Obituaries

It is with deep gratitude and affection that I remember and celebrate the life and work of George Hayburn, a remarkable all-round musician, an excellent teacher and a truly wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many at the City of London School. George’s sheer length of service…

Amongst Old Citizens who have achieved distinguished careers must rank Martin Neary, former Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey. He later became Director of Music for the funeral of Princess Diana, for which he received worldwide acclaim for his innovation in capturing the public mood. Martin’s decision…

I met David the very first day he joined the School.  Our parents already knew each other somehow and lived close to each other in South Croydon.  I had been at the School for a year and was sternly instructed to make sure David eased in comfortably.  From that moment…

In 1970, CLS announced a new history teacher, - an ordained priest, the Revd Geoffrey Rider.  I was in the 6th form, but Geoffrey did not teach me. However, he did preside at some early morning CLS Communion services, when I was present. I never thought then that, decades later,…

16 February 1949- 22 April 2025 Richard Blanch and I shared a love of Charles Dickens’s novels. Even if we couldn’t quite agree on the merits of Our Mutual Friend ( which I still don’t enjoy, but which he judged a masterpiece) we were united in our admiration for Little…

Brian Lechem 18 June 1933 – 2 August 2024 Brian was a proud graduate of the City of London School throughout the war years and Queen Mary College of London University. He became a Freeman of the City of London, and over his career advanced to become a Fellow of…

George Robert Mathison, OBE, (CLS Sep 1938 - April 1944), died peacefully at home on 26 September 2024, aged 98. In September 1939 after the outbreak of the WW2, George was evacuated with the rest of the City of London School to Marlborough College. During his time at CLS he…

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of the passing of Max Friedlander (Class of 2009). Max was born in 1991 with Neurofibromatosis, a condition which causes tumours to grow along the nerves at random locations and times. It has been likened to the Sword of…

Clive attended The City of London School in the Class of 1979 and often recalled many happy memories from his time there. He subsequently attended the University of Birmingham Medical School from which he graduated as a doctor in 1984. He remained in the Midlands where he worked in various…

In celebration of the wonderful Martin Lewis. 19th May 1952 - 17th August 2024. He loved being an Old Citizen and lived for the sport to which it all related, particularly cricket! Always the Axeman, forever missed.

Stuart P Marchand arrived at the City of London School in 1962. He progressed through the academic stream (O2A, 3A, 4A, 5A) to the Mathematical Sixth Form. At school, he pursued his interests quietly side-stepping the hubbub of student activism of the Sixth Form Central Committee. He was a linguist,…

An only child, Alan Douglas Bell was born in South Africa on April 8 1943. His soldier father and nurse mother had been in the British Army in North Africa. Alan entered CLS on a scholarship in New 2A in 1954, where he was allotted to Beaufoy House. He then…

Henry John Easterling was born in 1932 in Hornsey, north London, where his father was an Anglican priest. He went to the City of London school, where he was actively involved in the life of the school and was Captain of School in his final year. He was in the…

Martin passed away on 23 July 2022, aged 73. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June 2020, he fought a brave battle, outliving his initial prognosis by 18 months. Martin’s working career was as an IT Consultant, but he continued to enjoy various sports throughout his life, from rugby and squash in…

It is with the greatest sadness that we are letting everyone know that Conrad Colson passed away in March 2022. Conrad was so loved by his friends and family and losing him in such an untimely manner has left us devastated. Many of his best friendships were formed over 20…

(CLS 1949 – 58) Alistair Simpson, who has died at the age of 82, has been a credit to both the School and his beloved family, and an inspiration to all those whose lives he touched. A very modest person, he nonetheless enjoyed the honour of being Captain of the…