Memories From Staff
Anthony Reed
Secretary and Administrative Officer, and Clerk to the Trustees 1976–87
I was appointed Secretary to the Council and Accountant in November 1946, on my return to civilian life after the war. I had recently joined a small firm of chartered accountants called Morrish Walters, one of whose partners, Richard Walters, had been asked to be Treasurer of St Gabriel’s. There had been some problems with the previous accounting systems, so I was thrown in at the deep end with a request to sort things out. Little did I think then that this was the start of a very happy association that was to last the best part of forty years.
All of my memories of St Gabriel’s are enhanced by the pleasure, the kindness, the friendliness and the wonderful co-operation that I received from everyone connected with the College. I feel greatly privileged to have been allowed this unique opportunity to experience the educational field and to meet so many widely differing and interesting people.
In 1946 there were very few male staff, possibly two or three, so when I entered the Dining
Hall for the first time to take my place at High Table with the rest of the staff, I was subjected
to about 200 curious stares from the students – I’m sure I blushed for the first
week or so! At first I was working virtually full-time at the College, but as time passed and
my responsibilities to other clients increased, I was able to bring in assistant staff to help
with the book-keeping. Eventually I came in to College only about once a week, having full-time
assistance from first Mrs Kettle and then Mrs Harrow, who were on my office staff in the City.
Finance
All the running expenses of the College were financed by the Ministry (later Department) of Education, but only after a very carefully prepared and controlled budget had been approved and adhered to. Capital expenditure such as building was met partly by the Ministry and partly by the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England. Again, all such expense required prior approval before a project could start. The parents of every student had to complete a ‘means test’, and on the strength of this I had to assess each student for the proportion of residence fees applicable.
All the academic staff were paid monthly on set scales, and the administrative staff likewise. The Bursar was responsible for paying the weekly paid personnel such as cleaners, cooks and kitchen help. The Bursar had her own bank account which was fed from the main account under the ‘imprest’ system. Thus I was able to keep reasonable control of the day-to-day expenditure. I had to report periodically to the House Committee and thence to Council on the state of finances, and at the end of the financial year in July prepare annual accounts for submission to the Ministry. I was in constant touch with Heads of Departments about their own proposed and budgeted expenses. I hope the system worked successfully.
Buildings
When I first saw St Gabriel’s in Cormont Road, it was still war-damaged and the staff and students had not long returned from Doncaster. There was no second floor, the roof was temporary and the habitable areas shabby and discoloured. Students lived in Dover House, White Lodge and Tower House. Council thought seriously about moving the whole location outside London. We viewed a potential site in Berkshire, but eventually decided to remain in Camberwell and extend the building, refurbishing and adding a new second floor. Later, with the increasing numbers of students, we had to build new halls of residence: Armytage House, Kingston House, Stannard Hall and Brooke Hall, and adding the Gym at Tower House and the Sports Ground at Dulwich. For some time we had students living in houses in Brixton Road. All this required an enormous amount of organisation on the part of the Bursar and her staff.
Administration
The Bursar and her assistant were responsible for all the day-to-day running of the College buildings, their care and maintenance and the catering. A matron looked after the health of the College with the help of a visiting doctor. The Registrar oversaw all student applications, their grants and everything connected with their immediate career on leaving. The Principal’s Secretary was entirely concerned with the academic work of the College. When I came to the College the Bursar was Mrs Wynn-Cornish; she was followed by Miss Gaitskell (cousin of Hugh Gaitskell, then the leader of the Labour Party), then Miss Penman who sadly had to retire early after a serious car accident, and finally Miss Lanes who saw the College through its final stages in Cormont Road.
Staff
My memory of a large number of staff is vivid and always pleasant; I could name many whom I recall over the years. I kept in constant touch with the Principals, and invariably met with them for a short time on each occasion I visited College. In 1946 Dr McKie was Principal, and when she retired Miss Atkinson was appointed. As Secretary to the Council I was heavily involved in the process of the appointment – there were more than sixty applicants to deal with, and the House Committee sifted these down to a short list of three, who were then interviewed by the full Council. This process was repeated when Miss Atkinson retired and Miss Blackburn was appointed. She had been on the teaching staff since the days at Doncaster, so no one could have brought more familiarity, more expertise and more authority to this very demanding post.
Council and Committee
The House Committee was a General Purpose and Finance Committee combined, consisting of about eight members of Council; the Chairman was not necessarily the Chairman of the Council. In 1946 Canon Armytage from Windsor chaired the House Committee and the Bishop of Kingston chaired the Council. Subsequent Chairmen of Council included Bishop Stannard, Bishop of Woolwich, Mr Walters, the Treasurer, and latterly Mrs Lamb, who subsequently continued to chair the Trust. Some very well known figures of the Church were members of Council. Canon Stopford became Bishop of London, Canon Eastaugh, Bishop of Peterborough, and Canon Brown, Bishop of Birmingham. Canon Holtby later became Dean of Chichester and Canon Fenton Morley, one-time Chaplain to the College, became Dean of Salisbury.
The Council met once in each term and the House Committee more often if the occasion demanded. At first I had to keep the minutes, a task I did not relish, but fortunately the Principal’s Secretary took over this somewhat daunting operation. I remember one romance in Council: Canon Eastaugh met Lady Laura Palmer when they were both councillors, and they married shortly afterwards, to the surprise and pleasure of everyone.
The Merger with Goldsmiths
For some years before 1976 the Department of Education had been concerned about the dwindling number of students. They had stipulated that unless a college had at least 400 students it could not be regarded as a viable unit. St Gabriel’s and Rachel MacMillan College were forced to link up with Goldsmiths College. The detailed and far-reaching talks that preceded this merger were interesting but time-consuming, and the whole procedure was tinged with sadness that St Gabriel’s was going to lose its identity after only seventy-five years’ existence. Several of the teaching staff left for pastures new, as did all the administrative staff. The buildings were sold to Goldsmiths at the market value at the time, but we had to repay all the loans and grants we had received in earlier years from the Department of Education and from the Church. After this had been done, there was still a balance of some £300,000 to fund the St Gabriel’s Trust.
St Gabriel’s Trust
The Trust was formed immediately the merger had taken place, and I was fortunate to be appointed its Secretary and remained so until my retirement in 1987. The first Trustees included Mrs Lamb as Chairman, Mr Martin, Dame Margaret Drummond, Miss Blackburn, Revd Dennen and Revd Kirk. Again we met three times a year to consider applications for grants, many from students studying Religious Education. The Trust has since gone from strength to strength, both financially and in its influence throughout the country. Long may this continue.
