The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

OLD SALOPIAN NEWS 83
he was appointed to Shrewsbury by Wolfenden in 1948.
It is his work in Chapel and religious teaching that should be
recorded first: it was a contribution of the utmost importance
to the life of the School Community. There was in that
sphere of School life more change in his time than perhaps
in any other: there was uncertainty and experiment, and the
ministries of four successive Chaplains differed in their styles
and emphases. Throughout that time Michael stood firm
and resolute. His faith was clearly proclaimed; the standards
by which he lived were plain for all to see; and he did not
hesitate to speak up for what he believed to be right, even if
sometimes unpopular.
For ten years he was Housemaster of Oldham’s, not the easiest
of years – 1962 to 1972 – when the School was experiencing
both the difficulties caused by the changing mores of British
Society in the 1960s and also the force of the reforming energy
of Donald Wright. Many old members of the House will testify
to his pastoral care and thoroughness, and perhaps above all
to the security of knowing that there was a steady hand at the
helm. One of his Heads of House was Michael Proctor, now
Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. His boys will remember
too with gratitude all the work done by his wife Jane in those
final years of House catering, when Housemasters’ wives
were still hotel keepers at a time when hotel staff had become
almost extinct. He had met Jane Taylor when in his earlier
days he was resident House Tutor in School House, where
her father Tom Taylor was Housemaster from 1948 until his
sudden untimely death in 1952. He and Jane married in 1953.
In other ways too Michael played his full part in School life.
In the Sixth Form his Divinity teaching pointed a path for
many to follow into an understanding of the Christian faith,
and below the Sixth his teaching as a form master raised the
morale of the strugglers and brought results which surprised
even the boys themselves. Michael was also an energetic
House rowing coach, he sang regularly in the Concert Choir,
he was in demand as a football referee who could be relied
on to keep a firm grip on the game, and he was a major link
between the School and Shrewsbury House in Everton, where
he was a familiar and much respected figure.
On retirement Michael and Jane moved to Bayston Hill, where
he had already become involved in parish affairs. His energy
was still undiminished, and in retirement as a non-stipendiary
curate he joined the vicar in fostering a flourishing parish.
The congregation outgrew the small village church, and they
raised the money to build a large new church more central
to the modern housing. Those were happy and fruitful
years. As he wrote at the time: “We are trying to combine
faithfulness to the unchanging truths of the Gospel with
courage to experiment with contemporary ways of worship
and communication.”
Also in retirement, he and Jane went regularly to Jerusalem
for two or three months at a time to take his turn as chaplain
at the Garden Tomb, ministering to the many pilgrims and
tourists who visit. In total they did thirteen spells of duty
there. When Michael died, Jane received a phone call from an
Arab street vendor in Jerusalem who spoke to her for twenty
minutes in tribute: Michael’s influence extended beyond the
bounds of the Garden Tomb itself.
In his last years he became increasingly frail and was cared
for and nursed with unstinting devotion by Jane, so that with
the help of visiting professional carers he spent almost all that
time in his own home rather than in hospital. He leaves his
widow Jane, two daughters, a son, five grandchildren and
three great-grandchildren.
Luther’s words spoken at the Diet of Worms in 1521 could
aptly be applied to Michael: Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht
anders. Gott helfe mir.
Glynn Yeoward (I 1944-48)
Glynn was one of the more senior members of an
extended ‘Salopian’ family. He followed his father Cyril
Herbert and cousins Michael and Richard Ainsworth to
Shrewsbury. Michael was one of Shrewsbury’s more
prominent cricketers, and Glynn felt it was a hard act to
follow. Subsequently, he was joined by younger brother
John Cyril (later High Sheriff of Shropshire c.1982), sons
Robin (I 1968-73) and Andrew (I 1970-75), and grandson
Christopher (O 2007-09).
In 1953, he married Susan Isobel Garbett, niece of the then
Archbishop of York, and is survived by three children,
Robin, Andrew and Sarah, and three grandchildren,
Georgina, James and Christopher.
Glynn’s main loves and achievements at school were football
and cricket. He was in the 2nd XI football and was in the 1st
House final winning team one year, playing in the forward
line with Robin Moulsdale. He claimed on the same evening
to have fought in the 1st House boxing final, losing against
Brian Hutton, later Lord Hutton (of Iraq Inquiry fame).
After achieving his School Certificate, he joined the
Coldstream Guards for National Service, including guarding
Windsor Castle at the time of HRH Prince Charles’ birth.
Following a brief spell working in Canada, he became a cub
reporter on the Hereford Times, and subsequently became
the news editor in the Birmingham Post. In latter years, he
took to writing, completing a number of books mixing fact
with fiction on subjects such as the Roman occupation of
Shropshire. He continued to play football and cricket (with
Ludlow Cricket Club) for as long as possible, and was a
regular on the Shropshire cricket scene.