St Edward's Rhubarb Issue 5

ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

25

MBE. He was soon off again to a headship in Blackpool and eventually to the headship of Fettes College here in Edinburgh. He was finally Head at the British International School in Cairo. As far as Teddies was concerned it was always, I think, his first love because he was very fond of the OSE and kept up a lively correspondence with many of the former Common Room. He always attended reunions of pupils from his time at Teddies and even the 150th anniversary. He once asked me to speak at a meeting of Probus and I seemed to keep them amused with tales of my 20 years as Honorary Consul of Iceland. I remember his kindness and gentleness and when I was ill he came to see me and vice versa. I am just sorry that his rather untimely passing deprived us of further contact. VERNON – On 20th December 2015, John Vernon, ‘JJV’, (MCR, 1955-1972), died peacefully at home aged 83 after a long illness. The following obituary has kindly been provided by his son William; My father was educated at St Peter’s School, in Seaford East Sussex, but evacuated to Devon during the Second World War. He then went on to Radley College from 1946 to 1951. He undertook National Service with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment before going up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, to read English in 1952, where he developed a specialist interest in Thomas Hardy. Both at school and university he was a keen sportsman, playing in Radley’s 1st XV rugby team, but it was rowing at which he excelled. In 1955 he made the Blue Boat and they beat Oxford by an impressive 16 lengths. He also won the Visitor’s Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1955 with the Trinity Hall IV. JJV was appointed to the English Department by Warden Fisher who, to quote the Chronicle , ‘sensibly decided to add some

throughout their marriage. She pre-deceased him in December 2014. He is survived by their two daughters, Fiona and Sandy, and son, David. Cameron Buchanan (C, 1960- 1965) MSP, a pupil of Cochrane’s has kindly provided the following memories. Cameron Cochrane, or AJCC to his pupils or even ‘Jock Coc’, was my first English teacher when I went to St Edward’s. He was an excellent teacher and we all learnt a lot from him with his very innovative ideas; he was also very active on the sports field which we found very encouraging. As I was in Field House he was our House Tutor so we tended to see more of him up in Field House Drive than would be the case for a normal master. Being Scottish I also had some affinity with him as there were very few Scots apart from Joe McPartlin and AJCC. I will never forget when he decided to enliven T S Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral by having a reading in the Chapel. Several of us didn’t find it as interesting as he wanted us to so we escaped up to the bell tower to explore and read the graffiti. Unfortunately we were caught, sent to Frank Fisher and soundly beaten for our escapade. AJCC however never held it against us and the feeling was mutual. English lessons were always instructive and original. We also went to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford as well as to the Oxford Playhouse where we enjoyed seeing the plays we were studying – this innovative way of teaching kept the interest of all of us. After he left Teddies, after nine years, he had a career which has been well documented as Head of various Outward Bound schools in the Lake District, Netherlands and other places. He also had a period back in his home town of Edinburgh working for local government during the Commonwealth Games of 1986 for which he was awarded an

Cambridge yeast to the Oxford dough’. He quickly found his way down to Godstow and was soon given responsibility for the 1st VIII coaching them to their first Henley win in the Princess Elizabeth Cup in 1958, and then managing to successfully retain the crown the following year. Back-to-back wins are still a rarity. His success as a school coach, as much as his accomplishments as an oarsman, led CUBC to invite him back to the Cam to coach University crews and he continued throughout much of the 1960s. JJV was appointed senior Editor of the Chronicle for six years from January 1958. These years covered many milestones in the School’s History; The Inspection of the CCF by Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery, the two Henley wins, the building of the new Chemistry laboratories, the unbeaten 1st and 2nd XVs in 1960 (a first for the School), the sale of Field House on the original Apsley Paddox site, the untimely death of Warden Kendall and the launch of the Centenary Development Fund Campaign as well as the Centenary celebrations themselves. In due course, JJV became Head of English and was promoted to

Contingent Commander of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) with the rank of Wing Commander (having switched from the Army section). He was ever the optimist, as his large frame just defied gravity in unpowered flight and he qualified as a glider pilot. JJV worked tirelessly and always retained a forceful enthusiasm throughout his 17 years at St Edward’s. He directed much of this energy into the teaching of English and directing numerous school productions. He also did much to build up the Library and encourage reading for pleasure. He was appointed Headmaster of Hordle House in Hampshire in 1972; a school which he was to lead very successfully for 22 years until his retirement in 1994. Throughout his life John was a regular church-goer and, at one point, considered taking up the cloth but in his retirement opted to serve his church, St Mary’s South Baddesley, as a warden and lay reader. John is survived by Liz, his wife of 56 years and to whom he was devoted, by their four children (Michael, Julia, Peter and William) and by 11 grandchildren. Michael (B, 1974-1979) Peter and (B, 1976-1981) William (B, 1978- 1983) are all proud OSE.

O B I T U A R I E S

V A L E T E

John Vernon