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

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Education (PGCE etc)EngineeringEnglishGeographyHistoryHistory of ArtLand EconomyLawLaw (LLM)LinguisticsManagement StudiesMathematicsMedical and Veterinary SciencesModern & Medieval LanguagesMusicNatural Sciences (Biological)Natural Sciences (Biological)- Assistant DOSNatural Sciences (Chemistry)Natural Sciences (Physical)Natural Sciences (Physics)Oriental StudiesPhilosophySocial and Political ScienceTheology and Religious StudiesVeterinary Medicine* External Director of StudiesCollege LecturersClassicsEconomicsLawModern & Mediaeval Languages (Spanish)Modern & Mediaeval Languages (German)MusicPhilosophyVeterinary ScienceMr J Raffan*Dr W O’NeillDr L XuDr C PhillipsProfessor W M AdamsDr D R PrattDr D A Oldfield*Dr J S L McCombieMr G J VirgoMs P NevillDr A LedgewayDr J S L McCombieDr S DemouliniDr N ColemanDr I R JamesDr S Barrett*Dr S BrayDr S Ellington*Dr D WalesDr R O’ReillyDr P J Duffett-SmithMrs H Laurie*Dr M Cameron*Dr J BrowneDr R R Manning*Mrs J Pearson*Dr C A Roth-MurrayMr N F B AllingtonMr R G BatesDr F V ComimMrs C A HopkinsDr R C ClarkDr C WoodfordDr S J BarrettDr M CameronMrs J PearsonCollege LektorGerman Mr M P Rohde67
James Norman Birch (Fellow Emeritus)Norman Birch died on October 1st 2006. The Chaplain conducted his funeral inthe Chapel on Friday, 13th October.Norman was born in Ayrshire, in 1919, and was the eldest of four brothers.He attended a village primary school and then went to secondary school at theAyr Academy. It was a tumultuous time to grow up: he’d been born soon afterthe end of the First World War, and war was again approaching as he enteredadulthood. Norman volunteered for the Royal Engineers at the outbreak of theSecond World War, and he began a very distinguished period of military service.As a young officer, he started to display the great talent for leadership which heshowed through his later career. He was promoted to captain and then major atan unusually young age. Early in the war, he was with the British ExpeditionaryForce in France, and was part of the Dunkirk evacuation. Later, he was sent to theFar East and posted to Burma. In the army, Norman learned to lead men, some ofwhom were considerably older than him. He earned the trust of his soldiers, andinspired them to honour the trust that he placed in them. Another officercommented that ‘his men would follow him to the far side of the moon’. As wellas adventures around the world, wartime also included romance for Norman. Itwas at this time that he met Monique in Southampton. She had come to Englandas a refugee from Belgium, and was also in the army, working on an anti-aircraftbattery. When the war was over, Norman and Monique were married, and he tookher back to Scotland where they went to live in Newton Stewart. And it was therethat their three children were born – Karen, Katherine and Derek. Norman nowput his engineering and leadership skills to work as a civilian. He became astructural engineer, specialising in foundations and piling. This work brought himsouth to England. In 1951, the family moved to Woodford Green, in Essex, andthen in 1965 to Cambridge. Norman worked for companies including Mowlem,Rattee and Kett, and French Kier. He was always hard-working and meticulous.He had both an impressive technical knowledge, and a great ability to deal withpeople. He kept a careful eye on all the details of each building project, and onthe workforce. He was frequently to be seen out and about on the site, and knewhis workers well. He was good at resolving conflicts and dealing with fraughtsituations, and became a qualified arbitrator. He showed unfailing courtesy,consideration and gentleness. But he also had a strong sense of the right path totake, and could be very firm with any who were failing to pull their weight. In allthings, he showed clear wisdom and sound common sense. In 1981, Norman’scareer took a different direction when he became Domestic Bursar of Downing.He loved the College and he modestly said that he applied with no expectationof getting the job. He himself had gone to war at the age when he might have68
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Downing College 2007
Page 4:
ContentsDowning College Association
Page 7 and 8:
The President. Julian Childs MA
Page 9 and 10:
President’s ForewordThe aim durin
Page 11 and 12:
Cufflinks in solid silver£68 plus
Page 13 and 14:
understanding! The music recitals i
Page 15 and 16:
14Fellowship and students in reside
Page 17 and 18: e hung! I was also honoured and del
Page 19 and 20: Development Director’s ReportThe
Page 21 and 22: ‘Smaller’ building tasks includ
Page 23 and 24: 1807: The Laying of the Foundation
Page 25 and 26: underpinned by shared secular exper
Page 27 and 28: the digging out of foundations; the
Page 29 and 30: Earl to give support to his nephew,
Page 31 and 32: and other residents. This is the sc
Page 33 and 34: The Schieffelin Leprosy Research &
Page 35 and 36: proposed the establishment of a Boa
Page 37 and 38: DIECI PER TAVOLA GRANDE(Ten for Hig
Page 39 and 40: sailors’ attempts to steer in a s
Page 41 and 42: Act 5Scene 1: Near MarchThe final A
Page 43 and 44: The Literary Larrikin (biography) -
Page 45 and 46: MarriageAndrew Macintosh (2003) mar
Page 47 and 48: ObituariesStephen Allcock (1952)Ste
Page 49 and 50: papers and Oral English, examining
Page 51 and 52: But he hankered after something to
Page 53 and 54: Claire Louise Cutler, née Morgan,
Page 55 and 56: John Raynes (1954)We learned from J
Page 57 and 58: Martin Ward (1957)Martin Ward came
Page 59 and 60: Editorial acknowledgementsThis publ
Page 62: Downing College2006 - 200761
Page 65 and 66: IAN RICHARD JAMES, M.A., M.A. (Warw
Page 67: The Wilkins FellowsGODFREY MICHAEL
Page 71 and 72: Memorial service for the late Dr St
Page 73 and 74: 200 Years the Symbiotic Architectur
Page 75 and 76: 74In contrast, Jefferson was a Pall
Page 77 and 78: The consequence was that when Jeffe
Page 79 and 80: In December 2006 Ian Roberts was aw
Page 81 and 82: Women’s BadmintonThe first team b
Page 83 and 84: Semi Final). It was a pleasure to s
Page 85 and 86: Music SocietyPresident: Mark Browne
Page 87 and 88: competition for the fourth time in
Page 89 and 90: Scholarships, prizes and awards 200
Page 91 and 92: College prizesArchaeology & Copsey
Page 93 and 94: ArchitectureTripos Part IALeung M Y
Page 95 and 96: Land Economy Tripos Part IAManji I
Page 97 and 98: Natural Sciences Tripos Part IACart
Page 99 and 100: Graduate examinationsDiploma in Com
Page 101 and 102: LawBailey-Munroe, S JBansal, N KBel
Page 103 and 104: Graduate admissions 2006Anglo-Saxon
Page 105 and 106: Loizidou, C CLoo, T MMargaronis, S
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