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DOWNING COLLEGE ASSOCIATION[founded by Quintin Hogg, the father of the politician of the same name] from1886 to 1956, and edited the school magazine until 1960.Seaman married Frances Smith in November 1938 and they had two sons anda daughter: John Bernard was born on 28th January 1942, Francis Richard on12th October 1944 and Christian Mary on 29th April 1948. His diaries continueuntil four days before his death, on 21st January 1986; the last entries deal almostexclusively with his failing health although he still commented on contemporaryissues. In early January he said: ‘Am still vaguely dithering about an Amstrad WordProcessor; but veering towards the opinion that my system could not stand thestrain of one….’ He also records his disappointment with his children and thinksthey regard him as a freak. He was disenchanted with his life: ‘My life, whateverothers may choose to think about it, has been a story of failure, of the wreck ofwhat seemed a golden chance…I am not, I repeat, too sure in this year of 1986that God has done all he might have donefor me’. His last entry reads: ‘I hope I cansurvive to enjoy a deadly dull weekend. Notthat surviving is all that jolly fun, I must say.But the idea that I am scheduled to die seemsso irrational that I can’t take it in. What’s thepoint of being alive if all you end up being isdead? True I’m doing nothing but subsidising[sic] but also worrying somebody else: butthough ambitionless even now I have nodesire for being Nothing’.Anyone interested in seeing the archiveis welcome to contact the College Archivist,Dr Kate Thompson, on (01223) 762905 ore-mail kmt34@cam.ac.uk.Seaman in garden July 1984.Kate ThompsonFootnote – another donation to the archives: During the course of the yearthe Association Secretary has been in correspondence with Dr Brouwe Postmusfrom the University of Amsterdam. In the course of his research into the novelistGeorge Gissing he developed an interest in Jacob John Whittington, whom hedescribes as “the man who almost stopped the erection of Downing College”.Dr Postmus has conducted an in-depth study into the life of Jacob JohnWhittington, who continued to press the claims of Lady Margaret Downingafter her death. His findings are included in an unpublished 20,000 word paperJacob John Whittington: the Man Who Almost Stopped the Erection of Downing Collegethat has been deposited in the College Archives.53