Obituaries
came for several months to tour the home unions. As the RFU Liaison Officer between 1973 and 1991 he joined and looked after the Tongans, the American Eagles, four tours by the Wallabies and three tours by the All Blacks. Alex forged deep and long-lasting friendships on many of these tours and throughout his long retirement Alex and Joan enjoyed plenty of trips to the Antipodes to keep in touch with old friends. In 1994 he was very pleased to be nominated as a finalist in the Hennessy After Dinner Speaker of the Year competition, alongside such luminaries as Cliff Morgan, and was happy to receive a runners-up medal, coming in behind only Peter Ustinov. He was lucky enough to visit Buckingham Palace twice to meet the Queen and Prince Philip, and he was able to take Joan and daughter Sarah to the Royal Garden Party in 1976. He was also amused to appear on Blue Peter with the 1978 All Blacks. Alex is survived by Joan, Sarah and Ian, and by six grandchildren. Ian contributed significantly to this obituary.
of public relations. In 1969 he became administration manager for BP North America and in 1972 he was appointed Senior Personnel Officer for the regions, based in London. He was next overseas in Abu Dhabi in 1975 as Assistant General Manager (Administration), with a much wider portfolio of responsibilities, including employee services for 2,000 workers drawn from 30 nationalities. He returned to London in 1981 as Personnel Manager for BP International with direct responsibility to the Chief Executive for personnel policy. In 1986 his career culminated in a similar role at Scicon, BP’s IT subsidiary, before he retired in 1989. Keith married Maureen in 1960 and they had two daughters, born in Aden and Malaysia. The marriage to Maureen ended in divorce but in 1985 he married Margaret. When he had returned to London with BP, he settled back in Dulwich and got much involved with St Barnabas Church. He was a churchwarden when the church was virtually destroyed by fire and he was appointed project manager for the rebuilding project, which proved a testing appointment. He and the vicar had a clear vision that a modern church should have modern features and be built of modern materials, but there was strong opposition from both within and outside the church to much of what was proposed. Keith, who thrived on solving complex problems, had the courage, tenacity and determination to see the project through to success. After retirement Keith worked as co-ordinator for a Duke of Edinburgh’s Study Conference and later with the Retired and Senior Volunteers Programme. He and Margaret moved to Churt, Surrey, in 1997 and threw themselves vigorously into the life of the village church. He became a governor of St John’s School and editor of the church and village magazine (recalling his days as an editor of The Alleynian ), and they were active in many village events. Throughout his life, Keith was an enthusiastic golfer and traveller, particularly to Italy, and he and Margaret spent many happy times there, especially at olive picking time. He touched many lives with his cheerfulness, humour and positive approach to life. Though he had a toughness and steel when needed, it was accompanied by kindness and a concern for others. He is much missed by Margaret, his two daughters, his granddaughters and the community in Churt. Another OA, Hector McLean (45-53), contributed significantly to this obituary.
Paul Derek Hutchings (1964-71) 01.11.1952 – 01.01.2015
Paul Hutchings grew up in Selsdon, near Croydon, and came to Dulwich from Elmhurst School in South Croydon. At Dulwich he was in Spenser, a member of the unbeaten Colts Rugby team in 1968-69 and Captain of Athletics in 1970-71. After leaving Dulwich he qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in the publishing industry throughout his career.
Keith Jackson (1946-53) 06.04.1934 – 31.05.2014
Keith Jackson was the son of a clerk at the Bank of England. The family lived in Beckenham and Keith came to the College from the Prep. He was in Spenser and became Captain of the House, Captain of the Classical Side and School Vice Captain in 1952-53.
When the Queen Mother visited Dulwich in April 1953 he was one of those presented to her. He was also treasurer of The Alleynian , on the Committee of several societies, played 2nd XI cricket for three years and was captain of that team in his final year. He was also in the Army section of the CCF. He was awarded a State scholarship and won a Baring Open scholarship to read Classics at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating from Oxford, Keith joined BP and spent all his working life with the company, much of it overseas and principally in personnel and administrative work. His first overseas role was in Aden between 1960 and 1966, working in personnel and industrial relations. This was followed by Malaysia, with a similar range of responsibilities, but with the addition
Michael Leonard Keeble (1949-54) 31.01.1938 – 27.09.2015
Mike Keeble was born in Herne Hill, the son of a commercial traveller, which is an unlikely beginning for a die-hard countryman and farmer. He came to the College with a scholarship from Dulwich
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