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Gordon (formerly Gunter) Sachs '36-39 died on the 24th March 2000. He was one of the earliest Germans to come to Clayesmore after Hitler had shown his teeth to the Jews. Despite a faltering start, he soon mastered the English language. Much of his spare time was spent in the school print shop and I still have (somewhere) a programme bearing the colophon 'tickets by G. Sachs'. He was instructed in Hebrew by Alistair Mackenzie, that man of many parts and his housemaster, the only such Clayesmorian pupil so far as I know.
He did not return for the Christmas term in 1939 and we learnt that, like many aliens, he had been interned on the Isle of Man. But not for long; out he came and having completed his education elsewhere he joined the RAF. After an intensive course in 'technical' German and with a 'nom de guerre' he accompanied the Allied invasion forces into mainland Europe as a specialist interpreter.
He became a well known designer of women's handbags in the world of haute couture.
He leaves a widow and a daughter.
John C Edwards (33-42)