Page 60 - Old Ratcliffian Magazine 2019

BRIAN BERNARD COLLINS

OLD RATCLIFFIAN 1936 - 1940
OBITUARIES Brian’s time at the College was short, 30 years of retirement with his beloved

Marie-Louise, until she sadly passed away
but despite this, he always held Ratcliffe
last year. He died after a short illness on
in his heart. After serving in the RAF
during the war, he studied Medicine, and
25th February 2019, aged 94. He will be
he went on to join a general practice in
very much missed by his children, Martin
Harwich, Essex, in 1959, where he worked and Philippa, and his grandchildren.
as a much-loved and respected GP until Martin Collins (83)
his retirement in 1989. Brian enjoyed
Son

MICHAEL DESMOND HOBDAY

5TH FEBRUARY 1942 - 11TH JANUARY 2019
OLD RATCLIFFIAN 1953 - 1961
Dad was born at the American Missionary Hospital in Madurai,
Tamil Nadu, in India, on 5th February 1942. His mother and father
had gone to India in 1933. Prior to that, his father had worked in
Lloyds of London. His boss at the time had explained that there
were two international assignments that needed undertaking; one
was in Rio de Janeiro and the other in India. Understandably, both
of them wanted to go to Rio, so they tossed a coin. His father lost,
and so the family went to India.
Dad’s first school was in Kodaikanal, and he was then sent to
boarding school in England at the age of six. Initially, he went to
Grace Dieu Manor, and then he followed his two older brothers to
Ratcliffe College. There, he excelled, ultimately becoming Head
Boy. In particular, he was influenced by his Headmaster, Fr Claude
Leetham (15), to push himself in sport. He did so, and he soon
became captain of the 1st XV Rugby Team. He was also a national
athletics champion, which culminated in him winning the Schools’
Championships 110m high hurdles at the stadium at White City
in London. He was inspired at Ratcliffe by Peter Hildreth (46),
who was his sporting idol, although he was a few years older than
Dad. Peter had equalled the British record for the 110m hurdles
on five occasions and reached the semi-finals of the 1952 Olympic President Kennedy was assassinated. Dad resigned from Finncell in
Games in Helsinki. This might have been an early inspiration for the 1987 to join Central National Gottesman as their UK CEO. When he
amount of time that Dad subsequently spent in Finland. joined Central National, they had only sold 500 tonnes of pulp in
the previous year. Within his first year, he had grown sales volumes
However, as Dad’s spare time transitioned from sports practice of pulp to over 150,000 tonnes, as well as a further 100,000
to family and business life, these sporting achievements became tonnes of newsprint from Canada and South Africa. He stayed at
harder to maintain. Although mentally, his sporting prowess lasted Central National until he retired in 2006, and he maintained an
with him forever, physically, this wasn’t always the case. When I active interest in the pulp industry as Chair of the British Wood
subsequently went to Grace Dieu, and Mum and Dad came to see Pulp Association for many years.
me winning the high jump, Dad decided at the end to “show us
all how it was done”. This transpired to be very amusing, as doing Dad met Mum at a mutual friend’s party in London in 1965. He fell
this in his suit trousers meant that not only did he knock down the in love with her immediately and told me that, as soon as he set
bar as he jumped, but he also split his trousers in doing so! One of eyes on her, he knew she was the person that he wanted to marry.
his most memorable moments later in life was when my brother, Their first date was a drink at The Windsor Castle pub in Notting
Charles, took him to see the 2012 London Olympics. He loved Hill Gate, followed by dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby called
seeing Usain Bolt running the 200m, but the real highlight for Verbanella. He adored her for every day of his life.
him was watching his event, the men’s 110m hurdles final, which Mum and Dad got married in Chiswick on 1st April 1967, and he took
brought back many of his treasured White City memories, and, of a week off work, which he called their honeymoon! He worked hard,
course, telling Charles how good he had been at it. as did Mum, and they bought their first home, an ultra-modern
In his working life, Dad started out at Price & Pierce, which was Scandinavian-style house, in Manygate Lane in Shepperton. Their
later acquired by a Finnish company called Finncell. Finland played next-door neighbour was Tom Jones, whom Dad had several pints
a big part in Dad’s working life. He spent nine months living there with during the time that they lived there, in their local pub, The
in the early 1960s, and he learnt to speak Finnish and travelled Square. With a growing family looming, Dad was driving through
extensively throughout his career. In fact, he was in Finland when Woking one day and noticed an advertisement in an estate agent’s

60 The Old Ratcliffian 2019