VOLUME 11 1 FOR MEMBERS OF ST JOHN’S COLLEGE The Eagle 2009 ST JOHN’S COLLEGE U NI V E R S I T Y O F CA M B R I D GE The Eagle 2009 Volume 111 ST JOHN’S COLLEGE U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A MB R I D G E THE EAGLE PubliShed in the United Kingdom in 2009 by St John’S College, CambRidge St John’S College CambRidge CB2 1TP www.joh.cam.ac.uk Telephone: 01223 338700 Fax: 01223 338727 Email: [email protected] FiRSt publiShed in the United Kingdom in 1858 by St John’S College, CambRidge DeSigned and pRoduced by CameRon DeSign: 01284 725292; www.cameRonacademic.co.uk PRinted by Reflex Litho Ltd, ThetfoRd CoveR photogRaphy by Alice HaRdy. Stained glaSS window on the main StaiRcaSe of the MaSteR’S Lodge. Made by Baillie & Co of London in 1865. PhotogRaphy by Ben GallagheR, Alice HaRdy, AndRew HouSton and contRibutoRS. The Eagle iS publiShed annually by St John’S College, CambRidge, and iS Sent fRee of chaRge to membeRS of St John’S College and otheR inteReSted paRtieS. ItemS to be conSideRed foR publication Should be addReSSed to The EditoR, The Eagle , Development Office, St John’S College, CambRidge, CB2 1TP, oR Sent by email to [email protected]. If you would like to Submit MembeRS’ NewS foR publication in The Eagle , you can do So online at www.joh.cam.ac.uk/johnian/membeRS_newS. Page 2 www.joh.cam.ac.uk C O N T E N T S & E D I T O R I A CONTENTS & L EDITORIAL ST JOHN’S COLLEGE U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A MB R I D G E Contents & Editorial THE EAGLE CONTENTS C O N T E N T S & E D I T EditoRial ................................................................................................... 7 O R I A L ARticleS MeSSage fRom the MaSteR .................................................................... 10 MeSSage fRom the Development DiRectoR ............................................. 16 TiSSa DevendRa: A YeaR at ‘The Knott’ 1968-1969 ................................ 18 Edmund PotteR: JouRney of an Ethical Johnian: ReflectionS of a queSting atheiSt ........................................................................... 21 DR A C MetaxaS: The PReSident’S Cup 1929-1963 .................................. 25 PRofeSSoR S Reif: The AchievementS of ChaRleS TayloR – a CentuRy afteR hiS Death ................................................................................... 34 PRofeSSoR J D LewiS-WilliamS: The BiShop and the BuShmen: St John’S College and the new South AfRican coat of aRmS ..................... 40 The HonouRable FRank Iacobucci: A toaSt to CambRidge ....................... 44 Sumet JumSai: The TRee Building ......................................................... 50 College SpoRtS and SocietieS ..................................................................... 53 FellowS and MembeRS’ NewS .................................................................. 101 ObituaRieS ............................................................................................. 113 PoetRy ................................................................................................... 121 Book ReviewS ....................................................................................... 129 www.joh.cam.ac.uk Page 5 THE EAGLE Contents & Editorial C LibRaRy DonoRS ...................................................................................... 135 O N T E College NoteS ....................................................................................... 139 N T S & E D I T O R I A L Page 6 www.joh.cam.ac.uk Contents & Editorial THE EAGLE Welcome to The Eagle 2009 ! We were delighted with the feedback on last year’s C O N revamped edition and pleased to hear how many of you enjoyed the 150th T E N anniversary section. T S & E D I again gatheRS togetheR wRitingS fRom the T The Eagle O R I whole of the Johnian community and thiS yeaR haS A L an inteRnational flavouR, with memoRieS of College life by FRank Iacobucci, who came to St John’S fRom Canada, and TiSSa DivendRa, who aRRived fRom Ceylon. DR SzReteR pRovideS an exciting tale of hiS expeRienceS in Uganda, and PRofeSSoR LewiS-WilliamS contRibuteS an inteReSting hiStoRy of the BuShmen cultuRe of South AfRica. We hope that you will enjoy cuRRent Student Ben Alden-FalconeR’S Review of Tom Rob Smith’S Child 44 , the wealth of RepoRtS fRom the Student body and the faScinating eaRly hiStoRy of the PReSident’S Cup. We hope that you alSo enjoy SubmiSSionS fRom two Johnian poetS of diffeRent geneRationS in a Special poetRy Section. PleaSe Send itemS foR incluSion in The Eagle 2010 , Such aS aRticleS and bookS foR Review, to the Development Office, St John’S College, CambRidge, CB2 1TP. ItemS aRe conSideRed by the College PublicationS and Public RelationS Committee, which meetS teRmly. PleaSe uSe the MembeRS’ NewS foRm encloSed to tell uS about newS, Such aS appointmentS, publicationS, biRthS, maRRiageS, honouRS oR indeed anything that you would like to communicate to otheR JohnianS. You can alSo Send thiS newS to [email protected] until FRiday 16 ApRil 2010. www.joh.cam.ac.uk Page 7 THE EAGLE Contents & Editorial C Finally, thank you to all thoSe involved in the pRoduction of thiS edition of O N The Eagle : contRibutoRS, membeRS of College Staff and the Development T E Office team. N T S & Marianne Crowder E D Alumni Relations Officer (Publications) I T O R I A L Development Office D Second Court St John’s College Cambridge CB2 1TP Tel: 01223 330722 Email: [email protected] www.joh.cam.ac.uk/johnian Page 8 www.joh.cam.ac.uk ARTICLES A R T I C L E S ST JOHN’S COLLEGE U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A MB R I D G E THE EAGLE Articles Professor Christopher Dobson is Master of St John’s College and the John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology at the University of Cambridge. PRofeSSoR DobSon continueS hiS wide-Ranging ReSeaRch and lectuRing activitieS alongSide hiS Role aS MaSteR of the College, and in Recognition of hiS woRk in advancing ouR undeRStanding of the moleculaR baSiS of neuRodegeneRative diSoRdeRS he waS thiS yeaR awaRded A R T I a Royal Medal by the Royal Society. C L E S Message from the Master One of the moSt moving eventS of 2009 took place on 29 June when a Small gRoup of membeRS of St John’S and ChRiSt’S, along with RepReSentativeS of otheR inStitutionS aSSociated with Lady MaRgaRet BeaufoRt, aSSembled in HenRy VII’S Chapel in WeStminSteR Abbey. We weRe theRe to pay ouR ReSpectS at the tomb of ouR FoundReSS on the five hundRedth anniveRSaRy of heR death and to give thankS foR heR life. And what a life it waS! Lady MaRgaRet waS betRothed at the age of Six, though thRee yeaRS lateR the contRact waS Revoked. At the age of twelve She waS again maRRied, and in 1457 at the age of thiRteen She gave biRth to heR only child. At the time of the biRth She waS alReady a widow, aS heR huSband Edmund TudoR had died of the plague thRee monthS eaRlieR. DeSpite the dangeRS of the time, aS the WaRS of the RoSeS Raged acRoSS the Kingdom, She SuRvived to See heR Son cRowned HenRy VII afteR the Battle of BoSwoRth Field in 1485, thuS beginning the TudoR dynaSty that waS to Reign oveR England and WaleS foR neaRly 120 yeaRS and indeed She waS to live long enough to See the coRonation of heR gRandSon, HenRy VIII, almoSt a quaRteR of a centuRy lateR. Lady MaRgaRet maRRied twice moRe afteR the death of Edmund TudoR, and heR inheRited wealth along with gRantS made to heR by heR Son afteR hiS coRonation made heR a Rich woman. In addition She waS accoRded by PaRliament a legal StatuS which allowed heR to contRol heR landS and all the patRonage which that entailed. In 1509 She left heR goodS to be diSpoSed of foR the puRpoSeS of heR will, which included the eStabliShment of thiS College, and foR the Same puRpoSe She left the income of ceRtain of heR eStateS to complete the foundation which She had begun befoRe heR death. The CRown eventually inheRited theSe landS, but meanwhile heR executoRS, and eSpecially John FiSheR, heR confeSSoR and ChancelloR of the UniveRSity, had Succeeded in Setting up St John’S and pRoviding foR itS endowment, laying the foundationS foR what we See aRound uS in the College today. Page 10 www.joh.cam.ac.uk Articles THE EAGLE Gazing at the wondeRfully lifelike effigy that ReStS on the tomb it waS impoSSible not to maRvel at the achievementS of thiS RemaRkable lady. In addition, afteR placing a bunch of lilieS at heR feet, I could not help wondeRing what She would think about the College that She had woRked So haRd to bRing into exiStence but which She didn’t live to See in action. Would She appRove of the way it haS tuRned out? Would She be pRoud of itS Standing in the woRld, of itS achievementS, of itS ethoS and of the people that it haS educated? I have no doubt in my own mind that She would be abSolutely delighted by the way that St John’S haS developed, though whetheR She would appRove of the fact that She iS beSt known to many people becauSe the College boat club iS named afteR heR I would not like to Speculate. TheSe aRe peRhapS topicS that we can exploRe fuRtheR when we celebRate ouR quincentenaRy in 2011! And on the Subject of 2011, planS foR a A wide Range of commemoRative eventS aRe developing veRy well, and we hope R T I that all JohnianS and theiR familieS and fRiendS in all paRtS of the woRld will find C L much to enjoy in the pRogRamme of celebRationS thRoughout the anniveRSaRy yeaR. E S RetuRning to the pReSent, I have found So many thingS to enjoy duRing the paSt yeaR that I can only mention a few of my peRSonal favouRiteS.