old perseans
Obituaries Brian Drake (1944)
Laurence Drake (1981) writes: Father won a scholarship to The Perse, thus costing his father the princely sum of £1 per term. Academically he did well, earning school prizes with monotonous regularity every year in maths and sciences. During the war The Perse was one of the few Cambridge buildings to be bombed, and he recalled arriving one morning when the Headmaster, unaffectionately nicknamed “Gob”, told them, “No school today, boys”, whilst behind him the smoking remnants of the school hall dripped with water from the fire hoses. Bearing in mind how few bombs fell on Cambridge, it was an extraordinary coincidence that not only was the school hit, but so also was Gob’s house on Barrow Road … so he moved to Huntingdon Road – where he was promptly bombed out again! These events inspired him in his retirement to research an article on the Bombing of Cambridge, which is now in the archives of the London Imperial War Museum. He won a scholarship to St John’s College, Cambridge in 1944 to read Natural Sciences, thereby starting a family tradition there with his sons Laurence (1981) and Marcus (1984) reading Medicine, and grandson William (2015) studying Physics. After national service, in 1948 he switched to Preclinical Medicine. These students were allocated to the same body for dissection: Swallow, Swift, Swan, Drake and Pond! At Cambridge he foolishly risked everything in night climbing over the colleges. He marvelled at the nocturnal beauty and peace of those medieval courts viewed from the roofs. He managed to jump from the College gardens and climb over the Bridge of Sighs. He and three others, in peril from the feared University Proctor,
accessed the roof of the College’s Gatehouse tower, and hoisted a toilet to the top of the flagpole! The Cambridge Daily News published a photo and the rhyme they’d been urgently sent: “Come and see what you never did see – a WC where the flag ought to be!” In 1951 he defected to Oxford to study Clinical Medicine at Balliol and the Radcliffe Infirmary, and at 31, he became Histon’s GP, on call day and night, until retirement in 1990. He usually visited patients by bicycle, which they loved. He was extremely popular and a kind, respected doctor. In the appalling winter of 1963 he attempted to skate from Cambridge to Ely. At Clayhithe, the ice gave way under the bridge near a sewage outlet. A photo appeared in the Cambridge News under a heading of “A ducking for Dr Drake”. Retirement began in 1990, with his partner Janet (he had divorced from his Danish wife in 1974). A Histon road was named in his honour: Drake Way. He had tremendous talent in playing the piano and organ, passing the LRAM and LRCM exams. He gave recitals – even sometimes after morning surgeries to drug reps, if they were attractive enough! With a violinist friend (or son Laurence) he performed successfully in the Cambridge Competitive Music Festival. He learnt the organ in King’s College Chapel and also St John’s, filling these wonderful buildings with fabulous music, usually Bach. Occasionally whilst practising on 20
the Histon organ he’d leave a notice on his surgery door: ‘If you need a doctor urgently please rattle the church vestry door!’ In 1988 he gave an impressive recital on King’s Chapel organ. He was a kind, good humoured, gentle and generous man and father. He had considerable talent, but selfdoubt and modesty would always prevent any hint of arrogance. At the age of 90 he was still cycling into Cambridge, having been blessed with excellent health. Over the last year, cerebrovascular disease necessitated spending his last months in a nursing home, where he showed gratitude and politeness throughout. He passed away peacefully and before he’d lost much dignity or suffered unduly. There is a great deal to be thankful for in all that.
Benjamin Moore (1950)
John Harris (1950) writes: Ben Moore died last year aged 86, after an undiagnosed debilitating illness. We were contemporaries throughout our school days, and in fact we must have met even before school, as our fathers were founding members of the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, and our families firm friends. I think it would be fair to say that already at school Ben showed that adventurous spirit that shaped his
