VALETE
Damian Shirazi
Phil Greenaway
D amian Shirazi arrived in September 2014 to take on the role of Master in Charge of Cricket, following the departure of Kevin Shaw to Dulwich Singapore. Damian quickly set about forming excellent relationships with boys and staff alike as he threw himself into life at Dulwich. He was an outstanding Lower School tutor, a confident Geography teacher, and the PE Department’s guru on injury management, much to Mr Northcote-Green’s surprise. Damian loved his rugby, and would often be found in the Common Room in white shorts, referee’s jersey and blue socks on a Saturday afternoon, as he volunteered to blow the whistle each week. Many colleagues believe that the real reason for this was that it meant he could avoid shaving, or ironing a shirt. The only time I saw Damian turn down the opportunity to referee was on a pre-season tour to France with the U15s, when he decided that the language barrier might prove a bridge too far and so Mr Allen was thrown under the proverbial bus. Damian was also an excellent football coach, with a real passion for the game, and particularly for his beloved Manchester United. This passion was passed to the boys in spades on the training field, although luckily for all involved, he managed to get changed out of his Red Devil PJ’s for Monday morning lessons. Without a doubt, Damian’s greatest love was cricket, and the boys that he coached will struggle to find a more knowledgeable, hard-working or committed member of staff. His desire to see the boys develop and achieve was admirable, and these qualities, alongside his knowledge and love of cricket made him a very special coach. Damian’s departure for Epsom with his wife Raych is Epsom’s gain. We wish them both the very best for the future and look forward to welcoming them back soon.
Archie Henderson
Harry Drew
A ccording to an undoubtedly reliable Internet survey, Archie Henderson is an extrovert, or at least 51 per cent of him is; a brief survey of his array of retro ties suggests that two per cent can be a very wide margin indeed! Since joining us in the summer of 2017, Archie has brought a generosity of spirit and a wisdom beyond his years to all of his work in the College. He has proved an immensely popular teacher with the students, whether in the classroom, when organising the Lower School Classics Society, helping the Senior Classics Society and Oxbridge seminar, or in his unique coaching of the U12 Chargers cricket team. Everything Archie learnt for his cricket coaching came from his remarkable debut in the Classics cricket match; you cannot buy that kind of education (nor should you!). Archie will be greatly missed by all of his colleagues in the Classics department for his wit, his erudition and his kindness, and we all look forward to hearing about how his career progresses. He leaves us to indulge his 51 per cent, performing with his band Lunafruit (the single, ‘Superhero’, is now available through Spotify), helping to set up a music label, and continuing to perform his excellent stand- up shows around the country. Vale atque ave , Archie.
153
Made with FlippingBook Annual report