Obituaries

Michael Brown (Lo ’51) (23rd September 1932 – 12th June 2021) Michael was brought up in Aylesbury and joined Berkhamsted Junior School in 1942 as a boarder in Incents and then moved to Lowers in School House, surviving the effects of the war and its subsequent austerity period with food rationing and shortages of school books. He did well academically and in sport where he played in the 1st XV Rugby team and became Captain of Gymnastics. He also followed me as Editor of The Berkhamstedian. He went on to New College, Oxford to read Law, and started a Gym Club there. He maintained an interest in both New College and Berkhamsted and later contributed several articles to The Old Berkhamstedian.

Upon graduating, he joined Denton-Hall as an articled clerk and quickly rose through the ranks to become their youngest partner and began to develop a broad media practice, which later led to his becoming the honorary solicitor to the Variety Club of Great Britain, a role he held and enjoyed for 25 years. He had a number of clients in the then-rapidly changing world of cinema and new television companies and he thus became great friends with a number of American lawyers. His role in this area was recognised through his appointment as President of the Society of English and American Lawyers. He also took on some relatively low-profile clients such as the estate of AA Milne.

He then decided to branch out on his own and with two others formed a new firm of Brown-Cooper. As well as continuing with the media clients, the new firm had clients in other areas including the Norwegian oil companies. His link with AA Milne’s estate, however, generated a lasting interest in Winnie the Pooh and close friendships with Christopher, Leslie and Claire Milne, and he became Chairman of the Pooh Trustees. In that role, which he held until his 80s, he used his media knowledge to negotiate for nearly two years with Disney over the sale of the remaining Pooh rights. The considerable proceeds he obtained were divided between the Pooh Trust, Milne’s School (Westminster) and the Garrick Club, where Michael (already a member) was made Honorary Life Member. The Pooh Trust has now become a major charity in the West Country. I received from Michael a copy of Pooh in Latin and he gave the School a full set of Winnie the Pooh in the 39 languages in which it has been published.

In his private life, Michael and I with two other OBs – Alan Neale (Ad ’50) and Michael Green (Sw ’46) – moved into a house in Chelsea in our mid-20s and enjoyed a good social life and were a regular calling point for other OBs and friends. The four-plus-one replacement became inseparable and even as we met and married, the wives and families were smoothly incorporated into the group, which in diminishing numbers has celebrated 50 years of New Year’s Eve gatherings and many other events.

Michael met and married Margaret and they had four sons, having settled in Chorleywood where they stayed for 25 years until Margaret’s sad early death. Happily, after a few years Michael met and married Valetta and they stayed together for more than 25 years in Radnage and then Speen, and enjoyed a wide social life with neighbours and friends.

To quote from the tribute by his sons at his funeral, ‘He was able to talk to anyone, quickly engaging them with his fast and curious mind. The intellect, wit, incisiveness and critical thinking which made him so successful in the law were deployed with aplomb in his personal life and, combined with his charm, it made him a joy in any social gathering.’ Bryan Hines (Be ’50)

Reverend Chris Carter (Sw ’61) (25th January 1943 – 6th January 2021) Christopher Paul Carter was born in Meadway, Berkhamsted at our maternal Smallwood grandparents’ home on 25th January 1943. Our father was in the army. Chris, Tim and I all went to Berkhamsted School, although they were firmly divided into the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools at the time. Our grandfather Smallwood had designed and built and ran Berkhamsted Laundry in Gossoms End, now a block of flats, apparently. Our parents also attended the Schools, although they did not know each other at the time!

The Coulters, Wildes, Hawkins and Cauderys were all friends. Tim had lunch with Geoff and Helen Wilde only last summer. Legend has it that the Chrises Carter and Coulter once poured a bucket of water over one of the Girls’ School crocodiles.

In the Senior School, however, Chris began to show himself a leader. A school friend wrote in 2020: ‘He always had a calm atmosphere about him and could size up situations and people. He was also no pushover. These characteristics made him a natural leader thus becoming Head of School. He was a good, upright, caring man.’ School records show that he was Captain of Boats and Dayboys in 1960 and Head of School, Head of Swifts and Captain of Boats in 1961 (I cannot account for those dates – perhaps he stayed on for a term to take the Oxbridge exams), and also a sergeant in the CCF. Memory tells me that he was in the first year that the School started rowing, and that rowing practice was on the canal near the Hog Roast pub.

He was accepted by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge to read Economics. He also became Captain of Boats for the college. I have happy memories of visits to Cambridge, Chris’s cold and rather dark cell-like room in college in his first year and watching the ‘bumps’ on the Cam along the Backs. After graduating with a 2.2 degree, he attended the London School of Printing for a year or two. He was destined to enter the Carter family local newspaper and printing company and take over from our father and uncle. To complete his training, he joined Lord Thomson’s Thomson newspapers for two years, spending six months in some of their local newspaper offices, including Chester. Thus he found himself spending six months working on the Scotsman in Edinburgh, where he met a beautiful architectural student, Lorraine, and hastened to marry her on 6th September 1969 – a glorious wedding in the western lowlands of Galloway. Their Golden Wedding was in 2019.

They duly moved to West London and Chris joined the family newspaper in Shepherds Bush and Lorraine practised as an architect. Sadly, the power of the print unions in the 1970s caused insuperable problems to such a small company, which had to be sold in 1971. Chris joined the Newspaper Society, acting for the regional newspaper proprietors, where he spent long hours negotiating with the printing unions, particularly in relation to computerising newspaper printing methods, pre the move of the national newspapers from Fleet Street to Wapping – such a difficult job. After Wapping, in 1986 Chris joined the regional arm of the Daily Mail General Trust to help administer the local newspapers of the group, which I was told was the method of funding the national newspaper.

Two sons, Elliot and Ben, were born in 1975 and 1977, and the family were content in the same house near Olympia which Lorraine used her skills to extend imaginatively. Those were happy family days with our parents having moved to rural Somerset after the paper was sold.

Chris rose to become VP and a director within the Daily Mail Group, where he worked very hard until he suffered heart problems in his late 50s, and had to take ill-health retirement.

By then, his love of choir singing had resurfaced – more than a hobby, which lasted the rest of his life and included setting up a Benefice choir in West Buckingham.

The family had moved to a lovely village house near Buckingham where Lorraine still lives. Having been confirmed into the Church of England at age 40 (we were brought up Baptist), Chris took the surprising decision to be ordained in the Church of England; his ordination was in 2005 and he, with the resident vicar, led his flock in the Benefice consisting of Tingewick and five other villages until sadly Alzheimer’s forced his retirement around 2012. Even more sadly, Covid led to three weeks in hospital in 2020 and rapid loss of weight. Lorraine managed to settle him in a very comfortable retirement care home three miles away, where he seemed to settle well for a few months but died suddenly on Epiphany in 2021. He would have been 78 at the end of January.

At his funeral, attendance being very limited by Covid, the village pavements were full of friends and villagers as the hearse drove past. Elliot collected pages of moving messages from friends and colleagues of all ages, which he read out in church.

I quote from Ben’s moving eulogy to his father: ‘It was a surprise, to say the least, when his career took a turn towards the Church, but I think it was his hope, his outlook, his wisdom and his listening that meant he did that new job so well, and not just for those with faith… He never pushed that faith, just patiently applied its wisdom to whatever the situation might warrant.’ Julia Frimond (Carter) (Bu ’68) Margaret Crichton (Hon) (11th July 1946 – 1st August 2020) When Margaret joined the Languages Department in what was then the Girls’ School it was a lucky day for us all. She taught French at every level and soon won the respect of colleagues and pupils alike with her calm and sympathetic approach. She was a caring Form Mistress, encouraging her pupils to look their best by introducing incentives such as shiny shoe day, then later a wonderful Head of House, giving up much time to her flock as well as to their grateful parents.

Margaret was the one who instigated the annual three-day trip to France for Year 8 pupils. This involved a lot of extra work for her but she was determined to give the girls a glimpse of French life as well as a chance to practise their budding language skills with their host families. We certainly had a lot of fun on the reconnaissance trips to Reims and later to Rouen.

Another highlight in the school calendar was the staff pantomime where Margaret stole the show in her cameo role as one of the Ugly Sisters. The fact that nobody recognised her on stage was surely a tribute to her customary elegant appearance in the classroom.

Outside school, Margaret and her husband Andrew enjoyed spending much of their time travelling back to Scotland or down to Cornwall to keep in close touch with their children and grandchildren, babysitting when needed and celebrating every birthday. In retirement they made their own house in the Borders a base for many a longer stay.

When at home in Berkhamsted, Margaret was very involved with her church and as an Elder gave the pastor great support. She would willingly drive older members of the congregation to the services each week. In addition, Margaret always made time to keep up with old friends as well as enjoying our book club and the local walking

group where she led many great walks. In fact, my own personal memories of Margaret will always be of our own last long walks together once lockdown eased, enjoying the lovely countryside in the sunshine, Margaret naming all the wildflowers, and of course lots of laughter. She was a very dear friend and those were happy days.

Sadly, though, it was during a walk with Andrew in Scotland that Margaret collapsed and died suddenly on the 1st of August 2020 – a dreadful shock to her family and all her many friends. Jill Allen and Jenny Bruce

Robert David Eastwood (Ad ’53) (3rd October 1936 – 19th April 2021) Robert David Eastwood, known to everyone as David, was my father and was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and had a younger sister, Diana (Di). Dad was an avid cricket and tennis player in his younger days, with his first tennis experience being at Berkhamsted School. He continued to play tennis all his life and even met his first wife (our mum), Ann Parkyn, at a tennis tournament where she was picked out of a hat to play with him and he often said that it was love at first sight.

Dad left school at 16 and went to Warsash School of Navigation and following that he joined the NZ Shipping Company as an apprentice. He then went into the Merchant Navy whereby he visited New Zealand and fell in love with it. On marrying mum, they both made the decision to move to NZ.

Dad had a varied career in NZ and their first two children, Chris and Mark, were born there. They went back to England around 1967 and had a tobacconist shop in Berkhamsted called The Candy Box and lived in Doctor’s Commons Road, where I, Jackie, was born. Mum’s parents, Peggy and Jimmy Parkyn, lived next door.

Around 1972 we moved to Devon and Dad got a job on a dredger, working in the Bristol Channel going from Appledore to Porthcawl. From there, he went to work on the Polar Bear going to Lundy Island. His stints on boats came to an end when they bought Cliffside on the Esplanade of Woolacombe, which had flats for summer lets and Dad worked as a salesman, for which – if you knew Dad – he most definitely had the gift of the gab!

Dad’s love of the sea and fishing continued, and he used to fish with a few local friends whereby they took out a long net with weights into the sea. Dad kept involved in the community, joining the local Council for Mortehoe and Woolacombe for four years.

During their time in Devon they often had friends visit from Berkhamsted, and to the day Dad passed away he was still in touch with many of them.

Dad was always the life and soul of any party and was a born entertainer. Mum and Dad’s last house in Woolacombe was a guest house where mum cooked the meals and Dad would serve them and there was always much laughter while he entertained the guests.

Mum and Dad returned to NZ once we were all grown and continued to play tennis, with Dad becoming president of the local club for a time.

Mum died of cancer in 2002 and Dad remarried to Jenny. Jenny and Dad were members of the Whangaparaoa Golf Club and Jenny was also a member of the tennis club and had been a good friend of Mum and Dad. Jenny and Dad had around 15+ good years together and Dad said how lucky he was to have loved and been so happy twice.

Dad had cancer of the prostate around 22 years prior to his passing but recovered well and lived a full life until his cancer returned and spread. Being the fighter he was, he never gave up hope and outlived his prognosis, battling valiantly until passing away in the local hospice surrounded by family.

A message received after he died spoke of him being one of the funniest, most talented men the writer had ever known and I think that’s a pretty apt description of David Eastwood. David’s daughter Jackie

Mary Rose Farley (Bateman) (Hon) (16th March 1935 – 21st September 2021) Mary Rose Farley (Bateman), who died peacefully on 21st September 2021 at the age 86, was Headmistress of Berkhamsted School for Girls between 1971 and 1980. Friends and former pupils pay tribute below.

As Old Girls we had, at the end of the summer term 1971, said our goodbyes to Miss Russell with more than 400 people present.

Mary Rose Bateman arrived in September as the new Headmistress of Berkhamsted School for Girls. No one envied her – she was succeeding a legend and an act that was almost impossible to follow.

She was full of energy, determination and enthusiasm and with her friendly, more informal approach, and with great good humour, the School soon settled into a new routine.

At this time, the Headmistress was also the President of the Old Girls’ Guild and we had the opportunity to work with Mary Rose during her headship. She was immensely supportive and always attended every event that was held. She got to know well many Old Girls and former members of staff who regularly attended the reunions. These friendships continued through her time at The Perse School in Cambridge and her retirement.

Mary Rose continued to come to reunions before and after the merger of the two schools. Her last visit to the School was on the occasion of the 475th anniversary of the founding of Berkhamsted School on 6th May 2016, when the School was honoured with a visit from its Patron, Her Majesty The Queen.

Mary Rose will be greatly missed by her family and all who knew her. Sue Wolstenholme OBE (Ho ’58)

Change was in the air in 1970 when Mary Rose came to BSG. She was young, fashionable in her knee-high boots and full of ideas. While determined to maintain high academic standards, she was keen to add to the curriculum and introduce more extra-curricular activities. I remember Spanish and fencing were particularly popular! Equally popular was the relaxation of certain school rules which she felt were no longer relevant to the latter part of the century.

How she managed to learn the names of all our daughters in a very short space of time never ceased to amaze us. It showed she cared about each and every one, whatever their strengths and weaknesses. Parents really appreciated that and in turn gave her their full support.

We were near-neighbours and soon discovered a shared love of the theatre. We spent many evenings together in London enjoying some memorable productions. The journey home was always lively. She had very strong opinions on what we had seen. Had she not chosen a career in education, she would have been a brilliant theatre critic! I have so many happy memories of her Berkhamsted years. It was a privilege to have known her. Mynerva Altman (Bu ’56)

My first memory is 1972, I’m 10 years old and I’ve been called into her study to be interviewed by the Headmistress for my entrance interview. I remember a huge desk and behind it sat Miss Bateman, a very daunting figure with large glasses and rather wild hair. I was terrified. I mumbled my answers, blurted something about Scooby-Doo being my favourite TV show and stumbled over a small table as I fled the room, when it was over. I wasn’t offered a place!

Next, it’s 1979, I’m in the Sixth Form (I got in on my second attempt) and I’m knocking on her study door at 8.45 in the morning. I’m Head Girl

and it’s my job to escort her to assembly every morning. We chat as we walk about the School – something in the news, or she asks what I had been doing. I remember still feeling quite nervous as, although she was always polite and interesting, she could be fairly abrupt!

Fast-forward, to 1993, I’m a qualified GP, and applying for a job at a practice in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. It’s the first-round interview, and I’m standing behind reception chatting to the staff. A patient walks up to the deck to collect a prescription; our eyes meet. ‘Jane Pargeter!’ she exclaims, before I’ve had a chance to stutter, ‘Miss Bateman!’ What a coincidence. Word got back to the doctors before the final ‘trial by sherry’, where my boyfriend (now husband) and I were being checked out together. In his typical Aussie style, when they mentioned bumping into her in reception, he joked we’d ‘slipped her a fiver’ to do that and put a word in! For a second, they looked horrified. I thought the job was lost… and then they laughed! I got the job.

In fact, she was no longer Miss Bateman, but now Mrs Farley and living with her husband, Richard, in Long Compton, a village just outside ‘Chippy’. I was invited round for supper. I remember the beautiful Cotswold house and how we ate in the large, warm, farmhouse-style kitchen. She cooked supper on the Aga – and I’m sure she was wearing a pinny! We chatted and laughed, and they were clearly blissfully happy. She was loving her new role as wife and stepmother, and I suspect these were the happiest days of her life.

Sadly, Richard died all too soon. We kept in touch, meeting for lunch occasionally or I’d call in for tea. I enjoyed our meetings. Always fascinating conversation as she was hugely knowledgeable and interesting and we discussed politics, education or just gossiped about people we knew from Berkhamsted. She was also very kind, asking after all my family and wanting to know what the children were up to. Always a special word for our disabled son. I would always still feel a little of that head/student relationship – and she made it very clear that she couldn’t possibly have a former pupil as her GP!

She then moved down to the south coast to be near family. I got Christmas cards every year but about five years ago was very surprised to receive one with a Long Compton address inside. My first thought was ‘poor thing, dementia setting in,’ but of course, it wasn’t. She had simply decided to move back to the village where she was happiest for her final years.

This time, it was my privilege to be her GP and look after her as she battled old age and the illnesses it brought. I remember visiting her on one occasion when she was unwell. She was in bed, something ‘warming’ in the glass next to her and the bed covered in newspapers, huge books and, I think, a cat. She continued her love of reading to the end of her life and her mind remained as sharp as ever. She was beautifully looked after by excellent carers and her wonderful family. She also remained ‘feisty’ and we all had to deal with her occasional ‘squalls’.

On the day she died, she was visited that morning by one of my GP partners in the nursing home she had just returned to, following yet another admission to hospital. She was tired but discussed with her how she was planning to return home. But that afternoon, she suddenly deteriorated and died peacefully in her chair as the sun came streaming through the window. A very good ending.

And finally, I am sitting in the beautiful church in Long Compton for her funeral, surrounded by her family, friends and colleagues. I listen to two beautiful addresses from her nephew and stepson – both filled with admiration, love and great affection – and we all reflect on a wonderful life and all our memories of Mary Rose. Jane Pargeter (OS ’80)

Friendships forged at school can last a lifetime and, years later, when I became involved with the Berkhamsted Foundation, I was fortunate to still be in touch with Miss Bateman and we met on numerous occasions in subsequent years. Miss Bateman loved both the School and the town and frequently returned to attend various events including the 125-year celebrations of the Girls’ School in 2013 and the 475-year celebrations of Berkhamsted School in 2016.

Miss Bateman was very kind and she thought the world of her girls. While strict, she was also very quick-witted, full of energy and bubbling with enthusiasm; she had a real passion for education and set high standards, encouraging her pupils to do likewise. Her work ethic and mastery of the English language was infectious. We were all encouraged to read widely, and at the start of every holiday we went home with an extensive reading list.

I remember that we were all very excited when Miss Bateman arrived wearing a tan suit and beret with long black boots – how modern for a new Headmistress! In the Sixth Form, she allowed us to relax our uniform; we were allowed to wear our own different coloured jumpers and to wear tights instead of stockings! We were also permitted to wear tracksuits and gloves on the lacrosse pitch – such a salvation in the winter.

As a boarder, life was very tough and we quickly learned to value what was important – family and friends. Miss Bateman understood her girls and, because so many of us lived overseas, she introduced weekend exeats which, for many, were seen as a great escape! She was always amazed at how far away some of us lived – she particularly remembered that my sister Debbie and I had the longest journey home to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, which took a week of travelling each way (however, we were never allowed to leave school early nor arrive back after term started!)

Miss Bateman was kind and generous, she loved a party and adored her cats. Sue Rodwell (Collins) (Ru ’76)

Paul Engledew Fishburn (Ad ’51) (25th January 1935 – 21st January 2021) My half-brother Paul Fishburn was born in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex and moved when he was four years old to Aston Clinton. He attended Berkhamsted School, where he enjoyed both the academia and the sport. In 1950 he was runner-up in the Buckinghamshire County Boys’ Tennis Championship and went on to play at Junior Wimbledon.

Paul showed an early interest in accountancy, becoming Honorary Treasurer for the Tring Young Conservatives in spring 1952, and after leaving school he trained for his professional qualifications. On newly qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Paul was called up for National Service and served with the RAF as an accountant in Yorkshire.

Just prior to this, Paul met his future wife Angela at a wedding and on 9th April 1960 Paul and Angela married. They moved to Berkhamsted and then later to Ashley Green. They had two children, Michael and Sarah. Sarah also attended Berkhamsted School.

For many years, Paul worked for the Beecham Group, where he became Financial Controller and Treasurer, a job he much enjoyed.

Paul participated in many sports, including golf and sailing, and he was a keen gardener. In the 1990s he designed and planted an arboretum at his family home. This provided much joy to everyone who visited and particularly to Paul, who was fond of walking through the arboretum enjoying its autumn colours and all that the seasons brought.

Happily married to Angela for more than 60 years,

Paul loved his family and was very proud of both his children and four grandchildren.

Sadly, Paul died on 21st January last year, just a few days before his 86th birthday. Much loved by his family and friends, he is greatly missed. Anne Smith (Fishburn) (Bu ’75)

Brian Leslie Goodson (Ad ’51) (24th December 1934 – 15th January 2019) Brian, a long-time resident of Tring, Hertfordshire, and former owner of Tring Service Station, passed away peacefully at his nursing home in Exeter, Devon on 15th January 2019, aged 84, having spent a very happy retirement with his wife Mauricette, living in Seaton, Devon. His funeral was held at the Exeter crematorium in February 2019. He will be remembered as a man who loved life and always had a kind and pleasant word for everyone. During his time at Berkhamsted School he received the honour of Best Recruit to the CCF in 1949, attaining the rank of Sergeant. He played rugby for the 1st and 2nd XV, cricket for the 1st and 2nd XI, along with fives and basketball. He was also in the School boxing team. David King (Sw ’84)

Professor Michael Hoey (Ad ’66) (24th February 1948 – 10th September 2021) David Dunbar (Ad ’67) has given us permission to reprint his 22nd October 2021 letter to Liverpool University and the Academy of Social Sciences, written on hearing Professor Hoey had passed away.

Yesterday I read of the sad death of Professor Michael Hoey. I was a near-contemporary of Michael at Berkhamsted School and our paths crossed again while I was an Engineering student at Hatfield Polytechnic and Michael was embarking on his academic career.

Something which I am sure never appeared in Michael’s CV was his role as a budding filmmaker while at Berkhamsted. I was honoured to be cameraman, editing assistant and projectionist when Michael wrote, produced and directed The Man from Uncle Eric. At the time, the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was very popular and Michael’s production was a spoof full of schoolboy humour. Our Housemaster’s first name was Eric: the appearance of his name in the title was an accolade that I’m not sure he appreciated.

Among numerous juvenile escapades, the film featured a stunt of which we were very proud, and looking back from our modern times I’m sure we wouldn’t get away with it now. The star was required to jump from a canal bridge near the School into the canal, and then miraculously leap back up from the water to the bridge parapet. This was achieved by holding the cine camera upside down for the second part of the sequence, and after processing I reversed the film section when splicing it into the rest of the film to achieve the desired result. Quality was a little ropey but the demands of the script were met. Life was quite hard in the days before digital photography, but the producer insisted!

The completed film went down very well when it was shown within our house, and it was decided by the powers that be that it deserved an airing at the School’s forthcoming Founder’s Day. This was the School’s main shop window of the year, and Michael’s film was watched by full houses of parents and other visitors during a busy afternoon’s series of repeat showings. The laughter and applause which accompanied every showing testified to Michael’s creative talents.

Our paths didn’t cross again after Hatfield, and it was very instructive to read of Michael’s many subsequent achievements in the academic world.

‘A kindly, convivial, modest man’ are the words used to describe Michael in his Daily Telegraph obituary. These words could have been written about him 55 years ago. David Dunbar (Ad ’67)

Dave Jeffers (Hon) (19th October 1957 – 9th November 2021) Dave took up his post as Head of Mathematics at Berkhamsted in September 2008 after shorter spells at The Hundred of Hoo School – where he met his wife, Helen – King’s Rochester, QEH – where he was Head of Computer Studies and got a young Nick Cale interested in spreadsheets and data – Clayesmore and Glenalmond. As well as being an excellent Head of Department, Dave proved to be a top bloke – supportive, kind and convivial. He always appeared happier in the classroom than in his office, but he provided his troops with clear direction and all the tools and resources they needed, including a good understanding of ALIS and MidYIS, supported by his able protégé. Dave saw it as his responsibility to protect the interests of his team and he always took it upon himself to do the bulk of the work so that we could get on with the business of teaching. With his booming voice, ready smile and calm approach, Dave was popular in the classroom with the boys and the girls and had a real gift for getting the best out of his pupils, even those for whom Maths was something of a mystery.

Dave was a real social animal – he loved putting the world to rights in the Breakfast Club but also enjoyed talking to and building up strong relationships with the boys in Adders where he was a popular and well-liked tutor. Dave coached rugby when he first arrived at the School, but it is fair to say that he preferred the pace and the location of games like darts, dominoes, bar billiards and pool. Dave liked nothing better than going to the pub and having a pint with his mates. He would strike up a conversation with anyone and, at his memorial service in Axbridge, Somerset, where he had lived but a short while after retiring in August 2018, he was well known and well loved by the locals.

Dave was a larger-than-life character, a lovely man, and a generous host. He had the uncanny knack of making you feel instantly warm, welcome and at ease and all those whose lives he touched at Berkhamsted remember him with huge fondness. Dave Richardson (Hon) Sheila Mary Long (Weatherill) (OS ’43) (16th February 1926 – 13th December 2021) Sheila enjoyed her schooling at Berkhamsted School and after gaining her Higher School Certificate she left to train as a radiographer in Manchester. She married fellow Old Berkhamstedian Gordon Long in 1950. They had two daughters, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They settled in Saffron Walden on the Essex/ Cambridge border. Sheila died peacefully at home on 13th December 2021 aged 95. Sally Hamilton

Penelope Anne Lye (Green) (NS ’88) (17th May 1970 – 20th January 2020) It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Penelope Anne Lye (Green) who attended the Girls’ School from 1983 to 1988.

Her younger brother Antony attended the Boys’ School from 1982 to 1990 and his two sons – Penelope’s nephews – both went to the School.

Penny was born in Bristol and the family moved to Berkhamsted in 1972. During her time in the Sixth Form, Penny worked for Alan Dickman in his chemist shop on the High Street as a Saturday girl, and there developed an interest in pharmacy. She studied for her first degree at the London University School of Pharmacy, obtaining a BPharm and a Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy. She then worked in various London Teaching Hospitals and eventually decided to move to Bath University to study further for a Master’s degree.

Penny married Johnny Lye in 1999 and they set up home in Bath. A daughter, Josephine, was born

in 2001 and a son, Bertie, in 2006. She continued to work in various local hospitals as well as becoming a teaching Fellow in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at Bath University.

During her time at Bath University, Penny presented a paper at the Pharmacy Education Symposium at Monash University Prato Centre in Italy.

Penny was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2017. Determined – as ever – she underwent a number of intrusive operations and a brutal range of chemotherapy treatments. Sadly, at the end of 2019, the cancer was determined to be incurable. Penny was placed in the care of the Dorothy House Hospice near Bath in December but fought hard to be at home for Christmas with her family. She succeeded in that final goal and remained at home until she passed away on 20th January 2020. The Green and Lye families

Terence Patrick Augustus MacDonogh (Hon) (16th May 1944 – 29th January 2021) It was an honour to be asked to write about Terry for The Old Berkhamstedian by his younger sister, Deirdre, and by Rosemary Pitman, so I would like to start with a few quotes from his stepson, Edward: ‘Terry was a wonderful man, who I am proud to have had as a father figure for most of my adult life. He was also a man of calm, quiet intelligence, an educator, an avid consumer of music and culture, and above all a devoted husband and family man.

‘He was born in 1944 to a family steeped in literature, education and the church. He distinguished himself in his youth, winning a choral scholarship to Winchester College where he excelled not only at music, but at cross country. He went up, again as a choral scholar, to St John’s College, Cambridge, to study Classics, and in turn to Balliol College, Oxford for his Post Graduate Certificate in Education.’

Deirdre says of him: ‘Terry was a very solid presence in my life – he was the kind of brother you could rely on in a crisis, kind, calm and measured, and always there. He was also a devoted uncle and godfather who never forgot birthdays and was always interested in the children’s progress. Unsurprisingly, he was a thoughtful and very caring son who helped our widowed mother in her final struggle with dementia. I am saddened that his illness came so soon after my mother’s death, although I am very glad he is at peace now. I shall always miss him, a mainstay throughout my life.’

Terry arrived in Berkhamsted as a Dip Ed student teacher in May 1967 and made such an impression that he was soon a full-time member of staff. He threw himself into school life, worked incredibly hard and set himself high standards in all he did. He was incredibly well organised and his attention to detail was legendary. I can vouch for this as I worked closely with him for 14 years and he meticulously prepared the way for me in so many different aspects of school life. I replaced him as House Tutor in St John’s when he took over Hawks; I then became his House Tutor in Hawks before taking over as Housemaster when he took over St John’s boarding house; when he was made Deputy Head of the Junior School, I took over St John’s and when he became Head of the Mall School in Twickenham, I took over as Deputy Head! Terry’s hand-me-downs suited me very well indeed as his excellent organisation made transition very straightforward!

Terry had a fortunate start at Berkhamsted as he lived with George and Rosemary Pitman while doing his teaching practice – an ideal introduction to Berkhamsted. He learned much from George over the years and was equally willing to do the jobs no one else wanted – very much the lead from the front approach. Terry ran cricket and football teams but probably had his greatest success running Junior Fives – indeed Paul Dicker said that Senior School success in the Nationals would have been impossible without the start that Terry gave in the Junior School. Terry also helped run the Madrigal Society and introduced computing to the School in 1983. He was fully involved in all aspects of school life and when George Pitman took a well-deserved sabbatical, Terry took over as

Head of the Junior School for a term. He did a great job and it was no surprise when soon after he was appointed Head of the Mall School. He was there for 15 very productive and successful years. Under his leadership and guidance he greatly improved the school’s academic reputation and also its financial and physical infrastructure. Typically, he made sure that the school thrived even after he retired. A former colleague at the Mall said: ‘I can quite honestly say that in my whole teaching career there was no other headteacher whom I held in such high esteem’. It was during his time at the Mall that he met his wife, Vlasta, and they had 23 very happy years together.

Looking for background information and facts for this piece, I tried to find Terry’s valete when he left the school in 1989 but even with the aid of the ever-efficient and helpful Lesley Koulouris, the School Archivist, we couldn’t find one. It transpired that the modest and self-effacing Terry didn’t want a valete! A most unusual request but it does rather typify Terry’s character – he was not one for show, or fuss and he didn’t seek the limelight. I have very fond memories of Terry and I am so grateful for all the help he gave me, but I will leave the last word to his stepson, Edward: ‘Terry confronted the cruelty of dementia with dignity, bravery and determination which were at times heartbreaking. But while the disease gradually robbed him of one of his great loves – language – it did nothing to dent his inherent kindness, sensitivity and generosity of spirit.’ Richard McIlwaine (Hon)

Dr Madeline Melia (Hon) (1st March 1940 – 4th July 2021) Madeline was born in Manchester on 1st March 1940 to Arthur and Ena Carney and had a younger brother Matthew and younger sister Marina. After passing her scholarship examination, Madeline attended Fairfield High School, a former Moravian school located in the Moravian Commune, a unique Christian community built in the late 1700s for people of the Moravian Church.

When Madeline was 14, her father started a business in Glasgow and Madeline remained in Manchester to finish her education, staying first with her Aunty Vera and then with her Aunty Frieda. She also had cousins in the area, Josephine, Linda, Norma, Pauline and Peter.

Madeline was particularly bright and a good all-rounder at school. She was very artistic and maintained an interest in art and culture throughout her life, with a particular love of early-mid 20th century art and had a fine collection of paintings. However, having achieved good results with her A-levels, she chose an academic route, going on to study Biology at Liverpool University where she attained a BSc and PhD.

Her first job after university was at the Pathology Lab at Manchester Royal Infirmary and in 1968 she started a Lectureship at Salford University. She was later Senior Lecturer at Leicester Polytechnic and Principal Lecturer at Preston Polytechnic. It was at Salford that she met Terence Melia, a fellow lecturer in Physical Chemistry.

During their early courtship, Terry, a keen camper, persuaded Madeline to go on a camping trip for their first holiday together. Terry had brought as their accommodation an inflatable igloo tent, which was very easy to assemble, but not so great in a Swiss Alpine storm, as they were to discover!

This wasn’t however the last of their camping trips. They once toured with Terry’s cousin Tony for six to eight weeks, taking each day as it came, and moving on depending on who scored highest in a ball-balancing game in the sea.

Madeline and Terry married in 1976, by which time Terry had moved south to Bovingdon with his work in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools. Madeline got a job working for City and Guilds in London and they lived in Postcombe near Thame for six years. During this time, they became parents to Alex, and Madeline became a full-time mum for a few years, a job in which it has to be said, she also excelled. They spent another couple of years in Knutsford in Cheshire, before moving south again in 1985, finding a home in Boxmoor. When Alex was settled at school, Madeline took up part-time teaching at Ashlyns, then full-time teaching at Berkhamsted School, eventually becoming Head of Biology.

Whatever she was doing, Madeline immersed herself, putting her all into her professional life – to the huge benefit of her students – and embracing and exploring the world around her in her leisure time. And when I say the world around her, I mean on a global scale! Madeline loved to travel (although preferably not in a tent!) She and Terry went on many trips around Europe, taking Alex along with them when she was growing up and introducing her to new cultures. When Alex was a teenager, during February half-term Madeline would whisk the two of them away for three or four days to a European city, maybe Paris or Barcelona, and they would absorb themselves in art galleries and museums. As a family they would pay homage to Dali and visit the museums dedicated to his art and his homes in Catalunya. Terry – in case you didn’t know – likes a game of golf(!) and while he enjoyed a few hours on the golf course, Madeline and Alex would go and explore the Moorish history and Greco-Roman culture and buildings. They also took many trips to Penina in Portugal.

Sometimes Terry would work away in America and Madeline and Alex would take the opportunity to visit him so the three of them could go on holiday. Alex recalls moon-bathing with her mum in Georgia. When Alex graduated from law school in 2005, she took a year out and spent six weeks in New Zealand and Australia with her mum, staying in youth hostels and walking the glacial structures on the South Island. They had a very special and close mother and daughter relationship, so close that Madeline joined Alex and her friends for her hen weekend in Amsterdam. Alex’s friends loved Madeline; she could talk to people of all ages.

When Madeline retired, she had even more time to travel and took a trip on her own to Iceland. She also went to Russia with her friend Althea Godfrey, where their tour guide had been interpreter to Putin during his time as mayor of St Petersburg.

Madeline and Terry also travelled a great deal together in retirement. They often took long memorable driving trips through France to Catalunya, stopping off along the way to explore different places. Wherever they went, Madeline liked to buy books by local authors and once again immerse herself in the experience through imagination as well as the physical and visual appreciation.

One of the things which punctuated all these travels was delighting in the local cuisine; as a family they have a great appreciation of good food. Madeline herself was an exceptional cook and took great pleasure in preparing a meal, once taking a Raymond Blanc cookery course, again enhancing her skills in something she loved. In Portugal, one of their particular favourite destinations was a little fish restaurant in the fishing village of Alvor. It was Terry, however, who discovered the charming restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona in Spain, which became first a family favourite before it received worldwide acclaim.

So is that it? No, no! As I said earlier, Madeline was as artistic as she was academic. In retirement she studied photography and became very good, capturing many beautiful images of the places they visited. She also designed and created the back garden in Boxmoor, laying the path and installing the pergola. She loved being outside.

At Christmas, she would make cards from her photos, adding captions and carefully selecting the right image to send to the right person. She liked things to be special, beautiful, and stylish,

as she herself was. When they all went off to the 2012 Olympics in London, Madeline had some special linen napkins made for their picnic with the Olympic logo.

Also in retirement, Madeline took great pleasure in exploring the family genealogy of the Carney on her father’s side, Grime on her mother’s, and Melia branches. She found relatives in Devon and Derbyshire and went to visit them, and created family trees for Alex and Mark’s wedding.

Madeline and Terry had a lovely, harmonious marriage. They enjoyed each other’s company and matched each other intellectually – both very competitive with the Times crossword, which they still completed together even when Madeline was in the hospice. They travelled and explored different countries and raised their daughter Alex to experience and appreciate beauty, history and diversity. Alex’s education went far beyond the classroom. A family life full of love, learning and enthusiasm for all things new and creative.

Madeline will be missed beyond words not just by her family, but by all those who loved her and others whose lives she touched. She loved life, she made a significant impact, and that is something to celebrate. Eulogy kindly provided by Madeline’s husband Terence Melia and daughter Alex Bowerman (Melia) (As ’99)

Alan Moore CBE (Ad ’53) (5th June 1936 – 22nd April 2021) Alan and I were two of the ‘mechanicals’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an Upper Fifth performance of the set English Literature play in 1951, the first year of the O-level exam. However, it was many years later that we shared regular lunches together after meeting at the informal reunions started in 2005. Alan’s modesty, enthusiasm for his hobbies (essentially steam trains) and reminiscences of our younger days made for wonderful company.

Alan went to school in Apsley, where his parents had moved from London as his father took up a post at John Dickinson’s. He gained a scholarship and his academic ability soon showed itself when he started at Berkhamsted School in September 1946. He said that his later choice of subjects was partly guided by being in classrooms from which he could see the trains passing at the top of Castle Street!

After his national service in the RAF, during which he learned enough Russian to enable him to ‘listen in to the enemy’, his banking career began with Glyn Mills & Co in London. His progress was significant and he later took the opportunity of venturing abroad and in 1974 he became Director General of the newly formed Bahrain Monetary Agency. During the next five years he developed the activities of the Agency, particularly the Offshore Banking concept which created a financial services industry in Bahrain. He was awarded the CBE in the 1980 New Year’s Honours list.

He joined Lloyds Bank International in 1980, initially as Director for the Middle East and Africa and subsequently as Treasurer, and was appointed Director of Treasury for the Lloyds Bank Group in January 1985. In 1988 he was appointed a Director of Lloyds Bank and in November 1994 became Deputy Chief Executive and Treasurer.

Following the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB Group in 1995 he became Deputy Group Chief Executive and Treasurer with responsibility for the wholesale and international businesses of Lloyds TSB Group plc. On his retirement from executive duties in April 1998, Alan became Deputy Chairman.

His enthusiasm and support for his hobbies and interests were able to be extended with his retirement from the banking world. No one did more for the advancement of heritage railways than Alan, both through his practical and his financial backing. He gave major support to the Bodmin & Wenford, the Swanage and the North Norfolk Railways. Alan had lived in Leighton Buzzard and was a member, later President, of the Leighton Buzzard Railway Society, one of England’s longest and oldest narrow-gauge lines, with a worldwide collection of locomotives and rolling stock. He was well known for his donations towards the new station building (which he opened, the community room being named after his late wife, Margaret). As a fellow railway enthusiast recently said: ‘A very nice man who helped many heritage railways quietly and without much fanfare; he will be missed by many people.’

Our thoughts and sympathy go to Alan’s family: Kathryn, Andrew and his granddaughter Katie. Derek Jarrett (Sw ’51)

Ambassador Frank Pringle (Be ’48) (1930 – 10th December 2018) My memory is of a meeting in the early 1990s in London when, during a visit to the UK, Frank wanted to hear news of his old school.

He was passionate and proud of his family’s heritage as originally one of the large landowners in Jamaica. Ambassador Pringle served as a diplomat, Justice of the Peace and a member of the Jamaican Parish Council. He was proud to represent and help develop his country as a Cabinet Member and Minister of Tourism in the People’s National Party in the Michael Manley administration and represented Jamaica on the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

In 2001 he received the Order of Distinction Commander Class for outstanding service in Tourism and Public Service.

In 2014 he received the ‘Golden Souls of Tourism Award’ from the Ministry of Tourism and was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the Rank Commander for his outstanding contribution to Jamaica in diplomacy, political representation and philanthropy, and for his enduring love and nurturing of the Jamaican people.

His memorial service took place at the Half Moon Hotel and Conference Centre in Rose Hall, St James, Jamaica, attended by dignitaries. The tribute was given by the Minister of National Security Dr the Hon Horace Chang, representing the Prime Minister, the Most Hon Andrew Holness. Other dignitaries included former Prime Minister PJ Patterson. Richard Smellie (In ’61)

Brigadier John Randle OBE MC (In ’39) (17th October 1921 – 14th December 2020)

BRIGADIER JOHN RANDLE, who has died aged 99, won a Military Cross in 1945 in the last weeks of the Burma Campaign.

On April 30 1945 Randle, then a captain, commanded a company of 7th Battalion, 10th Baluch Regiment (7/10 BR), which had been ordered to attack a strongly defended enemy position at Pegu Hill, north-east of Rangoon.

The Japanese were securely established on three small hill features in bunkered positions containing machine-gun posts which poured out a relentlessly accurate fire. These had to be silenced, and Randle put in an attack covered by his mortars.

As soon as the assault began, the Japanese opened up with mortars, a 75mm gun and medium machine guns. Randle’s men had to go through dense undergrowth, and in order to direct the operation he moved to a completely exposed position under heavy and continuous fire.

Not until the enemy position was overrun and the 75mm gun destroyed did he take cover. His outstanding leadership, regardless of personal danger, was recognised by the award of an MC.

John Pomeroy Randle was born on October 17 1921; his father was the manager of a firm of pencil manufacturers. He was educated at Berkhamsted School and then passed the entrance exam for the Royal Military College Sandhurst in summer 1939, only to find that it closed within weeks for the training of officers for regular commissions.

He therefore applied to the Indian Army, and after an eight-week voyage spent six months at a cadet college at Bangalore. Commissioned in September 1941 into the 7/10 BR, part of the 17th Indian Division, he found himself in command of a company of 120 Punjabi Muslims.

Posted to Burma shortly before the Japanese attacked across the Kawkareik Pass on January 22 1942, 7/10 BR was overrun three weeks later at the village of Kuzeik on the west bank of the River Salween. After several hours of fighting, 288 officers and men had been killed and 229 were taken prisoner.

Randle was able to break out but it took him two days to get back to the British lines. ‘All our wounded were butchered by the Japanese,’ he said afterwards. ‘It was an atrocity which governed the battalion’s attitude for the rest of the war.’

A week later, the Sittang Bridge was blown prematurely, with 100 members of 7/10 BR still on the wrong side of the river. In the space of a little over a week, the Battalion had lost eight of its 13 officers and 600 other ranks.

In the long retreat of the British Army out of Burma, across challenging terrain, Randle commanded the rearguard company. Because of the danger of men going to sleep and failing to get up, after every stop numbers were checked. When they finally reached Ranchi, north-east India, in September 1942, they were in poor shape. Randle was appointed adjutant and the battalion had to be rebuilt and retrained.

During the retreat, a Pathan havildar (sergeant) had encouraged a dozen Indian soldiers to desert. After a court martial, the battalion was ordered to form a hollow square. The disgraced man was led into the middle in chains. Randle, speaking in Urdu, had to pronounce the sentence of death. This was later commuted to penal servitude for life.

In October 1943, 7/10 BR rejoined the 17th Indian Division – the ‘Black Cats’ – in the Chin Hills, some 170 miles south of Imphal, on the Indo-Burmese frontier. The following year they carried out a fighting withdrawal into the defensive box around the key area of Imphal and fought a series of fierce battles against the crack 33rd Japanese Division, known as the ‘White Tigers’.

In the battle for the central Burmese city of Meiktila in March 1945, Randle was blown up on a minefield. He was not wounded but suffered permanent deafness. Naik (Corporal) Fazal Din, also serving with 7/10 BR, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The 17th Indian Division led the advance southwards, and on August 15 1945 – VJ-Day – 7/10 BR was little more than 60 miles from where they had been when the Japanese invaded Burma three and a half years earlier.

After the war, normal civil government and the Burma police took some time to establish themselves, and bands of dacoits raided villages and buses, robbing, raping and murdering.

While leading a patrol, Randle was ambushed by a dacoit gang, about 12 in number. They fired a shotgun at him but missed, and then charged at the soldiers wielding knives. A few short bursts from Brens and Tommy guns and they were all dead.

On another occasion, soldiers in a Gurkha battalion dressed up as Burmese women and boarded a bus, posing as passengers. When they were ambushed by armed dacoits, the panic party of ‘women’ fled into the jungle. The dacoits, expecting easy pickings, ran up to the bus, only to be met by a hail of fire from soldiers hidden on board behind camouflaged sandbags.

Randle transferred to the British Army, accepted a commission in the Devonshire Regiment and joined the 2nd Battalion in Lüneberg in October 1946. He served in Singapore and Malaya during the Emergency; in Kenya during the Mau-Mau rebellion; in Cyprus during the Eoka uprising, and in British Guiana in 1964 after a state of emergency was declared against a background of severe unrest and interracial strife in the period leading up to independence.

During that last tour he commanded the 1st Battalion, the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. The citation for his appointment as OBE praised the ‘tireless energy, sense of duty and doggedness of character’ that he showed at the mining town of Mackenzie in British Guiana, where ‘very serious racial murders, arson and rape had begun’ as well as ‘bomb throwing, murder [and] savage beatings’. He saw to the taking over of the operational area by the Army, and coordinated the duties of the police, the British Guiana Volunteer Force and his own troops.

He soothed tempers and calmed nerves, pressing the mining company to provide launches, vehicles and accommodation and arranging for the evacuation of 1,000 East Indian refugees from the area. ‘However tired he might be,’ the citation added, ‘after days with little sleep he never thought of himself but of the life-saving task confronting him and his men.’

Randle was Divisional Brigadier, the Prince of Wales’s Division, before being appointed Brigadier Overseas Detachments. During an active retirement, he was regimental secretary for nine years, president of the Baluch Regiment (UK) Officers’ Dinner Club and a stalwart supporter of the Burma Star Association. He wrote Battle Tales from Burma, published in 2004.

John Randle married first, in 1947, Peggy Miskimmin, who died in 2003. In 2010 he married Joy Hunt (née Myburgh), who survives him with a son from his first marriage who also served with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. Roger Rogers (SJ ’53) (30th October 1937 – 20th February 2022) Roger David John Bradford Rogers was Berkhamsted born and bred. His father was a teacher at the Thomas Coram School (later Ashlyns) who became a flying instructor in the RAF during the war and after the war kept the Sun Hotel in the High Street. Despite being a Berkhamsted resident, Roger was sent to board at St John’s.

On leaving school Roger became a pilot in the RAF during his National Service, training in Canada. He later worked for the Daily Express newspaper selling advertising. Living in London he met and married an Australian lady who persuaded him to emigrate to Australia. On the way there, flying Qantas, he talked to the pilots and when he informed them that he was an RAF-trained pilot they suggested that he apply to Qantas, which was short of pilots. He duly did so and became a First Officer within a short space of time from which he never looked back.

Upon retiring at the age of 60 he was number six in seniority in the company, and a Captain of the 747 fleet, mainly flying Sydney-London and Sydney-Los Angeles. He moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast in Queensland where he maintained an interest in classic cars and owned two Jaguars, a Ferrari and a Bentley. He was thrice married and a son pre-deceased him. Ron Hall (In ’60)

James Gilmour Wilson (Co ’63) (9th March 1945 – 14th January 2021) The magazine records that Jim joined the School in September 1956 and represented the Junior School at swimming in 1959. He was confirmed in the School Chapel on 9th December 1962 and left the School in 1963.

In those days when entering the Senior School we had to join the Combined Cadet Force, Scouts

Brigadier John Randle, born October 17 1921, died December 14 2020. Reprinted on licence from the Daily Telegraph