N o .126
“I only had to talk and
eat and live in villages to
realise that human beings
hold the keys to the gate
of a better life.”
dilemmas of nuclear development, the
challenges of the space programme, or
the considerable demands of raising
six children, Dyson offers a first-hand
account of one of the greatest periods of
scientific discovery of our modern age.
Liveright;
ISBN 978-0871403865.
Double Flowers:
The Remarkable Story
of Extra-Petalled
Blooms was written
by the late Nicola
Ferguson, wife of
JGD Ferguson (D,
61-66), with CA
Quest-Ritson (D, 61-
65). Pimpernell Press;
ISBN 978-1910258880.
Call Me Tuan
PGTW Fiennes
(D, 76-81) has just
finished editing the
David
fascinating memoirs
Fiennes
of his uncle DEMTW
Fiennes (D, 29-34),
Memoirs of a
Call me Tuan, an
Latter-Day
Colonialist
account of the fall of
Singapore and working
for the Commonwealth Development
Corporation in Malaysia. Gregory Yapp
Publishing; ISBN 978-1527225244.
David Fiennes was born in Richmond,
Surrey in 1916 and was educated at
Winchester College and New College
Oxford. He moved to Singapore in
1938, having joined Alfred Holt, the
Liverpool shipping company. He signed
up for the Royal Naval Reserve, but was
captured by the Japanese and spent the
war incarcerated in the notorious prison
camp at Palembang. After the war, David
helped launch Malayan Airways, before
joining the Commonwealth Development
Corporation, where he devoted himself to
transforming Malaya (later Malaysia) into
an economic powerhouse. He returned to
the UK in 1968 and continued to work as
a consultant. David Fiennes died in 1986.
These thought-provoking memoirs are
being published for the first time.
Memoir / History
£20
T he T rusty S ervant
HO Humphrys (A, 59-64) has now
finished a book on his grandfather -
Wavell in Russia, as mentioned in TS125.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy
please email [email protected].
TRP Salmon (C, 55-59) draws our
attention to three recent books: the
third edition of his walkers’ guide to
the mountains of Greece, published
by Cicerone, under the title Trekking
in Greece: the Peloponnese and Pindos
Way, ISBN 978-1852849689; On Foot
Across France: Dunkerque to the Pyrenees,
Blackbird Digital Books, ISBN 978-
1494231538; and Schizophrenia - Who
Cares? A Father’s Story, Blackbird Digital
Books, ISBN 978-1491217085.
TCH Sharp (B, 90-95)
has co-authored Lötz
1900- The Loetz Glass
Factory at the World
Exhibition in Paris
1900. In a successful
attempt to make his
mark alongside the
recognised titans
of Art Nouveau glass such as Émile
Gallé and Louis Comfort Tiffany,
Loetz factory director Max von
Spaun commissioned German artist
Franz Hofstoetter to produce a series
of 100 glass objects for the exhibition –
with stunning results! The text is in both
English and German. Auktionshaus im
Kinsky; ISBN 978-3950375329. Copies
are available on http://www.imkinsky.com
for EUR 69.
Tough Choices: Stories
from the Front Line
of Medical Ethics
by DK Sokol (D,
92-97) is a gripping
collection of essays on
the toughest ethical
issues in medicine,
from cosmetic surgery
to end-of-life care. Drawing on his
experience as a leading medical ethicist
and barrister, and years of front-line
experience in hospitals, Daniel sheds
light on the ethical complexities
of modern medicine and guides us
towards a better understanding of
morality. Book Guild Publishing; ISBN
978-1912575480.
REA Younger (F, 79-84) and Professor
Frank Partnoy have rewritten the
Communist Manifesto. The result is The
Activist Manifesto, a reimagining of what
Marx and Engels would have written
today, 170 years after the publication
of their most famous work. Inequality
In 1968 David Fiennes sat down in an
armchair in his house in London to write an
account of his life in Singapore, Malaysia,
Borneo, Sumatra and other points East.
He was 52 years old and had recently
resigned as Controller of Operations at the
Commonwealth Development Corporation.
David writes with vivid enthusiasm about
life in pre-war Singapore (he was posted
there in January 1938), but also with grow-
ing alarm as conflict with Japan became
unavoidable. He joined the Royal Naval
Reserve and was caught up in Singapore’s
cataclysmic downfall. He was eventually cap-
tured by the Japanese, and the account of his
failed attempt to escape is nerve-wracking;
his eventual incarceration (for the next three
years) is heart-rending. After the war, on a
boat back to Britain, half-starved and suffer-
ing from dysentery, he vowed to return to the
Malaya he loved.
He was back in Singapore in 1947 – and for
the next 20 years played a key role in the re-
gion’s extraordinary economic transformation.
He helped to launch Malayan Airways (later to
become Singapore Airlines) before resigning
in a fit of pique. He joined the Colonial (later
Commonwealth) Development Corporation
(CDC) and threw himself into the challenge
of how best to improve the quality of life of
some of the world’s poorest peoples. He was
the first Chairman of the Federal Land Devel-
opment Authority (FELDA), which in a short
time became the world’s largest producer and
exporter of palm oil. He somehow found time
to act as Chairman of Borneo Airways.
No matter his successes, David could al-
ways see that people are what matters. And
the message of this evocative book is that no
development – indeed, no organisation or
country – will ever work unless the people are
happy and engaged.
Call Me Tuan is a remarkable account of a
working life in a vanished world. But its hu-
manity, enthusiasm, insights and engagement
with real people in a time of turbulent change
are just as relevant today.
22
remains at the centre
of the rewrite, but
instead of a focus
on class divisions,
the authors focus
on power inequality
as the root cause of
inequality today and
call on activists of the
world to unite! Interestingly, the authors
were able to keep 74% of the wording
from the original version in the rewrite.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Platform; ISBN 978-1986175715.
Business
J Bicknell (K, 58-63) is pleased to
announce that Arragon Mooar, the
house his firm designed for Dr John
Taylor OBE, is featured on a recent
special Isle of Man stamp issue.
PL Hall (Coll, 77-81), who stepped
down from Tilney last October, has been
appointed Chief Executive of Cazenove
Capital.
Legal
CTR Swann (H, 70-73) recently became
a Legal 500 Hall of Fame member for
Media and Entertainment law. He was
also recognised by Best Lawyers as UK
Advertising & Marketing Lawyer of the
Year, 2019.
Media
MP Roller (I, 11-16) has landed a job as
a cricket reporter for ESPNcricinfo, the
sports-news website exclusively for the
game of cricket.
Politics
K Storey (K, 76-81), President of
the Thirsk and Malton Conservative
Association, addressed the Conservative
Party conference in Birmingham about
his opposition to fracking.