On Saturday 17th June a Thanksgiving Service took place for John Langham in the beautiful setting of Milton Abbey in Dorset. The service was well attended and back at Bedford School the flags at the Langham Pavilion were flown at half-mast as a tribute to John who was a great supporter of the School. Many will remember that John, and his wife Betty, played a crucial part in the Campaign for Sport and in particular lead the charge when it came to the refurbishment of the Pavilion.
John sadly passed away at the end of April aged 93. He attended the School from 1937 to 1942 and then went on to read Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s College, Cambridge. Whilst at Cambridge, he captained the University Rugby XV and also rowed. After this, he had a successful career in marine engineering, being at the forefront of propeller technology and design. In 1976 he was awarded a CBE for his immense contribution to this industry and for a number of significant developments he had lead.
Interestingly, when he played against Oxford in 1943 and went to meet the opposition captain for the toss of the coin, he was delighted to find that it was a fellow Old Bedfordian, Ben Garton-Sprenger, who had been two years ahead of John at Bedford. Amazingly, Ben also only passed away last year aged 95 having spent his career as a chemical engineer. It was obviously an impressive vintage!
A full obituary will appear in the Ousel at the end of the year. As always, we request that OBs notify the Office team when a fellow OB or former member of staff passes away so that we can pass on the condolences of the Old Bedfordians Club and School to the family.
* photo: John Langham with Betty and Alastair Cook (98-03) at the opening of the Langham Pavilion in 2012