Rhubarb 2019

44 ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

Ian Buckle was born in Worthing on 6th September 1930 and moved very early in life to Oxford, where he was to live for the rest of his life. Between 1942 and 1948, he attended St Edward’s School and often spoke of walking on his hands around the school quadrangle. After leaving St Edward’s, he completed two years’ National Service in the RAF and returned to Oxford to join the John Crapper Driving School, where he qualified as a driving instructor. Here, he found a vocation and learnt skills that took him into a long-term career in teaching road safety. In 1955, he married Sonia Dalziel and it wasn’t long before Allison, Charles, Karen, Julie and Andrew were born. By 1956, Ian established his own driving school, calling it the East Oxford School of Motoring. In 1962, Ian was appointed the first County Road Safety Officer for Oxfordshire, responsible for organising safety training for children from pre-school, through Infant, to Junior School age groups. He trained pupils and instructors for National Cycling Proficiency Tests and arranged area cycle competitions. Even the family golden retriever was called ‘RoSPA’ (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). Ian trained RoSPA to do the Green Cross Code with him, to help teach children how to cross the road safely.

Japanese forces he had served. ‘Kamikaze,’ came the reply. Burn had discovered a gift for teaching while in the Far East, where he was expected to instruct his men during lulls in fighting. He ditched the materials sent by the Army Educational Corps and instead taught the glories of Greek and Roman history and their relevance to democracy. Many of Burn’s law students rose to high judicial office and he could often be found debating the law with senior judges. He considered Lord Denning to have been the greatest English judge since Lord Mansfield in the 18th century but did not go along with all of Denning’s experiments. He was once heard on the phone telling off a judge, thought to be Denning, for messing around with a key legal doctrine. On putting down the receiver he launched into a tutorial, ensuring that his students got that doctrine right. Although a man of strong convictions, Burn never disliked anyone because their views differed. He encouraged the future journalist Anthony Howard to stand for president of the Oxford Union, telling him that getting a second would not matter, but that having been president would. He also bet Laboursupporting Howard sixpence that by the time he was 40 Howard would be a Tory MP. He remained a socialist and Burn later sent him a 6d piece that Howard had framed. As an academic lawyer, Burn wrote three notable books on land law and trusts. He contributed to many more, including later editions of Geoffrey Cheshire’s Modern Law of Real Property. ‘Cheshire and Burn’, as it is known, is one of the great common law texts of modern times. Approaching 90 years old, Burn helped his colleague John Cartwright to prepare a recent edition.

Ian also had a passion for film and theatre and, in 1967, he started his own film projection company, calling it Sonia Film Services. As a film projectionist, Ian travelled around schools, village halls, social clubs and children’s parties predominantly showing children’s cartoons and occasional Saturday matinees. From 1975-1990 he further indulged his passion as the projectionist at Chipping Norton Theatre, raising funds through showing movies, thereby paving the way for the success of the live theatre. By 1975, his marriage to Sonia had sadly ended, but he soon met Marie Sokolowski and they settled down happily together for the remainder of his life. Ian’s life was characterised by fun and playing up for those around him. He was a much- loved father and his silly sense grandchildren. He would spend hours allowing grandchildren to climb all over him and often tried to prove that he could still walk on his hands. Throughout his life Ian had a great affinity with the young: he loved the energy of young people and had that rare gift of being able to relate to them on their own terms, enjoying the spontaneous, the magical, the sheer comedy of life, which often surpassed even the comedy of the films he loved so much. Perhaps it was this gift and his ever-growing legacy of grandchildren and great- grandchildren all over the world, together with his kindness and giving nature that kept him young in outlook. Ian died in Oxford, Sunday 7th October 2018. May he rest in peace. of humour persisted with his grandchildren and great- BUDGETT – On 22 October 2018, Robert Mortimer Budgett (G, 1944-1948) aged 87 years. Brother of John (G, 1942-1946).

Farmer in Natal 1948-52. New Zealand 1952. Caravan manufacturer and property developer. Dearly loved husband of Alison for 55 years. Much-loved father and father-in-law of Chris, David, Fiona and Stephanie. Adored grandpa of Nick, Laura, Jonno, Rachel and Cassie. BURN – On 6th February 2019, Edward Hector (Teddy) Burn (G, 1935–1941). Governor of St Edward’s School 1964- 1995.This is taken from an obituary which appeared in The Times : The hour of nine o’clock on Saturday morning may not exist in the body clocks of many undergraduates, but more than 100 would regularly turn up at that time at Christ Church, Oxford, to hear lectures on Roman law or land law by Teddy Burn. The conversation would continue over coffee with Burn taking a keen interest in his students’ thoughts. Burn spoke rarely of his war advancing into Normandy with two fellow officers when their Jeep was strafed by one of the few German aircraft left in the area and they leapt for cover. Afterwards Burn called out to his comrades only to discover that they had perished. Back in Oxford he was once asked why he rode his old sit-upand-beg bicycle without head protection. ‘I did not wear a helmet on Sword Beach,’ he replied, ‘so why should I wear one on Woodstock Road?’ Burn would occasionally also recall how, while serving as a major with the 26th Indian Infantry Division he had to cross Sumatra on-a mission. Because no Allied pilot was available, he took as his pilot a Japanese PoW. At the end of a flight peppered with amiable conversation, Burn thanked the man and asked him where in the record. If pushed, he would recall the time he had been

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Ian Buckle