We are very sorry to notify you of the passing of Simon, who attended the School from 1973 until 1977.  

Simon passed away on the 12th February after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. His daughter, Rebecca, has informed us that his funeral will be held on the 17th March at Seven Hills Crematorium, followed by a woodland burial in Culford.

We are conscious that some people who knew Simon during his time at the School may not be in contact with us and we would be very grateful if you could pass on this information to those that you know. 

As is usual practice, we would like to place an obituary for Simon in the 2025-26 OI Journal. If you know of any stories or memories which you can pass on to us so we can put them together for the publication we would be most grateful. Please address any contributions to me through oldipswichians@ipswich.school

Sally Webber
OI Chair

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My main memory of Simon was canal cruising with his lovely family - having been introduced to canals on school trips with SqLdr David Stephenson. We had a couple of holidays, making the most of opportunities to sneak off for a beer or 2 ! Sad to hear of his passing, especially with the horrible MS at such an early age.

Robert Tarbard (OI 1970-77). 

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Simon did A Level English, taught by Mr Tucker and Mr Thomas. I was also in the class. I admired him and his talent for literary criticism. It was wide and pertinent. I could not help but compare it to my feeble efforts— “sentimental”, as Mr Tucker wrote in my report. Simon wrote poetry. I would see him at the Poetry and Music evenings. He played the part of Caiaphas in Dennis Potter’s controversial ‘Son of Man’, which we put on under the banner of The Sixth Form Play, produced and directed by Nigel Burt and Paul Brown. Simon was always genial and supportive to me, as he was with all his colleagues. When I think of him, there is one unforgettable image that has stuck in my mind— his incredible, warm, friendly bear smile. I send my sympathies and kind thoughts to his daughter, Rebecca.

Nick Brown (OI 1970-77)