Part 2 (Obituaries) - King's College - University of Cambridge

The year before he died, Bennie and Margaret lost their son Robin to cancer,
when he was 48. Somehow they managed to cope with the loss and
maintain an optimistic outlook; then Bennie himself was diagnosed with
the same illness. He hoped that chemotherapy might give him another two
years, but sadly it was not to be, and he died at home on 2 June 2006 at the
age of 82.
ERNEST FRANK POLACK (1949), nephew of B J P (1909), H L Cohen
(1919), D W Lucas (1924) and R H L (1925) and brother of B H P (1942),
was the fourth member of his family to serve as Housemaster of Clifton
College’s Polack’s boarding house. Founded in 1878, the house did not have
a name until the arrival in 1890 of Joseph Polack, who was succeeded by his
descendants. Clifton’s venture on having a Jewish house was adopted by other
schools, but Clifton remained pre-eminent, and Polack’s only closed in 2005.
Ernest (named after an uncle killed in the FirstWorldWar) was not particularly
keen to become Housemaster, but did so out of family loyalty. He read History
at King’s, and then taught for three years at Carlisle Grammar School, before
moving to teach in South Africa, a country he grew to love. Strongly opposed
to the system of apartheid, Ernest was beaten up by white farmers for
attending a rally condemning its inhumanity. Notably, while teaching in South
Africa Ernest led 13 pupil expeditions up Mount Kilimanjaro, sharing his love
of wildlife and the African countryside as well as encouraging them to
challenge themselves.
He brought his progressive views back to England in 1964 when he took
over Polack’s from his cousin Philip; housemasters were allowed to serve
for a maximum of 15 years and it was time for a change. A portly man
with teddy-bear tufts of hair, Ernest regarded the pupils as his extended
family and challenged their consciences; his twin passions were people and
justice. He infused the house with his liberal values and commanded
authority without the need to resort to disciplinary measures.A keen Labour
Party supporter, he had a critical input into Saturday-morning currentaffairs
debates, which followed shul services. Ernest was later joined at
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OBITUARIES