Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 93

It was during this time that he was one
of many seriously injured in a fatal military
transport accident at Broadford in 1949.
While Keith was recovering in the Heidelberg
Repatriation Hospital he met a nurse named
Shirley Jean Buckland. They were married at
St John’s Presbyterian Church, Kensington,
England, on 1 December 1956. The church
was decorated in Scotch colours for the
wedding.
Keith spent many years at Amalgamated
Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) as a
contracted radio officer for various shipping
lines, including those servicing Ocean
Island and Nauru for the British Phosphate
Commission. He also spent some time in
the North Atlantic while living and working in
England.
Leaving the sea in 1961, Keith joined an
electrical engineering firm in Melbourne as
a production manager, remaining there until
his retirement in 1987.
In retirement Keith was kept busy as a
volunteer reader at the Victorian Institute
of the Blind. For this service he was made
a Life Governor of the Institute. Keith was
a lifetime passionate Hawthorn supporter,
and was delighted at its many successes in
recent years. He was also a proud member
of the Melbourne Cricket Club for 66 years
Keith died suddenly at home at Malvern
on 7 December 2019. He is survived by his
wife Shirley, children Ian and Winifred, and
grandchildren Georgina, Sarah and Rachel.
EARLE, William John
(John) ('51)
John’s family wrote:
William John Earle,
known as John, was
born at Warrnambool on
8 March 1935. John’s
family, who were living
in Sydney at the time, returned there shortly
after his birth, and moved to Elizabeth
Street, Kooyong, when he was three.
John attended Scotch from 1942 in
Grade 1C, to 1952. Also at Scotch were
his brother James Heward Earle (born
31 August 1927, SC 1941-44, died 29
September 2014), son James (SC 1976-88),
and nephews David (SC 1960-72), Richard
(SC 1961-72), Andrew (SC 1964-76), Simon
(SC 1966-77) and Jonathan (SC 1970-81).
John was the under 8, 9 and 11 Junior
School champion athlete, and will forever
hold Scotch’s record for the under 9
seventy-five yard sprint (10.9 seconds). John
captained the under 10, 11 and 12 cricket
and football teams. He was a member of the
1950 and 1952 Athletics teams, sang in the
choir, and was a Cadet.
Matriculating in 1952, John graduated
from Pharmacy College in 1957. After
several years living and working in London,
and travelling around Europe, John
returned to Melbourne in 1959, working
as a pharmacist at Camberwell and in
Myer’s city store. From 1963, John owned
and operated pharmacies in Lygon Street,
Carlton, Collins Street, Melbourne (National
Mutual Pharmacy) and Glenferrie Road,
Hawthorn (Earle’s Amcal Pharmacy).
John married Jane Christine Vickery
on 27 January 1968 at the Wesley College
Chapel, Sydney University. They also had
two daughters – Sally and Georgina.
After retirement, John and Jane lived
on a small farm at Shoreham, where he
became involved with the local Probus
group, enjoying many years participating in
the choir and various social events.
He played tennis regularly and was a
50-year member of both the Kooyong Lawn
Tennis Club and the Melbourne Cricket
Club. John travelled overseas extensively,
including regular visits to Paris to spend time
with his daughter Sally and her children.
John died on 26 October 2019 at the
Alfred Hospital, Prahran, surrounded by
his family. He is survived by his wife, three
children and six grandchildren.
FORSYTH, Alister John
(John) ('55)
John’s brother, Rob,
wrote:
Alister John Forsyth
was born at Melbourne on
23 January 1938. Known
as John, he attended
Scotch from 1946 to 1954. He was a member
of the 1953 and 1954 Swimming teams.
Other relatives at Scotch included his
brother Rob (SC 1956-66), a cousin, uncles,
and his great-great-uncle, Prime Minister
George Houstoun Reid, whose 1850s
attendance predates Scotch’s records. John
left in 1954 in VIII Mixed as a member of the
Class of 1955. His son Michael attended
Shore in Sydney, and he also had two
daughters, Melissa and Kara.
John (known as Fizzle) was a passionate
and successful surf lifesaver with Point
Leo, captaining it for four years, and (later
when living in Sydney) at Manly, winning
many state and national titles. In 1961 John
received the John Wishart Memorial Medal
as Lifesaver of the Year for his outstanding
contribution to Victorian surf lifesaving. John
played first grade water polo and hockey.
He married Sandra Joan Chapple at
Camberwell on 3 June 1965.
John mostly worked as a stockbroker, and
was elected a member of the Sydney Stock
Exchange (1977-86) and to the board of the
Australian Stock Exchange (1987-2000).
Moving to Sydney, John’s sporting life
continued with rafting down Tasmania’s
Franklin River, the Gong Ride (Sydney to
Wollongong), cycling from Perth to Albany,
and Sydney to Perth, the New Zealand
Coast to Coast, two Pacific-Atlantic-Cycling
Tours, completing the Hawaiian Iron Man
and the Fremantle to Rottnest Island swim,
cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats, and
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
By this time, John and his second
wife, Mrs Robin Christine (Robbie) (nee
Marshall) Patterson (whom he married on
18 September 2016 at Laguna, New South
Wales), had moved from Manly to Laguna.
He was made a life member of Laguna’s Fire
Brigade and Valley Artists. They donated
and constructed Laguna’s Village Green,
and were named Cessnock’s 2019 Senior
Citizens of the Year.
Around 2016, John was diagnosed with
prostate cancer, but this only accelerated
his work on Laguna’s Village Green. He died
at Sydney on 16 November 2019.
John’s death leaves a void, but his work
for many charities will live on.
FUSSELL, Roderick
John ('67)
Rod’s son, Charlie,
wrote:
Roderick John
Fussell was born 1 June
1949 at St George’s
Hospital, Kew, the son
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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