No . 133 The Trusty Servant
If you ask colleagues about Alec , the word ‘ reliable ’ is never long in appearing , though as a first adjective I might also make a bid for ‘ fecund ’: Dr Graham ’ s toytimes contain countless original problems , viewed with a mix of admiration and dread by pupils and colleagues alike . He leaves his high-flying pupils nowhere to hide , and his response to protest is always the same : ‘ It ’ s character-building .’
This love of rigour also pervades Alec ’ s primary leisure pursuit of hillwalking , and as far as he is concerned the colder , snowier and more ‘ character-building ’ the better . If you don ’ t need an ice axe it barely counts as walking .
Alec leaves Winchester to become head of Maths at Manchester Grammar School , which will see him rather closer to his beloved Highlands , and within easy reach of acceptable peaks in Wales . We wish him the very best , and hope that the Mathematics if not the mountains of Hampshire will be enough to lure him south every once in a while .
Revd Justin White ( Chaplain , 06-14 ; Dean of Chapel , since 2018 ; new post as Senior Provost of the Woodard Corporation ).
Benjamin Cunningham ( K , 07 – 12 ; Co Ro , 18 –) writes :
‘ You ’ re going to Winchester ? Rev J is there : he ’ s such a legend ! He does a great sermon about plug sockets and the Trinity !’
‘ Oh yeah ! And the one about mayonnaise . And one about ...’
The first time I knew of ‘ Rev J ’, or ‘ Rev White ’ as we knew him at the College , was at a family friend ’ s house just before I came to Winchester in 2007 . I was frankly amazed at the enthusiasm of two older teenagers , who had been at his previous school in Abingdon , for his sermons . However , having heard many of them through my time as a pupil of the school and now as a don , I can safely say that they are indeed legendary , somehow combining rigorous exegesis of the texts and yet capturing the pupil body through charisma and , often , contemporary references . I think it is safe to say that Justin ’ s role in the life of the Chapel simply cannot be underestimated .
Of course , there is much more to Justin ’ s role in the school than preaching and presiding over services in Chapel . As a teacher he is right up there : every lesson was meticulously prepared and essays were marked seemingly instantly and , in some instances , with a great deal of green ink !
Theology and Philosophy boomed from 2009 or so onwards , no small thanks to Justin . It was an inherently interesting course with topics ranging from arguing the existence or not of God , to the ethics of genetic engineering . But Rev White ’ s reputation as a fun yet serious teacher who was always inviting class debate was what persuaded many of us to take it for Pre-U . Indeed , we liked him so much that one year he secured invitations to every Leavers ’ Supper .
There was one part of TP , however , which I think many of us ( Rev White included , I suspect ) would have happily forgone : Polkinghorne . This was one of our set texts and , as far as we could work out , was a book on quantum mechanics , not theology nor philosophy . It made for very painful , slow , and tiresome reading . But thank goodness we had a don who had read Engineering at Oxford !
After a brief stint in America , Justin came back to England and taught at Dulwich College for a couple of years before returning to Win Coll in 2018 . Normal service was resumed . I joined Co Ro at the same time , and I have been very lucky to have been able to work with Justin in Chapel these past four years .
We are all very sorry to see him go . We have lost a superlative preacher and teacher , and a great friend .
However , there is cause for hope . This may be the end of Justin ’ s second incarnation at Winchester , but in the Bible ( and plug sockets ) at least , all good things come in threes !
An anthology of Justin ’ s sermons has been published . Any readers wishing to obtain a copy should email wincollsoc @ wincoll . ac . uk .
David Yeomans ( DT since 2004 ; HoDo , G , 07-19 ; retiring ).
Jeremy Douglas ( Coll , 88-92 ; Co Ro , 04- ) writes :
18 years . 54 terms . 576 weeks . 13 Leavers ’ Suppers . Over 200 fabulous Philites . And one David Yeomans .
Some of the numbers above are approximate , because I am a sloppy physicist . If David had written this piece himself , none of the numbers would have been approximate , because he is a craftsman who pays attention to detail and takes great pleasure in a piece of work ’ s being exactly right .
The clean and uncluttered feel of the Yeomans private side in Phil ’ s reflected those characteristic design values . The first-year DT toytime laid out neatly on a round table to be marked in an elegant circular progress ; the exquisite rare steaks he barbecued for those lucky enough to be Phil ’ s house tutors near the end of every Cloister Time : you can infer from these the belief that things needn ’ t be complicated , but that they ought to be good – and that if you want people to do things well , you should do them well yourself .
That perfectionism suited life in Mill well : he brought a huge range of skills with him on joining the DT department in September 2004 . Jewellery is a particular speciality , but he can turn his hand to making
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