The Old Pocklingtonian Old Pocklingtonian 2017-18 | Page 31

PERSONALIA
PERSONALIA NEWS
PRE - 1980
Tom Dawson (45-52) worked in the timber
trade and joinery industry for many years before
spending the last twelve years of his working life
in the memorial trade managing a merchant and
manufacturing business in Hull and Bristol. The firm
imported headstones from South Africa, India, China
and Italy, supplying the local family-run monumental
business in the UK. He says the real bonus was that
he visited all the suppliers, some on a regular basis.
When he retired, he became chairman of one of
Cruse Bereavement Care’s regions. Tom’s son, David
(75-78), also attended Pocklington School.
David Kingham (53-59) was a boarder in
Lyndhurst, Wilberforce Lodge and School House.
He is an artist living in France and recently moved
to La Tremblade in the Charente Maritime. He has
changed the focus of his art from traditional oil
painting to digital art and has a new website to
promote his work: www.davekingham.com.
Rev. David Post (47-58), now retired, fulfilled a
boyhood ambition when he decided to cycle from
his home in Lincolnshire to Land’s End, then from
Land’s End to John O’Groats and finally from John
O’Groats back to Lincolnshire – a distance of some
2060 miles! David used his challenge to raise over
£9,000 for St George’s Church in Baghdad. During
his cycle ride, he kept a diary of his journey, a copy
of which is held in the school library.
Mike Stathers (62-69) is a councillor for the East
Riding of Yorkshire Council and was appointed as a
governor of Pocklington School in January 2018.
The Very Revd Robert ‘Bob’ Wilkes (57-66),
Vicar of St Michael at the North Gate in Oxford and
Rector of the city, retired in October 2017 after 44
years of ministry, which included postings in Liverpool
and Birmingham as well as 14 years in a parish in
Afghanistan with the Church Mission Society prior
to joining St Michael’s. In retirement, he continues
as part-time Chaplain in Campsfield Immigration
Removal Centre, helps in local Churches, and is
Chair of Trustees in two charities. Having been a
classicist at Pocklington and Oxford (under the
leadership of Pitts-Tucker and Eggleshaw), he went
to RSC Stratford earlier in the year for Imperium
Parts 1 and 2 all about Cicero which made him think
it was time to refresh his Latin and Greek!
Julian Morgan (68-76) has returned to the UK
and now lives in North Yorkshire. He has recently
become something of a professional Yorkshireman:
he has written three books of Yorkshire Puzzles and
his most recent publication is Sonnets for Yorkshire
Stars, a collection of 100 poems written about
famous folk from the county. Old Pocklingtonians
featured in the book are William Wilberforce and
Adrian Edmondson. Visit www.yorkshireauthor.com
for more information.
1980 - 1989
Steve Baker (75-82) now lives in Oxford with
wife Susie and their three children, Charlie (reading
Classics at New College, Oxford), Kathryn and
Lizzie (both studying for A levels). Following a first in
Engineering and post-graduate research into thin film
semi-conductors at Churchill College, Cambridge,
Steve joined management consultancy Accenture
and spent 25 years with various firms advising
banks and insurance companies. He has recently
retired from Grant Thornton and is founding a craft
brewery near home.
Nick Derbyshire (77-86) is IT Service Delivery
Manager for VocaLink Mastercard, based in
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. He continues to
play team squash in Berkshire, Middlesex and
Buckinghamshire as well as being seen regularly on
the England Masters Circuit and major tournaments
such as the British Nationals and British Open.
Nigel Fletcher (77-82) has been residing in
Auckland, New Zealand since 2001, is married and
has one son, Sam, who is 17. He has worked in the
Commercial Property sector for the last 28 years
and has run his own consultancy and transaction
business for the past 20 years. In his spare time, he
still enjoys playing cricket!
Mark Kendrew (73-83) following a rigorous
selection process, took on the role of Special
Constabulary Chief Officer (SCO) for Hertfordshire
in December 2016. Mark is one of only two or three
SCOs in England and Wales to be appointed as a
direct entrant (i.e. without prior policing experience)
to the role. He is a member of the Chief Constable’s
leadership team based at Police HQ in Welwyn
Garden City. He has specific responsibility for
leading 240 Special Constables, who have the same
powers as regular Police Constables. Last year, they
volunteered a total of 60,000 hours of their spare
time to police their local communities.
In a first for the country, eight of Mark’s officers
deployed in May 2017 to help a local NHS general
hospital recover from an international ransomware
cyber-attack. His team of professional IT and cyber
specialists was formed up and deployed in just two
hours, helping to recover the hospital’s network
and 4,500 computers, many of which were infected
with the virus. This is just one example that makes
Mark very proud to lead the Special Constabulary
in Hertfordshire.
Richard Leonard (73-80), Central Scotland MSP,
entered the political contest to replace Keizia
Dugdale as leader of the Scottish Labour Party
following her resignation in August 2017. The
leadership campaign period saw candidates take
part in ten hustings events across Scotland ahead of
the party vote on 17 November 2017.
1990 - 1999
The Revd Charlie Allen (92-97) has taken up the
post of Canon Chancellor of Durham Cathedral.
Prior to this she worked as Diocesan Director of
Ordinands within the Diocese of Salisbury, and
has previously ministered within the Dioceses of
Portsmouth and Chichester.
Dr John Barnes (85-92) is now working at the
Open University at Milton Keynes. He is still doing
post doctorate research and in August 2016 was
one of the co-authors of the report in the journal
‘Nature’ that discovered the planet Proxima
Centauri. He has written a number of published
papers and has travelled to many of the world’s
large telescopes.
Tor Carver’s (née Sweeting, 88-90) William’s
Den, the adventure attraction in East Yorkshire she
and husband Christian opened in 2017, has won
a coveted Tourism and Leisure Award from the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
for its inspirational and inclusive design. Over 45 of
Yorkshire’s most impressive property schemes were
nominated and William’s Den won one of just eight
awards. ’The Den’, as it has become lovingly known,
will go forward to a national awards final, to be held
in November in London.
Ed Pettifer (86-93) was awarded ‘Vet of the Year’ in
the Yorkshire Post 2017 Rural Awards. The inaugural
Rural Awards ceremony, held at the Pavilions of
Harrogate, was hosted by BBC journalist Harry
Gration.
2000 - 2009
Ollie Bostock (99-04) has been expanding
his creativity since leaving school by creating
films. Initially living in London, Ollie became a
runner working on adverts, music videos and TV
productions before becoming a freelance camera
operator. As a camera operator he worked on
projects for Nike, Sony, Festival Republic and Jet2
Holidays, working with production companies based
all over the UK. After founding Hewitt & Walker, his
own film and production company based in York,
Ollie has become a creative director ensuring all
projects are finished to the highest creative standard.
Clients include Absolut, Reebok, Visit England and
Taylors. Visit the website for more information www.
hewittandwalker.com.
Hannah Farmer (97-04), a solicitor specialising in
agricultural and rural land matters, started a new
position as Associate at law firm Andrew Jackson
Solicitors in July 2018. Hannah Farmer, who was
recently awarded the Fellowship of the Agricultural
Law Association, has advised rural land owners
and farmers on a wide range of property matters
including the acquisition and disposal of freehold
land as well as agricultural tenancies and easements.
She has also advised a number of commercial clients
on matters such as the disposal and acquisition
of freehold property alongside negotiating and
completing commercial purchases from large
workshops to industrial estates and public houses.
She regularly advises the UK agricultural industry, as
both an elected council member to the Agricultural
Law Association (ALA) and an active member of the
Country Land and Business Association (CLA).
Sarah Gough (96-07) took up the position of
Associate Director at global PR agency, Grayling
earlier this year. In her new role, she is responsible
for developing the client base of the Leeds office
both locally and nationally, and also managed an
office move to a new central Leeds location over
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