the owner of the Curzon, he took over the cinema in Langney Road. Running the Curzon as an independent cinema enabled Roy to bring a wider range of films to Eastbourne than the town would otherwise have seen. In particular he gave a home to the Eastbourne Film Society which but for that would not have survived. Both in conjunction with the Film Society and through his own adventurous programming Roy brought to Eastbourne audiences films that extended well beyond the main - stream releases and included films from around the world. More recently Eastbourne has had the Towner Cinema to carry on something of this tradition, but for some 30 years or so from the late 1980s onwards the town had these riches entirely due to Roy being the Curzon’s proprietor. It was also due to him that in an age of standardised multiplexes the Curzon consciously maintained the appeal and character of a friendly old-fashioned picture house, one in which regular patrons were welcomed on arrival by Roy and his staff headed in later years by Salam Niwa. For Roy, the Curzon was always a labour of love and he kept it going even after it had ceased to be a commercial proposition, rec- ognising the need to close down only in 2020. Ill-health also played a part in that and prior to his death at the District General Hospital (DGH), Roy had been housebound for some years. However, the passing of time has not led to the Curzon being forgotten and news of Roy’s death has been met with much sadness but also with renewed gratitude for all that the Curzon stood for and personal appreciation for the man who made it possible. Paul Jordan adds: Roy’s links with the College continued after he left. He was a speaker for one of the Circus events and in 1997 made the Curzon available for the pupils during the Arts Festival: ‘The most popular and successful of all the week’s events were those in the second half. The Curzon cinema with the kind permission of the manager Roy Galloway (OE), put on for us a Chinese film called Ermo . This turned out to be a fascinating and highly entertaining explo- ration of the impact of Western consumerist culture on traditional village life. It broadened our horizons, kept us amused, and made us think – the very essence of good art.’
few of the boys to visit the American destroyer USS Eaton which was moored off Eastbourne in June 1954: ‘The sense of adventure permeated the thoughts of a group of dayboy reprobates… the plan was that three boys would man canoes and two others would hire a rowing boat at the pier... As things transpired, everything went wrong. The distance to the warship was underestimated, the sea was choppy and there was a delay in getting the rowing boat. The smaller canoe (single-manned) sank about half a mile offshore and the larger canoe was shipping water and gradually sinking. ‘Fortunately, the misadventure ended up with a successful rescue. Five grateful young boys had learnt a painful lesson which was followed by a great deal of ribald comments back at school when our ‘Intrepid Five’ escapade was made public.’ The four other boys involved were: Richard Llewellyn (Powell 1952–55), Ian Browne (Reeves 1952–56), Peter Wallace (Powell 1951–54) and George Tree (Powell 1951–55). Thomas Michael Darracott (Gonville 1937–41) died on 16 December 2022, aged 99. At the College he won the Mackenzie Junior Drawing Prize and, after leaving, attended the Architecture Association School of Architecture from 1941 to 1942, rejoining in 1946. He later worked as an architect in London and Hull. Keith David Dawson (Blackwater 1953–58) died on 25 August 2022, aged 82. He studied mechanical sciences at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, graduating in 1962. It was here that he met his future wife, Pamela. He was employed firstly by GN Haden and Sons in build - ing services design and installation, management training and market research. Then from 1974 by Ove Arup and Partners where he was principally engaged in administration and finished up as Partnership Director, responsible for organising the board’s business, the Interna- tional coordination meetings and the Ove Arup Charitable Trust. By then the partnership had been incorporated. Before joining the College, Keith attended Orley Farm prep school (featured in the 2021 Old Eastbournian ) from 1948 to 1952. He belonged to both College dramatic societies. In 1954, he appeared in the Junior Dramatic Society’s production of The Middle Watch . The Eastbournian reported: ‘K D Dawson as Mary sustained a plausible accent to the end and still managed to interpret the part with sensitivity. If he can act as well in English we should see more of him.’ The following year he played Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream . He received positive notices: ‘Dawson had good moments, and was at his best in the quarrel scene… [but] he was handicapped by an unbecoming and distinctly neo-Georgian wig’. He was also a member of the Glee and Archaeology clubs (he was elected curator in 1956); Head of Choir and was a Cavendish Library sub-librarian. Keith won his gym colours in 1957, and was elected captain of gym the following year. He is survived by his wife, Pamela.
Robert Gascoigne-Pees (Ascham 1952–58; Pennell 1958–62) died in February 2023, aged 78. We reported his death in last year’s magazine and his son Giles has provided some more information about Robert’s life: ‘He was a keen long-distance runner and shooter. Professionally, he was a well- respected chartered surveyor in the Surrey and south west London area. He was married to wife Carol and had three children and six
grandchildren. Outside of work he was a member of Rotary and Round Table for many years, contributing to good causes as organised by these societies. He was known by all who met him as a kind and jovial man who would always go out of his way to help people.’ Richard David Gould (Nugent & Blackwater 1966–70) died on 5 August 2023, aged 71. After leaving the College, David attended Guildford County Technical College where he gained an HND in Business Studies. In 1975, newly married to his first wife, Linda, he emigrated to Canada to pursue a career in marketing and promotions and became one of the Canadian reps for the OEA. By 1978 he was marketing communications manager for a scaffold- ing company, Anthes Equipment, later joining the Beaver Lumber Co as sales promotions manager, where he ran their national promotions campaign. He worked for Admagna Marketing Services Ltd in the 1980s and later for Bald Eagle Consulting Inc. In 1995, David was diagnosed with MS and by 2012 needed the use of a wheelchair. But as he said: ‘life with MS has been difficult… but it opened a window to a totally different appreciation of the world; the limitations of modern medicines and access issues are just two.’ Even in these circumstances, he was still willing to offer help to College pupils, saying: ‘I do not know if there might be anyone at the College
Roy Galloway (Powell 1952–55) died on 30 April 2024, aged 85. We are grateful to his friend Mansel Stimpson (Powell 1951–55) who provided this tribute: With the death of Roy Galloway, East- bourne has lost a resident who made a substantial contribution to the town. Roy developed a love of cinema in his school days. It started when he was at prep school attending Nevill House in St Annes Road
and grew during his time as a pupil at Eastbourne College in the 1950s. Roy then entered the film industry and worked in London as a film editor and producer. Skilled as he became, Roy was mainly concerned in the making of commercials but his main achievement came about when he changed course and became a cinema manager. Throughout his life Roy Galloway had a great fondness for East- bourne which his parents, the stage artists Roy Galloway Sr and Beryl Hayden, had made their home. It was natural, therefore, that he should look for a cinema in this town and on the retirement of Eric Rhodes,
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