OC | 30
In memoriam Since the last edition of OC, we have been advised of the recent deaths of the following Old Chucherians. We have included a few words and reflections which have been sent to us by family and friends. More details can be found at Community.ChurchersCollege. com. Lesley Archer (47). One of Britain’s most successful motocross riders Les Archer Junior passed away on December 18, 2019 aged 90 in Spain, where he had lived since his retirement. Les was born into motorcycling royalty - both his grandfather and father raced successfully and established a thriving motorcycle business (Archers of Aldershot) in the 1930s which continued after the war. In 1947, Les Senior and Junior both competed in the Isle of Man TT - dad on a 250 New Imperial in the Lightweight TT and young Les in the Clubman’s class on a 250 Velocette where he finished a fine third. The father and son team also competed in the 1948 TT on Velocettes. Although he was enjoying a successful time in road racing, young Les’ interests shifted to scrambles where he really shone, especially after the head mechanic at the business, Ron Hankins, put together a very special Manx Norton scrambler, a machine that was to achieve legendary status. In fact, there was a series of the Manz special, each one more refined, and Les and his traveling companion Eric Cheney scored countless successes on
the motocross version of the Continental Circus in the 1950s. In 1956, Les and the Norton won the European Championship forerunner of the 500cc World Motocross Championship which began in 1957. He scored ten Grand Prix wins during his career which continued into the 1960s. Taken from Australian Motocross magazine and submitted by Richard Elliott (50) Simon Battinson (63) always spoke very warmly of his time at Churcher’s. He was a keen member of the Navy CCF and went to Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, upon leaving Churcher’s, where he graduated as a mid-shipman and specialised in Navigation. In his early days in the Navy his ship was sent to the Far East to join the forces involved in the Malayan Peninsula Crisis and was awarded a campaign medal for his actions. He retired from the Navy at the age of 28 when diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes – he was never going to get his own ship because of that. However, he went on to lead a full and fascinating life working for Racal Decca and being involved in the installation of radar in a wide variety of locations across the world including Heathrow, the Straits of Dover and an oil terminal in Scotland. At Churcher’s, he participated in all school sports and enjoyed returning to the College to watch his youngest son play rugby
against Churcher’s (he was at Hurstpierpoint College). He immersed himself in College drama productions, particularly those with singing involved, and carried this on into the Navy, at one time producing a play for HMS Dryad, where Prince Charles was also amongst his pupils for a short time. Simon leaves a wife Susan, three sons and four grandchildren. William John Caine (55), always known as John, attended Churcher’s from 1948 to 1954 after passing the 11+, “aged 10” as he always liked to say. He always spoke very fondly of his time at Churcher’s and still had the photograph cutting of his long jump record from when he was at school. He sadly passed away on 2nd February 2021 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour in early December. He will be sadly missed by his two daughters and his granddaughter. Bernard Chiswell (59), otherwise known as ‘Bernie’ or ’Chis’, joined Churcher’s College as a boarder in 1956 when his father was posted to Malta by the RAF. After leaving school, where he experienced the thrill of flying a Tiger Moth whilst in the Sixth Form, he ended up training in retail management. He met his wife, Christine, at an RAF Ball and they, together with their son Simon, went to work in Zambia where their daughter Yvette was born. Then moving to Southern Rhodesia, Bernie was called up into the Rhodesian
