St Edward's Rhubarb Issue 5

40 ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

VERITY – On 17th October 2014, Donald Verity (C, 1938- 1942), brother of Colin Verity (C, 1940-1944). The following obituary has kindly been provided by Donald’s son Tom; A private man. An introvert. Old school. A devout Yorkshireman. Duty, reliability, discipline and understatement would have been some of Dad’s watchwords. Although he followed Medicine and had a very successful career as a GP, Dad really wished he had studied Classics and would have loved to have remained in academia. When he was 13, having had some happy years at Bradford Grammar School, he received a scholarship to St Edward’s School in Oxford. He then went on to study Medicine at Exeter College, Oxford, and from there he landed at St George’s Hospital on Hyde Park Corner where he started to ply his trade. While he was in London he played rugby for London Scottish and then aged 26 he did his National Service as a medic with the Parachute Regiment. He loved the Regiment and jumped hundreds of times from low levels for the next 15 years as part of the TA. I imagine that he had a pretty exciting life training in Greece and spending time on campaign in Suez and Palestine. Dad came back to Yorkshire aged 30 to become the senior house officer at Bradford Royal Infirmary and within four years was made registrar in General Medicine. Dad then met Mum and moved to become a GP in Tadcaster where he spent 30 years devoted to the practice and his patients. Whilst joined with the Hartley family Dad developed a love of animals and country sports especially hunting and racing. Latterly when he moved from the Dales to Boston Spa, he would walk the dog to a field on the edge of the village so he could look at some horses in a

been very wet and the gills were all full and as we started to ascend we came across a couple of lads who couldn’t find the bridge on account of not having torches and being very drunk. They were both beyond taking our advice and we observed them dramatically slip off the rocks and plunge into the icy cold torrents which sobered them up immediately. Dad thought this was hilarious and we merrily wandered up to the summit where we found about 30 people with the same idea, bracing themselves for a cold night to await the dawn of a new Millennium. As midnight came it was an amazing sight with a 360 degree view of the lowlands lit up by hundreds of firework displays. I turned round to share the experience with Dad only to see the back of him disappearing into the gloom. Dad actually had a good sense of humour although rather twisted at times. I am so pleased that he got to meet his granddaughters and they got to know Papa-Donald and I hope they remember him. WALLER – On 3rd September 2015, The Rt Revered John Stephen Waller (F, 1937-1942), brother of Richard Waller (F, 1933-1939).

field there. More recently Dad combined his passion for walking with hunting by following the fell hounds under the mastership of Morris Bell. Dad adored the Dales and through his life they were an important reference point. It was fitting that he spent 17 years at Blea Busk happily walking his dogs (which he had no control of ) and he extended his reach into the Lake District and Scotland. At the end of his first year up there he proudly told us that he had driven 2500 miles that year but reckoned he had walked further. In fact he ascended all the Wainwright peaks higher than 1000 feet, some of them many times. He especially enjoyed being able to dip in and out of the community in and around Askrigg without having the responsibility of being the local doctor. He would often call in on people in the village when he came through and he would attend church most Sundays. Towards the end of 1999, I asked him how he planned to mark Millennium Eve. He told me that he planned to walk up to the top of Scafell Pike and watch the sun come up. I thought I had better change my plans and join him as I wasn’t convinced a 75 year old should be attempting this kind of thing on his own in the dark. It had

VAUDREY – On 22nd September 2015, Thomas Henry Vaudrey (F, 1967-1972), son of late Denis Vaudrey (F, 1942-1945) and nephew of David Vaudrey (F, 1949-1953). The following obituary has been provided by Thomas’s uncle David Vaudrey; Thomas died aged 61 after a short illness of cancer of the pancreas. We knew of his illness but the suddenness of his passing came as a shock. We are relieved that he has been spared any further suffering. He was able to come to my 80th birthday party in March when he showed no sign of ill health. After leaving St Edward’s, Tom, as he was universally known, went to Southampton University where he was awarded a BSc in Economics; he had won the Economics Prize at St Edward’s two years running. In a gap year, before training and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he taught Maths at his father’s prep school, Wicken Park, near Buckingham. He then joined a firm of accountants, but when it was taken over by a larger company, he and a colleague set up their own accountancy practice in London. Later they were joined by a third partner. Although taciturn by nature, Tom was regarded by all who knew him as being solid, steady and dependable. Once you got to know him, you found a warm, friendly and good humoured character; he was always hospitable, frequently putting up visitors, especially his cousins, in his London flat. One of his pastimes was long distance walking, mainly in Kent. He, and his long- time partner, Rosie Culmer, a widow, who survives him, enjoyed regular visits abroad, mainly to the Canary Islands, Malta and the Balearics. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

V A L E T E O B I T U A R I E S

Thomas Vaudrey