On 30 January, 2016 the membership secretary, John Child, received this email from Marcus Wigan in Melbourne, who is keen to join us:
Old Cicestrians’ membership – proof of student status:
“Anyway the costs and complexity of trying to pay an annual fee from Australia are sufficiently challenging to dissuade me otherwise”.
Details 1957-1960
State scholar in mathematics 1960
Hertford College Oxford 1960
Came down from a Jesuit public school in Old Windsor, Berkshire, when the money ran out! Story of my life really.
Direct contemporary of John Snow, cricketer.
Special A and S level class in mathematics with Tony Miles and Tony Horne, both of whom won exhibitions to Brasenose and St. Peter’s Colleges Oxford.
Same class as Richard Francis (professor of French) last contact years ago.
Apart from a pretty pedestrian research and academic career after my D.Phil. in Nuclear Physics at Oxford in 1967, the only things I can think of to note (see http://www.mwigan.com my website if you think it is worth the bother) are racing at motorcycle World Championship level at Silverstone round of the 125cc 1975 world championship where I came 11th with two points and a few races on the Isle of Man…
….and my hobby of collecting a range of different disciplines, up to, by various counts, 9 or 10 degrees now, with one more due this year. Otherwise pretty boring stuff.
Still active at 74 studying hard my on my musicology masters degree with an astronomy one starting as that finishes in September…
On School stuff, I have warm memories of KD and Kate Anderson to whom I owe my Oxford entry and the best secondary education for which I could ever have hoped. Bop Riley and Mr. Hurtable on his three-wheeler taught me advanced mathematics for A and S level and the two of them made a magnificent job to say the least. Kate taught general studies brilliantly and I still have her list of “must read” books on English literature somewhere… and every one slowly built up mainly from eBay in folio society editions. A memorable teacher.
Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester, was another major figure in my education and others of my year. I remember holding the menacing tiny Greek empty helmet that had been given by
Henry Moore the sculptor and the performance of Aristophanes, The Birds in the Cathedral Dean’s Gardens and Kate took Malcolm Livesy (major chemistry scholar to St Edmund’s Hall Oxford) and myself to Bradfield College for a performance of the Agamemnon in the rain in the open air Amphitheatre. It was transfixing to see and hear Clytemnestra declaiming her grief in Greek. I remember it vividly. Kate was a wonderful influence.
Enough!
Cheers,
Marc Wigan
Australia
NB Marcus also suggested downloading material from Friends Reunited before it closes which I have, but it needs some editing before I can publish it. RDWK