Obituaries
After moving to Sevenoaks, a third daughter arrived. Sadly, his marriage to Heather ended and he found himself bringing up his three daughters alone in Peckham, where he had started out in life. Single parents were rare then, particularly fathers, so it was tough for him, but happily he found love again and married Margaret in 1981. After this second marriage, he moved to Islington in North London and remained there for the rest of his life, other than weekends spent at their Hertfordshire cottage. At both locations, he could truly indulge his love of art with his own personal art studio. After retirement, Reg was busier than ever, gaining an A level in Russian at evening classes and attending many events through his BBC connections. He was known for his ability to perform, ‘shooting out facts with aplomb and ricocheting his audience into a cloud of uncertainty.’ He was a regular at Founder’s Day Lunches and Alleyn Club Dinners, and was particularly proud of being able to attend them with his grandson James, also an OA, whom he had assisted through the College. His first wife, Heather, died in 1997, and his second wife, Margaret, died in 2011. Reg died suddenly as a result of a heart attack with his daughters by his side. He is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren. His eldest daughter, Melinda, contributed significantly to this obituary.
Cathedral, working as a steward, a sidesman and in the historical library. Sadly, Derek died just three months before he and Patricia would have celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary. He is survived by Patricia, Susan and Geoffrey and his grandchildren. Geoffrey contributed significantly to this obituary.
Richard Gordon Brett (1950-58) 24.01.1939 – 09.01.2014
Richard Brett was born in Shirley, near Croydon, and came to Dulwich in 1950 with a scholarship from Benson Primary School, also in Shirley. At the College, he was in Raleigh, became Company Sergeant-Major (CSM) in the
Army section of the CCF and was Vice-Captain of the school in his final year. Richard went on to study electrical engineering at University College, London. On graduation in 1962, he joined the BBC as a graduate apprentice in mechanical engineering for radio and television, and rose rapidly through the ranks to become a senior planning and installation engineer. In 1965 he made a trip around the world to make short films for the World University Service. In 1967, he was recruited to join the new National Theatre by childhood friend and former fellow junior member of the Beckenham Theatre Centre, Richard Pilbrow. The two friends worked together for nearly twenty years at Pilbrow’s company, Theatre Projects, including work on the new National Theatres on London’s South Bank in the 1970s. In 1978, Brett supervised the installation of the revolving drum stage in the Olivier Theatre. For ten years the drum stage was not used for a stage production in case it went wrong, but after being successfully used for a production of The Shaughraun by Dion Boucicault in 1988, it has been used regularly to great acclaim. Nearer to home, it was as a result of an introduction from Richard that Tim Foster, architect of the Cottesloe Theatre, was commissioned in 1980 to design the multi-purpose Edward Alleyn Hall which became the home of College drama. In 1996 Foster was further commissioned to extend the building, leading to the re-opening of the building as the Edward Alleyn Theatre in 1997. Richard Brett parted professional company with Pilbrow in 1985 to form his own theatre consultancy company. His award-winning projects in the UK included Hampstead Theatre in London, Palace Theatre in Watford, Grand Theatre in Leeds, Lyric Theatre in Belfast, and the renovation of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Internationally, he led the stage engineering team on the rebuilding after a catastrophic fire of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, and he was
Derek Boardman (1940-44) 20.01.1927 – 16.08.2014
Derek Boardman was born in Catford, south London, and was the youngest of three brothers. He came to Dulwich from Catford Central (LCC) School and was in Drake. While at the College, he was in the Air Training Corps (ATC), was a
school prefect and Vice-Captain of Drake.
He joined the Royal Engineers at the end of WW2 for his National Service and was stationed at Longmoor, Hampshire, and then in Northern Ireland. Having completed National Service, he went to Queen’s University, Belfast, to study Electrical Engineering and there met his future wife, Patricia Corr. He worked for the British Institute of Management, and then the Central Electricity Generating Board in central London for many years until his retirement in 1992. Derek and Patricia married in Stafford on 20th November 1954, and soon moved to the Wirral, where their daughter, Susan, was born in 1957. They moved to Shepperton in 1961, where their son, Geoffrey, was born in 1964. He served on the board of governors of Bishop Wand Secondary School in Sunbury for a number of years. On retirement, Derek and Patricia moved to Colden Common near Winchester, where he entered into voluntary work at Winchester
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