Peter Wright: A eulogy
 
When Bill MacFarlane asked me to jot down a few thoughts on our much lamented late friend I suspected that it might perforce develop into a eulogy and so it has proved – I make no apology for this.
I first met Peter at Bickley Hall School in ’59, taking over Senior French from him, and later (’62- ’72) kept in touch while he taught at Carn Brea before he moved on to Christ’s Hospital. From the outset I was most impressed with his many talents: he was an inspired teacher – it should be remembered that his Oxford degree (c. 1957) was in Modern Languages (French and Spanish and he later learned Swedish) but at B.H. he made a seamless transition to teaching Maths up to Public School Scholarship level, with outstanding results (90% ++ in many Common Entrance exam papers) one boy even won a scholarship largely on his C Entrance Maths mark of 100%!
 He had a remarkable gift for appealing to young minds, seldom needing to exercise discipline as such; his patient and imaginative teaching skills and creative approach, together with an inventive mind for leisure activities and sports coaching, captured their attention and elicited a positive response.
In addition to his intellectual qualities, he was endowed with writing ability – some of you may recall his amusing playlet “Over the Top” produced at BH in the ‘60s, and hilarious contributions to the Choir Supper entertainments e.g. “Before we start prayers today…”, not to mention the many memorable dramatic and musical productions he contributed to and directed so successfully at BH and later at Carn Brea.
Away from teaching he and his brother David, both masters of the light touch, wrote a number of very amusing sketches and skits while at Oxford for local production (I am the proud owner of a complete cassette recording of several!). One was struck by his keen and ever-present sense of humour – never spiteful but always perceptive and appreciative of the unintentional humour contained in words, enjoying overheard absurdities such as [Sc: French Customs at Calais] “ ..’ere Dave, you tell ‘im – You talk FORRIN!” or “…you and I must be PHYSIC (: psychic)!” –  the linguist in him?
A pity that not many of you will have enjoyed playing his highly original dog-racing game ‘Ludham Dogs’, invented on the Broads in a moment of inspiration!
Where his character was concerned, of how many people can one say ‘Everyone liked him’? His outgoing and genuine personality shone through and made an immediate impact on friends and acquaintances alike. He was unfailingly kind and thoughtful towards me and others – buoyed up by strong Christian values and faith, which helped him cope with sad family bereavements, in particular the tragic loss of his wife.
In conclusion, I can state without fear of contradiction that he was a true friend in every sense and we will all miss him acutely – he was someone we will all remember with affection – for me and many others it was a pleasure and a privilege to have known this exceptional, lovely man.
 
Peter Evison