Page 57 - Headingtonian Magazine 2017

Linda Tilbury (Hillstow)
(6 July 1934 - 29 May 2016)
Linda, like her sister Clare, came to Headington on a scholarship from Barclays Bank, Dominion, Colonial & Overseas (now subsumed in Barclays Bank). The scholarships were set up
to support staff working abroad in climates, as in Africa, where it was supposed children could not flourish.
After school, Linda studied at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, and went on to a teaching career at primary and secondary levels, before moving to Bishop Grosseteste College of Education, Lincoln (now a university), as head of Drama. After her retirement, she became the first Visitor Officer for Lincoln Cathedral, a post she finally relinquished in 1994, though she continued as a guide there almost till her death.
This bald summary masks the wide variety of her interests and achievements, many of which can be traced back to the experiences of her school days. House drama and singing competitions, the general knowledge quiz at which she excelled, community spirit and loyalty to
one’s house, extra-curricular opportunities of concerts and theatre in Oxford, not to mention the stimulus of lessons. Perhaps the one aspect of school life she later abandoned was sports
– for she declared, as she bustled through life, that she did not care for exercise!
She worked for Forces Radio while teaching in Malta; she could turn her hand to teaching French, or playing the piano for school assemblies; she acted in and produced plays throughout her career; she sang in choirs and in a madrigal group; she trained ordinands
at Lincoln Theological College to project
their voices; she educated the Guides at the cathedral to deal in facts not myths; she became a Blue Badge guide for Lincolnshire and lectured widely on its history and buildings, and was a guide in several of its houses; latterly she lectured on the travels of the cathedral’s Magna Carta, which she had accompanied on its
visits to America and Canada; she instigated the conservation of and publication on the chapel decorated with murals by the Bloomsbury artist Duncan Grant – no small task, since
the cathedral was using the space for storing chairs; she involved herself in the setting up of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival which took music to remote sites in the county, often putting up musicians in her house; she served on area committees and panels concerned with the Arts and with gardens.
But perhaps most important of all, through this outgoing and productive life, Linda gathered and kept many friends. The celebrations of her life which took place in Lincoln in September 2016 were attended by people she had known or worked with right back to schooldays. The affection in which she was held was palpable. One friend described Linda as ‘that bundle of joy and enthusiasm and learning – the only person who could render a rainy afternoon in North Wales entirely enjoyable, and make one yearn for another’.
Elise Tompsett (Ferguson)
5/4/1934 - 19/6/2016. Aged 82
Elise attended Headington from the age of 11 untill after school certificate. She started as a day pupil until her father’s job moved them
to Birmingham at which time she became a
full boarder in Davenport House. She would reflect upon her time at Headington with mixed feelings, missing her parents but enjoying elements of school life. Her love of classical music stemmed from attending school concerts (which meant she could skip double Latin).
Following her school certificate exams, she was encouraged and supported by the School to follow a career in architecture, a bold move at the time for a woman in a very male dominated profession. She attended the Architectural Association in London for the next seven years, leaving as a qualified architect. After qualifying, she worked for the London County Council and
then for Richard Shepherd Architects where she designed the Oceanography Department at Southampton University.
In 1965, she married another architect, Hugh Tompsett, and in 1967 had her first daughter, Margaret, followed by Clare in 1969. She ran her own Architectural practice for 25 years, working closely with Kent County Council, adapting homes for the disabled. In the last few years, she created Tompsett Partnership with her husband Hugh.
In her retirement, she and Hugh loved to travel to the Middle East exploring archaeological sites, and went on several cruises to Northern Europe and the Arctic Circle. Her passion was always her family and her five grandchildren.
In 2011, Elise returned to Headington School with her husband, daughters and granddaughter for a reunion. She remarked that it was so
lovely for them all to see where she had spent her schooldays.
57
Illustration: Darcy Chapple