Rhubarb December 2025

F or me, Malcolm Oxley provided a much-needed breath of fresh air at a time when school was a bit short on fun. He persuaded Fisher to let him put on Brecht’s The Life of Galileo for the annual school play – a radical shift – but was refused his plea for girls to take the female parts. I was in his cast. His production, featuring Peter Whitehouse’s dramatic music, was a resounding success. He fostered in me a love of the great songs from the middle of the 20th century and of musical theatre. So, it's perhaps fitting that I learnt of his passing just after having given a performance of songs from the shows which I'm sure he would have loved to listen to. M y fondest memories of him were the singing of ‘London Pride’ was incredibly moving; The Wasteland in 1992 where he sang one of his favourite songs 'Georgia on my Mind' which he also often performed with the school jazz band; then a WW2-themed evening of music and poems to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dambusters Raid. entertainment evenings he curated and performed in: a Noel Coward evening in 1991, where his

FEATURE

V ery happy memories of Malcolm, his kindness, intellect, generosity, humour, integrity.

“The Hollow Crown” 1964.

The following summer he put on The Hollow Crown – John Barton’s ‘entertainment’ about the kings and queens of England – in which the cast each had several parts.This time there were ‘real’ girls – three from the Oxford High School. It was great fun. Malcolm cut us a lot of slack but didn’t hold back when he thought we weren’t working hard enough or if we pushed our luck too far. He intercepted Nick Deane, Geoff James and me “gallantly” escorting the three girls to the bus stop in the Banbury Road on a fine summer’s evening. It wouldn’t have been so bad had Nick and I not been carrying props – a large cudgel and a sword. He was furious, but let it go at that rather than pursue some formal punishment. Malcolm was a particular inspiration to those with wider interests than the sports field. No teacher had a greater influence on me during my time at Teddies.

Malcolm Oxley and Liz Shergold,“The Boyfriend”, 1983.

Damien Kell as Richard II, 1992.

* Extracts from the postscript in Malcolm Oxley’s book, A New History of St Edward’s School, Oxford, 1863-2013 , published in 2015 to mark the School’s 150th anniversary, written by Professor Blair Worden (Cowell’s, 1958-1963),Visiting Professor of History at the University of Oxford, rsity of Oxford, and Chris Jones (Field House, 1968-1972 and Chair of Governors.)

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