In Memory Old Giggleswickian Obituaries 2019 – 2020
Deceased AINSWORTH, STEPHEN MARK (P, 73) 11/11/1954 - 22/10/2019 Stephen joined Catteral Hall in 1964. BROADBENT, ROGER (C, 59) 18/04/1940 - 03/11/2019 Roger was Head of House in his final year at Giggleswick. COOPER, CHARLES (N, 1968) 1952 - 28/08/2020 CORNISH, ADRIAN JOHN (Dr) (N, 56) 29/06/1938 – 01/2020 FARNWORTH, JOHN ROSSALL (S, 44) 19/04/1927 - 04/05/2020 John attended Giggleswick as a boarder during the war years. He went on to study Agricultural Management at Seale-Hayne College near Newton Abbott in Devon. The majority of his working career was spent with the Ministry of Agriculture, serving many years at the Leicester office. Involved in the post-war Government initiative to improve food production, John managed projects concerning land drainage and water supply. Taking early retirement at 60, John received an invite to Buckingham Palace in recognition of his Civil Service career. In the years following retirement John continued playing county level bridge with the same partner, more than 40 years in total. He enjoyed organising walks with a local rambling group and was a qualified advisor at the Citizens Advice Bureau. Always a keen family man, John will be greatly missed leaving wife Kathleen, married for 65 years and three grown-up children. HAMILTON, ADRIAN DAVID (P, 65) 18/11/1949 - 31/07/2020 HARTLEY, ANDREW IAN (C, 78) 22/08/1962 – 04/2020 Andrew excelled on the cricket pitch scoring a century for the Catteral Hall XI in an opening stand, over 200 runs shared with his great pal Peter Atkinson. Andrew had a successful career in the hospitality sector across mainly the North West of England. He battled for over a year but finally fell at the end of April leaving his wife Gill, brother Richard and son Jack. HELLIWELL, GEOFFREY MAURICE (C, 47) 23/05/1929 - 24/02/2020 A Yorkshire man through and through, Geoff was born in Luddenden and attended Midgley Primary School followed by Heath Grammar School in Halifax, before joining Giggleswick in 1941. He became Head of House, Head of School, was in the cricket XI and Rugby XV, was Captain of Fives and CSM of the CCF and gained his Higher School Certificate in Classics, followed by Latin and English.
He went on to read English at Corpus Christi, Oxford. His love of reading, classics and antiquities were a constant in his life, not only as his choice of career as a schoolmaster but also in his hobbies and holidays: in Greece and the Mediterranean he always enjoyed visiting ruins and he restudied Greek in his late 80s to keep his mind sharp. After a short spell in the Army in Malaysia, he joined Abingdon School, where he met his wife, Anne Wood. He taught English there for 5 years, before moving to Rugby where he became Head of Department and House Master. He spent 35 years enjoying the variety that school mastering offers. He directed many plays, formed a sailing club, taught boys how to tie flies, founded a school printing press, ran a newspaper and latterly after retiring from teaching became the first Appeals Director, raising money for new projects at Rugby. In his real retirement, he enjoyed helping the PCC and Village Hall in Yelvertoft, Northamptonshire and created amongst other things, a skate park and openair amphitheatre. He fished all his life on the river Wharfe. His lifelong friend was his school mate John Lister, (C, 47) and together with their wives they enjoyed many trips and holidays abroad. HOGG, ROBERT DINSDALE (St, 52) 21/01/1935 - 14/05/2020 Robert was born in Settle. His family lived and farmed at Barton House in Long Preston. (His niece Fiona Thompson and her son Daniel continue to own the farm). Robert spent two years in the RAF in Ireland. He did his training as an accountant in Skipton. Later on, he went to London with Lucas Corporation who sent him for a two year stint to Canada in 1961, where he remained for the next 59 years, with many, many visits back to England to visit with his family. Robert was always a Yorkshireman. He was a very gentle man and a wonderful gentleman. LIGHTOWLER, CHARLES DAVID (Dr) (P, 54) 30/01/1936 - 2020 MARR, ROBERT BRIAN (S, 61) 29/03/1943 - 01/05/2020 MATTOCK, PETER RICHARD (M, 72) 27/08/1954 - 16/04/2020 See Page 25 in Gigg:News for the family tribute and Mattock Bursary feature. MOSS OBE, C. ROGER (St, 54) 21/05/1936 - 28/04/2020 See Page 22 in Gigg:News for OG Footsteps Feature. PEPPER, COLIN MICHAEL (P, 62) 27/04/1944 - 01/04/2020 Colin was a House Senior in his final year at Giggleswick.
Davies, Peter Kenyon (C, 54) 03/04/1937 - 01/06/2020 Peter Kenyon Davies died peacefully at Fairfield Hospital in Bury after a short illness, aged 83 years. Peter had in fact fought a much longer battle against Parkinson’s Disease over a number of years, never allowing it to impinge on his life as he continued to work across the country as a consultant engineer; only stopping when a failing heart intervened in his late 70’s. Peter is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Anne, four children and eight grandchildren. His abiding passions were
Jaram, Jeremy Ross (N, 57)
his family, his faith, his work and sport. He travelled the world with his work – but never forgot his schooldays. He was very proud to have been part of the Giggleswick community, kept an eye on the school’s progress and would visit whenever he was able. He had particular memories of his time in the cadets, playing rugby (which continued for many years until his knees said otherwise) and journeys by steam train between Blackburn and Settle through some of our most beautiful scenery. Peter left Giggleswick aged 17 to take up a 5-year special apprenticeship in engineering in Manchester, on the path to becoming a Chartered Mechanical Engineer.
main passion. He was a member at Hallowes for many years, and also Ganton in North Yorkshire where his father had also been a member.
23/07/1939 - 23/07/2018
Towards the end of his life, he worked out that he’d played at over 200 golf courses around the world, and this seemed proof to him of a life well spent.
Jerry was born in Scarborough, 6 weeks before the outbreak of WWII. His father, John ran the family building firm, and his mother, Vera’s family ran a paint business in Leeds. There are still many buildings in Scarborough which were built by Jerry’s father, and they also built much of the harbour wall on Scarborough’s north bay.
In 2009, Jerry became a Grandad for the first time. Jerry loved being a grandad, and the children thought the world of him. Since the grandchildren arrived, the whole family shared happy family holidays every year, mostly in Anglesey, and for 6 of those years in Rhosneigr.
At the age of 13 Jeremy (as he was known then) went away to boarding school in Giggleswick. He was given a pair of hairbrushes to take with him and continued to use them every day for the next 66 years. Jerry left Scalby in 1964 to study in Sheffield and met Marg the following year. They were married in July 1968, and around the same time, Jerry started working for British Rail on their graduate scheme. He was moved around and worked in York, Newcastle and Leeds, before they decided to settle back in Sheffield. Jerry worked as a Chartered Surveyor, for most of his career with the Abbey National in Chesterfield and Sheffield.
The house there was perfect, especially as Jerry became poorlier, as he could watch the children playing on the beach from his armchair in the window. Jerry battled bravely with illness for the last 2 years and ended his days peacefully in St Luke’s Hospice on his 79th Birthday.
In 1974 his daughter Amy arrived, and then 3 years later Polly was born. Jerry loved to travel, and visited America, India, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand, and many places in Europe and the British Isles. He retraced his grandfather’s footsteps years later to San Francisco and China. Jerry had hundreds of friends and wherever he went he would always bump into someone he knew. Jerry loved sport, both watching and playing. He played tennis and badminton, loved cricket,football and snooker, but golf was his
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Moore, Kevin Charles (Dr) (S, 59) 25/01/1941 - 12/07/2020
A Personal Tribute
Kevin, who died suddenly of heart failure on 12th July 2020 aged 79, was an affable and popular figure whilst he was at Gigg and with the many OGs with whom he remained in contact. He and I became good friends in our later years in the School, although we were in different Houses and studied different subjects – he the sciences and I languages. He was much more sporty, gaining his colours for rugby and cricket and being a keen boxer, whereas I was more academic and enjoyed fives and tennis. Nevertheless, we got on very well together and shared a sense of humour. In our final year, when we were both Heads of House and Praepostors, we signed up for the traditional day out to do the Three Peaks walk or run, but decided it would be more fun to take a bus to Morecambe and enjoy the delights of fish and chips (a rare treat compared with the school food) and the amusement park. Surprisingly, we got away with it! Having left school, we spent three adventurous weeks in the late summer of 1959 touring and camping around the continent in my secondhand VW Beetle, visiting seven different countries, using an old school atlas as our means of navigation. We then went our separate ways but kept in touch over the years with visits to each other’s houses, meetings in hotels and pubs, and going together to big Gigg events such as the 100th anniversary of the Chapel and the marvellous 500th anniversary concert in 2012. Kevin had always intended to follow his GP father into a career in medicine. He graduated MB ChB from Manchester University in 1965 and then served as a house officer and registrar in various hospitals in Oldham, London, Bristol and Stockholm, during which time he specialised in anaesthesia, gaining the Dip. Anaesthesia (London) in 1972, then becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA). In 1973 he returned to the Royal Oldham Hospital as Consultant Anaesthetist, a post he retained for the next 28 years until his retirement in 2001. His particular interests were in Palliative Care and Chronic Pain Relief in which he gained specialist professional qualifications. From 1995 to 2001 he was Lead Clinician in Palliative Care for the Oldham NHS Trust. From the mid-1980s he had pursued a research and practical interest in the use of lasers in medicine, especially in chronic pain relief. In collaboration with colleagues in Britain and Japan he published numerous conference and journal papers dealing with laser
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therapy for a variety of medical conditions and injuries, attended and organised conferences, and engaged in teaching and lecturing. All of which gained him international recognition in the subject. During his work as an anaesthetist and his laser research Kevin recognised the need for a hospice in the Oldham area and from 1987 was instrumental in setting up Dr Kershaw’s Hospice which opened in 1989. For the next 26 years he played a number of different roles including Pain Relief Consultant, Chairman of the Governing Council, and Medical Director. For his long service and dedicated work, he was appointed the first Honorary President of the hospice on his retirement. Outside his distinguished medical career, which also included too many committee, advisory, supervisory, educational, administrative and other positions to mention here, Kevin was a man of eclectic interests. He shared his father’s and his wife Jill’s lifelong love of horses for riding and driving. They always had land for horses attached to their homes near Rishworth and latterly at Wroot, and were also keen racegoers who especially made regular visits to the Cheltenham Festival. Kevin always enjoyed his food and drink, so it is not surprising that another hobby was membership of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society which gave him the opportunity to sample many different malts over the years. In his later years he took up the arcane hobby of glass-blowing and the making of glass paperweights with little scenes inside them. He took it very seriously and became very good at it. At the time of his death he was working on a history of the Northern Paperweight Society which he and four friends had founded in 2001.
Always cheerful and gregarious, Kevin, nevertheless, did not suffer fools gladly. Although he spent most of his working life in Lancashire he was a proud Yorkshireman, who was a staunch supporter of the Yorkshire Society. On his passing, the CEO of Dr Kershaw’s Hospice paid tribute to him as “a kind, dedicated man and much loved friend and respected colleague. Many local people are indebted to his skill and care.” As were the thousands of other patients he treated over his long career. Kevin was proud to be a Giggleswickian and Gigg
Platt, John Emerson (Rev. Dr) (N, 55) 09/11/1936 – 12/2019 John Emerson Platt was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire, the eldest son of Walter John James Platt, a pharmacist. John was a House Senior and Praepostor in his final year at Giggleswick.
should be proud that he was a pupil there. My own recollection of him will always be that he was very much the sort of man you would want to be with you on a tiger shoot. It is a privilege to have been a long-term friend of this exceptional man. He will be sorely missed by Jill and their daughter Alison and his many friends. (Dr) Richard W Howarth (Paley 1959) Note. I am grateful to Mrs Jill Moore for letting me have a copy of Kevin’s impressive CV and other relevant material.
on the list of a young student’s priorities. Yet students always turned to him. He was a great source of support and friendship to generations of Pembrokians, many of whom, over the years, were also OGs. He is sadly missed”. John never forgot his Giggleswick roots and was a regular supporter to the Giggleswick Foundation since 2009.
John matriculated at Oxford University, Pembroke College in 1956. Although he initially went to read History, John changed to Theology after his first two terms and in 1961 was ordained after training at Cuddesdon Theological College. He later took his MTh from Hull, and his Oxford DPhil in 1977. Following curacies in his native Lancashire and then in Hull, less than a decade after his first graduation Rev John Platt returned to Pembroke as Assistant Chaplain, and in 1969 he took on the full Chaplaincy role. After taking his DPhil he joined the University Faculty of Theology and began tutorial teaching in the History and Theology of the Reformation. In 1985 he was elected to a Senior Research Fellowship and membership of Governing Body, which he held for 17 years. In 2004 he was elected to an Emeritus Fellowship. It was clear to all who knew him that John saw his role as Chaplain as one which served and facilitated the College community. He quickly established a pattern of welcoming as many as possible of each year’s new students personally, and in his earlier years as Chaplain he and his wife Mavis regularly entertained groups of first year undergraduates at their home. Large numbers of former students stayed in touch with John after leaving Oxford, and he was always delighted to greet alumni when they returned to College for special events. Indeed, many came back to be married by him or to have him baptise their children in the College Chapel. David Stockdale, (M, 69) recalls “I arrived at Pembroke College in 1969 as a nervous 18- year-old who knew no one at Oxford. I received an immediate welcome from John as a fellow OG and as College Chaplain and we got on famously from that moment onwards. We were friends for life. He was a tremendous Chaplain, with a wry, good-humoured acceptance that College Chapel was not always high
RHODES, BRYAN JOHN (C, 68) 26/01/1950 -04/03/2020 Bryan was a House Senior in his final year at Giggleswick. SUMMERS, RICHARD (Dr) (P, 63) 25/12/1944 - 01/04/2020 Richard was Head of House, Praepostor and House Senior in his final year at Giggleswick. In 2009, Richard generously supported the building of the Richard Whiteley Theatre at Giggleswick. ZIFF, ROBERT PAUL (N, 50) 20/12/1935 - 04/06/2020 Paul joined Catteral Hall in 1945. Paul was the founder and Chairman of Stylo Matchmakers Ltd.
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Rothera, David Oughton (S, 49) 28/05/1932 - 21/08/2020
David was born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Edna Barke and Ralph Oughton Rothera. David attended Ascham House Prep School in Gosforth. During the war, the school was evacuated to Moffatt, an experience David much enjoyed. At thirteen David joined his brother Brian as a boarder at Giggleswick School. David’s most moving memory of Giggleswick was the last night of the Christmas term where the whole school, with David in the choir, would sing carols in their beautiful chapel lit only by candlelight. David’s father abandoned the family whilst he was at Giggleswick and this sadly led to David leaving the school before taking his final exams. Throughout his life David was a superb tennis player, known for his graceful play, fast service and sportsmanship. Aged eleven, David and his friend Rodney Dodds taught themselves to play tennis. Despite no formal coaching, David made his mark
Smith, Peter Jonathan (St, 76) 1958 - 16/02/2019
Peter Smith (Pete) passed away on 16th February 2019. His was a life well-lived and he always enjoyed setting his own tempo. He was a real character who made friends for life. That life could have been considerably shorter had he not survived an air crash as a young lad in a small ‘Auster’ aircraft. The pilot in front of him was sadly killed. He began his schooling at Canterbury succeeding his lifelong friend, Jeremy Backhouse, as Head Chorister. After his move to Giggleswick, OGs may remember that he was a talented cellist and pianist who played in the School orchestra. Not only was he known in that formal atmosphere, but Pete also ‘warmed up’ the School audience before assemblies which were held upstairs in the big school hall above the main classrooms. Bridge Over Troubled Water was a well-played melody amongst others. He also enjoyed performing a similar role in chapel as an organist before services. After he gained a place at Cambridge to study law in 1976, he left with several school friends to tour Europe on the Inter Rail scheme to destinations such as Paris, Venice, Athens, Corinth, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and many
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as a tennis player. He played at Junior Wimbledon and became County Captain and Champion of Northumberland. David lost in the qualifying round of The Wimbledon Championships. Then David left England for Lima, where he became runner-up in the Peruvian Doubles championships. On his return, David became County Captain and Champion of Cambridge. He later played for Sussex County. In his sixties, David played in the Wimbledon Veteran’s Tournament with his childhood friend Rodney Dodds. David continued to play tennis until his mideighties when his playing was sadly curtailed by ill health. David was a Chartered Accountant. On leaving Giggleswick, he studied accountancy at night, whilst working during the day. After marrying Ellen Mary MacDonald in 1959, David lived in Lima, Peru, where he worked for W.R. Grace. A year working in Belfast was followed by seven years with Pye Telecommunications in Cambridge. In 1971, David moved to Sussex and worked as Financial Director for Singer Link-Miles until his retirement. Most of all David was a gentleman. He was kind and thoughtful and quietly, without fuss, went out of his way to help others. David is survived by his wife Ellen, three children – Paul, Sally and Deborah, and four grandchildren – Daniel, Susannah, Samuel and Matthew, of whom he was immensely proud. David’s family would be interested to hear from anyone who remembers him.
others. He is particularly remembered running for a bus in Zagreb and losing control of a recently purchased watermelon subsequently flattened by said vehicle. His fellow travellers were unimpressed! He left Cambridge and started a career in Banking but soon turned to teaching English as a foreign language to students both in France and UK. Whilst teaching he found time to sing opera throughout Europe and sang at the wedding of Dave Brown (St, 76) and Jeannette Brown where he was heard to have a far greater projection than those around him! As well as singing in various venues around London, he also performed for a Pope. He eventually joined Vasari Singers in 2015. He immediately became a much-loved and invaluable member of the choir. He was always ready with a quip and a joke, and his contribution to the tenor section was second to none. He was particularly happy in the choir when they visited Canterbury Cathedral (as they did every year), to sing the services there whilst the cathedral choir was on holiday. Jeremy and Pete revisited their haunts and reminisced over several pints when they had the chance! Simon Dixon, (P, 76), Keith Pearce, (St, 76) & Dave Brown, (St, 76), Jeanette Brown and Maïki Pearce were pleased to see Pete on the weekend before he passed away and he enjoyed the visit. Pete was a great friend. Tribute from Keith Pearce, (St, 76)
Waterhouse, A. Peter
Giggleswick School also gave him his strong work ethics, as he didn’t retire until he was 69.
(N, 67)
Peter had a great love of travel both for business and pleasure. Business gave him the opportunity to visit the Far East every year, travelling to China, Taiwan and Bangladesh. Holidays saw him doing the long-distance hauls that are usually saved up for retirement. Peter was especially fond of Southern Africa.
23/02/1950 - 29/04/2020 Peter passed away in Clitheroe Community Hospital shortly after his 70th birthday after some years of ill health. Peter started at Giggleswick School in 1959 aged 9, first at Catteral Hall then at Nowell House. His time there must have been happy as he retained a lifelong affection for the school, always happy to return for events. Especially if these events involved watching cricket at the beautiful cricket ground. His time at Giggleswick also gave him his love of the Yorkshire Dales. After leaving school in 1967, he worked for the family firm of timber importers. Perhaps
Westhead, Simon John (P, 56) 17/06/1938 - 18/12/2019 Simon arrived at Catteral Hall in 1948 under Major Ross, moving to Main School in 1950, and left in 1956. He was in Paley House under Housemaster HL Smith and Headmaster E H Partridge. At school he was a House Senior, achieved Colours for the 1st Eleven Cricket & 2nd XV Rugby. He was also in the Gym 8 and became a Sergeant in the CCF. After school he represented the OG Club at Cricket, Golf & Shooting. He was a staunch supporter of the regional & annual school dinners and served as an OG Club committee member 1959-2005, most of that time as Treasurer and became President of the OG Club, 1976/7. He was a school governor from 1985 –2005 taking over from his father who had been on the board since 1951. Upon leaving school in 1956 Simon joined Waterworth Rudd & Hare, a Blackburn accountancy
His passing leaves a great sadness for wife Laura, daughter Sophie and son James. Peter’s love of steam trains has been passed down to his grandson George. The restrictions caused by Covid 19 meant that he couldn’t have the funeral he deserved with all his friends and family. Hopefully when restrictions allow, there can be a more fitting celebration of his life.
practice to do his articles and qualified in 1962. Whilst there had always been an expectation of him joining the family business of William Westhead & Sons, Simon remained at Waterworth’s where he subsequently became a partner a few years later. Waterworth’s was not only known as one of Blackburn’s principal accountancy firms but also one of the North’s main insolvency specialists. Simon was with Waterworth’s until 2003 but continued doing consultancy work in the insolvency field until 2015 with various firms. He was the North West Representative on the National Council for the Institute of Chartered Accountants for 10 years from 1977 and President of the North West Society in 1975. Simon enjoyed a love of many sports with cricket being his passion. He started playing Cricket at Clitheroe Cricket Club whilst still at school. He was a one club man – representing Clitheroe for a club record of over 40 consecutive seasons – a record unlikely to be broken – scoring a century in his first and last seasons! He was Captain 1967-72 and Club President 2016-18.
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Roger Wales Walton (St, 60) 05/09/1940 - 15/05/2020 OGs will be sad to hear that Roger Walton (Style ’60) passed away peacefully at home in Giggleswick on 15th May this year. On what would have been his 80th birthday (5th September) a memorial gathering took place in the beautiful gardens he tended for 40 years. Such were the numbers wishing to pay their respects to this much-loved man that timings had to be staggered to adhere to restrictions at the time. Roger’s wife Gillian, and children Michael, Rob and Anna wish to thank all for their words of sympathy at this difficult time. Roger won a scholarship in 1950, the third of five brothers at school. He was an accomplished sportsman, winning over 30 medals during his ten years at Giggleswick, most of which he donated back to school in 2015. His ashes were scattered on Scarrig. Below, two OGs look back on Roger’s life and their long friendships.
The Number One Athlete
Study Number One, Style House, was the one that all Style pupils aspired to one day. It indicated that you had become the most senior members of the house. This brought together David Grant, Roger Walton and Peter Spencer: David Grant, Praepostor, Head of School, Head of Style House, Captain of Rugby and Captain of Cricket. - Roger Walton, Praepostor, Deputy Head of School, CCF Drum Major, Senior Day Boy, Winner of quarter mile, half mile, one mile and at the time winner of Cross Country Scarrig twice. (He was the only boy in the school who wore a white track suit. It somehow epitomised his status as the number one athlete). Peter Spencer [the writer] Praepostor and not much else. At the time there were eight Praepostors in the school and three of them were in the same study, a most unusual happening. How any scholastic work was done one fails to think. David was constantly on school duty working out rostas for sporting events, liaising with the Headmaster on disciplinary issues; Roger was training to maintain his standard as the fittest guy in the school and prompting David about all the things he should be doing; Peter practising the Bugle. Each study smelled. Number One was the worst. Sweaty vests, sweaty socks and other items. The only relief from this was Roger’s arrival in the morning when he took off his house colours scarf which had a strong fragrance of perfume. His future wife Gillian Tebb had something to do with this. When the perfume wore off we were assailed by the smell of a dead rat which David had pinned out on a board whilst he looked for its tenth cranial nerve. Two weeks of that before patience ran out and rat (and nearly David) were ejected to the bin.
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Roger loved music and he and Peter played guitars in the study, in the school and occasionally in the pub. It started with Lonnie Donegan skiffle music but gravitated towards French Gypsy music from the likes of Django Reinhardt. The Craven Heifer was the occasional venue on a Sunday evening where they were joined by a local men Norri Greenwood and Diz Disley. Each week Roger trained at various distances. Pupils will remember Triangle, Long Proctus, Long Cross Streets and others. Roger had the choice of baths with clean water in when he got back from these runs, half an hour later the water was filthy! Ascension Day Walk was a holiday for the school as it was celebrated with a day off work. Each House organised its own day which usually meant climbing the local hills. In 1958 Style House chose to climb Whernside the highest of the Three Peaks. Having completed this, Mr Holligan (nicknamed Crip) who was accompanying us, set off to climb Ingleborough too so we joined him. We then did the eight miles to Pen Y Gent and climbed that as well. Arriving back at 6.30pm we saw Mr Holligan in his large boots, tiny shorts and wiry legs haymaking in the field next to the school. Not to be outdone we changed into tennis gear, picked up our rackets and walked up Chapel Hill to the courts, waving to Crip as we went past! I should say that Mr Holligan was probably in his seventies at this time. The following year it was Three Peaks time. Roger, David and I had done it the year before so opted for something else without telling anyone. We went out for the day to Blackpool with Roger driving his Father’s car, having just passed his test. We arrived back in time to join the others as they came down through Langcliffe on the last leg. There were rumours in the school that this had taken place but nobody dared to ask! Scarrig was a non-event for most of the school apart from the pain it caused. Walton would win it. They had been winning for the past four years (Roger’s older brother Robin won in 1956 and 1957). I never saw Roger cross the winning post and I suspect that neither did most of the school. It was rumoured that a Style House member (Dick Bilton, he of the larger than life stature), had caught a taxi from Buckhow
‘Parfait Gentil Knight’
Roger and I left school after the Summer term in 1960. I had come to know him when we were sixth formers three years before. We were not in the same house and had very different interests and personalities, but by degrees we became friends. After we left Giggleswick I did not see him for over 30 years, when I returned for an OG dinner. Such being his warmth and good will, it was as if there had been no gap at all, and a host of memories flooded back. Since then we have kept in touch and he and his wife Gillian generously have invited me to stay several times in the village in their beautiful house, which had belonged to my great aunt during our schooldays. Therein lies a story. Roger was an
Scarrig Winners 1958 – L-R: Stuart Archbold (St, 60) 2nd place, Peter Young (St, 60) 3rd place, Roger Walton winner in his famous white tracksuit.
Brow and got out at the top of Craven. Bank to run the last 400 yards downhill. David and I left in ‘59 and Roger went on to be Head Boy, Captain of Rugby and won Scarrig for a record third time. Not all boys look back on their schooling with happy memories, but I do. Knowing Roger, playing Rugby with him, happy hours on the guitars, and constant banter about him being a day boy. It is hard to believe that this once super-fit athlete is no longer with us and all those who knew him will share sorrow in his passing. Peter Spencer, (St, 59)
outstanding athlete and sportsman and had, inter alia, won Scarrig three times in 1958, 1959, 1960. I told my aunt of this hattrick and she decided to give him a silver tankard in recognition of his unique achievement. Two circumstances emerged from the presentation, which occurred with in Queen’s Rock House. My well born great aunt Annie Thompson was by then an almost 80 year old widow. Her husband William Thompson had been a governor of Giggleswick and had inaugurated Scarrig race to emulate the Wilson run of Sedbergh school where he was also a governor. They had lived in Beck House which became Style House when she eventually moved to Queen’s Rock. My aunt was a Victorian lady, warm with friends and relatives but formal with strangers. She never
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answered the front door herself, leaving that duty to her housekeeper Whinray (her surname), and anyone unknown or unexpected was directed to the tradesmen’s entrance. Roger and the headmaster were expected that evening, so they were ushered into an unoccupied room by Whinray, clad in black with a white pinafore and cap; there they were left alone for a while with a mounting sense of anticipation. Suddenly the door was flung open and Whinray announced “Mrs Thompson”. My aunt wearing a long black evening dress and hair jewellery briskly entered, briefly acknowledged Mr Benson, then addressed Roger more or less thus. “Roger Walton, you have won my late husband’s race and the eponymous Thompson cup three times running. That is unprecedented and you are to be congratulated. I therefore present you with this silver tankard in memory of my late husband and your outstanding achievement.” She handed him the tankard and without further ado left the room, leaving Whinray to show them out. Thirty-five years afterwards Roger recounted this amusing episode, which chimed with my own memories of a formidable relative and her staff. Roger had a very good sense of humour including an appreciation of the faintly ridiculous and anachronistic. He rejoiced in the ironies of life and had a good memory for otherwise long forgotten incidents, which made him an excellent raconteur and good company, much augmented by his ability to make one feel that one was the centre of his attention. He was modest, never boasting of his achievements; he inclined to talk about others rather than himself, which is why people never found him boring. His interest in people was genuine. Roger was grateful for the gift but formed an ambition that my great aunt’s house itself should be his one day, which he duly achieved 20 years later. What he made up his mind to do he pursued determinedly, whether in sport or life in general. Anyone observing him convert a Rugby Try could see how measured he could be, and how fine was his judgment. That was one of the reasons he was a natural leader and why he was appointed head boy despite being a dayboy, which was not the usual practice. During our last term when we were both Praepostors, I as Head of Carr House and the hostel at night and he as Head of Style and Head Boy, two things happened that illustrate his personality and beliefs. Roger and I were the last boys ever to beat another boy at Giggleswick. That practice was abolished at the start of the next academic year. I forget the infringement of school rules, but the headmaster instructed us
to ‘flog’ a boy who was quite senior. The punishment took place in the Praepostors’ common room, and Roger had the choice of administering the beating or witnessing it. Luckily for the victim, he chose the former and then tapped the boy lightly on his buttocks four times with the cane. The expectation in those days was to strike as hard as one could, so afterwards I asked him why he had not done so. His reply was that he thought the humiliation sufficient without the infliction of severe pain; kindness, balance, decency and a desire for justice, already adumbrating the ethics of his life. The second germane occurrence that term began when Roger met me early one morning and said he had just been asked by the second master, his housemaster Mr Dutton, to take control of all school activities including lessons and outdoor pursuits for the whole day while all the staff attended a long urgent meeting. He organised it efficiently. Between us, with Roger very much in charge, we patrolled the classrooms and gave the boys appropriate work to do, and the day passed without any breakdown of discipline. We did not know it at the time but that day was the beginning of the end of the old order, when the school was on the cusp of transition from a Victorian institution to a modern liberal progressive establishment. Suffice it to say that Roger played a small but significant part in that process and received valedictory thanks at the end of term from his housemaster, who told him that his support had been invaluable during that difficult Summer term. These anecdotes illustrate elements of Roger’s character and go some way to explain why he was once described by the last headmaster as ‘the legendary Roger Walton’. It was not just his prowess on the field; he was dignified, imbued with natural grace, a sense of humour, superb leadership qualities and maturity in advance of his age, all tempered by kindness and a consideration for other people’s feelings. It was painful to witness, but he seemed to bear his long illness and progressive disablement with predictable courage and patience. The love and laughter he had always inspired and generated around him saw him through and kept him with his wife in his beloved house and garden to the end. He was quite simply a delightful man, and indelible memories of his friendship enhance the privilege of having known him and been a fellow Old Giggleswickian. In the words of the Chaucer we had studied together at school, he was the embodiment of the ‘parfait gentil knight’. John Prince (C, 60)
Tributes and obituaries can now be viewed on our Alumni website to remember our OGs who have passed away during the year. Please visit https://www.giggleswick.org.uk/community/alumni/in-memoriam
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GIGGLESWICK SCHOOL
Giggleswick School, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 0DE Tel: 01729 893000 Email: enquiries@giggleswick.org.uk www.giggleswick.org.uk