Max Edward Kenneth Westlake (1895-1987)
The address given at the Memorial Service for Max Westlake in Sherborne Abbey on 7th May 1987, by Mr Michael McCrum (b 1937-42), Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge:
Everyone who knew Max Westlake at all well, of whatever age, has the same clear picture of him – a man of utter integrity and complete consistency, of great modesty and courtesy, of simplicity of mind and purpose, of sound judgement, of rocklike firmness of principle partly concealed by a very slight hesitancy of speech, always cheerful and enthusiastic, quietly devout, seeing the best in others because he was such a genuinely kind and good man himself. As such he was everyone’s friend.
The same characteristics ran equally consistently throughout his life, from the time that he entered Abbey House in the Lent Term of 1910, through his years as Master in charge of Physical Training and Housemaster of Elmdene and Abbey House, right on to retirement and his activity as a hospital driver.
Games, too, always mattered to him, and it is clear from the House match and other sporting records in the Sherborne Register that during the three years 1912-1914 that he played for the 1st XI, captaining it and winning the prize for fielding in his last year, with his achievements in cricket, rugger (where he played for the 1st XV) and boxing (in which he represented the School in the Aldershot Public School Competition), he must have been a key figure in making those years in Carey’s something of a golden age of athletic success.
Then the war took him away, and he rose to the rank of Captain in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and in the Labour Corps in France where he gained a mention in despatches.
The period of his life, however, for which he is best remembered is his nearly 40 years on the Sherborne staff rom 1923-1962, in which he was the first to be appointed Master in charge of P.T. To generations of boys, his trim athletic figure in white flannel trousers and navy blue blazer, in the gym and in the courts, was almost as much part of the Sherborne scene as the Abbey. In all weathers, at all seasons he was the same, unruffled, immaculate, himself setting the standards of appearance and dedication that he aimed to teach. In a sense the gym, and all that it stood for, epitomised his character. That was his home base. There, tidiness was essential: those 460 lockers, ‘cheek by jowl’ as he once described the, to everyone’s amusement, had to be kept in perfect order, with each boy responsible for keeping his clothes spotlessly clean and neatly folded. Punctual attendance was required, the occasion of one of his most celebrated sayings, or Maxims as they were called, addressed to a class at the start of a gym period: ‘All those not present, hold up your hands’. Toughness he expected too, as an expression of sturdiness rather than aggression; we were stretched and pressed a bit further than we thought we could go, (to get our singles, doubles or trebles in swimming, for instance), but not beyond our true capacity. Another Maxim comes to mind here: ‘deep breathing through the mouth, keeping the mouth shut’. Boxing was encouraged, but if there was any danger of a boy getting really hurt, he was quick to stop the fight, and his encouraging comment on the contest always made the loser feel better: ‘Well fought, Red; hard luck, Blue’.
It was from the gym that at the start of every Break, for most of his working life, he sallied forth to the Courts to ensure that all the Houses were conducting their mid-morning PT properly, in correct dress and with due seriousness and energy. That these exercises continued to be part of the School timetable for so many years, with their annual culmination at Commem in the form of a massed PT display, is tribute to his quiet determination and the respect that the boys felt for him personally. Although many of us thought this form of exercise unnecessary and a nuisance, we were willing to accept it because it clearly meant a lot to Max. Through it he expressed his dislike of sloppiness and slackness.
Yet cricket was always his first love, and it was typical of him that he disapproved of games played with a soft ball such as tennis or squash as being decadent. As a founder member of the Pilgrims and an active supporter of its cricket tours, he was delighted to be Vice-President from 1958-1961 and President from 1961-1964.
He was a founder member, too, of the waiting-house Elmdene and ran it superbly with his wife Violet from 1931 until he took over Abbey House, at a particularly sad time, in September 1942. There he stayed until 1955, completing what today is an unusually long span of 24 years of housemastering. As one who benefited from this in my first term (at Elmdene) and in my last (at Abbey House), I remember well how much he earned the boys’ affection and respect, especially perhaps the younger ones. We all knew where we were with him – consistency of character and attitude is much prized by the young – and we knew too that he had our best interests at heart. Because he had not been to University and, if rumour was right, had not even passed many public examinations, he seemed slightly out of the mainstream of the teaching staff and some boys therefore from time to time thought themselves a bit superior and smiled at his expense behind their hands, but this very mild disparagement was for the most part only skin-deep. In his later housemastering days a few of his more senior boys from time to time betrayed the trust he put in them and got away with things that a more worldly and less suspecting Housemaster would have noticed. His rather infrequent visits after dinner to the boys’ side, except for House Prayers, gave opportunities enough for those who were inclined to misdoing. He was so straight and honourable himself that he found it hard to believe that any of his boys could be less so.
Although from time to time he had good ideas, he could not be called an innovator; indeed it could be argued that he tried to maintain for too long the strict regime that he inherited at Abbey House, but that was simply an aspect of his loyalty to the Carey tradition. In fact he did allow, rather hesitantly, some slight relaxation as the years passed. Bob Powell recalls his coming to ask him during one exceptionally severe winter spell ‘Do you mind, Chief, if we stop cold baths because the weather is so chilly?’
He knew himself that he could do little to help the most intelligent of his boys as they grew older, over such matters as careers and choice of University, so he was happy to encourage them to discuss these with Herbert Henry Brown who, living in some style and comfort on the top floor of the house and , liberal by contrast, nevertheless was careful not to undermine Max’s authority. So this dual arrangement, on the face of it open to abuse, worked surprisingly well.
His other great support was of course Violet, Minimax as he was always rather obviously but affectionately called, after the standard fire extinguisher of those days. With no children of their own, they treated us all as a proxy family. She ran the domestic side of the House with impeccable efficiency and in herself set similarly high standards of decorum and behaviour. They both always dressed for dinner, as indeed Max continued to do to the last.
Her untimely death sadly marred his retirement, but the deep faith, which they both shared and which was attested by their joint presence in chapel week after week at the communion service, helped him to surmount that great personal loss, and enabled him to transfer his energies and devotion to the hospital car service run by the Yeatman. Just as his flannelled figure had been a notable feature in the courts for so many generations of boys, in his latter days I am told that his old dark brown Renault, with its one or two slight scars from an unintentional brush or two, became well known in and around Sherborne. At times a Housemaster might turn a shade nervous when Max arrived offering to ferry a sick boy to some rather remote hospital.
Indefatigably active in this way until only a few years ago, worshipping in Chapel, in the Abbey or at the church at Castleton, with bridge and occasional visits to his favourite film ‘The Sound of Music’, accompanied by a carload of passengers whenever it was showing at an accessible cinema, eh spent his 80s in contentment, and on 22nd March 1985, we were all delighted to congratulate him on reaching his 90th birthday.
So he continued in excellent health and spirits right up to his death, which resulted from a fall at home in which he broke his femur. The end came peacefully and without pain. In the lesson from St John’s Gospel that we heard read just now, Jesus talked of the many mansions, the many dwelling places, in his Father’s house. Who of his friends there today can doubt that Max occupies one of these already, or will before long?
His last words as related by his housekeeper may be thought his finest: ‘Should I die’, he said, ‘a number of Old Boys will come together to pay their respects. If that should happen, please given them all my love’.
Mr McCrum would like to acknowledge the help of W.A. Cooper, M.R.G. Earls-Davis, H.F.W. Holmes, and M.M. Walford.
Michael McCrum (b 1937-42), Master of Corpus Christi College, The Shirburnian, Trinity 1987.
Tribute by M.R.G. Earls-Davis (a 1935-39), Old Shirburnian Society Annual Report, March 1988.
Shirburnians of many generations will be sad to hear of Max Westlake’s death on the 24th April following a fall at his home. Right up to that moment he had been out and about in excellent health and, mercifully, the end was peaceful and painless.
Max was one of Sherborne’s legendary characters. He entered Abbey House in January 1910. He was three years in the XI, being Captain in 1914 when, as related in The Loom of Youth, he gave Alec Waugh his colours. He was also in the XV and was a Public Schools boxing champion. Like almost all Shirburnians of that vintage he then went off to War, serving as a Captain in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and in the Labour Corps in France, earning a Mention in Despatches.
In 1923 he returned to Sherborne in charge of Physical Training, remaining on the staff until his retirement in 1962, nearly forty years later. In 1931 he became the founder Housemaster of Elmdene and then in 1942 took over Abbey House until 1955 – 24 consecutive years of Housemastering. Max was also a founder member of The Pilgrims often playing on the Cricket tour. From 1958-61 he was a Vice-President and then, much to his delight, President of the club from 1961-64.
Sadly his retirement was marred by the death of his wife, Violet – Minimax as she was inevitably and affectionately known to those of us lucky enough to have been under her care in Elmdene or Abbey House. However, the deep Faith, which was the central feature of Max’s life, enabled him to overcome this blow and he became attached to the Yeatman as a Hospital Driver. This service, so willingly and energetically carried out, together with his bridge, which was his main relaxation, carried him happily through his later years. He also developed a passion for “The Sound of Music”, and whenever it appeared and reappeared at reachable cinemas he would fill his car with passengers and set off gleefully to see it yet again.
All of us will remember Max with affection: the athletic figure immaculate in white flannels, and navy blue blazer, the slight stammer, the boyish enthusiasm. We will remember him at the window of Room 2, megaphone to mouth, directing rehearsals for the massed P.T. display at Commem., in the Swimming Bath goading us into passing our singles, doubles and trebles, and presiding over some rugged contest in the boxing ring: “Well fought Red, hard luck Blue.” Then there were the “Maxims” that delighted us all: one morning The Shell fell off ropes, beams and wall bars in convulsions as Max strode into the Gym with the command, “A-A-All hose n-n-not here hold up your hands”.
Warm hearted, cheerful, enthusiastic and incapable of anything mean or unkind. Max was loved and respected in Sherborne, Town and Gown. His death leaves a big hole in our community.
Max Edward Kenneth Westlake (1895-1987).
Born 22 March 1895.
Sherborne School (Abbey House) 1910-1914.
Sherborne School: Master in charge of PT, 1923-1962.
Housemaster of Elmdene, 1931-1942.
Housemaster of Abbey House, 1942-1955.
Pilgrims, Vice-President, 1958-1961, President 1961-1964.
Died 25 April 1987.