OKS Magazine - Spring 2021 by OKS Association | The King's School, Canterbury

A TALE OF A PANDEMIC James Hynard on working with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty FROM WALPOLE TO RIO Frances Houghton on her Olympic career and what it takes to win

THE MAGAZINE OF THE OKS ASSOCIATION • № 7 • Spring 2021

OKS KING’S TALKS Watch Dinesh, Miriam, Imogen, Ashitha, Pip and Ranulph on our YouTube channel

In a galaxy far, far away Richard Gould (CY 2005-07) discusses his award-winning career

OKS MAGAZINE • № 7 • Spring 2021

From the Editor

mall talk, from an Editor, not uncommonly, on meeting an unfamiliar OKS: “Does the OKS Magazine reach you?” “It does.” “What do you read?” “The Obituaries, of course.” He (and sometimes she) should dine well on this issue, with OKS recalled from the 1940s (a distinguished scientist) to (sadly) the Noughties. Recent months have compelled us to recognise the great value of the science base we have in this country, and to acknowledge our distinguished scientists, including the happily much-heard Professor Adam Finn, but also to acknowledge those who make science education possible, like Lester Hovenden, warmly remembered here. Lester must have made preparations for James Hynard, now working in the Chief Medical

Officer’s area at the Department of Health and Social Care: James’s article emphasises the benefit to him of the A Level Science at King’s which led on to a Natural Sciences degree. The Mint Yard science development will be transformative! Meanwhile, with inter-school sports fixtures on hold, we are glad to publish accounts of dedication and heroism on water, from Fran Houghton and from Miranda Merron. It would be impertinent to claim that all human life is here; but quite a lot is!

Stephen Woodley

From the OKS President

n this issue I would draw your attention to James Hynard’s feature on his work for Chris Whitty, helping to manage the response to Covid-19. And on this theme I would also like to highlight the work of Dr. Kate Emary OKS and Professor Adam Finn OKS, on vaccine development and review. I am so pleased to announce that Marc Dath, a dedicated former Housemaster and passionate supporter of the School, has agreed to become our OKS Association Honorary Secretary, taking over from Chris Jackson, who will be a hard act to follow! We thank Chris for his years of unstinting and good-humoured service.

Having still been unable to hold ‘in-person’ events, we have been delighted with the continuing success of the online King’s OKS Talks. Presentations and discussion on a wide range of topics from high-profile OKS have

attracted substantial numbers of OKS, parents, staff and pupils. We are indebted to Greg Hunter, Deputy Head Co-Curricular, and Molly Burgess, OKS Coordinator, for making this programme such a success. Finally, we are seeing a steady and encouraging growth in activity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and would urge more of you to participate. These platforms have greatly enhanced the effectiveness and quality of our interactions during lockdown. Wishing you all the best for a happier and hopefully less virtual Summer.

David Peters OKS

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In this issue From the Headmaster

here were times during the Lent Term when the view from the ‘bridge’ of Lattergate seemed more like a scene from The Cruel Sea than a beautiful garden and study. It has been a privilege to lead the King’s community and the troubled waters will no doubt recede. I would like to pay tribute to the resilience of my pupils and the dedication and excellence of my colleagues across these challenging months. The enlightening talks and good will from the OKS community have been hugely appreciated and wonderfully sustained all the efforts in Canterbury.

4 News from King’s: Bubbles, KEO, Music Events and ‘Monday’s Expert’ 6, 16, 26 & 52 Features: From Lucasfilm to pangolins with 2020 Vision 10 Development News: A time to help 14 OKS Overseas: Living and volunteering 20 OKS Network: Talks and diversity 22 King’s Talks: Career choices

King’s remains a place where creativity flourishes as Richard Gould illustrates with his filmmaking. It is also the School of William Harvey where the scientific method will soon have a Mint Yard building for future medics and researchers. The breadth of a King’s education has not been restricted by the Covid regulations: Louise Augustine-Aina has taught us to connect our individual studies with a holistic vision. The spirit and skill of King’s sport has been there to admire on Birley’s, albeit in internal matches and practices. Still, Ludo Kolade and Harrison MacKinnon have trained with the English and Scottish rugby schoolboy squads. Musical excellence has remained at the heart of what we have done: the FRIDAYS @ 5PM recitals were a special treat and Oscar Colliar has won an Organ Scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. Finally, service to others is not seen as oldfashioned: I was delighted to read about Jamie Dixon helping refugees on Leros. What a strange Term though when it was entirely virtual for seven out of the ten weeks. We all came into the teaching profession to experience what Marc Dath identifies as his greatest joy: ‘to witness so many pupils sailing, sometimes haphazardly, through adolescence into adulthood’. May the Summer Term bring back that human and creative thread of teaching at King’s.

Peter Roberts OKS

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28 OKS Update: News of OKS worldwide 38 Unknown OKS: An artist’s impression 40 Lives Remembered: Obituaries 52 Sport: Medals, puddings and monohulls

We want to hear your news and so do your fellow OKS. Fill in the form on the address sheet or contact Molly Burgess. telephone 01227 595669 email oks@kings-school.co.uk website www.oks.org.uk 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.

News from King’s

return to ‘King’s Education Online’ with some modifications of the summer arrangements. A few pupils were on-site from January: the boys in Meister Omers and the girls in School House. Then from 8 March there was a careful return to the live and online hybrid.

MUSIC

AUTUMN TERM BUBBLES After a ‘virtual’ Summer Term, School resumed in September with something approaching normality. Most pupils were in residence, with just a few working from home. Home clothes were worn for the first half of term; Canterbury dress thereafter. Classrooms were rearranged, not least to provide a safe space for the teachers. Oneway systems were operated within some buildings and hand sanitiser dispensers were everywhere. House and year group bubbles required the staggering of lesson times and meal times, using the various dining halls as well as the Pupils’ Social Centre and a neighbouring marquee (at least the weather was relatively mild). No visitors to the School were permitted – not even parents – so a series of online talks was arranged (see pages 22-23). Sport, music and other activities called for imaginative adjustments, but no Cathedral services were possible for the School. Local lockdowns, often precautionary, were enforced from time to time as well as the occasional individual or group isolation. There were some positive test results, but pupils and staff emerged relatively unscathed. The School thus made it – just – to the Christmas holiday, but the Lent Term meant a

Year group bubbles meant that it was not possible to have the usual orchestras and choirs in the Autumn Term. Nonetheless most music lessons carried on and small vocal and instrumental groups were able to practise and to perform for an online audience. Several events can be seen via the videos section of the Music Department website (kings-musicschool.co.uk). The St Cecilia’s Day concert featured vocal and orchestral ensembles directed by Will Bersey, Alexandra Caldon and Nick Todd. The Carol Service was recorded with choirs in the Shirley Hall accompanied by the Cathedral organ, as well as readings and prayers from pupils and chaplains in the Lower Chapel and from the Dean in the Cathedral.

The Lent Term saw a return to the virtual. The Friday recitals at 5pm provided enjoyable performances on the organ, clarinet, marimba, harp, voice and much more. These are also viewable on the Music Department’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/KingsMusicDept)

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY Only a small ceremony was possible this year. The Headmaster, the Chaplains and a few senior pupils were joined by a CCF colour party for prayers, readings and wreath laying as well as the two-minute silence. In recognition of the 80th OKS

Spring 2021

NEWS FROM KING’S

Removes, but year group separation prevented other house matches. 6a mixed hockey, netball and lacrosse took place on three Saturdays to enliven proceedings. The Excellence Programme was able to continue, but opportunities for county or other representative honours were limited and then ended by the winter lockdown.

anniversary of the Battle of Britain the names of those who died in the Second World War were read out. Music was recorded in advance and included in the online version compiled by Tommy Károlyi (MT 2017-20). Particularly moving was the singing of Douglas Guest’s setting of ‘For the Fallen’ accompanied by photographs of some of the young OKS killed in the conflict.

FROM THE COMMON ROOM A question from the Autumn Term. When was the last time that the Common Room had no members who had given at least thirty years of service to King’s? The answer turned out to be 1971 – when some careers had been interrupted by the War – but there was a close call in 1995. Richard Cook has stepped down as President of the Common Room. His successor is Andrew McFall, the ‘father of the house’, who clocked up his thirty years in January – hence the question.

SPORT Games had to adapt to the strange conditions. There were no fixtures against other schools, apart from five golf matches (won 3, lost 2). The usual Autumn Term sports rugby, hockey (girls) and lacrosse were played up to half term, followed by the Lent Term’s hockey (boys), football, netball, and lacrosse. Each had to adhere to the national guidelines, so rugby was mainly touch rugby with some other variations and hockey returned to normal rules more quickly. Squash, swimming, badminton, basketball, cricket nets, strength and conditioning and aerobics could continue at the Recreation Centre, fencing at the Malthouse and rowing and sailing at Westbere. A lot of sanitising went on. Year group bubbles led to the allocation of Monday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons to Juniors and Tuesday, Friday and Saturday to Seniors. An inter-house cross country competition took place on Birley’s for Shells and OKS

Spring 2021

Photos, clockwise from top-left: King’s Education Online; Flight Lieutenant Desmond ‘Buster’ Wade (1916-42); inter-house cross country on Birley’s; Andrew McFall; Carol Service inside the Shirley Hall

Simon Bird (MO 1991-96) has joined the Modern Languages department, replacing his housemaster Martin Miles. Richard Singfield, housemaster of Meister Omers, married Maria French, the manager of the School Shop, just before Christmas. Amanda Young, writing under her maiden name as Amanda Larkman, has published her first novel, The Woman and the Witch. ‘Monday’s Expert’ was a series of Lent Term video talks from members of the Common Room. Contributors included Alanna Fraser (LX/ MT 1991-96) on cold water swimming. Brrr… 5

FROM ST. MARGARET’S BAY TO A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY… Richard Gould (CY 2005-07) is a composer, sound designer and occasional voice actor. He has worked on over one hundred projects and spent the last six years with Skywalker Sound (Lucasfilm). He won a Primetime Emmy in 2020 for his work on The Mandalorian as well as two Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards and has four nominations for the 2021 awards in April. He is interviewed by Tommy Károlyi (MT 2017-20). 6

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OKS FEATURE

Q What exactly is ‘Sound Design’? A It principally refers to the process of creating sound to aid the storytelling process. When listening to a film, very little of what you are hearing was recorded on set or location. Much of a soundtrack is recorded, created and edited in postproduction after the footage is shot. While the film is being

edited and visual effects and music are being created, we’re also building the soundtrack with additional elements, often utilizing hundreds of tracks of audio covering various ‘food groups’, including background and ambience (wind,

rain, etc.), sound effects (anything from a door closing to an explosion) and Foley (performed by Foley artists in sync to picture on a Foley stage, including all footsteps and many other sounds). Q Why is sound so important? A Sound plays a crucial and under-appreciated role in an audience’s experience of a piece of media. It can flesh out the world on screen while setting an emotional tone to a scene. It can extend the world we see beyond the frame edges with additional sounds, the sources of which you don’t have to see to understand their placement and function. It can reveal what a character may be thinking, feeling or how they’re perceiving the world around them, or reveal the significance of an item or individual that by the visuals alone may not catch the eye of an audience. Q What makes for effective sound design? A It depends entirely on the goal, but sound design for film (and most other forms of narrative media) typically doesn’t attempt to draw attention to itself as a craft. We’re trying to create elements that, when combined together with the picture, music and dialogue, feel cohesive and believable while having the intended emotional effect. That sound is somewhat underappreciated actually plays in its favour as it often slips by largely unnoticed in a way visual effects don’t. While audiences may leave a film remarking on the quality of the visual effects or even the music, they rarely apply the same level of conscious thought to the sound. Walter Murch (a well-respected picture editor, director and sound designer) often describes the ears as the ‘side door’ to the brain, through which sound ‘sneaks in’ and is experienced subconsciously. Q How did you get into the world of Sound Design? A During my teen years I was unfortunately very

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sick with a condition called M.E. and I largely had to drop out of school. As a consequence, I watched a lot of DVDs from bed and they often contained ‘special features’ which revealed various parts of the filmmaking process which I became fascinated by. I was very lucky to be accepted into King’s as I had only taken five GCSEs, and it was there that I first dabbled with sound design in my Theatre Studies classes. While writing and directing an adaptation of Doctor Faustus, I recall incorporating a variety of music and sound effects – some coincidentally created by my current colleagues at Skywalker.

Above: Richard recording inside a B-17 Flying Fortress Below: a B-17

effects to visuals. For most students this was a chore, but for me it was as creatively compelling as writing music. I started self-educating myself on the craft of sound design for film and cofounded a club called the Berklee Sound Design Network. I began to write articles online and one caught the attention of Skywalker Sounds’ head of Sound Design, Randy Thom, who left a flattering comment at the bottom of the piece. I was thrilled and shared the news with a professor who, unbeknown to me, reached out to Randy via LinkedIn and before I knew it he was expecting a call from me. That led to a couple of in-person meetings during trips out to California, then an offer of an internship shortly after graduating from Berklee. Q What is your favourite role in a particular project and what did it involve? A I was the supervising sound editor for Netflix’s The Social Dilemma last year. That involved being the head of the sound crew. I really enjoy that role because I get to interact with directors, picture editors, producers and composers to conceptualize and define the creative goals and aesthetic of the soundtrack while having broad conversations around storytelling at both the micro and macro level.

I left King’s fully recovered, both physically and academically, with a desire to pursue filmmaking or acting, but eventually settled on Geography at Bristol University prior to exploring an admittedly ‘riskier’ path towards entertainment. A bizarre set of events resulted in my deferring my place and moving from St Margaret’s Bay to London from where I studied drum set performance for a year. There I helped two roommates with their applications to Berklee College of Music. My sister encouraged me to apply merely for interview practice and I ended up being offered a place. After sitting on the offer for several months, I booked a one-way ticket to Boston and started an undergraduate degree in music.

Q Favourite/Weirdest sound you have recorded? A I was very fortunate a few years back to spend a week in Florida recording several World War Two era planes for a documentary. We spent most of our time with the B-17 Flying Fortress, an incredible piece of engineering that sounds pretty good with four Rolls Royce turboprop engines.

At Berklee I studied majors in Film Scoring and Electronic Production and Design. We had to do one project which involved adding sound

Q Most complex project / sequence you have worked on? A I really enjoy the challenge of creating sounds

One of the more sentimental sounds I recorded was the sound of my son’s heartbeat while he was still in the womb. Those recordings play at the very beginning of the documentary Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) while Walter Murch describes how hearing is one of the first senses developed in the womb.

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OKS FEATURE

for things that don’t exist in real life. The Social Dilemma has several sequences that take place inside an ‘AI world’ where three AI characters performed by a human actor are deciding what the user does and doesn’t see on their phone. That was a fun world to design sound for.

Richard’s Credits

Another example would be some work I did for the BBC World Service podcast called The Bomb which told the story of the Manhattan Project. There were several sequences where the story goes to the ‘atomic level’ as the science behind an atomic reaction is described by a narrator. I had to create the sound of an atomic reaction but not as we would hear it in the form of an explosion; instead at that atomic level, with electrons whirring around a nucleus until an uncontrollable chain reaction begins. Q What are some of your favourite techniques for creating sounds? A I typically use recordings of ‘real’ sounds (as opposed to synthesized) for most of the work I do. They often aren’t used as you would expect though. We take obscure or ‘incorrect’ sources to serve as the sound for what’s on screen and process them to realize a sound we’re hearing in our head. A single sound event is often comprised of several layers of distinct sounds that when combined are perceived as a singular cohesive sound. I wouldn’t want to spoil too many films for your readers but there are many well documented examples such as the punches in Raging Bull or jet flybys in Top Gun, both of which layered in various animal roars as additional elements to make them feel more intense and impactful. Q If you could go back and speak to 18 year old Richard, what would you say? A “Brace yourself for 2020!” (Just kidding.) I think if you primarily want to enjoy your career, try to worry less about defining a path towards an end goal but instead focus on learning and doing things you enjoy while keeping an eye on the periphery for exciting opportunities. If you develop and hone a craft enough, with a little time, experimentation, flexibility and adaptability, the opportunities to make a career out of it will likely present themselves before long. OKS

Spring 2021

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Foley Supervisor • The Green Knight Sound Effects Editor • Wandavision Season 1 Sound Effects Editor • The Social Dilemma Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Music Editor • Rebuilding Paradise Sound Effects Editor • Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 1 & 2 Foley Supervisor • Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker Foley Editor • Colewell Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer Above: using microphone wind muffs to keep warm!

A full list of Richard’s credits can be found at richard-gould.com

Development News A landmark legacy Last year, King’s received a very generous legacy from the late Tony Venner (SH 1935-39). The sum received will enable the school to fund at least two 100% bursaries in perpetuity. Susan Tingle writes:

first met tony and Joan Venner over 15 years ago when they got in touch to say that they wanted to support King’s with a legacy. They subsequently joined the Legacy Club and loved coming back to the Precincts, meeting old friends and making new ones. Tony had worked in civil engineering all his life and would often reminisce about his years building roads in India. Joan was a writer and an avid reader. Both of them valued education above all else. They particularly wanted to direct their generosity to King’s bursaries for talented young students who could not dream of a King’s education

without very significant financial support. They were keen that this help should be sustained into the future – hence their wish that the funds should contribute to the Endowment. They were also enthusiastic about the new Science Centre, which Tony, as an engineer, took a great interest in. So, we are naming a lab after them.

In the Development Office we hear from OKS all around the world, aged 18 to 97, about the impact of the education and opportunities at King’s. Please get in touch if you received support, and help to encourage more people to give by telling us your story.

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DEVELOPMENT NEWS

If ever there was a time to help the young, this is it Richard Ashworth (SH 1960-64), Legacy Club Chairman, reflects on the importance of legacies.

hink of the turmoil King’s has seen in its time: the Norman Conquest, the Black Death, Henry VIII and the Reformation, two World Wars... and King’s survived it all. Now we face another time of great challenge. And it is the young for whom this time is especially difficult. Every generation faces its own crisis. But what defines us, is how we deal with it. The baton has been passed to us to ensure the School continues into the next century. Looking to the future, delivering quality education will become more and more expensive, and the School’s ability to continue to educate gifted, deserving children from less privileged backgrounds can never be taken for granted. Unlike other comparable independent schools, King’s does not have a large endowment. We must therefore sustain and develop a new culture of support. The mission of the Legacy Club is to reach out to everyone whose life has been touched by King’s. By leaving a gift to the School, you can plant a seed. As that seed grows, generations from now, your gift will still be making it possible for talented children, regardless of background, to be given an opportunity that can transform their lives. Through the Legacy Club we are working to build up King’s endowment fund. This fund is invested to provide for bursaries awarded at the School’s discretion. Some of our members may of course

A paragraph or two would be fantastic. We want more and more children to benefit as you did. Please contact: Susan Tingle, Deputy Director of Development, development@kings-school.co.uk 01227 595567

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Opposite page: a new chemistry lab; Tony Venner in India Above: portraits old and new: Blackfriars 2021

prefer to specify the purpose of their gift. Be that music, sport or academia, the Legacy Club is there to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled. Thanks to the altruistic spirit of our community, the Legacy Fund continues to grow. But there is more to be done. In striving to maintain standards of excellence, now more than ever, we need your help and support. Please join us. • Contact Richard Ashworth: development@kings-school.co.uk

A time of gifts The pandemic may hinder normal fundraising activity but giving continues.

hank you to all the OKS, parents, staff and friends who have supported King’s. Thank you for the gifts given when buying tickets for events, for the support that enabled concerts and overseas tours to go ahead, for the musical instruments given to pupils who couldn’t afford to buy their own, for the gifting of shares, the payment of fees, and the naming of seats. All this generosity has made a massive difference to pupils. Jonathan Tennant Vice-Chairman of Governors 11

Left: the Mint Yard March 2021

The Mint Yard Science Project uilding in the Precincts, in a World Heritage designated site and on ground listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, was never going to be straightforward, and so it has proved. ‘Old’ Mitchinson’s had a basement of course – the two Chemistry labs – but the new building has a larger and slightly deeper basement, necessitating digging in this trickiest and most hallowed of sites.

element of the geology to deal with in the construction phase that followed the archaeologists, as it was and is channelling a continual flow of water into the site, making for heavy going. The contractor has managed the flow using sump pumps and there is a waterproofed concrete slab being laid very soon, once again encasing the historic water course below ground.

A twenty-week long archaeological excavation and site evaluation took place last summer / early autumn, producing expected finds – a multi-layered Roman Road and post-glacial palaeochannel – as well as large quantities of ‘finds’ including pottery, iron-ware and the vertebra of a cetacean; who knew that ancestors feasted on porpoise (probably) amongst other things? Many containers of material have been removed by the archaeologists for further workshop and laboratory-based environmental study investigation; we await the final report in a couple of years’ time with interest.

The first section of the basement slab – some 70 cubic metres of concrete – was poured on Thursday 25 March. The construction of the basement slab is a significant moment, as this is the point at which permanent building works are started and the structure (finally) begins to take shape. The basement ‘box’ will be complete in the summer and by the autumn above-ground level structure will be evident, with completion anticipated in autumn 2022. The aerial shot above of the Mint Yard was taken a few days before the basement slab was poured.

The palaeochannel has been the trickiest 12

Gavin Merryweather Capital Projects Director OKS

Spring 2021

CO-EDUCATIONAL | 3-13 YEARS | DAY & BOARDING

Virtual Open Mornings for Nursery, Pre-Prep & Prep Sat. 15th May 2021 Sat. 16th October 2021 Register online at: www.junior-kings.co.uk/opendays

A 21st Century education within the historic City of Canterbury

CO-EDUCATIONAL | 13-18 YEARS | DAY & BOARDING

Virtual Open Mornings 13+ Entry Sat. 12th June 2021

Sixth Form Entry Sat. 19th June 2021 Register online at: www.kings-school.co.uk/opendays OKS_King's Ad.indd 1

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08/04/2021 15:27:20

OKS Overseas

Volunteering in Turkey Jamie Dixon (SH 2015-20) has been helping refugees on Leros.

uring october 2020 to December 2020, I volunteered with an NGO called ECHO100Plus. This organization works with refugees streaming in from Turkey on a small island called Leros. The organization was set up to aid the refugees’ transition into European society. Whilst on the island, I worked at the Hub – a school for the refugees run by volunteers which provided English, IT, and Music classes as well as activities such as Arts and Crafts, ping-pong, sports, and soccer. I taught beginners’ English to adult refugees as well as helping run the other activities. I also helped in the Boutique, a “shop” that provides refugees with clothes which they can choose. It helps to give them some dignity back in their lives. This meant hours spent folding, packing, and reorganizing hundreds of clothes donations in the storage facility. The clothes had to be sorted by type, size, sex, age, and season and then were transported to the Boutique. However, due to the pandemic, the Boutique was not able to run at full capacity. Furthermore, as soon as it was about to open again, another national lockdown was announced in Greece. In response, the volunteer team shifted priorities from the school to do an emergency distribution of winter clothes within the camps. Fortunately, we were able to do a children’s distribution before the lockdown and another two for men and women a couple of weeks later. Even though I cannot begin to express the injustices or impact of the refugees’ experiences, I can offer what some of them showed me. I saw intelligent, goodhumoured, kind people who were diligent students, and individuals with all sorts of amazing skills. They brought so much light into the Hub – there wasn’t a single fiveminute interval where one couldn’t hear laughter

from both volunteers and students. I saw people who didn’t let the loss of their past lives, and their very uncertain futures, destroy their spirits. My time with the refugees provided me with a different perspective than I had before meeting them. I believe that solely focusing on the loss, trauma, and helplessness diminishes these people to the sum total of their current circumstances and traps them in the past; they are so much more than what has happened to them. Whilst my time was short on the island, I hope to return to Leros over the coming years to volunteer again. Despite the rest of my gap year being uncertain, I am so grateful to have been able to spend that time with such incredible people. OKS

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OKS OVERSEAS

native of the cathedral town, he came from a long line of OKS. Sadly, Ian died a year later. Other Brits have found our corner of the world. Most recently, Mick Jagger and his partner, Melanie Hamrick, bought a house here. Brian Johnson of AC/DC has lived here for many years. However, it’s not all Rock ’n Roll on Florida’s Cultural Coast. We boast the only opera company in the world that has performed every line that Verdi ever wrote. A dedicated opera house differentiates Sarasota from other Florida beach resorts. The community also supports acclaimed theatre and ballet companies as well as art museums and educational institutions, including the top-ranked graphic arts and film school Ringling College of Art and Design.

Dateline Sarasota Louis Wery (LX 1972-75) tells us about an unlikely meeting and his life in Florida.

hen i moved to Sarasota, Florida, almost 30 years ago, I didn’t expect to run into many people who shared my British schooling, much less time at KSC. However, I quickly met residents from the British Isles who discovered the West Coast of Florida long before I did.

Photos, clockwise from bottom left: Jamie Dixon; Jamie at the packing centre; Louis Wery; Ian Bacon and Tom Ransley

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After Sarasota opened a rowing facility and hosted the 2017 World Rowing Championships, I saw a photo of two OKS – Ian Bacon (MR 1953-58) and Tom Ransley MBE (MR 1999-2004). Tom was competing and Ian and his wife, Galen, turned up to watch the action. Later, my wife and I met the Bacons and I enjoyed sharing memories of OKS and stories of Ian’s childhood in Canterbury. A

Known as a small town with big-city amenities, Sarasota attracts new residents looking for pleasant places without some of the difficulties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. These migrations have precipitated a boom in new construction, including a third Ritz-Carlton on the mainland to complement the Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences on Lido Key. I recently received my first Moderna vaccine jab and continue to follow Covid-19 protocols since I am a real estate broker. Strolling America’s No. 1 ranked beach on Siesta Key makes a fabulous outdoor entertainment while we wait for the pandemic to clear. As a pastime, I continue to indulge myself with photographing the beauty that surrounds us in Sarasota. The area is known as a hotspot for migratory birds, and the Sarasota Audubon Society records more than 320 bird species. Favourite subjects for my camera include sandhill cranes and roseate spoonbills. I am building my bird life list! • Louis is the overseas representative for Florida. He can be contacted via the oks.org.uk 15

OKS FEATURE

Grazia, pangolins and COVID-19: a tale of a pandemic James Hynard (GL 2005-10) tells us about future pandemic preparedness and working with Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty

means our treatments for various infectious diseases risk becoming increasingly ineffective. Now I am trying to use some of that experience as I develop policy to prepare us for future pandemics and particularly worrying infectious diseases like Ebola.

Yet for all that progress, Covid-19 is a tragic reminder that infectious diseases can still cause great suffering and disruption.

Unfortunately Covid-19 is not a one-off. Just in the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, we have suffered many severe global disease outbreaks. These include novel diseases such as Zika, SARS, MERS and HIV, and recurrences of old ones including malaria, cholera and tuberculosis. Influenza, or flu, is a recurring threat, with pandemics in 2009 (“swine flu”), 1968, 1957, and, most famously, 1918: the so-called Spanish flu.

he massive changes in our society over the last century are captured in the dramatic changes in when and how we die. In 1915, the average life expectancy for a man born in the United Kingdom was 48.4 years; for a woman 54.0. In 2015, those numbers had increased to 79.3 and 82.9. A change occurred from infectious diseases as the biggest cause of death to cancer, heart conditions or external causes – a trend replicated globally thanks to medical advances, improved sanitation and better hygiene.

I work in the Department of Health and Social Care and spent much of 2020 supporting the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, on the response to Covid-19. Prior to that I worked with his predecessor, Professor Dame Sally Davies, on global efforts to address antimicrobial resistance – the evolutionary trend which 16

Whilst we start with a lack of knowledge, science provides the toolkit for navigating that uncertainty

Given that future disease outbreaks are inevitable, how do we prepare for them? We can generally handle known diseases like cholera, and when outbreaks of them do occur it is often due to societal breakdown or a lack of resources. The cholera epidemic in war-torn Yemen is a tragic example. There is little risk of these OKS

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Top graph: how the disease burden from infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, is decreasing globally Bottom graph: data from the USA shows the huge death toll from the 1918 flu pandemic (the big spike on the left of the chart) Graph data: ourworldindata.org

That is one reason why it is hard to predict with any useful level of accuracy when and where the next novel infectious disease will emerge, or stop it happening entirely. When one does appear in humans, it can spread rapidly through a global population without any pre-existing immunity, knowledge of the disease or effective measures against it. But that doesn’t mean we are defenceless. Whilst we start with a lack of knowledge, science provides the toolkit for navigating that uncertainty. Before a new disease even emerges, we can make predictions as to its likely characteristics and prepare accordingly. For example, the historic frequency of flu pandemics suggests that they are a likely source of a future pandemic, so we can stockpile antivirals which we know work against existing flu strains.

sorts of outbreaks spreading beyond the local circumstances which made them possible.

Opposite page: James on charity walk Right: a pangolin

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Novel infectious diseases offer a very different type of threat. They typically occur when a disease which exists in animals jumps into people and gains the ability to transmit human to human. The animal sources are varied – bats are the likely source of Ebola, camels of MERS, and pangolins a suspect for Covid-19.

When a new disease emerges, global surveillance systems can detect cases and track its spread; studies can give us key information about its route of transmission, transmissibility and virulence; genetic sequencing can help us develop tests and vaccines; and clinical trials can identify effective therapeutics, vaccines and prophylaxes. Several effective vaccines for Covid-19 have been developed in less than a year since its emergence, an unprecedented achievement. It is likely that we will never

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eliminate the threat of pandemics, but science is our most effective means of mitigating it. I studied science at King’s because of this ability to help us understand the world, and through understanding shape it. I remember microwaving grapes on the Green Court to generate fiery plasma and presenting on pistol shrimps which can generate temperatures almost as hot as the surface of the Sun. That, in turn, led on to a Natural Sciences degree and subsequently jobs at the Centre for Science and Policy, Nesta, the innovation foundation, and the Wellcome Trust, a charitable funder of health research, before I joined government. Much like my current role, each of these jobs has put me in close proximity to science, either supporting it or making use of its findings for real world impact. It

provides the prism through which I try to make sense of the world and the levers to improve it. That is why King’s investment in new science facilities for its pupils and the wider community will benefit even those who never touch a Bunsen burner or a test tube again after they leave school, by giving them the mental toolkit to do the same. There is also another overlooked benefit. One of the more surprising features of this pandemic has been the profusion of my former boss’s face in all sorts of unlikely places, from T-shirts and candles to the Grazia chart of lust, as Britain has proved that it most definitely hasn’t had enough of experts. So if nothing else, remember – the journey to being a national heartthrob begins at the laboratory bench.

Left: James wearing his Chris Whitty t-shirt

FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT PANDEMICS I recommend watching some of Chris Whitty’s Gresham College lectures for an accessible overview of the scientific considerations behind pandemic and imported infections intended for a general audience. Just search on the Gresham College website for his series on Infectious Diseases and Imported Infections and Epidemics and you will find links to watch them on YouTube. HIV is the other relatively recent – some would say ongoing – pandemic which has had a tragic impact. There is some remarkable work covering it, which gives an insight into the human cost and how far we have come thanks to science. The recent It’s A Sin is an excellent small screen drama, depicting the lives of a group of gay men and their friends during the HIV crisis in the United Kingdom. The film 120 BPM follows HIV activists associated with the Paris chapter of ACT UP, a remarkable organisation which catalysed all-important scientific advances against HIV.

For a more in-depth insight into the role of ACT UP and the early years of the HIV pandemic, I cannot recommend highly enough the non-fiction book How to Survive a Plague, which has also been made into a documentary. Amongst many other things, it also sheds a light on the early career of Anthony Fauci, another expert propelled into the public consciousness by Covid-19. For those interested in antimicrobial resistance, Resistance Fighters by Michael Welch is a good documentary on the topic.

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OKS Gift Collection

CUFFLINKS King’s School cufflinks in the style of the school crest. OKS cufflinks are burgundy with a dark blue and silver stripe. Both sets of cufflinks are enamel and come in presentation boxes. £28.00

OKS BADGE The OKS enamel badge is proudly made in Britain by Royal Warrant holders Toye, Kenning & Spencer. This beautifully enamelled badge sits securely on suits or dresses with a double magnet. In the OKS colours of navy blue and burgundy. A Legacy Club badge is also available. Presented in a gift box. £17.00

KING’S SCHOOL MUG A china mug for tea or coffee drinkers. Every OKS home should have one. £13.00

OKS TIES The OKS silk tie comes in burgundy with a navy and silver stripe. The OKS University silk ties come in Oxford and Cambridge colours. We also have an OKS bow tie available. £30.50 (OKS) £27.00 (Oxford and Cambridge) £27.50 (Bow Tie)

KING’S SCHOOL TEDDY BEAR Soft, cuddly and clothed in his very own King’s School jumper. The bear is looking for a home. We’ll leave the name up to you! £17.00

You can order these items on the King’s School Box Office kings-school.co.uk/boxoffice or alternatively please contact the King’s School Shop on 01227 595551. All items include UK postage. To order items when living outside the UK please contact the School Shop.

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OKS Network

Our First Term: Starting university during the pandemic Ben Helme (GL 2015-20) looks back on an uneasy experience. With thanks to Jack Dalgleish (GL 2018-20) and Simi Ayeni (JR 2015-20) for their major contributions.

oving into university of London halls in September, I had little idea of what to expect. I knew that in two weeks’ time I would be starting at LSE, which intended to hold lectures online, with classes being held in person. I worried about whether it would be possible to make friends, and whether the teaching quality would be compromised by the partial movement online. Looking back at my first term now, I feel conflicted. In my catered halls, people sit far apart at meals, with only two seats allowed around a large table. This seemed strange initially but has allowed us to get to know each other in a relatively normal manner. We have grown accustomed to using the hand sanitiser dispensers in the halls and academic buildings, keeping apart, staying in small groups, and wearing masks inside. Luckily, none of this stops you from getting to know each other over food. Due to this, and to having classes in person, I believe that my first term was as similar to the norm as it could have been without compromising on safety. Jack Dalgleish views in-person teaching to have been integral to his enjoyment of the first term. He writes: “In-person tutorials have been a lifesaver for meeting new people.” They gave him an opportunity to meet a greater number of his peers, and now he says that “outside of my immediate friend group in halls, that is where a majority of my social life comes from”. In my opinion, having classes in person provides an opportunity to meet your peers, and provides structure to your working week. Following a confirmed case in my household, I had to

quarantine for two weeks. I therefore attended both lectures and classes virtually. With many students muting themselves and turning off their cameras online, there is no doubt in my mind that in-person teaching is far preferable. While we must prioritise minimising the risk of virus transmission, and hence consider holding classes online, I do not believe that online teaching has the same benefits as in-person teaching. The challenges of online university are not just academic, but personal. The universities have held virtual socials but getting to know people over Zoom calls is trickier than speaking in real life. Jack believes that, while it is getting easier with time, “talking to people in breakout rooms was dreadful in the beginning”. I similarly found that socialising over Zoom became more tolerable as I grew closer to those I was speaking to, but many people found the idea of meeting people over virtual calls too awkward or intimidating to get to this stage. It has been particularly hard for those who would have met people through clubs, e.g. sports teams, which have struggled to offer a virtual experience OKS

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that is similar to the in-person activity. As it has become harder to meet people in classes, societies and accommodation, there is a real risk of students feeling isolated. Simi Ayeni has had a very different freshers’ experience from that which Jack and I have had. She has been studying for a degree at Northwestern University in Illinois, from her laptop in London. She writes: “Attending classes from a different country, with a six hour time difference, all from a single computer, has taught me that learning can truly always occur no matter the distance from the institution. From having exams at 10pm to meeting deadlines by 5am, I’ve learnt adaptability and flexibility, especially with my schedule.” Simi describes her university experience so far as “stretching, trying and unique,” noting the significant limits on interpersonal relationships that have come about from online learning. She goes on to say: “Despite this unprecedented experience being challenging as well as very exciting, I wouldn’t wish to undergo this period again. The negative effects of not having physical contact with my peers and faculty has highlighted to me that we humans thrive on physical interaction and connection.” By comparison, my first term has been extremely simple, with no time-zones or travel quarantines to consider. All three of us are grateful for our firstterm experiences, with Jack describing his time as “exceptional” and Simi stating that “there’s always something to be grateful for”. Nonetheless, I believe that most of us who have started university this year will look back with very mixed feelings. My two weeks in lockdown, during which I was not able to leave the area between my room and the bathroom across the hall, left me feeling isolated. I worry now about how students will cope spending the subsequent months in lockdown, if again they find themselves alone in accommodation, with all classes moved online. We are lucky to have been able to attend university, but like most things this year, it hasn’t been easy. OKS

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Left: Ben Helme Right: Sarah Eversfield

Career Advice during Covid-19 Careers adviser Sarah Eversfield (née Ventress, WL 2002-07) gives her take on the pandemic’s impact on job hunters – and the positive steps you can take to stand out.

n 11 march 2020, when Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, our world changed. Despite the adversity, as humans we have risen to the challenge and found grit and hope. But what if you have been facing the pandemic whilst also trying to find your first graduate job, or make a career change, or you’ve been made redundant due to the fallout of Covid-19? I have spoken to lots of people of all ages who feel isolated from the job market in the current climate. “The big graduate recruiters deferred all their new starters from September 2020 to September 2021. What hope is there for me applying now?” a third-year OKS at Exeter University asked. “They all say they expect applicants to have extensive work experience – but no one has been taking on anyone because everyone’s working from home! I feel stuck.” The picture can indeed seem bleak and terrifying, but the temptation is to remain stuck, rather than focusing on the possibilities and ways to move forward. 21

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My advice on dealing with these unprecedented times is to try to see the positives in the situation. We need to apply the incredible resilience shown during the pandemic, the positive shifts in attitudes and the adaptations we’ve all made, to our own careers. So, you don’t have a CV full of work experience? Well, one option is to bemoan this and sit at home, or to take up a job you don’t really want to pay the bills. Both are understandable responses, and the latter may have to be a stopgap while you work on the next step. But think – what can you achieve now? As those Instagram fitness instructors are prone to advising us, there are 24 hours in a day. How many of those are you honestly spending on steps that will help your career? Remember a seriously productive hour is worth so much compared to the four you can spend mindlessly scrolling before even getting out of your pyjamas – but you have to get into the mindset to do it. Even with the limitations of lockdown, there is so much we can do from our kitchen table. What can you achieve in that golden hour? Could you ask a connection, a fellow OKS, someone you have Googled, anyone – for the opportunity to shadow them in a Zoom meeting? Can you find someone who’s already working in your dream role and ask for 15 minutes to pick their brains on the phone? A good conversation might lead to another opportunity or a great nugget of advice. Can you enrol in an online course in the area you’re hoping to move into? Many are free. Can you spend time blasting off applications, contacting recruiters and polishing your CV and LinkedIn profile? If you need help with this – ask! Sending off applications and getting few replies can be a soul-destroying process – but only if you let it be. Talk to yourself kindly and positively, ask for feedback when you can and try to see every application and interview as a positive opportunity to learn. Remember that everyone is in this situation, so whilst the pandemic may seem to be limiting your options, it is limiting everyone’s options. But you have the choice to be the person that is seeing the positives, the opportunities and the solutions. And that’s the person who’ll get the job! 22

OKS KING’S TALKS ONLINE With in-person events on hold, the School and OKS Office have teamed together to bring a series of OKS talks online. All talks are available to watch at any time on the OKS YouTube channel.

As a “thank you” to all our speakers, we make a donation to plant trees around the world via Tree Nation. To see our virtual forest and the impact we have made, search ‘Tree-Nation OKS Association’.

165 0.12 803/4 trees hectares tonnes CO planted

reforested

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OKS SPEAKERS

Dinesh Dhamija (GR 1968-69) Entrepreneurship and Politics

Miriam Lwanga (WL 1990-95) First Female Captain of School

Imogen Hirsch (MR 1997-2002) Mental Health Charities

dinesh is a former MEP, Liberal Democrat and Entrepreneur. In 1980, he started Dabin Travel from a tiny kiosk and through much hard work grew this business into eBookers.com which he sold in 2005. In this talk, Dinesh is interviewed by OKS President David Peters (SH 1965-69) and shares his experience as a successful global entrepreneur.

miriam was part of the first cohort of Shell girls, and the first female Captain of School. Today, she works for UNICEF Uganda as a Communication for Development Specialist. She was interviewed by Alanna Fraser (LX/MT 1991-96) about her time at King’s and how she is helping to create opportunities for Ugandan female entrepreneurs.

imogen initially worked in the Civil Service before joining the voluntary sector in 2010. Most notably, Imogen joined The Royal Foundation as Head of Operations for their Heads Together mental health campaign. She is now in a Programme Development role, where she creates and delivers campaigns tackling mental health issues.

Ashitha Nagesh (MT 2003-08) Journalism

Pip Durell (BR 2005-10) Fashion Industry and Sustainability

Ranulph Tees (MO 2008-13) Careers

pip is the founder of the sustainable fashion brand ‘With Nothing Underneath’. She has worked in various roles in the fashion industry, from publishing to production. Pip discusses the changing face of the industry, the trials and tribulations of a start-up and navigating the sustainability challenges facing the clothing industry.

ranulph interned at The Economist and Insight TWI, producing documentaries for Al Jazeera and Channel 4. These careers were not for him and eventually he set up his own tutoring agency, Cavendish Milton. He hopes his talk will help OKS making career choices decide which route to take and alternative ways to go about it.

ashitha is an award-winning journalist with BBC News online, who has spent her career so far telling the stories of people who are typically under-represented in mainstream media. In this talk, Ashitha shares some of her insights from years of interviewing marginalised people and telling sensitive stories.

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Let’s get to work on Diversity

Right: Temi Akindele Barker

Temi Akindele Barker (JR 1994-99) explains the importance of diversity in its fullest sense.

n 2019, my husband and I secured a meeting with a senior figure in education. We were thrilled to share our concerns about the lack of diversity in our schools – not just representation when it comes to people, but also diversity in its fullest sense in our curriculum, policies and so on. After we spoke earnestly about our experience, there was a pause, and this individual blinked slowly, smiled and said “I am surprised you think there is a diversity issue, when I began my career 30 plus years ago, everyone was called Alice Smith”. In that moment, Inclusion Labs came to be. There are so many nuances to the term diversity. Diversity is a combination of many things, and it cannot work in silo. It must be closely connected to inclusion and it must consider equity. Diversity is about learning and accessibility; it is about balance and it most certainly is about society. You can have diversity and not be inclusive, but it is impossible to be inclusive without diversity. Privilege emphasises all that you have and all that you are supposedly immune to. Yet it does not protect those from underrepresented groups from the stark reality of discrimination. I attended one of the best schools in the country – thank you King’s – and my parents made sure I wanted for nothing. It was these things that made many question why I was so affected by the murder of George Floyd. Why this Black person felt such a deep connection to what happened to that Black person, way over there in America. Yet my superficial privileges have not protected me from the micro and macro aggressions that Black people everywhere face. Being asked at a drinks party “When did you arrive here?” Being asked by a group of mothers outside my daughter’s school if I was the nanny, as we all waited to pick up our children. So, what do we want? Institutional and systemic change. For now, more must be done to bring

awareness and action to our schools regarding diversity and inclusion – and not just ethnicity or race, but also sexuality, gender, culture and our faithful friend, thought. Remember this: if an individual does not feel that the (school) community they are a part of, willingly and regularly emphasises that any difference is important, then they are left doubting the very thing that they strive to emphasise daily. It is not enough to state that we are a diverse and inclusive school community, we must also do the work to support that claim. When we do this work, we must be public, proud and unwavering. It’s an ongoing collective process, and there will be successes and failures. Our work at Inclusion Labs is comprehensive. Our goal is long-lasting change and as such we have designed a programme that urges schools towards this. Simply, it’s about much more than just one less Alice Smith in the room. All that’s left is for me to say is how proud I am to be part of the King’s School community. Now, let’s get to work. OKS

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The new Hon. Secretary of the OKS Association

of Mr Paul Pollak in the Maths Department. The Rugby and Soccer Clubs were also keen to acquire coaches, and the Photo Soc was seeking a willing contributor who would later run it. On the pastoral side, I was a Tutor in Tradescant for five years, before moving to 82 Broad Street as Assistant Housemaster in Jervis. Anthony Phillips offered me the Housemastership of The Grange in the Autumn of 1995 to take over in September 1997. 17 years later, following my retirement as Housemaster, Walpole welcomed me as a Tutor until my departure in 2019.

Marc Dath (Common Room 1988-2019) introduces himself.

ollowing a masters’ degree in Mathematics at the University of Lille and a PGCE at Leeds, I started my teaching career in 1982 at The Oratory School, Reading. I very quickly became involved in boarding, firstly as Resident Tutor, then as Deputy Housemaster before seeking further teaching challenges and opportunities. It was hence in 1988 that I was offered a post at King’s by the legendary Canon Anthony Phillips who, in a rather Pink Floyd-esque manner, told me at interview that he was looking for a brick of a certain shape to plug the hole left “in the wall” by some members of staff’s departure… I took over the teaching allocation

Above: Marc Dath

I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching, especially Further Maths, as well as the daily classroom banter. However, my greatest joy has been to witness so many pupils sailing, sometimes haphazardly, through adolescence into adulthood and I sincerely hope that the influence I have had on their lives was a positive one. Becoming the Hon. Secretary will, I hope, offer me further links with the School that has so mattered to me and to my children who were fortunate enough to have been educated here.

OKS Vice-President (Diversity) The OKS Association Committee are excited to be recruiting a Vice-President (Diversity). The post holder will help us promote diversity within the OKS Association and maintain a network of OKS representatives that accurately reflects our membership. It will be their objective to promote equality and flag discrimination within the organisation and wider community. Awareness • Equality • Inclusion • Respect • Diversity For more information contact Molly Burgess, OKS Coordinator: oks@kings-school.co.uk

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2020 vision with hindsight Nigel Hamway (WL 1969-74) has compiled 2020 Vision, a beautiful tribute to wood engraving. He was also involved in the Ashmolean Museum’s ‘Scene through the Wood’ exhibition and curated the Bodleian Library’s ‘Out of the Wood’ display, both honouring the Society of Wood Engravers in 2020, its centenary year.

was lucky in my influences. As a small child I watched the wood engraver Peter Holland engrave on tiny boxwood blocks nestled into a leather cushion, as, peering through a large lens, he carved precise images into the wood. He inked the blocks and printed them, using an antique hand press. He gave me a copy of each engraving. When I was eleven Peter encouraged me to start buying prints from a gallery in Sackville Street. I’ve been collecting ever since. When I arrived at King’s my Wednesday activity was learning to print with George Neeve, retired compositor with the Kentish Gazette. The Caxton Society print room became my favourite spot, and I learnt typesetting, printing and the language of printing, words like forme, chase, dis and pi. The Caxton Society printed most school programmes, including the first ever King’s Week Jazz Concert in 1974 which I organised: a sell-out at 4.15pm on a Sunday! After an undistinguished degree in Physical 26

Anthropology at Cambridge, and lots of fun and music, I trained as a Chartered Accountant and spent the next twenty-five years in industry, investment banking and private equity fund management. By chance in 1999 I wandered into the annual exhibition of the Society of Wood Engravers in Oxford. I met Pete Lawrence and Hilary Paynter and by the end of the day I was the SWE treasurer and had started collecting in earnest.

a beautiful tribute to wood engraving

My collection mushroomed and is now well over a thousand wood engravings. I set up small funds with the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library for the purchase of prints and illustrated books, meeting the leading engravers and printers whilst buying their work. I bumped into Peter Henderson (who had taught me as a Shell in 1969) when my children were at King’s and when he was a judge at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair in 2007. I’d gone through school not knowing he is an expert on fine press books, and I was thrilled when he showed me some of the treasures in the Walpole Collection at King’s. OKS

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it took two people nearly a year to print them and each copy takes many hours to bind. Highly skilled craft work doesn’t come cheap! The A copies were all sold before publication. Most of the engravers made new work for the book. It took over a year to track down the blocks and images for the chosen influences from Henry Moore to Paul Nash to Robert Motherwell, the US abstract expressionist. Blocks were lent by individuals, museums, galleries and universities. One museum insisted we handle their precious blocks with white gloves. You can imagine how the gloves looked after printing the blocks in black ink for 400 copies.

One thing has led to another and in 2020, to mark the centenary of the SWE, Pat Randle of the Nomad Press, Pete Lawrence the wood engraver and I produced a private press book: 2020 Vision. I commissioned 19 artists to produce work, and they in turn chose and wrote about their artistic influences. It was a lengthy project. I first wrote to the artists in 2017; Pat and his assistant Anna Parker printed the book in 2019 at the Whittington Press; and even now not all the copies have been bound. Roger Grech, the bookbinder, is producing beautiful work, but it takes time. Private press books are produced by hand and in small numbers. In the case of 2020 Vision there are only 340 copies, of which 290 are C copies at £245, 30 are B copies with a quarter leather binding and a portfolio containing a complete set of the prints at £895, and 20 are A copies bound in full leather and with a separate book, The Collector’s Cut, and a full portfolio of prints at £2,850 each. The prices sound high but OKS

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Top left: Magnolia by Peter Holland © The estate of Peter Holland Top right: Threshing by John Nash Bottom: Caxton Society programme

I chose myself as the twentieth contributor, picking Peter Holland, my mentor, and John Nash, one of my favourite twentieth century artists. Threshing Machine from 1922 is a marvellous image and I am lucky enough to own the block. It has come apart a little, probably kept in a dry place which caused the several boxwood pieces that make the block to shrink, opening up gaps. The block will be exhibited in ‘John Nash – the Landscape of Love and Solace’ which opens later this year at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne. I’ve got the bug now, and Pat and I are planning several more books. It is a joy watching a work of art being created slowly and painstakingly, and it helps to keep a valuable craft going. 27

OKS Update

1930s Kurt Erlach (SH 1938-39) was born at Memel in 1924. In the 1930s his father was working in England and living in Kent, so Kurt went to the Abbey School, Beckenham before joining Lattergate and then School House. Nothing was known about what happened to him after he left King’s. It has only recently been discovered that he eventually joined the Luftwaffe and was killed on 16 January 1945 near Bismark in Saxony-Anhalt. His name will therefore be added to those commemorated on the war memorial plaque and on Remembrance Sunday. Further details are on the Roll of Honour website.

role at Suez: “By the time I arrived at El Gamil as part of an advanced party of 16 Brigade HQ, 3 Para had reached the outskirts of Port Said, well out of the range of any sniper.”

1950s

1940s John Hembry (MO 1949-54) wrote in November to say that the Autumn issue had included the obituaries of four of his contemporaries, including two, Philip Creasy and Mike Vincent, whom he’d kept up with for many years. John was OKS Hon. Sec. 1980-84, in the days when OKS Events were sparse, and it was he who initiated the first (and unrepeated) OKS Ball on the Green Court, in 1983. His organising committee included Roger Ryeland, Gerald Lynch, John Atkins and Mike Herbert, and initial sales were poor, before an overwhelming lastminute rush for tickets. Several years ago, when the Daily Telegraph was featuring the exciting opportunities available for school leavers on their gap years, John described his, spent “pressing my face into the sand beside the Suez Canal, hoping the Egyptian snipers hadn’t spotted me.” “Suez,” John writes now, “such a sad little episode. I read recently that PM Anthony Eden had called in CIGS General Templer and asked, ‘Can we reach Cairo, General?’ ‘Of course we can reach Cairo, Prime Minister, but what do we do when we get there?’” In later correspondence, John wrote that he had over-dramatised his own 28

John Drew (LN 1952-57) has sent us a copy of his latest book Getting ’em in Singles: A Cricket Miscellany, written under the nom de guerre of ‘Twelfth Man’. It includes a full account of his involvement with the Haymakers in 1956 and 1957, taken from letters he wrote to his parents and accompanied by a sketch of sheep watching a match at Bourne Paddock. John Hall (Common Room 1956-64) has sent us copies of his latest books. Curriculum Vitae includes a section on ‘Life in the King’s School’, with the remarkable (but characteristic) letter of appointment from Canon Shirley as well as ‘Thoughts of an Invigilator’ (the new master’s impressions of his first year) and ‘a few Canterbury activities outside the school – cricket, fishing, shooting’. A Venice Record 1965-2020 is an updated report on the John Hall Venice Course, still going strong. Both books are available via blurb.co.uk/bookstore Jonathan Cundy (GL 1958-63) sent us his memories of Graham Pritchard (see obituary OKS

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in Autumn 2020 issue). “Roger Sutton’s memory of Graham Pritchard took me back sixty years to when Graham was a God-like figure to small boys such as me. From his gigantic clearance kicks as full-back in the rugby XV to his fast-outswing bowling in the cricket XI, there seemed to be nothing he could not do. However, one afternoon in a house cricket match between Galpin’s and Luxmoore he temporarily met his equal in the unlikely figure of Jim McClure (GL 1958-63), whose obituary appeared in the Spring 2019 magazine. As the Galpin’s innings crumbled before Graham’s fearsome speed, Jim, a genial, portly character who captained the King’s third XI with distinction, held up one end for over after over, blocking the straight balls or taking them on the body and leaving everything outside the off stump. The more frustrated Graham became, the faster he bowled, but Jim would not be moved. It was a tiny foretaste of the defiance of David Steele against the 1975 Australians and the bravery of 45-year-old Brian Close soaking up the bruises against the West Indian attack a year later. Of course, it could not last. Eventually Jim was out and returned to the pavilion to the sporting applause of Graham and his team, who went on to inevitable victory. Graham’s remarkable exploits were typical of the unparalleled heights that King’s cricketers, rugby players and rowers achieved in the early sixties. We who were there were privileged to witness them.”

1960s Alun Davies (MO 1961-65) writes from Wenvoe, on the outskirts of Cardiff, to say that he recently met the Chairman of the Community Council who turned out to be Dickon Oliver (LX 1962-66). Having been at King’s together they had not met in 55 years since leaving. They have both travelled and worked all over the world and now live a couple of hundred metres apart. When Covid allows there will be much to catch up on. Dickon plays an active part in village life and enjoys walking and riding in this beautiful area OKS

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Photos, clockwise from top-left: John Drew’s sketch of Bourne Park; Alun Davies (left) and Dickon Oliver (right); Charles Griffiths; John Hall, Curriculum Vitae

of South Wales. He has spent many happy days on the Wales coast path, and once a year he joins a group from Keble, including two other OKS, to walk the Pyrenees, the Dolomites, or even the Peak District or the Brecon Beacons. Alun is a former President of the Alpine Ski Club and Chairman of Ballet Russe. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of South Glamorgan and a Fellow of Cardiff Metropolitan University. He was appointed Honorary Consul for Hungary in 2011 and has been awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. With his wife he enjoys long-distance hiking in the Alps and UK, travelling far and wide in their motorhome, and they take as many holidays on the Mediterranean as possible. Alun would welcome a call or text from any MO chums on 07802 767877. Charles Griffiths (SH 1961-65) in March 2020 sailed his yacht single handed from St Lucia to Antigua for it to be shipped to Southampton. He describes his experiences in ‘Escape from Lockdown’ and counts himself incredibly lucky to have avoided a West/ East single handed Atlantic crossing. The full article is available to read on The Ocean Cruising Club website. In April 2020 he was elected Treasurer of The Ocean Cruising Club Limited, a club of over 3,000 members which provided extraordinary support to many hundreds of 29

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Nicholas is continuing his research investigations through connections with several British universities as an Honorary Research Fellow of UWA and is composing a sequence of new works in a variety of media.

yachts stranded by the pandemic. On dry land he has become Treasurer of The Arts Society Falmouth whose 350 members enjoy lectures across a broad range of subjects. Michael St. John Parker (Common Room 196369) has recently been awarded an Oxford D.Phil. for work on a newly discovered diary written by an antiquarian genealogist and herald of the Regency period. The diarist became a subject of scandal when he was maliciously accused of forgery, as a result of office politics in the College of Arms; the thesis sheds new light on the persisting power of patronage in the early years of the nineteenth century. Michael was elected FSA in 2011, shortly after his retirement as a Fellow of Winchester College. Richard Wohanka (MO 1966-71) was awarded a CBE in the 2021 New Year Honours list for his services to the nuclear industry. Richard is currently Chairman and Trustee at Nuclear Trust and Director of Nuclear Liabilities Fund. Nicholas Bannan (LN 1968-73) has recently retired after fifteen years as an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia. He has especially enjoyed visiting the splendid church buildings to the north of Perth designed and built by OKS Monsignor John Hawes, including Geraldton Cathedral, where he directed his choir, The Winthrop Singers, on several occasions. Nicholas has played a leading part in the interdisciplinary movement that has over the last twenty-five years explored the evolutionary origins and purpose of music. In two 2019 publications, Every Child a Composer and First Instruments, he applied the consequences of this research agenda to the practice of music education, inspired by the early example in his life represented by the work of Allan Wicks and Alan Ridout. Settling with his wife Valerie near Oxford, 30

Above: Rugby 1st XV, 1963 Below: Nicholas Bannan

A History-Making Epoch: John Norwood (WL 1960-64) writes: In the Autumn Term of 1963 the King’s 1st XV played thirteen matches, winning twelve and drawing one. The surviving members of the team are producing a book about their stories before King’s, at the School and since. Under the temporary title ‘Project ’63,’ and guided by Michael Dover (LX 1962-67) as editor and publisher, with help from the school archivist Peter Henderson and the OKS Office, we hope to go to press later this year. We need your help. All of us at King’s in the 1950s and 1960s will have anecdotes of tutors, coaches, academic and music teachers, and be thanking our parents for the fully rounded education received and for the exceptional friends, now reconnected as OKS, who shared that experience. Our particular focus is on the years 1954-66. Some of you may have memories from the touchline which would embellish our story. Beyond the sports fields, you may just want to record what your King’s education meant to you and how it equipped you to face the twists and turns of the life you have known. OKS

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as its Vice President for Communications and Membership. Before Covid-19 largely stopped air travel, this meant visiting West Africa where around two thirds of the world’s cocoa is grown.

Our ultimate objective is to create a work of contemporary value based on a particular period in the life of the King’s School, demonstrating the strength of its heritage and the potential of a King’s education. We hope to hear from you. John Norwood: norwood.johna@gmail.com

Dr Andrew Stein (MR 1975-79) is a hospital consultant physician at a large teaching hospital in Coventry called UHCW. He sent us this update: “On one Monday in May, a sunny day within the dark days of the first wave of Covid-19, I found myself surrounded in the staff car park by final year medical students. They had volunteered to step up, cease their studies, and man the barricades in the hospital, handling C-19 patients, putting themselves at risk. We were all exhausted. It was like the cavalry coming over the hill. They acted as nurses, porters, cleaners, and junior doctors. We were all so pleased to see them. They kept the older consultants away from close contact with the patients to protect them. We could still advise from afar of course. The younger generation performed brilliantly. This was their war.” Andrew is writing two books this year: How the NHS Works (for students) and Future of the NHS (for academics).

1970s Guy Allan (LN 1972-77) has headed into retirement after a near 40-year career as a Chartered Surveyor. He sent us this update: I enjoyed being Hon Sec of the OKS Association between 2001-05. There were two events I attended in recent years that were the most memorable whilst being very sombre. With my interest in military history, I was fortunate enough to attend the Passchendaele Commemoration in 2017. With the prior assistance of Peter Henderson, School Archivist, I located the names of three OKS who were killed in that battle in 1917 and are commemorated at Tyne Cot. I left a message on behalf of the OKS. More recently I attended the memorial service to Peter Allen – for me, such an inspiring house master of Linacre whose support instilled much needed confidence in me. At the event I met up with fellow Linacre OKS Alex Dyke, Sean McMahon, Angus Robson, Rob Markwick and Matthew Townshend. Our school recollections went on for hours afterwards at the Dolphin! Professor Adam Finn (MR 1972-76) has become a prominent voice in the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine response. He has appeared on BBC News, BBC Radio 4, Sky News and Times Radio. Adam is a member of the Government’s official Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation. After a career in journalism and at the World Bank, Alex Ferguson (SH 197277) is now working on the cause of ending child labour and deforestation in cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate. Alex has joined the World Cocoa Foundation in Washington DC OKS

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Above: Andrew Stein Below: Alex Ferguson

Professor David Owen (MO 1977-82) had a semester break from the University of Southampton in Autumn 2020/Spring 2021 to be SSS Visiting Professor at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton (which has perhaps the best address of any academic institution: 1 Einstein Drive). He was also delighted to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2020, the year in which he also published his most recent book What Do We Owe to Refugees? Chris Norton (BR 1978-83) received an unusual “Bright skies for aviation business” headline in The Times Business on 1 February when the firm he co-founded, 2Excel Aviation, struck a refinancing deal with London-based asset manager Signal Capital Partners. Founded in 2005 by Chris and a fellow former RAF Harrier jump jet pilot, 2Excel Aviation is a business of more than 200 people and 28 aircraft. It has been flying vaccines into the UK, and besides flies 31

OKS UPDATE

football teams around Europe and provides a search and rescue service for HM Coastguard.

1980s Scott Guthrie (LX 1983-88) is a professional advisor specialising in influencer marketing. He recently launched his own podcast series, Influencer Marketing Lab, where he shares conversations with topic experts about the industry including the technology, key themes and media coverage. Kolarele Sonaike (WL/GR 1986-91) had the pleasure of meeting Kamala Harris in Summer 2019. “You wouldn’t normally expect to meet the soon-to-be most powerful woman on earth in a casino, but my Dad and I met Kamala Harris at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. As a member of the Board of Directors of the 100 Black Men of America, I got to meet her at one of our annual conference events. She was gracious but unassuming with an impressive air of confidence 32

Left: Kolarele Sonaike (far left) with Kamala Harris Right: Camilla Pay

without being arrogant. No real surprise that she got the nod from Biden to become Vice President, and I would happily place a Vegas bet that she will go on to be President one day.” Charlotte Mendelson (SH/BS 1989-91) appeared on BBC’s University Challenge on 29th December 2020. Charlotte was a panel member on the New College, Oxford team.

1990s Colonel Peter Baines (LN 1991-96) was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. This award was made in recognition of his leadership in commanding 4th Battalion the Rifles during their conversion to the new Specialised Infantry role. Camilla Pay (MR 1992-97) featured in the opening Cathedral concert of the Canterbury Festival, accompanying renowned choir Tenebrae, performing ‘Rig Veda Hymns’ and OKS

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played two virtuosic harp solos, a performance welcomed by both musicians and audience in a very difficult year for so many. She found her own ‘Covid Bubble’, isolated in her booth at Abbey Road Studios, recording for numerous films and television programmes. Because of restrictions, an online Christmas concert was recorded in aid of Barnardos. The unusual combination of harp, flute and clarinet was a great success. A fortuitous meeting at King’s, with composer Paul Lewis, has led to a recently released CD of his harp solo works ‘Harpscenes’ which has already featured in a U.S. radio broadcast. Camilla still plays her beloved Salvi ‘Diana’ (first appearance at JKS Concerts) and is delighted with the recent arrival of a new harp, built to her specification by Horngacher in Bavaria. Adam Williams (LN 1992-96) is the Chief Executive of YouMi Walk – a social network using walking to deliver real-world connections. YouMi Walk want people to get off their phones and get outdoors to connect with other people by walking. The network is currently in development. Dr Kate Emary (LX 1994-99) is part of the successful Oxford Coronavirus research team that has developed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Clinical Research Fellow Kate is the co-author of a review published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. Michael Stephens (TR 1996-2001) is the new Associate Fellow at Bright Blue and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), as well as an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Chuko (SH/GR 1999-2004) and Arie Esiri (LN 1999-2002) worked together to produce, direct and write Eyimofe (This is my Desire), a film about two Nigerians planning to emigrate from Lagos. Kayode Akindele (GR 199398) also worked on the film as an executive producer. Since writing, the film has won the audience award at the 65th Valladolid Film Festival and is a OKS

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Above: Niki Mukhi Photo: @filseaton_ photography from @team_hyku_d

finalist for best feature at the 44th São Paulo Film Festival. In November, Chuko and Arie ‘digitally’ toured to play the film in Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and China.

Below: Chuko (left) and Arie Esiri (right)

Niki Mukhi (SH 1998-2003) is the organiser of a music festival called DXB4BEY (Dubai 4 Beirut). The event brought together 15 artists and speakers who performed live from the Dubai Opera. Niki also performed with his quintet. All funds raised were donated to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). “If there’s one thing you experience living and working in Dubai, it is how much love there is for the city of Beirut,” Niki explains. “The incident at Beirut Port on 4th August broke all our hearts, and we wanted to do something to help.” Marc Chapman (MT 1999-2005) has left King’s after 14 years as a fencing coach. He is currently the Director of Development at The World Minigolf Sport Federation. We thank him for 33

his involvement in OKS fencing events and the Malthouse fencing hall development.

2000s Dr Magnus Resch (GL 2000-01) published a new book in February 2021. How to Become A Successful Artist explains the core business principles of being an artist and reveals how to make it in the art word. The book includes advice from some of the art world’s leading experts. Charlie Harvey (GL 2001-06) married Harriet Foster in London at The Marylebone Town Hall on 9th October 2020. They plan to have a wedding celebration on Menorca in 2022. Ashitha Nagesh (MT 2003-08) has been highly commended in the features journalism category at the British Journalism Awards. Ashitha was congratulated for tackling tough subjects in a compelling way and giving a different aspect of the Covid-19 crisis. 34

Photos, clockwise from top-left: Charlie and Harriet; Jamie Harris (left); Jonny Stewart

Nathan Brown (CY 2005-07) is a producer for a film company in East London called Pavilion Films. His most recent project in December 2020 was with Gay Times and Channel 4 to create digital content to promote the TV series ‘It’s A Sin’, which focuses on a group of friends in their early 20s, caught up in the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Talking about his involvement in the project, Nathan said: “From a production perspective, we wanted to find the right balance between creating a buzz around the show and highlighting the important issues that were being discussed. Hopefully, we’ve achieved that.” Jamie Harris (GL 2005-10) completed an epic 100km trek around Singapore to raise money for mental health charity MINDSET Singapore. The trek took 21 hours and 43 minutes, enduring monsoon rain for some of the time, with only 1.5 hours resting time. So far, he has raised over $6,780. Jonny Stewart (GL 2005-10) rose to viral fame on TikTok with his bass vocals in the now OKS

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infamous sea shanty video that has taken the internet by storm. The video, which has gained over 1.9 million views, was also part of the TikTok TV advert. He collaborated with other singers to form a group ‘The Wellermen’ and released a single with proceeds being donated to the Marine Conservation Society. In March, Jonny appeared on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway to perform a special rendition of the song. Jonny is the founder and bass singer at NoVI Music. Dr Stephen Burley (Common Room 2005-07) has been appointed Headmaster at King’s High School in Warwick. Dr Burley said: “There is a tremendous amount of excitement.” Dr Kola Lawal (TR 2006-11) and his friends have started a company that helps secondary school students get virtual work experience in the world of medicine and healthcare. Described as a “unique opportunity with unprecedented sights into the NHS”, MedCuts offers interactive tutorials delivered by doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Alex Bunting (JR 2006-11) and Ed macLachlan (MO 2005-10) have set up Butter Homeware, a business that specialises in table linen. Partners Alex and Ed’s story began in lockdown. “Tired of throwing away paper towels at every meal, we looked for a sustainable alternative. Our problem was we couldn’t find what we wanted on the market. Our 100% linen napkins are of the highest quality fabric. Made to last and made in South East London. If we help to reduce consumption and waste then we’ll be happy as a clam!” Visit butterhomeware.com and apply code OKSBUTTER when you check out for 10% off. Freddy Clode (TR 2006-11) is the host of the Rig Biz Podcast – the number one sport, lifestyle, and business podcast in the UK. The podcast formed a celebrity supergroup, comprised of British sporting figures, and released a Christmas Single It’s Christmas Time (It’s Time to Lash). Freddy wrote the music to the song and helped to rope in the celebrities. All proceeds raised by the song were donated to Restart Rugby, a charity which looks after rugby players in the UK affected by mental health and injuries. Samuel Gearing (GL 2007-12) launched a OKS

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Above: Jacob Ewens

fragrance agency during the UK’S first national lockdown. Because of the ongoing pandemic, he has adapted his business quickly to survive and launched the world’s first virtual perfumery – fiole.co.uk. More than just an online catalogue, The Fiole Fragrance Finder is an online consultant that helps you find the perfect fragrance. Samuel is currently offering OKS 10% off all full-sized products with the code OKS10. Like many musicians during lockdown, Jacob Ewens (TR 2007-12) has moved online, recording and editing virtual projects for various ensembles. His latest project is a YouTube series called Industry Insights in which he interviews experts in the classical music recording industry, and features ex-King’s Head of Music Technology, Paul Barton Hodges (Episode 2). With the industry having to quickly adapt to life since the pandemic, Paul gives insight to the streaming world and offers some advice to his former student on starting out. You can find the series on YouTube or follow Jacob’s Facebook page: @JacobEwensRecording. 35

Florence Otedola (BR 2007-11) released her debut album, under the name Cuppy, Original Copy in August 2020. She is also the host of Apple Music radio show Africa Now. The show aims to showcase the latest African sounds and covers a wide range of genres. Edward Kendall (TR 2008-11) wrote to us to say that he recently watched an online talk by Fr Wulstan Peterburs (MR 1981-85) on a way of reading the Bible called Lectio Divina. Edward said that Lectio Divina has been a source of resilience during the height of lockdown and has given a “greater sense of perspective, helped me to become a better listener and inspired me to put myself at the loving service of others”. If anyone is interested in doing Lectio Divina as part of a group, please get in touch via the OKS Office. Louise Augustine-Aina (HH 2008-13) is the Student Engagement Officer at the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS). LIS will admit its first cohort of students in 2021 and is the first new institution since the 1960s to hold full 36

Left: Florence ‘Cuppy’ Otedola Right: Louise Augustine-Aina

degree awarding powers in the United Kingdom. Louise joined co-founder of LIS, Dr Carl Grombrich, for a King’s Talk in November. Harry Savill (GL 2008-13) was selected as one of two British representatives on the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and United Nations Alliance of Civilizations youth consultation on countering violent extremism through sport. The consultation brought together youth leaders from 38 countries with experience in the fields of sport, peacebuilding, and the prevention of violent extremism.

2010s Theo Jessel (TR 2010-15) is the producer and director of his debut short documentary The Stocky Broker. This follows the journey of Al Smallwood, a young stockbroker who signs up to a white-collar boxing fight – enduring ruthless training and gruelling sparring, all whilst working a high-pressure job. The documentary OKS

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soon. For more information, visit discoverpom.com

has over 14,600 views and is available to watch on the Free Documentary YouTube channel.

Antonia Brown (HH 2012-17) has launched a social enterprise whilst in her final year at Leeds University. Scoop Leeds is a zero-waste food store that aims to eliminate plastic from food buying. All goods are sourced locally and they aim to offer sustainable living without a high price tag. The store will run as a pop-up, run by a team of volunteers in the local community.

Hal Evans (MR 2010-15) has built a fully working replica of a 1930s Polish cyclometer – a device that was used to help decrypt the German Enigma cipher text. The replica currently resides at the University of Cambridge and is believed to be the first fully-functioning hardware based cyclometer to exist since the Second World War. Vihan Patel (CY 2012-17) and Vladimir Ignatyev (TR 2013-18) have co-founded an exciting technology start up ‘The Power of Music’ – a dating app for music lovers. They have received quarter of a million in investments and look forward to launching

Above: Hal Evans with his cyclometer

Lilac Courtauld (LX 2018-20) was “over the moon” to find out that her Geography AS Level result had earned a Cambridge Top in the World award. The award is given to the learner who achieved the highest standard mark worldwide in a subject assessed by Cambridge International Education.

SHARE YOUR CAREER NEWS & POST A JOB! Staying connected has never been more important. With over 1,300 members, the OKS LinkedIn group is growing fast! Don’t forget to join the group to network with fellow OKS and share your career news. We also welcome posts from OKS who would like to advertise their job vacancies and offer advice to others. linkedin.com/groups/35681

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UNKNOWN OKS № 26

Lounging on the Norman Staircase: the Spiers Brothers

he king’s school Picture Collection has a splendid watercolour of the Norman Staircase in 1870. The artist was Richard Phené Spiers (1838-1916) who went to King’s College School and King’s College, London, and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He was an architect, artist and writer and distinguished enough to merit an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. We know about his visit to Canterbury as it is mentioned in his father’s diary on 1 October 1870: “Richard went to Canterbury, for a few days: he did a number of sketches.” Richard was visiting his brothers. Arthur Hood Spiers joined the King’s School in April 1868 and Ernest George Spiers followed in September. Their father Richard James Spiers had a stationery and fancy goods shop at 102 and 103 High Street, Oxford. He was a prominent citizen, becoming Mayor in 1853/4, and his wide social circle included several with King’s and Canterbury connections. For example he knew the Captain of School Frank Hall (KSC 1862-68), whose father was a partner in the Clarendon

Press, and the former New College Chaplain, now Canterbury Precentor, Robert Hake, whose sons Edwin, Lewis and Ormond would come to King’s. It is clear from the diaries that Richard senior took great care over the education of his eleven surviving children, not least as his wife had died when Arthur was just five and Ernest four. He took Arthur to Canterbury by train when he started here and noted that for his first term he was boarding at 2 Oaten Hill. Meetings with the Headmaster John Mitchinson are mentioned as well as Arthur holidaying with his godmother Frances Freeling Broderip, a daughter of the poet Thomas Hood. Arthur was awarded a Junior Scholarship in his first term. He won the Upper Fifth Form prize in 1870 when John Mitchinson, in typical headmagisterial mode, commented that he had “the greatest pleasure in giving it him; he had begun to apply his abilities to some effect, and he hoped he would continue to do so”. He also performed at Speeches, as Dr Caius in The Merry OKS

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He was a supremely loyal OKS: a subscriber to The Cantuarian and a regular attender and then organising secretary at the OKS Dinners when they were instituted in 1881. He was also honorary Bursar of the Bunce Augmentation Fund, which raised money to finance a leaving exhibition. The inaccuracies in the ‘List of Old Cantuars retaining their names on the school roll’ published in the annual ‘pink book’ led him to take responsibility for this and to pursue an interest in the School’s history. On finding the 1742 school roll he had it mounted and framed to be put up in the Parry Library and wrote a full account of it for the school magazine. He died at the early age of 41 in 1896.

Wives of Windsor in 1870 and as Westmoreland in a scene from Henry V and Amynias in The Clouds of Aristophanes (in Greek, of course) in 1871. Arthur left in 1871 and was awarded a Parker Exhibition to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1875 and became a schoolmaster. He was at Newton College, Devon (1876-1902) and then joined Gresham’s School, Holt (1903-1919). There he was mathematical master, librarian, in charge of the timetable, and involved with the choir as well as the theatre and school plays. He died in 1940 and Gresham’s still has a Spiers mathematical prize in his memory. Ernest made less of a mark as a schoolboy, though he did have a Junior Scholarship. He left in December 1870, was articled to Rooks & Co of Cheapside in March 1871 and after his Final Law Examination in 1877 he was admitted as a solicitor. He was an enthusiastic photographer, recording his trips to Greece, North Africa and the Canaries – and as his obituary added “he preserved and carefully indexed a proof of every negative he had ever taken”. OKS

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Above: Richard Phené Spiers, The Norman Staircase, October 1870

In 1939 Arthur sent his and Ernest’s collections of ‘pink books’ and other school-related items to the School. It is likely that the watercolour came at the same time and that two of the figures in it are Arthur and Ernest. It is a pity we are not able to identify them.

Lives Remembered

David Evans (MO 1936-41) His son Chris Evans writes:

avid maclean demetrius Evans was a linguist, engineer, scientist, doctor, musician and author. He enjoyed meeting people, sailing, navigating, travelling, golf, art, his garden and being happy. In 1940, when King’s was evacuated to a hotel near St Austell, David joined the senior boys who patrolled the cliffs at night, bearing between them one Lee-Enfield rifle and one .303 bullet, in case of an invasion. Meanwhile, the fabric of the stately Carlyon Bay Hotel succumbed to its adolescent onslaught. Torn between engineering and medicine, David returned to London and trained at Middlesex Hospital. There, during the Blitz, he met Betty, his lifelong devotion. Graduating at the end of the war he was assigned to travel to Belsen to identify corpses, but at the moment of departure an obstetric emergency prevented him leaving. His National Service in Iraq and Oman took place in a bygone world. RAF Habbaniya was the imperial “jewel in the desert”. Sunderlands flying to India refuelled there. This was also where David learned to sail. Horrible injuries to airmen and to warring tribesmen arrived for treatment. He managed an outbreak of smallpox, which was useful later in the 1962 South Wales outbreak. A friend took him in a Mosquito for aerobatics. Another friend became a patient and died of burns four lucid days after crashing, performing a low inverted pass. Becoming a pathologist, David’s eye for detail was an asset. He was a founder member, and became President, of the British Society for Clinical Cytology and hosted an international convention in Cardiff, targeting cervical cancer in the era before the HPV vaccination. David’s retirement was happy and full. He supported Betty, working with the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. And he made music. He

recalled playing the organ in Canterbury Cathedral before the evacuation. In retirement, he formed a string quartet. They performed in the church and in Cardiff’s magnificent museum atrium, David playing cello, often his own compositions. Betty died quite suddenly in March 2020 and David on 12 October. He was 97 and they had celebrated 72 years together. They leave three sons: two doctors and an engineer, and six grandchildren. His colleague and friend David Webster (GL 1955-61) adds: “Our lives came together when I was appointed to Llandough Hospital in Cardiff where he was consultant pathologist. He helped me with many patients in his kind and understated way. He co-wrote a seminal book on cervical cytology and was an active member of the British Society for Clinical Cytology of which he was successively Treasurer, Chairman and President. After he retired I continued to meet him at local medical and scientific society meetings, which he attended on a regular basis until shortly before his death. He played golf into his 90s, where we would talk about his other passion for sailing.” OKS

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LIVES REMEMBERED

taken on as a research student by Harry Godwin, Director of the newly formed Subdepartment of Quaternary Research in Cambridge. Godwin had pioneered the use of plant remains and pollen to decipher changing environments in the Fenland sediments, deposited since the last ice advance. He wanted Richard to use similar methods to interpret the vegetation history in yet older sediments in Suffolk.

Richard West FRS (GR 1940-44) This is an edited version of the obituary written by Nigel Woodcock for Clare College.

ichard gilbert west, Clare College’s longest-serving Fellow, died on 30 December 2020. He was a distinguished Quaternary botanist, geologist and palaeontologist, responsible for major developments in our understanding of the variations in vegetation and climate in the UK and northwest Europe before and during the Quaternary ice ages. Richard was born in 1926, the son of Gilbert West (KSC 1908-16). His father was a physicist turned broadcasting engineer in the early days of public wireless and television. Richard joined King’s in Cornwall during the Second World War. He was a King’s Scholar, School Monitor and Company Quartermaster Sergeant in the JTC. Rambles along the coast sparked his interest in botany and geology. However, on leaving school, he was drafted into the Royal Signals and posted to central India for the tense period leading to independence and partition.

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Richard came to Clare College in 1948 to read Natural Sciences. He took Botany and Geology in Part I, specialising in Botany for Part II and graduating top in his year. So good was his Tripos performance that he was immediately

Richard was elected to a Fellowship in Clare as soon as his PhD research was complete in 1954, allowing him to expand his research activities. One direction was to study interglacial sequences elsewhere in England. A second initiative was to look at modern glacial environments in Spitsbergen (Svalbard) to understand how past ice sheets had deposited their sediment load. Richard’s growing reputation led to his appointment as a Demonstrator and then, in 1960, as a Lecturer in the Department of Botany. When Harry Godwin retired in 1966, Richard took over as Director of Quaternary Research and was appointed to a Readership. Despite his increasing administrative burden, he managed to publish papers on a widening range of Quaternary topics and the first two of his eventual nine books, these destined to become classics: Pleistocene Geology and Biology and, with Bruce Sparks, The Ice Age in Britain. His research profile led to a Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1968 and a personal chair of Palaeoecology in 1975, closely followed by becoming acting head of the Department of Botany. Within two years, this role had become permanent when he accepted the Professorship of Botany, a post he held till his retirement 14 years later. Retirement in 1991 meant less administration and therefore even more research. “I’m lucky” Richard explained, “I can just take off on my own. All I need for my work is a good pair of eyes, a good microscope and a spade”. Richard’s reflections on his career, including his time at King’s, can be heard on the Voices of Science section of the British Library website. Richard leaves a son Stephen (GR 1975-80), grand-daughters Emily and Freya, stepdaughters Sarah and Pippa, and a brother Tony. 41

LIVES REMEMBERED

Colin Porter (MO 1944-48) We print an edited version of the piece written by Douglas Stuart for British Rowing.

olin porter died on 21 August 2020 in Perth, Western Australia. He joined King’s at St Austell in 1944 and when rowing resumed at Fordwich he rowed at 2 in the School’s coxed four, winning the Public Schools’ Cup at Marlow in 1948. He went to London University, was Captain of Boats and, in 1951, stroked their Grand VIII at Henley Royal Regatta. Over the ensuing twelve years his Henley debut was followed by unparalleled achievement: winning the Thames Cup and Wyfold in the same year (1953), and the Grand and Stewards’ (1960). Overall he won the Grand once, Stewards’ four times, and the Thames Cup and the Wyfold once each. Representing Great Britain in the European Championships in a coxless IV, he won bronze in 1953 and silver in 1954. Representing England in a coxed IV at the Empire and Commonwealth Games, in 1958 he won gold and in 1962, the year he retired from rowing, bronze in the fours and silver in the eight. In the 1960 Olympics his IV broke the Olympic record in the heats, but illness to a crew member in the final meant they finished fifth. Crews formed by him, and in which he rowed, won the Tideway Head of the River race five times. Whilst Porter’s achievements as an oarsman are impressive, his further contribution to British rowing is considered by many to be far greater. In the post-war period, rowing focused on style, but Colin concluded that fitness and stamina training were missing. He was regarded as a dangerous maverick and ‘Porterism’ was a word used pejoratively. In 1952, Colin joined the RAF for his National Service, and was posted to Benson as ‘Officer i/c Rowing’, where he put his training theories into practice. As a coach his successes here and with the National Provincial Bank Rowing Club from 1956 were outstanding, and he and others campaigned for change: for better funding, coaching, training methods, organisation and greater openness in the 42

management of British rowing. His book Rowing to Win (1959) was hugely influential. Matters came to a head in 1962, with leading clubs demanding changes, including the resignation of the selectors. Two years later, Porter was appointed Chairman of the Selection Board. From that point onwards, a massive reorganisation of British rowing was undertaken, which over time became British Rowing as we know it today.

Colin Porter (standing on the right) and Richard Roberts (seated on the ground) in the 1st IV 1948

During these years Colin’s career had taken him to the management of the Port of London Hydraulics Laboratory, ‘The Thames Model’, near Wallingford. In 1969 he was headhunted to manage the Hydraulics Laboratory in Sydney, Australia, in preparation for the planned Botany Bay Port. He was appointed in 1972 to run the Victorian Environment Protection Agency and subsequently became Chairman of the Australian Department of the Environment. In these latter two roles he was often at odds with the Establishment on environmental matters. He retired in 1988 but continued for some time as a consultant and in unpaid public service. In later years, Colin and his family lived in a riverside house on the Swan River, Perth, from which he sculled and enjoyed the use of a replica Andrews’ slipper stern launch he built. Colin is survived by his wife, Christine, their daughter and son, and five grandchildren. OKS

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LIVES REMEMBERED

Richard Roberts (SH 1945-51 and Common Room 1956-67)

ichard roberts died on 15 February after a short illness at the age of 89. He joined King’s at St Austell in May 1945. As cox of the 1st IV he won the Public Schools Fours at Marlow in 1948, a key moment in the history of rowing at the School. He later rowed in the IV and ended up as Captain of Boats. A King’s Scholar and Company Sergeant Major in the CCF, he was Head of House and Captain of School. After National Service in the Royal Artillery he read Modern Languages at Jesus College, Cambridge where he was a Scholar and gained a First. He then returned to teach at King’s in 1956. He was housemaster of Galpin’s 1957-60 and, after his marriage to Wendy Mount, of Luxmoore 196067. He was also Head of Modern Languages and coached the 3rd VIII. He left to be Headmaster of Wycliffe College and later of King Edward’s, Witley. He retired to Orford on the Suffolk coast, where he enjoyed sailing and wrote on the subject. His last book Beyond the Bar: Sailing Ventures from a Suffolk River was published in 2020. His own autobiographical reflections, including much on his years at King’s, can be heard on the Aldeburgh Voices oral history website. He leaves a widow, Wendy, and three sons Jamie, Ralph and Don, who were all at King’s. Donations in Richard’s memory can be made to: Farms for City Children, a charity set up by Michael Morpurgo (GL 1957-62), or St Bartholomew’s Church, Orford. The following are excerpts from some of the many tributes to Richard. Full versions appear on the OKS website.

Richard Roberts, coach of the 3rd VIII 1963

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John Batchelor (GL 1955-60): An extraordinarily gifted housemaster of Galpin’s and a discerning

and friendly person whose loyalty to the school was remarkable. A great force for strength and for King’s reputation in the 50s as I remember him. Paul Tompsett (LX 1958-63): I owe a lot to Richard’s suggestion that I should apply to a small Oxford college after I had failed to gain entrance to any large one. He recommended Hertford and I did get acceptance to study medicine. Thus began a very different life from the one which might otherwise have been the case. I think this memory illustrates one way in which he provided good guidance at King’s. John Foster (LX 1961-66): RDHR, known to the boys as ‘KK’ because of his habit of ending every pronouncement with “’kay?”, was more than just a figurehead, lecturing the house on the issue of the moment. He spotted individual strengths and weaknesses. I had cause to be grateful for this when my early promise as a scholarship candidate evaporated. He moved me into his own tutor set and wrote individual letters to several universities whom he thought might be persuaded that I had rather more to offer than my academic record would suggest. It worked. We stayed in touch and became friends for forty years. Allen Parrott (LX 1962-67): Richard was the main reason that Luxmoore House thrived so mightily during the Beatles years. When elderly ‘Luxmorons’ of that vintage meet in London for some lunchtime nostalgia – as many of us hope to do again later this year – we often count our blessings that we had a housemaster who was not only a fine sportsman and a fine intellect, but also, and even more importantly, a very fine human being. Lawrence Burr OBE (LX 1962-66): Richard ‘KK’ Roberts and his wonderful family were always very welcoming, especially to new boys such as myself. Luxmoore was unique in so many ways. Our screeching chaotic rendition of a song from Oklahoma! at the house song competition remains a glorious memory to this day! Throughout all of this, KK remained a calming and moderating influence, giving encouragement and a firm hand in equal measure. He and Wendy were always available to listen and held regular tea parties to make us feel 43

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at home. A truly inspiring man. He will be missed by all who were touched by his presence.

in Faversham, Kent, going on to become Vicar of All Saints’ Church, Margate in 1986 where he remained until his retirement in 2000. In 1997 he was made an Honorary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral.

Gerald Peacocke (Common Room 1962-68): Richard is imbedded in my heart and my memory. It was he, as Head of Modern Languages, who offered me the post of Senior German Master in 1962, while I was still working out my resignation from the British Council in Sudan. When we finally met that summer on my return to England, we were aware of a measure of relief on both sides – thank goodness. I enjoyed six plus very rich and productive years at KSC. I salute Richard with heartfelt warmth.

Michael Anderson (MR 1949-54) His brother, Christopher Anderson (MR 1956-60), writes:

ichael anderson, elder son of Harold Anderson, Surveyor to the Fabric of Canterbury Cathedral 1946-68, left King’s in 1954 and went straight into the Royal Air Force for National Service, signing on for an additional year. He was in Egypt at the time of the Suez crisis and was evacuated to Jordan and then on to Cyprus, with the last nine months of his RAF service being spent in Malta. Following his demob from the RAF, he enrolled at King’s College London, obtaining his degree in Theology. In 1961 he joined the teaching staff of the Royal Commercial Travellers’ School, Hatch End, Pinner, where he spent two years and then was appointed to the staff of the Royal Russell School where he spent five terms. He then went on to Warminster Theological College before being ordained Deacon in 1966 and then Priest in St Paul’s Cathedral in May 1967. Following spells as Curate at the church of Christ the Redeemer, Southall and St. Jude’s on the Hill, Hampstead, he was appointed Vicar of St. Giles, South Mimms in 1973 where he remained for seven years. In 1980 he was appointed Vicar of The Brents and Davington with Oare and Luddenham 44

Above: Michael Anderson

Following his retirement, he continued his Ministry in a part time capacity, helping out during the interregnum at Borden near Sittingbourne and also at St Michael and All Angels’ at Harbledown, Canterbury where he had permission to officiate. Michael will be greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues and many people in the parishes in which he served and with whom he still kept in touch.

Jeremy Mallinson (MO 1950-54)

eremy mallinson obe died on 2 February 2021, almost two years after his older brother Miles, for whom he wrote the Tribute that appeared in the Autumn 2019 edition of this magazine. Whereas much of Miles’ life (apart from his work as an architect) was sporting, Jeremy’s physical endeavours were in the natural world, beginning with three years post-school in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland’s forces, which enabled him to see great mammals in the wild for the first time, though his interests had first been stirred in the pet department of Harrods whilst home from school. Returning from Africa, Jeremy first worked in his father’s wine business on Jersey, but happily Gerald Durrell arrived to start his zoo there, and this was Jeremy’s commitment for the rest of his life. He was quickly liked and trusted by Durrell, OKS

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David Allen (LN 1953-56) Pauline Allen sent us this tribute.

ohn david allen (known as David) was born on 14 November 1938. He attended Picket Post Preparatory School in the New Forest before moving on to King’s. In 1956, he joined the Merchant Navy as a navigation apprentice with the same shipping company, Shaw Savill Line, as his late father. He qualified as a Master Mariner in 1966 and was promoted to Chief Officer in 1968.

and in time became firstly Deputy Zoological Director and then Director of Jersey Zoo on Durrell’s death in 1995. From the beginning, Jersey Zoo worked on conservation, and Durrell sent Jeremy to Bolivia, Assam and Brazil to find and foster rare animals. In 1971, Jeremy travelled to Assam to verify the newly-rediscovered pygmy hog, thought to be extinct. The peak of this early work was rescuing beautiful lion tamarins, amongst the smallest of mammals, from the lowland forests of Brazil. Over the years, more than 140 zoo-born lion tamarins were introduced into reserves and forests in Brazil. In time, much of Jeremy’s work focused on the anthropoid apes, whether wild in Zaire or brought to the zoo to strengthen the gene pool. His view, which was to become very influential, was that a zoo’s animals belonged to their country of origin. Jeremy wrote extensively, including about 400 scientific articles, and regularly sent copies of his books, such as Travels in Search of Endangered Species and The Touch of Durrell, to the School. Appointed an OBE in 1997, he gained many distinguished international awards. We offer our sympathy and condolences to his children, Julian and Sophie. OKS

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He sailed mainly on cargo ships but this included a short time on a passenger ship, the Northern Star. Destinations were varied but always loading and discharging agricultural cargo between UK, Australia and New Zealand before the days of containers. He met his future wife, Pauline, when she joined the Ceramic as Ship’s Surgeon in Liverpool in 1971. They married later that year. They settled in Gloucestershire and had several more voyages before the children, Charlie and Clare, arrived. These voyages were long and he spent many non-work hours weaving tapestries, carpets and knotting macramé while listening to mainly classical music. After retirement David and Pauline were able to make several trips back to New Zealand and Australia to revisit cousins and old memories. They enjoyed regular trips to their frequent haunts in north Cornwall to walk and remember holidays with the children and grandchildren. David was diagnosed with dementia but managed to read his Daily Telegraph and enjoy life for a few more years until he had some small strokes. He died shortly after these at home, just before his 82nd birthday in 2020. 45

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Hubert Chesshyre

courses. These experiences were good preparation for the National Service which he did with the Kenya Regiment, and subsequent Territorial exercises on the Somali border against Russianarmed “Shifta”.

(GR 1954-59)

avid hubert boothby Chesshyre was the eldest of four brothers at King’s. Both his grandfathers had also been at the School. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge. After a brief spell in the wine trade and a Dip. Ed. at Christ Church, Oxford, he joined the College of Arms in 1967. By the time of his retirement in 2010 he was Clarenceux King of Arms. He also wrote several authoritative books on heraldry. He died on Christmas Eve 2020.

Andrew Cobb (SH 1954-57) Jane Cobb sent us this tribute.

ndrew charles richard Cobb was born on a sisal plantation in Kenya on 29 February 1940. After some unhappy early years of education in Kenya he was sent to St Michael’s, Jersey, where standards were high and he became Head Boy. The family connection was with the Knellers, which is why Andrew entered School House. (Alister Kneller, SH 1941-46, was Captain of School, later a Judge in Kenya, and finally Governor-General of Gibraltar.) In a personal record deposited with the School in 2016, Andrew described having grown up in a settler farming community where integrity was basic and cultures were integrated and mutually respected: “My family sacrificed a lot for me to go to King’s. I knew their struggle from my sister and missed most of my teens with my family.” Hence Andrew did not stay beyond O Level. But in that time, he became Captain of Gymnastics, Vice-Captain of Boxing, and was in a Rowing VIII and Gentleman’s XV. His holidays were physical too: on a frigate based at Rosyth, Scotland and a couple of Physical Training Instructors

Above: Andrew Cobb

Thereafter Andrew returned to the UK to do an Automotive and Agricultural Engineering degree at Chelsea College (later Polytechnic), during which time he boxed heavyweight for Battersea Boxing Club and rowed with the London Rowing Club. This sporting prowess continued when he went home to work as an engineer near Nairobi, and in time became the second most capped rugby player ever for East Africa. Tiring of Kenya’s corruption, in 1981 he took his family off to South Africa, where his contract with the Government was to expose corruption: this was dangerous work! Besides which, the Broeder Bond controlled all Government departments. After a spell with Lonrho at a sugar mill, his interests drew him increasingly towards scuba diving from Durban, and thence to environmental sustainability and to shark conservation especially. His record in this regard over 20-30 years is remarkable, and readers are referred to the OKS website for details; but, in brief, Andrew logged over 900 hours underwater with shark only, and he introduced over 7000 divers to sharks. (He came back to King’s to give a talk on sharks in 2003.) Andrew died on 19 October 2020 leaving wife Jane, son Christopher, daughters Vanessa and Bernadette together with six grandchildren. OKS

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Peter Garwood

Martin Davies

(Common Room 1955-65)

(Common Room 1958-65)

eter garwood died in 2020. He joined King’s after Haileybury, national service, New College, Oxford and a brief spell at the Colonial Development Corporation. He taught History, ran the Colts rugby XV, was involved with the CCF and was housemaster of The Grange from 1959 to 1965. He left in December 1965, divorced Dorothy, whom he had married in 1957, and later married Daphne Wenley. He was Head of History at King George V Grammar School, Southport and in 1974 became Head of Humanities at Banbury School. From 1977 to 1990 he worked for HM Inspectorate of Schools. He retired to West Hill, Devon, later moving to Oxfordshire. There was a full obituary in The Guardian.

Below: Patrick Paines

artin davies died peacefully aged 89 on 22 January 2021 and his funeral was at the Service Chapel at Bannockburn on 3 February. He taught English, with a particular interest in poetry, and invited several notable poets, including Cecil Day-Lewis and Ted Hughes, to speak at the School. He was also School Librarian and looked after the Walpole Collection. He left to be a Lecturer at Loughborough Training College before joining Stirling University in 1971. He remained there in the Education Department and then in the English Department until his retirement in 1996. He was actively involved with Dyslexia Scotland and a member of the Cross-Party Group on Dyslexia at the Scottish Parliament, where he gave a presentation on ‘Reading for Meaning and Dyslexia’ in January 2020.

Patrick Paines (BR 1980-85) Alex Knight (BR 1980-85) sent us this tribute.

rmed with an almost limitless supply of wit, charm and intellect, Patrick Paines was one of the shining lights of his cohort at King’s. Head of House in Broughton, and a King’s Scholar, he was also Head of the Gardening Society. His Society Notes are certainly worth a read, one notable example includes the following: “I have received numerous complaints about our lettuce but assure you all that they suffered the most stringent tests before reaching the table.” After sitting seventh term Oxbridge, Patrick won a place to read History at Peterhouse, Cambridge, prior to which he spent some time working as a research assistant to his local MP, Sir Geoffrey Johnson-Smith. Whilst up at Cambridge he was Chairman of the Conservative Association and an officer for a variety of dining and social societies. He lived life there (and indeed thereafter) to the full and it speaks volumes about his intellect

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that he was awarded an Exhibition at Cambridge despite his occasionally blurred focus towards his studies.

Left: Flemmich Webb

Following university, Patrick entered into a career in the City – although this was always intended to be a stepping stone for a life in politics. Starting out at Cazenove (followed by stints at a number of other firms) he was an enormously well liked and highly regarded (although unconventional) financier, succeeding through a combination of charm, flair and quick wit more than rigorous financial analysis. Unfortunately, his political ambitions were never realised. Too often he told us that he was “down to the last three” of a selection process, but he never advanced beyond standing for a council seat. Patrick was a key founding director of Cobra beer; the inspiration for this ‘less fizzy’ Indian beer came from dinners in Cambridge curry houses at which Patrick was principal ‘tastemeister’. He also thoroughly enjoyed serving as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve. Patrick cultivated a persona that was deliberately provocative. By way of example, he publicly expressed an irrational dislike of ‘pogonophiles’ (beard lovers). But behind this was an empathetic, self-effacing, highly intelligent and generous man. Historian Andrew Roberts, an old friend from Cambridge days, recalls: “There wasn’t a social occasion that Patrick didn’t enhance by his sheer presence. One always knew that he would say something funny or outrageous or thought-provoking, and never anything banal. As well as a delightful human being, we have also lost a truly talented conversationalist, and someone those who were lucky enough to know will miss forever.” Patrick died from cancer on 8th November 2020. His funeral was held at the Cathedral on 3rd December and was attended by a number of OKS. A celebration of his life is planned for 2021; if you would like information regarding this, please contact the OKS Office who can share details as they become available. • Search ‘Patrick Paines’ on Justgiving.com to donate to Pilgrims Hospice in Patrick’s memory. 48

Flemmich Webb (GL/WL 1984-89) Father Tony Webb and brother Christian Webb have sent this tribute.

lemmich webb, or Flem to everyone that knew him, died suddenly while exercising just outside his home town of Brighton on 28 October last year. He was just 49 years old. Flem started at King’s in September 1984 on an Academic Exhibition from The New Beacon School, Sevenoaks. He was from the outset a very popular boy, with a rare combination of sporting talent, a competitive nature and quick and easy wit which made him a natural raconteur. He was a very useful wing in Colts rugby due to his height and speed but it was not long before his attention turned to football, where he played in the 1st XI and was a key member of the unbeaten team of 1989. He was very talented at tennis, playing in the 1st pair and winning many matches for the OKS

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School. And while sport was important, he never saw it as the be-all and end-all as so many of his peers might have done. He loved acting, and the parts he played at King’s (including a fine, if somewhat daunting Green Knight) set him up for later life when he dedicated a long period of his twenties to touring with a Dorset group and performing “instant theatre” to schools around the UK. He was academically very strong and played golf. What most OKS from this period will remember Flem for is his quick wit, talent with words and humour. He was extremely well-liked at school, both by pupils and masters, and he glided easily between different and sometimes eclectic friendship groups. He had a gift for projecting his humour and warmth, reaching all those around and ensuring inclusivity. In Galpin’s he was part of a group of close friends who enjoyed each other’s company almost as much as they enjoyed trying to test the boundaries of the Housemaster’s patience. This group, along with other close friends from the year group, remained intimate throughout his life, and those formative years at King’s cannot be underestimated as a foundation for a life full of variety and positive contribution to society. Having backpacked around the world, Flem read English at Leeds University where he was just as popular as he was at school. He toured the UK and Europe, contributing to schools via instant theatre. He became at first interested and then active in environmental journalism – trekking to the geomagnetic North Pole in 2009 and climbing peaks as he sought to understand first-hand how climate change affected the world. He contributed to numerous journals and newspapers, writing increasingly about climate change and the environment. He was Chairman of Brighton and Hove 10:10, a not-for-profit project working to reduce carbon emissions.

Right: Lester Hovenden

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In 2015 he joined Lloyd’s insurance as a speech writer. He actively contributed to help convince Lloyd’s that new drilling for hydrocarbons in the Arctic should no longer be underwritten, and helped shape their approach to sustainability. In his spare time his love of wine and natural

communication skills saw him become a much liked and respected tutor at the Sussex Wine School and his passion for cricket led him to becoming an MCC member and regularly playing social cricket for a side called the Turks. Flem maintained a very wide and varied group of friends and will be missed enormously by the many people he touched. Flem came from a family of OKS. His father Tony (GL 1952-57), brothers Christian (GL 198691) and Theo (GR 1999-2004) and sister Saskia (JR 1992-94) all attended King’s. He is survived by his partner Kate, whom he was due to marry on his 50th birthday in December 2020, and her daughter, Eloise.

Lester Hovenden (Chemistry Technician 1989-2012) Colleague and friend, Dr David Arnott (Common Room 1985-2017) sent us this tribute.

upils may give little thought to where the materials and equipment for their science practicals come from. However, it is only because of the dedicated work of the science technicians behind the scenes that all the 49

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apparatus and chemicals required are provided for lessons. After almost 23 years in post as a chemistry technician Lester Hovenden retired in 2012. Sadly his retirement, latterly, was blighted by ill-health and he died in November 2020. Lester had a wide range of interests and accomplishments. He was a deep sea diver and enjoyed surveying ship wrecks. He was a talented artist, particularly of animal specimens often drawn from memory. He relished amateur dramatics, particularly pantomime where he was usually cast as the baddie. Lester was therefore in his element when it came to demonstrating some of the more hazardous or exothermic experiments as part of the chemical repertoire. Lester frequently did these demonstrations to classes at the ends of terms and as part of the King’s Week Lab on the Lawn sessions. Lester gave memorable performances in two staff reviews, one where he was the teacher trying to teach the Elements Song to the teachers and secondly in a role as a lighthouse keeper in a sketch. With his experience in acting, Lester would have made a good teacher and he clearly enjoyed the occasions when he took part in lessons. Very much a family man, Lester will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Eric Wickersham (GR 2002-03) Valera Chobitko (GR 1998-2003) sent us this tribute.

ric joined the Grange for just one year, arriving from California with his music, his “funky” trainers, and his surfer curls. In the short time we knew him, he would become one of the “Grange Boys”. Eric was kind, gentle and hilarious. We had never met anyone quite like him before. We used to spend our free time making funny short films on my little video camera, making up rap songs, watching films, throwing frisbees on the lawn and generally

having fun. He was the best kind of distraction and simply one of my closest friends. Myself, George and a few others grew to really care for Eric and his wonderful mind. He was a true creative and had this ability to make us laugh every day. I still have a T-shirt on which he drew funny characters (a butternut squash wearing a top hat, I think), and hours of footage of us just being “silly” boys – jumping over stuff, singing, hiding in cupboards, blowing up hundreds of balloons with faces on them and sticking them to my wall… It’s hard to explain why it was special – I guess you had to be there. If you asked our housemaster Mr Dath, he would probably say that we were a bunch of cheeky rascals.

This page: Eric Wickersham Opposite page: Emma Andes

At the end of our time at King’s, with summer arriving, we spent one night in my family’s old cake shop in Canterbury. We stayed up all night in the living room upstairs, drinking beer, making never-ending oven pizzas, watching TV and making each other laugh. I always look back to that night with fond memories, and now with a little sadness too. OKS

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her NCTJ journalism qualification before taking up a position at This is Money, lending her thoughtful clarity to all she wrote. True to character, she used her situation to help others, adding to her portfolio a series on personal finance for those living with and recovering from cancer. Emma moved to Finsbury Park with Matt, where they spent many happy evenings perfecting recipes. Recognising the control cooking gave her over her health, Emma began a nutrition course and planned to write a recipe book to help others. While she was never able to finish the course, she continued through treatment and provided her grateful friends with Michelin-quality dinners.

Emma Andes (née Gunn) (MR 2003-08) Amanda Medcalf (née Redstone, BR 2003-08) has sent this tribute to her friend.

t wasn’t long into Emma’s life at King’s that she was first diagnosed with blood cancer, which would come and go in its life-grabbing persistence for the next 17 years. But it always faded into the shadows against everything that Emma was: a brilliantly funny, impossibly considerate and loving human.

DEATHS • Nigel LangleyHunt (WL 1966-69) on 29 April 2019 • Michael Cotton (TR 1988-93) on 13 August 2019

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Emma quickly made close friends at King’s, and on her return began making up for lost time, solidifying friendships, making new ones, and taking a trip to Norway to cycle up mountains, hike across glaciers and kayak on the fjords. Emma went on to study Philosophy at Leeds, where she brought her enchanting smile and infectious laugh to everyone she met, including her future husband Matt. From Leeds, she gained

Emma and Matt soon began to prepare for their wedding before Emma was diagnosed again months before it was due to take place. Emma, of course, continued planning while finding the energy to be there for the rest of us. Emma and Matt married in Tuscany in May 2019, with Emma delivering a speech that had us laughing and crying in the same heartbeat. She and Matt weathered each new storm together with gritted teeth and their trademark gallows humour. Mercifully, they were able to tour Scotland and its distilleries on their honeymoon a few months later. On the journey home, they picked up their beloved cavapoo, Whisky, who immediately became the light of their lives. It was at home in Chingford with Matt and Whisky that Emma passed away, on 16 January 2021. She had continuously outlived expectations – the cancer returned in March 2020 but she lived to celebrate her 30th birthday in August. The next few months were a series of quality ‘notgoodbyes’. ‘Perfect few days by the sea,’ she wrote in October. ‘I have never been happier than sat on a chilly, sunny beach with Whisky and Matt. Whatever happens next, this is enough.’ And that was Emma. Never one to shy away from reality, but always delivering news with kindness, love and that impish smile of hers. Every conversation with her left you feeling warmer and lighter, and she will be missed by so many. • Donations in Emma’s memory can be made to Anthony Nolan and Trekstock. You can also sign up to be a stem cell donor at Anthony Nolan. 51

Sport From Walpole to Rio Frances Houghton (WL 1993-98) looks back on her record-breaking career as an Olympic rower.

hortly before my father Robin Houghton (LN 1954-59) died, he passed a poem on to me. I can’t remember most of it, but one line stuck. It described three phases of our lifetime: our formation; our experiences and the relationships we make along the way; and what we leave behind. At the time, I was preparing for my final Olympic Games in Rio. I was focused on one particular moment six weeks away – 10.22 am on 13th August 2016 – when I would race the Olympic final. But this line made me stop and think. My father’s values and work ethic had enabled me to pursue my dream of competing at the Olympic Games. What had led me to this point of competing at a fifth Olympic Games? And what would I leave in my wake? King’s was where I made important choices. I arrived in 1993 desperate to continue the rowing

I had started at school in Oxford, but I had to wait a whole term before being allowed out on the water. I enjoyed hockey and netball, but there came a time when I had to choose between a netball tournament and rowing practice on a Saturday afternoon. I chose rowing and netball was left behind. I was born into a boarding house at the Dragon School, so duties and the structure of the school day felt natural to me. As a Shell in Walpole I would get up early to do the newspaper round before the narrow staircases filled up with sleepy heads; and would fit in extra training sessions whenever I could. This all would have been intense had it not been for the people who surrounded me. My Walpole housemates somehow made every day descend into tears of laughter, and the Boat Club was my second family. It was a place where hierarchy of years didn’t exist. The highlight of my week was ‘late supper’ with just the Boat Club. It was the value of these relationships that I took with me into my sporting career. Initially I wanted to become an Olympian ‘just OKS

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Left: Frances in Newquay, Cornwall Right: on the podium at the Rio Games (Frances is third from the left) Below: Frances with her Olympic medals

once’. But competing at Sydney 2000, watching Steve Redgrave win his fifth gold medal and Cathy Freeman deliver on the expectations of her nation, inspired me to aim far beyond that. Sitting on a scooter at some traffic lights on a drizzly autumn day after I came back from Sydney, I counted out on my fingers how many more Olympics I could fit in before I’d be too old and made a vow to myself: “To be the first British woman to go to five Olympic Games in rowing and to win Olympic Gold”. It was a 16 year vow that took me through Athens – a Games so steeped in Olympic

history, it didn’t seem to matter that the modern stadia were barely finished and the Olympic village was only half constructed by Games time. Beijing – where I won my second Olympic silver medal. It was less sweet than my first. We were expected to win Gold, but were rowed down by the home favourites in the final metres of the race. London – where at last friends and family got to experience the Games for themselves and understand why I had become so hooked and why four years of training five hours a day, with one day off a month, felt so worth it. And finally to Rio – where the vibrant colours and celebration of culture shone through, despite far less financial support than they realistically needed to pull off a Games.

Frances now mentors current Olympic athletes; contributes an athlete’s perspective to strategies on Mental Health, Culture, and What It Takes To Win across Olympic sports; and delivers talks and workshops based on her experiences and on her book Learnings from Five Olympic Games. franceshoughton.co.uk Instagram and Twitter: @houghtonfrances

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Much like my time at King’s, my sporting career evolved. To start with it was all about focus and discipline, but over time it was the people I shared each day with that I valued the most, and that made the difference between good and great races. Two years before Rio, I was injured, out of the team, and a long way off qualifying for Rio at all. I took the time then to look back over my career and realised that the common factor in my best performances wasn’t our focus on winning, but on creating something together. The best teams were the ones in which we had truly valued each other’s different personalities and stitched together the culmination of our strengths. So, I let go of my ‘winning at all costs’ mentality and redefined what success meant to me: “To stand on the Olympic podium with my arms around my team-mates sharing what we had created together – and feel joy, not relief”. When we crossed the line in Rio and became the first British Women’s Eight to win an Olympic medal, I realised that changing my mindset had not only made it far more enjoyable, it was faster. King’s is a melting pot of characters, qualities and ambitions. It prepared me perfectly to have this open mind towards performance. Throughout my sporting career I often looked back at my time in Canterbury and drew inspiration from those who shared it with me. Among my Walpole year group we have the first female President at Magnum, a founder of a global award winning jewellery brand Alice Made This, a barrister, a rector of a benefice of four parishes, who live-streamed Easter services from her garden during lockdown (including singing the hymns), and a frontline principal clinical psychologist. We instilled in each other permission to believe in ourselves and what we wanted to pursue, the greatest gift we could ever have given each other, and I’m hugely proud to know such inspirational women. 54

Rugby Football at King’s: Past, Present and Future Ian MacEwen (Common Room 2008-21) reviews Puddings, Bullies and Squashes: Early Public School Football Codes, edited by Malcolm Tozer.

f one has ever wondered why some schools – for example King’s, Harrow, Marlborough, Radley, Sherborne – play Rugby football, while others – the likes of Bradfield, Charterhouse, Repton, Shrewsbury and Lancing – have opted for Association football, then this book provides the explanation. Twenty schools have each contributed a chapter on the origins of their form of football. Ball games had, of course, existed from at least the Middle Ages in towns and villages around the UK and Ireland, but the public schools of the nineteenth century, by creating their own brands of football, were at the heart of a social revolution that culminated in the founding of the Football Association in 1863 and the Rugby Football Union in 1871. By the mid-nineteenth century, led by Dr Arnold of Rugby’s vision of muscular Christianity, schools were placing greater importance on physical exercise. Most schools had a ball game incorporating a ‘mass scrimmage’ as depicted in Tom Brown’s School Days, Thomas Hughes’ famous novel of Rugby in the 1830s. These contests were not for the faint-hearted: ‘hacking’ or ‘shinning’ was commonplace. EH Dykes, once a Durham School boy, recalled “solemnly hammering my shins with a poker to make them hard” as a precaution against hacks. The desire to play fixtures against other schools, facilitated by the expansion of the railway network, encouraged schools to move away from their own brand of football and sign up to a common code of either football or rugby. The chapter on football at King’s is the product of extensive research by Peter Henderson, the doyen of school archivists. Peter’s task was not an easy one since recorded material at his OKS

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disposal is rather thin, with CE Woodruff and HJ Cape’s 1908 History of Canterbury School making clear that “an attempt to trace the various stages through which King’s football has passed… would be dull and tedious in the result”! Peter, however, manages to follow the origins of King’s football, played “amongst the trees, railings and buttresses in and round the Green Court”. Reports on the 1852 season make mention of payment for broken gas lamps and in 1855 a tidy sum was spent on window repair. Left: Frances’ new book Learnings from Five Olympic Games Above: the 1872 rugby team Right: the front cover of Puddings, Bullies & Squashes

OKS

Spring 2021

One hundred and fifty years later the pattern of games continues to change. Football has gained ground in the rugby playing schools, as at King’s often played in the Lent term as an alternative to hockey, while rugby has remained the Autumn term sport. Yet Michaelmas term 2020 saw internal

football matches being played within year group ‘bubbles’ as school rugby fixtures became another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. And what of the future? With medical evidence raising ever greater concerns about concussion, in ten years’ time will schoolboy footballers be allowed to head the ball and will rugby still incorporate tackling? What one can state with confidence is that as the game of football evolves, it is King’s and other notable schools that are again likely to repeat their nineteenth century achievement of being at the forefront of adaptability and innovation.

• Puddings, Bullies and Squashes: Early Public School Football Codes is available in hardcover and paperback from amazon.co.uk 55

SPORT

Around the World in 101 Days Miranda Merron (MO 1985-87) finished 22nd in the ninth edition of the Vendée Globe. She is only the ninth woman to complete this legendary course and the fifth British woman.

he vendée globe is a non-stop solo race around the world with no outside assistance, raced in 60-foot Imoca Class monohulls, and the pinnacle of any offshore sailing career. It is also a huge adventure. The race starts and finishes in Les Sables d’Olonne on the Atlantic coast of France, and the course takes the fleet down the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port, Antarctica to starboard, and back up the Atlantic to the finish line, for a theoretical distance of 24,296 miles. It’s a race that I had wanted to do years ago, but never found the funding, and the budget was going up significantly every four-year cycle. My partner Halvard and I had been racing for the previous 12 years in the Class40 fleet, having built two boats ourselves. We have been lucky to have the backing of our loyal sponsor, Campagne de France (a brand of the dairy cooperative Les Maitres Laitiers) for nearly a decade, and we wanted to do something different to thank them. And I still wanted to race solo around the world. However, the level of sponsorship remains Class40, and Imoca 60s cost quite a bit more. We took the gamble, acquiring a boat built in 2006, but a well-built, well-proven, solid boat capable of getting around the planet, knowing that we needed a bit more sponsorship, which eventually came from the region of Normandy and the department of La Manche. Nevertheless, we were a very small team, mostly just the two of us, and it proved to be extremely hard work to prepare the boat, complete qualifying races, plough through the huge amount of paperwork required by French races, and get to the start line last November.

Given the vintage of our boat and the limited means, this was never going to be a race-winning boat, but the primary aim was to make it to the finish line in one piece (uninsured due to the outrageous cost of insurance). The Vendée Globe started on 8 November 2020, in the middle of a lockdown. Not a soul outside. It is a long way round the planet and a tough race: mostly good moments, some bad moments, some downright frightening moments. The highlights were rounding Cape Horn and crossing the finish line. I rounded Cape Horn in a line of squalls, and suddenly I could see it through the rain. The first land I had seen in 69 days. It turned into a beautiful day, with lenticular clouds, lots of albatrosses and other birds, and the bewitching smell of damp earth from the islands. Just magical. (There are no smells / scents at sea other than whales which smell of fish, fishing boats which smell of fish and fuel, and ships which smell of fuel.) The finish, 101 days after the start, on 17 February just before midnight, was incredible. All those people after more than three months of solitude. It was a huge relief to get Campagne de France safely across the finish line, and to no longer be on edge all the time.

OKS MAGAZINE • № 7 • Spring 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

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