John ‘Jack’ Vernon Armitage (Pennell 1936–39) died in Tewantin, Queensland, Australia on 18 June 2015, aged 92. We have only recently been made aware of John’s death. After leaving the College, John served as captain in the 14th Punjab Regiment and then as a lieutenant in the Royal Indian Navy Combined Operations Unit. His war service took him to India, Burma and Egypt. Following his discharge in 1946, Jack became a tea planter in Ceylon and South Africa before moving to Jersey in the Channel Islands. He later emigrated to Australia. He is survived by his daughter, Kay. His wife, Dawn predeceased him. His son, John, was killed in 1977 when the RAF Canberra jet he was piloting, crashed.
you mean is can you go out, to sit, smoke and drink in a country pub.’ He let us and took us, and the strawberries and cream he and his wife provided on picnics, we painted too.’ ‘The food at Wargrave was so good too, [we] would have 3rd helpings of yummy apple suet pudding and custard, all cooked by a large Dutch lady, a refugee from Holland, I believe, tons of semolina as few boys liked it, how I looked forward to meals.’ Patrick was married to Mary and they had two children, Alison and Miles.
Kenneth Bryce Barton (School 1944–47) died on 5 April 2023, aged 92. His son, John, kindly provided us with this tribute to his father: Ken, a man of many talents and strong sense of duty, led a remarkable life that tra- versed continents and occupations. Born in Blackheath, London, on 22 April 1930, Ken’s upbringing was steeped in family traditions and musical influences. His father, a First
Patrick Douglas Attenborough (Eastbourne Branch 1943; Ascham 1943–47; Wargrave 1947–51) died on 20 April 2024, aged 90. After College, Patrick attended the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He did national service in the RAF at the Air Ministry and worked at the Ministry of Works, Charringtons the brewers and the John Lewis Partnership.
World War veteran and accountant, instilled discipline while Ken’s interest in music blossomed at an early age, shaped by his parents’ proficiency in playing the piano and organ. The tumult of the Second World War led Ken and his family to be evacuated from London to Malvern. Ken subsequently continued his education at Eastbourne College. Ken always reflected positively on his time there. As well as embracing his education, he loved his sporting pursuits, particularly cricket, soccer and rugby. From a young age, Ken harboured a fervent desire to join the Royal Navy, which materialized at 17 when he embarked on a distinguished career as a naval officer. His naval service spanned 20 years, during which he acquired skills in navigation, gunnery, and aviation, while also criss-crossing the globe, from the West Indies to India and Asia. Fortuitously, a visit to Fremantle in 1958 brought Ken face-to-face with his future wife, Barbara Goode, a local Australian. Their courtship unfolded across continents, leading to their marriage in 1961, which coincided with Barbara’s relocation to England for further studies. Ken’s naval career continued apace, marked by deployments aboard prestigious ships like HMS Ark Royal , where he commanded helicopter squadrons and specialized in anti-submarine warfare. After 20 years of dedicated service, Ken made a pivotal decision to retire from the Navy, driven by a desire to spend more time with his young family. An unexpected opportunity beckoned when Barbara’s uncle offered Ken a share-farming position on a dairy farm at Brun- swick, Western Australia. This bold leap transplanted Ken, Barbara, and their children to Olive Hill, a picturesque 600-acre farm nestled along the Brunswick River. Life at Olive Hill was a crucible of shared experiences and enduring memories for Ken and his family. From pre-dawn milking sessions to hay carting and church involvement, Ken embraced the rigours of farm life with characteristic resolve and a deep sense of community. His involvement extended to various local organizations, including the church, Farmers Union, and Bushfire Brigade, where he served as MC for the Brunswick Show parade. Transitioning from dairy to beef farming after 15 years, Ken’s journey at Olive Hill was defined by resilience and adaptability. At age 70, with no successor to the farm business, Ken and Barbara sold Olive Hill and resettled in Claremont, Western Australia. This new chapter heralded a vibrant period marked by Ken’s avid pursuit of golf, involvement in the RSL [Returned & Services League], and continued musical engagements, including choir participation and organ recitals. Ken’s unwavering devotion to Barbara during her health challenges demonstrated his deep-seated values of love and commitment. After her passing in 2019, Ken grappled with profound grief and loneliness, finding solace in aged care at Queenslea, Claremont. Despite physical limitations, Ken’s cognitive faculties remained sharp, evident in his passion for cryptic crosswords, sudoku, and piano playing. Ken’s legacy endures through his children, grandchildren, and the countless lives he touched with his kindness, humour, and sense of duty. He leaves behind a rich tapestry of experiences, from naval
Patrick with Mary on his 80th birthday
He then joined the architecture firm AR Dannatt & Partners, fol - lowed by Trehearne and Norman, Preston & Partners, where he says he was happiest: ‘They gave me a free hand and none of my buildings fell down’. He also worked at David Ruffle Architects and K C White Partnership, ‘before being one of the 50% of the country’s architects laid off in the early 1990s’. He later worked as a gardener at an old peo- ple’s centre and did occasional drawings for an architect to help out when he had too much work. He had a wide variety of interests: jazz, films, art, steam trains, buildings, landscapes and photography. He started writing for the Mass Observation Archive in 1984 and said he wrote letters ‘expressing my left-wing views, how to run the railways, my wartime memories and environmental concerns’. Patrick’s creativity was evident at the College. An article in the Eastbournian reported: ‘We congratulate P D Attenborough and J J Sambrook, some of whose drawings and paintings were selected from the Schools Exhi- bition at the Towner Art Gallery last term for further exhibition at Leicester and for subsequent publication.’ His son, Miles, said, ‘He continued to be interested in drawing and I discovered he had produced an amusing series of Hippo cartoons for the staff magazine and Christmas cards when he was working as an architect for John Lewis’s new department stores in the late 60s. I also found his school sketch book from 1949 so have some nice early pencil drawings of steam trains which remained his passion!’ In 2003, Patrick sent in some of his wartime memories to the College: ‘We had a huge glass aquarium stocked with vegetation, snails, water boatman, newts, frogs and tadpoles from the small ponds within Manor Gardens rockery... We used to go somewhere up Carlisle Road for excellent lunches at the war time offices of the Electricity Board, that greatly eased rations at home; my mother too had school lunches as she was a teacher at St Helens, West Hill, Eastbourne’ [private girls’ school]. ‘Vin Allom, whose bark was much worse than his bite – his snuff taking and tapping an art form… [he] taught music appreciation which I enjoyed… 78 rpm classical discs on a wind-up gramophone with a colossal horn. I preferred dance bands and to this day jazz is a vital part of my life.’ ‘[Ralph] Simpson who taught me to love art, an important part of my life… C Harris and myself formed the Art VI; Simpson said: ‘what One of Patrick’s Hippo cartoons
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