Neil Dumbleton (FS 60-64) records his sadness at two recent deaths.

“I was very saddened by the notification of two deaths in recent issues of The Old St Beghian:

Ronald Johnson (M 59-65).  Ron was a Foundation Housemaster during my years at St Bees (FS 60-64) and senior history teacher during the years of 'O' and 'A' Levels and university application. I have little recollection of his teaching up to 'O' Level but, thereafter, he played a critical role in getting me properly prepared to apply to Cambridge to read history. My Lower Sixth year was probably a disappointment to Ron, so much so that he took the decision to widen my history studies away from the curriculum's traditional focus on the18th and 19th centuries to the Tudor and Stuart eras. As well as greatly extending my options in answering questions at 'A' Level, that decision revived my interest and restored my enthusiasm for the subject.

That interest and enthusiasm continued after 'A' Level into my preparation for the Cambridge Entrance examination during the autumn term of 1964. My success, assisted by the many hours of private tuition which I received from him, owed a huge amount to Ron's confidence in me and the exceptional support which he provided.

After leaving St Bees at Christmas 1964, I was in touch with Ron just once, in spring 2013, when, now living in Sydney, Australia, he learnt that I was organising a reunion to mark the 50th anniversary of the school's first Atlas expedition in March-April 1963. Together with Gordon Dyke and Alan Francis, Ron was one of three school teachers on that trip. Looking back fifty years later in an e-mail to me in March 2013, Ron reflected that they were a great combination. ‘Gordon was the leader. He chose the route, the resting spots, the food menus [and] was also responsible for the climbing programme. He was a great observer of human nature and saw fun everywhere. Alan was a great backup with a whimsical view of life. I guess that we made a good team.’ It was typical of Ron that his own memories of that trip concentrated more on the mishaps and misadventures, some funnier after the event than at the time, than on the climbing. Being the least experienced mountaineer of the three, he had more than his fair share of other duties, including provisions, money, negotiations with the Berbers, and setting up camp. The last of these, in particular, was not without its challenges. At the end of the 2013 reunion, everyone present signed a card to be sent to Ron in Sydney. He replied by e-mail: ‘Your card arrived this afternoon and I will treasure it. At my age, looking back, the whole thing achieves a cheery/teary nostalgia and that is a pleasant feeling’. Many will surely look back on Ron's time at St Bees with a similar feeling.
     
Michael Jamison (FN 61-65).  Mike was another member of that Atlas expedition in March-April 1963. To be entirely honest, being a year apart, we were never the closest of friends at St Bees. But it was impossible not to be aware of him. In many ways, he was a paragon, so very good at everything he did. He excelled at every sport which the school provided. He earned a place in the First XV, playing in the centre, while still in the Lower Sixth, and my album for those years contains a photograph of Mike winning the 100 yards on Sports Day in July 1964. I also remember him as someone invariably anxious to get involved and to put himself to the test. On our Atlas expedition, he was probably the keenest among us to do some real climbing. Another photograph shows Mike, fully roped-up, working his way up an alarmingly vertical chimney which I had avoided by finding a less challenging route. He undoubtedly played a key part in what was a very successful team and enjoyable expedition. Yet, in spite of his multi-skills and attributes, he was remarkably modest and self-effacing. Later, at Cambridge, our paths crossed just twice. Very regrettably in retrospect, our studies, in different Colleges, different years and different subjects, simply kept us apart. The two meetings which did take place were both on the squash court. Needless to say, Mike won on both occasions. The 2013 Atlas reunion was our only subsequent meeting. It was a weird surprise to discover there that we two Old St Beghians had married two women, Barbara and Gill, educated at the same Belfast school, Strathearn. Eleven years later, Barbara and I were both upset to learn of Mike's death in February this year.

Mike's time at St Bees resulted, as was the case with so many of us, in a lifelong love of the Lake District. He and Gill acquired a timeshare at Chapel Stile in Langdale, which they let Barbara and I use immediately after the Atlas reunion. Mike e-mailed afterwards that ‘We do love our visits to Langdale, even when it's just the two of us rattling round in no. 37. We have many happy memories of our kids growing up and making use of all the facilities’. Living on Anglesey, within sight of Snowdonia, Mike was rarely far from the hills.” 

A link to the July 2013 Bulletin article about the Atlas Expedition of 1963 and subsequent Atlas Reunion in 2013 may be seen here.

 

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