No.127
Go Bo Vale
Jean Ritchie retired as Fellow at the
end of Short Half. A QC and Head of
Chambers, married to a Wykehamist
and mother to two more, Jean became
a Fellow in December 2008. She has
played a significant role on the Works
Committee, joining it after a month
as Fellow and becoming Chairman
in 2014. Her watch has overseen,
among at least 25 material projects,
the New Hall renovation, several
boarding-house refurbishments,
the conversion of Warden’s Stables
into a relocated Treasury and most
recently the preparation for the
Southern Campus project. Her Works
Bursars praise her sympathethic and
discerning oversight. The Warden
describes her in his valedictory speech
as ‘diligent and dedicated in spades’.
We thank her for all her hard work. Si
monumentum requiris, circumspice.
The Trusty Servant
Half and Jacub Bojdol joined as a
Junior Fellow in Mathmā. We offer all
of these a warm welcome.
At the end of Short Half, Tom Bird
(Classics, since 2015), Nicola von
Bossel-Hill (MFL, since 2016), Ben
Ponniah (Economics, since 2018) and
Al Muzaurieta (Gordon Fellow in
Rowing & MFL, since 2018) left us.
At the end of Common Time, Simon
Tarrant (DT, since 2008) moved
on to become HoD at St John’s
Leatherhead; he will be succeeded as
HoD here by Callum Barnes.
At the end of Cloister Time we will
bid farewell to: Peter Cornish (Maths
since 1987; retiring); David Ceiriog-
Hughes (MFL since 1989; HoDo of D,
98-10; retiring); Rachel Poole (Biology
since 2011; HoD at PGS), Charlotte
Roland (Gordon Fellow Economics
since 2017; further study at Oxford);
Estzer Backhausz (Maths, since 2018;
Godolphin & Latymer); and Sophie
Glenny (JF Music, since 2018). We
also bid farewell again to Marjorie
Huntley (History & Div since 2004;
retiring), rumours of whose retirement
in 2017 proved to be exaggerated. We
thank them for their contributions.
In addition to these dons, whose
full vales will be printed in the next
Wykehamist, we bid farewell to the
following members of the College
community:
Do Co Ro: Ave atque Vale
In addition to Howard Ionascu
(Director of Chapel Music) and
James Thorne (Classics), who were
mentioned in our previous addition,
Heather Wagstaff (Economics) and
Mandy Ramsbottom (MFL) joined
us at the start of Common Time.
At the beginning of Cloister Time,
Tim Meldrum joined the Economics
department, Emma Aitkenhead (DT)
returned to a permanent post after
providing sabbatical cover in Short
Andy Coles retired at the end of
March after 30 years of tending
House gardens.
Graham Jarvis, the Common Room
Steward since 2012, left at the end
of Common Time. Graham brought
some much-needed military order to
the role, having served previously
as an RN steward, including a stint
on HMS Ark Royal and then at
Fort Blockhouse. He ran a very tight
ship with the accounts, turning a
loss into a healthy surplus with his
ring-binders ensuring that every
Mars bar was paid for. Each autumn
he turned one room into a poppy-
19
appeal smörgåsbord of everything
from pin-badges to military bath
ducks. Together with his fund-raising
in Fareham, he has collected over
£31,000 for the Royal British Legion
over the last three years. He was also
a great supporter of Corps summer
trips to the Lake District, happy to
get up at 4am to drive tired boys and
dons to the base of the next peak or
shore of the next lake, although his
stertorous sleeping caused colleagues
to choose their pitch carefully. He
leaves us to take up a role at Jacobs
Coaches.
Kevin Coates, the Works Manager,
leaves us at the end of May 2019.
He started at Winchester in May
2011, having worked at the College
intermittently since 1997 on jobs
for local construction companies.
His tenure has seen him oversee
a huge range of projects; the one
that gave him most satisfaction
was last summer’s refurbishment
of the private side of Cook’s:
wholesale mechanical and electrical
replacement along with new kitchen
and internal redecorations and
flooring throughout, all completed in
six weeks programme. Kevin moves
on to work for himself providing
construction management services.
He will be succeeded by Paul Legg.
Rachel Wragg, Curator of Treasury,
leaves at the end of Cloister
Time. Rachel arrived as Museum
Development Manager in 2012
and oversaw the transformation
of the Warden’s Stables into the
new Treasury. She stayed with us
as Curator when it opened in 2016.
Under her tenure the Treasury has
been moved to the heart of pupils’
experience, with every JP man
slipping on a pair of white gloves
to handle the Greek vases (while
their div don looks on nervously)
and senior boys regularly curating
their own exhibitions, on subjects
from the school’s NHS, to the
reception of classical antiquities