Rhubarb 2021

ST EDWARD’S

Mark Stollery (Cowell’s, 1973-1977) was drawn intoTony’s enthusiasm for things Celtic and musical. He writes: ‘Tony had a guitar, a beard and a long, lolloping gait, so it was no surprise that he loved folk music. He heard that I played the piano-accordion and included me in a small band to play for occasional school ‘ceilidhs’ where - shock!! – actual girls were present.Tony then came up with an idea to form a folk band of three or four boys to play and sing Celtic music. He had some catchy songs in the Cornish and Breton languages which we sang even though we had no idea what they meant. In 1975 we spent a week based in Fowey, attending folk events around Cornwall, and in 1976 we went to Brittany for a similar tour. The organisation was typically ‘Tony': a minibus, some tents, not much formal planning.The highlights were many and varied: learning how to do Breton dancing at a cider festival; midnight

swimming off the rocky coast; or just looking up at the stars and discussing infinity.Tony was the ideal companion and mentor for us all.’ Rob Hughes (MCR, 1978-2010) is another admirer of Tony’s capacious intellect: ‘Tony was an old-fashioned teacher and adored by students who were swept along by the fun in all he did. He had a genuine need to experience and absorb local cultures - in Israel, he was like a kid in a sweet shop: history, religion, modern-day politics, at night debating with the guides and our group in our large Bedouin tent. He used music in social situations, around campfires and in the desert. He is naturally funny and has a fine mind; a teacher who not only taught but entertained.’ So much of Tony’s time was spent on (and sometimes in) the river. Ed Lea (Kendall, 2006-2011), recalls: ‘I have so many fond memories of Tony Snell. He broke a group of us out of prep to go kayaking in Fourth Form on regular occasions; took us down the Thames, Severn,Tay and Wye on a variety of craft; and somehow persuaded my adolescent self that Cornish poetry and the harmonica were cool. As a teacher myself now, I realise that all of the times my friends and I thought we were escaping School to be on the river or camping beside it, we were learning more than we ever could in the classroom.’

FEATURE

Ed has since acquired his own canoe and named it Tony Snell and become a Geography teacher in Oxford. As Head of DofE much of Tony’s approach has been passed down to enrich the current generation.

Common Room1984 Left to right: T. Snell, F. Pargeter, P. Mallalieu, B. Sayer, N. Roberts. In front, D.Wippell and K. Jones

The Tony Snell Canoe with Ed Lea and Freddie Strickland

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