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ST EDWARD’S
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V A L E T E
O B I T U A R I E S
Tenor Ian Bostridge writes: I
think Robert (with his tongue in
his cheek, as it often was, quite
literally) liked to be thought of
as an old-fashioned impresario.
He didn’t just find work or
field requests. He had a very
clear sense of how to nurture a
career and of how to construct
interesting and varied seasons
which could stimulate the
creative juices of those lucky
enough to be on his list. His
wider influence on concert and
opera performances worldwide
over the past few decades has
been incalculable, and will be
palpably missed.
Artist management was a
personal thing for Robert, not
a mere business transaction.
At many periods of my life we
spoke every day. When I was
struck down with a kidney stone
in Vienna, he stayed with me for
the scans, keeping me company
through the agony and the
boredom.
After he retired from being an
agent, he remained a dear friend.
We met often in New York
where, with typical energy, he had
taken on a new role at the Met.
He was a man of the widest taste
and culture, impishly funny and
very kind. A lover of theatre and
art, and a fine linguist, he was also
a voracious and insightful reader,
always eager to discuss the latest
Alan Hollinghurst novel, say, or
the new Hilary Mantel, though his
favourite book was
Middlemarch
.
REYNOLDS
– In June 2017,
Edward Geoffrey Willoughby
Reynolds (D, 1937-1940).
Father of Edward (D, 1966-
1971).
Royal Engineers 1943-1947.
Chartered Surveyor 1947-
1951. Farmer, Gloucestershire
1951-1981. Retired 1981.
SHAW
– On 3rd October
2017, Antony E Shaw (A,
1940-1942).
The following obituary was
provided by Richard Shaw:
Antony grew up living
close to St Edward’s School
in Capel Close, Summertown.
After leaving school during
the war, he commenced
reading Engineering at
Swansea but was soon called
up and joined The Royal Navy
(Fleet Air Arm) and quickly
became a young officer. After
the war he took his articles
to become a Chartered
Accountant with a view to
joining his father’s practice
in Oxford. Once qualified,
Antony had other ideas and
he decided that his future
would be in industry and
commerce rather than in the
profession. He held senior
positions in Roneo Vickers,
British Oxygen and, latterly,
was Finance Director of
Scaffolding GB PLC. He played
rugby whilst in the Royal Navy
and squash twice a week until
the age of 76! He married
Mary in 1947 and they moved
to Bromley in 1956 with their
three sons Richard, Martin
and Christopher. After he was
widowed in 2001, Antony
moved to live in Hambleton
beside Rutland Water for
the remainder of his life. He
proudly wore his old school
ties throughout his life.
SHEPHERD
– On 16th April
2017, Richard Mark Shepherd
(A, 1961-65). Brother of
Alistair (A, 1956-1961) and
William (A, 1959-1964).
SANDBERG
– On 2nd July
2017, Michael Graham Ruddock
Sandberg (E, 1941-1945).
Grandfather of Robbie (A,
2010-2012).
School Prefect, Head of
House, Sacristan, Librarian.
Sergeant in the JTC. President of
the St Edward’s School Society
1990-1992.
The following obituary is
taken from
The Telegraph
: Lord
Sandberg, who has died aged
90, was an entrepreneurial
and expansive chairman of
Hongkong Bank, and later a
Liberal Democrat peer. Michael
Sandberg rose through the
hierarchy of the Hongkong &
Shanghai Banking Corporation
to become its chairman and
chief manager in Hong Kong in
1977. Affable and urbane but
combative when he needed to
be, he was more of a dealmaker
than a traditional banker.
Indicative of a willingness to
ruffle feathers was his decision
in 1979 to sell Hutchison
Whampoa to Li Ka-shing.
Sandberg struck a private deal –
brokered by the shipping tycoon
YK Pao – to sell the bank’s
controlling stake in Hutchison
to Li at a price that was below
the book value of its assets
and was described by a former
Hutchison director as “a steal”.
No bids were invited from other
potentially interested parties,
including the rival trading houses
of Jardines and Swires. But he
rode out the storm – and by
securing the bank’s relationship
with Li, signalled willingness to
do business with other up-and-
coming Chinese entrepreneurs
who would dominate the boom
years ahead. Having buttressed
Hongkong Bank’s position in
its home market, Sandberg
embarked on an ambitious plan
to build a “three-legged stool”,
in which the second leg would
be in the US and the third in
the UK and Europe. In 1980, he
acquired 51 per cent of Marine
Midland, a commercial bank with
a branch network in New York
State, which Sandberg declared
“jolly well-run”. The arrangement
was first announced as “a
partnership” but became an
increasing drain on the parent
bank’s capital; Marine Midland
was eventually brought under
control from Hong Kong, and
clocked up serious losses in the
late 1980s. In pursuit of the
third leg, Sandberg notably took
on the Governor of the Bank
of England, Gordon Richardson
over the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Both bids were referred to the
Monopolies Commission, which
conveniently ruled against both
bids, on the grounds that the
Scottish economy would suffer if
RBS was taken over. Sandberg’s
willingness to take risks
inevitably left a mixed record
when he retired from the chair
in 1986: among the bank’s major
Hong Kong borrowers on his
watch, for example, was Carrian,
the scandal-ridden and ultimately
bankrupt property group. But
under his dynamic leadership
the Hongkong Bank’s balance
sheet multiplied in size many
times as its horizons became
global, while its commitment to
its home territory – at a time
of political uncertainty ahead of
the handover to China – could
not have been more robustly
restated.
Antony Shaw
Michael Sandberg