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Obituaries
RICHARD HASWELL (FORMER STAFF 1973–78) Richard was a Former Head of Science and taught at St Andrews for five years. He arrived in 1973, taking over from Clifford Mould. At that time science was taught in the old laboratory sited on the ground floor beyond the playroom. After the merger with Ascham in 1977 two labs were created on the first floor of the new classroom block and Richard taught in one and Rivers Currie in the other. He was also involved with a
ST ANDREWS MICHAEL BOSTELMANN (1961)
Michael was born on the 16th November 1947 in England, the only one of his three siblings not to have been born in China. In 1956 he joined his two older broth- ers (Peter and Robert) at St. Andrews. As well as being an Apprentice, Michael also enjoyed his singing (becoming a set soloist for Lions) and also his sport (play- ing for the 2nd XV Rugby and 2nd XI
number of outdoor activities including sailing, cross-country running, swimming, junior soccer and rugger. The school had two mirror dinghies (ELB and Andrea) which they would launch from the shingle beach at the Eastbourne Sailing Club. Richard developed a very popular animal shed where children could keep pet hamsters and gerbils. He also encouraged pupils to try their hand at gardening by growing their own vegetables in his garden at the back of their Meads Street cottage. As chief chemist amongst the staff it fell to him to maintain the water quality of the new Swimming pool by means of the state-of-the-art chlorination equipment! In 1978 he moved to Surrey after being appointed as Head of Science at
Hockey teams). He moved to Bradfield College in the Summer of 1961 where he discovered his ability in cross country running, a sport that stayed with him for the rest of his life. By the time he left Bradfield, he was a school prefect and head of his house. From Bradfield, he joined Arnold Hill & Co., a small family firm of Chartered Accountants, as articled clerk. Shortly after qualifying, he was invited to become a partner, and remained with the company for the rest of his working life, helping to expand it considerably and becoming Senior Partner. He was director of many companies, including Fanstan Elec- tric Group, a privately owned railway equipment company, who invited him to become managing director. He helped build the company, with eventually branches/factories in Germany, USA, Australia and China. As a result of his many business interests he travelled widely. As mentioned above, he maintained his interest in cross coun- try running. For very many years he was the very active Secretary of Thames Hare & Hounds, one of the oldest running clubs in the world, and on retiring from the Secretary was made Life President. He took part in several marathons in various parts of the world. Michael was a very strong family man, who took a great inter- est not only in his immediate family, but also in the offspring of all his siblings. He was married to Gillian (née Vickery) for 50 years. He leaves two sons and three grandchildren. I am very grateful to Peter Bostelmann, Michael’s eldest brother, for providing much of the information about his life and career. STEWART FRANCIS (1951) Stewart joined St Andrews in 1948 and was a member of Sea Kings. It was not long before he was making his mark on the sports field. He was a fine all-rounder and got into the 1st team in all four sports. He was in the 1st XI Soccer for two seasons but played for the 1st XV and 1st XI Cricket teams for three years. He was Vice Captain of the Soccer, Rugby and Cricket teams but Captained the 1st XI Hockey side. After leaving in the Summer of 1951, he went on to St Edwards Oxford and then read Classics at St John’s College, Cambridge. His love of sport took him abroad and it was whilst on a trip to South Africa that he was to meet his future wife, Valerie. She was living there at the time after her parents had emigrated from the UK. What started as just ‘good friends’ soon blossomed into romance after she moved back to this country in 1962. Both he and Valerie went into Teaching. He was appointed Headmaster of Chenderit School in 1979 and served as their first Head. He was greatly admired and respected by pupils, parents and staff alike. A measure of this can be gauged by the large number of tributes that were posted on the school’s Alumni page on Face- book. In 1985 he was appointed as Headmaster of Colchester Royal Grammar School and served there for fifteen years before retiring in 2000. He carried his love of sport throughout his life playing squash to a high level as well as continuing to enjoy his cricket. Stewart died on 19th May, 2024 and a lovely tribute to him can be found in the Colchester Gazette (3rd June edition) online.
Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton. Another move came in 1985 when the fam- ily moved to Canterbury following Richard’s appointment as Head of Science at the Jun- ior King’s School. In retirement he and his wife settled on the Wirral and Richard continued to enjoy his sailing as well as helping as a RYA Instruc- tor at the Sailing Centre in West Kirby. He and Carol also enjoyed taking their narrow boat, Nellie Kate, around the country’s canal system. Richard became heavily involved with the Foodbank on the Wirral when it was established back in 2011. He worked in two of the local centres each week, listening to and advising clients. He also drove their vans to deliver food from the central ware- house in Birkenhead to all twelve of their outlets in the region. Richard was diagnosed with cancer in April 2022 but continued to be as active as the various treatments would allow. He was
1st XV Rugby 1950 (Stewart front row far left)
Father’s Cricket match 1950 (Stewart middle row 3rd from right).
an enthusiastic member of the local church choir, continued to support a local wildlife project (providing microscopes and other equipment), and spent much time in his shed designing and building his miniature model railway. Richard died on June 3rd 2024, and is greatly missed by his wife, their three sons and five grandchildren
JEAN JANES (FORMER STAFF 1974–1998)
J ean worked as Headmaster’s Secre- tary at St Andrews for twenty-five years serving both Dod Wainwright and Hugh Davies-Jones. When she arrived in Janu- ary 1974 the school was a very different place with just over one hundred pupils. The vast majority of these were board- ers and as well as keeping everything running smoothly in the front office she would make all the necessary travel arrangements for boys at the beginning and end of each term. With a large number of them living overseas this was hugely important and greatly appreciated by parents and pupils alike. Jean saw great change in her years at St Andrews. Not only did pupil numbers quadruple during her time but new technology appeared requiring consider- able adjustment in the day to day work within the front office. Hard copies and Gestetners were replaced with computers, printers and software that did not always co-operate! She remained calm and unflappable throughout, even in times of crisis. She was always kind and reassuring to the children, especially any who had troubles or were upset. The office was a haven and some would come and spend their break time there, especially when they were feeling a little low. She also had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the school and its workings and her wise
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