Old Farnhamians' Association
Obituaries & Tributes
John Robert Edmunds was born in
He entered
In 1956 he achieved
passes in 7 subjects for the GCE (Ordinary Level), added Biology in 1957 and
Physics and Chemistry in 1958. In total he passed 10 subjects at ‘O’ Level and
Geography at ‘A’ Level. An excellent academic record!
During his teenage years
he had several girl friends who allegedly he told his name was ‘Jim’, so that
his sisters would not find out! He was a keen member of the local Young
Farmers, where he acquired his first taste for agriculture.
On leaving Farnham
Grammar School John started an HND in Agriculture at
He married Margaret in
1966 and would have celebrated his Sapphire wedding anniversary in 2011. He has
three sons Roger, Robert and Peter three daughters-in-law Sarah, Teresa and
Rachel, and two grandchildren James and Amy who all loved him very much.
John was very dedicated
to his work and was awarded the OBE in 1999 in recognition of his achievements.
However, away from work he was quite a different person and definitely had a
fun side. His favourite occupation was to sit on a sunny terrace with his
friend Martin sipping wine or drinking beer and watching the world go by. This
often took place in
John always had
agriculture in his blood and during his retirement loved to get stuck in on
Roger and Sarah’s small-holding at Gatehampton - nobody else “knew how to do it” according to John. John was always willing to
help anyone who needed it; in fact he asked that his epitaph be “he only tried to
help”. John was always active right to the end; he enjoyed long bike rides in
the Oxfordshire countryside accompanied by Margaret. He loved Inspector Morse
books and had almost read all of them. The Bear Pub was his favourite in
John was suddenly taken
from his family whilst in
Tribute submitted by Cyril Trust
Thursday, 14 April, 2011
________________________
Peter Eric Larby
Peter was born in 1927. With his twin sister, Freda, he spent his
early years in the family cottage, near the Frensham Ponds Hotel. Later the
family moved to Churt and he attended the village school. He successfully
passed the entrance examination to the
At FGS, besides his academic studies, Peter
was a fine all round sportsman. On the games field he excelled in soccer,
cricket and athletics. In fact he held the 110 yards hurdle record for many
years and ran for the Surrey Grammar Schools.
Following his time in the 6th form, he
gained a place at St Mark and
It was here that he met up with Michael
Jacobs, who later was Best Man at Peter and Pearls' wedding, which was held
here at
After the forces, he took up his place
at "Marjons" college, gaining his B.Sc degree and teaching
qualifications. He then returned to Surrey and did indeed marry
Peter's first appointment was to
It was then, at a chance meeting with
his 'old' English master, that Harold
Beeken suggested that Peter might consider applying for a vacant mathematics
position at FGS. Peter did, and he was appointed by George Baxter, to teach
Mathematics and help with games. It is interesting to note that Donald
Nicholson, also an old boy, was already on the staff of FGS. So in 1956, Peter
and family returned to Farnham and moved to
On a personal note, I will always
remember Peter and Pearls' kindness and welcome to Farnham when I joined the
staff of the Grammar School in 1964. This was indeed a great help and support
for a young master settling in.
In the classroom Peter was a very
effective and successful teacher, whether teaching Pythagoras to form two - or
Calculus in the 6th form. Outside the classroom, on the games field, he soon
became master in charge of the 1st XI soccer team that had much success over
the years. He also played cricket for Farnham in the Park for many seasons. At
school many enjoyable Thursday evenings were spent playing cricket for the Masters'
XI. The opening batting partnership of Larby and Foster was formidable indeed.
When he stopped playing cricket, it was
onto golf, bowls and then sketching and painting. However when he wasn't
standing in front of a blackboard or on the games field he was never happier
than in his garden – potting up, planting, weeding and mowing the lawn. Much
time was spent in his beloved greenhouse.
Peter preferred and enjoyed teaching
the whole age range from the first to the sixth form. So in 1973, not long
after FGS became a 6th
Peter was a man of many
talents and interests. He led a very full and rewarding life. Kind and
generous, he was a quiet gentleman. He will be remembered with genuine
affection by us all.
(This is the tribute that
was delivered at the
funeral on 2nd October 2008 by Peter’s
friend
and fellow staff member Hugh Batchelor)
Posted 24 October, 2008
________________________
Charles W Rees
CBE, FRS
One
of our most eminent old boys died on 21 September 2006.
Charles
W Rees (1939 – 1944) was born in
Charles was the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Tilden
Lecturer in 1974 and Pedler Lecturer in 1984 and received the (first) RSC Award
in Heterocyclic Chemistry in 1980 and the International Award in Heterocyclic
Chemistry in 1995. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974. He was
awarded an Honorary DSc by the
Charles
served the chemical community in many ways: he was the President of the Royal
Society of Chemistry from July 1992 for two years. He served on its Council and
many Boards and Committees at various times; he was Chairman of the Publication
and Information Board for four years. He was President of the Perkin (Organic)
Division of the RSC, and President of the Chemistry Section of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition, he co-edited three
major reference works: Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry I & II, and
Comprehensive Organic Functional Group Transformations.
(adapted with permission from a tribute to Prof Rees
published in Arkivoc.)
Tributes
________________________
Gordon Webberley
Gordon Webberley died on the
27th May 2006 after a year-long illness. He started at FGS in September 1941,
as a member of Morley House of which he eventually became House Captain. Gordon
took his General School Certificate in 1946 (with distinctions in English and
Mathematics) and his Higher School Certificate in 1948 (Physics, Chemistry,
Applied & Pure Mathematics) which was the same year he became School
Captain. During his time at school he participated in swimming, athletics,
boxing and rifle shooting and was the first holder of the Waverley Cup for .303
rifle shooting. A member of the school choir and orchestra, he also became
Vice-Chairman of the Debating Society and the Vice-Editor of the school
magazine. He won various reading prizes and the George Sturt Prize.
He was a keen
member of the Combined Cadet Force and became a Lance Corporal, then Sergeant
and finally CSM. He fully entered into practically all aspects of life at
He was an active
member of the 3rd Farnham Scouts, going on camps most years, including the
Jamboree in
Gordon joined
the Royal Artillery for his National Service where he was selected for Mons
OCTU and passed out as a Second Lieutenant. He saw service in
On completion of
2 years National Service he took and passed the H.M. Customs and Excise Officer
Grade exam in May 1951. His work took him to various parts of the
Throughout his working life, Gordon was an enthusiastic and talented
potter having started at Farnham School of Art in 1961. He exhibited regularly
at Farnham Art Society and was a committee member until 1984, in the last 7
years serving as Vice-Chairman. At this time his work took him
Brian Webberley
25 July, 2006
________________________
Squadron Leader Alan Fordham
Alan Fordham died on 12th October, 2005
aged 80 years. He came to FGS in 1962, initially to teach French and command
the CCF with the rank of Major. Later, he was appointed Dean of the Sixth Form.
When FGS gave way to
Alan was born on 24th March
1925. He joined the RAF from the Oxford University Air Squadron in 1943. He
trained in
Here he taught Modern Languages, commanded the
Combined Cadet Force, and in 1968 became Dean of the Sixth Form. He became the
first of the senior tutors appointed to this position when
Posted, 02
November, 2005
There are also
reminiscences of Alan Fordham published on the Members’ News page of the
Web-Members'
Section.
GEORGE BAXTER MBE
Click
here
to go to the special page celebrating the life of George Baxter.
SQUADRON LEADER
Sidney
Wiltshire (1921 to 1926) was one of the school’s most distinguished old boys,
though there can be few of his contemporaries still alive to recall him. The
Daily Telegraph has given permission for our website to reproduce the
following obituary that was printed on 30th September, 2003:
Squadron
Leader
On
October 21 1929 Pilot Officer Wiltshire was flying an aircraft under
instruction with the No 2 Flying Training School in
After
extricating himself from the machine, Wiltshire found that his instructor,
Flying Officer H E Power, was trapped by his foot in the wreckage.
Although
under no illusions about the risk he ran, Wiltshire went back into the flames
to drag his companion clear, but was badly burnt on his face and neck.
Both
officers were flown to
The
citation declared: “Power would undoubtedly have lost his life but for the
prompt and courageous action taken by his pupil.” Wiltshire was invested with
the Empire Gallantry Medal by King George V at
Fourteen
years later, he was re-invested with the George Cross by the Governor-General
of New Zealand, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Cyril Newall, at Government
House,
One of
eight children born to the founder of a company which supplied bicycles, and
later repaired motors, at Farnham,
Then,
at the age of 20, he followed the example of his two elder brothers and joined
the Royal Air Force on a short service commission. Four months later Pilot
Officer Wiltshire won the Empire Gallantry Medal. In December 1930 Wiltshire
was promoted Flying Officer and served with No 4, Army Co-Operation Squadron at
Farnborough. On completion of his service, he transferred to the RAF Reserve of
Officers.
It was
difficult to obtain employment in
In
September 1938, Wiltshire went to
He was
appointed to a temporary commission in the Royal New Zealand Air Force with the
rank of Flight Lieutenant, and posted to the Air Observers’ School at Ohakeal;
his brother Bill joined the RAAF while brother Norman, who remained at home,
was in the RAF.
In
January 1941, Wiltshire was posted to No 2 Squadron, based at Nelson. He then
moved to Wigram as Officer Commanding Signals Flight and the following year he
was promoted to Squadron Leader.
He
attended a course of the
In
September, he moved to Delta Station, near Blenheim, as
Wiltshire
was now aged 34, and had logged some 5,300 flying hours. Realising that there
was little prospect of employment matching his experience, he approached the
RAF, and was offered duties with Transport Command, provided that he reverted
to his reserve rank of Flying Officer and left New Zealand.
He
served with the RAF until December 1945, when he returned to
In
1960 and 1972, he attended the reunions of the Victoria and George Cross
association, on the first occasion as the sole living holder of the GC in
A
tall, good-looking man with a quiet sense of humour, he spent the last years of
his life in Hunterville, on the
Wiltshire
married, in 1940, Mrs Gretchen Guy (nee von Dadelszen), who predeceased him.
Posted 12
October, 2003
8 February, 2003
Dudley Backhurst (1943 –
1951), who died 27th January 2003, was born on 2nd December, 1932, in
In 1958 he married Sylvia. This was a very happy marriage of 44 years,
and they never threw anything at one another!
They had two children, - Merilyn and Graham, who now live in Sydney and
Nursling respectively. The arrival of
John and Merilyn from
Since retirement,
Towards the end of his life,
Tribute delivered
by Rev Sally Kerson at Dudley’s funeral on 6th February, 2003 in
20 December, 2001
Roger Downham (1955 - 1962)
died earlier this year from complications that developed following a road
accident.
Roger was born and raised in Farnham and lived his childhood in
His career was marked by professional success. He left school to study
Civil Engineering at
After his studies, Roger joined IDC Construction, rising to be Managing
Director and a director of the main board. He had responsibility for many major
projects, including the construction in 1980 of the prestigious Cambridge
University Press ‘
After a spell
of three years working for IDC in
Roger leaves
his partner, Sue Main, and 14 year-old son Alexander.
7th September, 2001
Geoff
Crawte died on 6th February 2001 after a short illness, aged 56.
Geoff was born in Farnham and lived his childhood at the family home in Alfred
Road, very close to the school. He went to
From school, he joined the National Westminster Bank and two years
later moved to the Electricity Board, where he worked for the rest of his
career, rising to be a Quality Analyst in Portsmouth.
When Geoff was taken ill in 1994, he was told that his condition was
serious and required an operation. He underwent major surgery and a long period
of recuperation. Following this experience, Geoff retired to Honiton in
Geoff's work has recently been recognised by the East Devon Special
Needs Action Group, where Geoff worked with many youngsters. The Geoff Crawte
Friendship Award has been established to recognise the contribution of those
who carry out similar work helping others.
Geoff married Carol in 1965 and they had two sons and a daughter.
29th August, 2001
JACK GWILLIM, who has died aged 91, was a character
actor who appeared in the
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Gwillim was a serving
officer in Hong Kong and
After testing for a wireless announcer's job, a BBC producer who
recalled his amateur acting in the Navy suggested he became a professional
actor. Gwillim took his advice and spent two years at the
Apart from various minor roles, Gwillim played Macduff to Ralph
Richardson's Macbeth as directed by Gielgud. He then toured with the company to
Australia, before returning to the West End in Peter Brook's production of
Fry's The Dark Is Light Enough (Aldwych, 1954).
In 1955 Gwillim joined the Old Vic Company when it was led by Paul
Rogers, John Neville and Richard Burton. His roles included Casca in Julius
Caesar, Banquo in Macbeth, Kent in King Lear, the Duke of Exeter in Henry V,
Brabantio in Othello, Hector in Troilus and Cressida, Friar Laurence in Romeo
and Juliet, Claudius in Hamlet, and the Duke of Buckingham in Henry VIII -
which completed Michael Benthall's five-year plan to stage all Shakespeare's
plays.
The critic Kenneth Tynan praised Gwillim's portrayal of Claudius as
"an iron-headed general at the awkward age - slightly ashamed of having
fallen in love - an original conception, of which Coral Browne's maternally
voluptuous queen makes splendid sense". Tynan described both John Neville,
who played Hamlet, and Gwillim as being like Donne's "grim eight-foot-high
iron-bound serving man" and "robber barons of childhood nightmares
come dragonishly to life."
Back in the West End, Gwillim appeared in The Right Honourable
Gentleman (Her Majesty's, 1964); Shaw's You Never Can Tell, with Ralph Richardson
as William the Waiter (Haymarket, 1966); Maugham's The Sacred Flame (Duke of
York's); and as Antonio in The Merchant of Venice (Haymarket, both 1967) with
Richardson in the role of Shylock.
Among Gwillim's American stage appearances were in A Man For All
Seasons (1965-66); Maugham's The Constant Wife (1975); as Col. Pickering in Rex
Harrison's revival of My Fair Lady (1981); O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and in
Rattigan's Cause Celebre. His last Broadway performance was in 1988, as
Among Gwillim's screen credits were as Brigadier
Of more than 50 film and television credits, among Gwillim's most
recent were Discoverers (1993); Reason for Living: The Jill
Jack Gwillim married firstly, in 1943, Peggy Bollard. She died in
1958. They had a son and a daughter. He married secondly, in 1969, Olivia
Selby, who survives him. They had a son.
Reprinted, with permission,
from the Daily Telegraph, 29th August, 2001
PAUL
FRENCH
Saturday, 23 June, 2001
One of the unsung influential figures in the
recent history of Farnham died peacefully on June 5.
Paul Wilfred French (70) was the first principal of
Paul French arrived with an impressive track record. A
He was brought up in Haslemere
and attended
Superimposed on the endeavours
was the creation of an open access
With a great deal of hard work
and determination Paul French oversaw successfully the creation of the new
institution.
His computing skills ensured
that the college enjoyed a computerised administrative system that was in the
forefront of what was possible in the 1970s.
Above all Paul French was a man
of educational vision. He saw clearly
the excitement of the challenge of the new Sixth Form.
He understood the importance of
inner motivation of the student. Whilst
in no way under-estimating the importance of examination success and paper
qualifications he realised that education was much more than these.
He was concerned about
unexaminable factors - maturity of judgement, sense of humour, self control, a
sense of values, purpose and integrity.
With these in mind he felt the tutor-student relationship to be of great
significance.
His door was always open to
staff and students. He was at his most
relaxed in philosophical discussion, which he enjoyed greatly.
He was determined not to be
solely an administrator and taught mathematics and general studies throughout
his time at the college. He always
encouraged people to think about what they were doing.
In the 1980 he set up termly
meetings with staff and governors to discuss various aspects of the college's
life and philosophy.
By the late 1980s it was clear
that under the local management of schools, the compulsory devolution of most
financial management away from LEA to staff and governing bodies did not appeal
to Paul French and he chose to retire - a little early - at Easter 1990.
He left behind a flourishing
college which had laid to rest the fears of the early 1970s about the benefits
of re-organisation.
His successors were able to
build on the firm foundations which they had inherited.
In his retirement Paul French,
essentially a private man, continued to make music, play tennis and to teach
mathematics - his real love. In recent
years he was dogged by ill health.
He leaves his wife Dorothy, his
four children, Sally, Rachel, Helen and James, and 12 grandchildren.
A thanksgiving service will be held on Sunday 24 June at 3pm in St
Andrew's
(taken from the Farnham Herald, Friday,
22 June, 2001)
Personal Tribute to Paul French by Ian Sargeant
I didn't really know Paul during his
professional life, but I came to know him quite well when we returned to live
in Farnham in 1992. He was our church organist at
Paul was a slightly reserved and
very thoughtful man, with great compassion. It was self-evident that he was
very clever, but I know from our conversations that he also had a great
capacity to explain complex ideas with simple clarity - the stamp of a born
teacher. He had a good sense of humour and was generous by nature.
Paul will be greatly missed by
members of the OFA, people in
Ian
Sargeant
27 April, 2001
Norman
Patrick, who died on 20 April 2001 in
After the
war,
Based on an article in the Farnham Herald
January,
2001
Leslie Lord, who left the School in 1925, passed away
in January 2001 at the age of 92, having lived in Farnham for all of his life.
Leslie was born in 1903 and claimed the distinction of being the only person
born in the council offices in
He first went to school at St.Polycarp's in
He first worked for Swain & Jones for a short time
and then moved to Mardon & Ball and then to Tarrants, who were both local
building companies. During the second World War he was sent to East Africa to
form batteries of African troops, then he took a commission and moved to
Les never married, but took part in many local
activities. He played cricket for the Nelson Arms and in younger days played
snooker at the Farnham Institute. He was a long-time member of the Conservative
Club and was twice elected captain of Farnham Brightwells Bowling Club.
In his obituary in the 'Farnham
Herald' it stated that Leslie Lord had a great sense of fun, and will be
remembered for his kindness, courtesy and good humour and his talent for
friendship.
For
many years DUDLEY BACKHURST regularly
visited the
Redvers
Godsland was born in Middlesex in October 1901, but lived with an aunt in
Later
on in his school life he became a boarder and even stayed at the school by
himself during the half-term holidays. He was be-friended by Dr. Brown and his
family and at
He
married in 1932 and he and his wife ran a newsagents at
I persuaded him to attend the
GROUP CAPTAIN CEDRIC MASTERMAN
OBE DFC
17th May, 2000
The
death of this Old Boy was reported in the 'Daily Telegraph' on 17th May 2000
and it told the story of an extremely brave man. He played a part in the
ill-fated Norwegian Campaign of 1940 when he was sent to
Afterwards
he re-joined his squadron, then moved on to flying Hurricanes and in October
1941 took command of No.72 Squadron flying Spitfires in the celebrated Biggin
Hill Wing. He lead his fighters over France with great success and in 1942
became Biggin Hill's Wing Commander before moving to Malta, where he doubled as
No 2 on the fighter staff and ADC to Lord Gort VC, the island's Governor. With
the situation worsening he returned to flying and in two weeks his squadron
shot down 16 enemy aircraft, he increased his own total to 6 and led his men
shooting up aircraft on the ground , damaging enemy shipping, attacking trains,
petrol dumps and road columns. For this bravery he received his immediate DFC
(Distinguished Flying Cross).
Having
rested for much of 1943 as Wing Commander Training in
Cedric
returned home in May 1945 and after a spell at Transport Command he went to
Commonwealth Air Forces HQ at Iwakuni,
Cedric Audley Masterman was born
on September 25th 1914 and he boarded at the Grammar School from 1925 until
1928 and was a member of School House. Results show that he was a good athlete
and in 1928 he was Class 5 Boxing Champion and a member of the successful
School House Rifle Shooting Team. He went to
Mike Foster, who was an English master at
Mike (or
'Mac' as he was often known to his pupils) was born at Kirton in
During his
early years at the Grammar School he began the modern school library and, with
limited funds, he visited Foyles in
Mike
successfully combined with Alan Fluck to present music and poetry evenings and
also produced 'The Browning Version' at the Church House in Farnham, with most
of the furniture for the set coming from the Foster household. In 1960, he
combined with Alan Fluck to write and produce 'The Coolibah Tree', with the
lead taken by a renowned pupil, Terry Hughes, who later produced 'The Two
Ronnies' for BBC and 'The Golden Girls' for American audiences. For many years
Mike edited 'The Farnhamian' magazine at the school.
During
retirement Mike took a correspondence course in journalism and began to write
many articles, including holiday experiences that he and his wife Ann shared as
they travelled the world in their camper van. He became interested in
'benchends' and 'misericords', in fact in any wood carvings in churches and
cathedrals, and had several articles published in magazines. For a time he was
'Jim Clifford' who added humorous comment to the Frank Scribe page in the local
'Surrey and Hants News', and he had humorous short verses included in 'The
Sunday Times' for several years.
Over the
years Mike Foster played both football and cricket locally, the latter for
Farnham C.C. and several other local teams. He lived with Ann for over forty
seven years close to
To download a file of
Obituaries printed in The Farnhamian 2002 Edition, click here