Obituaries
Dr Gareth W Roberts (Honorary Staff Member 1984-2008) 10.07.1948 – 04.01.2013
He is survived by his son, Jake (83-90), and daughter, Samantha, and left his family and friends at his funeral to Frank Sinatra singing On the Sunny Side of the Street , one of his favourite songs. Samantha Pettifer contributed significantly to this obituary.
Gareth Roberts was educated at Dolgellau Grammar School before gaining his first degree at Aberystwyth, followed by a PhD at the University of Liverpool and post-Doctoral research at Guy’s Hospital in London. He studied for a degree in
James Ruston Price (1940-46) 20.04.1929 – 19.11.2013
Jim Price came to Dulwich from Wykeham House School in Worthing and was at the College for almost the entire duration of the Second World War. He often told the story about the PT instructor Mr McClure, who stood on top of the school bomb shelter entrance and conducted the whole school in exercises for ten minutes before the morning break. One morning there was a shout from Mr McClure and everybody turned to see a V2 rocket tearing across the sky, but it was heading well away from the school, luckily. He was in Spenser, playing rugby and swimming in the inter-house competitions, and was awarded his House Colours. He was also in the ATC as an air cadet. On leaving Dulwich, he joined the GPO Research station in Dollis Hill as a Youth-in-Training. In 1950 he was called up for National Service and joined REME as a radio mechanic. After demobilisation in 1951, he returned to the GPO in Dollis Hill for a while but soon moved to Plessey, Ilford, where he worked on radio communication for the RAF. In 1953, after becoming a chartered engineer and member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (MIEE), he joined Muirhead & Co in Beckenham as a development engineer on electronic vibration analysis equipment. In 1955, a small instrument company called Rivlin Instruments offered him a job as Chief Design Engineer, but that company decided to relocate to Farnborough, so Jim decided to start his own company with two colleagues. Alma Components Ltd. was set up in 1956, to manufacture precision electronic components, with the help of another OA, J A C Bentall (40-47), who became the company’s auditor. In 1959, another OA, Doug Bartlett (37-40) joined Alma as Sales Director [Doug Bartlett died in 2011 and his obituary appeared in the Yearbook last year (108th Issue – 2013)]. The company prospered and in 1960 it moved to Diss in Norfolk, employing 270 people on a three acre site. In 1976, Alma Components was sold to an American company, Hamlyn Electronics, and Jim retired to Guernsey with his family, aged only 46. Used to a busy life in industry, he found it difficult to settle down to doing nothing and in 1981, he bought back part of his old business. The new business again prospered but this time employed only 30 people. In 1987, he was approached by a rival American company, Vishy Co, and agreed to sell them the business. This time, he retired properly and found time to enjoy his hobbies of sailing, swimming and film-making. After undergoing two triple heart bypass operations, it was not unexpected that he died of a heart attack on 19 November 2013, aged 84. He leaves his wife, Janet, and three sons.
Oxford before spending eight years teaching at Bedford Modern School. It was in 1984 that he and his family moved south as he arrived to teach Chemistry at Dulwich. Within the Chemistry department at the College he immediately impressed with his detailed subject knowledge, especially in biochemistry and medical chemistry, and his insistence on the highest of standards. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he was held in high regard by his pupils. As a passionate Welshman, it was inevitable that Gareth was a keen follower of rugby, and he had played for a number of rugby clubs, including Guy’s Hospital and Bedford in his younger days. At Dulwich, he coached the Junior Colts for a number of years, and after retiring from coaching he was still much in demand as a rugby referee because he ‘understood’ the game and was certain to control it in a way that allowed the boys to get the maximum amount of enjoyment. He became involved with the College careers department, as it was expanding from the very modest service which had thought to be sufficient in the 1970s and early 1980s into the more extensive and professional organisation seen today. He began by taking responsibility for developing links with the engineering sector, then expanded the annual Courses and Careers Convention and subsequently became Head of Careers. Gareth was a reliable and conscientious form tutor, firstly in the Middle School but latterly in the Upper School, where his understanding of the UCAS procedures proved invaluable to his tutees. In particular, he could show pupils the best way to complete the dreaded UCAS personal statement. With his general interest in sport, he was well suited to being a housemaster and he was Middle School housemaster for Marlowe for many years. Although he never quite managed to start the Art History course that he had planned for his retirement, he continued to enjoy trips to galleries and exhibitions in London and attended several OA reunions at the College. He also worked as a volunteer at a charity shop in Beckenham. In March 2012, he suffered a nasty fall while on holiday in Wales and spent several weeks in hospital both in Wales and at the Princess Royal hospital near Farnborough. In reality he never really recovered from the fall and its after effects and he died in Lewisham Hospital in January 2013. He is survived
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