the wellington college year book 2010/2011
the wellington college year book 2010/2011
20
mur r ay fowl e r
1991–2011
va l e t e
My first encounter with Murray Fowler was
as the geography teacher of form 4b at St
Edward’s School Oxford in 1982. Quiet,
even timid, his head remained well below
the parapet throughout the year. His exam
result, a somewhat lacklustre 47%, placing
him 14/22 in a class that was not full of
academic luminaries, did not suggest that he
would become one of the leading classroom
geographers of his generation, Head of
Department, Housemaster, Head of Lower
Sixth and, from September, Deputy Head of
W ellington College Tianjing.
There were many reasons for the
transformation. Crucially, he was taught
by someone else the following year and his
latent love of geography was allowed to
blossom. Equally crucially, he met Claire, in
the Dewdrop Inn, Summertown, on the night
after he had finished his a-levels. As young
lovers do and despite some opposition, he
abandoned his original university course in
Bristol and followed Claire to London to
complete his degree at King’s College. Deep
knowledge of the subject, developed there,
engendered within Murray the desire to pass
this on and the foundation from which to do so.
Having enjoyed a brief dalliance with
Charterhouse, he joined Wellington in
eunice gillan
2005–2011
1991 and the rest, as they say, is history,
or geography, in Murray’s case. Ever more
confident with any geographical topic, always
ready to pull his own leg (just as well, as there
was no shortage of opportunity to do so),
constantly popular with students, increasingly
at ease with the demands of school and family
life but never compromising in the standards
he expected, his career has followed a steady
upward path.
Space limitations preclude a full summary of
their combined achievements but he, Claire,
Ollie, Max and Felix leave a huge gap as they
leave and not just in the fence of Stapleton
House, battered as it has been by every
conceivable round object. They depart with
many fond memories, enormous goodwill and
the best wishes of all at Wellington, as they
embark upon the next exciting chapter of life.
My first meeting with Eunice came in the
Theatre in November 2005; newly appointed
hms, we sat together in the theatre on a
Visitor’s Day. A parent asked a question
and in his own inimitable way, the Master
enthusiastically said, ‘I will ask Eunice and
Delyth to comment on that’. As my face
and neck turned a deep read colour and
beads of sweat formed on my forehead, I will
never forget Eunice standing up, confidently,
assuredly and in the most dignified and poised
of manners to address the packed theatre,
as if she had been working at Wellington for
years. This captures Eunice in a nutshell;
she has an ‘Apollo 13’ approach — nothing is
too big a challenge and she takes everything
in her stride. Coupled with this, she is
the thoroughly nice and most genuine of
individuals.
Eunice set up The Wellesley — Wellington’s
first day girls’ House — and in four years,
has filled it to the rafters. She has been the
most dedicated of Housemistresses; no finer
tribute could be made than that she really
devoted her life in term time to the welfare
of the girls under her charge. Wellesley girls
and parents were utterly confident of her
seemingly unlimited reserves of kindness,
patience and time. She worked extremely
hard to include, involve and know all of
the young people in her house and worked
tirelessly to ensure that the girls involved
and integrated themselves fully in the life of
the College. Eunice has an unusually strong
understanding of young people, their culture
and their feelings; a natural empathy with
them, skill in getting alongside them, listening
to them and winning their trust. Her tutor
team appreciated her warmth, support,
guidance and encouragement too.
This has been an outstanding career at
Wellington; in her four years here, Eunice has
been a whirlwind; a jack of all trades and a
master of not a few. She’s been a remarkably
inspiring teacher of History and engaged
her students not only in the classroom but
around the world on trips to First World
War battlefields, China, Russia and Eastern
Europe. As a Captain in the ccf she has
lead the Fifth Form Army section and run
trips to Germany, Cornwall and Fremington.
Eunice has been unfailing in her commitment
to the sports department too, taking a team
in every term whether it be Hockey, Netball
or Athletics. In 2009, she was a member of
the staff Channel Swimming team; this was
an enormous personal challenge, for she was
not a strong swimmer but she spent hours
ploughing up and down the College pool, taking
lessons in technique and swimming through
jellyfish infested seas in order to prepare.
Eunice leaves a powerful legacy here. When
asked to describe her recently, her Matron
and some girls said she is ‘simply the best’.
Eunice makes the journey to Turkey to
teach History at the mef International School
in Istanbul. I have no doubt that she will
continue to touch the lives of all of the young
people she will come into contact with and
we wish her every success and fulfilment in
that new challenge.
21
Eunice has an unusually
strong understanding of
young people, their culture
and their feelings;
a natural empathy with them,
skill in getting alongside
them, listening to them
and winning their trust.