Page 1 of 2

RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:56 am
by CHAZ
I read with sadness in recent CHOBA newsletter the news of Killer Fry's passing. Much has been written here on his heroics in WW11 and his Military Cross.

I will remember him as my LE Biology teacher and of course the best Hall Warden ever! A gentleman and one of CHs finest. RIP Sir.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:51 pm
by LongGone
Sad news. He was by far the best teacher I ever had, and I stayed in touch with him, visiting him several times over the decades. When I asked about taking A level Botany he visibly winced, but then threw himself into running a tutorial for me and one other pupil (name forgotten) with such enthusiasm that I did better than in Zoology. He also gave me free run of the Biology lab to conduct 'experiments' that hooked me on research enough that 50+ years later I am still at it.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:09 am
by J.R.
Sad news indeed. He taught me for one year.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:02 pm
by michael scuffil
There is a parachute regiment obit at https://paradata.org.uk/people/richard-n-fry

It shows him with a cigarette, but if I recall, at CH he occasionally smoked a pipe.

The obit doesn't say when he was born, but if he was given a commission in 1943, he can't have been born after 1925, and so would've been 91 at least when he died. Does anyone know?

I was never taught by him. He was my junior housemaster for six years, and I knew him fairly well. The senior housemasters were John Page and Pat Cullen. I imagine he got on quite well with the former and less well with the latter.

Between the army and CH he was a member of Special Branch, but he said he didn't like the work. However, it gave him an insight into the infiltration of pacifist and other worthy organizations by hardcore communists, and he warned me (a pacifist at the time) against them.

I've posted elsewhere on this forum about how he got his nickname. (I was present at its coining.)

In his (rarely occupied) junior housemaster's study he kept an unguarded and very sharp sword on display. Junior housemasters' studies were often used by boys for music evenings and the like, and certain macho types would demonstrate how to cut a book in half with a single stroke of the sword. They could easily have cut an arm off. A tad irresponsible on his part, perhaps.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:23 pm
by J.R.
Thanks for that link, Michael.

It makes for very interesting reading.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:01 pm
by sejintenej
michael scuffil wrote: and certain macho types would demonstrate how to cut a book in half with a single stroke of the sword. They could easily have cut an arm off. A tad irresponsible on his part, perhaps.
and those present and those who heard about it learned that you don't play with sharp knives. Try and tell a kid not to play with something sharp and it is a safe bet that they will try (and posibly get hurt). We learn from personal experience, seldom by being told not to ...

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 7:58 am
by dsmg
Quite a character and obviously very brave. He was my housemaster in LHB and I was a button grecian with his son Dominic. RIP

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 3:13 pm
by michael scuffil
sejintenej wrote:
michael scuffil wrote: and certain macho types would demonstrate how to cut a book in half with a single stroke of the sword. They could easily have cut an arm off. A tad irresponsible on his part, perhaps.
and those present and those who heard about it learned that you don't play with sharp knives. Try and tell a kid not to play with something sharp and it is a safe bet that they will try (and posibly get hurt). We learn from personal experience, seldom by being told not to ...
If someone had cut their hand off (or someone else's) -- and frankly it could easily have happened -- he would certainly have been held responsible, even in those days I think. Leaving a sharp sword unguarded and prominently displayed in a room to which 14-year-olds have unsupervised access (and you know they have, because they've asked your permission) is asking for trouble.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 5:02 pm
by J.R.
michael scuffil wrote:
sejintenej wrote:
michael scuffil wrote: and certain macho types would demonstrate how to cut a book in half with a single stroke of the sword. They could easily have cut an arm off. A tad irresponsible on his part, perhaps.
and those present and those who heard about it learned that you don't play with sharp knives. Try and tell a kid not to play with something sharp and it is a safe bet that they will try (and posibly get hurt). We learn from personal experience, seldom by being told not to ...
If someone had cut their hand off (or someone else's) -- and frankly it could easily have happened -- he would certainly have been held responsible, even in those days I think. Leaving a sharp sword unguarded and prominently displayed in a room to which 14-year-olds have unsupervised access (and you know they have, because they've asked your permission) is asking for trouble.

Probably why the owning and displaying of genuine Samurai swords as ornaments can now be considered illegal.

Some of the older ones are really beautiful, even if they were designed for beheading. They also cost a fortune !!

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 1:49 pm
by jhopgood
https://paradata.org.uk/articles/person ... c-normandy

https://paradata.org.uk/images/richard- ... nneur-2016

For those interested.
A junior school friend, (who failed CH), went on the memorial drop (Normandy DZ-K) in June 2010

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:20 pm
by sejintenej
This page includ es a link to Richard N Fry (same person) which gives a broader brush account of his military service plus the citation for his Military Cross.

I see that he also served in Palestine until the end; did he ever talk about that? The reason is that my adopted brother (Lt T H Bevan, Welsh Guards) served there at the same time but didn't say much repeatable here about it

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:48 pm
by michael scuffil
There was an obit in The Times yesterday (15 Oct 2016).

It tells a story which I hadn't heard before, namely of extracting six teenagers from a crashed car (one of whom died). Had anyone heard about this?

He was 92.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 5:56 pm
by LongGone
michael scuffil wrote: He was 92.

Another way I hope to emulate him!

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 2:45 pm
by postwarblue
After my time but by a bizarre coincidence I was sitting next to a bod at a recent presentation who turned out to be an OB. He was in Lamb A in the 60s and his main recollection of Fry was that he was called 'Killer' because he was such a hard beater.

Re: RICHARD "Killer" FRY RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 10:07 pm
by Goatherd
To be fair; I was there in the 60's, but not in Lamb A. But we were always led to believe that he was called 'Killer' because of his war record.