Concordia

Concordia Winter 2018 37 Professor Nigel Barrie Reginald Reeves OBE (1953-1958) died on 31 January 2018 Concordia Winter 2018 36 Obituary B orn just weeks into the Second World War, Nigel Reeves would devote his professional life to conciliation with the country that had caused two catastrophic upheavals and to the understanding and promotion of German language and culture. After modern language studies at Merchant Taylors’ School and graduating from Worcester College, Oxford University with a First Class degree, Reeves began his teaching career at the University of Lund as Lecturer in English. There he met his first wife. She, with their son Dominic and daughter Anna, survive him, living in Sweden. Having gained his Doctorate at St John’s College Oxford, Reeves held successive distinguished academic posts in England, first at Reading University as lecturer in German. An Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship took Reeves to Tübingen University in 1974, where he completed an acclaimed work on the poetry and politics of Heinrich Heine. There followed in 1978 publications on Friedrick Schiller and Heinrich von Kleist. Reeves’ first Professorship was at the University of Surrey from 1975 to 1990, where he was Head of the Department of Linguistics & International Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Human Studies. It was now that Reeves developed his talent for relating academic excellence to practical matters such as business, law and the public promotion of European languages. His achievements were recognised by the award of the OBE in the New Year Honours of 1987. Reeves’ horizons widened to include other fields and institutions: Guest Professor at Royal Holloway College (London University), Visiting Professor at the European Business School, Senior Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at Hamburg University, Chairman of Council of the Institute of Linguists, President of the National Association of Language Advisers and Chairman of the National Congress on Languages in Education. All showed his breadth of learning and determination to further the educational causes in which he so strongly believed. In Reeves’ own words: “A main target of German studies abroad must be to place students in the position to deal effectively in the German-speaking world”. In 1990 Reeves moved to Aston University as Professor of German and Head of the Department of Modern Languages. He would become Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Relations, in which role he promoted study in Britain for foreign students, especially from the Far East. Reeves’ high reputation led also to appointments at the Open University and the University of Buckingham. Reeves was admired as a popular colleague and team worker, as shown by the wide variety of publications written in collaboration with fellow academics. These colleagues created a Festschrift in his honour in 1999: “Vermittlungen (Mediations): German Studies at the Turn of the Century”. In the same year Reeves was awarded the Order of Merit from the German Government to add to the Goethe Medal he had received in 1989. “Those acquainted with Reeves’ scholarship, German and British, have applauded his tireless work in advancing the careers of young academics and encouraging academia to recognise the need not only for intellectual development but for preparation to engage with the wider world.” Those acquainted with Reeves’ scholarship, German and British, have applauded his tireless work in advancing the careers of young academics and encouraging academia to recognise the need not only for intellectual development but for preparation to engage with the wider world. For all his international interests, Nigel Reeves remained deeply rooted in English society and traditions. He was nowhere happier than his beloved ancient house and garden, Harlands, in the Malvern Hills. This text appears with kind permission of the University of Reading Derek Robert Ellis (1940-1946) D erek passed away, peacefully after a short illness, on 23 March 2018, aged 89. His years at school were noteworthy for his great ability at Mathematics and it came as no surprise to anyone that, on leaving school at 17, he entered the actuarial profession. In those days, the time taken in studying and becoming qualified was perhaps longer than with any other profession; he qualified (by examination, not election) as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1959. Of course, his studies had been interrupted by two years of National Service, most of which he spent, as a civilian, working on the secret early development of radar at Malvern. Derek joined British Equitable Insurance in London which later became Royal Exchange and then Guardian Royal Exchange. His great interest was long-distance walking and, in the year 2000, aged 71, he walked 2,000 miles in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. He remained unmarried. Ivor Ellis John H. Pain OBE (1944-1947) died aged 88 on 27 May 2018 John attended Merchant Taylors’ from 1944 to 1947, on the science side. He played cricket, squash, and rugby, at some stage as scrum half to Doug Baker, retaining a keen interest in rugby for the rest of his life. During the war, his father commanded a fighter station, and his mother became an internationally-recognized authority on naval warfare. John, however, joined the Royal Engineers, ending up in Hong Kong as a Captain and ADC to the Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Sir George Stratton from 1955 to 1957. When he retired from the Army, he joined “the Noble House”, Jardine Matheson, and I first met him in 1958 after a rugby match between the RAF and the Hong Kong Football Club. He was wearing the OMT tie! John joined the Hong Kong Tourist Association in about 1963 and became Executive Director in 1971. He developed the HKTA into a very professional national tourist office, working closely with the domestic and international travel trade. Overseas offices were set up in major markets. He became “Mr Hong Kong Tourism”, and was elected President of the Pacific Area Travel Association and the East Asia Travel Association. He was a strong leader; persuasive, precise, and good at delegating. If you needed guidance, he would always start with “You’d better know the history….” The HKTA became recognized as among the best national tourist offices in the world, and John was awarded an OBE. I visited him often. He remained single all his life, and had few living relatives, but he kept in frequent touch with his many friends and acquaintances particularly in Hong Kong. He remained alert to the end and could hold an interesting, well-informed conversation on just about anything, particularly the Cantonese. We also of course recalled our times at School. He excelled in his profession, will be long remembered, and much missed. Douglas King (1951-1956) Obituary “He became “Mr Hong Kong Tourism”, and was elected President of the Pacific Area Travel Association and the East Asia Travel Association. He was a strong leader; persuasive, precise, and good at delegating.” “Of course, his studies had been interrupted by two years of National Service, most of which he spent, as a civilian, working on the secret early development of radar at Malvern.”