Tribute to Joe Richardson and Robin Paul

Memorial Service

Memorial Service

Former pupils of Bilton Grange School, Dunchurch travelled from all over the country to attend a special memorial service for two “outstanding” members of staff who taught them in the 1950s and 60s.

Joe Richardson and Robin Paul both died earlier this year and, as a tribute to their lives and dedication to Bilton Grange, current Headmaster Peter Kirk offered to host Saturday’s (September 20th) Memorial Service in the school chapel. Between them the two men taught for 53 years.

Leading the tributes to the teachers was High Court Judge Mr Justice Burton – a pupil at Bilton Grange from 1955 to 1959 – who gave the eulogy during the service.

He described both men as “outstanding teachers and good and kind masters” adding that “they made Bilton into a Hogwarts without Quidditch.”

“They were multi-talented and they were able to pass on their enthusiasm and love of classical and modern languages, of music and drama to all they taught – the academic and the non academic. They made our work fun and our fun work,” he said.

Sir Michael reminisced about life at Bilton Grange when he was a pupil -recalling how boys in the top scholarship form were studying Greek at the age of ten.

From Bilton Grange he went on to win a scholarship to Eton and then read Classics and Law at Oxford University.

He credits his education at Bilton Grange for setting him up for life and told the congregation at the Memorial Service that: “It is a rare blessing if in one’s life one can identify people who have had a defining influence on one’s life. Certainly for me, Joe Richardson and Robin Paul were two such heroes. At my relatively recent 60th birthday party I allowed myself the luxury in a speech of listing my own personal heroes – and I included both of them.”

Joe Richardson joined the staff at Bilton Grange in 1950 as a teacher of modern languages. It was his first and only teaching post and he retired in 1984 - having been Second Master (Deputy Head) since 1970. He was a bachelor and moved to Ramsgate to live with his sister when he left the school.

Robin Paul taught at the school from 1950 to 1969. His subjects were Latin, Greek and English. Several members of his family were at the Memorial Service including his sister, son and daughter and grandson.

During the years that they were both at Bilton Grange, the two men formed a great friendship and had a huge influence on many of their pupils – as shown by the number of old boys returning for the Memorial Service.

Headmaster Peter Kirk said afterwards:

“It was wonderful to be able to welcome back to Bilton Grange so many former pupils, all of whom seemed to have hugely enjoyed their time at the school. It was also good to be able to tell them about life at Bilton Grange in 2008, to share recent successes with them and to tell them about our plans for the future.”

Some of the photos from the service are available here.

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Memorial Service
Memorial Service
Memorial Service
Memorial Service
 

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