David Lyall (M 52-91).

David’s daughter, Helen Bushby, has kindly supplied the following:

“Dad was born on September 14th, 1926 in Leeds, within a stone’s throw of Headingly Stadium. He was a proud Yorkshireman, supporting Yorkshire C.C. and Leeds Rugby League throughout his life. He was brought up in the Baptist tradition at South Parade Baptist Church, where he met, and then eventually married, Jean.

He was educated at Leeds Grammar School, ending as Head Boy in 1944. A keen sportsman, he played both rugby and cricket for the school, but having broken his collar bone three times he had retired from rugby by the time he left, and presumably because of his willowy build, he concentrated on middle distance running for which he had a particular talent.

He won a place at St. John’s College, Cambridge, but deferred going up in order to do his army service in 1945. He joined the West Yorkshire regiment and was seconded to the Education Corps and posted to Khartoum in the Sudan where he apparently spent much time playing tennis and sunbathing, whilst rising to the rank of Sergeant Major. He had become the army road-walking champion in 1946 so you can see that his future path was set.

He went up to Cambridge to study Mathematics. He won a Blue for athletics, running the half mile, and roomed for one year with a certain Chris Brasher. He was a member of both the Hawks Club and the Achilles Club (a club for both Oxford and Cambridge Blues) where his Oxford contemporaries included Chris Chataway and Roger Bannister. Although he never quite reached their heights, he was nonetheless three times Yorkshire half mile champion, twice runner-up in the 3A’s Championships and won a Bronze medal at the World Student Games in Luxembourg in 1951. Having obtained his BA from Cambridge, two significant events took place. He arrived at St Bees as the new mathematical teacher and soon after, married Jean. Dad said in his retirement speech: “I had seen West Cumbria from the summit of Sca Fell in 1942 but otherwise I knew little about the land beyond the mountains. My former housemaster from Leeds Grammar School, Cyril Wood, was at that time housemaster of Eaglesfield and he advised me to take the job if I was offered it, as it would be a good place to start.” Almost 40 years later Dad went on to set what is probably an unassailable record by seeing one of his granddaughters enter the school before he himself retired.

Mum and dad were married for 49 years, and for 22 of those were in charge of Eaglesfield. Many of the boys had never been away from home before and they were always treated as an extension of our own family. At 9.00pm the queue to see matron was always extensive but, according to mum’s immaculately kept medicine book, very few boys received anything more than a large dose of TLC! Dad’s discipline book, found recently, was equally as scanty in recorded punishments. This could have been because of his gentle, non-aggressive nature or more likely because his famous creaking left ankle provided an extremely audible and effective early warning system!

Without doubt he was an excellent teacher of mathematics at advanced and scholarship level and it gave him particular pleasure when one pupil from his further mathematics set gained entrance to his Cambridge College to read mathematics. However, perhaps more importantly, his patient and gentle tutoring enabled many of the less able pupils to gain that all-important grade C, which then qualified them for further education.

Dad had an interesting five years as Senior Master, which began with the Quatercentenary celebrations. The Archbishop of Canterbury attended a service in the Priory and one of the tasks was somehow to find seating for 720 bodies in a church which normally seats 450. My father’s mathematical brain however formulated a satisfactory seating plan (we found it, should it ever be needed again!). He had the opposite problem for Princess Anne’s visit when 300 pupils were swiftly moved from the Terrace to the Quad and then back to the Terrace again to give the impression that there were 600 pupils in the school!

In 1991 he retired and he and mum enjoyed travelling to visit their children and grandchildren, taking holidays at more convenient times of year, walking in the fells and cultivating their beautiful garden at Middle Leys, Lamplugh. Dad was the fruit and vegetable expert and mum had an artistic eye that helped to create a wonderful, old-fashioned cottage garden. His strawberries were legendary, and many friends and former colleagues will remember the tennis parties at Eaglesfield, and afternoon teas and garden parties at Lamplugh, where a huge bowl of strawberries would form the centrepiece.

Following mum’s death in 2002 my father decided that he would like to get a dog (something that mum had always resisted!) His beautiful golden retriever puppy, Floss, grew to be his constant companion and they spent many hours walking on the fells and at their peak would walk ten miles or more a day. Peter Broadhurst wrote recently: “I think your dad was at his happiest tramping the West Lakeland fells, although he did some serious rock climbs with me. I remember he did the notorious ‘Eagle VS5b’ with Gordon Dyke on Birkness Coombe; but I don’t think your mother ever knew he had been rock-climbing, let alone what was then one of the hardest climbs in the Lake District. I don’t think your mother ever approved of his climbing rocks.” He never lost his love for mountains and came on several summer holidays with us to Austria where he would revisit old haunts in Kitzbuhel, Mayrhofen and Seefeld. His sons-in-law were his walking partners and stated that he always wanted to push them beyond safe limits. Mum would have been horrified! Eighteen months ago Andrew and dad went on a climbing holiday in the Dolomites. During the week, he celebrated his 85th birthday, having walked over fifty miles and climbed around 13,500 feet. One day, overlooking the Marmolada glacier, a group of rather well-padded Berliners asked for a photograph. They had never before seen a man of his age walking so high in the mountains!

Dad never lost his quick mind; he challenged himself every day with the crossword, Sudoku and mathematics speed tests in The Times. He coached his grandchildren through maths GCSE, A level and beyond. The day before he died he had produced model answers to his youngest grandson Tom’s ‘STEP’ papers designed to stretch students past A level standard.

We have had many letters, cards and messages from Old St Beghians for which we thank you all. The same words and phrases cropped up time and again- ‘an inspirational teacher,’ ‘good man,’ ‘Christian gentleman,’ ‘safe pair of hands,’ ‘patient and kind,’ ‘very fair,’ ‘good friend and valued colleague,’ ‘an example to us all.’ Dad was all of these things, but to Claire, Andrew, Sarah and myself he was also an adored father and wonderful friend.”

 

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St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

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