John Hardy
East 1948-53
John’s arrival at The Leys in September 1948 marked the start of a lifelong association with the School and Cambridge. Born and raised in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, he was the first of three generations of Leysians.
At school, he threw himself into extra-curricular activities from theatre to sport, earning himself the nickname ‘bull’ as second row in the 1st XV. He took photographs for the Fortnightly, twirled the baton as CCF Drum Major and became a prefect.
He remained close friends with East House contemporaries Mike Royle and Trevor Stamp, Anthony Thornton, North B 1946–50, Christ Smout, North A 1947–52, Michael Whitaker, North B 1953–58 and David Whitaker, North B 1946–51.
John enjoyed reminiscing about his school days, memorably giving an account of enlivening an outdoor art lesson by encouraging classmates to float their wooden drawing boards down the Cam.
He was an active OL and would regularly attend both the Cambridge and Yorkshire dinners. He was president of the Yorkshire branch from 1973 to 1976 and of the OLU Committee in 1995–96. He later took great pride in serving for 16 years as a School Governor.
He studied History and Law at Clare College and worked initially in the wool trade before retraining as a chartered surveyor. He was a senior partner with Hepper, Watson & Sons in Ilkley until his retirement in 1989.
John died on 1 August 2022 after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Anne, sons James, East 1974–79, and Mark, School 1977–82 and grandchildren Jack, Moulton/West/Barker 2004–09, Rachel, Anna, George and Edward.
Words by James Hardy, East 1974-79