The Salopian no. 160 - Summer 2017

100
OLD SALOPIAN NEWS
building of a Hereford bypass across the Lugg Meadows,
home to several extremely rare plants and the most
important surviving Lammas meadows in the country (an
ancient system for managing land).
As a keen fisherman, John loved nothing better than to
study the interplay between trout and mayfly but, while
doing so, his observant eye also noted the progressive
diminution in other forms of wildlife in and around
the rivers Lugg and Arrow. This led him, at the age of
83, to found the Lugg and Arrow Fisheries Association,
which raised £30,000 locally, thereby enabling access to
conservation funds of £300,000 from the European Union.
Increasingly isolated from committee work by deafness,
John remained active and influential behind the scenes,
living long enough to see the decline in wildlife stabilised
and in some instances reversed. In life John enriched and
enhanced the lives of so many of those who met him, but
his enduring legacy will be his conservation work, which
will benefit and give pleasure to many who will never know
of his existence.
Above all, John was a family man. He was survived by Jean
(née Roseveare), his wife who supported him every step of
the way through 67 years of happy marriage and who was
a tower of strength in his increasingly frail final years. Their
son, Richard, is an endocrinologist and a fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians. Of their three daughters, Elizabeth is
a nurse, Diana a physiotherapist and Sarah a mathematician;
two married doctors whom John had helped to train.
Henry Connor
Richard Rycroft (S 1961-66)
Richard was a terrific all-round sportsman, and Shrewsbury in
the 1960s was the ideal environment for him in that respect.
When he reached the position of Praepostor, Severn Hill had
won every cup available. His military record was impressive
too: he played trombone in the corps band and shot for the
School at Bisley. He was greatly inspired by ‘Kek’, as we all
were (how fortunate we were to have had him as a teacher!)
and I suppose the pre-Python, pre-Private Eye atmosphere
of that unique Salopian humour infected him as well. His
German teacher, F. Duffield, once suggested to him that
perhaps Shrewsbury had nothing more to teach him, so he
went off to the Sorbonne for a séjour.
As well as being a great polyglot, he was also a skilled
financier. He worked for a time as a stockbroker on the
Liverpool Exchange, but when that closed and he transferred
to Manchester, he began to lose interest. As a man who
always subscribed to the highest values of personal integrity,
he was not impressed by the more seedy aspects of the life,
and he decided to change direction. He gradually moved into
the marine/nautical world, learned boat-building, began transoceanic
sailing and found his true vocation. However, he
never lost contact with his home, he played golf at the Royal
Liverpool and was always a staunch supporter of Shrewsbury
House in Everton. He was a passionate follower of Test
cricket, and was not at all amused when the broadcasting
rights fell into private hands! He also began to deal in
nautical prints and historical maps from the area.
His main passion in life was sailing, and he devoted a great
deal of his time to the Royal Mersey Yacht Club, where he
held several offices over the years. He was a great believer
in the Sail Training Association, with which he was also
heavily involved.
Robin Rycroft (S 1958-63)
Brian Smallwood (DB 1946-51)
Brian Smallwood was born on 12th July 1932. After attending
Prestfelde and Shrewsbury School, he studied for an
apprenticeship at the GEC in Birmingham as an Electrical
Engineer. He then joined the family firm, GH Smallwood &
co, where he served as a Director until the company’s demise
in the early 1980s.
Brian was immensely strong physically, and a gifted
sportsman. Despite the tough economic times and some
personal health issues, he managed in subsequent years to
qualify as a specialist welder and launched his own (handmade)
trailer business. He also started to experiment with
building and running barbecues and hog roast machines,
focusing his efforts on high end catering for large-scale
events in the Shropshire area. Although not the pioneer of
hog roasting, he certainly took this business to a new level,
and to this day his hog roast machines are still used for
events and markets around the county. He also hand-built
his own designed sports car – a feat that was reported in
the Shropshire Star – and he succeeded in building a 25-foot
yacht over the course of around 17 years, almost singlehandedly.
Brian’s sporting achievements reach far and wide and he was
widely respected as an accomplished cricketer by his many
friends. Some of his notable sporting achievements include
winning the school high jump event, beating in the process
fellow pupil Michael Heseltine, and helping the Shropshire
Saracens win the Cricketers Cup by one run on the last ball
of the game. He was an excellent Fives player and continued
to play well into his eighties.
Brian was a great father, uncle and friend, a very unselfish
man who loved entertaining. He will be greatly missed.