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Staff obituaries
John Brown
John taught French at Oundle during the 1970s and 80s. He was in charge of cross- country running and
was a strong runner himself. He was a Tutor in Laxton (now Fisher) House and was renowned for his kindness and ghost stories. He was also a very distinguished astronomer and was a leading authority on the planet Mars. He died on 8th October 2017.
Peter Hopkins
Peter, who taught History at the School from 1973 until 1979, died on 31st December aged 67.
He joined the History department directly from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he was a scholar. His lively yet academically rigorous teaching was appreciated at all levels of the School. He served as a non-resident Tutor in Dryden and was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic rugby coach, the influence of his upbringing in the heart of the Rhondda Valley being never far below the surface.
He went on to enjoy a successful career in the state sector, culminating in the Headship of Springwood School, King's Lynn.
His memorial service was attended by around 400 family, friends and former colleagues, including a group from Oundle School.
Chris Jones
Chris joined the Oundle School teaching staff in September 1966, directly from
Cambridge, to teach Mathematics and act as a non-resident Tutor in Laxton House (now Fisher).
He established himself quickly as an effective and popular communicator both inside and outside the classroom.
During the turbulent times of the late 1960s and early 1970s, with teenage rebellion much in vogue, he was one of a handful of younger members of staff who maintained cordial relations with senior pupils by being prepared to discuss their grievances sympathetically without losing their respect. Maybe his oft-expressed sympathy with the Labour Party also aroused their curiosity. One aspect of this was his organisation of Roc-Soc, when his greatest coup was luring Genesis, then at the height of their fame, to perform at the School. He did this as part of his role as the organiser of the School's weekend activities and the publication of the weekly What's On displayed in the boarding Houses.
He left Oundle in 1973, having been appointed to a Housemastership at Denstone College. From 1977 until his retirement he was Head of Computing and teacher of Maths at Eton.
In retirement he lived in Polebrook, where he and his wife, Angela, were active and respected members of the local community. One of their grandsons is currently a pupil in Laxton. Alan Midgley
Marc van Hasselt
Marc, born in 1924, was the son of an immigrant Dutch telephone engineer and grew up in Sevenoaks
in Kent.
He was sent to school at Sherborne
and then after the War was accepted by Selwyn College, Cambridge, to read History.
Before attending Cambridge, Marc volunteered for the Army in 1942 and was commissioned as a Troop Leader into the Essex Yeomanry in February 1944. The Essex Yeomanry provided artillery support fire for the D-Day landings at Gold Beach on 6th June 1944. His regiment fought at the fierce battle of St Pierre (9th-11th June 1944), then the furthest point of the Allied advance. At this battle and for the
rest of the campaign Marc acted as a Forward Observation Officer, helping direct fire in support of the three armoured regiments of 8th Armoured Brigade and later the infantry arm, the KRRC. Marc was part of an advance party in amphibious DD tanks for the Rhine Crossing. He was mentioned in despatches for his war service and later received the Légion d’Honneur.
After Selwyn and a year at Corpus Christi, Oxford, studying for a Dip Ed, Marc was appointed as a lecturer (later a senior lecturer) in the Modern Studies department at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He also ran the sailing at Sandhurst, skippering a 100-metre sailing boat, purloined from the Kriegsmarine, which required considerable nautical skills sailing off the treacherous Brittany coast, as it had no engine!
Marc’s real love was being a schoolmaster and, aged 35, he was recruited by Dick Knight to teach History at Oundle, be a House Tutor of Grafton under George Huse and develop the School sailing. Marc’s children were educated at the nursery school set up by Hilary Knight in the basement of Cobthorne and the family enjoyed an idyllic existence at Oundle. Marc taught English for O level and A-level History. His philosophy of teaching was that it was better to teach a little and ensure it was properly understood.
In 1963 Marc took over from H.J. Matthews as Housemaster of Sanderson. He was wonderfully supported by his then wife, Geraldine, who ran the House catering very ably and later acted as House matron.
In 1970 he was appointed Headmaster of Cranleigh School in Surrey and remained there until 1984.
Marc’s teaching was marked by a deep humanity and humility – with a natural default to give boys a second chance – as he felt he had been given many second chances himself. His views were rooted in a lifelong Christian faith. Kelvin van Hasselt
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THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2017 –2018
OBITUARIES