In Memoriam

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

Professor James Dale (1949)

1931 to February 2014 We were kindly informed of the passing of James Dale by OR, Roger Mew, who was in contact with Anne van Dyk (née Stevens), a former pupil at Royal Wanstead School. She met James after emigrating to Canada and provided this update.

I met Dr Jim Dale when I attended a series of literary lectures that he gave at the local library. In his first lecture, he was describing a Presbyterian minister in East London who set up an Infant Orphan Asylum. I put my hand up and said: ‘Dr Andrew Reed?’ and Jim’s mouth fell open. What a small world. We developed a strong connection through that.

The obituary from the press read:

“Jim died peacefully on 13th February 2014, after a short illness, and will be sadly missed by his family and friends. Loving husband of Jennifer Beck, father of Bob (Martha), Alison and Sandy (Angela). Grandfather of Anna, Maggie, and James. Born in Mussoorie, India, and then lived in England until immigrating to Canada in the late 1950s. Graduate of Cambridge University, England, former Professor of English Literature at McMaster University (1967-1995) and completed his Masters of Divinity while in his 70s. Lover of music, art, history, and ice cream, Jim will be fondly remembered for his puns, spoonerisms, infectious laughter, and booming baritone, not to mention his insatiable appetite for reading.”

Clarice Richards, London Orphan School

March 1927 to January 2018 This tribute has been kindly provided by Carolyn Richard, daughter of Clarice.

Clarice May Marsh was born on 8th March 1927 in Birkenhead, the daughter of Doris and Ernest Marsh and sister to Audrey Mary and John Ernest.

Sadly, her father died when she was two years old so the family moved back to South London and Clarice and John went to the London Orphan School in Watford.

At 21, she began her nursing training at the South London Hospital for Women & Children becoming a “Registered Nurse” in 1951. Clarice was always a lively, sociable woman and was involved in local amateur dramatics and fulfilled her enjoyment of the countryside by completing various bicycle tours. After completing her Midwifery course in Manchester, she went to Canada. On her return, she met Alan and they married on 29th March 1958 and settled in Reigate where Clarice became the nurse at a local GP’s surgery. A year later Carolyn, her daughter, was born.

The family moved to Seaford in 1963 where Clarice, after working at a local nursing home, opened a nursery school in a church hall. She then moved to become the assistant matron at the Pilgrims School for asthmatic children. The family moved to Worthing in 1975 where Clarice became a ward sister at Worthing Hospital. Deciding the demands of the hospital were too much, she moved to become house mother for Dorset House at Rosemead School in Littlehampton. In 1983 Clarice and Alan celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, but sadly later in the year Alan died suddenly.

After this tragedy, Clarice moved to Littlehampton where she lived the rest of

her life finally retiring as a registered nurse in 1994. Always wanting to be busy and with a great love of birds, she volunteered at the Wildlife and Wetland Trust at Arundel for 20 years. In her later years, she continued to support her friends and family, volunteering for over 10 years at St Bridget’s, Carolyn’s place of work. She worshipped at Littlehampton United church for over 40 years, fulfilling several roles within the church. She died at home on 7th January 2018 with her daughter by her side.

Later in life she returned to the School and contacted other Old Reedonians; she was very proud of this and had great affection for her time at School.

Barbara Sloper (Dogmersfield 1947)

December 1930 to August 2018 We learned of the sad death of Barbara Sloper (née Willcox) in August 2018 from OR, Robert Andrews, as Barbara and his aunt, OR Marion Venus were good friends.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure any information from the family, but I do remember having had lovely chats with Barbara, who wanted especially to find out more about Whittlebury and the plane crash that happened there in 1943. I sent her some articles from the Reeder magazine (taken from the Reed’s Heritage site) that she had not seen and was very pleased to receive. I also discovered that she was friends with Rosalind Marson, Eileen Laidman, Joan Creedy (née McDonald) and Christine Ward, loved her time at Reed’s and was in the same tennis VI team as Marion. Barbara has two daughters and four grandchildren, and this lovely photo was kindly taken by Robert just a week before her death.

Sharmaine

Clive Holgate (Bristowe 1958)

November 1941 to September 2018 This lovely tribute has very kindly been compiled by Clive’s great friend and confidante, OR Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959), with the co-operation of the Holgate family.

Just two months before Clive was born, his little sister Cynthia died aged nine months. This sad event affected his mother deeply and, as a consequence, she became ill and moved away from the family. Clive’s father’s travelling job meant periods away from home so he arranged for Clive, aged about four, to join Royal Wanstead School as a boarder in the nursery. At five, he moved into the Prep which was where I met him on my first day in September 1947. On passing the 11+ exam, Clive transferred to Reed’s in 1953.

Aged 14, with a group of other boys, he was due to be Confirmed by the Bishop of Guildford. Just prior to the service, it was discovered that Clive had not been baptised, a prerequisite for Confirmation, so the Bishop hurriedly had to convene a Service of Baptism and I was reluctantly appointed Clive’s Godfather even though he was older than me!

In 1959, Clive went to college and qualified as a chartered surveyor. He was employed by City of London Building Surveyors’ Office based in Blackfriars where he had an interesting time with responsibility for several important buildings. OR Nick Jenkins has told me that he once saw a photo of Clive in a safety harness attached to the 111 metre high cross of St Paul’s Cathedral, the tallest point, where he had to make an essential inspection!

Clive married Carol in 1969, they moved to Hong Kong where Clive had secured a post as a government building surveyor. They had two children but sadly divorced and Carol returned to the UK with the children. Later Clive met Pauline, a Hong Kong resident; they were married in the UK and had a son, OR Michael Holgate, who also attended Reed’s in the late 1990s.

During his time in Hong Kong, Clive joined Hebe Haven Yacht Club and bought a small sailing boat, becoming Club Secretary, a post he held for 44 years. My wife, Gloria and I visited Clive and a mutual friend of ours in Hong Kong, Alan, in 1989 visiting places with them that no tourist would normally find.

Sadly the marriage to Pauline ended in divorce, but after meeting Wilma at the yacht club, Clive and she moved to Manila with her son Andrew where later they married.

For several decades Clive held a senior position in Freemasonry and from Hong Kong, and later from Manila, was a regular business visitor to Lodges (some of which he co-founded) in Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and Singapore. One of his hobbies was lawn bowls while other social life revolved around his long-term membership of the Manila Club for expats, where he once entertained OR Malcolm Maries and wife Joy.

Clive had endured ill health in recent years having contracted a severe bout of recurrent shingles, a mild stroke, dengue fever and pneumonia, but it was sudden aggressive cancer of the throat triggering cardiac arrest which caused his death aged 76 after a week in a Manila hospital. In keeping with Clive’s wishes, Wilma and son, Andrew, travelled to Hong Kong where the Hebe Haven Yacht Club had arranged to sail them to Clive’s favourite cove where his ashes were scattered over the water.

Clive visited the UK most years and regularly attended Reed’s Reunions. His and my families were close since we were aged five and I was proud to have been best man at his first two weddings. As a dear friend of mine, he is greatly missed.

John Alvey CB (Blathwayt 1940), former Govenor

June 1925 to January 2019 It is with a heavy heart that we heard the news of the sad death of John from his son, David. John was a very well-known figure at the School, having been a Governor from 1980 to 1993 and a loyal supporter of the Foundation. The family have given us permission to reproduce extracts from the obituary which appeared in The Telegraph on 28th February which gives us a brief glimpse of the visionary that John was.

John Alvey was born in Surrey on 19th June 1925, to George Alvey, a post office clerk who died when John was a child, and his wife, Hilda, née Pellatt. John was at Reed’s when it was at Watford; having left at 15 he worked as an office boy at the London Stock Exchange until he joined the Royal Navy in 1943 as a radio mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm. Post war, he achieved a First in Engineering at the Northampton Polytechnic in Clerkenwell.

He joined the Royal Naval Scientific Service in 1950, specialising in microwave valves at its Baldock laboratory. In the late 1950s he spent two years in the US, and in 1961 moved to the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment to work on radar systems. Having completed the Senior Officers’ War Course at Greenwich, he became head of weapons projects in 1968 with responsibility for naval missile systems such as Sea Dart and Sea Wolf.

Alvey spent 30 years in the Ministry of Defence on research and procurement work, rising to be chief scientist for the RAF, before joining Post Office Telecommunications – shortly before it became BT – as senior director of technology in 1980, the same year he was appointed CB.

In an era of rapid changes in technology, Alvey took charge of a £90 million annual R&D budget which doubled over the following years as BT’s Martlesham laboratories made advances in areas such as switching systems, optical fibres and video communications. In 1983 he was promoted to BT’s main board as managing director of development and procurement, as well as ‘engineer-in-chief’. His authoritative presence was important to the hi-tech corporate image that boosted the privatisation sale of BT shares in 1984.

Three years earlier, Alvey had been asked by Kenneth Baker, the Minister for Information Technology, to chair a committee that would formulate a British response to Japan’s declared aim of developing ‘fifth generation’ computers – using artificial intelligence, voice input and other features, then largely still in the realm of science fiction.

The Japanese were admired for their ability to harness their corporations and ministries in pursuit of national economic goals. Alvey’s brief was to design a comparable support structure for UK innovation in the IT field. His committee’s proposal of a £350 million R&D fund, £200 million of it to be provided by Government, ran contrary to Thatcherite prejudices against intervention in industry and was criticised in some quarters for vagueness in its objectives.

‘Alvey’s brainchild helped wake industry and academia to the possibilities of artificial intelligence and advanced software engineering!’

But it won Cabinet approval in April 1983, and although Alvey himself took no executive role, it was titled the ‘Alvey Directorate’, staffed by secondees from companies such as GEC alongside Whitehall scientists, that set out to back cutting-edge ideas. Eventually more than 400 individual projects won funding, but the recipients were predominantly established electronics companies rather than new ventures. Though supporters claimed Alvey’s brainchild helped wake industry and academia to the possibilities of artificial intelligence and advanced software engineering, it could not arrest the decline of the UK as a global IT player.

After retiring from BT in 1986, he was chairman of Sira, which tested industrial equipment, and a director of LSI Logic, an American semiconductor and software company. He was also a vice president of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Sprightly in old age, he skied well into his seventies and maintained a devoted interest in his old school, Reed’s, at its post-war location in Cobham.

He married Celia Marson (also an OR) in 1955; she survives him with their three sons.

George Parker (Blathwayt 1954)

January 1938 to January 2019 This lovely tribute to George was kindly written by his just-as-lovely wife, Barbara, whom we were delighted to welcome to Reunion Day this year in honour of George.

Born in Harrow on 29th January 1938, George was the youngest of three boys. He attended Reed’s School with his brother, Alan, following the untimely death of their father. Starting as a seven-year-old and completing almost the whole of his education there, Reed’s always remained a very special place for him. As a fatherless child, he found the security, friendship and community that he needed among the other Foundationers. Some of his fondest memories were of the sports field, rugby in the winter and athletics in the summer. Amongst the personal effects displayed on the memory table at his funeral, were two sports medals awarded by Reed’s in 1954: High Jump 5’ 3½’ and Long Jump 20’ 4½’. Stashed in a tiny box with his Cyprus campaign medal, they had travelled with him through his life and around the globe.

George had an adventurous spirit and longed to travel the world. At the age of sixteen he applied to go to Australia to live and work on a sheep station, but his mother had other ideas. Upon completing his education, he became a salesman before his call up to National Service, where he was stationed in Cyprus with the RAF.

On demob, he returned home to join an advertising agency in London. Then at a dance at the Ritz Ballroom he met Barbara Handley. The couple started courting and on 13th January 1962, at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wembley, Barbara married George and they were united as Mr & Mrs Parker. The couple took a six-week passage and emigrated to New Zealand, where they set up home in Upper Hutt, just outside Wellington. George travelled the country repairing and servicing commercial printing machines and eventually started his own print business. The couple had two children, John and Bernice – and enjoyed 14 years of carefree Kiwi lifestyle. Then in 1976, the family returned to the UK where George continued in the printing business until he retired.

To keep himself occupied, George took up cooking and went to weekly classes. He and Barbara loved to travel, with good food and fine wine always high on the agenda. The couple took up skiing and continued to enjoy the sport through three new hips and an increasingly dodgy sense of balance. Before hanging up his ski boots, George took the whole family skiing in Austria as a treat for his 70th birthday.

George was a proud Old Reedonian who loved to attend the annual reunions. As his health declined, he was cared for in his final few months by Princess Alice Hospice in Esher. It was a comfort to him to be returning to the place he knew so well from his childhood. He passed away there peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Saturday 19th January 2019.

John Smallwood (Blathwayt 1964)

April 1945 to February 2019 We are grateful to John’s son and OR, Mark Smallwood, for providing this lovely insight into what his father got up to after Reed’s.

John passed away suddenly at his home in Brisbane, Australia early in February 2019; he was 73 years old.

He had led a full and varied life since leaving Reed’s School. Initially, he undertook a stint teaching English in what was then Persia, via VSO, before returning to the UK and joining the police. During his time with the force, he was awarded a Queen’s commendation for bravery for disarming a villain with a sawn-off shotgun.

After his years with the police and, subsequently, as a private investigator, John moved to Australia and began a new life in commercial real estate. He remained passionate about sport throughout his life, in particular cricket, rugby and, in his later years, cycling.

In 2013, John’s desire to help others led to the award of Senior Citizen of the Year in his community for his work volunteering at the Redlands Multi-Sport Club, where he was instrumental in project managing extensions, organising contractors and overseeing construction, as well as the Muddies Cricket Club.

In addition, in later life, he became a great supporter of causes and raised money cycling around Vietnam for three months in 2009 and volunteered at a Vietnam hostel for people with severe disabilities. He also

John Smallwood, top middle

cycled 7000 kilometres across the United States, towing a trailer with his belongings, to raise money for the hostel, enduring storms, rain, fog, pounding winds, freezing cold and was even hit by a car on his final day.

John is survived by his wife Lee, three sons in the UK, one in the Middle East, a son and daughter in Australia along with 11 grandchildren to date.

Dorothy Brookes (Dogmersfield 1939)

September 1923 to February 2019 We were contacted by Dorothy’s nephew, Cliff Brookes, who conveyed the sad news that his aunt had passed away on 6th February 2019.

The funeral was held on 28th February at West Herts Crematorium, Watford.

James McMillan (former Governor & Vice President)

October 1925 to March 2019 With thanks to ORs Alistair McMillan (Capel 1976) and Roy McMillan (Capel 1981) for this wonderful tribute to their father.

From being – at the time – the youngestever Conservative candidate (in Glasgow in 1950) to coming to London at the behest of Max Beaverbrook himself, to writing speeches for Margaret Thatcher, James’ professional life was dedicated to history, journalism and politics.

However, ‘Jimmy’ did not shine at conventional education but was certainly studious when his interest was piqued; rather than just playing truant, he spent hours in the library reading the books of international diplomatic telegrams.

He joined the Home Guard while under 18 and then the Army in late 1944. In Education Corps in India, James found his voice for speaking, teaching and imparting knowledge. Ironically, given his past, he was a natural educator.

As a soldier, once the War had finished, he was able to go to Glasgow University where he achieved a Second Class Honours degree in Economics.

His interest in politics grew alongside a love of journalism, and he stood for the Conservatives in two elections in Coatbridge & Airdrie while at university, but lost both elections to the incumbent. Glasgow at the time was a staunch Labour seat and it would have been easy for the Conservative candidate to be almost invisible but, his ability as a speaker and his work with The Glasgow Herald brought him to the attention of Max Beaverbrook, who took him on in his papers in Glasgow, before he moved down to London to join The Daily Express in 1957. And all this came about by chance: he was spotted at a meeting by John Craik Henderson, a friend of Beaverbrook’s, who just happened to hear James speaking and passed on his name, thus leading to him being invited to meet one of the great press barons of the day.

During his time with The Daily Express, he met many of the national and international leaders of the time and travelled widely. He did many broadcasts on British TV and radio, and a monthly commentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

He also wrote more than a dozen books on political, economic or social history, ranging from a critique of the United Nations to a look at the vanity and venality behind the honours system, a history of Scotland, and four books looking at British life from 1914 to 1975.

After leaving The Express in 1985, he became a governor at Reed’s School for many years, volunteered as a Samaritan, helped at the desk of the local police station, and continued to speak, giving many lectures to different associations and groups.

Until his second stroke at 80, he played tennis and golf and travelled extensively to widen his knowledge (and enjoy the sun). At the many dinner parties he and his wife Doreen gave, he would hold court (he told wonderful jokes), but he was a keen listener and endlessly interested in what others had to say. However, throughout his life, his family and friends were the most important part of his world. Of those, the key and linchpin was his wife of 63 years, Doreen. He had first met her when he was 17 and was devoted to her all his life. As a father and family man, he was hugely supportive – always present at his children’s events, from under-10 football matches to graduations and beyond – gentle, funny, inventive and always able to take a joke (many jokes!) at his own expense with delight.

Doreen died in 2016 and James is survived by their four children, Doreen, Alistair, Roy and Graham and seven grandchildren.

Stafford Coldwell (1939)

1924 to March 2019 We were informed of the sad death of Stafford in March 2019 by his wife who said that his memories and fondness for his old school was always a constant for him; what a lovely message.

We send all our condolences to her and his family. The photo was taken at Reunion Day in 1992 with Stafford sharing a joke with member of staff, Sarah Hammond.

Peter Jebens (Blathwayt 1956)

August 1939 to March 2019 We are grateful to David Shiner (Bristowe 1956) for putting together this personal tribute to his long-term friend.

Being born in August 1939 in Germany to an English mother and German father was hardly the most comfortable of circumstances, but when Peter lost his father during the War and moved to England, he was fortunate to secure a place at Reed’s. He joined The Close in 1950 where we met, moving up the School together and both leaving in 1956.

Peter went into advertising, joining a small agency and studying at the College

for the Distributive Trades to gain his Institute of Practitioners in Advertising qualifications.

He then took a position in the advertising department at Ronson Products in London and, ultimately, held the position of marketing manager for the electrical division. In 1975 Peter and two other executives had the opportunity of introducing the Breville sandwich toaster to the UK, so they quit Ronson’s and set up a business marketing this product. It was so successful, that it was taken over by Dreamland, who appointed their own executives so Peter found himself redundant. This allowed him to devote his energies in support of his great interest in waterways.

In 1966 Peter responded to a letter in his local newspaper suggesting something should be done about the derelict state of the Basingstoke Canal. With a handful of others, the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society was formed and Peter put together a booklet ‘Basingstoke Canal – The Case for Restoration’ which, when published in 1968, attracting many new members to the Society. He twice received the Inland Waterways Association’s award for the best canal society publication and was headhunted to help launch the ‘Thames User’ magazine.

Peter’s world changed dramatically in 2003 when he suffered a stroke which confined him to a wheelchair. This restricted his life considerably although, in 2011, with help from his sister, Jutta, he was able to attend Reunion Day at Cobham. He had to leave his home in Farnham and relocate to a ground-floor apartment which, fittingly, was on the banks of the Basingstoke Canal.

Peter was married twice. Sadly, neither union lasted although he remained on amicable terms, with both attending his funeral. A daughter, Kate, came from his first marriage and, later, two granddaughters, Scarlett and Poppy.

Peter was best man at my wedding in 1963 and we set out for the church from the flat he and I shared in Knatchbull Road, Lambeth. While living there we spent many evenings in the Temple Bar, Walworth Road, and in the amazing winter of 1962/63, when freezing temperatures were maintained from December to February, our local hostelry was effectively cleared when the landlord called ‘Time’ and immediately opened all the windows.

Peter’s condition made him vulnerable to infection and he was hospitalised on several occasions for treatment. His death followed an infection which developed into pneumonia and he died in Frimley Park Hospital on March 15th. His funeral was held at Guildford Crematorium on May 9th attended by family and a great many friends. Those present with a school connection were, Roger Mew, David Lowe, my sister Jennie Abbott (Dogmersfield), my wife Liz and me.

Cliff Connick (Mullens 1935)

February 1920 to April 2019 Our thanks go to Chris Connick, son of Cliff, for sending us this lovely tribute to his father.

Our dad, who we always called Da, was born in Camberwell Green above the family butchers’ shop. When he was seven years old, his father passed away and so he started at Reed’s as a Foundation boarder.

At the age of 19, Cliff joined the army: in May 1940 he was in in Northern France near the Belgium border when the Germans attacked. In his words, ‘All hell broke loose’, and he was running for his life. Cliff eventually made it to Dunkirk and, after a time, he managed to get on a damaged boat which limped back to England. However, when the white cliffs of Dover were in sight and he thought he was home, the boat turned and headed back to France. He recalled this as one of the lowest points in his life. He was then in France for some time and his family had given him up for lost, they were very joyful to see him return.

Cliff’s first job was with Burmah Oil and in 1935 it gave him a salary of £50 a year. It was here he met our mother (known fondly as ‘Mont’). They married in 1953 and had Andrew, Linda, Chris and Alison. Cliff continued to work for Burmah Oil until 1973 when he took early retirement, but – always keen to get involved – he ended up working full-time for Phillips the auctioneers.

Cliff was always active and had many hobbies. We always had a model railway set in the loft which was an attraction for many visitors. Both Da and Mont were sporty and would regularly play, tennis, squash and swim. He loved playing cards; became a regular backgammon competitor (playing nationally and running his own local club); played table tennis until he was well into his 80s and, as a good squash player, he beat my brother-in-law, Chris, a young 29-yearold, aged 65.

Da was very much a family man and loved having family events. We still have an annual family picnic, which he initiated, attended by around 50 people.

Cliff was blessed with good health all his life until he suffered a stroke in 2012. This last chapter of his life was a little frustrating, but we are all fortunate to have had these extra few years and, of course, to see Mont at his side with her unending care and devotion: what more could he have asked for.

Cliff has nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, his lesson to us was: ‘life in moderation and make the most of everything’, as he always did, even aged 99 and two months.

Maurice Webb (Capel 1956)

January 1939 to July 2019 With our appreciation to the Webb family and Chris Webb, in particular, for this touching tribute to their father.

Maurice was born in Hammersmith and went to Farrance Street Secondary Modern, Limehouse before boarding at Reed’s from 1951. He had many happy memories of School including being an active member of the rugby team and kept in touch right up until he passed away. We found an entry that he wrote in the Reeder magazine in 2016 that describes the next phase of his life – this is an extract:

“After leaving Reed’s in 1956, I was lucky enough, with the help of the Secretary to the Governors, to obtain Articles with a City of London firm of chartered accountants. One of the first employees I met was a Mr T Leonard Scott: this was with some intimidation as it was only in 1953 that he also had left Reed’s, as a Prefect! We soon became friends, doing a number of audits together and, such was the friendship, that I asked Len to be my best man when I married Edna in 1962 and this ‘honour’ was reciprocated when he married Pat a little later.” As mentioned in his narrative, Maurice married his beloved Edna in March 1962, at All Saints Church Clapham Park, and they celebrated their 57th anniversary earlier this year. They had two sons Chris and Nick and, in time, five grandchildren.

The Webb family moved to the Bournemouth area in the 1970s, where Maurice remained for the rest of his life working as a Partner of successful local accountants, Reid York & Co. He became well-connected across the local community and was liked and respected by many people.

One of Maurice’s keen passions, in later life (in addition to Edna and the music of Andre Rieu), was AFC Bournemouth. He followed the team avidly being not only a long-term season ticket holder, but also a sponsor of their kit. In his memory, AFCB kindly agreed to include a photograph featured in their programme for the first match of the new season. It is of Maurice with then player and now Assistant Manager, Jason Tindall, in the 1990s when Maurice sponsored him.

If there was more time, there are many other things that we could expand upon, such as his extensive lawnmower collection, his fruit juice fad diet, his attention to detail, his love of gadgets, his attempts at DIY or his refusal, towards the end of his life, to stay in his bed when the Marie Curie Nurses told him to do so!

Ian Fisken (Blathwayt 1958)

March 1939 to May 2019 A touching tribute from dear friend and fellow OR, Roger Metcalf.

Ian came to the Close at Reed’s in 1950 following the death of his father who was in the RAF. He was always an individual and did not run with the crowd, so we were bound to link up during our sojourn despite being in different houses.

Ian left in 1958 and went on to study at Exeter University which, unfortunately, did not respond to his unique charm and personality, so he had another try at Goldsmiths College but with equal success. However, these minor setbacks did not inhibit his career path and he joined Woolworths as a trainee manager which led to him being offered a position in Guernsey where he met and later married Marilyn. He was promoted and returned to England but having had the taste for island life, returned to set up his own grocery store in St Peter Port.

Two children later – Duncan and Georgina – he and Marilyn separated and Ian took on a successful café, still in St Peter Port. Running a busy cafe is not for the faint-hearted and it slowly took its toll on his health. Luckily, he had met and set-up house with Mary and, together, they purchased and let a hairdressing saloon thus leaving Ian time for his boat and fishing trips.

He is sadly missed by family and friends and me in particular, as I am sure you will concur that in life you generally have that special relationship with just one close mate: that was us – Ian and Roger. We did not have to meet often but when needed, we were there together. Goodbye old friend.

Richard Hoare (Mullens 1972)

August 1953 to July 2019 We were informed by former OR President, Nigel Taunt, that sadly Richard passed away on 1st July.

Nigel was told by mutual friends that Richard had been diagnosed with cancer and his health declined quickly. Richard leaves his wife, Mary, a daughter, Ruth, a son, David and two grandchildren.

Our condolences go Richard’s family and OR brother, Geoffrey Hoare.

Michael Toole-Stott (Blathwayt 1967)

February 1951 to August 2019 We are grateful to Chris Hawkins for letting us know about the sad death of Michael which he read about in the Telegraph:

‘Michael Patrick passed away peacefully on 12th August 2019, aged 68. Beloved husband of Rita, adored father of Jennifer, eternal brother of Timothy and a cherished friend to many all around the world.’

Our condolences go Michael’s family and OR brother, Tim Toole-Stott.

Kathleen Parsons (née Larkin)

April 1931 to September 2019 Kathleen followed her elder brother, Philip Larkin, to Reed’s School, after the death of their father. She later attended Gartlett School in Watford and then went on to secretarial college in London. Her great desire was to be a nurse and started training, only for it be halted by illness. However, Kathleen stayed in the medical field in a secretarial role for most of her working life, primarily at University College Hospital.

She lived in Watford and cared for her mother until her death, after which she married Peter Parsons in 1982 and moved to Boyton, near Launceston in Cornwall. They had 28 happy years together enjoying life in the village and travelling abroad. She and Peter had several dogs over the years and their last one, Daisy, was Kathleen’s great companion after Peter died in 2010. Kathleen (known as Katy in Cornwall) stayed in the village until her death, supported by friends and neighbours locally, and visits from her nieces and nephew.

Her funeral was attended by many friends from different stages of her life with whom she’d stayed in touch by letter, phone and – latterly - by email on her iPad!

Owen Thomas (Blathwayt 1941)

August 1926 to September 2019 We received this lovely note from Ann, Owen’s wife, to whom we send all our condolences on her loss.

“I am writing to let you know that my husband, Owen Thomas, died very peacefully at home after a short period of Hospice at Home care on Saturday 7th September aged 93.

Owen was a pupil at Watford from the age of 8 from 1934, before being evacuated to Totnes in 1939. He had many fond, vivid memories of his years at this amazing school, remembering a number of teachers for their wisdom and learning.

His prowess leaned to the practical side and in his last year at Totnes, Matron signed him off sick in order for him to make a doll’s house for her niece as a Christmas present! This stood him in good stead when he attended Twickenham Art School after his national service in Egypt.

We attended a reunion three of four years ago at Reed’s where he enjoyed being the oldest pupil there and reliving good memories!

He always spoke with great affection of The London Orphan School and I personally want to thank you for all the Godly input during Owen’s school years which had such a profound influence into the rest of his life.”

Brian Lovelace (Mullens 1950)

January 1933 to September 2019 Our thanks go to Ken Sambrook (Mullens 1949) for taking the time to let us know about the sad death of his life-long friend, Brian, on 25th September 2019. We were able to speak to Lesley, his widow, and pass on our condolences to her and all the Lovelace family. Leslie provided this lovely photo of Brian, who had very fond memories of his time at Reed’s and especially the antics the boys got up to in Totnes! She mentioned that Brian spent most of his working life with Air France, with special responsibility for Concorde!

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

Richard Nicholson

(Head of Media Studies/CPHSE)

April 1948 to May 2019 It was with heavy hearts that we reported the sad death of Richard in May 2019. ‘Reggie’ – as he was affectionately called – was a long serving master and Head of Media Studies who was loved and respected by staff and pupils alike. He was well known for his dry wit, meticulous organisation, love of opera and classical music and encyclopaedic knowledge, among other things.

His intellect shone through from an early age, as he gained a scholarship to attend King’s College, Wimbledon and followed by a place at Keble College, Oxford. He then secured a post-grad teaching qualification at the University of Wales, with his first teaching post being in the Modern Languages Department at Haverfordwest Grammar School. He lectured in Music at the University of Wales and finally arrived at Reed’s in 1977.

Tragically, on his retirement in 2008, Richard’s was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease which got progressively worse over the years. However, this did not stop him from keeping a close eye on all the developments at Reed’s and happily attending Speech Day in 2017 where he had the chance to meet up with one of his former pupils, Tim Henman OBE.

His funeral was held at held at Kingston Crematorium on 7th July and was attended by his family, including his two brothers, many former and current members of Reed’s staff, representatives from his beloved Long Ditton Cricket Club, the Recorded Vocal Arts Society and friends and neighbours. It was a wonderful celebration of a very special gentleman with incredible music (as one would imagine) and poignant readings. The Reverend conducting the service also offered some inspiring words: ‘Life is not about duration, but rather your donation to it’ – we can quite certainly say that Richard donated a lot to both his and others’ lives.

We held a special memorial service at Reed’s to celebrate Richard’s life on Tuesday 1st October to which former colleagues and Old Reedonians who knew him were invited.

Here is a personal tribute from Geoff Martin, former Second Master at Reed’s who worked with Richard for many years:

I always thought of Richard as a man of passionate interests and attention to detail. His knowledge of singing, and opera in particular, was quite extraordinary: he could accurately identify not only the singers but often when and where the recording had been made and who was conducting.

In the Common Room, we were never allowed to divulge the results of horse races because at home he had set his VCR to record every race which he would watch later, although – to the best of my knowledge – he never placed bets.

Richard’s horticultural knowledge was also very extensive and his attention to detail went to recording exact details of each species. He always produced far too many plants and would regularly bring some into the Common Room for others to take away. It was a slight mystery how he got them to Reed’s as he never drove a car and usually travelled in by bike and train.

His less long-lasting interests were golf, rugby, cricket umpiring and steam railways.

Golf had largely been given up by the time he arrived at Reed’s from Haverfordwest and he played rugby as a winger for the Old Reedonians for a few seasons. Cricket umpiring lasted a little longer, after taking the necessary qualifications to officiate at league matches. The interest in steam railways prompts the memory of Richard persuading a colleague to drive him round parts of Sussex and Kent with a very precise timetable of when a particular train would be at a particular level crossing, bridge, station etc.

As a teacher Richard was painstaking in his preparation. In his early days at Reed’s he would be up until the early hours preparing lessons literally to the minute. When he moved from modern languages to teaching Media Studies at A Level, his preparation was meticulous and the range and variety of teaching materials he assembled was extraordinary; those who described Media Subjects as a soft subject should have attended Richard’s lessons and observed his exacting standards.