Obituaries
Jeremy passed away peacefully at home and is survived by Julie and their children. He was posthumously identified as the phantom tree planter in the village of Priston, where for many years carefully nurtured oaks and horse chestnuts have sprung up seemingly out of nowhere across the parish. Sons Ed and Mike contributed significantly to this obituary. Lt Commander Douglas Stephen Handyside (1935-38) 03.08.1920 – 05.01.2015
Michael. Douglas had a very analytical mind and was always fascinated by the latest gadgets. His hobbies included rough shooting, fishing, golf, woodwork, metalwork and photography. He was fit and active and was a popular man who did not like a fuss. He is much missed and survived by Elizabeth, children Pat and Mike, and several grandchildren. His son Mike contributed significantly to this obituary.
John Duncan Handyside (1935-38) 31.01.1923 – 20.02.2005
Douglas Handyside was the son of a civil servant who lived in Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill. He initially went to Alleyn’s School between 1927 and 1932 before a short spell at Crewkerne Grammar School in Somerset, finally arriving at the College
John Handyside, always known as Peter, was the son of a civil servant who lived in Half Moon Lane. He came to the College from Alleyn’s School just one term after his elder brother, Douglas, in September 1935. He was in Grenville.
after Easter, 1935. While at Dulwich he was in Raleigh and was in the Shooting VIII in 1938. He was also at the College with his younger brother, John Duncan (35-39), who was always known as Peter. Peter died in 2005. After leaving Dulwich he went to the Royal Naval Engineering College in Plymouth, where he trained to become a mechanical engineer. Here he received a commendation from the King in 1941 for bravery in an enemy air raid on the town. On completion of his training he worked in marine engineering as a watch- keeping officer. During this period, while serving on the North Atlantic convoys getting supplies to the Soviets, the Russian navy once trained their guns on the Royal Navy ships at Murmansk, which he described as a disturbing experience. During his naval career Douglas rose to the rank of lieutenant commander and was also qualified in aircraft engineering and a service pilot. For the Fleet Air Arm he flew more than 1,000 hours on 25 different types of aircraft, including Harvard, Tiger Moth, Mosquito, Sea Otter and Seafire (Spitfire), gaining three years’ experience test flying planes after reconditioning and repair. In 1957 Douglas survived a helicopter crash when flying solo in a Hiller which failed at high altitude, causing him to auto-rotate back to the ground at Fleet End, near Southampton. He broke his back in the accident and was lucky not to be paralysed for life, but he returned to flying in 1960. In 1965 he retired from the Royal Navy and moved to Cheshire to take up the post of Deputy Chief Engineer at Jodrell Bank, the radio telescope site. He remained in Cheshire for the rest of his life, although he always missed southern England. In one of his log books there is an entry for 26 February 1949, when he flew a Firefly cross-country to Yeovilton with Wren Worth as the passenger. He married Wren Elizabeth Worth only a few days later and she later recalled that ‘he just dropped me off at the end of the runway, waved and flew off!’ Together Douglas and Elizabeth had three children, Patricia, Philip and
He left the College in December 1939, just after the start of the Second World War, and joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve for the duration of the war. After the war he began a degree course in Psychology at University College London, graduating with first class honours in 1950. He joined the National Institute of Industrial Psychology, remaining there for 11 years and ending up as Assistant Director and Controller of Research. His work included research into the selection, training and motivation of supervisors in industry and was sponsored by the Medical Research Council. Peter had a most analytical mind, as recalled by a former colleague: ‘Whereas I never quite knew what I was going to say until I said it, and everything I wrote needed several changes to be finalised, Peter’s writings were right from the start, and every sentence he spoke seemed to have been thought out beforehand.’ In 1961 he joined Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (STC) as Manager of Personnel Research and he stayed with them for 15 years. But at the Occupational Psychology Conference in 1976 he decided to retire and announced himself as a ‘gentleman of leisure’. Fifty-three was a young age at which to retire but it was because of the success of a hobby and interest of his: investing in the stock market. By the age of 50 he was receiving so much in dividends from his investments that his entire salary at STC was being taxed at the top rate, making salaried employment no longer viable or necessary. Peter never married and remained in London for the rest of his life. Although somewhat separated, through age and geography, from the family of his brother as the years passed, he was the most generous of men, never forgetting a birthday. With an interest in calligraphy, handcrafted cards from Uncle Peter were always a pleasure to receive on birthdays and at Christmas.
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