40 minute read
Radley under Lockdown
A challenge from French don, Simon Barlass to his form to recreate classical paintings unlocked some real ingenuity. George W reproduced Raphael’s ‘Madonna del Granduca’ (left) and Raphael C’s made his own take on Vermeer’s ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’ (right).
Radley boys stepped up to the plate, taking part in charity events over lockdown, with (left to right) a charity bike ride, cooking for Food4Heroes and manufacturing face masks from recycled denim amongst them.
With no boys and no sport taking place, the groundskeeping team took the opportunity to completely re-seed Bigside, clearing out old grass that had been there for nigh on 150 years.
Coming out of lockdown With the new term approaching in September 2020, it wasn’t clear even if the school would reopen, not how many boys would arrive, but the College was able to welcome nearly all 700+ boys back. Clearly, there were many ways in which things were different. Social bubbles (in Socials!) were introduced, one-way systems in corridors, and marquees sprang up in Chapel Quad, Bigside and between B & F Socials. These provided for more distanced meeting and teaching spaces, and additional space for the boys to dine. But in essence it was Radley as ORs would remember. Lessons, Socials, Chapel, Sports and Activities, all approached in different and Covid-appropriate ways, continued to be at the heart of life at Radley. None of the above would have been possible without the Radley community, boys, dons, staff and parents, approaching these challenges in a way that would make all ORs proud. Boys arrive ready for an open-air Chapel Service held outside Mansion in September 2020, an example of the continuity of collective worship. One of the marquees is visible to the right.
A rare sight indeed. Looking over Bigside, both rugby posts and cricket sightscreens are visible on the sports pitches, with cricket being played in the first half of the Michaelmas Term. Covid-security didn’t stop the Shells from enjoying their burgers after the Tug of War.
MALAYSIAN & RADLEIAN In the 1980s and 1990s, the Malaysian government granted scholarships to students to undertake A-levels at independent schools in the UK. Radley was one of them. Here we talk to four of these ORs about their experience of coming to the College, how it has influenced them and how they influenced Radley.
Munir Abdul Aziz (1985)
What were your first impressions of Radley? Breathtaking. Impressive. A little overwhelming. But I had never come across so many people who wanted to know how I was getting on.
How did you settle in to life at Radley? The first thing to get used to was the routine and the various rituals of the day. Once one got used to it, life was very much easier. The Social was special. I could feel a sense of togetherness. It was not difficult to make friends. But it was clear to me that the place was dominated by one man - Social Tutor, Patrick Derham.
He had his finger absolutely on the pulse of everything. I am not sure how he managed it. He was very driven and focused on getting the best out of everyone. There is also no kinder and chattier soul than Alison Derham.
What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you? Patrick. He made me believe that I deserved to be at Oxbridge. He did not let on very much about his background when I was at Radley but after I left and ceased calling him “Sir”(!) we became friends and he shared many aspects of his early life with me and made me understand why we had such a strong connection. When I left Radley I told him that he had been a father figure to me.
What do you feel you brought to life at Radley? I brought a different perspective to Radley. Richard Morgan was installed as Warden on the day I started at Radley and he called me the first bilingual Radleian! Even in 1991, Radley was already changing. A photograph of the 1992 3rd XI Hockey team that still hangs proudly on the wall in Munir’s study at home, with him seated front row, far right. me over a phone call in a phone box in
I think I was also quite different to the Malaysian scholars who had preceded me, the vast majority of whom I learnt had chosen Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry as A Levels. I on other hand chose Maths, History, Ancient History and Economics.
I remember Patrick telling me that Gary Wiseman was astonished at my choices. I remember we laughed about it. Patrick had asked me to write him an essay and was convinced that I would do well in my chosen subjects. He put me in his History was 3rd XI hockey don when I was in VI
set (which was the top set) and it was not long before I proved myself.
Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley? also remember JR Summerly and John Nye well. Both Patrick and JR Summerly spent a lot of time coaching me for the Oxbridge interview and process generally. I think they made a big difference. I took the old Mode E route and got a EE offer. I remember Patrick sharing the news with London during the Christmas holidays. I could say that day changed my life. But I think perhaps the first time I met him was an even more important moment that changed my life.
There was also Mr Nye who was my Maths don and Badminton don, BJ O Rourke who Patrick. All my dons were kind and I
One and a Mr Davenport who I think was the first Economics don at Radley.
Next steps University College, Oxford, where I took a First in Jurisprudence. In fact a double first as I also took a first in Moderations in my First Year. And after that, a LLM at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. I became an Overseas Barrister in the same year I took the LLM at Cambridge. I returned to Malaysia to practice law in 1997.
Career highlights to date I am a Principal or Equity Partner of Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s leading global law firms. I am a Corporate M&A Partner and have had a number of leadership roles in the Firm.
I am currently the Managing Partner of its Malaysian operations (known locally as Wong & Partners to comply with local Bar regulations). I worked in Baker McKenzie’s Melbourne office in 2001 and in its London office between 2004 and 2005.
Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving? Yes. Mainly Patrick and Alison and my year group in C. Giles Ripley, Monty Wates, Paddy Pritchard Gordon, Mark Peck, Nicholas Thompson. I would try to meet with them whenever I am in London. I think it gives them a good excuse to catch up too.
Fondest memory of Radley? Being awarded the Richards Gold Medal and having ones name recorded for posterity on the inscription outside Hall. Followed closely by being able to show it to my son Imran who attended Radley between 2015 and 2017!
Azizul Adnan in his judicial robes. Azizul Adnan (1985) What were your first impressions of Radley? Having dutifully followed the directions given by school as to which train to take from Paddingon station, I arrived at Radley on a dreary September afternoon. A handful of other students and I brought from the station to the school on the school pick up, with our belongings slowly getting wet from the light rain.
I was struck by how remote the school felt, with it surrounded—then as now—by the vast expanse of English countryside. Once in school, however, there was little time to contemplate; I was quickly caught up in the hubbub of daily school life.
How did you settle in to life at Radley? Having been in a boarding school in Malaysia prior to coming up to Radley, it wasn’t especially difficult to adjust to life away from home. The food, however, proved challenging because I had made the personal decision to abide by strictures against non-halal food. Breakfast was the highlight meal of the day. All other meals would be either cauliflower cheese or fish. I didn’t complain. It was just the way things were, and I accepted it.
There were very few Asians at Radley then, so the few of us were clearly very different from the rest. We were not made to feel different, though. I can say without equanimity that I was treated as any other boy at school. There were, however, a small number of boys who went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Two in particular that I should mention are Tim Burchmore (1985), also in A Social, and Tom from F Social, whose last name now escapes me.
What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you? Life in a foreign country with a different culture and value systems would inevitably leave an indelible mark on any impressionable teenager. We were encouraged to think, reason and disagree, whereas school at home placed too much emphasis on rote learning and regurgitation.
What did strike me about Radley in particular was its emphasis on participation. There was always a place for you at Radley, to participate in an activity at a level that was appropriate for you. For instance, there were eight XVs at rugby, which meant that a person not blessed with physical stature could nonetheless enjoy playing the sport at a level that was appropriate to him.
This did not mean that the school did not strive for excellence at sports, for example, but the approach of the school made it clear that sports was very much for the students and less about the school. This permeated through whatever the school did, be it academics, sports, the choir or any other extra curricular activity. This focus on the student rather than the school was, in my view, a defining feature of Radley.
Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley? Two in particular, PMJ as master of A Social. Very little that went on in A Social escaped Mr Johnson, as he had a very hands-on approach to managing the house.
The second was Mr Alan Dowding, who stood out as a gentleman who would treat even the most irascible schoolboy—of which there were many in the Business Studies class—as though he were a responsible adult.
Next steps I went on to read law at Cambridge. Having had the benefit of an education at Radley, I think I regarded anything else as a failure! There was really no excuse: with the dons at the school, all a student needed to do was to do the work. The trickiest part was extracting an offer from the university.
Career highlights to date After university, I joined the Securities Commision Malaysia (the capital markets regulator in Malaysia). Thereafter I worked in an investment bank before practicing as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. I’ve spent the last 6 years at the High Court of Malaya, having been elevated to the bench in 2014.
Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving? I corresponded for a while with Tim Burchmore but I have since lost contact with him. Unfortunately, not having a social media account does not help.
Fondest memory of Radley? Nothing quite compares to the smell of the fields in autumn and the sound of several hundred boys chucking an oval ball around.
Ak Hamid (1988) What were your first impressions of Radley? I can remember coming up the drive on my first day at Radley and thinking it wasn’t a very big place, compared to some of the schools in Kuala Lumpur. Back in the late 1980s there were much fewer buildings than now, but we kept going through Memorial Arch and then the size of the place hit me. I was blown away. Then I saw the golf course and that made my day!
I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, but having had friends who’d already gone to UK public schools, I had heard plenty of stories (both good and bad!) and so was ready for whatever came. I was then very pleasantly surprised by the welcome I received. My Social Tutor, Richard Usherwood made me feel extremely welcome and I didn’t encounter any snobbery from the other boys. They went out of their way to take the time to speak with me, which given most of them had been together for at least three years, made such a difference. At the time I don’t think I fully appreciated the ease with which I was welcomed, but with hindsight, it’s obvious the efforts that everyone made.
How did you settle in to life at Radley? I found the first two to three weeks very difficult. Despite being well-travelled and having lived in Guildford for a year as a child when my mother was studying for a PhD, I had never really lived abroad. Finding myself in a dormitory in a completely foreign environment was hard and I felt lonely during this time. But this quickly passed and it didn’t take me long to feel at home, although communal showers were definitely a bit of a shock, as there aren’t many of those in Malaysia!
Once I felt more comfortable, making friends was very easy and the other boys at Radley were great. Being keen on table tennis helped, and whilst maybe not officially being H Social champion, I was certainly good enough to earn a few brownie points with the other boys. Soccer and golf also helped developing friendships and I still remember the camaraderie of my time there. I knew the school would give me all the opportunities both educationally and away from the curriculum. Radley had everything and so it was easy to get involved. I never felt any pressure, but instead there was lots of encouragement to do the things that you wouldn’t even think to do before, and there were plenty of firsts. Rowing (I fell in on my first time sculling); Beagling (which I enjoyed until I saw what happened to the hare when the dogs got it right in front of me); Real Tennis (which was such a bizarre find for a squash player); I even tried riding for the first time.
Rugby was hard, but that was mainly trying to understand the rules. For my first game I was put on the wing in the 6th XV. Richard walked me down to the far pitches and on the way tried to explain the rules because by the time we got to the pitch, I was playing! I still don’t know the rules, but still watch matches...
Oh and the food. I loved the food and tell my kids about fried bread and baked beans for breakfast.
What do you feel was the biggest impact Radley had on you? Radley definitely taught me two things, resilience and confidence. The confidence came from being able to thrive in a new environment and rise to new challenges on a weekly basis. As an example, in one maths lesson, we looked at mechanics, a new branch of maths I’d not come across before. I felt a certain amount of pressure to be a maths whizz due to being Asian, but I didn’t know this at all. Rather than have to admit to this, I got a book and taught myself Mechanics over the course of a weekend. Being able to interact and make friends in such a different environment required resilience.
During the holidays, I went to London and was basically taking care of myself. This gave me a huge degree of independence, and it was really the beginning of my adult life.
What do you feel you brought to life at Radley? I like to think I brought a different perspective as there were not many foreigners there at the time, maybe 6 from SE Asia across the whole school. My attitude to work was different, and I hope I inspired my H Social mates to achieve more than they thought they could through applying themselves a bit more.
I also remember bringing a different culture and religion to the school. One year, Ramadan was right in the middle of summer term, which with the long days meant fasting from about 3am to 9pm at night. Many of the other boys were absolutely shocked at this and it led to a lot of questions from them as to why and I was able to explain the reasons behind it.
Missing daytime meals, did mean that the cooks gave me the key to the larder to allow me to eat, and so every night me and some mates would go down, I would break my fast and we would help ourselves to a feast.
Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley? My Social Tutor, Mr Usherwood really made me feel at home. Mr Hardy, my biology don, was a wonderful teacher and incredibly supportive. He recognised my passion for the subject and I went on a school trip to Kenya with him. My greatest regret was not applying to his College (Balliol) which he recommended to me.
I also remember an art teacher, who was also very encouraging. One year, I did a project, recreating a Picasso painting. At the end of term, just before going home, I couldn’t find it and it turned out she had framed it and put it above her desk. I was honoured and humbled, but still took it back with me anyway, and it is hanging over my mother’s desk at home.
Next steps I went to Nottingham University to study medicine, choosing it because it offered a more progressive, integrated medicine approach. In hindsight, I wished I’d tried harder to get to Oxford or Cambridge, as Mr Hardy recommended.
Career highlights to date I gained a 1st class honours in Medicine and a PhD in Urology, before working in Oncology at Queens’ Medical Centre, Nottingham. I went on a fellowship to Australia for one year before returning to Nottingham, but three horrendous winters later and with a wife and young family, we decided to move back to Australia to raise the kids in some sunshine!
I currently work as a Robotic and Minimum invasive surgeon and am Head of Training at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, WA.
I kept in touch with some ORs for a few years, but over time this has dwindled away. The only one I still speak to is a fellow Malaysian OR, Azmil, who I’ve known since 8 years old.
Fondest memory of Radley? I miss wearing the gown and going to Shop for tuck, but my fondest memory is after Prep every day, Cocoa with the other boys and the Matron.
It was something I always looked forward to.
M Salimi Saidin (1983)
What were your first impressions of Radley? As one of the first two Malaysians to come to Radley on the programme, I didn’t have the benefit of anyone else having gone before me, but I had previously been at an elite boarding school in Malaysia. Built in 1905, it was modelled on British public school and so it wasn’t too much of a shock to the system. After a week spent orientating at Bedford Schol with the other Malaysian students, we were sent out to our respective schools.
On entering the drive at Radley, I thought it was a grand school, architecturally similar to my previous school in Malaysia, just on a grander scale! I knew that it was a good school and was one steeped in tradition and I intended to get as much as I could from this experience and enjoy my time here.
I remember the huge acres of green spaces and the golf course, as I went past F Social to see the Warden Silk [in what is now the L Social Tutor’s House]. This was the first and last time I had to go to the Warden’s house in all my time there.
How did you settle in to life at Radley? I was put in F Social and it felt like I got given the worst room. It was on the top floor, right at the end and had two walls exposed to the weather. With there being no central heating, it was bloody cold and from leaving the warmth of Malaysia to a winter in Radley was a real shock. Salimi, front row far left, with the boys of F Social The other Malaysian boy who also came to Radley was in H Social and so I quickly became aware that I needed to make friends or else I’ll be living alone. It was through shared classes that I was able to befriend other boys, particularly Further Maths. We were both good at Maths, having already done much of the subject before, in fact Mr Nye even got us to come up and solve the problems on the board. But being able to tutor and help classmates with subjects like this helped foster friendships. In fact, my friends were so grateful for the help that in my second year at Radley, they bought me tomato juice every night before Chapel, in lieu of being bought pints of thanks because I don’t drink alcohol!
Not every subject went quite as well though and I was initially bad at Chemistry, having learnt it in Malaysian. It took a while to transfer that knowledge into English, but I got there.
The programme had a high level of expectation and so sports weren’t high on my list of priorities, but I loved playing rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. I enjoyed the friendly approach rather than being highly competitive, which meant I could take part but still concentrate on the studies.
I took all the opportunities presented to me to get involved and I remember being in the Social play, Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolour Dreamcoat which was fun.
Left: Salimi with F Social Matron, Lynda Laing - “like an adopted mother to me”. Right: Salimi during a visit to Europe.
Over my two years at Radley, only the first Term was a bit miserable to start with, due to the cold weather, the language difficulties in Chemistry and feeling a bit homesick. After Christmas and New Year I felt I had settled in and enjoyed the rest of my time there.
What do you feel was the biggest impact your time at Radley had on you? It was not so much the academic learning that impacted on me, you can learn those things anywhere if you put your mind to it, but instead it was the softer, social skills. Despite coming from a boarding school already, it was not easy coming into but to adapt and to learn, and it was that lesson of being able to thrive in a different environment, that set me up for my life.
In my career, I moved several times to different and unfamiliar countries and cultures, and each time I thought “I survived Radley, I can survive this”. we were boys like them and so hopefully we helped the other boys be more comfortable with people they weren’t used to.
Having Cocoa in the Matron’s lounge was great. I loved it and it was another chance to socialise. Every night I got asked questions about Malaysia and I like to think a different culture. You have no choice
this allowed the other boys to be curious and find out about something they didn’t know about. It helped me make friends and gave them the opportunity to interact with someone different. I also like to think that the next batch of Malaysian ORs had things a little easier as we had helped open up the understanding of other cultures.
Which don influenced you the most in your time at Radley? The most cherished person for me was not a don, but F Social Matron, Lynda Laing. She was so kind and took great care of me. It felt like I had an adopted mother who really looked out for my well-being and I feel indebted to her.
It was tough to start with, but battling through emotions to achieve what I came there to achieve built my character.
What did you feel you brought to life at Radley? I think the biggest impact we had when we first came, was that we were probably the first Malaysians to attend. There were very few foreigners at Radley in 1986, and most boys didn’t even know where Malaysia was. For the first few days, we got given ‘the look’, and you could tell they were thinking
But after they got to know us, they saw that The Academic standout and don that have most respect for was Guy Waller, my Chemistry teacher. Thanks to the language problem, I ended up in the bottom set, set
“What are these strange boys doing here?”. C, but I think we got the best teacher and I ended up doing very well! All boys had a Chemistry test each week and the results went into a league-style structure with all boys. I went from being in the bottom half in the first few months, to being first or second place, and when I was told that I should move up to set A, I said “No thank you, I want to stay in Mr Waller’s class.”
He also coached cricket and got Imran Khan to come and give us some tips! Next steps The aim of the programme was get students to Oxbridge colleges, but I had set my sights on doing Civil Engineering. So when I filled out my UCCA, I put Imperial College and Bristol as these were the best schools for Engineering. When my Social Tutor, Charles Hastings, saw it he was furious that I hadn’t selected Oxford or Cambridge, but I was able to explain my reasons and persuaded him it was the right choice. However, when I turned down Imperial for Bristol, he was doubly furious, but I had decided I didn’t want to be in London and the Imperial course was too full of boys. After 12 years of all-male education, I wanted somewhere with a bit more variety, including girls!
Career highlights to date After university, I went back to work for the programme sponsors in Kuala Lumpur before getting a position at ExxonMobil. I’ve been there for 27 years now having worked my way up from being a Design Engineer to Project Management in the oil and gas field. It’s such an international company that I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try new things. These include three years in Nigeria, leading a project for the government in partnership with Exxon. This was very like being thrown in the deep end again!
My next project took me to Korea, and I then spent a further three years in Houston, Texas. Each new project gives a new team, new boss, new department, and often a new country so work doesn’t get stale. I’m now back in Malaysia leading projects here.
Have you kept up your Radley connections since leaving? I still call England my second home, my wife also went to University there, and we spend at least a week in the UK whenever we get a chance. I was able to visit Radley in January 2020 before lockdown, but with the school closed for the holiday, I walked across the golf course and up Cheesers.
Fondest memory of Radley? This is a difficult one to answer as I have lots of small memories, but one I always remember was walking around Pond. I found the Radley grounds so calming and serene and it provided a lot of inner comfort. Every time I walked around Pond and through the grounds, I was at ease with myself. Nothing beats the serenity and atmosphere of this part of Radley and it helped clear the stress from my mind.
Presidents & vice-presidents, muezzins & the Mountains of the Moon. These are just some of the highlights of Ross Anson’s (1951) 50-year career in security across Africa.
It is just after midnight on 25th January 1971 and the unmistakable sound of gunfire echoes out across Kampala.
In a bar just off Kampala’s main street, Ross Anson (1951) sits with some Ugandan friends, but on hearing the shooting gets into his car and starts heading towards the industrial area where the gunfire is coming from. Here he takes up the story:
Just as I was passing the side street leading to the main government offices, I heard a shout “Simama!” (“Stop!”) and almost simultaneously a bullet came through the front passenger window of the car, exiting through the driver’s window – my window. It must have passed no more than six inches in front of my face and left my ears buzzing. On looking towards the direction from which it had come I saw military Land Rovers and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) surrounding the government offices. It was then I realised I was witnessing a military coup.
I knew my best course of action was to go home and stay there and had almost reached home when, on rounding a corner I was blinded by a bright light shining directly at me. An APC was blocking the road. I quickly got out the car and stood in the road where I could be seen, with my hands on my head. A voice from the APC told me “Songa mbele” (“Move forward”), then “Simama” (“Stop”).
Kampala Road, Kampala, c.1970. I heard more voices and someone saying “Huyu ni mzungu tu” (“It’s a European”). Just as I was wondering whether being a ‘mzungu’ was going to be a good or bad thing tonight, a soldier brandishing a machete came from the shadows at the side of the road.
The soldier patted me down asking whether I was carrying any weapons to which I replied in the negative, although I did have a side arm in the door pocket of the car. Eventually a voice from the APC asked where I was going. I explained where I lived and was told to continue on my way and not leave home again.
The following morning was chaotic with the sound of sporadic gunfire all around. This died down in the afternoon and I managed to make my way to the office using back roads to avoid the city centre. My arrival was met with some surprise as they had heard I’d been shot and had informed London head office accordingly.
It was only later that I learnt my car was identical in make, year and colour to that of the army commander.
So how does an Old Radleian end up in the middle of Idi Amin’s takeover of Uganda, and just as importantly, what made him drive
towards(!) the sound of gunfire that night? Reproduced courtesy of www.hipuganda.org
From Africa to Radley
Born in Kent in 1937, Ross was whisked off to the Sudan, where his father had been seconded to the Sudan Government, beginning his lifelong relationship with the African continent.
My earliest memories are of the agricultural research station just outside Wad Medani, and with holidays spent in Britain and Kenya, early life was quite an adventure for me.
With the Second World War coming to a close, a return to the UK to continue his schooling saw him head to Summerfields Prep near Hastings, before arriving at Radley in September 1950.
Coming from an African upbringing, via a school with less than 80 students to one with close on 400 was quite daunting, but the transition was quite seamless. At Radley sports became my life and I became something of a physical freak, going for a run round the pitches before breakfast each day and spending both the short and long breaks in the gym, culminating in a place in the first XV in 1954. Academically though, I was pretty average and managed to scrape through with six ‘O’ levels and no ‘A’ levels, but where I was to go next really wasn’t clear.
The 1st XV in 1955, with Ross in the middle row, third from the left.
The answer to that was to once again be, Africa. After coming out of his National Service in the Navy in 1958, Ross came across an advertisement from the Crown Agents for positions in the Uganda Police.
To me this came as an opportunity to get back home to Africa so I applied and after interview in June 1958 was accepted as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent. After training in the UK, I arrived in Uganda in September and was posted to Fort Portal, a small town 1500m above sea level in the foothills of the Ruwenzori, the legendary Mountains of the Moon immortalised by H Rider Haggard in his novels.
As OC Police station I was in charge of investigations ranging from theft of bicycles to robbery and murder. I was also responsible for immigration from neighbouring Congo and a Justice of the Peace; all this at the tender age of 21! Thankfully, one thing that Radley did teach me was leadership, and this helped me enormously. It’s a skill that I’ve relied on throughout my career in the wider world.
Life in an up-country station in Uganda was fairly rudimentary, with few having mains electricity and Fort Portal was no exception. Lighting was by kerosene lamps, water for washing and bathing heated in a wood fired drum in the garden outside the bathroom and cooking was on an iron ‘Dover’ stove fueled by charcoal. Television had not yet reached Uganda and social life centred round the European club which had a generator, tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course and a well-attended bar. Comparisons to Radley (both in the 1950s and now!) will be left to the reader...
Fort Portal Market in the late 1950s.
Towards the end of 1959 it became apparent that independence for Uganda was just a matter of time. Local politicians were becoming restless, holding rallies throughout the country that often created civil unrest, a real burden for the regular police. In order to help, the government created a new branch, separate to the regular police, christened ‘Special Force’. Seven different companies each of about 50 other ranks were formed and placed under the command of junior expatriate officers with previous military experience. Ross was posted to be in command of number five company and immediately transferred to headquarters in Kampala.
After some time policing the, sometimes fractious, UgandaCongolese border, “It was here that I first met Idi Amin”, Uganda achieved independence in October 1962 and it was decided to Africanise Special Force. He was posted to police headquarters as staff officer operations, before transferring to CID, his last posting before leaving the Police in September 1967. Along with two other expatriate officers, Ross had identified the need for a properly organised private security company and, with the government’s blessing, they formed the Night Security Organisation (NSO) based in Kampala. Business increased with securing contracts from the majority of diplomatic missions, parastatals and industries, there being no competition. And this is how you end up with an Old Radleian driving towards the sound of gunfire in Kampala on a late night in January...
Moving back - and then forward again
After a couple of days life returned to something approaching normal and Idi Amin was installed as President. In early 1972 Idi Amin decreed that all Asians should leave the country within 30 days and their businesses taken over by indigenous Ugandans. Later the same year at midnight on 12th December the government further announced the nationalisation of Britishowned companies, including Securicor to whom Ross and his partners had sold their business. He continued managing the business under the new regime, but after six months things had become untenable, so he resigned and returned to the UK.
After four years in sales for ADT in the UK, an opportunity arose to assist their Saudi Arabian representatives in developing the security side of their business.
I arrived at Jeddah in the first week of 1977. Contrary to expectations, I had no trouble settling in. Having lived in Africa I was used to heat and the calls of the Muezzins summoning the faithful to prayer brought back memories of my childhood in Sudan. The humidity on the other hand was something else. I don’t know what the factor was, but when stepping out of my flat in the mornings I felt as if someone had dropped a wet blanket over me.
I was shown to what was to be my office which I was to share with a cynical ex-British army sergeant major who didn’t suffer fools gladly. Fortunately, we got on well together and amongst other things he taught me how to brew beer from readily available ingredients. I found a mound of requests for tenders on my desk and got stuck in right away; something which appeared to astonish senior management who were used to newly arrived Brits spending their first few days complaining about the lack of this and that, earning themselves the label of ‘Whinging Poms’.
After successfully convincing the head of the emergency police to establish an up-to-date control and alarm receiving centre at his headquarters, Ross’ contract came to an end in January 1981, and where else should he end up but back in Uganda, this time helping Chubb Securities tender for a multi-million-pound government project to improve security on several buildings, including the state house.
It was estimated that surveying the buildings and preparing the tender would take about a week. However, my experience in preparing tenders in Saudi proved invaluable and Chubb offered me the position of project manager based in Kampala. I accepted and spent the next nine years in Uganda, somewhat longer than the original estimate of one week!
There was plenty of work for Chubb to do in addition to the government survey. Amin’s troops in their retreat northward carried out extensive looting including attempts to blow open the strong rooms of the banks that were in their path. Hot on their heels the invading Tanzanian troops tried the same. Both had little success but damaged the strong rooms to such an extent that even the authorized bank staff couldn’t open them. The majority of doors had been supplied by Chubb in the past and were damaged beyond repair and so Ross’ company was best placed to replace them. Then Vice-President, now President-elect, Joe Biden visiting the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in 2010.
Presidential protection
By 1990 business in Uganda was becoming too routine, and Ross continued to travel around Africa, working as a director for a number of security firms. Over the next 20 years he went from Mombasa, to Kampala, ending up in Kenya, where he took over management of the jewel in their crown, the American Embassy in Nairobi.
Highlights of my tenure were when Hilary Clinton and later Joe Biden, both of whom I had the privilege of meeting, paid official visits to Kenya. Throughout I worked continuously with the secret service officers who were part of the Clinton’s and Biden’s entourage and I must admit I took an impish pleasure in wearing dark suits and shades in order to blend with them.
All good things must come to an end and in 2012, Ross handed over management of the Embasssy project to his successor and retired from regular employment to take up consultancy.
In over 50 years of living and working across the world, there are many more stories that could be told, but for this Old Radleian the pull of ‘getting back home’ to Africa has always been one that has been too strong to resist.
Ross Anson alongside Warden Milligan in the 1955 Prefects photo.
BURSTING THE BUBBLE Ben Robinson (2007) talks about leaving the ‘Radley bubble’ and finding his own path in the wider world - a path that has lead from Senegal to Somalia and beyond.
Eight years ago I left Radley College, I really had no idea what real life had waiting for me, no idea what the world outside the bubble really looked like. In 2012 I stepped, stubborn, ignorant, sheltered, possibly even naive but always with a smile, outside of my comfort zone.
You guessed it, the real world was a shock and I wanted to fully explore the world outside of the bubble, so I needed a job. A flight costs 100 hours of work at £5 an hour, 5 hours of work earns you enough to eat and sleep for one day, money doesn’t grow on trees or get given to you for nothing. To go on my first expedition with Raleigh International I had to work 2 jobs, 70-hour weeks and carry a whole load of plates from kitchen to table and back again.
When I look back, I see how lucky I was to even entertain the idea of going abroad, seeing the world and getting to experience remote places filled with laughter and happiness. Stepping though the jungles of Costa Rica, experiencing the volcanoes of Nicaragua, the wildlife in South Africa or the kindness of Kenya became the norm to me.
I know the ability to do what I did is not available to everyone and the privilege that I had has definitely contributed to the moderate successes that I get to see now. This small glimpse of the real world in its rawest, unadulterated, most unfiltered form captured my imagination, I wanted to know what else lies beyond the bubble?
Part 1 – The bubble gets bigger
In 2013 I went on my first expedition to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Raleigh International – an international development organisation who mobilise young people around the globe to facilitate change. Raleigh is an organisation that champions the collective power of young people whilst working on natural resource management, water, hygiene and sanitation, building infrastructure, leadership and personal development. It was the perfect first step on my journey out of the bubble. I remember so clearly buying my first trekking pack, dry bags, boots, medical kit, water purification tablets and real socks (the most crucial item in any expedition kit) for Expedition 13A. The bubbling excitement of driving to the airport, meeting other fresh faces, sitting on a plane and being propelled into another world. The smells, sights and sounds of San Jose, the chaos, the people, the beauty, the overwhelming feeling of being uncomfortable, out of control and lost. What am I doing? Was the first question. Do I really want to leave the bubble? Was my second.
A million questions racing through my mind before I even got to Raleigh’s field base, before I started any training, before I went out onto the project sites. Yet, a moment of clarity emerges – I chose this. Over the next 10 weeks I build paths through Carara National Park to foster eco-tourism, lived in a rural Nicaraguan village (literally) building the walls to enable a better education system and trekked 250kms through the mountains, jungles, salt
Northern Cameroon, the land of civil war, Chinese logging trucks and smiling people.
Raleigh Expedition 13A, wearing ‘white’ shorts…
flats, volcanoes and lakes of Nicaragua – the single most physically demanding activity of my life so far. Whilst to write about the contents of these life shaping and character defining experiences would definitely fill part of, if not all of, the Old Radleian magazine, I would like to focus on one, not so humble at the time, element – me.
Hindsight is, of course, 20/20. Reflecting back on moments where the direction of your life changed is much easier than identifying it at the time. But this was the life re-defining moment for me. Whether it happened over the course of the 10 weeks in central America, sometime after, or I just woke up one day and my universe shifted on its axis I can’t remember, but one thing I knew was that my focus shifted from personal gain to universal equality. From wanting to be a Formula 1 race engineer to devoting my life to sustainable change and using the privilege I have to help others. To try and use this new passion I discovered on the other side of the world, for people, culture, difference and kindness to make a positive impact.
Part 2 – The bubble goes Pop
Its 2018, fast forward four years through a mechanical engineering masters, a business building recycled plastic bottle houses in Nepal for earthquake victims, being appointed a trustee of Raleigh International, various other international development projects and a whole lot of hard work. I am sitting on a ferry to Morocco by myself, in a Land Rover that I’ve rebuilt into an overland truck as part of a company I started to bring poverty-alleviating technology to rural communities throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, thinking – What am I doing? Driving from London to Cape Town over 14 months, 30 countries, 55,000kms, conflict, war, deserts, corruption and the biggest challenge so far. Why? And again, it hits me, I chose this. All of the experiences in university, starting my first business and getting to travel the world for work had stretched the bubble I lived in to encompass a vast area. No longer was I defined by the privilege that I had encountered in my younger life, my bubble was starting to become global. Then the bubble popped.
Twenty minutes after arriving in the Moroccan port of Tangier Med I was robbed, euros or your life. I was alone, there was no support system, no bubble. Still now, it makes my heart race remembering the feeling of my life in someone else’s hands. I only lost 100 euros, not my life. Reflecting back, it was my entry to the real world, not comfy, safe, reliable Europe but Africa, where lives are lost every day because people can’t eat, can’t drink safe water, can’t obtain safe energy or even a place to sleep. It was the harsh reality that just because I was born in a place, I had always had these things and others did not.
The following 14 months were quite the adventure; driving 400kms into the heart of the Mauritanian Sahara Desert, navigating roads of mud in rainforests of the Guinean Mountains, a prison cell in Ghana, a war in Cameroon, swimming with crocodiles and hippos in Namibia, Victoria Falls in Zambia, falling asleep listening to the lions in Kenya, the magical Tanzanian beach life, avoiding militia groups in Mozambique, South African sunsets over the ocean, falling in love in Cape Town and, and, and, the list could go on.
Whilst this list does sound like the plot of a Wilbur Smith novel, I try not to romanticise it. When asked about the expedition, the word that always comes to mind is tough, unbelievably tough. The lows are incredibly low but the highs are off the chart. Fear, danger, anxiety have a place in every day and the knock-on effects still follow me around, growing weaker as time passes but still there. As with the Raleigh Expedition, it was a life changing experience and only stoked my passion for the equality of people and drives my ambitions for the future.
Living the dream on Kenyan Roads
