Old Blue News March 2004
There have been developments in the case of Jeremiah (Jerry) Duggan (Th A 92–99) who died in disturbing circumstances in Germany in March 2003. At an inquest in November the North London coroner explicitly rejected a verdict of suicide, the explanation favoured by the German authorities. Instead he gave an unusual “narrative verdict” – literally a description of the events leading to the death – noting that Jerry was “in a state of terror” beforehand.
Jerry had been attending a conference at the Schiller Institute in Wiesbaden, unaware that it was part of an extreme right-wing organisation, said to have a history of intimidation and terror tactics. Having discovered the group’s true nature and rung his girlfriend and mother in great alarm, he died after colliding with a series of cars while running along an outlying road. The Schiller Institute has ascribed his death to “psychological problems” but he had no history of psychiatric illness and had given no indication that he intended to harm himself.
More has emerged about the failings of the German police investigation. No official signed statements were taken from witnesses, and the less formal notes that were taken were inadequate and contradictory. No autopsy was carried out, and the expert reports on the road accident were inconsistent, not corresponding to the marks found on Jerry’s body.
The story was well told on BBC2’s Newsnight on 11 February which talked to members of his circle in Paris (where he was doing two degrees, at the Sorbonne and the British Institute) and showed his mother meeting the German ambassador as part of the campaign for his death to be re-investigated. Two weeks later his parents led a delegation from the Jewish community and human rights organisations to a Foreign Office meeting in the same cause. Donations and offers of help can be made to PO Box 159, Harrow HA1 2ZL or by email.
Ballieston Distribution Centre, located east of central Glasgow, was acquired by CH in December for £8.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.9 per cent. The centre has more than 175,000 square feet of good quality industrial and distribution space, with twenty-five tenants producing just over £700,000 per annum. According to the Scottish press it is the Foundation’s first acquisition in Scotland.
CH reportedly emerged with great credit from The Truth About Boarding School, a documentary on five (formerly Channel 5) in December.
On 30 October the front page of The Independent’s education section showed a group of CH boys. “This school educates one in five of its pupils for free. But how many other fee-paying schools do enough to justify their charitable status?” Another large picture inside depicted Maine B on parade and accompanied a glowing write-up: “Even to the sternest critic, Christ’s Hospital school would pass any test of public benefit with flying colours.” The Clerk observed that he knew of no other school in a position to support families to the extent that CH does and the school was further commended for running art, music and drama programmes with the local community, making its facilities available to local state schools and its sports centre to the disabled. “Pupils help out in local hospices and old people’s homes and run infant classes.”
Mark Duley (Staff 89–91) resigned last year after eleven years’ service as organist and director of music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Under his leadership the choir progressed by leaps and bounds, broadcasting regularly on both BBC and RTÉ and recording for the biggest English sacred music recording company, Priory Records. “This is all due to Mark Duley’s very focussed and disciplined approach to choral training, and his ability to work towards seemingly unattainable goals and take them successfully in his stride.” He remains Chorus Master of the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir and Artistic Director of Irish Baroque Orchestra which he co-founded in 1996.
Above The Clouds Recordings made an impact in the British hip-hop arena last year with the twelve-inch “Keep On” b/w “Can’t Live Like This” with featured artists Bone Idols, Aphletik and TY. The men behind the label are Matt Tarr (LHB/Th B/Th A 87–94) and Chris Williams who used to work together at Tower Records. Matt, who apparently runs dancefloors all over London, describes their approach: “A lot of people work by saying “We want a track, here is the money and get it to us in five weeks.” We want to be involved in the process, listen to the beat as it evolves, being able to be part of the creative process, almost like executive producers.”
In May Tim Warren (LHA 83–90) will be one of the speakers at the Broadband World Forum in Seoul, South Korea. Tim was the lead engineer on the world’s first commercial deployment of video on demand (VOD), is now Chief Technical Officer of Entone Technologies and has more than twelve years of professional experience in distributing computer systems and VOD architecture design and development.
The Boston Tea Party jazz quintet takes its name from Jonny Boston (La A 82–89) who co-founded it in the early Nineties (he was Yorkshire TV’s Young Jazz Player of the Year in 1993). It quickly won acclaim – the eminent jazzman Chris Barber, who himself has family connections with CH, invited it to record with him – but temporarily disbanded in 1994 due to individual offers from other bands. Jonny joined Britain’s premier jump jive band King Pleasure & The Biscuit Boys with whom he toured extensively, including the USA. In 1996 he became a regular member of Phil Mason’s New Orleans All Stars and in 1999 got involved with the long established Ginger Pig, touring Europe and such far-flung places as Bermuda. He also has a high reputation as a soloist. Boston Tea Party re-formed in 1998 and has since been going strong, performing at numerous festivals and regularly at London’s 100 Club.
After university Isobel Raymond (Ba A 84–91) left England for Africa and became a highly qualified field guide. She took on the task of training all guides for a leading Africa-based conservation company and also developed and ran an adventure wilderness organization before joining with two other naturalists to found Twinspot Travel, which offers personally guided safaris in some of Africa’s most dramatic wildlife areas.
The Channel 4 series A Place in France: An Indian Summer involved divorcé Nigel Farrell (Mid A 62–70) trying to make a new life for himself by opening an Indian restaurant in the Ardèche.
On Channel 4 in October the polemical comedian Mark Thomas (Pe B 74–81) staged Mark Thomas, Debt Collector, a series of stunts highlighting Iraq’s $383 billion debt to foreign banks and businesses that assisted Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Showbiz journalist Ben Todd (Mid B/Mid A 84–91) was on BBC2 and BBC News 24 on 15 November discussing Kylie Minogue’s change of image and her criticism of “pornographic” pop videos.
The founder and CEO of Activate UK, Britain’s leading provider of sustainable community activity programmes covering such activities as sport, music, dance and drama, is Thomas Godfrey (Mid B 77–83). Before setting up shop six years ago he worked in sports marketing throughout the United States, Asia and Europe.
A specialist in arbitration and litigation relating to insurance and reinsurance, Michael Walkington (Pe A 78–84) has been with the law firm Richards Butler since 1992 and became a partner two years ago. In recent times he has been involved mainly in disputes relating to personal accident and workers’ compensation reinsurance, plus a variety of disputes including Lloyd’s Names litigation and Lloyd’s disciplinary proceedings.
On the London club scene Simon Nash (Pe A 88–95) is the promoter of StyleFree and StyleFree Live and assists Jumpstart with its events at the disused Aldwych Tube station. He has DJ’d regularly for Jumpstart and Definitive Sound in the past but now presides mainly at StyleFree gigs and one-off parties, “mostly playing big breaks, electro and house tunes in his own unique chuck-it-in style.” StyleFree has a monthly residency at Fluid in Charterhouse Street and is due to celebrate its first birthday there on 27 March.
Dr Tom C Arnot (Mid A 78–85) teaches in the Chemical Engineering Department at Bath University. A past chairman of the Biotechnology Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, he is one of the editors of the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology and has now become the Inaugural Chair of the UK Admissions Tutors’ Network for the UK and Ireland.
CHAOS, a community company based at the CH theatre, went up to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Jeffrey Mayhew (Staff 97– ) directed and played the lead in Cyril’s Little Moments of Weakness and Strength by Julian Garner (Th A 67–75). The Scotsman enjoyed it: “a gently ebbing, painfully true, finely wrought slice of domestic observation.”
Baked Beans and Battenburg, a play by Laura McFall (Hertford/Ba B 84–91), was staged at the Putney Arts Theatre in December.
The Rev Veronica Hydon (1’s 63–70) has been appointed Associate Vicar of Timperley in the diocese of Chester.
Four years ago Will Potter (La A 76–83) set up the Bristol-based Will Potter Partnership, providing architects and clients with expert assistance on heating, lighting and air conditioning, with a special concern for sustainability and low energy solutions.
Loughborough University’s Water, Engineering and Development Centre assists the planning and management of physical infrastructure projects in poorer countries. Samuel Godfrey (Ma A 86–93) is one of its assistant programme managers, working on groundwater development, water quality monitoring and risk assessment and risk management. Also at Loughborough is Rupert Gammon (Col A 76–82), studying for a PhD in the integration of hydrogen energy storage with renewable-energy technologies.
Bridget Dray (7’s/Col B 84–91) is Assistant Secretary/librarian of the chamber choir Collegium Musicum of London.
Clare Rhodes-James (1’s 80–84) is working in Brighton with the power generation industry consultants Mott MacDonald.
Eloise Carpenter (Col A 87–94) is a senior library assistant at the University of London’s Institute of Education.
Former Senior Grecian Sandra Bamfo (Ba A B/Gr W 95–02) is in her second year reading Law at Reading University.
Rose Arnold (née Young, 8’s 57–64) of the British School of Alexandria has been reviewing poetry in the journal Literature and Theology.
In her leisure hours geologist Caiti Steele (5’s/8’s/Col B 80–87) is a stalwart of the Solent Softball League and was in the team that won the B grade Nationals last year. The League chairman applauds her: “Another coach’s dream. Her enthusiasm and willingness to learn is a lesson to us all.”
At Battersea Wanderers Hockey Club Sophie Gimber (LHB 89–95) is captain of the Ladies’ XI, which finished fourth in the Surrey Ladies Premier league in 2003.
On 19 September in The Guardian the dramatist Sir David Hare mused upon the Sussex County Cricket Club, “always hobbled by the class war.” “The England fast bowler John Snow (Th B 51–59), who though the son of a vicar was still regarded as servant class by the committee, records in his autobiography [Cricket Rebel, Hamlyn 1976] that he was once asked to sell ice cream while he was waiting to bat… At one level there is something battily wonderful about this attitude – but it is also quite appalling… On one legendary occasion it was reported – to the pleasure of every right-thinking Sussex supporter – that Snow actually picked up one of the Old Etonian skippers and threw him against the dressing-room wall.”
The Telegraph spotted Lt-Gen Sir Michael Gray (Ma A B 42–50) at a service of thanksgiving for the life of Maj-Gen G G Gilbert in Heytesbury, Wilts, in November.
A poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (CH 1782–91, Senior Grecian) on a piece of seaweed 187 years ago was expected to fetch £6,000 at auction in London in January. The poet composed “Fancy in the Clouds, A Marine Sonnet” on holiday in Littlehampton, Sussex, in 1817.
In its “Past Letters to the Editor” column on 22 January, The Times republished two missives from 1925 about a “pleasant controversy” – seemingly over the teaching of grammar through Latin and Greek – between Sir William Hamilton Fyfe (Headmaster 19–30) and the Tory politician Austen Chamberlain. (One of the correspondents was A C Benson, whose diaries became the basis of an award-winning book by Dr David Newsome (Headmaster 70–79).)
What an outrage! Our very own onion-pickling legend Peter Wildey (Ma A B 53–59) was defeated by a single point in December at the annual pickled onion competition at the King’s Head, Battle, East Sussex. The competition originated fourteen years ago when Wildey and the landlord had a wager as to who pickled the best onions; the winner receives the Wildey-Brown trophy, which Wildey won last year for the third time.
CONGRATULATIONS
Hugh Clarke (Th A 81–88) married Grete Aalgaard on 26th July 2003 in Stavanger, Norway.
Anthony Fyson (Mid B 54–62) was appointed MBE in the New Year Honours for services to town planning and urban environmental education.
O D Morton (OB, recent years) passed out of Sandhurst in December and was granted a commission in the Royal Tank Regiment.
Peter Padfield (Th A 41–48) received the Mountbatten Maritime Prize at The Maritime Foundation’s Desmond Wettern Maritime Awards dinner in November.
Theo Steel (Th A 58–67) has been appointed Managing Director of the railway company First Great Eastern. A career railwayman, once described as “a Terry Waite of transport”, Steel was previously the company’s Sales and Marketing Director.
D M R Taplin (La A B 50–57) has been appointed Science Foundation of Ireland Professor of Industrial Process Ecology (E T S Walton Fellow) in the Environmental Research Institute and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College, Cork. He is working on a collaborative programme with Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, in “Green Engineering in Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing” with the backing of GlaxoSmithKline.
As a footnote to our article on the physicist and radiologist Louis Harold Gray (Ma B/Ba B 18–24), his son Crispin recalls one of his father’s favourite CH stories:
The food at CH during and after the First World War was dire – so much so that the boys frequently ate bread spread with mustard rather than what was put before them – and complaints were frequent. Dining Hall was presided over by a drill sergeant (presumably Fuggles or Dexter) who would, when presented with a complaint, demand that the offending plate be brought to him. He would then cut off a tiny portion, chew it with obvious relish, and exclaim “Nothing the matter with it. Take it away and eat it you little pig” (sic).
One day a very bold soul cut a piece of yellow soap to resemble a piece of cheese and took it up to the sergeant, saying “Please, Sir, this isn’t cheese, it’s soap.” Standard procedure followed – but the vigorous chewing produced impressive quantities of bubbles before the morsel was eventually spat out.
The legend has it that the boy was not punished because he had, after all, only told the truth!