St Peter’s Hall, Oxford. There, he won a Blue for squash as well as playing rugby and cricket for the college. After graduation, he moved on to the Medical School of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London. In addition to the work demands of medicine, he played rugby and cricket for St Mary’s in the Hospitals Cup, as well as playing rugby for Surrey in the County Championship on many occasions. On one occasion, he had played in the final of the Hospitals Rugby Cup at Richmond which St Mary’s had won in the afternoon, but that evening he became a last-minute stand-in as light heavyweight in the final of the Hospitals Boxing Cup. Realising that he was too tired for two full fights, he gave his all in the early rounds and knocked out both opponents to win the weight category. His first GP appointment after qualification was in Brentwood, Essex, but in 1962 he moved to a practice in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where he remained for the rest of his career. He loved life as a GP here and soon became Senior Partner at the practice. He was also appointed Medical Officer to Berkhamsted School (which was boys only in those days) and also to Berkhamsted Girls School. He married Margaret in 1961 and between them they created a wonderful family home, together with their three children, two daughters and a son. After retirement as a GP, he occasionally worked as a Ship’s Doctor for a company which specialised in cruises for school children visiting educational sites in the Mediterranean. He particularly enjoyed these cruises because he was able to take Margaret with him as a guest of the company. The sporting exertions earlier in his life probably caused him to have no fewer than 7 hip replacement operations
the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), where he learned typing, shorthand and office management. He then went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, with an Exhibition to read Classics, graduating with a BA degree in 1953. What prompted Michael to choose archives as a career is uncertain, but it may well have been his National Service experience of good record keeping with the RASC. In 1953/54, he studied for a Diploma in Archives Administration at University College, London (UCL), which was followed in November 1954 by his first archives appointment, as temporary assistant archivist at East Suffolk Record Office in Ipswich. He moved in June 1955 to a permanent job is as Archivist in Plymouth, and was responsible for moving their collections into the library which had been rebuilt after suffering bomb damage during WW2. In 1957, his tour of county archive departments continued with a move to Kent. Finally in 1961, he was appointed as archivist in Cambridgeshire, and was their first full-time archivist with professional training. He remained in post in Cambridgeshire for 33 years until his retirement in 1994, retaining the job title of County Archivist of Cambridgeshire for that whole time. Michael oversaw the expansion of Cambridge’s archives service, partly caused by Cambridgeshire’s successive absorptions of the Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and Peterborough, but also because of the widened scope of archives, from just maintaining county council records to also providing a service to the outside community. He was a firm believer in ‘Archives for All’ principles, demonstrated by the numerous displays, exhibitions and talks on local archives that he organised or delivered himself. His tenure in Cambridge also saw the computerisation of archives and
during his life and, after retirement, mobility became an increasing problem. He was a keen golfer and a member of Ashridge Golf Club. Even after his declining health prevented him from playing golf, he was still frequently seen at the clubhouse playing bridge or socialising with his many friends there. Margaret died in 2013 which was a great emotional blow to him but he continued to live in his own home right up until his death, although increasingly assisted by his family who all lived fairly locally. He was also diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 but lived as full a life as he could until his eventual death in 2016 at the age of 87. His memorial service was held at the parish church of St Peter in Berkhamsted, which was packed showing his popularity in the town. He is survived by his brothers Glyn and Alan, who submitted this obituary, both of whom are themselves Old Alleynians, as indeed are two of John’s nephews. John Michael Peter Farrar [1942-48] 06.03.1929 – 05.02.2017 Michael Farrar’s father was a managing pharmacist for firm needed him. Michael was born in Malvern, in Worcestershire, but the family then moved to London, initially in Eltham before moving again to Dulwich. Dulwich was a useful posting as it enabled Michael to go to Dulwich Prep and to win a County Scholarship to come to the College. At the College, he was in Raleigh, and was a school prefect and Head of the Classical Side in his final year. Boots the Chemists, and was liable to be sent wherever the
After leaving Dulwich, he immediately did two years of National Service in
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