Wendy Scott kindly sent in the following appreciation of Patrick Short (F 55-59):

“Patrick Short died in a tragic car accident in May 2010.  At the time, he was working as Children’s Services Manager for Barnardo’s in Allerdale, which he said was the best job he had ever taken.

After leaving St. Bees School, where he entered with a scholarship, he went to Sandhurst, but was invalided out just before he completed officer training.  He spent some time in childcare and sales before finding his vocation as a teacher. Initially, he was trained in PE, and his first job in Inner London was in one of the most difficult secondary schools. Always ready for a challenge, he said that if he could manage there, he could manage anywhere. He went on to work at Hampstead School, where he taught science, and was soon promoted to a pastoral role as head of house, and eventually became acting deputy head. However, he decided that school management was not for him, and opened a specialist coffee shop, which enjoyed success until the downturn in the 1980s. While continuing to develop his passion for cooking at home, Patrick returned to teaching, becoming head of ICT in Docklands, and then at Parliament Hill School in Camden.

Throughout this time, Patrick was an active Liberal, who, as South East regional chair, participated in the negotiations at the time of the merger with the Social Democrats. He drew on his educational expertise when he served as a co-opted member of Hertfordshire County Council, and later worked closely with Don Foster MP when he was the Education Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. After moving to London in 1992, Patrick had a strong influence on policy development at Westminster, and chaired the Kensington and Chelsea Liberal Democrats. After he and his wife Wendy had returned to live in Cumbria in 2001, Patrick served as a local councillor and election agent; he was a parish councillor for Upper Derwent at the time of his death.
He was also Chair of Cumbria Rural Choirs, a role that he relished. His love of music, nurtured at St. Bees, found expression through singing with both the Keswick and Wigton Choral Societies. The latter dedicated their summer concert in 2010 to Patrick’s memory and many singers from across the county joined the choir, who participated in the inspiring Requiem Mass led by the Bishop of Carlisle in Keswick on 16th July.

Many friends and colleagues joined the family at the memorial service, where they paid tribute to a man of great character, ability and charm, who dedicated his life to children and young people. He had come out of retirement in 2007 when he became Children’s Services Manager for Barnardo’s in Allerdale. 

Patrick is survived by four of his seven siblings, his wife Wendy, and his children, Rachel, Guy, Helen and Ben, together with his stepdaughter Cathy and fourteen grandchildren. They take comfort in the knowledge that he was so fulfilled in life.”