Obituaries

Barry Joseph Sanderson (1956) Graham Sanderson (1961) writes:

Barry entered The Prep in Bateman Street in 1943. He was enthusiastic in all aspects of the School, became captain of the football team, vicecaptain of cricket, and a ‘sixer’ in the School’s Cub pack.

Moving into the Upper School in Gonville Place he progressed to being a demon fast bowler in the 1st XI cricket team, a fearsome flanker in the rugby 1st XV and a successful middle distance runner in the athletics team. A very keen Scout, he was Patrol Leader of the Owl patrol, attending the annual camps at West Runton. He attained the rank of Sergeant in the CCF; a grounding for his successful military career.

In the Perse Players production of Julius Caesar he was particularly noted for his appearance as the ghost of Caesar, despite wearing a luminous wristwatch. On leaving School, Barry went into the army as a National Serviceman, originally in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and then transferring to a regular commission in the Royal Engineers. He completed several tours of duty in Germany, during which he took the opportunity to indulge his passion for sailing, mostly in the Baltic.

He also served twice in the Far East, firstly with the Royal Malaysian Engineers and secondly with the Royal Brunei Regiment, where he was highly honoured by the Sultan.

His Regimental Command was a TA Regiment with its headquarters in Belfast: he also commanded a regiment in the Falklands, repairing the damage left after the conflict.

He was awarded an OBE and, attaining the rank of Brigadier, he became an Aide de Camp to The Queen. As Brigadier he undertook the annual MOD Inspection of the Perse CCF, arriving by helicopter which landed on the School playing fields. This was a particularly proud family moment as my son, Matthew, was the Senior Cadet leading the parade, and I attended as a member of the School Board of Governors.

Barry married Gillian in 1965 with whom he had two children, Rupert and Johanna, who survive him with six grandchildren.

Retiring from the army in 1992, he settled in Yorkshire and undertook a second career as a management consultant and was awarded a Fellowship of the British Institute of Management.

Barry always acknowledged the benefit of his Perse education and was pleased to make a number of return visits to the School. During the 1990s he enjoyed participating in mock interviews with students.

Barry died unexpectedly on 2 February 2018 and is greatly missed by all his family.

Senior Boarding House with Keith and Beryl Barry. Louis was a brilliant artist who brought great flair to Cecil Crouch’s art classes at The Perse. His programme cover for the Perse Players’ production of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus was an acclaimed masterpiece of cultural fusion. On leaving school in 1967, Louis studied architecture in London and then went on to practise in Singapore. He retained a love for England and lived for a part of each year in Knightsbridge, London. Louis passed away in Singapore from a sudden heart attack on 30 March 2018 and is survived by his close friend Gordon, brothers and sisters.

louis tan Jiew Cheng (1967) Ranjan Ramasamy (1967) writes:

Louis was born on 23 October 1948 and joined The Perse in September 1965 as a Boarder at the Senior Boarding House in Glebe Road, following on from his father who was an Old Persean. The Tan family had plantation and business interests in Malaysia but later moved to Singapore where Louis attended a Chinese school at first. He was brought up as a Catholic and went every week to the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs on Hills Road before returning for the traditional Sunday lunch at the

William ‘Gordon’ reeves (1957) Olly Reeves writes:

Professor Gordon Reeves was educated at The Perse School and Guy’s Hospital Medical School, graduating in 1964. After completing House and Registrar appointments at Guy’s, University College Hospital and other London hospitals he undertook Lecturer posts at Guy’s and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. He was appointed Consultant Immunologist and Senior Lecturer at Nottingham University in 1973, becoming Professor of Immunology in 1985. He published many articles and research papers; contributed to, wrote and edited a number of books including Immunology in Medicine: a Comprehensive Guide to Clinical Immunology and the student text Lecture Notes on Immunology as well as serving on the editorial boards of several journals.

In 1989, he became a full-time medical editor: first at the helm of The Lancet – where he had the brief to update its editorial processes and enhance its standing as an independent and international peer-reviewed medical journal – followed by a period as Medical Editor and Consultant to the Public Health Laboratory Service where he developed new journals for the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.

In 1993, he was invited to join the new medical school at Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman where he headed up the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and played a key role in the development of the College of Medicine’s postgraduate training programmes.

In retirement, he devoted most of his energy to researching medieval history and was able to publish his work in the peer-reviewed Transactions of the Devonshire Association. He also found time to return to the piano and landscape painting, and the considerable enjoyment of four grandchildren. He and his wife, Liffy, returned to the East Anglia of their youth in 2007: first at Bury St Edmunds but later to a rural domicile at Hunston, also in West Suffolk, in 2015.

He died in early November 2017 having suffered from a cerebral tumour. He was lovingly cared for at home until his last four days. As well as his wife he leaves a daughter, Sophie, a son, Olly and four grandchildren – Marley, Agnes, Dexter and Clara.

maurice Gordon Baker (1953) Gordon Marshall writes:

Maurice was born on 8 December 1934 and spent his early years in Cambridge with his older sister, Audrey. He won a bursary to attend The Perse and attended the School from 1945–1953. Throughout his life, Maurice recognised the great start in life his schooling gave him by making donations back into The Perse bursary fund to help repay their investment into his life.

Maurice was introduced to Scouting at School and also joined the Army Cadets there. On leaving School, Maurice joined ICI and trained to become a plastics research chemist – a career that eventually saw him rewarded with 25 years’ service. His career was interrupted by a period of National Service that saw him rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant and posted to India and Malaya with the Army Catering Corps. This experience gave him a lifelong talent for cooking.

Maurice continued in Scouting during his time in the Army as the Scout Leader of the 19th Jahore Bahru Troop in Malaya for service families. This involvement continued when he returned from service life and he held a number of posts in the Hertfordshire District. In the 1960s, Maurice became a part of Hertfordshire Scouts’ growing involvement in developing mountaineering skills and the County Adventure Centre at Lochearnhead, Scotland. He developed and shaped training courses for young people with his lifelong friend, George Moody. Maurice became the hub of the courses – organising, publicising, administering and delivering them. He was sometimes Chief Instructor, sometimes Station Master, and sometimes (possibly his favourite role) Caterer. Nothing pleased Maurice more than to feed 80 or so hungry mouths with filling meals supplemented by his legendary soups or the fabled Lochearnhead bread pudding. The Leaders especially appreciated his wonderful curries that he learned to cook on his travels in National Service.

During the 1970s, Maurice led expeditions for older Scouts to more adventurous places. He was instrumental in two expeditions to the Lofoten Islands in Norway and, inspired by connections made through his working contacts at ICI, Maurice led a County Scout Expedition to Kashmir. A further Expedition went to Turkey. All of these gave young people from Hertfordshire the opportunity to explore lands they had only read about and helped them make their dreams come true. Work then took him to Teesside, but he continued his link with the Scouts and Lochearnhead. He trained a number of leaders to take over from him and purchased a bungalow in the village as a retirement property – his own Highland Headquarters.

In total, Maurice spent over 60 years in Scouting, acknowledged by the Chief Scout in a Long Service Presentation in April 2014. He gave excellent service at all levels of the movement, recognised by awards such as the Medal of Merit, the bar to the Medal of Merit, the Silver Acorn, the bar to the Silver Acorn and the Silver Wolf, which is the unrestricted gift of the Chief Scout and is only awarded for service of a most exceptional nature. In addition, Maurice was awarded the Chief Scout’s Commendation for Meritorious Conduct for his

rajen mahendra (2010) Ravi Mahendra writes:

Rajen attended St John’s College School between 1996 and 2005. During his time at St John’s he will be remembered for being one of the friendliest of individuals who always made time for those around him. The kind and nurturing environment of the school allowed Rajen to flourish both in and out of the classroom and provided him with a fantastic platform for his future years.

He went on to The Perse School (2005–2010) where he continued his close friendship with many of his friends from St John’s. Rajen became a very popular member of his year group and one of his strongest traits was to bring together friends from different friendship groups.

Sport played a huge part in Rajen’s life. Amongst others, he represented St John’s College School, The Perse School, Newcastle University and Cambridge Nomads Hockey Club, organisation and coordination of the rescue of an injured Scout during the first of the County Expeditions to the Lofoten Islands in 1971.

Although many of us recall Maurice as a fit and strong mountaineer, he suffered with his health in his final years. A minor stroke was followed by other health issues, and unfortunately the cancer that appeared late last year proved to be too strong even for his resolute personality. Despite this, he remained as a friendly welcoming presence around the village and on the Station.

St Giles Cricket Club and Cambridge Touch over the past 26 years. Some of Rajen’s most memorable moments came on the sports field where he spent endless summer evenings playing colt’s cricket for St Giles CC along with many of his friends from school. Rajen was also part of the “golden hockey era” at The Perse where his indoor hockey team won three back to back National hockey titles. Whilst Rajen found lots of success on the sports field, it wasn’t the success which drove him to continue playing; it was the camaraderie and friendship which he valued far more.

Rajen’s sense of adventure shone throughout his life. After graduating from Newcastle University, he went travelling on his own to India for three months. Rajen also had a passionate love for skiing and in his gap year after University he worked as a ski rep for Wasteland ski. Last year he visited Zimbabwe where he fulfilled one of his life ambitions of doing a bungee jump over the Zambezi River and fishing with a beer in hand.

After university, Rajen completed an internship at Essex County Cricket Club, where he worked closely with their media and marketing team. This helped him secure his job as an account manager working for digital advertising company, Media Brands.

We have spoken to friends and family who have come and shared their stories and memories of Rajen: kind, loving, generous and magnetic

The Perse motto – Qui facit per alium facit per se – pretty much describes the way Maurice led his life. He gave young people a chance, helped to nurture and support them, recognised when they were able to go off on their own and celebrated their development whilst remaining watchful and to help them when needed, whilst all the time remaining courteous and generous. There are many words that could be used to describe Maurice – colleague, leader, inspiration, mentor, neighbour, chef, raconteur, good counsel – but above all he was a great friend.

are some of the words which have been used to describe his personality. However, we will remember him as the perfect gentleman, with a splash of colour and a vibrant personality. Rajen’s ability to bring people together and make people laugh and cry is something we will forever remember.

We have been overwhelmed by the love and support which has been shown to our family. The sheer number of people who have contacted and visited us has been very moving and is a testimony to how many people Rajen reached out to over the last 26 years. We cannot thank you enough.

In Memoriam

Christine mcritchie Pratt (Former Staff) died 23 May 2018, aged 69 years

michael G r mitcham (1950) died December 2017, aged 86 years martha mitchell (Former Staff) died 21 March 2018, aged 97 years nissim musry (1945) died 25 March 2018, aged 90 years George A Priechenfried (1951) died in 2016, aged 83 years roger J taylor (1950) died 28 February 2018, aged 85 years Clifford tebbit (1942) died 16 June 2018, aged 93 years

This list was up-to-date when we went to print. Obituaries may be read in full on our website: perse.co.uk/obituaries