, Syria and the Netherlands. In 1986 he returned to the FAO as Deputy Director General, a post which he held until 1988. He then undertook a number of international assignments on topics related to agricultural and environmental issues in India, the Ivory Coast, Colombia, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, and retired in 2003.

In 1959, he married Jeannette Müller, a Swiss colleague. Their daughter Kathleen was born two years later – while Declan was in Rabat in audience with the King of Morocco! During their time in Italy, they bought a tumbledown fifteenthcentury farmhouse in the Tuscan hamlet of Oliveto, which they converted into an idyllic home. Here he was also well placed to pursue his interest in wines – he was for a time Chairman of the Rome Chapter of the International Wine and Food Society. Retiring to England, Declan and Jeannette settled in 1996 in the Wiltshire village of Steeple Ashton. Declan joined the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, of which he became convenor of the World Affairs Group. In addition to organising lectures by prominent international figures, he himself gave talks on a variety of topics, including the French symbolist poet Stephane Mallarmé, of whom he was a passionate fan, paying for a new headstone on the Kensal Green grave of the young girl who was Mallarmé’s enduring love and whom he uncovered in the course of his researches.

Declan John Walton died on 5th April 2020.

Waterer, RD (1944, G)

Donald Waterer left Radley for his National Service in 1949, after which he went up to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Whilst there he won the Colquhoun Sculls in 1952 and was in the Cambridge University Trial VIII the following year. After completing his degree in Agriculture he went on to become a farmer in the West Country.

He married Susan Shaw in 1954 and they had three sons, all of whom attended Radley; Robin (1969), Rory (1971) and Jonathan (1973). He was known for being a wonderfully kind, generous gentleman, farmer, knowledgeable countryman, ornithologist, forester, oarsman, shot, historian, avid reader and wildlife conservationist.

Ralph Donald Waterer died on 4th June 2020.

Farrer, CJ (1945, D)

Following his brother Peter (1936) to Radley, Christopher Farrer also rowed for the 1st VIII in 1950 as his brother had done previously. Leaving College he went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, as an Entrance Scholar and studied medicine, qualifying in 1956. He would go on to spend over thirty years as a family doctor until his retirement in 1992. He also put his medical skills to use through involvement with the St John’s Ambulance in Kent and was an Officer of the Order of St John.

He married Rita Lyon in 1958 and together they had three children.

Christopher James Farrer died in November 2019.

Christopher Farrer (rear row, centre) in the 1950 1st VIII.

Wynne-Griffiths, DP (1945, H)

David Wynne Griffiths time at the College saw him awarded the History Essay Prize in 1949 and, after completing his National Service with the Royal Devon Regiment, he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, reading Law. He was called to the bar (Gray’s Inn) shortly after completing his degree in 1955.

After this he worked in industry on the legal teams of a number of high profile companies, including Shell Petroleum, Gillette Industries, Tarmac Plc and Hanson over a 40 year career, retiring in 1992. He became Chairman of the Bath & County Club in 2001.

He was married twice, first to Gabrielle Brook-Hitching and then to Patricia Bland.

David Peter Wynne-Griffiths died on 20th May 2020.

Denyer, BP (1946, A)

Written by Linda Denyer. Brian Denyer recounted his days at Radley as happy years where he appreciated his education and facilities on offer. His time at Radley served him well.

On leaving Brian returned to his parents’ home in Windsor. He went to work for Windsor and Maidenhead Council and trained as, what was known then as, a public health inspector. His work there was interrupted for National Service in the RAF where he was assigned to the medical Corps for Public Health Duties.

He continued studies during his career including a qualification in Management. He left W and M to work for a large London Borough, Hammersmith and Fulham which, after several promotions, led him to be accepted as Chief Environmental Health Officer in 1976. He left in 1979 to become Director of Environmental Services for the City of Westminster. He enjoyed his time there and faced many challenges as he negotiated with his political masters in order to bring about much needed changes within a most central organisation.

He was well respected and held in high esteem by his colleagues and staff who knew that, although he could be a hard taskmaster, he was also fair and supportive.

He took early retirement in 1992.

Brian had so much to give professionally after his retirement but he felt it was time to remain at home choosing to do personal things he liked. He had an avid love of history – what he didn’t know wasn’t worth knowing – as well as enjoying gardening, cinema and theatre, holidays, reading, and visiting gardens and NHS Trust. He loved DIY and had an acute attention to detail when he was engaged in any project.

He enjoyed social contact but needed to be sought out rather than doing the seeking. As with most humans, Brian was dual natured. He had a wonderful smile, was stoical, self-effacing, loyal, kind, fair and patient. He could also get very angry and he had an acerbic way of speaking when he needed to make a point which served him well when he had difficult decisions to make.

Brian had several health challenges during the latter years of his life during which he showed great courage. He leaves behind me, his widow from his second marriage of 35 years, and a daughter and grandsons from his first marriage. He enriched our lives and is sadly missed.

Brian Paul Denyer died on 12th April 2020.

Thomas William Readett-Bayley (1947, D)

Son of TDR Readett-Bayley (1920), Thomas was joined at Radley by his younger brother John (1950), the same year he was selected for the 1st XV. Upon leaving Radley he initially got hands-on work as a farmer in Yorkshire before attending the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester in 1952.

He would spend the rest of his working life in farming, and was appointed Local Steward at Nottingham, Market Rasen and Southwell Racecourses.

He married Diana Taylor in 1962, with whom he had two daughters.

Thomas William Readett-Bayley died on 16th February 2018.

Brian Denyer

Thomas Readett-Bayley in the 1950 1st XV.

Scott, JSM (1948, C)

John Scott, known as Stanley during his time at Radley, had an illustrious career at Radley, playing for the 1st cricket XI, captaining the 1st XV and being named Senior Prefect in 1953. After national service in Negeri, Malaya, he went to Corpus Christi, Oxford, where he gained three rugby blues and was capped by England against France in March 1958. He was a member of both the NW Counties team that beat Australia in 1958 and the Cheshire XV that won the County Championship in 1960. In 1959 he was a member of the Oxford and Cambridge side that toured the Far East and captained the team against Malaya.

John Scott went on to play for Harlequins 1st XV 55 times from 1959 to 1968. He would have played many more times, but a serious shoulder injury stopped him playing rugby for a few seasons. After his last 1st XV game, he captained an ‘A’ XV. Many that played for that side will remember the strict sartorial standards he set. Jacket and tie were de rigueur off the field and clean white shorts and boots on it. Failure to comply resulted in a tonguelashing and a fine. His sporting prowess was not confined to dry land however, and he was a member of Great Britain’s America Cup team in 1964.

Completing his studies in Jurisprudence at Corpus Christi he was initially an Articled Clerk with Rowe & Maw Solicitors, but over the course of his life his main business become property management. He took a great interest in public spaces, which he attributed in part to the delight of Radley’s rolling green acres. He was Project Leader and Co-Founder of Notting

Hill Gate Improvements Group and was also responsible for Westbourne Grove Lavatories which received a Royal Fine Art Commission Award. In 2009, he was given the Mayor’s award for services to the community in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

His great passion, however, was fine arts, particularly sculptures and ceramics. His collection of 18th and 19th century ceramic tiles and decorative was recognised as one of the greatest in the world. His collection included furniture, glass, sculpture, art nouveau, art deco, arts and crafts, aesthetic movement and was featured in several exhibitions, including at the Victoria and Albert Musuem. Indeed in 2007, the V&A awarded him the Robinson Medal, an accolade of rare distinction, in recognition of all his generosity and support.

Later in life he suffered from poor health, and donated most of his collection, worth £8M, to the V&A and to the Jackfield Tile Museum, Telford. Some items he sold to support a number of charitable causes such as the welfare of stray dogs and cats in Faro, Portugal, with items going to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Before sale, his entire collection was recorded in an eight catalogue series by the Fine Art Society.

A kind and generous man, for twenty years he took children with physical impairments for swimming lessons, he leaves behind countless legacies of a life well spent.

John Stanley Marshall Scott died in January 2020.

John Scott’s collection of fine arts was seen as one of the greatest in the world.

Ferguson, JEI (1949, C) Ian was born on 3rd August 1936 and died 3rd March 2020. He was at Radley (Cocks/Thompson C Social) from 1949 to 1955. After serving in the RAF for his two years National Service, he went to Queens’ College, Cambridge, and studied Architecture, qualifying as an architect in 1962. He spent the next 5 years in private practice before moving to the Scottish Development Department in Edinburgh.

He returned to private practice in Brighton until 1978 when he moved to Manchester firstly to the National Building Agency, then to the University of Manchester and then to UMIST. In 1991 he reverted to private practice, spending the rest of his days on the Isle of Arran. He was married from 1961-97 and had three children and five grandchildren.

James Edward Ian

died on 2nd March 2020.

Ferguson

John Scott captaining the 1st XV in 1953, five years before winning his cap for England.

Van Oss, P (1949, D)

Peter was the youngest brother of Richard (1944 and Senior Prefect on Peter’s arrival), and the youngest of three brothers. His father was the successful artist Tom Van Oss, who was tragically killed in 1941 in a small vessel which was hit by a magnetic mine off the Lincolnshire coast when he was inspecting his on-land camouflage effects from the sea.

Peter’s mother Favell (née Bevan) brought the three boys up and summer holidays with friends in Scotland and Jersey led to Peter’s lifelong love of outdoor pursuits and his becoming a member of The Natural History Society. In 1953 he went on The British Schools Exploring Expedition to British Columbia.

Due to a serious knee injury playing rugby at Radley, Peter was excluded from National Service but in 1954 joined Boots, starting as junior buyer, and in 1971 he became the youngest ever Director of Boots the Chemist which at that time had the largest chain of shops on the UK high street.

In 1975, Peter was headhunted to become Deputy Managing Director of Max Factor. After a period of running his own consultancy, in 1987 he worked in the UK for the Ruling Family of Dubai, managing a portfolio of extensive business interests, including a major London Hotel, over 300 West End flats, a leading Newmarket stud, The Racing Post, and a daily newspaper to name but a few.

Father of Mark, Anthony, Juliet and Katy, his two sons were both at Radley in C Social. In 2001 Peter married his third wife Sue Brown (née Gardiner) his D Social Housemaster’s daughter, and widow of Collin Brown (D Social). Peter and Sue moved to South Somerset where they became active in village life and entertained many OR friends and those with Radley connections who Sue had got to know through her 25 years of working for the Appeal and the Radleian Society of which she was an Honorary Member.

Peter was a keen gardener and set up a garden club for the village and its neighbouring one. He also completely cleared the very overgrown churchyard aided by willing local helpers. He was a founder member of the local wine club.

Away from hobbies, he was Chairman of the Local Conservative Committee and spent many hours working on their behalf.

In his last few years Peter enjoyed eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren and regular fishing and shooting too, but sadly he suffered increased immobility and bronchial illhealth. Peter died with minimal suffering from coronavirus, aged 83.

Peter Van Oss died on 9th May 2020.

Pudden, AJ (1950, A)

Jonathan Pudden left Radley to go up to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, on an Entrance Exhibition after two years

National Service. Whilst there he was awarded the Worsley Prize and a Henry Arthur Thomas Travel Scholarship in 1959 to travel in Greece and Italy. He gained a 1st Class Classics Tripos and on leaving became a Schoolmaster in 1960.

By 1974 he was Headmaster of Brockhurst Preparatory School, which he had himself attended before Radley.

He stepped down as Head in 1997, but continued to teach until 2016. He was succeeded as Head by Nick Park (1961).

Antony Jonathan Pudden died on 1st May 2017.

Peter van Oss

William Jeremy Wakeley (1950, A)

Son of Sir Cecil Wakeley, Bt, William Wakeley went on to work at Wakeley Brothers, a Fruit and Hop grower in Kent. He worked there from 1961 to 1999, holding the post of Chairman.

In 1959 he married Veronica DunningAysh with whom he had three children. His grandson, Jude (2015), followed him in attending Radley.

William Jeremy Wakeley died on 25th June 2020.

Backhouse, CL’e (1950, B) Christopher Backhouse found Radley in the early 1950s to not be a happy place and he did not enjoy his experience there. Leaving the College in 1955 he was commissioned into the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He was to remain in the Army with the Light Infantry until he retired as a Major in 1978.

Upon leaving the Services he held a number of Directorships in Insurance and Investments and was also heavily involved in the governing of a number of state primary and secondary schools. He was twice married, and had two sons and three daughters.

Christopher l’estrange Backhouse died on 20th September 2019.

Bartleet, GP (1950, B)

Upon leaving the College, Giles Bartleet went on to have a successful and interesting 40 year career in the wine trade, working for such companies as Bacardi-Martini. He married his wife, Phoebe in 1950 and they had 3 children together.

Upon retiring to Romsey, he enjoyed fishing, watching cricket and singing in a local choir and trying to keep pace with eight grandchildren.

Giles Philip Bartleet died on 9th April 2020.

Lewis, JC (1950, D)

John Lewis (known as Jackie) joined Radley in 1950. He loved his time in D social and represented the school in Athletics and the 1st X1 in cricket in 1954 and 1955.

After Radley he did a year’s apprenticeship at Bristol Aircraft company before joining the Royal Artillery for his national service, where he spent most of his time in Nigeria. Having completed his national service, he went up to Selwyn College, Cambridge, to read engineering with the plan to join Pilkington Brothers glass company.

The untimely death of his father led to

him changing his plans and he took over the running of the family farm at Berwick in East Sussex. In addition to farming was a J.P. and became a prison visitor, rising to Chairman of the National Boards of Prison visitors around the time of the prison riots in 1986. He also served as chairman of the South East Ambulance trust and Eastbourne Health Authority trust.

He was a keen amateur sailor, competing successfully for a number of years in Class 1 Royal Ocean Racing Club events and competing in the Two Ton World Cup in Sardinia.

He was married twice, firstly to Julia Martineau, with whom he had a son Paul (1976) and a daughter. The second marriage was to Miranda Versen, with whom he had a son.

John Christopher Lewis died on the 28th of February 2019.

Harrison, RC (1951, D)

Sir Colin Harrison, succeeded his brother as 4th Baronet in 1955, whilst still at Radley. He went up to St. John’s College, Cambridge, before working for the family business, John Harrison (Stockton) Ltd, the oldest independent carton manufacturer in the UK.

William Wakeley (rear row, second left) in the 1954 Hockey 1st XI.

Jackie Lewis (rear row, centre) as part of the 1955 Athletics team.

Sir Colin was the last of the Harrison family to be involved with the business and is remembered by all those who knew him as a true gentleman, one of the good guys whose word you could trust truly was his bond. Colin had a real love for the business that bore his family name and a strong belief in the Harrison team.

As well as Chairman of the family business, he was Vice-Chairman, Darlington Building Society and a General Tax Commissioner.

He married Maureen Chiverton in 1963, and their son, John Harrison (1986), also came to Radley.

Robert Colin Harrison died on 23rd March 2020.

his bike exploring the local villages or spending time helping the lock keeper at Sandford lock. After Radley he went on to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. At the age of 21 on a trip to the Isle of Skye he discovered a fossilised humerus and vertebrae which constituted the discovery of a new genus and species of ichthyosaur, the family of large predatory reptiles that were among the top predators beneath the waves at the time dinosaurs ruled on land. This was subsequently named Dearcmhara shawcrossi.

Later on in life he was very actively involved as a member of the Haberdashers Livery Company in the governance of their schools, becoming Master of the Company for the Millennium year, during which he oversaw the topping out of their new Hall and also the introduction, after 639 years, of women into the Livery. The very best sort of Old Radleian.

Brian Ellis Shawcross died on 11th December 2019.

Robertson, IJ (1952, B)

Ian Robertson left Radley in 1956 initially planning to study and then practise Medicine, however this proved not to be the path that he followed. Instead he moved into the Law, where he had an enjoyable career as a solicitor ending up as a Senior Partner at Crutes in Newcastleupon-Tyne.

He was involved in a series of successful irradiation test cases for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the Chief Constables of Northumbria Police from 1980. He also had a speciality in complicated medical cases and defamation, numbering Kevin Keegan and Peter Beardsley amongst his clients. He was married to Janet and they had four children together.

Ian James Robertson died on 15th November 2019.

O’Connor-Fenton, TP (1952, C)

Timothy O’Connor-Fenton was a house prefect and member of the College Athletics team during his time at Radley, a broken collar bone in a school rugby match removing his chance of a place in the 1st XV.

His post-school career took him to work as a Land Agent before taking a role with Chartered Accountancy firm, Peat, Marwick & Mitchell in 1959. He was also a Lieutenant in the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (TA).

He married Caroline Clough in 1966 and they had a son and two daughters, one of whom married OR Robert Holmes (1981). Their son, Max, is a current boy at Radley.

Timothy Patrick O’Connor-Fenton died on 27th October 2019.

Shawcross, BE (1951, G)

Sheridan Swallow (1963) writes: Brian Shawcross was a kind and gentle family man with a delightful sense of humour, he was that unusual mix of someone who was both a scholar with a huge range of interests and knowledge and a focussed and successful businessman, being one of the founders of Hunkydory Designs Ltd. He was a bright child who was reading fluently at the age of four and always retained a great love of books and learning, together with an enjoyment in sharing knowledge with others. During his time at Radley he was often out on

Sir Colin Harrison.

Timothy O’Connor-Fenton (rear row, third left) in the 1957 Athletics team.

Wallace, ED (1952, F)

Dr Euan David Wallace was the son of the eminent dermatologist Dr Hugh Wallace and Dr Nora Wallace.

He read medical sciences at King’s College, Cambridge, and completed his training at St Thomas’ Hospital. He was a house surgeon in ophthalmology under Harold Ridley at St Thomas’. In 1969 he passed the MRCP and took his new qualification to visit family in Uganda, where he worked voluntarily in Mulago Hospital as a physician for some months. Later he worked in a mining hospital in Zambia, where he also flew with the Zambia Flying Doctor Service.

Euan married Jill O’Sullivan, a ‘Nightingale’ nurse. They settled in East Harting, near Petersfield where Euan worked as a popular GP at the Swan Surgery. He loved his busy life with Jill raising a large family, surrounded by animals.

He was made for general practice. A consummate, affable clinician, he combined rigorous scientific principles with shrewd clinical acumen to all his work, which included roles as a GP trainer, palliative care physician, and clinical assistant in diabetes and dermatology. He was interested in patients as people and was more interested in their lives than their diseases. A colleague described him as “never being interested in status, power or money, but five minutes in his company would just make you feel better about life”. He described himself as a “hardy perennial, the longest-surviving medical wreck around”.

In 1992 whilst undergoing endoscopy he instantly recognized the cause to be a gastric malignancy, which turned out to be a high grade lymphoma. The subsequent partial gastrectomy forced him to retire early from general practice, but he returned to part-time work in palliative care. He developed a further malignancy,

this time of the prostate, in 2002. Jill his beloved wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in 2004. His son, Conan also died of the same disease in 2016.

Euan’s seven grandchildren became central to his life in his retirement. He also enjoyed playing the piano, singing in Petersfield Choral Society, playing tennis, travelling for ornithology and photography, but above all walking.

He lived by that G.M. Trevelyan line “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” He and his enormous labradoodle were well known for their gregarious “20-mile Wallace Walks” across the South Downs. He leaves three daughters and seven grandchildren.

Euan David Wallace died on 20th December 2019.

Watson, RP (1952, F)

Born in India, Roger Watson distinguished himself first at Radley, where he was an excellent Senior Prefect in 1956 and hooked for the 1st XV for his final two years, and then at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he won an Exhibition scholarship. He worked for many years for the publishers, Longmans, Green & Co, before becoming Director of Statistics for Education.

He married Patricia Earey in 1963 and together they had four sons.

Roger Peter Watson died on 27th March 2020.

Euan Wallace

Roger Watson as Senior Prefect in 1956.

Pow, DJ (1952, H)

At Radley he was a School Prefect, Head of Social and played rugby for the 1st XV in 1956. He was also Head of Drums Section C.C.F. and during his National service in the Royal Marines rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant.

After his National Service was complete, he joined Gerald Eve & Company where he qualified as a chartered surveyor. He moved on to Marler & Marler, then King & Co (which became King Sturge) where he became a partner.

Everyone who worked with David admired him for his determination to do the best job possible. He was a keen rugby player, captaining Haslemere Rugby club 1st XV, avid sailor and recreational skier.

After retirement he joined his church choir in Sturminster Newton and various other choirs where he enjoyed performing choral music. He also toured Europe extensively in his motorhome.

He married firstly Barbara, with whom he had five children, and secondly Diana with whom he had one daughter, Amanda. He was also a grandfather to eight grandchildren.

Fuller-Sessions, JF (1953, A)

David

Pow died on 10th November 2020.

Written by Colin McGarrigle: John’s father, an army officer, was killed evacuating troops in 1940, the year after John was born. His mother later married Colin Sessions, and their son Blair became John’s devoted brother. John went to Brambletye, and thereafter to A Social under the eagle eye of StewartMorgan. He had an illustrious sporting career, featuring over his last two years in the three major Radley first teams, and captaining the Rugby XV. He was considered totally reliable in every commitment, apart from his latin, and he was a fearsome sight with a sabre in his hand too. Naval section, Scottish Country Dancing, and standing tall alongside John Adcock, his Head of Social – no contest! He was to be one of the original Radley Galleons.

A busy gap year followed, and on to Trinity College – a paradise for a brilliant bunch of gifted men and women in Dublin. Here again he starred in the Trinity XV, playing at Lansdowne Road, and in College Park for the Cricket XI. In 1963 he had struck up what proved to be a lifetime partnership with Marion Hall, and they became a familiar and

popular couple on campus, easily spotted courtesy of the vivid Radley rugby scarf which he wore night and day. After his Dip Ed at St Luke’s, Exeter, they married in 1965, and promptly set off for India – to teach at the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay. He was heralded as a sort of messianic figure, and not just for his cricketing skills. He captained famous Bombay cricket and rugby clubs, and found time to do lots of charity work, famine relief and the like. What a welcome back they had in 2019 – the Messiah had returned!

Three years on, and the family moved back to reality, and pretty harsh at that, at Campbell College, Belfast – a city ‘on edge’ in troubled times. So it was not surprising that when Colin McGarrigle made a connection and then an offer, the F-S family (now 4) moved to share the reins at Bramcote School, Scarborough. Together they weaved an exciting web of schooling for young Northern boys, and John’s share in all the fun and games was unquantifiable - inspirational, cultured, searching and yes, quirky at times – they simply loved him. To complete the family, Nick was born in York in 1974, and would follow the F-S path to Radley.

John Fuller-Sessions (front row, second right) in the 1957 Hockey 1st XI.

John

David Pow (rear row) in the 1956 1st XV.

John loved his music (did he manage three or was it four notes on the euphonium?), and year after year, he kept the records, and took the pictures……… and peaked as the Admiral on the legendary Norfolk Broads holidays.

In 1983 John took the helm at Bramcote, and he began to spin his own inimitable web with Marion for another 7 years, inspiring the building of an Art and Music Centre - a spectacular monument of his love for Bramcote. He will be longremembered for championing those boys who were not going to be the stars on the games-field.

Some years earlier they had bought a fairly run-down farmhouse in Parwich, Derbyshire, and in 1990 when the F-S regime came to an end, they moved to their precious new home. From there, John gave Stancliffe a boost, took on a role as a stand-in Headmaster at Brocksford Hall, and thereafter was much involved at Lichfield Cathedral School for the next 12 years. He was always recognised as a measured, respected professional ‘hand on the tiller’.

Genuine retirement beckoned, but he was no slouch, and local cricket, Rotary, parish involvement, and his friends and family filled his days, while his beloved camera was his constant companion. His stunning bird pictures would have graced the Countryfile calendar.

Modest, never arrogant, ‘a very present help in trouble’, a wonderful husband, a cherished father, a friend to so many, a good listener, and often, with that forefinger pushing down the baccy in the pipe, he would have a moment of reflection before his wise and often amusing response.

‘A lovely man’, ‘a parfit, gentle knecht’…… no malice, never harsh, sometimes eccentric in his dress sense, John was a unique schoolmaster, who brought warmth, true and cherished friendship, idiosyncratic humour and so much colour into so many lives. Along the heavenly cloisters, you will pick him out easily, yes, with a scrum cap under the halo, but also with that Radley scarf around his neck.

John Fuller-Sessions died on 20th September 2020.

Perkins, RAH (1953, E)

The son of AC Perkins (1925), Richard was one of several cousins who attended Radley, both before and after his time here. Whilst at the College he won the Public Schools Sailing Championships in 1957.

After College he worked as a Director for several different companies and was made High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1997. He married Rosemary Balding in 1970, with whom he had two daughters.

Richard Arthur Herbert Perkins died on 13th January 2020.

Prescott, RBC (1954, A)

Robert Prescott was a second generation Radleian, with both his father, FJO Prescott (1921) and his uncle, CK Prescott (1923), coming to Radley. Robert went up to Worcester College, Oxford, on leaving Radley and trained as a Solicitor, ending up as a Partner in William Sturges & Co. He was also appointed Assistant deputy coroner for Inner London West.

Robert Brooke Cromwell Prescott died on 26th March 2019.

Bucknall, JWL (1956, B)

Written by his brother, Tim (1963). Born on 6 January 1943 to Bertram and Wendy Bucknall, James grew up in Somerset and Devon and was educated at Hawtrey’s Prep School and Radley (19561961).

On leaving school, James joined the Army, principally he claimed, because they would allow him to have his horse with him: a primary consideration in many of his life decisions. He commissioned into the Royal Dragoons on 21 December 1962. The Regiment had just returned from Malaya to Tidworth and James spent much of the following year converting from Saladin and Ferret armoured cars to Centurion tanks. Rising tensions and inter-communal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots necessitated the reinforcement of the British Forces in Cyprus to keep the peace and C and A Squadrons quickly deployed to RAF Akrotiri in February 1964.

Shortly thereafter, the role of keeping the peace in Cyprus was handed over to the United Nations and for a period James wore the blue beret of the UN before

returning to the UK in early April. Later that year an unfortunate incident on Salisbury Plain, which occasioned the Adjutant’s mangled Land Rover to emerge from under the front of his reversing Centurion tank (much to the amusement of the Gurkha soldiers riding on the back deck), short-listed Lieutenant Bucknall ‘to a cast of one’ for a 2-year secondment to the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces. Following a 3-month intensive Arabic language course in Aden, James joined B Company the Northern Frontier Regiment and took command of a mixed platoon of Omani and Baluch soldiers.

Initially based for some 6-months on the remote Jebal Akhdar (the epicentre of the 1954-59 uprising and accessible only on foot) James then participated in the second-ever wheeled transport crossing of the Omani interior from Muscat to Salalah, over 650 miles, at a time when Oman boasted just 3 miles of Tarmac road between Muscat and the port of Muttra. This latter part of his secondment saw B Company deployed on operations to tackle the emerging insurgency in the Dhofar, where sadly, on 24 May 1966, the Company Commander Maj Hamish Emsley MC, was killed whilst on patrol in an RPG attack on his Land Rover.

In 1967, James married Anne Woolcott, whom he had met in Aden. After a short period in Germany with the Regiment, he was posted to the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, to complete an in-service Degree in Applied Science, which remained a source of enormous pride throughout his life. By this time the Troubles in Northern Ireland were in fullswing and on completion of his degree in 1971, he was posted to Antrim as a plain-clothes Intelligence Officer, complete with flared trousers and large sideburns. During this period he fondly recollected being roundly chastised by the President of the RAF Aldergrove Officers’ Mess for having archly observed in the suggestions book “that swede is not an officers’ vegetable!”

James retired from the Army on medical grounds in August 1972, whereupon he returned to his beloved Devon and bought a small farm on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, which was to be his home for the remainder of his life. In October 1974 James married his second wife Susie Willmott and together they set about

building a life around farming, raising a family and a shared love of horses. To supplement the sporadic income from various farming enterprises, James became a semi-reluctant Estate Agent and proficient (if idiosyncratic) builder, carpenter, hedge layer, plumber, dry stone waller and self-sufficient jack of all trades. In retirement, James rekindled his love of the Arabic language and re-visited Oman in 2010. On a visit to the Jebal Akhdar he was delighted to discover the storehouse hut he had commandeered as his accommodation some 40 years previously remained standing in a barracks that had changed little in the intervening period.

In the past few years, he was pleased put this knowledge of Arabic to good use by volunteering to assist the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family to Moretonhampstead, helping them to navigate the challenges of establishing themselves in a remote Devon village. James was a dedicated member of the South Devon Hunt and would ride out as often as he could, whatever the weather; frequently being one of the last to return. He took immense pleasure in being invited to be Field Master and dedicatedly served as a well-liked and respected member

and chairman of the Hunt Committee for several years. James continued to hunt, much to the admiration of the field, at breakneck speed and with the reckless daring-do of a man half his age until the week before he died. A countryman at heart, he was never happier than when rounding-up stray cattle from the Moor astride his home reared horse ‘Splash’ in the company of his beloved collie Jake.

James had fond memories of his time at Radley where he boxed, played rugby and rowed for the school. One of his favourite party tricks was to demonstrate his school gymnastics prowess by doing handsprings at parties well into his 40s. James had an abiding admiration and respect for James Batten, a housemaster at Radley (but not his), who went on to become Headmaster of King’s College, Taunton: a key factor in sending his own sons there.

He is survived by Susie and his children Robin (from his first marriage), Kate, Sarah and Harry, and younger brother Tim, who was also at Radley.

James William Legg Bucknall died on 6th October 2020.

Williams, RN (1957, B)

Following his father, RME Williams (1927), to Radley, Robert Norrie Williams was a School Prefect in 1961. From here he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, returning to Radley for reunions several times in the 1990s. Sadly the Radleian Society lost contact with Mr Williams shortly thereafter.

Crawfurd, RJ (1957, C)

Born in Calcutta (as it then was) Robert Crawfurd was the first of two brothers to come to Radley, Charles coming in 1962. Robert then went on to Edinburgh University to study General Agriculture, initially working for the Scottish Society for Research in Plant Breeding, before moving to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1971.

Here he worked in a number of roles concerning farming at the Ministry of Agriculture and Internal Affairs. Whilst there he also completed a Diploma in Adult Education at the University of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe). After a short time in the Zimbabwean feed industry, he returned to Scotland in 1987 to pursue similar roles.

Whilst overseas he joined the St John’s Ambulance Brigade in 1980, rising through Sergeant, Divisional Officer, Superintendent up to Area Staff Officer (training) before ceasing active service on his return to the UK.

He married Jacqueline Mackie in 1982, and together had a daughter, Emma.

Robert Julian Crawfurd died on Monday 10th March 2020.

Hepburn, JM (1957, C)

Julian Hepburn was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and spent over thirty years as a County Land Agent of Norfolk County Council. He was a Governor of Easton College and a member of the Norfolk Rivers Internal Drainage Board.

He was married with 3 children.

Julian Matthew Hepburn died in January 2020.

Hope-Cobbold, PW (1957, C)

Lieutenant General Sir Roderick CordySimpson KBE CB DL (1957) writes: Philip Hope-Johnstone joined the James Bucknall

13th/18th Royal Hussars in Germany in 1965 from Sandhurst where he had been a senior under officer. His impact was immediate. He was tall, good looking and hugely talented. Whilst most of us had to work very hard to succeed, Philip just went along at his own pace and still outshone most of us.

He was an outstanding tennis player but probably the most memorable thing about him was his utterly wicked sense of humour. On one occasion he hid a mouse trap in his tank for the Colonel’s inspection. He got his man and the rest of us were left in peace from an over enthusiastic commanding officer.

Philip’s postings away from the Regiment took him to Yorkshire as our link officer at the Training Regiment and then as Adjutant of The Queen’s Own Yeomanry and later as a squadron leader in The Royal Yeomanry. He was the perfect ambassador for a Regiment that recruited its soldiers in Yorkshire. He was a true countryman, a brilliant shot and made lifelong friends wherever he went. He commanded B Squadron, on a two year tour at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland. His squadron was well trained, happy and efficient. An excellent relationship was established with the RUC, thanks in a great part to Philip’s charm and determination to make it work. He was then posted to Ottawa as the Assistant Military Attache. No nation could have been better served on the diplomatic front. Many of the friendships that he made with other national attaches remained over the subsequent years. Philip’s final tour with the Regiment was as second in command and PMC of the officers’ mess. There was never a dull moment in the mess and many younger officers learnt the joy of Tio Pepe.

His final posting was as the Defence and Military Attache in the Oman. He adored his time there and maintained close friendships with many of his fellow attaches until his death. Only a week before the COVID 19 lockdown, he went back to the Oman for his final reunion. With the huge contraction of the Army in 1992, he decided to draw stumps and took voluntary redundancy.

Philip changed his name to Hope-Cobbold when he inherited the vast Grade 1-listed Glemham Hall and its estate from his

uncle. Philip had been born at Glemham. The Cobbolds were the great brewing dynasty of East Anglia and wonderful philanthropists. Glemham Hall urgently needed considerable restoration. Philip and his wife, Raewyn, set about the task enthusiastically within the limited cash available. The house had to be reroofed and the formal gardens restored. The tasks were endless but slowly but surely the great house came alive again. A very successful wedding venue was established and countless couples have been married by Philip, with most of the guests in fits of joyous laughter.

He became a director of Ipswich Town Football Club. His grandfather had taken the amateur side and turned it into a professional side personally underwriting the huge change. Philip was passionate about the team and regularly attended matches. He was much loved by the players, his fellow directors and its supporters and the tributes poured in within hours his death. All spoke of his charm and wonderful sense of fun.

Philip involved himself in countless charitable activities in Suffolk and Glemham Hall was the venue for many charitable fund raising events, thanks to Philip’s generosity. He became President of the RBL in Suffolk and gave them his endless and unstinted support. In 2005 he became the High Sheriff. He was exceedingly active throughout Suffolk, supporting and encouraging every conceivable activity. As the heating in Glemham Hall was always somewhat limited, he was spared having the High Court Judges opting to stay with him except in Summer.

Philip’s other great love was the Highlands of Scotland. Each year he rented a large remote lodge which had once been part of his family’s estates. For two weeks the great house was full of young [and not so young] fishermen, deer stalkers, painters and walkers. Philip was the most wonderful and generous host. Like all good soldiers who have marched to the sound of the guns, Philip became quite deaf as age crept up. His rich booming baritone voice got louder with each glass of red wine and his wonderful sense of humour became even more outrageous.

Although he would never have boasted about it, Philip came from a very

distinguished lineage. On his father’s side there was a princess, an earl, a commander-in-chief of the NORE and a general. On his mother’s side there was a duke, a prime minister by marriage and his great grandmother, the redoubtable Lady Evelyn Cobbold, had toured most of the Middle East on a camel before cars were invented.

Philip sadly lost Raewyn to cancer in 2017 and shortly after he handed over Glemham to his son Tom. His sons Tom and Tim, his grandchildren and his step children; all of us who were privileged to have served with Philip; Ipswich Town Football Club and nearly everyone in Suffolk have lost a true, kind and hugely generous friend who never said an unpleasant word about anyone.

Philip, we will all miss you and will drink a very large glass of red wine in your memory but “we are where we are” and will “keep b*******g on” as you would have said.

Philip William Hope-Cobbold died on 8th July 2020.

Philip Hope-Johnstone

Lewis, JHR (1957, H)

Richard Lewis, who has died at the age of 76, was a man of great integrity and principle, whose preaching was shaped by a desire that people might work towards making sense of faith in a challenging and diverse world.

He was born John Hubert Richard Lewis in 1943, the second of three children to John, Archdeacon of Hereford, and Mary (née Griffin). He had warm memories of his young childhood adventures in Cornwall, a place with which he felt a great affinity, and returned to regularly throughout his life.

Educated at Radley College and then Kings College London, he started his career as curate of Hexham, Northumberland, and married Sara in 1968. Between 1970 and 1982 he worked as Industrial Chaplain and then Communications Officer in Durham, during which time he and Sara had three sons and enjoyed family holidays on the Northumberland coast. He retained fond ties with the north east. The family then moved to Shropshire, where Richard worked first as Hereford Chaplain for Agriculture, then as Archdeacon of Ludlow. Here he was heavily involved in the Tenant Farmers Association, and rural affairs was a thread which ran throughout his career. A former member

of his staff said “his approach to ministry could be framed by the title of a report he co-authored [in 1986]: ‘The people, the Land and the church’.

Richard was consecrated at Westminster Abbey in July 1992 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, as Bishop of Taunton. In 1997 he was appointed Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, where he served until his retirement in June 2007. Here he oversaw the completion of Bury St Edmunds Cathedral Millenium Project, marked by a visit from HRH the Prince of Wales, who had taken an active interest in the project. He led the church in Suffolk during a tumultuous time locally, nationally and internationally, and was increasingly unafraid to voice his opinions on a range of issues.

Richard used his maiden speech in 2002 in the House of Lords to highlight the diverse and hidden challenges of predominantly rural communities; subsequent speeches included campaigning on behalf of Amnesty International for the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was a fierce critic of the government’s policy in Iraq and of America’s part in the war against terror. Richard spoke in a gentle and richly resonant voice which belied the often trenchant and fastidiously researched messages he conveyed so articulately.

Richard’s response to the controversy in 2003 over the proposed appointment to Bishop of the openly gay Canon Jeffrey John does not define him; however it does represent his lifelong, uncompromising commitment to open-ended inclusivity in the church and in wider society. One of the few bishops at the time to go on the record (and encourage others) to denounce homophobia, he said “it is a very sad day for the Church of England when possibly one of the most democratically appointed bishops has to withdraw because of the pressure applied by a minority of people.” The ensuing vitriol he received did not deter him from raising questions about ethics and the morality of the day. As Patron of Changing Attitudes, he was outspoken on such issues because they mattered to him, and he believed the church should represent the diversity of creation, listening to people talk from different perspectives.

Believing passionately in social justice and the church’s responsibility to reach out to those who were hurting, he championed the charity Somebody’s Daughter, set up in the aftermath of the killings of five women in the Ipswich area in the winter of 2006. The loss of his son, Pete, some years earlier gave him a point of identity with grieving families and bereaved parents, and he gave many people help during this time of crisis. He had admired the communities of Suffolk for pulling together through this dreadful time: “Right from the start it was clear that people were not being judgmental about the lifestyle of the victims. They saw them as women in trouble.” A week before Christmas that year Richard stood on the pitch before 20,000 fans at Ipswich Town’s football stadium to lead prayers to the women at the start of a match against Leeds United.

Richard was a compelling story-teller and an attentive listener, a superb conversationalist who put everyone in his company at ease. As a Commissioner with the Rural Development Commission and then president of Suffolk Agricultural Association, he once again employed his knowledge and experience of the agricultural sphere, hugely enjoying the annual Suffolk Show. He had also been able to offer support at the time of the swine fever and foot and mouth crisis, attending farmers meetings and standing with them in solidarity.

Former colleagues remember Richard as someone who cared for and looked after all of his staff, inspiring their loyalty and commitment. Persuasive recruitment tactics secured him the right people for the job, and included chocolate biscuits, coffee and an audience with Ollie, the beloved family dog. (It is thought that on one occasion this was designed to deflect attention from a potentially off-putting filing ‘system’ in the office).

Richard strived for an inclusive and liberal church regardless of sexuality or gender. Appointing many women to parochial posts, he was a vocal supporter of the move towards women in the episcopate, determined to see more women as active members of the church, as incumbents, and ordained as bishops.

Theologically, he did not always endear

Richard Lewis as Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich.

Diocese of St Edmunsbury & Ipswich

himself to the evangelical wings of the church, writing in retirement, “As a bishop I was nettled by accusations that I was neglecting or even worse, undermining 1662 [the Book of Common Prayer].”

Acknowledging the dilemma of providing services which appeal to different people, he said: “In musical terms it is like an orchestra trying to serve the whole community but confined to playing music by only one composer.”

A deft and prolific writer, in later years Richard continued to pen articles for church publications, and published a meticulously researched book detailing his family history, ‘Sampans and Saffron Cakes.’ He was given to sending postcards and letters to his grandchildren - always in blue fountain pen - and latterly became an enthusiastic tweeter, posting his grandfather Fritz’s diary entries and the occasional scathing comment about the Tory government. He was still lobbying his local MP about a range of issues just weeks before he died.

Richard and Sara retired first to Norfolk, and then to Herefordshire, where they enjoyed cycling and pursued a love of photography and art. Richard remained involved in the community, litter picking with a volunteer group and campaigning in elections with the local Labour party. He was a skilled carpenter and was still working on an intricate model of the HMS Victory in his final months.

He is survived by Sara, his sons Mike and Nick, and grandchildren Sam, Tom, Patrick, Freddie and Gwen.

John Hubert Richard Lewis died on Saturday 19th September 2020.

Dogilewski, AJ (1958, E)

Alexis died in October 2020 from a short illness. He was a keen sailor and a founder of ORSA, remaining life commodore up to his death. Over the years he helped drive the ORs vs Current Boys racing weekend and the Winchester Cup (Public Schools Old Boys Sailing) as well as many other sailing related activities with the school.

He leaves behind 2 children and 7 grandchildren, that he was very fond of.

Alexis John Dogilewski died on 7th October 2020.

Hayes, ND (1961, F)

Written by Simon Sanders (1960). My memories of my friend Nick at Radley are first and foremost of the heady mix of mischief, optimism and laughter which he carried with him and which made him such good company. He shared a study in F Social for three years with the equally humorous Bernard Cazenove, and my memory (from a safe distance in C Social!) of these two together is that they were never very far away from a bit of rule-breaking, often at the expense of their tutor Paul Crowson.

The apochryphal story of answering the phone in Crowson’s study in his absence with “Hello, Crowson here” in perfect imitation of Crowson’s sing-song voice, only to be greeted by the same sing-song voice at the other end of the phone “Oh that’s funny, Crowson here too” was universally attributed to Nick and Bernard. Bernard reminds me that the two of them were not unaccustomed to beatings from their Tutor and from the Warden.

Nick was not very interested or successful in the academic side of school life, but he excelled at sports: cricket and hockey, and as I personally remember him best, in the First XV rugby team where his stocky build, low centre of gravity, but great speed made him a very good wing three-quarter. Pity the opposition full-back having to

face Nick in full cry, ball in hand, flying down the touchline towards him. His time at Radley was followed by a spell in the Army where, true to form, according to Wendy, his wife of 50 years, “he got on with all, except the Sergeant Major”.

The manufacture of top quality and very stylish contemporary furniture was in the Hayes genes, and after completing a scholarship course at the newly-opened London School of Furniture in Shoreditch, Nick joined the family firm of Collins and Hayes furniture makers in 1969 working alongside his father and older brother Peter. His people skills made him a naturally successful Sales and Marketing Director, a role which he held for thirty years until the company was sold in 1998; he then continued to run the business under new ownership until retirement in 2006.

Nick played a lot of squash and loved his golf, with memberships at The R&A, Rye, Royal Ashdown, and Minchinhampton; he was Commonwealth Liaison officer for The Lucifer GS; he enjoyed family holidays at their house in Cornwall where he was also a member at Trevose. An accumulation of sporting injuries however led to arthritis and later complications. He and Wendy met in 1968, married in 1970, and had three children, Joanna, Lizzy, and James who followed his father to Radley.

Nicholas David Hayes died on 19th February 2020.

Hughes Hallett, A(1961, C)

Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett was one of the world’s leading economists and a member of the Scottish Growth Commission, as well as a professor at a number of prestigious academic institutions.

Andrew Hughes Hallett was Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University and in the School of Economics at St Andrews University in Scotland. Previously he was Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University and at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Having initially entered the Navy (where he rowed for the Dartmouth VIII), he went on to read Economics and Maths and Alexis Dogilewski

graduated from the University of Warwick and London School of Economics. He held a Doctorate from Oxford University, was Visiting Professor and Fulbright Fellow at Princeton University, Bundesbank Professor at the Free University of Berlin, and held visiting positions at the Universities of Warwick, Frankfurt, Rome, Paris X, Cardiff, Copenhagen and the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Beyond the academic world, he acted as consultant to the World Bank and the IMF; also the Peterson Institute for International Economics; and to the UN, OECD, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, to various governments and a number of central banks. Hughes Hallett was an honorary professor at the University of St Andrews and was a key member of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission.

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, led the tributes to the professor on New Year’s Day.

“So very sorry to hear of Andrew Hughes Hallett’s passing—he was an accomplished economist, with the finest of intellects and, above all, a thoroughly decent man. My thoughts are with all who loved him.”

Andrew Hughes Hallett died on 31st December 2019.

Harding, JP (1966, E)

From the Burnley Express, 16th March 2020.

Born in Rinteln (A British army barracks in Germany), he grew up in Wiltshire and was educated at Radley College. He went onto Bristol to gain a law degree and became a barrister. He gained a second degree in English Literature and in 1995 bravely turned his back on his career to open Roundstone Books on Lowergate, Clitheroe. His partner, Catherine, met Jo a few days after he had opened Roundstone Books, and they spent 20 extremely happily years together.

In 2003, Roundstone Books moved to Moor Lane and changed names to Clitheroe Books as it became an amalgamation of Roundstone Books and Moorside Books run by David Sedgewick. They ran the business together until 2010 when David died. He was an avid reader and writer of poetry. Organising poetry readings and events in the town, he set up Clitheroe Books Press with Theresa Sanderson to enable local poets to see their writing in print.

Remembering Jo, Theresa said: “Clitheroe Books was a stand-out shop and its proprietor a stand-out man. We edited several poetry collections over the years under the imprint Clitheroe Books Press, where we were proud to discover and publish some of the area’s best emerging poets. But it was Jo’s poems, with their erudite mix of philosophy, politics and playfulness, infused with warmth, wit and his trademark humanity, that always left me feeling: Damn, I wish I’d written that. Jo was not afraid to speak up for others and the causes he believed in, and his bookshop was an enclave of common sense and compassion. He will be sadly missed.”

Jo was instrumental in helping Clitheroe achieve and maintain its Fairtrade status for the past 10 years. A keen gardener for the past 15 years, he grew his own organic fruit and vegetables. A lover of music, once he reached 60 he decided to learn to play the guitar and have singing lessons and he switched his poetry writing to song writing. He loved sport and was an accomplished athlete in his younger years. Two hip replacements in recent years enabled him to take up running again, he discovered Parkrun and was overjoyed to be able to run with Catherine, his

daughters and grandchildren, his last big run being the Ribble Valley 10k in December.

Paying tribute, Catherine said: “Jo was a wonderful father to two daughters, Rebecca and Emma, and five grandchildren, Lewis, Imogen, Amelie, Toby and Reuben, he was also a devoted stepfather to my two children Jordan and Jessamy. Jo had so many interests and hobbies. He was passionate about justice and the environment, never one to just sit still or be quiet if his voice could make a difference, he was often asked to speak up at council meetings for those whose voices were not being heard. Obviously, he was also passionate about books and loved reading, hence the shop, but he was looking forward to retirement and was hoping to spend more time gardening, reading, making music with friends Martin and Jeremy and to have time to volunteer with Parkrun, Ribble Rivers Trust and the Foodbank.

Jonathan Patrick Harding died in 2020.

Fyfe-Jamieson, DR (1967, B) Written by Stephen Lacey: David, better known to many as Fyfe or Fyfie, was a rule unto himself. He was not actually anti-establishment, nor was he a true rebel. He just looked at things in his own way. He could see the absurd in situations and was happy to exploit them.

His best Radley mate, Martin Pope tells the story of how one afternoon they were coming back from their exertions in the 3rd XI Hockey team (‘best hockey team ever’ according to David) and found a long line of nervous, expectant youngsters awaiting the off signal for the junior crosscountry prize run. They exchanged eye contact and without further ado bellowed “GO!” The poor junior don who was in charge at the other end of the line had no idea what had happened and only managed to haul the errant runners back after a kilometre or two.

At Radley, David distinguished himself on the cricket field, playing for the 1st X1 in both 1971 and 1972 seasons. He was a penetrative fast bowler, claiming the largest aggregate of wickets of any bowler in both seasons, 23 and 33 respectively, including two hauls of 7 for 20 and 6 for 19 in 1972. He was a fine golfer, doubtless inspired by the example of his much-

Andrew Hughes Hallett

loved step-grandfather, Roger Wethered, and Roger’s sister, Joyce Wethered, later Lady Heathcoat-Amory, who were both outstanding British golfers of the interwar period.

After Radley, David chose to eschew University. His oldest friend, Henry Wyndham (later chair of Sotheby’s in London) describes David as being very bright without ever stretching himself. They both ended up in Paris, their avowed intention being to learn French and to look at paintings. To that end, they enrolled at the Sorbonne. Henry says that he lasted a week, ‘which was twice as long as David’. They spent several months getting up late, meeting for a coffee at the Trocadero, followed by lunch at Chartier and then on to the cinema for the weekly Marx Brothers Festival. ‘We’d regularly take in three films in the same afternoon ... re-emerging at 7.30pm, bleary eyed, ready for a three course dinner. .... We may not have learnt much French but we became word perfect in Groucho Marx speak.’

Eventually, they called it a day. David went first to Australia where he had family connections and then to South Africa, where he began his career in the art world working for Wildenstein. He found his way back to London and joined the Old Master Paintings Department at Sotheby’s, becoming in time an astute and

respected expert. He is said to have had an ‘exceptional eye’. He certainly made some significant discoveries and was an effective business getter. He later worked for a time for Artemis, a leading Old Master Art Consultancy before going out on his own, taking offices in the West End. His timing was not good, coinciding as it did with one of the worst ‘blips’ in the art market.

At the beginning of the millennium, David left London and went to live in Shropshire. There, he reinvented himself as a cabinet maker/furniture restorer extraordinaire. It didn’t come completely out of the blue, although to many it must have seemed as though it did. Apparently, he had come across a set of woodworking tools that had belonged to his father. At the same time, he got to know the best cabinet maker in Shropshire, David (aka ‘Chippy’) Ackroyd. To start with, David worked for Ackroyd as his apprentice (or Sorcerer’s apprentice, as another friend described it), a relationship that developed to one in which they came to share a palatial workshop, working in partnership on some projects and independently on others. David was both trained and trained himself to be a fine craftsman in wood, making many prized pieces of furniture.

David took to country life with great aplomb. He was occasionally invited as a

day gun to a family shoot in mid-Wales. There he was nicknamed ‘Vladimir’, owing to the Astrakhan hat he sported. He was also unmistakeable for his constant loyal companion, a woolly chocolate Sussex spaniel called Phoebe. He was a keen and successful fisherman, as witnessed by the accompanying photo showing David with his record catch on Mull.

David was always a bon-viveur: once, faced with the choice between buying a painting by Gerard de Lairesse or a motorbike, the motorbike prevailed. On another occasion, it could just as well have been the other way round. He was very attractive to women. He ever had a pretty girlfriend on his arm or in the passenger seat of his beloved Aston Martin. At the same time, he had a generous and kind nature, encouraging young people and patiently teaching them woodworking skills in the workshop. He will be missed in that respect, as in many others. He took on many parts in life. He was an accurate mimic and had a good sense of humour.

He was an accomplished pianist who loved the music of Handel and Schubert in particular. He was both well-read and widely knowledgeable. Following on from his father, he was a good photographer and darkroom technician. Indeed, he was gifted in many ways. To end, this quote is taken directly from Henry Wyndham’s address at David’s funeral service:

“He was an exceptional, original human being who had more friends than wood shavings on his workshop floor. He was much loved because he rarely said anything bad about anyone and always looked for the good in people. After a difficult childhood, there was no self-pity. He was brave to the end and took whatever life flung at him. His life had more chapters than a Russian novel.”

David Robin Fyfe-Jamieson died on 16th October 2020.

Palgrave Brown, NI (1967, D)

Nigel Palgrave Brown died suddenly, but peacefully at home on 2nd October 2018, aged 64. A keen birdwatcher, sailor, angler and racehorse enthusiast, he will be sadly missed by his daughter Stephanie, ex-wife Helen and sister Alexandra.

Nigel Ian Palgrave Brown died on 2nd October 2018.

David Fyfe-Jamieson

The boys, sitting in their Social bubbles, return to Chapel for the first time since March 2020.

The four men who met together at that tea party in Turl Street, Oxford in March 1847 were a busy group. By the end of the evening they had set out their proposals for a revolutionary new type of school based on a desire ‘to surround the boys with an atmosphere breathing greatness and goodness’ and a view that ‘Religion, morality, history & truth, wisdom & learning are best taught by example’. Within a month they had taken a lease on Radley Hall (Mansion), and three months later on 9th June the College was founded and the first Warden installed. By August they had their first three pupils and four teachers.

It has sometimes been a rocky road since then. The school has weathered financial disasters, global economic depression, world wars, and is currently facing the challenges of virtual teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the spirit of these original values still lives on at Radley today.

In 2022 we will be commemorating the 175 years that have passed since our founding, and we see this as a wonderful opportunity to look back and remind ourselves of our history, but also to look forward and reassert our purpose and value in the world today. We want to use our 175th Anniversary year as an opportunity to focus on strengthening our connections with the entire Radley Community, and through this imbue the boys with a sense of their own place in our community and our history.

As I write, a group of boys and dons are currently coming up with ideas on how to commemorate our birthday year, with talk of playing sports to 1847 rules and an 1847 lunch in Hall!

More broadly, the College plan to host some special events which we hope to be able to invite you to, and we will also be publishing an Anniversary book entitled Untold Stories, in March 2022. This will explore the history of Radley against the backdrop of our founding principles and will include many voices from the Radley community to add weight to the dialogue of its author, Clare Sargent, Radley Archivist. Every boy currently at Radley College will have his name featured in our Anniversary book to mark their place in its history.

We are also delighted to reveal our Anniversary logo for the 175th Year, which we are simply naming Radley 175. You will see this more and more in the build-up to 2022 as we take you on a journey from Radley in 1847, to Radley today... and beyond.

Caroline Monaghan Radleian Society Manager

Old Radleian Events Overview 2021

Radley For Life virtual business events

Business networking events to bring parents and ORs together online around a current business theme or topic.

‘A career in TV and Film’ with Jamie Campbell (1990) – 20th January ‘Exploring Entrepreneurism’ with Archie Hewlett (2007) – 27th January (tbc)

We will be running additional virtual events for parents and ORs in the Lent Term. Look out for email updates in the New Year.

We are always looking for ideas for themes for our networking events. Please do get in touch!

Chapel Preview 23rd March

Radleian Society AGM 24th April 2021

A Celebration of Dennis Silk 19th June 2021

Ronnie Howard Thanksgiving 12th June 2021

The Mariners’ Challenge 12th June 2021

Radley Reunion Day September (tbc)

Designed to reunite Old Radleians and bring them up to date with changes in the school.

Radley 25 (+ 26*) Year Reunion

Radley 50 (+ 51*) Year Reunion

*We will combine year groups to include those who missed their reunion in 2020 due to the pandemic.

We will also be running a number of events in London next year, including Parent Year Group Drinks, Radley 10 year reunion and the OR Dinner. We will update you when the situation is clearer in the New Year. All event dates are subject to change. We will keep you up to date via email.

RADLEIAN SOCIETY

Radley College, Abingdon, OX14 2HR