Professor John Dancy

A Memorial Service for Professor John Dancy

It was a moving occasion to be able to hold the memorial service for Professor John Dancy and a real privilege to have three generations of his close family in attendance.

The service was led by the Revd Peter Dewey, Sanderson’s 1951–1957, a Prefect in John Dancy’s time. Revd Dewey brought such a heartfelt conviction to the words he spoke and the prayers he gave, particularly when he encouraged the congregation to shake the Chapel chandeliers with our voices for the final ‘AMEN’. Peter was joined by David Lloyd OBE, Gibbs’ 1954–1959, one of John Dancy’s Heads of School, who gave the tribute on behalf of OLs. David talked about the moment he realised ‘what a privilege it was to know in some degree this person of such huge intellect and commanding presence, and how being a member of his senior student body and then Captain of School was one thing; but being in his Divinity class was quite another!’ David praised Dancy’s foresight, prescience and belief in a transformational bursary programme and noted that Lancing has been a leader in this field over the years, particularly with the recent success of the Foundationers’ Campaign. David and Peter were joined by Sir Tim Rice OBE, Second’s 1955–1961, who read an excerpt from Ithaca, a poem by the modern Greek poet Cavafy, and Charles Anson CVO, a Prefect in Dancy’s final term, who read a prayer from a sermon by John Donne.

The final tribute came from Max Sargent, aged 12 and a great-grandson of Dancy. Max summed up his great-grandfather’s character with great insight:

‘He was kind – he became a teacher after the war so that he could help people, as a light in dark times. He was very clever. He was really, really clever.’

‘He was brilliant at sport and even though he had bad legs from polio he stayed really strong.’ ‘He was a maverick – he did things nobody else was doing like letting girls join boarding schools (which I think is a very good idea as I’ve enjoyed having girls in my classes) and now nearly everyone’s doing it. Even Winchester!’

‘He was an awesome man and I wish I had known how incredible he was before he died.’

‘He was a great Great-Grandfather.‘

The content of the order of service followed John’s explicit instructions and it was personalised with some wonderful anecdotes. An OL commented after the service that it was an occasion ‘which Lancing handled with a perfect touch’.

A recording of the service, along with a copy of the Order of Service and a selection of photographs from the day, is available on the College website.