FORMER STAFF OBITUARIES
Below : At Park Grange in 1976
DUNCAN TOWNSON 1927-2023
Duncan Townson was for generations of Sevenoaks students a deeply influential , inspirational figure . It is no exaggeration to say that those who read History at university seldom experienced better teaching . Cambridge historian , Housemaster of Park Grange , author , Yorkshireman , cricketer , opera lover , he served between 1952 and 1987 under five headmasters . Penetratingly intelligent , direct of speech , he respected those who aspired to similar levels of professionalism , honesty and intellectual rigour . Second-rate historians , fraudulent politicians and many English cricketers he dismissed as ‘ clowns ’.
For him , history involved voracious reading , critical rigour and an impressive openness to new ideas : 60 years ago he and Kim Taylor pioneered a cross-curricular , global syllabus , PEB ( Predicament , Experience , Belief ), that opened young eyes to prehistory , the rise of civilisations and the great empires ; occasionally idiosyncratic in his selections for study , he once dismissed a plea for more time to be given to the Roman Empire with , ‘ Not important .’ His knowledge of Russian history , particularly the October Revolution , was close to intimidating , although the Sixth Formers he taught for an A-level special subject were indeed privileged . Equally impressive was his knowledge of the French Revolution , his book upon which became a standard text .
Duncan was Housemaster of Park Grange for many years , and with his wife Lesley and their children created a warm and caring boarding community ; utterly straightforward and fair , he stood up for his boys but expected high standards of them . It was during this time that he and the family set off on summer-long expeditions to Morocco and , notably , Iran . In retirement he was commissioned by Penguin to write two dictionaries : Modern History 1789-1945 and Contemporary History : 1945 to the Present , as well as Breve historia de Inglaterra for Spanish readers . In his mid-90s , his reading ranged from the latest book on the 1848 Revolutions to a scholarly comparison of Spanish and Aztec civilisations .
Above all , Duncan was a good friend to so many colleagues , students and former students , some of whom went on to distinguished academic careers . If I think of Duncan , it is of him playing for the Orbillians cricket team , drinking in the Oak Tap ( the ever-increasing price of a pint was a constant preoccupation ), of his intellectual passion and of his love of opera and art . He was at Sevenoaks at a time of immense change and embodied so much of what many regard as the essence of the school .
John Guyatt , Undermaster 1990-2003 ( OS 1961 )
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2023-2024 133