211075 Downing Record 07 - Downing College - University of ...

John Raynes (1954)We learned from Jos Bird in June 2007 that John Raynes passed away recently.Keith Southan (1930)Keith Southan died on 1st September 2006. He came up to Downing fromWolverhampton Grammar School as a Buchanan Exhibitioner. He joined the BoatClub and the University Rover Scout Crew. He was also in the College chess team(and later in the Worcester County team). His hobbies already at that time includedornithology and natural history, particularly trees and fungi. He often said thatthese years shaped and influenced his future life as a teacher. Former pupils havewritten to say how he enriched their lives as well. As Boat Club Secretary, and laterCaptain, he won oars. He was secretary of the Amalgamation Club and, in his finalyear, President. He was awarded the Pilley Scholarship for distinction in sport andacademic work, enabling him to stay on for a fourth year to read French as a postgraduate. His Tutor William Cuttle summed up the value of his contribution toCollege life in the following terms: “He has earned the gratitude of the GoverningBody for what he has done. His influence has, from the first, been exerted onbehalf not merely of winning races, but also of promoting common sense anddecency in the Boat Club and in the College generally”. After Cambridge he gainedteaching experience by spending several weeks in Wolverhampton MunicipalSecondary School and a year in Brighton (Hollingbury Court Prep School), movingon to Worcester College for the Blind in 1935. There he had to deal with a wideage-range of pupils (from 8 or 9 years old through to university scholarshipaspirants of 18 or over), but was able to develop the teaching of Classics, as aBraille version of a useful Latin book had just been published. Greek teaching therewas limited to New Testament Greek, as learning this language with the help ofBraille was not straightforward! While senior resident master at Worcester, he evenexperimented with the possibility of teaching carpentry to blind boys. He alsolearned to fly and got married, just after call up, in December 1939. After wartimeservice as a pilot in Coastal Command in which he survived extremes of danger,he went to Tiffins School in 1946 to teach Classics. Keith was awarded the SilverAcorn by the Chief Scout in 1975 ‘for distinguished services to the movement’,and, even after his retirement, he edited the local Scout newsletter for many years.In 1985 he was awarded the bar to his Silver Acorn at Windsor Castle.Jenny Deeprose (Daughter)54