2013 Annual Report - Jesus College - University of Cambridge

OBITUARIES I Jesus College Annual Report 2013 165
player’s cauliflower ears were a warning to anyone who thought to tangle with him.
Heavily built at 6’2” and 16 stone, he was an immensely strong man (he would – not
infrequently – pick up John Honey (1964) and hold him above his head before throwing
him into the Cam) of good humour and excellent company. He won two Rugby Blues,
in 1964 and 1965, and played for the Jesus 1st. XV in 1964, 65 & 66. In 1965 he rowed in
the JCBC VIth. “International” May Boat which consisted of three South Africans, three
British, two from (then) Rhodesia and one Australian, coxed by The Rev. James Owen.
This remarkable crew was coached by the President of the CUBC Joe Fraser (1962) who
recalls that the thighs of Ken Webb at 5 and Chris Wiggins (1962) at 6 were so massive
that they could not get their hands away at the finish of the stroke. The JCBC Boatman,
the redoubtable Percy Bullock, advised that “all Jesus boats were rigged the same” and
that nothing could be done. However on their next outing Webb and Wiggins appeared
to have mastered their difficulty round the turn and a close inspection by their Coach
revealed that some extra washers had mysteriously appeared under the bottom stays.
Percy Bullock remained his enigmatic self, with no comment. Ken was also an
enthusiastic skier. He was a member of The Natives Club and of The Rhadegund Society.
Contemporaries recall with fondness his impressive thirst and his extraordinary ability
to eat hotter curries than anyone else in the University. He shared a house at Haslingfield
with Johnny Payne (1961).
Ken graduated LLB in 1966. He moved to Canada and spent many years working on
the Toronto Stock Exchange with Midland Doherty (now Merrill Lynch) and
subsequently several years as a consultant before retiring to Plettenberg Bay. He leaves
his wife, Clare, whom he married in 1974, two daughters and a son.
WILSON, Andrew Bengt McCulloch (1948) died on 4 December 2012 aged 83.
Andrew Wilson was born on 27 December 1929 in Durban, South Africa. Educated at
Hilton College, Natal, South Africa, he came up in 1948. Initially he read Agriculture
before changing to Law. He graduated BA 1951. After being admitted to the English Bar
he practised law in London for two years before returning to his homeland. He was
admitted to the South African bar in 1956 and took silk in 1976. During his career he was
involved in many high profile and politically sensitive trials and colleagues speak of him
“as an advocate [who] set a high standard in legal defence”. He was appointed to the
bench in the Natal Provincial Division in 1984, where his progressive and principled
judgments were recognised by colleagues. In 1989 he was a member of the group of
eight South African judges who attended a conference with the then banned ANC at
Nuneham Park, Oxford, despite opposition of the then Minister of Justice. Towards the
end of his career he was appointed vice-chair, and later chair, of the Committee on
Amnesty of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Beyond the law, he was Natal
Chairman of the House of Laity of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa and a
member of the Natal Diocesan Synod and the Provincial Synod in Southern Africa; he
also stood as a candidate for the Progressive Party in 1966.
He married June Verrall in 1956 and they had one son and two daughters. In 1983 he
married Crystelle Smuts. His daughter Deborah Wilson (1988) was in her first year at
Jesus at the time of her sad and early death in 1989.
WILSON, Donald Alexander (1952) died on 29 April 2013 aged 79.
Donald Wilson was born on 7 October 1933 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Educated at
Manchester Grammar School he came up in 1952 to read Mathematics with a major