Geoffrey John Bromehead Watkins (1907-1992).
Geoffrey Watkins arrived at Sherborne in 1930 to teach Modern Languages. After leaving school at Shrewsbury he went first to Paris to study, then to Barcelona to work for HMV. Barcelona taught him that he was not a natural for commerce but provided the opportunity for him to become fluent in Spanish. He then went up to Lincoln College, Oxford. He won his oars in the first college boat and half an inscribed oar was always to be found hanging from a wall wherever he lived and was a proud memento of his time at Oxford.
As a schoolmaster he was what one would now call ‘laid back’: sufficiently gifted to cope with his duties without, what he would term, unnecessary effort, always sociable and a good bridge player, his first love was music. As a pianist he seldom performed in public but he had an extensive knowledge of music and of opera and oratorio. His shrewd critiques appeared in The Shirburnian over many years.
A most unassuming man, he enjoyed belittling his many achievements. Games were of no interest, though he played some tennis and fives. He was known to appear for the Masters’ Soccer XI, to play against eleven of the XV, on the Upper. He showed his indifference towards conformity by appearing in khaki shorts and heather mixture stockings! He had unusually polished manners and right until the end of his life he never failed to treat old and young with great courtesy. Courtesy was indeed a keynote, but when occasion demanded he could be sharply outspoken. As a teacher of French, German and Spanish when required, his deep knowledge and love of French literature and history never left the keenest specialist unsatisfied. For many years he took scholarship work regularly and successfully. With the Lower School he was demanding, never satisfied with poor work. From 1946-68 he has only one ‘O’ level failure!
In 1938 he married Mary, elder daughter of M.B. Elderton, Housemaster of Abbeylands. Keenly politically aware, he was convinced that war was coming and applied for, and was given, a Commission in the Dorset Regiment T.A. He had never previously shown any interest in matters military. Such a shrewd operator was unlikely to wait for call-up as a private! He was the first member of the staff serving in the forces to be sent to France. His return in May 1940, via the Dunkirk beaches, he used to describe hilariously. He worked his way up the Army in the Intelligence Branch, finishing as a major in Washington D.C. as the leading expert on the organisation of the German Army.
On returning to Sherborne, he became School Librarian for nine years and was responsible for complete recataloguing. In 1948 he took over Elmdene (then a waiting House) and in 1955 became housemaster of Abbeylands. His dry wit could not disguise his deep interest in his boys and many will have been grateful to him in after years. His wife, Mary, was a staunch supporter, a welcoming hostess and a most capable organiser and managed to find time to teach for many years at Sherborne School for Girls. Whenever duties allowed, and later in retirement, he was an enthusiastic and expert gardener. He retired in 1968 to a pleasant house and garden at Holwell, where friends were always made welcome. In latter years the Watkins moved into a small and convenient house in Sherborne. After a long illness which rendered him virtually immobile, which he bore with patience and dignity, he died on 1st September 1992, aged 85. He is survived by Mary and three sons.
H.F.W. Holmes.
Old Shirburnian Society Annual Record, March 1993.
Geoffrey John Bromehead Watkins (1907-1992).
Born 17 April 1907.
Lincoln College, Oxford, BA.
Assistant master, Sherborne School, 1930- 1968.
Absent on military service, 1940-1946 (Directorate of Military Intelligence (MI14), London, Washington, Germany)
Housemaster of Elmdene, 1948-1955.
Housemaster of Abbeylands, 1955-1966.
School Librarian.
Translator for EMI and Thames and Hudson.
Died 1 September 1992.
Publications:
G.J.B. Watkins, From Normandy to the Weser. The War History of the Fourth Battalion the Dorset Regiment, June 1944-May 1945 (Naval & Military Press Ltd; illustrated edition, 2015)
See also: