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Obituaries
Christopher Maltby (1940-1944)
Chris Maltby, who died in September 1994 at the age of 68, was another of those war-time Clayesmorians who not only gained much from his years at Clayesmore, but also put much effort into the school. Among his notable achievements was his captaincy of the Rugby team. Thanks to his leadership and encouragement, rugby standards improved very considerably and the 1st XV won most of its matches. He also did well on the athletics field as a pole vaulter. He was a School Prefect in his last year and he was a vigorous beater of the big drum in the Corps band.
In subsequent academic life he studied both at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. In 1944 he was at Brasenose College, Oxford, on a six month Short Course for the Navy. College rugby was a special attraction for him but, unfortunately due to injury on the rugger field, he was unable to complete the course and, as a consequence, did not obtain his commission during his service with the Navy. Following demobilisation in 1948, he returned to university life, this time as a member of St John’s college, Cambridge, to study Agriculture. He shared rooms with his brother Anthony, another old Clayesmorian. Both brothers were in the College Athletics team, which, under Chris Brasher, enjoyed very considerable success. He played rugger occasionally for the College, but preferred his regular place in the Old Whitgiftian 1st XV which played some high standard rugby in those days.
Alex Devine, that great eccentric of English education, strove to inculcate in the pupils at Clayesmore the development of individualism and self-reliance.. Chris Maltby was a product of that idealism and no where was that exemplified more than in his professional career o leaving Cambridge. He set off for Canada into, for him, the “unknown” of agricultural pesticides. Subsequently he returned to the UK and joined Fisons, the Agricultural Chemical Company, as an Oversees Representative. Fisons sent him back to Canada where he helped in setting up Fisons in Canada. Later Fisons sent him to South Africa where he spent three years. It was during this period that he met and married Diana. On return to the UK he was made a Director of Fisons Overseas.
In 1971, he decided to leave Fisons and establish his own consultancy business in agricultural pesticides. Over the next twenty years he spent a great deal of his time in travel overseas, making investigations into agricultural pesticide usage. There are very few countries in the world which he did not visit, and he was one of the first British businessmen to visit China, following the end of the Chairman Mao regime.
He made many good friends in the agricultural chemicals industry, both at home and abroad. More than anything, he loved working o his own, being his own boss, but the job involved making many sacrifices. His overseas trips involved very long periods away from home. In one year, he was away from home for almost ten months.
Chris Maltby was a very dear husband, a loving father and
family man, and a very good friend. He was a man who did extraordinarily well in his
working career. He is survived by his wife and three daughters, and by his brother
Anthony.
Alec McCallum.