Medics on the front Line

Oliver Berthoud

The Man behind the Headmaster

Oliver Berthoud, British by birth but descended from a Swiss family, was Headmaster of Trinity School for twenty years from 1952 to 1972, until his untimely death in service, at the age of 61.

Oliver Berthoud, like composer Benjamin Britten (featured in Tony’s article on page 14), attended Gresham’s School in Holt, Norfolk, where he and Britten became friends. Oliver went on to gain a First in Modern Languages at St John’s College, Oxford and started his teaching career in 1932 at Campbell College, Belfast. In 1934, Oliver and his wife went to work at Repton School teaching Modern Languages.

Oliver Berthoud’s career took a rapid about turn when war broke out and he was called up to serve. Being a highly qualified linguist fluent in French and German set him on a path of working with an inter-service unit under the Foreign Office as a senior military intelligence officer. His service took him to the USA and ultimately Nuremberg, where he was the senior Army observer.

For much of the war (and sworn to secrecy) Oliver Berthoud worked at Bletchley Park in one of the outer huts. As messages were decoded, they were passed to him to read and translate. Jane Berthoud, his widow, recalled Oliver talking about how they relayed messages between the huts, especially when the weather was poor, “The huts at Bletchley were set slightly apart, maybe four feet, and there was a small ‘tunnel’ linking Oliver’s hut to the next. The ‘tunnel’ was used to push notes through using a broom handle.”

After the war, Oliver Berthoud returned to teaching and became Headmaster at Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone in 1946 before being appointed Headmaster at Trinity in 1952. It is true to say that Berthoud transformed our school during his headmastership. An article in the Easter 1962 edition of the school magazine summed up the incredible amount of change that came about during the first ten years of his tenure, not least the change of name from Whitgift Middle School to Trinity School of John Whitgift, adopted in 1954. ‘Trinity’ was chosen to reflect Archbishop John Whitgift’s association with Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was Master for ten years until 1577.

A vigorous effort by Oliver Berthoud boosted a slow campaign started by Horace Clayton, to raise funds for a new organ, and by November 1954, a brand new instrument had been installed and dedicated in Big School.

Oliver Berthoud recognised that the school at North End was in dire need of extra space and he instigated the construction of the East Main entrance at the back of the school in 1954 to create a new Biology Laboratory, Form Room and Common Room that were opened two years later.

Work then commenced on the demolition of the old fives courts which had been decimated during the war and a brand new Chemistry block and Gymnasium were erected in their place.

At home in Shirley

Major Oliver Berthoud in Military Intelligence In 1957, new House names were introduced with Red becoming Trinity (School) House, Yellow became Pembroke, Blue became Worcester and Green, Canterbury, all of which reflected the posts held by the school’s founder, Archbishop John Whitgift.

Under Oliver’s Headship, the academic attainment of students began to soar, with state scholarships to university more than tripling and the size of the Sixth Form growing rapidly each year.

As well as excelling in academia, Oliver Berthoud was enthusiastic about the cultural development of his students. He was passionate about music - playing viola in the Croydon Symphony Orchestra, singing with the choir and enjoying playing chamber music with friends.

Sporting activities at Trinity were extended during his time to include hockey in 1954, followed by badminton, water polo and shooting. All boys were encouraged to join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and other extra-curricular activities more than doubled. His biggest project by far was announced in 1959. The school would be relocating to Shirley Park with work expected to finish by 1964. The original building at North End had been designed to accommodate fewer than 200 pupils and by this stage, the school was endeavouring to accommodate 640 boys. The project at Shirley Park was ‘completed’ in time for the start of the autumn term in 1965, although there were many obstacles to overcome post completion.

Oliver was a family man, described in his obituary as someone ‘who loved truly and deeply’. Having tragically lost his first wife Celia, to cancer, he found love again with Jane Moody, whom he married in 1970. Jane continued to work at Trinity until she retired. Laurie and Melodie are delighted to be in touch with Jane Berthoud and one of Oliver’s daughters, Diana, who shared the photographs in this article with us. Alumni who attended the school at Shirley Park must surely recognise the corridor where the photograph was taken of Oliver with his dog, Matt. The original flooring laid down in 1965 survives today, still looking freshly laid after 56 years!

Oliver and Jane in their garden in Oxted circa 1970 Oliver Berthoud – a truly remarkable man.

Tributes flowed in when Oliver Berthoud tragically died in office in 1972:

“He was a practical, clearthinking man who knew his boys individually and collectively; he knew their social and academic needs, background and opportunities against the wider educational trends of the times.”

“I shall remember him above all for his integrity and his compassion.”

“His humour was spontaneous and unforced, apt and always un-barbed, gentle and relaxed”

“His memory for detail was quite incredible and his ability to recall names and records of old boys was always a cause of admiration.”

“His deep concern for others, his flawless integrity, his sincerity, the warmth of his humanity – for all these and more, we shall ever be grateful.”

The accolades summed up a man who was greatly admired by staff, student and governors.

Our research has uncovered a vast amount of material from alumni contributions and our archives which will be shared in a much larger article on our engagement website My Trinity at www.mytrinity.org.uk later this year.

Trinity Bursary Fund

David Young, Director of Development, talks about the positive response to our bursary initiatives.

"We have been delighted with the response to our fundraising campaign in support of the Trinity Bursary Fund with nearly 500 people making a gift in the last year. This means that, this September, we will have an extra 14 students on bursaries of 90% or more that have been funded solely by donations from within the Trinity community.

In Croydon, as elsewhere, the pandemic has widened the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”. We want to disrupt this pattern of structural inequality, offering opportunity and achievement through our bursary programme.

The presence in our school of the Trinity Bursary Fund students, and the many others whose bursaries are funded directly by the John Whitgift Foundation is of huge importance in ensuring that Trinity remains accessible, grounded and inclusive. And, for these children, the chance to learn at Trinity changes their lives forever.

We are thrilled to have thirteen of our young alumni returning to Trinity this summer for our fundraising telephone campaign. Their reason for wanting to take part was unanimous - perhaps summed by one of them here: “I was only able to attend the school due to the generosity of the bursary fund. My brother and I brother absolutely flourished at Trinity and I am proud to say I would not be studying at the LSE without that support. It will be an honour to talk to donors about how life-changing their pledges truly are.”

The campaign team is really excited about talking to alumni and parents, thanking those who have given, updating them on progress, and asking others to help reach our Headmaster’s ambition of enabling one in every five students to be supported by a bursary award. If everyone they called were to make a regular gift at an affordable level, we would reach that milestone with ease." To learn more about the Trinity Bursary Fund or to make a donation, please go to our dedicated website www.trinitygives.org.uk or contact David Young at dty@trinity.croydon.sch.uk

Every penny of your gift will go directly to fund new bursaries at Trinity and to changing the lives and empowering young people who will make an enormous difference to our school and then to the world beyond when they leave us. Thank you. formalise their intentions immediately, just to make a simple written pledge (via email or letter) to support Trinity the next time they come to revise their wills. In just three short months since the launch of this campaign, the number of alumni who have promised to leave a gift to Trinity to benefit others after their death has doubled.

All 450 Legacy Pledgers are recognised in our Annual Report on Giving and automatically become members of the school’s Mitre Society. For more information, please contact David Young or go to the Trinity Gives website at www.trinitygives.org.uk. “I loved my time at Trinity under Oliver Berthoud and made many friends, some of whom I still see today. I’m delighted that new generations of pupils are being given such a great start in life. Thinking in centuries, rather than years, must be in our minds when we consider the future of the school. Small though our individual legacies may be, their collective impact underpins the Trinity of today and will provide for the Trinity of the future.”

Gifting a legacy

We are planning ahead...way ahead!

In addition to extending a helping hand to those children who are already looking forward to joining our school, we want to ensure that Trinity can support and grow our bursary programme for the long term.

The simplest, and best way for many donors to support the Bursary Fund is by leaving a legacy to the school in their wills. Launched this year, the 450 Pledge campaign is a long term initiative in which we are asking 450 alumni to pledge to support Trinity through their Wills by the 450th anniversary of the Foundation in 2046. There is no need for supporters to

Alistair Johnston, 1970

Lasting legacy of John Starling

We were deeply touched and honoured to learn that John Starling, who left in 1953, has left an incredibly generous bequest in his will to “be used or invested by the music department of Trinity School for the purposes of either tuition or for the purchase of instruments for use by pupils whose parents cannot afford to provide these."

Our Director of Music, David Swinson, said: “It will be wonderful to be able to offer our bursary students the opportunity to participate in the life-changing experience of learning a musical instrument.”

John, who sadly died last August, was a very popular and engaged alumnus of Trinity and visited frequently throughout the year. He was always there to support us whenever we were celebrating the richness of school life, from our annual art exhibitions to music and sporting events, as well as the Founder’s Day Supper. He will be greatly missed by us all but will live on through his generous legacy.

John Starling, right, with Laurie at the reception following the re-dedication of our war memorial OMWRFC 1964-5 - John Starling, back row, 4th from left