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lifelong interests in skiing and sailing. His crossing of the Atlantic from Salvador de Bahia in Brazil to Durban in South Africa with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was one of his many achievements, as he always wanted to sail across one of the world's greatest oceans.
“Tony will be very much missed, not least for his wonderfully infectious enthusiasm for anything he was involved with.”
Martin Edmonds (Sc) died 8th December 2018.
The following obituary appeared in The Telegraph:
Martin Hugh Anthony Edmonds was born in Nottingham, where his parents were both lawyers, on 18th May 1939. He won a scholarship to Oundle, where, after poor A-level results, he was offered a place at Sandhurst. When this was withdrawn in the 1957 defence cuts, he was offered managerial training by the packaging company, Metal Box, which secured him a place at the University College of North Staffordshire. He read International Relations and National Security Studies, and, as President of the Students’ Union, led the dancing at the Summer Ball with the Chancellor, Princess Margaret.
After graduation in 1962, Edmonds studied for a Master’s at Manchester University, before moving four years later to bolster a new Politics department at Lancaster. He lectured in Strategic Studies there and was awarded a PhD in Civil Military Relations in 1973.
His appointment to Lancaster brought him into contact with the Ministry of Defence as a lecturer, then as a Reader in Defence and
Political Studies and finally as an Honorary Professorial Fellow. Edmonds also established a course in Defence Analysis, which attracted students from around the world, and he was the Founding Editor of the journal, Defence Analysis.
His many books include Armed Services and Society (1988) and, as co-author, Future NATO Security (2004) and Taiwanese Defense Reform (2006). Among several consultancies, the last was as Senior Academic Adviser to the Rector of the University of Kurdistan Hewler (2008-10).
Edmonds took great interest in the pastoral care of his students and campaigned on behalf of his former pupil, Carole Maychell, a Captain in the Territorial Army’s Intelligence Corps, who was wrongly accused in 1992 of being a traitor and held in solitary confinement for four months. All charges against her were dropped and she was paid compensation.
In his youth, inspired by his Headmaster, Scottish international Ken Jackson, Edmonds had been a fierce rugby fly-half and an enthusiastic athlete, swimmer and diver. At squash, he was rarely beaten, even by his much younger students. In later life, he kept his yacht, Kirenza, in the Western Isles.
He married Eve Rodwell in 1963. She survives him with a son and a daughter. Another son died in infancy.
Jim Willetts (Sn) died 17th July 2018.
Dick Orchard (Sn 58) writes: “Born into a well-known West Midlands family, Jim and his two sisters lived in Quinton, and then moved near Kidderminster. He attended West
House Prep School in Birmingham, before moving on to Oundle at 13. His family business was part of Tube Investments, where he broke into industry after leaving Oundle.
“Jim had many interests outside the classroom, including sport. He was a fine shot, a formidable tennis player and an excellent rider, later winning many point-to-points. At Oundle, he was a member of School rowing, shooting and rugby teams. He became Head of Sanderson House in spring 1957 for two terms.
“On leaving Oundle, Jim indulged his love of the sea by owning a large yacht on which he and his friends enjoyed visiting many seafaring locations around our coast, Europe and further afield. At that time, he ran his own business, Tube Manipulations, very successfully. After his illness he was forced to sell his business on doctor’s orders and seek a warmer climate.
“With his experience of industry, he joined the Old Oundelian Committee to help and advise pupils who might be interested in industrial possibilities after leaving Oundle. Throughout his life he remained an ardent supporter of the School and everything it stood for.
“Jim and his first wife, Vicky, had two daughters, Jacqueline and Michelle. He made his base in England with daughter 'Jacko' and her family, but when he moved to California after suffering a heart attack, he met and married Yoko, a Japanese Steiner class teacher."
1958
E.A. Worswick (Sn)
died 23rd February 2019.
1959
K.J. Birkinshaw (S)
died 14th February 2019.
P.M. Dormor (G)
died 19th August 2018.
1960
E.J. Haslam (St A)
died 19th December 2017.
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OBITUARIES
THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2018 –2019
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