It is with great sadness that I convey news that Richard
Yeoman-Clark passed away on September 17th following a short illness, age
75.
Richard joined BBC Radio direct from school as a Technical Operator
at Broadcasting House, moving to the Experimental Stereo Unit as the Recording
Engineer a couple of years later. There he was involved with the integration of
Stereo Operations from just test transmissions into the regular output of Radio
3 in the late 1960s. As stereo proliferated across BBC Radio he transferred to
the Music Department as a Studio Manager. There his technical expertise was in
demand for the presentation of electronic music concerts working with
contemporary composers such as Stockhausen, Berio, Boulez etc. This experience
led him to join the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where he produced the special sound
for the science fiction series Blake’s Seven, amongst other programmes. Later he
became the Technical Coordinator for the Workshop when electronic synthesizers
started taking over from Musique Concrete.
Richard left the BBC in 1978 to become the Chief Technical
Engineer at Roundhouse Recording Studios and oversaw the installation and
operation of one of the first 3M Digital Multitrack Mastering System in the UK.
Leaving Roundhouse Studios in the early 1980s he joined F.W.O.Bauch as a field
service engineer, later becoming Service Manager for their Professional
Broadcast products.
In 2002, Richard was recruited to the BFI
National Archive where his vast knowledge and experience of sound and digital
techniques transformed the audio department’s capabilities to cater for sound
restoration of the optical soundtracks of films being restored by the BFI for
both theatrical and DVD release. Perhaps most notably, Richard led the sound
restoration project for a special David Lean Centenary collection of ten of the
best known Lean films which were re-released in 2008.
Since his retirement from the BFI in 2012, Richard has been
the technical powerhouse behind the Church Stretton Arts Festival, quietly
providing a dazzling array of skills, knowledge and equipment each year to
numerous artists and audiences.
There will be a service to remember Richard at the Silvester
Horne Institute in Church Stretton on October 14th 2019 at
10:30am.
In the intense heat of Thursday July 25th, five Oldboys went and had a buffet lunch with John Sarson at his home. Mike Gildon organised,Christine Sarson provided food and drinks, and took this group shot for the album.
John’s birthday was a few weeks back but that didn’t prevent him cutting into the belated cake Howard brought!
As you may now know Robert Pratt passed away on Saturday 4th
May very unexpectedly. So many of you loved Robert very much and your kind words
and expressions of shock and sympathy have been a great comfort to Bajka, Ala,
myself and the whole family. It’s a true testament to the wonderful man and the
positive effect he has had on so many people so thank you
all.
If you feel able and would like to come and join us in
celebrating his wonderful life you would all be very welcome. The funeral,
internment, wake and subsequent bonfire will all be held in Cornwall close to
his family home of Trudgian Farm, Coombe (St Stephens). If you would like to
join us please RSVP so we have an idea of numbers.
Details of the funeral and service are as
follows:
Funeral service. 23rd May at 2pm, St
Stephen-In-Brannel Church, 8
Fore St, St Stephen, Saint Austell PL26 7NN
Internment at St Stephens-In-Brannel Cemetery straight
after the service . It is right next to the church. You are all welcome to join
us.
Many of you may be thinking of sending or bringing flowers
which you are welcome to do. However we would ask alternatively that you
consider donating to the charity box which will be circulated at the church on
the day in aid of one of the many charities Robert was a patron of. The details
of the charities to follow.
Getting there
By car- St Stephen-In-Brannel Church is best reached
(for those travelling via the A30) by leaving the A30 onto the B3275 towards
Grampound Road. It’s about a 15 minute drive from there. Parking is available at
the community centre next to the church as it is usually busy directly in front
of the church.
By train- The closest train station is St Austell
which you can reach via Exeter St David, Reading or London Paddington. From St
Austell, the church is about 5-6 miles. Some taxis are usually available at the
station. We will have capacity to arrange lifts from the station the day before
the service if you decide to travel the day before.
By air- It is possible to get flights into Newquay
airport which is about a 15 mile drive from St.Stephens and
Coombe.
Wake
Following the service and internment we will be holding the
wake from 3.30 pm at:
The White Pyramid , Trewoon, St Austell, Cornwall, PL255TQ
The White Pyramid is a very direct drive of about 3-4 miles from the church straight down the A3058. There is a fair amount of parking at the pub but it may prove a little busy on the day.
Accommodation
We appreciate many family and friends will be travelling from
around the country. Our part of Cornwall is well served by a range of hotels,
B&B’s, campsites etc which can all prove quite popular. We would recommend
booking accommodation as soon as possible if you intend to stay in Cornwall
overnight either before or after the funeral and wake given the imminent half
term week.
And finally!
For those bold and brave enough, or who have fond memories of
Dad’s legendary fireworks parties we will be hosting a bonfire gathering at the
farm later/early evening, after the White Pyramid. A bonfire has been prepared
(because it’s exactly what Dad would have done) and we encourage anyone to come.
If people feel they would like to bring firework(s), that we can let off in
Dad’s honour, they are more than welcome. There will be drinks and nibbles
available.
The farm is no more than 1-2 miles from St Stephens church
and 3-4 miles from the White Pyramid. There may be some parking available close
and at the farm on the night but please let us know if you wish to attend so we
can try to manage parking.
George’s funeral was yesterday (April 11th) in Poole. Phil Southby has sent this photograph of the few of us who attended. The other faces are his sister Moira and her husband.
George Hynde, ex Planning Assistant in the OB Planning office and then Planning and Allocations in TVC VT, passed away on 16th March.
His funeral is at 14:00, in the Barn Ceremony Hall, Harbour View Crematorium, Lytchett Minster, Dorset, BH16 6AN, on 11th April. The wake will be at the Bakers Arms in Lytchett Minster, Dorset. His sister, Mrs Moira Smallpeice, would like to see as many of George’s BBC colleagues there as possible.
As you may have been aware, my father, Paul Hutchings, had been fighting cancer of the mouth for the last couple of years and sadly lost his battle on the morning of 5th February.
The funeral service, to which all are welcome, will take place at South West Middlesex (Hanworth) Crematorium, on Monday 4th March at 12.20pm.
For
those who can make it, the wake will be held at the Cabbage Patch Pub in
Twickenham after the service. If you
will be looking to attend the wake, it would be helpful if you could let me know
so that I can confirm the finer details with the venue.
I
have arranged two floral tributes, if anyone else would like to add to that I
would ask that they be delivered to the address below before 10.20am on the
morning of the service.
Lodge
Brothers Funeral Directors
13 Market Parade Hampton Road West Hanworth TW13 6AL
Any
charitable donations that people would like to make are to be shared between
Clarendon School and MacMillan Cancer Care.
Donations can be made on the day of the service or via the donations page
on the Lodge Brothers website, www.lodgebros.co.uk. My father’s details should be available on
there from 19th February onwards.
If you think that anyone whose email address my father didn’t have should be notified or would like to attend, please feel free to pass these details on. Please also feel free to ask me if there’s anyone in particular you think I should try to contact who I might not have done already, albeit that I might not be able to reply immediately.
