Andrew Porter, RIP

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Fidésien
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Real Name: Chris Martin

Andrew Porter, RIP

Post by Fidésien »

I was sorry to learn from an obituary in The Guardian that Andrew Porter has died. He would have been a close contemporary, in Thornton A, but I didn't really know him at all. At CH he played the violin in the National Youth Orchestra; and he was, very improbably, a Geography Grecian. In fact he may have been the only Geography Button Grecian in the past century ! [Geography was very snobbishly regarded as the last resort option for boys who couldn't hack Greek or even German.] He then went to St John's, Cambridge, where he switched his study to History; met his wife, a music teacher; and did a PhD.At one point in Cambridge he shared a house with the late Nick Cox and the late and much lamented Michael Scuffil. [Known irreverently in some circles as Scrotum Lodge.] He then taught at, I think, Manchester before becoming Professor of Imperial History at King's College, London; and author of several learned books. He was, I suspect, the only Grecian of that particular year who became an academic historian. According to the Guardian obit.he took early retirement in 2008 because of Parkinson's Disease, and retired to Shropshire where he was very involved in the local music scene. John Gregory, a Modern Historian of that era, may be in this part of the world next month, and I'll ask if knows more about Andrew. Others reading this forum may have more to offer.
Fidésien
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Re: Andrew Porter, RIP

Post by Fidésien »

The excessive italic is an error. My apologies.
theosteel
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Re: Andrew Porter, RIP

Post by theosteel »

I was interested to read the claim that Andrew might have been the only Geography Button Grecian in the 20th Century, I can certainly claim to have been another in 1966 and went on to Pembroke, Oxford with an award. I just managed to be taught by John Shippen who sent me a list of about 10 others from his time which almost takes us up to the Millennium.
Andrew's translation to History reminds me that George Newberry who retired in 1966 had studied history at Cambridge before teaching Geography at CH for 39 years, it is nice that he is commemorated with a plaque in Chapel, even if his appearances there in his lifetime were rare.
Fascinating that both Andrew and I were in Thornton A in the Page era, he was another Geographer I recall
Theo Steel
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