No . 133
The Trusty Servant
P S W K Maclure 1939-2019
The following tribute was written by Ralph Townsend ( Headmaster , 05-16 ) in the form of a letter . It was read on behalf of Ralph by The Reverend Canon Dr Paul Burt ( Senior Chaplain , 06-12 ) at Patrick ’ s Thanksgiving Service on Saturday 12 March .
Dear Patrick :
The ninety-third psalm was our text : “ The Lord is king , and hath put on glorious apparel : the Lord hath put on his apparel and girded himself with strength .” Your claim that your iconic wardrobe of corduroy trousers ( pink , blue and primrose too ) were cut from a bolt the Founder left us in his endowment , stored for your benefit in the oak chest housed in the Warden ’ s drawing room , became an article of faith among Wykehamists next to whom you sat at lunch . Those in Hopper ’ s were particularly zealous in proclaiming its orthodoxy .
Preserving orthodoxy in Wykehamical values and behaviour might be said , indeed , to have been your special mission during your years as Aide to the Warden and the Headmaster . The values were plain-speaking without ornament , punctuality and scrupulous personal hygiene : “ We had ( you said ) only tin baths in my day , but our hair was a darn-sight cleaner than the thatch on this lot .” The behaviour was courteous reserve , sharp observation and persistent action : “ I have just splashed my trousers ( you complained ) in wading through the puddle outside Art School , as I did last week , and last year and the year before that - when will the Informator performator ?”
I didn ’ t always please you ( though I tried hard ) but you were very
pleased when we received Ad Portas OW officers who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq . They ticked every criterion of values and behaviour and your pride in them was beatific . You were less pleased and not so beatific when we received Ad Portas , soon after , seventeen Fellows of the Royal Society and the British Academy : “ They ’ re very bright , I know , but some of these chaps look pretty scruffy .”
We had good times , you and I , driving up to Queens in your Jaguar to see Winchester play in the final of Princes ; and competing , up on the touch line on New Field through the soccer season , for which of us had heard the better JP howler at lunch . You were somewhat disappointed , I remember , when on one occasion you thought you had definitely heard the corker in Hopper ’ s that day , when a JP man opined that “ Queen Elizabeth the First was a virgin and a queen : as a queen she was a great success .” You had to concede , however , that I had done better in College , when a JP man there assured me that “ frogs mate for forty-eight hours , which accounts for why their eyes bulge out .”
I could never compete in corduroys , but when we both turned out in trews for Domum Dinner , you agreed that my Cluny Macpherson had the aesthetic edge over your Maclure . And we bonded in discovering that my daughter shared the same name as your mother , Elspeth , or as you pointed out Aeslpeth , as the name appears in the Old Scots translation of St Luke ’ s account of the Visitation .
You were , indeed , our Trusty Servant , discreet , patient , “ the coat his neatness , the open hand his faith .” In your last missive to me on 4 July 2019 , you described yourself as “ a pretty badly broken reed ”. It saddened me to see you gaunt , bent and walking with a stick towards the end , yet even so , your gentle dignity and courtesy were only magnified .
Thank you , Patrick , for your splendid example of the brave acceptance of the trials of old age . And thank you for your service and friendship , and all the joy you gave so many in the Win Coll community :
With love from Ralph
PS I heard you wore the pink cords up to the Pearly Gates and the angels blew their trumpets loud and long . Glorious apparel indeed , you clever old Wok !
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