competitions in later life. He was an avid reader and fan of crosswords, and was a very intelligent and well- read man. He died in July 2016 after bravely fighting a very long illness and is now sorely missed by his whole family.
After his return from war service in India, he married Pamela Price from Erdington, Birmingham, Warwickshire. They had one daughter, Stella, but sadly Pam died when Stella was only twelve. John eventually remarried, to Rena. Years after he had been evacuated from Dulwich to Tonbridge, he showed Rena the lovely house in Tonbridge where he had been billeted. She asked why he came to be in such a nice house and he explained that he was the billeting officer. John was a life-long sportsman, lover of the arts and a keen historian. He was a very good actor and was soon involved in the Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club with productions at the Mitre Theatre and at Tonbridge School. He was also involved in charity work, working for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the Cottage Hospital, and he raised money to finance the move of the Theatre Club to the Oast Theatre. Although he was born in Bromley, John’s family came from the Potteries and he never lost their habit of always examining the base of plates to check where they had come from. He was benevolent, kindly and serious, but never took himself seriously. He died in hospital after a long life well lived with Stella and Rena at his bedside. At his thanksgiving service in St Mary’s, Hadlow, the final song played was a recording of his prep school friend Donald Swann’s Hippopotamus Song. This was a tribute to the wonderful reunion at Dulwich Prep, celebrating fifty years since the boys in John’s class had left. They were gathered around Donald at the piano as they had been fifty years before, young boys again and all singing about ‘Glorious Mud’. The congregation at St Mary’s left smiling, singing and remembering a friend,
employer, neighbour, charity worker and beloved husband, father and grandfather.
Rena contributed significantly to this obituary.
Michael Norman Richardson [1946-52] 23.02.1935 – 25.08.2016
Maureen ontributed significantly to this obituary.
Michael Richardson was the son of the manager of a bank in Blackheath. He grew up living in Petts Wood with his
John Alvan Pope [1936-40 ] 14.06.1922 – 15.01.2017
John Pope was born in Bromley, as the son of an accountant. He came to the College from the Prep
parents and elder sister Jean. He came to the College from the Prep straight after WW2 and was in Drake. He thoroughly enjoyed his time at the College, making many great friends, participating in numerous societies and singing in the school choir. But he particularly enjoyed playing sport and was proud to have been deputy house captain of Drake and to have represented the school playing cricket for the 2nd XI and rugby for the 3rd XV. With hindsight though, he always regretted having spent so much time on sport that he had neglected studying somewhat. Having studied science at Dulwich with a view to becoming a civil engineer, persuasive conversations with family members led him to change direction towards Law. He spent his final term at the College learning Latin from David Knight, and passed O level Latin which enabled him to start a legal career. After leaving Dulwich, he was articled to Hudgell Yeates in Blackheath and admitted as a solicitor in 1957. Michael then started his deferred National Service in the RAF, beginning with basic training on the Isle of Man and receiving the Sword of Honour on completion of this course. He was posted to the Directorate of Legal Services at the Far East Air Force
with a school scholarship and was in Marlowe. He was a prefect and Captain of Marlowe in his final year. Leaving Dulwich in 1940 with WW2 in progress meant that John had to defer university and he decided to join the Indian Army, serving as an officer in India and Burma and was promoted several times. Experiences in India and Burma drew John towards law studies and it was as a qualified solicitor that he applied for a post in Tonbridge, Kent. He had been evacuated briefly from Dulwich to Tonbridge in the opening year of WW2, sharing the premises of Tonbridge School and he had liked the town. John joined F B Jevons and Riley, a firm of solicitors in Bordyke, which soon became Jevons, Riley and Pope, as it still is today, although now based in Edenbridge, also in Kent. He became known as a solicitor who used language people could understand, preferring one clear paragraph to ten complicated ones. On his retirement he was invited to a party by the British Legion and was thanked for the work he had done for their members over many years.
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