J. GEOFFREY COSTELOE (G 34-38) died in February. His son Nigel has kindly written the following appreciation:

“Geoff Costeloe passed away in February of this year of complications from cancer. To the very end he was lucid, cheerful and his normal effusive self. As a demonstration of his lucidity near the end, he offered, out of the blue, the school motto “Expecta Dominum”.
He was born, one of nine children, to the Reverend Costeloe in Nottingham. In his early years his father took the parish of Silloth and so Geoff spent his youth growing up in Cumberland, as it was then. He went to St. Bees in the early 30s on Grindal house and without doubt these were some of the most memorable and happy days of a long and happy life. He recounted numerous memories of days at St. Bees. He played most sports offered, although rugby was his most memorable. As a son who attended in a later generation, it amazed me how good St. Bees must have been in those days with a very small population (in the range of a 100 boys). It seemed that due to travel constraints in that time they played a number of men’s clubs and usually got their fair share of wins. Several staff and boys played for the county, of which Geoff was one, at a time when Cumberland & Westmorland had a very strong side. He earned a choral scholarship to Cambridge, but due to his father’s small salary and nine children, he did not take it up. Instead he went to sea.
Geoff made two voyages to India in the merchant navy. Ultimately he did not enjoy it and chose to leave in 1939 on the eve of war and joined the Border Regiment. This was a stroke of luck as his vessel was sunk early in the war. He was commissioned and sent to Aldershot as an instructor. This didn’t suit him and so with a friend one evening decided the only way out of a training camp was to apply to go to one of the volunteer units. After a couple of drinks it was decided on the toss of a coin, heads Royal Marines tails Airborne. It came up tails and shortly thereafter he was parachute training. He took part in several engagements in North Africa, the Sicily landings and action in southern Italy. His unit was pulled out and brought back to prepare for the infamous Battle of Arnhem. He was dropped into Arnhem and was one of the lucky few who managed to get out.  He always held the Dutch, and one family in particular, in high regard and for many years after the war made visits to that family and to memorial reunions in Arnhem. During the time he was in Arnhem his younger brother Norman, also an Old St. Beghian, who was a Captain with the 9th Gurka Rifles, was killed in Rimini in Italy. This was a very difficult period for his family as they received the news of Norman’s death during a time when Geoff’s fate was very uncertain.
After Arnhem he was sent to India. He eventually became a Police Commissioner, posted on the frontier between Burma and China dealing with drug runners. As the situation in Burma deteriorated he took a job as a rubber planter in Malaya. It was in Malaya that he met and married his wife Betty. Once the communist and bandit threats in Malaya became too dangerous he looked for work elsewhere.  He and Betty travelled from Malaya to San Francisco and subsequently drove up to a distant relative in Marsden, Saskatchewan, Canada. Work was sparse and he was not enamoured with the cold, so he went to Edmonton, Alberta and joined the Canadian army, which was preparing to go to Korea. Geoff again volunteered and went with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
After Korea Geoff and Betty moved to various military bases in Canada and then Germany as part of NATO. It was during this time that he decided to send his sons Tim and Nigel to St. Bees.
Geoff eventually retired from the army and took up several jobs in Europe. Eventually he and Betty decided to move back to Canada and have spent the last 25 years in Victoria B.C.. Geoff kept busy, as was his nature, volunteering his time to a number of causes and eventually as Director of a veterans’ hospital in Victoria.
His personality was always cheerful and upbeat. Although I believe he must have been a fearsome and competitive wing forward, everyone who met him felt he was one of a dying breed of true gentlemen in his conduct and demeanour. As one person said at his tribute, a group of younger Airborne soldiers was discussing their jumping prowess and how many jumps they had made (in peace time). 
Geoff, when his turn came, said he was really humbled by their exploits because he had only really made two jumps, one into a holiday resort in Italy and the other into Arnhem, which was a bit of a “balls up”.
During his whole life St. Bees was always fondly remembered and he firmly believed was instrumental in forming his character and where some of his greatest friendships were begun. He passed away happily surrounded by a number of family and friends and wouldn’t be denied a glass of his favourite scotch on his last night.”