but he also worked on many other vegetables, including leeks, carrots and Brussels sprouts. He made many friends during his working career but, after a couple of mergers had seen NVRS become Horticulture Research International, Jim took early retirement in 1990. Despite officially retiring, Jim maintained his great interest in onions, continuing both to publish and to attend conferences. Jim’s main legacy to agricultural research was his book Onions and other Vegetable Alliums, which was first published in 1994 with an updated second edition in 2008. The book is still widely used as a standard reference work across the globe. He attended almost all of the International Symposia on these subjects and was a keynote speaker at most of them. Having spent his career concentrating on crop research, Jim only found love later in life, meeting and marrying Marnie in the 1990s when he was already in his fifties. In nearly twenty years of marriage, Marnie often accompanied Jim to conferences. He died by taking his own life after a severe depressive episode, an underlying condition he had managed successfully and single-handedly for most of his life, so that many friends and colleagues were never even aware of this dark cloud. He is survived by Marnie. The Life Sciences department at Warwick University contributed significantly to this obituary.
school certificate there. Like his elder brothers, he then came to Dulwich to do his Higher certificate. After leaving Dulwich, he went to University College, Oxford, as an Army Cadet student but with WW2 in progress at the time, he was soon called up. He served as a Lieutenant in the King’s Hussars. After military service, he returned to Oxford to complete a modern history degree. Jolyon immediately joined the Civil Service, working mainly in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and rising to become Deputy Under-Secretary of State there before he retired in 1984. One of his roles with the MoD was being Command Secretary of Far Eastern Land Forces to oversee the withdrawal of UK troops from Singapore during their transition to independence in 1968-71. He also had a spell with the Home Office where he was Chief of Broadcasting, negotiating an extensive reallocation of broadcast licences with our European colleagues, many of which still apply today. Jolyon married Anthea Bowlby of Edgbaston, Birmingham, in 1956 and together they had five daughters, the three youngest arriving together as triplets. He was a great family man, loving his family and the very happy home he and Anthea had created. After retirement from the Civil Service, Jolyon became Director of the Council Secretariat of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He also loved theatre, literature and poetry. He was on the committee of the Pepys Club and involved in the design and presentation of the inaugural Samuel Pepys Award in 2003, which was won by Claire Tomalin for her biography of Pepys. Jolyon was a very keen polo player which, from the 1970s onwards, he played as often as
he could, at Tidworth which was then being run by the MoD. This continued for twenty years until Jolyon needed to have a major knee operation when he reached 70. It was sad that Alzheimer’s took over for his last five years, but at least he and Anthea were able to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in 2016 before he died.
Anthea contributed significantly to this obituary.
Dr John Bryan Evans [1943-47] 25.05.1929 – 20.11.2016 John Evans was
the second of three brothers at Dulwich. He was at the Prep during its evacuation to Bettws-y-Coed,
Wales, early in the Second World War. He became Head Boy at the Prep and was awarded a scholarship to the College which he entered in 1943. John was a find all-round sportsman, playing rugby, cricket, squash and also boxing for the school. He was awarded his 1st XV rugby colours for three years in a row, 1945 to 1947, and the 1946 team had the rare distinction of being unbeaten all season. He boxed early in his College career in 1944/45 and also played 1st XI cricket and 1st V squash for Dulwich in his final year at the school. He was appointed a school prefect and was House Captain of Marlowe. John left the College having decided his professional ambition was to become a dentist, but he was soon called up for National Service in December 1947. He joined the Army Dental Corps but he did not greatly enjoy the experience, so he revised his career objective to medicine. After being discharged from National Service, he went to study medicine at
Jolyon Dromgoole [1943] 27.03.1926 – 13.12.2016
Jolyon Dromgoole was the youngest of four brothers at Dulwich. Jolyon went to Christ’s Hospital in Sussex
from the age of eight and did his
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