St Edward's Rhubarb

ST EDWARD’S

V A L E T E

O B I T U A R I E S

that he made many great

friendships, including with Peter

Hullah, then assistant Chaplain

at the school. During these years

Will developed his love of travel;

cycling in France, motorcycling in

Devon on the trusty BSA Bantam

– a dependable and idiosyncratic

machine totally in keeping with

Will’s personality – and as a 15

year old on a trip we made to

Germany. This involved knowing

where we were going but not

much else; hitchhiking our way to

an address where we hoped to

find brother Steve, we endured

manic driving, border control

problems and ferocious rain.

We had a road map, no means

of communication, and a degree

of determination; on the return

journey with Steve in the trusty

Higgins purple Mini we slept in

and under the car, stayed in the

disreputable Hotel Violet in Paris

and had the sort of experiences

that forge a lifelong friendship.

After Teddies, Will went on

to read Spanish and European

Studies at Warwick University,

graduating with a 2:1, and during

this time he spent a year in

Cordoba. His main focus, to be

honest, was on local hostelries

rather than university study and

he developed a lifelong love of

all things Spanish that continued

throughout his life – his paellas

were legendary – and he became

truly Iberian in outlook. At the

end of that year we once again

was appointed Captain of

the Guard to Field Marshall

Auchinleck (Commander in

Chief of the Army India) at

the Indian Independence and

handover ceremonies in 1947.

Although Dad had always

fancied becoming a doctor

that was never to be. The

war meant he never went to

university and instead he spent

most of his working life as

an accountant and an estate

agent.

Retiring up to the Lake

District in 1986 dad found

a new role as a guide at the

Beatrix Potter Museum in

Hawkshead. Imagine the joy

on the faces of the tourists

flocking in from Japan to

find they were speaking to

someone who’d actually met

Beatrix Potter in the flesh

- during his summer breaks

from St Edward’s Dad had

worked on a farm in the village

of Sawrey where the author

lived.

HALL

– On 31st October

2017, Michael Lindsay

Bracebridge Hall (G, 1932-

1936). Son of Bracebridge

(1891-1894), nephew of

Alexander (C, 1896-1901).

St John’s, Cambridge 1936-

1939, MA. Royal Warwickshire

Regiment 1939-1945, Capt.

Assistant Master Eastbourne

College Prep School 1946-

1950. Headmaster Ardingly

College Junior School 1950-

1954. Homefield Prep School,

Sutton 1954-1962. USPG

1963-1981. Council Church

Schools Co 1981.

HANDY

– In January 2018,

John Handy (D, 1939-1944).

Royal Signals 1944 with

army career retiring as a Major

in 1967. Emmanuel, Cambridge

1949-1952 MA. Herbert

Ingersoll Ltd, Daventry 1967-

1972. Norlin Communications,

Coventry. Cornix Systems,

Coventry.

HARTNOLL

– In 2016,

Christopher Amyas Hartnoll

(B, 1940-1942). Father of Tim

(B, 1968-1973), grandfather of

Alexander (B, 2004-2006).

Merchant Navy 1942-1963.

HMS Worcester 1942. Alfred

Holt, Liverpool 1943-1953.

Master’s Certificate 1953.

Singapore Port 1953-1956.

American President Lines

1956-1963. Ship Agency Far

East 1963-1970. Own Business

from 1971.

HEWITSON

– In March 2016,

Nicholas David Hewitson

(C, 1971-1976). Son of Neil

(C, 1943-1948), nephew of

Ian (C, 1947-1949).

Rep Tie (Canoes). Gold

DofE. Marketing Manager

Barlec-Richfield Ltd 1979-1985.

Marketing Director Ratadata

Limited since 1986.

HIGGINS

– On 15th August

2016, William Henry George

Higgins (B, 1971-1976). This

obituary was adapted by Rik

Smart (C, 1970-1975) from the

eulogy given by James Barnes

(G, 1972-1976) at Will’s funeral:

Will Higgins was the second

of Pat and Lorna Higgins’ three

children, fitting neatly between

Stephen and Kate, and was born

in Salisbury on the 15th April

1958. Pat was based at Bulford

Camp at the time and Will’s

childhood was fairly typical for

an army family and he moved

around from Staffordshire via

Bahrain to Chester. Schooling

varied from the engaging

attempts of Service wives in

Bahrain to a junior school in

Chester and then Swanbourne

House in Buckinghamshire,

which was a well-regarded prep

school for boys. It was when

he joined St Edward’s, Oxford

that our paths first seriously

crossed, although with elder

brothers who were exact

contemporaries at Swanbourne

and Teddies, we most certainly

knew each other well before

then. Will had a successful

career at Teddies playing hockey

and cricket to first team level

and moved smoothly through O

levels and A levels – unlike one

or two of his fellow students.

Alongside this he trod the

boards – he displayed a fine calf

in Shakespearean tights - and

managed to be both a stalwart

of the establishment as a

school prefect but also a rakish

presence on the social circuit.

His greatly trusting housemaster,

Fran Pritchard, would have a

briefing with his Head of House

every Saturday after lunch

and would run through the

weekend’s plans, including which

pubs in Oxford he would be

patrolling that evening. Suitably

armed with this vital intelligence,

Will would ensure we all had

a pleasant evening in hostelries

off Fran’s beat. It was at Teddies

Will Higgins

Brian Lane (Captain) Rugby XV 1946