DICK HEWSON (died 1993)

Dick Hewson joined the Staff of Haberdashers' in 1938 to take charge of the Geography Department. At the outbreak of war he joined the Army and was engaged in active service in Asia.

On his return he quickly established himself in the School, coached one of the most successful school boxing teams in the country, and became Housemaster of Hendersons. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as Commanding Officer of the Combined Cadet Force; under his vigorous leadership the Band won numerous trophies and the Shooting Eight saw many successes at Bisley.

School 'holidays' were in fact among his most active periods, for he was very keen on all farms of outdoor pursuits, In addition to organising the Summer Camps for the Army Section, he introduced generations of Middle School boys to Alpine skiing slopes and passed on his own considerable mountaineering skill to cadets in Snowdonia, the Lake District, Ireland, Skye and Norway. He recorded these excursions on film, in earlier years in superb black and white and later in colour with his cine-camera which he used with great effect to supplement his teaching.

A quiet, modest, friendly man, he was admired and respected by all who came into contact with him, not least by the members of the Old Haberdashers' Rifle Club, of which he was President, but above all by his fellow officers and colleagues.

It was a great credit to his personal fitness that he still climbed and enjoyed skiing whenever possible Being talented musically he was, on his retirement in 1970, allowed the time and opportunity to take up playing the violin once again.

After such a hectic and fulfilling working life Dick enjoyed a long retirement. To those at Haberdashers' our memories will remain of a man who was very much a man's man, a fine academic, a gifted schoolmaster whose care for the boys in his charge, usually In the open air, was uppermost in his mind. He was always kind to people - a true gentleman, a pillar of strength on the school community for almost the whole of his working life - he literally gave his life to the School.