OKS Magazine - Autumn 2021

TIME FOR CHANGE Erin Abraham is elected as the OKS Vice President (Diversity) WINNING STREAK The Malthouse Theatre wins prestigious architecture awards

THE MAGAZINE OF THE OKS ASSOCIATION • № 8 • Autumn 2021

A SPORTS TEAM IS BORN Introducing the OKS netball team

Paradise Lost Dr Minnie Liddell (CY 2005-10) tells us about her life as a sea turtle veterinarian

OKS MAGAZINE • № 8 • Autumn 2021

From the Editor

T

his term marks 50 years since the first girl, Jane Pearce (née Baron, MR 1971-73), entered the Sixth Form. She spent a year ‘sola’, and was joined by four others the following year.

For this issue, ten female OKS, each one from approximately a five year period, were invited to write about their experience of King’s, or at least what they have been enabled to go on and do.

None of them had a sight of the others’ texts.

“My brother on announcing to his friends the previous term that his sister was coming to the School was simply not believed”, said Jane, when interviewed for this magazine in 2004.

Then from 1974 one of our OKS recalls “stale half-loaves and congealing milk bottles down the back of sofas”. By 1988 a powerful quartet from near the end of the Sixth-only entry found a Time for Women group necessary: “It seemed as if the School was missing out on the full range of

abilities and talents that some girls had”. By the late 1990s, however, “we believed we could and would achieve anything the boys could”.

At Speeches this year the Captain of School could describe how “King’s endorses the passion, love and commitment that all of us here are filled with”.

Was Laver greater than Federer? Was King’s “better” in 1974 (congealing milk bottles, but 47 Oxbridge places and fees still below £1,000) than now? Impossible to tell, but different certainly.

Certain too is that “one half of the human race” has been greatly enriched by the changes that have followed from Jane Baron’s brave first year.

Stephen Woodley

From the OKS President

A

fter 22 years as Editor of OKS Offcuts and the OKS Magazine, Stephen Woodley is stepping back from his primary Editorial duties, but I am delighted to say will remain very much involved as Associate Editor. The Committee are deeply grateful for his tireless and meticulous efforts over the years as our Editor.

His decision times in well with this 50 Years of Co-ed issue as Stephen was tutor of Jane Baron in 1971 and then of her four successors in Marlowe the following year.

Cover: a green sea turtle swimming in the blue in Laamu Atoll, Maldives Photo: Marteyne van Well

2

As Autumn approaches, we are back to planning in-person events once again, after a long period of online only activities. Our OKS Committee meeting, scheduled for October 15th, will be our first in-person get-together for 21 months.

But the online facilities of ‘Zoom’ and ‘Teams’ have served us well and some use of these will undoubtedly remain.

In this issue we mark the arrival and establishment of female pupils at King’s. There are ten mini features written by ten female OKS across the decades celebrating 50 years since the first girl entered the 6th Form, and the 30 years since the school went fully co-ed. There is also an introduction to Women at King’s written by Peter Henderson. I was also delighted to welcome Erin Abraham to our last OKS Committee meeting as our new Vice President for Diversity and would like to highlight the introductory article that she has written for this issue.

I and the OKS team wish you all the very best for the remainder of 2021 and we look forward to seeing some of you in person again as normality, at least as we are now able to define it, returns.

David Peters OKS

|

Autumn 2021

In this issue From the Headmaster

T

he dean and I were profoundly moved when we came down the steps from the Quire into the Nave for the first full King’s Cathedral service for sixteen months. As the opening hymn got underway with a wave of melodious and hearty sound our emotions were touched by the effect of a community back together. A live presence and everyone supportive of each other: the joint Foundation re-united in this sacred and inspiring space.

4 News from King’s: Bubbles and Tags 6 Development News: Take your seat or hire an award winning Victorian building 8 OKS Overseas: Worldwide networks 10 OKS Network: From 6b on the Green Court to diversity and inclusion at Uber 12 Co-Ed Feature: A time for women

Our three Canterbury Schools (KSC, Junior King’s and the International College) are back in good heart. Our pupils numbers are the highest achieved across our long history, despite the pandemic. Students and teachers are so delighted to be face-to-face in the classroom, generating ideas, sharing concepts and learning from each other.

28 OKS Update: News of OKS from around the world: music, books, apps and weddings 36 Unknown OKS: King’s Scholar and brother of the more famous Elizabeth 38 Lives Remembered: Obituaries

We are independent schools, wanting to get on with what we are best at: teaching, inspiring and caring for our pupils. We will, of course, continue to follow the health regulations to the letter, but we still want to do the wide range of activities which make King’s famous amongst the nation’s schools. We are also very committed to help others and to participate in partnership schemes beyond our beautiful campuses. King’s is part of our Cathedral Foundation with a sense of a wider mission, sharing our gifts as well as cultivating them within the life of the School.

50 Sport: News from courts to courses

It was lovely to speak to the different sections of the King’s rowing family at the KSBC annual dinner in St Augustine’s. Thank you to the Pilgrims Club for their generosity in helping to fund a Sixth Form rowing scholarship. And thank you to Mike and Mary Brown, also at the dinner, always so supportive of the way King’s develops, changes and improves, whilst keeping to the spirit behind it all, for the way you continue to encapsulate that King’s ethos.

telephone 01227 595669 email oks@kings-school.co.uk website www.oks.org.uk

Peter Roberts OKS

|

Autumn 2021

We want to hear your news and so do your fellow OKS. Fill in the form on the address sheet or contact Molly Burgess.

facebook.com/groups/oksassociation twitter.com/OKSAssociation linkedin.com/groups/35681 instagram.com/oksassociation The OKS Magazine is produced by an editorial committee chaired by Felicity Lyons (SH 1975-77). The Senior Editor is Stephen Woodley (CR 1969-98), who is assisted by Executive Editor Molly Burgess (OKS Coordinator), Peter Henderson (School Archivist, CR 1969- ) and Susan Tingle (Deputy Director of Development). Unless otherwise credited, photographs are by Matt McArdle, the contributors, or from the school archives. The magazine is designed by Nick Ebdon (nickebdon.co.uk).

3

News from King’s

SUMMER TERM Over 90% of pupils were in situ for the Summer Term and school life carried on in the now familiar bubbles. There were the occasional local lockdowns and enforced isolations, but the School was fortunate that it escaped any serious outbreak. An unannounced visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate on Monday 28 June checking on the implementation of covid regulations was dealt with smoothly. The King’s Scholarship exams took place for 2021 entrants as well as those for the current Shells, postponed from 2020. That King’s will have record numbers in September with over 30% new pupils is testament to the successful manner in which the School has negotiated the pandemic.

KING’S WEEK Last year’s King’s Week was entirely ‘virtual’.

This year the 70th Week saw the return of the marquee and of many live events. The organising team of Greg Hunter, Florence Walton, Jerome Dutton and Rob Harrison oversaw an imaginative programme in challenging circumstances. Rehearsals and performances under ‘bubble’ conditions were a major constraint on what was possible.

Audiences were of limited numbers and of pupils and staff only. Nonetheless parents, OKS, friends of the School and others were able to enjoy many of the events online. Drama ranged from Grease to Macbeth via Harry Potter. The Lab on the Lawn and the bicycles kept the Green Court humming. Music in 4

particular excelled, including a Serenade in the Shirley Hall, and most concerts and some other shows are still available to view: see kingsweek.co.uk

SPEECH DAY The last day of term took on a new guise. Most of the School had already departed and the abbreviated Cathedral Commemoration service was for 6a leavers and staff only. There was no congregational singing and the Dean was the preacher. At mid-day, leavers and parents gathered on the Green Court, where there were speeches from the Dean, the Headmaster and the Captain of School, Daisy Rex (see page 26), before the leave-taking by houses. There was no

prize-giving ceremony. Court dress and national costumes gave a traditional feel to an otherwise unfamiliar occasion. Parents and leavers then moved to the houses for a final celebration. And the sun shone.

SUMMER SPORT Most sports were able to take place with many fixtures possible and Birley’s on Saturday afternoon had a welcome air of familiarity about it. Captain of Boats James Crawley and Bear Hastilow won the Championship Pairs race at the National Schools Regatta during half term. Golfers Charlie Cook, Christy Francis and Tom Fish won the nett team competition in the prestigious ISGA HG Trophy. Will Gaffney and OKS Harry OKS

|

Autumn 2021

opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on past paper questions and there was no extrapolation of grading according to potential or trajectory; the grades awarded had to be seen in the quality of the work submitted. We are delighted that 80% of the 6a leavers were accepted into their first-choice university and another 10% into their insurance choice – again, record levels in recent years.

Savill (GR 2008-13) were both made Young Ambassadors of the MCC Foundation earlier this year and have been involved in launching resources to inspire others to raise funds for the charity, which aims to transform lives through cricket.

TAGS It was not an easy Summer Term for teachers, especially the academic heads of departments.

The usual public exam season was replaced

by Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs), which required a completely different approach to the summer term. The grades submitted by King’s were accepted without moderation by each exam board, after sampling to check the quality, and emerged as the strongest in King’s history at both levels (after a rise in 2020 as well). A levels reached 43% A* grades, 72% A & A* grades, and at GCSE/IGCSE 59% A* equivalent (new grades 9 & 8), 78% A* & A (new grades 7-9).

King’s put in place an intense programme of weekly assessments under exam conditions for these cohorts, so that they had the maximum OKS

|

Autumn 2021

FROM THE COMMON ROOM

Photos, clockwise from top-left: Grease, King’s Week 21; Speech Day 2021; 2021 Leavers; Ian MacEwen (CR 2008-21); Bear Hastilow (MO 201621) (left) and James Crawley (GR 201621) (right)

Leavers this summer include Stephen WinrowCampbell and Ian MacEwen who are both retiring, Martin Robbins who is returning to the Army Chaplaincy, Kate Newsholme and OKS Edd Flower. Among new members of staff, OKS Marc Chapman returns to run the fencing. The Kentish Piano Trio, Helen Crayford, piano, Kathy Shave, violin, and Julia Vohralik, cello, feature in the Canterbury Festival, playing works by Mendelssohn and Stephen Matthews (Common Room 1984-2020). Both Kathy and Julia are visiting music teachers at King’s.

5

Development News The Malthouse wins National Awards The successful rejuvenation of this late Victorian building and the construction of the new International College have received national recognition.

T

he malthouse has gained several awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The Theatre has been named South East Building of the Year 2021, receiving a South East Award and a South East Conservation Award as well as a National Award. The neighbouring International College has received both a South East and a National Award. In addition the Malthouse Theatre won the AJ [Architects’ Journal] Retrofit Award for Cultural and Religious Buildings over £5M. RIBA National Awards are given to buildings recognised as ‘significant contributions to

6

architecture’. The citation describes the Malthouse Theatre as “an absolute exemplar of how to repurpose an existing building for a range of uses and users, in an imaginative, honest and sensitive way and is a credit to everyone involved”. The Retrofit Awards celebrate “the design expertise behind the vital renewal and repurposing of existing buildings, slashing the industry’s carbon footprint in the process”.

The Malthouse is used by the School to teach and perform drama and dance, but it also hosts both amateur and professional events throughout the year. For details, see opposite.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

What’s On

A

n important aim of the Theatre is to encourage young people from the local community to become involved in the arts by nurturing talent and providing a platform for their work. Equably valuable is the opportunity to experience cultural entertainment of the highest quality.

Clockwise from top left: The Malthouse; seats; King’s Week 2021

Forthcoming events include The Pantaloons with The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde during half term, the School’s end of term production of Great Expectations and the Beauty and the Beast pantomime before Christmas.

Full details can be seen at malthousetheatre.co.uk where you can also sign up for our newsletter.

Thank you for supporting King’s!

O

ver 100 seats in the Malthouse Theatre have been named by OKS, King’s parents and members of the Legacy Club through the Take Your Seats campaign. Some have chosen their own name or the name(s) of family members, others have named a seat in memory of a loved one or in appreciation of a member of staff. We are grateful for the support of all the donors to the Malthouse Campaign.

• To find out how you can name a seat please contact Susan Tingle, Deputy Director of Development: telephone 01227 595 567 or email development@kings-school.co.uk

The Malthouse is the King’s School, Canterbury’s centre of drama and dance. A stunning Victorian building, it is also available for hire.

This atmospheric building offers: • 334 seat theatre • Dance and drama studios • Professional kitchen and dining facilities • Bar and reception area • Teaching rooms The Malthouse is the perfect location for any production, celebration, corporate or networking event. We can offer services such as box office, catering, bar and front of house. www.malthousetheatre.co.uk hello@malthousetheatre.co.uk 01227 287 234 Malthouse Campus, Malthouse Road, Canterbury CT2 7JA

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

7

The King’s School, Canterbury is a UK Registered Charity number 307942

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

OKS Overseas Winter Adventures in Cape Town Sage Battle (BY 2015-17) tells us about lockdown activities and the beauty of South Africa.

E

ver since lockdown began, I’ve made a point to try as many outdoor activities as Cape Town has to offer. After being cooped up for a year, it only made sense to explore and embrace the mountains, the seaside and the parks. I’ve climbed Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Peak and have loved watching sunsets on Kloof Corner. Slacklining in the park, kayaking and going for moonrise hikes have made for irreplaceable memories.

Seal spotting at Three Anchor Bay and strolling along the promenade are just two of the many activities that my post-graduate friends and I have engaged in. Even though we’re moving out of winter and heading into spring, the weather hasn’t stopped picnics, beach trips and spontaneous climbing adventures.

8

I am very thankful, even in the midst of the challenges that the pandemic has occasioned. I’ve been able to get back in touch with nature and appreciate what it’s like to be disconnected from the internet and from the demands of screens.

Hiking to see the proteas bloom and the yellow canola fields along the N2 have reminded me that the Western Cape will always be beautiful, regardless of the time of year. The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are situated on Table Mountain and make the perfect spot for a lunch with a view. On an odd sunny day in winter, Camps Bay beach is the best place for a view of the city.

Hiking up Chapman’s Peak has definitely been a highlight. It’s like walking above clouds. I’ve learned that nothing beats a chilly hike to view where the sea and sky meet, followed by a cozy bonfire. I am so glad that I can study in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

• Sage Battle is the OKS Overseas Representative for South Africa and New York. She can be contacted via the OKS website.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

OKS OVERSEAS

Reunion in Melbourne

Reunion in Dubai

M

O

Pictured below from left to right, top row first: Simon Jones, David Wheeler, Alexander Gillies, Lisa Murphy, Richard Iron and Robbie Wallace.

Pictured below from left to right: Justin Williams, Robert Shakespeare, Simon Williams, Paul Gent and Nicholas Gent.

elbourne, australia rep Lisa Murphy (MO 1987-89) organised a catch-up dinner with OKS at the Hazel Restaurant on Wednesday 24th March. Lisa is the Executive Director of Stroke Services at the Stroke Foundation in Melbourne.

ur new rep in Dubai, Simon Williams (LN 1974-78) organised a reunion with OKS on Thursday 17th June. Simon currently works at the British Embassy, Dubai as the Director of International Trade (Afghanistan).

With more than 10,500 alumni worldwide, you’ll never be far from another OKS There are OKS reps located all around the world in over 20 countries whose aim is to help you stay connected to each other and to the School.

OKS reps can help you reconnect with friends, give advice about working in or travelling through their country and often hold reunions!

Opposite page, top: the view of Table Mountain from Lion’s Head; Bottom: Sage swimming in the South Atlantic Ocean

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

To find out more, visit the OKS website: oks.org.uk If you would like to become an Overseas Rep, get in touch via email: oks@kings-school.co.uk

9

OKS Network 6b Q&A Panel Amelia Paine (JR 2013-18) reflects on the 6b University Q&A panel on 30 June 2021.

A

fter a year of online King’s events, grey skies brought the 6bs once again into the Green Court marquee for an afternoon Q&A session on university life. Resident MC and Head of the Sixth Form Al Holland welcomed five OKS who all took different educational paths in varying cities: Serena Brunswig, a foundation art student at Goldsmiths; Chelsea Okezie-Akwiwu, studying Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London; Ben Helme, reading Politics at the London School of Economics; Grace Francis, studying Mechanical Engineering at Nottingham University; and myself, finishing a degree in Law at the University of Bristol.

Following a year of uncertainty and considerable changes to the way university admissions will operate because of the coronavirus pandemic, the

10

panel provided some much-needed reassurance and guidance on how to navigate these new norms. Questions started out as highly sensible such as ‘What was it like having course lectures online?’ and ended much more comfortably, for example ‘What can you expect from a sports social?’, proving the 6bs had a sense of what they really wanted to know. It was a warm atmosphere on a relatively cold summer day, and more importantly an invaluable opportunity for the 6bs to purge themselves of any pressing questions.

The OKS panel were receptive and good-natured in their carefully curated advice on catered halls, how to do your own laundry and bridging the gap from King’s culture to broader university life.

More importantly, though, the OKS gave some key pointers on squeezing the very best out of your time at university and the extent of the different possibilities that await after your time at King’s.

The panel left the Green Court for what the Dolphin pub had to offer, to catch up with teachers and to make up for some of the abruptly lost time that the Covid-impacted 6a year experienced.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

OKS NETWORK

of growing up with a foot in both countries.

Workwise, I’m a tech lawyer – I qualified at Ashurst LLP in the City and moved soon after that to work as in-house legal counsel for Uber.

I do feel privileged to have come into my career stride at a time where corporates are earnestly looking to grapple with the concepts of diversity and inclusion. Not just from a metrics perspective, but also because as a society we have truly begun to acknowledge that there is an immense amount of work to do, in order to level the playing field – so there is equal and fair access to opportunities for everyone.

The new Vice President (Diversity) of the OKS Association

Over the years, I’ve taken it on as a personal responsibility to partner with leadership and teams within the organisations that I have worked for, to boost diversity and create initiatives that foster a culture of inclusivity. The ambition is always to bridge the gaps and create environments where everyone can feel seen and valued in their individuality.

Erin Abraham (CY 2009-11) tells us about her goals as the new OKS Vice-President (Diversity).

I

t’s a real pleasure to have joined the OKS Committee as Vice-President (Diversity), this summer. This year makes it exactly ten years since I left King’s, so it feels like a great time to be re-connecting with the School through the OKS. Whilst I was born in the United Kingdom, my parents have been based in Nigeria for most of my life and I had the unique experience

This page: Erin Abraham Opposite page, top row (l-r): Al Holland and Julian Károlyi; Bottom row (l-r): Serena Brunswig, Chelsea OkezieAkwiwu, Amelia Paine, Ben Helme and Grace Francis

I’m really excited to lend a hand to the OKS. I’m hoping I can draw on some of my corporate experience to create some positive activity on all things Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), keep a D&I lens on all we’re doing as the OKS committee and hopefully act as a sounding board when it comes to tackling some of the trickier questions.

Once again, it’s a pleasure to be here and thank you for having me.

ARE YOU AN OKS AT UNIVERSITY? BASED AT SEVERAL universities across the UK, OKS University Representatives are on hand to welcome new students. Camilla Roberts (LX 2012-17) explains that “University can seem daunting at first but knowing that I had fellow OKS at Edinburgh made my first year so much easier.” Whether you would like advice on housing, budgeting at university or the local scene, OKS reps are happy to help. They will also organise reunions, which gives you a chance to catch

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

up with fellow OKS. We even have a representative in America who can answer all your questions about studying and living abroad. To contact your reps, visit oks.org.uk/your-reps As more OKS go to university each year, we are always looking for new reps. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the OKS Coordinator oks@kings-school.co.uk

11

BEFORE CO-ED: THE PREHISTORY OF WOMEN AT KING’S

2

Peter Henderson, the School Archivist, explores the history and roles of women at King’s.

2020 WAS THE 30th anniversary of full

co-education at the King’s School and in 2021 we reflect on fifty years of girl pupils. At the same time, it is worth remembering that schools like King’s – at least in their post-Reformation incarnations – were never all-male establishments and that it is wrong to suppose that women only put in an appearance in the later 20th century.

The prominent role of clerical wives and daughters in the social life of the Precincts will not come as a surprise.

They attended plays, speech days and other School occasions and some, such as Mrs Charles Milles who resided in Meister Omers and elsewhere for 50 years with her daughter Molly, feature in the gossipy reminiscences of George Gilbert (KSC 1809-15). The history of rowing at King’s started in 1862 when the first boat was launched at Fordwich

by Alice Alford, daughter of the Dean,

12

and she also presented the prizes at the 1865 sports day.

With the building of School House in the 1860s, matrons and other resident staff became more important. The 1901 census gives a good picture of the School in the early twentieth century. Headmaster Arthur Galpin’s household included sixteen servants: nine ‘domestic’ and seven ‘school’. The school servants, all female and all single, included two matrons (Frances Gadd and Harriet Spilsbury), four ‘dormitory maids’ and one housemaid. The domestics included a cook, a nurse and seven servants. In all, eight of the servants were teenagers.

In addition, Mrs Fannie Holdstock, who lived in 84 Broad Street at the back of School House, was manageress of the tuck shop.

It is also important not to underestimate the standing of women within the school

top left: Miss Sumner, school nurse 1920 top right: OTC inspection on Blore’s 1911: the ladies – and their hats – are out in force centre: tennis against Benenden in Cornwall 1943 (coed before co-ed) bottom left: Vera Reynolds, piano teacher 1977 bottom right: the sanatorium 1939

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

13

community. Elizabeth Sumner, the School Nurse from 1911 to 1927, was a major figure with “a fearless outspokenness and above all an abounding sense of humour” according to The Cantuarian.

Similarly, Miss Tyler, the School House matron from 1907 to 1923, was “a friend to mother us or scold us as occasion demanded”. And Geoffrey Soden, who was at King’s from September 1918 to

1898-1908) and Edward (KSC 1903-07) had recently been at King’s, but little else is known about her. In Michaelmas 1918 she was replaced by Miss Southern, who was followed by Mrs Barford (1920) and Mrs Hudson FRGS (1920-28). None of them are visible in the school photographs of the time, but Mrs Hudson can be seen, wearing her gown, in a Common Room gathering

a friend to mother us or scold us as occasion demanded

March 1921, observed that “the Headmaster’s housekeeper [Miss Skipwith] – one felt that “hostess” would have been a more appropriate word – belonged to the credit side of the war” and added: “of all the more or less uncomprehending grown-ups, male or female, with whom I came into contact at Canterbury, the one of whose kindness and understanding I have the happiest memories is Jane, the School House maid.”

The first female member of the teaching staff was ‘Miss D. Bellars’, who joined the Junior School, in what is now Walpole House, in the Summer Term of 1914. Dorothy Bellars was a daughter of the late Vicar of Margate and only 21 years old. Her brothers Gerald (KSC 14

of 1926. With the removal of the Junior School to Sturry in 1929, women were less obvious within the Senior School, though Marjorie Harris, wife of ‘JB’ Harris (Common Room 1919-59), was an important influence in Holme House and later in Meister Omers.

The list of ‘Assistant Masters’ in the 1940 Christmas term rotulus ended with three women music teachers, Miss I Bridge, Miss A M Coates and Miss J Menzies Wilson, but it would seem that they were not the first. From at least the mid-1890s onwards, various ladies had played in the school orchestra and in a report on the December 1926 School Concert The Cantuarian remarked that “Miss Margery Bentwich (who has

left: Frances Gadd, matron c1900 Photo by Colin Murray right: Sylvia Lumley Ellis

by Bassano Ltd 1934 © National Portrait Gallery, London

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

been teaching at the school since last September) delighted the audience with two violin solos”. She was a pupil of Fritz Kreisler and Leopold Auer and had played with Myra Hess as well as with her sister Thelma Yellin.

Mayne, mother of Michael (MO, LX 194349), the future Dean of Westminster. As Sylvia Lumley Ellis she had played several times at Wimbledon, most notably in the first women’s match on the new No. 1 Court in 1924. Her opponent was Suzanne Lenglen, the greatest player of her age, so defeat was no surprise.

(She also lost to Helen Wills, regarded by many as the greatest of all, in 1927.)

After the suicide of her husband in 1933, when Michael was only three, she turned to coaching and when she became involved with King’s tennis The Cantuarian acknowledged that “the general standard of play has improved out of all recognition”.

Peacetime saw a return to the normality of a male-dominated staff, though matrons, music teachers, the Headmaster’s Secretary ‘Migs’ Milward, housemasters’ wives and the redoubtable Dorothy Shirley were often significant figures. The Headmaster’s daughter Janet Shirley appeared in some lessons and in a 1947 Meister Omers house play.

The Second World War led to an upheaval in the teaching staff as many were called up. At least three of the most interesting wartime recruits were mothers of boys at the School. Florence Mary Sotheby Pitcher, the mother of Christopher (GR 1940-44), taught some art. She was also commissioned to paint the portrait of Peter Roberts VC that is now in the dining hall. Rita Buckland, ARCM, mother of John (SH 1931-33) and Tim (SH 1937-41), “lived with the school and taught much of the music”.

Perhaps the most remarkable was Sylvia OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Vera Reynolds was a particularly long-serving piano teacher. She is listed in the music staff from January 1944 to July 1977, but her association with the School went back to 1927 when she appeared in a concert the year before marrying Paul Reynolds (Common Room 1922-57). There is a room dedicated to her memory in the Music School.

Then in January 1968 Muriel Mallows arrived as the art mistress. She left that post in July 1970 but stayed in School House as wife of housemaster John Goddard until 1973. She was followed in 1969 by French assistante Mlle MarieFrance Pignol, who later married John Sugden (Common Room 1967-86).

Finally in September 1971 Jane Baron joined Marlowe House and the Classical Sixth Form. Co-education had arrived.

15

TRAILBLAZER OR BLUESTOCKING?

A

Anne Brown (née Naunton Davies, LN 1974-75) was one of the earliest Sixth Form girls.

immediately apparent that the teachers were in a different league from my previous experience; they were polished, erudite, challenging and inspiring.

Definitely “lighting a fire”. I was aware too that I was among brilliant students: sporty, clever and musical. I started inexplicably doing Chemistry O level, with no other girls then in the fifth form.

AFTER A CHEQUERED education at girls’ schools, I joined the eleven girls already at King’s in January 1974. Not the beginning of the school year, but a beginning of much for me. I was allocated to Linacre with Tamsin, Mary and Diana. Linacre was chosen because of the availability of a separate lavatory, a credential even then I thought touchingly naive. The boys were immediately protective, insisting I carried a coiled bedspring against attack in the Dark Entry. I lodged with a family in the Precincts, so it felt like boarding school. My access to the Oaks gate key ensured a fickle popularity.

Even now a few bars of Bowie, Wonder, Genesis or Cohen transport me back to the womb-like seediness of Linacre studies. I sit with a heavily graffitied board on my knees, which served as a desk, surrounded by stale half-eaten loaves (rowers were supposed to bulk up: nutrition in the 70s eh?), congealing milk bottles down the back of sofas, and the posters boys were not supposed to put up in deference to us.

But we were made of sterner stuff (and never considered #MeToo).

A couple of memories: someone who slavered custard on his stew. The iconoclasm! Two of us walking to have lunch with the Archbishop, my companion observing “There’s nothing I can say he won’t know already”.

But I was here to learn. It was 16

My final year I was made Senior Girl, a new post with the remit being to act as a conduit between staff and the 20 non-uniformed girls. I may have misunderstood the brief, perhaps something about setting an example? I left with the O level, A and S levels and a love of learning. Careers’ advice was vague and masculine. I couldn’t do Oxbridge as I would be too old. I wanted to read English. Several people said “Don’t be a nurse”. So, I went into nursing.

The rest of my life has been prosaic. I did the first nursing degree in London, once more the outsider, but I had experience of this. I worked in London hospitals, was health visiting in Brixton in 1981 (the riots a coincidence), spent a couple

left: Heloise and Anne Brown, Speech Day 2003 right: Linacre house photograph 1974 with (left to right) Anne Naunton Davies, Mary Sparks, Diana Barnes and Tamsin Powles

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

of years in Japan, and have spent the last 30 years in general practice. I did one of the first prescribing qualifications and became clinical lead for a large practice. Nursing lends itself to training continuously, so in addition to vocational courses, I studied a master’s in healthcare ethics and law.

I stepped back from management in December 2020, but a week later the Covid vaccination programme needed organising, so…

I have remained steeped in the legacy of King’s: husband, brother, brother-inlaw, two children and daughter-in-law.

Heloise works at The Spitalfields Trust and Esmond is a marathon runner and trust lawyer in Cayman.

quite a culture shock, but Liverpool is a great place to be a student, plus it’s where I met my future husband, Hugh.

I was interested in medical aspects of the course and the emerging field of molecular biology. This led me into my first job, attempting to clone and DNA sequence equine hormone genes.

Based in a laboratory in Cambridge, this project allowed me to gain a MSc at Darwin College. I then got a PhD place at University College London, studying the molecular genetics of colorectal cancer.

After a post-doctoral position at the Hammersmith Hospital, I took an extended career break to spend time with our kids (Gregory, Alastair and Jenny) and move to Kent. In 2006, I left the laboratory bench for the computer screen. I was curating gene variant information, to aid with the diagnosis

A WITNESS TO THE EVOLUTION OF GENOMIC MEDICINE

I

Sarah Leigh (MO 1977-79) is currently working as scientific curator at Genomics England.

I JOINED KING’S to work towards A levels in Biology, Chemistry and Physics with Messrs Wetherilt, Jackson and Aldridge respectively. At MO I met Katherine Robinson and Jean Campbell and we formed a very happy team, having lots of fun together in various School activities.

Hockey became a significant part of my life, especially enjoying matches and after-match teas. Under the guidance of Judy Woodley and the captaincy of Caroline Topping we reached the semi-finals of the Kent Schools Tournament.

I left King’s to study Microbiology at the University of Liverpool. This was OKS

|

Autumn 2021

of familial hypercholesterolemia. The resultant open access database at UCL allowed the sharing of information for the efficient diagnosis of this very common treatable condition. Through this work I established connections with researchers and clinicians globally and became one of the former leading members of the ClinGen Familial Hypercholesterolemia Variant Curation Expert Panel, which aims to share the best quality data to facilitate diagnosis.

above: Hockey 1st XI Lent Term 1979 – Sarah is seated second from the right

17

As my role at UCL came to an end I was delighted to join Genomics England as a Scientific Curator. I became part of the team working on PanelApp; designed to aid diagnosis in the 100,000 Genomes Project. PanelApp lists gene panels associated with different human diseases, thereby allowing attention to be focused on possibly clinically significant variants found in patients. This also fits with the global perspective on data sharing, as this project has produced a well-regarded resource that is freely available to the community.

THE WRONG AUGUSTINE Catherine Conybeare (MR 1982-84) is Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Greek, Latin and Classical Studies at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and has recently held a Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford.

B

The last four decades have been an amazing time in the evolution of genomic medicine: from initial gene mapping, to the sequencing of the human genome, to the routine diagnosis of some genetic diseases. I have been lucky to witness this progression and make a small contribution to it.

As this piece is for a special women’s issue of the OKS Magazine, I would like to emphasize I have never felt that being a woman was an impediment. There are so many amazing female genetic scientists, who have been an inspiration for me and I feel that this will continue as the scientific community continues to be diverse and inclusive.

“BUT WHY DID I hate Greek when it sang

these stories? … I think it was the difficulty, the extreme difficulty of learning a foreign language, that sprinkled all the Greek sweetness of fabulous tales with a bitter taste.”

That was the complaint of the man on whose life and writings I have now spent a substantial part of my own life and writings: the scholar and bishop Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Not to be confused with the Augustine who (so it is said) established King’s, ‘my’ Augustine left more than five million words of Latin that have irrevocably shaped the European intellectual tradition. Theology, philosophy, psychology, political science, language studies, biblical interpretation: all are deeply indebted to his prodigious intellect.

I admire Augustine of Hippo.

But I can’t agree with him about hating Greek. Even though I work mostly with Latin texts, I love Greek. And that is thanks above all to the wonderful teaching I had at King’s. left: Sarah Leigh right: Catherine Conybeare

18

I arrived in 1982 specifically to join the ‘classical sixth’ and take Greek and Latin A Level. There I encountered gentle, scholarly Martin Tennick; precise, OKS

|

Autumn 2021

European tradition – or not in the same way. I am re-reading Augustine’s life and writings in the light of the fact that he was African and spent almost his entire life in North Africa. The tradition isn’t as European as we thought…

Augustine the African will be out from Profile Books in the UK and Liveright in the US in 2023.

TIME FOR WOMEN Eleanor Taylor Jolidon (GR 198688) was a founder of the Time for Women group at King’s in 1988, alongside Lisa Löfdahl, Katie Gollop and Kate Wellesley. She is an investment banker with Union Bancaire Privée in Switzerland.

M

exacting Peter Dix; and dynamic, amusing John Godwin, whose passion for the texts he taught inspires me in the classroom to this day. Between the three of them I could hardly have been better equipped to embark on a lifetime of classical scholarship.

left: St Augustine in a 6th century fresco, the Lateran, Rome right: Eleanor Taylor at school

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

After taking my BA in Literae Humaniores at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, I went on to complete a PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. I am fascinated by the ways in which Latin and Greek survived for centuries after the ‘classical’ period, responding constantly to the changing world in which they were used. And for that fascination, I am indebted to King’s as well, albeit more indirectly.

As a Music Scholar, I sang services with the Chamber Choir (an opportunity not available to most girls in the 1980s).

Singing Allegri’s Miserere made me want to know more about where that Latin came from.

Today I am back with Augustine (still the wrong Augustine), but not with the

MY DAUGHTER HAS been sitting her Swiss Matura exams, bringing back memories of A levels at King’s. With two older and opinionated brothers, both OKS, I grew up determined to do at least as well as them. It never occurred to me that my opportunities could be in any form less than theirs.

Back then, of course, I heard more comments about being ‘ladylike’ than becoming a professional success. The girls’ school I attended prior to King’s was adamant that we would fail if we went to a boys’ school, because we would be ‘distracted’. We were not.

In my case, King’s offered me the freedom to develop and reinforced my motivation to succeed. It saddened me to see that this experience was not universal amongst the King’s girls. I noticed a tendency for many to be more relaxed, more open 19

when they were outside the Precincts.

In some cases, I could almost see them physically conforming to what was expected of a girl as they walked into the Mint Yard. We discussed this amongst friends – boys and girls. It seemed as if the School was missing out on the full range of abilities and talents that some girls had, because they repressed their full potential. We feared that some of the girls were failing to grasp all the opportunities the school community could offer. That was the motivation to create the Time for Women group.

I remain convinced that anyone, regardless of background, gender, orientation and health, should be given the same opportunities and be rewarded equally for equal work. No one should feel the need to conform to a role that would limit what they can offer.

AFTER APARTHEID

I

Since King’s, it has been good to see the progress towards gender equality. The number of female fund managers is growing. In my early career, I was often earning the then statistically established 30% less than my male colleagues for the same work. There are still disheartening and disturbing discussions. Unfortunately, my daughter finds it necessary to take time off revision to join the women’s strike for equal pay. Recently an acquaintance explained that one of his staff deserved a cut to her annual bonus due to her maternity leave, totally ignoring her exceptional work, and the profitable results thus generated for him. I made my opinion felt.

The drive and ambition developed at King’s plays a part in my career. The equity fund management team I co-head with a male colleague has a strict equal pay for equal work principle that the two of us put in place. Our team is equally balanced between men and women and is culturally diverse. We are recognized for our team stability, the excellence of our investment performance and the success of our franchise. We do joke about the clichés of gender specific skill sets, but we know that diversity, in all its forms, is very valuable in our investment decisions.

20

Caroline Kamana (née Moir, WL 199095) is Project Director of The Liliesleaf Trust UK. I HAD BEGGED my parents to send me to boarding school. I’d imagined it was all midnight feasts, instant camaraderie and life-shaping moments that entailed pushing against boundaries, expectations and ‘norms’. In many ways this is exactly how I recall my time at King’s.

There were approximately 25 of us in the first intake of Shell girls and it was exciting to bring King’s into the 20th century.

(Reader… it was a man’s world and they were “making space for us”.) Rather than encountering any of the promised negativity, we felt welcome and supported; OKS

|

Autumn 2021

though I do recall hymn practice on Friday mornings and the mortification of being asked to sing by house – with the rest of the Shirley Hall scoffing at the higher pitched and not particularly loud efforts of our contribution.

King’s was (and I imagine still is) a place of privilege. Embedded in our education was that with this privilege comes great responsibility, individual as well as collective. A sense of family spirit extended beyond the house walls and remains with me still. My husband Dunstan Kamana (TR 1990-95) and I remain close friends with many of our peers – our three children each have King’s godparents.

My first degree was in Theology and after leaving Oxford – and a brief stint selling advertising – I did a PGCE and taught at Sutton Grammar School for Boys and at St Paul’s Cathedral School. Like King’s, these were/are male-dominated institutions. Perhaps the resilience that was shaped and strengthened during those early Shell days was more useful than I had anticipated. When we moved to South Africa, I completed a Masters at the University of the Witwatersrand, focusing on museum education and decolonial praxis in archives and curation.

left: Eleanor Taylor Jolidon today centre: New Shells 1990: Caroline is on the far left right: Speech Day 1995: Caroline and Dunstan Kamana

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Since our return to the UK in 2017, I’ve facilitated the start-up of the Liliesleaf Trust UK. Our main focus is the development of the Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory and Learning (CML) in the former African National Congress London HQ in Islington. Opening in 2023 as the first UK venue dedicated to the movement against apartheid and its legacy, the CML will promote the values of the Southern African Liberation struggle and investigate the UK’s central role within this world-changing history, whilst supporting contemporary discourse around social (in)justice, inclusion and multi-racial collaboration

for social transformation as per the mission of our Trust.

The CML will unlock public access to the heritage of one of the most influential, Black-led social movements of the 20th century, through spaces dedicated to exhibition, archive and community engagement, redressing longstanding

imbalances in whom UK heritage and culture is made for and by. Programmes will pivot three key areas: learning about and from the heritage of anti-apartheid action; intergenerational exchange and the empowerment of marginalised communities; and galvanising civic participation and social cohesion.

Launching in winter 2021/22, the CML’s website, antiapartheidlegacy.org.uk, will create a multi-functional platform, building awareness of the CML, its programmes of exhibitions, events and activities. Our social media handles can be found on the current landing page.

Please do support the project by following us online while we work towards opening the Centre.

21

FAMILY LAW TODAY

I

Sophie Chapman (WL 1995-2000) tells us about her career as a family lawyer at Stewarts.

family businesses, inherited wealth and complex valuation disputes.

The law came to recognise the equal roles played by spouses in a marriage in 2000 in the seminal case of White v White, in which the House of Lords

I WAS AT King’s from 1995 to 2000 and was Deputy Head Scholar in my 6a year.

I felt incredibly lucky to be at a school that had wholeheartedly embraced co-education ahead of its time. It had quickly fostered an ethos of equality within the student body (notwithstanding its long and distinguished history as a boys’ school), and strong and inspiring women abounded in leadership roles.

Janet Pickering was Deputy Head when I joined, and I was under the wonderful guidance of Jean Watson, Housemistress of Walpole throughout my time.

King’s was an environment where, as girls, we believed we could and would achieve anything the boys could and where our successes across the board (in my case, academically and on the hockey field) were celebrated as equally as the boys’. As the first Deputy Head Scholar at King’s, it was an honour to have a leadership role within the student body and a voice on behalf of all students within the school.

My experience at King’s has been highly influential in informing my choices in the employment market. Having experienced first-hand the strengths of an inclusive environment at King’s, I wasn’t going to settle for anything less at work.

I am now a partner in the divorce and family team at Stewarts, the UK’s leading litigation-only law firm. As a family lawyer, I specialise in advising high net worth individuals on the consequences of family breakdown, including divorce and the financial issues arising from it and the arrangements for children, as well as pre- and post-nuptial agreements. I have particular experience of dealing with cases involving trusts, 22

held that each spouse was entitled to an equal share of the matrimonial assets on divorce, irrespective of the roles (of breadwinner, homemaker, child carer etc.) adopted by the parties during the marriage. Before White wives had been entitled on divorce to a ‘just settlement’, being the provision of a home and financial maintenance irrespective of the wealth generated during the marriage.

Of the twelve partners in the family team at Stewarts, six are women. We are supported by a hugely talented group of senior associates and junior lawyers, making us the pre-eminent family practice in the UK. I am proud currently to be spear-heading an initiative to support those going on and returning OKS

|

Autumn 2021

from maternity leave to ensure women’s careers are fully supported during this period. I am extremely grateful for the influential role that my time at King’s has played in shaping who I am, the leader I aspire to be and the team I want to be part of.

and grew up in Paris (I would take the Paris-Ashford Eurostar back and forth while at King’s) so this was a natural fit; many of the artists, clients and experts we dealt with were French. As administrator, my primary responsibility was to ensure the auctions ran smoothly and

THE FINE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY Hermione Sharp (JR 2001-05) is the Specialist and Head of Sale at Sotheby’s Photographs Department in New York.

W

WHEN I GRADUATED from university in 2009 with a History of Art Bachelor’s degree, the post-recession job market looked rather discouraging. After a short stint as a waitress, I started an internship with the personal curator of one of New York City’s most prominent art collectors. Once the market picked up again in 2010, I applied for some entry-level auction house positions and was hired in the Post Sale Services department at Sotheby’s. The Post Sale department is charged with processing all auction and private sales and the complicated logistics of delivering expensive works of art to high profile clients. This role allowed me to work closely with the company’s many specialist and support departments and determine whether I wanted to build a career on the operational side of an auction house or pave my way to becoming a fine art specialist.

left: Sophie Chapman right: Hermione Sharp cataloguing a contemporary photograph

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Because I wanted to work closely with the art and apply my art history degree to my career, I decided to pursue the specialist track. After a year and a half in Post Sale, the 19th Century European Paintings department hired me as their administrator. I am half-French

guide our clients through the entire process. Once I became comfortable with the role, the specialists encouraged me to start cataloguing, researching, and writing about the works we were selling.

This further solidified my ambition to become a specialist.

For a long time, I had been interested in photography and its importance within the larger context of art history.

Because the Photographs department was located on my floor in the office, I got to know the team and the photographs they handled, and soon realised I wanted to switch my specialty to photography. In 2015 I got my chance.

The Photographs department hired me as their cataloguer. Since then, I have 23

moved up to the position of Specialist and Head of Sale.

This role represents everything I worked for during my 12+ year career in the art world. Not only do I spend most of my days examining, researching and valuing highly important photographs from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, but I also travel in search of consignments for our auctions, visit beautiful client homes and find new owners for these photographs. In April 2021, we sold a group of William Henry Fox Talbot photographs for nearly $2 million – they are now on long-term loan at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford. The art that we handle is some of the best in the world.

Being the temporary custodian of museum-quality photographs is a pleasure.

There will always be something new to learn when the next one comes through our doors.

PARADISE LOST: THE PLIGHT OF SEA TURTLES IN THE MALDIVES

I

Minnie Liddell (CY 2005-10) is a veterinarian in the Maldives.

IN THE RELATIVE January calm before the storm that was the remainder of 2020, I stumbled across a job advert that made me do a double take: ‘Sea Turtle Rescue Centre Veterinarian and Guest Educator for the Olive Ridley Project, the Maldives’.

My husband and I welcomed a baby boy, Theodore, in February 2020 right before the world shut down. Being a working mother has presented new challenges but we quickly found our rhythm. Theo sometimes stops by my exhibitions to see some photographs!

I have lived in the UK all my life, spending seven years in Canterbury at both Junior and Senior King’s, leaving my much loved Carlyon House in 2010. I then qualified as a veterinarian from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2016, followed by a four year stint in 24

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Sheffield as a companion animal vet.

Not one to do things by halves, I mused that the best place to experience my first foray into international living was a miniscule island less than a kilometre long, 5000 miles away in the Indian Ocean.

The Olive Ridley Project is a UK based charity that works to protect and preserve sea turtles and their habitats.

It was formed because of the huge but comparatively unknown threat of something we call ‘ghost gear’. Ghost gear refers to abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear. Commercial fishing operations, both legal and illegal, generate over 640,000 tonnes of the stuff annually. These enormous tangles of plastic netting, rope, buoys and fishing line will float around in the ocean currents entangling unsuspecting sea turtles, who have absolutely no way of freeing themselves. It is here they will die a slow and agonising death. Sea turtles are incredibly resilient, so it will be months before they inevitably succumb to infection, malnutrition, dehydration or predation.

than watching a turtle like this slowly recover from wounds that would have otherwise killed them; releasing them back into the wild and atoning a little for the sins of humanity in the process.

There’s always so much more to say about an issue this huge, but to learn more and follow along with the recovery of the turtles lucky enough to be found and freed, please visit the Olive Ridley Project website oliveridleyproject.org or check us out on Facebook and Instagram @oliveridleyproject.

BEING FREELANCE Stephanie Sy-Quia (LX 2009-13) lives in London. Her writing has been published in the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Spectator, The Economist, The Times Literary Supplement, and The White Review, among others. She is a regular contributor to Times Radio. Her first book Amnion – ‘a contemporary lyric epic’ – is out soon.

W

left and above: Minnie and friends OKS

|

Autumn 2021

After learning about the threats sea turtles face, and with my never-ending love for all things scaley and prehistoric, I knew this was where I was meant to end up as a veterinarian. I applied instantly and was thrilled to be offered the job.

I have now been working on that tiny island for the last year, one of only two vets in the whole of the country, tending to every need of my sea turtle patients in a small but wonderfully well-equipped clinic. I do everything from surgeries to daily wound care, X-rays, ultrasounds, blood sampling and a lot of tank cleaning! These turtles come in with wounds you couldn’t even imagine, to the point where bones hanging out is just a normal occurrence. There is no better feeling

WHEN I ARRIVED at King’s in 2009, the 2008 crash was still reverberating, and I finished my university degree on the same day as the 2016 EU referendum result. At King’s, it was my English teachers in particular who had a huge impact on my way of thinking and looking at the world: more than just interpreting works of literature, they imparted an epistemological framework of perpetual questioning, cross-examination and the wealth to be found in a plurality of interpretations. Thanks to them, I was able to study the discipline I love at university, where female students of English outnumbered their male counterparts by more than two to one, and on the whole outnumbered their male peers across the humanities.

25

I graduated into a world where my subject had been chronically undervalued, and the sectors it was supposed to qualify me for (arts; media) were both tactically underpaid and heavily impacted

leaving traditional work in such significant numbers?), and also reveals the threats faced by the humanities (funding cuts, undervaluation on the job market) and freelancing as complex and often interrelated feminist issues – not to mention ones of class.

My biggest piece of advice in all this is to find your people. In 2019, I was selected to join the Ledbury Poetry Critics Programme, which works to increase the number of poetry critics of colour working in the UK. Networks of underrepresented groups like this can be so helpful and supportive in the early stages of one’s career, as well as the source of new friends. I cannot recommend it enough. In 2020, I was also very lucky to secure a book deal with Granta’s poetry list, and my debut work, Amnion, will be published in November 2021 – I’m very nervous but I can’t wait!

by both the digital revolution and the recession. Consequently, my career has been non-traditional from the outset: I’ve been freelance since I was twenty-three. This has involved compiling a diversified roster of jobs and income streams – at present, copy-writing, podcasting and retail – which subsidise my work as a writer and book critic.

THE CAPTAIN OF SCHOOL 2021

T

The clue’s in the name: being freelance has been liberatory for me, but it’s come at the cost of stability and security. And I’m part of a wider phenomenon: 2019 data from the Association for Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed shows that it’s women who have driven the boom in the UK’s freelance workforce since 2009. This both begs some interesting questions (why are women 26

Daisy Rex (LX 2016-21) was Captain of School 2020-21. This is an abbreviated version of her farewell speech.

THE CAPTAIN OF School’s speech – an intimidating task to say the least. I think I’m supposed to reference some profound life-changing quotes or preach to you in Latin verse (sorry Headmaster), but I’ve decided to speak from the heart instead, as for me that’s what King’s is about. Without sounding too clichéd or overly sentimental, King’s means so much to me and so much to so many of you here.

The first time I was really hit by King’s was in our first ever congers in Shell.

About a thousand people singing a

left: Stephanie Sy-Quia right: Speech Day 2021: Daisy Rex

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

and commitment that all of us here are filled with. It fills me with pride to be at a school in which being busy and doing what you love, whether it be hockey, orchestra, science, drama or even beekeeping, is greatly respected and considered ‘cool’.

Not only is this spirit evident within my peers, it is also embodied and fuelled by the compassion and drive that lies within all the teachers here at King’s. I often joke to poor Mr Harrison that the personal life of a King’s teacher is close to non-existent. What I really mean by this is that our teachers give their lives to King’s. Our teachers are not merely academic educators but role models, advisers and perhaps even friends we will stay in touch with.

I want to thank the Headmaster and his team for their leadership of the School.

It has been an impossible year in a multitude of ways but the Headmaster’s unfailing and wholehearted devotion is at the core of the School’s success.

Without Mrs Worthington the world of King’s does not function and without her we would not be here now. Neither has had a day of holiday in over a year.

School favourite at the top of their lungs in the Shirley Hall is quite honestly an unrivalled atmosphere. I just remember smiling to myself and thinking wow – what a school! Now this may seem insignificant, but I think the attitude to singing hymns is testament to what we are as a school – passionate. Regardless of whether we have been at King’s since 2008 at the Junior School, or, like me, since 2016 as a Shell, or since 2019 as a new 6b, what unites us all is the King’s spirit of being passionate at what we do.

The unfailing support from peers is testament to this, whether that be spectators at a wet and cold Saturday rugby match or friends watching each other at a lunchtime concert. The point is that King’s endorses the passion, love OKS

|

Autumn 2021

I also want to thank my friends and the entirety of the 6a year. It has been a privilege to share the last five years with you. We leave King’s today set up for life, not just on a practical level with good grades (fingers crossed) and wellrounded characters, but bonded with friends for life, a far more precious sentiment. Captaining King’s has genuinely been the honour of my life. And as the great and wise philosopher Winnie the Pooh once said: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying good-bye so hard”.

27

OKS Update

1950s Roger Burr (SH/GL 1951-56) has kindly sent us his Boat Club blazer for the Archives. It came with an interesting selection of ephemera.

Paul Leggatt (MR 1952-57) said that he was “amused by John Drew’s update and sketch of sheep watching a cricket match in the last OKS Magazine. In the Summer of 1957 I avoided getting into any cricket team and eventually collected up a number of similar dropouts and put a master in charge of us to play cricket at Birley’s. Happily, the master was on our side (I assume he was not keen on the game either) and together we conceived a plan. When officialdom was around, we would pretend to play cricket, but otherwise, having brought books with us, we would lie down in the long grass and read.

All went well for two weeks but then officialdom spotted what was going or not going on, and the unfortunate master was replaced by a keen sportsman who pushed us into actually playing the game. Inevitably the end of term approached, but I still have happy memories of the games of cricket we never actually played!”

Tony Williams (LN 1953-59) sent us this update: “I very much enjoyed reading the Spring 2021 edition, especially since Adam Finn features on our BBC Points West news bulletins almost every day. It was also sad to read that Richard Roberts had died. I also much enjoyed Lord Alton’s talk on the House of Lords as part of the online lectures.

Robin Houghton was a contemporary of mine at King’s, so it was good to read about the success of his daughter Frances, a great Olympic rower.”

Dr Adrian O’Sullivan (WL 1954-58) writes from Vancouver, British Columbia that he has been appointed Honorary Professor of Intelligence History at Bishop Grosseteste University (Lincoln). He is currently working on an investigation funded by the Society of Antiquaries into dress, disguise and deception during the Second World War. He soon hopes to publish his fourth book, greatly delayed by COVID, this time on espionage and counterintelligence in Turkey. Adrian has also been on the circuit, lecturing to various

28

learned societies in London, and most recently at The Reform Club, where he greatly enjoyed a two-night stay in sumptuous comfort, much preferred to a speaker’s fee!

Peter Boorman (Common Room 1959-74) writes: “I was sad to read in the Spring edition of the OKS Magazine the obituaries of several of my erstwhile colleagues and in particular of two men of distinction in the life of King’s: Peter Garwood and Richard Roberts. Both were of great help to me at a particularly trying time in my life. Peter had made my job so much easier than it might have been and I am eternally grateful to him.

Richard, with his typically quiet and modest input and a sage word, helped to put a new and wildly inexperienced young housemaster at ease.

His advice saved me from potential disaster in what were very difficult, revolutionary years.”

1960s A research centre at University of Sussex has been named after Dr Perry ‘Jim’ Browne (LX 196166) and was opened on 10 June. The Dr Perry James Browne Research Centre on Mathematics and its Applications will promote excellence in mathematical research at Sussex. Michael OKS

|

Autumn 2021

OKS UPDATE

Melgaard, Head of Department and Professor of Mathematics, said “the Centre will provide a point of focus for our research and will present opportunities for us to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations with applied scientists”.

Harry Christophers (MR 1967-72) has directed a new album by The Sixteen, Good night, beloved, released on 2 April. In an interview with Sean Rafferty on Radio 3, he said that he first came across Ciro Pinsuti’s Good night, good night, beloved when he sang it with the Glee Club at King’s. Also on the album is Stanford’s The Blue Bird – a song regularly featured in the King’s Week Serenade in the Cloisters.

Dr Michael Kock (LN 1968-71) has worked in California, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. His career has spanned 43 years, of which 39 have been as a wildlife veterinarian. His new book Through My Eyes: Journey of a Wildlife Veterinarian depicts his journey over several decades. The story is driven by the mantra: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and contains powerful images taken by Michael himself. For more details, please visit through-my-eyes.co.za Dr Luke Randall (SH 1969-71) is the coauthor of Stories from the Streets, a book about the work of Street Pastors published in November 2020. Luke explains: “I became a volunteer eleven years ago in the South West London area and have been a team leader there for many years.

The motivation to write a book happened after several memorable incidents.

Over the years there have been many interesting, funny, scary and rewarding encounters, and you can read the book to find out more!” Luke is currently working as a research microbiologist for DEFRA. For more details, please visit storiesfromthestreets.org OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Photos, clockwise from top left: Dr Adrian O’Sullivan; Nicholas Lyons (far right of the photo © Mike Williams/ City of London Corporation); Stories from the Streets book cover; Dr Michael Kock

1970s Andrew Maynard (WL 1972-76) gives us a career update. “I retire this year after 39 years of teaching Classics, first at Sedburgh, then at Eton College, where I was Head of Classics for 11 years. I am not alone among OKS to have been inspired by, and to remain grateful to, two great King’s classics teachers: Andrew Mackintosh and David Miller.”

Nicholas Lyons (LN/BR 1972-77) has been elected a Sheriff of the City of London. The post includes supporting the Lord Mayor in their civic duties and acting as an ambassador for the UK financial and professional services industry.

Nicholas has represented Tower Ward since 2017 and has worked in the City for over 35 years.

Hubert Pragnell (Common Room 19732002) was present at the ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood of his former pupil William Johnstone (TR 1984-88) in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 26 June. Anthony and Vicky Phillips were also there as well as his OKS brothers and sister. In September he goes to Welwyn Garden City as curate. Hubert has had his book Industrial Britain, a study of our fast-disappearing architectural heritage, revised and republished. He also has contributed an article, ‘Tunnels in Arcadia’, a study of Brunel’s tunnel portals on the Great Western Railway between Box 29

OKS UPDATE

and Bristol to Architectural History, 2020, the journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain.

Right: Andy Ruffell Below: Dr Nick Shepley

Edmund de Waal (MR 1977-81) was awarded a CBE for his services to the Arts in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. His book Letters to Camondo, a follow-up to The Hare with Amber Eyes, was published in April.

Wing Commander Clive Smith (LN 1977-82) sent us this update: “After 35 years in the Royal Air Force, I have finally retired! I have been lucky enough to serve all over the world during my time: Cyprus, the USA (twice), the Falkland Islands for lengthy periods and swifter visits to many other countries. Most posts have been amazing, a few less so (Iraq). I have now settled just north of Cambridge and am enjoying a less stressful life!”

Professor David Hildick-Smith (MR/LN 1978-82) was part of a team that completed a pioneering heart surgery in August 2021. A Sussex grandfather has become the first person in the UK to undergo a new form of heart valve surgery which would normally require openheart surgery. Professor Hildick-Smith said: “This procedure was done without interrupting the heart while it pumps. We were very honoured to be chosen to lead the study for the UK and do the first cases.”

1980s Simon Roberts (GR 1985-90) is a business anthropologist. His book The Power of Not Thinking draws on this experience. Subtitled ‘How Our Bodies Learn and Why We Should Trust Them’ it analyses ‘embodied knowledge’ and explains why we should often follow our instincts.

Dr Nick Shepley (TR 1987-92) is an Honorary Lecturer of English Language and Literature at University College London.

He is also a private biographer and memoirist and wrote an opinion piece about the profession in The Telegraph in April 2021. Describing his work as a memoirist, Nick writes: ‘Everyone has 30

a book in them. People commission a family portrait, but interestingly many are reluctant to capture their life story. Our stories are priceless.

Despite their great value, we take our stories with us; we rarely leave our own histories for future generations to cherish and ponder and pass on.

We all need a memoirist; we all need to celebrate our lives.” You can find out more about Nick’s work at nickshepley.com Andy Ruffell (BR 1988-93) won the Hachette Children’s Novel Award at the 2021 Northern Writers’ Awards for his manuscript. Andy said: “Winning the Hachette Children’s Novel Award has given me the enormous luxury of being able to believe in myself as a writer. I just can’t wait to get started on my sequel!

Many thanks to Mr Woodley, my Shell English teacher, for helping to restore my self-confidence after not doing as well at Common Entrance as I might have hoped.

Thanks also to Mr Brodie, who inspired me to make a life-changing decision and focus on English Literature rather than sciences.”

Andy’s debut novel for 10 to 12-year-olds will be published by Hachette in 2023.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

OKS UPDATE

Above, left: Major Charlie Foinette (left) and Captain Theo Haynes (right) Above, right: Abi Schade and Freddy Drummond-Brady.

See overleaf.

1990s Jules Hinves (TR 1990-95) has built an app called ALL IN which is designed to help organise people for any kind of get together, whether it be sport, clubs or social. The app aims to make event planning easier and reduce back and forth messages that commonly occur when organising events.

Major Charlie Foinette (MR 1991-96) writes: “On 1 July 2021, I had one of those unexpected OKS encounters. Captain Theo Haynes (GL 2007-12) and I are both in Zambia as part of a DEFRA-funded British Army mission to support Zambian counter-poaching operations.

I’m leading a small team that has spent the past six weeks training and patrolling with rangers in Kafue National Park, an area the size of Wales that contains many of the most iconic African species. Theo has just arrived to continue the mission, helping to plan for the next group of soldiers to arrive. It was with slight surprise that we established – via the route of a discussion about rowing – that we were both OKS!”

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Ben Browning (MT 1994-96) won an Outstanding British Film BAFTA and became an Oscar nominee for his work as a producer on black comedy thriller film Promising Young Woman. Ben has also been hired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to head their new media venture, Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio. Ben delivered a King’s Talk in June. To watch the recording, email the OKS Office.

Bel Trew (LX 1998-2003) was nominated and received a special mention in the One World Media Awards for International Journalist of the Year. Bel is Middle East Correspondent for The Independent based in Beirut. She has covered the emergence of the Islamic State, the refugee crisis in Libya and the last two wars between Israel and Gaza.

Pauline Button (MT 1999-2004) married David Abbs on 29 April 2021 in London at St Cuthbert’s Church.

2000s Amanda Harrison (HH 2000-05) married Chloe Everton on 1 May 2021 at The Orangery, London.

31

Eris Lily Bobby Rhys Jones was born on 18 January 2021 to Janessa Rhys Jones (née Bobby, HH 2001-06) and George Rhys Jones, a sister to Elwyn.

Quinn Lewis Holden was born on 8 February 2021 to Katriona Pengelley (JR 2001-06) and Alexander Holden. Godparents include Caroline Gorrie (née Lawrence, JR 2002-06) and Paul Dixey (MR 2001-06).

Rex Oscar Whitehair was born on 11 March 2021 to Fenella Pengelley (JR 2002-07) and Alastair Whitehair. Lavinia Mawby (née Swabey, LX 2002-07) is one of the godparents.

Abi Schade (HH 2002-07) married Freddy Drummond-Brady on 10 December 2020 at Chelsea Old Town Hall. OKS guests included Emma Totoe (née Shilston, JR 2003-07) and Saskia Schade (LX 2006-11).

Alice Huntrods (JR 2003-08) married Tom Hancock on 29 May 2021 at Brenchley Church in 32

Above: Alice and Tom Hancock with bridesmaids. Annie Boston is first from the left, Olivia Huntrods is second from the right and Sophia Jordan far right.

Below: Prince Hamlet by James Söderholm

Kent. The wedding reception was held at Sprivers Mansion in Horsmonden. Alice’s bridesmaids included Annie Boston (née Madewell, JR 2003-08), Olivia Huntrods (JR 2006-11) and Sophia Jordan (née Nichol, WL 2003-08).

Guy Pengelley (GR 2004-09) married Katherine Light on 28 August at Farm Street Church, Mayfair, with a reception at the Lansdowne Club. Paul Dixey (MR 2001-06) attended the celebrations over the weekend but, sadly, Jack Hendry and Ifejola Iluyomade (both GR 200409) were unable to attend, given Covid obstacles.

Forbes have named Jolyon Martin (LN 200510) as one of the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe for science and healthcare. Jolyon is the Cofounder and Head of Business Development for PetMedix, a research and development stage veterinary biopharmaceutical company.

Dr James Söderholm (Common Room 200512) published a young adult fiction book, Prince Hamlet, in July 2021. Prince Hamlet is a standOKS

|

Autumn 2021

alone set of stories about a boy whose magical skills are verbal and cerebral. It is also a canny foreshadowing of the major events and ideas in Shakespeare’s most famous play.

Emily Wiltshire (LX 2006-11) sent us this update: “In February I left Heathrow Airport and joined Gardiner and Theobald, working in their major infrastructure division.

Heathrow had been fantastic, and I left with chartered accountancy, negotiation and project management qualifications and a wide range of experiences. In July, my boyfriend of six and a half years, Tom, went down on one knee and we are delighted to be getting married next year. We met sailing and both are still very active in the circuit, particularly in the J70 fleet on the south coast, as well as being very involved with the Royal Thames Yacht Club.”

Natasha Calder (BY 2007-09) is the co-author of a science fiction novel published on 14 September 2021. The book is called The Offset OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Above, left: Katriona and Fenella; above, right: Guy and Katherine; below: Natasha Calder (right)

and is about having to choose one of your parents to die on your eighteenth birthday as a carbon offset for your own life. It has been compared to Sophie’s Choice and The Handmaid’s Tale and described as “the science fiction novel for our times” by science journalist Angela Saini.

Ollie Robinson (MT 2007-10) became the second OKS Test cricketer when he played against New Zealand in June. He took seven wickets and scored 42 but was then suspended as part of disciplinary action for historic offensive tweets. He returned against India for the first Test in August, taking 5-85 in the first innings, and was player of the match in the third Test. The Ashes beckon.

Amanda Thomas (CY 2007-12), now at Trinity College, Oxford, submitted her DPhil thesis ‘Divergence and Mismatches in Portuguese Morphology and Syntax’. Amanda also received the runner-up award for another linguistics paper in the Philological Society’s R H Robins Prize.

33

OKS UPDATE

Photos, this page clockwise from topleft: Emily Wiltshire and Tom Williams; Amanda Thomas; Anna (LN 1978-81), Freddy and Marius Carboni (SH 197580); Loïc d’Assier

2010s Loïc d’Assier (MO 2010-15) has raised over five million pounds for various sustainable energy projects since 2020 through his consultancy business, Calortech.

Loïc sources and facilitates investments into bankable projects with attractive risk-adjusted returns and a ‘sustainability’ aspect. He has most recently advised a LSE-listed fund on its acquisition of a portfolio of UK-based assets.

The Carboni family are raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. Romilly Carboni (SH 2011-16) sent us this update: “The Carboni team have completed their Brain Tumour Charity Trust fundraising challenge with flying colours!

Walking, running and riding 1,836.2 miles (2,955 km) over three months we have raised a whopping £38,317. Thank you to everyone who supported or donated. If you would like 34

to hear more about what we got up to and even donate some more to bolster research, improve diagnosis times and increase life expectancy for the thousands of brain cancer sufferers in the UK, search ‘Carboni brain tumour challenge’ on the OKS website.”

Juliet Wolff (WL 2012-15) is a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician and has performed in venues such as Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, the Menuhin Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields in the UK. Most recently, Juliet enjoyed recording the world-premiere of Monology for Solo Vocalising Cellist composed and dedicated to her by Katie Jenkins, a multi-award winning Welsh composer. The twelve minute long performance is available to watch on Juliet’s website, julietwolff.com Ruby Bansal (LX 2012-17) was elected President of the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London Student Union. She has just completed her study of History of Art at the University.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Morgause Lomas (WL 2015-17) recently created the Derbyshire Scout Archaeology Badge, and now leads the Derbyshire Scout Archaeology Team. She also introduced the ‘Derbyshire Archaeological Adventures’ as part of the badge, where sites across Derbyshire offered free entry to Scouts throughout the Summer holidays.

Morgause said: “My passion for archaeology was ignited at King’s, thanks to Dr Longley from the Classics department, who helped me secure a place to study Archaeology at Cambridge. I created the badge to inspire young people in Derbyshire to interact with the plethora of archaeological sites in the county and help them explore the past. My hope for the future is for the badge to become a national Scout archaeology badge and inspire young people all over the country to engage in their local past by engaging in archaeology and related activities.”

For more information, visit their Facebook page: DerbyshireScoutArch OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Above: Juliet Wolff Below: Morgause Lomas with the Derbyshire Scout Archaeology Badge

Francesca Maini (CY 2015-20) was amongst over 50 kite surfers to take part in the British Freestyle Championships in Ramsgate in August.

Francesca and her brother Mattia (6b) have taken part in a number of national competitions.

Kitesurfing will be included in the 2024 Olympic Games for the first time and Francesca said that it would be “incredible” if she and her brother could represent Great Britain in the sport.

Matt Stonier (MR 2015-20) competed against the best 1500m runners in the country at the British Championships on 26 June 2021. He qualified for the final, which doubled as the Olympics Trials, by coming third in his heat and went on to finish eighth overall.

• We would love to include your news in the next issue. Perhaps you have got married, changed careers or would simply like to share your memories with fellow OKS. Email us: oks@kings-school.co.uk 35

UNKNOWN OKS № 27

John Carter (1724-1810): Brother of the more famous Elizabeth

J

ohn carter was born in 1723/4. He was the son of Dr Nicolas Carter, Perpetual Curate of Suttonby-Dover and of St George’s, Deal as well as a Six Preacher, and Margaret, daughter of Richard Swayne of Bere in Dorset. He became a King’s Scholar in 1733 and it is known that he was a monitor. Jack, as he was known to his family, was a sickly child and was absent from school for a while in 1736. He acted in Henry IV Part I on Speech Day 1738, but was taken ill during a second performance put on for the benefit of the actor James Rosco, who had trained the cast. He was admitted as a scholar at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1741 and was also a Colfe Scholar and one of the earliest holders of the Stanhope Scholarship. His academic credentials are thus clear.

From here on some details of his life are less certain. He was admitted at the Middle Temple in 1742, but there is no record of him graduating at Cambridge. According to Joseph Price, the gossipy diarist and Vicar of Brabourne, Carter was one of the undergraduates who shaved the tail of Matthew Robinson’s horse. Robinson was

36

a Fellow of Trinity Hall and later lived at Monks Horton, was MP for Canterbury and a notorious eccentric. The joke, it was said, cost Carter a fellowship. He then joined the army, probably on the outbreak of war with France in 1744, and was a Captain in Wolfe’s regiment of foot. (On his death, the Canterbury Journal mistakenly recorded that he was “formerly a Captain in the Royal Navy”.)

His marriage to Frances Underdown in 1755 brought him property in Deal and elsewhere, though she died in 1758. He was a long-serving Justice of the Peace, chairing the East Kent Sessions, and clearly a man of standing. He was chosen as Chairman of the county meeting at Maidstone on 4 March 1780, an example of the reformist Association Movement, which drew up a petition to the House of Commons.

“His politicks were those of Whiggism” noted his obituary and “he feared despotism rather than anarchy; and corruption rather than licentiousness”. He was also a member of the School Feast Society and was a steward for Speech Day in 1759. He married three times and OKS

|

Autumn 2021

UNKNOWN OKS № 27

left three daughters. Frances, the eldest, married James Williamson, later Commandant of the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, and their sons John and James were both at King’s from 1820 to 1821. His younger sister Margaret married Thomas Pennington, at King’s from 1740 to 1747 and a local clergyman.

When John died in 1810 the local newspaper described him as “brother of the late justly celebrated Mrs. Elizabeth Carter” and The Gentleman’s Magazine used almost identical words. Elizabeth was a noted ‘blue stocking’, famed for her translation of Epictetus, her verse and her correspondence. It is ironic too that the best known reference to John comes in the Memoirs of the Life of Mrs Elizabeth Carter by her nephew the Revd Montagu Pennington published in 1807. Elizabeth had been born in 1717 and although not obviously intellectually talented she was immensely determined in the pursuit of scholarship under her father’s tuition.

Her biographer noted: “Her character began to be well known both for poetry and learning… Hence it was that her brother, when at Canterbury school, wrote her word that he had translated one of the Odes of Horace into verse so well, that it was supposed to have been done by her.”

This is a good story and it has all the elements of an oft-told family tale, but it may not do justice to John’s own capabilities. The Gentleman’s Magazine was fulsome in its praise. “He was a man of very lively and acute natural parts, very highly cultivated; an exact and elegant classical scholar; an excellent linguist; and a man of extensive and general reading…” It went on: “In his literary taste he was what some would deem too antique; and many would deem too severe. Of the antients, among his prime favourites, was Horace; and of the moderns, Pope.” The writer concluded: “His pen was continually in his hand and in the course of a long life he was the author of several Pamphlets and Political Letters of a temporary nature, which have probably perished with the occasion.” And indeed nothing of his seems to be recorded in the British Library catalogue.

We are used to rescuing sisters “from the enormous condescension of posterity”. In honouring John Carter the tables are turned for once.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Above: Elizabeth Carter Below: memorial to John Carter at St George’s, Deal.

Photo: Patricia Smith

• We are most grateful to Patricia Smith for her assistance with this article.

37

Lives Remembered

Corps at Carlyon Bay, where the ‘Cathedral’ was now in a garage. On leaving King’s he spent a year as assistant organist and choirmaster at St Michael’s College, Tenbury, before volunteering for the RAF. He was sent on a six-month music and philosophy course at Queen’s College, Oxford and served four years as a navigator on Sunderland flying boats in Africa and the Far East.

In 1947 he went to the Royal College of Music and when he left in 1950 he was awarded a travelling scholarship which took him to Rome and Siena. He was already writing music and his compositions include solo and chamber instrumental pieces and choral and orchestral works, as well as many arrangements. In 1958 he was appointed professor at the Royal College of Music and became an examiner for the Associated Board. He started several orchestras, notably the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra in 1961, and he was a conductor of choirs, including the Redhill and Reigate Choral Society.

Kenneth Jones (WL 1938-41)

K

enneth victor jones died on 2 December 2020 at the age of 96. Born in 1924, he was a chorister at St Nicholas’s College of Church Music, Chislehurst under Sydney Nicholson and sang at the coronation of George VI. He was 14 when his father died and Nicholson, who became his unofficial guardian, sent him to King’s and paid his school bills.

He was a King’s Scholar, but music was already a key part of his life. He was Secretary of the Choir and won a music prize as well as a distinction in Music at Higher Certificate. As he later reflected: “The King’s Headmaster [Canon Shirley] was very enlightened. He allowed me to practise the organ every afternoon instead of games – but only after I’d got my rugby colours.” He did indeed win his colours as a back row forward in the 1st XV of 1940.

His schooldays started in Canterbury and ended in Cornwall, so he drove a miniature diesel engine in the Cathedral when helping with ARP precautions and patrolled the cliff tops with the

38

He is probably best remembered for his film work. He began in 1950 as music assistant on The Tales of Hoffmann, directed by OKS Michael Powell, and then on Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, for which he had to train Ava Gardner to play the piano. Over the next forty years he wrote some 80 scores both for features, such as Oscar Wilde (1960) and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964), and documentary films, especially for British Transport. He also wrote for the theatre, including incidental music for the 1966 OUDS production of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, though his score was not used in the subsequent film.

He retained his connection with the School. A ‘Profile’ was published in The Cantuarian of August 1964 in which he said: “I loved King’s.

There was nothing wrong with it, and I’m not just being eulogistic.” During the Serenade in the Cloisters of King’s Week 1970 his Concerto for Violin and Piano was given its first performance by Clarence Myerscough and Lionel Salter with the Chamber Orchestra conducted by David Goodes.

His wife Anne-Marie died in 2009 and he leaves a daughter and a son, Anthony, who was also in Walpole (1966-70).

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Barry Lock (GR 1948-53) Barry David Stuart Lock died suddenly but peacefully on 19 April 2021 at the age of 86. His niece, Dr Georgina Lock, gave this tribute at the funeral mass in Westminster Cathedral.

B Left: Kenneth Jones Right: Barry Lock (centre) as Stephano, The Tempest, King’s Week 1953.

The distinctive ‘characterful’ scar on his nose was given to him by a fellow OKS, one John Colin Lock.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

arry lock, my fabulous uncle and godfather, was a real presence: kind, ebullient and convivial. Barry was central to the Lock family. The brother of my father, John (GR, MR 1946-50), who died in 2002, he was an invaluable support to my mother, and a wonderful uncle to my siblings, including Martin (GR 1973-77) and Howard (GR 1975-80).

He was also the beloved partner of Charles, and previously of Mark, who predeceased him.

Barry loved and was loved by his many friends.

Some date from his school days at Rokeby prep, and the King’s School, Canterbury, others from Magdalen College, Oxford, which awarded him a Scholarship. Other friendships developed during his long working life as a solicitor. Still more came from his many sorties in search of antiques,

heritage houses, paintings, music and theatre.

He came to any plays I was in and always brought a posse of friends.

You will know Barry as a loyal joiner and participator. He regularly attended alumni events at King’s Canterbury and Magdalen, where he has funded generous awards and bursaries. He belonged to the Society of St Augustine of Canterbury and lived as near as he could get to Westminster Cathedral, where he served on the Council of Friends and was a regular member of the congregation. So no one will be surprised to learn that he has funded internal decoration here. The mosaic of St David – David was Barry’s middle name – is dedicated to my grandmother, Doris, and is his typically wonderful gift to the Cathedral.

To my siblings and me, he was our entertaining uncle, always ready to listen and chat. And I hear that he brought effortless drama to office life – and once threw a non-obliging tape recorder over a mountain-range of paper and out of the window.

I wish I’d seen that. I did see – when I was about six – his demonstration of how to begin a piano concert. He sat at the piano, flicked the tail of his 39

LIVES REMEMBERED

law to Cheryl, Anne and Jen. Gerald was born on 23 June 1935 in Mhow, India and raised in Tewkesbury, England. He sang in the choir at Canterbury Cathedral prior to attending King’s, where he was Head of House and Captain of Cross Country.

jacket, inhaled, staring into middle distance, then slammed both fists down on the keyboard.

Barry had energy – physical and mental – and a level of optimistic determination which helped him overcome Guillain-Barré’s disease which might have left him in a wheelchair or killed him. No doubt his recovery was supported by his chosen, devout faith. Like his mother, he converted to Roman Catholicism and latterly, in 2019, he was made a Papal Knight. That is a great honour and one he was proud of but, just as honourable, to all of us who have been touched by his life, Barry Lock was a good and wise man whom we will always remember.

Barry was a King’s Scholar, a Senior Scholar, a serial prize winner and a house monitor. He enjoyed acting and was “grand fun” as Francis in the King’s Week Henry IV of 1952: “Sometimes he stole a laugh out of turn, but his foolery remains one of the memorable features of the play”, wrote Sydney Sopwith. His equally memorable Stephano in The Tempest of 1953 is illustrated here. A very active OKS, he attended many events, particularly Grange Reunions, in Canterbury and in London.

He was a founding member of the Legacy Club and a generous donor, most recently to the Malthouse Theatre. The Lock Song School in the Edred Wright Music School will be familiar to School choirs and to the OKS choir, which rehearses there before OKS Evensong. The Lock Door in The Grange (Barry particularly enjoyed the pun) and the painting of the Fyndon Gate now in the Gateway Chamber are further examples of his munificence.

Above: Gerald Hare

He went up to Wadham College, Oxford and took a degree in Physics. For his National Service, Gerald was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. Memorably, he supervised the building of embankments on Salisbury Plain. Even to this day, Stonehenge has never been occupied by opposing forces! There was a brief return to Oxford for graduate studies in superconductors, but the pressing needs of family life dictated that he get a salaried job. He started work as a nuclear physicist at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell. His young family settled into life in nearby Wantage.

Sheila and Gerald had always wanted to travel overseas, and when foreign firms came recruiting at Harwell, Gerald was sought after. He settled on a position with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) in their medical products division. This necessitated a move to Ottawa in 1967.

Gerald Hare (MR 1949-54) Gerald’s family sent us this tribute.

G

erald died peacefully on 5 August 2021 in his 86th year. Beloved husband of 61 years to Sheila; father to Jonathan, Katharine and Jessie; grandfather to Kate, Jeremy, Annick and James; great grandfather to Maeve; brother to Wendy and predeceased by Barbara; father-in 40

For Gerald and Sheila, Canada was magical and they took full advantage of all the outdoor activities – summer and winter – that Ottawa and Canada had to offer. They tried camping (not terribly successful) and downhill skiing (too cold) before finding themselves more at home in the local running and Nordic skiing crowd. Gerald ran his first marathon in 1978 in a cheap pair of shoes from Sears. For the next several years he (and Sheila) got fitter and faster. In his 40s he ran a marathon in 2h 36 minutes. He was a significant force in Canadian Masters athletics.

During all this running and skiing, he found time OKS

|

Autumn 2021

LIVES REMEMBERED

Kenya, in a memorable four-month journey by boat, train, ship, tractor, donkey and other means of transport.

to advance his education by completing one of Canada’s first executive MBAs. He transferred to the Accelerator Business Unit, a private-public offshoot of AECL, where he was able to utilise his MBA training in a more entrepreneurial venture.

As coincidence would have it, he graduated as a near contemporary of his children; they with two DVMs, a PhD and a business degree between them.

He spent much of the 1960s in Kenya: working as an attorney for the post-independence government, leading youth expeditions for the Outward Bound movement, and – with the noted Rhodesian climber Robert ‘Rusty’ Baillie – making the first ‘grand traverse’ of Mount Kenya’s four main peaks in a single expedition.

Following his retirement Gerald and Sheila expanded their active lifestyle. They helihiked in BC, travelled to the Arctic, climbed in the Adirondacks while still maintaining their running, skiing and biking. Their circle of friends, always large, kept expanding. Gerald’s health failed in his last years, but even to the end, his mind was sharp and his humour acerbic.

He had the opportunity to talk to many of the friends and colleagues that he had worked with and inspired through the years.

Writing up that climb for the Alpine Journal, he recalled “three days of the best mountaineering in Africa”. The pair had bivouacked on the summit where, upon waking, “the eastern sky was filled with flaming strata of scarlet and gold; Kilimanjaro was clear as crystal two hundred miles to the south”.

On returning to London he took a job at the London firm Herbert Smith, where he became a partner and practised corporate law until he retired, eventually easing himself out of a career he loved by writing the firm’s official history in 2007.

A celebration of his life will be held at a later date. In memory of Gerald, please consider donating to a charity of your choice and raising a glass of Scotch in his honour.

Tom Phillips (GR 1951-55) Thomas Bernard Hudson Phillips died on 8 February 2021. Roland Phillips (LN 1994-99) sent us this tribute to his father.

D

ad’s letters home from The Grange in the 1950s evoke a sense of stoical enjoyment.

The food was sometimes disappointing – “blancmange every other meal” – while mass influenza outbreaks were frequent. But in winter snowball fights would unfold on a joyful scale in the Precincts, and the wind orchestra provided an outlet for his musical interests.

After King’s, Dad did not attend university but served articles at a small law firm in Winchester, developing in his spare time a passion for mountaineering. Shortly after qualifying as a solicitor, he returned overland to his birthplace, OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Above: Tom Phillips

Throughout his life he was an enthusiastic sailor, and in later years many friends and family members would join him on cruises around the Western Isles of Scotland on his yacht Sophronia.

He is survived by his wife Rosemary, son Roland, daughter Laura (LX 1995-2000) and granddaughter Hazel.

41

LIVES REMEMBERED

Left: David King (seated on the front row, first on the left) in the Boat Club 2nd VIII 1958

David King (WL 1953-58) Christopher King (WL 1961-66) sent us this tribute.

M

y brother david died on 2 February 2021 of cancer. He was born on 18 October 1938, less than a year before the outbreak of the Second World War, in Cheam, Surrey. Our parents decided to stay there despite bombing threats and I as a child born after the war heard many stories of the family hiding under the staircase during air raids and picking up shrapnel in the garden from the dogfights which went on overhead.

David recalled with great pleasure his trip to the Mall on VE day to see the King and Churchill acknowledging the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace and earlier watching the processions pass from the window of our father’s office in Whitehall.

Whilst at King’s, David was certainly more sporty than academic, and it is a bit of a mystery why in the Boat Club he only reached the 2nd VIII. I remember many visits to Canterbury during his 42

time there and especially the occasion when HM the Queen Mother came to open The Great Hall (later The Shirley Hall) in 1957.

On leaving King’s, he joined the London Rowing Club and with three other OKS – William Southgate (WL 1949-52), Mike Billinghurst (GL 1953-58) and Anthony Elworthy (GL 1953-58) – formed a four which won many regattas on the lead up to Henley Royal Regatta in the summer of 1959. At Henley they represented the Club in the Wyfold Fours and got to the semi-finals where they were narrowly beaten by Walton RC after unfortunately hitting the booms on two occasions.

David went on to represent LRC at elite level in the Grand Challenge Cup in 1960 and continued in various VIIIs and IVs for the next nine years, mostly in the Grand and Stewards Cup, representing LRC twelve times as well as in ARA trials for international events. He won innumerable pots at lesser regattas and then served the Club in various administrative tasks well into his 70s.

Rowing and his happy marriage to Elizabeth Stewart were the loves of his life, but he also had a distinguished career in senior management as OKS

|

Autumn 2021

LIVES REMEMBERED

a surveyor with the British Rail Property Board.

In retirement, he travelled with Liz using their free first-class rail passes, and loved his houses in Barnes and in France, and our family cottage in Dorset. David will be missed by his wife, family and stepchildren.

Covid regulations restricted the attendance at his funeral service in Mortlake, but it is hoped that the whole family and friends can celebrate his life on what would have been his 83rd birthday in October.

Peter Thorne (WL 1955-58) Ann Thorne sent us this tribute.

P

eter was born in Eden Hospital, Bowbazar, Calcutta, India where his adoptive father was serving in the British Army. The family returned to the UK when he was very young and in 1955 he joined King’s, in Lattergate and then in Walpole after the first term. He thoroughly enjoyed his years at King’s, particularly singing in the Choir and playing cricket where he became a ‘demon bowler’.

Above: Peter Thorne

Upon leaving King’s, Peter went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) where his family had moved a few years after their return from India. He joined the Royal Rhodesia Regiment for his National Service and saw active service in Nyasaland during the Independence unrest. He was demobbed in 1959 and then worked in various jobs in both Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Malawi, including five years from 1969-1973 on tea plantations in Mulanje district. During this time, in March 1964 he married Ann Evans in St Paul’s Church, Blantyre, Malawi.

In 1977 Peter returned to the UK to live near his wife’s family in Devon. Here, after doing voluntary work for a short while, he obtained a

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

position with the Devon & Cornwall Probation Service where he spent the next 28 years. Peter enjoyed helping people and his role in Probation covered many aspects, from prison visits to Magistrate and Crown Court work. He was given several awards for long service and a tremendous send-off when he finally retired in 2006.

Peter and his wife Ann were delighted to welcome a daughter (Kimberley Ann) into their lives in 1982. Peter doted on his ‘little girl’ and was extremely proud of her achievements over the years. They were always the best of friends and shared a great love of the theatre, music and the outdoors, particularly Dartmoor.

The family enjoyed a love of travel and over the years visited many countries including, the Greek Islands, USA, Thailand and Australia.

Sadly, Peter’s health declined when he was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease and then prostate cancer which needed radiotherapy.

Despite good results from the radiotherapy the cancer spread and early last year he was diagnosed with vascular dementia.

Peter passed away peacefully in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth on Sunday 5 July 2020 with his beloved wife and daughter by his side.

Granville Langly-Smith (GL 1960-64) Granville Frederick Langly-Smith died on 26 July 2021. John Norwood (WL 1960-64) gave this eulogy at his funeral.

W

hen considering what I might say to you today to honour an old school-friend, I am struck by the image from the 1989 film Dead Poets Society, when charismatic English Professor John Keating, played by Robin Williams, gathers his pupils around the team photographs in the entrance-hall of the school where he is the newly arrived teacher, and says: “Carpe diem, lads! Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary!”

43

LIVES REMEMBERED

crew was Head-of-the-River from a record entry of 110 school crews and subsequently collected handsome cups in Regattas at Twickenham and Walton, more silverware than any other King’s crew of that era. Later, two of that crew, our cox Peter Miller and our No. 5-man Chris Freeman, went on to gain their Oxford Blues in the late 1960s when they beat Cambridge in the Boat Race, so Granny was in good company.

Left: Granville Langly-Smith

At the end of that summer term in 1964 came the parting of the ways as all bar one of the VIII left King’s, and for Granny his next chapter began, as you’ve heard from his son Anthony, with Voluntary Service Overseas and then internship at Guy’s Hospital, training for a lifelong career in progressively more and more sophisticated dental-based therapies and, importantly, living life to the full.

If there is one description that encapsulates the spectrum of experiences lived by this grandfather, father, husband, career professional, medical intern, sports enthusiast, winning oarsman and school chum, then surely it must be this – Granville Langly-Smith has lived an extraordinary life.

My connection with ‘Granny,’ as he came to be known, first came about on a stretch of the River Stour fourteen miles from Canterbury, on a narrow, winding, weed-choked river prone to extremes of weather – as far away as you can imagine from the wide, leafy reaches of the Thames or the Avon – where, driven by a number of first-class coaches, backed by one of the most celebrated headmasters of the last century, and coupled with the natural enthusiasm of young men like Granny, the 1964 1st VIII developed into a powerful combination. Granny was our bow man and was therefore the first across the line in any race, and he and John Stokes, rowing at No 2, described the sensation of being at the front of the boat as “like being on the nose-cone of a Saturn rocket!”

At the end of our rowing season that year our 44

Then followed the decades of foundation and establishment, of marriage and child-rearing, when old school friendships necessarily receded, but the flame still burned, awaiting a suitable opportunity for a reunion.

This eventually came in 2014, when the celebration of our ‘50th’ was staged at Henley during Regatta Week, and some of us even managed to fit into our Henley Blazers, if the moths hadn’t got to them first!

Then, like the rumble of distant thunder at a picnic, came the unwelcome news about the deterioration of Granny’s health, and the frustration of ‘lockdown living’ which prevented normal social interactions. We mooted the idea of a ‘Zoom Conference Call’ including two members of the VIII based in Canada, and one Saturday evening in December last year marking Granny’s 75th Birthday, six of us paid tribute in turn to our crewmate, and as far as we could, we celebrated his special day.

With the acceleration of his disability making communication ever more difficult, nevertheless a system of regular phone conversations enabled each of us in turn to let him know we were thinking of him, and at no stage did his spirit flag or his appreciation diminish. He fought bravely to the last. God speed old friend.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

LIVES REMEMBERED

The role John played in the early slalom career of paddlers who went on to win Olympic and World medals is phenomenal. Whilst others may have honed these elite athletes, John’s enthusiasm and support when they were younger meant a huge amount to them and their grateful parents.

He led numerous trips to the Alps for races and to experience bigger volume water. John was a great skier and used as his slalom mantra: “if you approach a challenging bit as fast as physically possible it will be OK”. It didn’t always work for him and the more observant might have noticed on his forehead there was scar of similar size and shape to that of Harry Potter. This accident led to him purchasing a ski helmet the very next day.

Right: John Sturgess

John dedicated his entire life to helping others improve themselves. For over 45 years he was a fixture at slalom races throughout the UK and abroad. He has helped thousands of athletes from around the world, from grassroots to elite athletes, improve their performance.

John Sturgess (GL 1960-64)

Allen Routledge

With thanks to Dave Rawding of Kingston Kayak Club, whose full tribute is on the British Canoeing Website.

(SH 1961-63)

J

ohn sturgess died on 8 January 2021 aged 73. He is well remembered at Giggleswick School as a housemaster, a teacher of Business Studies and rugby, and, most importantly, for his love of canoeing with his long association with British Canoe Slalom.

At King’s he was a Senior Scholar, a Cantuarian editor and short story contributor, secretary of the Marlowe and Tenterden Societies and in the Naval Section. He won history prizes and was awarded an Open Demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford in History.

After finishing his degree, John became a teacher. Whilst his subjects were history and business his true passion was sport and coaching sport. He was qualified to teach caving, rowing, sailing, rugby union, skiing and weightlifting.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Allen Ronald Routledge died on 16 December 2020.

Maggie Routledge sent us this tribute.

A

llen was shaped by his time at Junior King’s and King’s. He was happy and from that happiness his personality and kindness had time to grow. He loved playing sport and was more interested in a good game than the result.

He had a self-deprecating sense of humour – simply because he had self-worth – not arrogance just a simple self-belief that if he tried hard with focus it was enough – and generally it was more than enough.

He left school before entering the 6th form: that was a real blow in his adolescence. However, after a couple of years he was picked up and guided by an OKS, and became a film lawyer. His first day at work as a callow 19-year-old involved sitting in at a meeting with a very famous 1960s female film star. He never looked back!

45

LIVES REMEMBERED

adopter of the Nuffield courses (as was King’s).

He was a thoughtful and innovative teacher who had a profound effect on the teaching of Physics in this country and beyond, as chief moderator at both O and A level for the then University of London Examination Board (now Edexcel) and on the Board’s behalf he lectured to Physics teachers in this country and abroad.

Together with Paddy Whelan, another member of the Physics department, we wrote an O level textbook in 1967. After Tim left King’s he and I continued to write Physic textbooks for A level and were still doing so until 2015.

In 1985, at the young age of 37, he sustained a head trauma in an accident and his life changed.

His short-term memory was shot to pieces and he lost his purpose as he could no longer work.

He was lost, angry, and he suffered. But his life lessons learned at King’s kept the show on the road, and later he could enjoy his children’s considerable successes – sporting ones of course!

A framed picture of King’s took pride of place in his home study.

As a married couple we limped on with laughter and tears in equal measure, but never stopped loving each other. I lost my best friend when Covid killed him just before Christmas 2020. He would want to be remembered fondly by any old school friends.

Above: Allen Routledge Below: Tim Akrill

At Oxford Tim had won Blues in two successive years for pole vaulting (plenty of Physics there) and throughout his life enjoyed all ball games: tennis, squash and golf in particular. He had many interests and a very wide circle of friends and leaves his wife Nan and his daughters Jo and Lucy.

Wendy White-Thomson (Deanery 1963-76)

W

endy white-thomson died on 2 April 2021 aged 88. There was a funeral at Wye on Saturday 24 April and a Memorial Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday 4 July.

Tim Akrill (Common Room 1963-67) Chris Millar (Common Room 1957-95) sent us this tribute.

T

im akrill, who was a member of the Physics department from 1963 to 1967, died aged 84 on 11 February this year. He moved on to Clifton College where he was Head of Physics and later Head of Science. He introduced me to American Physics textbooks which were much better written than British ones at the time, and he was an early 46

From 1963 to 1976 when her husband Ian was Dean of Canterbury she was a kind and generous presence in the Precincts. The hospitality of the Deanery was exceptional, with four young children – Steve (MR 1969-73), Lucy (who married Stewart Ross, later housemaster of School House), Morwenna and John (MR 1977-81) – and their friends filling the building with fun and laughter.

Many OKS will remember how Wendy made the Deanery “a warm and friendly place with an ever open door”. Several King’s Week plays were performed in the Deanery Garden and Ian and Wendy are appropriately remembered in the White-Thomson Drama Prize established in the late 1980s.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

LIVES REMEMBERED

Left: Wendy WhiteThomson Right: Jonny Evans

Dean’s Day in 1976 marked retirement to Wye with a Hambledon-style cricket match on the Green Court – there is a painting of the occasion, with Wendy in the centre, in Lattergate – and a ‘Goodbye Mr Dean’ entertainment in the Shirley Hall. But this was not a farewell. The White-Thomson connection with the School was maintained and after Ian’s death in 1997 there was a series of concerts with OKS heavily involved in aid of the Ian White-Thomson Memorial Fund to support the Cathedral Choristers. Wendy was a welcome presence at many School events, most recently the Malthouse opening, and she continued to meet up with old friends in Canterbury.

The family said that Wendy died “after a joyous life”. She was indeed a gracious and much-loved lady and will be remembered by so many with the greatest affection.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Jonathan ‘Jonny’ Evans (BR 1976-81) Duncan Dunn (BR 1977-81) has written this tribute to his friend.

J

onathan evans was born on 18 October 1962 to Ron and Valerie Evans. After King’s he worked in the City of London and East Sussex, building his family’s small employment agency into a leading recruitment business.

He was a keen amateur boxer and played rugby for Blackheath. He leaves two sons, Joshua and Samuel by his first wife, and a much-loved fiancée, Kim. He died of complications from cancer on 4 May 2021. His family is planning a memorial on his birthday.

Such was Jonny’s talent for fun that it might surprise old school friends to hear that he also had time for success in business. It would certainly surprise most OKS to hear the full extent of his deeds and misdeeds. These bear testament to the ability of Mike Hodgson, housemaster of Broughton, assisted by Roger ‘Doc’ Mallion, Jonny’s tutor and lifelong friend, 47

LIVES REMEMBERED

to run a boarding house on an even keel, whilst at the same time functioning as a community where characters like Jonny could thrive, without the need for round the clock police intervention. Sport, and rugby in particular, gave many opportunities for fun. The tales of the 1980 Rugby Tour of Portugal should be remembered by those present but not published and so too school skiing trips, where après-ski was elevated to a martial art by Jonny in furry moon boots.

After losing touch with Jonny after school we caught up again in later life. He explained that his wild behaviour had endured through his later years and the memoirs of a well-known London mobster record how ‘Posh John’ supplemented his daytime work with a second ‘hobby job’ as a nightclub bouncer, a pastime at which Jonny excelled.

With a shared fondness for dry martinis, claret and roast beef, I rediscovered Jonny as we reached our fifties and found the wildness of his youth tempered by a thoughtfulness derived from his eventful life. We shared a love of shooting and fly fishing, at which he delighted in an unskilled and irreverent approach, rejoicing in the nickname Jonny-No-Fish. Most of all though we enjoyed our friendship. “It’s not about the fishing mate, I just like spending time with you.” That was Jonny – generous of spirit and a strong and constant friend.

Graham Sinclair (Common Room 2005-17)

G

raham died on 24 June 2021 after a brave and courageous battle with a long-term illness. He was in charge of Drama from 2005 to 2014 and Registrar, heading the Admissions team, from 2014 to 2017. He will be particularly remembered for directing two spectacular musicals, both sell-outs, in the Marlowe Theatre (the old and then the new): Les Misérables in 2007 and West Side Story in 2012. Other productions included Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia in St Mary’s Hall (he had himself played Captain Brice in the premiere), Cowardy Custard in the Shirley Hall, several King’s Week Shakespeares, Anouilh’s The Lark in the Mint Yard – and much more.

Jonny lost his second wife, beloved American beauty Diana, to a brain tumour. He raged against God, questioned his faith and reaffirmed it before re-emerging to build a new life. A devout Christian, he drew strength from this experience but also enjoyed the trappings of wealth, including a ski chalet, Mediterranean villas, town apartment and country house, as he approached a long and well-earned retirement with his new fiancée Kim. Early in 2021 Jonny was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Characteristically brave, he called me to share this news. “I don’t know how long I’ve got – but you know me, I’m a fighter.”

Jonny fell into a coma following a cardiac arrest caused by a catastrophic reaction to chemotherapy and died weeks later.

48

• A full version of Jonathan’s obituary is on the OKS Website: oks.org.uk

Graham was a key figure in the creation of the Malthouse Theatre. Kate Chernyshov, former Director of Development, comments: “Graham has left a great legacy at King’s – hundreds

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

Above: Graham Sinclair directing West Side Story (left) and The Lark (right)

of young people inspired by his teaching in the classroom and on stage to appreciate and understand the impact of drama and storytelling.

The Malthouse is a fantastic tribute to his energy, creativity and foresight. He influenced much of the design with a deep understanding of the flair and ambition of the Drama department at King’s.

He was enormously helpful in our fundraising and brought joy to many through his continued connections with OKS.” Tributes from OKS include the following. Marina Alford (HH 2003-08): “Graham was a fantastic teacher and a great energiser. His passion was very contagious, even if a student like me had very little talent.” Elizabeth Goring (HH 2005-07): “Graham was one of those teachers that stick with you. Such a deep understanding of young people and he changed me forever.” Iona Westlake (WL 2005-10): “Mr Sinclair was so encouraging throughout my time at King’s as well as a great emotional support.

I will never forget his kindness, his determination for us all to succeed and do our best and of course his great love of drama.”

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

In his valedictory piece on Graham for The Cantuarian, Geoff Cocksworth wrote: “Suave, intelligent, convincing, engaging, funny, a very tall man with a beautiful voice and an incredibly impressive CV, supported by a wonderful and extremely talented family, his wife Charlotte and their two sons, Toby and Charlie, Graham is also a very good man who has the ability to make everyone happy in his presence. His impact on King’s was quite simply enormous.”

DEATHS The Revd John Porter (GR 1947-52) on 9 June 2020 David Leslie Waller (SH 1944-47) on 21 January 2021

49

Sport News from the golf course Frazer Hughes (SH 1989-94), Hon Secretary of the OKS Golf Society, reports on the Wildernesse Meet on Thursday 10th June 2021.

A

select group of 8 OKSGS members convened once again on the Wildernesse links, nestled among the rolling North Downs near Sevenoaks on a balmy June day earlier this year. The merry band experienced, by all accounts, a most enjoyable 18 holes on the always immaculate and tranquil course, which was followed by sustenance, refreshments and prize giving on the sun-terrace.

Shot of the day undoubtedly went to James Cook (LN 1953-58), who secured nearest-the-pin prize at the short 13th with a shot from one of the longer clubs in his bag that ran up between the bunkers to about 3 feet! It was our pleasure

50

and honour to see him again at an OKSGS meet after quite some years. Charlie Clouston (MO 1979-84) claimed longest drive at the 12th with a blow that split the fairway around 300 yards.

Andrew Hynard (LX 1973-76) won the handicap and Stuart Armstrong (LX 1971-76) the scratch Stableford prizes.

Many thanks to David Glennie (LN 1963-67) and Wildernesse management for facilitating a wonderful day.

THE OKS GOLF SOCIETY has welcomed several new members over the past few months, including some Class of 2021 leavers. We hold about a dozen events during the year including the Halford Hewitt, Grafton Morrish and Cyril Gray.

For more information, please visit oks.org.uk/sport/golf

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

SPORT

Opposite page: James Cook This page, top from left to right: Jonty Williamson (Common Room), Max Williams (GL 1986-91), Tim Bagshaw (BR 1986-91), Benjamin Loxton-Edwards (MR 1990-95), Duncan Petrie (GL 1990-95), Alex Neame (SH 1990-95) and Peter Baines (LN 1991-96) Bottom: Jennifer Hofman in the bow seat

We send out three Newsletters a year and love to share your rowing news.

Please do get in touch if you are not receiving them.

Email: loxtonedwards @hotmail.co.uk

Pilgrims Sportive Benjamin Loxton-Edwards (MR 1990-95), Chairman of Canterbury Pilgrims Boat Club, sent us this news.

T

he pilgrims met on Sunday 25 April 2021 for the inaugural Pilgrims Sportive. The group cycled from Putney Embankment to Canterbury Cathedral via sections of the Pilgrims Way. It was great day, despite the biting headwind.

We stopped for tea and doughnuts in Chevening and then venison sausage rolls in Bearsted.

COVID restrictions meant we avoided contact with King’s and had lunch in the Memorial Garden. We are sure to have a heroes’ welcome next year. Many thanks to Joe Phillips (LN 198388) who kindly provided the support vehicle and refreshments. Chapeau to Colonel Peter. After a certain amount of encouragement he cycled the return journey back to Putney, a total of 240 kilometres. He sets the standard! We hope

to build the event next year, so do join us on 23 April 2022 at 7am outside Thames Rowing Club.

We invite all OKS to take part.

News from the river

R

upert barton (CY 2009-14) raced in the annual Thames Challenge Cup for Tyne Amateur Rowing Club. They lost to Molesey Boat Club on the Wednesday of Henley.

Helena Barton (MT 2010-15) raced in the four seat

for Tideway Scullers in the Wargrave Challenge Cup. They beat a Tideway Scullers B crew to reach the semi-final.

Freddie Allinson (SH 2012-17) stroked the Leander eight in the Ladies’ Plate at Henley Royal Regatta. They beat an Oxford Brookes eight to reach the semi-finals. Freddie has been selected to stroke the Great Britain eight in the U23 European Championships this autumn.

Jennifer Hofman (CY 2012-17) raced in the bow seat for Oxford Brookes in the Princess Grace Challenge Cup. They beat Nottingham University to reach the semi-final.

Natasha Southorn (JR 2015-20) has made a successful transition to university rowing. She is rowing in the Durham University 2nd eight. She raced in the Boat Race of the North, though they lost to Newcastle University.

OKS

|

Autumn 2021

51

SPORT

Goals and Bibs: The OKS Netball Team Daisy Casement (BR 2005-10) shares an update from the netball court.

I

t was soon after graduating from university and moving to London in 2014 that an OKS friend suggested forming a team and joining a weekly league in Fulham – “just for a laugh”. A message was fired off to our friends WhatsApp group of OKS (2005-2010) and a team of 12 keen players was assembled. Of those 12, most hadn’t played much netball while at King’s, except for Lucy Kingsman and Lucy Allen, both 1st team players.

Below - top row, left to right: Claudia Gibson, Fran Goring, Lucy Kingsman, Anna Gibson Bottom row, left to right: Cessa Tapp, Daisy Casement, Harriet Tynan

Kingsman, Lucy Allen and Daisy Casement dominate the midfield. In 2017 we joined a new league called Go Mammoth and we play every Monday evening in Victoria. We are absolutely thrilled to be sponsored by the OKS this year and now even have extremely smart new OKS bibs. Our first game playing in them was a huge triumph, with an 11-3 win which we feel must be a good omen. Our netball team has been an amazing excuse to see each other on a weekly basis, a brilliant and fun way to exercise and the perfect start to the week. We hope to continue for many years to come.

Our first matches, it must be said, were played with more enthusiasm than skill and there was much hilarity at the novelty of playing team sports together again. While we gradually reminded ourselves of the rules of the game, we were all surprised and amused that the camaraderie and jargon returned almost instantly, and it quickly became a highlight of our week. Little did we know that seven years on, the weekly match would remain a firm fixture in our diaries and have become such a fun and important part of our lives.

As we all advance in our lives and careers the team sheet is ever evolving, with brief hiatuses due to work commitments, the occasional injury, house moves and even maternity leave. The team now includes OKS players across several years and there is a rolling bench of substitute players – most of our girl friends from King’s have played at some point. I am pleased to say that over the years our netball skills have improved vastly!

At first, we would all swap positions constantly – everyone would have a go at everything, and, since none of us had ever played shooting positions at school, there was a lot of trial and error in the circle. Now, Cessa Tapp and Claudia Gibson firmly occupy GS and GA and it is a sorry week when they cannot play.

Fran Goring, Harriet Tynan, Anna Gibson and Elli Smith are fierce defenders while Lucy OKS MAGAZINE • № 8 • Autumn 2021 OKS Magazine is published twice a year by The OKS Association, 1 Mint Yard, Canterbury, CT1 2EZ Printed in the UK on a PEFC paper stock

oks.org.uk