Stan Whitehead
Common Room 1957-92
Stan was the last appointment of Gerald Humphrey, in 1957. He joined the History Department to teach the Tudor period at A Level. He had read History at The Queen’s College, Oxford, where he had represented the University in the 2nd XV. When Derek Baker left in 1966, Stan took over the Department. He was already deeply involved in school activities, helping with the CCF and the Clapham Society in addition to sport.
When the Governors gave Alan Barker a sabbatical in Australia, the post of Deputy Head was created and Colin Wilcockson was appointed. Stan took over his role as Director of Studies and passed the History Department to me. Colin left in 1973 and Stan succeeded as Deputy Head, a post he was to hold until his retirement in 1992. He had his own exchange to Australia in 1983-4.
It is difficult to understand now how demanding his job was, with no Senior Management team and a minimum of secretarial help, but Stan was the ideal ADC. Nothing was too much for him, no detail overlooked. His annual construction of the timetable was nothing short of a masterpiece, with no computer assistance, of course – and all hand-written in his immaculate hand. All the while he helped teaching in the History Department, never anything but a loyal colleague. I know of no colleague of mine at The Leys who was less concerned with self. The late 1980s were choppy waters at the School so he stayed on for a couple of years to help John Barrett settle in. That John was able to turn the School round so quickly is due, in no small measure, to Stan. We shall not see his like again.
Words by John Harding, Common Room 1968-2005