Robert Mark Bowering (02/03/1992-18/07/2023)

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Robbie Bowering (Manor 2005-2010) passed away on 18th July, 2023, following complications in the stem cell treatment of a cancer he had developed in 2020.  

In 2005, Robbie won a music scholarship to Clayesmore, and later an academic scholarship.  He thoroughly enjoyed his time at the school and was in his element playing in music ensembles on his trombone and singing with his fine baritone voice, notably as the Count in the school's production of Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro'.

He won a choral scholarship to Royal Holloway University where he read Maths, although he spent much of his time with the Chapel Choir and opera group. 

At university, Robbie met his soulmate, Emily Bolden, a fellow maths student, who was later to become his wife.

After graduation, Robbie spent some time concentrating on playing his trombone and singing principal roles in amateur operatic groups.  He decided to make music his career and joined the Royal Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) in 2012, where he served in the Bands of the Grenadier Guards and then the Coldstream Guards, first on trombone, and later on euphonium.  Robbie was also recognised in the Household Division as a fine singer and performed solos with the bands on numerous occasions.  Highlights included singing ‘Bring Him Home’ (Les Miserables) with the Grenadiers, and ‘O Holy Night’ with the Countess of Wessex String Orchestra in the Guards’ Chapel.

He and Emily married in style in 2019, accompanied by members of the Band of Grenadier Guards.  In 2022, Robbie and Emily were delighted to welcome their son, Alexander.  It was obvious to everyone how much Robbie loved his family.

Robbie was a highly talented young man, loved by everyone who knew him for his kindness, thoughtfulness and good humour.  He was a man of high integrity and with a strong sense of honour, who loved serving his country.

The day after his death, Robbie's then band, the Band of the Coldstream Guards, paid him a rare honour.  While on duty changing the guard at Buckingham Palace (Robbie's day job!), they played five pieces on the Palace forecourt, chosen in memory of Robbie; among them 'I Know Him So Well' from ‘Chess’.  Later, in an amazing tribute, the complete Band of the Coldstream Guards led his funeral cortege, playing the Beethoven Funeral March.  The last time they had played this was for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.  Members of the Grenadier Band accompanied the funeral service.  In January, 2024, the combined Bands presented a full and very moving memorial concert in the Guards’ Chapel in Westminster for his family, colleagues and friends.  Such an honour, and so well deserved!

The Army Household Division, in announcing Robbie’s death, described him as: “Diligent, proactive, and above all caring – he nurtured and developed those around him and brought out the best in everyone he worked with, he was a truly inspirational character.

“The loss of Musn Bowering is a huge blow to Household Division Bands family. The passing of an excellent military musician and truly remarkable person under tragic circumstances has been very hard. Musn Bowering will be remembered as a person of incredible talent and even greater kindness and selflessness, but also as a friend, mentor, and guide to the many members across Army music and wider military community who knew and served with him. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten.”  (Bands of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards  21st July, 2023)

Ever humble, he would never have seen himself as a hero, but there is no term for describing the way he faced his illness and treatment other than heroic.  He touched so many hearts and we are lucky to have many wonderful memories of him.  

During his thirty years and two terms working at Clayesmore RAC (Robert Anthony Chew), who liked to be known as ‘Tony’ Chew, performed such a variety of roles with Michael Hawkins, followed by David Beeby and finally Martin Cooke who were his Headmasters at Clayesmore Senior School, that Martin described him as ‘Mr. Clayesmore’ when Tony finally retired in 2015.

A passion for History (particularly the American Civil War), which sometimes resulted in Mr. Chew bursting into song during his lessons, enabled Tony to inspire many pupils to pursue a study of History after leaving school. One song Tony used to sing in class was the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’, also known as ‘Mine Eyes have Seen the Glory’ (which is quite often how he used to greet students as they entered the classroom). His A Level Historians studying the Italian Revolution module were offered appropriate refreshments of Garibaldi biscuits and Marsala wine. As Head of History, Tony led the charge from the front helping many of his pupils to excel academically at GCSE and A Level and imbuing many with a lifelong love of the subject. 

Lasting impressions will have been left with any pupils and staff experiencing one of Mr. Chew’s Battlefields’ Trips. Thorough research resulted in Tony, working with Louise Smith, producing an impressive book, the Clayesmore Roll of Honour 1914 – 1918, to commemorate the centenary of the start of World War 1 in 2014. During his research process Tony states that he “found three OCs who are on other public schools’ Rolls of Honour but who were not on ours” and he had “also been able to add one who was on our Roll of Honour to that of Loretto”. The detailed Clayesmore Roll of Honour provides personal information, including links to Clayesmore, as well as relevant photographs and recognises the contributions and sacrifices made by forty pupils and a member of staff from Clayesmore during the First World War. In 2014 a plaque, commemorating the Clayesmore dead who gave their lives in the First World War, was unveiled in St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres after a dedication service, which Tony attended, held in their honour. 

His breadth and depth of knowledge ensured conversations with Tony were stimulating. He sought to encourage pupils to expand their general knowledge and test it each year to achieve individual success or contribute to their House points from the challenging, but entertaining, ‘Alun Pugh’ General Knowledge Quiz. 

With Mr. Chew as Housemaster, supported by a range of excellent matrons, Devine House became a special home for the boarders in the village away from campus, while Tony continued to seek a suitable base on site for his Devine day pupils to use. Many new arrivals to Devine will have enjoyed a visit to Longleat with Mr. Chew, to keep them occupied and give them an opportunity to get to know staff and other new pupils during their first weekend at their new school. His kindness and care for those in his charge will be remembered so well by many of the recipients. 

At the end of term there were many enjoyable trips out of school for ‘House Arrangements’, including several evening boat trips with food and a disco on board. 

During his fifteen years as Devine Housemaster, while he was coping with significant demands on his time and energy, Tony also managed to direct an eclectic mixture of school plays. These included ‘The Royal Hunt of the Sun’, ‘The Teahouse of the August Moon’, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’, ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’, ‘Noises Off’ and ‘The Winslow Boy’. He found this additional extra-curricular aspect of school life particularly satisfying and built up a good rapport with pupils, performing on stage or working behind the scenes, who participated in his various productions. 

Tony also made it a priority to be whole heartedly involved in every aspect of creating and putting together ‘The Clayesmorian’ magazine for many years. The most enjoyable aspect of this for him, and memorable for his readers, was the creation of entertaining captions for many photographs. It was his wit and often wicked sense of humour which will be part of Tony’s legacy for so many colleagues, pupils and parents. 

Life after Devine for Tony saw him become Senior Master and focus specifically on pupils in Years 12 and 13 as Head of Sixth Form. Tony and his team of tutors worked hard to encourage strong applications to be made for appropriate courses and universities and each pupil’s personal statement to be written as well as possible and contain a wealth of relevant information and experience. Producing the best possible UCAS reference for each applicant, by weaving together information provided by relevant staff, became a creative challenge to which Tony responded positively. 

Non-academic and social aspects of Sixth Form life were being developed by Tony at the same as the range and variety of courses on offer to the sixth form pupils were expanding. Memorable social evenings for Sixth Form pupils and members of staff (some dressed up in appropriate costumes) involving excellent food, speeches, sketches and music were often organised by Tony to celebrate Burns’ Night and other significant events including ‘Trafalgar Night’ and an Edwardian Evening (which included a visit by the King of Montenegro). 

Tony would also have liked to be remembered for the enormous amount of effort he devoted to the Clayesmore Archives. His research to discover more about Lex, Headmaster Alexander Devine (the founder of Clayesmore and Headmaster for more than thirty years), expanded to Tony spending a holiday in Montenegro, a place which Lex himself often visited. 

Speech Day at Clayesmore for many years involved Tony ordering specific books requested by pupils who had been awarded prizes and trying to protect these books from the elements when Prizegiving on Speech Day still took place outside. 

After he retired, pupils who had never encountered Tony knew that their contributions to accumulating House points could lead to the exciting announcement on Speech Day that their House had been awarded ‘The Tony Chew House Cup’. 

His initials, RAC, will remind many working or studying at Clayesmore during the ‘Chew years’, from January 1985 to July 2015, of the range of sporty cars he enjoyed owning & driving.

Any of Tony’s charges while he was Housemaster of Devine, or pupils in his tutor group or who were taught by him are most likely to reflect on the discussion and bets taken on which of his many interesting ties Mr. Chew would appear wearing that day.  

As a committed, all-round school master who involved himself in so many aspects of life at Clayesmore Tony was so much more than all of these memories. We have lost a friend and someone whose wry views of life, kindness and academic passion have touched so many throughout his life. He will be missed. 

 

Peter Geoffrey Spital was born on February 16, 1947, and died on January 19, 2024, at the age of 76. He attended Clayesmore between 1961 and 1964 and was the much-loved son of the late Geoff and Bridget Spital of Donhead St Mary.
 

Stephen McCart Carter was born on the 3rd of July 1935 and passed away peacefully on the 11th of March 2024.

Stephen attended Clayesmore School after the Second World War and then Cranfield Management College before attending Harvard Business School. Stephen married Diana on October 13, 1962, and they had two children, Julian (1964) and Philippa (1966).

He worked as a General Manager for P&O Bulk Shipping for a year and, in 1977, was promoted to the Head of P&O Deep Sea Cargo Division and, in 1981, became the Managing Director. He left P&O in 1983 and was Chief Executive of Biltrax until 1987 when he joined Baltic Futures Exchange as the General Secretary in 1987.

Stephen retired to Gloucester in 1994 after a long and successful career. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Matthew Wright sadly passed away in June 2023, aged 82. Matthew was born on the 5th of August 1940 and attended Clayesmore between 1954 and 1958. 

Ian Wagstaff sadly died at the age of 93, on 11th February 2024 from Alzheimers. 

Born on the 27th August 1930, Ian started at Clayesmore in September 1943. During his time, he was head of tennis and an avid squash player. He was also a prefect along with Jessie Cutlack. In 1953, Ian graduated with a B.Sc.in Horticulture.

During his life, he was a successful Chrysanthemum glasshouse grower and an avid Christian. Ian remained active into his late 80s, climbing ladders and pruning apple trees. At the time of his death he had been married to Audrey nè Moreton for 70 years and had four children. 

Wilfrid Langdon passed away at the age of 90 after a short illness in hospital. He is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Wilfrid always had fond memories of his time at Clayesmore. He would regale stories about sneaking out of the dormitories to visit the local town and the local pubs. Every time the Del Boy and Son famous chandelier scene came on TV, he would beam with excitement and proudly say, "Clayesmore."  

After Clayesmore, Wilfrid did his National Service and worked for the old British Rail. This is where he dabbled in a little bit of travel journalism, particularly involving trains (a lifelong obsession), and ended up working in the travel industry both in the United Kingdom and in Canada. Wilfrid met his wife in Canada and they lived in the Canadian Province of Ontario for 40+ years. 

In 2013 Wilfrid moved back to the UK with his wife and they settled in Somerset where he spent the last 10 years enjoying reading, anything train-related, the Times crossword, listening to his vinyl collection (Ted Heath in particular), drinking red wine and amateur meteorology.

He will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him, but particularly by his wife, children and grand children. 
 

We regret to announce the death of Malcolm Sussman OC (1959-65). An eminent figure of the Clayesmore of his time, his great contemporary, Hugh Thompson OC, writes “No one got more Latin A levels, no one played in more teams,  one stayed at school longer, no one had a more heroic dad, no one was more loved”.

He was scholarship boy who shone especially in Classics, English and Drama under the guidance of Mr. Watkins, Mr. Appleby, and Mr. Verrinder.

Carl Verrinder was the Chemistry teacher. More importantly, he was the ‘producer’, as it was styled in those days rather than director, of the school plays. More of that in a moment.

As a Chemistry teacher in the old Middles Building, adjacent to the Blandford-Shaftesbury road, he was an unforgettable vision with his shock of white hair wreathed in tobacco smoke, gently entreating the boys not to break test tubes and occasionally asking the well-known illegal smokers amongst them - if anyone had ‘a spare gasper’. He would not peach on them. Not the sort of thing permissible in a teacher today! He was very tolerant of those, including Malcolm, who had no aptitude or enthusiasm for Chemistry.

Supremely important to all Clayesmorian wannabe thespians, ‘V’ was drama.

He supervised play-reading evenings in the Master’s Study. Peter Burke, the then Master, was sympathetic, supportive and a keen actor himself. Those evenings introduced Clayesmorians to a wide range of dramatic literature from the classics to the moderns; and from them V would choose plays to be both given dramatized readings and full ‘off book’ productions in the old school theatre. In his time, Malcolm took part in two Shakespeares, one Shaw, one Moliere, one A.P. Herbert, one Goldsmith, and one Ustinov. Although Malcolm never got Chemistry ‘O’ level, he was definitely infected with the theatre bug. Malcolm’s break-through role was the Dauphin in Shaw’s ‘Saint Joan’ when he was 15.


Malcolm as The Dauphin in ‘Saint Joan’ 1962
It established his theatrical pre-eminence, continued, amongst other roles, with Sir John Falstaff in ‘Henry IV’ and Peter Ustinov’s role of The General in ‘Romanov and Juliet’. Subsequently, he became a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.


After Clayesmore, Malcolm went up to Southampton University to read English. He memorably directed Thomas Hardy’s verse drama ‘The Queen of Cornwall’ with the university’s drama ensemble in the grounds of Athelhampton House as part of an international Hardy Festival. Not the poet-novelist’s greatest work…Wagner did Tristram and Iseult better! But a literary curiosity.

He qualified as a teacher and taught secondary school English in the Midlands, where he married an Australian nurse. The couple moved to Melbourne, Australia, where Malcolm had a distinguished career as a teacher and, as an inspiring pillar of Melbourne’s celebrated 1812 Theatre Company.

Malcolm was a great teacher, an accomplished actor-director, a wonderful father and grandfather, and a beautiful soul. We don’t think he ever played the moody Dane (Polonius or Claudius were more his parts), but nevertheless he deserves the valediction -

“Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
 

Brian was born in Zanzibar. His father was the Medical Officer of Health for East Africa working for the [then] Foreign & Commonwealth Office; his mother had been a nurse. Consistent with the custom at the time, Brian was raised by an Ayah and by all accounts could speak Swahili before English.

At some point, the family returned to England and lived in Kent; his father was Medical Officer of Health for Dartford & Gravesend. Brian was sent to Clayesmore where, to, be honest, he was a middling academic pupil, but he made his indelible mark as head Middles Prefect under Humphrey Moore and played for 1st Team Hockey XI. From late teens, to the time Brian returned to Africa in his mid 20s - to manage a wattle plantation near Pietermaritzburg in Natal, he and I were very close and constant friends, staying with me and my mother at our flat in Notting Hill Gate or at his house in Kent where we
would go for interminable walks with the dog because Brian’s father didn’t allow smoking. I was happy to have been invited by Brian’s parents for week-ends even after he had gone to Africa.

Correspondence continued to flow, and we also enjoyed regular get-togethers on Brian’s return visits to the UK. By then he had met and married his life-long wife Felicity [Flick]. They had two children, Andrew and Belinda.

Brian and Flick returned to the UK; Belinda was living in Berkshire as her husband had a job in the UK, and Brian wanted to be around Andrew at Clayesmore, for which Brian had a deep-seated fondness.

They settled in Shroton, and he continued his connection with friends from Clayesmore who lived nearby and who supported him enormously and enjoyed the welcome at his local, The Cricketers.

I was surprised at this decision; no disrespect to Dorset villages but maybe not for someone who had enjoyed the great wide spaces of South Africa and who had managed large teams of workers; by then Brian had become proficient in Zulu.

Relevant employment failed to materialise, and Brian settled for work in a pub and garage and working for the Magna Housing Association and Tesco in Shaftesbury.

In 2009 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour after a bout of Bell’s palsy and as a result, his personality was changing.  Brian found it difficult to deal with his injuries which caused limitations he found difficult to come to terms with, and as he never talked of this few people realised or understood his problems. 

A return to South Africa for all was prompted by Belinda and family returning to Greytown, and Andrew secured an excellent job there.

After a series of falls and continuing illness, Flick set up a hospital bed in their house so Brian could have a beautiful view of the Umgeni Valley and the herds of Impala, Blesbuck and Nyala who would graze just outside their bedroom window in the early mornings and at dusk, together with the Warthogs.

He was nursed at home and slipped away on 14th January. A happy release as his quality of life, for such an adventurous person, had rendered him unable to walk or talk.

He will be remembered and missed, by friends who had nothing but great times with him in London and Kent, in Dorset when he returned to the UK and settled in the bosom of the Clayesmore family and continuing after his return to Africa.

We are sorry to report the passing away of Adrian Frost, a pupil at the school from 1949-1954 at the age of 79 on 31 December 2015. The funeral will take place on Thursday 21 January at St Mary Magdalene Church, Milton Keynes at 11am. Please send all queries to:- H.W.Mason, 97 Victoria Rd, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2FD.

We are sorry to report the passing of Alan Warren, in 2015. Mr Warren was a retired artist and teacher, and was resident in London.

We are sorry to report the passing of Geoffrey Gaskell-Blackburn, a pupil at the school from 1947-1952, on 15 November 2015, at the age of 81. He is sadly missed by his children and by Peta, his devoted companion for the past eight years. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

We are sorry to report the passing of Digby Golding on 12 August 2015.

We are sad to report the news that Mrs Betty Greenway died on 28 November. She was manageress of the school tuck shop form the early 1960s until she retired in 1980. Tim Trenchard writes:

We are sorry to report the passing of Neville Jason (known as Jacobson at Clayesmore) on 16 October this year. He was an actor, who trained at RADA. He was a member of the Old Vic Company, the English Stage Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Birmingham Repertory Company. He was also with the BBC Radio Drama Company on three occasions as well as performing in radio plays, documentaries and arts programmes. Jason was perhaps best known on screen for his portrayal of Prince Reynart in the Doctor Who installment "The Androids of Tara" and From Russia with Love (1963), The Message (1977) and The Duellists (1977)

We are sorry to report the passing of Thomas Linthorn Bradbeer on 6 November at the age of 90. Thomas was the eldest of three brothers who attended the school. On leaving Clayesmore he went on to study medicine, and specialised in Ear, Nose and Throat surgery at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. Much loved husband of Vivyen, father of Caroline, Nicholas and Harry. His funeral will be held at Worthing Crematorium at 1.20pm on Friday, November 13th. No flowers please, but donations, if desired, to Save the Children.

We are very sorry to report the passing of Mike Foot on 1 November 2015 following a struggle with cancer. Mike taught PE, Games, Mathematics and CCF at Clayesmore from 1966 to 1990. Our thoughts are with his children at this sad time. His funeral will take place at Yeovil Crematorium on Thursday 12th November at Midday. Old friends from Clayesmore are most welcome.

We are sorry to report the sad news of the death this week, at the age of 94, of Miss Joy Boultbee, matron at Clayesmore Prep for 20 years from 1961-1981. Our condolences and thoughts are with her family at this sad time.

We are sorry to report the passing of John Wheeler, a retired architect, on 2 March 2014 at the age of 90.

We are sad to report the passing of David Naylor on 13 August 2015.

We are sad to report the passing of Tristram Blissard-Barnes on 7 May 2015. A former Company Director and Importer of Herbs and Spices. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

We are sad to report the passing of Edward Hill, a former pupil and retired farmer.

The Society is sad to report the passing of John F Storrs, a pupil at the school in the 1940s on 3 August 2015. Our thoughts are with this family at this sad time.