barrow-load of cement. He believed that people should work with their hands as well as their heads, and in the dignity of physical labour. To avoid working alone, he roped in the rest of the family to help as well. When not rebuilding farmhouse walls, Robert also liked planting trees and is believed to have planted thousands of them at the various renovation projects he completed over the years. After dying aged 88 from the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and dementia, he is survived by Lynne, three of their children and by six grandchildren. Obituaries for Sir Robert were published in many national newspapers and this obituary is based on most of these. Robert Alexander Thomas (Bob) Dawson [1946-52] 15.01.1934 – 10.06.2017 The family lived in Bromley and Bob followed his elder brother Peter to Dulwich Prep before moving on to the College. Bob came to the College in January 1946, was in Grenville, boarded in Ivyholme, and became a school prefect. After leaving Dulwich, Bob went to Queen Mary College at the University of London to study Mechanical Engineering, graduating with the a BSc degree, before serving a two year graduate apprenticeship with Metropolitan Vickers (MV) in Manchester. Before taking up permanent positions with MV, Bob arranged to work in Canada for ten weeks with a colleague. They then followed this with a tour of the USA, covering 15,000 miles in two old English cars (after the first car Bob Dawson was the younger son of Henry Dawson, who was a senior electrical engineer for the Admiralty.
broke down). After returning to MV, Bob worked in the Turbine Design Department and became involved in performing tests on the transient thermal stresses which caused a type of metal fatigue in large steam turbines. Bob was the sole author or contributed to several papers publishing the results of the tests and their application, before moving on to the thermal stress analysis field. After Metropolitan Vickers was taken over by GEC in 1970, Bob’s work moved to Rugby. In 1985 he was elected a Chartered Engineer. While working in Manchester, Bob met June. They were married in May 1960 and lived in Sale, Cheshire, where they had four children: Richard, Sue, Tim and John. Tim and John were born at home but, because the midwife was slow to arrive on both occasions, Bob delivered both boys, adding ‘Midwife’ to his professional qualifications. When Bob moved to the Midlands with GEC, the whole family also moved to Rugby. Bob and June’s interests continued into retirement as they participated in windsurfing, skiing, swimming, walking, gardening, and ballroom dancing. Bob indulged himself in stock market investments and also played bridge. With his brother Peter, they researched their genealogy and traced the family back to the early 17th century. Bob, Peter and their wives attended many reunions in Betws-y-Coed enjoying walks and reminiscing about their wartime evacuation and past student days. Bob’s health declined and he suffered from heart failure in recent years. He required dialysis in Autumn 2016 and moved into Overslade House, which he made the most of and came to regard as his home. He passed away at Walsgrove Hospital in Coventry following complications after surgery to repair a fractured hip.
June survives Bob and now lives at Overslade House herself after a series of falls which, together with the loss of Bob has caused a deterioration in her general health. She is living with dementia, but still manages to charm her family and staff at the home with her smile and her conversation. Bob is also survived by all four of his children and by his grandchildren. James Leonard (Jim) Brewster [1955-62] 08.04.1944 – 24.10.2015 Jim Brewster was born in Bradford during the Second World War as the son of a pharmacist, but the family soon moved south to Beckenham, Kent. He came to Dulwich from Worsley Bridge Primary School in Beckenham. At the College, he was in Drake and was in the Scouts, becoming a Patrol Leader. His interest in plant science began at school, and at the age of fourteen he started growing vegetables as a hobby. After passing Maths and Science A levels and leaving Dulwich, Jim was ahead of his time in taking a ‘Gap Year’. He worked for a year on a mixed livestock and arable farm in Yorkshire before going on to Wye College at the University of London to study Agriculture in 1963, graduating with a BSc (Hons) degree in Agricultural Science (Crop Science) degree in 1966. After graduation, Jim moved to St John’s College, Oxford and was awarded a DPhil in 1971. He remained in Oxford undertaking post- doctoral research at the Department of Agricultural Sciences there until 1974. He was then appointed as a plant physiologist at the National Vegetable Research Station (NVRS) in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. Jim’s career in horticultural research is documented by numerous publications by NVRS and subsequent organisations. His main focus was on environmental impacts on onions,
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