RECOLLECTIONS OF SCHOOLDAYS AND LATER
John Buckingham - Nelson, 1945-52
I had several close friends in the 5th form, including Jimmy Holmes, Peter Standing, Edward (Buster) Grey and Luke Kwok Toh. Jimmy lived in Hove and Peter, Buster and I in Shoreham. Luke, the only boarder among the five of us, was from Hong Kong. Our teachers at that time included Mr Wright (English), Mr McConagley (Science), Mr Marsh (Music), Mr Bennett (History), M. Moinat (French), Mr Lewis (Geography), Rev Dick Kennedy (Religious Studies), Mr McLoughlan (Mathematics), Mr Gray (Art) and of course Mr Bruder, the Headmaster. Miss Andrews was the gorgeous Assistant Matron, who we were all in love with! Mr Wills (Willy), who taught maths to the junior boys, was also the scout master for the 4th Shoreham (the school’s own) Troop. The troop leader was Michael Loughton and I was the leader of Wolves patrol. On one occasion, I unwisely agreed to a 2-day, 25 mile hike with Michael when he was working towards his King Scout badge. He had all the proper gear including a well-framed rucksack, whereas I had one without a frame and also carried the tent. The marks on my shoulders left by the rucksack straps remained there for many years afterwards!
Luke was the best table tennis player in the school and taught me to play reasonably well. He told me that he had learnt by playing on his knees on a concrete floor! He was certainly agile. He could return a ball 20 feet back from the table and still win the point. I was never able to beat him! His other hobby was kite flying and he produced some wonderful models that would climb hundreds of feet into the sky. Luke and I parted company in 1952 when I went to Steyning Grammar School to complete GCE A and S levels in Mathematics and Physics. After that, I had a somewhat abortive year at Medical School, followed by two years’ National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Sometime during this period, Luke went to study Civil Engineering at St Andrew’s University in Scotland. After demobilisation from the Army, I decided I wasn’t cut out for a career in medicine and got a job as an Assistant Experimental Officer with the Ministry of Aviation. The Ministry encouraged me to go on a sandwich course leading to a degree in Applied Physics at Brighton College of Technology. Later, I moved to New Zealand and completed a PhD in Molecular Physics at Victoria University of Wellington.
Twenty-seven years after leaving Shoreham, I was working for New Zealand’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research when I was seconded to the Commonwealth Science Council for two years to direct its Asia/Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP). Metrology (not to be confused with Meteorology) is the science of measurement, and a major aim of the APMP was the improvement of national measurement standards and instrument calibration services throughout the region. The job required visits to measurement facilities in various countries and territories. The first of my tours included Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The second saw me in Fiji, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong.
On arrival in Hong Kong, I wondered whether it would be possible to contact Luke again. I didn’t know his address, whether he still lived there, or even if he was still alive! At that time, there were seven telephone directories covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. I selected one of those for Hong Kong Island and looked up the listings for Luke, of which there were hundreds! There were about 30 listings for Luke Kwok, but only one for a Luke Kwok Toh. I rang the number and it was him! Our subsequent happy reunion was as though we had never lost touch. Those intervening years since we had last met seemed to pass like yesterday, especially, as can be imagined, we had rather a lot to talk about! Luke and I have maintained contact since then and have usually met up whenever I returned to Hong Kong.
In 1986, I was invited by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to assist in establishing a new national measurement laboratory in Brazil. After my first 6-month visit to that country, I was debriefed at UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna before returning home via the UK. Fortunately, I was able to spend the next three days at the Coburg Hotel in London, where Buster Grey was then manager. My stay in London coincided with the annual OSA reunion so Buster drove me to Shoreham to watch the soccer match with the school, attend the AGM, and later enjoy the Annual Dinner at the Old Ship Hotel in Brighton. It was a great pleasure on that occasion to meet up with old friends such as Jimmy Holmes and teachers like Peter McLoughlan, Ray Bennett and Dick Kennedy. Unfortunately, my other old friend Peter Standing wasn’t there that day.
As with Luke, Buster and I have maintained warm contact for many years, and we have tried to meet up whenever I visited the United Kingdom, most recently in 2006 when my wife Angela and I were there for the wedding of one of our sons. During that visit, we lunched one day at a Shoreham restaurant with Buster, along with Michael Loughton, David Gibbs, and the late Alfie Bloom and their wives. In turn, Buster has visited New Zealand twice, the first time in 2002, and the second in 2008. On the latter occasion, Angela and I were delighted to show him something of Christchurch and the surrounding countryside.
Now that I am fully retired, my wife and I enjoy not having to travel abroad so often. We are both avid gardeners and most of our spare time is spent looking after our collection of trees and shrubs. Also, with all the personal contacts we have gained and maintained over the years, and modern electronic communications such as email and Skype, it never feels as if we are at the bottom of the world 20,000 km away from Shoreham. Nevertheless, we would always be pleased to see any Old Shorehamers who happen to be passing our way!
Edward (Buster) Grey and John Buckingham, near Christchurch, New Zealand, 2008.