Obituaries
Obituaries ..........................................................................................................
as Headmaster of Cranleigh School in 1960 at the age of 35. He found the school at a low ebb academically, as well as in discipline and morale, but in 10 years he introduced reforms that were radical at the time and the pupils were demonstrably happier. He introduced co-education and allowed boarders to wear casual clothing at weekends, as well as putting an end to fagging, corporal punishment, compulsory attendance at weekday chapel and compulsory participation in the CCF. He confided later that after a really grim start, the last years at Cranleigh were the happiest of his career for himself and Pam. He was appointed as Headmaster of Sherborne School in 1970 to make similar changes but was frustrated by the school’s housemasters, who resented interference with their traditional ways, and he was very poorly supported by the governors. His faultless French and magnificent public speaking are remembered at Sherborne but he resigned in 1974. He was appointed Master of Dulwich College the following year but by then the ‘Dulwich Experiment’, when local authorities paid the fees of the majority of boys selected by the school, was coming to an end. David loved the College, where he was genial, generous and with apparently superhuman levels of energy. He accentuated the positive and declared war on apathy. His cheerful encouragement to younger pupils to ‘have a bash’, and to join in outdoor activities and societies, was genuine and it worked. He told the governors that pastoral care needed to be taken more seriously and assured potential parents that local myths about the College were untrue: the teachers were not only interested in boys of very high academic ability, and boys did not feel lost in such a large school; for both of these facts he deserves much of the credit. He often spoke of the Dulwich ‘family’, and founded the Friends of Dulwich College, to whose great success Pam contributed so generously and sincerely. He built up excellent relations with the maintained schools sector, becoming so well liked by London head teachers in the Secondary Heads Association in the 1980s that they invited him to become their Chairman. His partnership at the College with an inspiring Chairman of Governors, Lord Wolfenden, who frequently visited the College, was an obvious factor in its prosperity. In 1981 the Edward Alleyn Theatre was opened, enabling superb music and drama to be performed year-round. At the same time the Assisted Places Scheme was successfully introduced to partially replace the ‘Dulwich Experiment and in 1982 the Wodehouse Library was opened, with a generous contribution from the writer’s widow, and the new library included a P G Wodehouse shrine, including the desk and typewriter from his Long Island home in New York.
David Acfield Emms OBE (Master of Dulwich College 1975-86) 16.02.1925 – 21.12.2015
David Emms was born in Lowestoft on the Suffolk coast, to Archibald and Winifred Emms, and he retained a lifelong affection for East Anglia and for sailing. He went to Tonbridge School with a bursary and eventually became Head Boy and Captain of Cricket. After leaving school he served in the Royal Artillery as a paratrooper from 1943 to 1947, latterly attached to a Madrasi regiment. He also witnessed British troops leaving India after its independence. He went to Brasenose College, Oxford, with a scholarship to read Modern Languages. After graduating he remained in Oxford to gain a diploma in education. While at Oxford he was awarded two Blues for rugby and subsequently played for Northampton, Eastern Counties and the Barbarians during the 1950s. Soon after graduating in 1950, David married Pamela Speed, and their devoted marriage of 66 years was a vitally important factor of his success in demanding education posts. They had four children, John, Vicki, Richard and Christopher (who died in 2008), and there are now six granddaughters. David loved family life; holidays were spent at their house in Southwold or, as a passionate Francophile, in Provence, France. He insisted on the family camping in an old ex- army six man tent until long after many friends and their families had upgraded to caravans or villas. He joined Uppingham School as an Assistant Master and was always very good in front of a class, and he was soon promoted to be Head of Modern Languages. He was also Commanding Officer of the school’s Combined Cadet Force and took charge of rugby. He was appointed
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