Preparatory School. At the College he was in Raleigh and was Captain of the school shooting team in 1947. Just too young to have fought in the Second World War, Sydney had to do National Service, spending two years as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 78th Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery straight after leaving Dulwich. Instead of following his father and brothers into British American Tobacco (BAT), Sydney instead went to Salisbury, the capital of Rhodesia (now called Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe). There he learned everything about tobacco growing, drying, packing and trading. Returning to the UK in 1956, he joined Maclaine Tobacco Export Ltd, exporting to Europe and the Far East. In December 1964, a restructuring of the business meant he and his family moved to Amsterdam, from where he travelled a lot selling tobacco, and also visiting the growing plantations, producers and factories around the world. After he was transferred back to the London office in 1970, the company was subsequently sold, and he went to work for Carrington and Michaux of Richmond. In June 1999, almost fifty years to the day since he first went to Africa, he finally retired. In Rhodesia in the early 1950s, Sydney met Anne Marie Doorman and they married in March 1953, and had four children together, Virginia, twins Amanda and Gail, and finally Simon. One of Sydney’s main passions was music, and he possessed a great ability to play the piano by ear. Straight after the war, he joined the St Stephen’s Youth Club in Dulwich, where he played
a prominent role, discovering and making full use of his outstanding musical ability. Subsequently, anywhere there was a piano, whether it be at a house or in a pub, it was just too tempting for him and he was soon playing, encouraged by his family and friends. Whilst of course he was a showman, he genuinely loved and enjoyed sharing his love for music in order to give people pleasure. He was also a stalwart member of Fernhurst Choral Society. His other passion was golf and he was a long-time and popular member of Liphook Golf Club. He was a keen watercolour landscape painter and an enthusiastic member of Haslemere Art Society for many years, always participating in their annual exhibitions, even selling some of his paintings. He was kind, considerate, polite and always excellent company. He appreciated good manners and his cheerful nature was contagious. He was a family man, a good storyteller and had an amazing memory. He is survived by Anne Marie and his four children. His eldest daughter, Virginia, contributed significantly to this obituary.
remained at the College for the whole of his thirty-seven year working career. During his distinguished teaching career, Steve taught Maths to all age groups, and was a fine problem solver with a genuine love of his subject. His enjoyment of mathematics lasted throughout his life and he was still attending lectures on mathematical concepts after retirement. When Old Alleynians return to the College to enjoy nostalgic moments and enquire about how the College is progressing, many from Steve’s era ask after him and remember him with affection and gratitude. At the College, he also contributed to a wide-range of extra-curricular activities, notably coaching under-13 rugby for thirty years and under-13 cricket for twenty seasons. He also instigated an under-12 Dulwich Rugby Sevens tournament in 1980, which is still an annual fixture. A look at the National Junior Sevens honours board at Rosslyn Park RFC will show that Steve has been associated with more winning sevens teams than any other coach. He was also Housemaster for Drake in the Lower School for many years. Having been a scout as a boy Steve was committed to supporting the College scouts, attending summer camps and overseas expeditions throughout the 1980s and 1990s and organising the Scouts’ annual mountain walking week in Snowdonia for a number of years, as well as travelling abroad with the Venture Scouts on occasions.
Steve W Burton [Staff 1968-2005] 15.05.1945 – 21.05.2016
Steve Burton arrived at Dulwich as part of his teacher training for a term, after
studying for a Mathematics degree at St. John’s College, Cambridge. He was offered a full-time post and
His love of cricket and rugby remained undiminished by his
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