Obituaries

Deaths
The following deaths have been reported to the Secretary since the last circular:

Chris Moxley who taught English at Newport from 1971-73 and again from 1979-84 died suddenly on 19th November 2010.  He was 60.

Mr B E Saych [1927-30]
S J Bush [1931-34]
Dr R W Burley [1953-60]
Mr B J Chopping [1947-52]
C J V Liddle [staff 1957-83]
K G Thompson [1940-42]

Obituaries
C J V [Courtenay] Liddle
Courtenay Liddle was appointed as Head of the Maths Department at Newport in 1957 having taught maths for 5 years in Macclesfield. He very quickly established himself not only as a very good teacher of his subject but also as an excellent administrator. For many years he and Michael Weatherup [who died in 1980] prepared the school timetable each year. In 1974 Courtenay was appointed Head of Sixth Form, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. Courtenay was in charge of the Sixth Form during a period of great expansion. He helped lay the foundations for the present very large and highly successful Sixth Form that Newport now enjoys. Sons Ian [1963-70] and Keith [1965-72] attended the school. Courtenay died on 28 March 2002. He will be remembered with great affection by many former pupils of the school especially those who he taught in the Sixth Form.

Aubrey Levey
Aubrey Levey entered Newport from Stansted in 1926. He served in West Africa, India and Burma during the war. He was a member of the Royal British Legion and a very keen member of the National Trust for whom he used to give voluntary lectures. After the war he returned to Stansted where he lived for the rest of his life. Aubrey was a very great supporter of the school and the Society. He never missed an ON function or event and he attended most school concerts. He will be greatly missed by the Society.

Harry Perkins
In last December's newsletter the death of Harry (Polly) Perkins was reported and memories of him were written by Dr Cecil French and Ian Roper. Peter Steggall (1932-36) who knew Harry Perkins well has written the following:
"Cecil French and Ian Roper wrote in December 2000 about their friend and colleague, Harry, who died in November. I too wrote a piece for the ON but delay in the post prevented it reaching Keith Huddlestone in time.

My acquaintance with Harry began in September 1932 when we both started at Newport at the age of eleven. My home was then at Harlow. His was at Little Easton where his mother was the village schoolmistress. We soon became friends and remained so until he died. Before the 1939-45 War I occasionally stayed during summer holidays with Harry and his parents and his sister Sheila in the School House. During the War I was in the Army for over five years, four of them abroad. Harry's asthma prevented his going into the armed forces, and he was able to complete his studies at Cambridge and then taught at Newport from 1942 to 1946. He cheered me in exile by writing regularly and sometimes he sent me a book. His letters were always lively for even then he had definite views on many topics. In 1944 when I wrote criticising Brahms after attending concerts in Jerusalem, he replied sharply, accusing me of being a heretic! He was always a lover of music and a competent pianist and organist.

From 1947 Harry was teaching at Durham School and we saw less of each other, but we kept on corresponding. He returned in 1970 to teach at Newport, and in 1973, with Keith Huddlestone's help, we cooperated to get trees and shrubs planted in the school grounds and on the Rider.
As Cecil French and Ian Roper have recorded, Harry enjoyed being provocative in his regular 'phone calls to his friends, including me, but it was good to know that he wanted to keep in touch. Sometimes he was exasperating but I still enjoyed listening and talking to him, and meeting him and Sheila and her husband Les Hinson and their daughter Lydia. We were all very sad when Sheila died in 1998. Harry, who never married, continued living with Les and Lydia at Little Easton.
Now, I who knew Harry for nearly seventy years, and my wife Barbara who knew him for nearly fifty, are sad to have lost a good friend with whom we shared many interests including wildlife and Scotland. Unfortunately Barbara broke her leg three days before Harry's funeral at Cambridge and we were unable to be there. However we are thankful for our long friendship and will cherish our memories of Harry. He is greatly missed by his family and many friends and Old Newportonians.