In Memoriam

Martyn John Gregory was born in 1955 and joined Sevenoaks School in 1966. By the time he left school, a flame had been lit which subsequently drove him towards a highly successful career as a broadcaster and investigative journalist. Indeed, it was partly because of the awakening he received during a year in the International Centre that he discovered a passion for politics and current affairs; the charismatic Irish teacher Casey McCann opened Martyn’s eyes to the excitement of debate and, along with the experience of living with students from all over the world, Martyn moved on to university with a fresh perspective and significant ambition.

He studied Politics at Loughborough, where he became President of the Student Union, then a PhD at Leicester, before joining the BBC as a trainee producer. He was soon producing films, which became increasingly investigative. Echoing Casey, he was unafraid of defying authority and relished confrontation. In  1995, he wrote, directed and produced The Torture Trail for Channel 4’s Dispatches, which won the National Television Society’s Best Documentary Award. However, Michael Heseltine claimed that Martyn had fabricated evidence which implicated the government. In taking the UK government to the High Court and successfully suing for libel, at no small risk to himself, Martyn became the first journalist ever to do so. A full apology, plus substantial damages, resulted.

Martyn wrote a bestselling book, Dirty Tricks, which revealed the extraordinary measures that British Airways employed in attempting to put the fledgling Virgin Atlantic out of business. Richard Branson later told Martyn his company would have gone under without Martyn’s work in exposing corporate skulduggery, and the British Airways Chairman, Lord King, was forced to angrily resign. A TV series based on Martyn’s book is nearing production, under the title Hot Air, which should be streamed next year. Martyn’s other bestselling book was Diana: The Last Days, which countered the conspiracy theories about Princess Diana’s death and earned him the title of ‘the world’s leading authority on the crash’ from many media outlets. He was in demand for many years from countless newspapers and TV channels and became a persistent thorn in Mohamed Al Fayed’s side. Martyn’s work was endorsed in its entirety by the eventual inquest.

Away from work,  Martyn had many passions, including Manchester United and The Beatles, whom he had met in Knole Park, but most notably cricket. He played for five years in the school 1st XI which included future England players Chris Tavaré and Paul Downton, and subsequently in club cricket for The Vine and Holmesdale. Martyn was diagnosed with MS in 1997 and his career was cut short as his illness developed. He will be remembered by many for journalism that was principled, daring and fearless in his pursuit of justice.

Image credit: PA Images/Alamy stock photo

Nigel Hugh George Henson was born in 1951. Apart from golf, Nigel’s interests included writing, music and the countryside. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he used his writing  skills in his career in corporate and marketing communications. Nigel represented clients including Unilever, Nationwide, Toyota, the London Docklands Development Corporation, the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland and the European Union, working in London, Sydney and Brussels in senior consultancy roles.

Later, he pursued his love of the countryside and its traditional way of life, campaigning for the Countryside Alliance. Music remained Nigel’s private passion, playing the piano every day and  always discovering new styles of music; he loved everything from Bach to the Beach Boys to Jacob Collier. Nigel was also an enthusiastic supporter of the OS Golf Society.

Peter Hirschmann and I were the two scholarship boys starting in School House in September 1951. School House was also Headmaster, ‘Jimmy’ Higgs-Walker’s, house. It was rather unfairly favoured over its boarding rival, Johnsons, despite the gallant efforts of Johnsons’ housemaster, ‘Ernie’ Groves. Athens to Sparta! And ‘Jimmy’ favoured scholarship boys over all the rest!

My first memory of Peter Hirschmann has him eagerly urging me to read a book he was currently absorbed by: The Labrador Doctor, the autobiography of Wilfred Grenfell. I remember thinking it was an eccentric choice for young chaps like us. But perhaps Peter already knew that medicine would be his calling. His father was a GP with a practice in Hampstead Garden Suburb.

As a thirteen year old, Peter, bless him, was the very image of the stereotypical swat. With round shoulders and spectacles, sallow complexion, and a nasal tone of voice, he was even less athletic – if that were possible – than myself. Yet there was a dignity about him and a degree of self-possession that commanded respect, before one even got to his intellectual giftedness and seriousness of purpose. This meant that he never got bullied. At my prep school – the Abbey, Ashhurst Wood – antisemitism among the boys had been rife. I don’t recall that ever being an issue at Sevenoaks in our time. That I didn’t get bullied myself I put down to the protection I enjoyed in that first year from my fag-master, a sub-prefect surnamed Joyce, a six-foot rugby forward who – to the confusion of all – occasionally produced sensitive abstract drawings in pen and ink.

For all our time at Sevenoaks, Peter and I had our beds in D Dorm. This was the next smallest of the four dormitories and was on the first floor, between Matron’s clinic and the Higgs-Walkers’ part of the house. A Dorm and B Dorm, on the two floors above the JCR, each stretched the whole depth of Lord Burlington building. They were as rowdy and boisterous as D Dorm was gentle and orderly. Back then, in the winter months, everyone had to do rugby at least one afternoon a week. The most inept sports-wise, like Peter and myself, played on Dukes Meadow which we shared with a small herd of cows. Peter and I were adept at ‘dodge the ball’: that, and avoiding tumbles into the cowpats.

Peter and I both joined the CCF and – most unlikely – were considered ‘officer material’. If you were a pacifist, the alternative was the Digweed Development Company which did useful maintenance work around the school buildings. We army cadets despised the Digweeds. That was until the Digweeds procured thirty or so yards of narrow-guage railway and a four-wheel open truck to shift earth for a terrace by the allotments.

An occasional evening treat enjoyed by Peter and me and several like-minded School House boys was listening to opera on a gramophone in the bedsit of Mr Townson, the house tutor of Park Grange. We owed a lot to Mr Townson who not only taught history but introduced us to writers like Graham Green and Andre Gide. In retrospect, I suppose the opera stuff was a bit risque – Don Giovanni, Tosca, La Traviata – but the voices of Schwarzkopf, Sutherland, Callas, di Stefano delighted Peter and me for ever after.

For all that Peter was serious and studious, he could still spring the odd surprise. One such was during the evening Mr Morley, our resident house tutor, took some School House senior boys on the train to London. We went to see a production of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex at the Toynbee Hall in the East End. The performance we saw was notable for an accident that led the actor playing the blinded king to bump into a plaster Doric column which then fell with a great bang into the orchestra pit. On the tube back to Waterloo station, we noticed that Peter was no longer with us. His inexplicable disappearance was a source of glee for us but worry for Mr Morley. Fortunately, on our return to School House, we learned that Dr Hirschmann had rung to say that his son was safe at home. On a whim, Peter had evidently seized the moment to take a train in the opposite direction, back to his family in Hampstead Garden Suburb.

After we left school in the summer of 1956, both Peter and I were in London, with Peter studying dentistry at Guys Hospital and University College. Peter went on to make a long, illustrious career winning a succession of awards. He graduated from house surgeon to research fellow to registrar to senior clinical lecturer. Besides London, there were appointments in Manchester, Harvard and Leeds. From 1992, until his retirement in 2002, Peter was Consultant Dental Radiologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer on Dental Radiology for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Throughout his years in Yorkshire, he was most active on the Leeds contemporary arts scene, lending energetic support to a range of local initiatives. With a discerning eye, he built up a significant collection of prints and other works on paper by modern British artists. He gave full licence to his love of theatre and classical music, never missing a concert of German lieder.

Peter is survived by his wife, Denise, whom he married in 1968 and their two daughters Joanne and Catherine. He is remembered with great affection by all who knew him.

Robert Short (OS 1955)

Samuel Gregory Johns, a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend passed away on 19 April in Bletchingley, Surrey. Born in Redhill, Samuel’s life was a testament to living life to the full: ‘“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”’ (John 10:10)

Samuel was a man of extraordinary talents and passions. A self-described jack of all trades, he was certainly also a master of many. His brilliant mind enabled him to achieve the top first in his year in Geography at Oxford, while simultaneously excelling across several different fields. After gaining his Master’s in Geography at the University of British Columbia, he worked for Proctor and  Gamble, vowing that he would never sell his soul to a corporate and pointing out to the European director that the company was not living up to its ethical code! He then pursued a varied and unique career path.

Samuel’s passion for education led him to work as a private tutor with Bespoke Tuition. His fine intellect, gracious personality and neuro-flexibility helped him bring some of the toughest dysfunctional children back into an educational context. He spent 2023 tutoring in Malta, where he discovered free diving, and was due to tutor in Mexico later this year. In 2017, he set up PSD Plastics, a subsidiary to the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) Nepal. Through recycling and upcycling of mountain PET plastic waste, he established an economic model for regeneration in the Langtang Valley, Kathmandu. This work continues, with the model to be rolled out in six other national parks. Samuel spent four months of the Covid lockdown in Nepal, refining his language fluency.

In 2018 he signed up with International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Graduate Impact, helping to develop their strategy, writing teaching material and leading discussion groups for young professionals in Eastern Europe. A core motivator in Samuel’s life was his Christian faith, which gave him a deep desire, in a digital world, to understand and pursue human flourishing in the image of God. He joined TechHuman and worked as a consultant advising on the ethics of AI in the commercial world. In parallel, he engaged with local church life, leading youth groups, participating in worship bands and preaching. In 2022, he started a PhD with the Brussels School of Governance on human personhood in the age of automation: a study of modern identity formation in the Linkster Generation (Gen Z). This involved surveys and interviews with hundreds of young people on their interactions with technology.

Samuel’s love for the great outdoors was apparent to all. He was an avid cyclist, skier, snowboarder and mountain trekker. He was a true global citizen with homes away from home, including France and Nepal. His love of nature and mountaineering was born in the UK and France but grew into maturity under the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas and Whistler.

In both his professional and personal life, Samuel inspired the people he met. Across his different walks of life he has left a lasting impact the world over. He is survived by his parents, Tim and Evelyne, his sister Marina and her husband Luke. He will be deeply missed by his niece and nephew, Elsa and Raphael. Samuel’s memory will live on through his family, friends and colleagues whose lives have been enriched by his unwavering love, generosity, kindness, support and joyful energy, so freely given.

Born in Beckenham on 4 March 1947, Chris was the devoted son of Alice and Ron Warring. He was the younger brother of Michael, who passed away shortly before his 18th birthday. Chris attended Clare House Prep before joining Sevenoaks in 1960, leaving aged 17. After the tragic loss of Michael in 1962, Chris and his parents moved house, settling in Bosham in 1964.  Throughout his life, Chris often mentioned his brother and spoke of how he missed him.

Chris attended Chichester College and went on to various employments. He met Christine in 1987 when they were both civil servants. They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in 2023. As a young man, he enjoyed travelling and playing sport. In later years, Chris enjoyed watching sports on the television, especially rugby and Grand Prix motor racing. Chris was a quiet and modest man with a terrific sense of humour. Always conscientious and hardworking, he was honest and trustworthy; someone you could depend on absolutely. He loved animals and it is a comforting thought that he and Katie, his beloved Westie who died last year, will be reunited.

Kind, gentle, loving and a good man through and through, Chris was loved by many on both sides of the family. He will be much missed and remembered always with great love.

George Evered Gatling was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1929. He joined Sevenoaks School in 1941 as one of 50 boarders in School House. He always spoke very fondly of his time at Sevenoaks,  although it was not always easy in wartime, with cold baths and basic meals. When he started, a boy named Barry Kember was asked to be his ‘shadow’ to show him around and explain the various house customs. George never forgot Barry’s kindness, and, in later years, when reminiscing about his schooldays, would often mention him.

The 50 boys were only allowed two newspapers a day to share – a fact George often remarked on in later life! It encouraged a lifelong love of newspapers, and until the end he always liked to have his own paper to read every day. In George’s words, ‘The Headmaster, Mr JA Higgs-Walker, was a stern but kindly man who believed in Victorian ways. He had little time for anyone who was interested in science, believing only historians were fit for anything.’ George, therefore, with his love of the humanities over science, got on well with the Head!

George particularly enjoyed rugby and played in the inter-house matches, where there seemed to be great rivalry between School House and Johnsons, the only two boarding houses. He was also in the debating society and one of his teachers suggested he try acting; he really enjoyed this and performed in a number of school plays including The School for Scandal. His love of acting continued as an adult in amateur dramatic groups. George took English Literature, English Language and Latin for Higher School certificate and he would have liked to have been a teacher or a journalist, but didn’t want to go to university. However, he did write for his local paper in Petts Wood, edited a local political journal and wrote a Latin primer. On leaving school, George worked in a London paper merchants before joining an import and export business, where he stayed for nine years. He married Sheila, and joined her in her father’s wholesale jewellery business in Hatton Garden. Together, as company directors, they worked hard to build up a very well-respected company, serving jewellery shops all over the UK and abroad. They retired in 1992 and moved to Eastbourne where they had many happy years together.

Sheila passed away in 2021 and despite missing her greatly, George continued to live independently until his sudden death in January 2023. He had the fighting spirit of many of his generation who lived through the war, and was always cheerful, counting his blessings right until the end. He is survived by his sister Marguerite, and was a loving father to Wendy, Gillian and Peter, and grandfather to Laura, Jamie, Becky, Ben and Daisy. He is greatly missed by all who knew him.

Timothy Gould was born in 1944 in Harrogate. He moved to Sevenoaks in 1951 where he boarded at The New Beacon School, which was to play a special and significant role throughout his life. He subsequently attended Sevenoaks School (Hardinge 1957-63), then Trinity College Dublin where he studied Mathematics. Tim started working in insurance as a Risk Assessor with Sedgwick’s in the City of London, then moved to AIG. He travelled all over the world with work including Hong Kong, Jordon, USA, Philippines and Chile. Towards the end of his career, Tim moved to Heath Lambert and then more local companies in and around Sevenoaks.

A keen and talented sportsman, Tim gained full colours at Sevenoaks School playing rugby and went on to play for England Schoolboys, Harlequins and Saracens. He played cricket (which secured him his job with Sedgwick’s) and golf, and enjoyed sailing, swimming, athletics, skiing and bobsleigh (which he did while at Sevenoaks). He was a member of several local clubs including Knole Park Golf Club, Chipstead Sailing Club and Holmesdale Cricket Club. Later, he shared his love of sport with his family taking active holidays in Cornwall, Switzerland and the South of France.

He met Judith Dance following an old boy’s cricket match at The New Beacon School where she was the matron. They married in the school’s St George’s Chapel in 1980. The chapel was also where their three children and, later, grandchildren were christened, and where both Judy’s memorial in 1996 and Tim’s recent memorial were held.

Tim lived at Silverley in Oakhill Road for 70 years, which his father had built and where he grew up, as did his children. He moved to Sackville Place for the last few months of his life. He was a fantastic father to Sophie, Annabelle and Emily, and dearly loved grandfather to Caspar, Pip, Thisbe and William.

Sophie Duncan

Richard attended St Thomas’s primary school and went on to Sevenoaks School in 1961, following in his father Claude’s footsteps. He was proud of his education and his ability to translate  anything from German to English. After gaining his BA in Business and Languages at City of London Polytechnic, he went to work for Stone Manganese Marine, who made bronze propellers for  tankers and bulk carriers. Ten years later Richard entered the field of computing, working for ISG and then Hardware 2000, finally going back into sales at Salter, the kitchenware company based in Tonbridge.

In the early 1990s he decided to follow one of his passions, golf. He learned how to make golf clubs and set up a custom fit business in Hadlow. He named it Simply Golf and, with the help of  industry icon Tom Wishon, became one of the most well-known and respected club makers in the UK and Europe. He was European Club Maker of the Year 2001-02. Richard’s thirst for knowledge and his engineering background led him to pioneer the new concept of Moment of Inertia (MOI) matching. This refined the major golf club manufacturers’ claims of mass-produced matched sets which, following extensive testing, he was inclined to suggest were anything but! He became one of the most trusted craftsmen in his field and advised fellow clubmakers, European Tour professionals, gifted amateurs and those less fortunate, with equal enthusiasm and respect.

Richard’s career was cut short by the onset of motor neurone disease, but he has left a lasting legacy in his chosen field.

Hugh’s family arrived in Sevenoaks in the late 1940s, having spent the war years in Colwyn Bay where his father was sent by the Ministry for Food and Agriculture at the outbreak of war. He  claimed honorary Welsh citizenship when it suited him, notably when the rugby team was all-conquering.

Hugh joined Sevenoaks in 1954. He excelled at school, particularly in History as a pupil of Duncan Townson, and went to Oxford in 1957 where he put his considerable card skills to good use,  winning a Blue at the bridge table. Hugh’s parents had been first-class bridge players and he and his brother Peter had many successful years in partnership, winning regional and national events together.

Hugh trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte and went into merchant banking, firstly with Williams & Glyn and then MacPhersons. Never one to rest on his laurels, Hugh left the City and embraced different challenges (he got bored easily). In later life, Hugh offered accounting, tax and financial advisory services and built a property rental business. He also, famously, won an  invitation-only high stakes poker event in Las Vegas – what a talent!

Hugh and his wife Patsy were a formidable couple – good golfers, bridge players and great company. He represented the Old Sennockians Golf Society with distinction for many years and was  always fun to be with. We shall miss him.

Tom was one of the world’s true polymaths and will surely be fondly remembered for his irrepressible enthusiasm and insatiable curiosity about the world, his engaging and  entertaining manner, and his warmth, kindness and generosity to all.

Tom was born and grew up in North Kent. He joined Sevenoaks School in 1973 and there is no doubt that the remarkable teachers set Tom on the path to such an extraordinarily rich and fruitful life. It was from Sevenoaks that he was launched onto Emmanuel College, Cambridge to study Physics and Theoretical Physics, and gain a PhD in Polymer Physics.

Tom was a great supporter of Sevenoaks and enjoyed returning to give talks, meet staff and students and to hear about the school to which he owed so much. He also gave guidance as Chair of the Institute of Teaching and Learning Advisory Board.

Tom believed, passionately, that science is a God-given gift and spent a lifetime developing a theology of science. He worked tirelessly to make science engaging and accessible to all. Tom’s academic research started with the disentanglement of real-world polymers. He took existing ideas and made them much better; he introduced entirely new ways of thinking. Tom also took delight in showing how mathematical ideas can unite different scientific disciplines and was internationally recognised for his interdisciplinary research.

Two of his long-term projects speak volumes for his passions: the Ordered Universe Project involving a unique configuration of natural scientists, social scientists, humanities  scholars and artists to explore the work of the 13th century polymath Robert Grosseteste; and Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS) to create opportunities for church leaders to connect with science.

Tom won the highest prizes from the British, European and US Societies of Rheology – the Gold Medal, the Weissenberg Award and the Bingham Medal. In 2011 he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society and became Chair of the Education Committee where he played a key role in national curriculum development and science education. Besides these achievements, Tom was Pro Vice-Chancellor at Durham University, and in 2018 he joined the University of York as Chair in Natural Philosophy – a title that he chose, and which fitted the unique academic that he was. In the same year, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented Tom with the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship. Tom also authored many books, including Faith and Wisdom in Science and The Poetry and Music of Science.

Tom lived life to the full. He loved hill-walking and scuba diving, singing and playing the French horn, and travelling the world. He loved Schumann, the Old Testament book of Job, and spending time with his wife Julie, four children and their growing families. He was a lay reader in the church and took any opportunity to share the faith and hope he had in
Jesus – right until the end. Tom loved people and was widely and deeply loved.

Julie McLeish

Anthony Warren Miles passed away on 16 March 2023 at home in San Francisco, California. He was born in Wimbledon and spent his early years in Derbyshire, after which his family moved to Sevenoaks.

Anthony attended Sevenoaks Prep, then Sevenoaks School from 1957 to 1962, where he became Head Boy under Headmaster LC (Kim) Taylor, supporting the school as a benefactor in later years. He went on to Clare College, Cambridge where he obtained his undergraduate degree in English and served as College President. After Cambridge he attended Yale University on a Mellon Fellowship, where he earned an MA in American Studies and met and married his wife, Landra. After two years back in Europe, Anthony returned to the United States to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Anthony worked for 29 years at the Boston Consulting Group, first in Boston, then in California. From 1970 he and his wife lived in San Francisco and at Lake Tahoe. On retirement, he joined the boards of the San Francisco Symphony, St. Luke’s Hospital, Presidio Golf Club, California Pacific Medical Center, and the Brotherton Fund.

Anthony is survived by his wife of 55 years, Landra, his two sons Marcus and Aidan and his beloved granddaughters, Adabel and Elora, and by his brother John Miles and his sister Penelope Goulden, both living in Kent.

John Miles (OS 1970)

Paul was born in Camberwell in 1972, and in 1980 moved with his family to Sevenoaks where his parents owned and managed the Sevenoaks Park Hotel. Paul studied at Sevenoaks Prep and then Sevenoaks School (Sackville 1987-91) where he made many lifelong friends and was known for his beaming smile and his love of football, movies and music. He took joy in recommending his favourite bands to his classmates and by his late teens his video collection read like an A to Z of great film directors.

After school Paul studied English Literature at Kingston University, then a Master’s in Anglo-American Literary Relations, which would prove rather apt later in his life. He accepted a role at Curio, a London film promotions agency, first in account service but quickly switching to his passion of creative writing. After five successful years, he moved on to The Creative Partnership as Head Writer and accolades soon followed, including a Golden Trailer award for his work on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Next, Paul joined Wonderland as Group Creative Director, where his work continued to garner recognition.

It was around this time that Paul married the love of his life, Esme Baker, who also hailed from the Sevenoaks area and had been in the same circle of friends (many of them OS) since they were 16 years old. They went on to have two wonderful children, Rudy and Jean. In 2017 Sony Pictures came calling and Paul and his family moved to Los Angeles. He was initially hired as Executive Vice President of International Marketing but became Co-President of Global Marketing, overseeing the release of a string of worldwide box office hits including Sony’s biggest ever success, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

In June 2021, out of the blue, Paul was diagnosed with the rare and terminal bulbar ALS, which attacks control of the tongue and throat, affecting speech, swallowing and eventually breathing. Despite such a terrible prognosis, he maintained an optimistic outlook and continued to work from home right up until his final weeks. On 9 September 2023, Paul passed away peacefully
at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre at the age of 51. As the sun came up, his wife, parents, brother and three of his best friends were at his bedside, including Old Sennockians Adam Cossey and Ben Harris.

Those that knew Paul knew him as an incredible dad who prioritised his family above all else. He was compassionate, kind, gentle, funny, and a person of incredible strength and high integrity. Paul was renowned for his beaming smile and laidback, cheerful personality and he left a lasting impression on many friends and colleagues.

In October 2023 Sony Pictures honoured Paul with a wonderful Celebration of Life event which was live-streamed around the world. Tom Rothman, CEO and Chairman of Sony Pictures, paid an emotional tribute to Paul, calling him ‘a blazing talent and a dear friend’. Paul’s Sevenoaks classmates Ben, Adam and Dave Billing also paid tribute.

Sandra O’Brien (nee Thompson) was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) on 16 September 1961 to Malcom and Sylvia Thompson. The paediatrician’s failure to check the positioning of her hip led to scoliosis and ongoing back problems that would impact the rest of her life. The Thompsons came back from Zimbabwe following Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. They settled in Oxted, Surrey, and Sandra attended St Michael’s prep school. The family moved again in 1974, this time to Monte Carlo, until 1975. When the family returned to the UK, Sandra was a fluent French speaker – with, she always insisted, a very good accent!

Sandra joined Sevenoaks as one of the first intake of boarding girls into the Sixth Form in 1977. She loved her time at the school and made some lifelong friendships. She particularly enjoyed the regular reunions of that first intake of girls. From Sevenoaks, Sandra attended the London School of Economics, eventually settling on a degree in Economic and Social History (to which she referred almost as much as her needlework O-level). Starting her career in marketing, she eventually found herself at Price Waterhouse, where she met Marc O’Brien, her future husband. Sandra spent many years at PW and then PwC, eventually becoming a director with a transatlantic team in London and Florida. She stepped down from PwC following the births of Phoebe in 1996 and Fergus in 1998.

Following a break to raise her family, Sandra found herself working in parliament as case worker for Sam Gyimah MP. She helped many, many constituents with cases ranging from housing issues  to a military extraction from a Middle Eastern country (arranged from the kitchen table). With the turmoil of Brexit she left parliament and joined the Citizens Advice Bureau where her diligence, sharp intellect and lack of patience was put to good use serving people in and around Caterham. In June 2020, Sandra and Marc moved to Tunbridge Wells where they continued to enjoy all the town had to offer (especially the restaurants and bars).

Sandra died on 31 October 2023 following a very short illness. She was 62. She is survived by her husband, Marc, and children Phoebe and Fergus.

Prodge, as he was universally known, was born into a family steeped in cricket and was brought up initially in Kenya. Prodge’s father Peter played for Kenya and East Africa so it was firstly there, and then after the family returned to the UK, that the young Prodge fell in love with cricket.

Prodge was fuelled with a natural spirit of enquiry and curiosity. He liked learning, not so much from the textbook, but through observation and self-discovery. At Sevenoaks, Prodge didn’t find the academic side of life straightforward – the dyslexia with which he contended was poorly understood – but he excelled at sport. Cricket was his real passion and he relished the competition of league cricket playing at Harlow CC, Hoddesdon CC, Harefield CC and Watford Town CC. Beyond this, he played for Stroud Green CC in Haringey, represented the MCC on 113 occasions, was a regular for the Kenya Kongonis and Stragglers of Asia and, in later years, for Bucks Over-50s.

Prodge’s contribution as a cricket player was enormous, and so too was the service he gave to the game as an administrator and trustee of many cricket-related charities. As MD of the Club Cricket and National Cricket Conference, as trustee of the Club Cricket Charity and East Africa Character Development Trust, he fought tirelessly to represent the recreational game and community clubs and in establishing the National Asian Cricket Council and the African Caribbean Cricket Association, to help players from these communities become better integrated into cricket’s mainstream. Suffice to say there’s a theme running throughout Prodge’s cricketing involvements; he sought to make it a game for everyone. It was entirely fitting that the MCC honoured Prodge posthumously with a Community Cricket Hero award.

Someone remarked to me recently: ‘In every conversation with Prodge, he made you feel as if you were his only friend.’ Of course, he had thousands of friends. But such was his remarkable capacity for making every person he encountered feel special.

Nick Gandon

Born in Cheshire, Robert moved to Petts Wood as a baby. He was educated in Chislehurst and at Sevenoaks School where he enjoyed academic subjects and excelled at sport, in particular running and rugby. He loved mountain walking trips and forming friendships with pupils from different parts of the world.

Rob joined Latham & Co, London as a trainee accountant but realised that this wasn’t the right career for him. Friends persuaded him that he had the qualities to make a good teacher and suggested that he enrol at Trinity College, Carmarthen; there he met his wife Elizabeth.

He taught Maths in Broadstairs and was later appointed to a post in a special school in the Forest of Dean. Five years on he became Head of Special Educational Needs at Milford Haven School. There he rekindled his interest in outdoor activities, leading Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions, later becoming an assessor. He was involved with the National Association for Special Educational Needs and became Pembrokeshire’s SEN Adviser, facilitating the integration of pupils with learning difficulties into mainstream schools. Rob had a particular ability to empathise with pupils who presented challenging behaviour and to enthuse and encourage youngsters of all ages, finding their positive qualities and providing opportunities in which they could flourish.

Rob also served on the local council, becoming Mayor of Fishguard and Goodwick in 1993. He was especially proud to have been involved in the twinning of the towns with Loctudy in Brittany. He worked hard to raise funds for local and national bodies, and lobbied ministers in Cardiff and Westminster on important local issues.

In retirement Rob became a Rotarian and a local supporter of the RNLI. He was an avid newspaper reader, a follower of politics and interested in history. He grew vegetables and enjoyed cooking his produce. He adored travelling and, as a proud European, was passionate about France where he frequently visited his daughter and family. He was also very keen on driving over tortuous mountain passes, eating in Michelin star restaurants and discussing rugby in the local bar wherever he stayed!

His death was a great blow to his family and friends. He cared passionately about others and lived life to the full. He was a proud father to his three children and loved being a grandfather and godfather, always cheerful, positive and greatly loved, admired and respected by all who knew him.

Liz Bowyer

John Robin Keeley, a former Head Boy at Sevenoaks, passed away in Australia. He was an ordained priest, a commissioning editor for Lion Hudson publishing and The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), and a tutor. Robin was a dearly loved husband to Pauline, father to Bridget and Caroline, stepfather to Christa and Zoe, and a lovely grandad and great-grandad. He was a man full of gentleness and compassion, great wit and humour, a good listener and a wise counsellor.

Pauline Keeley

Ron Frank Knight was a pupil at Sevenoaks School between 1945 and 1947 as a boarder in Johnsons. After leaving school he went on to manage the family business, Attwoods department store in Bromley. After his children were born, he retrained as a blacksmith, winning many awards for his beautiful wrought ironwork. He was fit and well right up until his death, even enjoying flying a spitfire for his 90th birthday.

Anthony Lunch was born on 13 February 1945. He learnt to sail, aged 10, at Chipstead Sailing Club, moving on to that hotbed of sailing talent, Sevenoaks School. Of this time, Anthony said: ‘Before long I was a very junior member of the Sevenoaks team and from then on my abilities improved and my love of team racing was fuelled by exciting fixtures and senior boys’ expert tuition. All this culminated in the Public Schools Championships when we were lucky enough to win and bring home a new Firefly to join the school fleet. In all my years of racing, this remains one of the highlights!’

After Sevenoaks, Anthony spent 12 months doing Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) as a teacher in The Gambia, then read Geography at Mansfield College, Oxford to. He became involved in the Oxford University Yacht Club (OUYC), sailing in and winning the Varsity Match in all his three years – the final one as Captain and Vice- Commodore. In his final year, he represented the British Universities in their tour of the United States, where he met Martine. They are reported to have made a dashing couple and their long-lasting union was a constant in the rest of his life.

Anthony joined Unilever as a graduate trainee, then became Managing Director of Phildar UK before his entrepreneurial drive led him to start a number of ventures. In 1990 he founded the Sermathang Project in Nepal to educate hundreds of children in the Helambu area, and built a new school in 1995, and in 2000 he founded the volunteering organisation MondoChallenge, and subsequently the MondoChallenge Foundation.

Anthony returned to OUYC as Commodore in 1979, becoming Vice President in 1985 and President from 2001-18. When he stepped down, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the RYA, presented by Princess Anne.

Our thoughts are with Martine, his children Chris, Nick and Cecilia and their families who have lost a loving husband, father and grandfather.

Nick Lunch

My younger brother Neil was born in Farnborough, Kent. He attended The New Beacon, where his interest in sport was nurtured. He joined Sevenoaks School in 1987 aged 13 as a member of Grote House. His love of sport flourished throughout his Sevenoaks years. In the Middle School. Neil was a member of the football, cricket and rugby 1st teams, and captain of his rugby team for three years in a row. In the Sixth Form he played for the 1st XI football team, and 1st XV rugby team for two years, becoming vice-captain in his final year. He was also part of the school’s rugby squad for the six-week round-the-world tour with matches in Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand. Outside school, he was a keen golfer and in his final year as a junior golf member at Knole Park Golf Club, he became junior captain.

After studying Economics at university, Neil based himself around London and worked in the City until 2022. He spent as much time as he could with his two sons, Finlay and Theo, and continued playing sport. In 2016 he married Penny and with his two stepdaughters, Amy and Katie, lived in the Shepperton area where he could always be found socialising with friends and family and enjoying life to the full.

Neil died on 29 June 2022 after a very short illness, surrounded by his family, and is greatly missed by all.

Trevor Payton (OS 1990)

Richard was a renowned urban designer, town planner and architect. He was a member of RIBA and studied architecture at the Northern Polytechnic 1957-63, and later at the Academia Britannica, Rome, as a Rome Scholar in Architecture. He was also a lecturer and external examiner at numerous architectural schools in the UK, Europe and the USA before setting up in practice in 1987.

Richard was born in 1939. He joined Sevenoaks in 1952, first as a boarder at Park Grange, and later Johnsons, during the headships of James Higgs-Walker and Kim Taylor. When he started at Sevenoaks, the Art department was just a classroom in a corner of Park Grange. Big changes came with Kim Taylor and a group of hugely talented and enthusiastic teachers, including Bob White. New facilities were still years away, but the department was relocated above a Manor House garage and the art students helped Bob White to redecorate. Richard later said, ‘He didn’t just put a few colours in our paint boxes, so to speak, but provided the most profound, enthusiastic and inspirational teaching for a class I was so lucky to be a part of.’

Richard, who was known at school as Dick, lived in Sevenoaks all his life and walked home on many Sunday afternoons with his fellow boarders for tea and cakes at his parents’ house. His father, Robert, was a war correspondent who famously broadcast de Gaulle’s entry into Notre Dame during the liberation of Paris for the BBC. After university Richard travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East, eschewing cameras in preference for drawing and painting the whole way.

Richard Reid and Associates is best known for its award-winning work at Lower Mill Estate in Cirencester, for the masterplan of Kleinzschocher, Leipzig, and for the masterplan and urban design of the Bertalia-Lazzaretto district of Bologna. They were awarded the prize for the best small house in The Sunday Times British Homes Award 2012. The achievement that gave Richard the most pleasure was the listing of Epping Civic Offices in 2017. The work of the practice has been included in numerous exhibitions at the Royal Academy, the Heinz Gallery, RIBA and the V&A. Richard worked for many years as a planner and urban designer for The Corporation of London and was a Freeman of The City of London.

Richard was married to Thalia and they had two daughters, the elder of whom, Tamasin, also attended Sevenoaks School.

He devoted his life to architecture and wrote and illustrated many books on the subject. He was still drawing right up until his death in November 2022.

Thalia Reid and Gerry Diebel (OS 1976)

Sarah Sackville-West’s father and mother moved into Knole House when she was one, the youngest of five daughters. She went first to Miss Grainger’s in Sevenoaks, and to Walthamstow Hall, then, aged 11, soon after her mother died, she went to Bedales School, where she was well prepared for co-education. After O-levels she was one of the seven brave day girls who joined the Sixth Form at Sevenoaks School, where her father, Lord Sackville, was Chairman of Governors. Sarah was determined to go to Oxford in her father’s footsteps; she was very much helped by Richard Hanson, who encouraged her to read widely in English Literature, and she much enjoyed learning to etch and paint with Bob White in the Art Room.

She went to Oxford to read English; at St Peter’s College she was, again, one of the first girls – an unlikely bluestocking. After Oxford she worked briefly in the City of London and wrote a novel. She moved to publishing, reading manuscripts for the literary agent Tessa Sayle, working for Sidgwick & Jackson, and filling a double-page spread every week as literary editor of the Catholic Herald – all at the same time. Then she discovered Andrew Edmunds and his wonderful shop and restaurant in Soho, and helped him catalogue and sell his 18th century caricatures – she became particularly knowledgeable in Hogarth and Gillray.

Through all her time in London she kept a foothold in The Old Laundry Cottage at Knole, and was very pleased to see friends from Sevenoaks School, and to watch over the next generation. She married Simon Rendall in 1992 and devoted the rest of her time to looking after him and their two boys, Freddy and Edward.

Simon Rendall

Roy was born in Beckenham and attended Sevenoaks School from 1942 to 1945. He graduated from Imperial College London with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After National Service with the RAF, he served with the Church Mission Society and moved to Kenya, where he taught Physics at Maseno School. He led a team of Kenyans and Italians to translate the Bible into the Luo language, the second most widely spoken tribal language in Kenya.

He later taught Physics at Ware College, Hertfordshire, before joining the faculty of All Nations Christian College. He travelled widely both teaching and learning with his wife Jan in Africa and Asia at the request of national Christian leaders. Roy was always grateful for the privilege of having been at Sevenoaks and proud of being an Old Sennockian. He passed away peacefully after a long illness at home in Ware.

Jan Stafford

My brother Jonathan ‘Waffles’ Van Stroud (formerly Stroud) died suddenly on 18 April 2022, aged 66. After leaving Sevenoaks School in 1974, Jon spent a gap year working on the construction of the M25 before hitchhiking around the entire coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. He studied Sociology at York University and qualified as a social worker. Jon spent many years providing emergency out-of-hours support to people in crisis in North London where he lived, as well as overseeing the best interests of children in foster care, many of whom regarded him as a second father.

Jon married Jenny Van Hague, and settled down in Muswell Hill where together they raised three wonderful children, Maisie, Connie and Samuel. When he wasn’t working Jon enjoyed hosting epic dinner parties where he showcased his phenomenal cooking skills, as well as being a master sourdough baker and tending his allotment. Jon also enjoyed travelling to meet up with his children in far-flung places including India, Georgia, Ukraine and Canada. His immediate family, five siblings and his wide circle of friends will forever miss his good company.

Duncan Stroud (OS 1979)

David, or Twig Brancher to fellow Old Sennockians, was in Fenton House during the 1940s and notably took several Gilbert and Sullivan acting and singing leading parts et al under Mr IC Cole’s direction – I was his bridesmaid in Trial by Jury – by then a contralto on the verge of voice-break. David retired fairly early from the British Army to start a second successful career as a university lecturer, latterly at Bristol. After my own Army service, my wife Sonia and I became residents of historic Abergavenny where, by excellent coincidence, David and Pip Brancher also lived, and where David played a leading role in local government affairs. He passed away aged 92 and will be profoundly missed by so many firm and
admiring friends, God bless him.

Brigadier John Skinner (OS 1952)

Walter was born in Sevenoaks and a pupil at the school from 1953 to 1958. He then attended the London School of Printing, gaining the Diploma in Printing Administration. He joined the family firm
of Cheney & Sons of Banbury (at the time the oldest family firm in the country, dating back to 1767) and was there for 28 years, where he became a Director and, eventually, Company Secretary. Following
this he was employed for ten years as Secretary to the Trustees of the Oxford Diocese.

Music and fellwalking were Walter’s great loves. He won the School Music Prize and from the age of ten played the cello for 35 years, becoming a member of the Banbury Symphony Orchestra. He was also a keen member of the Banbury Choral Society and their Secretary for over 20 years. In retirement he moved with his wife to
the Yorkshire Dales where he could indulge his love of fellwalking. A new hobby was calligraphy, which linked happily with his
background in printing.

Walter fulfilled several roles in the local church as choir member, PCC Secretary and Steward. He also served the local hospital as a Chaplaincy volunteer for 17 years, where his ministry as a quiet, gentle, courteous man was much appreciated.

Katharine Cheney

Andrew attended Sevenoaks School during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He spent his formative years in Otford and went to the village primary school. Andrew later moved to Cornwall and lived there with his wife for 36 years. A year ago he underwent brain surgery to remove a tumour. He appeared to have made a good recovery and was starting to play tennis again when he died suddenly at home just days before his 65th birthday. Andrew had announced plans to retire from his work as Head Gardener and Lecturer at Duchy College Rosewarne, Cornwall. His position brought him into contact with several well-known names including HM King Charles. He leaves his wife Alison, children Adam and Rachel, and two grandchildren Oscar and Rosa.

Frank Baldwin

Old Sennockian and sports coach Anthony Russell
Howcroft was born in Gravesend on 29 July 1940.
He attended a local convent school then joined
Sevenoaks School in 1951, moving to the town in the
same year with his parents.
From the very beginning at Sevenoaks, Tony’s passion
for sport was his main sense of direction and he
contributed to the school’s sports programme from
thereon. He had a natural flair for all sports and in
1957 as a 15-year-old represented the 1st XI cricket
team and was awarded his full colours at the end of
his first season.
Tony could have made a mark in club cricket as an
excellent all-rounder, but his contribution to school
athletics and particularly tennis channelled him away
from being a first-class cricketer. With his natural
athleticism and dedication to fitness and strength
training he also found himself in the 1st XV. He was
a mobile flanker (wing forward, we would have said
in those days) with good hands and a sound defence.
After school he ventured into club rugby, was soon
recognised, and represented the 1st XV at Sevenoaks
RFC. The pinnacle of his rugby career was playing
against a London Welsh celebrity side which included
JPR Williams!
Eventually squash and tennis became the centre of
his sporting activity. He qualified as an LTA tennis
coach, acquired a part 3 Squash Rackets Association
coaching certificate and became a member of the
United States Professional Registry UK. He returned
to Sevenoaks School to develop a squash programme,
becoming a dedicated, innovative and well-respected
coach and producing Kent Cup-winning teams.
Academically, Tony never felt that he had achieved
what he could have done at school, but he later
gained additional A-levels, a Postgraduate Diploma in
Recreation and Leisure Practice, a BA in Sociology and
Social Policy and Administration, and a further degree
in History and International Relations, which had
become a consuming interest for him.
After school, travel became a very important part of
Tony’s life, and there were few parts of the world he
did not visit, from the Norwegian Fjords and the Arctic
Circle; Nepal and the Himalayas, as far as Everest
base camp; the USA; the Andes; East Africa, taking in
Kilimanjaro and a visit to his beloved gorillas; South
Africa; Tanzania; Australia; to Israel in a kibbutz, and
Russia – the most significant of them all, as it turned
out, where he met a doctor, Kadriya Agisheva, in
2001. The couple married in 2006 and spent the best
16 years of Tony’s life together. He stepped into a
father’s role quickly and spent many hours supporting
Kadriya’s daughter, Victoria, through her middle school
years and her studies at Tonbridge Grammar School.
Tony was the most unassuming, modest gentleman,
a scholar and a true friend who was respected and
well-liked by everyone.

Peter Hill, former Head of PE and Sport

My younger brother Paul was born in North London. The family moved to Sevenoaks in 1953 where he attended St Thomas’ primary school, then Sevenoaks School from 1963 to 1970.

Paul was a member of the athletics and rugby teams and will be remembered as one of the ‘bouncers’ practising three to four hours daily after school in Johnson Hall (then a gym). With James Forder, son of the housemaster of School House, he was a leading light in the squad that won the senior team prize in the Kent Schools Trampoline Championships in 1966, and he was selected to compete for England in the European Schools Championships in Germany later that year.

He originally intended to qualify as a building surveyor, but decided to switch to insurance, joining Pickford, Dawson & Holland, which later merged with Lloyd Thompson and Jardine Matheson, where he met his wife Sally in 1980. Paul lived and breathed insurance, so he and Sally resolved to strike out on their own and set up Sennocke International Insurance Services Limited in 1990, initially with three employees. Based in Sevenoaks, the company quickly expanded thanks to Paul’s broad knowledge of the insurance market and his drive and determination to succeed.

Paul was an innovator with a keen eye for new market opportunities. Probably his biggest commercial success was to move into the new but burgeoning self-build insurance market in 2010. He created the Self Build Zone and Build-Zone insurance brands followed by Build-Zone Survey Services, firmly cementing Sennocke’s leading position in the sector.

He had a huge impact on the many people he met and worked with, and who have fond memories of him. His legacy continues through the company he created, which will undoubtedly continue to live up to the values he instilled in his employees.

Paul was a keen golfer, a member of Wildernesse Golf Club and a great supporter of the Old Sennockians Golf Society, which he represented with distinction for over 30 years in the Grafton Morrish Tournament, held annually on the north Norfolk coast.

He passed away on 24 May 2021 after a short battle with cancer, leaving his wife Sally, three children (two of whom attended Sevenoaks School) and two grandchildren.

Richard Kempton (OS 1966)

Ian was a student at Sevenoaks School from 1961 to 1966. The school was especially progressive under the leadership of Kim Taylor, who listened to what pupils wanted. Ian persuaded the school to invest in an old motorbike to be taken apart and rebuilt. This earned him the nickname ‘Motorbike Mateer’, instilling a passion which stayed with him his whole life. Soon after leaving school he trained as a chartered accountant and joined Grindlays Bank, living and
working in Paris, Geneva and London.

Ian married Sharon in 1971, and they had two children, Sarah and Russell. In 2006 he retired to Swanage and became a valued
member of the Coastwatch team and enjoyed country dancing. His main passions were travelling the world and motorcycles. He died peacefully at home on 12 October 2021 and was taken to his funeral in a motorcycle sidecar.

Sharon Mateer

Oladipupo, known as Ladi, attended Sevenoaks School from 1965 in the Sixth Form. He went on to University College London to study Law. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1972. In the same year he married his beloved wife Dr Henrietta Maria Williams, a fellow student and the daughter of Chief Louis Orok Edet, the first indigenous Nigerian Inspector General of Police. The marriage was blessed with four children: Rotola, Kunle, Yewande and Mary, and five grandchildren: Ayomide, Ayokunle, Ayoluwa, Thomas Eniola and Henrietta Maete Williams.

Mary Williams (OS 1999)

After a determined battle with cancer, Jonny passed away at home in East Sussex in October 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He leaves his wife Sonia, their two children Eva and Joe, a large extended family and his many friends from around the world. He will be greatly missed.

Iain Lea (OS 1989)

Peter was born Peter Edmund Jefferson and adopted by May and Percy Sharp, from his extended family, at around the age of nine.

He was a boarder in Johnsons, and although he didn’t say much about his academic success, he loved sport, especially cross country running. After leaving school he did National Service with the RAF, which he loved. He went into banking and worked for Barclays, NCR and Facit Addo, after which he set up his own company selling computers and computer supplies.

Peter did not enjoy good health and when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003 he decided to retire in order to enjoy a few years of quality retirement. Alas, this was not to be as his health had deteriorated and he was very poorly. We bought him a golden retriever puppy whom he adored and who brought him so much pleasure. Peter died peacefully at home last year with his family at his side. He received outstanding care from our local surgery and Hospice in the Weald.

Ann Sharp

Dr Debasis Roychoudhury, known as Roy to his friends, was born in Calcutta on 9 June 1950. He went to Calcutta Boys’ School where he took an interest in sport, especially hockey. After passing his Senior Cambridge examinations his parents sent him to Sevenoaks School in 1966 to study A-levels. He was a boarder in the International Centre and learned to adapt to a new environment and culture and played cricket for the school’s 2nd XI.

In 1968 Debasis went to London Hospital Medical College; he graduated with a BSC (Hons) in Biochemistry, and later a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. During those years he tried his hand at dramatics and joined the Tagoreans, the oldest Bengali cultural organisation in the UK. He played the bangle seller in Tagore’s Chandalika in London and toured with the group in a minibus around Europe. He also joined the university hockey club and won the trophy for the hospital in 1974.

Debasis went on to train in General Practice and gained further qualifications: Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine and Diploma in Cardiology. He spent his working life devoted to his patients. He took time out to serve as Medical Officer in the 1986 Hockey World Cup in London and the 1987 Veterans Tournament in Australia, in which he also played. He continued playing hockey internationally with Havering Hockey Club until 2008.

Debasis enjoyed the simplest pleasures in life. Throughout his life he touched many people with his generosity and kindness.

Debjani Roychoudhury