Rhubarb

St Edward’s r h u b a r b

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means to deliver the animal a humane death, Nick stayed with the elephant and protected her, refusing to leave her side for the two days it took her to die. Nick leaves his partner Penny and his daughter Kate. ELLERTON – In May 2014, Nigel Ellerton (D, 1960-1966). Nigel was born in Amersham in 1947. He had recently retired from a peripatetic series of careers ranging from design to catering and was living in Chipping Campden. A few weeks before Nick died, Nigel learned that he had a malignant melanoma, an unwelcome legacy from an idyllic but suntan lotion-free childhood in Kenya. He told no one of his condition until the cancer prevented him from walking, just a fortnight before his death. He endured the chronic pain with patient and uncomplaining fortitude. Nigel leaves a son, Timothy, and two daughters, Chloe and Jessica.

John was instrumental in arranging reunions of the six who joined Field House in September 1952 – himself, Malcolm Axtell (C, 1952-1956), Philip Darley (C, 1952-1957), Hugh Privett (C, 1952-1957), Iain Wilkinson (C, 1952-1956) and me. We last dined together in Oxford in July 2012, by which time the cancer from which he had begun to suffer in 2000 had taken hold, but of which he made light both then and in the months that remained to him. We shall miss him.

would have done credit to the Black Douglas – unsurprising, perhaps, given his Scottish ancestry. On the river he rowed in the 1st VIII for two years and was Captain of Boats in 1957. The Chronicle described John as ‘a fine captain of both crew and club’ and the VIII as ‘the fittest and most successful St Edward’s crew at Henley so far’, which undoubtedly helped to lay the foundations for the Princess Elizabeth Cup wins in 1958 and 1959. After two years at Sandhurst John was commissioned into the Black Watch, serving in Cyprus during a period of relative calm and later in Germany, as well as in various UK postings. He left the Army in 1969 Manager of South Asia based in Singapore where his son Toby was tragically killed in a road accident, and finally in India. Following a brief period running his own management and marketing training consultancy in India and then initiating and managing the marketing of an American alloys company’s products, John joined Knight-Ridder’s financial information service as Manager, Asia and Australia, moving first to Singapore and then to Hong Kong to cover Japan. Blessed with enthusiasm for any task, a wonderful sense of humour and the ability to lead, it was while working in Hong Kong that John met his second wife, Toni. They made an immensely happy marriage, and she looked after him with skill and devotion for more than 30 years, moving after a while to London and then on retirement to the south-west of Scotland. and joined Rank Xerox, working in Scotland and England, then as General

O b i t u a r i e s

V a l e t e

Nick Ellerton

1966-1971) has kindly provided the following obituaries for both Nicholas and Nigel. Nick died suddenly near his home in Sri Lanka. He was born in Kenya in 1949 and after St Edward’s spent all of his working life with animals. For most of his career he was with Chester Zoo, where he was Curator of Mammals; after leaving there Nick ran the animals side of the Knowsley Safari Park. On retirement, Nick went to a relatively isolated part of Sri Lanka where, with his courageous partner Penny Boyd, he built a home from scratch and developed a large garden, in spite of the worst intentions of the elephants that he managed to keep out, with a combination of ditches and fences. Nick had no academic qualifications but became an expert of world renown on elephants and on improving the life quality of animals in captivity. Nick was a larger than life character with a huge appetite for living; he found compromise with people he disagreed with a difficult skill but had an enormous and sensitive empathy with the natural world. Shortly before his death in his adopted country, Nick encountered an elephant which had been struck by a bus, and was dying by the side of the road and having to helplessly endure the idle curiosity, prodding and other torments from passers-by. Lacking the

Anthony Dodd

DODD – On 15th August 2014, Anthony Robert Fletcher Dodd (A, 1947-1952), aged 80, after a long illness. The brother of Philip Dodd (A, 1943-1948), he went to Magdalene, Cambridge, from 1954-1957, obtaining an MA in Mechanical Sciences. He worked in Management Services in New Zealand, and was an Information Systems Manager at Pitman Moore New Zealand Ltd. His widow Mrs Lynley Dodd told us “Tony loved his years at St Edward’s and although he made his home here in New Zealand, he never lost his interest in the doings of the School.” ELLERTON – On 28th March 2014, Nicholas G Ellerton (D, 1962-1967), in Sri Lanka. His brother Chris Ellerton (D,

Douglas Fox

FOX – On 18th July 2013, Douglas Charles Fox (D, 1935- 1939), after a short illness. His son Richard kindly provided the following obituary. Born in Blackheath, London on 30th December 1921, Douglas Charles Fox lived his early life in South East London. He attended Belmont Prep School and then in 1935, passed Common Entrance to become a pupil at St Edward’s School in