Page 48 - OM Newsletter - Issue 43 - 2020

OM OBITUARIES
as head of security at a casino in Freeport, Bahamas. He flew over alone first and left the rest of the family to follow. During his initial fact-finding forays, he identified several areas of concern in the casino, which upset some of the local staff, one of whom complained to the Prime Minster of the Bahamas, that John was a racist and was involved in overthrowing an African government. The PM appointed a senior officer from Special Branch to conduct an investigation into the allegation. The Detective was struggling to find any evidence of racism from John’s past, so he thought that by inviting him with his recently-arrived family to dinner, he would be able to find something out from his wife and children. Needless to say, he had not met the family, so you can imagine his surprise when they eventually arrived on his doorstep. After the Bahamas gained their independence, foreign nationals could get a work permit for a maximum of five years. Such was Joh’s reputation that his work permit was renewed until he was given permanent residency on retirement. And he managed to live there for 38 years without ever getting a suntan. John & Willetta finally left the Bahamas in 2008 and moved to Germany where his eldest daughter lived. Sadly after 52 years of marriage, his wife passed away in 2014. He was initially lost without her and it took time for him to move forward. He was helped in this by his family and the support that came from his many friends, especially those from his Malvern years. John was very committed and focused on whatever he did and throughout his life he retained his fundamental values and his faith. His belief became the basis of how he lived his life and touched those around him. John openly admits that he was not the most academic pupil at Malvern, but his persistence and determination saw him through. He was adamant that Malvern, of which he remained extremely fond, set him up for the future, especially in regard to his values, friendships and supportive network. He looked forward to the reunions, especially in his latter years. Died 24 March 2019, aged 84.
Polson Keith David (9.46-50) Head of House. School Prefect. After serving as a lieutenant in the Scots Guards and Parachute Regiments from 1950-1955, Keith emigrated to Canada where he worked for 30 years in the advertising agency business with J Walter Thompson and Maclaren, where he became Senior Vice President. He retired to the Ontario countryside with his wife, Rose. Died 17 June 2019, aged 87.
Read Derek Atkins (1.51-55) Managing Director, Kinswear Ltd, Nottingham. Director Wollaton Travel Services. Died 28 February 2019, aged 80.
Smith Graham Bartlett (8.46-50) House Prefect. Died 22 December 2019, aged 87.
Steele-Mortimer Nigel Robin (3.48-53) School Prefect. Head of House. After National Service in Malaya with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers - an association he displayed proudly all of his life - Nigel embarked on a Land Agency course
at the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester. Nigel married Ann in 1962 and they made their family home in Ireland; it was here that their four children were born. While
Ann was occupied with the little ones, Nigel was working in Dublin as a land agent; that is to say he was working as a land agent when he wasn’t wandering off to Lansdowne Road for as many internationals as he could pack in! Nigel immersed himself in politics and, indeed, was a council member for the Fine Gael Party. After settling in Wales in the early 1980s Nigel served for 30 years as a borough and county councillor, representing Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor. Nigel was a very public spirited man. A man of integrity, reliability and humility. A man, who you might say in modern lexicon, was a safe pair of hands. More often than not, his ready wit and engaging manner would win him friends not enemies. Quite a challenge as from Flint to Ffynongroew the electorate were not always that welcoming of a traditional Tory.
Nigel’s faced the conundrum of every country sportsman - how to square the circle of an innate love and respect of the quarry, with the thrill of the chase and the inevitable consequences. One way to salve our consciences is to eat what we shoot, so Nigel would sit for hours in the cellar or the log-shed plucking pheasants, listening to ‘The Archers’. A great observer of nature, he loved that time of day when the colour fades from the landscape. If you were out and about at this magical time, you might see an old dog fox sneaking along a ride in the Stoney wood, or a team of teal suddenly arrive on the pool in the pump house plantation. You might even catch a glimpse of a man and his spaniel as they made their way back home.
Above all Nigel was a family man. I can think of no finer accolade. His family adored him and he adored his family - and he loved his dogs only marginally less. He was immensely proud of all of his children and their accomplishments in life. Nigel was the most resilient and impermeable of men. No matter what the elements or indeed mother nature herself, threw at him, he just carried on regardless. Whatever the predicament, whatever the challenge, he confronted them all with the same methodical stoicism. And so it was from the day of his diagnosis until the very end, armed with this heady mixture of fortitude, optimism and faith he ploughed on doing the things he loved doing, and only three weeks ago he was to be seen casting a line for a fat trout. His is a hard act to follow, the example he has set us is priceless. Died 3 November 2019, aged 84.
Thomson Richard Ian (8.46-51). House Prefect. After Malvern, Richard joined the Army, serving for six years as an officer in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, which he loved, having boxed for Sandhurst as the Welterweight Champion and representing the academy in the British Modern Pentathlon Championships. He resigned his commission to enter the ministry of the Church of England; a decision he always said had been one of his hardest, but one that he never regretted, enjoying three years at Oak Hill Theological College before entering his first curacy. Richard served in Hull, Croydon, and Shoreditch, ‘the gateway to the East End of London’, where he met and married his wife, Ann, and where his two sons were born. Not long after he moved to Vevey in Switzerland, and then spent 20 years in Reigate, before retiring to the New Forest where he sat in the pews, most of the time, and enjoyed the community of St Andrew’s and Dibden Purlieu. In the 1960s he was instrumental in setting up a mission in Hong Kong working with gang members and drug addicts in what was then the no-go area of the Walled City. The mission, St Stephen’s Society, is still active in Hong Kong today, with critical work in several other Asian countries for people battling addiction. Richard always encouraged his two sons to be more human, gracious, forgiving, loving and courageous. When diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease he wrote a piece about perhaps not being healed but still being whole. And he lived his life that way even though he became less and less mobile, less and less able to communicate clearly. He passed away peacefully in his sleep with his eldest son by his side. Died 15 March, aged 86.
48 | Old Malvernian Newsletter