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NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS More than that, he was acknowledged as the “rock” of the Bureau, being totally dependable, and admired for that quiet concern which endeared him to so many people. It was a bitter blow that arthritis took such a swipe at him, because, of course, he had been a keen walker in the Lakes and in Switzerland and loved the experience of finding new views and achieving new distances. God, his faith, his commitment were the foundations of his living and acting, and it is characteristic that he loved the Book of Common Prayer for its cadences and its really private spirituality. The “secret to himself” he takes to his eternal rest, and we pray for Peter and Margaret and for all who miss him, that there may be consolation and also a peacefulness in knowing that the secrets of all hearts are disclosed, and specially for John, and that God receives him into his presence. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. 1971-1974 Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, 2nd KEO Gurkha Rifles in Brunei and Hong Kong in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel 1974-1975 Deputy President, The Regular Commissions Board, Westbury 1975-1978 Assistant Defence Attache in Kathmandu, Nepal 1979-1983 Deputy President and Group Leader, The Regular Commissions Board, Westbury 1983 (July) Retired from the Army Terry was a very modest man and, with that, there is nothing more that needs to be said. PETER TERENCE BOWRING (O41/46) 28th July 1928 – 5th March 2005 This is not an obituary, as Terry left instructions in his Will that there should not be one. Therefore, the following is purely a list of events showing his journey through life. Son of Lt. Col. E. Bowring, Royal Marines (Old, pre-1911-1912) 1939 Junior School (Plox) 1941 King’s: Old House Prefect (1945) Rugby XV (Capt.) Hockey XI Boxing (Capt.) CSM in JTC Head of School 1957 Married Ann Jacqueline Greenwood Daughter – Susie; Son – Peter 1947 Enlisted in 3 Commando, Royal Marines 1948 Gazetted to a Short Service Commission in the Royal Artillery. Posted to Hong Kong 1953 Transferred to 2nd K.E.O. Gurkha Rifles and posted to 1st Battalion in Singapore. Commanded D Company in Malaya (Mentioned in Despatches). Adjutant in Malaya and Hong Kong. Then Commanded C Company, Support Company in Malaya and B Company in Singapore and in the Brunei Rebellion. 1963- 1965 Ypres Company Commander, RMA Sandhurst. 1965-1969 Second-in-Command 1st Battalion, 2nd KEO Gurkha Rifles in Hong Kong, Brunei and Singapore. 1970-1971 Officer Commanding The Gurkha Records Office in Singapore. MAJOR JOHN ERROLL HOLMES GAIT (N 27-30) Jan 31st 1913 - March 17th 2005 Born in Bristol in 1913, he was the eldest of three, brother to Jim and Diana. He was from birth a large and physically strong child, but always gentle in his manner. He grew to 6 ft 5 inches and excelled at cricket and rugby both at XIV prep school in Bristol and later at King’s Bruton, where he had a strong left arm, both as bowler and batsman. During the war, his nickname was “Tiny” but he towered over most people. After leaving school he played rugby for Bristol and Exeter and later for Rotherham. In India he played water polo and during the latter part of the war enjoyed skiing in the Lebanon. He won many cups and trophies for both of these sports. He also played golf, which became his major sporting interest for most of his life. He won many medals and events for this, the pinnacle being getting to play with a professional in a national pro-am competition when well into his 60s. He introduced me to golf at a young age. He was very patient, never making me feel stupid when I mishit the ball into the woods, but being encouraging usually with a “bad luck, have another go”! Golf was his overriding pastime that kept him fit and active, which for much of his life he was, until sadly his hip replacements forced him to retire from golf in his 80s. His first job was in the steel industry. Getting a job was hard in the 1930s but my grandmother’s foresight in sending a telegram to the prospective employers got him the job! He was in digs in Rotherham earning something like 15 shillings a week at first, but sadly the job did not last long as he crashed the company’s motor car, which in those days made the newspaper, and he was fired! Fortunately he managed to get a job in Birmingham with Henry Hope and Sons, metal window manufacturers, and within a few years was seconded to India. His first wife Kathleen went with him and my sister Angela was born out there in 1937. But the start of the war intervened and 28 OLD BRUTONIAN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 2005
NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS he joined up with the 11th PAVO in the Indian Cavalry serving as an officer in the western desert in Libya and Egypt. As a Sergeant Major and as Quartermaster in a Brigade of Indian army recruits retreating before Rommel, he came under fire at El Mekili on Palm Sunday 1942 and survived several days of onslaught that were clearly terrifying encounters. Later in the war, he became a Major and Commandant of a camp in a high mountain pass in the Lebanon. Wartime experiences were central to his early life and ones of which he was proud. He kept his medals safe and wore them in annual reunion dinners in London. He kept in touch with the Indian Cavalry Officers Association throughout his life. Sadly, his marriage to Babs was not a success, but in 1943 in Alexandria he met my mother Dorothy and they married in Alexandria on March 4th 1944. For more than a year they communicated only by daily letter, since they were posted apart and it was not until 1946 that he returned to India with my mother, helping to train many local people in Balmer Lawrie and Company in Calcutta. I was born in 1948! In the mid 1950s we moved back to the UK, to Birmingham, where my father resumed in the export department at Hope’s Windows. Clearly he was a respected and well-liked manager. In the 1960s we moved to Bushey Heath, near London and my father managed a small subsidiary window company W. James in Willesden. When this was closed down during the assetstripping days of Slater-Walker, my father, now in his late 50s, was not too proud to roll up his sleeves, despite a recent heart attack, and go out on the road again as a salesman for the window company Heywood Williams. A lucky break occurred when he was asked to act as a consultant for a subsidiary firm, Coastal Aluminium, in Poole, Dorset. The move to Wimborne resulted in some of the happiest times for my parents where they lived for over 25 years. For a while in his late 60s, he sold doubleglazing, and enjoyed the local contacts with people in the Wimborne area. When he retired around 22 years ago, golf then became his passion and he used to play 2 or 3 times a week with his pals. My father was a very orderly person. I suppose it was his life at school and in the army that instilled in him the need for organisation, part of which I suppose rubbed off on me! Even in the last few years, his favourite phrase was “everything is under control” and he was not happy until he felt everything was. Of course, my father was devoted to my mother. They loved each other for all of their 56 years together. My mother, who died in 2002, told me how she was always very grateful for the many happy times together and much of the life and security that he had been able to provide her. My father also knew just how much my mother had contributed to making his life such a pleasant one at home. My parents came as a team and I could not get away with anything! My father always treated me gently, never raising his hand to me. A firm word from him insisting on good behaviour was quite enough! He was a very good at ensuring that life flowed on, and no matter what happened along the way, he would try his best to take practical steps to help. He hated being ill and got very frustrated, especially after several hip operations and an operation for cancer, that he could not do the practical things in life that he enjoyed. Mobility and independence were crucial to him and he hated having to give up his car a year ago, when in 2004 he moved to Cambridge to be closer to my wife Anna and I. But he bought an invalid scooter and he loved tootling around the corner to us for lunch, even though it took him a long time to get himself organised. Indeed he was very happy at the residential home, the Hollies, even though it turned out to be less than a year. The wonderful support of all the staff at the Hollies gave him much comfort during his final days. Michael Gait (N 62/66) NICKLEBY BERNAYS (O59/64) (The following appreciation of Nick Bernays was delivered at Nick’s memorial service by Peter Phillips, his friend and School contemporary.) First of all, can I say how grateful I have been for all the comments, stories and memories that you, his family and friends, have shared with me. Your information and subsequent advice have only left me, well, in a state of panic. As I said to Janny, after she told me I would be saying a few words, preparing for today has produced a lot of tears. If I’m honest, although some have been of sadness, most have been of happiness, brought about by fantastic tales and memories. (Can I also apologise if I have omitted any stories that you thought you might hear; most were probably not suitable for retelling here, today, anyway!) Nickleby Gorton Bernays. Now, there’s a name! If you want to know more about how he got that name, then you will have to ask Sarah or Jane, his sisters, afterwards, as they know the story and I found it too confusing to tell here! Nickleby was born on 5th June, 1945 in Montevideo, where he lived until 1955 when his family returned to the UK. He then attended St Edmund’s Prep School in Hindhead until 1959. Nick and I first met when we were at King’s School, Bruton, and, if I recall correctly, it was at tea at my parents’ house in the town. Nick was a boarder and news of my mother’s chocolate eclairs had drifted down to Old House where he was billeted; and Saturday afternoons, after games, in front of Grandstand (or whatever it was called then), from then on, became, well, traditional! Our friendship continued after school and we were to become ‘Best Man’ at each other’s weddings and we were also very honoured and proud to be Godfather to each other’s sons. Nickleby was a school prefect; he was the RSM in the school CCF; he played at ‘wing forward’, as it was then, for the School 1st XV, and, apparently, he also played the clarinet! (Although I cannot, or choose not, to remember that!) He and I represented the School at Tennis; we were the 1st Pair! Unfortunately, our results were never that OLD BRUTONIAN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 2005 29
Page 1 and 2: OLD BRUTONIAN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTE
Page 3 and 4: OBA NEWSLETTER 2005 A HUNDRED YEARS
Page 5 and 6: OBA NEWSLETTER 2005 LETTER FROM THE
Page 7 and 8: AGM AND BRUTON DINNER MINUTES OF TH
Page 9 and 10: THE BRUTON DINNER 1963 Harry Wither
Page 11 and 12: INSIGNIA & SOUVENIERS OLD BRUTONIAN
Page 13 and 14: ACCOUNTS Balance Sheet at 31 Decemb
Page 15 and 16: Present at the Lunch: Guest of Hono
Page 17 and 18: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS New Members
Page 19 and 20: The OBA portrait of Sir Peter Squir
Page 22 and 23: Old Brutonian Golf Society Contact:
Page 24 and 25: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS 1962 Carl BE
Page 26 and 27: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS Americanism
Page 30 and 31: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS good; we eve
Page 32 and 33: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS flying bombe
Page 34 and 35: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS CHANGES OF A
Page 36 and 37: NEWS OF OLD BRUTONIANS OB HOCKEY -
Page 38 and 39: THE SCHOOL HEADMASTER'S LETTER Scho
Page 40: EDITOR: DAVID HINDLEY. © DESIGN &

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