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R F Mash

We are all unique in some way or another but Robert Mash is clearly more unique than most, if not all, of us. Without doubt, his Clayesmore association is unique in the history of the school in that it has spanned almost his entire life: there have been very few days in his sixty years when Clayesmore has not been an essential ingredient to his being.

He joined Clayesmore Preparatory School in 1946 when it was at Charlton Marshal, under the Headmastership of Dick Everett during which time he was taught science and French by the OC Hon Sec, Henry Teed. This can not have done him too much harm as he was to win an academic scholarship to Clayesmore in 1952. (The days of DPB.)

His parents were posted to Brazil and then to the Cape Verde Islands by Cable and Wireless and Robert seldom was able to join them abroad during holidays. He occasionally took a ship to The Cape Verde Islands during the long summer holidays.

When I joined the school, Robert was already a senior and my earliest memories of him go back to choir practices in the old chapel with 'Shifty' Sessions, orchestra practices under Walter Jenke in the Burney Library, and the old music room (over the old kitchen) which was constantly perfumed by the cabbage that always seemed to be on the boil in those days. He was often curled up on the canvass covered sofa listening to old 78s and the first few LPs in the school collection. Clearly he was enjoying life enormously with friends like Mitch, Biggs, Venables, Bogs, Pag, Hodge, and Clifford (Richard Mitchell, John Bridgen, Venables Preller, David Munro, Julian Pagella, Richard Hodgson, and Michael Clifford.)

The following year, John Appleby appointed him a Juniors Prefect and by this time many of his enthusiasms and qualities had emerged. As a prefect, Robert seemed unflappable, thoughtful, sensible , humorous, but firm. He was 'cool'.

Robert was a regular member of the Arts Society (the Society, run by Appleby, that deliberately met during the screening of the weekly school film on Saturday evenings,) but unlike many other members, Robert would occasionally turn up late and sometimes even wounded as he was also a member of the school Rugby XV, and Cricket XI and had just defended the honour of Clayesmore on some nearby sports field. Robert was a keen biologist and naturalist and a great admirer of Humphrey Moore. He and Humph also shared a passion for good music and literature. It was at about this time that Robert founded the 'Hindooly Society'. Hindooly was a rather good card game and Robert had us believe that there was only one pack left in the world. He commissioned James Tilmouth and I to print 50 packs on Appleby's antique printing press which we did. Members of the Hindooly society were also entitled to wear a special society tie which Robert had specially made. The ties had a small crest that incorporated the four symbols of the suits of the Hindooly pack. Another of Robert's creations which baffled DPB was the PSNP (prefects society for nocturnal perambulations). Nonetheless he would regularly give out notices at lunch calling the society together for a meeting that evening. There was also this mysterious new name 'Trige'. I believe that it might have resulted from one of Sister Simms' special lists during a flue epidemic: there was an unreadable name which looked like Trige (almost certainly it was C E J Ing). This was enough for Robert and he adopted it and became known by most of us as Trige. I think it was when he was headboy that he added the 'van' and would always sign any notice as R. F. van't R. Mash.

He was head boy for his last year at Clayesmore, and during the year he won the Walter Galpin scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. At the time, Clayesmore was going through a period of expansion and there had been a reshuffle of rooms on the Seniors landing. The Headprefect's bedroom was needed and so a room was found between the Annex (DPB's palace) and the music room. The story goes that Robert was persuaded by other prefects to celebrate his birthday by inviting them to his room - perfectly safe as it was so far from the rest of the school. This was so, but DPB did hear strange noises when in the Annex and thought he had better investigate. True to form, he gave the famous 'warning cough' (which we all knew so well) while going up the steps to the room. Those few seconds were enough for the cover-up but not to clear the smoke. DPB who knew exactly what was going on, let himself be reassured by the host, Robert, that the smoke came from his own Woodbine and, after a few amicable exchanges and birthday greetings, returned to watch 'Today in parliament'.

As headboy, there were times when Robert had an unusual approach to punishment. I do not remember the reason, but there were occasions in the good old days (when Jack Roberts did not cut the grass as often as he should have done) when, as one walked over to the main house from the tuck shop during break, one could see a number of delinquents making daisy chains on the lake field.

Another important 'happening' during that year was the appointment by Ronald Smith, the then Director of Music, of Willoughby Smith, a fine teacher and horn player. Robert had been a keen horn player but new horizons were opened up for him by Willoughby. I do not remember whether it was Willoghby or Hoffnung who gave him the idea of the 'musical hose pipe', but this gave him (and us) many a droll moment. Though I never saw it , I believe this 'act' was filmed by the BBC when Robert was at Oxford, and was flashed around the world.

Carl Verrinder took a party of senior boys on a canoe holiday down the Danube. The following year Robert, Pagella, Hodgson and Christopher Wells, (the son of the Vicar of Iwerne, who though not a pupil at Clayesmore, played the oboe in the school orchestra) canoed down the Saar in southern Germany.

When Robert left Clayesmore for the first time in 1958 after twelve character-forming years, he was a scholar, a musician, a sportsman, a good friend, humorous, witty and 'cool'.

At Oxford Robert was blissfully happy. Life was good. Amongst many other things, he had the good fortune to be involved with research into the habits of the blackheaded gull with the subsequent Nobel Prize winner, Niko Tinbergen.

After Oxford, Robert was employed by a company which was developing teaching machines and then went on to the BMA Department of Audio Visual Teaching Methods.

In 1969 . Humphrey Moore died after a battle with cancer and Robert applied for the post of Head of Biology and was appointed by Roy McIsaac. I remember Roy announcing the appointment with delight and adding that Robert was by far the strongest candidate. Robert has been at Clayesmore ever since.

All the qualities Robert left Clayesmore with in 1958 he brought back with him. And, perhaps above all, his qualities of loyalty and integrity were now obvious in many different ways.

Soon after his return to Clayesmore Robert played a significant part in the design and the organisation of the new Biology Lab which was the school's memorial to his own teacher Humphrey Moore.

It is not only his tireless work in the Moore Laboratory that Robert will be remembered for, but rather the huge variety of other interests he has helped nurture and cherish at Clayesmore.

He has always been an active member of the musical life of the school: he would help at orchestra practices- invariably he would be at school concerts even when not playing - and more recently, he has been part of the prep school band scene and has supported them in their adventures overseas. Outside school, he has played his horn in the Dorset County Orchestra since he returned to Iwerne. At the time he was welcomed back by Willoughby Smith, his former teacher.

He has also been a frequent helper in the sports department taking charge of what ever game he was asked to look after - often in unconventional ways.

Many years ago he was school fire officer, even though he was living at the foot of Hambledon at the time. Unluckily for him he was holding this position on the night of the chapel fire. I remember being woken by David Mann at about 2.00 am to be told the chapel was on fire. I thought this was a rather poor joke. I reacted only when told it was the "organ end". I, in turn had to phone Robert who was as sceptical as I had been. He was able to see the fire-work display from his back room window but returned to bed when reassured that the firemen were hard at work.

He has always had an interest in plants and I remember joining him and Trevor Grifiths in a project to repair the Lily pond with our 'service' gangs. Trevor restored the nymph. I re-waterproofed the pond. Robert emptied the pond, cleared the few fish to the lake, and when it was refilled, was responsible for the restocking with water lilies and fish.

As a biologist he is always interested in strange plants and I remember many years ago when he came out to Malta with me, we returned with bags full of unusual plants and even a minute lizard that had joined us for breakfast one morning. Evidence of this enthusiasm can be found in his well stocked conservatory.

One of his many extra-circular duties at Clayesmore was the Alan Pugh General Knowledge Competition. This interest continues as an 'out of school' activity in the local 'general knowledge league'. He is an important, if not key, member of his local pub team.

Robert has a love for books and this was recognised by the Headmaster when he appointed him to run the Burney Library. Not only does he enjoy reading them , but he also wrote the definitive book "How to keep dinosaurs", illustrated by Willie Rushton and published in the UK and the USA, and, he discovered by chance, from an admiring biology student, Japan. I remember hearing him discuss the book on the 'Mid week' programme.

Outside school, Robert had an eye for unusual cars, perhaps the most memorable of which was the Bristol. I remember the sad tale of the catastrophic failure of this classy machine when it blew up on the Bath by-pass. Robert explained sadly to the AA man -"pisst an broke".

Wine is another of his passions. For many years he has 'collected' wines and an invitation to dinner is always a joy as one can be certain that there will be a number of varied wines, most of which Robert bought many years ago and laid down. He was probably influenced in this pursuit by one of his long standing friends from his Clayesmore student days, Venables Preller, who bought what had been a bank in Warminster, to convert into a dental surgery. Vennables bought not only the building but also the stock of Spanish wine that the previous owner had laid down in the bank strong room . Often, after a dental session with Venables, Robert returned with a number of bottles of 'Tinto selecto' which was very drinkable and livened up many a staff meeting.

Within a year or two of returning to teach at Clayesmore, Robert married Kay. I used to hear much about Kay before the nuptials as Robert and I had a habit of dropping into the Talbot for a well earned reviver after school. There was a Monday when I knew all had not gone well the previous weekend. Eventually Robert admitted this and when I questioned him as to what was the matter, he replied "the problem is that she thinks she is God .................. and I happen to know that I am". Anyway, they must have sorted out this minor disagreement as they have lived happily ever after in an idyllic thatched cottage in Stourpaine, mid way between their two jobs - Kaye at Bryanston and Robert at Clayesmore. However, some years ago when, in the middle of the night, the river burst its banks and the water rose to shoulder level in the ground floor of the house, the local services came up trumps by delivering meals to the stranded, through their bedroom windows. Robert christened the new service "Meals on Keels". They are both very proud parents of Fabian who started his studies at Clayesmore Prep and is now well into his time at Bryanston.

Not only has Robert added much to Clayesmore for so long, but he has also been a key member of the OC Society for longer than most of us can remember. He was persuaded to take on the position of Hon Secretary which he held for a number of years. He invented the OC sweat shirt (and Kaye modified the crest) to keep the society solvent. It was a huge success. He then took on the OC Newsletter. The Society was in one of its hard-up phases and the cost of printing the Newsletter was a major problem. We coped, with considerable help from Mrs Verrinder, by producing a few editions on the school duplicator which were collated and prepared for postage by biology students. Then Venables Preller installed some sort of printer in his bank strong room (now empty of wine) and we went up- market for an edition or two. Robert has attended just about every committee meeting since I can remember and for many years he has been the liaison between the School and the Society. He has also made a few memorable speeches at Simpson's. I remember his reference to the old swimming pool - the one that took three weeks to fill and was slimy green long before full. He described how he dived in at the deep end and "took a little known route to the other end". Those of us who used the pool knew exactly what he meant.

Robert's contribution to life at Clayesmore over many years has been much more than that of an excellent biology teacher. He has given so much to the many generations of pupils, and not only biologists, who have been lucky enough to spend time at Iwerne, and his retirement from Clayesmore in July 1999 will be the end of another significant Clayesmore era. Clayesmore played no small part in fashioning this most unusual person, and he, in return, has repaid his debt handsomely. I am sure all his students, (and there must be hundreds), all his former colleagues, and all his friends will unite in gratitude to him for a career of such loyalty, integrity, humour, wit, intellectual diversity, rationality, balance, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity. We all wish him every happiness in his well deserved retirement. There is life after Clayesmore, and I am sure in Robert's case, it will be a very rich, rewarding, unusual and satisfying.

Nicholas Zelle (55-61)

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