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ST EDWARD’S
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and marked by a third party
afterwards; he was also
convinced that it was necessary
to ask candidates to do things
which were more typical of real
life. The result was the ARELS
Oral examinations, which
started in the late 1960s. His
passion – and it really was a
passion, about which he would
talk animatedly even in extreme
old age – was for language
acquisition. He had strong
views, but one of his views
was that he shouldn’t impose
his opinion – one reason why
there has never really been
a standard LSE ‘method’. I
remember a classic example of
this: I installed a new reception
desk which had a very high
fascia – it made a real barrier.
Peter said ‘why don’t you install
machine guns on it too?’. That
certainly did the trick - the
fascia was cut down. The Friday
lecture, which he gave every
week for many years, lives on
to this day in our Westcroft
Square General English Centre.
No obituary of Peter could
ignore cigarettes. He smoked
incessantly – at least 60 a
day, maybe more, anywhere
and everywhere, leaving a
trail of ash behind him. Peter
exemplified the origins of our
industry in creative – at times
eccentric – individuals, running
their schools for love. He was
a very generous employer,
who inspired loyalty and
great affection. One year I
remember we got a 27% pay
rise, although this was classic
Peter, acting from the heart not
the head – the move almost
bankrupted the company.
Peter’s life partner was Sydney
Cruickshank, and they were
together for nearly 70 years,
having met shortly after the
war. Until quite recently they
were living independently but
after Sydney died in November
2014, Peter struggled, and
after a couple of months in a
retirement home, and a short
illness, he died of pneumonia.
GILKES
– On 22nd
December 2014, Michael John
Gilkes (G, 1937-1941), aged 91.
The following obituary
has kindly been provided by
Michael’s son Oliver;
Michael trained as a
doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital
qualifying in 1946. One of
his first posts was as ships'
and base surgeon with the
Antarctic whaling fleet in South
Georgia between 1946 and
1948. He then returned to
Moorfields Eye Hospital where
he specialised as an ophthalmic
surgeon, working briefly in
Jerusalem and then taking up a
post at the Sussex Eye Hospital
in 1957, becoming senior
consultant and being involved
in national medical politics.
He retired in 1987. He was a
keen yachtsman, completing
a transatlantic race in 1960,
and later building his own
cruising yacht from scratch.
He also became a passionate
model engineer, creating a
fully-equipped workshop with
lathes and forges at his home,
and participating in live steam
events. Very much a larger
than life figure, greatly missed
by all.
GLOVER
– In 2015, Michael
Glover (F, 1944-1947).
Michael entered National
Service in 1950 before going
into insurance in 1952. He
became Director of Alexander
Howden Insurance Brokers
in 1962 before becoming
Chairman in 1974. In 1977 he
became Director for South
Eastern Aviation Underwriters,
and Deputy Chairman and
CEO at Alexander Howden
Group PLC in 1981, and
Director of Alexander and
Alexander Services Inc in 1982,
and Chairman of Wentworth
Building Development PLC in
1985. Michael was a member
of Lloyd’s of London, the Guild
of Air Pilots and air Navigators
and a Freeman of the City of
London and Liveryman.
HARRISON
– On 21st
December 2015, William
Harrison (E, 1942-1945).
William joined Sandhurst in
1946. He leaves behind his wife,
sons, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren.
HERDMAN
– On 5th August
2015, John Mark Ambrose
Herdman CBE, LVO, (F, 1945-
1949), aged 83.
The following obituary has
kindly been provided by John’s
brother Anthony (B, 1959-1964);
John, or Mark as he was
known, was father of Bridget
Herdman (D, 1987-1989) and
brother of Nigel Herdman (B,
1960-1963). Following the award
of a degree in History at Trinity
College Dublin, Mark applied
for and was selected to join
Her Majesty’s British Overseas
Civil Service (better known as
the Colonial Office) and spent
a year at Queen’s College,
Oxford in preparation for an
appointment as an administrator
and to learn Swahili. In 1955
he was appointed to Kenya as
a District Officer, a beautiful
country which he came to
love – particularly its people:
his early years under constant
threat from the Mau Mau terror,
sharing campsites with Joy and
George Adamson of
Born Free
fame, building villages, dams,
irrigation schemes, roads and
so much more. A lasting legacy
which remains for all to see was
his pioneering and promotion
of athletics, particularly long-
distance running. In 1963
he was promoted District
Commissioner and saw through
the transition of the country
to independence in 1964. The
dismantling of the Colonial
Service over an astonishingly
short period meant that there
were many administrators
who found themselves without
a job. The vast majority of
them were offered a small
redundancy package but for the
very fortunate few, transfers
to Her Majesty’s Diplomatic
Service were available. Mark
was selected for one of these
rare options and, following a
period learning Arabic at the
Middle East Centre for Arab
Studies (MECAS) in Shemlan
near Beirut, he was posted to
Amman in Jordan. On his return
to the UK in 1969 he joined the
Gibraltar and South Atlantic
Department with the slightly
long-winded but accurately
named: “Head of Gibraltar
economic and St Helena and
Dependencies Section” which
included Ascension Island and
Tristan da Cunha. He continued
his career with postings to
Zambia, Saudi Arabia and
Malawi interspersed with further
periods as a desk officer in
London. 1981 Mark returned to
cover the Atlantic Islands in what
was then called the West Indian
and Atlantic Department which
included, at this point, Bermuda.
It was therefore an appropriate
honour that in 1983 he was
appointed Deputy Governor
of Bermuda, becoming for
about a year, Acting Governor
during an interregnum
between Governors. His final
appointment was as Governor
of the British Virgin Islands
from 1986 to 1991. In a
glowing tribute to Mark the
present Prime Minister, Dr
The Honourable D Orlando
Smith, OBE wrote the following:
“During his time as Governor,
Mr Herdman helped to lay the
foundation for the development
of the modern Virgin Islands’
disaster management systems
and operations. As Governor,
he had overall responsibility
for the Territory’s emergency
management programme and
recovery during the passage
of Hurricane Hugo in 1989,
the first major storm to hit
the Territory since 1960. Mr
Herdman otherwise provided
stable and sound leadership
during a difficult period, but
one that saw important new
developments in the Virgin
Islands. We are grateful that he
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O B I T U A R I E S