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V a l e t e
29 St Edward’s r hubarb
put his son to the cello where
he made rapid progress. He
came under the influence of
Pini and after attending UCS
Hampstead he entered the Royal
Academy of Music at the age
of 15 where he studied with
Cameron and won every cello
prize. A scholarship provided
for study with Navarra in Paris
and another with Piatigorsky in
California, where he also came
under the influence of Heifetz.
On returning to London he was
appointed, at the age of 21, to
Principle Cello with the LSO. At
the time, this was the youngest
ever appointment to a principle
position in that orchestra. It was
here that he was to work with
such great conductors as Kertész,
Previn (whose ‘cello concerto
he premiered), Abbado and
Bernstein, to name but a few. His
playing and personality helped to
define the LSO, on the Board of
Directors of which he served, for
several decades. He was a Fellow
of, and professor at, the Royal
Academy and a professor at the
Royal Welsh College.
It was a sad day in 2006 when
ill health prevented him from
continuing his teaching at St
Edward’s, although he continued
to attend our concerts. We
were very fortunate to have
such a distinguished cellist and
musician on our staff and to
have counted him among our
friends. Those of us who played
with him will never forget the
charisma both of his personality
and of his playing.
EVANS – Mervyn Evans, (MCR,
1947-1979). The following was
kindly provided by his friend and
fellow teacher Malcom Oxley
(1962-1999).
Mervyn Evans taught Classics
at St Edward’s from 1947-
1979 and was Housemaster
of Segar’s from 1964-1973.
Before the War, at Oxford,
he flourished in the Oxford
Union during the Presidency
of Edward Heath and lived for
a while in Paris. Both left him a
lifelong Liberal and a convinced
Europhile. He fought in Italy
and was one of that group
of talented schoolmasters
appointed by Henry Kendall in
his closing years.
Well read, he had a
consuming interest in the
world around him, a fierce
commitment to the plight
of the underdog and wide
cultural interests. He soon
made his mark in the school
joining those few masters who
set a high value on academic
achievement and interests
beyond the games field. Many
pupils recall his excellent
teaching, his encouragement
of open discussion and debate
about the post-war world, his
cosmopolitan appreciation of
the arts and his urbane tolerance
of the young as well as his
enthusiastic devotion to their
interests. Pupils were introduced
to debating, modern cinema,
contemporary drama and
overseas travel. Above all they
were aware that he believed
that such things mattered and
should matter to an educated
man or woman.
He was possessed of great
personal qualities which made
him such a good schoolmaster.
He wore his principles on his
sleeve but never stridently, often
wittily, frequently persuasively. He
was spontaneously sympathetic
to the needs of others which
made him active in local social
voluntary work such as prison
visiting and this humanity made
him an influential force in the
lives of many he taught. He
was a committed and practising
Christian. These skills he brought
to bear as a Housemaster when,
on the premature death of Bill
Veitch, he took over Segar’s. In
this and in all his school-mastering
Mervyn was helped enormously
by his first wife Yvonne, who
amongst her many qualities, had
the ability to tease his occasional
over-seriousness or mild touches
of vanity, for he was a dapper
dresser and pupils readily
speculated about his next bow tie!
Their happy family life with their
three children was pervasive in the
school community. Many young
teachers, like me in the1960s,
found the hospitable welcome
in their home encouraging and
supportive. We became life-
long friends. Mervyn had many
such both within the School and
outside it.
He was one of those
schoolmasters who, all too aware
of the pre-war Depression
which he had experienced as a
London Welshman, and the War
which set the tone for much of
his life, contributed towards a
Douglas Cummings
Mervyn Evans
new outlook on the world for
the independent schools. That
they became more outward-
looking, more liberal and more
humane was in large part due
to men like Mervyn Evans. His
closing years, where he was still
engaged with the world around
him, still travelling and keeping up
his friendships were enormously
enhanced by the great success
and happiness of his second
marriage after Yvonne’s death, to
Sally, who survives him.
IRVINE – Peter Neill Irvine
(MCR, 1990-1993), aged 82.
The following is an extract taken
from the Wanganui Chronicle.
Originally from New Zealand,
Peter decided on a teaching
career after completing a degree
in Architecture at Auckland. He
was a Mathematics teacher but
also coached rugby and rowing.
He was on the Wanganui
Collegiate School teaching staff
from 1958 to 1977, from 1981
to 1990, and in 1996.
Mr Irvine was also a school
master at Huntley School
(1956-1957), headmaster at
St George’s School (1978-
1979), and taught in the United
Kingdom at St Edward’s School,
Oxford (1990-1993) and Eton
College (1993). He was awarded
a Winston Churchill Fellowship
to Cambridge University in 1975.
Mr Irvine is survived by wife,
Janet, son Sam and daughters
Kate and Mandy.
Peter Irvine
O b i t u a r i e s