Randal Cousins

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michael scuffil
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Randal Cousins

Post by michael scuffil »

Word has reached me of the sudden death of my exact contemporary and housemate Randal Cousins.

His CH career can perhaps best be summed up as The Senior Grecian Who Never Was. Named after an archbishop, and (at the time), to use a phrase of John le Carré's, 'one of nature's prefects', he was universally regarded as the natural SG for our year almost from day one, and when, rather surprisingly (the reasons were complicated) he became house captain of Thornton B while still a 2nd year grecian, his fate seemed sealed (as existing house captains were prime candidates for SG). However this was 1962, and the turmoil that was to characterize the decade was beginning to make itself felt at Christ's Hospital too. CME Seaman, who, reformer though he was, was uncomfortable with these developments, clearly decided he needed not one of nature's prefects, but one of nature's sergeant-majors, and chose instead the head of the CCF (who, by an ironic twist, was then Randal's no. 2 in Thornton B, which involved some re-shuffling).

Randal was a mathematician and chess player of some note. (He became what they still quaintly called in Cambridge in those days a 'Senior Wrangler', i.e. got a 1st in Maths.)

As is the way of these things, I was at his wedding, but had not seen him since.

Edit: Sorry, I got my terminology mixed up. I thought there were Senior Wranglers (Firsts), Junior Wranglers (Seconds) and Optimes (Thirds). There aren't: there are Wranglers, Senior Optimes and Junior Optimes (and apparently still are). The 'Senior Wrangler' is the top maths graduate of the year. I don't think Randal was that, but he was a Wrangler. (Thanks to Katharine for pointing this out.)
Last edited by michael scuffil on Sun Nov 24, 2013 12:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Th.B. 27 1955-63
Katharine
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Re: Randal Cousins

Post by Katharine »

As Michael knows, Randal was a close friend of my brother Peter, also in that year of Thornton B, and stayed with us several times in the school holidays, so much so that he was almost an extra elder brother.

The authorities at Hertford did not know of this connection with Randal, so when he visited Hertford as a Grecian and we were seen chatting I was sternly reprimanded. Apparently it was fine to speak to your own brother, but not to his friends! There were some very strange ideas around then.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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J.R.
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Re: Randal Cousins

Post by J.R. »

I vaguely remember the Grecians in Coleridge B discussing this matter at some length and I do vaguely remember Randal.

R.I.P.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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