SUMMER 2012 ISSUE No. 150 - Shrewsbury School

Old salopian News
He was elected to the Council of the
Tallyllyn Railway Preservation Society
(TRPS) in 1963 and shortly afterwards he
was appointed as accountant and treasurer,
a role he would fulfil for forty years. This is
probably a record for voluntary service,
though few members realised the amount
of effort Colin put in. He must have spent
several hours a day working on the
accounts, which were recorded in large
ledgers. He also paid most of the invoices,
which involved writing many dozens of
cheques each month, as well as paying the
wages of the permanent staff and dealing
with the pension scheme and banking
arrangements. The Talyllyn owed him a
great debt and recognised this by
appointing him a Vice-President.
Leaving Deloittes in the early 1960s, he
moved to Derby and then in 1965, through
Talyllyn contacts, he moved to Turners
Asbestos Cement as administrative
account at Trafford. In March 1977 Colin
married Ljliana and immediately his world
widened to include the Church, the Grail
Trust, a charity with strong Welsh border
roots which operate children’s homes in
southern India, and various homes in which
they maintained a small holding with
various livestock.
Colin was in some ways a shy person
who did not seek the limelight. Indeed his
major concern about becoming the Talyllyn
Treasurer was having to make the financial
presentation at the AGM. Being a
Lancastrian and an accountant he was
careful with money (vitally important with
the voluntary TRPS!) but he was also
generous and a great supporter of
charities.
No.7 sounded its whistle as his coffin
was lowered into the grave and his wife
and very many friends rode a special train
up the line, the locomotive carrying as a
headboard the replica ‘TALYLLYN’ plate
that had been presented to Colin when he
‘retired’ from driving.
David Mitchell, 27th April 2012
DAVID ALLAN SPENCER (SH 1948-54)
David Allan Spencer was born in Reedley
Hollows, Burnley on 25th May 1935. He
attended The Leas School, Hoylake before
entering School House in Michaelmas 1948
with future First XI cricketers John Webb
and the hostile bowler John Stapleton, who
later represented The Rest of the Schools at
Lord’s in 1954.
Those Salopians with any interest in
sport, who entered the Moss Gates in the
early 50s, will not fail to remember the allround
feats of D. A. Spencer of Headroom.
His name is inscribed on the School Wall for
eternity, the privilege of Heads of School or
of triple School Firsts, such as David and
other superstars of that age: A. N. Duerr, J.
M. H. Tilbury, J. L. Ward and R. H. C.
Waters, to name but a few.
In those years, the whole school watched
the 1st XI Football in their matches on
Senior. In the Michaelmas Term of 1950,
there was Spencer, fifteen years old, playing
inside forward in the first of his four years in
the side. He went on to captain the 1st XI
Football for two years – one of only two
Salopians to do so, according to records
from 1925-75.
Spencer’s ball control was uncanny, as
was his sense of positioning. Robin
Moulsdale remembers gasping with delight
when Spencer caught a long pass on his
foot (instead of trapping it!); this is a skill,
which any self-respecting under-15 league
player displays nowadays without thinking.
In 1951, the first of his three years in 1st
XI Cricket, Spencer topped the batting
averages with an average score of 53.8 in
17 innings and was second in the bowling
averages. Wisden noted: “...D. A. Spencer
proved repeatedly that he possessed ideal
temperament and concentration in a critical
situation”. John Farnell remembers Spencer
as a great team player and as a superb
fielder in the covers, with “a wonderful
throwing arm, like a professional’s – a
glorious pick-up and throw, all in one
smooth movement”. He played one year in
the Fives IV.
It was to the Old Salopians’ loss that his
business commitments prevented Spencer
from playing in the Arthur Dunn Cup or even
the Halford Hewitt, as he quickly became a
low handicap golfer. He played for Burnley
Cricket Club in the Lancashire League and
served as President of Nelson Golf Club.
He was a season ticket older at Turf Moor
and an avid fan of “The Clarets”, as locals
know Burnley footballers.
Spencer served in the Border Regiment
for his National Service. He went up to St
John’s College, Cambridge, reading law
and economics. He played for the
University Second XI Football, known as
The Falcons. His subsequent career was in
textiles. These were hard times for the
Lancashire cotton industry. His family
business John Spencer (Burnley) Ltd, of
which he was a director, went into Voluntary
Liquidation in 1971. It was a source of pride
and a sense of proper justice to him that all
creditors, workforce and shareholders were
paid in full. Thereafter, Spencer ran a
knitting company called Clayton Warp
Knitters. Tragically, in 1987, he suffered a
70
stroke that left him confronting problems
with walking. His willpower and his
phlegmatic, self-reliant mentality enabled
him to face his new circumstances with
admirable stoicism. He refused to give in
and he would not use a wheelchair in his
home, until the last few months of his life.
Typically, he devoted his energies and flair
to a mobility charity in the Pendle area of
East Lancashire. In 2006, in recognition of
his tireless work for electric wheel-chair
users, Spencer was named as Passenger
Number One by Pendle Transport Services,
being the first to board their inaugural bus
with modern disabled access.
He married Judy in 1961: they had two
children, John and Sara. Sadly the marriage
broke up in 1978 but David and Judy
remained good friends. It is hard to imagine
the woes in David Spencer’s daily life, after
illness struck down so talented and so
ardent a games player. David remained
fiercely independent, albeit supported
closely by his family and by his sister Jill.
He retained a detailed interest in all
sports and in matters Salopian: on his final
evening, he asked to be told if his beloved
Clarets won their match against Cardiff City,
to be played the following day. The result in
the Football League Championship was an
away draw for Burnley: that would have
pleased him greatly.
Tim Lewis
Note: David Spencer is pictured in the
1953 Saracens team photo on page 56.
TIM WHITE (R 1946-50)
Tim's Headmaster, John Wolfenden,
reported that “his Housemaster's (Brookie)
report does him great credit”, and that “his
academic career may not have been
distinguished, but there are other sides to
life. I am glad he has done well as a
monitor.” How those 'other sides to life'
flourished; and how much all those who
were involved in them were so shocked by
his sudden death in Tasmania in March.
There were perhaps three 'sides' to his
life. Two years after leaving Shrewsbury he
joined the family business, originally
involved in milling before later concentrating
on dried fruit and cereals. After his father
and uncle retired and his cousin died in
1972, he ran the company on his own until
in 1977 he sold it to Robertsons (jam),
though remaining with the company for the
next nineteen years, during which time it
was sold four times to various competitors,
none of whom would let him leave.
The second side was his sport. At one
stage a one handicap golfer, competitor in
the Amateur Championship, Captain,