Obituaries

Going the Distance

Bryan Peter Stephenson (56-66)

Born 20 September 1948, died 14 May 2016, aged 67

Bryan also played Junior Wimbledon in 1965, when he reached the third round, but he did better when he played there again in 1966. Bryan was not just doing well at tennis, but also passing all his exams, so he gained a place at Christchurch College, Oxford, which he took up

Bryan was born and brought up in Low Fell, Gateshead, where he lived chosen for the combined Oxford and the match was played on courts two,

with his mother, elder brother, aunt and grandmother.

In 1956, after attending Musgrave School in Low Fell, Bryan went to the Newcastle Royal Grammar Junior School, where he was the youngest and smallest in his class. He did well academically and excelled at tennis.

In his early teens, Bryan was asked to join the National Junior Tennis squad, of Beechams in London. Beechams

but this would have meant leaving school, so he declined the offer.

In 1965, the RGS was invited to take part in the inaugural North of England Schools Tennis Trophy. Bryan was in the team of two that won the Trophy. In 1966 Bryan played for RGS in the customer of one, so he left Beechams.

competition again when they were runners up.

In 1966 Bryan also played for the RGS in the England Public Schools Tournament, which was held at Wimbledon. They reached the semifinal before losing to the eventual winners. As a result Bryan was chosen to play first couple for the English Public School’s team against the All on Wimbledon’s grass courts on the same day that England won the World Cup. He described it as a perfect day.

in 1967.

In his first year at Oxford, Bryan became the first Freshman to be Cambridge tennis team to play in the bi-annual match against Harvard and Yale for the Prentice Cup. The match was won by Oxford and Cambridge in the USA, and, two years later, Bryan was in the winning team again when three and four at Wimbledon.

In 1971 Bryan graduated and joined the Marketing Department had one of the best marketing training programmes in the country, so Bryan soon had a very sound foundation to his career.

By 1973 Bryan had decided that he would rather be in an agency than be a England Club. The match was played

He was learning fast and falling in love with advertising.

Bryan said that the London social scene of the 70s was the perfect place for an openly gay man to be in his 20s, and enjoyed it to the full.

Bryan worked for four agencies in London before moving to New Zealand in 1982, where he continued to enjoy great success in advertising, and began winning awards for his work.

In 1984 Bryan moved to Melbourne and then in 1988 to Sydney, where he decided to make his home. During his time in Sydney he not only continued to enjoy professional success, but also succeeded in overcoming his problems with alcohol. With the help of Alcoholics Anonymous he became, and remained, sober for the rest of his life.

In 1997 Bryan accepted an assignment in Bangkok that was to last for four years, during which time he became increasingly disillusioned with the advertising business.

When Bryan returned to Sydney, he enrolled to study at the Australian School of Applied Psychology. After that he became a health education officer at the Herbert Street Clinic Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Service in the Royal North Shore Hospital. Bryan was pleased that his ability, and personal experience, made it possible for him to help others.

Bryan had an enjoyable life in Sydney. He had challenging work and tennis, together with plenty of leisure activities.

Early in 2012 Bryan became ill and was eventually diagnosed with cancer. He was treated by a very good team and had great support from his circle of close friends in Sydney, but, early in 2016, his condition declined rapidly and he died peacefully with good friends at his side.

By Mike Stephenson (53-62)

Rodney Martin Turner (36-46)

Born 22 May 1928, died 11 April 2016, aged 87

In the autumn of 1946 he started his training at the Medical School of King’s College in Newcastle. During his final year as a houseman at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) he spotted an attractive student nurse on the children’s ward. How he wooed and won his Eileen he told in a memorable and fluent speech at their golden wedding celebrations in Bamburgh in 2005. National Service saw him in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) as a There, in a place often stated to be one

Rodney entered the school in September 1936, a clever boy in a year of more than a few clever boys. No nickname for him, he was always Turner and later on Rodney. Three years in the Junior School where he was always top or near of his class. He was brought up with his sister in a fairly conventional family in West Jesmond.

1 September 1939 brought evacuation to Penrith and the Senior School. He was fortunate that for the five years the RGS was evacuated he was in the same billet in Croft Avenue looked after by a widow and two unmarried daughters. He revelled in his independence and with a new bicycle enjoyed the country and The Lakes. He was a star of the Junior Players and made a memorable Mrs Malaprop in The Rivals. School Certificate was taken in Penrith in the summer of 1944. Although he got far better results in arts subjects than the sciences he had

So, on return from evacuation in 1944 he joined the Medical Sixth, but Rodney was something of a polymath. He was active in the Debating Society, a Plender Librarian, sergeant in the JTC and a Senior Prefect.

qualified doctor. Not for Rodney a commonplace posting. Bermuda and Hong Kong were his stations and he thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of foreign travel. On his return he decided against specialisation. ‘I wanted a wife, a home and a job’, he wrote. So he married in June 1955 and moved to a new life joining a practice in Alnwick. decided to become a doctor.

of the best places to live in the UK, they brought up their three children.

However, Rodney knew that general practice was developing and in 1970 he moved to a new community health centre in the ‘concrete jungle’ of the newly-built Thamesmead. It was a new concept with the ‘whole person’ catered for. Nurses, social workers, marriage guidance among other specialities, including research and a link to Guy’s Hospital, where Rodney taught. He wrote a textbook and co-authored research papers.

On retirement, Eileen and he bought a flat in Richmond, Surrey, and a house in Morpeth, so as to be near their now grown up children; winters in the south, summers in the north. Rodney was active in medical consultancy work in the Middle East, tracing the ancestry of his mother’s family, which involved lunch with a duchess and the discovery that a forebear won a Victoria Cross in New Zealand, and above all else, time for travel.

Not for them the tourist hotspots. They went to Ethiopia, Nepal, Pakistan, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands and other unconventional destinations.

Rodney was chairman of the London branch of the ONA, and was angry when the then secretary refused the late dinner application of the most eminent ON of his time Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor (3849). He was also chairman of the Northumbria Club. He published a book of cases from his 40 years as a GP, well written, and showing what a kind and caring doctor he was. They decided to settle in Morpeth, and Rodney tended a splendid garden which ran down to the Wansbeck. In 2008 they were flooded out and were rescued by the RSPCA. They were out of their home for many months and they had one or two alarms in future years. The council built a wall in the back garden, as part of the town’s flood defences which rather spoilt the garden and ironically the water had entered by the front door, not the back.

One example of Rodney’s kindness and compassion: one of our classmates who lived in Newcastle developed mobility problems and Rodney would drive him to a place of his choosing. The recipient of Rodney’s time said, “He gave me back my county”.

Dogged by increasing deafness and mobility problems he nevertheless enjoyed his later years; reading his beloved Trollope. We will miss him.

He leaves a widow, three children and eight grandchildren.

Derrick (seated front row, to the right of master, Colin Dales) in the Tennis Team photo of 1957

Derrick arrived at the RGS in 1955. His father and family had moved from Glasgow where Derrick had attended friends since. Derrick and Di moved to York

Hutchesons’ Grammar School.

Derrick was an accomplished sportsman, already a junior Scottish tennis champion, he joined the school’s tennis team then run by Colin Dales (50-86). He played fullCheshire, and it was there that their two

back for the 1st XV as well as for Novos. He was also a member of the boxing team under Donald ‘Spitty’ Meaken (24-65).

His academic career flourished: he was a natural linguist and studied both German were booked.

and Russian under Anatole Theakstone (25-61). His German was fine-tuned by frequent visits to the home of his good friend and fellow tennis team member, Elkhart Ritz where German was spoken to help the boys become proficient.

in Economics at Newcastle University. He continued to play tennis at county level, as well as rugby for Novos. His working life began with the Royal Insurance Company in Newcastle.

He married in 1962: our families have been in 1964 with the Royal Insurance, he kept playing tennis and was a Yorkshire county singles finalist for three consecutive years.

In 1966 he was asked to go with the Royal to their Manchester office. Derrick and Di set up their new home in Poynton, daughters were born.

He continued to play tennis and to keep up his linguistic prowess in both German and Russian. In 1972 the family decided to move to New Zealand where Derrick had been offered a senior insurance position. Prepations were completed and the flights On leaving school, Derrick took a degree

The Frenz family were staying with us in Gosforth while saying adieu to family and friends in the area. Tragically Derrick was involved in a serious motoring accident on the Military Road. We were at the cinema that evening. It’s chilling to see one’s name come up on the screen asking that you go to the manager’s office immediately.

Derrick was in hospital for several weeks. He had suffered internal injuries and his left arm had been shattered. Thankfully he recovered, albeit his left arm was never quite the same.

The family moved to New Zealand: his original job had been filled. Things just didn’t work out and they returned to the UK in 1973. Derrick worked as an insurance advisor for a firm of solicitors in Cheshire. Di returned to teaching Music in a local senior school.

In 1974 Derrick accepted the position of insurance manager for the North West division of British Gas. He remained with British Gas until its privatisation. He retired in 1995.

Tennis had given way to golf, he kept up his German and Russian.

On our visits to Cheshire we played golf regularly at his home club of Mottram Hall. On their visits to Northumberland we would play at Foxton Hall in Alnmouth – happy days!

By WA Simpson (47-56)

Derrick’s last few years were blighted by the onset of vascular dementia. He died in May of this year. I shall miss him, we have been friends since school days. I’m sure that those who remember him at school will miss him too.

By Bryan Stevens (44-49)

Harry Davis (39-49)

Born 6 February 1931, died 6 December 2015, aged 84

Harry joined the Junior School in 1939, just as the evacuation to Penrith was taking place; in recent years he often attended the Penrith reunions. My friendship with him dates from 1942 when I joined him in what was then Form II.1; our careers were to run a surprisingly parallel course for the next half-century. We had our grounding in French from the legendary ‘Dickie’ Akhurst (19-57). I well remember the queue of quaking small boys outside his classroom breathlessly asking those emerging at lesson changeover: “What’s he like? What’s he like?”. That thorough grounding was to serve us well: we both went on to specialise in modern languages, taught by Anatole Theakstone (25-61), both going up to Cambridge on State Scholarships to read Modern and Mediaeval Languages, Harry to Pembroke and myself to Caius: our respective colleges sent us both on the same long vacation course at Heidelberg. Before university, however, there had been National Service, when we were both trained for the RAEC (Education Corps); Harry had the good luck to get a posting to Germany, whereas I never left these shores.

After graduation in 1954, Harry went on to spend a period as an English assistant at the Lycee Comeille in Rouen, as well as taking the PGCE (teaching certificate). His first teaching post was at Sir William Turner’s School in Redcar, where he was also an officer in the school’s CCF, an activity which he continued for the rest of his career. He stayed five years at Redcar before moving to Bradford Grammar School in 1961, where he became Head of Modern Languages in 1968, and remained there until his retirement, inspiring generations of young linguists with his love of French literature, and revered by pupils and colleagues alike for his kindliness, wisdom and gentle sense of humour.

In 1956 he married Janet, whom he had met at an ambassador’s reception during his time in France; they had two daughters and one son. Whilst at the RGS, Harry had not been involved in practical music; but I well remember his pride and joy in the radiogram he was given in his late teens, and the pleasure that he took in listening to music. This was to blossom into actual music-making in later years: he learnt to play the clarinet, and also the much rarer bass clarinet; and until recently was taking piano lessons. He also sang in several choirs. Janet has a fine soprano voice, and I have vivid memories of her singing Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock at their home, with Harry playing the clarinet part and myself on the piano. They were key members of their church choir, and very much involved in church affairs in other ways as well.

Harry and Janet were great travellers, as witness the range of places they visited: China, trekking in Nepal, Mexico, Peru, Iceland, and all over Europe including Scandinavia. In recent times Harry’s health began to falter; amongst other things, he lost sensation in his fingers, which meant that he could no longer play his beloved instruments. After quite a short period of more general illness, he passed away on 6 December 2015. The impressively large congregation at his funeral service is testimony to the affection and respect in which he was held. He is survived by Janet, their three children, and five grandchildren.

By Keith Moodie (42 - 50)

Kenneth Lofthouse Lupton(34-42)

Born 14 December 1922, died 24 April 2016, aged 93

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of the death in April of my husband, Kenneth Lofthouse Lupton, aged 93.

His memories of his time at the RGS remained vivid and he spoke of them fondly. He was evacuated to Penrith with the school during the war. He enjoyed the Penrith years. He felt more part of school, as previously he had only been in Newcastle, Monday to Friday. He enjoyed the extra-curricular opportunities in Penrith.

He spoke highly of the education he received and of his teachers. He loved music and continued to play the piano very competently until a few months 7 July 2016, aged 78. Rory Benet Allan(03-10) born 1991,

1933, died 16 May 2016, aged 83. Eric J Birbeck (37-43) born 1927,

died 20 June 2016, aged 83. John Cawood (54-61) former ONA aged 88.

William Robson (56-64) born 1948, 6 April 2016, aged 89.

died 30 September 2016, aged 84. before his death. A particular teacher –Michael Roberts (25-31 and 3441) –gave him a love of poetry which remained with him throughout his life.

He was appointed Head Boy for his last two terms before joining the army in May 1942. He became an officer in the course of his army training and served in India until 1946 when he was demobbed and returned to England to study Law at Newcastle University.

We were married in 1956 and had three children. In April we celebrated our Diamond Wedding.

Russell S Alexander (32-38) born 1921, died 11 April 2016, aged 94.

died 21 September 2016, aged 24.

died 8 July 2016, aged 88.

President, 94-96. Born 1942, died 15 August 2016, aged 73.

Robert AS Cowper (38-45) born 1928, died 28 September 2016,

Cecil Glenn (35-40) born 1926, died John K Kilner (47-56) former ONA President, 90-92. Born 1938, died

Peter Moffat Knox (44-50) born

D ‘Brian’ Lodge (43-50) born 1932,

Michael R Moat (45-54) born 1937, died 20 May 2016, aged 79.

Gordon Proud (34-39) born 1922, died 25 April 2016, aged 94.

died 8 May 2016, aged 68.

Nicholas Wright (42-50) born 1932, By Ruth Lupton Correction (Issue 97)

Page 10. We incorrectly named the wife of Richard ‘Rich’ J Logan as Jane. Her correct name is Linda.

Page 11. We incorrectly referred to Albert Logan as Richard Logan’s great-grandfather when in fact, he was his grandfather.

ONA Diary dates

RGS Senior School Carol Service

Thursday 8 December, 7pm, St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne

invited to this candle-lit Carol Service, accompanied by our Senior Choirs and the Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets not required

Northern Counties Club Luncheon

Last Friday of every month, Northern Counties Club, 11 Hood Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6LH

ONs regularly meet once a month at the Northern Counties Club, Hood Street on the last Friday of every month. If you are interested in going, please email PeterMagnay@ thomasmagnay.co.uk for further information. All students, staff, parents, ONs and friends are warmly