Clive Hutchinson 1931-2019
Imagine the scene . The summer of 1946 . The dust of war unsettled . London is grimy and bomb-damaged . Most of Hamburg is flattened . In Russia , Stalin controlled much of Eastern Europe . Harry S ( no full stop ) Truman is President of the USA . Penicillin is a new drug . The British Empire still exists . At Sevenoaks School the Headmaster , JA Higgs-Walker , speaks of returning to pre-war standards . Down Oak Lane at Johnsons House 50 boys in grey flannels , a master and the house matron are at lunch in a long room with long tables . At the side table in the bay window about ten boys are seated . One of them , a skinny redhead with a face full of freckles , is surreptitiously aiming kicks under the table at the ankles of his tormentors and saying in a half-whisper : ‘ You swine .’ Tears of rage are in his eyes . Someone has slathered mustard on his meat . He detests mustard . A giggling Roger Johnson is watching and dodging kicks .
Clive Hutchinson was that redhead with unruly hair . His nickname was Thatch . Despite the mustard incident he had a great fondness for his schooldays . Years later , as a labour of love , he traced hundreds of men who had been boys at Johnsons and organised lunch reunions . Some did not want to be reminded of those days of austerity , of rationing , of beatings , of wearing grey , of not being allowed to do so many things such as talking to girls or riding a bicycle .
But others came and enjoyed the fellowship and no other house at the school has the following of alumni . Clive grew bulkier and his hair stayed red into old age with a mop of curls .
The school was going to have a commemorative lunch in his honour this year , but unfortunately the Covid pandemic ended that . Clive built up a huge library of photographs and programmes and memorabilia which is being donated to the school . He had pictures of events that he was not involved with . He wrote dozens of obituaries for the Sennockian . He told me that he became emotional when writing about old friends who had died . He traced people by poring over telephone books and rang up Old Boys in Zimbabwe and South Africa .
Clive always believed that he was psychic , that he had healing powers and even claimed to have cured cancer . He said he had seen the ghost at Johnsons . He was an avid gardener , enjoying the fruit of his orchard round the year . He was passionate about dogs , cricket and wild birds and he was a proud Member of Rayleigh Town Council .
Clive married young . He met an English girl from Argentina and he and Sheila had five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren . They were married for 65 years . He died 30 October 2019 , at the age of 88 .
Colin Neilson ( OS 1948 )
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