#durham school

[themaninthegreenshirt]

Cricketers at Durham School [1855] pic by the then headmaster, Henry Holden

[remarkablelivesuk]

Derek 89 (2/3) Getting his sea legs: “I was only at Durham School for a couple of years, until I was 15. Then I went to sea. All my life I’d wanted to go to sea, because I’d read a lot about merchant ships. It was 1942 – the middle of the war. I went on Oil Tankers, had to work my way up from the bottom, literally: they sent me down into the depths to clean the oil in the tanks. I was not a particularly clever seaman. I had to work at it. But I was quite popular, because I could be relied upon to get things done.”

[remarkablelivesuk]

Derek 89 (3/3) Life on the ocean waves: “I met Sheila in the West Indies. Her father was a timber merchant who’d travelled to the West Indies with his wife and daughter and I was touring out there at the time. When I came back to England we spent my Leave together. And thereafter, we spent pretty well every Leave together. Once we’d met we never parted. She was clever – much cleverer than I was, no doubt about that. When I got my Master’s Ticket, she was able to travel with me on the ships. We saw the world together.

I left the merchant navy in 1961. I never went back to sea. We had three daughters and ran a post office and shop in an isolated village in the Lincolnshire Fens. But I'll never forget the sea.”

Derek, 89. Old Dunelmian. Master Mariner. Now living with dementia in a care home in Gloucestershire.

[remarkablelivesuk]

Derek 89 (1/3) Not quite fitting in: “I was born 5th October 1927 in Annfield Plain, a village in County Durham. Actually, that’s not quite true. I was born in the ambulance. It had to stop in a place called Norwood. My full name is Derek Norwood Richards.

My father sent me to Durham School when I was 13. A marvellous school. I didn’t realise it at the time but I will never forget it. I didn’t do very well, but I have the greatest admiration for the school now. I was quite a good sportsman, enthusiastic anyway, but I didn’t have the confidence that people have at these schools.

I coxed the rowing team and played cricket, but not in the firsts, because I wasn’t the type. In fact, I’m not sure I succeeded across my time at Durham School simply because I wasn’t the type. What I was good at was getting on with people.”

(Derek - centre, seated)

[alanreed]

Watercolours of Durham

On the 6th June I will be holding a one off exhibition at Durham School for a wine and art evening in conjunction with St James Wealth Management. Several new paintings of Durham will be on display including this new one of Saddler Street in the Snow.

The painting was started at a watercolour demonstration that I was doing on Wednesday evening for Hartlepool Art Club where the theme was cityscapes. I was showing how I begin a cityscape by laying on a pale yellow wash to help create mood, atmosphere and tone.

The demonstration was recorded so I hope to have the tape uploaded on to You Tube in a few weeks time.