Concordia

Concordia Winter 2018 35 Geoffrey Brown T he “drought” summers of 1976 and 2012 bookend the career of Geoffrey Brown at Merchant Taylors’. Educated at Harrow County, where he was a contemporary of Clive Anderson and of Michael Portillo (Geoffrey and he were eventually taught together in an Oxbridge set of two – imagine that), he joined the staff to teach History after completing his degree and PGCE at Keble College, Oxford, which included teaching practice at Berkhamsted. Since then he has worked under four Head Masters and five Heads of Department, and it is as a teacher of History that he will primarily be remembered. Generations of boys have sat in awe in his classroom as he taught them in the traditional way; ask any of his pupils what they most remember about him and they will invariably and fondly reply “He knows everything”. There is no need for Google or Wikipedia when Geoffrey is around; he’ll give you the answer to virtually any historical question, to which one can only reply “How could you possibly know that?” He is modest to a fault, though, wearing his knowledge lightly and never making his pupils (or colleagues) aware of their inadequacies. He doesn’t need notes or lesson plans; he can deliver erudite lectures on almost any topic, from obscure studies of the Grand Union Canal in Rickmansworth to highly detailed expositions on Yorkist government. He would be unbeatable on Just a Minute or even Just an Hour. And whilst teaching a class he is constantly on the move with a set route around the room; apparently one of the few times when his flow was interrupted was when a mischievous Upper 6th set subtly shifted the furniture so that his normal itinerary was blocked and he was momentarily lost for words without realising why. Whatever syllabus he has been asked to take on by Heads of Department wanting to make their mark he has done so willingly, whether it be the Schools History Project at GCSE, or Late Medieval Europe or the Vietnam War at A Level. And he has moved with the times and worked hard to adapt to the new ideas of all those ambitious Heads of Department. He has grappled with technology, and experimented with interactive empathetic learning; few of those present, or those privileged enough to watch the video, will forget the famous trial and indeed execution of Charles I by the Upper 3rds, though it was, perhaps, risky to plan this lesson for Inspection Week. Ultimately though he would revert to what he does best, which is to teach from the front of the class, and it was his passion for the subject that really marked him out. The large number of his pupils who have gone on to study History at university is testament to his inspirational teaching. To be possessed of such a towering and eclectic mind clearly comes at a cost. Ask him anything to do with numbers and he turns to jelly. And Geoffrey could never be accused of a scrupulous attention to tidiness. His classroom would be scattered with papers, exercise books, videos and assorted paraphernalia that made teaching there something of a challenge for others. Despite this, he was an obvious choice as Departmental Librarian, and above all as School Archivist since 1996, where he has fielded an endless stream of requests for information and hosted numerous researchers. He has guarded the Archive with a zeal matched only by the Hesperides watching over their golden apples, and it is anyone’s guess what actually lies behind that door. He teases us from time to time with glimpses of the riches it contains, and will often put on displays from the Archive to coincide with important dates in the school calendar; many Fourth Formers will recall the lecture he used to give illustrating important aspects of the school's past. Geoffrey has also been a valuable source of advice on school publications, especially during the recent 450th anniversary celebrations. Geoffrey’s work at the school has gone far beyond the History Department. His extraordinary range of knowledge made him the perfect choice as Head of General Studies, where he could conduct courses in interests dear to his heart, such as the History of London, Italian for Beginners and Cinema in the Third Reich. In his early years here he helped with the Scout Troop, and at around the same time he ran the Railway Society at an exciting time in its history. He has helped with a number of games but is most closely associated with swimming, which he helped with for ten years before taking it over and running it for seven, qualifying as a lifesaver in order to do so; the military precision with which he ran the House Swimming Competition is legendary. Geoffrey has always been outstanding company on school trips, and it is no coincidence that alongside History visits to Berlin, Munich and the First World War battlefields he should also accompany several Classics trips to Rome and a Spanish trip to Madrid. He invariably knew more than the local hosts about their subject (although he would never dream of making them aware of this), whether it be the History of the Spanish Royal Family, 18th Century Belgian architecture or the patron saints of obscure In the words of a current A-Level historian: “Mr Brown is a great teacher and an unending source of knowledge to all of us. I feel genuinely fortunate to have had him as a teacher.” Obituary Concordia Winter 2018 34 Roman churches. In Munich he led a group of slightly nervous Sixth Formers along the route of the infamous 1923 Beer Hall Putsch before going on to address them from a platform in front of the Feldherrnhalle. His tours are always conducted at breakneck speed, most alarmingly on an impromptu tour of City of London churches with members of the Court of Merchant Taylors and School Governors in tow risking life and limb in their attempt to keep up with him (he holds the record for the Long Drive walk). He threw himself into the task of researching the history of OMTs lost in the Great War, and this undoubtedly contributed to the powerful impact of the battlefields trips on generations of MTS boys. He was the natural choice to lead the wreath-laying ceremonies at the graves of OMTs, his words always giving a profound sense of tragedy and loss suffered by a generation less fortunate than ourselves. Geoffrey is an intensely private man who has an active life beyond Sandy Lodge. He is drawn powerfully to the City of London (and its ancient hostelries) as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers (41st, not 6th or 7th) and as Churchwarden of St. James Garlickhythe, and he will enjoy spending more of his time there. We will miss him for so many reasons, not least the happy sounds of 1930s Italian musicals coming from his classroom during the Hour. In the words of a current A-Level historian: “Mr Brown is a great teacher and an unending source of knowledge to all of us. I feel genuinely fortunate to have had him as a teacher.” And I count myself fortunate to have had him as a friend and a colleague. Tony Booth (MTS SCR 1983-2014) From the Taylorian 2012