PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
Paul
was born in Budapest, Hungary where he was head boy of his school and attended
the University of Budapest. On graduating he went to England in 1939 for
further studies and was there when war broke out. As Hungary was an Axis
power in the Second World War, Paul was technically an enemy alien and
he avoided internment by joining the Oxford Fire Brigade, while teaching
at the Dragon School in Oxford. There he meet Jo who was training
to become a nurse at the Radcliffe Hospital.
In 1948 the family, which now included Panna and Nikki, moved to Rhodesia to join Frank Carey from the Dragon School, who founded Eagle School in the Vumba in 1948 . Paul helped build and establish the school where he taught French.. There Paula, Cecelia and Kit were born and have wonderful memories of an idyllic childhood.
They moved to Peterhouse in 1962 where Paul's nickname "Polly" stuck. He taught French, being known for his weekly "verbs tests" and his thorough enjoyment of all the extra mural activities stemmed from his keen scouting days in Hungary. The Chimanimani and Pete Ginn expeditions to Botwana were highlights.
Jo was an extremely accomplished musician. She was born in Sylhet, India, where her father was in the British Army in the Gurkha Regiment, and spent her early years on the Tilbhoom Tea Estate and Dawlish in Devon. Her piano playing ability was immediately spotted by John Hodgson and she was soon teaching piano, helping out in the sanatorium and was active in the play reading society. She and Paul took part in the school's production of Oliver, which was an outstanding success.
In 1978 they went back to England with the idea of retiring there and Paul got a post teaching Latin at King's College in Richmond. By all accounts he found it quite a challenge going back to teaching prep.school boys after teaching at senior school for 16 years.While in England they took advantage of the cheaper air fares and did many trips, including one to America, which they had been unable to organise from Rhodesia. They found in the end that retiring to England was going to separate them from their children, who were all living in Africa. So, they retired to Fishoek, next to the sea where Jo had always wanted to be.
Teaching was Paul's life and he continued to follow the careers of the boys he had taught with avid interest. He died unexpectedly on 9 June 1992 shortly before his 44th wedding anniversary. This came as a considerable shock to Jo who became ill shortly afterwards and died in December 1994.
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