Page 138 - OO_2019

www Christopher Pocock (Sc) died 2nd May 2019.
Brian Trent (Sc 58) writes: “Christopher arrived at Oundle in 1955, two years after his brother, Michael. The boys had lost their father some years before in an aircraft accident in South Africa, so not an easy time to turn up at a boarding school. In the 1950s sympathy was at best robust. However, like most boys of that age, Christopher threw himself into the activities of the School with enormous enthusiasm. In later years, he always expressed his fondness for his years at School House. Christopher was somebody who made friends easily, but, more importantly, he kept his friends and went out of his way to remain in touch with many of them throughout his life.
“A few years after leaving Oundle, his life took on a more entrepreneurial flavour. He acquired a business owned by a vicar who wished to return to the cloth. The business, a small shop in Belgravia, sold fabrics and offered dry cleaning services. Very quickly, driven by Chris’s enthusiasm and the help of his wife, Caroline, it became an interior design and building refurbishment enterprise. Christopher was enormously good at getting on with everybody, from potential customers to skilled workmen. The business prospered for the next 40 years, until he retired.
“Christopher kept up with his OO friends, enjoying lunches, playing golf, skiing and, since the late 1990s, spending time at his small house in the old part of Antibes, where he kept a modest boat, which was moored in the main marina.
“Throughout his life Christopher attracted unusual events. One story concerns a phone call just after the Elizabeth Street business had been acquired, asking for somebody to come round to a house next door to The Plumbers Arms to remove a dark stain on the doorstep. Christopher, anxious to build his business, immediately responded, acquired a bucket and mop, and worked hard on the doorstep, restoring it to its normal condition. That evening the police wished to question him concerning the removal of key evidence. The doorstep was at the entrance to Lord Lucan’s house, but whose blood stain it was will never be known.
“Christopher leaves a widow, Caroline, a son (Charles, who has a gallery in Dubai) and a daughter (Milly, who runs a small hotel in Sussex).”
1961
Peter Pugh (G)
died 25th February 2019.
Anthony King (G 60) writes: “It was not until my penultimate year at Oundle that I really got to know Peter well. Although we were in the same House, I was a year ahead of him and our paths only really crossed on the sports fields. Academically, he was in the A stream, specialising in History and Modern Languages, whereas I was in the less academic general stream.
“It was sport which brought us together. Grafton in the 50s had a habit of winning the Inter-House Cricket Cup. Our Housemaster was in charge of School rowing and in a
perverse way this seemed to spur the cricketers in the House to continual winning ways!
“Peter stood out in his year, not only because of his shock of red hair, but also because he had presence and attitude. He did not suffer fools gladly and was not slow to say so. He was fiercely competitive and could be very stubborn. On the flip side, he was a person of great charm, generosity and intense loyalty to those he counted amongst his close friends.
“In his final year at a School dance he met Felicity and was smitten. He has since said to me, many times, that this was the best thing that ever happened to him. They married in 1965 and had three sons – Warwick, Alex (B 89) and Oliver (B 93) – who, in turn, have produced seven grandchildren.
“From Oundle, Peter went on to Churchill College, Cambridge, where he read History. He worked for Gillette and other businesses, before venturing into the toy trade, where he started his own company. The fickleness of the toy trade caused Peter to change course and he started writing company histories and subsequently formed his own publishing company, Icon Books, in 1992. He wrote more than 40 books on business and history, which included Is Guinness Good for You? – a guide to the Guinness scandal – and The Magic of a Name: The Rolls Royce Story in three volumes.
“Peter died peacefully surrounded by his family. He was 76. He will be greatly missed by his family, business colleagues and many friends who bade him farewell at a packed memorial service in Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge.”
1962
D.I Marsh (LS)
died 25th November 2018.
1963
J.I. McLachlan (Lx)
died 11th December 2018.
David Young (Lx)
died 19th January 2019.
OBITUARIES
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THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2018 –2019