2011 - Merton College - University of Oxford

POSTMASTER
AND
THE MERTON RECORD
2011
Merton College
Oxford OX1 4JD
Telephone +44 (0)1865 276310
www.merton.ox.ac.uk
Edited by Matt Bowdler, Christine Taylor, Helen Kingsley and Philippa Logan
Produced by Holywell Press Ltd, Oxford
Contents
NEWS
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FROM THE WARDEN Sir Martin Taylor looks back at
his first year as Warden
JCR NEWS
MCR NEWS
MERTON SPORT Football, rowing and tennis success.
CLUBS & SOCIETIES Merton Floats and the Neave
Society report on busy years
INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUPS
THE LIBRARY
THE ARCHIVES
THE CHAPEL
THE CHOIR
THE GARDENS
SCHOOLS LIAISON & ACCESS
DEVELOPMENT
FELLOWS
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HAIL TO NEW FELLOWS
FEATURES
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VIEW FROM THE TOP Mark Fiddes gives Postmaster
his views on creative marketing and how to get ahead in
advertising
SCENES FROM A PGCE A moving and thoughtprovoking story about the education system from Gabriella
Gruder-Poni
MERTONIANS IN… LITERATURE A collection of
memories and musings from contemporary Merton authors
and poets
MERTON CITIES: PARIS Carol Pearson provides her
perspective on the City of Light
2010-11 HAITI ELECTIONS George Zachariah reports
on his work for the UN during difficult times on the
Caribbean island
FOR GOODNESS SHAKES Stuart Jeffreys tells
Postmaster about the triumphs and tribulations of starting
his own business
WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 2010 Ulrika
Andersson-Hall revisits representing her country, Sweden,
at the pinnacle of women’s rugby
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AWARDS OF THE VICTORIA CROSS Alastair Porter
reflects on Mertonian’s war-time bravery
LOST, LITTLE KNOWN & UNBUILT MERTON 8
Alan Bott takes a look at the 19th-century restoration work
of Edward Blore and William Butterfield
ROBERT GILBERT, WARDEN OF MERTON 141721 Roger Highfield examines the curious connection
between the medieval warden and a small church in the
Oxfordshire countryside
LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL An intriguing
historical item by Alan Bott, inspired by the recent
acquisition of an illustration of Churchill
BOOK REVIEWS The Battle of Britain, 1960s
mysticism and Thomas Braun
MUSIC PREVIEW The Choir of Merton College’s
inaugural CD
RECORDS
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THE WARDEN & FELLOWS 2010-11
ELECTIONS, HONOURS & APPOINTMENTS
NEW STUDENTS 2010
PUBLIC EXAMINATION RESULTS & PRIZES
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS & PRIZES
GRADUATE DEGREES, AWARDS & PRIZES
COLLEGE STAFF
PUBLICATIONS
OLD MEMBERS
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THE MERTON SOCIETY Simon Tross Youle reviews
the events of his first year as Chairman
91 MC3 All the news from alumni across the Atlantic
93 MERTON IN THE CITY Richard Weaver reports on the
2011 meeting at Pricewaterhouse Coopers
94 GOLF SOCIETY Tom Hennessy hails Merton golfing
achievements amongst the plus fours and par fours
96 NEWS OF OLD MEMBERS
134 IN MEMORIAM
152 FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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POSTMASTER | 2011
From the Warden
It is astonishing to think that my first academic year as your
Warden is almost at an end. How quickly the time has gone; much
has happened in this short time and much has been achieved.
My installation ceremony seems now a distant memory, but an
immensely happy one. It was a great platform from which to begin
looking forward to Merton’s, and to my, future.
The welcome given me has been tremendous. I am joining
Merton at a time of great importance for the College: we face the
challenge of major changes in the funding of higher education; and
we are planning for our 750th Anniversary in 2014.
The launch of our 750th Anniversary Sustaining Excellence
Campaign at Drapers’ Hall in May was truly remarkable. Attended
by some 300 Mertonians, the main speaker was Professor Martin
Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow. Lord Rees presented to us the unique
excellence of Oxbridge, against the background of the recent
significant developments in the UK higher education landscape.
In March, I was privileged to be present at the opening of the new
TS Eliot Theatre, the first major building project of the Campaign.
It was a great pleasure for me to welcome Valerie Eliot, the widow
of TS Eliot, and I am full of admiration for all the Mertonians
whose generosity made the Theatre possible. I must also thank
Richard Durden-Smith (1963): his interpretation of ‘Macavity – the
Mystery Cat’ will never be forgotten!
Another event that has had a lasting effect on me was the London
Dinner last November which, coincidentally, was held at the
Royal Society. Coincidentally because I had recently finished my
term as Vice-President of the Royal Society – an office I enjoyed
enormously. A record 140 Mertonians and their guests joined the
Rt Hon Sir Brian Leveson (1967), the new President of the Merton
Society, for dinner in the Dining Room.
My wife, Sharon, and I have indeed been struck by the welcome
and support we have received throughout the year by Mertonians in
the UK. The same can be said for Mertonians in America. I greatly
enjoyed meeting many of them in Philadelphia in the spring at the
annual MC3 Reunion and afterwards in New York at the launch
of Merton in Manhattan. I was so impressed with the energy and
organisation of the North American Mertonians and their sheer
numbers. Merton is fortunate indeed to enjoy such commitment
from its Old Members. We very much look forward to meeting
alumni from other parts of the world soon.
Both Oxford and Cambridge have received much criticism in
the press for their insistence on recruiting the best and brightest
of students. Labour MP David Lammy raised the question of what
he saw as low numbers of black students being offered places to
Oxford. Merton was singled out as having a particularly poor record
– a misconception built on the misuse of statistics. We have since
met and enjoyed a cup of coffee together. I raised my reservations
about the way the figures had been used, and he gave me some
useful insights into how Oxford is viewed from the perspective of
talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds. My response to
this point was that the College is deeply committed to accepting the
brightest students regardless of their background. This commitment
is key to the future of Merton and has been firmly reinforced by
meeting the undergraduates and graduates throughout my first year.
For me, this has to be one of the best aspects of being Warden at
Merton. I remember when I was first announced as the next Warden,
I received a huge number of messages. One in particular was from
former Warden, Rex Richards, who said: “You’ll have the time of
your life because the students are so talented.” And he was right.
The students have also impressed me with their sporting success
this year. It’s something that hadn’t been mentioned during my
interviews or when I first arrived. I am particularly pleased that
participation in rowing has more than doubled from the previous
year. I think that people who have a balanced life, between academia
and other interests, do best in life.
Another highlight of my first year has been conducting JRF
interviews. I enjoyed meeting people with such talent and energy.
You learn so much from them that is intellectually stimulating and
across a broad range of subjects. I am absolutely confident that we
have chosen the very best.
It is a time of great importance for higher education; for the future
of Merton, and the wider University; many challenges lie ahead.
However, Merton is in a robust position to deal with these demands,
for which we must thank Jessica Rawson and her predecessor John
Roberts. Their foresight and bold strategies have put us on such a
firm footing. We are looking forward to the 750th Anniversary in
2014. I look forward to engaging with the whole Merton family –
alumni, staff, Fellows, students and friends. I am keen that there
is a legacy that lives after it, not just a celebration. I am confident
that the Campaign which we have begun in order to enable that
legacy will continue to be successful, because it can do so much to
vouchsafe the ongoing excellence of the College.
I look forward to sharing Merton’s future with you all.
POSTMASTER | 2011
5
NEWS
JCR
JCR News
The JCR has been delighted by the
numerous improvements to student
facilities that have been made over the year.
A particular highlight has been the opening
of two new student kitchens, one in 21
Merton Street and the other in 1 Holywell
Street. Another is to be opened over the
summer vacation while the opening up
of an already existing kitchen to more
students has completed a very encouraging
set of developments. Furthermore, a new,
permanent international students’ storage
facility has been set aside, again on
Holywell Street. I am most grateful to the
Domestic Bursar, Douglas Bamber, for his
help and understanding on these matters.
The Common Room itself has seen the
welcome addition of a brand new coffee
machine. Many students had previously
expressed the desire to have the JCR used
more as a general meeting place, and so far
this addition has proved very popular and
successful in creating a more informal and
lively atmosphere.
JCR meetings continued to be well
attended, with Michaelmas Term featuring
debates on the proposals set forth in the
controversial Browne Review of Higher
Education. True to recent form, the
general meeting narrowly voted that it
would neither condemn nor support the
proposals set forth, including the increase
in annual tuition fees to £9,000. Views
were passionate on either side, with
many fearing that such a hike would deter
disadvantaged students from applying to
university, while others argued that the
new method of repayment was fair and
that, if sufficiently explained, the proposals
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POSTMASTER | 2011
would not have a negative impact on
access initiatives.
On the topic of access, the latest
university figures show that Merton’s JCR
has one of the highest proportions of state
school students in the university, around
66%, and this is testament to the excellent
access work that is done across the College
each and every year. From our now fulltime Access and Schools Liaison Officer,
right through the College to the JCR Access
Officer, it is clear that our hard work in this
area is really paying off. The JCR continues
to look for ways to improve this record
further, with a new Alternative Prospectus
produced and printed ahead of Open Days
during the Summer Vacation.
Foremost on the social calendar was, of
course, the Nutcracker Winter Ball, held at
the end of Michaelmas Term. Highlights
included a live performance by rock band
Electric Six in Fellows Garden, a chocolate
fountain in the JCR and an ice rink in the
Fellows Quad. Ticket sales exceeded our
highest expectations, ultimately topping the
1,000 mark as the date approached. This
resulted in the Ball securing a comfortable
profit for the JCR of over £2,000 – a
magnificent achievement for any studentrun Ball. Congratulations and sincere
thanks must go to Corinna Fehst, the Ball
Committee President, and her team for
organising and overseeing such a successful
event.
The Neave Society continued to host
fortnightly debates as well as regular
speaker events. Highlights of the year
included a visit by Father of the House and
Mertonian Sir Peter Tapsell, who shared his
knowledge of the Arab World with reference
to the spring uprisings. Lord Adonis also
featured on the year’s programme, speaking
in the new TS Eliot Theatre about his time
in government and sharing his thoughts on
current education and transport policy.
On the dramatic front, the Merton
Floats organised a number of high-quality
productions, culminating with this year’s
Garden Play, Charley’s Aunt, directed by
second-year Mertonian Finola Austin. The
four evenings were widely considered
a fantastic success, despite only one
performance being held outside due to
inclement weather. The Merton College
Music Society held a number of recitals
and concerts over the course of the year,
and its partnership with University College
Music Society, through the joint orchestra,
continues to develop.
Merton once again hosted Mertonbury
in Trinity Term, an afternoon of musical
performances ranging from solo artists to
classical bands hosted on Chestnut Lawn.
Now in its second year, the event is part of
the annual Arts Fest, intended to showcase
and introduce various activities, which this
year included Salsa Dancing. Mertonbury
has quickly developed an excellent
reputation across the University and so long
as the sun continues to shine on the event,
and the Pimms continues to flow, it looks
set to establish itself as a permanent fixture
on the JCR’s, and indeed the University’s,
social calendar.
Overall, JCR members have experienced
yet another busy and enjoyable year while
maintaining the hard-working and highachieving ethic which has characterised the
College in recent years.
Jonathan Hinder (2009)
JCR President 2010-11
MCR
NEWS
MCR News
Over the past 12 months, Merton MCR
has thrived as a hub of academic, sporting
and social excellence. In academic news,
Elizabeth Hunter was awarded the Royal
Historical Society’s Rees Davies Prize, and
Helena Gresty published Med School, My
Foot in the Door, a book encouraging and
advising on applying to medical school.
Walter C Ladwig appeared on BBC 4’s
World News Today to discuss President
Obama’s Afghan drawdown plan, and on
‘The Hub’ on the BBC World News channel
to discuss the Indian Prime Minister’s visit
to Afghanistan. Two MCR members have
been awarded Junior Research Fellowships
for the coming year. Edmund Highcock
received the Magdalen College Prize
Scholarship and Andrew Stephenson was
elected to the Laming JRF at Queen’s
College.
This year the MCR and many of our
members threw their weight into charity
fundraising. In Michaelmas, a Burns’ night
Ceilidh held jointly with St Cross and LMH
raised £360 for the Scottish Wildlife Trust,
and later that term, a month-long abstention
from alcohol by one of our social secretaries
raised £500 for the Down’s Syndrome
Association. Ben Sherlock competed in
the 2011 London Marathon, finishing in
an impressive 3 hours 24 minutes and
raising over £2,500 for Multiple Sclerosis.
Kyle Martin, a keen member of the MCR,
MCBC and coach of the Oxford Adaptive
Rowing Club (which caters for people with
physical and mental disabilities), organised
a 24-hour Ergathon, held in the Westgate
Shopping Centre and Merton gym.
Members of the MCR, JCR and Oxford
Academicals Rowing Club took part in the
gruelling event, raising over £3,000 towards
the purchase of a new adaptive scull.
The Town & Gown 10km run was the
MCR’s crowning achievement this year,
with more than 40 members taking part and
£1,141 raised for the Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign. Numerous fundraising and
training events were organised in the run-up
and, on the day, the Merton running vests
made a strong showing. Special mention
should go to Tucker Murphy and Lee Harper
(who has also been selected to represent
the GB age group squad at the ITU World
Triathlon Championships in Beijing this
THE MERTON TOWN & GOWN RUNNING TEAM LINE-UP BEFORE THE RACE
POSTMASTER | 2011
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NEWS
MCR
September), who gained 7th and 8th place
overall out of more than 3,000 runners.
In other sporting news, both the Merton
men’s and the women’s Cricket Clubs
won their related intercollegiate leagues.
MCR members who represented the first
team include: Will Brandler, Kohilan
Gananandan, Gautam Kalani, Daniel King,
Seshadri Nadathur and Ishani Khazanchi.
Impressively, more MCR members than
ever are active in the Merton Boat Club. Two
crews won blades this year: M2 in Torpids
(MCR members Chris Gray, Paul Fineran
and Felix Chow), W2 in Eights (MCR
members Anne Miles, Gen Clutton, Laura
Fraser and Christophe Snoeck) and W1
bumped up to Division 1 in Summer Eights
(MCR members Kitty Dann, Stephanie
Jones, Caitlin Goss and Katharine Pates). It
was truly an exciting year to be on the river.
In other rowing news, at a much higher
level, Kathryn Twyman represented Great
Britain at the Munich World Cup, winning
silver in the Lightweight women’s double.
Also on the water, the Blues Yachting
Team won Varsity 4:0 this year. (Out of
a team of nine, four were Mertonians:
Masahiro Kotosaka, Hendrik ColdenstrodtRonge, Alexander Bajjon and Vanessa
Johnen.) They went on to compete in the
British University Sailing Association
(BUSA) Yachting Nationals, and came
12th best team overall and the 7th best
university in the UK. As this was the best
result for Oxford yachting to date, the team
was awarded the first ever Half Blues for
Yachting for their successes.
Other Blues awarded this year went
to Victoria Ormerod, in both squash and
real tennis, Ishani Khazanchi (Blue in
Badminton), and Courtney Bishop, who
won Half Blue in the Varsity athletics
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POSTMASTER | 2011
FRESHERS’ WEEK CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION IN THE CHAPEL
1500m. In Dance, Han Huiqing competed
in the Southern Universities Dancesport
Competition (5th in Quickstep), InterVarsity Dancesport Competition (Best
Beginners Team), Varsity Dancesport (Best
Newcomer Trophy) and with her partner
Tobias Teo (Balliol College) won 1st in
all the Ballroom and Latin events (Waltz,
Quickstep, ChaCha, Jive), clinching the
Best Beginner Couple Trophy. They went
on to the Ipswich Latin Festival 2011 where
they competed outside the intercollegiate
circuit, winning 1st Solo Bronze, 1st
Couple Pre-Bronze (ChaCha, Jive) and 1st
Couple Bronze (ChaCha, Rumba).
Jake Yorke served as President and
Captain of the Oxford University Powerlifting Club this year, organising and
hosting the 2010 Great Britain Powerlifting
Federation University and College
Championships, which Oxford won. He was
also placed first in the 2010 British Drug
Free Powerlifting Association University
Championships Men’s Open 110 kg class.
As always, the MCR played an active role
in the social life of the College. We hosted
a large number of events including blacktie dinners, cocktail parties, game nights,
tastings, exchange dinners, cultural events
and garden parties. A new committee took
over leadership of the MCR at the beginning
of Trinity Term. It includes: Stephanie M
Jones (President, Wolf Rittershofer (VicePresident), Patrik Flammer (Treasurer),
Christophe Snoeck (Social Secretary),
Pauline Souleau (Social Secretary), Kitty
Dann (Welfare Representative), Amber
Hood (Welfare Representative), Claire
Higgins (Environmental Representative),
Christopher Gray (OUSU Officer), Anne
Miles (Arts and Culture Representative),
Paul Fineran (Admiral of the Fleet), and
Robert Machinek (Webmaster).
Stephanie Jones
MCR President
NEWS
SPORT | FOOTBALL
Merton Sport
MERTON-MANSFIELD FOOTBALL
The year was a momentous one for the
Merton/Mansfield 1st XI football team,
winning the Premier Division title for what
is believed to be the first time ever in the
combined colleges’ history and reaching
the semi-finals of the cup, only to lose to
the eventual champions, a Blues-dominated
Worcester.
In a league otherwise populated by
college sporting powerhouses such as
Christ Church and Wadham, the underdogs
instantly set about upturning the applecart,
clinically disposing of Teddy Hall 3-0 in the
opening game. Successes in all competitions
followed for the remainder of Michaelmas,
disrupted only by a controversial 2-0 loss to
Worcester and a 3-3 end-to-end thriller with
St Catz; the term’s highlight being a 6-0 cup
romp against Keble despite playing with ten
men for 80 minutes.
Hilary’s arrival brought with it a glut of
high-intensity games. Gaining a reputation
for their expansive, passing football,
excellent organisation and never-say-die
attitude, the Ms were involved in numerous
classic encounters; the titanic 3-3 battle
against Teddy Hall (achieved a man short
after a harsh red card for the goalkeeper),
the dramatic fight back away to Worcester to
rescue a point having been 2-0 down or the
gritty victories against St Hugh’s and Christ
Church, both won during the last throes of
the action. The pinnacle probably came in
the 2-1 quarter-final triumph over Teddy
Hall; having heroically held firm against a
sustained bombardment of long throws and
punted set-pieces, the Ms broke away late
on to snatch a winner that silenced the 50odd Hall fans on the sidelines.
Despite a 5-1 loss at the aforementioned
penultimate cup stage to old adversaries
Worcester, the Ms recovered magnificently
to clinch a draw against Christ Church
and with it the league title, sparking
wild celebrations that went on long
into the night. Captain and Mertonian
undergraduate Jeffrey Burgin, one of
three M’s representatives in the OxStu
Team of the Year, said of the achievement:
“It’s just been incredible, the fact we were
rock bottom of the lowest division just
five years ago making it even more so.
Everything about this season – the training
sessions in the pouring rain, the dressingroom banter, the team socials, the buzz you
got every match day when you pulled the
shirt on – will undoubtedly be the defining
experience of my time here and it has been
something that I, and I’m sure any of the
lads, will never forget.”
MEN’S ROWING
This past academic year, the College Boat
Club has enjoyed a very successful year
on the river. The men started Michaelmas
with a strong pool of returning rowers,
and a successful dev squad of mixed boats
was run throughout the term, the largest
and most organised squad in recent years.
Novice recruitment and retention this year
was especially successful, with Merton
fielding five men’s boats in the Christ
Church Regatta, making us the largest
boat club on the river. The regatta ran its
full programme this year, giving our new
rowers some great successes on the water
and contributed strongly to the excellent
retention of new novices into Hilary.
Hilary Term again started strongly with
near to all the new novice rowers continuing
into the senior ranks for the Torpids
campaign. The men’s club continued the
hard work of Michaelmas, with the 1st
Torpid producing impressive performances
at Bedford Head and the local Isis winter
league races; the times produced ranked
us at sixth on the river in terms of boat
speed. It was very satisfying to cause a
bit of a stir for our traditionally bigger
rowing competitors with these results. The
improvement in the pure boat speed of the
1st VIII this year can be attributed in a large
part to the involvement of Rob Jeffrey, a
former GB U-23 coach, with the club since
January.
Torpids produced a good set of results
for the club across the board. The men’s
1st Torpid, despite being the quickest crew
in the division, didn’t quite have the speed
differential to close out the bump on a quick
Keble crew in front, and held station for the
week. The 2nd Torpid were looking very
strong all term and easily completed four
bumps on each day to earn a set of welldeserved blades. In addition, for the first
time in recent years, we had a 3rd Torpid
Jeffrey Burgin (2009)
Football Captain
POSTMASTER | 2011
9
NEWS
SPORT | WOMEN’S ROWING
qualify for the bumps week finishing up
one; a real testament to the strength in depth
in Merton rowing this year.
Over Easter the club held its first training
camp outside Oxford at Walton-on-Thames
in Surrey. A fantastically useful four days
of training was had in conjunction with
Queens’ College Cambridge, and I hope the
camp at the fantastic facilities available at
Walton will become a regular feature in the
club calendar each year.
Back in Oxford after Easter, the Trinity
Term preparation for Summer Eights hit
the ground running. In a step up from
Hilary, four Merton men’s VIIIs qualified
for Eights Week itself; rewarding the focus
on improving the coaching of lower boats
this year. The 1st VIII had a tough week
chasing a very fast Brasenose crew and
trying to hold off a quick Pembroke boat
from behind, which unfortunately managed
to bump us on the Saturday. The 2nd VIII
were again very quick, finishing up two
for the week, and only being denied blades
by a couple of klaxons. The 3rd VIII also
showed their progression from the previous
term by finishing up two as well. The 4th
VIII rounded off a hugely successful week
for Merton as a whole by achieving a bump
to finish up one. Between the men and
the women, Merton led the bumps charts
for most of the week and finally finished
second on the river in the total bumps
tables, a fantastic achievement for a college
of our size.
I am certain that the coming year holds
further success for the club, and that we
can harness the involvement, enthusiasm
and success this year to create an upward
pressure to drive us on further and to greater
heights next year. I pass on the captaincy
to Josh Monahan, knowing that the club is
thriving and in good hands.
WOMEN’S ROWING
Merton’s Women’s Boat Club has had a
fantastic year, with a number of notable
successes in college competitions and
external events. We began Michaelmas
in a strong position, with a committed
development squad of 15 girls continuing
from last year, including many from the
Eights W1 and the Henley VIII. The
club already seemed to have reversed its
downward trend in the bumps charts, having
performed well in Summer Eights 2010, and
I began my term as captain feeling hugely
enthusiastic about what we could achieve.
We set out aiming to grow in numbers and
sporting professionalism and to bump into
division one in Eights, whilst maintaining
the fun and sociable atmosphere of the club
that gives it such appeal.
An impressive Fresher recruitment
allowed us to enter four boats in Christ
Church Regatta. With the same number of
men’s crews, MCBC was the largest club
in the regatta, a rather impressive feat! One
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Richard Millar
Captain of Boats 2010-11
SPORT | WOMEN’S ROWING
women’s boat made the third round, but
even more pleasing was the overwhelming
enthusiasm and the number of these novices
who continued into Hilary Term. We entered
four boats into Torpids, with the 3rd and 4th
only narrowly missing out on qualifying.
W1 bumped up three places, moving to 8th
in the second division, from where I am sure
we shall continue to climb. W2 achieved the
very impressive feat of bumping up three
places into the fixed divisions.
Summer Eights was the culmination
of a year’s hard training, including a
productive pre-Trinity camp, and thanks to
the dedication of crews and coaches was
a brilliant success. Due to several rowers
having exams we entered just two boats,
having a third training in a four and entering
Oriel Regatta in 7th week. W1 climbed two
places on the first day, bumping Somerville
to top division two, and then New College
as sandwich boat to win our place in
division one. We rowed over on the following
days, closely pursuing Oriel, and several
lengths ahead of New College, to hold our
position. I was particularly delighted with
this result as it had been my greatest aim
when taking on the captaincy. The success
was not limited to W1, with a fantastic W2
winning blades in spectacular style – barely
having to race past Donnington Bridge on
any day.
NEWS
In terms of external successes, the club
entered Cambridge and City of Bristol
Heads, with a composite W1/W2 crew
coming 3rd out of eight IM38+ boats
entered in the latter, beaten only by the
home crews. Caitlin Goss of W1 rowed
with the OUWBC development squad over
Easter, entering BUCS where the club came
4th overall. I also joined the development
squad at the beginning of Trinity, reaching
the semi-finals of Henley Women’s Regatta
with Osiris. Both of us entered Kingston
Regatta in July with Osiris’s A crew and
are intending to trial for the Blue Boat
next year.
None of this could have been achieved
without fantastic coaching from Tom
Broadway, James Watson and Edward
Arnold for W1, and Anthony Lewis and
Alan Sinclair for W2, whose enthusiasm
and professionalism helped us all to realise
our goals.
I have enjoyed my year as captain more
than I can describe and will always look
back fondly on my experiences in the role.
I am proud to be a part of such a friendly,
vibrant and successful club, where I
have made a number of great friends and
discovered a sport that I am truly passionate
about and hope to continue with all my
life. I am sure that my successor, Tanya
Goodchild, will help the club reach even
greater heights with her great enthusiasm
and dedication, and I am looking forward
to seeing MCWBC’s successes unfold in
2011-12!
Mary Foord-Weston
Women’s Boat Club Captain 2010-11
POSTMASTER | 2011
11
NEWS
SPORT | TENNIS
TENNIS
This year has seen a blossoming of the
Merton Tennis Team, both in terms of
its success in the intercollegiate League
and Cuppers matches, and in terms of the
consistently high number of players coming
to weekly Sunday practices.
In the Cuppers tournament, Merton made
it as far as the semi-finals without having
dropped a single set – the best the College
has done as far back as memory reaches.
Unfortunately, we had a very difficult match
against New College in the semi-final and
were knocked out, but not before a crushing
series of victories against St Benet’s Hall,
Oriel and Keble.
In league matches, Merton continues to
play in Division I, thanks to the brilliant
leadership of our former Captain, Greg
Lim. Not only have we held our position in
Division I this year, but we also improved
our ranking from third (out of six) in
2010, to second. We avenged our previous
losses to University College in Cuppers
and the league, beating them solidly this
year by nine sets to three. Magdalen was
so intimidated by our physical prowess
that they failed to show up for our match –
such is the fearsome reputation of Merton
Tennis! Little further explanation is needed
in declaring that these results show that
Merton is one of the top three college tennis
teams in Oxford.
Merton’s team has a roster of about 15
players, but a few deserve special mention
12
POSTMASTER | 2011
and recognition for their outstanding
services and commitment: Dr Reto
Bazzani, our internationally ranked Swiss
player who came back to help the team after
finishing his DPhil; Alessandro Geraldini,
the stoic fresher who also played for Oxford
University; Dr Mostyn Brown, who had the
most set victories during the season; and
Jack Halsey, our vice-captain, who made
sure we always looked our best, even if we
weren’t playing our best. The end of the
season also marks my departure as captain;
however, the captaincy will be placed into
the very capable hands of Graeme Addison.
I offer my best wishes to him and next
year’s team.
And lastly, our many thanks go to our
groundsman, James Lisle, who provided
tea, sandwiches and cakes after every
match, to the delight and envy of our
opponents. And which gave our own team
much time for further bonding and banter,
usually at the captain’s expense. Long live
Merton Tennis!
Michael Uy (2009)
Captain, Merton Men’s Tennis
SPORT | BLUES AND HAIGH TIES
NEWS
Merton Sports Blues and Haigh Ties
BLUES
Blues or Half Blues have been awarded
to the following:
Courtney Bishop
Sonia Bracegirdle
Jack Coward
Freddie Hendry
Samuel Jauncey
Will Kane
Ishani Kazanchi
Joe Northover
Victoria Ormerod
Timothy Sherwin
Jessamy Tyrell
Athletics
Rowing
Trampolining
Athletics
Rifle Shooting
Rugby
Badminton
Swimming
Squash, Real Tennis
Shooting
Rugby
HAIGH TIES
Haigh Ties for outstanding contribution
to College sport have been awarded to
the following:
Jeffrey Burgin
Mark Dethlefsen
Michael Eager
Mary Foord-Weston
Richard Millar
Katharine Pates
Timothy Sherwin
POSTMASTER | 2011
13
NEWS
CLUBS & SOCIETIES | MERTON FLOATS
Clubs and Societies
MERTON FLOATS
2010-11 has been another strong year for
Merton Floats; we were keen to build on the
fantastic success of last year’s productions of
Milton’s Samson Agonistes and Chekhov’s
Uncle Vanya. Our first task was to find a
new society secretary, after Ellen Davnall
left the College last summer. Unable to find
just one replacement, we saw Meg Bartlett
(Secretary) and Elizabeth Biggs (Technical
Adviser) join Niall Allsopp (President) and
Ed White (Treasurer) on the committee. We
were keen to repeat last year’s successful
formula of a more experimental, esoteric
show in the Chapel in Hilary, followed by
a more popular option (with a budget to
match) for our Trinity garden show.
Our chapel play in Hilary certainly met
this criterion. Erstwhile Floats star Bevil
Luck directed a cycle of five short Japanese
Noh plays, translated by modernist poet
(and friend of TS Eliot) Ezra Pound,
alongside Merton musician Eddie Smith,
who arranged and directed the lesserknown suite of incidental music, ‘Les Fils
des Étoiles’, by Erik Satie. Bevil and Eddie
were kept on their toes by the producer
Olivia Kirkbride. Both the Pound and Satie
pieces are very rarely performed, and the
interweaving of music, poetry, drama and
movement made for a unique and magical
production, which sought to fuse Eastern
and Western traditions. Mertonian actors
Ayesha Jhunjhunwala, Ben Walpole, Finola
Austin and Lizzie Hunter were joined by
Shaun Chua, whose knowledge of Noh
theatre helped the team give the show an air
of authenticity; meanwhile, Eddie’s seven14
POSTMASTER | 2011
piece orchestra was augmented by Emily
Meredith’s voice in Satie’s haunting songs.
Although the beautiful surroundings of the
college chapel in February created some
unusual challenges (of both acoustics and
temperature) for our intrepid performers,
the play was very popular with critics and
audiences alike.
After treading this somewhat highbrow
territory in Hilary – and after last year’s
Chekhov – we felt some lighter material
was necessary for Trinity’s garden show.
Fresh from the chapel play, Finola Austin
approached us, proposing to direct an
adaptation of Brandon Thomas’ Oxfordcollege cross-dressing farce Charley’s
Aunt. Requiring lavish costumes, period
furniture (particularly a folding screen that
had to be pegged into the ground to prevent
it blowing over), and outdoor waterproof
lighting to counteract the sunset (and the
clouds), staging a show in the College
gardens is no mean logistical feat. However,
our Mertonian production team, led by
Finola (director), Niall Allsopp (producer)
and Elizabeth Biggs (production manager),
surmounted all of these difficulties – not
least a ten-minute ‘transfer’ (or dash) to
the Chapel when it started raining at the
beginning of our matinee. Fortunately, the
production did not require much in the way
of set-dressing, as the beautiful gardens
(and, indeed, the Chapel) provided a perfect
backdrop.
Sadly, our Mertonian stars were all
otherwise engaged – with exams, other
NEWS
CLUBS & SOCIETIES | NEAVE SOCIETY
productions, or, quite literally, engaged
to be married – forcing us to recruit
actors from other colleges. However,
our mercenaries really settled in to their
adopted college, and gelled as a cast, with
lively comic performances underpinned
by a charismatic emotional warmth. Peter
Swann (St Edmund Hall) was particularly
memorable as Lord Fancourt Babberly,
who dresses up as the titular Charley’s
Aunt, in order to help his friends Jack (Max
Mills, Christ Church) and Charles (Charles
O’Halloran, Regent’s Park) in their
romantic troubles. Despite the weather’s
best efforts, the production was critically
acclaimed and drew large audiences, who
obligingly provided plenty of belly-laughs,
and the odd burst of sunlight.
Google ‘Merton Floats’ to find us on
Facebook.
Niall Allsopp (2008)
THE NEAVE SOCIETY
This year has seen the Neave Society
continue to push boundaries and challenge
political preconceptions, all the while
holding faithfully to its guiding principles
of unpretentious and reasoned discourse.
And port.
In March, we were lucky enough to be
joined by Old Mertonian Sir Peter Tapsell,
who talked entertainingly and informatively
on topics ranging from the Middle East to
Nick Clegg. This was a relatively informal
event, with a real atmosphere of discussion,
and its tremendous success has greatly
informed the venue used for the hosting of
future speakers. Whilst one fears they may
struggle to attain the dizzy heights of Sir
Peter’s oratory, one feels that whispering
conspiratorially amongst the wingbacks and
stonework of the MCR will undoubtedly
lend speaker events a touch of the informal
brilliance that was such a joy to behold on
that March evening.
Early this Trinity, Neave convened to
debate the motion ‘This House would
abolish all private property’. The fact that the
motion was defeated only by the slimmest
of margins truly bears testament to the leftleaning nature of this year’s membership.
Indeed, many of our most vociferous – and
most left-wing – members bid farewell to
Merton this year. One is certain that they
shall be sorely missed, and one can only
hope that the new arrivals contribute just
as many firebrands and future politicians to
our society next Michaelmas.
The society was extremely proud to host
the distinguished Lord Andrew Adonis,
who came to speak about his life in politics.
A life, it emerged, that incorporated
Christchurchian insolence, straight talking,
political intrigue and a tragically unfulfilled
wish to see Oxford endowed with a light
rail network. Ed Vaizey MP received a
stiffer welcome when he visited the society
for a brief question-and-answer session,
becoming mired in a lengthy debate on the
subject of the censorship of pornography
on the internet. One hopes that next term’s
speakers will be just as prepared for such
vigorous political discourse.
It simply remains for me to humbly thank
the outgoing executive, President Sam Hall,
Vice-President Dennis Dillon and Treasurer
Guy Daws and state my own excitement
for the forthcoming year with the newly
elected committee. We’re looking forward
to welcoming new Mertonians as members
and to organising a range of stimulating
debates and engaging political speakers,
beginning with a special visit to the House
of Commons early next Michaelmas. VicePresident Karl Kahn, Treasurer Josh Brown
and I have had a wonderful first term and
look forward to upholding the values and
principles of free and diverse political
discussion that our members hold so
passionately.
Jackson Smith (2008)
POSTMASTER | 2011
15
NEWS
INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUPS | BIOMEDICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
Interdisciplinary Groups
BIOMEDICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
In Michaelmas Term, we held our annual
poster evening at which graduate students
at Merton presented their current research
to first-year graduates, supervisors, Merton
Fellows and the Warden.
In Hilary Term, we held a joint meeting
with the College’s History of the Book
Group, where Professor Peter Holland, FRS
(Linacre Professor of Zoology at Merton
and Associate Head of the University’s
Department of Zoology) gave a highly
fascinating and entertaining talk entitled
‘The Linacre Professors at Merton College
1860-2010: Evolution, Ecology and
Eccentricity’. Thomas Linacre, physician
to Henry VIII, died in 1524, leaving funds
to support a series of visiting lectureships.
Merton College agreed to host the lecturers
as Fellows of the College. After running
for 300 years, the lectureships were
converted into the Linacre Professorship
of Comparative Anatomy (which later
became Zoology).
In his lecture, Professor Holland
introduced the 11 holders of the Linacre
Professorship spanning from 1860 to the
present day, and outlined their research
contributions, their published work and
their influence on science in Oxford. The
Linacre Professors, plus the colleagues
they brought to Oxford, included some of
the most prominent figures in evolutionary
biology, the founders of ecology and more
than a few eccentrics – although Professor
Holland left it to his audience to decide
which of these distinctions described
him best.
In Trinity Term, we held a second
extremely successful joint meeting with
the College’s History of the Book Group.
Our invited speaker, Dr Anna Marie
Roos (Research Fellow at the Faculty
of History, Oxford University) gave a
GLOBAL DIRECTIONS
Merton’s Global Directions Group held two
events in 2011. The first, on 9th February,
featured Professor John Kay, one of
Britain’s leading economists, speaking on
‘The Future of Markets’, in which he drew
extensively on his deep knowledge and
experience within the field.
The second, held on 26th May, was a halfday workshop on counterinsurgency on the
theme ‘COIN: Where We Are, and What’s
Next?’, which examined the construction
of US and UK counterinsurgency doctrine,
its implementation in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and the associated legal and ethical
frameworks. The workshop, attended
by over 100 people – a mix of students,
academics, and practitioners from inside
and outside the military – was the product
of collaboration between the Global
Directions Group, Oxford’s Changing
Character of War Programme, and the
British Army Counterinsurgency Centre,
who jointly convened the workshop.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
highly informative and well received
lecture entitled ‘The Art of Science: The
‘Rediscovery’ of the Copperplates of Martin
Lister’s Historiae Conchyliorum (168592)’. Her talk provided a unique insight
into the life and work of Martin Lister and
his huge contribution to natural history and
conchology. Dr Roos’ fascinating talk was
preceded by an introduction by Professor
Peter Holland outlining modern day research
into molluscs. Both lectures this year were
followed by highly popular opportunities to
view relevant old books and material from
the College’s Upper Library.
The continuing expansion and strength of
the life and biomedical sciences within the
University ensures Merton is enriched with
a large number of graduates and Fellows
researching into all manner of living
processes and medical interventions. New
members to the BMLS group are always
welcome, as are suggestions for formats
and topics of future meetings.
Simon Draper
Supernumerary Fellow in Biochemistry
We were fortunate to work with both
institutions and their respective leaders;
indeed, Professor Hew Strachan and
Colonel Alex Alderson deserve special
thanks for enabling the assembled group
to come together. The event concluded
with a keynote address by Dr Conrad
Crane, Director of the US Army Military
History Institute, who is perhaps best
known for heading the writing team of
the 2006 US Army and Marine Corps
counterinsurgency manual, FM 3-24, the
INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUPS | HISTORY OF THE BOOK
NEWS
first counterinsurgency manual produced
by either institution in over two decades
and potentially the most influential piece
of military doctrine in recent memory. Dr
Crane’s keynote address, titled ‘Exorcising
Old Demons and Discovering New Ones:
American Counterinsurgency Doctrine
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Beyond’, was
particularly timely given the nomination
of the architect of the US doctrine,
General David Petraeus, as Director of
the US Central Intelligence Agency in late
April 2011.
Travers McLeod
Deputy Principle of Postmasters
HISTORY OF THE BOOK
An interdisciplinary enterprise, the History
of the Book group has two goals: to explore
the history of the knowledge-disciplines
through their written records and to
highlight the nature of the book itself. Both
goals were very much in evidence through
the group’s activities this year.
Rita Ricketts shared some of her
ongoing research into the history of
Blackwells, the iconic Oxford publishing
and bookselling firm, drawing on materials
from the Blackwell family archives held
at Merton. Book history and the sciences
was a particular theme in the current year.
In Hilary, the history and present state of
preparing mathematical documents was
elucidated by Mertonians James Binney,
Yang Hui-He and (in a typographical rather
than mathematical tenor) Giles Bergel. We
were honoured to receive a lecture from
the Head of the Library and Archives of the
Royal Society, Keith Moore, who delivered
an illuminating talk on the Royal Society’s
publishing and book-collecting throughout
its 350 years.
Dr Anna Marie Roos continued the
scientific theme with a talk on the illustrations
of Sir Martin Lister’s natural history books
that combined scientific, bibliographical
and historical expertise. The talk was
jointly held with the Biomedical and Life
Sciences group and was accompanied by a
description of the current state of Lister’s
field by Merton Linacre Professor of
Zoology Peter Holland: it was no surprise
that it attracted an appreciative audience
from biology, book history, the history of
science and beyond. Peter Holland also took
the spotlight for a lecture on the history of
his own Chair, paired with an exhibition of
books and papers in the College’s library
relating to the distinguished position.
Another lecture paired with an exhibition
(in fact, two) was College archivist Julian
Reid’s talk on the Bible translator and
Warden of Merton Sir Henry Savile, which
drew on his recent experience in co-curating
the Bodleian Library’s highly successful
exhibition on the King James Bible in its
400th year, accompanying a glimpse of
some remarkable printed and manuscript
Bibles and related holdings in the College’s
keeping. All of the College’s library and
archive staff have been strong supporters
of the History of the Book group: their
knowledge of books and their generosity in
affording access to some of the College’s
literary treasures for group meetings has
been a tremendous asset. This was perhaps
most graphically illustrated by the presence
of Merton MS 317 – an exquisitely-illustrated
12th-century manuscript of Flavius Josephus
that accompanied a paper by Merton classics
Fellow Dr Luuk Huitink in Trinity (one of
three papers on the classical text-tradition,
the others being given by Enrico Prodi and
Alessandro Vatri). The year was roundedout with two lively discussions of recent
work in the field, which were particularly
well attended by humanities graduate
students, for whom book history affords
a vital forum for following intellectual
histories across linguistic, temporal and
disciplinary boundaries. It’s been a privilege
and a delight to serve as the convenor of the
History of the Book group at Merton, whose
production and stewardship of books shows
no signs of diminishing even as the book
itself continues to evolve.
Giles Bergel
JPR Lyell Research Fellow
TURNING PAGES AT DR ANNA MARIA ROOS’ LECTURE ON MARTIN LISTER
POSTMASTER | 2011
17
NEWS
THE LIBRARY
The Library
The Library report in Postmaster often
highlights how individual items or entire
collections provide links between the
College and others, whether Mertonians
of the past or researchers and other
communities of the present. That was
demonstrated this year in different ways by
three special collections: the Sandy Irvine
Archive, the Frank Brenchley TS Eliot
Collection and the John Robson Collection.
On 1st June, the writer Julie Summers,
biographer and great-niece of Andrew
(Sandy) Irvine, gave a lively talk about
Irvine, which drew a large and enthusiastic
audience to the TS Eliot Lecture Theatre.
The occasion marked the donation to the
College of the Sandy Irvine Archive by
the Sandy Irvine Trust, a milestone in a
relationship between the Irvine family
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POSTMASTER | 2011
and the College that is now in its third
generation.
Sandy came to Merton to read Chemistry
in 1922, already something of a celebrity as
an oarsman. When he and George Mallory
disappeared close to the summit of Mount
Everest in June 1924, he became part of
one of the great unsolved mountaineering
mysteries of all time. Sandy’s Everest
diary had already been a particular treasure
of the college collections for several
decades when the more extensive archive
was placed on deposit in 2004. What was
and is so exciting about the archive is its
inclusion of letters, photographs and other
documents relating to Sandy’s life and
the Everest expedition which were only
rediscovered in an Irvine family home
in 2000.
The ‘new’ material included photographs
taken by Sandy on the expedition and
developed at Everest Base Camp in 1924.
Sandy sent the negatives home to his sister
Evelyn who had them developed and who
kept Sandy’s brief descriptive notes of each
image. The previously unknown letters,
however, were the real prize.
It is fair to say that Sandy was not a prolific
letter writer, but the letters written during
the Everest expedition to family and friends
greatly enrich the brief diary entries which
were intended to form an aide-memoire for
a fuller account that Sandy planned to write
later. Two excerpts will have to suffice here
(spelling and punctuation are Sandy’s):
30 April 1924, Base Camp, Rongbuk
Glacier, to Peter Lunn, a friend who was
then just 10 years old:
THE LIBRARY
“Its great fun this expedition, you would
love it if you were a bit older!
You will probably hear the result of the
1st attempt before you get this letter I
hope it will be to say that at any rate the
Oxygen party reached the top. I really
hate the thought of it. I’d give anything
to make a non-oxygen attempt. I think I’d
sooner get to the foot of the final pyramid
without oxygen then to the top with it.
Still as I’m oxygen mechanic I’ve got
to go with the beastly stuff to look after
it. After all I’ve got nothing to complain
about being in the first party.”
30 April 1924, Base Camp, to his mother:
“We arrived here yesterday in perfectly
beastly weather – the worse for the fact
that I’d been seedy for about 3 days –
probably through working up to 12 + 2am
with the Oxygen Apperatus for about a
week + getting up at 6.30.
Still I feel quite fit again today though I
have been hard at it since about 8 oclock.
I expect to have 6 of my new patent
apparatus ready by tomorrow night + 4
original pattern patched up to be safe!...
Today has been perfectly glorious. I don’t
get much peace with my tool box at hand.
I have cinemas, cameras, stoves lamps,
chares [sic] + tents to mend in my spare
moments when not fighting pressure
gauges, flowmeters etc.”
Although the Everest material – the
equipment lists, invoices for supplies,
Sandy’s drawings for the oxygen apparatus,
the photographs and letters – are the
best known and have been displayed in
exhibitions and studied by researchers, the
archive also documents Sandy’s outstanding
success as a rower, with photographs, press
cuttings, medals, pennants, and regatta
ANDREW ‘SANDY’ IRVINE
programmes. In addition the collection
contains some photographs of the Irvine
family, Sandy and his friends at school and
university and the Spitsbergen expedition of
1923, in which his Merton friend Geoffrey
Milling (1920) also took part.
Perhaps some of Sandy’s love of invention
and adventure remains in the archive.
This is certainly a collection that attracts
more than standard academic researchers.
The past year has brought legendary
mountaineers Peter Habeler (one of the pair
to make the first successful Everest ascent
without supplemental oxygen in 1978) and
Tom Hornbein (who in 1963 made the first
Everest summit via the West Ridge) to Mob
Library to look at Irvine’s oxygen apparatus
drawings; and we later welcomed a forensic
scientist in search of Sandy’s DNA. We look
forward to many more unusual encounters
NEWS
and to joint projects with Julie Summers
and other members of the Irvine family.
When the Brenchley T S Eliot collection
was deposited in the Merton Library in
1986, Frank Brenchley wrote about it in
Postmaster, describing his first purchase:
“On the afternoon of my first day as a
Merton College freshman in 1936, I went
to Blackwell’s to stock up with the Oxford
Classical Texts I would need for the term.
Gazing in pleasure around that delightful
shop, I saw on a table a prominent display
of a dozen or more copies of a blue-bound
book entitled T.S. Eliot: Collected Poems
1909-1935. I had never heard of the author;
English literature at my school did not
extend beyond Thomas Hardy. But, being
an avid poetry-reader, I picked up one of
the books and opened it at random. I was
immediately fascinated by stanzas which
struck me as beautiful and unalterably
‘right’, even where I was puzzled about
their meaning.”
Thus began an interest that grew into
a major collection of Eliot’s works, with
a special strength in original issues of
periodicals and smaller publications.
Frank continued to add to the collection
from time to time after it came to Merton,
with some of the more recent additions
including volumes inscribed by Eliot
to Warden Geoffrey Mure, whom Eliot
had known at Merton in 1914. This year,
at the celebratory opening of the new
lecture theatre named for the poet, it
seemed ‘unalterably right’ that both Mrs
Valerie Eliot and Frank Brenchley were
present and that the College was able to
display for guests a selection of highlights
from the Brenchley Collection. Sadly,
Frank Brenchley passed away in July.
His warmth and generosity towards the
POSTMASTER | 2011
19
NEWS
THE LIBRARY
College will be remembered fondly. The
fact that the exhibition included some
new translations of Eliot’s poems into
Armenian, sent to the library just days
earlier by Mertonian Joseph Chytry
(1967), indicates that the collection will
continue to grow.
Just as the Brenchley Collection began in
Blackwell’s bookshop, so the John Robson
Collection also owes something to that
famous Oxford bookselling and publishing
A LETTER HOME FROM EVEREST
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POSTMASTER | 2011
business. John, who died in December
2010 at the age of 80, worked in the book
production side of Blackwell’s for over
30 years. He had a personal interest in the
history of printing, and after retirement
and on advice from Blackwell historian
Rita Ricketts, he donated to Merton his
working library of publications about
typography and book design. The books
arrived almost at the same time that the
College established the research group in
the History of the Book, and many Merton
students and researchers have had cause
to be thankful for the breadth of John’s
interests. When preparing this year for
the History of the Book seminar on the
mathematical typesetting software TeX, I
was not surprised to find a relevant book
in the Robson Collection. The collection
is housed in the Mob Lower Library;
the College continues to add relevant
publications and welcomes donations.
Collections like these rightly receive
attention, but smaller donations that arrive
with less fanfare also play a large role in
the successful functioning of the library.
This year one might mention the Blunden
pamphlets inscribed to Derek Hudson
(1930), donated by Hudson’s daughter
Katherine Jessell, or the books on classics
and philosophy from the library of the late
John Garrod (1950), some of which were
borrowed by students as soon as they were
catalogued. We make every effort to ensure
that no one’s name is omitted from the list
of donations, as a way of expressing thanks
and also as a way of making visible the
many connections represented by these
gifts large and small.
Julia Walworth
Research Fellow and Librarian
THE ARCHIVES
NEWS
The Archives
2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the
publication of the King James version of
the bible; a fact that has been difficult to
ignore, given the attention it has received
on television, radio and in the newspapers.
As the home of the one of the six companies
that produced the translation, Merton has
received a reasonable share of that media
attention. In February, BBC 4 aired a
documentary by Adam Nicolson, When
God Spoke English: the Making of the King
James Bible. The programme included
Nicolson in conversation with Dr Peter
McCullough of Lincoln College, filmed in
the Upper Library.
The Library, together with the Chapel,
featured again in KJB – The Book that
Changed the World, broadcast on the History
Channel in May. Directed by Norman
Stone, who has also directed Shadowlands
and Beyond Narnia, the programme
combined interviews, ‘to camera’ narration,
and historic re-enactment. The narrator,
John Rhys-Davies, may be known to
readers from Indiana Jones films and as
Gimli the Dwarf in the film version of The
Lord of the Rings. In the programme, RhysDavies talked about Sir Henry Savile, and
examined some of the books that may have
been used on the translation. The Archivist
met with the directors of both programmes
in advance, helping them reconnoitre the
College and identifying locations especially
associated with the translation. He also
identified some of the books used on the
translation and, with the Fellow Librarian,
supervised some of the filming.
The Archivist has also been involved
with some of Oxford’s own activities to
commemorate its contribution to the King
James translation. As archivist of the two
colleges where the translating companies
met in Oxford, viz. Merton and Corpus
Christi, this was perhaps unavoidable.
From April until September, the Bodleian
Libraries are mounting an exhibition in
the Old Schools Quadrangle, Manifold
Greatness: Oxford and the Making of
the King James Bible, which not only
celebrates the translation itself and outlines
the processes involved, but also examines
the antecedents of the King James
version, and considers how this particular
translation entered the national culture and
consciousness.
The Archivist curated one of the sections
of the exhibition, on the Oxford translators,
which features Sir Henry Savile, together
with several of the other translators, such
as George Abbot and Leonard Hutten,
POSTMASTER | 2011
21
NEWS
THE ARCHIVES
who met at Merton in what is now the
Breakfast Room. The College has loaned to
the exhibition a number of Savile’s books,
including his Hebrew lexicon, together
with its 16th-century astrolabe by Walter
Arsenius, which is exhibited alongside
Savile’s translation of a commentary by
the Greek astronomer and mathematician
Theon of Alexandria. The commentary
forms part of the collection of Savile
Manuscripts permanently housed in
the Bodleian’s Department of Special
Collections and Western Manuscripts.
Sir Henry Savile and the contribution
of Merton to the King James translation
also serve as the focus of our summer
exhibition in the Upper Library, which
was available for attendees of the Merton
Society Weekend. The exhibition includes
the College’s copy of the first edition of the
King James Bible, together with some of its
antecedents, such as copies of the Geneva
and Bishops’ Bibles. The College Register
(the record of decisions of the Governing
Body) contains an entry for 13th February
1605, which records the borrowing of
books from the Library for the use of the
translators. Examples of the works of Sir
Henry Savile also help to demonstrate
the range of his interests, and include his
translation into English of the Histories of
Tacitus and an edition of the works of early
English historians, Rerum Anglicarum
Scriptores, that appeared in 1598.
The College’s showcasing as a nursery of
the King James translation should conclude,
all being well, with an appearance of the
Upper Library within the pages of the
National Geographic magazine. In late June
the Archivist and Fellow Librarian spent
several hours with a National Geographic
photographer and his assistant as they
22
POSTMASTER | 2011
documented the library from almost every
conceivable angle, for a feature on the King
James Bible. The article is due to appear
towards the end of the year.
Mertonians who visited the Upper Library
during the Merton Society Weekend also
had an opportunity to see part of a recent
acquisition purchased for the Library through
the combined generosity of Mertonian David
Ure, and the Dyson Fund, created in memory
of former English Fellow Henry (‘Hugo’)
Dyson. The acquisition comprises four
domestic account books dating from 1596,
1606, 1630 and 1787, which were offered
for sale by the Antiquarian Department of
Blackwell’s bookshop. The books help to
fill some of the many gaps in our series of
accounts, which have been dispersed over
the centuries as no longer required. The three
earlier records are Spice Books, and record
the daily consumption of luxury foods by the
Fellows. Such delicacies did not form part
of their Commons provided at the College’s
expense, and so the cost would have been
charged to the Fellows’ battels. The word
‘spice’ was used more broadly in the 16th
and 17th centuries, and included not only the
condiments we recognise, but also vinegar,
sugar and dried fruit.
Although superficially merely a rather
nondescript shopping list, even just the
first page of the earliest account gives us
a glimpse into the pioneering world of
the 16th century. The Fellow who kept
the accounts for the week beginning 19th
November 1596, Samuel Slade, was a Greek
scholar who later travelled Europe collecting
manuscripts for Henry Savile’s edition of the
works of St John Chrysostom. He was to die
on the island of Zakynthos in 1613 on one
such mission.
The commodities recorded also attest
to the great trading enterprises of the
Elizabethan age. Sugar was traditionally
imported from India, but by 1596 might
also be procured from Brazil. Ginger was
purchased from India and Africa, and mace,
nutmegs and cloves from the Moluccas
archipelago in Indonesia. Vinegar and
mustard might be sourced at home, but
dried fruit like currants and raisins might
well be imported from southern Europe,
Turkey or North Africa. By the 1630s the
Fellows were enjoying additional delicacies,
such as dates, almonds, capers, olives and
oranges (‘orringadows’); all testimony to the
human appetite for novelty, and to the global
compass of English trading enterprises of
the 17th century. We are indebted to David
Ure for making this acquisition possible.
Julian Reid, Archivist
THE BREAKFAST ROOM AT MERTON
LIBRARY & ARCHIVES | DONATIONS
Donations to the Library and Archives 2010-11
It is a pleasure to record the following particularly noteworthy
donations to library and archive collections:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Sandy Irvine Archive: correspondence, photographs and artefacts
relating to Andrew Comyn Irvine (1902-24; Merton 1922) and his
family, donated by The Sandy Irvine Trust
Four domestic account books, viz Spice Books 1596, 1606, 1630, and
Receptions Book 1787. Purchased jointly via donation from Mr David
Ure (1965) and the Dyson Fund
Additional records relating to BH Blackwell, Parker’s of Oxford, and
William George’s Bookshop of Bristol (Mr Julian Blackwell)
Eleven pamphlets and offprints by Edmund Blunden, several inscribed,
from the library of Derek Hudson (1930), donated by Katherine Jessel
Additional records of Dr John Morris Roberts, former Warden (Mrs
Judith Roberts)
Letter from Richard Cobb to John Morris Roberts, 13th March 1988;
black and white photograph of senior members of Merton, including
Alick Harrison and Dr Cooke, entering Fellows’ Quad, c.1964 (Dr
Roger Highfield, Emeritus Fellow)
One thousand rupee gold coin issued by the Bank of Mauritius, to
celebrate 40 years of the independence of Mauritius (Mr Rundheer Sing
Bheenick, 1964)
Merton College Association football team shirt and socks, c.1973 (Dr
Gary Backler, 1973)
A large number of recent critical editions and monographs relating
to Classics and Philosophy from the library of the late John Edward
Garrod (1950), donated by Mrs Susan Garrod
Postcard dated 11/11/35 from Oliver Elton to Lascelles Abercrombie
(1935), donated by Arthur French
Grateful thanks for gifts and support are extended to:
Ward Allen; James Armshaw (2007); Brian Austin; Tom Barrett (2007); The
Bodleian Library; Alan Bott (1953); Brepols Publishing; James Brown;
Dragos Calma; the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Charlotte
Crowther; Rebecca Dobbs; The Revd Mark Everitt (Emeritus Fellow);
Helena Gresty; Alan Morrison (Fellow); Christopher Braun; John Casson;
the Consortium of European Research Libraries; Josef Chytry (1967);
Juliana Dresvina; Lara Ehrenhofer; the Farncombe Estate; Christine
Ferdinand; Louisa Fong; David Foxton; Karl Gerth (Fellow); Robin Taylor
Gilbert; K F Hilliard; Luuk Huitink (Fellow); The Institute of Archaeology;
Roger Highfield (Emeritus Fellow); J T Hughes; David Hunt (2005); The
Editors of the Journal of Legal History; Brian Kemp; Roger Knight (2009);
Magdalena Koźluk; David Leighton; Neil McLynn; Michael McVaugh;
Margaret M Manion; Francis T Marchese; David Mitchell; Oxford
NEWS
University Press; Alex Polley; Julian Reid (Archivist); Thibaut Maus de
Rolley; John Scattergood (VRF 2008); Tony Scotland; Eric Sidebottom;
Julie Summers; Nicholas Utechin; Julia Walworth (Fellow); Elia Weinbach
(1967); Dominic Welsh (Emeritus Fellow); Michael Whitworth (Fellow);
Wolfson College Library; Michael Wood; Yale University Press
We also thank Mertonians who have given us copies of their
publications:
Beatson, Sir Jack (1973), with JS Burrows and J Cartwright, Anson’s Law
of Contract (Oxford: OUP, 2010)
van der Blom, Henriette (Lecturer), Cicero’s Role Models (Oxford: OUP,
2010)
Bowers, John M (1973) End of Story. A Novel (Santa Fe: Sunstone Press,
2010)
Bradley, Laura (Junior Research Fellow 2003-2005) Brecht and Political
Theatre (Oxford: OUP, 2006) Cooperation and Conflict (Oxford: OUP,
2010)
Braun, Thomas (1935-2008, Fellow), donated by the editor, Christopher
Braun, Tomfoolery (Chippenham: ARP, 2010)
Canepa, Matthew P (Visiting Research Fellow 2009) The Two Eyes of the
Earth (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009); editor, Distant
displays of power: understanding cross-cultural interaction among the
elites of Rome, Susanian Iran, and Sui-Tang China in Ars Orientalis 38
(Washington: Smithsonian, 2010)
Chen-Wishart, Mindy (Fellow) Reciprocity in Contract (University of Hong
Kong, 2010)
Clayton, David (1955) Lost Farms of Brinscall Moors: the Lives of
Lancashire Hill Farmers (Lancaster: Palatine Books, 2011)
Crofts, Natalia (2000) Fragments (pamphlet; Kherson: 2010)
Dixon, Jack (1949) Dowding and Churchill: the dark side of the Battle of
Britain (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2009)
Dunnill, Michael (Emeritus Fellow) ‘Victor Horsley (1857-1916) in World
War I’ (offprint: Journal of Medical Biography, 2010); ‘Victor Horsley
(1857-1916) and the temperance movement’ (offprint: Journal of Medical
Biography, 2011)
Everson, Paul (1965), with D Stocker and B Lott, Little Sturton
Rediscovered, Part 2: Sturton Old Hall and its Owners, and St Swithin’s
Church, Baumber and the Burial of Dukes in Newcastle-under-Lyme
(offprints: Lincolnshire History and Archaeology Vol. 43, 2008)
Forker, Charles (1951) editor of George Peele’s The Troublesome Reign of
John, King of England (Manchester University Press, 2011)
Garfitt, Roger (1963) The Horseman’s Word (London: Jonathan Cape, 2011)
Gay, Robert (1975) Shelltime 4 and ShellLNGTime (London: Intertanko
2010)
POSTMASTER | 2011
23
NEWS
LIBRARY & ARCHIVES | DONATIONS
Gerth, Karl (Fellow) As China Goes, so Goes the World (New York: Hill
and Wang, 2010)
Grimley, Daniel M (Fellow) Carl Nielsen and the Idea of Modernism
(Woodbridge: Boydell, 2010); editor, The Cambridge Companion
to Sibelius (Cambridge: CUP 2004); co-editor with J Rushton, The
Cambridge Companion to Elgar (Cambridge: CUP, 2004)
Haywood, Stephen (1981) Symmetries and Conservation Laws in Particle
Physics (London: Imperial College Press, 2011)
Herwig, Malte (Junior Research Fellow 2000-03) Meister der Dämmerung
(München: DVA, 2011)
Hofmann, Petra (Assistant Librarian) An Early Humanist Donation to All
Souls College (Oxford: All Souls College, 2009)
Hooker, Simon (Fellow) and C Webb, Laser Physics (Oxford: OUP, 2010)
Jenkinson, Matthew (2003) Culture and Politics at the Court of Charles II
(Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010)
King, Andrew (Fellow) Auditory Neuroscience (London: MIT Press, 2010)
Kreuzer, Gundula (Junior Research Fellow 2002-05) Verdi and the
Germans: From Unification to the Third Reich (Cambridge: CUP, 2010)
Lewis, Catherine (Assistant Librarian) Language of Stones (privately
printed, 2010)
Maclachlan, Ian (Fellow) co-editor with S Gaston, Reading Derrida’s ‘Of
Grammatology’ (London: Continuum, 2011)
Mairs, Rachel (Junior Research Fellow) The Archaeology of the Hellenistic
Far East (BAR International Series, 2011)
Mayr-Harting, Henry (1954) Religion, Politics and Society in Britain 10661272 (Harlow: Longman, 2011)
McCabe, Richard (Fellow), editor, The Oxford Handbook of Edmund
Spenser (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)
Melican, Brian (2003) Lost in Deutschland (Stuttgart: Pons 2010)
Mighall, Robert (Junior Research Fellow 1995) Private Lives: Keats
(London: Hesperus Press, 2009)
Newsholme, Eric (1935-2011, Emeritus Fellow) Functional Biochemistry
(Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), donated by Mrs Newsholme
Norbrook, David (Merton Professor of English Literature) contributor, The
Intellectual Culture of Puritan Women, 1558-1680, ed J Harris and E
Scott-Baumann (Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
Oxley, James (1975; Visiting Research Fellow 2004-05) Matroid Theory,
2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011)
Page, David (1963) co-author with W Crawley, Satellites over South Asia
(New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2001)
Perera, Shalini (2003) Corporate Ownership and Control (London: World
Scientific, 2011)
Rahtz, Sebatian (1973) contributor, The LaTeX Graphics Companion,
2nd ed. (Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2007); The LaTeX Web Companion
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POSTMASTER | 2011
(Boston: Addison-Wesley, 1999); TeX People (Portland: TEX Users
Group, 2009)
Rawson, Jessica, Professor Dame (Warden, 1994-2010), editor, with K
Goransson, China’s Terracotta Army (Stockholm: Ostasiatiska-Museet,
2010)
Reid, Julian (College Archivist) and H Moore, editors, Manifold Greatness:
The making of the King James Bible (Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2011)
Ricketts, Rita (Member of Common Room), editor, with C Morgan and J
Stallworthy, Initiate. An anthology of new Oxford Writing (Oxford: The
Kellogg Centre, 2010); contributor, Unbroken Wings, ed. by D Chandler
and M Gelashvili (Tblisi: Universal, 2010)
Ridpath, Michael (1979) Where the Shadows Lie (London: Corvus, 2010)
Scattergood, John (Visiting Research Fellow 2008) Occasions for Writing.
Essays on Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Politics and Society
(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2010)
Shue, Henry (Emeritus Fellow) editor (with SM Gardiner) and contributor,
Climate Ethics: Essential Readings (Oxford: OUP 2010); contributor,
The Routledge Companion to Ethics, edited by Skorupski, J, (Abingdon:
Routledge, 2010); contributor, Global Climate Change, edited by Arnold,
D G (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011)
Slomson, Alan (1961), with R Allenby, How to Count. An Introduction to
Combinatorics, 2nd ed. (Boca Raton & London: CRC Press, 2011)
Sowerby, Tracey (1997) Renaissance and Reform in Tudor England
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)
Walker, Revd Robert T (1969) editor of two books by TF Torrance,
Incarnation, the Person and Life of Christ (Milton Keynes: Paternoster,
2008), and Atonement, the Person and Work of Christ (Paternoster, 2009)
Walworth, Julia (Fellow Librarian), and D d’Avray, ‘The Council of Trent
and Print Culture. Documents in the Archive of the Congregatio Concilii’
(offprint: Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 2010)
Wright, Anthony D (1965) The Divisions of French Catholicism, 1629-1645
(Farnham: Ashgate, 2011)
Wycherley, Lynne (Library Assistant), contributor, No Space but Their
Own: new poems about birds edited by Howard, J, (Keighley: Grey Hen
Press, 2010); contributor, Soul of the Earth: the Awen Anthology of Ecospiritual Poetry edited by Ramsay, J, (Stroud: Awen, 2010)
Zeilinger, Anton (Visiting Research Fellow 2010) Dance of the Protons
(New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010)
Zilber, Boris (Fellow) Zariski Geometries (Cambridge: CUP, 2010);
contributor to A Course in Mathematical Logic for Mathematicians by Y
I Manin (New York: Springer, 2010)
THE CHAPEL
NEWS
The Chapel
The Chapel continues to provide a focal
point for Christian worship within the
College community, attracting a diverse
congregation of current Mertonians and
their guests, as well as an increasing number
of old members and visitors. We are always
pleased to welcome people back to the
College. Details of all our services can be
found on the College website.
The year began with the installation of
Sir Martin Taylor as 50th Warden of
the College. The installation ceremony
takes place within the context of an act of
worship which, on this occasion, included
music sung by the College Choir. The
Chapel community has already benefited
enormously from the support of the Warden
and Lady Taylor, for which we are most
grateful.
The Sunday evening service of Choral
Evensong or Sung Eucharist is the principal
act of worship each week and attracts an
average congregation of about 100. Preachers
this year have included the Archbishop of
Wales, the Bishop of Norwich, Prof Alister
McGrath (1976), Canon Gilly Myers and
the Revd Anna Burr, a parish priest serving
in the Diocese of York, who is also mother
of two of our current undergraduates, both
members of the choir.
The celebration of Christian Initiation
forms an important part of the liturgical
cycle each year. Amber Hood, a member
of the MCR, was confirmed by the
Bishop of Stockport in October, and
another graduate, Olga Bardina, was
baptised and made her first communion on
the feast of Pentecost. Also at Pentecost,
Alice Brooke, Tony Chappel and Kristine
Merriman made a public profession of faith
and renewed their baptismal promises.
Last December, Tristan Pichon, son of
Visiting Research Fellow Prof Christophe
Pichon, was baptised, and Jakob Issa, the
son of a member of the MCR, was baptised
in August. Combining elements from the
Christian and Jewish traditions, on Trinity
Sunday there was a service of thanksgiving
for the two children of our politics tutor
Dr Sarah Percy.
The Chapel continues to benefit from
POSTMASTER | 2011
25
NEWS
THE CHAPEL
the hard work and dedication of Chapel
Wardens, Sacristans, the Chapel Clerk
and Pastoral Assistants (three this year:
two from Ripon College, Cuddesdon and
one from St Stephen’s House). During the
last nine months we have said farewell to
four students who have made particularly
significant contributions to the life of
the Chapel: Greg Lim, James McMillan,
Richard Tovey and Michael Uy. I am very
grateful to them and to the other students
who sustain the Chapel’s activities
throughout the year.
As for clergy, at the beginning of the
year the Revd Peter Anthony replaced
the Revd Dr Andrew Davison (1992) as
Junior Chaplain, and in Trinity Term we
welcomed Canon Prof Paul Bradshaw, from
the University of Notre Dame, as a Visiting
Research Fellow. In October the Revd
Mark Stafford will join the team as Junior
Chaplain. Mark was ordained deacon at
the beginning of July. He is serving his
curacy at St Barnabas, Jericho and, with
the agreement of the Bishop of Oxford, will
spend 15% of his time at Merton.
The College Choir continues to enrich
our worship on Sunday and Wednesday
evenings, at the popular twice-termly
Compline and on other occasions. They go
from strength to strength, and I am extremely
grateful to the Reed Rubin Directors of
Music, Organ Scholars and singers for
their dedication and commitment. Musical
highlights this year have included the
Mozart Requiem at the All Souls’ Eucharist,
an outstanding performance of Handel’s
Messiah at the Passiontide Festival, the
Easter Carol Service and, not least, the tour
of the United States which, without the
generous support of Reed Rubin (1957) and
MC3, would not have been possible. Clips
26
POSTMASTER | 2011
from a few of the concerts can be found on
YouTube, and some of the pieces performed
on tour can be heard on the choir’s first disc,
In the Beginning, which will be released
later in the year.
Last year I reported a new collaboration
between Merton, St Aldate’s Church and the
Jellicoe Community in London. It has been
very good to continue that this year with
a service in Trinity Term, Song of Moses,
which explored issues of social justice. We
have also begun a series of exchanges with
Oriel College where the Chaplain, the Revd
Dr Robert Tobin (1999), is a former MCR
President at Merton.
We have celebrated the 400th anniversary
of the King James Version of the Bible in
several different ways. In addition to the
excellent exhibition in the Upper Library,
the KJV has been used for the readings at the
Wednesday Choral Evensong, and Warden
Savile’s part in the translation was marked
by a special service, attended by the Prayer
Book Society, at the beginning of May.
Later that month, a group of 90 children
from three different schools (New College
School, Pegasus School in Blackbird Leys,
and St Barnabas School in Jericho) came
to the TS Eliot Theatre for a performance
of The Bible from A to Z, written for the
College by Sarah Lenton and performed
by a group of professional actors. It was
very good to work on this project with
Lady Taylor. That evening, the same group,
joined by the College Choir, performed The
Full 1611 to a packed Chapel.
Merton remains a popular venue for
weddings. John Corcoran (1999) married
Emily Jenkins (2004) in April. July saw
the marriages of current graduate Elizabeth
Hunter (2000) to former Fitzjames Research
Fellow Yang Hui-He, and of Paul-John
Loewenthal (2003) to Barbara Glowacka.
In August another current member of the
MCR, Edmund White (2008), married
Philippa Cox, and the following Saturday
Supernumerary Fellow, Simon Draper,
married Angela Minassian.
WELFARE AND STUDENT SUPPORT
In my last report I mentioned that Helen
Brough, our College Nurse for 20 years,
had retired. A few months after her
retirement, Helen died in a tragic accident.
Helen provided medical care and welfare
support to so many Mertonians during her
time at the College, and her family were
particularly moved to see so many at her
Memorial Service last September. She will
be greatly missed.
At her retirement, Helen was pleased to
know that she would be replaced by a friend
and colleague, Catherine Haines who, at
that time, was College Nurse at St Anne’s.
Catherine has settled in very quickly and
has already become an established part
of the welfare team. It is a great pleasure
to work with her and Anna Camilleri, our
Welfare Dean.
As tuition fees and student finance
remain a topic of national debate, the
College has formed a Student Support
Committee to administer all its grants to
students; for hardship, research, welfare
support, travel and other purposes. During
the course of this academic year we have
awarded grants and loans totalling £70,000.
Student Support is an important part of our
2014 Sustaining Excellence campaign. We
remain extremely grateful for the generosity
of many old members, which enables us to
support our students in this way.
Simon Jones, Chaplain
THE CHOIR
NEWS
The Choir
The academic year of 2010-11 has been a
defining year for the College Choir. The
tour to the USA in April 2011 was a huge
success and we are truly grateful to our
benefactor Reed Rubin and to MC3. Our
eight appearances in Philadelphia and
New York were very well supported and
we greatly enjoyed the hospitality shown
to us by several groups of Mertonians. A
significant occasion was our performance
in Wayne, Pennsylvania: we particularly
enjoyed performing with their fine organ,
built by Dobson Pipe Organs. It was most
appropriate that Lynn Dobson and other
members of his firm were able to be in
Wayne with us, so that we could announce
that it is the College’s intention that Dobson
should build the new organ for the College
Chapel, in time for the 750th anniversary
celebrations in 2014.
As I write, we are just completing a tour
of France where the choir has performed
the 40-part motets ‘Ecce Beatam Lucem’
by Striggio and ‘Spem in Alium’ by Tallis.
The choir has featured in a number of
festivals, including the concert series in
Louvie-Juzon and the Beaujolais Festival.
Although not yet released, we were able
to take our debut CD In the Beginning and
sold all the copies we had with us by the
end of the third concert. We are hoping for
such an enthusiastic response on the disc’s
release in October!
In the UK, we have visited Tewkesbury
Abbey where we sang Mass with the
Abbey’s Schola Cantorum and in November
we sang a joint service with the choir
of Selwyn College, Cambridge, in their
chapel. Concerts in our own chapel have
included a special event for the Friends
of the College Choir and our Passiontide
Festival in April 2011. This year’s festival
attracted even greater numbers than the first
festival last year and the concerts by The
Tallis Scholars and Madeleine Ridd were
particularly memorable. In May, we gave
our first concert for the ‘Music at Oxford’
concert series and look forward to future
collaborations.
John Tavener and Matthew Martin have
both composed music for the choir and
their pieces will form part of the Merton
Choirbook, which will be part of the 750th
anniversary celebrations.
The sung services are the focus of the
choir’s work and it has been good to attract
large congregations for some of our special
services, not least the service for All Souls
when the choir sang Mozart’s Requiem
with orchestra, to a congregation of 400.
We remain very grateful to our many
benefactors and Friends of the Choir who
help us undertake such an active programme
each year.
Benjamin Nicholas and Peter Phillips
Reed Rubin Directors of Music
POSTMASTER | 2011
27
NEWS
THE GARDENS
The Gardens
Recently we have been asked to provide
a Caribbean garden for the new Warden’s
Lodgings: this has highlighted how many
plants we think of as English, aren’t English
at all.
Pendant lilac flowers of wisteria, seen
across the front of many town houses
in early summer, will be of Japanese or
Chinese origin. Many plants have japonica
as their species name, similar to our
forename. Sharing its genus, equivalent to
our surname, with its other relatives, like
fatzia japonica for example. Hydrangea
villosa, another Asian plant, provides
us with large showy lilac flower heads
throughout late summer; the buds are able
to withstand the cold winter of Tibet by
28
POSTMASTER | 2011
their blanket of velvety fur, similar to that
found on the skin of a peach.
Australasia has provided us of course
with silvery, scented leaved eucalyptus;
these cope with drought by having very
long tap roots. Plectranthus retain water by
their pubescent leaves preventing excessive
water loss. Callistemon and grevillea are
used as summer bedding plants and are
commonly called the bottlebrush bush plant
because of their unusual long-stamened
flowers.
From Europe we have the castor oil plant,
ricinus communis. It is now widespread
throughout tropical regions for the seed
being the source of castor oil. On garden
tours people often ask if I am trying to kill
them off as the seeds also contain ricin, a
toxin used in biological warfare. The 2007
edition of the Guinness Book of Records
put this plant as the most poisonous in the
world. The real purpose of the toxin is for
protection from insect pests, such as aphid.
European spring flowering bulbs usually die
down in late spring to avoid the shade of a
tree canopy or, in the case of Mediterranean
bulbs, the hot sun. The snowflake, leucojum
autumnale, does the same with its foliage,
but flowers in autumn to escape the huge
competition for pollinating insects so early
in the year.
Lucille Savin
Head Gardener
SCHOOLS LIAISON & ACCESS
Schools Liaison & Access
The year 2010-11 has been one of continued
growth for Merton’s Schools Liaison
programme. By the end of the school year,
the College will have been involved in 60
events for schools, an increase of more
than a third on last year’s count. This is in
addition to various stand-alone tours and the
hosting of events organised by University
departments.
Many of these events are the result of
contact with schools in our regional link
areas of Wiltshire, Dorset and the London
Borough of Merton. It has been a particular
pleasure to revisit schools I saw last year, and
to renew my acquaintance with the teachers
– such continuity of contact is crucial to
encouraging engagement with Oxford, and
is a major advantage of the regional system.
The last two years have seen a significant
strengthening of the regional link, and we
continue to work more widely as well, and
this year I have made many visits to schools
outside these areas.
2010-11 has also brought considerable
change for universities nationally. Changes
to the finance system have given renewed
prominence to questions on the value
of higher education and on fair access.
There is also an increasing awareness of
the importance of working with students
from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds at an
early age, before preconceptions about
Oxford set in and before they make crucial
post-16 choices that may preclude them
from applying to the most prestigious
universities. This is not news at Merton,
where we have worked with groups of 14to 15-year-olds for many years. We now run
NEWS
several Merton Taster Days in Hilary and
Trinity Term each year, which allow groups
of about ten GCSE students to visit Merton
and find out more about life at Oxford.
They are also encouraged to start thinking
about their choices and academic study
more generally.
Oxford has an excellent network of
outreach officers in the colleges, and our
active collaboration allows us to run more
ambitious programmes than would be
possible individually. This year we have
set up a programme of Oxford Taster
Days. These operate on a similar principle
to Merton’s Taster Days, but pooling the
resources of several colleges allows more
schools to benefit from a single event.
About 600 students have visited through
the programme so far, and Merton has
been particularly active in running plenary
sessions in the TS Eliot Theatre. We
have also hosted collaborative academic
Study Days for sixth-form students.
Further initiatives are planned for the next
academic year, and Merton’s enthusiastic
involvement makes a clear statement about
our continued commitment to fair access.
We have also developed new initiatives
for engaging with teachers. In March we
hosted our first Teachers’ Lunch, with a
particular focus on the Social Sciences at
Merton. The relative informality of this
event provided an excellent opportunity for
teachers and advisers to speak to our tutors
personally, and allowed both sides to learn
more about our applicants’ experiences. We
look forward to hosting more of these in the
upcoming year.
Ashley Walters
Schools Liaison & Access Officer
POSTMASTER | 2011
29
NEWS
DEVELOPMENT
Development
Looking back over another exceptionally
busy year 2010-11, two elements stand
out: the arrival and introduction to
Mertonians of the new Warden, Professor
Sir Martin Taylor, as the 50th Warden of
Merton; and the public launch of Merton’s
750th Anniversary Campaign Sustaining
Excellence, with its precursor: the opening
of the brand new TS Eliot Theatre.
Once again record numbers of Mertonians
have attended a broad range of events,
which we very much hope cater for all tastes
and for all ages. Sir Martin has been present
at most of these, and has much enjoyed
meeting the many different Mertonians.
The 26 events were hosted at venues as
diverse as the Corney and Barrow Wine
Bar in Broadgate Circus, the Headquarters
of the Royal Society in Carlton House
Terrace; the Links Club in Manhattan and
30
POSTMASTER | 2011
Drapers’ Hall in the City of London; PwC
on the Embankment and the Vesper Club in
Philadelphia; Freshfields in Fleet Street and
a restaurant in the 5ième arrondissement in
Paris – to name but a few. And we must not
forget that Mertonians and their guests have
especially enjoyed coming back to Merton
itself to see each other and reunite with
their Tutors – for special reunion Lunches
and Dinners, for Gaudies, for meals at High
Table and for the Merton Society Weekend.
As the Merton Society and MC3 in the
US and Canada broaden out to embrace the
Lawyers’ Association, ‘Merton in the City’
and ‘Merton in Manhattan’, as Merton
success in the Oxford Town and Gown 10k
Road Race rivals with the success of the
Merton Golfers in the Inter-Collegiate Golf
Tournament, as alumni activities encompass
the Friends of the Choir and the Friends of
the Boat Club, we very much hope that there
is something for everyone. Presentations
and talks at these events – with Mertonians
playing a major part – brought together
stars of the police, the world of retail,
of diplomacy, of academia and the law.
Themes took us from ‘Zero Tolerance’ to
‘Loyalty Points’ and Shakespeare’s Othello.
We are extremely grateful to all those who
have spoken, who have hosted events at
their companies, or sponsored events for
us at special clubs and private venues.
Thank you for your generosity. Without
it we could not offer the programme that
we do. In these events and others at home
and abroad, we have made contact this year
with over 1,000 alumni – or 20% of our total
alumni base. And I am especially grateful,
as I know you all are, to the indefatigable
Helen Kingsley, our ever-smiling and ever-
DEVELOPMENT
efficient Alumni Relations Manager, who
organises them all, in conjunction with the
Merton Society, MC3 and the individual
committees.
Publications too have increased this year,
as Matt Bowdler, formerly our Development
Assistant, has become Publications and
Web Officer. He now looks after the Merton
website, and all our alumni publications,
which includes the role of liaising with the
Year Reps for their vital contributions to
Postmaster. Mertonians are keen to know
more about how the finances of the College
work, and precisely how their donations
are used and so we have produced the
first Merton Donor Report. We have also
received excellent feedback on the enhanced
Newsletter. Because Matt has altered his
role, Sarah-Louise Hood joined the team in
January and is already giving much support
to us all as Development Assistant. Another
member of the team is Rob Moss, who
looks after the database and is managing
the transfer of alumni data to DARS, the
University of Oxford’s Development and
Alumni Relations Database. For some time
now Mertonians have been asking us for
an online networking function, which the
DARS system will provide.
Alongside
Merton
events
and
publications, we have continued with the
Annual Fund, which is such a welcome
addition to the annual Merton Budget. Each
year the Annual Fund, made up of gifts
below £25,000 and raising approximately
£800,000 of donations per year, adds huge
value to the College. Since the beginning
of the quiet phase of the 750th Anniversary
Campaign Sustaining Excellence, in
August 2007, until the public launch
of the Campaign in May 2011, Merton
Annual Fund monies have brought in some
£3 million or about 19% of the total. This
unprecedented level of support, given
by hundreds of donors world-wide, has
allowed us to continue to fund a number of
areas of College life which directly benefit
current undergraduates and graduates, and
it has had a real impact on many aspects of
our activities.
Not all of the money allocated last year
for student support, (around £650,000)
came from the Annual Fund. The
College has, over the centuries, received
benefactions in support of students in
financial need, and we have also had several
major gifts for student support over the
last few years, some to fund the ever more
important Graduate Scholarships. But the
NEWS
Annual Fund is a very important element
of the College’s fundraising – we welcome
participation at any level, whether a one-off
or regular gift, big or small – every gift is
significant. Within the Development Office,
it is Daphne O’Connell who runs, with great
efficiency and charisma, the Annual Fund
and, as part of that, the annual Telephone
Campaign. Indeed the Telethon, in which
current students engage with alumni, has
been very effective, not only in raising
regular income, but also as a means of
exchanging news and feedback on College
events and publications. The students much
enjoy speaking to Mertonians of all ages and
hearing about how life was at the College
during their time. This year, for the first
ALUMNI AND MEMBERS OF THE CHOIR ENJOYING THE MC3 DINNER IN PHILADELPHIA
POSTMASTER | 2011
31
NEWS
DEVELOPMENT
time, they are particularly looking forward
to speaking to some of our Mertonians in
the Americas.
As part of the 750th Anniversary
Campaign, we aim to have more than 30%
of Mertonians giving on an annual basis to
the College. This will be a great challenge,
just as reaching our target of £30 million
will be too, but we are clear about the
direction the College must take to navigate
the financial currents of the coming years.
The success of our Campaign will keep us
firmly on course.
The 2010-11 year has been particularly
exciting with respect to the Launch of the
750th Anniversary Campaign, Sustaining
Excellence. Our goal was to reach 50% of
the total £30 million before the Campaign
Launch on 24th May. This we have done.
Mertonians and Friends of the College
have donated £15.75 million prior to the
launch date. We are enormously grateful
to all those from around the world who
have helped us. We also give huge credit
to the fundraising success of our previous
Warden, Dame Professor Jessica Rawson,
without whose leadership and expertise we
would not have reached that target.
But before the Campaign Launch, we
formally opened the TS Eliot Theatre, the
first major building project of the Campaign.
TS Eliot’s widow, Valerie Eliot, as well
750TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
On Tuesday 24th May, Merton’s 750th Anniversary Campaign
Sustaining Excellence was officially launched at a reception at
Drapers’ Hall, in London, attended by nearly 300 Mertonians
and friends of the College.
We were privileged to host Professor Martin Rees, Lord Rees
of Ludlow, the Astronomer Royal, who spoke on ‘The Future
of Higher Education: whither Oxbridge?’. He announced that
“even to an astronomer, three quarters of a millennium seems a
long enough time to be worth celebrating”. In an illuminating
overview of higher education, Lord Rees reminded us that the
overall teaching budget for all universities in the UK is being
cut from £3.5 billion to only £0.7 billion – by 80%, and that, in
consequence, there is a near trebling in student fees.
He emphasised too, and I quote: “Our ancient universities
were established in order to pursue ‘education, religion,
learning and research’ – that in modern terms, is their
‘mission statement’, and must never become a lost cause.
These pursuits – whether in natural or social science, or in the
humanities – have a value that transcends what can be measured
in economic terms. And the experience that colleges offer their
32
POSTMASTER | 2011
as donors, Fellows, staff and students,
attended the opening ceremony on Saturday
12th March and enjoyed readings of his
poems. Thanks to the many gifts which have
made this project possible, the College now
has a tiered auditorium, providing versatile
space for lectures, seminars and recitals.
The complex also includes three seminar
rooms which broaden the College’s offer
to corporate clients. We are delighted that
the College conference business has already
seen an increase in business revenue,
and this summer is on target to attain
£0.5 million in revenue/income.
We are very grateful to the more than
a thousand Mertonians and Friends of
students – is ever
more precious – it’s
something which
can’t be replaced
by any conceivable
advance in distance
learning. That is
why all of us who
work in colleges
are so concerned
that they should
remain accessible
to those who can
benefit from them
most – and who
PROFESSOR MARTIN REES
will, through their
education, serve
society best in their future careers. These are noble aims,
which deserve support from philanthropy as well as from the
public purse – that’s why I’m privileged to be here to wish a
fair wind to Merton’s ambitious appeal.”
DEVELOPMENT
FELLOWS
THE WARDEN SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE T S ELIOT THEATRE
the College who have donated since the
beginning of the quiet phase of Sustaining
Excellence in August 2007. During
that period, with your support, we have
endowed three existing Fellowships: the
Mark Reynolds Fellowship in History, the
Jessica Rawson Fellowship in Modern
Asian History (three-quarters financed)
and one Classics Fellowship; endowed
the following new Fellowships: the Dr
Peter J Braam Fellowship in Humanitarian
Issues, the Peter Moores Junior Research
Fellowship in Classical Archaeology and
the Fitzjames Fellowship in Economics
(three-quarters financed); raised £2.8
million for student support, including for
new graduate scholarships; established
the Choral Foundation; completed the
following very necessary Capital Projects:
the refurbishment of the College Lodge,
the renewal of the Upper Library Lighting,
the installation of new lighting and a sound
system in the Chapel, the building of the
TS Eliot Theatre. We have a great challenge
ahead of us to raise the remaining £13
plus million over the next three and a half
years to achieve our 750th Anniversary
Campaign target of £30 million. But as
we strive towards this goal, we remain
convinced that more and more Mertonians
will want to give back to their College.
Their support, against the background of
the huge reductions to the teaching budget
and the increase in student fees, will ensure
that young men and women are given the
opportunity to enjoy and benefit from life at
Merton just as they did.
So, in the coming months we shall be
focusing in particular on raising funds
for Student Support (both undergraduate
and graduate), as well as for a number of
Fellowships: completing the Economics
Fellowship and the Jessica Rawson
Fellowship, and launching the fundraising
for Chemistry, Philosophy and English.
We owe much to the Old Members
who serve on our various fundraising
committees who are helping us so greatly
at this time. In addition to our Campaign
Board, co-chaired by Charles Manby and
John Booth (both 1976), the Chairman’s
Council and the Americas Capital Gifts
Committee have been formed this year,
the latter chaired by David Harvey (1957).
The Americas Capital Gifts Committee will
focus on the 750th Anniversary Campaign
in the Americas, whereas MC3 itself will
focus on the annual reunion and the Annual
Fund. The help, advice and support of these
committees are invaluable in enabling the
College to achieve its Campaign goals.
We are also hugely grateful to all those
members of the Merton Society and MC3,
as well as other alumni relations committees
who help us run our events programme. We
look forward to meeting many more of you
in the course of the coming year both in the
UK and overseas.
Thank you all for your support. It is much
appreciated.
Christine Taylor
Fellow and Development Director
POSTMASTER | 2011
33
FELLOWS
HAILS | DAVID AL-ATTAR
Hail to New Fellows
DAVID AL-ATTAR
I joined Merton as a Junior Research Fellow in
Geology in October 2010. Prior to this I was
working towards a DPhil in Earth Science at
Worcester College, Oxford. My first year at the
college has been very enjoyable, and I have felt
grateful to be able to live and work in such a
friendly and stimulating environment.
My research focuses on mathematical and
computational problems in seismology and
geophysics. The principal application of this work is in studies of the
Earth’s interior. During my DPhil, I developed a number of methods
for simulating seismic wave propagation in realistic models of the
Earth. In addition, I have worked on the theory of seismic wave
propagation in linear viscoelastic materials, and on the determination
of hydrostatic equilibrium figures of rotating planets.
During my time at Merton, I intend to apply and extend the
methods developed during my DPhil to the construction of models
of the Earth’s interior structure. In particular, I will use observations
of the Earth’s free oscillations to investigate large-scale variations
in density within the Earth. Reliable knowledge of such density
variations is needed in addressing a number of current questions
in geophysics, and is likely to play a key role in understanding the
dynamics and evolution of the Earth.
DR RODERICK CAMPBELL
My first (and sadly, last) year at Merton has been a wonderful
experience for myself and my family. We have grown attached to
Oxford in a remarkably short time and will remember our time here
fondly. For me in large measure my enjoyment has stemmed from
the warmth and intellectual stimulation of my brilliant colleagues at
Merton in its unique and beautiful surroundings.
Before coming to Merton and after graduating from Harvard
University, I held postdoctoral fellowships at NYU’s Institute for the
Study of the Ancient World, the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology
and the Ancient World, and conducted a Luce-ACLS funded
international collaboration at the Anyang Workstation, Institute of
Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in China.
My research is focused on North China in late 2nd millennium
BCE and employs the techniques of history, archaeology and
epigraphy. My writing has included articles and book chapters on
ancestors, sacrifice, the origins of Chinese civilization (co-authored,
Antiquity 2009) and a new theoretical approach to the archaeology of
socio-political complexity (Current Anthropology 2009). My nearly
unfettered research time as a JRF at Merton has allowed me to finish
an edited volume – Violence and Civilization:
Studies of Social Violence in History and
Prehistory (Joukowsky Institute Publications
forthcoming 2011); write a book chapter
on Shang animality, humanity and divinity;
complete the data analysis and write an article
based on my Chinese fieldwork (to appear in
Antiquity), while applying for and receiving a
Wenner-Gren International Collaboration grant
to continue work in China. I am finishing a
preliminary paper on the scale of Shang dynasty bronze casting and
a book manuscript on the archaeology of the Chinese Bronze Age.
While at Merton I have had the enriching opportunity to act as
college supervisor and teach several Chinese archaeology classes.
I will deeply miss the many productive conversations with Dame
Jessica Rawson and other faculty at the School of Archaeology as
I take up an Assistant Professorship of Chinese Archaeology and
History at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York
University this coming academic year.
34
POSTMASTER | 2011
HAILS | DR MARTINS PAPARINSKIS
FELLOWS
DR MARTINS PAPARINSKIS
My first year as a Junior Research Fellow in
Merton College has been a very rewarding one.
I am privileged and humbled to be part of such
an impressive intellectual community. Prior to
coming to Merton I completed my DPhil at the
Queen’s College in 2009, and spent 2009-10
at the New York University as a Hauser
Research Scholar.
I have varied research interests in the area of
public international law. The focus of my research and publications
is on the place of the international law on the protection of foreign
investments in the international legal order. Investment protection
law is largely expressed in the form of bilateral investment protection
treaties; importantly, these treaties provide the foreign investor
with a direct procedural right to take the host State to international
arbitration. The relevance of investor-State treaty arbitration was not
fully appreciated until the very end of the 1990s. The great quantitative
increase in these arbitrations in recent years raises important legal
questions both about the scope and content of international investment
protection obligations and, more broadly, about the way in which
traditional international law concepts of sources, interpretation and
responsibility operate in this particular area.
My research focuses precisely on these issues, exploring the
recent practice both to explain the developments within investment
protection law and tease out the implications for general international
law. I have pursued a number of research projects during my first year
at Merton. On the basis of my DPhil, I have prepared a monograph
on the obligation to provide fair and equitable treatment for foreign
investors that will be published by Oxford University Press in
2012. I have prepared a collection of documents on international
investment protection that will be published by Hart Publishing. I
have also worked on a number of articles and chapters that address
different aspects of investment protection law from an international
law perspective, ranging from procedural aspects and substantive
obligations to certain meta-issues (e.g. sources and interpretation in
investment law). One could not have wished for a better and more
supportive research environment than the one provided by Merton.
DR SYDNEY PENNER
I joined Merton as a Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy in October
2010, after working on my PhD at Cornell University. I am honoured
to be part of a college that has a philosophical history stretching from
the Oxford Calculators in the 14th century to FH Bradley in the 19th.
My research focuses on Francisco Suárez, a prominent but
neglected figure in the more generally neglected tradition of
scholastic philosophy in the late medieval and early modern period.
Suárez was part of the Golden Age of Spain: the composer Tomás
Luis de Victoria was born in the same year (1548) as Suárez, and
Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, a year earlier. The
flourishing of philosophical inquiry is less well known today than
other aspects of the Golden Age, but in the 17th century Suárez’s
fame as a philosopher ‘almost without equal’ extended throughout
Europe and beyond. Suárez was a prodigious author: the standard –
and incomplete – edition of his works runs to 26 large Latin volumes.
He covers topics from metaphysics to ethics to political philosophy
to theology.
In my work to date, I focused on Suárez’s
account of practical reason and action, looking
at how he answers questions such as: What
gives us reason to act? Which reasons are good
reasons? What kinds of ends are there? What is
happiness? Space does not allow more than the
briefest of sketches of Suárez’s answers: Suárez
thinks that our ultimate end is happiness. We
have reason to act insofar as so acting brings
us happiness. But Suárez does not think that
happiness is simply a matter of satisfying whatever desires we might
happen to have. The sort of creatures we are puts constraints on what
will make us happy. We can be, and often are, wrong about what will
make us happy. It is the task of ethics to help us get it right.
I hope to use my time at Merton to expand my research into
other areas of Suárez’s thought, as well as to learn more about his
intellectual predecessors and contemporaries.
POSTMASTER | 2011
35
FELLOWS
HAILS | PETER SZANTO
PETER SZANTO
I joined Merton College as a Junior Research
Fellow in October 2010 after having spent four
years as a graduate student at Balliol and a
further seven studying Sanskrit and Tibetan in
Budapest.
My area of research is late Buddhism in
India and Tibet (roughly between 750 and
1300 CE) with a special focus on the issue
of initiation in Tantric Buddhism. This – in
many ways, unique – religion was once one of the most influential
systems of beliefs in Asia, having spread from its humble beginnings
in Central and Eastern India to China, Korea, Japan, Inner Asia,
Siam, the Indonesian archipelago and Tibet. Yet, its original texts,
predominantly in Sanskrit, constitute one of the least explored
areas in South Asian studies in spite of the fact that the material to
process is almost embarrassingly rich. The most important task in the
field therefore is to produce reliable critical editions from which a
detailed history of Tantric Buddhism could be written. This involves
work with manuscripts and other primary sources, a task that can
sometimes be tedious but is ultimately incomparably rewarding.
During my three years I wish to edit several such texts accompanied
by annotated translations and introductory studies.
My Fellowship at Merton provided me with the most important
things a young scholar in my position can hope for: an accepting,
inspiring and incredibly learned community, generous support,
and freedom to continue my research. One of the most humbling
experiences was to discover that one of my ‘childhood heroes’,
the explorer and scholar Marc Aurel Stein, was once a guest of the
College and wrote one of the first books that awakened my interest in
Asia in what is now the Music Room. I could not help but play with
the idea that Buddhists would interpret this as a very auspicious sign.
PROFESSOR KATHERINE WILLIS
I joined the Merton Fellowship last October as a Professorial Fellow
after being appointed to the new Tasso Leventis Chair in Biodiversity
based in the department of Zoology. I ‘migrated’ from Jesus College
where I was a Tutorial Fellow in Geography for six years. Merton
is in fact the sixth Oxbridge college that I have had the pleasure to
be associated with (there must be a record somewhere in here). In
Cambridge I was at Corpus, Darwin and then Selwyn College and
in Oxford at St Hugh’s, Jesus and now Merton. All the colleges have
very distinctive characteristics and I am greatly enjoying my time
at Merton thus far – although every time I move college it is rather
depressing to become one of the most junior Fellows again – it feels
a bit like a game of ‘snakes and ladders’ where I keep falling to the
bottom of the ladder!
I am a biological scientist by training and the main focus of my
research is on biodiversity responses to environmental change and
the dynamic processes of species and their interactions with their
environment over a range of timescales. I run the Oxford Long-term
Ecology Laboratory which is a hub of facilities and researchers in
Oxford that use long-term ecological datasets (those spanning more
than 50 years) to address questions relating to
biodiversity changes through time. Research
topics covered fall broadly into four categories:
(i) reconstruction of biodiversity baselines
and targets; (ii) examination of ecosystem
resilience, variability and thresholds; (iii)
understanding drivers and rates of change to
ecosystem services and (iv) biodiversity beyond
reserves. Projects currently underway include
studies in South America, Africa (Congo basin,
Botswana), Borneo, Galapagos, Hungary, India (Western Ghats),
Lebanon, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Mongolia, Romania,
Slovenia, Tenerife and UK (oxlel.zoo.ox.ac.uk). Work in the lab
is also focused on the development of web-based decision support
tools to provide a measure of ecological and biodiversity value of
landscapes outside of protected areas.
I also hold an adjunct Professorship in Biology at the University
of Bergen, Norway, and I am the Director of the recently established
Oxford Martin School Biodiversity Institute: www.biodiversity.
ox.ac.uk.
36
POSTMASTER | 2011
VIEW FROM THE TOP | MARK FIDDES
FEATURES
A View From the Top: Mark Fiddes
OUR SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH MERTONIANS
AT THE TOP OF THEIR PROFESSIONS CONTINUES
MARK FIDDES (1979). MARK
HAS
BEEN A SENIOR CREATIVE BOTH IN THE
UK
WITH
AND GLOBALLY FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT
DRAFTFCB. HE IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR
MERTON’S 750TH ANNIVERSARY LOGO.
NOW
POSTMASTER: What has changed
since you started in advertising and
marketing, and what has stayed the
same?
MARK FIDDES: Lunch, is the quick
answer. We are much thinner as a profession
thanks to a diet of Pret a Manger and one
stiff recession every decade. Marketing
spend is always the first budget line to get
clobbered.
The tectonic shift, however, is in media.
The Economist recently calculated that we
all have to process 30 times more messages
every day than we did in 1980.
Human beings are overloaded. When Bill
Bernbach brought out his famous ‘Lemon’
POSTMASTER | 2011
37
FEATURES
VIEW FROM THE TOP | MARK FIDDES
its 100-year anniversary by reminding
people what NIVEA was always good at –
skincare. Like many companies in the skin
business, they had become seduced by the
myth of ‘impossible’ beauty, that ‘Because
I’m worth it’ narcissism. So we reminded
them of the simple truth that healthy skin
brings people together. Now the ‘Feel
Closer’ campaign is running in 80 countries,
across all media from TV to the internet and
awareness is up over 90%.
Other campaigns I did my bit for include
Tango (You know when you’ve been
Tangoed), Royal Mail (If you mean it, write
it), Finish (The Diamond Standard), Vanish
(Trust pink, forget stains), Calgon (Washing
machines live longer with Calgon), Jaguar
(Gorgeous), Jamaica (Once you go, you
know).
campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle in the
early Sixties, it was seen by virtually every
car driver in the developed world. Those
universal audiences don’t exist anymore.
Whereas you could once speak to well over
half the adult population during Coronation
Street, you’re lucky now to reach one fifth.
This is why there’s even more of a premium
on ‘the big idea’ that engages people
wherever they are. That’s the one aspect of
advertising that has not changed over the 25
years I’ve been a creative.
Which of your many successful
advertising campaigns are you most
proud of?
It’s usually the last campaign because
the scars of the battle are still fresh. Most
recently, we helped NIVEA celebrate
38
POSTMASTER | 2011
Are there any campaigns you look back
on and say ‘what was I thinking?’
Scores of them. How about the poster for
The Spectator that purported to show US
Secretary of State George Shultz’s bottom
with a Princeton fraternity tiger tattoo
on the right cheek? The headline read
‘Known for its revealing features’ but I had
to get my mate to find a tattoo parlour in
Soho that did tigers and then stand in as
Shultz’s buttock double. Then there was
the press ad that went out under my watch
to celebrate Obama’s victory on behalf of
Veet hair removal cream. The headline read
‘Goodbye Bush’ and, from a small space
in the Sydney Telegraph, flew across every
news site on the internet in hours. That took
some explaining.
What’s the one campaign you wish you
had come up with?
I admire the T-Mobile ‘Life’s for Sharing’
campaign which just picked up the British
Television Advertising Grand Prix. The last
execution had a procession of genuinely
bemused passengers arriving at an airport
to be greeted with an operatic chorus of
singing trolley-dollies and security men. It
was a tremendous production and a great
example of advertising’s ability to ‘Enlarge,
Enliven and Enlighten’ to quote Maggie
Smith’s character in Peter Shaffer’s Lettice
and Lovage.
What’s the most challenging campaign
you’ve run?
It’s the fact that the challenges are everchanging that makes the advertising
business fun. Mind you, the hardest part
of any campaign today is to orchestrate the
right messages along the multiplicity of
media channels available.
Have you ever been approached by an
organisation that, for ethical or moral
reasons, you felt you could not produce a
campaign for?
I’ve always refused to work for political
parties, partly because the end result
becomes little more than childish
mudslinging that does no service to
democratic pluralism, or advertising.
We see a lot of campaigns these days that
include a charity or education element to
them. How important has the ethical side
of marketing become?
Good question. You can see two types of
organisation using an ethical element to
their campaigning today. There are those
VIEW FROM THE TOP | MARK FIDDES
their market share in the last two years. I am
challenged by the fact that ‘Hyundai’ means
‘modern’ in at least five Asian languages.
Like all ad agencies, however, we have to
keep winning at new business. It sounds a
bit Mad Men to say it, but agencies are like
sharks. They have to keep eating to survive.
like Innocent and Apple who project clear
values of caring, sharing and growing as
part of the DNA of their enterprise. Then
there are those who use Corporate Social
Responsibility credentials as a fig leaf to
cover their vulnerabilities. I’m thinking
right now of BP marketers who imagine
that – a year on from the Deepwater disaster
– showing a Paralympic runner Richard
Whitehead in their ads will convince people
the brand is making a positive difference.
Yes, it’s a start, but one that will generate as
much cynicism as empathy.
How does an advertising agency keep
up with the ever-changing pace of
technology?
You buy smaller agencies who do
understand. You employ busloads of
younger people for whom the technology
is second nature. You stay inquisitive.
You have children who live on Facebook
and Twitter. With all of this, you try to
find opportunities to push that technology
further than anyone has done before.
Remember too, people’s motivations
change at a much slower pace.
Understanding these beliefs and knowing
how to engage and dialogue with them
will always be more important than the
latest platform or application. To borrow
an expression once used of that quaint
technology The Newspaper, they will end
up around tomorrow’s digital fish and chips.
With the way people consume media these
days becoming ever-more fractured, has
it become more difficult to target them?
Yes, of course. But finer targeting also
means more relevant messaging otherwise
it’s just junk or spam. Last year we carried
FELLOWS
POSTER TO MARK THE OPENING OF
THE LATEST DORCHESTER HOTEL AT
COWORTH PARK
out research across the world to find out
how long people would give an advertiser
before they mentally switch off. We
surveyed over 2,000 people in their usage
of every medium, from TV to radio, press,
poster and the internet. We found that, on
average, they will give you 6.5 seconds.
We call this the 6.5 seconds that matter and
we use this framework to ensure that initial
message has enough impact to provoke
deeper involvement. It’s not a philosophy
but an operating principle.
What challenges lie ahead for Draftfcb?
Immediately, we are helping Coke in
Atlanta with their Olympic investment. We
want the campaign to increase participation
in physical activities of all kinds in the run
up to the Games. We have also just picked
up a large assignment for Hyundai, the
Korean car manufacturer who have doubled
How does Draftfcb go about advertising
itself?
We’re awful at it. Think cobbler’s children’s
shoes syndrome. The best way to stay top of
mind is to win awards and earlier this year
we received The Guardian Award for Best
Consumer Campaign, voted by readers.
Again, in common with most other
ad agencies, we have a silly name that is
hard to remember. Ours is a construct of
Draft, named after the visionary Chicagoan
Howard Draft, and Foote Cone and Belding
(FCB), one of the oldest ad agencies in the
business with over 130 years’ track record.
My favourite FCB story is what happened
when the Florida Orange Growers
Association asked for a new press ad to
double the consumption of Florida oranges.
The agency founders went away to think
about it. What they came back with was an
alternative to an ad that had much greater
longevity. We know it today as orange juice.
Are there idiosyncracies specific to
creative advertising in the UK?
Some say the reason for the UK’s declining
performance in the international Cannes
Lions awards every year is down to our
arrogance and insularity. There is some
truth in the belief that a lot of what we do
makes little sense to the rest of the world.
I’m thinking particularly of the reliance on
puns in headlines. Unless it’s a killer, leave
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39
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VIEW FROM THE TOP | MARK FIDDES
it to the experts at the tabloid newspapers.
We also like to write celebrities and comic
caricatures from TV shows into our ads.
This is just lazy and does not build longterm idea equity for a brand.
You are a Fellow of the Royal Society
of Arts. Do you think advertising
occasionally crosses into the territory of
art?
How long have you got? First, as a true
enlightenment organisation the full name
of the RSA is the Royal Society for the
encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and
Commerce. So it has always viewed human
progress as the indivisible contribution of
all three activities.
On the Art specifically, I’m with Proust
who observed that, when one reaches
a certain level of receptivity, there is as
much to be learned from a soap advert as
from the Pensées of Pascal. I also recall
Nietzsche writing that ‘we have art in order
that we don’t die of the truth’. In the age of
Charles Saatchi, I would add that we have
advertising in order that we don’t die of
(modern) art.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Seriously, what makes my job as a
Creative Director most satisfying is to work
with experts – directors, photographers,
typographers and designers – whose
aesthetic sensitivity and skill can be
breathtaking. ‘Nothing should be made by
man’s labour that is not worth making.’ In
this respect, I hope we are still followers of
William Morris.
Working in the creative sector, is it
difficult to switch off? What do you do to
help switch off?
Mahler... Fulham Football Club... Running
fairly slowly around London’s parks and
commons. My greatest fortune in life was to
marry una encantadora Catalana, Maribel,
with whom I have two kinetic teenage boys,
Alec and Sergi.
How did Merton help you prepare for
your career?
Merton taught me the importance of
curiosity and the humility never to assume
you have the full picture. The study of
philosophy helped me understand that
framing a question provocatively will
always guarantee a satisfactory answer.
On a personal level, it gave me an odd
resilience. Once you’ve tried defending
Aristotle’s conception of eudaimonia to JR
Lucas, convincing a Top 100 CEO that he’s
dead wrong is a piece of cake.
What advice would you give to any
Mertonian wishing to follow in your
footsteps?
Try to find an internship first and see what
it’s like. You won’t make a lot of money.
I remember doing a College careers talk
on advertising a few years back with the
legendary Adrian Vickers who founded
our greatest UK agency AMV with fellow
Mertonian David Abbott. A rather selfassured fellow at the back asked why on
earth he should join Mr Vickers’s ad agency
on £18,000 a year when Lehman Brothers
had just offered him £35,000 plus bonus.
“Think of it this way,” returned the suave
and imperturbable Vickers, “it’s a bit like
being a student for the rest of your life.”
Perfect message... perfect targeting...
brilliant advertising.
ESSAY | SCENES FROM A PGCE – GABRIELLA GRUDER-PONI
Scenes From a PGCE
Two months into a PGCE in English, I
noticed that the Year 9 students in my school,
considered one of the best in the county,
had trouble with basic vocabulary: ‘envy,’
‘lament,’ ‘fiend,’ ‘distinguish,’ ‘negative’
and ‘eternal’ were Greek to them; no wonder
they found reading frustrating. So I brought
from home a stack of vocabulary books that
I had used in middle school. With their witty
exercises on usage and notes on etymology,
these books had awakened in me a love for
the English language. In the spirit of sharing
a good book, I lent one of the volumes to the
convenor of my PGCE. A few months later,
instead of returning the book to me, Mr
F— summoned me to his office. “Why did
you lend this book to me?” he demanded. “I
thought you would be interested.” Far from
being interested, he was outraged. The book
was ‘dreadful’ and ‘frightening.’ Wouldn’t
learning new words make the students better
readers and writers? Not at all; the books
were ‘boring’ and ‘dangerous’ because they
did not include all possible definitions of
the words. Hoping to placate him, I said, “If
you don’t want me to use them, I won’t.”
“Oh, you certainly won’t,” he exclaimed.
“They’ll never need those words!” I left
the interview with those words ringing in
my ears. Never need words like ‘assail,’
‘assimilate’ or ‘mishap.’ Why not? Didn’t
he expect them to read or to write when
they left school? I began to suspect that my
students’ ignorance might be a consequence
of attitudes like those of Mr F—.
One of his objections to learning
vocabulary was that it would take up
valuable class time. If one hour a week on
vocabulary was too much, what, then, was
there time for in school?
Year 6: Literacy Hour
The students read a biography on the website
biography.com and then gave one-minute
presentations on what they had learned.
Unfortunately the website, sponsored by
a television station, directs the reader to
profiles of entertainment celebrities. So the
students spent half an hour madly clicking
from one celebrity to another. One of the
few students who didn’t choose a pop star
was a boy from Sudan who had been a
refugee for most of his life. He chose Nelson
Mandela. Maybe because Liban was shy
about speaking in public, or maybe because
English was his third language, he gave a
confused [and rambling] presentation. “He
was very brave,” he kept repeating, without
saying why Mandela had spent decades in
prison. I was sure the teacher would pick
up where Liban left off. I remember well
the homilies my primary school teachers
in the US and in Italy gave on exemplary
lives, on civil rights workers, [anti-fascists,]
and people who had sheltered Jews in the
Second World War. I was very moved by
these stories, and often we students came
back the next day with our own tales, having
quizzed parents and grandparents. But this
teacher said nothing more about Nelson
Mandela. Instead she stood up and gave her
own presentation — on Sean Connery.
Year 8: Text Types
The class was broken into pairs; each pair
received an envelope containing pieces
of paper with the names of different ‘text
FEATURES
types’ written on them. The students then
had to tell each other the order of the planets
following the conventions of a randomly
selected ‘text type.’ For an hour the children
said things like, “Add Mercury to Venus and
stir” (recipe) or “Great pass from Earth to
Mars!” (rugby commentary) or “Turn left
at Jupiter and go straight until you reach
Saturn” (travel directions).
Text Message
The year before I enrolled in the PGCE
there had been a small scandal in the press
surrounding a student who text-messaged an
essay to her teacher. It was agreed that those
who criticised the students were old fogies.
By contrast Mr F— encouraged us to come
up with ‘creative’ ways to integrate mobile
phones and computer games into lessons.
A-level class
The students drew illustrated maps of the
places described in the book they were
reading. In another lesson, the teacher
picked objects out of a bag and asked her
students to explain their significance in the
book; then she covered all the objects with
a cloth and asked the students to make a list
of as many objects as they could remember.
Two overriding themes emerge in this
sample of characteristic lessons. First,
there’s the pursuit of topicality: “Students are
interested in mobile phones and celebrities;
therefore, we’ll give them lessons about
mobile phones and celebrities.” There was
no notion that education ought to expand
one’s horizons, or that students might enjoy
being introduced to new ideas. The teachers
were fatalists: the students are as they are,
and we’re not going to change them. But
their fatalism was self-righteous rather than
regretful. Once I prepared a worksheet on
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41
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ESSAY | SCENES FROM A PGCE – GABRIELLA GRUDER-PONI
paragraph structure for my Year 8 students,
which included a paragraph on Leonardo da
Vinci. The teacher objected that Katherine,
the weakest student in an outstanding
class, “won’t have heard of the 1500s or of
Leonardo.” To me that seemed an excellent
reason to introduce Leonardo; for the teacher,
it was self-evidently a reason not to do so.
His own handouts for the class concerned
hair care and school policy on stationery. I
began to wonder if the real reason for the
banishment from the classroom of anything
that smacked of culture was the lack of
interest not among students but among
teachers. For the students, especially the
younger ones, regularly showed themselves
to be curious about subjects other than
gadgets and celebrities.
The second theme is an absolute lack
of faith in words. Pictures, objects, roleplays: these were considered memorable
and compelling. But not words. Methods
that didn’t involve words were approvingly
called ‘learning by doing.’ Clearly, a lecture
on knitting or gymnastics would not get one
very far, but what does ‘learning by doing’
mean in the study of English, a subject that
consists entirely of words? How can one
‘do’ English without reading, writing, and
discussing? The assumption that students
were beyond the reach of all but the simplest
words and sentences informed every lesson.
I was often asked, for example, how the
students would understand what I was
teaching them; at first I would regularly
answer, “I would explain it, like this … And
if they didn’t understand, I would explain
it another way, like this …” But I soon
realised that my supervisors were sceptical
of any teaching that involved explanations;
when they spoke to students they gave
instructions, never explanations.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
STUDENTS AT THE BBS ACADEMY, NEW YORK
In May I met with the parents of my
Year 7 students in routine parent-teacher
conferences. My supervising teacher,
Ms E—, sat next to me and occasionally
intervened. This was my second placement,
so parents often turned to Ms E—, knowing
that I had been teaching their children only
for a few weeks. I had prepared reading lists
for Year 7, and planned to say to almost every
parent, “Nothing will improve your child’s
writing skills more than reading. Here’s a
list of books he or she might enjoy”. I did
this with the first family, and they seemed
appreciative. But after they left, Ms E— said
to me, “Don’t give that list out to anyone
else.” I was too shocked to dissemble. “Why
not?” She couldn’t possibly have objected
to the content of the list, which featured
titles such as The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe and Anne of Green Gables. “This
is a comprehensive school, and these are
working class families. These people don’t
go to the library regularly. Don’t give them
the list.” Well, if that’s the case, I’d be happy
to give them an excuse to go to the library, I
thought. But I knew it was pointless to argue.
I did, however, manage to get permission to
offer reading suggestions to students, if they
approached me individually. Over the next
few days a steady trickle of students came
up to ask for the list.
The parent-teacher conference was a
revelation, because I saw that some of these
supposedly bovine parents were sceptical
about what was going on in school. Turning
to Ms E—, they said:
“Couldn’t you assign more homework?
His little brother, who’s seven years old,
gets more homework than he does.”
“She’s starting to read books like Black
Beauty and Tom Sawyer...”
(“Those are on my list!” I thought to
myself.)
“... by Jane Austen, which is the most
challenging book she’s read so far.”
“... I mean when I was her age we were
reading the Iliad. I guess times have
changed.”
ESSAY | SCENES FROM A PGCE – GABRIELLA GRUDER-PONI
Four years will pass before these children
are asked to read a book cover to cover
in school, four delicate years between
childhood and adolescence, when a child’s
natural curiosity must become habitual if it
is to survive. I was hopeful for some of my
youngest students, especially after hearing
their parents. But maybe I shouldn’t have
been: years of academic deprivation take
their toll; the saddest thing was to see how
indolent and incurious many of the older
students were. As horses that worked in
coal mines for years would go blind for
lack of visual stimulation, so young people
lose their thirst for knowledge for lack of
intellectual sustenance and stimulation.
Every time I suggested teaching a topic
that couldn’t be called hard but that might
begin to make up for years of wasted time,
I was told it was impossible, because this
was a comprehensive school, these students
weren’t like me or the people with whom
I had gone to school. A school that takes
all kinds shouldn’t be able to argue that its
students are special, and have to be treated
like invalids.
The professionals who supervised me
subscribed to two contradictory beliefs: that
Epilogue
In the end I flunked the PGCE. I had been encouraged to withdraw,
but I was stubborn, and I wanted to gather material for my article,
however painful and humiliating the process might be. And I wanted
to teach. Looking back, I think Mr F— decided all the way back in
November, when I lent him the Wordly Wise books, that I wouldn’t
pass the course. However much I tried to conform, to dumb down
and be obsequious, it was to no avail; I had revealed my true colours
in the autumn, and nothing I did would convince my supervisors that
I wasn’t play-acting.
A week after flunking the PGCE I went back to New York, and
started teaching at a summer school I had found on the internet. I had
no idea what to expect when Dr Kim interviewed me. The school,
housed on the second floor of a commercial building in the borough
of Queens, was not yet in session, and the small, windowless
classrooms, furnished only with deskchairs and a whiteboard, offered
no clues. As soon as I started teaching, however, I knew things would
be very different from the PGCE. The students were all children of
immigrants, and none of them spoke English at home, so there was no
question about learning vocabulary: Mrs Kim, the headmaster’s wife,
handed out xeroxed pages from the vocabulary books I had used in
middle school every week, and every week the students were quizzed
on the previous week’s words. I introduced lessons on etymology,
and had the students write sentences using their new words, which
we critiqued for usage. Mrs Kim herself spoke little English, but she
would occasionally give me tips on particular students. Refreshingly,
she would say, “He lazy. Push him,” gesturing with her hands.
FEATURES
they had nothing to teach the students, no
knowledge to impart; and that the students’
origins were their destiny. I’m convinced
of the contrary: I’m sure I have a great
deal to teach my students, but I do so in the
expectation that one day they will be my
intellectual equals.
This is a drastically abridged version of an
article that appeared in the September 2009
issue of The Reader magazine. The full version
can be found online at http://thereaderonline.
co.uk/2009/09/17/the-reader-gets-angry/
or
readergetsangry.notlong.com/.
The students themselves were the biggest revelation. They were
lively and funny, and their curiosity, having been encouraged, was
boundless. My younger students in Britain had been lively and funny
too, and many were, in spite of their teachers, curious. But I listened
to them with a tragic sense of being forbidden to communicate with
them, knowing that I was being observed at every moment. Now
at last I could talk to my students, nurture their interests, and share
with them my own enthusiasms. It was a great relief to do this, and
even more, to see the children get excited about (for example) Greek
mythology, the Flushing Remonstrance, or Blake’s poem ‘The Poison
Tree.’ And finally I could place real demands on my students without
fear of reprisal from above. When I asked to teach Tom Sawyer, Dr
Kim did not hesitate to order a class set of books. When I nervously
inquired whether I could assign reading for homework, or have the
students write essays in class, he seemed amused and perplexed, as if
thinking, “What else would one do?” Slowly I began to recover from
the PGCE, to unlearn my reflexive fears and to regain faith in myself
and in education. Now that I teach in a regular school I know that
BBS is no exception; what happened there is what happens every day
in a good school. But after the PGCE it seemed like nothing short of a
miracle to be allowed to teach, and to see my students grow and learn.
Gabriella Gruder-Poni (2001)
Gabriella welcomes contact from anyone wishing to discuss the issues
raised in her article. You can contact her at gabriella.gruder-poni@merton.
oxon.net
POSTMASTER | 2011
43
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MERTONIANS IN | LITERATURE
Mertonians in... Literature
MERTON IS STEEPED IN LITERARY HISTORY.
IT IS SAID TO BE THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE TABLE
ON WHICH ASLAN WAS SLAIN ON IN THE LION,
THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE AND ALSO OF
THE ENTS IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
Many written works by Mertonians can
now be found in the Bodleian Library,
founded, of course, by another Mertonian,
Sir Thomas Bodley. Max Beerbohm,
Edmund Clerihew Bentley, TS Eliot, Louis
MacNeice and JRR Tolkien have all added
to the rich story of Merton literature.
Postmaster has collected the thoughts
from a handful of contemporary Merton
writers who continue in their footsteps.
MICHAEL RIDPATH (1979)
They say second books are difficult, but I
found planning the second book in my series
about Magnus, my Icelandic detective,
fairly straightforward. The premise is that a
group of Icelanders decide to take revenge
on those whom they hold responsible for
the kreppa, their word for the credit crunch,
which crushed their country.
My editor liked the idea, but suggested
that I needed to add a touch of myth and
superstition. Myth and superstition? To the
credit crunch? A problem.
After some frantic head scratching and
speed reading, I booked myself a return
ticket to Iceland and borrowed a copy of
The Saga of the People of Eyri from the
London Library. This saga deals with the
experiences of a group of touchy Vikings
who arrived in the Snaefells Peninsula
in western Iceland at the turn of the
tenth century.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
One story captured my imagination. Two
berserkers had been brought from Sweden
to Iceland as slaves. They proved difficult
to control. Eventually, their master, a local
farmer, told them to cut a path through the
lava field between two farms. They drove
themselves into a berserk frenzy and cut
the path. When they had finished they were
exhausted and the farmer had no difficulty
running them both through with a spear.
I reread the saga on the plane, hired a car
at Keflavík airport and drove north for about
three hours, until I spied the snow-covered
dome of the Snaefells Glacier. I drove up
through a mountain pass, and pulled over
to the side of the road. Beneath me stretched
the Berserkjahraun, or Berserkers’ Lava
Field, a frozen river of grey stone, nibbled
at by mosses of russet, yellow and lime
green.
Close up, the folds of frozen lava reared
up into twisted sculptures of stone horses
and warriors. I found a faded wooden sign
pointing to the Berserkjagata. Sure enough,
this was a narrow path only a few inches
wide cut through the lava. I followed it for a
quarter of a mile until I came to a depression
in the ground and a low broad cairn. Inside
this, 19th-century archaeologists had found
two skeletons – not especially tall, but very
broad – which had been buried there a
thousand years before.
I flew home and began typing. Chapter
one of 66° North is about the demonstration
outside the Icelandic Parliament in the
winter of 2008. But chapter two begins with
two small boys, one of whom is Magnus’s
grandfather, playing berserkers in a lava
field on the Snaefells Peninsula.
Michael Ridpath’s two Icelandic novels
are Where The Shadows Lie and 66° North.
HECTOR MACDONALD (1992)
My writing career wasn’t planned. I didn’t
pen short stories or poems as a teenager, I
didn’t read English Literature, and I never
sought work experience in a commissioning
editor’s office. I was a biologist at Oxford,
and a strategy consultant thereafter. But I’ve
always loved reading novels, and it struck
me during a boring patch at work that I
MERTONIANS IN | LITERATURE
HECTOR MACDONALD
might be able to write one. Astonishingly,
that first attempt became a bestseller, The
Mind Game, translated into 18 languages
by the time I was 26.
Wow, this is easy, I thought. If that’s what
I can do (and earn!) when I know nothing
at all about writing, just think what literary
masterpieces I’ll be capable of with a little
craft and experience. It didn’t quite work
out like that. My second and third novels
were published to a resounding silence from
most critics and booksellers. This turns out
to be a common pattern for writers of ‘big’
first novels. Luckily I still had my business
career, for which I am particularly grateful
now that the publishing industry is tearing
itself apart in a ‘perfect storm’ of economic,
technological and structural change.
Heaven knows how most writers are coping
financially as contracts are cancelled, terms
changed, stock remaindered, and new
works by veteran authors shunned in favour
of celeb ‘autobiographies’ and TV tie-ins.
But in all the technological upheaval
I have found an even more exciting
opportunity: I now edit www.BookDrum.
com, a crowd-sourced multi-media website
that collates pictures, music, video, maps
and background information to add a new
illustrative dimension to books as diverse
as The Interpretation of Dreams, Brighton
Rock and Siddhartha. Book Drum is already
much loved by teachers and students in
the US, and it offers scholars and authors
an unprecedented opportunity to annotate,
illustrate and continuously update their own
books. It’s a thrilling new development in
publishing, and we hope soon to produce
fully enhanced e-books, complete with
interactive maps, TV footage, relevant
songs and photographs all built into the
text. Publishing is a precarious business…
but these days it certainly isn’t dull.
LORNA FERGUSSON (1980)
I arrived in 1980, when Merton first accepted
women. I was Scottish, my friend Catherine
Reilly, a brilliant bibliographer who later
won the Library Association’s Besterman
Medal, was Mancunian. I’d never drunk
Pimms in my life before I arrived here. All
round culture shock. During my studies,
I found myself both fulfilled and frustrated,
particularly by assumptions that I would go
on to teach. How could I reconcile my love
of literary criticism with my desire to be
creative, to be my own person?
Reader, I managed it. I still live in
Oxford, never having tired of its beauty and
its cultural history. I did end up teaching
FEATURES
literature, and after publishing my novel,
The Chase, with Bloomsbury, I’ve been
involved in creative writing teaching too.
Three decades ago, there was Arvon and
there was Malcolm Bradbury’s Creative
Writing MA at UEA – but not much else.
Now, literary conferences, festivals and
courses burgeon up and down the land: there
seems to be an incredible hunger in people
for self-expression and for some way of
validating their desire for self-expression.
You can argue that much of it is solipsistic
and unrealistic in its expectations. You can
argue that writing can’t be taught (and I
won’t get into that debate at present!) – but
we are in the midst of a revolution in the
publishing world which is part-daunting,
part-exciting. Writers can find their own
way to readers, through social media,
through print on demand, through the
Kindle.
I’ve taught for the Writers’ Conference at
the University of Winchester and for Oxford
University’s Department for Continuing
Education. Two years ago, I set up fictionfire,
LORNA FERGUSSON
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45
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MERTONIANS IN | LITERATURE
offering day courses, mentoring and editing
services. So the skills I gained as a student,
skills of analysis and critical reading, have
proved immensely useful when it comes to
helping new writers explore their potential.
I believe in being eclectic, drawing on
whatever example is relevant to illustrate a
point. If I’m drawing a plot-graph, I’ll use
King Lear or Great Expectations. If I want
to show how effective it is to start in medias
res, I’ll use Paradise Lost. But I’m just as
likely to use Stephen King or Lee Child. It’s
a delight to see how people react to texts
from the canon they might well have seen
as unapproachable before. When they hear
Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale, they realise the
art of the perfectly-formed short story has
always been with us. A good yarn is a good
yarn, whether it’s medieval or modern.
I intend to develop fictionfire: more
workshops, perhaps e-books and online
courses. All of this is immensely fulfilling.
But one problem continues: how to balance
nurturing the creativity of others with
finding time for my own writing!
RICHARD LEE (1984)
I love literary societies, and belong to
several. They’re a way of bringing likeminded people together, a way of asserting
some solidarity in a world that mostly
seems interested in other stuff. They’re
rarely ‘cosy’. Indeed they’re probably
the quickest way of finding a like-minded
person who completely disagrees with you.
But that’s part of the fun.
Now that’s set to change. Or if not change
exactly, to play itself out on a different,
far bigger stage. Where previously you
published learned journals for the paid-up
few (1,200 in our case), now you can publish
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POSTMASTER | 2011
free-to-view for many times that number –
daily. In the past you were limited by copy
dates, printer and distribution delays. Now
you can publish every day of the year: the
news can be new. Typically that news gets
tweeted and re-tweeted, so it also spreads
quickly. And of course membership is now
global. If you wake in the night and wander
down to the computer you’ll find scores of
new messages from different time-zones.
The problems of this are as immense
as the opportunity. Nowadays if I write
a review the chances are I not only know
the author, but probably ‘spoke’ with them
recently. Twitter is more intimate than
email; like being in the same room at a
party, you have the opportunity to ignore,
say hello, or make contact – you’ve ‘seen’
them, and they you. This exerts a pressure.
Your review, article, or choice of promotion
is intimate now in a way not dissimilar to
the coteries of old. Similar pressure comes
from the publishers, agents, publicists –
and implicitly from other writers in the
same area.
So, literary societies today are
interconnected and intimate; and at the same
time, have massive exposure and potential
influence. It’s a very exciting time!
MARC MORRIS (1998)
Being a writer is a lonely old business,
so it’s always nice to be asked to come
and give a talk. Once every month or so I
find myself speaking to a school or local
history society about some aspect of the
Middle Ages. Also, when a new book
comes out, my diary starts to fill up with
literary festivals – usually I’m awarded the
prestigious Tuesday morning slot. These,
too, can be very enjoyable, offering the
chance to spot bona fide celebrities and
partake of their backstage privileges (once I
had a dressing room with light bulbs around
the mirror).
The downside with literary festivals
is the occasional audience member who
attends with the intention of picking a fight.
My last book, for example, A Great and
Terrible King, was a biography of Edward
I, one of the most controversial figures in
British history, and for some people, the
mere fact of my having written it appears to
have made me president of his appreciation
society. At one particular provincial festival,
a woman sat in the front row, tutting loudly
throughout, upset because my take on
Scottish history differed substantially from
that of Mel Gibson. Did I not realise, she
MERTONIANS IN | LITERATURE
asked me during the questions, that Edward
I could have picked Robert Bruce to be king
of Scotland in 1291, thus avoiding all the
subsequent wars? No amount of argument
on my part could persuade her that the
Robert Bruce in question was not in fact the
legendary Scottish patriot, but his namesake
grandfather, a notorious English quisling.
Of course, one tries to be as polite as
possible in such circumstances, though
I sometimes wish I had the gumption to
say “Excuse me, but this is what I do for
a living, day in, day out.” Instead I invite
them to chat about it at the book-signing
afterwards. A sale is a sale, after all.
ROGER GARFITT (1963)
One of the pleasures of bringing out
a memoir is that old friends reappear
from nowhere. I’ve just had a letter from
Christopher Walker, who was an art student
at the Ruskin when I met him, and for the
last 40 years has been drawing and writing
in Ireland. It was Chris who took us out to
Northmoor when I was starting to write
myself and we didn’t have two pennies to
rub together. Chris had been haymaking for
George Lucas and knew he was living alone
in his old stone farmhouse. Could he let us
have a couple of rooms?
“I dunno,” George said, “my house isn’t
really fitted up for livin’ in.” But we managed
perfectly well, drawing our water from the
cold tap in the bathroom and cooking on
Calor Gas rings. Each morning I would
walk around the fields, the uncut hedges so
alive with birds it was like walking in the
margins of a medieval manuscript. I would
come back to the oval of a gate-legged
table and the unlined pages of the artist’s
sketchbook I used for writing because they
gave me a free space where I could try out
FEATURES
phrases without them being marshalled into
any order. I had sworn never to accept a line
unless it was better than I thought I could
write and I would work for days before
I found a phrase that had the right tension,
a combination of inevitability and surprise.
I would build up from there, finding other
phrases that seemed to grow out of that
rhythm, to belong to that movement across
the page – just the same scrying of silence I
am having to bend to now that the memoir
is out and I’m back to writing poetry.
ROGER GARFITT (SECOND LEFT), HIS WIFE PRISCILLA AND FRIENDS,
ON HIS WEDDING IN 1972, OUTSIDE CHRISTOPHER WALKER’S FARMHOUSE
POSTMASTER | 2011
47
FEATURES
MERTON CITIES | PARIS
Merton Cities: Paris
MERTONIANS HAVE MADE MANY OF THE FINEST
CITIES IN THE WORLD THEIR HOME. TO TAP
INTO THIS PRIVILEGED MINE OF INFORMATION,
POSTMASTER TALKS TO CAROL PEARSON
(2000) TO UNCOVER THE BEST KEPT SECRETS
OF PARIS.
Where is the best place to eat/drink?
It could take a while to answer this question!
Paris really is a treat for food lovers and
there are so many places to choose from. For
a simple snack, I’d recommend stopping for
a platter of cheese and meats and a carafe
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POSTMASTER | 2011
of good French red at one of the brasseries
on the slopes of Montmartre, or along the
Seine (La Palette on the Rue de Seine is a
favourite with the locals of the St Germain
de Près crowd).
One all-time classic among Parisians and
the expats is the library-styled Le Fumoir,
just behind the Louvre and, if you fancy
trying Corsican, then A Casaluna, hidden
in the backstreets round Palais Royale is
a great find. On a cold winter’s day, try
the eccentric but cosy Le Gros Minet,
in Les Halles area, or Les Galopins near
to Bastille for some very good traditional
French food.
For those not on a limited budget, La
Closerie de Lilas in the 6th arrondissement,
famed for having hosted among others
Stein, Hemingway, and Picasso in the
past, is an excellent choice for some
fabulous bistro food and old-world
Paris ambiance.
If you feel like really splashing out, try
the Sunday brunch at the stunning Hotel
Crillon, a palace originally commissioned
by Louis XV, which overlooks the Place
de la Concorde. Go with an empty
stomach, because the food is copious
and excellent.
MERTON CITIES | PARIS
What is the best way to spend a morning
in Paris?
Take it easy. Paris is not a city that should
be rushed. Start out with a croissant, coffee
and a newspaper in a café. Then a stroll
through the Luxembourg Gardens, taking
in the Luxembourg Palace and the fountains
is always a great way to start the day. The
gardens are always a bit quieter before
lunchtime.
… an afternoon?
Depending on your frame of mind, you
could head to one of the many museums
or exhibitions. The Musée d’Orsay, in
the magnificent former train station, has
an extensive collection of impressionist
and post-impressionist works. The Musée
Picasso, housed in a 17th-century mansion,
is really worth a visit for its collection as
well as for the impressive backdrop. The
Musée Rodin and its gardens are often
overlooked, but should be on the list if you
have time.
If you want to get a real taste of city life,
it’s best to avoid the Champs Élysées, and
instead take a velib’ (the bicycles for hire)
or walk around the different districts of the
city. The Marais area (east of the Pompidou)
offers some wonderful architecture, and in
the Grand Boulevards area you can discover
the historic galleries and passages from the
18th and 19th centuries and their quirky
boutiques. For more sporting types, take
in some fabulous views and the bridges
rollerblading along the quais of the Seine.
Stopping for a macaroon and hot
chocolate at Angelinas on the Rue de
Rivoli, or one of the famous Ladurée cafés
is a must. Plan ahead though, as you will
probably have to queue on the weekend.
… an evening?
If you’re looking to keep it simple: drinks
and dinner in a light-hearted ambiance
head over to the lively Rue Montorgueil
area. Café Etienne Marcel does some
great cocktails. The rue Montorgeuil and
perpendicular rue Tiquetone offer some
very good restaurants with a wider variety
of cuisine.
To try something a bit different, La
Bellevilloise in the 20th arrondissement is
a bar and restaurant with a stage that often
hosts eclectic musicians. The Jazz bars
situated near Châtelet, the Duc Du Lombard
or the Sunset Sunrise are two low-key clubs
popular for their good range of concerts.
If your French is up to scratch, get tickets
to one of the theatres on Rue Caumartin.
Otherwise there is normally something on
at Salle Pleyel and the Opera Houses.
Where is the best view?
While most would head to the Eiffel Tower,
there are several other options to get a good
view with fewer queues and spending less
money. The Montparnasse Tower, one of
the tallest skyscrapers in France, is a good
choice for those who want an easy trip –
you can go to the bar on the 56th floor and
get a drink while taking in the landscape,
great for sunset views of the city. If you’re
willing to put in a bit more effort, climbing
the steps up to the very top of the Sacre
Coeur is really worth it. Other places to try:
top of the Pompidou Centre, the top of the
Arc de Triomphe
FEATURES
You may be jostling among the masses,
but the gardens are kept in magnificent
condition and are still breathtaking.
The Château de Versailles is always a
good option for visiting both the palace
itself as well as its gardens. You can easily
spend a very full day, taking a boat on the
Grand Canal, exploring Marie Antoinette’s
hamlet built in the style of a Norman
village, the Groves, the Ballroom and the
Colonnade. Try to book tickets in advance
to avoid queuing.
Alternatively, the lesser-known 14thcentury Château de Vincennes to the east
of the city has been open to the public for
the past few years. Nearby, at the Vincennes
park, you can join the families and couples
boating on the lake.
What is Paris’ best kept secret?
Its parks. Aside from the well-known parks
(the Tuilleries, Luxembourg, Place de
Vosges to name but a few), Paris doesn’t
have a great reputation for its green
spaces. But there are several treasures not
so frequently visited by the tourists where
you’ll find the Parisians congregate in all
seasons, for meeting friends, playing with
their children, reading a book or simply
taking a nap under a tree. The Butte
Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement is
a favourite with the locals, as its unusual
composition, featuring cliffs, a grotto, and
lake with exceptional panoramic views over
Paris make this a popular place for walks
and a picnic.
What is a good day trip from Paris?
Art lovers should definitely head to Giverny,
a few hours west of Paris, where Monet
spent the final 43 years of his life and where
he drew the famous Japanese bridge series.
POSTMASTER | 2011
49
FEATURES
HAITI ELECTIONS
2010-11 Haiti Elections
AN ELECTORAL PREPARATION FIELD VISIT TO PORT DE PAIX (GEORGE ZACHARIAH
KNEELING FRONT RIGHT)
On 12th January 2010, an earthquake struck
Haiti, killing approximately 222,000.
This disaster, the worst in the Western
Hemisphere, struck the poorest country of
the region. The earthquake also brought
increased political uncertainty to Haiti,
a country that had already had repeated
political crises and faced many governance
challenges including corruption and
organised crime.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
The country was to have held
parliamentary elections in February 2010
and presidential elections later in the year.
With the end of their mandates on 10th May,
all the members of the National Assembly
and one third of the Senate gave up their
seats. The elections were to be the second
set since the appointed 2004-06 Interim
Government. Following the earthquake,
many asked whether elections could be
held: as well as destroying infrastructure,
the earthquake killed a third of civil
servants.
There are normally three critical areas
to assess when considering elections in
countries experiencing major shocks
(disasters, civil war, etc.): constitutionality
and timing of elections; legitimacy and
willingness of institutions and parties; and
strength and capacity of institutions.
Despite the many challenges, for its
reconstruction, the country needed a new
government with democratic legitimacy and
for its legal and constitutional processes to
be respected. President René Préval asked
the United Nations (UN) and Organisation
of American States (OAS) Secretaries
General to advise whether elections could
be held in 2010. Following their favourable
findings, President Préval agreed to hold
presidential and parliamentary elections.
Regarding legitimacy and willingness,
most of the opposition parties and candidates
contested the independence and therefore
the legitimacy of the government-appointed
Provisional Electoral Council (PEC), which
was responsible for organising the elections.
Their criticism of the Government and the
PEC created what the OAS observers later
termed a ‘toxic environment’ prior to the
first round.
On 20th November 2010, citizens voted
without incident in most polling centres.
In a few areas, there were problems and
allegations of fraud. At midday, 14 of the
19 presidential candidates alleged that there
had been widespread fraud and called for
the elections to be annulled. The following
day, two of the 14 (Michel Martelly
and Mirlande Manigat), who believed
themselves to be the front runners, retracted
their demand.
HAITI ELECTIONS
On 7th December, the PEC announced
that presidential candidates Mirlande
Manigat from the opposition and Jude
Celestin from Inite (the President’s party)
had qualified for the run-off election. This
led to three days of widespread violent
popular protests, because many believed
that Inite and the PEC had committed fraud
to rob presidential candidate and popular
musician Michel Martelly of second place.
The country found itself in a political
crisis. At the same time, a cholera epidemic
broke out in the north of the country
which eventually reached Port au Prince,
exacerbating the crisis.
President Préval invited the OAS to
investigate. The OAS reported that all sides
had committed fraud, but, having removed
the fraudulent figures from the count,
advised that Manigat and Martelly should
be in the second round. The Government
and PEC did not accept this immediately,
despite united international support for
the OAS findings. The international
community had to play the role of a
legitimating body, because the competing
political camps had grievously damaged the
Government and the electoral commission’s
credibility.
Eventually, the PEC adopted the OAS
findings and implemented its suggested
procedural improvements. The second
round on 20th March went smoothly.
Reassured by the international involvement,
the opposition parties and candidates
supported the process, in contrast to the
first round.
When countries need support, they often
draw upon the assistance of organisations
to which they belong to reinforce national
institutions and build their capacity. The UN
stabilisation mission from the Department
FEATURES
DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE EARTHQUAKE @ UNICEF SVERIGE
of Peacekeeping Operations and the
UN Development Programme provided
technical, logistical and security assistance
to Haitian institutions and the OAS fielded
an electoral observation mission. Many
countries provided substantial financial and
technical support.
Despite the rocky process, Haiti
transferred power democratically from one
elected government to another and had its
first ever run-off election for President.
Haitians elected Michel Martelly, of the
Peasants’ Response party, as President,
and representatives of other parties to
Parliament. Haiti faces many challenges
ahead, but has taken an important step to
consolidate its democratic system. This is
a significant achievement for a country that
suffered a severe tragedy so recently.
George Zachariah was a UN Political
Affairs Officer in Haiti. He now works
in New York for the UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, having spent
the last six years with the UN in Haiti,
the Sudan, and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. The views expressed here
are his own and do not represent the UN’s
official position.
George Zachariah (1991)
POSTMASTER | 2011
51
FEATURES
FOR GOODNESS SHAKES
For Goodness Shakes
When I left Merton, I wanted to learn about
business so I joined L’Oréal, the French
cosmetics and beauty care firm. I moved
around between marketing, supply chain
and finance and was there for seven years in
total, which was probably about two years
too long. It’d been pretty exciting in the first
few years – learning new things, travelling
a bit and even occasionally meeting models
– but towards the end, things had stagnated
and I was really bored. I remember waking
up thinking “Oh no, not work again”. I
used to look at my fellow passengers on the
tube in London, and so many looked like
unhappy prisoners. I thought that there has
to be more to life than this, so I quit without
another job lined up.
After travelling for a couple of months,
I came back to the UK with my future still
undecided. As a pleasant distraction from
the looming question of “what next?”, I
spent most of my time on sports, having
always been keen on long-distance cycling
and running. In longer races, I found that
the sports nutrition products I used didn’t
quite hit the spot. The only products
available seemed to be marketed towards
bodybuilders, or looked and tasted terrible,
so I consulted with a nutritionist and
developed products for my own use. I was
happy with them, and gave them to friends
who also enjoyed them and started to buy
them off me.
At the time, I was sharing a flat with an
old colleague from L’Oréal. He was looking
for a change too, so we agreed to set up in
business together. Our objective was to
provide better sports nutrition products
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POSTMASTER | 2011
– products that had proven performance
benefits, but also tasted good and were
easy to use. Our first product was the sports
recovery drink ‘For Goodness Shakes’. If
consumed directly after training/racing, it
helps you rehydrate, refuel and rebuild so
that you can train harder tomorrow.
Retail sales of the brand are now
£5 million, and we have a team of 12. We’re
still very much a small company but are
now certainly a bit further on our journey. It
seems like it was only yesterday we started
up, but so much has happened since. After
my ‘education’ at L’Oréal, I thought this
would be easy. How wrong I was! There
is such a developed infrastructure in a big
company that cushions and protects you.
Because of our size, we don’t have that
luxury and one of our frustrations has been
how hard it is to find good people to help run
the business. Despite the many attractions,
it can be difficult to persuade people to
join a smaller business. Negotiating with
your biggest customers feels like a game
of chess with particularly high stakes. You
find yourself up against big competitors,
looking for a repeat of David vs Goliath. In
a smaller organisation you have much more
responsibility – the buck really does stop
with you. You have your staff, shareholders
and business partners counting on you –
not to mention your wife and child back
at home!
I recall one terrible setback at the
beginning. We had made all our business
plans and were ready to go but the factory
who had agreed to manufacture our products
called us up and said they wanted to meet.
Although they bought us a very nice lunch,
something in their tone made us nervous –
and, sure enough, the champagne wasn’t
to celebrate our new deal. It was a “Sorry
we’re dumping you... it’s not you, it’s us...
we need some space” lunch. I think most of
us have probably delivered or received that
lunch in different circumstances, but it was
the first time I’d seen it done in business.
We had to go back to the drawing board,
and soon found someone else who could
manufacture for us.
Today I can find myself switching roles
between strategist, accountant, salesman,
scientific advisor and legal counsel within
the space of one morning. It’s certainly more
varied, challenging and rewarding than
what I did before. I enjoy the adventure, and
have no regrets about leaving the boredom
behind. I’m glad I made the switch to
running my own business as I enjoy being
master of my own destiny, and smile at
how unemployable (for anybody else) I’ve
probably become. I’ve learnt far more doing
this than I ever would have done working
for someone else.
I feel immensely proud when I see our
products being used. I’ve followed people
round the supermarket when I’ve seen them
put our products in their trolley. I’m always
surprised and touched when people write to
us to tell us how important our products are
to them. I wouldn’t say everything has gone
smoothly, or to plan, but we appear to be
creating something of value. For Goodness
Shakes is already the UK’s number one
sports recovery brand, and we have a new
range of products to bring to the market
later this year.
Stuart Jeffreys (1990)
WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 2010
FEATURES
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010
For Mother’s Day 2009 I was handed a
permission slip from my husband and two
boys. With my two broken hands I could
just about hold the slip and read “This
permission slip gives you all the support
you need to compete in the 2010 Rugby
World Cup, including time away from us
and all the babysitting you need”. This
probably sounds strange to other people but
for me it was the best present I could have.
I came to Merton in 1996 as an exchange
student from Uppsala University, Sweden,
which led to a DPhil at the Department
of Biochemistry 1997-2001. During my
time at Merton I gained four rugby Blues,
including one as Blues’ Captain. We won all
our Varsity matches and also won the BUSA
final at Twickenham 1999. The research
at Oxford was fun and went well but in
my spare time I really lived for rugby. In
1998, as a fairly inexperienced fly-half, I
represented Sweden in my first World Cup
– an incredible experience, but was it one
that I would have again?
The road back was not straightforward.
Sweden was left out of the World Cup
for 12 years because of our international
ranking. In 2009, however, a qualification
system was put in place for emerging rugby
nations. The 2009 European Championship
was the final qualifying tournament,
scheduled that year to take place in
Stockholm. Victory over Spain, Italy and
Germany was required – a real challenge, as
Spain and Italy, in particular, have women’s
rugby traditions strong enough to see them
seriously challenge the more traditional
‘Home Nations’.
So at 36 years of age, married with two
children, I was now captain of Sweden
and was about to experience a week I will
never forget. Italy went down first – an
incredibly high work rate and the gods of
rugby smiling on our ‘dummy-switch-miss’
move in the last minute saw us snatch the
game. Spain next in Game 2. We played
smart and hard, aiming to stay in their half
of the pitch. The game was extremely tight
and with two minutes left I kicked for our
winger to chase down a ball. The defender
made a mistake and we scythed through for
a try that won us the game, putting us out of
reach of Germany. After 12 years, we were
returning to the World Cup 2010. When the
final whistle blew, the loudspeakers were
blasting out our theme song for the week:
‘Fairytale’ (Eurovision song contest winner
that year). A fairytale end to the game, and
a magic moment that I relive every time I
hear the song.
The week of the qualifiers, however, didn’t
end as sweet. Only a few minutes into Game
3 against Germany I broke and dislocated
the thumb of my right hand. Having already
broken a bone in my left hand against Italy
ULRIKA REPRESENTING HER
CLUB SIDE IN GOTHENBURG
I was now sitting in hospital with two
broken hands. My poor husband James
(Hall, Wolfson 1993-96, Merton 1996-99)
is incredibly supportive with my rugby and
I would not have been able to do all the
training needed and play all those games
without the sacrifices he has made. But
meeting me after my hospital visit with
both hands bandaged, even his patience was
stretched. Anyone who has ever taken care
of two small children can probably imagine
how good I would be at the job with two
broken hands. This is why the permission
slip a few weeks later from my three boys
was worth more than any diamond.
The 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup
in England was a dream. The whole
tournament was very professional and well
organised. The rugby was fantastic. A world
apart from 12 years earlier when we had
last been to a world cup. We had worked
very hard to get to the World Cup and we
had worked even harder preparing for it.
We did play some of our best rugby ever
(coming close to an upset defeat of France),
but it wasn’t enough and the other results
didn’t go our way. It was a great experience
for us individually and for Swedish rugby,
and most of all it was great to see how much
women’s rugby has developed and how
professional it has become.
I retired as promised from International
Rugby 15s after the World Cup. However,
I still need to speak to James about the 2016
Olympics (Rugby 7s has just been made an
Olympic Sport). Wish me luck in getting
another permission slip.
Ulrika Andersson-Hall (1997)
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53
FEATURES
AWARDS OF THE VICTORIA CROSS
Awards of the Victoria Cross
Carrying out some gentle research on the
history of the Victoria Cross for a talk to
be given to the Heritage Group of our local
branch of the University of the Third Age
(U3A), I visited the new Ashcroft Gallery
on the fourth floor of the Imperial War
Museum. There one can find, beautifully
arranged, an impressive display of Victoria
and George Crosses from the collections of
the Ashcroft Trust and that of the Museum
itself. Complementing the display is a
book entitled Extraordinary Heroes, which
describes the feats of bravery that led to the
awards made to 80 of the recipients.
Two of that number were Merton men:
John Randle and Leonard Cheshire. Both
were born in 1917 and they knew each
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other as contemporaries and friends as they
pursued their studies at Merton immediately
before the war, but their paths diverged once
war broke out.
‘Jack’ Randle became an infantryman,
commissioned into the Royal Norfolk
Regiment, and was awarded the Victoria
Cross in May 1944 for several outstanding
acts of courage in the course of closequarters fighting with the Japanese in
Burma. In the end, he sacrificed his own life
to minimise casualties among his men and
the award of his VC was posthumous. He
is regarded by many as having been among
the bravest of the brave and it is recorded
that Leonard Cheshire wept on receiving
news of his death.
Cheshire himself, having been a member
of the University Air Squadron when at
Merton, joined the RAF with a permanent
commission in June 1939. He became a
legend in Bomber Command, flying over
100 missions, and being decorated with the
DSO and two bars and the DFC. At one time
he commanded the famous Dambusters
squadron but is best remembered as a
pioneer of the pathfinders’ strategy. It is
not surprising that his award of the Victoria
Cross was made on the basis of a period of
consistent gallantry rather than for a single
act of bravery.
Somewhere within the 150 years of the
existence of the Victoria Cross, there may
be other Merton names: it would be good
to know.
Alastair Porter (1949)
MERTON HISTORY | LOST MERTON 8
FEATURES
Lost, Little Known and Unbuilt Merton 8
The restorations of Edward Blore, 1835-44 and William Butterfield, 1848-64
On 25 April 1835, according to the College
Register, the Bursar was instructed ‘to see
Mr Blore with reference to a plan for the
restoration of the Front of the College’.
Edward Blore (1787-1879) had come to
prominence as an antiquarian artist and
architect when, in 1816, he had produced
plans for enlarging Abbotsford for Sir Walter
Scott (Plate 1). The latter had found Blore
‘a very fine young man, modest, simple
and unaffected in his manners, as well as a
most capital artist’.1 Blore was later to work
at Peterborough, Ripon, Norwich and Ely
cathedrals, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle
and Buckingham Palace. He was surveyor
of Westminster Abbey from 1827 to 1849.
Plate 1
Edward Blore, 1868, by George Koberwein.
On 1 February, 1838, the College further
resolved that ‘Mr Plowman be directed
to re-front with Bath stone the tower and
gateway towards the street according to an
estimate furnished by him and the plans and
drawings of Mr Blower (sic)’2 (Plate 2).
Happily, the Register sometimes also
records some more fleeting College affairs.
In 1840, for example, it was resolved “in
celebration of HM’s marriage (Queen
Victoria to Prince Albert) all the resident
members and the servants be entertained at
the expense of the college”.
Evidently satisfied with his work on the
Front of the College, it was resolved on 7
June 1843 that “Mr Blore be directed to
prepare forthwith the detailed drawings and
estimates of the works . . . he proposes to
undertake in the Ante-Chapel . . . also other
works in the Chapel he would recommend”
(Plates 3a-d). While engaged in designing
the major parts of the proposed restoration,
Blore found time to make sketches of
details of some of the mediaeval fabric. He
drew some of the grotesques on the exterior
of the Chapel and more importantly the
discarded stalls of Warden FitzJames of
the 1490s. These were to disappear shortly
afterwards3 (Plates 4 and 5). Although
Blore’s proposals for the Ante-Chapel,
which involved the removal of the tower
ceiling to reveal the fine wooden vault
Plate 2 Restoration of the north front, Edward Blore, 1838. Watercolour by J M W Turner (Tate Gallery).
POSTMASTER | 2011
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MERTON HISTORY | LOST MERTON 8
c.
b.
a.
above, the construction of the bell ringers’
gallery, supported by four fan vaults, were
all executed, his plans for re-roofing the
chapel, a new screen and reredos were not.
Why was this so?
In 1833, Tractarianism, the Oxford
Movement, had been launched with John
Keble’s Assize Sermon in the University
Church of St Mary the Virgin. Although
originally centred on Oriel College, Merton
was to be much influenced by this High
Church Movement. John Henry Newman,
later a Cardinal, was Vice Principal of St
Alban Hall (1825) and Henry Manning,
also later a Cardinal, was a fellow of
Merton (1832-3). In The Seven Lamps
of Architecture (1849), John Ruskin
had pronounced Perpendicular Gothic
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Plate 3 Designs, 1843, for: a. the Ante-Chapel; b. and c. the Chapel; d. Screens with alternatives.
Only a. was implemented.
d.
MERTON HISTORY | LOST MERTON 8
‘detestable’ and ‘early Decorated the safest
choice’ for tasteful construction. Rather
later, in 1879, Sir George Gilbert Scott,
who was later to work at Merton, declared
he had ‘from a very careful consideration
of the ancient churches of Germany, France
and England, been led to fix the period
1270-1300 as the period at which the most
perfect ecclesiastical architecture is to be
found.4 Merton College Chapel, built 129094, is thus at the heart of this brief peak
period of perfection! Although doctrinally
Tractarianism was centred on Oxford,
the practical architecture required for the
implementation of the return of the church
to pre-Reformation practices, was led by the
Camden, later the Ecclesiological Society,
at Cambridge. In 1844, their journal, the
Ecclesiologist, thundered that Edward
Blore was ‘entirely unacquainted with the
true spirit of Pointed Architecture (and
is) manifestly unfit for the charge of any
works at Westminster (Abbey)’. Clearly
late Decorated/Perpendicular Gothic was
becoming beyond the pale.
The College dealt with the matter
summarily on 29 May 1844. It resolved that
‘Mr Blore’s charges £145.16 be paid, also
for his plans for the alteration of the Chapel.
Further consideration of the improvement
of the Chapel be postponed for the present;
£257 be paid to Messrs Locking and
Nesham for work on transepts and tower;
£5.5 to Mr Blore for recent survey of the
works in Chapel be paid’. Then, after a
decent period for reflection, on 26 October
1848 the College decided: ‘that William
Butterfield be invited to visit the College
with a view to giving his advice as to the
restoration of the College Chapel’.
Sir Gilbert Scott was to describe
Butterfield as ‘the architect of the High
FEATURES
Church party’. Edward Blore’s days at
Merton were done but his pleasing AnteChapel roof and his attractive north front of
the College splendidly remain today.
Notes:
1
2
3
4
DNB, 2004.
This is evidently a somewhat ‘plummy’ version of ‘Blore’!
See The Merton Gatehouse, Alan Bott, Postmaster 2000,
50-55.
The only other known drawing of these stalls was made
by J C Buckler in 1824. (British Library Additional MS
36376). Copies of all his Merton drawings are in the
College Library.
G G Scott, Personal and Professional Recollections,
1879, 124.
Note: All the drawings by Edward Blore (with the
exception of Plate 3d, which is in the College Archives)
are deposited in British Library Additional MSS 42027
ff. 8-11 and 36374 ff 72, and 125 b. Copies of all these are
now placed in the College Archives, where other original
drawings and plans by Blore are already deposited.
Alan Bott (1953), Bodley Fellow
Plate 4 Sketch of grotesques, numbered 1 - 15
north transept and 1 - 11 south transept.
Plate 5 Sketch of stalls of Warden FitzJames,
c.1490, in the Ante-Chapel, 1843.
POSTMASTER | 2011
57
FEATURES
MERTON HISTORY | ROBERT GILBERT, WARDEN OF MERTON 1417-21
Robert Gilbert, Warden of Merton 1417-21
Pictorial representations are known for
only six of Merton’s 20 medieval Wardens,
namely Mr Peter Abingdon (Warden 126486), John Bloxham (1275-87), Robert
Gilbert (1417-21), Henry Sever (145671) Richard Fitzjames (1483-1507), and
John Chambers (1525-44). Four Wardens
appear on items belonging to the College:
Abingdon on a seal, Bloxham and Fitzjames
on manuscripts, and Sever on a brass in
the chapel.1 Chambers can be seen in the
magnificent portrait of Henry VIII and
the Barber-Surgeons by Hans Holbein the
Younger (1541), at the Royal College of
Surgeons in London.2 Gilbert’s portrait,
however, is in the unexpected location of an
obscure Oxfordshire country church. How
is this to be explained?
The answer lies in the conjunction of
a successful late-medieval clerical career
with probably a local initiative in church
building. Robert Gilbert was born in the
early 1380s and came to Merton as a Fellow
in 1398, almost certainly to work for an MA
with the College’s financial support.3 He
had presumably studied for his BA in one of
Oxford’s 120 or so academic halls.4 Gilbert’s
election was a considerable achievement as
there were only seven secular colleges and
correspondingly few fellowships. He left
in 1402, but soon returned to Oxford and
for two years rented a room at Exeter
College while he taught in the University
and studied theology. He was ordained
priest in 1403, and was awarded a doctorate
in theology by 1413.
At this time the English Church,
especially the Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Arundel, was concerned about
the continuing influence in Oxford of
the philosopher and heretical theologian
John Wyclif, a former Fellow of Merton
HORLEY CHURCH, SHOWING THE NORTH AISLE WHICH WAS REBUILT IN THE EARLY 15TH CENTURY
58
POSTMASTER | 2011
MERTON HISTORY | ROBERT GILBERT, WARDEN OF MERTON 1417-21
FEATURES
MASTER ROBERT GILBERT,
PROBABLY 1420S,
IN HORLEY CHURCH, OXFORDSHIRE
DETAIL OF PORTRAIT OF ROBERT GILBERT
and Master of Balliol. Wyclif had died in
1384 having repudiated the authority of
the Pope and the clerical hierarchy, denied
fundamental Catholic doctrines such as
transubstantiation and purgatory, and having
advocated disendowment of the Church.5
In the early 14th century there were still
Masters in Oxford, including some Fellows
of Merton, who were impressed by Wyclif’s
logic and sometimes sympathetic to his
theological ideas.6
Gilbert was clearly a leading opponent of
Wycliffism and benefited accordingly.
Around 1409 he was appointed to a
University committee to examine works by
Wyclif and list his errors, a task that led
eventually to a visitation of the University by
Archbishop Arundel in 1411. In 1414, after
Lollards (followers of Wyclif) led by Sir
John Oldcastle had attempted to assassinate
King Henry V, Gilbert was one of two
commissaries (deputies) appointed by the
Bishop of Lincoln to make another visitation
of Oxford University. In 1417 Robert
Gilbert moved onto an international stage
when he attended the Council of Constance.
Convened in 1414 to end the ‘great schism’
in the Western Church, the Council had so
far brought about the removal of two of
three rival popes. It was also concerned with
combating Wycliffite heresy; it is possible
that Gilbert became a delegate because of
his experience in this field.
In the late Middle Ages, promising
graduate clergy and theologians were
routinely supported and rewarded with
important church posts (usually served by
deputies) and with benefices, mostly ones
POSTMASTER | 2011
59
FEATURES
MERTON HISTORY | ROBERT GILBERT, WARDEN OF MERTON 1417-21
that lacked ‘cure of souls’. As a rising
talent, Robert Gilbert attracted numerous
such rewards. His departure from Merton
in 1402 occurred because he had been
presented to a rectory (in Cheshire), a
position incompatible with his fellowship.
In 1411 he was appointed Precentor of
Lincoln Cathedral. And by 1417 he had
attracted the support of both Henry V and
Arundel’s successor as archbishop, Henry
Chichele. Gilbert was appointed Dean of
the Chapel Royal in 1416 or 1417; and in
1417, while he was at Constance, he was
selected by Chichele, who had the final
choice, as Warden of Merton. Gilbert
was about 35 years old. Later in 1417 he
accompanied Henry V to Normandy as part
of the royal household.7
In 1420, while still Warden, Robert
Gilbert received more yet benefices, from
the Bishop of Lincoln. He exchanged the
precentorship of Lincoln Cathedral for
a prebendal estate (estate attached to a
cathedral canonry) in Huntingdonshire,
only to relinquish it soon afterwards for
another prebendal estate that had become
available by the death of its holder. The
second estate was that of Sutton-cumBuckingham.8 Its assets included the rectory
estate associated with King’s Sutton church
in Northamptonshire, about three miles
south-east of Banbury in Oxfordshire, and
an associated manor and great tithes (e.g.
corn, hay) at Horley and Hornton, villages
respectively three and four miles northwest of Banbury.9 There were also chapels
at Horley and Hornton, which were served
by a curate appointed by the vicar of King’s
Sutton. It was at Horley chapel that Gilbert
was to leave a memorial.
In 1420 Horley ‘chapel’ was a large
church built of golden Hornton stone.10
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Dedicated to the 7th-century saint
Etheldreda, it consisted of a long chancel, a
spacious nave with tall arcades, aisles, and
a western tower. Early in the 15th century
the north wall of the north aisle was rebuilt.
The reason for this is unclear, though it was
perhaps required for structural reasons.
The rebuilding included new up-to-date
windows and stained glass. Sections of the
original glass survive in the heads of two
windows.11 One shows Henry Rumworth, a
former Fellow of The Queen’s College and
holder of the prebendal estate from 1412 to
1420, who is described as Archdeacon of
Canterbury. The other, in a different style,
shows Robert Gilbert. He wears a ruby robe,
blue mantle, and black doctor’s ‘pileus’ (felt
hat). Behind him is the inscription ‘Magister
Roberus Gylbard’ (sic). Rumworth’s portrait
probably dates from 1416 to 1420, when he
served as archdeacon, and Gilbert’s portrait
possibly dates from 1420 to 1426, before
he became Dean of York in the latter year.12
It seems likely that Rumworth and Gilbert
were commemorated in Horley chapel
because as estate-holders they contributed
to the rebuilding and glazing of the north
aisle wall.
Robert Gilbert resigned as Warden of
Merton in 1421 and continued his career
in the Church. He suffered a setback in
1432 when he was replaced as Dean of the
Chapel Royal on the initiative of Humphrey,
Duke of Gloucester. But in 1436, thanks
to support from Cardinal Henry Beaufort,
he was appointed Bishop of London.
Gilbert worked conscientiously in his
diocese and attended Parliament regularly,
though he never achieved a prominent
position in national public life. His work
as bishop reflected the more positive side
of his character. As an opponent of Wyclif
and recipient of ecclesiastical posts and
benefices, Gilbert supported the structure
and workings of the late medieval Church;
and back in 1417, while Warden of Merton,
Gilbert had defended the practice of
awarding benefices to university graduates
at a meeting of the Southern Convocation
(Church assembly). But as a bishop in the
Church led by Henry Chichele he appears
to have supported the archbishop’s desire to
have ‘an active pastoral clergy’, including
able graduates who would propagate correct
doctrine through preaching.13
Robert Gilbert died in 1448 and was
buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. His tomb no
longer survives, but his image remains clear
and bright in the quiet provincial village of
Horley, deep in north Oxfordshire.
JRL Highfield (1948)
RB Peberdy (1975)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
G.H. Martin and J.R.L. Highfield, A History of Merton
College, Oxford (1997), Plates 1(b), 8, 12, II.
The painting is a preparatory ‘cartoon’. Inf. from website of
the Royal College of Surgeons (June 2011).
Unless noted otherwise, biographical information is based
on ‘Gilbert, Robert’ by Irene Zadnik in Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography (accessed online). See also Martin and
Highfield, History of Merton College, p. 120.
For a summary see ‘Academic Halls’ in C. Hibbert and E.
Hibbert (eds.), The Encyclopaedia of Oxford (1988), pp. 3-6.
For a summary of Wyclif’s theology see R. Rex, The
Lollards (2002), chap. 2.
Remainder of para. based on J.I. Catto, ‘Wyclif and
Wycliffism at Oxford 1356–1430’ in idem. and T.A.R. Evans
(eds.), The History of the University of Oxford, vol. 2, Late
Medieval Oxford (1992), esp. pp. 225-54.
A.B. Emden (ed.), Biographical Register of the Members of
the University of Oxford to 1500, vol. 2 (1958), p. 767.
J. Le Neve, Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, 1300–1541, vol.
1, Lincoln Diocese (accessed via ‘British History Online’
website).
Remainder of para. based on Victoria County History of
Oxfordshire, vol. 9, pp. 127, 132.
Ibid., pp. 134-35.
Description of glass based on Peter A. Newton, The County
of Oxford: A Catalogue of Medieval Stained Glass (Corpus
Vitrearum Medii Aevi, vol. 1, 1979), pp. 113-15.
It is possible that Gilbert’s portrait dates from slightly later,
but must have been inserted by 1436; Newton, County of
Oxford, p. 114.
cf. Catto, ‘Wyclif and Wycliffism’, pp. 253 (including
quotation), 259.
MERTON HISTORY | LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL
FEATURES
Lord Randolph Churchill, Viscount Goschen
and Sir Max Beerbohm
On 20th December 1886, Lord Randolph
Churchill (Merton, 1867) wrote from
Windsor Castle a letter to the Prime
Minister, Lord Salisbury, threatening his
resignation. Churchill was then Chancellor
of the Exchequer and somewhat
uncharacteristically had proposed some
unpopular economies, especially on
naval and military expenditure. Churchill
evidently had expected to win his way
by this stratagem but Salisbury called
his bluff and replaced him as Chancellor
with GJ Goschen, a financier of
European repute. Somewhat ruefully,
Churchill later wrote “All great men
make mistakes; Napoleon forgot Blucher;
I forgot Goschen.” Max Beerbohm
(Merton, 1890) mischievously later noted
that Goschen was chiefly remembered for
having been forgotten by Lord Randolph
Churchill. To be just, however, it may also
be recalled that Viscount Goschen was to
become Chancellor of Oxford University
in 1903.
I acquired Max’s ‘Mr GJ Goschen’
about 25 years ago. I have just acquired
F C Gould’s ‘Lord Randolph Churchill
on the Benches’, which seems perfectly
to catch the bemused and tragic mood of
December 1886. Having been, at 37 years
old, the youngest Chancellor since Pitt
the Younger, Randolph Churchill never
returned to such public prominence and
died nine years later.
Randolph Churchill had rooms as
an undergraduate in the 1860s on the
‘Lord Randolph Churchill on the Benches’, Truth, December 1886, by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould.
south side of Mob Quad, below the Old
Library. These were to be occupied in
the 1890s by Max Beerbohm. In a letter
to Professor HW Garrod of 28th October
1952, Max enquired “whether a narrow
side desk on which ‘Randolph S Churchill’
was untidily but deeply incised, is still
there”. Regrettably it is not. In 1942, the
College had elected Winston, the elder
son of Lord Randolph Churchill, as an
Honorary Fellow.
Alan Bott (1953)
Bodley Fellow
‘Mr G J Goschen’, c.1890, by Sir Max Beerbohm.
POSTMASTER | 2011
61
BOOK REVIEWS
DOWDING & CHURCHILL | JACK DIXON
DOWDING & CHURCHILL: THE DARK
SIDE OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
BY JACK DIXON
(PEN & SWORD MILITARY, 2008)
In November 1940 the Air Ministry
summarily removed Dowding from his
command. Seventy years on, Jack Dixon
still bitterly resents this injustice. He loathes
the superior attitude of the Air Ministry
towards Fighter Command. His book is one
great roar against the wickedness of it all.
Neutral he is not. Let’s take one sentence
at random: “Lifted above compunction
by the vision of calamity impending, the
iconoclast of Bentley Park (Dowding)
demolished, with what sometimes seemed
unholy glee, the heirophants of Whitehall
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POSTMASTER | 2011
used the pious evasion to cloak official
reluctance to surrender to Dowding’s logic.”
There are legions of tangy adjectives,
partisan adverbs and judgmental nouns
rioting through the text.
This makes for a rollicking good read
but the key question is: ‘Is Dixon’s anger
justified?’ The evidence suggests that it is.
The battle of Britain was one of the key
engagements of the Second World War.
German victory in the battle would have
forever ruled out the chance of an attack on
the Reich from the west and, presumably,
given the Reich access to the resources
of the British Empire. German errors
contributed to the Luftwaffe’s defeat but so
too did actions taken by Britain.
Three of these factors are directly
associated with Dowding. The first was
one of strategic imagination. Dowding
recognised that what Baldwin had said was
not necessarily true. It did not have to be
the case that: “the bomber will always get
through”. Air power had a defensive as well
as an attack role. With Britain on the back
foot in 1940 it was this defensive function
that was indispensible.
The second was a development of the first.
In the years immediately before the war
Dowding backed research and development
of radar. The string of radar stations gave
the RAF a key intelligence advantage over
the Luftwaffe, to quote Wing Commander
Max Aitken: “Radar really won the Battle
of Britain...We wasted no petrol, no energy,
no time.”
Thirdly, Dowding followed his logic
through. He refused to commit further
planes to France. The RAF were often
losing as many as 25 Hurricanes a day
when factories were producing only four
or five. Dowding’s refusal was backed by a
threat to resign. Given Churchill’s romantic
but wasteful commitment of troops to
the defence of Brittany after Dunkirk
fell, Dowding’s threat was most prudent.
Dowding told Halifax that when he heard
of the Fall of France: “I went onto my knees
and thanked God.”
The evidence in Dowding’s favour is
compelling. Whenever there is a giant
brought down by lesser men we will find
plots, jealousies, insecurities and puddingheaded bureaucracy. Dixon chronicles
these as he sees them, though inevitably
his mapping of the detail is less cogent
than the central and undeniable case for
Dowding’s defence. Such defenestrations
are more likely to be the effect of a number
of random actions, petty grudges and backstabbings that than of a single, co-ordinated
conspiracy.
Altogether it is energising to have such
a spirited defence of so distinguished
a warrior. Dixon rightly characterises
Dowding’s gaze as “penetrating and
whole”. He builds his defence on the fact
that Dowding recognised, both before and
during the conflict, the sine qua non of
maintaining the security of the base, the
inviolability of Britain.
Peter Truesdale (1976)
MEMOIRS OF A DERVISH: SUFIS, MYSTICS AND THE SIXTIES | ROBERT IRWIN
MEMOIRS OF A DERVISH:
SUFIS, MYSTICS AND THE SIXTIES
BY ROBERT IRWIN
(PROFILE BOOKS, 2011)
There was always a slight worry among
the Sixties’ generation that someone
might be having a more interesting time
than you. My contemporary Robert Irwin
clearly was.
While most of us, like him, were
pondering the Meaning of Life over mugs
of Blend 37, Robert, with the aid of LSD,
was observing the elephant-headed Hindu
god Ganeesha “sitting on my ceiling and
handing me down a cigarette”. Most of
us were smugly chalking up an encounter
with a geographically convenient St
Hilda’s girl, while Robert had friends like
Anne, who “when a Moroccan military
commander in the Sahara had tried to rape
her... had stabbed him in the balls”, or
Kittoo, who once exorcised a launderette
in Walton Street using a Tibetan ritual
knife. And while most of us were glumly
plodding to the one lecture a week we
attended, Robert “scoured the lecture lists
for esoteric subjects”. The clear winner
was a Buddhist expert who, beside his
cardboard coffin, mesmerised his class
with his views on the relationship between
pot, lightning and space.
Robert wasn’t interested in the
Mysticism Lite many of us dabbled in.
During his first year at Merton he had
determined to become a Muslim saint, and
this book is a wonderfully witty and wellwritten chronicle of this spiritual odyssey.
He sets off for Algeria, and the zawiya, a
sort of Sufi saint seminary at Mostaganem,
pausing briefly in Paris to send home
a couple of posters of Francoise Hardy
(presumably a sort of insurance if the saint
thing didn’t work out). At the zawiya he is
introduced to ritual ablution and rhythmic
chanting by Abdullah Faid; “he had an
ingenuous, childlike face (but Ralph Davis
at Merton had taught me to be wary of
seemingly childlike intelligences).”
It is a fascinating, critical insight into
Sufism, set to the soundtrack of Donovan,
Dylan and the Beach Boys. The two worlds
are constantly entwined, as Irwin lurches
from one to another – at one moment
uncomfortably gawky as he dances at an
Eights Week ball, only to experience, back
in Algeria, the swooning, ecstatic rapture
of the Dervish melboos.
And that’s the charm of the book –
Irwin’s capacity to live simultaneously
in two so dissonant universes. There’s
a passage where he describes getting
a fit of the Goon Show giggles during
BOOK REVIEWS
the ritual incantation of ‘Yellow Teeth,
Yellow Teeth’, chanted a thousand times,
until he realises that this is not a Muslim
preoccupation with oral hygiene, but the
repetition of Yo Latif, one of the names of
Allah. On his birthday, he bunks off up to
the top of the minaret for a crafty two tins
of Nestle condensed milk. Instructed that
at the moment of sexual ecstasy he should
exclaim bismillah (in the name of God) he
ponders how well this would go down with
his wife.
Ultimately, a doomed love affair, the
rancid and brutal politics of Algeria and
Irwin’s ever-present self-doubt about his
fitness for sainthood combine to bring
him home. He gives the definitive lie to
the view that if you could remember the
Sixties you weren’t there, with an account
of a methedrine high which is clinically
lucid – “I was my perfect companion, for
in the palace of mirrors within my head
there were a thousand of me. And the ‘me’
was brilliant, for it was obvious to me how
time, consciousness and spirituality all
connected.”
In an elegiac coda, Irwin describes his
turmoil over the totalitarian face of Islam,
with its judicial amputations, stonings, and
women “dressed as bin bags”; and how he
“fell to earth” under the “vast gravitational
pull of the everyday, or work, and of
marriage.”
This is a book which makes me regret
that I did not know my contemporary
better. My life would have been much the
richer for it and, certainly, my Sixties more
exciting.
David Jessel (1964)
POSTMASTER | 2011
63
BOOK REVIEWS
TOMFOOLERY | THOMAS BRAUN
TOMFOOLERY
BY THOMAS BRAUN
(ANTONY ROWE)
My brother Thomas Braun produced
comparatively few learned works. Copies
of his entire output of ‘serious’ publications
– just over 100 of them, together with
half a dozen interesting pieces that he left
unpublished – can be found in box files
that I have deposited in Merton Library.
By contrast, Tom was a prolific author of
occasional verses and other less serious,
though not less ‘learned’, writings.
“It isn’t that I spend time writing it when
I ought to be writing for you,” he wrote
to the editor for one of his more serious
pieces, “but that it comes all too naturally
without the expenditure of time.” After Tom
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POSTMASTER | 2011
died in 2008, many people asked if there
was a collection of the occasional verses,
and when I gave a note to the 400 people
at the memorial service inviting them to
send me samples, Tim Heald, a friend of
Tom’s through Balliol and the Arnold and
Brakenbury Society, offered to help me
produce an anthology. Tim is a professional
writer who does this kind of thing as
well as publishing detective novels, royal
biographies and the like.
A few years ago Tom commented that he
was glad to say that his Complete Works
were unlikely ever to be published. Even
so, I found he had begun to assemble a
collection in a couple of ring binders,
which became the basis of the anthology.
Then there were the pieces that Mertonians
kindly sent me. And as I worked through
the mass of papers that Tom left behind, I
found more and more, especially familiar
earlier items. I still remember him singing
his versions of Jerusalem (was it builded
here? No, it was built in Palestine!) and All
things bright and beautiful (“Some things
are not so wonderful: why must he make
them all?” with examples) during a family
holiday in the Alps. So I was delighted to
find the original texts of these verses, and
even of a related Oxford Union speech.
Altogether I have found well over 700
different pieces. Tim and I had fun chortling
over the selection, though whittling it down
to the present 140 items wasn’t easy. We
tried to reflect as many aspects of Tom’s
life and character as we could: Merton and
Balliol, Oxford, England and Germany,
Greece, and the world, ancient and modern.
The translations of German poetry, many
of which were published in the Oxford
Magazine were new to me and a revelation.
Tom’s love of Merton is evident (see the
Senior Common Room hymn – ‘Forgive O
Lord the bribes he took/Unto our founder
dear…’), as is that of Balliol (‘Admired by
some, by other men abhorr’d/ Hail pungent
College on the plangent Broad…’), of
books and of Oxford (see A Warning to
Readers, first published in Postmaster
in 1969, with a terrifying description of
Bodley’s Librarian, or the spoof Oxford
Gazette announcing of the Bod’s closure),
of English literature (see his versions
of Pride and Prejudice in the style of
Hiawatha and vice versa), of the Bible
(‘Have one God at most: that’s more/Than
many bishops bargain for’), and, of course,
of classics (for example, Eh-Wa-Au-WauAooow).
I hope all this whets the appetite. All
good Mertonians should buy this book and
give copies to their friends!
Tomfoolery: occasional writings by
Thomas Braun is published by Antony
Rowe Publishing, ISBN 978-1-907571084, RRP £17.00. You can buy it:
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
direct from the publishers at
www.cpibookdelivery.com/
book/9781907571084/Tomfoolery for the
RRP plus £2.95 p&p
by ordering it from any good bookshop
for the RRP, postage free
online from Amazon.co.uk for £16.15,
postage free
from other online sellers for even less
direct from me. I have some copies that
I can sell for £15.00 if you arrange
to meet me in London. This has the
advantage that nothing has to be paid to
the middlemen, so that the entire purchase
price will go towards making a profit,
which is to go to Merton’s Thomas Braun
Classical World Travel Fund.
Christopher Braun
IN THE BEGINNING | THE CHOIR
MUSIC REVIEW
Music Review
IN THE BEGINNING
BY THE CHOIR OF MERTON COLLEGE,
OXFORD
(DELPHIAN RECORDS, 2011)
Over the Easter vacation the College
Choir recorded its debut CD for Delphian
Records. The chapel has long been a
popular recording venue for many wellknown choirs, and it’s exciting that the
resident choir can now begin to build a
discography of its own.
The disc, called In the beginning, is framed
with large-scale pieces.’ Opening the disc is
Gabriel Jackson’s setting of the Prologue
from St John’s gospel, commissioned for
the College Choir in 2009 by the Reverend
Nicholas Fisher, and closing the programme
is Aaron Copland’s virtuoso setting of
Genesis, in which the choir is joined
by mezzo soprano Beth Baxter. Three
contrasting settings of ‘When David heard’
(Gombert, Weelkes and Whitacre) and
the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ (Palestrina, Holst and
Lukaszewski) complete the programme.
The CD will be launched on Wednesday
26th October following the live broadcast
of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3 at
3.30pm. Please check the Merton website
for details of how to purchase the disc after
this date.
CHOIR RECORDING SESSION IN MERTON CHAPEL
POSTMASTER | 2011
65
RECORDS
MERTON COLLEGE 2010-11 | THE VISITOR
Records
Merton College 2010-11
THE VISITOR
The Most Reverend and Right Honourable the Lord Archbishop of
Canterbury
WARDEN
Martin Taylor, MA (PhD Lond) FRS
FELLOWS
Ian Abel, DPhil (BA Camb) Culham Junior Research Fellow in Physics
David Al-Attar, MSc Junior Research Fellow in Geology
Judith Patricia Armitage, MA (BSc, PhD Lond) Professor of
Biochemistry
Rhiannon Ash, MA, DPhil (MA Toronto) Tutor in Classics
Douglas John Bamber, MIH Domestic Bursar
Alan James Barr, (BA, MSci, PhD Camb) Tutor in Physics
Giles Bergel, (BA Newc; MA, PhD Lond) JPR Lyell Research Fellow
in the History of the Early Modern Printed Book
James Jeffrey Binney, MA, DPhil (MA Cantab) FRS Professor in
Physics
Kathryn Lee Blackmon, MA (BS Clemson; MBA, PhD North
Carolina) Tutor in Management Studies
Richard Callaghan, MA (BSc (Hons), PhD Melbourne) Official
Fellow, University Lecturer (non-medical) in Clinical Laboratory
Services, Senior Treasurer of the Amalgamated Clubs
Roderick Bruce Campbell, (BA Victoria; MA British Columbia; PhD
Harvard)
Paul Francis John Chamberlain, MA (BA, MD Dublin) FRCS(C),
FACOG Official Fellow, University Lecturer in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology
Mindy Chen-Wishart, MA (BA (Hons), LLB, LLM, Otago) Tutor in
Law
Kieran Clarke MA (BSc Flinders, PhD Queensland) Research Fellow
in Physiological Biochemistry and Research Convenor, Garden
Master
Artur Konrad Ekert, MA, DPhil (MSc Cracow) Professor of Physics
David Gordon Ellis Norbrook, MA, DPhil (MA Aberd) Merton
Professor of English Literature
Gail Fine, MA (BA Michigan; MA, PhD Harvard) Senior Research
Fellow in Philosophy
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Jonathan Flint, BA, BM, BCh, MRCPsych, CCST Michael Davys
Professor of Neuroscience
Karl Gerth, (BA Grinnell, PhD Harvard) Jessica Rawson Fellow in
Modern Asian History, Tutor in History
John Stuart Gjers Gloag, MRICS Fellow, Land Agent & Estates Bursar
Guy Manning Goodwin, BM, BCh, MA, DPhil, FRCPsych WA
Handley Professor of Psychiatry
Véronique Gouverneur, MA (Licence en Sciences Chimiques, PhD
Louvain) Professor of Chemistry and Tutor in Organic Chemistry
Daniel Grimley, (BA, MPhil, PhD Camb) Tutor in Music
Matthew Grimley, MA, DPhil Mark Reynolds Fellow, Tutor in History
Timothy Charles Guilford, MA, DPhil Professor of Animal Behaviour
and Tutor in Zoology
Steven John Gunn, MA, DPhil Tutor in History, Sub-Warden
Kirstin Gwyer, BA(Hons), MSt, DPhil Junior Research Fellow in
Modern Languages
Peter William Harold Holland, MA (PhD Lond; DSc Reading), FRS
Linacre Professor of Zoology
Simon Martin Hooker, MA, DPhil Professor of Atomic & Laser
Physics and Tutor in Physics, Senior Treasurer of the JCR
Luuk Huitink, DPhil, MSt (MA Amsterdam) Leventis Research Fellow
in Ancient Greek
Simon Matthew Jones, MA, DPhil (BA, MA Durh; PhD Cantab)
Research Fellow and Chaplain, Steward of Common Room
Michael Keith, BA, DPhil Research Fellow in Anthropology
Irene Stavros Lemos, MA, DPhil Reader in Classical Archaeology
Ian Maclachlan, MA, DPhil Tutor in French
Rachel Mairs, MA (BA (Hons), MPhil, PhD Camb) Junior Research
Fellow in Literae Humaniores
Richard Anthony McCabe, MA, FBA (MA Dublin; MA, PhD Cantab)
Professor of English Language and Literature and Tutor in English
Katherine Anne McClune, BA (Hons), DPhil Fitzjames Research
Fellow in Old & Middle English
Robert Metcalfe, (BA, MSc Swansea; MSc LSE; PhD ICL) Fitzjames
Research Fellow in the Economics of the Environment
Anthony Philip Monaco, MA (AB Princeton; MD, PhD Harvard)
FMedSci Professorial Fellow
Alan David Morrison, MA, DPhil (MSc Lond) Professor of Finance
and Tutor in Management Studies, Principal of the Postmasters
James Peter Neary, DPhil, (MA UCD) FBA Professor of Economics
Béla Novák, (MSc, PhD, Dr Habil, DSc TU Budapest; CSc DSc
Hungarian Academy of Science) Professor of Integrative Systems
Biology
Chih-Hao Luke Ong, MA (MA Cantab; PhD Lond) Professor and
MERTON COLLEGE 2010-11 | SUPERNUMERARY FELLOWS
Tutor in Computer Science
Christoph Ortner, MSc, DPhil Research Fellow and RCUK Academic
Fellow in Solid Mechanics and the Mathematics of Materials
Martins Paparinskis, MA, MPhil, MJur, DPhil (LLB Latvia) Junior
Research Fellow in Law
Alison Parkin, MChem, DPhil Junior Research Fellow in Chemistry
David James Paterson, MA, DPhil, (MSc, DSc Western Australia),
FIBiol Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology and Tutor in Preclinical Medicine, Dean of Graduates
Jennifer Payne, MA (MA Cantab) Reader in Corporate Finance Law,
Tutor in Law and Travers Smith University Lecturer in Corporate
Finance Law
Sydney Penner, (BA Yale; MA, PhD Cornell) Junior Research Fellow
in Philosophy
Sarah Percy, MPhil, DPhil Tutor in International Relations
Jonathan Ralph Warburg Prag, MA (PhD Lond) Tutor in Ancient
History
Christopher Thomas Rodgers, MChem, DPhil Junior Research Fellow
in Chemistry
Suzanne Romaine, MA (AB Bryn Mawr; MLitt Edin; PhD Birm)
Merton Professor of English Language
David Rueda, MA (MSc Lond; MA, PhD Cornell) Professor of
Comparative Politics and Tutor in Politics
Alexander Schekochihin, (BSci MIPT; PhD Princeton) Tutor in
Physics
Alexander David Scott, (BA, PhD Cantab) Professor and Tutor in
Mathematics
Timothy Peter Softley, MA (PhD S’ton) Professor of Chemical Physics
and Tutor in Physical Chemistry
Péter-Dániel Szántó, (Diploma Budapest) Junior Research Fellow in
Oriental Studies
Jane Christine Holmes Taylor, (BA Hons Bris) Development Director
Jonathan William Thacker, MA (BA Lond; PhD Cantab) Tutor in
Spanish, Secretary of the Harmsworth Trust
Patricia Thornton, (BA Swarthmore; MA Washington; PhD Berkeley)
Tutor in the Politics of China
Ulrike Luise Tillmann, MA (BA Brandeis, PhD Stanford, Habil Bonn)
FRS Professor in Mathematics
Joshua Sol Schelly Walden, (AB Berkeley; MA, MPhil, PhD Columbia)
Junior Research Fellow in Music
Julia Caroline Walworth, MA (BA Swarthmore; MA, PhD Yale)
Research Fellow and Librarian
Trudy Alexandra Watt, MA, DPhil (BA Open, MSc Sheff Hallam)
Senior Tutor
RECORDS
Clifford Ronald Webb, MA (MLitt Edin) Finance Bursar, Computer
Officer
Sir Ralph Wedgwood Bt, MA (MPhil Lond; MA, PhD Cornell)
Professor and Tutor in Philosophy
Michael Hilton Whitworth, MA, DPhil Tutor in English
Andrew Wiles, MA, DSc (PhD Camb) FRS
Katherine Willis, MA (BSc Southampton; PhD Camb) Tasso Leventis
Professor of Biodiversity
Simon Wren-Lewis (MA Cantab; MSc Lond) Tutor in Economics
Boris Zilber, MA (MSc, CandSc Novosibirsk; DSc Leningrad)
Professor of Mathematical Logic
SUPERNUMERARY FELLOWS
Oliver Beckstein, (Diplom, DPhil Erlangan-Nürnberg)
Andrea Cavalleri, (Laurea, PhD Pavia)
Vincenzo Cerundolo, MA, MD, PhD, FRCPath, FMedSci
Simon Draper, MBioch, DPhil
Andrew John King, MA Status (BSc, PhD Lond), FMedSci
Julian Knight, MA, MBChB, DPhil, FRCP
Francis Platt, MA Status (BSc Lond; PhD Bath), FMedSci
EMERITUS FELLOWS
John Michael Baker, MA, DPhil
David Bostock, BPhil, MA
Michael George Bowler, MA (BSc, PhD Bris)
John Carey, MA, DPhil, FBA, FRSL
John James Coulton, MA (MA, PhD Cantab)
Michael Simpson Dunnill, MA (MD Bris), FRCP, FRCPath
Mark Everitt, MA
Michael Graham Gelder, MA, DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FMedSci
John Roger Loxdale Highfield, MA, DPhil, FSA
Robert Basil Champneys Hodgson, MA
Olwen Hufton, DBE, MA (BA, MA Harvard; PhD Lond), DLitt,
FRHistS, FBA
Henry John Franklin Jones, MA
Vijay Ramchandra Joshi, MA
John Randolph Lucas, MA, FBA
Robert McCredie May, Lord May of Oxford, OM, AC, Kt, MA (BSc,
PhD Sydney), FRS
Eric Arthur Newsholme, MA, DSc (PhD, ScD Cantab)†
Donald Edward Olleson, MA, DPhil
Courtenay Stanley Goss Phillips, MA, DSc
Sir Gyorgy Karoly Radda, CBE, MA, DPhil, FRS
POSTMASTER | 2011
67
RECORDS
MERTON COLLEGE 2010-11 | HONORARY FELLOWS
Nicholas James Richardson, BPhil, MA, DPhil, FSA
Henry Shue, (AB Davidson College; MA, PhD Princeton)
Philip John Waller, MA
Christopher John Hamilton Watson, MA, DPhil
James Anthony Dominic Welsh, MA, DPhil
David Charles Witt, MA
HONORARY FELLOWS
Anatole Abragam, DPhil, HonDSc, For Mem RS†
Sir Robert Andrew, MA, FRSA
Sir Christopher (John) Ball, MA, Hon DLitt (CNAA)
Sir Roger (Gilbert) Bannister, CBE, MA, MSc, DM, FRCP
The Hon Sir Jack Beatson, DCL, (LLD Cantab), FBA
Julian Blackwell, DL
Sir John Boardman, MA, (MA Cantab) FBA, Hon RA, FSA
Thomas Frank Brenchley, CMG, MA, DPhil (BA, BSc (Hons) Open)†
William Peter Cooke, CBE, MA
Sir Howard (John) Davies, MA (MS Stanford)
Christopher Martin Dobson, DPhil, ScD, FRS, FMedSci
David Francis Kerr Finlay, OBE, CFA
The Rt Hon Sir Martin (John) Gilbert, CBE, MA, DLitt, FRSL
Stuart Henry McPhail Hall, MA, DPhil
Adam John Hart-Davis, BA (DPhil York), FRSA
Laszlo Istvan Heltay, MLitt (MA Budapest)
Sir (Charles) Antony (Richard) Hoare, MA, FRS
Jonathan Alan Hodgkin, MA (MA, PhD Cantab), FRS
Sir Maurice (Arthur Eric) Hodgson, MA, BSc, FEng, FIChemE,
CChem, FRSC
David Robert Holmes, MA
Sir James Clarke Holt, MA, DPhil, FSA, FBA
James Wyndham John Hughes-Hallett, BA, FCA
Sir Jeremy Isaacs, MA, FRSA
Sir Alec (John) Jeffreys, MA, DPhil, (DUniv Open), FRS
Vassos Karageorghis, DLitt, (PhD Lond), FSA, FBA
Sir Ian Kershaw, DPhil, FRHistS, FBA
Sir Anthony (James) Leggett, MA, DPhil, FRS
Anastasios Leventis, CBE, OFR
The Hon Sir Brian (Henry) Leveson, MA (LLD Liv)
Richard Charles Levin, LittB, Hon DCL, (BA Stanford; PhD Yale)
Sir Callum McCarthy, BA (PhD Stirling; MS Stanford)
HIH Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Hon DCL
The Rt Hon Sir (Arthur) Michael Palliser, GCMG, PC, MA
Robert Owen Paxton, MA (PhD Harvard)
Timothy Dewe Phillips, CBE, MA
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Martha Piper, (BSc Michigan; MA Connecticutt; PhD McGill) DSc
(Hons), LLD (Hons)
Jessica Mary Rawson, DBE, MA, DLitt (MA, LittD, Cantab) FBA
Martin Peter Read CBE, DPhil
Sir Rex (Edward) Richards, MA, DPhil, DSc, FRS, FBA, FRSC,
FRIC
Sir Howard Stringer, MA
Sir Peter (Hannay Bailey) Tapsell, MA, MP
Mark John Thompson, BA, FRTS, FRSA
Sir Richard Hughes Trainor KBE, MA, DPhil, FRHistS
The Hon Sir John Wallace QC, MA
Peter Warry, MA (LLB Lond; PhD Rdg) FREng
Guy Howard Weston, BA
Sir Andrew (John) Wiles, MA, DSc, (PhD Cantab), FRS
Robert Joseph Paton Williams, MBE, MA, DPhil, FRS
The Rt Revd Dr Nicholas Thomas Wright, MA, DPhil, DD
Lord Wright of Richmond (Patrick Richard Henry Wright),
GCMG, MA
BODLEY FELLOWS
Richard Bellerby Allan, MA, FCA
Alan John Bott, OBE, MA, FSA
John Samuel Christopher Eidinow, MA (Dip Law City Univ;
Barrister Middle Temple) Dean
Prosser Gifford, MA (BA, PhD Yale; LLB Harvard)
David Harvey, MA, DPhil
Robert MacLaren, MB, ChB, DPhil, FRCOphth, FRCS
Robert Gould McKelvey, MA (BA Wesleyan)
Peter Phillips, Reed Rubin Director of Music
Reed Rubin, BA
David William Swarbrick, MA
Adrian Vickers, MA
WYLIOT FELLOWS
John Booth, BA, MA
Peter Braam, MA, DPhil (BSc, MSc Utrecht)
Charles Manby, MA, (MBA Insead), FRS
VISITING RESEARCH FELLOWS DURING THE YEAR
Paul Bradshaw, University of Notre Dame (Trinity Term 2011)
Lorenzo Campagna, University of Messina, Sicily (Hilary Term 2011)
Sally Leys, University of Alberta (Michaelmas Term 2010)
MERTON COLLEGE 2010-11 | REED RUBIN DIRECTORS OF MUSIC
Christophe Pichon, Institute of Astrophysics, Paris (Michaelmas Term
2010)
Gordon Teskey, Harvard University (Trinity Term 2011)
REED RUBIN DIRECTORS OF MUSIC
ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
To an Official Fellowship as the Senior Tutor with effect from
1 September 2011
Dr Catherine Paxton, MA, DPhil
To an Official Fellowship as a Tutor in Mathematics with effect from
1 October 2011
Dr Minhyong Kim, (BS Seoul; PhD Yale)
Benjamin Nicholas
Peter Phillips
LECTURERS
Stipendiary Lecturers:
Ms Jennifer Altehenger
Dr Corine Besson
Dr Jane Collier
Mr Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne
Dr Josie Von Zitewitz
Professor Andy King
Dr Michael Laidlaw
Mr Robert MacLaren
Mr Roy Norton
Dr Christoph Ortner
Mr Dirk Schlueter
Dr David Staunton
Ms Renee Williams
RECORDS
History
Philosophy
Clinical Medicine
Law
Russian
Neuroscience
Inorganic Chemistry
Human Anatomy
Spanish
Mathematics
Mathematics
Biochemistry
French
Non-Stipendiary Lecturers:
Mr John Eidinow
Ms Ellen Feingold
Dr Alex Feldman
Mr Daniel Gerrard
Dr Tom Hart
Dr Neil Herring
Mr Travers McLeod
Dr Paul McMillan
Dr Christopher Ramsey
Dr Golo Schmidt
Dr Alice Stainer
Mr Sam Vinko
Dr Mary Whitby
Classics
History
English
History
Biological Sciences
Medicine
Politics
Physics
Physics
German
English
Physics
Classical Greek
Joint-Joint:
Dr Emma Bond
Dr Helen Fronius
Dr David Groiser
Italian
German
German
To an Official Fellowship as a Departmental Lecturer in English with
effect from 1 October 2011
Dr Thomas MacFaul, DPhil (BA Camb)
To a Research Fellowship with effect from 1 October 2011
Dr Emily Holmes, BA Hons (MA Uppsala; DClinPsych Lond; PhD
Camb)
To a Fitzjames Research Fellowship in Philosophy with effect from 1
October 2011
Dr Nicholas Jones (BA, MA Leeds; PhD Lond)
To a Fitzjames Research Fellowship in Old & Middle English with
effect from 1 October 2011
Ms Aisling Byrne (BA Dub; MPhil, PhD Camb)
To a Peter J Braam Junior Research Fellowship in Global Wellbeing
with effect from 1 October 2011
Mrs Julia Amos, MPhil, DPhil
To Junior Research Fellowships with effect from 1 October 2011
Dr Michele Ceriotti (BSc, MSc Milano-Bicocca; Phd ETH Zurich)
Mr Patrick Lantschner, BA MSt
Miss Bridget Penman, BA
FELLOWS’ HONOURS AND APPOINTMENTS
Professor Judith Armitage has been elected as a Member of the
European Molecular Biology Organisation, as well as becoming
a Fellow of both the American Academy of Microbiology and the
Society of Biology. She has also been made Head of Section Faculty
of 1000 and appointed Associate Head of Biochemistry Department.
Professor Andrew King has been elected a Fellow of the Academy
of Medical Sciences. He has also been appointed Chief Scientific
Adviser for Deafness Research UK, as a Review Editor for the
Journal of Physiology and appointed as a Member of the Wellcome
Trust’s Basic Science Interview Committee.
POSTMASTER | 2011
69
RECORDS
MERTON COLLEGE 2010-11 | DEATHS OF FELLOWS
Dr Daniel Grimley has been appointed as the first ever international
scholar-in-residence at the 2011 Bard Music Festival in New York
State.
Professor Peter Holland has been elected to Membership of the
International Advisory Board for European Marine Biological
Resource Centre. He also served as a member of the International
Jury for the Francqui Prize in Biomedical Sciences.
The Revd Dr Simon Jones has been appointed as a member of the
Church of England Liturgical Commission.
Dr Rachel Mairs has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at
the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at
Brown University.
Professor Lord Robert May of Oxford was awarded the Dirac Medal
by the Royal Society of New South Wales.
Professor Richard McCabe has been awarded a major Leverhulme
Fellowship for three years to write a monograph on literary
patronage in the Early Modern period.
Professor Bela Novák has become Advisory Board member for both
the Biochemistry Institute and the Plant Biology Institute at the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Professor David Paterson is now Editor-in-Chief at The Journal
of Physiology. He has also been made a Member of the national
Research Excellence Framework Panel (REF).
70
POSTMASTER | 2011
Dr Jonathan Prag was appointed as ‘Chercheur associé’, of the
French CNRS-funded research group ANHIMA (Anthropologie et
histoire des mondes anciens).
Professor Sir Rick Trainor has been awarded a KBE for his services
to higher education. He was also presented with a Europe Leadership
Award by CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of
Education).
Dr Joshua Walden has been appointed as the Andrew W Mellon
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities at John Hopkins University
and also as the Vladimir and Pearl Heifetz Memorial Fellowship at
the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Professor Simon Wren-Lewis has been appointed to the Office for
Budget Responsibility’s Advisory Panel of economic and financial
experts.
DEATHS OF FELLOWS
Anatole Abragam, DPhil, HonDSc, For Mem RS
Thomas Frank Brenchley, CMG, MA, DPhil (BA, BSc (Hons) Open)
Eric Arthur Newsholme, MA, DSc (PhD, ScD Cantab)
NEW STUDENTS | UNDERGRADUATES
RECORDS
New Students 2010
College, Mr A Oulsnam, Simon Langston Boys’ School, Miss M W
Sall, Roskide Katedralskole
Undergraduates
HISTORY & ECONOMICS
Mr J C Austin, Longsands Community College
ANCIENT & MODERN HISTORY
Mr C M Jones, Royal Grammar School
HISTORY & ENGLISH
Miss C E Hull, Theale Green School, Mr A O’Flaherty, Dulwich
College
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Miss S Harrison, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Miss D King,
Presdales School, Miss L Paris, Denstone College, Miss P J M Schuijt,
Vossius Gymnasium
CHEMISTRY
Mr A Bajjon, King Edward VI Camp Hill Boys School, Mr J J Coward,
Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, Mr K Davis, Heathside School,
Miss K R Fisher, Westcliff High School for Girls, Mr M B Geeson,
Dubai College, Miss S Wehlin, Malmo Borgaskol
CLASSICS
Miss E Arkell, Strodes College, Miss E E M Moyse, Wellington
College, Miss H B M Polonsky, Perse School for Girls, Miss A
Ventress, King’s School, Canterbury, Mr A Woolley, Christ’s Hospital
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Mr P L Gerrard, King George V College
ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT
Mr J J J Kaikkonen, Turun Normaalikoulu, Miss P Koulia, English
School, Cyprus, Mr I Peer, International School of Brussels, Mr H Y
L Wong, French International School
ENGLISH
Miss A C Bartlett, Newent School, Miss A E Graebe, Sussex Downs
College, Mr R P Hill, Nottingham High School, Miss P F C Hudson,
Hills Road VI Form College, Miss C W Livingstone, Aquinas College,
Miss R E Tye, Collyers VI Form College
ENGLISH & MODERN LANGUAGES
Miss E Slattery, Archbishop Blanch School
HISTORY
Mr J Carver, King Edward VI Grammar School, Mr D Crowe, North
Berwick High School, Miss J Furness, Newstead Wood School, Mr L
Gelezauskas, Kaunas Jesuit Gymnasium, Mr D McKinnon, Wellington
HISTORY & POLITICS
Miss A E Giesen, Werner Heisenberg Gymnasium, Mr M H G
Schmidbaur, Hockerill Anglo European College
LAW
Miss S J Love, Bingley Grammar School, MR W Tan, Anglo Chinese
School, Miss F Zafar, Heckmondwike Grammar School
LAW with LAW STUDIES IN EUROPE
Mr O P Hayward, King’s School, Mr O E Lloyd, Tonypandy
Comprehensive School, Mr G Hogan, Hutcheson’s Grammar School
MATHEMATICS
Mr D Harper, Ormskirk School, Mr H G Heaton, Beverley Grammar
VI Form College, Mr C L Lake, Dr Challoner’s Grammar School,
Mr P Mahony, St Andrews Catholic School, Mr B Sampson, Watford
Grammar School
MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCE
Mr S O Jauncey, Victoria College
MATHEMATICS & PHILOSOPHY
Mr T Codrington, Marlborough College
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS
Miss G Tiao, Harvard, Mr M Marowka, Community High School
No.14, Wroclaw
MEDICINE
Mr N Black, Royal Grammar School, Miss F T R Edwards, Fishguard
High School, Miss C M Lloyd, Builth Wells High School, Mr G
Lockett, St Olave’s Grammar School, Miss R M Mitchell, Highfields
School, Miss J Odone, Carnial Vaughan Memorial School
MODERN LANGUAGES
Miss K Crean, American Community School, Miss N R Dockray,
POSTMASTER | 2011
71
RECORDS
NEW STUDENTS | GRADUATES
Alleyn’s School, Mr L E Ellmers, Sutton Valance School, Miss D
Gudmunsen, Nottingham High School for Girls, Miss S-J Legge,
Hedingham School, Miss L Zhou, School of St Helen & St Katherine
MUSIC
Miss C Robinson, Taunton’s College, Miss A M Steppler, Henrietta
Barnett School, Miss M Willcock, Latymer School
PHILOSOPHY & MODERN LANGUAGES
Mr F W V Hendry, Southend High School for Boys, Miss L H D
Simmons, College de Sevres
Mahindra United World College of India, Mr K Ljungstrom Kahn,
Saltsjobadens Samskola, Mr J Sumner, Bishops Stortford High School,
Miss J J Tyrell, Peter Symonds College, Mr J W Wilson, Montgomery
Bell Academy
PHYSICS
Mr W R Bennett, Hymers College, Mr J T P Burr, All Saints RC
School, Mr M W Constable, Chellaston School, Mr R D Fern, King’s
School, Mr A Geraldini, New School, Mr R Gonsalves, City of London
School, Mr L Hughes, Royal Grammar School, Mr L I McClymont,
Altrincham Boys’ Grammar School
PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS & ECONOMICS
Mr J Brown, University College School, Miss A Dulnik, Miss Porter’s
School, Mr J Engelhardt, Salem College, Miss A Jhunjhunwala,
Graduates
DPHIL
Mr A P Stiles, Sydney, (Ancient History), Mr A A Ginalis, Vienna,
(Archaeology), Mr M T Lloyd, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford,
(Archaeology), Miss K M Johnson, British Columbia, (Organic
Chemistry), Ms J Lam, MIT, (Physical & Theoretical Chemistry),
Miss K Dultiz, Potsdam, (Physical & Theoretical Chemistry), Mr E
D’Osualdo, Udine, (Computer Science), Mr N L de Silva, Toronto,
(Computer Science), Dr S R De Silva, St John’s Cambridge/
Keble, Oxford, (DTC: Biomedical & Clinical Sciences), Dr N M
Oliveira, Lisbon, DTC: Systems Biology), Mr F C Chow, Toronto/
St Hilda’s, Oxford, (Economics), Ms E Hodges, Exeter/King’s,
London, (English), Mr K J Lewis, Cardiff, (History), Mr H A Omar,
Magdalen, Oxford, (History), Mr B Stevens, Trinity, Cambridge,
(Mathematics), Mr F Simkievich, Queen Mary & Westfield/Imperial,
(Mathematics), Dr C Marletto, Politecnico di Torino, (Mathematics),
Dr R Banerjee, Trinity, Oxford/LSH&TM/RCP, (Cardiovascular
Medicine), Ms Z Dedeic, College of the Atlantic, Maine/Chicago,
(Clinical Medicine), Dr G Disanto, Siena, (Clinical Neurology),
Miss Y Li, York/Edinburgh, (Experimental Psychology), Miss J
Steinberg, St Hilda’s, Oxford, (Genomic Medicine & Statistics), Dr S
A Aslam, Southampton, (Ophthalmology), Mr Z Padamsey, Toronto/
Somerville, Oxford, (Pharmacology), Mr P D Fineran, Magdalen,
Oxford, (Pharmacology), Mr J E Brooker, Oriel, Oxford, (Physiology,
Anatomy & Genetics), Ms C J Huang, MIT, (Public Health), Mr N
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POSTMASTER | 2011
E Myers, Columbia/Ludwig Maximilians, (Wellcome Trust 4-year
DPhil in Neuroscience), Ms E E Goodwin, St John’s, Cambridge/
King’s, London, (Medieval & Modern Languages), Miss P A J
Souleau, Sorbonne, (Medieval & Modern Languages), Mr H J Hope,
Hoschschule fur Musik Franz Liszt Weirmar/Friedrich-Schiller/St
Hilda’s, Oxford, (Music), Ms S Lane Smith, Manchester/St Edmund
Hall, Oxford, (Philosophy), Mr V Khanna, Delhi/Stuttgart, (Atomic &
Laser Physics), Mr L Z Liu, Harvard, (Atomic & Laser Physics), Mr
D L Stuart, WA Nedlands, (Atomic & Laser Physics), Mr J S Moeller,
St Anne’s, Oxford, (Condensed Matter Physics), Mr R R F Machinek,
Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische, (Condensed Matter Physics),
Mr F K D Kahlhoefer, Ruprecht-Karls, Heidelberg/St Catharine’s,
Cambridge, (Theoretical Physics), Mr E W Hardy, University
College, Oxford, (Theoretical Physics), Mr Y Tao, Peking/Churchill,
Cambridge, (Politics), Mr D J Lavenda, Kenyon/UCL, (Politics), Mr
J W Christensen, Reading/York, (Politics), Miss M Ghoul, American
University of Beirut/Imperial, (Zoology)
MSC
Mr C Snoeck, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, (Archaeological Science),
Mr M H Jones, Victoria, BC/Sussex, (Biology – Integrative BioSci), Mr F G K Amo, Wheaton College, Comparative Social Policy,
Mr A R D Chappel, Sydney/New South Wales, (Environmental Change
& Management), Mr H R Barmeier, Princeton, (Environmental
Change & Management), Mr S Z L Ng, National University
Singapore, (Law & Finance), Mr A M Hassanali, Nairobi, (Law &
NEW STUDENTS | READMISSIONS
Finance), Ms I Khazanchi, Delhi, (Mathematical & Computational
Finance), Mr M Pitz, Munich, (Mathematics & Foundations of
Computer Science), Ms C Rovi, Conservatorio Superior Vitoria/
Open/Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, (Mathematics
& Foundations of Computer Science), Miss A Cramer, Ben Gurion,
(Neuroscience), Ms A Sato, Hawaii at Manoa, (Modern Japanese
Studies), Miss G Huang, Shanghai International Studies University,
(Financial Economics), Miss S Qiao, Capital University of Economics
& Business, (Financial Economics), Miss Y Shen, Beijing Foreign
Studies, (Financial Economics), Miss H Han, Chicago, (Financial
Economics), Mr A Kanani, Islamic Azad/Iran/Oxford Brookes,
(Major Programme Management), Mr S Lewis, Southern California,
(Major Programme Management), Mr P M Lahsen, Chile/
Miami, (Major Programme Management), Mr A Volanakis, Crete,
(Biochemistry), Mr C-J Lu, UCL/Imperial, (Physiology, Anatomy
& Genetics)
MST
Miss Y-C Kim, Seoul National, (Greek &/or Roman History), Miss
C S Dann, Glasgow, (Modern Languages), Miss K Gedgaudaite,
UCL, (Modern Languages), Mr L J Lewis, Salford, (Music), Ms E
Mowforth, Victoria University of Manchester, (Music), Mr B C Reece,
Oklahoma Baptist, (Ancient Philosophy)
MPHIL
Miss A S Brandt, Harvard, (Development Studies), Miss Y Tao,
Robinson, Cambridge, (Economics), Mr P T Lofquist, UCL,
(Economics), Mr A Brassil, Sydney, (Economics), Mr C Gray,
Sheffield, (Modern British & European History), Miss A E Miles,
George Washington, (International Relations), Miss S R Bathurst,
St John’s, Cambridge, (Modern Chinese Studies), Mr O B Farid,
North Texas/William & Mary, (European Politics & Society), Ms M
Bierbaum, Konstanz, (European Politics & Society)
RECORDS
BCL
Mr K Z von Csefalvay-Bartal, University College, Oxford/Cardiff,
Miss A L Irving, Otago, Mr S Pibworth, Birmingham
M JURIS
Mr M Micciche, Milan, Miss E Siskou, Thrace/Luxembourg
VISITING STUDENTS
Mlle A R E Jatteau, Ecole Normale Superieure, (Classics), Miss L
Arnolds, Konstanz, (Diploma in Legal Studies), Mr B Levy, Ecole
Normale Superieure, (Philosophy)
READMISSIONS
DPHIL
Miss E Hartrich (History), Miss K P Claiden-Yardley (History), Mr T
E Hudson (Mathematics)
MPHIL
Mr J J Monahan (Economics), Mr C M G Wai (Economics), Ms E S
Bauer (Modern Chinese Studies), Mr W A Kane (Modern Chinese
Studies)
MSC
Mr T D Woodhouse (Computer Science)
MST
Miss E McCausland (English), Mr W C J Beharrell (English)
SECOND BM
Mr K Gananandan, Miss P Irayanar, Miss V H C Ormerod, Miss A L
Pouncey, Miss J E Brice
BPHIL
Mr M J Dascal, McGill, Mr R Duda, Nottingham
RETURNERS
DPHIL
Miss A G E Hood (Archaeological Science), Mr G N Kalani
(Economics), Mr L A Hill-Cawthorne (Law), Mr A C Beard
(Medieval & Modern Languages) Mr A S Cichy (Music), Mr Y Ohta
(Philosophy), Mr S M Moore (Politics)
MBA
Mr N Smith, Virginia/Spain, Mr A Rivers, Wilfrid Laurier, Mr H B
Thorbergsson, Iceland
MSC
Ms L L Fraser (Comparative Social Policy), Mr M Kleiman-Weiner
(Experimental Psychology)
EMBA
Dr G H Bourhill, Strathclyde, Dr A C Carr, Dundee/Glasgow
MPHIL
Ms C E Goss (Law), Mr A D Dyson (Law)
POSTMASTER | 2011
73
RECORDS
PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS | SCHOOLS RESULTS
Public Examination Results & Prizes
Schools Results 2011
ANCIENT & MODERN HISTORY
Class I:
Mr R Day
Class II:
Miss A Salvage (i)
BIOCHEMISTRY PTII
Class I:
Mr Y Dong, Ms R Price
Class II:
Miss S Gilbert (i), Miss K Pates (i)
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Class II:
Miss C Leatherland (i), Miss V McCormick (i),
Mr S Murrant (i)
FRENCH & GERMAN
Class I:
Miss S Boraston
FRENCH & SPANISH
Class II:
Miss H Hasan (i)
HISTORY
Class I:
Class II:
Miss L Astbury, Mr S Gray, Mr J Nation,
Miss C Price Mr C Bowland (i),
Miss C Holliss (i), Miss K Summers (i),
Miss S Thurston (i), Miss A Turner (i)
CHEMISTRY
Class I:
Mr N Gunn, Mr J McMillan, Miss M O Duill,
Mr L Wong
Class II:
Mr B Hellier (i), Mr C Jorgensen (ii)
Class III:
Miss H Lee
HISTORY & ENGLISH
Class II:
Miss J Turner (i)
CLASSICS & SPANISH (4)
Class I:
Miss I Sutton
HISTORY & SPANISH
Class II:
Miss S Wilson (i)
CLASSICS & SPANISH (5)
Class I:
Mr M Rabone
LAW
Class I:
Class II:
CLASSICS & ORIENTAL STUDIES
Class II:
Miss H Walsh (i)
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Class II:
Mr R Aldred (i)
ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT
Class I:
Mr Y Chen, Mr A Linsley
Class II:
Miss C Fehst (i), Mr S Fuchs (i), Miss N Shah (i)
ENGLISH
Class I:
Class II:
Mr N Allsopp
Miss E Barker (i), Mr B Jackson (i),
Miss V Parkinson (i), Miss F Prowting (i)
ENGLISH & FRENCH
Class I:
Miss M Burr, Miss L Ehrenhofer
74
POSTMASTER | 2011
HISTORY & FRENCH
Class I:
Mr A Sampson
Mr M A Abdul Rahim
Mr J Borbora (i), Mr N Langen (i),
Miss S McAvoy (i), Mr R Miller (i), Miss C Sage (i)
LAW WITH LAW STUDIES IN EUROPE
Class II:
Mr L Wells (i)
LITERAE HUMANIORES I
Class I:
Mr T Sherwin, Miss K Watson
MATHEMATICS (3)
Class I:
Miss X Chen
Class II:
Miss R Collins (i)
MATHEMATICS (4)
Class I:
Mr C Tomer, Mr E Devane
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS (4)
Class I:
Miss L McLelland, Mr H Thorogood
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS & PRIZES | COLLEGE AWARDS & PROMOTIONS
Class II:
Miss T Sahyoun (i), Mr C Xu (ii)
MEDICAL SCIENCES
Class II:
Miss K Al-Hourani (i), Mr C Damant (i),
Miss R Joseph (i), Mr A Maynard (i), Miss J Poole (i)
MUSIC
Class II:
Miss N Tyrwhitt-Drake (i)
PPE
Class II:
Miss R Birchall (i), Mr P Bryant (i), Mr M Eager (i),
Mr C Mockford (i), Miss H Simms (i),
Mr B Skliar-Ward (i)
RECORDS
PHYSICS (3)
Class I:
Miss S Weatherhead
PHYSICS (4)
Class I:
Mr M Adcock, Mr H Beeson, Mr T Gillam,
Mr M Martin, Mr R Pendray
Class II:
Mr J Leeuwenburgh (i), Mr C Park (i), Mr R Tovey (i)
SPANISH & RUSSIAN (COURSE B)
Class II:
Mr T Barrett (i)
Undergraduate Awards & Prizes
College Awards & Promotions
RENEWALS
POSTMASTERSHIPS
For a third year:
Miss S N Weatherhead (Physics)
Mr L Wells (Law with LSE)
For a second year:
Miss K Al-Hourani (Medicine)
Mr A Artley (Classics)
Mr H Beeson (Physics)
Miss S Boraston (Modern Languages)
Mr E Devane (Mathematics)
Mr T Gillam (Physics)
Mr M Martin (Physics)
Mr M R Rabone (Classics & Modern Languages)
Mr T Sherwin (Classics)
Miss I Sutton (Classics & Modern Languages)
Miss H Walsh (Classics & Oriental Studies)
Miss K Watson (Classics)
EXHIBITIONS
For a third year:
Mr M A Abdul Rahim (Law)
Mr T Barrett (Modern Languages)
Miss E Drabkin-Reiter (Law)
Mr S Fuchs (Economics & Management)
Miss C Sage (Law)
Mr R Tovey (Physics)
For a second year:
Mr N Allsopp (English)
Miss E Barker (English)
Mr P Bryant (PPE)
Mr C Bowland (History)
Miss L Ehrenhofer (English & Modern Languages)
Miss C Fehst (Economics & Management)
Miss W C Fu (Physics)
Mr S Kolli (Mathematics & Philosophy)
Mr A Linsley (Economics & Management)
Miss C Parker (Modern Languages)
Mr C Parker (Mathematics & Philosophy)
Miss S Robinson-Caturla (History & Modern Languages)
Mr A Sampson (History & Modern Languages)
PROMOTIONS
POSTMASTERSHIPS
Mr N Allsopp (English)
Miss E Barker (English)
POSTMASTER | 2011
75
RECORDS
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS & PRIZES | COLLEGE PRIZES
Mr T Chachamu (Mathematics)
Miss X Chen (Mathematics)
Mr L Collins (Chemistry)
Mr R Day (History)
Mr M Fox (Physics)
Mr S Gray (History)
Mr B Green (Mathematics)
Mr N Gunn (Chemistry)
Miss C Holliss (History)
Mr R Jeffrey (Physics)
Mr P Kaufman (Chemistry)
Mr M LeDoux (Classics)
Mr J H C McMillan (Chemistry)
Mr X Meng (Mathematics)
Miss M O Duill (Chemistry)
Mr J Nation (History)
Mr J Neuhaus (Chemistry)
Mr R Pendray (Physics)
Miss C Price (History)
Mr M Raymond (Mathematics & Computer Science)
Mr S Sanmugarajah (Physics)
Mr J Sharman (Mathematics)
Miss S Thurston (History)
Mr J Warriner (English)
Mr L W K Wong (Chemistry)
EXHIBITIONS
Mr L Bosko (Mathematics & Computer Science)
Mr B Challen (Chemistry)
Miss M Foord-Weston (Biological Sciences)
Miss K Light (Modern Languages & Linguistics)
Mr O Lloyd (Law)
Mr D Main (Chemistry)
Mr A Malik (Medicine)
Mr J Gibson (Physics)
Miss T Goodchild (Mathematics & Philosophy)
Mr C Grant (Mathematics & Philosophy)
Miss H Guggiari (Mathematics)
Mr S Hall (Classics)
Mr T Khotavivattana (Chemistry)
Mr R Knight (Modern Languages)
Mr F Lang (Physics)
76
POSTMASTER | 2011
Mr A Learoyd (History & Politics)
Mr M Lee (History)
Mr C Lester (Mathematics)
Mr O Mason (Chemistry)
Miss C Meehan (Modern Languages)
Mr R Millar (Physics)
Mr C Sandford (Chemistry)
Miss E Sands (History)
Miss E Tann (Mathematics)
Mr L Wallrich (PPE)
Mr B Walpole (Mathematics & Philosophy)
Miss Z Zhou (Chemistry)
There were in all 41 Postmasters and 49 Exhibitioners at the end
of the year.
College Prizes
Members of the College who had achieved First Classes in Schools
or Mods, or Distinctions in Prelims, Law Moderations or the First
BM, were given College book prizes. Members of the College
who had been awarded University prizes were given College
book prizes.
Fowler Prizes for good work in Collections were awarded to:
Mr A Abdul Rahim (2)
Mr N Allsopp
Miss F Austin (2)
Mr A Bajjon (2)
Mr T Barrett
Mr W Bennett
Mr N Black (2)
Miss S Boraston (3)
Mr J Brown
Mr J Burr (2)
Mr B Challen (2)
Mr Y Chen
Mr L Collins (2)
Mr M Constable
Miss K Crean
Mr D Crowe
Mr K Davis
Mr R Day
Miss N Dockray (2)
Miss L Ehrenhofer (2)
Miss C Fehst
Mr R Fern (2)
Mr T Foster
Mr M Fox (2)
Miss R Fu
Mr S Fuchs
Mr M Geeson
Mr A Geraldini (2)
Miss T Goodchild
Miss E Graham
Mr C Grant
Miss D Gudmunsen (2)
Miss H Guggiari
Mr S Hall (2)
Mr D Harper (2)
Miss S Harrison
UNIVERSITY PRIZES
Miss H Hasan
Miss C Holliss
Miss P Hudson
Miss C Hull
Mr R Jeffrey
Mr J Kaikkonen (3)
Mr P Kaufman (2)
Mr T Khotavivattana (2)
Miss P Koulia (2)
Mr C Lake (2)
Mr F Lang (2)
Mr K Ljundstrom Kahn
Mr O Lloyd
Mr P Mahony (2)
Mr M Marowka (2)
Miss C Mason (2)
Mr O Mason (2)
Miss S McAvoy
Mr L McClymont
Miss R Mitchell
Mr T Moorthy
Mr S Murrant
Mr J Neuhaus (2)
Miss S Norman
Mr A Oulsnam
Mr I Peer (3)
Miss C Price (2)
Mr M Rabone (3)
Miss C Sage (2)
Miss A Salvage
Mr A Sampson
Mr C Sanford (2)
Miss E Sands
Mr S Sanmugarajah (2)
Mr M Schmidbaur (2)
Miss N Shah (2)
Mr T Sherwin
Mr J Sumner
Miss I Sutton (3)
Mr W Tan
Miss E Tann
Miss S Thurston
Mr A Turnbull (3)
Miss A Turner
Miss H Walsh
Mr J Warriner (3)
Miss K Watson (2)
Miss S Wood (3)
Mr A Woolley (2)
Miss L Zhou (2)
Miss Z Zhou
RECORDS
Other College prizes were awarded as follows:
Mr S Gray, Conrad Russell Prize (joint award)
Mr S Hall, Professor Passmore Edwards Prize in Classics
(joint award)
Mr O Hayward, F E Smith Memorial Mooting Prize (joint 2nd)
Mr G Hogan, F E Smith Memorial Mooting Prize (1st )
Miss R Joseph, William Harvey Anatomy prize: for the best
performance at first class level in the Anatomy exam
Mr O Lloyd, Norton Rose Prize for the best performance in
Law Mods by a Merton student
Miss S Love, F E Smith Memorial Mooting Prize (joint 2nd)
Mr F McIntosh, Professor Passmore Edwards Prize in Classics
(joint award)
Miss C Prize, Conrad Russell Prize (joint award)
Mr J Sumner, Sam McNaughton Prize
Miss S Thurston, Conrad Russell Prize (joint award)
University Prizes
Mr O Lloyd, University Prize for Criminal Law Moderations
Paper
Mr S Hall, Harold Lister Sunderland Prize 2011, Second Proxime
Mr J Harrison, Commendation for Practical Work in the Part A
Physics Examination
Miss S Harrison, Wilder Penfield Prize
Mr T Khotavivattana, Eisai Prize: 2nd Prize for performance in
Chemistry Part 1A
Mr F Lang, Commendation for Practical Work in the Part A
Physics Examination
Mr O Lloyd, Slaughter and May Prize for the best peformance in
Criminal Law Moderations
Miss S Norman, Eric Newsholme Prize
Mr P Parameshway, Chancellow’s Latin Verse Prize 2011 –
Proxime Accessit
Miss R Price, Wilder Penfield Prize
Mr C Sandford, Eisai Prize: 4th Prize for performance in
Chemistry Part IA
Miss L Serocold, C E Stevens and Charles Oldham Scholarship
Miss I Sutton, Ramon Silva Prize for Spoken Spanish
POSTMASTER | 2011
77
RECORDS
DEGREE
Graduate Degrees, Awards and Prizes
The following graduates completed during the year 2010-11:
DPHIL
Dr J R Arnold (Cardiovascular Medicine), Mr R P Bazzani (Clinical
Laboratory Sciences), Mr K H Benam (Clinical Medicine),
Mr M L Blow (Theoretical Physics), Ms M E Brook (Modern
Languages), Mr T Chantavat (Astrophysics), Ms X Chen (Chinese
Studies), Mr N T Crump (Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry),
Ms M Fiascaris (Physics: Particle & Nuclear), Ms C J Frieman
(European Archaeology), Mr K Fujimoto (Philosophy), Mr A
Genot (Condensed Matter Physics), Mr M M Hanna (Music), Ms
M M Hipp (Clinical Medicine), Mr S Jacob (Clinical Neurology),
Mr F Jaoui (Economics), Mr D A King (Classical Languages
& Literature), Mr G B S Lim (Cardiovascular Medicine), Mr
C Loenarz (Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry), Ms C E Oon
(Medicine, Medical Oncology), Ms L K Nunns (Classics), Ms
S Promel (Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry), Mr O RiveroArias (Public Health), Mr M N Shabalin (Japanese Studies),
Mr B Sheard (Atomic & Laser Physics), Mr E So (Physical &
Theoretical Chemistry), Ms E J Toomey (Management Studies),
Mr J E Upcher (Law), Mr D A Wilkinson (Molecular & Cellular
Biochemistry)
EMBA
Mr O Obineke, Mr R Pinkerton
BPHIL
Ms S Malik, Mr A Salam
MPHIL
Ms S Divald (European Politics & Society), Mr G Morello
(Modern Chinese Studies), Mr L A Hill-Cawthorne (Law), Mr
L Hopkins (Greek and/or Roman History – Distinction), Mr V
Petrov (Modern British and European History – Distinction), Mr
M Uy (Musicology), Mr I Zurimendi (Economics)
MLITT
Mr U Carrillo Cabrera (Social Policy & Social Work)
78
POSTMASTER | 2011
MPHIL QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
Ms S Bathurst (Modern Chinese Studies), Ms E Bauer (Modern
Chinese Studies), Ms A Brandt (Development Studies), Mr A
Brassil (Economics), Mr O Farid (European Politics & Society –
Partial Pass), Mr C Gray (Modern British & European History), Mr
W Kane (Modern Chinese Studies), Mr P Lofquist (Economics),
Ms A Miles (International Relations), Mr J Monahan (Economics),
Ms E Mowforth (Music Composition), Ms Y Tao (Economics –
Partial Pass), Mr C M Wai (Economics)
MSC
Mr A Hassanali (Law & Finance), Mr I Khazanchi (Mathematical
& Computational Finance), Mr S Ng (Law & Finance – Distinction)
MST
Mr W Beharrell (English 1550-1700), Ms K Gedgaudaite (Modern
Languages – Distinction), Ms Y-C Kim (Greek and/or Roman
History), Ms E McCausland (English 650-1550 – Distinction),
Mr B Reece (Ancient Philosophy – Distinction)
2ND BM
Ms G Baines, Mr D Chandrasekharan (Distinction), Dr C Davison
(Distinction), Ms H Gresty, Mr O Khalin, Mr L Lewis (Music
Composition), Mr R Ma
BCL
Ms A Irving (Distinction), Mr S Pibworth (Distinction), Mr K von
Csefalvay-Bartal
MJURIS
Mr M Micciche, Ms E Siskou
DIPLOMA
Ms L Arnolds (Legal Studies – Distinction)
DEGREE
Graduate members of the College who were awarded University
Prizes were as follows:
Mr D Chandrasekhran, Radcliffe Infirmary Essay Prize in Surgery
2011
Ms A Irving, Vinerian Scholarship Proxime Accessit
Ms A Irving, Law Faculty Prize in Criminal Justice and Human
Rights
Ms A Irving, Law Faculty Prize in Medical Law and Ethics
Mr S Ng, Allen and Overy Prize in Corporate Insolvency Law
RECORDS
Mr S Ng, Law Faculty Prize in Principles of Financial Regulation
Mr S Ng, Overall Best Performance in MSc Law and Finance
Ms S Ng, First Principles of Financial Economics
Mr S Ng, Law and Economics of Corporate Transactions
Mr K von Csefalvay-Bartal, Allen and Overy Prize in Transnational
Commercial Law
Other College Prizes were awarded as follows:
Mr J Waterlow, The Rajiv Kapur prize for graduate research in
History
POSTMASTER | 2011
79
RECORDS
COLLEGE STAFF
College Staff
Name
Position
Mrs K Adamczyk
Mrs SA Allen
Mrs J Ashford
Miss J Baker
Mr SG Barber
Mr AS Batey
Miss H Bednarczyk
Miss SL Bird
Ms L Bond
Mr S Bowdery
Mr MR Bowdler
Mr C Bridgman
Mr D Brown
Mr D S Brundell
Miss R Bryant
Miss NA Bushnell
Mr RL Butler
Mrs RM Butler
Mr WJ Carr
Housekeeping Supervisor
Hall Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Cleaner
Second Chef
Lodge Porter
Lodge Porter
Chef de Partie
Assistant Warden’s Secretary
Deputy IT Manager
Publications & Web Officer
Chef de Partie
Third Chef
Chef de Partie
Domestic Bursar’s Secretary
Bar Assistant
Steward
Chef de Partie
Asst Accommodation
& Conference Porter
Hall Assistant
Cleaner
Cleaner
SCR Assistant
Cleaner
General Support Assistant
College Plumber
Scout
Mrs Z Clark
Miss M Cwyl
Mrs H D’Arcy
Mr G da Assumpcao
Mrs R da Silva
Mr D Dobson
Mr A Doman
Mrs AM Donnelly
Mr M dos Santos
de Oliveira
Miss JM Durkin
Mr M Furse
Miss I Gaweda
Mrs J Gerhardi
80
Cleaner
Housekeeper
Senior Gardener
Cleaner
Admissions Officer
POSTMASTER | 2011
First Appointed
01/11/2007
07/07/1998
26/02/2007
02/01/2004
01/11/1999
14/04/2001
04/01/2011
08/10/2001
03/10/2000
01/04/2011
02/01/2008
29/09/2003
02/01/2007
13/11/2000
13/09/2010
22/09/2008
26/02/1979
08/05/1981
14/01/2009
13/11/2000
01/12/2009
13/04/2004
07/03/2011
11/01/2011
04/01/1999
27/02/2006
22/07/1996
05/01/2011
02/06/1986
02/01/2007
01/12/2009
02/01/1991
Name
Position
Mr PJ Goodhall
Mr DJ Grainger
Mr PJ Guildea
Ms ST Hague
Mrs C Haines
Mr DN Haines
Mr E Hamdi
Miss G Hanson
Mrs MN Harris
Miss N Harrison
Mr CR Hedges
Mr DA Hedges
Dr P Hoffman
Miss S Hood
Mrs C Hume
Mrs A Jas
Mr MD Jeffs
Mr JC Jones
Miss A Joseph
Mr CD Joyce
Mr A Kaseer
Mr R Kendall
Mr KB Keogh
Mr A Kessler
Mrs HJ Kingsley
Miss J Kirby
Mr I Knight
Scout
Head Butler
Lodge Porter
Accommodation Manager
College Nurse
Kitchen Porter
Hall Supervisor
Gardener
Bursary Clerk
Estates Administrator
Maintenance Assistant
Bar Manager
Library Assistant
Development Assistant
Chef de Partie
Cleaner
Surveyor
Caretaker/Cleaner
Cleaner
Kitchen Porter
Kitchen Porter
Lodge Porter
Head Porter
Catering Assistant
Alumni Relations Manager
Fellows’ Secretary
Accommodation
& Conference Porter
Library Assistant
Warden’s Secretary
Assistant Librarian
Academic Administrator
Groundsman
Pavilion Catering Assistant
Mr GM Krispijn
Miss L Lawrence
Mrs C Lewis
Miss V Lill
Mr JS Lisle
Mrs NK Lisle
First Appointed
24/11/1988
31/08/1988
22/09/1989
02/02/2009
27/09/2010
20/08/2001
27/01/2006
28/03/2011
16/05/2001
23/07/2007
01/04/1988
12/10/1987
14/01/2011
21/03/2011
01/08/1996
04/01/2011
12/02/1979
22/07/2002
04/01/2011
29/07/2002
14/02/2005
24/11/2008
21/08/1992
15/10/2007
09/09/2002
06/08/1990
13/07/2009
22/10/2003
01/09/2003
07/05/2002
16/01/2006
17/10/1988
01/10/1996
RECORDS
COLLEGE STAFF
Name
Position
First Appointed
Mr P Macallister
Mrs AS Mahmood
Mrs NS Mahmood
Ms C Massey
Mr JP McVeigh
Miss A Miech
Miss M Miesiac
Miss J Morley
Mrs CP Morton
Mr RJ Moss
Mrs G Norridge
Mrs DL O’Connell
Miss MK Panasewicz
Mr J Parkinson
Mr J Pawlowski
Mr DJ Pike
Mrs M Ponting
Mrs LJ Pullen
Mr JA Reid
Miss L Reveley
Mr SL Richards
Mr AJ Richardson
Commis Chef
Cleaner
Cleaner
Conference Manager
Hallman/Storeman
Cleaner
Cleaner
Hall Supervisor
Estates Secretary
Database Officer
Payroll/Personnel Administrator
Fundraising Officer
SCR Assistant
Lodge Porter
Caretaker
Lecture Theatre Supervisor
Catering Assistant
Scout
Archivist
Bursary Clerk
Lodge Porter
Deputy Head Porter
22/10/2007
30/04/2002
23/04/2001
05/01/2009
15/10/1990
01/02/2007
01/05/2008
14/03/1994
18/09/2000
09/02/2009
25/06/2007
20/10/2008
15/09/2008
18/04/2011
24/10/2005
22/06/2010
29/10/2007
19/10/1998
02/12/2002
11/02/2002
07/10/1985
04/01/2005
Name
Position
First Appointed
Miss L Savin
Miss J Selmoser
Mr CE Shackell
Mrs M Skalik
Mrs K Stepien
Mr M Teixeira
Mr JE Tomkins
Mrs CL Turner
Miss K Tworkowska
Mr DW Tyrrell
Mr A Urquhart
Mr IR Walker
Mrs LS Walsh
Mr A Walters
Mr M Wender
Miss E Wesolowska
Mr RJ Wiggins
Mr R Williams
Mr S Williams
Mrs K Wolinska
Mrs L Wycherley
Mrs HL Young
Head Gardener
Cleaner
Accountant
Assistant Head Butler
Cleaner
Cleaner
Assistant Groundsman
Cleaner
SCR Assistant
Gardener
Lodge Porter
Lodge Porter
Sub Warden’s Secretary
Schools Liaison & Access Officer
Head Chef
Cleaner
Decorator
Lodge Porter
IT Manager
Cleaner
Library Assistant
Bursary Clerk
07/10/2002
01/11/2008
20/01/2003
10/08/2005
02/10/2006
04/01/2011
11/08/1997
27/03/2000
15/11/2010
01/02/2010
06/08/2007
19/07/2010
16/11/1987
22/06/2009
20/09/1999
15/01/2010
16/03/1987
31/03/2008
17/07/2000
10/01/2011
24/02/2003
02/06/2003
POSTMASTER | 2011
81
PUBLICATIONS
FELLOWS
Publications
Fellows
Sourjik, V & JP Armitage (2010) ‘Spatial organization in
bacterial chemotaxis’, EMBO J 29: 2724-2733
Porter, SL, GH Wadhams & JP Armitage (2011) ‘Signal
processing in complex chemotaxis pathways’ Nature Revs
Microbiol 9:153-65
Hamadeh, A, MAJ Roberts, E August, PE McSharry, PK Maini,
JP Armitage & A Papachristodoulou (2011) ‘Feedback
control architecture and the bacterial chemotaxis network’
PLoS Comp Biol 7(5): e1001130.
Delalez, N, MJ Leake, GH Wadhams, RM Berry & JP
Armitage (2010) ‘Dynamics of protein turnover in the
functioning rotor of the bacterial flagellar motor’ PNAS
107:11347-51
Scott, KA, SL Porter, EAL Bagg, R Hamer, JL Hill, D
Wilkinson & JP Armitage (2010) ‘Phosphotransfer and
localization specificity of Rhodobacter sphaeroides CheAs
is critical for chemotaxis’ Mol Micro 76: 318–330
Barr, AJ, P Konar, K Matchev, MPark, CG Lester & TJ Khoo,
‘A storm in a ‘T’ cup: transverse projections and massconstraining variables’, arXiv:1105.2977
Barr, AJ (ed.) (2011) ATLAS Collaboration ‘Search for squarks
and gluinos using final states with jets and missing transverse
momentum with the ATLAS detector in 公s = 7 TeV protonproton collisions’, Physics Letters B701:186-203
Barr, AJ (2011) ‘Search for supersymmetry using final states
with one lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum
with the ATLAS detector in sqrt{s} = 7 TeV pp collisions’
ATLAS Collaboration, Physical Review Letters 106, 131802
Barr, AJ (2010) ‘Performance of the ATLAS Detector using
First Collision Data’, ATLAS Collaboration, Journal of
High Energy Physics 1009:056
Kunz, MW, AA Schekochihin, SC Cowley, JJ Binney & JS
Sanders (2011) ‘A thermally stable heating mechanism
for the intracluster medium: turbulence, magnetic fields
and plasma instabilities’, Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society 410, 2446
82
POSTMASTER | 2011
Bostock, D (2010) ‘Whitehead and Russell on Points’, Philosophia
Mathematica 18 1:52
Bostock, D (2011) ‘Note on Heterologocality’ Analysis 71 252-259
Carey, J, (2010) Three Homeric Hymns: To Apollo, Hermes and
Aphrodite, text with introduction and commentary (Cambridge)
Chen-Wishart, M (2010) Contract and Reciprocity: The Hochelega
Annual Lectures of the Hong Kong University Law Faculty
Chen-Wishart, M (2010) Contract Law, 3rd edition (Oxford
University Press)
Chen-Wishart, M (2010) ‘Transparency and Fairness in Bank
Charges’ Law Quarterly Review 126 157-162
Chen-Wishart, M (2010) ‘A Bird in the Hand: Consideration and
One-Sided Contract Modifications’ Contract Formation and
Parties eds. AS Burrows and E Peel (Oxford University Press)
Atherton, HJ, MS Dodd, LC Heather, MA Schroeder, JL Griffin,
GK Radda, K Clarke & DJ Tyler (2011) ‘Role of pyruvate
dehydrogenase inhibition in the development of hypertrophy
in the hyperthyroid rat heart: A combined magnetic resonance
imaging and hyperpolariszed magnetic resonance spectroscopy
study’ Circulation 123: 2552-2561.
Edwards, LM, AJ Murray, CJ Holloway, EE Carter, GJ Kemp, I
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Formenti F, D Constantin-Teodosiu, Y Emmanuel, J Cheeseman,
KL Dorrington, LM Edwards, SM Humphreys, TRJ Lappin, MF
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MJ Percy, PJ Ratcliffe, TG Smith, M Treacy, KN Frayn, PL
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Heather LC, CA Carr, DJ Stuckey, S Pope, KJ Morten, EE Carter,
LM Edwards & K Clarke (2010) ‘Critical role of complex III
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Holloway CJ, HE Montgomery, AJ Murray, LE Cochlin, I
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DJ Tyler, JM Francis, S Neubauer, MPW Grocott, K Clarke
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mass, function, and energy metabolism after a trek to Mt. Everest
Base Camp’ FASEB J. 25: 792-6
FELLOWS
Biswas, S, MD Dicks, CA Long, EJ Remarque, L Siani, S Colloca,
MG Cottingham, AA Holder, SC Gilbert, AV Hill & SJ Draper
(2011) ‘Transgene Optimization, Immunogenicity and In Vitro
Efficacy of Viral Vectored Vaccines Expressing Two Alleles of
Plasmodium falciparum AMA1’ PLoS ONE 6:e20977
Douglas, AD, L Andrews, SJ Draper, K Bojang, P Milligan,
SC Gilbert, EB Imoukhuede & AV Hill (2011) ‘Substantially
Reduced Pre-patent Parasite Multiplication Rates Are Associated
With Naturally Acquired Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum’
J Infect Dis 203:1337-40
Douglas, AD, SC de Cassan, MD Dicks, SC Gilbert, AV Hill &
SJ Draper (2010) ‘Tailoring subunit vaccine immunogenicity:
Maximizing antibody and T cell responses by using combinations
of adenovirus, poxvirus and protein-adjuvant vaccines against
Plasmodium falciparum MSP1’ Vaccine 28:7167-78
Draper, SJ, S Biswas, AJ Spencer, EJ Remarque, S Capone, M
Naddeo, MDJ Dicks, BW Faber, SC de Cassan, A Folgori, A
Nicosia, SC Gilbert, & AVS Hill (2010) ‘Enhancing blood-stage
malaria subunit vaccine immunogenicity in rhesus macaques
by combining adenovirus, poxvirus, and protein-in-adjuvant
vaccines’ J Immunol 185:7583-95
Goodman, AL, C Epp, D Moss, AA Holder, JM Wilson, GP Gao,
CA Long, EJ Remarque, AW Thomas, V Ammendola, S Colloca,
MD Dicks, S Biswas, D Seibel, LM van Duivenvoorde, SC
Gilbert, AV Hill, & SJ Draper (2010) ‘New candidate vaccines
against blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum malaria: primeboost immunization regimens incorporating human and simian
adenoviral vectors and poxviral vectors expressing an optimized
antigen based on merozoite surface protein 1’ Infect Immun
78:4601-12.
Dunnill, MS, (2010) ‘Victor Horsley (1857-1916) in World War I,
Journal of Medical Biography 18: 186-193
Grimley, D (2010) Nielsen and the Idea of Modernism (Boydell)
Grimley, M, (2011) ‘The Dog that Didn’t Bark: The Failure of
Disestablishment since 1927’ The Established Church: Past,
Present, Future eds. M Chapman, J Maltby & W Whyte (T&T
Clark)
Gunn, SJ (2010), ‘Archery practice in early Tudor England’, Past
and Present 209, 53-81
Loenarz, C, ML Coleman, A Boleininger, B Schierwater, PWH
Holland, PJ Ratcliff & CJ Schofield (2010) ‘The hypoxiainducible transcription factor pathway regulates oxygen sensing
PUBLICATIONS
in the simplest animal, Trichoplax adhaerens’ EMBO Reports 12:
63-70
Li, G & PWH Holland (2010) ‘The origin and evolution of ARGFX
homeobox loci in mammalian radiation’ BMC Evol Biol 10:182
Butts, T, PWH Holland & DEK Ferrier (2010) ‘Ancient homeobox
gene loss and the evolution of chordate brain and pharynx
development: deductions from amphioxus gene expression’ Proc
Roy Soc B 277:3381-89
Mulley, JF & PWH Holland (2010) ‘Parallel retention of Pdx2
genes in cartilaginous fish and coelacanths’ Molec Biol Evol
27:2386-91
Zhong, Y & PWH Holland (2011) ‘The dynamics of vertebrate
homeobox gene evolution: gain and loss of genes in mouse and
human lineages’ BMC Evol Biol 11:169
Schnupp J, I Nelken, & A King (2010) Auditory Neuroscience:
Making Sense of Sound (MIT Press)
King, AJ, & JC Middlebrooks (2011) ‘Cortical representation
of auditory space’, The Auditory Cortex, eds. JA Winer & CE
Schreiner (Springer)
Walker, KMM, JK Bizley, AJ King & JWH Schnupp (2011)
‘Cortical encoding of pitch: recent results and open questions’
Hearing Research
King, AJ, FR Nodal, & VM Bajo (2011) ‘Neural circuits underlying
adaptation and learning in the perception of auditory space’
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Rabinowitz, NC, BD Willmore BD, JWH Schnupp, & AJ King
(2011) ‘Contrast gain control in auditory cortex’ Neuron
Wicks K & JC Knight (2011) ‘Transcriptional repression and
DNA looping associated with a novel regulatory element in the
final exon of the lymphotoxin beta gene’ Genes and Immunity
12:126-135
Fairfax P, E Davenport, S Makino, AVS Hill, OF Vannberg &
Knight JC (2011) ‘A common haplotype of the tumour necrosis
factor receptor 2 gene modulates endotoxin tolerance’ Journal of
Immunology 186:3058-3065
Maugeri N, J Radhakrishnan & JC Knight (2010) ‘Genetic
determinants of HSP70 gene expression following heat shock’
Human Molecular Genetics 19:4939-4947
Ramagopalan SV, Heger A, Berlanga AJ, Maugeri NJ, Lincoln
MR, Handunnetthi L, Orton S, Handel AE, Watson CT, Morahan
JM, Giovannoni G, Ponting CP, Ebers GC, & Knight JC (2010)
‘A ChIP-seq defined genome-wide map of vitamin D receptor
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binding: associations with disease and evolution’ Genome
Research 20:1352-1360
Fairfax BP, F Vannberg, J Radhakrishnan, H Hakonarson, BJ
Keating, AVS Hill & JC Knight (2010) ‘An integrated expression
phenotype mapping approach defines common variants in LEP,
ALOX15 and CAPNS1 associated with induction of IL-6’
Human Molecular Genetics 19:720-730
Maclachlan, IG (2011) ‘Blanchot and the Romantic Imagination’,
Blanchot Romantique: A Collection of Essays, eds. J McKeane
& H Opelz (Peter Lang)
Gaston, S & IG Maclachlan (eds.) (2011) Reading Derrida’s ‘Of
Grammatology’ (Continuum)
Mairs, R (2011) ‘Translator, Traditor: The Interpreter as Traitor in
Classical Tradition’ Greece & Rome 58:64-81
Mairs, R (2011) ‘Acrostich Inscriptions at Kalabsha (Roman
Talmis): Cultural Identities and Literary Games’ Chronique
d’Égypte 86:251-267
Mairs, R (2011) ‘The Places in Between: Model and Metaphor
in the Archaeology of Hellenistic Arachosia’ From Pella to
Gandhara: Hybridisation and Identity in the Art and Architecture
of the Hellenistic East eds. A Kouremenos, S Chandrasekaran &
R Rossi (Oxford: BAR)
Mairs, R (2011) The Archaeology of the Hellenistic Far East: A
Survey. Bactria, Central Asia and the Indo-Iranian Borderlands,
c. 300 BC – AD 100 (British Archaeological Reports International
Series 2196) Oxford: BAR
May, RM (2010) ‘Tropical Arthropod Species: More or Fewer’
Science 329 41-42
Haldane A & RM May (2011) ‘Systemic Risk in Banking
Ecosystems’ Nature 469 351-355
Haldana, A & RM May (2011) ‘The birds and the bees, and the
big banks’ Financial Times, 21st February
May, RM (2010) ‘Ecological Science and Tomorrow’s World’
Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B 365 41-47
May, RM & N Arinaminpathy (2010) ‘The Dynamics of Model
Banking Systems’ J. Roy. Soc. Interface 7 823-838
McCabe, RA (2011) The Oxford Handbook of Edmund Spenser
(Oxford University Press), xxiii + 805pp
McCabe, RA (2011) ‘Edmund Spenser’, The Cambridge
Companion to English Poets, ed. C Rawson (Cambridge
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Metcalfe, R, N Powdthavee & P Dolan (2011) ‘Destruction
and distress: using a quasi-experiment to show the effects of
the September 11 attacks on subjective well-being in the UK’
Economic Journal 121: F81-F103
Dolan, P, R Layard & R Metcalfe (2011) Recommendations
of subjective wellbeing measures for the Office of National
Statistics, Report for the ONS
Eliott, A, P Dolan, I Vlaev, C Adriaenssens & R Metcalfe (2010)
Transforming financial behaviour, Report for the Consumer
Financial Education Body
Brandler, WM, TS Scerri, S Paracchini, AP Morris, SM Ring, AJ
Richardson, JB Talcott, J Stein, & AP Monaco (2011) ‘PCSK6
is associated with handedness in individuals with dyslexia’,
Human Molecular Genetics 20 (3):608-614
Novák, B, PK Vinod, P Freire & O Kapuy (2010) ‘Systems-level
feedbacks in cell cycle control’ Biochem Soc. Trans.
Novák B, O Kapuy, MR Domingo-Sananes & JJ Tyson (2010)
‘Regulated protein kinases and phosphatases in cell cycle
decisions’ Curr Opin Cell Biol.
Domingo-Sananes, MR & B Novák (2010) ‘Different effects of
redundant feedback loops on a bistable switch’ Chaos
Vinod, PK, P Freire, A Rattani, A Ciliberto, F Uhlmann & B Novák
(2011) ‘Computational modelling of mitotic exit in budding
yeast: the role of separase and Cdc14 endocycles’ Journal of
Royal Society Interface
He, E, O Kapuy, RA Oliveira, F Uhlmann, JJ Tyson & B Novák
(2011) ‘System-level feedbacks make the anaphase switch
irreversible’ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Healy, AJ, HA Reeve, A Parkin & KA Vincent (2011) ‘Electrically
conducting particle networks in polymer electrolyte as threedimensional electrodes for hydrogenase electrocatalysis’
Electrochim. Acta In Press
Lee, C-Y, GP Stevenson, A Parkin, MM Roessler, RE Baker,
K Gillow, DJ Gavaghan, FA Armstrong & AM Bond (2011)
‘Theoretical and experimental investigation of surfaceconfined two-center metalloproteins by large-amplitude Fourier
transformed ac voltammetry’ Journal of Electroanalytical
Chemistry 656:293-303
Wait, AF, A Parkin, GM Morley, L dos Santos & FA Armstrong
(2010) ‘Characteristics of enzyme-based hydrogen fuel cells
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Journal of Physical Chemistry C 114:12003-9
FELLOWS
Lukey, MJ, A Parkin, MM Roessler, BJ Murphy, J Harmer,
T Palmer, F Sargent & FA Armstrong (2010) ‘How Escherichia
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conditions’ JBC 285:3928-38
Basnayake, SD, JA Hyam, EA Pereira, PM Schweder, J-S Brittain,
TZ Aziz, AL Green, & DJ Paterson (2011) ‘Identifying
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110:881-891
Herring, N, CW Lee, N Sunderland, K Wright, & DJ Paterson
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Payne, J & L Gullifer (2011) Corporate Finance Law: Principles
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Payne, J (2011) ‘Schemes of Arrangement, takeovers and Minority
Shareholder Protection’, Journal of Corporate Law Studies
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Payne J (2011) ‘Minority Shareholder Protection in Takeovers: A
UK Perspective’, European Company and Financial Review
Prag, JRW (2011) ‘Provincia Sicilia: between Roman and local in
the third century BC’, De Fronteras a provincias. Interacción e
integración en Occidente (ss.III-I aC), ed. E García Riaza (Palma
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Prag, JRW (2011) ‘Troops and commanders: auxilia externa under
the Roman Republic’, Truppe e Comandanti nel mondo antico,
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Prag, JRW (2011) ‘Siculo-Punic Coinage and Siculo-Punic
Interactions’ Meetings between Cultures in the Ancient
Mediterranean. Proceedings of the 17th International Congress
of Classical Archaeology, Rome 22-26 Sept. 2008, ed. M Dalla
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Prag, JRW (2010) ‘Sicilia Romana tributim discripta’, Le tribù
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Romaine, S (2010) ‘19th century key words, key semantic domains
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Romaine, S (2011) ‘Identity and multilingualism’, Bilingual
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youth: Spanish in English-speaking societies eds. K Potowski &
J Rothman, Chapter 1. 7-30 (Amsterdam: John Benjamins)
Highcock, EG, M Barnes, AA Schekochihin, FI Parra, CM Roach
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plasma’, Physical Review Letters 105, 215003
Uzdensky, DA, NF Loureiro & AA Schekochihin (2010) ‘Fast
magnetic reconnection in the plasmoid-dominated regime’,
Physical Review Letters 105, 235002
Nazarenko, SV & AA Schekochihin (2011) ‘Critical balance
in magnetohydrodynamic, rotating and stratified turbulence:
towards a universal scaling conjecture’, Journal of Fluid
Mechanics 677, 134
Rosin, MS, AA Schekochihin, F Rincon & SC Cowley (2011)
‘A nonlinear theory of the parallel firehose and gyrothermal
instabilities in a weakly collisional plasma’, Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society 413, 7
Kunz, MW, AA Schekochihin, SC Cowley, JJ Binney & JS Sanders
(2011) ‘A thermally stable heating mechanism for the intracluster
medium: turbulence, magnetic fields and plasma instabilities’,
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 410, 2446
Scott, AD (2011), ‘Szemerédi’s Regularity Lemma for matrices
and sparse graphs’, Combinatorics, Probability and Computing
20: 455-466
Bollobás, B & AD Scott (2011), ‘Intersections of graphs’, J. Graph
Theory 66: 261-282
Loebl, M, B Reed, S Thomassé, AD Scott & AG Thomason (2010),
‘Almost all H-free graphs have the Erdős-Hajnal property’, in An
Irregular Mind (Szemerédi is 70), Bolyai Soc. Math. Stud., 21,
Springer, Berlin, 405-414
Bollobás, B & AD Scott (2010), ‘Max k-cut and judicious
k-partitions’, Discrete Math. 310: 2126-2139
Fey, M & AD Scott, (2011) ‘The minimal covering set in large
tournaments’, Social Choice and Welfare
Shue, H (2010) ‘Deadly Delays, Saving Opportunities: Creating A
More Dangerous World?’, Climate Ethics: Essential Readings,
eds. SM Gardiner, S Caney, D Jamieson, and H Shue (Oxford
University Press), 146-62
Shue, H (2011) ‘Civilian Protection and Force Protection’, Ethics,
Law and Strategy, ed. D Whetham (Palgrave Macmillan), 135-47
Shue, H (2011) ‘Human Rights, Climate Change, and the Trillionth
Ton’, The Ethics of Global Climate Change, ed. DG Arnold
(Cambridge University Press), 292-314
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Shue, H (2011) ‘Target-selection Norms, Torture Norms, and
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Shue, H (2011) ‘Face Reality? After You! - A Call for Leadership
on Climate Change’, Ethics & International Affairs 25:1, 17-26
Walden, JS, (2010) ‘Performing the Rural: Sonic Signifiers in Early
Twentieth-Century Violin Playing’ Before and After Music ed. L
Navickaitė-Martinelli. Vilnius/Helsinki: Lithuanian Academy of
Music and Theatre, and Umweb, International Semiotics Institute
Walden JS, (2010) ‘Recent Research on Musical Performance
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Walworth, J & D d’Avray (2010) ‘The Council of Trent and Print
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Warry, P (2010) ‘Legionary Tile Production in Britain’, Britannia
Warry, P (2011) ‘Chapter 10: The Ceramic Building Material’,
Silchester: the City in Transition: the Mid-Roman Occupation of
Insula IX, c.AD125-250/300. A Report on Excavation undertaken
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Wedgwood, R (2011) ‘Gandalf’s Solution to the Newcomb
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Wedgwood, R (2010) ‘The Nature of Normativity: Reply to Holton,
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Wedgwood, R (2010). ‘The Moral Evil Demons’ Disagreement
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Whitworth, MH (2011) ‘Natural Science’, T. S. Eliot in Context
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Whitworth, MH (2011) ‘“Within the ray of light” and without:
The New Physics and Modernist Simultaneity’, Restoring the
Mystery of the Rainbow: Literature’s Refraction of Science eds.
V Tinkler-Villani and CC Barfoot (Rodopi)
Whitworth, MH (2011) ‘The Use of Science in Hugh MacDiarmid’s
Later Poetry’, The Edinburgh Companion to Hugh MacDiarmid
eds. M Palmer McCulloch and S Lyall (Edinburgh University
Press)
Wren-Lewis, S (2010), ‘Macroeconomic Policy in light of the
credit crunch: the return of counter-cyclical fiscal policy?’,
Oxford Review of Economic Policy vol 26 71-86
Leith, C and S Wren-Lewis (2011), ‘Discretionary Policy in a
Monetary Union with Sovereign Debt’, European Economic
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Wright, P (2011) ‘Memories of 1971; A Historic Year in the
Emirates’, Royal Society of Asian Affairs
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Validation on Clinical Data’, NeuroImage 55 1009-1019
Bishop, CA et al. (2011) ‘Jenkinson and the Alzheimer’s Disease
Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Accounting for changes in
data and labeling protocol: improving atlas-based hippocampal
segmentation’, The Organization on Human Brain Mapping,
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Tziortzi, AC, G Douaud, P Shotbolt, CA Bishop et al. (2010) ‘A
combined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and [11C]-(+)-PHNO
positron emission tomography (PET) study to quantify dopamine
D3/D2 receptors in pallidum’ Neuroreceptor Mapping Congress,
Glasgow
Bishop, CA et al. (2010) ‘Evaluation of hippocampal segmentation
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Workshop on Visual Computing for Biology and Medicine,
Leipzig
Bishop, CA et al. (2010) ‘Evaluation of four hippocampal
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Agarwal, S et al. (2010) ‘Revisiting Date and Party Hubs:
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Auger, P (2010), ‘The Natural History of The Silkewormes, and
Their Flies’, CahiersÉlisabéthains 78 39-45
Auger, P (2010), ‘Recreation and William Alexander’s DoomesDay (1637)’, Scottish Literary Review 2.2 1-21
Bajlekov, SI et al. (2011). ‘Simulation of free-electron lasers
seeded with broadband radiation’, Physical Review Special
Topics - Accelerators and Beams 14, 060711
Barmeier, H (2010) ‘Resilient Urban Community Gardening
Programs in the United States and Municipal-Third Sector
Adaptive Co-Governance’, Presented at the Second Annual
European Sustainable Food Planning Conference
Bishop, CA et al. (2011) ‘Novel Fast Marching for Automated
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The Organization on Human Brain Mapping, Barcelona
Brandler, WM, TS Scerri, S Paracchini, AP Morris, SM Ring, AJ
Richardson, JB Talcott, J Stein, & AP Monaco (2011) ‘PCSK6
is associated with handedness in individuals with dyslexia’,
Human Molecular Genetics 20 (3):608-614
Brook, M (2011) ‘Keeping the myth alive: the myth of August the
Strong in the GDR’, Austausch 1
Dedeic, Z et al. (2011) ‘Emerin inhibits Lmo7 binding to the Pax3
and MyoD promoters and expression of myoblast proliferation
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Disanto, G et al. ‘The emerging role of vitamin D binding protein
in multiple sclerosis’ J Neurol. 258(3):353-358
Disanto, G et al. (2011) ‘HLA-DRB1 confers increased risk of
pediatric-onset MS in children with acquired demyelination’
Neurology 76(9):781-786
Disanto, G et al. (2011) ‘Estrogen-vitamin D interaction in multiple
sclerosis’ Fertil Steril. 95(1):e3; author reply e4
Disanto, G et al. (2011) ‘Season of birth and anorexia nervosa’ Br
J Psychiatry 198(5):404-405
Disanto, G et al. (2010) ‘Heterogeneity in multiple sclerosis:
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Vinod, PK, P Freire et al. (2011) ‘Computational modelling of
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endocycles’, J R Soc. Interface, doi:10.1098/rsif.2010.0612
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Freire, P, Zhang T (2011) ‘Two legs are better than one’, Cell
Cycle 10(8):1189-90 (published online)
Ginalis, A, ‘The Northern Sporades. An important junction of the
Aegean trading routes’, Graeco-Arabica
Ginalis, A, ‘A comparison of maritime traditions in the Red Sea,
Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean’, Graeco-Arabica 12
Ginalis, A, ‘The provincial harbours of Hellas and Thessaly in
the Byzantine period. The question of Roman heritage and its
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Gould, IC et al. (2011) ‘Indexing the graded allocation of
visuospatial attention using anticipatory alpha oscillations’,
J Neurophysiology 105(3):1318-26
Heise, V et al. (2011) ‘The APOE varepsilon4 allele modulates brain
white matter integrity in healthy adults’, Molecular Psychiatry
Higgins, C (2011), ‘Archives, Oral History and Australian Refugee
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Hinch, AG et al., ‘The landscape of recombination in African
Americans’, Nature
Hirschfeld, M (2011) ‘Croatian cinematic identity: A Balkan
entity or a European individual?’, Studies in Eastern European
Cinema vol. 2:1 21–36.
Hopkinson, MN (2011) et al. ‘AuI/AuIII Catalysis: An Alternative
Approach for C-C Oxidative Coupling’, Chem. Eur. J. DOI:
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Hollingworth, C, A Hazari, MN Hopkinson et al. (2011)
‘Palladium-Catalyzed Allylic Fluorination’, Angew. Chem. Int.
Ed. 50, 2613-2617
Li, L, MN Hopkinson et al. ‘Convergent 18F Radiosynthesis:
A New Dimension for Radiolabelling’, Chem. Sci. 2, 123-131
Hopkinson, MN et al. (2010) ‘Gold Catalysis and Fluorine’, Isr. J.
Chem. 50, 675-690
Hopkinson, MN et al. (2010) ‘Gold-Catalyzed Cascade
Cyclization-Oxidative Alkynylation of Allenoates’, Org. Lett.
12, 4904-4907
Huang, C & M Baum ‘A rational basis for the chemoprevention of
prostate cancer’, American Journal of Bioethics In press
Baum, M & C Huang (2011) ‘Is diminished free will legally
relevant and is enhanced free will possible?’, AJOB Neuroscience
2(3):59-61
Jones, SM et al. ‘Validation of a norovirus multiplex real-time RTPCR assay for the detection of norovirus GI and GII from faeces
samples’, Br J Biomed Sci 68(3); 116-119
Frandsen, MT, F Kahlhoefer et al. ‘On the DAMA and CoGeNT
Modulations’, arXiv:1105.3734
Bezrukov, F, F Kahlhoefer et al. (2011) ‘Interplay between
scintillation and ionization in liquid xenon Dark Matter searches’,
arXiv:1011.3990. Accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physics
O’Sullivan, MC, JK Sprafke, DV Kondratuk et al. (2011)
‘Vernier templating and synthesis of a 12-porphyrin nano-ring’,
Nature 2011, 469, 72-75
Ladwig III, WC (2011) ‘Looking East 2 (East Asia/Australasia)’,
A Handbook of India’s International Relations ed. David Scott
(London: Routledge)
Ladwig III, WC (2010) ‘India and Military Power Projection:
Will the Land of Gandhi Become a Conventional Great Power?’,
Asian Survey vol. 50, no. 6
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Erickson, AS, WC Ladwig III & JD Mikolay (2010) ‘Diego Garcia
and America’s Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy’, Asian Security
vol. 6, no. 3
Lancaster, T, JS Möller et al. (2011) ‘Observation of a level
crossing in a molecular nanomagnet using implanted muons’,
J. Phys. Condens. Matter 23 242201 doi: 10.1088/09538984/23/24/242201
Prodi, E (2011) ‘Note a P.Oxy. 2459 (Eur. frr. 540-540b K.)’,
Eikasmos 22
Prodi, E (2011) ‘Bacchylides’, ‘Lyric (Greek)’, ‘Pindar’, ‘Sappho’
and ‘Stesichorus’, The Virgil Encyclopedia eds. R Thomas & JM
Ziolkowski (Wiley and Blackwell: Malden)
Rabinowitz, NC et al. (2011) ‘Control in Auditory
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Ong, C-HL, & SJ Ramsay (2011) ‘Verifying higher-order
functional programs with pattern-matching algebraic data
types’ Proceedings of the 38th annual ACM SIGPLAN-SIGACT
symposium on Principles of programming languages (Austin,
Texas, USA, ACM)587-598
Sengupta, S (2011) ‘Defending “Differentiation”: India’s Foreign
Policy on Climate Change from Rio to Copenhagen’, India’s
Foreign Policy and National Security, Vol.1 eds. K Bajpai & HV
Pant (Oxford University Press: New Delhi/Oxford)
Sengupta, S (2011) ‘International climate negotiations and India’s
role’, A Handbook on Climate Change and India: Development,
Politics and Governance ed. N Dubash (Oxford University Press:
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Sherlock, BE et al. (2011) ‘Time-averaged adiabatic ring potential
for ultracold atoms’, Phys. Rev. A 83, 043408
de Silva, N (2010) ‘A Concise, Elementary Proof of Arzelà’s
Bounded Convergence Theorem’ Am Mathematical Monthly
Stephenson A (2011) ‘Kant on Non-Veridical Experience’, Kant
Yearbook 3 1-22
Goris, T AF Wait et al. (2011) ‘A Unique Iron-Sulfur Cluster is
Crucial for Oxygen Tolerance of a [NiFe]-Hydrogenase’, Nature
Chemical Biology doi:10.1038/nchembio.555
Wait, AF et al. (2011) ‘Formaldehyde-A Rapid and
Reversible Inhibitor of Hydrogen Production by [FeFe]Hydrogenases’, Journal of the American Chemical Society 133,
(5), 1282-1285
Wait, AF et al. (2010) ‘Characteristics of Enzyme-Based Hydrogen
Fuel Cells Using an Oxygen-Tolerant Hydrogenase as the Anodic
Catalyst’, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 114, (27), 1200312009
Olteanu, D & J Závodný (2011) ‘On Factorisation of Provenance
Polynomials’, Proc. 3rd USENIX Workshop on the Theory and
Practice of Provenance (TaPP), Heraklion, Crete
Zocco, A & A Schekochihin ‘Reduced fluid-kinetic equations
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[physics.plasm-ph]
MERTON SOCIETY
MERTONIANS
The Merton Society
The Society’s year started in October with
a drinks party in the City of London, held
in freezing conditions on the open terrace
of a wine bar in Broadgate. Mertonians,
however, are not easily deterred and a hardy
group of about 25 Mertonians braved the
cold for an enjoyable gathering.
Our annual London dinner at the
Royal Society in November provided the
opportunity for the Society to welcome the
newly installed Warden and Lady Taylor.
The presence of the new Warden was a
compelling attraction, and 140 Mertonians
and guests gathered in Carlton House
Terrace. This was an appropriate setting for
Sir Martin, himself a Past Vice President
of the Royal Society. In his address he
noted some significant numbers: the Royal
Society celebrated its 350th anniversary in
2010, and Sir Martin spoke of his pleasure
on learning that he was to become the
50th Warden, as Merton approaches its
own 750th anniversary. The Warden was
welcomed by Sir Brian Leveson (1967),
presiding over his first event since assuming
the Presidency of the Society.
For the Society’s weekend in College on
2nd-3rd July, proceedings opened with the
Warden’s Strawberry Tea, with the College
and gardens resplendent in bright sunshine.
We then moved to the TS Eliot Theatre,
where new ground was broken as we
welcomed the Shakespeare Schools Festival
and a group of talented young actors from
Penketh High School, near Warrington, who
performed a 30-minute version of Othello,
remarkably condensing Shakespeare’s play
to achieve brevity without sacrificing either
JO (1985) AND DECLAN WOODS AT THE T S ELIOT THEATRE OPENING
intensity or vitality. Their performance was
followed and complemented by Professor
Richard McCabe whose analysis added
immeasurably to our understanding and
appreciation (firing this writer, at least, with
an unaccustomed enthusiasm to revisit the
original play). We are indebted to Professor
McCabe, and to the Warden and Lady
Taylor, whose encouragement played an
important part in bringing this project to
Merton.
At dinner in Hall, Oliver Miles (1956)
spoke about the situation in Libya and
shared some reflections on his own
experience as ambassador to Libya,
including his departure in 1984 following
the breaking off of diplomatic relations on
the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. Then
on Sunday morning we returned to the
TS Eliot Theatre where Professor Henry
Mayr-Harting (1954) gave a captivating
illustrated talk on art and power under the
Ottonian Emperors, not only enlightening
us as to the distinction between the rule
of the Ottonian Emperors around the turn
of the first millennium, and the Ottoman
Empire several centuries later, but also
impressing the audience with the wealth
of understanding that can be drawn from
observation of the art of the period.
POSTMASTER | 2011
89
MERTONIANS
MERTON SOCIETY
FELLOWS, JONATHAN THACKER AND
ALAN BARR AT THE 750TH ANNIVERSARY
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
Looking ahead, we are planning a London
drinks party on Thursday 13th October,
at The Bunghole in Holborn, to which
all Mertonians are welcome, particularly
those who have recently graduated and are
new to the Society’s events. Then on 18th
November our London dinner will be held in
the Middle Temple Hall. The Development
Office will keep you fully informed, and
the Alumni & Friends section of the college
Merton Society Council
President
Sir Brian Leveson (1967)
Vice Presidents
Dame Jessica Rawson (1994)
Mrs Judith Roberts
AM Vickers (1958)
Chairman
SAL Tross Youle (1974)
Secretary
RB Peberdy (1975)
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POSTMASTER | 2011
website is regularly updated with the latest
news about future events. We are grateful to
all of you who support our events, and we
welcome your comments and your ideas for
future Society events.
The Society owes everything to those
who help to run its programmes and I
would like to thank the Development Office
team of Christine Taylor, Helen Kingsley,
Matt Bowdler, Daphne O’Connell, Rob
Moss and Sarah Hood, our President Sir
Brian Leveson, Secretary Robert Peberdy,
Treasurer Cliff Webb, golf Chairman Tom
Hennessy, year representatives’ leader
Anna Smith and her team, our Council
members, and the heads of the JCR and
MCR. We are immensely grateful to our
new Warden, who in the short time since
his installation has already given such
enthusiastic encouragement and support to
our events, and we thank all of the College
staff who look after us so well whenever we
return to Merton. We give thanks too to Sir
Michael Jenkins and Adrian Vickers, who
stepped down last year after sterling service
as, respectively, President and Chairman of
the Society. They both deserve our enduring
Treasurer
CR Webb (1967), Bursar
Past Presidents
Sir Michael Jenkins OBE (1951)
Sir Jeremy Isaacs (1951)
Sir Robert Scott (1963)
Lord Wright of Richmond GCMG (1951)
WP Cooke CBE (1952)
DW Swarbrick (1945)
Sir Maurice Hodgson (1938)
ED RANALLO (1967) AND RICHARD BOATS
appreciation and gratitude for all that they
have done for the Society over many years.
Before closing I would draw your
attention to the Society’s Compassionate
Fund, which exists to offer assistance to
Mertonians or their close relatives who find
themselves in straitened circumstances. If
you know of a case for consideration, do
please contact the Development Office.
Simon Tross Youle (1974)
Council
AJ Barr (2007, Fellow), JDS Booth (1976),
AJ Bott (1953), RTF Crothers (1993), CAC
Jenkins (1977), CL Jolly (1998), The Revd
Dr Simon Jones (Chaplain), JAD Lamming
(2004), RG McKelvey (1959), RMA Medill
(1952), RO Miles (1956), PJ Parsons (1958),
AL Smith (1991), Prof BN Winston (1960),
HJ Woods (1983) and NL Wynn-Evans
(1992)
MC3
MC3
Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love,
was the setting for the MC3 Annual Meeting
and Reunion over the April 1 weekend. This
visit to the ‘Athens of America’ followed
previous meetings in New York, Boston,
Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Toronto and Chicago.
Mertonians welcomed the new Warden,
Sir Martin Taylor and were delighted that
he was accompanied by his gracious wife,
Sharon. In a weekend of highlights, we were
also privileged, thanks to the generosity
of Reed Rubin, to greet the Merton choir
and enjoy their inaugural appearances in
the United States as they began a tour of
well received concerts from Philadelphia to
New York.
The weekend began on Friday evening
with a reception and dinner at the Vesper
Boat House on Boathouse Row on the banks
of the Schuylkill River. The venerable Boat
House was bursting at the seams with over
100 in attendance. There were just a few
short remarks but lovely choir performances
both before and after dinner. Very few of
those in attendance had heard the choir
before and the wonder and delight were
palpable. The Warden circulated bravely
through the throng and met a great many
old Mertonians and new friends.
The annual meeting on Saturday morning
was held in the elegant and historic former
Board Room of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
KATIE SHEEHAN (2002) AND CORY WAY (2003)
MERTONIANS
According to our custom, Board members,
other Mertonians and significant others
joined the meeting. The agenda was packed
with meeting formalities, financial reports
and plans for the future. In a noteworthy
recognition of the enormous success of
MC3 as it approached its third decade, it
was decided that a committee of young
alumni seasoned with a few middle-agers
would conduct a serious analysis of how
the institution should grow and thrive. Neil
Brown agreed to serve as the chair of this
important initiative. A deadline of 2014 for
their report was set firmly in place.
The financial report from Bob McKelvey
showed that in 2010 MC3 received total
contributions of $1.6 million from 130 of
the approximately 800 Mertonians in the
Americas. Major gifts support student
scholarships ($1,045,000), the TS Eliot
Theatre ($315,000) and the Jessica Rawson
Fellowship ($136,000) plus approximately
eight other projects.
The MC3 portfolio enjoyed another
successful year with a return of 12.8%
building upon the 2009 return of 23.5%
thereby erasing the decline during the 200708 financial crisis. The permanent portfolio
value is $1.65 million. (This does not
include funds earmarked for transmission to
Merton in the near term.) This endowment
supports the Permanent Programs MC3
has committed to fund each year including
the Simms Bursaries (hardship aid), the
Americas Scholar (a graduate scholarship),
the Darden Junior Fellowship, and the
Burwell Grant for Chinese Studies.
The Warden and other representatives
then provided an overview of Merton as its
750th anniversary approaches. Among other
initiatives a £30 million capital campaign
is under way to coincide with the historic
POSTMASTER | 2011
91
MERTONIANS
MC3
HELEN AND REG HALL (1954) AND HERMAN (1971) AND ALISON WILTON-SIEGEL
anniversary. An Americas Campaign
Committee, chaired by David Harvey,
1957, was announced as in formation. (Now
completed and including Nicholas Allard,
Marla Allard, Susan Cullman, David
Hamer, Reginald Hall, Frank Keefe, John
Kirby, Robert McKelvey, Peter Palmer, Dan
Seymour, and Katie Sheehan.)
After the meeting, Mertonians spread out
to sample Philadelphia cuisine. We were
all hampered in this quest by the refusal
of our event chairman, Ed Ranallo, to
divulge his favorite venue for the famous
Philadelphia Cheese Steak on the dubious
ground that it was all a matter of taste.
We carried on with the extensive list of
area restaurants he did provide. The most
popular choice appeared to be the Oyster
House for a bivalve feast. Following lunch,
the Mertonians reconvened for a bus tour of
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POSTMASTER | 2011
historic Philadelphia, complete with guides
in 18th-century garb, to visit Independence
Hall and the Old City.
Later Saturday afternoon, the Merton
choir gave its first formal concert at the
elegant Old St Peter’s Church. A large
crowd of Philadelphians joined Mertonians
to applaud a splendid concert of ancient and
modern music.
Dinner Saturday was at the reunion
headquarters for the weekend, the Philadelphia landmark, the Union League.
Approximately 85 Mertonians and partners attended the reception and dinner that
featured the Warden’s lively description of
events at Merton during his inaugural year
and the changes coming to the British educational system as a result of the increasing
fiscal constraints on government support of
higher education.
JOHN KIRBY (1962)
On Sunday morning we had a privately
guided tour of the Philadelphia Museum of
Art, concluding with a light luncheon on
the museum’s balcony. Many Mertonians,
including the Warden, stayed on both at
the Museum and in Philadelphia but the
meeting was officially at an end.
Committee chair, Ed Ranallo and
committee members, Charles Scudder
and Craig Smith were warmly thanked for
their work in organizing this splendid
program.
John J Kirby Jr
(1962)
MERTON IN THE CITY
Merton in the City
The third meeting of Merton in the
City was held on 9th June at the offices
of
PricewaterhouseCoopers
near
Embankment. We were informed and
entertained by Alan Giles (1972) as our
guest speaker who spoke to the intriguing
title: ‘Never mind the quality, feel the
loyalty points’. Alan provided both a brief
retrospective of his own career in retail,
together with a thoughtful analysis of the
current and future challenges facing the
sector.
Alan began by taking us on a whistlestop tour through his fascinating and wideranging career, starting from unpromising
beginnings (for a retailer) as a Physics
undergraduate. He provided examples of
his varied experience, from imposing his
taste on the nation’s women as an ‘electrical
beauty’ buyer through to meeting the
Queen in his role as Managing Director at
Waterstones. In his role as Chief Executive
of the HMV Group, Alan described the lows
of renegotiating his banking agreements
together with the highs of a Stock Exchange
flotation.
Latterly in his career, Alan was able to
draw on his experience as Chairman of Fat
Face, Non-Executive Director at Rentokil
Initial, Non-Executive Board Member at
the Office of Fair Trading and Tutor on the
MBA programme at Oxford.
Alan devoted the majority of his speech
to the current and future issues facing
retailing, emphasising the important role
that the retail industry plays in the UK
economy. In terms of the overall context
of retailing, Alan reminded us of the
importance of this highly successful sector
which represents 8% of UK GDP and 11%
of UK employees.
He started talking about the move
from provision of goods to provision of
services. Companies such as Dixons and
Boots Opticians were quoted as examples
of companies successfully moving more
towards the potentially higher margin,
less competitive services area. One of the
key players in the UK retail sector, Tesco,
accounts for £1 of every £7 spent in the UK
market. Alan noted that ‘services’ would
contribute some 15% to Tesco Group
profits this year; indeed Tesco’s ‘Finest’ and
‘Value’ brands were used to market their
broadband offerings.
The talk highlighted the growing
realisation of the responsibility to society
of the retail sector. Marks & Spencer set a
benchmark with their Plan A campaign in
2007 which contained 100 commitments,
of which 62 are described as having now
been delivered. Alan emphasised that this
initiative was clearly not born out of altruism
given that it had generated some £50 million
profit this year! He noted that the sector
faces very significant sustainability issues,
ranging from the refrigeration and building/
decommissioning challenges of retail sites
to the intensive use of fertilisers and water
for products such as cotton.
He also saw retailers as being in the firing
line, bearing some of the brunt of society’s
broader concerns on issues such as binge
drinking and obesity. On another issue,
low-cost sourcing had been shown to have
its social responsibility challenges and Alan
MERTONIANS
commented on the difficulties for retailers
in successfully ‘policing’ factories.
Another issue which was touched upon
was multi-channel retailing where nearly
a quarter of UK sales were online and,
perhaps more surprisingly, where the UK
had the highest per capita spend online in
the world. However the choice was not a
straightforward one; research suggested
that the most valuable customers are
those who use all main channels, and that
customers move backwards and forwards
between channels so rendering the current
delineation increasingly irrelevant.
Loyalty cards were in the title of the
speech and were discussed in some detail
and, in particular, the insights that retailers
obtain from these types of scheme. Tesco
Clubcard was launched in 1995 and now
some 80% of Tesco transactions are made
using this card. Research suggests that
the take-up rates on offers made via the
Clubcard range between 20% and 50%,
compared to a miserly average 2% for
direct mailing. Alan noted some of the
concerns raised regarding the increasingly
ubiquitous loyalty card, both in terms of
the extent of potential invasion of privacy
but also moves towards customer-specific
pricing where different prices are charged
to different groups. In one retail chain in
the United States, analysis indicates that
the majority of discounts go to only 30% of
the customers.
We moved on to the issue of how
the modern world of retail provides
consumer empowerment; a world where
smartphones allow consumers to search
prices in store via the barcode and where
retailer websites operated by the likes of
ASOS and Mothercare seek to attract and
retain customers by encouraging them
POSTMASTER | 2011
93
MERTONIANS
GOLF SOCIETY
(respectively) to discuss fashion trends and
issues for expectant and new mothers.
Alan finished with a somewhat sobering
take on the question “What will the high
street look like in 2025?” His answer was
that we will need to work hard to avoid town
centre wastelands; stores will need a real
sense of local identity together with easy
access and retailers will need to provide a
‘breathtaking instore experience.’
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the
balance Alan struck between serious
messages regarding the retail sector and
some entertaining anecdotes – some of us
who ‘enjoyed’ the TV advert Alan showed
for the unlamented Do-it-All retail chain
were struck by how much advertising had
moved on since the 1980s.
The evening was wrapped up with a
spirited question and answer session,
followed by drinks and canapés courtesy of
our hosts.
Richard Weaver (1983)
Merton Golf Society
I am very happy to report that the College
Golf Society is in good health, and even
happier to report that our Merton College
team are the reigning champions for
2011-12 in the University Inter-Collegiate
Tournament – more details later.
Our year began on 24th September, again
at Frilford Heath Golf Club, on a welcome
fine day with the course in good condition
and a reasonable field of 21 players,
including guests, who continued to produce
improving scores, which has been a feature
of our outings over the past couple of years
as we have become better acquainted with
the perils offered by the Red course. The
morning’s 18-hole Stableford was won
by Mike Renton (1956) with 35 points.
Runner-up with 33 points was Mike
Jenkins, who over the years has tended
to pick up prizes. The nine-hole afternoon
greensome competition with prizes of
Merton mugs was won by Richard Allen
and Roger Gould (both 1959) with a
high score of 18 points. Seventeen of us
including wives and guests and our two
loyal supporters Christine Taylor and Helen
Kingsley from the Development Office,
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POSTMASTER | 2011
retired to the College in the evening for our
customary reception and dinner.
Although March this year was a fine and
dry month, there was a forecast of heavy
rain for our Spring meeting on Friday 18th
March. Rain it did with a vengeance, but
our golfers battled on manfully. Mark
Price (1964), who has been showing
improving form of late, took the honours
with a score of 37 points in the morning’s
Stableford – a very creditable performance
in the conditions. Bill Ford (1975), recently
TOM HENNESSY (53) RECEIVES THE CUP FROM ST PETER’S FELLOW
OLIVER NOBEL-WOOD. ALSO, (LEFT TO RIGHT) RICHARD ALLAN (1959),
MARK PRICE (1964) AND ADRIAN VICKERS (1958)
GOLF SOCIETY
TIM PHILLIPS (1960) ROGER GOULD (1959) AND RICHARD ALLAN (1959)
returned from a golfing holiday in Florida,
was second with 33. Fortunately the rain
stopped at lunchtime and fine spring weather
returned, encouraging Brian Roberts-Ray
(1956) to win the mugs. The latter’s kitchen
must be taking on a distinctly Mertonian
hue – he always seems to be collecting
College mugs in the afternoon competitions.
Thirteen of us enjoyed our usual reception
and dinner in College.
The 14th Inter-Collegiate Competition
was held on 8th April, played on the Red
and Blue courses at Frilford Heath, with
144 competitors from 17 colleges. I was
delighted to be able to field a full team
of ten nominated players plus two
reserves. The weather was lovely and both
courses were in first-class condition, and
perhaps at their most benign having been
prepared for the PGA European Challenge
Competition the following week, with the
rough cut back etc. Happily our team took
to their tasks with enthusiasm and no little
skill, providing a score of 205 points which
represented the total of the best six scores
returned, giving us a commanding lead
over strong teams from Christ Church and
Pembroke (199 each). Our hero figures were
Paul Chamberlain (Fellow) 38 points,
Nick Silk (1960) 35, Bill Ford 34, John
Gloag (Fellow) 34, David Holmes (1966)
34 and John Mitchell (1955) 30. The others
MERTONIANS
in the team were Adrian Vickers (1958),
Mark Price, Michael Edwards (1956)
and Ed Martley (1975), with reserves
Jim Mackie (1955) and Richard Allan.
We didn’t achieve any of the individual
prizes but it was a splendid and consistent
team effort, reflecting the hard work
we have been putting in over the years
at Frilford.
Hertford proved the most convivial and
generous hosts at a reception and dinner,
where I was happy and proud to receive
the cup supported by Messrs Vickers, Allan
and Price and of course our number one
supporter Helen.
A very satisfactory result overall, I
believe. We have of course featured well
in the competition before, having been
joint first once, second three times and
third twice.
All in all a good and most enjoyable
year, and there is room for both future
success and expansion. We will continue
to take part in these three annual events –
so if you haven’t already done so, why not
join us?
Tom Hennessy (1953)
POSTMASTER | 2011
95
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | UP TO 1948
News of Old Members
Up to 1948
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: MICHAEL MILLARD
35 Armorial Road, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV3 6GH
Tel: 02476 414776
The reward of being a year correspondent is the pleasure of reading
so many (51) interesting letters. The frustration is that of being able
to pass on only a little of the information received. A strong thread
through many of this year’s letters is the fondness for the College
that many of us have.
My wife Elizabeth and I spent a delightful evening at the home of
Guy (1948) and Mary Harris in the company of David (1947) and
Rosemary Tristram. Guy writes that he progresses from integer
to statistic but not yet a cipher. David spent about 20 years with
Guinness in Ireland before returning to England. He has since been
running a plant nursery: he produces quite exciting hybrids.
John Barnes (1942) writes to say that he gave up as a gliding
instructor at the age of 70. At some time he represented England
against Scotland in fencing. He finally stopped work in the medical
profession at the age of 77. He comments that the NHS would be
brilliant if patients would stop interrupting the smooth flow of the
paperwork.
Trevor Fletcher’s (1940) letter emphasises contrasts: between
putting his music recordings into a box the size of a lady’s handbag
which will hold the recordings of a lifetime and the dozen or so
78s he played in College on a hand-cranked machine; that today’s
undergraduates face financial worries whereas his two scholarships
(Postmaster and State) left him with none; that Merton taught him
that a university was not just for getting a degree.
James Midwood (1947) and his wife enjoy cruising; in fact they
and I were on the same ship this year but did not meet. He plans a
visit to Newfoundland this year to stay with his brother-in-law Jim
Greene (1949). When home, he is treasurer of his parish church.
His grandchildren give him pleasure but he comments that they
appear to face a depressing future, though perhaps our grandparents
thought likewise.
Philip Blakeley (1937) and his wife find their travelling is limited
but they went on a cruise last year and are contemplating another.
96
POSTMASTER | 2011
Francis Cory-Wright (1947) writes from Little Gaddesden with
a copy of a newsletter of the Dacorum Heritage Trust of which he
is a founding director; lots of archaeological work in Hertfordshire
which, as an Old Albanian, I found interesting.
Lawrence Lyle (1941), since retiring from school teaching, has
been Tours Officer of the Historical Association and has for many
years been closely concerned with the Canterbury Archaeological
Trust. He and his wife hope to complete a final book on Canterbury
for the History Press. He is also an Honorary Steward of the
Cathedral.
John Byrt (1947) retired from the Bench in 1999 and since
then has been the legal member of the ABTA tribunal. He is also a
trustee of the Cotswold Community Trust which provides a home
and education for malfunctioning or abused boys aged 8-16. Like
many of us, he is glad to be alive and well.
Brian Campbell (1947) enjoys retirement, still plays the
trumpet, and is still Vice-President of the Royal National College
for the Blind.
I am sorry to say that I received a letter from David Taylor telling
me that his father Christopher Taylor (1940) died peacefully on
11th January 2011. There were two Old Mertonians at the funeral
and all the flowers were chosen in Merton colours. I also had a
letter from Adele Crowder, the widow of Christopher Crowder
(1941), of whom there is an obituary elsewhere in Postmaster.
Michael Hinton (1945) spent 35 years school teaching and then
ten years as a Church of England priest. In 2008 he produced ‘The
100-minute Bible’. He is still in touch with Leonard Allinson
(1944) and John Owens (1944). Leonard Allinson is gardening
keenly with results that are pleasing both to the eye and to the
palate. He writes that he is in touch with John Owens and Michael
Hinton but problems of hearing discourage him from attending
Merton gatherings. Ralph Thornton (1942) retired after 41 years
at Warwick School. He regrets that all his close friends at Merton
are no more.
Hilary Rubenstein (1944) is happy and in good health. He is still
in touch with Anthony Curtis (1944), Shanker Bajpai (1941), and
Roger Bannister (1950). Anthony Curtis writes briefly to say that
he knows nothing of the ‘lost boys’. For one who lives so far away
NEWS | UP TO 1948
Shanker Bajpai communicates with an unexpectedly large number of
Mertonians; the list includes Digby Neave (1948), Michael Briggs
(1944), Charles Hennessy (1947), Hilary Rubenstein and Anthony
Curtis. It has been difficult to pick out salient details of his own two
brilliant careers in his Government’s service and in academia. My
taste for trivia leads me to mention that his elder son was educated at
Stowe and Loughborough and is an American whereas his younger
son was educated in America but is a British citizen.
Gerald Winzer (1947) recalls experiences in India before coming
up to Merton and reminds me of our latest meeting at a Gaudy some
years ago. John Sassoon (1947) clearly had a most interesting
career in Africa. At one time he was given a tie by Milton Obote to
which he was not entitled but which he was commanded to wear on
certain occasions.
Mark Lowth (1944) wrote with memories of Brian Chapple and
two names on the missing list. He makes the interesting comment
that his grandchildren consider him seriously crazy; the reason
being that they learnt that on leaving the army he refused offers
at both Oxford and Cambridge. Food for thought surely? Thomas
Shiner (1943), like Mark Lowth, did not return to Merton after
War Service.
Brian Chapple (1948) tells us that after a career in education
and time spent in municipal work he is now one of the first
Honorary Aldermen of Solihull Borough. Cataract operations have
improved his vision of his bridge hands but do not seem to have
improved his play.
Harry Corben (1944), though in College for only a few months,
recalls interesting details of the College and Oxford in 1945. Later
he became a Board member of Merton College in Merton.
Gerald Dearden (1941) writes that although he and his wife are
largely immobilised, they enjoy the help and company of their son
and daughter. Their grandchildren, all at university, find it difficult
to believe accounts of wartime life at Merton.
Michael Keating-Hill (1940) reports he is still in touch with
Maurice Hodgson (1938), Michael Palliser (1940) and David
Swarbrick (1945). His present interests are economics, gardening,
wine and ornithology. In a brief note Lionel Stevens (1948)
mentions occasional phone conversations with David Swarbrick.
John McOmie (1943) says that since last year he and his wife are
content to lead a quiet life. Many of us will sympathise with his
comment that Richmond Hill (Bristol) seems to get a little steeper
every year.
OLD MEMBERS
Alan Longmore (1947) writes that he and his wife live a quiet
life visited by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren;
contentment fails to produce news: but he exchanges letters
with Peter Croft (1947). Philip Holden (1943) is now alone
and learning to walk again after a stroke but four out of his five
children are at hand to help out. Of his 11 grandchildren, two are
at university. He supports the Bournemouth Orchestra and the
Dartmouth Yacht Club and attends naval gatherings.
Nicholas Jaco (1938) writes from Ontario where he spends
his summer fishing and painting: he celebrated his 90th birthday
motoring round Skye and the highlands and then round his
native Cornwall.
Gordon Wallace (1944) recalls being taught by Medawar,
Florey and Chain. After a career in pathology, retirement has been
spent mainly camping or caravanning in Scotland. But now hill
walking is at an end and as a widower his ‘activities’ are confined
to bowls, bridge and the Telegraph crossword. Christopher
Middleton (1948) is still writing and publishing poetry. At the
International Poetry Festival in Istanbul he found himself reciting
poems amid a vociferous crowd of trippers on a Bosphorus
ferry boat.
Ronald Russell (1943) values his memories of Merton. It is
17 years since he was lecturing in Cambridge for the extra-mural
department but he and Jill continue to represent UK interest on
the Advisory Board of the Monroe Institute which is involved
in the investigation of human consciousness; in recent years
he has edited two books dealing with this work. Ian Bucklow
(1943) writes that after retirement in 1990 he joined the Materials
Science Department at Cambridge where he still has a corner of a
lab and half an office. He finds cycling up Cambridge’s only hill
increasingly difficult.
Hubert Gale (1945) was at one time a lecturer in Safety and
Radiation Protection at Nottingham University: I guess he may
have interesting opinions about recent events. At present he helps
out at a coffee room attached to a city centre church.
Lionel Lewis (1946) is still working, with his son, in the family
business of picture framing: the Ashmolean and Christ Church
are among their regular customers. He is in touch, sometimes by
meeting, sometimes by cards, with John Rhodes (1946), Ken
Poole (1947) and with Geoffrey Kidson (1946), who has also
written. I have also had a long and interesting letter about his past
career from Hans Andersson (1947). The most interesting event
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1949
in his recent days has been an invitation from the Warden to the
launch of the 750th Anniversary Campaign.
Sadly two of our number write to say they are unwell: namely
John Jones (1942) and Ian Young (1947). Ian adds that he is
well cared for.
Christopher Rose-Innes (1943) tells me that he keeps well and
is still sculpting. Michael Woods (1944) describes his present life
as being ‘without noise, without bustle, without fame’ though both
letters and crosswords have appeared in Oxford Today over the
years. John Rhodes reports general good health: after retiring as
a clergyman he spent some years giving holiday cover but now
only reads the lesson occasionally. Again Frank Palmer (1948)
remains in good health though his wife is not one hundred percent.
Nigel Sanders (1948) and his wife have moved to a ‘retirement
village’ which is very good. He reflects that 60 years from Merton
he is once again in a ‘one age group’ community: but now those
looking after him are now a generation or two below instead of
the reverse.
Ralph Feltham (1940) is currently giving advice to a European
Government on the training of young diplomats. He was also
pleased to have the eighth edition of his Diplomatic Handbook
translated into Albanian: bringing the total number of translations
to a satisfactory ten. Roger Highfield (1948) writes that he has
celebrated his 89th birthday. He tells me that Michael Wood (as in
Kibworth) is now an honorary Mertonian.
Klaver Toalster (1948) reports the reception of one excellent
jar of marmalade on visiting Duncan Cloud (1948) and another
one on visiting a bridge player whom he originally met via the
computer. After a visit to Spain he is now hooked on the Basque
language. David Morris-Marsham (1948) has recently visited
Egypt which was delightfully free of tourists, for the simple
reason that the revolution had just taken place. He has returned.
On a chance meeting in Front Quad last year I was talking to a
College Fellow, just a little younger than me, and he expressed the
opinion that retirement was an occupation for ‘the younger man’.
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1949
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ALASTAIR PORTER
4 Savill Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 2NX
Tel: 01444 482001. Email: arw.porter@btinternet.com
Given our age group, it is sadly almost an annual duty to report the
death of at least one of our number, and this year we mourn the loss
of Roger Titheridge, a distinguished QC and a very supportive
Mertonian. A tribute to Roger appears elsewhere in these pages.
On a happier note, it is always a pleasure to hear from members
living overseas, since we cannot expect to meet up with them very
often. That may be less true of Ian Macpherson since he now has
grandparental reasons to travel to the UK from Hong Kong from
time to time. Ian reflects that living in Hong Kong can arouse a
feeling of being surrounded by other countries’ disasters – floods
in Australia, earthquakes in New Zealand and China, and then the
earthquake and tsunami in Japan. He expresses his admiration for
the fortitude of those most affected, and the Japanese in particular.
Hugh Sackett, although based in the USA, spends much of his
time in Greece, and was in touch after two months in Crete. He
still lectures at Groton MA on the archaeology of Greece and the
Aegean but spends six months a year on field work – mostly in
Palaikastro on the east coast of Greece – and strives to keep up
with the publications programme connected with his work. He did
manage to return to Merton for the opening of the TS Eliot Theatre
since he and his two Mertonian brothers had endowed a seat in
memory of their father AB Sackett who was a friend of Eliot’s 90plus years ago.
Jack Dixon, writing from Canada, is also very active, having
travelled for a family birthday party to rural Manitoba where the
temperature at the time was -30°C and he tried his hand at ice fishing.
Jack was sad to report the demise of the Air Cadet Foundation which
he established in 2008 with high hopes that were never fulfilled.
He is working on his next book on Disobeying Orders in War and
would be happy to receive any appropriate contributions.
Back in the UK, Ian Skeet reports that he is well but without
news and Robert Andrew reports only pride in a second set of twin
grandchildren. Dan McNicol is happy to record that his church has
at last been blessed with a new minister after two years without
one – a problem that seems to cross national and denominational
boundaries. John Lowis rejoices in at last finding time to travel, and
NEWS | 1952
is looking forward to a trip to St Petersburg – a city that assuredly
will live up to his expectations.
Hugh Podger has also joined the travellers and enjoyed an
extensive tour of the Far East, but has returned to his considerable
involvement in church duties, which now include membership of
the Winchester Bishop’s Council. Hugh is a regular at the Merton
London dinner where we meet regularly and hope to do so again
(with other forty-niners?) on 18th November.
Hal Miller has retired from the RFU Council on the basis of
anno domini and has turned his attention to the charity world
by becoming a Trustee of Age Concern in Bromyard, which he
describes as a ‘surprisingly deprived area’. He confesses to some
disillusionment with the way in which the charitable sector operates
but is happier to report his pro-planet initiative in installing solar
photovoltaic panels at home. Charities – mostly of a small and
relatively anonymous nature that deserve support – have Tony
Price’s attention along with his garden, which keeps him busy and
healthy. As befits a successful novelist, he endorses the observation
of the old Turk in Candide that work banishes those three great
evils: boredom, vice and poverty.
As for myself (Alastair Porter), a great deal of my time seems to
disappear in supporting our local U3A – the University of the Third
Age, for those who have not found one of its 800 branches. There
is always a role there awaiting anyone who is prepared to offer to
research and present a subject of general interest such as the story
of the Victoria Cross, my most recent offering, which can be found
on page 54 of Postmaster.
1952
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ROGER MEDILL
4 The Lennards, South Cerney, Cirencester, GL7 5UX
Tel: 01285 862862
An interesting letter from Tony Bailey spoke of a visit to Merton by
a 36-year old Francis Kilvert, mentioned in his diary. He enjoyed
“the famous terrace walk upon the old city walls” and admired “the
celebrated lime avenue”, but his idyllic Merton garden moment
was shattered by a noisy company of men and boys using willow
wands to ‘beat the bounds’. Does this still happen? I looked it up in
Brewer, who records “in a few parishes on Ascension Day.”
Tony’s latest book Velazquez and the surrender of Breda is
OLD MEMBERS
out later this year. He encountered Jeremy Isaacs (1951), Alan
Brownjohn (1950) and Edmund Ions (1953) in lively form at a
memorial occasion in May. He also keeps in touch with Cy Fox,
the world Vorticist expert, who in his latest card to me described
himself as ‘the wandering Fox’, having sold his house and not yet
‘gone to earth’.
Peter and Julia Cooke came to lunch with us recently and
Patrick and Virginia Wright (1951), on a West Country tour to visit
friends, dropped in to tea. I envied them their planned Hellenic
cruise together, with my 55-year-old memories of acting as courier
on several Hellenic air cruises to Athens, Rhodes and Crete. Thirty
passengers on our Viking aircraft, flying at eight thousand feet, with
four stops for fuel… those were the days!
I keep in regular touch with Colin Allinson (1953), and Hugh
and Georgina Seymour-Davies, whose latest travels have been
to Vietnam and Turkey, the latter “offering a bridge between
Europe and Asia, carrying the major trade routes and providing the
battlegrounds… Urfa grew rich as the hinge between the Persian
and Byzantine empires.”
Jack and Judy Justice recently returned to Santa Fe (I like their
address: Coyote Pass Road) from a trip to Italy where they enjoyed
a week in Rome followed by the “splendid hospitality of Jeremy
and Gilliam Isaacs at their holiday home in Umbria.”
From Carter Revard, Professor Emeritus of English in Arts and
Sciences, I have receieved what I can best describe as an exuberant
gallimaufry, positively bubbling over the scholarly reference,
conjecture and critique. The origins of language, medieval history,
significance of poetry and many other topics spring forth, agreeably
spiced throughout with wit and humour. The four-week course for
international writers at the Chateau de Lavigny, Switzerland, to
which Carter has been invited will evidently be a lively affair, as well
as giving him an opportunity to complete a collection of his poems
entitled From the Extinct Volcano, a Bird of Paradise. A surprising
title, but I can vouch wholeheartedly for the quality of Carter’s
verse. He also mentions attending the golden wedding anniversary
of Tony and Sylvia Marland, along with Ian McMichael, Cedric
Andrews, Gordon Whittle, Stuart McGregor and Ray Quinlan.
Finally, a sad memory came through contact with Paul Curtis
Hayward (1978), son of William, a fellow English student with
me, scholar, poet, novelist, described by his Tutor as a born literary
critic. He took his own life at the age of 37. His sons, Paul and
Michael, were pupils at my school, Rendcomb College.
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1953
1953
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: TOM HENNESSY
25 Church Cottages, Faringdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, OX13 5QJ
Email: hennessy@dsl.pipex.com
Another year has passed and it seems that most of our 1953
matriculands are coping well with life’s vicissitudes in various
parts of the world.
None more so than David Ellison who wrote from Christchurch,
New Zealand about the frightening experience of the first earthquake
at 4.35 am on 4th September 2010, later to be faced with a much
bigger one this year. His letter enclosed a newspaper cutting of an
interview he gave about a charitable trust which he set up following
a stroke 15 years ago. This – the David Ellison Charitable Trust – is
now valued at $3 million and supports various causes throughout
the world. He says the inspiration came from another Mertonian,
Leonard Cheshire VC (1936), one of his war heroes. I am sure we
all wish him well and continued success.
Our ‘Mad Cyclist’ Peter Dalton reports that he has had his
troubles, particularly when a post-operative infection kept him in
hospital for more than three weeks. But now, after physiotherapy,
he is back on the bike, riding one-handed through his beloved lanes
around Ashby-de-la-Zouch in anticipation of eventually resuming
his Merton-bound trips. The Midlands debating group, i.e. Peter
and Ray Peacock and Pamela, Pauline Fletcher and Colin Battell,
still lunch together regularly and put the world to rights.
Nearer home, I learn from John Shore in Abingdon that he has
been living in the same house and attending the same church for
35 years, and looks forward to his forthcoming golden wedding
celebration. He has recently achieved a boyhood ambition of sailing
through the Panama Canal, and has finally given up ‘amdram’, but
can still be found singing with a choir in Witney and will no doubt
be taking part in the Boat Club activities this summer.
Alan Bott expressed his delight in discovering Edward Blore’s
drawing (c. 1840) of the Chapel restoration, which is described
elsewhere. He will be giving a NADFAS lecture tour in New
Zealand in March 2012, which includes one in Christchurch
arranged by David Ellison, the Canon Almoner, and Peter Beck
(1966), the Dean, for the restoration of the cathedral spire after
earthquake damage.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
John Roberts (JCQ) writes from Chelsea, saying that there is
‘life in us old dogs yet’. He made a trip to Moscow to celebrate
the 80th birthday gala, at the Bolshoi, of Gennady Rozhdestvensky,
a former chief conductor of the BBSO, who has done much to
promote British music in Russia, including the complete Vaughan
Williams symphonic cycle. While there, John translated some
children’s poems, which lack of space prevents me from including
here. He is currently, at the request of the Chelsea Society, preparing
an article on a neighbourhood literary and musical salon frequented
by Artur Rubinstein, Henry James, Diaghilev, Boris Chaliapin,
Pablo Casals and others. So there is indeed plenty of life in this
old canine.
Bill McCulloh, writing from Gambier, Ohio, says that his brother
was delighted to hear of the appointment of our new Warden whom
he had encountered while teaching maths at the University of
Illinois. Now himself retired from academia, Bill is preparing to
be a heavy lifter at the forthcoming extensive exhibition of his wife
Pat’s paintings and prints.
Our near neighbour, Tony Verdin, continues to live an active
life. With Araminta he has made visits to Oman and South Africa,
and France (twice). The last was a short visit to Araminta’s holiday
home in the South of France, which was bought by her father many
years ago and into which my brother Charles Hennessy (1947)
and others helped him to move. Tony shows great spirit and is now
looking forward to this year’s Merton Society Weekend.
We have been very happy to continue to maintain contact with
many Merton friends. Mike Jenkins and Jackie have stayed with
us during some of the golf meetings and we are looking forward
to visiting them in Sevenoaks in June. Edmund Ions has been
over from St Gallen and we are still waiting to hear him a give a
recital when he eventually passes his Upper Mountain Yodelling
Certificate B, Grade 4. Christopher Thomson and Daphne came
for a couple of days last summer, when with other friends we
visited Kelmscott Manor, not far from here, in beautiful weather.
They also enjoyed catching up with Rod Reynolds and Luisa while
on a visit to Lisbon – Rod has now sold his cork farms and retired
to the coast.
We met Roger Medill (1952) with mutual friends to sample
the delights of the Bay Tree in Burford, where he gave us news of
Colin Allinson. More recently we were delighted to be visited by
Peter Cooke (1952) and Julia, who were just about to go on a Swan
Hellenic cruise with Patrick Wright (1951) and Virginia.
NEWS | 1954
We have just heard a most interesting lecture in the impressive
TS Eliot Theatre to mark the donation of the Sandy Irvine (1921)
archive to the College by the Irvine family. The lecture was given
by his great-niece and biographer Julie Summers. We were struck
by the likeness of the photographs of Sandy Irvine to his nephew
Andrew Irvine who came up with us in 1953, sparking happy
memories.
1954
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: DICK LLOYD
2 Brook Cottages, Sherford, Kingsbridge, Devon, TQ7 2AX
Tel: 01548 531068 Fax: 01548 531951
Email: a.lloyd33@virgin.net
In view of the opening comments of my 2010 report, perhaps I
should begin by saying that even I have now accepted email. I have
had a good response this year and I am pleased that a few of you
have livened up your current news with anecdotes from your life
after Merton.
David Barber, writing in April, says that the climate in Vermont
went from deep snow to mud, so I hope he is now basking in some
sunshine.
Adrian Esdaile will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his
ordination as a Church of England priest next year. He has been
assiduously devoting his energies to courses in Art History, which
has involved travel to several European Centres of Art. He is
currently writing a dissertation on Illuminated Manuscripts with a
focus on the Book of Hours 1400-1550.
John Garrard also has a half a century achievement, as a
professor, and is now Emeritus in Russian Studies at the University
of Arizona. I have his (and his wife’s) very well researched book on
Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent and very much enjoyed it. John has
also had his earlier book on the life and fate of Vassily Grossman,
chief correspondent for the Red Army during WWII, entitled
The Bones of Berlicher, translated into Italian and Spanish. He is
intrigued by the Spanish interest, but maybe it is the Communist
connection. The book was named the recipient of the 2009 Giovanni
Comisso Prize for the best biography printed in Italian – another for
my reading list.
Reg Hall is full of praise for hip replacement surgery in the UK
rather than the US and, with two new hips dating from 1999 and
OLD MEMBERS
2003, I can confirm this! He has also sent me some reminiscences
concerning his life working for multinational companies, when he
needed to investigate sources for seaweed that was converted to gum
for the processed food industry. The trail led him to the Philippines,
which he was advised against visiting because of the presence of
guerrillas: Communist, Islamic and opportunist. Travelling in an
Indonesian Air Force plane over the Sulu Sea, he queried why the
pilot was plotting a roundabout route through the islands and the
reply was that the guerrillas were well armed and would love to
bag an Air Force plane. They finally landed and were accompanied
around some malodorous warehouses by a gang of teenage soldiers,
but he survived. He came back realising how the other half lived
and that there was no shortage of seaweed.
Mike Jordan, who commutes between homes in London,
Paris and the South of France, is still engaged in promoting his
considerable knowledge and experience of banking. He is currently
advising the Vietnamese Central Bank on updating their banking
systems, a project financed by Swiss Aid.
Henry Mayr-Harting has published a book, one of a series by
Pearson Education, entitled Religion, Politics and Society in Britain
1066-1272. This was a work which he was commissioned to do
and, somewhat tardy in its execution, he received an ultimatum in
2007 to complete it, which he finally achieved in 2010; as he puts it
himself: “The last and the least of the apostles.”
Robin Purdue, who has not communicated for some time, has
made up for this slight deficiency by sending me an hilarious account
of the floating of a Dutch barge from Holland to the UK, which
he had decided to add to his existing cruising fleet of two narrow
boats. For this he hired the services of a supposedly experienced
skipper and engineer. They succeeded in getting the barge out of
Holland and as far as Dunkirk by hugging the coast but then they
hit fog. They got hopelessly lost, and terrifyingly fogbound, and
ended up back in Dunkirk grounded on a sandbank. They sought
aid from a tug company who failed to shift it, and the ‘skipper’
having proved worse than useless, Robin decided to trail Dunkirk
himself, becoming, in his own words, more and more dishevelled.
He acquired the name le vieux pecheur and, at one stage, being
taken as a fraternal delegate from England by the striking French
dockers resulted in warm welcomes and many handshakes. Finally
he found a guy with a tracked excavator who succeeded in digging
the old barge out and refloating it at 3 o’clock in the morning, when
the tide was just right. Robin cruised the barge on the Thames for
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1954
some time, enabling him to revisit Merton from the river, and now
it is in France available for cruising. For anyone interested, contact
Robin at robin@bargedirect.com.
Ted Mullins, despite deteriorating eyesight, still amazingly
manages to continue his work as an author and will publish shortly
yet another book on historical France. The book is entitled Roman
Provence, and if it is as good as his previous works, which I am
sure that it will be, it will be well worth reading. The research for
this book involved frequent forays into forests in search of lost
temples and lunches in the shade of aqueducts, accompanied by
his wife, Anne, and their golden retriever, who he says would win
a world record for swimming under more Roman bridges than any
other canine.
Mike Rines has also been involved in literary pursuits, editing
and publishing a book entitled Sown with Corn; a novel written
by Frank Binder, a former master at Scarborough School for
Boys, where Mike underwent his pre-Oxford education. Binder
had lectured at Bonn University during the rise of the Nazis and,
because the hero of the book is a student there, it is clearly semiautobiographical. Professor Ian Kershaw, an old Mertonian who
wrote the two-volume massive biography of Hitler, says that the
book might offer insights into the rise of the Nazis, thus avoiding
the reading of extensive non-fictional literature on the subject. I
have read the book and found it so intriguing that I could not put
it down until I had finished it. Anyone interested to buy a copy
can contact Mike on rinesm@freeserve.co.uk. I would thoroughly
recommend it to anyone interested in WWII history.
David Watson has celebrated 40 years as a Reader at the
parish church of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. His wife, Pam, has happily
survived a very serious illness with much support from family and
friends, and they are getting back to their remarkable joint work on
prison visits.
Peter Westwood is another with some fascinating recollection
of his early days as a District Officer in Fiji. He was due to sail
out there in October 1957 when, visiting Crown Agents simply to
find out about baggage, he was suddenly informed that he must be
ready to fly within a few days. He did so in First Class on a Qantas
Super Constellation four-engined turbo-prop, only to find no one
expected his arrival. He was posted to an Indian sugar cane area in
the Northern territory, where a DO was urgently needed. One of his
duties was to sit as a magistrate, settling disputes over boundaries
and family quarrels, well aware that the wily Indian lawyers knew
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POSTMASTER | 2011
much more about the local law than he did. He assiduously studied
the local language, preferring that to joining in the exclusively allwhite social round, and it stood him in good stead. District Officers
were accorded the status of a Chief and when he arrived to visit
a village on official business there would be a lot of ceremonial
speech-making, the speaker being obliged to hold a special whale’s
tooth accompanied by the passing round of a locally prepared drink
called ‘Yangona’, made from the crushed root of the plant mixed
with water out of a long bamboo.
The Fijians were devout Christians and Peter was accorded a
place of honour in the front of the church, and on one occasion,
to his total surprise and consternation, the minister announced
that, as District Officer, he would preach the sermon! He somehow
got through it, with his limited Fijian, and was congratulated
afterwards on the fact that he had preached the shortest sermon that
the congregation had ever heard.
I haven’t really any news this year, so I will recall one of my early
forays as a young and inexperienced export salesman. Due to my
having acquired a limited knowledge of Spanish, I was sent out to
Peru, Bolivia and Chile in 1959. After a 42-hour flight in a KLM
Super Constellation (first class, of course), there was nobody to
meet me at Lima airport and no hotel reservation. The agent turned
out to be a general trading company with no interest whatsoever in
my visit, so I ended up having a flaming row with the Managing
Director and got some action at least. When my boss in London
received my report, he wrote a furious letter to them and the reply
came back: “What do you expect when you send an immature young
schoolboy out here?” However, I cashed in my direct air ticket from
Lima to La Paz, travelled in an unpressurised Dakota to Cuzco,
visited Machu Picchu over the weekend and continued my trip to
La Paz by train, crossing Lake Titicaca in an old paddle steamer
built in Hull in 1905 and assembled on site after being carried up to
the lake in pieces by pack mules. All at business expense!
I have heard from quite a number of other ’54 vintage folk,
including David Gilchrist, Gerard Greene, Mike Jordan, John
Parr, John Wells and John Wallace, and would like to thank them
for keeping in touch.
NEWS | 1955
OLD MEMBERS
1955
1956
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: JOHN MITCHELL OBE
The Hedges, Church Road, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27
3HZ
Tel: 01428 652113 Email: mitchelljc@aol.com
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: RICHARD KENYON
Four Winds, Dalehouse Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2JZ
Tel: 02476 419622 Email: delaroche37@gmail.com
I am indebted to the pair of old faithfuls who wrote in reply to mine.
Hopefully, 1955 will do better next year.
David Clayton ‘quietly boasts’ of the publication in 2011 of the
second book he has written since his retirement from a Burnley
headship, Lost Farms of Brinscall Moors, which deals with the
farms’ declines in the late 19th century and the most interesting
walks. In 1971, he had written an academic book, Britain and the
Eastern Question, Missalonghi to Gallipoli, so this recent book was
hobby as distinct from work-based. Indeed, retirement has allowed
time for the exercise of two passions, long-distance walking and
singing, the former in the company of Mertonian Paul Jennings
(1960) in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Singing has had
its delights too, including two splendid concerts in Merton Chapel
in 2008 and in 2009 given by the chamber choir from Bolton (the
Brixi Singers), whose Chairman and leading bass David is. He is
greatly looking forward to the choral perfomances in the Chapel
during July’s Merton Society Weekend.
Dermot Killingley returned to Vienna in November 2010 to give
a lecture to the Di Nobili Research Institute, meet colleagues in
Indology Department and go to two operas. In May this year, he
attended an organ recital in aid of the S. Y. Killingley Memorial
Trust, which gives grants to people following part-time courses
(www.skytrust.org.uk), raising £500 for the Trust.
On a completely different level, your correspondent has had
a good golfing year, leavened, inter alia, by a glorious trip to
Melbourne and Sydney for the last two Ashes Tests, during which I
caught up with John Adams and his wife Jo. John is in remarkably
fine shape, though Jo says he could take more exercise. In addition
to their fine hospitality at their home overlooking the Harbour, they
took me to the Primary Club Breakfast on the first morning of the
Sydney Test. I can say that John has changed less in 55 years than
anyone I have met – and that is a good thing!
Do you recall JRR Tolkien (1945)? Tim Brennand tells me that
three years ago they moved from the Middle Earth of mid-Suffolk
to Ceredigion, which both sounds and feels like Tolkien country.
Having been based in Aspall Cyder country for 37 years, albeit with
lengthy postings in Holland, Nigeria and China, they found the
move to Wales a quite major upheaval. However the new culture,
new language, new topography, new geology and new music
proved a refreshing experience, an antidote in fact to the almost
imperceptible growing sedimentation of years. He wonders what
news of John Adams (1955), John Cooke (1955) with whom he
helped install a pink tailor’s dummy (the Oxford Mail described
it as ‘a sort of Haberdasher’s Venus de Milo’) on the cupola at
Queen’s, John Newbold (1954) and Peter Westwood (1954).
Ian Hodson and Edith (both aged 75) celebrated their golden
wedding with a lunch at the National Railway Museum and a
boat trip on the Peak Forest Canal. This year’s rail plans include
touring Switzerland, and a journey from Holland to Sweden. The
main significance of all this, he supposes, is that they can happily
cope at our age – so far. The grandchildren are now frighteningly
old and university looms. He watches with horror the erection of
huge financial obstacles in their paths and doubts that he is alone in
giving priority to the family’s educational needs over the funding
problems of Merton and Oxford, however grateful one may feel to
the College and the University.
John Isherwood compares medical treatment in UK and the
USA. His son who lives in Iowa fell in an icy multi-storey car
park but, without benefit of our NHS, for ambulance to A&E, one
night in hospital and the operation to set the ankle with a plate and
screws, was presented with a bill for $36,500, with subsequent
bills for check-ups, a second op to remove the screws and physio.
He even had to pay extra for crutches. As this happened at the
time Obama was meeting fierce opposition to his Health Bill, it
really registered with them how lucky we are to have the NHS.
By coincidence, their son’s godfather, Peter Heap, broke his ankle
two weeks later and he had nothing but praise for the way the NHS
looked after him.
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1957
possible for Jan to recover at home. She now carries the X-rays
of her bionic ankle in her passport in case of problems with
airport security.
University looms for us too. Our eldest grandson lives with us
while he does his International Baccalaureate. He says he has come
to the UK because he prefers the education and wants to go to
university here. I suspect that the real reason may be that he can
take his driving test in June when he reaches 17, a year earlier than
at home in Italy.
1957
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: GRAHAM BYRNE HILL
26 Lawn Crescent, Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3NS
Email: g.byrnehill@googlemail.com
JAY KEYSER (SECOND FROM RIGHT) AND THE AARDVARK JAZZ
ORCHESTRA @ KATE MATESON
Jay Keyser reports the publication of his latest book, Mens
et Mania, ‘the MIT nobody knows’ and is working on another,
tentatively entitled Looking for Me. He has been this year to China
and Spain and in October is off to Peru to visit Machu Picchu. He
blogs on www.travelreluctantly.blogspot.com. Somehow he finds
time to play in the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra – a winner of the 2000
Independent Music Awards. He is second from the right in the
picture. When he is not playing avant garde jazz, he plays Dixieland
in the New Liberty Jazz Band.
Inspired by the recent King James Bible challenge, Mike Renton
performed a ‘hymnathon’ to raise money for the Southdown
Church and Community Partnership redevelopment fund. Based
on a Methodist initiative, it has been working since 1998 to
provide caring support to their local community of Southdown
and Whiteway in Bath. On Sunday 8th May, Mike played all the
hymns, carols and religious songs he knew (290 and counting) on
the keyboard at Nexus (Walcot) Methodist Church.
I shared some experiences with Ian and John. In December my
wife fell on the stairs and broke her ankle badly. This led to a similar
operation and a month’s stay in hospital. We were really impressed
by the surgical, in-patient and aftercare service. The NHS provided
a wheelchair, a ramp and all sorts of other equipment to make it
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Erich Gruen is officially retired from the University of California
(Berkeley), but continues with seven PhD students and the chairing
of the Jewish Studies programme. His publications this year
include: Rethinking the Other in Antiquity (Princeton UP) and
Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean (Getty Research
Institute). Six years after the death of his wife, Joan, he is delighted
to announce his recent marriage to Anne Hasse, “thus bringing back
light once more into my life”.
Graham Cansdale’s Celtic-style CD, which was produced for
a street children’s project in DR Congo, and was flagged in the
last Postmaster, has raised £1,000 for the project. For further detail
you may google “congochildrentrust”. Other Celtic-style, Christian
music of his is also available online.
David Harvey honours our year as the Senior Citizen on the 750th
Campaign Board and as Chairman of Merton College’s USA Appeal.
Michael Leach will be returning shortly to the vicinity of the
North Pole to observe polar bears. More prosaically, as constituency
database manager, he has transformed the political fortunes of his
local MP, Grant Shapps. The database is one of the largest of its
kind and has helped transform a marginal into a seat with a very
large majority.
Ian Spurr has sprouted a new life as an organiser of local charity
events: for example, Ian Spurr’s Big Curry 2010 on behalf of ABF
The Soldiers Charity. He has been much encouraged and motivated
by “support and generosity of ordinary folk for the sacrifices of our
armed forces”.
NEWS | 1958
Ian has, regretfully, sailed the Atlantic and Caribbean for the
last time, with Robin Wilshaw’s sale of the yacht. He recalls a
memorable trip with Simon Jones (also 1957). Sadly, Simon died
recently after a long illness.
Peter Koe has been blessed by the need to visit numerous children
and grandchildren who are scattered across the world. At home he
plays much table tennis and bridge. James Steadman continues
vigorously to sing and act and to volunteer at Shaw’s Corner.
Graham Byrne Hill maintains his involvement with the politics
of the EU’s institutional development. He is active in think tanks.
History doesn’t rest and the EU is no exception. It has radically
reconfigured itself in the last ten years and is far from finding stability.
1958
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES: BRYAN LEWIS
2 Bell Close, Ratby, Leicestershire, LE6 0NU
Tel: 0116 239 5319 Email: kb.lewis@tazam.com
and PETER PARSONS
Ashton House, Downside Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5LT
Tel: 09162 865069 Email: parsonswin@ntlworld.com
One would almost think that most 1958 Mertonians have taken a
vow of silence so very few have been the responses to the annual
requests for printable news – which is not to imply that members
have taken out super-injunctions.
I can report, however, that Peter Parsons with his wife, Jane,
emailed about the holiday they had enjoyed in Syria very shortly
before the outbreak of ‘disturbances’ there. Peter says – and he is
well-travelled – Syria is the most fascinating country they have ever
visited, thoroughly deserving the epithet ‘the cradle of civilisation’.
Whilst those of us in England reflect on summer warmth in
April and, in the south and east of England, the drought which is a
worrying feature, Andrew Hyslop emailed from Calgary in April:
“as we climb out of one of the worst winters ever – two and a half
feet of snow dumped on us last weekend, after only slightly less
during the previous week.”
In New Hampshire, John Simms says “cumulatively, this winter,
we had about 10 feet of snow. With 4 feet on the ground, when it
snows again you have to lift the shovelfuls at least four feet high
and that’s hard work with the heavy stuff – but it’s good to prove to
yourself that you can still do it!”
OLD MEMBERS
Seemingly indefatigable actor Oliver Ford Davies was recently
on tour with the highly acclaimed Chichester Festival Theatre
production of Goodnight Mister Tom promoted in pre-performance
billing as ‘Starring Oliver Ford Davies (Star Wars I, II, III, Mrs
Brown) in the title role’. So much for his much praised performances
of Polonius and Holofernes with the RSC and King Lear with the
Almeida! Oliver says “Star Wars will haunt me for evermore.” I was
unable to go to a performance in the Theatre Royal, Nottingham but
I asked Oliver if he had played there before. He hadn’t but he said
he realised that on his rare visits “I saw three great stars, Donald
Wolfit, Margot Fonteyn and Ken Dodd – not, alas, all in the same
production.”
Now he is preparing to play the Jacobean, Bishop Lancelot
Andrewes in a new play at the RSC marking the 1611 translation
of the Bible. Andrewes “prayed five hours every morning, mostly
in tears, and preached lengthy sermons of great obscurity.” There is
another Merton connection: “The play features our own Sir Henry
Savile who held translators’ meetings of Acts and the Gospels in the
Warden’s Lodgings.”
1959
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES: ROGER GOULD
4 The Park, Grasscroft, Oldham, Lancashire, OL4 4ES
Tel: 01457 876422 Email: jrbgould@btopenworld.com
and DAVID SHIPP
Higher Dale Cottage, 6 Dale Lane, Delph, Oldham, Lancashire,
OL3 5HY
Tel: 01457 875171 Email: david@shipp.org
News is rather thin this year, no doubt partly because most of us
are retired but we suspect mainly because, as we write, it is a mere
18 months or so since our very well-attended 50th Anniversary
weekend and only four months before our next Gaudy. We expect
another good turn-out, which will provide us with a further
opportunity to catch up with one another. However, we have heard
from a couple of people in foreign parts:
Peter Hayward wrote “Greetings from Baku on the shores of
the Caspian Sea where some say history all began and [that it] was
the original Garden of Eden. I had thought last summer that I had
retired from this globe-trotting but as you can see I still cannot
resist the opportunity to visit far flung places I have never been to
POSTMASTER | 2011
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1960
and the Caucasus is one such. I certainly plan to make the Gaudy in
September. Rather remarkably considering my peripatetic life style
I have never missed one.”
Ian McReath wrote from Brazil: “I have finally retired and, after
a few disorganised months, have returned to doing what I like doing,
i.e. practically nothing. Our university has excellent programs for
over 70s, so participation in these occupies a few hours weekly.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the Gaudy, but best wishes
to all friends from the 1959 intake. If anyone decides to attend the
World Cup here, they’d have a fine welcome, though my English is
steadily getting less perfect.”
John Howe has written to say that he and his wife enjoyed an
idyllic holiday on the Isles of Scilly where one of their grandsons is
under chef in the best hotel in the Isles. One of their granddaughters
has been staying with them for two years to do A levels, and is
returning to France for university. John has been elected Chairman
of his parish council yet again.
David Shipp and Bill Woods recently visited Frank Usher in
Weybridge. Frank has not been too well but was in good spirits
and has not lost his gift as a raconteur. David and his wife recently
visited their younger son who is a mid-career health manager doing
two years VSO in Cambodia
We have also heard briefly from Alan Drinkwater, Martin
Hawkins, John Latham and Peter Moyes (now an octogenarian!),
all of whom plan to attend the Gaudy (as we do), and from Graham
Boulton (now a grandparent) who is unable to do so.
We continue to be active in our local Saddleworth community in
various ways. Both of us are currently helping to man the booking
office for its week-long Festival of the Arts at the beginning of June
and plan to attend many of the events.
1960
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: KEITH PICKERING
24 Woodfield Road, Ealing, London, W5 1SH
Tel: 020 8998 2614 Email: oldpick@aol.com
Keith Aspinall is alive and, as he says, one year older. He is looking
forward to September as it will be the first time that he will be able
to attend a Gaudy with his brother, John, who was up at Merton
from 1957 to 1961.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Geoffrey Copland is particularly busy with charities and
universities. Changes to higher education funding are causing much
work for universities, including their governing bodies, several of
which he is engaged with at present in various ways. He looks
forward to being at the Gaudy.
Leslie Epstein reports that his new novel Liebestod; Opera Buffa
with Leib Goldhorn was published by Norton in February 2011. His
play San Remo Drive, adapted by him from his novel of the same
name, was performed in Los Angeles in July this year. Apart from
his literary activity five grandchildren continue to make life fun.
Bruce Gilbert enjoyed the Anniversary Lunch. Unfortunately
he is unlikely to be able to attend the Gaudy as it coincides with
a grand family get together to celebrate his 70th birthday. John
Hartnett has nothing to report but hopes to be at the Gaudy.
Stephen Hazell enjoyed the Lunch and is looking forward to
the Gaudy. He has been busy examining in the UK recently and
hopes there will be an overseas tour later this year. Arthur Hepher
has nothing to report but if recently pressing family commitments
permit hopes to be at the Gaudy
Alan Heppenstall is still Chairman of Cumbria Tourist Guides
which is about to have a large increase in members following a
Blue Badge guiding course currently drawing to its close, for which
he has been helping with some of the training.
Mike Hind notes that one set of distant memories of the
anniversary year we celebrated recently is of college personalities
of the day (some were recalled at the Lunch) flitting through the
illuminated lime trees on a June night to deliver lines from Yeats’s
The Player Queen and Büchner’s Leonce and Lena. This was Ian
Donaldson’s Floats garden production of that summer, memorable
for its lovely setting and beguiling music from Pulcinella, but
hardly for the fame of the plays themselves: you’ve a bit more
chance of seeing the German play but Yeats’s drama still awaits
its 21st century production. I also remember well our younger first
year tutors – Stephen Medcalf, Tony Nuttall, and others. Presentday news: he keeps keep busy by teaching English to international
students at Exeter University, and besides reading, walk, travel
and theatre-going, activities momentarily restricted by a recent hip
operation, but not he hopes set aside for long.
Alan Hopkinson is planning on being at the Gaudy. With his
wife Anne he attended a reception for the OU Vice-Chancellor
at the Wilshire Country Club in LA. Professor Hamilton is an
enthusiast and, Cantabridgian though he be, was able to confess to
NEWS | 1960
a certain glee at the whipping the Dark Blues gave the Light Blues
in the 2011 Boat Race. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick
Rawlins, was also there, and was married in All Saints-by-the-Sea
Episcopal Church in Montecito (Santa Barbara, California) which
is Alan’s church.
In December he became one of the first 25 Certified Specialists
in Asset Recovery in the United States, these being specialists in
the tracking and recovery of assets which have been transformed
and moved around the globe to avoid detection and evade attempts
to recover them to satisfy major civil judgments and criminal
restitution orders. Shortly after his certification he addressed the
Channel Counties Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners on ‘Freeze and Seize’ procedures under California’s
Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement Act.
He is busy with a number of high profile fraud cases, one involving
the splendidly-named three Korean gentlemen Oh, Noh and Soh.
He recently celebrated the 50th birthday of one of his stepchildren
and has been brought up short realising that his own son reaches 50
in 2014. He is pursuing a personal mantra of “Fitter at 70 than at
40” and plans to keep his children on their toes. Grandchildren, of
whom he shares 12 with Anne, ranging from 1 to 27, are a different
matter.
As a small personal vanity he plans to be sworn in as a member
of the Bar of the Supreme Court, achieving that milestone before
he reaches 70. With luck, he will be sworn in by another Oxonian:
either Stephen Breyer (Magdalen 1959) or Elena Kagan (Worcester
1981.) Not bad to have two of the nine is it?
David Howe is in good order and has downsized to be nearer
his family by relocating to Staffordshire. Alan Keat has nothing to
report but aims to be at the Gaudy.
Roger Laughton has nothing to report but aims to be at the
Gaudy despite returning from a Spanish walking holiday earlier
the same day. Chuck Lister has nothing to report but hopes to be
at the Gaudy. He and your Year Representative, accompanied by
wives, will have executed an Anglo-American Lunch together in
the summer between the time of writing this and the Gaudy.
Richard Mulgan is in good form but the journey from Australia
to Oxford is a little too far for him to make the Gaudy.
Keith Pickering is now as recovered as he is ever likely to
be from his back operation and has been cleared to return to the
golf course. He thoroughly enjoyed catching up with many of his
Merton correspondents at the Anniversary Lunch and would like as
OLD MEMBERS
always to thank everyone who kindly takes the time to respond to
his annual request for news for Postmaster.
David Price is now well settled in Dorset, is up to six
grandchildren and has the Gaudy date in his diary.
Martin Scott continues his interest in mountaineering and was
invited to climb la Grande Casse, the highest peak in the Alps of
the Vanoise, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first
ascent by the Englishman William Matthews, accompanied by
French climbers dressed as the original ascensionists. He has also
been inspired by Peter Fattorini’s impressive ride in the 2009 Etape
du Tour to enter in for the 2011 Etape as its date coincides with
Martin’s 70th birthday. Peter has kindly been giving him some tips
on how to survive this rather gruelling ride.
Nick Silk is in good form, enjoyed the Lunch and is looking
forward to the Gaudy. Richard Thompson has had a grandson born
late last year and has entered into the babysitting stakes. He and his
wife Jane aim to visit as many capitals of Europe as they can while
there is still strength in their bodies. He in common with your Year
Representative was delighted to catch up with John Wood at the
Lunch, Mr Wood having kept an unconscionably low profile for the
preceding 40 years.
Philip Webb has published his analysis of Zamenhof’s
Esperanto Old Testament on the Internet and that task behind
him has now turned his attention to Cymraeg – yr hen iaith
ei famau – of which he learned a lot at age 14, but then had to
put aside for approaching O-levels etc. He has no present
plan to learn Estonian, the language of his grandfather.
Mike Williams celebrated his wife, Rosemary’s, 70th birthday last
December and is happy that his daughter in Switzerland, Amanda,
seems to be on the mend. He looks forward to being at the Gaudy.
Brian Winston should be reporting the publication of two books
but is not as quick as he used to be. The feature documentary
he wrote and co-produced on the pioneering filmmaker Robert
Flaherty (whose Nanook of the North, 1922, is conventionally
the first documentary) has been released and is making its slow
way round the festival circuit. The worst thing about the last year
is that, post our Jubilee celebrations, all contact with Merton and
Mertonians is sicklied o’er by the pall of half a century of passed
time.
Jonathan Wright has nothing to report but enjoyed the Jubilee
Lunch and is looking forward to the Gaudy.
POSTMASTER | 2011
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1961
1961
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: BOB MACHIN
125 West Bay Road, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 4EQ
Tel: 01308 423475 Email: bob@marciamachin.plus.com
1962
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: TIM ARCHER
High Chimneys, Petches Bridge, Great Bardfield, Essex, CM7 4QN
Tel: 01371 810473 Email: tarcher@reedsmith.com
Martin Hall was a PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of
London and is working on a book Caffaro, Genoa and the twelfth
century Crusades, and on the poetry of John of Garland.
Paddy Millard has finally stepped down as Chief Executive of
the charity TaxHelp for Older People after ten years of setting it up.
He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute
of Taxation in 2008 in recognition of his services to taxation and an
MBE in 2010 in recognition of his services to charity.
1963
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: PETER SMITH
62 Old park Road, Roundhay, Leeds, LS8 1JB
Tel: 0113 266 5966 Email: peterrsmith@ukgateway.net
Last year in Postmaster, mention was made of Roger Garfitt’s
forthcoming book, A Horseman’s World (Cape, May 2011), in
which mention is made of John Arrowsmith, Peter Hay and
Derek Hughes. A recent Saga review notes ‘A book long in the
making has also been long in the living, from Garfitt’s first years
in Norfolk in the mid-Forties, then headlong into the Sixties as
a horseman, poet, dropout and – no other word for it – madman.
His survival of a fine madness makes a fine memoir.’ A Guardian
review notes that ‘this is one of the finest first-hand accounts of
madness…. it is a superb achievement’. Is it worth going mad in
order to have something interesting to say? This book is one of a
trio of books by 1960s Mertonians published in the same month,
the others being The Fetish Room by Redmond O’Hanlon (1965)
and Memoirs of a Dervish by Robert Irwin (1964). A great decade
and the best music.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Separately in February on Caribbean holidays, and demonstrating
their usual qualities of coordination, David Pennock and Peter
Smith visited former diplomat Peter Laurie (and his wife Pam
and six dogs) at his home in Barbados. Royally entertained, they
learned of Peter Laurie’s happy life and recent books on Rum
Shops, Caribbean cooking, children’s stories, award-winning
drama, and as a regular and respected newspaper columnist on
social affairs. His necessary afternoon nap is something he claims
he learned initially at Merton and has merely continued.
Stuart Cropper writes: “We are carrying much as we have done
for the last 30 years, going to the USA six or seven times a year. We
have just opened a new shop in Dallas and we have been going down
to Texas twice a year. It’s a really nice place provided you stay away
from politics! We still enjoy the time we spend at our little house in
the Hudson Valley. We are only about 65 miles from New York City
and the trains to get there run past the end of our street. Stanley
Williams came to visit us there a couple of years ago.”
Welcome news from Adrian Bullock. “I have retired from
teaching publishing at Oxford Brookes, which I did for 20 years,
and now run my own company – Oxford Publishing Consultancy
– which pretty much does what it says on the tin. I canoe quite a
bit (I am half way down the Thames, with the intention of ending
up at the Barrier in due course), travel a lot, and enjoy living in
Oxford, where I am a supernumerary fellow of Harris Manchester
College.” Adrian also commented on last year’s entry about the
death some years ago of Malcolm Skey. “Who could ever forget
Malcolm with his whistle, as he walked rapidly through College on
a mission to somewhere? I remember one spectacular evening when
he put on a concert in Rose Lane, and whistled the first movement
of a Brandenburg Concerto, accompanied at the piano by Steven
Rawles.”
Rick Allen claims to have no newsworthy news. “My genteel
(i.e. idle) retirement is occasionally punctuated by reviews and
conference papers on 19th-century literature but (between Test
matches) I’m actually relishing reading more widely than ever
before.” A number of others in the year also write to say that they
have nothing new to tell anyone, so thanks especially to John
Sturgeon, Graham Lane and Robert Freedman for advising that
they are at least alive and well. As a result of Roger Garfitt’s book,
Robert has been in touch with Roger for the first time in 45 years,
not least to confirm the memorable event with Ted Hughes at the
Oxford Poetry Society.
NEWS | 1964
Gordon Whatley, still academically active at City University
New York, continues to pursue the lives of saints (but not the life
of a saint), and spent some time studying documents in the British
Library and at Durham Cathedral. With his daughter now living and
working in London, he has even more reason to return to the UK
from home in Connecticut.
Guy English remains at sea as the Commodore of Restronguet
Sailing Club, involved in running international events like the Little
America’s Cup, improving each year in the Pilot Gig races (average
age of his crew now 71), as well as learning to hang slates and
achieve carbon neutrality.
His great sailing trip last year from the Caribbean to Turkey
successfully over, George Whitfield is now coasting locally. He
recently met with Charles Tong, another deep sea sailor, to share
nautical experiences, as well as to note that he acts as a timekeeper
for the Thames Head of the River race. Not content with the water,
George has also taken to the air again in a Chipmunk T-10, to attempt
the aerobatics he once pursued in the University Air Squadron. “I
can only report that the two aerobatic manoeuvers I performed, not
to mention the final landing, demonstrated the deterioration of the
decades.”
John Wormald lives bilingually in Chichester and Burgundy,
pursuing semi-retirement, letting his automotive consulting
business run down gradually, although graciously accepting
invitations to do any interesting work or to give presentations or
speeches in attractive locations. He maintains an active interest in
the environmental and energy scenes, with their implications for
transportation and the automotive industry, and is sporadically
working on a new book on these matters.
Now retired from the world of education, Peter Livsey is able to
pursue his continuing interest in history, particularly local history.
His latest research at the Literary and Philosophical Society in
Newcastle on Tyne has resulted in an e-book entitled Napoleonic
Encounters – The Waldies of Forth House, Newcastle (www.
tynebridgepublishing.co.uk) which has some gripping material
about the Battle of Waterloo.
Richard James has been noticed successfully writing a letter to
the Guardian on a matter of theological and scientific difficulty,
whereas Peter Smith’s letter in the Observer was merely to draw
attention to the sad loss of educational opportunities for young
people with the closures of field study and outdoor centres as a
result of financial cuts.
OLD MEMBERS
For Bob Scott 2011 is the Year of the Knife, with a successful
spinal operation already and a double hip replacement yet to come.
Despite the (temporary) immobility, “life is good”, although the
Honorary Degrees have now dried up. Grandchildren in Uruguay and
Spain provide much pleasure, as does wheelchair priority at airports.
Saturday afternoon cricket still keeps Dick Durden Smith busy,
but he also remains dramatically active, for example appearing in
an Ibsen play at the National. When the new TS Eliot Theatre was
opened at College in March, he read some Eliot poems in front of
Eliot’s widow, “which was rather scary.”
1964
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: RICHARD BURNS
31 Saxe Coburg Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5BP
Email: rburns@saxecoburg.demon.co.uk
Most of the British respondents to my enquiries seem to be living
quietly, the majority having (more or less) retired. Andy Curtis is
one who has not, but he prefers to emphasise his family life and his
membership of the Friends of Merton Choir, whose performances
he has found ‘terrific’.
Another who is still active is Robert Irwin; his recently published
autobiographical work Memoirs of a Dervish includes a description
of his time at Merton which evoked many memories of that time
(though his dating of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds to 1969 seemed
to me to be three years too late). Memoirs of a Dervish is reviewed
on page 63 of Postmaster.
David Whiteley and his wife Margaret celebrated their ruby
wedding this March, after David had retired from the IT industry in
November, the last 26 years of which were spent with the Halifax
Building Society, now sadly subsumed in the Lloyds Banking
Group. He is an enthusiastic attender of the Merton Society
weekend each June.
John Whitworth, living in Canterbury, is still writing poetry
and getting it published, despite the bankruptcy of his publisher.
Robert Bradshaw contentedly reports that there has been “nothing
earth-shattering in the world of Bradshaw in the last year”, which
contrasts sharply with Tony Webster’s near fatal cycling collision
with a lorry in Normandy in October 2009. Happily the excellence
of France’s emergency services and the ICU in Le Havre resulted
in his successful ‘reanimation’ as the French medics described it,
POSTMASTER | 2011
109
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1965
but his cycling days are done. To compensate, he has taken up the
tenor sax in place of the clarinet and seeks to improve his French
via the Open University.
I myself am quite busy with some investment trust directorships
and voluntary activities, including being on the Court of the
University of Dundee and being a Trustee of the National Galleries
of Scotland.
Similar themes come from my overseas correspondents, but
with less emphasis on retirement. Mike Robson, now an emeritus
Professor at the University of Bordeaux, has found cycling in
Aquitaine less dangerous than Tony’s experience in Normandy, and
is also studying a language – in his case, Basque.
From the USA, Will Risser reports he is finishing as a Professor
of Paediatrics in Texas and moving to Portland, Oregon to be near
his daughter and grandchildren. Craig Smith is a member of MC3,
Merton’s US charitable fundraising entity, and is looking forward
to welcoming the Warden to Philadelphia this summer. After 35
years in the housing development industry, he is now running a
Quaker non-profit affordable housing business.
Moving to warmer climes, Manou Bheenick is in his second
term as Governor of the Bank of Mauritius after a career of public
service which started in academia. He then moved to the Mauritian
Government economic service, UNIDO in Vienna and consultancies
with the World Bank and the IMF before switching to politics,
first as an MP and then as Minister of Finance and subsequently
Minister of Economic Development and Regional Integration.
In Australia, Trevor Lund retired four years ago from the
University of Canberra, where he had taught electronics, finishing
as Head of Network Engineering. He now lives with his Czech
wife Marie (a 1968 refugee from her home country) almost on the
beach some 300km south of Sydney. During his career he worked
for four years in Hong Kong and had four sabbaticals in Germany
and Spain. He manages to return to Europe for a couple of months
most years.
One who has definitely not retired is Eric Colvin. After 22 years
as Professor of Law at Bond University in Queensland, he is about
to move to Vanuatu to be Professor of Law at the University of the
South Pacific and Director of its Vanuatu campus. Vanuatu was the
setting for the musical South Pacific and Port Vila, where Eric will
be based, is ‘generally regarded’ (his words) as the prettiest town in
the South Pacific and is a popular destination for cruise ships. Eric
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POSTMASTER | 2011
reports that the local beer is excellent. “Divers, yachties, cruisers
and other Mertonian travellers” are invited to contact Eric when
passing through.
Anyone who would like a fuller description of this island paradise
(and indeed the University of the South Pacific) is welcome to email
me and I will forward his full report.
1965
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: PETER ROBINSON
Vallecito, 5 Fir Tree Close, Coppenhall, Stafford, ST 18 9BZ
Tel: 01785 254273 Email: peteredwinrobinson@gmail.com
John Dryden reports that the past year has been a quiet one in
terms of activity to report. He stays mainly in London, with
occasional stays at his place in France. He has done a couple of
conferences, and peer reviewed some research papers on economic
and science and technology subjects, but not much else related
to his former career at the OECD in Paris. The main point is that
he has cancer again, and is having chemotherapy. The treatment,
which is taking place in France, started at the beginning of the year,
and will continue until the end of June, after which time he expects
to be OK. John is in touch with our contemporary David Stirzaker,
and he also keeps in touch with former Merton mathematician Teng
Teng Xu, (2002), who worked as a trainee with John at the OECD
in Paris.
Paul Everson continues with academic research and publication.
The principal result this year has been a study of a ‘lost place’ in
Lincolnshire called Little Sturton (near Horncastle) which involved
him in recording and analysis of the field remains of a medieval
village and a 16th-century house and gardens that succeeded it.
The study was published as a series of papers making up a whole
volume of the journal Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. In
Paul’s family it has been a year (all of a sudden) to celebrate and
anticipate grandchildren. Their eldest, John, and his wife, had the
first, named William, in October; their daughter Kate delivered a
son, named Thomas, in May; and next son Tom and his partner are
expecting a child in November.
Greg Ingram reports that he continues as President and CEO of
the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a private operating foundation
in Cambridge, Massachusetts that produces research, training and
NEWS | 1966
publications on the use, taxation and regulation of land. He and his
wife Lee are fine and now claim seven grandchildren, the oldest of
whom is a bit over four, which makes for spirited family gatherings.
David Mumford writes to say that he is still continuing in
deepest Angus with the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Peter Robinson has continued HR consulting, alongside some
mentoring, coaching and English Language tutoring for two
charities in Stafford. He has qualified as a tutor in English as a
Second or Foreign Language (Cambridge CELTA), to help him in
these roles. He visited Arequipa, Peru with his wife Roxana this
Easter, and is looking forward to visiting Languedoc and Roussillon
this summer. The big event of the family year has been the birth of
Sebastian to daughter Sophie and husband Michael.
Roger Witcomb says he has to confess that his intention of
retiring in order to teach his two grandchildren bad habits seems to
have fallen by the wayside, as he has just been appointed Chairman
of the Competition Commission, with the job of guiding it through
an ‘institutional reform’ process that is likely to lead to a merger
with the Office of Fair Trading. So at least two more years of full
time employment are before him, but it’s an excellent organisation
and he is very excited by the prospect.
1966
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: DAVID HOLMES
20 Goodby Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8NJ
Tel: 0121 249 9714 Email: dholmes20@blueyonder.co.uk
John Baird and his wife recently enjoyed a visit to the Galapagos
Islands with Steve James (1964) and his wife Ann, and have now
recovered.
John Dainton writes, “I confess in the last couple of years
I have been a bit too decoupled from Merton through unfortunate
circumstances – my wife Josephine was diagnosed with a
particularly severe and advanced cancer and died last June. So I
have been putting my life back together slowly, and thinking about
what and how to live out my life given how much she and I enjoyed
a super life together, and my obsession with Physics.”
“Despite my setback, I am making some progress in my research,
which I realise is something that I am fortunate to have, and which I
owe to Merton in my formative years. We have gone from strength
to strength, developing new research lines and playing a central
OLD MEMBERS
role in our projects in Particle Physics at CERN and elsewhere.
I suppose also my grumpiness here is showing through when I
say that, despite the oddities of the goings-on in the UK research
councils, one can still stand up for the very best science and get
funding from alternative sources, some overseas. So one feels that
one can survive yet another round of bureaucratic fad in the UK and
go on delivering the very best science.”
Chip Filson continues as President of Callahan & Associates,
founded in 1985 to serve the cooperative credit union system.
There are 7,442 credit unions with over $951 billion in assets.
They will soon be the second largest depository financial system,
after banks, in the US. Cooperatives focus first on what is in their
members’ interest. As a result they came through the economic
turmoil in relatively good standing. The firm’s most recent efforts
were to launch a new networked business model with credit unions
that provides private loans (as opposed to government loans) for
college education. The program has relationships with some of the
leading universities including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, University
of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, and Emory among others.
Over 20,000 students have borrowed a total of $400 million just
three years after launch. Callahans continues its role as the leading
provider of credit union data and analysis while also beginning
an intergenerational transfer of leadership. In other words, he is
hoping to retire in the not too distant future!
Melvyn Hilbrown is struggling with government cuts in business
support, which will probably put him in semi-retirement by the end
of the year.
Ian Kershaw was awarded an honorary degree of DLitt by
Oxford University at the June 2010 Encaenia, and has a book to
be published in August 2011 by Penguin called The End. Hitler’s
Germany, 1944-45.
Denis MacShane, MP for Rotherham is enjoying his time on the
opposition backbenches and writes for newspapers and websites on
international, EU and security affairs following his eight years at
the Foreign Office under the Blair government. He regularly chats
to fellow Mertonian MPs, Peter Tapsell (1950), whose office is next
to his and Ed Vaizey (1986). He is working on a book on sex slave
trafficking.
Robert Venables has two recent publications, The Taxation of
Foundations and The Taxation of Trusts 2010. Robert has fixed his
retirement for 2030.
POSTMASTER | 2011
111
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1967
1967
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: RORY KHILKOFF-BOULDING
Beggars’ Well, Baker’s Lane, Dallington, East Sussex, TN21 9JU
Tel: 01435 830859 Email: rory@kbc-law.com
John Macfarlane writes: “The reports of my death are greatly
exaggerated (Postmaster 2010, p158, In Memoriam). In fact I am
fit, happy and hopefully fairly healthy, having retired and moved
to the northern Lake District in December 2008. Prior to that I
was a respiratory physician at Nottingham University Hospitals
and chairman of the British Thoracic Society, and I continue
as Honorary Professor at Nottingham University and Visiting
Professor at Manchester University.
Retirement is recommended (!) and has meant more time for
travel, walking, intermittent trail running, nature and photography
in a really lovely part of England, whilst continuing my interest in
medical history. Both our sons went to Oxford, but visits to Oxford
are now unfortunately infrequent”.
1968
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: IAN MCBRAYNE
44 Parkland Road, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 9AP
Tel: 020 8504 2491 Email: ian@mcbrayne.idps.co.uk
By the stage in life which this year group has reached, as David
Pelteret commented, “if any of us are doing something that is
uncharacteristic of our earlier existence, it is likely to be a sign of
gross immaturity, considerable dissatisfaction with a life lived, or an
indication of mental deterioration and premature senescence”. So,
he suggested, most of us will have been doing ‘more of the same’.
True, though some of us have managed new twists on old themes.
Some have taken their activities to a higher level. Our
congratulations to Alan Sked on his professorship at the London
School of Economics and to Russell Poole on becoming a
distinguished professor at the University of Western Ontario.
Alan’s Radetzky: Imperial Victor and Military Genius, trailed
here last year, has now been published, while Russell fulfilled
40 years of good intentions last summer by visiting L’Anse aux
Meadows in Newfoundland, the only authenticated Viking site in
North America.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
David himself now serves Oxford University in three ways:
by proof-reading for the University Press (and straying beyond
his brief into the suggestion of improvements); by acting as a
consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary; and by contributing
on Anglo-Saxon history and allied subjects to the Oxford History
of the Middle Ages. Another with an enhanced role in his very
different field is Simon Orebi Gann, whose portfolio has been
expanded by appointment as a director of Aspen Technology, a
leading American software company.
Julian Leslie is completing 25 years as professor of psychology
at the University of Ulster, having been in Northern Ireland since
completing his DPhil in 1974. He has kept in touch with ‘fellow
ex-inmates of Dulwich College’, Stewart Morgan and Michael
Goldstein. Michael has been a professor (of mathematical
statistics at Durham University) for almost as long as Julian and
is reported to be ‘exactly the same as ever’. Having offspring now
based in each other’s areas has increased opportunities for Julian
and Michael to meet. Julian has postgraduate students working
near Boston and so has also had opportunities to meet Peter
Palmer, who lives in Belmont, Mass.
Stewart was another who contacted me, to report a 60th birthday
treat, visiting Venice and fulfilling a lifelong ambition by returning
on the Orient Express. He feared an ersatz experience but in fact
encountered an extraordinary dedication to authenticity and felt
truly transported back in sumptuous style to a bygone age, a
reverie abruptly ended by arriving at Victoria station in the evening
rush hour.
Some of us are no longer working. Steve Drinkwater’s
retirement finds him doing lots of walking, especially in mountains,
and leading walking holidays in the UK for HF Holidays. All good
and enjoyable, he says. My own retirement is very pleasurable
too, though my duties as a churchwarden and chair of school
governors, and my involvement with a study group at the Museum
of London in Docklands, not to mention natural lethargy, all lead
to a less outdoor existence than Steve’s. Nicholas Richardson, on
the other hand, reported that he was about to set off on a sponsored
walk across Crete in aid of the British School at Athens; we trust
it went well.
Paul Engeham returned to the Falkland Islands, 29 years
after the conflict, with his captain from HMS Glamorgan to help
dedicate a new Welsh granite memorial to the men killed and buried
at sea off the islands. Moving ceremonies on shore and afloat were
NEWS | 1969
attended by numerous
islanders. He found
a vibrant, young and
passionately British
community, worried
by a new Argentine
economic blockade.
He also again found
dramatic
scenery,
wind, sheep, seals and
penguins aplenty.
At
home
yet
equally adventurous
in his way (foolhardy,
according to his son
who helped him) was
Scirard
Lancelyn
Green, who spent
MICHAEL LOWE AND ONE OF HIS
many days in the
MAGNIFICENT LUTES
freezing conditions of
November completing a belfry extension and adding extra bells to his
carillon. He also spent an interesting couple of days in Copenhagen
servicing the only set of tubular tower chimes in Denmark, and sang
nine Messiahs in a year as well as some interesting new works. Still
on a musical theme, Michael Lowe considers himself very fortunate
still to be doing the same as when he first left Merton, building lutes.
In the 40 years since he built his second lute, much of it on a
workbench which he had introduced into his room in 58 Holywell
Street, he has reached his 163rd and hopes that his lute-making has
improved a little. He says that is for the future to judge over the two
to three centuries that an instrument should last. He still has a full
order book and hopes to continue making lutes until prevented by
the dilapidation of age.
David Bell (Prof) and Chris Simmons (Revd Canon) met
briefly this year in Dave’s native, Chris’s adopted and God’s own
county. Regrettably, the season was inappropriate for a re-run of
the memorable Conker Society Inter-Planetary Championship
Final of 1970, when Merton triumphed over Jupiter. All present
agreed that the years had treated them kindly; on the basis of past
performance, they expect to meet again sometime in 2036. Alan
Harland reports, perhaps in slightly more serious vein, on another
meeting, a wonderful weekend College reunion in Philadelphia in
OLD MEMBERS
April, attended by alumni and guests from the NE United States,
featuring performances by the College choir and welcoming the
new Warden. Events included a formal dinner at the Philadelphia
Union League and a private tour of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
A College reunion of a different kind was the subject of Steve
Powell’s report. He was father of the bride at a wedding in Merton
Chapel last September which was very much a Merton affair: his
daughter Louise and her husband Paul Boswell (both 2001), the
best man and three of the four bridesmaids all attended Merton.
It was an enjoyable day, even though one of the vintage doubledecker buses developed a puncture on the way to the reception.
Most of the news came by email, but I enjoyed a long telephone
conversation with James Miller, whose mobility is somewhat
improved since last year and whose general enthusiasm continues
unabated. Others who made contact but claimed to have nothing
sufficiently newsworthy to share are Peter Bibby, Jim Buckee,
Colin Bundy, Robert Dunn, Lou Henderson, James HughesHallett, Chris Laidlaw and Danny Lawrence.
In the light of all this, I would venture to rewrite David Pelteret’s
comments a little: no gross immaturity, but just enough continuing
zest for youthful indiscretion; no deep dissatisfaction, but a clear
feeling that life still has more to offer; no mental deterioration,
but for some the beginnings of a more relaxed approach; and yes,
reassuringly, plenty ‘more of the same’. Not a bad record as we
collect our Senior Railcards and move on.
1969
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: CHARLES GRIFFITH
La Commanderie, Malmort, 37510 Bléré, France
Tel: 0033 2 4723 5443 Email: charles.griffith@wanadoo.fr
Duncan Campbell-Smith’s latest book Masters of the Post – An
Authorised History of the Royal Mail will hit the bookstands in
November 2011. He swears that the Directors, who commissioned
the book, were impressed by the fact that he had been a Postmaster
at one stage of his life – si non è vero, è bene trovato.
Tony Hansen retired from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
in 2005, but continues to follow his Merton tutor’s advice to
do something useful with physics. He runs the company that
manufactures his invention: the aethalometer, an instrument to
POSTMASTER | 2011
113
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1970
measure black-carbon particles suspended in the atmosphere,
now used by governments and scientists, quite literally from Pole
to Pole.
Ian Rattray writes from Sydney, Australia, where a twoyear adventure, starting in 1977, turned into a permanent move.
Recently retired from the IT industry, he and Lynn hope to spend
more time in Europe. They have promised to include Merton and
also my corner of France on the itinerary.
Jeremy Cook, with disarming but unjustified modesty, says
that his career as a researcher and teacher in visual neuroscience
and medical embryology at UCL does not warrant comment.
The internet tells a different story: fascinating stuff about spatial
regularity among retinal neurons, plus a lot of positive comments
from his students . He claims to be retiring soon, but this will be a
gradual process. Science and music (the violin for Jeremy and the
viola for Rosemary) should occupy the next phase of life. “May
their age be lengthened” as the Arabs say.
Charles Griffith covers a fairly wide spread of the Arabian Gulf,
North Africa and some mining/energy subjects in sub-Saharan
Africa from his large house in France. Corruption is becoming
almost as much a priority as fraud. A side-interest is local Arab
politics, in this new era, particularly the Shia community of Eastern
Saudi Arabia. Retirement is not on the agenda, as far as he knows.
1970
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: NICK SKINNER
Copthorne, The Close, Lancing BN15 8EE
Tel: 01903 767072 Email: nhskinner@sky.com
This last period has been a time of anniversaries for the 1970 Merton
cohort. In September 2010, some 18 of us gathered for an excellent
and much appreciated Gaudy, and we were able to exchange news
of happenings over the remarkable 40 years since we first met each
other as bright-eyed young students at Merton.
Also this year many of us have reached our 60th birthdays
(whilst not regarding ourselves as senior citizens!). Most respondents
have been silent on this matter but Laurence Campbell reports
that he, Geoff Ellis, Peter Moizer and other halves are planning
to celebrate the year in which they turn 60, “taking in the best of
Lakeland fare and fitting in some contemplation at the lofty and
famous Black Sail Hut, which has no modern conveniences”.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Retirement from full-time paid employment is becoming an
increasingly common item of news.
Mick Polley writes that “retirement is proving congenial but
busy, as Di and I are now managers of the Taunton Parish Church
Book and Gift Shop.”
Tony Woodruff emails from Canada to report that he has
recently stepped back from full-time work heading up a company
distributing gas fires and high-efficiency wood-burning products
across the US, Canada and Australia, and after a period of travel
in Central America with his wife Peggy has “joined the Board of a
charity called The Water School, which has a simple, inexpensive,
sustainable system for providing clean drinking water, sanitation
and improved hygiene to folks in the tropics. We currently have
projects working in Uganda, Kenya and Haiti.”
Tony Sharp continues to be very active battlefield guiding for
school parties and umpiring matches in the English Hockey League.
Tony and Catherine have also acquired a cat “pedigree Russian
Blue called Kaz (short for Warwick Kazimov, his pedigree name)”.
Some correspondents continue to flourish in employment, and
John Crabtree “remains active in the study of the politics of
the Andean countries of Latin America” with publications this
year on both Bolivian and Peruvian politics. John teaches at the
Latin American Centre in Oxford, as well as at the University’s
Department of Continuing Education, and is region head for Latin
America at Oxford Analytica.
For myself, Nick Skinner, the year has been very busy (hopefully
successfully) completing my BA in Fine Art (Painting). I am writing
this report (June 2011) on the eve of my Graduation Show.
Many thanks to all who responded to my request for news – it is
very much appreciated.
NEWS | 1973
JONATHAN MADDEN,
HIS WIFE VERA AND THEIR
NEW BABY BOY, CHARLIE
1971
Rick Trainor has been awarded a KBE for his services to higher
education.
Jonathan Madden and his wife Vera have a new baby boy,
Charlie, born on 2nd October 2010.
Martin Read has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday
Honours List for services to the public sector and to business.
1973
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: GARY BACKLER
23 Baronsfield Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 2QT
Tel: 020 8891 0883 Email: ggbackler@hotmail.co.uk
Graham Andrews writes that the 1973 maths and medics group
(John Myatt, David Melville, Bill Souster, Rob Lewis, Roger
Urwin and himself) all met at the All Souls memorial service
at Merton, along with the parents of Paul Schofield and Clive
Hendrie’s father. The news since last year is that Bill Souster has
started a new job as Syndicate Actuary at Hardy Underwriting and
Graham got married last September in Devon.
Paul Blustein continues to write on international economic
issues, as a Nonresident Fellow of the Brookings Institution. He
OLD MEMBERS
has moved with his family to Kamakura, Japan, a town 50 minutes
southwest of Tokyo by train, which was essentially the capital of
the country about 800 years ago. He reports that they certainly
felt the big earthquake, but except for a couple of scares on the
day, were not otherwise much affected. By the end of May, the
power outages had stopped, and the supermarket shelves were
full again. However, anticipating difficulties in the availability of
air-conditioning during the Japanese summer, he was happy to be
contemplating a long research trip to the US, Canada and Europe
from mid-June to mid-August.
From the English Department at the University of Nevada in Las
Vegas, John Bowers writes supportively as the Year Representative
for 1973 Rhodes Scholars in The American Oxonian. As a Tolkien
and Chaucer scholar, John has just had his first article accepted
for publication in Tolkien Studies. Inspired by the example of a
medievalist who wrote novels, he has just published his own debut
novel, End of Story. His first customer for the novel in England was
none other than Terry Jones, a fellow Chaucerian but perhaps better
known from Monty Python.
Simon Pallett continues as Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Newcastle University,
a position he has held since 2005.
Gary Backler has taken early retirement from the Department
for Transport, and is now pursuing a range of non-executive,
consultancy and research interests. He has been appointed as a
Visiting Research Fellow in the Institute for Transport Studies at the
University of Leeds.
1974
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: MIKE HAWKINS
908 Hunting Ridge Road, Martinsville, VA 24112, USA
1975
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ROBERT PEBERDY
38 Randolph Street, Oxford, OX4 1XZ
Tel: 01865 798107 Email: r.peberdy.123@btinternet.com
Mertonians will have noticed that recently there have been important
visitations to the UK from the USA. For example, in spring 2011 Her
POSTMASTER | 2011
115
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1975
Majesty the Queen was visited
by a Mr and Mrs Obama from
Washington, DC. A little earlier,
on 23rd October 2010, Professor
Stephen Oppenheimer from
Baltimore, accompanied by his
wife Susan, visited Oxford to
receive the University’s degree
of Doctor of Science in honour of
his medical research. Professor
Oppenheimer was escorted by
a detachment drawn from the
US Air Force, though unusually
for such occasions the men
with black glasses, guns and
big black limousines remained
unobtrusive.
For other 1975 Mertonians,
life has been more sedentary
STEPHEN OPPENHEIMER
though
not
undemanding.
Cardiac surgeon Arif Ahsan, in
Nottingham, regularly works night shifts because keyhole surgery
for blocked arteries has been made a 24/7 service. He is uneasy
about the prospect of yet more NHS reforms. In Arizona the legal
firm run by Glenn Bacal, which specialises in intellectual property,
flourishes despite difficult economic conditions. Sadly, his basset
hound Merton died four years ago. He now has two dogs with poodle
bloodlines, and suspects that his choice was influenced by the late
Mr Barton’s affection for poodles. Brian Bramson was awarded
the degree of Master of Mathematics by ‘the other place’ 42 years
after completing Part III of the Mathematical tripos, and has also
been elected a Companion of Honour of the Royal Aero Club. He
continues research into relativity, quantum mechanics, singularity
removal and finite self-energies. Alan Dolton, a commentator on
tax cases for LexisNexis, has also contributed to Simon’s Taxes, an
encyclopedia named after Sir John Simon. Away from his desk, he
won two silver medals in 2011 in veterans’ athletics races.
The Guildhall Library in London has published a new edition
of The City of London and its Livery Companies: A History of
Survival by Ian Doolittle. To mark its publication the author gave a
talk entitled ‘Why does the City of London govern only the Square
Mile?’ He continues to prepare a calendar of Fire Court Decrees
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POSTMASTER | 2011
resulting from the Great Fire of 1666. Bill Ford, manager of
Tata-owned steel companies, reports that China and India remain
‘the powerhouses of growth’ while the UK is ‘flat’. The highlight of
his year, however, was helping Merton to win the University Alumni
golf tournament in April 2011. Musician Stephen Gardiner now
dwells at Bexhill, Sussex, and continues to transcribe music into
braille. Recent commissions have included Symphony no. 104, the
‘London’, by echt-Ollesonian composer Haydn. Another famous
feature of Bexhill is the modernist De La Warr Pavilion of 1935,
which was designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff,
originally as a social centre. It is now an arts centre, though
Postmaster’s correspondent finds much of the exhibited work
disappointing.
Aficionados of Parliament on TV may have noticed Dorian
Gerhold sitting bewigged and gowned in the House of Commons.
As a regular duty clerk, his responsibilities include advising the
Speaker, keeping a record of business and decisions, and enforcing
time limits. Fans of his historical writings will be excited to hear that
another book is close to completion. In June 2011 the Archbishop
of Canterbury, Visitor of Merton, appeared to express scepticism
about the value of the ‘Big Society’ concept. For reassurance,
His Grace might perhaps visit Gordon Jeanes in Wandsworth.
Not only is he a busy parish priest with a flourishing church and
school, he is an active trustee of ‘Wandsworth Mind’, a mentalhealth charity which provides a drop-in centre and other valuable
support. Chris Lewis has become President of the Haskins Society,
an international organisation dedicated to the study of Viking,
Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman history (named in honour of
Charles Homer Haskins, 1870-1937). Now based in Massachusetts,
it organises an annual conference and publishes a journal.
The Great Thespian of Congleton, Chris Mann, has recently
revived his classic role of René in ‘Allo ‘Allo! and has played a dame
in the pantomime Babes in the Wood. He was also nominated for a
regional drama award and enjoyed attending the awards ceremony at
the Blackpool Hilton. Ed Martley lately organised an AGM in the
Oxford University Convocation House at the Bodleian Library for
the Thames Valley Branch of the Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants, though as Chairman he resisted the temptation to hold
forth from the Vice-Chancellor’s chair. He admires Thomas Bodley
as a shrewd Mertonian for his pioneering use of a ‘challenge grant’
in the 17th century. Nicholas Mays, who does occupy a chair as
Professor of Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and
NEWS | 1976
Tropical Medicine, has also become Director of a collaborative
research unit concerned with ‘policy innovation research’ and
continues to manage independent research evaluating the impact of
major reforms on the NHS. Tom Millest has left the Metropolitan
Police Service after 30 years’ service and has joined the Parole Board
which assesses prisoners for possible release. The work involves
reviewing dossiers and sitting on panels. He visits about 25 prisons
and finds the work ‘fascinating, rewarding and quite challenging’.
Physicist Ed Myers reports from Tallahassee that Florida’s
public universities continue to suffer financially as a result of the
recession and the state’s ‘anti-tax, small-government sentiment’.
Faculty pay has been frozen for several years and benefits have been
cut. He continues, nonetheless, to undertake research on precision
atomic mass measurement. In October 2010 Robert Peberdy was a
speaker at the biennial Rye Medieval Conference, which examined
transport and trade. None of the audience noticed that the event
was substantially a Mertonian occasion: the programme organiser
was Michael Hicks (1971), and the other speakers included David
Pelteret (1968) and John Hare (Visiting Schoolmaster, 1996).
Afterwards, visitors to Rye might have overheard a vigorous
conversation in the town’s dark streets about strange characters
called Braun and Barton. Robert Peberdy was made redundant
from the Victoria County History by Oxfordshire County Council
in spring 2011.
Congratulations are due to Robert Pitkethly, Fellow of St Peter’s
College, who married Revd Dr Elizabeth Chevill in London in July
2011. Crispin Poyser, a Principal Clerk at the House of Commons,
continues to supervise several select committees. Up in Yorkshire
Malcolm Price continues to lecture in education at Leeds Trinity
College and York St John University. He was surprised to hear of
the pessimistic assessment of science teaching in primary schools
made by Lord Rees at the launch of Merton’s 750th Anniversary
campaign in May 2011. By contrast, he considers that science
teaching at primary level is stronger than ever before. In May
2010 David Salter, alas, lost his post in the cabinet of Plymouth
City Council as member responsible for Adult Health and Social
Care, despite having an excellent record. During three years in
office he helped to raise the Council’s performance in social care
from ‘one star’ to equal best in the South-West (as assessed by the
Care Quality Commission). Neil Smith is currently Master of the
masonic lodge in Shaftesbury, Dorset (but Mertonians are asked to
keep this secret).
OLD MEMBERS
On 4th December 2010, Brian Bramson and Robert Peberdy
were among the Mertonians who attended a party at Balliol College
to launch Tomfoolery, an entertaining collection of occasional
writings by the late Tom Braun (1959). It is rumoured that
Mertonians have also been commemorating Mr Braun’s memory
with an appropriate brand of Penfolds wine. For more information
on Tomfoolery, See Book Reviews, page 64.
1976
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: JOHN GARDNER
The Orchard House, Witherslack, Cumbria LA11 6RS
Tel: 015395 52232 Email: j.gardner@zen.co.uk
That year being famous for its sunshine, many of the 1976 intake
were reminded by May’s good weather to send an update.
Several are teaching or conducting research. Married to Felicity
(St Hilda’s, 1979) and living in Oxford, Richard Dendy is active
at Warwick University’s Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics
and at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, where he leads research
teams and publishes steadily. He serves on two non-departmental
public bodies: the MoD’s Nuclear Research Advisory Council,
which has oversight of programmes at Aldermaston, and the FCO’s
Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, which grants Marshall
scholarships for US postgraduate students in the UK.
Christopher Duggan teaches at the University of Reading as
Head of the School of Literature and Languages, currently working
on 19th- and 20th-century Italy. Having completed a history of
Italy from the French Revolution to the present, he is now writing
a book about Italian fascism as seen through the diaries, letters
and memoirs of ordinary people. Jonathan Flint, a Merton fellow
and Michael Davys Professor of Neuroscience, writes en route to
China from a meeting ‘in Milan on rat genetics’. He is running
global studies to better understand the causes of depression, both
environmental and genetic.
Robert Hannah has been at the University of Otago in Dunedin,
New Zealand since leaving Merton, teaching Classical Archaeology
and Greek. He gained a personal chair in 2006 and was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2008. His current research
is about time in antiquity, and will see him surveying Greek temples
in the Mediterranean for the next three years. Married to Pat, who
he met in Oxford, they have two children. Astrophysicist Nigel
POSTMASTER | 2011
117
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1976
Metcalfe, at Durham University since the 1980s and married to
Katherine for 20 years, is on the Science Council for the new PanSTARRS telescope project in Hawaii. Last year he was one of the
Durham science team whose film Cosmic Origins beat Disney to
win a Silicon Valley award for best 3D movie.
Following a PhD at MIT and spells at Harvard and Columbia,
Dan Raff has been on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
since 1994, holding appointments at the Wharton School, history
department and law school. He remains a research associate of the
National Bureau of Economic Research in Boston and in a current
project is helping to write a history of the OUP. Adrian Schweitzer
teaches Classics and Maths at Tonbridge School, as well as coaching
and playing hockey. His three children are at university and with
Carolyn he recently enjoyed a sabbatical term in Italy after 15 years
running a boarding house.
Recently returned to teaching chemistry after ‘rather too long as
an IT consultant’, Jonathan Stephenson is growing vegetables and
making music via his site jazzharmony.com. Mike Taylor, former
Principal Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at National Museums
Scotland and currently a research associate there working on fossil
marine reptiles and the history of palaeontology, lives with Helen in
his native town Penicuik, Midlothian. He is also an honorary research
fellow at the Department of Museum Studies at Leicester University.
Acceptable faces of capitalism include Chris Coombe, in Abu
Dhabi since 2008 working for Abu Dhabi Government investment
companies, who this year became CEO of a joint venture providing
currency and commodity risk management solutions in the region.
Lapsed lefty David Douglas runs equity capital markets for
Standard Chartered and helps keep Cathay Pacific in business by
commuting between Hong Kong and Paris, in addition to seeing
his 15-year-old at Ampleforth. Rob Hain, having retired as Chief
Executive of Invesco Perpetual in 2005, is Chairman of asset
management group City Financial and a non-executive director of
several other companies. Rob and Tracy, an interior designer, live
in London while their daughters Iska and Kayla live in the United
States and Canada respectively.
After tours of duty in investment banking and with the Strategic
Rail Authority following a stellar career in the Navy, including
commanding nuclear submarines, David Humphrey is with
Standard Bank in Johannesburg. Charles Manby works for
Goldman Sachs. Married to Nicky, girlfriend from Merton years,
they have three grown-up children. With John Booth he is co118
POSTMASTER | 2011
chairing the Merton 750th Anniversary Campaign. Ian McVeigh,
one of the many Merton historians, is a director at Jupiter Asset
Management. His daughter is reading History at Nottingham.
Peter Bernie has lived near Chester since the 1980s, bringing
up three daughters and working as a finance director in marine
insurance, recently with Liverpool & London and presently as
consultant to The Strike Club. Since 2000 John Bland has been
a director of Global Integration, a specialist HR consultancy for
international companies. Following an M&A career with Blue
Circle and Mayflower, erstwhile JCR President Neil Craggs is a
strategy consultant living in Buckinghamshire with Fran (St Anne’s,
1976) and children Juliet and Matt, now at Keble. Serial marketing
director John Gardner is doing his thing on the interweb with
financial services and shopping sites. Wife Tracey and daughters
Joanna and Carla want to see their names in print and so – because
he can – they are.
After 30 years with Whitbread, most recently involving ‘a bit
a travelling’ as European Quality Manager, master brewer Jeremy
Horton recently declined the offer of a posting to Moscow in
favour of warmer climes (Lancashire) and is now semi-retired
doing Quality Project work in the food and drink sectors. Geoff
Lee has worked in the biomedical industry since leaving Merton
and lives in Macclesfield where he and Jane recently celebrated
their 28th anniversary. Keen gardeners, they have renovated a
ruin near Albi. Son Alex qualified in Medicine at Manchester and
daughter Joanna is at St Andrews. Laurence Ormerod lives in
Cumbria with Gill and children Holly and Tom. He is running
and sailing whenever possible and consulting in business
development and strategy for technology and start-up companies
in the energy sector.
Dan Rickman recently joined data solutions integrator Detica.
Wife Jill is a professor of psychiatry at UCL and they have two
grown-up children. Following a mid-life MA in Humanities he is
currently completing a course on Jewish and Muslim perceptions
of the other. Rod Roberts-Dear returned with Clare to bring up
Max, Harry and Bruno in the UK after 12 years in Switzerland and
Germany with Inchcape and Continental, settling in the Midlands
as a principal at Ricardo Strategy Consulting.
Next up, the lawyers. District judge Robin Barraclough sits
in his home town Huddersfield and celebrates his silver wedding
anniversary with Andrea this month. A football fan, his only regret is
not being Mancunian. Simon Congdon, partner at Holman Fenwick
NEWS | 1977
Willan for 20 years, specialises in international litigation and asset
recovery. Much of his spare time is taken up running groups at St
Helen’s church, Bishopsgate. After Merton, Tim Matthews joined
Canadian firm Stewart McKelvey where as a partner he specialises
in estate planning, tax, and estate litigation. His voice is heard
in Nova Scotia not just as a choral singer and tenor soloist but
as past Director and Chairman of Symphony Nova Scotia and
present Chair of Scotia Festival of Music, a classical chamber
music society.
No surprise to those who saw his magic act, David Owen
QC deals with tricky international disputes, arbitration and
mediation from 20 Essex Street chambers. Closer to home, his
son is at Wadham, daughter at St Andrews and wife Philippa is
a London guide. David Pitman specialises in patent litigation
as a partner at boutique intellectual property law firm Fulwider
Patton in Los Angeles. Married for 18 years to Tamara Parsons,
they have two daughters in high school. Antony Townsend writes
from Leamington Spa, where he runs the Solicitors Regulation
Authority. Father of six, he sings in London and Warwick when
time permits.
A documentary editor for the last 20 years for the BBC, Channel
4 and other broadcasters, Toby Farrell lives with wife and
son in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire. Guy Montgomery is
teaching tai chi and making cheese in central Portugal. He lives
on an organic smallholding with his Italian consort Mariluz,
their small daughters Iris and Ruby, donkey Reynolds and
a flock of goats and sheep. Peter Truesdale was re-elected last
year to Lambeth Council to serve his fifth term as member for
Bishop’s Ward.
Bob Cotton was recently created an honorary canon of Guildford
Cathedral and elected to the Archbishops’ Council. Having
spent 15 years as the parish priest in Guildford looking after a leaky
listed church, he is also well-qualified in building maintenance.
Charles Wookey is Assistant General Secretary of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and was heavily
involved in the organisation of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the
UK last year.
Finally, Postmaster has been promised photographs next time,
including one of this year’s class who is currently training as a
belly-dancer. You know who you are.
OLD MEMBERS
1977
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: EDMUND WRIGHT
Cedar Cottage, Graham Road, Cookham, Maidenhead, Berkshire,
SL6 9JQ
Email: edmund_wright@btopenworld.com
Richard Humes is still living in the Lake Geneva region and has
recently retired from his banking career to pursue personal interests.
These include travel, writing, mountaineering, and being a parttime student again. Fortunately, he says, the academic pressure is
off this time round, which is a good thing after 25-plus years of
brain degeneration, not helped by an over-enthusiastic immersion
in the local wine-drinking culture. Thankfully Lynda is just about
managing to cope with the challenge of having him around during
the day: he doubts anyone else could.
After leaving Merton Ashley Knowles took an MSc in
Operational Research and subsequently gravitated towards
financial modelling and business planning. He has been involved
in some large property developments and has had clients in
hospitality, telecoms, and broadcast services. He now lives in
Sussex with his wife and one daughter, two dogs, and a multitude
of uninvited rabbits. Of more interest to crossword solvers may be
that he is ‘Boatman’ in The Guardian, where he has been teasing
the readership for the last few years.
Since last year’s report, Steve Lichfield has completed an MSc
in Renewable Energy and Sustainability at Reading University,
followed by a qualification in energy management from the
Energy Institute in London, and is currently researching best-fit
employment opportunities in the areas of low-carbon building,
renewables and sustainability. He is always happy to chat about this
rapidly changing area and the increasing impact it is having in all
areas of life and work; please look him up on LinkedIn if interested.
Steve’s older daughter is now a sculpture student in London, while
the younger is working for her A Levels.
And finally for this year, Hugh Scott-Barrett reports that that he
has been appointed a non-executive director of Goodwood Estate
Company Limited.
POSTMASTER | 2011
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1979
1978
1979
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: MARK DAVISON
37 Connaught Square, London, W2 2HL
Tel: 020 7402 6991 Email: mark.davison@kpmg.co.uk
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: NOEL PRIVETT
Litchen House, 27 London Street, Whitchurch, Hampshire,
RG28 7LH
Tel: 01256 892514 Email: noelprivett@yahoo.co.uk
It was great to get some new reports this year and further news
from returning correspondents.
Chris Effendowicz admits that he has “never communicated
with my old college before”. He continues: “I am, and have
been for 23 years, the managing director of a small, very old,
soap manufacturing business in Lancashire still surviving where
virtually no low tech industries remain in this country. Other than
that, I am a Buddhist in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
(FWBO, now renamed the Triratna Buddhist Community) and live
with my partner, Rachel, in a leafy part of north Manchester.”
From Manchester to Monaco, where Ivor Alex has been
living for the last 13 years. He has an executive search company
with several overseas offices. The website link is www.normanalex.
com.
Nick Comninos is currently based in Greece and works in the
family business which is “mainly a shipping company but is linked
to a lot of other investments. For example, we keep a close eye on
green technologies and are already active in the offshore windfarm service sector. We are also quite youth friendly and have
recently run a successful intern week in Athens for a few students
and are quite active in merchant marine cadet training.”
Continuing the theme of messages from warmer climes,
Victor Mallet reports from Spain that he is still with the Financial
Times after 25 years. “Currently Madrid correspondent, after five
years in Hong Kong as columnist, leader-writer and Asia editor.
Madrid is landlocked, but I also write about sailing and yachts for
the paper.”
And finally from Martin Glenn “I’m the CEO of BirdsEye-Iglo
frozen foods group which I’ve done since the end of 2006. I’ve
recently moved to Richmond-on-Thames and bought a boat which
my kids have named ‘Captain Birdseye’.”
Pencil in 22nd September next year for the Gaudy; I hope to see
many of you there.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
There seems to be a theme of ennui running (trickling?) through
this year’s 1979 submission. Everyone must be turning 50 about
now, which might explain it.
Mike Ryan says his life has gone on pretty much as last year.
His family is all well but has been a bit tense with both boys doing
exams in the summer just passed. Lancaster RGS still commands
a good deal of his time but he’s found a few more little jobs with
AQA to keep him out of mischief.
Chris Short lives in Worcester and is married to Jo. They have
two children; Will, who is at Durham, and Francesca who is still
at school. Chris is on the board of a UK listed group, which he
confesses “is a bit dull really”. He also occasionally sees Mick
Friswell, who he thinks is a Professor at Swansea.
Mark McBride (known as Mark Dyer in 1979) isn’t sure
anybody would be interested in his teaching job in “a very mundane
school” in Somerset. He tells me that other than the fact that it is
full of perfectly decent and ordinary kids getting perfectly ordinary
grades, it is also the only place he’s worked where anyone has ever
been remotely impressed that he went to Oxford. He says: “‘Why
are you working here if you went to Oxford?’ is a common refrain.
The other day, one student announced that it was ‘cool’ that I had
been to Oxford. So for a brief moment in time, I was cool. Never
happened before, probably never will again.”
Jonathan Weaver reports that “sadly not much has changed”
in the past year, and then contradicts himself with the momentous
news that he’s added two cats to the household. Life, he says,
continues to be good, so no reason to complain.
Mark Fiddes tells me that his news is also “pretty normal”.
He has just created the relaunch of the Nivea brand globally to
celebrate their 100 year anniversary and is working on the Merton
750th birthday. You can read an interview with Mark on page 37.
He says he hopes that one of our year has decided to do a solo
rocket flight to Venus or retrain as a Mullah in Pakistan.
By curious and serendipitous coincidence, Nicholas Horton
reports that he has been doing some very exciting things fomenting
NEWS | 1980
insurrection in North Africa by the power of dreams from his bed
in Dartmouth and that he is also learning to speak two languages at
once. Apart from that, he says, it has been a quiet year, having also
published three novellas and a collection of caustic short stories
called Short Tories and other diminished creatures. Alas, I fear that
the only fiction here is Nick’s entire story, save the bit about having
a bed in Dartmouth. (He goes on to say that he does, occasionally,
do something of great interest and value, but without being too
specific just what that might be.)
Some of our cadre, however, do appear to have been busy
writing. Armand D’Angour, who is still teaching Classics at Jesus
College, Oxford, has “finally completed” his academic book The
Greeks and the New: Novelty in ancient Greek imagination and
experience (CUP, 2011), and has since accepted a commission
to write a business version – Eureka! Seven key principles of
innovation from ancient Greece – which he naturally hopes will
become a bestseller in airport bookshops worldwide (neck and neck
with Mike Ridpath’s latest thriller).
Speaking of which, Michael Ridpath has a new novel out. 66°
North was published in the UK in May and is the second in the
series about Magnus, an Icelandic detective. A group of Icelanders
meet during the pots-and-pans revolution in Reykjavik in January
2009. They decide to take revenge on the people they believe are
responsible for the credit crunch in their country. Magnus must
figure out who they are and what they plan to do next. I read the
first in the series, Where the Shadows Lie, and liked it so much that
I bought the new one. I promise to read it as soon as I’ve finished
Michael McIntyre’s autobiography. There is more information on
Michael’s book on page 44.
Patrick Shorrock works in the human resources department
of the Archbishops’ Council, and has recently successfully
completed his studies for an Advanced Certificate in Employment
Law. He sings with the London Gay Men’s Chorus, and
has performed with them in Barcelona, Birmingham, Brighton,
Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Helsinki and Turin, as well as
at Cadogan Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican Centre,
and the South Bank Centre. He has recently found fame as one
of the oral history exhibits at the newly opened galleries at the
Museum of London.
Steven Thomas reports from his long-time home in Tokyo,
where he lives with his wife Mayumi, that daily life has gradually
been settling down after the 11th March earthquake and tsunami
OLD MEMBERS
and subsequent radiation scares, although the future outlook for
Japan remains very much unclear.
Sky Foerster, who describes himself as “one of those US Air
Force types that came up in ‘79 to do a DPhil,” retired from the Air
Force in 1997, ran an educational non-profit for a dozen years, and
is now back teaching at the US Air Force Academy Department
of Political Science as the Brent Scowcroft Professor for National
Security Studies. The young children whom he says his doctoral
supervisor wished at the time that he didn’t have are now in their
30s and doing well in San Francisco. Sky’s connection with Oxford
remains largely that he sits on one of the Marshall Scholarship
selection committees, so he continues to “try and send Oxford some
of the former colony’s finest.”
Roger Pearse is still freelancing in the IT industry. His other
main activity has been commissioning translations of ancient texts,
some of which he is editing for publication. By the time you read
this he hopes to have the first of these out and producing a return.
Frank Dean has made some very pertinent discoveries this last
year in the field of chemical sensing.
Geoff Bones on the other hand brings us right back down to earth.
He says he has “not a lot to report” except that he’s changed jobs
and now works for a “little diamond of a company” in Cambridge,
called Red Gate. It’s a longer commute – about 10 miles – which he
took to be the excuse he needed to go and learn to ride a motorbike.
And best of all, he says, his older son, Chris, has finally graduated
and is now a man of independent means.
Speaking of Geoff and earth, you may recall that he issued a
challenge to all Mertonians in the last issue of Postmaster to trump
his two-and-an-half pound cauliflower.
Alas, no one appears to have taken up the filthy gardening
gauntlet. However, I did accidentally grow the world’s smallest
carrot. I put some seeds in a pot (I liked the pot but didn’t have the
most appropriate seeds). Nothing happened; winter came and went.
And then, a tiny carrot appeared. Which was delicious.
My other news – even more interesting than the carrot – is that I
am now working in the third sector, as chief communications officer
for Sue Ryder. The family is well: Claire is still governor of two
schools amongst other things, and our children are thriving. Esther
is at Exeter reading English, Florence is back at Cambridge doing
her PGCE, to enable her to become a primary school teacher, Jonah
has completed his AS levels and Reuben is at secondary school and
mercifully fairly exam free at the moment.
POSTMASTER | 2011
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OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1982
1980
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: NATALIE MILLER
Dukes Farm, 39 Queen Street, Geddington, Northants, NN14 1AZ
Tel: 01536 741704 Email: natalie.miller@merton.oxon.org
1981
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: GRAHAM DWYER
115 Lake Cook Drive, Alexandria, VA 22304, USA
Tel: +1 703 664 0179 Email: gdwyer@surfshot.net.ph
Many thanks to everyone who contacted me during my second
year as Year Representative. It was great hearing from all of you,
so please do keep your news coming in through the coming year.
Mike Below is lead systems designer for Metapack, a software
supplier providing multi-carrier shipping systems to companies
dispatching items (largely) on the business-to-consumer model.
He married Rachel back in 1995 and has two children, Claire (12)
and Jonathan (9). In his spare time, Mike is involved with the local
church (St Peter’s, Berkhamsted) where he runs the bellringing
and recently started helping out with the local Cub Pack after a
gap of about 15 years.
Belated congratulations to Jonathan Lord who was elected as
Conservative MP for Woking in May 2010 and lives in Surrey
with his wife Caroline and their son and daughter. His Private
Member’s Bill to improve safety at sports grounds has passed all
its Commons stages and is likely to become law later this year.
In the Commons, he frequently runs into another 1981 Mertonian,
Jesse Norman, who, as I reported last year, was also elected as
Conservative MP (for Hereford and South Herefordshire). In
the past 12 months, Jesse has been elected by fellow MPs to the
Treasury Select Committee and published a book, The Big Society
(University of Buckingham Press, 2010).
I was particularly pleased to hear from my tutorial partner,
Nicki Paxman, who is still at the BBC, producing Radio 4’s Front
Row, and living in north London with partner and son, age 9, who,
she reports, is coming along nicely with his music.
The last year has been eventful for Peter Phillips who reports
that in October he moved to the ‘dark side’, or rather the light (blue)
side, when he started at Cambridge University Press as its Chief
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POSTMASTER | 2011
Operating Officer. This has involved lots of business opportunities
and travel to places across six continents. He has found particular
joy, though, being involved with prize-winning books – from
The Letters of Samuel Beckett (CUP, 2009) to Monopoles and
Three Manifolds (CUP, 2008) by his friend and former tutorial
partner Peter Kronheimer (currently William Casper Graustein
Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University). He finds the
challenge of the world’s oldest publisher getting to grips with the
transition from print to digital is exciting and testing.
Ben Summerskill OBE has been Chief Executive of Stonewall,
Europe’s largest gay equality organisation, since 2003. The
charity is now working with British employers – from Goldman
Sachs and IBM to all the armed services and MI5 –- of 5.5 million
people, supporting the recruitment and retention of gay staff.
And last, but not least, some happy news from Patrick Turner,
who has returned to Britain, after a spell in the USA, and remarried.
He writes: “My last entry in Postmaster was an obituary of my
first wife, Rachel Charrett (Merton, 1983), who died of breast
cancer in 2004, leaving behind three children: Samuel, Isaac and
Flora. We had married in 1992 and enjoyed very nearly 12 years
together. She died a remarkably courageous and good death, and
was very much at peace.”
Since then, Patrick has continued to work in Government –
principally the Ministry of Defence, helping to lead work in 200507 to support decisions by the last Government on updating the
UK’s nuclear deterrent, then led a team in the Cabinet Office to
write the first UK National Security Strategy. After almost three
years working in the Embassy in Washington ‘improving my
American’, he is now back in the UK, working with the Army at its
main headquarters in Andover. During his spell in Washington, he
met and married (all during 2009) Therese Dymond, from Virginia.
“During my time in Washington I also took the opportunity to
defect from Anglicanism to Catholicism – a decision I have not
regretted so far, not least since a nun at Church introduced me to
my wife,” he writes. Therese is expecting a baby in the autumn,
“so bankruptcy beckons with even more inevitability than before,”
he says. I am sure all from 1981 would want to wish them the best
of luck!
NEWS | 1983
1982
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: NICK WELLER
12 North Ash, Hawthorn Close, Horsham, West Sussex,
RH12 2BW
Tel: 01403 269883 Email: nickweller7@aol.com
Thinking particularly this year of everyone whose children have
had major exams – quite a few I know.
Paul Collier is now looking after the Copleston Centre Church
in Peckham, an Ecumenical Partnership between Hanover Chapel
United Reformed Church and St Saviour’s Church of England
Parish, which includes a very active community centre. Paul is
taking part in the 2011 London Triathlon, raising money for the
church roof. Paul is also still playing in the Morley Big Band.
Andrew Corrie has been pottering along, his year reminding
him of young Albert’s trip to Blackpool.
Congratulations to Simon Crutchley on the birth of Hugo
Stafford, born 23rd February. Simon is now teaching at the Centre
for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of
London.
Janet Edwards (Makower) has been arranging Federal Loans
for US students at Edinburgh College of Art (merging with the
University of Edinburgh on 1st August 2011).
John Holland has been kept busy by his children, but has still
found time to study. He finished a Maths degree with the Open
University last year, and is now working towards an MSc in
Systems Thinking. John is still working for UK Borders Agency,
and was recently sent to man the border control during the strike in
June. It was an interesting experience being on the other side from
travellers. John meets up regularly with Richard Ryder, James
Thickett, Stephen Walsh, David Holbrook, Chris Edwards and
David Parkinson.
Michael Jary is a Non-Executive Director of Nationwide
Building Society.
Christopher Johnson has been inducted into the American
College of Surgeons and is now a Fellow of the American College
of Surgery. Christopher has also been enjoying time on the beach
with his daughter, Alexandra Natalia Johnson, who is two and due
to begin nursery school in Bermuda.
Peter Moger is now Canon Precentor at York Minster. Peter
has been appointed Chair of the Academic Board of the Guild of
OLD MEMBERS
Church Musicians and has been made an Honorary Fellow of the
Guild.
Peter Roberts has been appointed as Headmaster of King’s
School, Canterbury.
I have had quite a quiet year with not much change.
1983
Year Representative: Meriel Cowan
40 Ash Grove, Headington, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 9JL
Tel: 01865 762458 Email: meriel.raine@gmail.com
It is 25 years since most of us sat our finals, and when I see
stressed finalists in my GP consulting room it makes me feel very
old! Congratulations to Andrew and Philippa Baker who are
celebrating their Silver Wedding Anniversary in July this year.
Their four sons, the Fabulous Baker Boys, keep them on their toes.
Andrew continues in practice at the Bar and Philippa teaches at
their local infants’ school and a local nursery as well.
Richard Baxter is a tax consultant in the City. He travels a lot,
but still finds time to watch his sons play cricket. His wife Kerstin,
who is German, has taken up cricket coaching; I was very impressed
to hear this! They have been based in Croydon for some years.
It was lovely to speak to Paul Chavasse recently. Paul is on the
board of Rathbones and commutes to London frequently, though he
is based in the Liverpool office and lives with Sonia and their three
children in Cheshire. He has recently been in touch with Charles
Lonsdale (1984) who is currently HM Ambassador to Armenia and
is getting married there shortly. The Chavasse family are meeting up
with Susan and Michael Roller and their children in the Channel
Islands later this month.
Ernest Cheung writes from Hong Kong that he has moved to new
Chambers, and now has a great view of Victoria Harbour.
James Collings is now a board director of Schroders Private
Bank, subsidiary of the Schroders Group. “Not the best time to be
announcing one is a bank director”, he says wryly. His daughter
Fran (14) has been selected to represent Great Britain at water polo,
which is a fantastic achievement.
Bromsgrove School, where Chris Edwards continues as
Headmaster, is flourishing with “heaps of new buildings, a new
Foundation for bursaries, and no end of international initiatives”.
The school is very lucky to have him if his blog is anything to go
POSTMASTER | 2011
123
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1984
by – very much more entertaining than anything coming out of my
children’s schools! Chris reports that Everton coming seventh has
been a source of great comfort to him.
Michael Everett and Sarah Crofts live in Balham, not at all far
from Walter de Merton’s priory. They have two children, Belinda (7)
and Honor (5). Michael practises in shipping and leasing taxation
with KPMG in Canary Wharf. Sarah is active in the domestic arts
and community.
“We are moving into central Cambridge over the summer”,
Frances Harris (née Mortimer) tells me. “My husband Steve is
getting ordained in July at Ely Cathedral, and then going to a curacy
in Trumpington on the edge of Cambridge.” Frances continues to
lead the rehabilitation team in the cochlear implant department at
Addenbrookes Hospital. She adds that she is going to swim a mile
outdoors this summer to raise funds for the MS Society.
It doesn’t seem very long ago that Bridget (1982) and Michael
Jager brought their baby daughter Evie to a gaudy; she is now a
student at York University. When both their daughters have flown
the nest, Michael and Bridget hope to plan a sabbatical year.
I met Matthew Kempshall and his wife taking their beautiful
new baby for a first trip out by the river at Sandford-on-Thames on
a sunny spring day a few weeks ago. Matthew is on sabbatical leave
from Wadham where he teaches History.
Daniel Seymour was back in touch with me when he was visiting
the UK with his son Jamie. Between us we failed to meet up but
hope to if he is back later in the year. He is still working in finance
in New York.
Simon and I are still in same house, same jobs. We had a wonderful
family road trip last summer driving round Europe for six weeks
with our three boys. We were still on excellent terms by the end of
it. Highlights were a beautiful flat where we stayed in Venice where
gondoliers floated under the balcony singing; and a house on the
rocky coast of an island off Croatia. I’d love to repeat it.
1984
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: DAVID CLARK
19 Willowdene Court, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5ET
Email: david.clark@merton.oxon.org
I was delighted with the response to my rather plaintive follow-up
email message requesting contributions for this year’s piece – thank
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POSTMASTER | 2011
you everyone! It was especially pleasing to hear from some of
you for the first time, and so it is with news of those people that I
shall start.
Richard Parr emailed from San Diego, where he’s been living
since 2005, having moved to the US in 1992. He works as a
requirements analyst/data modeller working in healthcare IT. He
writes that San Diego is “the only place I know where the local
TV channels tell you about the weather in other cities, just to
gloat”. Another long-distance email arrived from Karen Small (née
Reynolds) who is currently Professor of Biomedical Engineering at
Flinders University in South Australia. She and her family (husband
Sandy and children Oliver and Emily) moved Down Under in 1997.
In 2010, Karen spent four months on sabbatical at the University
of Sussex and later in the year was awarded the title of ‘Australian
Professional Engineer of the Year’ at the annual Australian
Engineering Excellence Awards. So, congratulations Karen! The
final first-time contributor was Charles Lonsdale, who has also
been spending time abroad in his role as the British Ambassador
in Armenia. He will be leaving there at the end of 2011 after four
fascinating years but will be keeping up his connections with the
country having married his Armenian fiancée, Maria Sadoyan, in
June this year. At the time of writing, Charles is still waiting to hear
to which country he will be posted next.
As well as these new contributors, it was good to have updates
from some previous correspondents. Andrew Williams had a second
play performed at Warwick Arts Centre at the Spring Meeting of
the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Called Daniel
Mercy, the play concerns institutional cover-ups of child abuse cases
and the difficulties facing anyone who raises concerns over such
matters. In recent years, Jonathan Ockenden has moved from the
Treasury through the Commonwealth Secretariat to become the UK
representative on the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (the international financial institution established
to support countries in the transition from communism and central
planning to democracy and a market economy).
Stephen Ashworth writes that his three-year term as Associate
Dean for Admissions in the Faculty of Science at UEA is coming
to an end this year. He has recently visited South Africa where he
took part in a Science Festival and toured round some schools giving
demonstration lectures.
Andrew Phillips is still working for the Duchy of Cornwall,
focusing on finance, sustainability and IT. One of his current roles is
NEWS | 1985
as a director of a joint venture that is building a biogas plant for the
Duchy’s development at Poundbury in Dorchester, which will make
the development carbon-neutral. On the home front, he and his
family still live in Wells and he notes that “all three of our daughters
are at secondary school, with the eldest learning to drive and looking
at universities, which is all rather scary”. Francis Marsland
continues to live in Zürich and works in Zug for Biogen Idec (a
global biotechnology business) as Chief International Counsel and
Site Head of the International Headquarters. He spends the rest of
his time ferrying his two sons between ice hockey matches.
Philippa Whipple reports that the Merton Lawyers Association
had a very successful evening last November looking at zero
tolerance policing strategies with Bernard Hogan-Howe (an old
Mertonian and former Chief Constable of Merseyside). This year’s
meeting will take place at Slaughter and May in London on 22nd
November and will look at managing risk on the release of offenders
and mental health patients. The speakers will be Sir David Latham,
Chairman of the Parole Board and Professor Guy Goodwin, former
Mertonian and Professor of Psychiatry. Philippa further reports that
Eleanor Grey became a QC this year. Congratulations Eleanor!
Finally, some news from your year rep. Last August, I marked ten
years of working for Argenta, a company that I joined at its inception
in 2000. Outside work, I have enjoyed travelling to various school
sports grounds in Essex supporting my son in his rugby matches
and have recently taken on the role of Secretary for the mid-Essex
Branch of the Gideons.
Please keep in touch – news is welcomed at any time of the year.
1985
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: BEN PRYNN
143 John Ruskin Street, London, SE5 0PQ
Tel: 020 7703 8645 Email: ben_prynn@yahoo.co.uk
One theme of the year for the Class of 1985 seems to be moving on
to new jobs after a long period of stability.
After 21 years at Deloitte Consulting, Adam Broun changed
jobs last year, joining Credit Suisse as their Head of IT Strategy.
He is still commuting between his home near Boston and the office
in New York, and enjoying the new challenge. He reports that his
family is well and his son Daniel turned 13 this year.
This side of the Atlantic, Jo Woods (née Brindley) is finally
OLD MEMBERS
leaving the BBC and heading to Boston Consulting group as Head
of Finance. She will continue to be based in London and is looking
forward to the change. Mark Medish has joined APCO Worldwide,
the public affairs firm, as executive vice-president and managing
director of its international advisory service Global Political
Strategies. He is based in Washington, DC. Mark and his two oldest
sons, Vadim (17) and Nikolai (14), visited Merton in July 2010.
Not everybody is changing their occupation. After 25 years of ups
and downs, Jonny Morris is happy to report he is still an active
Trades Unionist and Labour Party stalwart, currently organising
campaigns and elections in Plymouth, with occasional forays into
the Tory wasteland of Devon. He says he loves to write scurrilous
verse for which people pay and he benefits hugely from the support
of his wife and cat.
Madeleine Barrows reports she is enjoying a busy and varied
job working as Communications Officer for the Academy of Social
Science, where she is editing the Making the Case for the Social
Sciences series of booklets showcasing the impact of social science
research. She is also still editing Catholic Ancestor, a journal for
the Catholic Family History Society. Despite her four children
occupying much of her time she managed to complete the London
Marathon, an ambition held since 1990, and also passed Grade 7
piano.
Mark Bevir is Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. In
2010, he published The State as Cultural Practice (Oxford University
Press) and Democratic Governance (Princeton University Press)
and in 2011 is planning to publish The Making of British Socialism
(Princeton University Press), which some of his contemporaries may
recognise as a very belated and heavily revised derivation of his
Oxford DPhil.
Last but by no means least, the big event in Chris Hehir’s life
last year was the arrival of his first daughter, Lily Yolanda on 28th
December. Despite the inevitable sleep deprivation, Chris still found
the time and energy to be appointed a Crown Court Recorder.
1986
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ADRIAN JUDGE
The Old Vicarage, 5 Fairmead, Cam, Dursley, Gloucestershire,
GL11 5JR
Tel: 01453 544182 Email: judgeaandh@aol.com
POSTMASTER | 2011
125
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1989
1988
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: TIM GARDENER
7 Carlyn Drive, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, SO53 2DJ
Tel: 02380 275831 Email: tsg3142@hotmail.com
1988 has been unreported for a little while, so here is the first trickle
of news. Helen Hackett (née Cobb) reports that her children are
now aged 15 and 12. She is a Professor of English at UCL and
her fourth book, Shakespeare and Elizabeth: The Meeting of Two
Myths was published in 2009. She recently spent a sunny spring day
in Oxford and enjoyed a nostalgic stroll around Merton, including
the Chapel, where her marriage took place in 1990.
Suzanne Fagence Cooper and John Cooper (1989) are now
living in Yorkshire. Suzanne’s latest book, The Model Wife: Effie
Gray, Ruskin and Millais is coming out in paperback later this
summer. They have two daughters.
Julie Potter writes that she has been the Head of the History
Department at Marlborough College in Wiltshire for the past
four years. She will be taking up a new role as a Deputy Head at
Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire in September.
Terrence Pivia is an Associate Professor in Cell Biology at the
School of Medical Sciences at RMIT University in Melbourne.
His research is in the area of skin cancer, photobiology, cancer
metabolism and polycystic ovarian syndrome and he has published
over 40 papers and 80 conference abstracts. Apart from lecturing
and research, he is involved in international student marketing and
visits South East Asia twice a year to attend student marketing
events for RMIT University. Terrence is married to Kerri and they
have one son, Stephen, who is in year 11 at school.
Tim Gardener is now living in Hampshire with his wife Kate
and their two-year-old daughter. He is working in public sector
management consultancy, currently tackling the problems of the
NHS in the South Central region, which are mostly insoluble.
1989
YEAR-REPRESENTATIVES: MATTHEW GRIMLEY
Email: matthew.grimley@merton.ox.ac.uk
and TOM PEDRICK
Email: tompedrick@hotmail.com
126
POSTMASTER | 2011
A poor effort from your year reps this year. We hope to be more
organised and persuasive next year, or you could always send in
some news unprompted…
John Cooper and his wife Suzanne (1988) both celebrated
their 40th birthdays by bringing out major books – Suzanne’s The
Model Wife: The Passionate Lives of Effie, Ruskin and Millais
(Duckworth) and John’s The Queen’s Agent: Francis Walsingham
at the Court of Elizabeth I (Faber).
Cat Harris and her husband Ben had a baby girl, Jessica Alice
Byram-Wigfield, on 4th October 2010 weighing 7lb 9oz. Cat is
still working for the FSA predominantly as a lawyer and part-time
as an executive coach.
Max Kelly married Donna North on the South coast on a
sun-kissed day in June. The reception was at his family home
in Warsash, with guests partying late into the night around the
swimming pool just like they used to do at university. Best man
Richard McGuire pointed out that his speech was payback for
the time some years ago when Max was his best man but didn’t
actually make it to the wedding ceremony or reception.
Myles Ogilvie and his wife Tamsin have had a daughter, Phoebe,
a sister for Rufus (3). Myles is now working for Barclays Wealth
and will happily look after your money as long as you have
enormous amounts of it.
Tom Pedrick has joined the international development
consulting practice at PwC, and by the time this is printed will
be glad if he hasn’t been sent to DR Congo to reform one of the
world’s more challenging police forces.
William Redgrave and his family have moved to La Coruna in
Spain, from where he continues to practise as a Jersey advocate.
Jonny Woodward started a new Associate Professorship at the
University of Tokyo in April, and has also been performing with
his group Melted.
1990
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: CHRISTINE BARRIE
15 Badminton Close, Cambridge, CB4 3NW
Tel: 01223 501598 Email: christine.barrie@btinternet.co.uk
and CLAIRE WEBSTER
16 Kingsgate Street, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9PD
Tel: 01962 863237 Email: claire@xargla.org
NEWS | 1991
In early April this year (while on a skiing holiday in Aspen, USA,
with Mertonian Max Kelly) Tom Elliott became engaged to his
partner Elise Mooney. He comments that they have done things
around the wrong way, however, as they already have a daughter,
Ava, who was born in January 2010. No wedding date has yet
been set.
Helen Hulme and Leo Zeef now have a baby son, Joe Kenneth
Zeef, also born in January 2010.
Philip Wilson recently left Salisbury Playhouse, where he
has been the Artistic Director since Summer 2007. During the
past four years, he has programmed eight seasons of plays, and
directed 13 productions – ranging from revivals of English classics
such as Private Lives, The Constant Wife and The Winslow Boy
to contemporary plays including Blackbird and Faith Healer, as
well as his own adaptation of JL Carr’s A Month in the Country.
He has now returned to London and to freelancing; his future
projects include a double-bill of The Importance of Being Earnest
and Travesties at Birmingham Old Rep. Philip is delighted still to
be working in the theatre, 20 years after his days as President of
Merton Floats.
Steven Brown was promoted in October 2010 to full Professor in
the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick.
Jayne Joyce (née Douglas) reports that their youngest, Daisy,
has turned three and started part-time at nursery school. Jayne is
marking this milestone by taking another set of professional exams
(every time she does this she says “never again”). She asks whether
she is going to be Merton’s first IBCLC – prize to anyone who
knows what that means!?
Claire Webster (née Farrow) is teaching Classics back at St
Swithun’s School, Winchester, where she first taught 15 years ago.
Alison Reid is making the leap to self-employment this summer
as a career change coach and training consultant. At time of writing,
her business, Beyond Bounds, was not yet live, but you’ll be able
to find her from around August 2011 at www.beyondbounds.co.uk.
She is still living in Teddington, south-west London, with her South
African partner, Bryan, who is also starting a business as a tai chi
instructor and coach so she reckons the next couple of years will be
a bit of a rollercoaster.
Christine Barrie (née Wiggins) is now Scientific Administrator
for the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. She is still working
part-time as her son is only 8, and she rather enjoys leaving the
office at 3pm to collect him from school.
OLD MEMBERS
1991
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ANNA SMITH
(Chairman of the Year Representatives)
c/o The Development Office, Merton College, Oxford, OX1 4JD
1992
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES: ANDREW DAVISON
Westcott House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BP
Email: apd31@cam.ac.uk
Jeff Childers is working on an edition and translation of some
ancient Syriac patristic texts. He has made two research trips
this spring: to the newly refurbished Vatican Library (Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana) and to St Catharine’s Monastery at Mount
Sinai in Egypt. His trip to Egypt occurred just a few days after
President Mubarak’s resignation, providing a rare and fascinating
opportunity to witness and interact with the people in Cairo during
the very early days of what they kept referring to as the January
25 Revolution. A side note, his daughter Rebekah travelled with
him in order to conduct research related for her university senior
thesis. She conducted interviews of monks at St Catharine’s in
order to collect data for a project on sacred space. The research will
result in multiple volumes in the Leuven series, Corpus Scriptorum
Christianorum Orientalium.
Mark Freeman is a Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social
History at the University of Glasgow, and divides his time between
Glasgow and London. He continues to publish widely on modern
British history, and is the co-author of a forthcoming book,
Shareholder Democracies? Corporate Governance in Britain and
Ireland before 1850, which will be published by the University of
Chicago Press.
Hector Macdonald got engaged this year. He will marry Kate
Kendall in the summer.
Anna Watts and her husband Jason are comfortably settled in
the Dutch university system. Their daughter Aeryn Ursula Farquhar
was born in August 2010, rendering life both more chaotic and
more fun! Whether they can learn Dutch fast enough to keep up
with her remains an open question.
Rachael Ball married Matthew Maunder in August 2010. They
are still living in Dubai, and Rachael continues to work for an Abu
Dhabi government organisation – the Media Zone Authority.
POSTMASTER | 2011
127
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1993
William Barry and his family left Paris last summer (where
he had been serving as the NASA European Representative) and
moved back to the USA. They settled in Annapolis, Maryland,
which is in commuting distance to NASA Headquarters in
Washington, DC. While in the process of moving he was offered
the position of NASA Chief Historian and very happily accepted
that job. Together with his small staff, he operates a little NASA
history publication operation (they hire historians under contract
to do most of the writing), they answer questions about NASA
history (both internally and from the public), and do their best to
preserve NASA history and stimulate interest in it. For anyone with
an interest, a good starting point is their extensive web presence at:
www.history.nasa.gov.
Rebecca Eastmond (née Shaw) married Matthew (Christ
Church, 1992) in 2002 and they now have Arthur who starts
big school in September and Isabel who was born in January
2010. Both are generally charming children and Giles Richardson
is a suitably indulgent godfather to Arthur. In 2008, Rebecca
moved from heading up the Prince’s Foundation for Children &
the Arts to advise JP Morgan’s private bank clients on their giving
and is now enjoying her new role as EMEA Head of Philanthropic
Services.
Isobel Griffiths married Kenneth AJ Tune (Christ’s College,
Cambridge, 1989) at Wesley’s chapel in London in August 2009.
Isobel and Ken are delighted to be able to announce the birth of
their daughter Rebecca Josephine Violetta Tune on 14th October
2010.
Steve Maxwell lives outside San Francisco and manages
Google’s customised learning and development group. He enjoys
playing with his son Felix (2). The family’s latest adventures
include growing vegetables and camping.
1993
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: JOANNA COOKE
Email: jvicooke@hotmail.com
This year it’s an alphabetical review but backwards to make it (a
tiny bit) interesting.
Jonathan Young married Debbie in March 2011 and is now
working as a statistician at the Department for Education in London.
128
POSTMASTER | 2011
Liz Truss was elected as MP for South West Norfolk. She is
a Conservative MP – but luckily it’s a coalition government so
hopefully the fact she was an avid LibDem back at college isn’t
too awkward.
Helen Tesh is still in Kent, still teaching music and is now also
working as head of year to help new pupils settle into senior school.
Jeremy Stammers lives in Putney and recently joined the college
team in a 10k run. He is very keen that next year there be more
runners from the 90s as most of the runners this year were from
the MCR.
Malcolm Smith regrets that due to retirement from practice he
has nothing interesting to report.
Charley Smith now lives in Birmingham and has given
birth to a son, Austin. She describes him as ‘her best work’ but
I for one don’t remember Charley doing any other work… or is
that unfair?
Alan Renwick (who many of you will remember working nonstop) published a book in January called A Citizen’s Guide to
Electoral Reform. This meant a busy time during the referendum
campaign, when he spent a lot of time “pointing out all the nonsense
that both of the campaigns were producing”.
Jim Ratzer reports that daughter Sophie was born last September,
as a younger sister to Hugo. Surprisingly, Jim has no high jinx to
report, claiming: “I lead a boring life nowadays”.
Clive Norton still works in the ski industry and confessed that he
no longer smokes a pipe, thus proving that while the rest of us are
getting older, Clive is more youthful each year.
Matt Nelson has been turned into an (albeit tall and happy)
emotional wreck by the birth of his first daughter – Amy Elizabeth.
Unsurprisingly, she is in the 99.5 percentile for height at birth – all
the points to Matt’s wife SJ.
Anna Jones is still the Librarian at Wolfson College, Cambridge,
and is now also a Tutor (which in Cambridge terms is a pastoral
role). Her domestic project for this year is to refurbish the
garden pond.
Jamie Inman thinks he is above Postmaster updates but
unluckily for him I know his news. He has finally bought a flat with
the exceptional Kate, a radio journalist. They live in North London
and own (to the delight of small children) a wormery.
Leanda Fauset (née Cooksey) has moved to Geneva with her
family. By the time you read this she will doubtless own two ski
chalets and have made the down payment on a private jet.
NEWS | 1995
Naomi Drewitt has moved to a new job in the Department of
Health and she is now Deputy Secretary to the Board.
Tania Davison (née Abrahams) gave birth to a son, Malakai, in
September 2010. Tania did the Blenheim triathlon without me this
year (I used the ‘just had a baby’ excuse) and we would love fellow
class of 1993ers to join us next year.
Laura Davies (née Williams) is married to Charles and they
live in London. They have one daughter, Cordelia and both work in
high-flying jobs in the Foreign Office.
Ben Curthoys has started a business selling box-office ticketing
software and recently sold its first live ticket. All those in need of
such a system should visit www.monadsoftware.com.
Rhona Cox has just emigrated to Gothenburg where she will
continue to work for AstraZeneca and (this is out of date but
important news) she married Alexander Cameron (St John’s, 1993)
in 2006.
I am still on the edge of collapse after daughter three, Annie, was
born in March. My husband Rob seems to think that having three
girls is great; he has no idea what teenage drama lies in store.
Sian Clarke (née Davies) lives near Hampton Court with
husband Mark and their two children Megan and Ben. Sian is as
glam as ever and returns to work teaching French in September.
Emma Cayley still has two children and one husband. She says
she is slightly closer to middle age than at the last update and has
no current plans for any more children or husbands.
I think that’s all. If you’re annoyed at not being mentioned, please
email me.
1995
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: TAMZEN ISACSSON
Tel: 0046 87 549415 Email: isacssont@ymail.com
Following last year’s bumper edition for the 1995 year, it was still
good to hear from some new people this year. Lissy Lovett is
living in South London and works as the Programme Manager for
Stagetext where she organises captioned performances (similar to
TV subtitles) in theatres across the UK.
Lucy Tallents is a post-doc with the Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit (WildCRU) in Oxford. She has developed a new
postgraduate diploma for wildlife conservation professionals in
OLD MEMBERS
biodiverse but poorly-resourced countries, and is now designing
online courses in between teaching trips to Malaysia.
After six years at eBay with the recent two leading the Fashion
category for Europe, Xin He is taking a well-deserved break from
the life of commuting/computer gazing to relax and travel. She
is most likely on a long-distance bus bumping through the Gobi
desert in Northwest China as you read this. We are looking forward
to welcoming her to Stockholm again in July.
Alex Campbell is living in North London and is working
transatlantically for PensionsFirst, a provider of risk management
software for defined benefit pension schemes. Alex writes that the
past year’s exciting (but exhausting) event was the birth of Seth, a
little brother to his beautiful daughter Yasmin (3).
Claire Jones has been working as an actuarial consultant since
she left Merton in 1999 and has been a partner at LCP in Winchester
since 2007. In recent years she has become heavily involved in
environmental issues, mainly on a voluntary basis, and is currently
chair of Winchester Action on Climate Change. She is about to
change career direction this summer and is leaving LCP to start an
MSc in Sustainability (Ecological Economics) at Leeds University
in September.
Gill Cowen has an update for us from Australia. She has married
her fiancé Tim who is a civil and mining engineer. They had a
fabulous day and are planning to honeymoon mid-year in the
Kimberleys (NW WA).
Noel Cross was promoted this year at LJMU to become
undergraduate Criminal Justice Leader. He is currently writing his
second book for Pearson Longman, due to be published in January
201. Noel and his wife Helen are expecting their first child in
September.
Christine Carey has a new job as the Customer and Insight
Manager at Emerald Publishing Ltd, which is a scholarly publisher
of Business, Management and Social Science research based in
Bingley. She married Jonathan Pickup in June.
Patrick Long still works for Lazard, the investment bank, where
he specialises in real estate. James Mendelsohn is still living in
Leeds and teaching Business Law at the University of Huddersfield.
On the baby front we have yet more updates for this year. Kate
Ledlie (née O’ Meara) had a son (William) last year. Felicity and
Adrian Bingham write that they are well and that their second
daughter Thea was born in August last year. Joanne Richmond
also had a second child in 2010 called Edward Samuel.
POSTMASTER | 2011
129
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 1996
We also have an update from Jonathan and Jane Legg. They
have two boys (Will and George) and Jane is taking a career break
to look after them. Jonathan is a partner at law firm Mishcon de
Reya, specialising in tax. They live in Cobham in ‘norf Surrey’.
Helen Wain (née Bray) married Nick in 2008. They have a son,
Toby (13 months) and a second baby due in December. They live
in Clifton-on-Teme, a tiny village just outside Worcester, and when
Helen is not on maternity leave, which she says doesn’t seem very
often at the moment, she is a Sergeant with West Mercia Police.
Tamzen Isacsson was promoted to Head of Broadcast Media at
the official media company for the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm.
I will be enjoying yet more extended Swedish parental leave soon
though, as Joachim and I are expecting our second child, a little
boy, in August.
1996
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: MARIA PRETZLER
Top Floor Flat, 23 The Grove, Uplands, Swansea, Wales, SA2 0QT
Email: m.pretzler@swansea.ac.uk
Lisa de Poerck (née Carter) and her husband Bruno had a baby
boy Theo Sebastien in July 2010. Lisa says that she is thoroughly
enjoying being at home with the little one, and she is already getting
him hooked on Greek myths!
Sam Kessler’s son Kit was born in August 2010.
Thomas Au and Miki Kato wrote from Hong Kong – some of
you might not know that they got married back in 2003. Thomas is
a judge of the High Court of Hong Kong and in summer 2011 Miki
finishes a degree in interior design.
Rufus Frowde got married to Polly Barclay in October 2010.
The wedding was at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace,
where he has been the organist for the last eight years. He also
reports that his playing and the back of his head also featured in the
2010 Queen’s Christmas message.
1997
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: CATHERINE SANGSTER
Email: catherine.sangster@gmail.com
130
POSTMASTER | 2011
1998
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: ALEX EDMANS
1919 Chestnut Street, Apt 1124, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
Tel: +1 215 893 1280 Email: aedmans@wharton.upenn.edu
Adrian Barnes and Zoe Barnes (neé Moore) have both moved
to Scotland (near Edinburgh). Adrian is still working as an
environmental consultant and Zoe is now working as renewable
energy consultant.
On 17th March, Mark Eminson and Elise received the gift of
twins, Beatrice and Joseph. He hopes that, in a year’s time when
his family moves, that the Church of England still has some decentsized vicarages!
Cristian Gazdac was appointed in the Romanian government
team of experts to evaluate and recover smuggled high-valued
artefacts. His 7-year old son Mark-Anthony played his first
official football game, for the U9 team of the club that represented
Romania in Champions League. In a friendly game he replaced
Cristian for the last 10
minutes of the game.
Ben Garner has
finally left squash for the
‘real world’ and is doing
strategic analysis for
Connections Academy,
a fast-growing online
education company.
Jonathan Home was
appointed as
Assistant Professor
of Quantum Optics and
Photonics at the
ETH Zürich. He
moved to Zurich with
his wife Yuki Iida in
August 2010.
Edwin Northover
married Kitty Hung
(Hertford 1998) in
Merton Chapel on 7th
EDWIN NORTHOVER AND HIS WIFE
August 2010 (see photo). KITTY IN FELLOWS GARDEN
NEWS | 1999
Many Mertonians who matriculated in 1997 and 1998 were
present; several playing
important roles in the service which they naturally undertook with
aplomb (including but not limited to Revd Mark Eminson (1998)
who gave a sermon liberally scattered with quotes from another
Merton alumnus, Mandell Creighton). Despite an inauspiciously
wet start to the day, the sun came out when it mattered and both
Merton and the bride looked glorious. Since then, Edwin and Kitty
have spent their time working and commuting between London
and Hong Kong and leaving a depressingly large carbon footprint
in their wake.
1999
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES: ANDREW TUSTIAN
30 Cottage Place, Apt#2, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
Email: andrewtustian@hotmail.com
and JOHN CORCORAN
57 Charles Street, Oxford OX4 3AU
Email: jpcorcoran@doctors.org.uk
The steady stream of 1999’s Mertonians walking down the aisle
continues as weddings once again feature heavily in this year’s
report. Greg Brown and Naomi Law married in Knowle in July
2010. Kieran Fenby-Hulse (née Hulse) entered into a civil
partnership with Guy, his partner of four years, on 29th April 2011.
The blessing of their union took place in the scenic surroundings
of Newmiller Dam in Wakefield. The City of Bradford Brass Band
played for their service and the evening consisted of a northern
buffet, raffle and a gender illusionist. Perhaps the day’s defining
moment was their first dance: The Conga. Why not include
everyone? At present Kieran works for Bradford University as a
Research and Knowledge Transfer Support Officer and Guy as a
store manager for Barnardos.
John Corcoran and Emily Jenkins (2004) celebrated their
wedding at Merton College and Lains Barn, Wantage on 30th April
2011; no guests were harmed during the day’s events that included
two separate drinks receptions and a high-tempo barn dance.
Vanessa Bloor and Chris Sherriff married on 21st May 2011.
Nick Seaman and Gemma Wilson were joined in matrimony on
11th June at St Luke’s Church, Grayshott before moving on to Cain
Manor for their reception, the “biggest ushers ever seen” ensuring
OLD MEMBERS
that events ran smoothly throughout. By the time Postmaster goes
to press Katherine Sharrocks and William (Liam) Kelly (2000)
should have joined these happy couples, having set their wedding
date for 25th June 2011 in Llanon and Aberaeron. Whilst not quite
married, Caroline Ovadia and Ross Worrall have taken the first step
by announcing their engagement this year.
All these weddings are now bearing fruit, with eight births to
announce. Susanna Kessler (née Ross) and her husband Sam
(1996) welcomed Christopher (Kit) into their family on 17th August
2010. Emma Dedman gave birth to her son, Benjamin Frederick,
on 29th August 2011. Patrick Tampkins and his wife Katie
celebrated the arrival of their second daughter, Lucy Diana, on 10th
January 2011. Rosalind Taylor-Hook (née Hook) gave birth to
Miranda Josephine on 5th February. Kate Garcia (née Marten) is
very much enjoying being a mummy to her son Carlos John. He was
born on 28th February 2011 weighing in at a healthy 9lb 4oz. This
year she also became a chartered tax advisor to complement her role
as a solicitor. In March, Helen Mallalieu and her husband Steve
Eldridge gave their son Oliver a sister, Charlotte Rose Eldridge.
Veronika Hrbata (née Cerna) and her husband Michal were
joined on 12th March 2011 by their daughter Julia Anna, who has
now reportedly taken control of most of the household planning.
Andrew Tustian has also entered parenthood. On 20th May 2011
his wife Elisa gave birth to a boy in the village of Sleepy Hollow,
New York (home of the Headless Horseman). Born late on a Friday,
Charles Michael was disappointed to learn that there was no Bop
on that night.
After 12 years of postgraduate training Lisa Wong finally
finished with her residency in June, and entered private practice
in comprehensive ophthalmology near Denver in Wheat Ridge,
Colorado. She would, perhaps unwisely, welcome any visiting
Mertonians.
Nathaniel Coleman continues with his philosophical studies
at the University of Michigan. His intellectual fervour has been
aroused by David Lammy’s comments in the Houses of Parliament
that Oxford University continues to struggle to recruit ‘British black
Caribbean’ students as undergraduates, not least as he is one of the
‘three students in the last decade’ who have been singled out as
recent alumni of Merton College. To this end, he feels compelled
to contribute to public debate on the matter and has written a paper,
Changing the white Oxbridge lightbulb, which is available on
request from natcole@umich.edu.
POSTMASTER | 2011
131
OLD MEMBERS
NEWS | 2002
2000
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: PETER COUSINS
14 Rydal Avenue, Frizinghall, Bradford, BD9 4LS
Email: peter.cousins@merton.oxon.net
After a few relatively quiet years, 2011 sees a bumper crop of
news, on the back of a Gaudy in March that 35 people from
our year group attended. Weddings abound, while the arrival of
children and career progression again feature prominently. Thanks
as always to all who contributed, and special thanks to Alex Perry
who tracked down some of this news for me.
Aurélien Berra’s French translation of Charles Darwin’s
Origin of Species was published by Slatkine and Champion in
2009. In the same year his first son, Ulysse, was born. (Perhaps
an inheritance from his father’s linguistic talents, he was heard
substituting “au revoir” for “bye bye” on his first visit to England.)
Aurélien continues to devote his scholarly attentions to Greek
philology and the digital humanities.
Lucy and Ben Brayford had their first child, Jonathan, on 1st
June 2010.
Mike Buckworth left Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
at the start of the year to set up his own law firm, Buckworth
Solicitors (www.buckworthsolicitors.co.uk) based in Mayfair.
The firm focuses on corporate and shareholder matters (including
intellectual property issues, compliance and transaction
structuring), mainly for small and medium enterprises – and
promises an Old Mertonian discount to anyone in need of legal
advice reading this!
Peter Cousins said adiós to Colombia in December 2010 and
headed straight to Bordeaux, in an attempt to patch up his (very
patchy) French.
Catherine Davison left for Livingstone, Zambia, in March for
a three-month medical elective.
A happy couple from our year group, Adam and Ros Gamsa
(née Gill) tied the knot in Winchester in April.
Rosemary Golding has succeeding in breaking into both
the academy and the property market, working for the Open
University within six miles of Carfax, on Boars Hill, and living
on the Abingdon Road.
Clare Harding (née Beach) is still living down under, in
Melbourne, and working in strategy at the Victorian health
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POSTMASTER | 2011
department. She and her husband Matthew have their first baby
due in September.
Malte Herwig produced a biography of the poet Peter Handke last
year (Master of Twilight – Meister der Dämmerung), successfully
selling around 10,000 copies.
Brad John-Davis has been on the move, returning from Peru
in 2008, where he worked in luxury tourism, setting off again for
Kenya 12 months later. However, the birth of his son Noah brought
him and his fiancée Kerry Arnold back to the UK in mid-2010; he
works in the travel technology industry.
Alex Perry plans to marry his fiancée, Rachael, in July 2011,
many years after meeting her doing charity work in Lourdes. He
has also been studying for an MBA at London Business School,
where he has finally achieved some academic respectability by
being named on the Dean’s List. His efforts will be rewarded in
August when he starts a new career in strategy consulting.
Although their son, Laurence, is expected to start school in the
autumn, Tom Skinner and his wife Chrissy will be kept busy with
their second child, Rosa Eleanor Skinner, born 9th August 2011.
Following their wedding in June 2008, another couple from 2000
Mark Tiner and Nadza Tokaca had a baby girl, Hana, on 31st
March this year.
At the time of writing, James Viles is preparing to get married to
Chio Verastegui, whom he met at INSEAD. They are due to tie the
knot in Mexico in June, although they call Sydney home.
2002
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: BEN ZURAWEL
4 Stonebow Avenue, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3UP
Email: ben.zurawel@merton.oxon.org
Since our last update, Daniel Lloyd married Alex (née Vinall). Daniel
reports that Alex (Wadham, 2002) is due to finish a DPhil in modern
German literature in Michaelmas 2011 and then to take up a post as
a college lecturer at St Edmund Hall. Daniel himself surely wins a
prize for the most complicated sounding employment history: having
been ordained to the diaconate of the Church of England in July
2010, on 6th June 2011 he was ordained to the Personal Ordinariate
of Our Lady of Walsingham, established by HH Benedict XVI for
Anglican clergy who wish to enter into full communion with the
Catholic Church. Daniel has returned to serve churches in Oxford
NEWS | 2003
after a brief sojourn in Milton Keynes, and hopes, ‘deo volente’ to be
ordained into the priesthood in 2012.
Frances Clemson became Frances Clemson Cload on 7th May
2011 in a ceremony at St Michael and All Angels, Exeter, where she
married Dominic Coad, who like her is completing a doctorate in
theology at the University of Exeter. Unfortunately, it’s not all good
news: Frances reports that by the time this goes to press, she will
have gone ‘over to the dark side’ as a research associate at a higher
education institution in the Fens.
Other recent marriages include Mel Orchard to David McCabe
(2001) in Salisbury on 23rd July 2011, and David Gillbe to fellow
Curlew Rowing Club committee member Elizabeth Wallen the
following weekend.
From marriages to births: Sam Carter and Angela were delighted,
on 1st March 2011, to announce the arrival of the 8lb 15oz Isaac
Samuel Cato Carter at the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath.
Thierry and Antonia Richards (née Farmer) welcomed 7.7lb
Isabella Aya Rochfort Richards into the world on 14th July 2011.
Witnessing a birth of a different kind, Naomi Pendle has spent
much of the last year working in education development in the
world’s newest country, South Sudan. Other far-flung Mertonians
from 2002 include Mark Brighouse, a solicitor in Dubai, and Oscar
Scafidi, a teacher in Angola, who continue their tradition of bonkers
holidays having recently taken a stroll along the Pamir highway
between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Considered one of the world’s
most dangerous roads, it was, by all accounts, a walk in the park
compared to Tajik Air.
In other news, Daniel and Rachel Rees (née King) report that they
have moved out to work in New York and are expecting to stay for a
year. Also in America have been Elena Piskounova, Carlos LastraAnadon and Krizia Li, who have all spent the last year completing
studies at Harvard: Elena a PhD (during the course of which she
became engaged to Stephen Curtis), Carlos at the Kennedy School
of Government, and Krizia at the Business School.
This year saw our first gaudy: a sizeable proportion of the year
enjoyed excellent food, a new Warden and a return to the dulcet tones
of Dave the Bar: almost without exception they also managed to stay
vertical for the entire evening. The coming year will be the tenth
anniversary of our meeting one another in Freshers’ week: doesn’t
time fly?
OLD MEMBERS
2003
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: NIK ALATORTSEV
Email: nikita.alatortsev@merton.oxon.org
2005
YEAR REPRESENTATIVE: KRISHNA OMKAR
Email: krishnaomkar@gmail.com
POSTMASTER | 2011
133
IN MEMORIAM
EMERITUS FELLOW
In Memoriam
Emeritus Fellow
Eric Arthur Newsholme was born in Liverpool, England on 19th
May 1935 and died in Torquay, South Devon on 17th March 2011.
He was brought up in the Liverpool suburb of West Derby and it
was during this period he started his lifelong devotion to Liverpool
Football Club. Eric moved south in 1955, to attend university
in Cambridge and later to start his professional research career
in Oxford.
He was appointed to a university lectureship at Merton College in
1973 and remained associated with the College until his retirement
from university life. Over 50 PhD students and a similar number of
postdoctoral scientists received research training in Eric’s lab which
was located in the Department of Biochemistry. Past members of
the Eric Newsholme laboratory now have their own labs in the UK,
Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Eric
published over 300 original research papers, numerous reviews and
book chapters: many biochemists will recall how textbooks written
by Eric (e.g. Regulation in Metabolism by EA Newsholme and
C Start (1973) and Biochemistry for the Medical Sciences by EA
Newsholme and AR Leech (1983) provided them with much of their
knowledge of intermediary metabolism and metabolic control. To
quote Professor Terence Kealey, vice-chancellor of the University
of Buckingham, UK: “It was his Regulation in Metabolism textbook
that so excited me that I gave up medicine for biochemistry. It was a
great book – masterful, creative and accessible. Everyone who read
it recognised it as a classic.”
However, it was not entirely one way: for example, Eric found it
very touching when a senior Oxford clinician told him that there was
not a day on the wards when he did not call to mind the biochemistry
that Eric had taught him as an undergraduate at Oxford. Eric
recently updated Biochemistry for the Medical Sciences to become
the textbook Functional Biochemistry in Health and Disease with
Tony Leech (2010) which was written to enlighten a new generation
of medical and health science students to the beauty and relevance of
biochemistry. Eric had the pleasure of presenting a copy of the latter
textbook to his granddaughter Sinead, who is currently studying
medicine in UCD Dublin, in May 2010.
Eric Newsholme read Natural Sciences at Magdalen College,
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POSTMASTER | 2011
University of Cambridge and, following his undergraduate degree,
completed a PhD in Biochemistry under the supervision of Sir
Philip Randle. Eric published his first full paper in the Biochemical
Journal in 1961 (on the regulation of glucose uptake by muscle) with
Philip Randle. This was the first of over 100 papers Eric published
in the Biochemical Journal, and about 20 of these have gone on to
be recognised as seminal papers by the research community. During
his PhD, Eric published four more papers on the metabolism of
fatty acids, ketone bodies, glucose and pyruvate by muscle, two
of which were published in Nature in 1962 and 1963 and two in
the Biochemical Journal in 1964. These papers expanded on the
data published by Randle, Garland, Hales and Newsholme in The
Lancet in 1963 (‘The glucose fatty-acid cycle: its role in insulin
sensitivity and the metabolic disturbances of diabetes mellitus’), and
each contributed to, and added substantial support for, the so-called
‘Randle hypothesis’ or ‘Randle cycle’, a regulatory mechanism still
hotly debated today, given its relevance to diet, obesity and Type 2
diabetes [1].
In Eric’s subsequent career as an independent scientist, he set out
to make major research contributions to at least three research areas:
mechanisms of metabolic regulation in muscle, metabolic adaptations
to exercise, and nutrient control of immune cell function. Perhaps
Eric’s key contribution was to bring to each of these topics a desire
to provide quantitative descriptions of complex metabolic pathways,
and to consider metabolic control in terms of the biochemistry and
physiology of the whole organism, not just the cell/tissue in which the
study was conducted. In many respects, this makes Eric Newsholme
a forefather of the re-emergent field of Systems Biology [1].
Eric perhaps made his most significant impact through
undergraduate teaching, textbooks, articles in sports magazines
and personal interest in the biochemistry of exercise. (He took up
marathon running in his mid-30s and successfully completed around
40 marathons, passing on his enthusiasm for this sport to his wife.)
As a consequence, he has contributed to a greater appreciation of
energy metabolism by scientist and sportsman alike. His final project,
uncompleted, was a major text on the scientific basis for outstanding
human physical performance in football.
In all his activities he was supported by his wife, Pauline, whom
he married in 1959. His wife, his son Philip and daughters Glenda
and Clare survive him.
Philip Newsholme and Lindy Castell
[1] Past times ‘Reflections of a metabolic biochemist: Eric Arthur Newsholme’ The Biochemist October 2006
HONORARY FELLOW
Honorary Fellow
Anatole Abragam, who passed away on 8th June 2011, was
widely regarded as a pioneer in his chosen field of nuclear magnetic
resonance.
Born in Russia in 1914, Abragam’s family emigrated to France
a decade later. He was educated at the Sorbonne between 1933
and 1936, before serving during the Second World War. After the
War he returned to Paris to continue his education at the École
Supérieure d’Electricité.
In 1947 he came to Oxford and obtained his PhD at Jesus
College. He returned to France to take up the position of Professor
of Nuclear Magnetism at the Collège de France, remaining there
until 1980. Working with the newly established Commissariat à
l’Energie Atomique, he founded a magnetic resonance laboratory
and, in 1965, became Director of Physics .
He was elected a member of the Académie des Sciences in 1973,
was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences in 1974 and made an Honorary Fellow at both
Merton and Magdalen Colleges, Oxford, in 1976.
His contributions to both nuclear magnetic resonance and the
electron paramagnetic resonance won him international awards,
notably the 13th Lorentz medal in 1982.
1936
Thomas (Frank) Brenchley passed away on 7th July 2011. A full
obituary will appear in the next Postmaster.
We were sad to learn from his son, Christopher, that James (Austin)
Heady had passed away in November 2004.
Dr Heady was born in 1917 in China, where his parents were
working as missionaries. He remained there until he was nine years
old, when he came to England to continue his education. He came
up to Merton in 1936 to read Mathematics where he achieved a
Second Class degree. He also represented the College at rugby.
On leaving Merton he served as a Commander in the Royal
Artillery and then the 8th Army. He also held the post of treasurer
with the Queen’s Royal Regiment, before being invalided out
in 1944.
He took up the position of Research Assistant at Lockheed
Hydraulic Brakes in 1945, but only remained there for a year.
IN MEMORIAM
During this time he married Alison Reynolds, with whom he would
have two sons and two daughters.
His career took a defining turn as he moved to St Bartholomew’s
Hospital, London, to work in the Department of Statistics. After
five years at St Bartholomew’s he continued his role as a Statistician
at the Social Medical Research Unit, where he continued to work
until 1975, becoming Assistant Director in 1963. His work at the
Unit was invaluable, undertaking major statistical studies in areas
such as infant mortality and cardiovascular disease, which saw him
working with the World Health Organisation.
In 1975 the Unit was closed and Dr Heady continued his
important work at the Royal Free School of Medicine, where he
was later appointed as a Visiting Fellow. He continued his close
working relationship with WHO, becoming a consultant with them
after his official retirement in 1982, and regularly travelled around
the world teaching and advising on statistics and research methods.
He was a prominent member of the Royal Statistical Society.
Elected as a Fellow in 1946, he was a member of Council between
1961 and 1970, and was an Honorary Secretary from 1964 to 1970.
He also played an equally important role at the Society for Social
Medicine, becoming Chairman in 1984 and an Honorary Member
a year later.
Michael John Ottaway passed away on 21st September 2010.
I really got to know Michael when I started to regularly attend
St Peter’s Wolvercote after leaving school in 1956. I then worked
closely with him in the parish and was one of his wardens when he
retired.
Michael was a Merton Scholar, trained at Cuddesdon theological
college and was ordained priest in 1942. Initially he served his curacy
in Kettering and then moved to Kibworth as his father’s curate when
Canon Ottaway’s sight was beginning to fail. In 1948 his father died
and was succeeded by Revd Paul Rebbeck, a former curate of his
and previously vicar of Wolvercote. The vacancy at Wolvercote
was in turn filled by Michael. Wolvercote, as with Kibworth, is a
Merton College living and at that time only Merton scholars could
be appointed. On retiring from Wolvercote in 1983 he came to live
in Seaforth and received a permission to officiate in this diocese.
Before referring to his parish ministry, I should mention his
ministry in other fields. He was very keen on the theatre and
he resurrected and was a leading light of St Peter’s Players in
Wolvercote.
POSTMASTER | 2011
135
IN MEMORIAM
1936
Michael and I acted on a number of occasions together. It was
through St Peter’s Players that Michael and Glenys met. They
married in 1956 and on his retirement said that he attributed 75%
of any success he may have had in Wolvercote to the contribution
of his wife.
It was through Michael inviting me to produce a short play for
the vicarage summer fete in 1959 with the children of the choir that
the North Oxford Youth Theatre was born and still thrives today. He
was very much part of developing the Wolvercote Boys Club from
an old farmhouse to brand new premises; it too still thrives. He was
a scout leader in Wolvercote for many years and countless young
people benefited from his leadership.
Like my father, he had a love of gardening. I recall my father and
Michael walking around our garden discussing the various plants
and flowers. And father saying to Michael, “I’m afraid I don’t come
to church very much but I feel near to God in my garden” and
Michael replying “Then I am sure this is where you should be.’’ He
also enjoyed wine-making and travelling.
He was a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Barbers –
one of the oldest of the City livery companies, which celebrated its
700th anniversary in 2008. His uncle, father and two brothers were
all Masters of the company and four nephews, a niece, cousin and
great-nephew are all liverymen and a further eight family members
(including Helen and Frances) are freemen. By any standard that
is an amazing family connection with a livery company. The
livery companies of the City of London contribute many millions
of pounds to charitable causes every year, which would have
particularly appealed to Michael.
When Michael retired and moved here, he became chairman of the
Seaford branch of Cruse and then undertook training and became
an active counsellor himself. He took up watercolour painting,
joined classes, took part in local exhibitions, and produced some
lovely images of this church. For many years his artwork featured
on their Christmas cards. Michael also had a good singing voice.
Having sung with the Bach Choir in Oxford, he and Glenys joined
the Seaford Choral Society of which he became chairman.
He was a very practical man. As well as being good with a saw,
a drill and a wallpaper brush, he occasionally exhibited other less
predictable talents. There was the time when Glenys tripped down
some steps and put her shoulder out. Michael grasped both her
shoulders firmly, did a nifty push and squeeze, and the shoulder
went back in.
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Both Helen and Frances say he was a non-judgemental father
– very accepting of them as individuals and committed to giving
them the freedom to choose their own paths. They always felt they
had his unconditional love and support. As Glenys says, “He was
always a good companion and my best friend.”
Michael was licensed to Wolvercote by Bishop Kirk in 1949, to a
large vicarage and huge garden. The bishop said that on a stipend of
£500 a year he might find it difficult to afford a gardener. In today’s
church, priests come and stay for a few years and then move on.
I doubt we will see again the likes of Michael serving his parish
diligently and faithfully with real commitment over 34 years. He
had all the values of a traditional English vicar, with no ambition
for moving up the ecclesiastical ladder of hierarchy.
But don’t let that for one moment imply that he had no ambition
or forward thinking. Michael was one of the first vicars in
Oxford to introduce Christian stewardship in 1959; he was at the
forefront of restoring the Eucharist as the central part of family
worship, building a central altar. He was supportive of women’s
ministry. Just after the first seven women were ordained in the
USA, one of them, Karen Sheldon, worshipped with us for two
years and Michael, with the bishop’s permission, got her involved
and asked her to preach. He introduced regular services for the
sick in Wolvercote and on retirement developed them here at
Blachington. He didn’t want to talk about miracles of healing,
preferring to suggest that the miracle for him was being able
to help people perhaps in small ways both spiritually as well
as physically.
Michael was a very good training priest and curates were regularly
sent to Wolvercote to serve their curacy. Through all this, his one
firm foundation was his pastoral work: his mission to strengthen
the links between the church and the local community, keeping
in touch with those on the fringe, regularly knocking on doors. In
1956 he organised a major mission with the Mirfield Fathers led by
Father Augustine Hoey over several days with processions through
the parish.
He admitted that some accused him of never being satisfied. He
was not complacent and always felt he could go further, and take
the church to the people. I recall one of our regular vicar/wardens
meetings over afternoon tea. Michael announced he was going
to retire. My fellow churchwarden said: “You can’t do that,
you’re not allowed to.” Well, of course, he did retire and we entered
an interregnum.
1938
We two wardens drew up the draft parish profile and we based
the section on ‘what qualities do we want our new vicar to have’
on the qualities we saw in Michael. We sent it to the bishop and
archdeacon for approval; the bishop sent us a message saying: “Are
the people of Wolvercote really wanting Jesus?” Yes, we laughed at
that, but life at St Peter’s was great fun with Michael, and we had a
growing church. On occasions we must have been quite a handful,
but it was the love we all had for him and the way he worked with
us pastorally that enabled us to enjoy ourselves and keep the faith.
I remember being on sidesperson duty at the Sunday Eucharist
when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, arrived; his
son was warden of St Edward’s just down Woodstock Road. I went
into the vestry and said to Michael: “The Archbishop of Canterbury
is in the congregation.” “Oh Peter, don’t be silly, you’ll tell me next
the queen is there.” Anyhow, after the service as people left the
church, Michael said to him: “Thank you for coming, Your Grace.
We hope to see you again here sometime.” To which the Archbishop
replied: “I doubt it.”
Michael, together with Bill Fosdike, then vicar of Summertown,
and the URC Minister, Donald Norwood, were instrumental in
forming the ecumenical parish of Wolvercote with Summertown.
Here was a faithful servant of Christ, a man of prayer, carrying out
and fulfilling the Lord’s work in Wolvercote and latterly here in
Blachington, with no fuss or great drama, and in whatever he did,
wherever he went, taking the church to the people.
When he retired, he said to me that he didn’t think he had
empowered the lay enough during his ministry. I assured him he
had. Proof of that was having built up and handed on a strong
church, which sustained itself during the interregnum and continued
to grow after he retired. A church now so busy that we are building
an extension and re-ordering the interior. At Harvest Festival, I
thought about Michael and how pleased he would have been to see
St Peter’s full and with lots of families and children.
Father Brian Cook told me that Michael’s death was the most
peaceful and tranquil he had witnessed. Michael was conscious
during the last rites and slipped peacefully away shortly after with
Glenys holding his hand. The two most important commandments
the Lord left us with are: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’
and ‘Go forth and make disciples’. These Michael carried out
to the full in a truly remarkable, long and faithful ministry. I owe
my lasting faith to Michael. There will be many others like me,
I am sure.
IN MEMORIAM
Equally, I am sure that as the Lord received him into his arms, at
peace and at rest, he would have said: “Thank you, Michael. You did
well, you did very well.”
Peter Bridges
1938
Frank Featherstone Bonsall was born in Crouch End, London on
31st March 1920 and died in Harrogate on 22nd February 2011.
He was the second of two sons of Wilfred Cook Bonsall and Sarah
(Frank) Bonsall, both formerly from North Yorkshire. Frank devoted
his life to mathematics, making numerous original contributions
to the field of functional analysis and supervising many graduate
students, some of whom went on to distinguished mathematical
careers in their own right (ten appear in the ‘Mathematics
Genealogy Project’). These students were fortunate in their choice
of supervisor: Frank insisted on ‘mathematical understanding’, and
he made the case for this in one of the few of his many publications
that are accessible to non-mathematicians (‘A down-to-earth view
of Mathematics’, American Mathematical Monthly, 89: 8-15, 1982).
Good mathematics, he insisted, required live mathematicians with
fresh ideas, not computers. That paper is not only imbued with good
sense but also with humour, and those who knew him will easily
recall his inimitable chuckle.
Frank’s colleague and friend PR Halmos, in his memoir I want
to be a mathematician: an automathography, recalled Frank
introducing him with the words: “Professor Halmos may look like
one mathematician, but in reality he is an equivalence class and
has worked in several fields, including algebraic logic and ergodic
theory; this afternoon his representative from Hilbert space will
speak to us”. Frank might almost have been introducing himself.
In his own, private, memoir, Frank traces his devotion to
mathematics back to his primary education at Fretherne House
Preparatory School in Welwyn Garden City, where the family had
moved in 1923. But it may have come earlier: his mother was an
early female graduate of Leeds University and a teacher, and his
father was a senior accountant in the City with an enormous facility
with numbers. Frank progressed to Bishops Stortford College
(1933-38), where he distinguished himself academically, and then
to Merton in 1938 to study mathematics. He was elected to an
Honorary Postmastership and a Commoner’s Exhibition at the end
of his first year. Among his teachers at Oxford were JHC Whitehead
POSTMASTER | 2011
137
IN MEMORIAM
1938
and EC Titchmarsh, and
it
was
the
latter’s
Theory of Functions that
accompanied Frank when
his academic career was
interrupted by a sixyear stint in the Royal
Engineers during WWII.
The last two years in the
RE were spent in India,
testing military equipment
and whence he emerged
in 1946 with the rank
of major, the battered
textbook and a publication
in the British Medical
FRANK BONSALL, ON HIS
Journal.
ELECTION TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY
After his return to
IN 1970
Oxford, Frank graduated
with first-class honours but, perhaps more importantly, it was there
and then that he met and married a fellow mathematician, Gillian
(Jill) Patrick, who became his lifelong companion in all things.
Together they travelled widely, not only for academic reasons (he
took up visiting faculty positions at Oklahoma A&M, Yale and the
Tata Institute in India) but also in search of altitude, for both were
keen mountaineers.
Frank climbed all the Munros, peaks in Scotland over 3,000 feet
high named for their identifier, Sir Hugh Munro, in the 19th century.
Dissatisfied with Munro’s intuitive approach to the identification
of peaks, Frank developed a more rigorous method, published in
the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1973 and 1974, that
almost perfectly mapped to Munro’s list, but had the satisfactory
result of excluding some that Frank regarded as mere bumps
while adding others that he thought were very fine mountains.
Frank’s revised method influenced subsequent revisions to the
definitive list.
Frank was a keen gardener; he and Jill developed impressive
gardens at their successive houses in Morpeth, Edinburgh and
Harrogate. Many of us were privileged to enjoy those gardens and
to partake in their sublime joint composition, the gooseberry pie,
with Frank on secateurs and Jill on rolling pin. Among Frank’s
many other interests were cricket (he was a staunch supporter of
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POSTMASTER | 2011
the Yorkshire team), fishing, for which he amassed a wonderful
collection of split-cane fly rods (from which his nephews were later
to benefit), and the building of very precise dry stone walls. Some
of the latter still stand in the Lake District after more than 70 years.
Jill survives Frank and continues to live in Harrogate.
With his career interrupted by war service, Frank skipped the
usual research apprenticeship and instead took up a temporary
lectureship at Edinburgh (1947-48). This was followed by a
lectureship at King’s College, Newcastle, where he later became
Professor (1959-65). He returned to occupy the new McLaurin
Chair of Mathematics at Edinburgh in 1965 and remained there
until his retirement in 1984, when he became Professor Emeritus.
He received the DSc from Oxford in 1964 and was elected to
the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1966) and the Royal Society
(1970). He was awarded the Senior Berwick Prize of the London
Mathematical Society in 1966 and he became an Honorary Visiting
Fellow at the University of Leeds in 1984 when he and Jill retired
to Harrogate. In 1990, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by
the University of York.
In addition to Jill, Frank is survived by his brother, Arthur
Bonsall, MA (Cantab), CBE, KCMG, former Director of GCHQ.
Robert W Bonsall and Peter W Bonsall
Alan Victor (Lennox) Mills passed away on 1st October, 2010.
He was born in Ottawa in 1918 and studied at Bishop’s University,
Montreal.
He came to Merton in 1938, as his father had in 1909 and his
brother was also to do in 1948. He was only at Merton for a year,
before the War brought an end to his studies, but during this time he
represented the College at both skiing and golf.
He was enlisted into the Black Watch of Canada, fighting in
Northern Europe, and was wounded whilst serving in Holland. He
returned to Montreal and studied for his BCL at McGill University.
In 1942 he married Elspeth Maclean.
On graduating from McGill he took up a position as Trust
Supervisor at the Royal Trust Company in Montreal. He performed
a number of roles at the company, rising to Corporate Secretary
before his retirement in 1979.
He was a keen family man and a keen golfer. He was for a time
captain at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
1939
Edward Ronald Weismiller passed away in Washington DC on
25th August, 2010.
He arrived at Merton as a Rhodes Scholar in 1938, having already
received a BA from Cornell University. World War II brought an
abrupt halt to his DPhil work at Merton and he was repatriated to
the US.
He earned his MA at Harvard University, where he also taught.
It was a period that further informed his already burgeoning talent
for poetry. It was when he met and married Frances Power, who
was also a promising poet, with whom he had two sons and three
daughters.
In 1943 he was recruited into counterespionage, much to the
astonishment of his friends and colleagues, and took a commission
in the US Marines. He was trained by MI5 and MI6 before being
sent into Europe, where he ultimately became responsible for
counterespionage in the American Zone of occupied Germany. He
was awarded a Bronze Star and the Medaille de la Reconnaissance
Française.
After the War he was invited to join the newly formed CIA but, in
the wake of some success with his first two volumes of poetry, The
Deer Come Down and The Faultless Shore, he chose to work on his
first novel, The Serpent Sleeping, a story of spy hunting set in the
landscape of World War II Europe.
In 1948 he returned to Merton to complete his DPhil. On returning
to the US in 1950, he took up a position at Pomona College in
California. There he taught English, with a particular emphasis on
the work of John Milton.
1968 saw him move to Washington DC. Initially he had planned
merely to undertake some research but stayed to teach English at
George Washington University. He remained Professor of English
until his retirement in 1980. His third volume of poetry The Branch
of Fire was published in 1979 and he was invited in that same year
to read some of his work at the Library of Congress.
After his retirement, Edward maintained his literary output,
contributing to the Princeton Encyclopaedia of Poetry, editing
the Variorum Milton series and, in 2002, publishing his fourth and
final collection of poems, Walking Toward the Sun. Its publication
formed a pleasing moment of symmetry as it was published as part
of the Yale Younger Poet series, the same series that had published
his first volume of works some 66 years earlier.
IN MEMORIAM
1939
Alan George Gale passed away on 11th July, 2011. He came up
to Merton in 1939 but, like many of his generation, had his studies
disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War.
In 1941 he was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in India
and Burma, where he served until 1946, becoming a Regimental
Sergeant Major. He returned to Merton to complete his studies and
gained a Second in History, followed by a DipEd in 1949. Whilst at
Merton he was awarded a Postmastership and was also Secretary of
the Mayflies.
His first position in a long and distinguished career in education
came at Bablake School, Coventry. He started as an Assistant Master
and became Head of History in 1961. He took up the same position at
Ilminster Grammar School in 1966 before becoming Head of Careers
at Holyrood School, in Chard, Somerset, in 1972. He remained there
until his retirement in 1980.
The Revd Prebendary John Graham (Gerard) Charles Irvine
passed away on 13th January, 2011. The eldest of five children, his
childhood was spent in England, India and Northern Ireland, thanks
to his father’s career in the armed forces. He did not, however, wish
to follow in his father’s footsteps and from a very early age knew he
wanted to be an Anglican priest.
He came up to Merton in 1939 to read Literae Humaniores,
achieving a Second. He followed this with a First in Theology.
As well as two degrees, he also found the time to act, including
an appearance in Peter Brook’s first film, A Sentimental Journey,
published a collection of poems and wrote for the Daily Telegraph.
He also made a number of strong lifelong friendships that included
the writer Iris Murdoch.
After a brief time at St Stephen’s House, his first curacy was at
Holy Trinity in Knowle between 1945 and 1948. He then moved to
St Mary and St Chad, Longton, in the Potteries, where he remained
for three years.
1951 saw him move to London, first to St Thomas, Regent Street,
then as London Diocesan Home Missioner in charge of Holy Angels,
Cranford. During his early years in London he spent much time in
the company of high church intellectuals including fellow Merton
alumnus, T S Eliot, John Betjeman and Rose Macaulay, who would
become one of his closest friends.
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IN MEMORIAM
1940
He was an extremely popular figure in London, evidenced by his
being mentioned in several biographies, including those of Princess
Andrew of Greece and Philip Larkin. He balanced his much admired
theological intellect with his interest in all things literary, writing for
the TLS and The Observer.
After Cranford came St Cuthbert and St Matthias in Kensington in
1961, and then St Matthew’s, near Westminster Abbey. In 1977, his
character was severely tested when St Matthew’s was destroyed in an
arson attack. However, rather than mourn the loss of the old building,
he threw himself into the rebuilding project that saw a magnificent
new church in the baroque style emerge from the former’s ashes.
Irvine’s final church was to be St Michael and All Angels in
Brighton, where he spent his final years with his sister Rosemary.
The Revd Canon John Cyril Sladden passed away on 13th March,
2011.
He came up to Merton in 1939 to read Chemistry. He put his
studies to great use during World War II, working as a Chemist
for the Ministry of Supply. When the war ended he spent a further
three years studying at Wycliffe Hall, where he achieved a First in
Theology, before he was ordained as a deacon in 1948. Also that year
he married Annie Jones.
In 1949 he was ordained as a priest and became the curate at
St Oswald, Oswestry. Three years later he became a Lecturer and
Chaplain at St Aidan’s College in Birkenhead. After that he became
Rector of Todwick and the Ordinands’ Secretary for the Sheffield
Diocese between 1953 and 1959.
In 1959 he became Vicar of St Oswald’s in Lower Peover,
Cheshire, where he remained for many years. In 1980 he was made
an Honorary Canon of Chester and became Rural Dean of Knutsford.
That year also saw the publication of his book Boniface of Devon,
Apostle of Germany.
1940
Wilfrid Edward King was born in 1921, second son of William
Wilfrid King, a gynaecologist in Sheffield. He was educated at
Stonyhurst and Merton.
In his first term at Oxford, aged 18, he volunteered for the
Manchester Regiment, where he led a machine gun platoon,
and served in Burma and India. He was awarded the Military
Cross for his role at Kohima in Burma. Despite the personal
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POSTMASTER | 2011
courage, leadership, determination and enthusiasm commended in
the MC citation, the war was traumatic for him and he almost never
spoke about it. He continued to have nightmares about the war (and
university Finals!) into old age.
After the war, Wilfrid returned to Merton to read Greats, and
played some rugby and rowed. His knowledge of Classics gained
at school and university stayed with him always, and heavily
influenced his outlook on life. His career was with a steel trading
company, Harlow and Jones. In the 1950s and early 1960s his
work took him to China, Russia, Africa and South America, and he
developed considerable expertise in finance and shipping law. He
kept fit cycling, walking and playing weekly squash well into his
50s, and used to sail with his children in Cornwall where he had a
holiday home.
Wilfrid had had a practical bent and loved to work with his
hands: growing vegetables, repairing anything broken, even
building a boundary wall 200 ft long and 6 ft high in his garden. He
was always interested in developments in technology, from bringing
back tiny radios from China in the 1950s, to acquiring the latest
camera. He emailed, used the internet and texted in his 80s.
An active retirement saw him developing his practical skills further,
studying furniture restoration and French polishing at the London
College of Furniture, passing City and Guilds examinations in 1982
and 1984, and running a small business in furniture restoration. He
also travelled, including visiting his children in New Zealand and
the USA. He took part in village life, and enjoyed walking both in
Buckinghamshire and Cornwall.
Wilfrid died on 3rd May 2011, just short of his 90th birthday. He
is survived by his wife Noreen whom he married in 1951, their four
children and seven grandchildren.
Rosanna King
Christopher Taylor passed away earlier this year. He read Literae
Humaniores at Merton, achieving a Second Class degree. He was a
keen sportsman, representing the College at squash and cricket, and
the University at Chess. He was also President of the JCR.
He started work at ICI in 1944, where he undertook a number of
commercial and managerial responsibilities. In 1967 he moved to
Nalfoc Ltd (which would later become Nalco), a subsidiary of ICI
where he eventually became Assistant General Manager before his
retirement in 1984. He was also Trustee of the company pension
scheme.
1941
In 1948 he married Margaret Chant. Together they had three sons
and one daughter.
1941
Christopher Crowder died on February 11th 2011 at Kingston,
aged 88. The third son of Bertram and Marion Crowder, he was
born in Weybridge; the Crowder family were a legal dynasty and his
mother’s Edinburgh family included farmers, artists and soldiers.
In 1951 he married Adele Jeffares, the sister of Derry Jeffares, his
friend at Oriel; their three children and five grandchildren all live
in Canada.
Chris went to a prep school near Amesbury and to Haileybury,
where he became Head of School and Captain of the First Fifteen.
He was selected to play rugby for Oxford, but after being badly
concussed he turned to hockey, which he later played for Aberdeen
University. He was a good cricketer, tennis and squash player, and
became a member of Vincent’s. He continued to play aggressive
squash until his fifties, and then gardened, sawed trees and cleared
snow for exercise until the week he died.
He won an open scholarship to Oxford in 1941, and went up to
Merton College on a deferred call-up programme which allowed
both academic and OTC work. In 1943 he was commissioned into
the 83rd Regiment of Field Artillery, following his father’s choice of
unit in WW1. The regiment of 25 pounders fought from Normandy
through to Belgium, Holland and Germany, suffering some losses;
Chris became Regimental Survey Officer, scouting ahead for gun
sites on a motor bike or a jeep and more than once encountering
Germans doing the same thing. Before demobilisation, he trained as
a pilot to work as an Air Observation Post. He returned to Merton,
receiving a First Class degree in History in 1947.
In overcrowded post-war Oxford, Chris lived for a time in Merton
with the family of Idris Deane Jones, who had been his tutor. He
also, like a character in a farce, lived behind a screen in Professor
Garrod’s dining-room; his rent was paid by walking Garrod’s dog,
Mud. Professor Garrod had great affection for John Heath, Terence
O’Brien, Christopher and Joe Dean, all close friends at Merton.
He wrote to John in 1945: “anyway I am too glad for words to
think that you and Terence and Eustace, and Christopher Crowder
have got safe through this western war; and I only hope that the
eastern one will be over before you get to it”. Sociability replaced
IN MEMORIAM
soldiering, as Christopher presided over the Merton JCR, played
hockey and tennis and joined Merton Floats. He played Julius
Caesar in a field marshal’s uniform, and Coward’s Private Lives in a
blue silk dressing gown, and danced to ‘In the Mood’.
Having been influenced by his regimental chaplain, an Anglican
monk, Christopher spent two terms at Wells Theological College
determining whether he wanted a clerical career. Opting for a
secular life, he returned to Merton, got a Harmsworth scholarship,
and worked on the ‘English Nation at the Council of Constance’
under the supervision of Professor E. Jacobs. Only this year his
DPhil thesis was described as ‘the best conciliar source in English’.
In 1950 Chris was appointed as a history lecturer in King’s
College in Aberdeen University, and in 1953 he joined the faculty of
The Queen’s University in Belfast as Lecturer in Palaeography and
Diplomatic. In 1966 he moved as a professor to Queen’s University,
Kingston, teaching, researching and administering there and in the
Herstmonceux Castle campus of Queen’s until and after retirement.
He published several books including Unity, Heresy and Reform
1378-1460: The Conciliar Response to the Great Schism and articles
in French, German and English historical journals. In collaboration
with the late Dr Edgar Graves of Hamilton College, at Clinton, New
York, he worked on English legal cases before the Rota in Rome,
and finished a complex article on a dispute between the dioceses of
Winchester and Canterbury in January.
Throughout his life, Christopher generously gave time and
resources to charity (he was described by a friend as being a true
Scot in his blend of great generosity and parsimony). He was a
regular prison visitor, served on several charitable boards such as
that on youth employment, and for several years chaired the board
of the John Howard Society in Kingston. He was also involved
in academic Christian organisations, in the work of his various
parishes, and in local activities such as designing a war memorial in
Amherstview last year.
Entertaining his friends gave Chris great enjoyment, particularly
at his house in the village of Ledenon in Languedoc and his farm
at Wilton in Ontario. His family and friends on two continents
are grateful for his good, kind, loving and tolerant life, for
his intelligence and wide knowledge, and for his occasionally
acerbic wit.
Adele Crowder
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141
IN MEMORIAM
1943
1943
Gerald Augustus Secrett passed away on 13th October, 2010. He
attended Merton as a Signals Cadet during the Second World War.
He was a Commander in the Royal Corps of Signals and served in
South East Asia and India.
He worked for many years in horticulture, becoming Director
of Horticulture at the NFU between 1973 and 1980. He also took
on a number of volunteer positions, helping those less fortunate
than himself.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, and his son, Nicholas.
1945
John (Jack) Richard Noel Phipps, who died on 6th August, 2010,
played a formidable role in supporting the accessibility of the arts
across the UK.
Born in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, he was initially
educated in South Africa and served briefly in the South African
army during the War. He came to Merton in 1945 and read History,
as well as representing the University at Hockey.
However, music was his passion and after brief stints at the
Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Associated Newspapers,
he found himself at Harold Holt Ltd in 1954. Under the wing of
Ian Hunter, he thrived at the artist management agency, working
closely with such eminent musicians as Daniel Barenboim and
Yehudi Menuhin. He also played a prominent role in helping
Hunter establish the Edinburgh and Bath festivals.
He moved on in 1965 to form his own agency with his wife Sue
looking after, amongst others, Benjamin Britten and Jessye Norman.
In 1970 he was approached to help restructure and revitalise the
Dramatic and Lyric Theatres Association national touring scheme.
This role became the Touring Director for the Arts Council and
later the Regional Director. During this period he was central to
the establishment of English National Opera North, the touring
programme of the Royal Shakespeare Company and moving the
Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet to become the Birmingham Royal
Ballet.
Arts Council Touring and its ever expanding regional department
thrived under Jack’s leadership. He briefly moved away from the
Arts Council to manage the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk, which
had been initiated by Britten. This was not a success, partly because
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the composer died in 1976, so Jack transferred his energies to
becoming Director of the Theatre Royal, Bath.
1986 saw a return to the Arts Council, where he remained until
his retirement in 1992. In the same year he was awarded the CBE.
Colin Stevens was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire,
in 1927 and subsequently attended the local grammar school, along
with his brother, Gerald, and Glyn Evans, a friend who lived close
by. Gerald, to whom Colin was very attached, was killed during the
World War II naval battle of Cape Matapan, an event which deeply
affected Colin. However, Glyn remained a lifelong friend who,
we are pleased to say, is with us today. Colin was a keen runner
and rock climber in his youth and, together with Glyn and other
school friends, greatly enjoyed climbing and walking holidays in
the Pennines and Lake District.
Colin’s father was Head of Maths at the grammar school and he
was naturally delighted when Colin gained a scholarship to read
Maths at Merton College. Because of the subject he had chosen he
was allowed to take up his place before the end of the war and he
subsequently graduated with a First Class degree.
By this time, the war was over but Colin was commissioned into
the Navy for his National Service and became an officer in the
Naval Meteorological Service.
Following his naval service, Colin joined ICI, near Bracknell, as
a statistician and during his years there struck up a fruitful working
relationship with Jeff Harrison, later Professor Jeff Harrison, which
culminated in the publication of some papers on a new technique
of processing sequences of data and predicting future values.
This Bayesian forecasting technique dealt with the tricky topic of
prediction in the face of many different types of uncertainty, and
a major stir was caused at the Royal Statistical Society in 1971
when the pair of them presented what famously became known as
the Harrison-Stevens algorithm to an audience of the nation’s best
statisticians. While he was at ICI, Colin also met Margaret and they
eventually married in 1970 and bought a house in Maidenhead.
By this time, Colin had left ICI in order to pursue a freelance
career to sell his statistical expertise. It is probably fair to say that
the task of being a salesman for his ideas did not come naturally
to Colin and this phase of his life was not an unqualified success.
In 1977 he joined Ferranti to work on mathematical problems in
Defence and he later moved to Marconi, in Watford, to work within
their underwater systems division.
1946
In 1989, a couple of years after his formal retirement, Colin
and Margaret, and their cat and dog, all moved to Tenerife, where
they found a climate that was kinder to Colin’s lungs, which had
been adversely affected by decades of chain-smoking. Colin and
Margaret had enormous concerns about whether the cat and dog
could survive the traumas of the journey to Tenerife, but when they
were finally released from their travel crates they just looked around
their new home and took up residence as if they had always been
there. Colin and Margaret were the two that felt rather traumatised.
In the early years of his retirement, Colin continued to do a little
freelance work in collaboration with John Moon, his former boss
at Ferranti. John and Julie Moon became comparatively frequent
visitors to Colin and Margaret in Tenerife.
After 16 years in Tenerife, Margaret unfortunately became ill
and died. By this time, Colin was not able to look after himself
and, despite the kind administrations of a large Canarian family
with whom he and Margaret had formed a close friendship, Colin
decided that his best course of action was to sell his house in
Tenerife and move to a care home in England. This is how he came
to spend the last five years of his life at Andover Nursing Home.
Colin became somewhat reclusive in his later years and
unfortunately lost contact with most of his former friends and
colleagues. However, he maintained his friendship with his former
neighbours in Maidenhead, with John and Julie, and with Glyn,
to whose house he was able to make several visits. In addition,
or maybe in compensation, Colin formed close attachments to
Adriana, a friend from Andover, and also to some of the care staff,
especially Anita, Alfie and Kerrie.
To the end he remained mentally very alert and one could not fail
to be impressed by his memory and his knowledge of 20th-century
history. In the last few years Colin’s eyesight became progressively
worse and he sought solace in listening to classical music. When he
chose to, Colin could be very witty company and it is for his wit and
intellect that he shall be remembered.
Julie Moon
1946
William Jasper Gilmer passed away on 21st January, 2011. He
was a US Army student at Merton during Hilary Term of 1946.
After returning to the US he continued his studies at both
Columbia University and the University of Tennessee. He spent
IN MEMORIAM
his career working as a psychologist, mainly working for social
service agencies assisting youth and rehabilitation programmes.
He retired on his 65th birthday and continued to help out
with the local Presbyterian Church. He was an avid gardener
and also enjoyed baking bread and making pies. Married for 55
years to Miriam, until her death in 2006, he was devoted to his
large family.
Between 1957 and 1959, as a young psychiatrist he toured 40 of
the states of America, visiting universities, mental hospitals, and
health bodies. He carried with him a film of his patients tearing
down the high prison fences that had surrounded the exercise
courts of the two hospitals of which he had been in charge since
1955. This provided graphic illustration of revolutionary changes
in mental health care, based partly on new drug treatments, but
in this case particularly on the concept of group therapy within a
supportive community. These changes created a moment in which
many who had been confined as a result of mental illness might
be offered greater freedom and the prospect of self-discovery and
rehabilitation within a humane society.
Bertram Maurice Mandelbrote was born in Cape Town on
22nd October 1923, and lived most of his early life in a house
called ‘Merton’, named for his father’s college. He was the only
son and eldest of three children of Harry Mandelbrote, lecturer in
and subsequently professor of history at the University of Cape
Town, and his wife, Ann (née Sachs). Mandelbrote flourished
academically at the South African College School, and developed
his lifelong love of sunshine, swimming, rugby and cricket. From
SACS, he moved in 1940 to the University of Cape Town, where
he qualified as a doctor and volunteered for the medical officers’
ambulance reserve. In 1946, he left South Africa, effectively for
good, in order to take up a place as a Rhodes Scholar at Merton.
There, he completed two years of research for an MSc in neurology
and biochemistry, working on the metabolism of copper, and
learned to live in barely heated rooms during the months of ice and
snow that marked the beginning of 1947.
Mandelbrote persuaded the Rhodes Trustees to allow him a
further year of funding to train as a hospital physician. He soon
decided that he wished to specialise as a psychiatrist. Initially
at the Maudsley, Mandelbrote moved through the ranks from
Junior to Senior Registrar. An interest in psychosomatic aspects
of ill-health led to a Dominion Provincial Research Fellowship at
POSTMASTER | 2011
143
IN MEMORIAM
1946
McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1952-53. Following his
return, Mandelbrote moved in 1954 to Warlingham Park Hospital
in Surrey, where he was assistant to TP Rees, one of the pioneers
of the relaxation of the restrictive management of mental illness
and advocate of community care. With Rees’s encouragement, he
applied at the age of 31 for the position of Physician Superintendant
of the twin mental hospitals at Horton Road and Coney Hill in
Gloucester.
Horton Road and Coney Hill were both former county asylums,
in which patients who had often been confined against their will
were held in segregated and locked wards. They had recently
been cited in the press as being among the five worst hospitals in
Britain. Mandelbrote’s response was active and immediate, driving
the conversion from closed-door to open-door hospitals within six
months, and carrying most of an initially hostile staff with him
through daily meetings. New outpatient clinics were developed
elsewhere in Gloucestershire and nurses trained to act as social
workers to support community psychiatric care. County officials
and local grandees were co-opted to serve on the hospitals’ league
of friends, helping to combat prejudice against patients and their
integration into the community. As a result, the number of patients
within the hospitals themselves fell rapidly, whereas day patients
and outpatient referrals grew. Other innovations included the
growing use of occupational therapy and the creation of a unit to
treat alcoholism.
Mandelbrote’s rapid success at Gloucester led to many invitations
to lecture at home and abroad, offers of academic jobs, and the
chance, in 1959, to return to Oxford as Physician Superintendant
of another former county asylum, Littlemore Hospital. Although
the situation at Littlemore was not quite so repressive, Mandelbrote
again presided over a rapid transition to an open-door community.
On the Phoenix Unit, which he established with Dr Ben Pomryn,
what Mandelbrote later called ‘a therapeutic community proper’
was developed, in which treatment focused on daily group
meetings, sometimes involving over 100 patients and staff, and on
the provision of continuity of care under a single consultant for
each patient.
To assist in the transition from hospital to community, Mandelbrote
worked closely with a league of friends to establish a system of
group homes and hostels. Patients from former locked units built
the hospital’s social club and others worked for the local authority,
the Post Office, and local employers interested in providing
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POSTMASTER | 2011
opportunities for occupational therapy. Mandelbrote served as a
clinical lecturer in psychiatry at Oxford University from 1961.
During the early 1970s, Mandelbrote responded to growing
evidence of mental health problems associated with drug use in
the Oxfordshire community by setting up a clinic to treat drug
addiction. With assistance from local charities, the Ley Community
was established as a separate, residential programme for the
drug-free rehabilitation of substance misusers in 1974. It was
honoured by a Centre for Social Justice Award in July 2010. Much
of Mandelbrote’s work during the 1970s and 1980s related to the
provision of an environment in which drug users, often with a past
history of criminal conviction, could overcome their addiction and
embark on creative lives.
Despite a serious car accident in December 1987, Mandelbrote
continued his work in the assessment of drug addiction and in
forensic psychiatry almost until his death. He remained active also
in the training of occupational therapists, advising the new School
of Health and Social Care at Oxford Brookes University and serving
as chair of the Casson Trust. He married Kathleen Joyce Howard
on 24th November 1949, and died one day after thier 61st wedding
anniversary, at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, on 25th November
2010. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Bertram Maurice Mandelbrote, FRCP, FRCPsych, pioneer in the
development of the therapeutic community and of social psychiatry.
Born 22nd October 1923, died 25th November 2010.
Scott Mandelbrote
Andrew Morris Moodie passed away on 13th July, 2011. He came
to Merton in 1946 to undertake a one-year Colonial Service Course,
having already gained a degree from St Andrews University. In that
short time he represented the College at tennis and rugby, and the
University at boxing.
Between St Andrews and Merton he served with the
Northumberland Fusiliers and the Durham Light Infantry.
After Merton, he worked for the Colonial Service in Nigeria until
1957. A successful career in industry followed, including positions
at the Birfield Group, GKN (which took over Birfield’s operations)
and Tunnel Cement. This successful phase of his career, spanning
1957-73, resulted in him being awarded an MBE.
He then took up the position of Bursar at Worcester College,
where he was made an Emeritus Fellow, until his retirement in 1983.
1947
1947
Professor Kenneth Stevens, a distinguished theoretical physicist
who spent most of his career at the University of Nottingham,
died on 16th July 2010 at the age of 87. He began his research
in magnetism at Oxford with a PhD thesis under the supervision
of Professor MHL Pryce and his subsequent postdoctoral position
was in Pryce’s Theoretical Physics Group. The thesis explained,
in a mathematical tour de force, how exchange interactions cause
‘motional’ narrowing of magnetic resonance lines. His landmark
paper dealing with a quantum mechanical formulation of the
magnetism of rare earth ions remains a heavily cited article nearly
60 years after its publication. The operators which he introduced to
understand the properties of these materials still bear his name, the
so-called ‘Stevens Operators’.
His work was highly influential in helping experimentalists to
understand paramagnetic resonance, and his joint papers with his
Oxford collaborators, Sir Roger Elliott and the late Professor Brebis
Bleaney, on this topic are still regularly cited by researchers. He
was co-author with Professor Sir Nevill Mott (Nobel Laureate in
Physics, 1977) of a paper on the band structure of transition metals
and, later in his career, made important contributions to the problem
of intermediate valence
and to understanding the
speed at which a quantum
particle tunnels through a
potential barrier.
Ken Stevens played a
leading
administrative
role at the University of
Nottingham, serving as
Dean of Science (196568) and Head of the
Department of Physics
(1975-78). Shortly after
coming to Nottingham
he helped to design
and commission a new
building
which
has
housed the Department of
Physics since 1964. Many
KENNETH STEVENS
of his PhD students and
IN MEMORIAM
postdoctoral assistants have gained senior academic appointments
in universities in the UK and abroad.
Kenneth William Harry Stevens was educated at Magdalen
College School and at Jesus and Merton Colleges, Oxford, with an
interruption for war service at the Admiralty on the development of
radar (1942-45). From 1949 to 1953, he held research fellowships
at Oxford and Harvard. He was appointed to a readership at
Nottingham in 1953 and promoted to a Professor of Theoretical
Physics in 1958. In recognition of his research on the theory
of magnetism, he was awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize of
the Institute of Physics in 1968. He was a member of the
Commission on Magnetism of the International Union of Physics
and Applied Physics from 1984 to 1987. Throughout the 1970s and
80s, he made regular visits to IBM’s research laboratory in up-state
New York.
He retired in 1987, when he became Emeritus Professor at
Nottingham. Ken excelled at tennis and was a keen hill walker
and musician. He is survived by his wife Audrey, their son, Richard
and daughter, Judith.
Laurence Eaves,
with the assistance of Professor Sir Roger Elliott
1948
Shortly before going to press we learned of the death of Ernst
Anselm Joachim Honigmann. A full obituary will appear in next
year’s Postmaster.
1949
Roger Noel Titheridge passed away on 10th November, 2010. He
came up to Merton in 1949 to read History, in which he achieved a
Second, and stayed on to also read Jurisprudence, again achieving
a Second. At Merton he was an Exhibitioner, as well as being
President of the Bodley Club.
There followed a long and notable career as a Silk at Gray’s Inn.
Initially he worked as a Barrister. In 1973, a year after becoming a
Recorder of the Crown Court, he was sworn in as a QC. In 1977 he
was made Head of Chambers at One Paper Buildings.
In 1984 he became a Deputy High Court Judge and a year later
was made Master of the Bench at Gray’s Inn. In 1989 he was
appointed as a Leader on the Western Circuit.
POSTMASTER | 2011
145
IN MEMORIAM
1950
He retired in 2003, after nearly 50 years at the Bar, having built
a reputation for being an exceptional barrister, as well as being
widely respected for his generosity and humanity. He spent much
of his retirement exploring the world on cruise holidays.
1950
Stephen Lake Gawith passed away on 12th March, 2011. Born in
South Africa, he came to Merton in 1950 to read Jurisprudence and
was a keen rower, representing the College on numerous occasions.
He was called to the Bar in 1954 and worked at Lincoln’s Inn
for four years. He returned to South Africa in 1958 to work as a
solicitor at the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court
of South Africa. He moved on to become a Partner at Deneys Reitz
law firm, where he worked until 1972.
He married Patricia Jacobs, with whom he had one son and two
daughters, in 1961 but they divorced in 1971. Stephen decided on
a change of pace the following year and began farming in Rosetta,
Natal. In 1982 he remarried, to Susan James.
It was with great sadness that we learned that Ian Ninian Marshall
had passed away.
He initially read Maths at Merton, achieving a First in his Maths
Mods, before switching to read PPE, where he gained a Second Class
degree in 1953. He was awarded a Postmastership, represented the
University at swimming and captained the University chess club.
In 1954 he attended Charing Cross Hospital Medical School,
leaving in 1959 as a Bachelor of Medicine. He worked extensively
as a psychiatrist, eventually settling at the Bowden House Clinic, a
private practice in Harrow, in 1972.
In 1977 he married Danah Zohar, with whom he had two sons
and a daughter, and with whom he also wrote a number of books
including Spiritual Capital, The Quantum Self and Who’s Afraid of
Schrodinger’s Cat?
Peter Roberts-Wray came to Merton in 1950, following a tradition
established by his father (1920) and his elder brother Chris (1949).
He read Law, but devoted much energy to rowing – this in the
heyday of Merton’s supremacy on the river. He rowed in the Merton
1st VIII in 1951 and 1952, and won a Trial Cap in 1951, narrowly
missing selection for the 1952 Boat Race.
After Merton he took a teaching post at Northcliffe School,
Bognor Regis. In 1962, the school was obliged to move from
146
POSTMASTER | 2011
Bognor Regis to a new location near Southampton, and Peter was
appointed Headmaster to relaunch the school. He started with just
17 pupils, but such were his drive and his gifts that when he retired
from Northcliffe in 1984 the school had more than 200 pupils. His
distinction as a headmaster was recognised by the Independent
Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) who elected him ViceChairman in 1977. He also served on IAPS Council between 1975
and 1977, and again from 1983-1984.
He had a passion for mountaineering and after his retirement it
surprised no one when he went to live in the Lake District. In 1993,
he returned to live on the Sussex coast – a stone’s throw from where
he started his distinguished teaching career.
He is survived by his wife Pam, a son, a daughter and five
grandchildren.
Brian Roberts-Wray (1956)
1951
Thomas (Tim) William Baker-Jones passed away on 17th
December, 2010. He was born in Quetta, in what is now Pakistan in
1933, whilst his father was serving in the Royal Artillery.
He came up to Merton in 1951 to read History and achieved a
Second. He was a member of the College’s Church Society and a
keen rugby player.
After graduating he spent three years’ National Service in the
Royal Navy. Most of his
time was spent in the Far
East and he rose to the
position of Acting SubLieutenant RNVR.
On returning to England in
1956, he took up a position at
British Petroleum. He began
working in distribution
before moving on to a
position in negotiation.
Unfortunately he was forced
to take early retirement due
to increasing difficulties
with deafness.
He did, however, find a TIM BAKER-JONES AT THE 2010
new position as Archivist for MERTON SOCIETY WEEKEND
1952
WH Smith in 1973. These fascinating archives, so carefully looked
after by Tim, can now be found at the University of Reading.
He returned to live in Oxford late in life and many will remember
him as a regular attendee at Gaudies and Merton Society weekends.
1952
Peter Michael Brown passed away on 10th January, 2011. He
read Literae Humaniores at Merton, coming up in 1952. He was
awarded a Postmastership and was also Craven Scholar.
He served his time in National Service, between 1956 and 1958
with the Intelligence Corps. After National Service he joined the
Humanity Department at Glasgow University. In 1960 he became
a Lecturer in Humanity and spent many years teaching at the
university, later becoming a Research Fellow.
He is survived by his wife Glenys, a son, a daughter and two
grandchildren.
1955
Edward (Reynolds) Price passed away on 20th January 2011. He
came up to Merton for a BLitt as a Rhodes Scholar, having already
gained his degree
from Duke University,
North Carolina. He
studied the works
of Milton, which he
would later teach, and
developed a formative
friendship with his
tutor WH Auden.
He returned to
Duke University as an
Instructor in English
Literature from 195862, becoming an
Assistant Professor
in 1963 and then an
Associate Professor
in 1968. When joining
the university he had
REYNOLDS PRICE
been advised that the
IN MEMORIAM
position was a fixed three-year term and that there was no question
of extension. Less than 20 years later he held the position of James
B Duke Professor of English.
He will be best remembered as a novelist and dramatist; one of
a ‘golden generation’ of American novelists that included Gore
Vidal and Truman Capote. His first novel A Long and Happy Life,
published in 1962, won the William Faulkner award for a notable
first novel and catapulted him to overnight fame. The novel was
printed in its entirety by Harper magazine. In all, he wrote 39
books, including the memoir Ardent Spirits, which covered his time
at Merton and his return to North Carolina.
His achievements were recognised with an induction into the
American Academy of Arts and Letters and his services to Duke
University with its highest honour, the University Medal for
Distinguished Meritorious Service, awarded in 1987. A professorship
in creative writing was established in his name in 2008.
In 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer of the spine. Undergoing
radiotherapy he was cured of the cancer, but the treatment damaged
his nervous system and left him paraplegic. He would recount
these events in a book entitled A Whole New Life: An Illness and a
Healing in 1994. His disability did not slow down his work; indeed,
he became more productive than ever, and in 1986 his novel Kate
Vaiden won the national Book Critics Circle prize for fiction.
1957
Iain Murray Grant passed away on 27th February, 2011. He came
up to Merton to read Mathematics in 1957 and also represented the
College at rugby and swimming. He married Margo Kingston in
1964, with whom he had one son.
1959
Shortly before going to press we learned of the death of
David Norman Miller. A full obituary will appear in next
year’s Postmaster.
1961
John Waterhouse, who died in Edinburgh in December from a
rare bone marrow dysfunction, was working full time as a leading
inspector of social services in Scotland and singing with the Royal
POSTMASTER | 2011
147
IN MEMORIAM
1963
Scottish National Orchestra
Chorus until seven weeks
before his death. John
was energetic, resourceful,
involved – and seemingly set
for a long, happy retirement.
John graduated in Modern
Languages from Merton
in 1964 and then took a
postgraduate qualification in
social work at the University
of Bristol. Following a
period as a probation officer
in Inner London, he moved to
Scotland in 1972 as a lecturer
in the then Department of
JOHN WATERHOUSE
Social Work at the University
of Edinburgh. His experience
provided him with the background to become a key member of the
Howard League campaigning for reform of custodial sentences in
Scotland. With his wife Lorraine, now Professor of Social Work at
the University of Edinburgh, they made a formidable team.
In 1984 John moved across to the Scottish Office with
responsibility for policy development in criminal justice social
work. As a civil servant he framed the first-ever national Scottish
standards for supervising offenders. Fortunately, his gift for English
made complex reports clear and elegant.
During the final part of his career, now with the Scottish
Government, he toured the country inspecting local authority social
services departments. His commitment to the Western Isles and his
desire to support rural services there became well known.
John was a fine modern linguist, who as an undergraduate
was said to ruffle his tutors with his spoken German. He happily
presented professional papers in German on either side of the North
Sea. He was also an accomplished pianist who at home enjoyed
playing Bach, Beethoven and the Blues. He sang baritone with the
Kinghorn Singers and the Edinburgh International Festival Chorus.
John’s illness took everyone by surprise, but the dignity and
courage with which he faced it did not. His funeral, in St Mary’s
Cathedral, was attended by more than 300 people – an indication of
the esteem in which he was held.
David Waterhouse
148
POSTMASTER | 2011
1963
We were sad to learn that Samuel (Desmond) Hunter Lapsley had
passed away a few years ago.
1967 – Apology
Postmaster wishes to apologise for reporting in last year’s In
Memoriam section that Professor John Thomson Macfarlane had
passed away.
We are extremely glad to be able to report that Professor
Macfarlane has been in contact with us and is alive and well.
Professor Macfarlane has provided updated news, which can be
read on page 112. We also wish to thank him for his good humour
in the face of our very serious error.
We are deeply sorry for any confusion and distress the article
may have caused to Professor Macfarlane, his family, friends
and colleagues.
1976
Anthony Robert Hall, who attended Merton between 1976 and
1977, sadly passed away in February of this year.
1980
Mark Philip Lawrence passed away suddenly on 21st August,
2010. He came to Merton in 1980 to read Chemistry and left with
a Second Class degree and later successfully read for a DPhil at
Oxford University. He was also awarded a cricketing Blue and
captained the University side, famously catching Gordon Greenidge
in a tour game against the West Indies that briefly left them 0 for 1.
Mark started out working for Linklaters, before moving on to
work as Investment Controller at venture capitalists 3i.
In 2006 he founded Carbon Limiting Technologies. The company
was formed to help support new clean technology ventures,
turning them into viable commercial businesses. Mark’s particular
acumen lay in the areas of fundraising, organisational design and
management team development. He was keen to educate businesses
and industry on the benefits of smart energy use and promoting the
innovators developing the products that could provide them.
Mark was also a passionate cricketer. He was a regular and very
popular first team player for his local club in Lindfield, Sussex, and
1983
as Chairman of the club sought to improve facilities, particularly
for young players.
A memorial match was played at Ardingley College in order to
raise funds for a science scholarship in his name at the school. It is
testament to Mark’s character that the famous Bunbury cricket team
turned out to play in the match and featured such modern cricketing
legends as Darren Gough and Phil Tufnell.
Mark is survived by his wife, Heather, who he married in Merton
Chapel, two sons and a daughter.
1983
Christopher Maynard Booth passed away on 7th August 2010. I
first met Chris in 1989, when I started work at the same research
labs as him. He avoided me at first, which seemed odd. It turned
out that he had a history of girlfriends called Gill/Gillian, and when
he heard that there was a new graduate called Gillian he hid in his
office for months when I was around! He turned out to be right to
fear that he’d finally met his match – though it was his secretary
who made the push to get us together. She would sidle up to me
and say “That Chris really fancies you”, then go to him and tell
him “That Gillian thinks you’re a bit of alright”. And to begin with,
it wasn’t even true! But we did get together, on May Day 1990 in
Oxford where I was studying for my doctorate. There was an IRA
CHRISTOPHER BOOTH
IN MEMORIAM
bomb scare and we had to walk around Oxford for hours before
the all clear was given and we were allowed back to my college,
Balliol. (We used to argue as to which was the older college – each
convinced that we were right.)
What initially attracted me was his intelligence, his sense of
humour (dreadful puns!), his kindness, inquisitiveness and (not
least) his excellent cooking.
In 1993 we got married in Upstate New York in the courthouse
at Fort Edward. We first had to convince the judge that we weren’t
wanting to emigrate to the USA! We chose the location to be close
to Christopher’s cousin and godmother. After his mother died she
was like a surrogate mother to him. My family and our close friends
came over to join us and it was a really happy day.
I want to tell you a bit about the Chris I knew. He has lots of
interests and threw himself into them wholeheartedly:
- Archery – he shot for the University and made close friends
for life.
- The guitar – he wanted to be able to play Bach’s lute suites on
the guitar, and kept going until he could.
- Sign language – he was fascinated with the fact that it was a
language in the same way as French and German, and went to
evening classes to learn it to understand better first-hand how a
spatial language works.
- Photography – when I first knew him he used to take dreadful
photos. I gave him a digital camera for his 40th birthday and
regretted it ever since! It became an all-consuming hobby. But it
did mean that he was always willing to go out for trips/away on
holiday – so long as he could bring a camera with him.
- Librivox – an online community who record books to put into
the public domain. Chris threw himself into the Love Letters of
Elisabeth and Robert Browning, and I think that maybe recording
Robert brought out his romantic side.
In September 2009, Chris was made redundant from his job. He
was as happy as I’ve ever seen him – full of plans for finding out
what he wanted to do with the next stage of his career. He decided
to use the redundancy money to support himself while he tried to
find a way to make his hobbies pay. In the meantime he happily
volunteered to be a ‘house husband’ and support me in my career.
But in August 2009 he had already started having trouble
swallowing. The doctors could find nothing wrong, and suggested it
was acid reflux. We had a last foreign holiday that October in Malta
POSTMASTER | 2011
149
IN MEMORIAM
1985
(an island which he loved and wanted eventually to retire to), but
his swallowing problems were becoming more and more severe.
He was finally diagnosed in December 2009 with inoperable
oesophageal cancer – just two days before Christmas.
Chris faced his diagnosis and prognosis with immense courage
and openness. This was partly his scientific mind – always wanting
to understand what was happening. He found the chemo very
difficult, but was determined “not to be miserable for the rest of his
life”. He kept on doing the things he enjoyed – the theatre, concerts,
visiting castles/stately homes, meeting friends for coffee, having
Saturday lunch at our favourite pub.
He had a good month in June 2010 when he was in partial
remission. We had a lovely and very happy holiday in Wales. But
things started to get worse in July, and in the end he went downhill
very rapidly. He died in August.
I will always remember Christopher as a thoroughly kind and
decent man.
He believed strongly in fairness and justice. He was open to new
experiences, and keen to share them with others. He was extremely
supportive of me. And we made a good team together.
Gillian Booth
1985
Richard Arthur Hall, who came up to Merton in 1985 to read
English, sadly passed away in August 2010.
1990
Shortly before going to press we learned of the death of
Timothy Paul Edwards Cole. A full obituary will appear in next
year’s Postmaster.
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POSTMASTER | 2011
HELEN BROUGH
College Staff
Adapted from the Address given by the Chaplain at the Memorial
Service for Helen Brough.
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing
shall be well.”
Those words of the great medieval mystic, Julian of Norwich,
meant so much to Helen, and I think it’s probably true to say that
they greatly influenced the way in which she tried to live her life.
That she could say these words in good times and in bad, to others
as well as to herself, is eloquent testimony to the strength of the
faith that sustained her. Helen was unfailingly generous, caring, and
compassionate; a mother, sister, wife, aunt and friend, whom we
were privileged to know. There is no doubt that we are all better
people for having known her, and that transformative experience
can be a source of encouragement as we discover how, in many
different ways, Helen lives on in us.
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing
shall be well.”
That Helen should have taken such a positive statement as a motto
for life was in no way an expression of a naïve optimism that was
disconnected from reality. Helen was firmly rooted in the reality
of family life while at home and she was also rooted in the reality
of life while at work; for 20 years as College Nurse at Merton, and
also for part of that time as nurse at Brasenose and Lincoln.
COLLEGE STAFF
At Merton, if a member of the community had a bereavement,
Helen would always send a card, on the front of which was the
image of the Virgin and Child, which can be seen in the centre of
the window above the altar in the Chapel. Helen often told me that
this was her favourite window in the Chapel, the image so elegant
and graceful. But to my mind, this 15th century depiction of a
mother and her son appealed to Helen not simply because of its
aesthetic beauty, but also because she found in it inspiration and
encouragement, a model of how to care for others. In the window
the mother cradles the child in her arms, and holds him close to
herself. In the warmth, humanity, skill and judgement which Helen
brought to her role, she was undoubtedly a mother, giving herself
unstintingly to the students who needed her help: knocking on their
doors and getting them out of bed to make sure they didn’t miss a
morning exam, visiting them in hospital, taking them into her own
home at times of particular stress and anxiety, providing cups of tea
and a confidential listening ear day in and day out.
Helen was very much the College Nurse and, although she spent
most of her time with students, she was also there for staff and
Fellows and, on one occasion, was even called upon to tend to a
tutor’s injured dog! But it wasn’t all tea and sympathy. Helen also
knew how to be firm, in a gentle and encouraging way, and was
happy to reprimand a student for not wearing a cycle helmet, or tell
a member of staff to give up smoking or encourage the Chaplain to
exercise more and eat less!
Back in the east window, the mother holds the child in such a
way that he is able to look out, and we can see his face. In whatever
way Helen tried to help people, her ultimate objective was to enable
them to fulfil their potential as human beings, men and women
of priceless value and worth, created in the image and likeness
of God.
Helen’s success in achieving this objective has been very
movingly expressed in one of the many tributes which the family
and College received, this one written by a recent Merton graduate:
“The best thing I can say about Helen is that for all my time at
Merton she was a wonderful friend. When I came to the college I
was unwell and unhappy, my first visit to her was because I was
not eating well and knew that things could easily go downhill. She
offered me wonderful warmth, sympathy and understanding as well
as every practical support she could think of… What was so special
about Helen was the way that she made sure I knew that it was I
who would overcome my barriers. She was always happy to help,
IN MEMORIAM
but also showed me that the things I needed were ones I already
possessed. She had a real healing gift… I feel privileged to have
known Helen and I doubt I would have done so well without her, at
Oxford or afterwards, but her skill as a healer was in helping me to
grow in myself… Healer, confidant, companion and friend, endless
source of aspirin, plasters and tea, someone to turn to, someone to
ask, someone who cared. I will miss her.”
May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant Helen
an eternal dwelling place in the kingdom of his Son, and as the
darkness of present grief slowly gives way to the dawning light of
future hope, may we find comfort in believing that, for Helen, all
shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall
be well.
Simon Jones, Chaplain
POSTMASTER | 2011
151
CALENDAR
Forthcoming Events
Further details of all forthcoming events are available from Helen Kingsley, Alumni Relations Manager, Development Office.
We add events to the schedule throughout the year and regularly update the Merton website with information as it becomes available.
www.merton.ox.ac.uk
2011
SEPTEMBER
16-18
Oxford University Alumni Weekend, Meeting Minds –
21st century challenges
23
Merton Golfing Society Autumn Meeting at Frilford
Heath Golf Club
24
Gaudy for the years 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961
OCTOBER
13
London Drinks Party at The Bunghole (Davy’s Wine
Bar), a short walk from Holborn Tube Station.
tbc
Meeting of the Merton in Manhattan Association
followed by drinks reception
NOVEMBER
18
Merton Society London Dinner at Middle Temple,
London. (Guest speaker, historian Michael Wood)
22
Merton Lawyers’ Association at Slaughter and May,
1 Bunhill Row
26-27
Advent Services
2012
MARCH
16
Merton Golfing Society Spring Meeting at Frilford
Heath Golf Club
17
Gaudy for the years up to and including 1956
tbc
Inter-Collegiate Golf Tournament, Prize-giving
and Dinner
31
Passiontide at Merton
APRIL
1
13-16
152
Passiontide at Merton
MC3 and Oxford University North American Reunion
in New York
POSTMASTER | 2011
MAY
13
14
tbc
26
JUNE
tbc
23-24
Merton Team at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
Town and Gown 10km Fun Run
Merton Society London Lecture,
Speaker Sir Martin Gilbert
Founders’ Society Meeting and lunch
Merton College Boat Club dinner
Merton in the City Association Meeting
Merton Floats
Merton Society Weekend
SEPTEMBER
14-16
Oxford University Alumni Weekend
21
Merton Golfing Society Autumn Meeting
at Frilford Heath Golf Club
22
Gaudy for the years 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981
tbc
Meeting of the Merton in Manhattan Association
followed by drinks reception
OCTOBER
tbc
London Drinks Party
20
Golden Jubilee Celebration Lunch for all Mertonians
who matriculated in 1962
NOVEMBER
tbc
Merton Society London Dinner
tbc
Merton Lawyers’ Association
DECEMBER
1-2
Advent Services