The Journal
MEMBERS THE REVD DR JOHN HUW ANWYL (1951)
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Huw Anwyl was born on 23 December 1929 in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, and was educated at Bala Grammar School, did war service in the RAF in South Africa, and completed his secondary school education with eighteen months at Coleg Clwd, Rhyl. He came to Fitzwilliam as a student of Cheshunt College in 1951 to read English and Theology; and passed the three Examinations in Christian Theology for the BA degree in 1955, proceeding to the MA degree in 1958. His first ministry was at Warminster Congregational Church, but in 1963 he moved to the United States to work under the auspices of Church World Service in New York. This led to ministries in Chicago, Hollywood and Riverside, during which he studied for a DMin at San Francisco Theological Seminary, before moving to the Shepherd of the Hills Church in Laguna Niguel in 1992, where he ended his ministry. Believing strongly in an inclusive Church, he travelled widely until his last years. He died on 8 January 2019.
PETER KENNETH CHARLES AUSTWICK (1948) Peter Austwick was born on 29 December 1926 at Kew, Surrey, and was educated at Varndean Secondary School for Boys, Brighton, and Brighton Technical College. He came to Fitzwilliam to do a Postgraduate Training Course in Mycology not leading to a degree, which he completed in 1949. He subsequently emigrated to New Zealand, and died on 13 February 2019.
ROBERT ARTHUR BASSFORD (1978) Robert Bassford was born on 26 November 1959 in Bradford, and was educated at Pudsey Crawshaw School in Leeds. He came to Fitzwilliam in 1978 to read Modern Languages, graduating in 1982. He had always wanted to teach English as a Foreign Language, and began in Finland. By the 1990s he had moved to Greece. He died on 2 September 2019.
OLIVER DUNSTAN BENNETT (1962) Oliver Bennett was born on 12 June 1943 in Duffield, Derbyshire, and was educated at the City of London Freemen’s School, Ashstead Park, Surrey and Warwick School. He came to Fitzwilliam in 1962 to read Geography, graduating in 1965. He was active in Fitz Theatre and was also Deputy Editor of Varsity. After doing an MA in Urban, Regional and Transport Planning at Liverpool and another in Economics at London, he eventually became Director of Tourism Services at Deloitte & Touche, running the department virtually single-handed. While there he acted as a consultant for many tourism projects, particularly in developing countries. This took him to many parts of the world for shorter or longer periods. He was always anxious that tourism should benefit the local people in constructive ways, and not simply be providing cheap markets for Western countries. He was largely responsible for opening up Nepal for Western tourism on a DFIDfunded project which introduced the word ‘ecotourism’ from academia to local government, such that it became a model for many other countries. As a consultant he never really retired, but on 11 March he told his friends that he was being tested for COVID-19, one of the first members of the
College to do so. He died in St George’s Hospital, London on 26 March 2020, and was lovingly remembered by many friends as the ‘consummate consultant’.
PAUL HARTLEY BRIGGS (1962) Paul Briggs was born on 23 September 1943 in Prestwich, Manchester, and was educated at Pocklington School, York. He came to Fitzwilliam in 1962 to read Law. He was Captain of the Fitzwilliam 1st XV and of the LX Club, and also loved golf. Although not a Blue, he was elected a member of the Hawks’ Club. After graduating he went into business and eventually became Managing Director of the carpet company, John Hugh McKay, travelling the world looking for new designs. He was even-handed, kind, and considerate, often laughing, full of fun, even slightly quirky. He had a never-ending fund of ideas, not all carried through to a conclusion, but he was not easily put off. He did not suffer fools gladly and had a tinge of obstinacy when he felt he was right, as he often was. His final years were something of a struggle, though he never complained and never forgot his family (wife, two children and four grandchildren) and friends. He died on 23 March 2020 of complications arising from motor neurone disease.
DAVID EUSTACE BROWN (1958) David Brown was born on 19 February 1939, in Charlton, East London, and was educated at the Roan School, Greenwich, after turning down a place at Dulwich College because he did not think that the College’s boater would go down well on his workingclass housing estate. He came to Fitzwilliam in 1958 to read French and Spanish, followed by a PGCE. David was an inspirational teacher, working first at Brentwood School, then at Westminster School, where he made an immediate impression
