Rees W E | old-azurians

W E Rees (1924-1958)

Subject: Latin

Mr Rees was one of the original eight members of staff joining the school in 1924. He was Head of the Classics Department until his retirement in 1958. He was also in charge of School Swimming and had a very long and personal association with Rugby Football. He did much to foster the game in the school and also with the Old Azurians, holding the offices of President and Chairman from the first full season of the Old Azurians RFC in 1927 until 1964, with a further two years as President until 1966. His influence in rugby spread wider than the school and old boys. He was active at County level too, and in 1953 he became Chairman of the Organising Committee for the newly formed Sussex Schoolboys Rugby Union.

Mr Rees was educated at Llandaff Cathedral School, Felsted, and Oxford. He served in the Royal Navy during the first World War, after which he taught at Salford before coming to Worthing in January 1924 to join the School as Head of Latin. J F Gravett, who was taught by Mr Rees from 1925 to 1932 and subsequently returned as a Latin Master, wrote about him thus:-

"From the first we knew where we were with him. Some masters could be played up with impunity, others with some risk, but in his room the thought of it died unborn.

Soon we admired him for his toughness, his prowess at rugger, at hockey (he played this in plimsolls, and at swimming. It was firmly believed among us that his bicycle had solid tyres, which was somehow completely in character. We realised how abysmal our ignorance was, for we were frequently told that the brains of the whole form could be put into one inkwell, and then be invisible. But as we got to know him better we began to see how widely his knowledge and interest ranged, reaching out to all kinds of topics, introducing us to a wide variety of books, so that a Latin lesson was not 40 minutes spent on a dead language, but in a real sense a step in education.

He had an astringent sort of realism in speech and views that was rare in those late twenties and thirties, which set us an example and which provided a refreshing contrast to much that was fashionable and highly esteemed, especially among sixth-formers."

There were many other facets to Mr Rees's lfe. During the Second World War he was involved in A.R.P. work, he loved his allotment and the countryside, and as well as his commitment over many years to School and Old Azurian Rugby, he was a staunch supporter of the Worthing Swimming Club.

He died on 9 August 1969, aged 79. A memorial Service was held at the School on Sunday 8 September. at which Mr J F Gravett, delivered a tribute.