I recently attended the funeral of my brother-in-law, David Hutchings, who was a fellow Old Churcherian (1940-47). Born in Southsea and starting his education in the Portsmouth Grammar Junior School, his family evacuated inland to Liss in 1940 and David joined Churcher’s College.

David was a tall, strong boy and was a keen member of the Junior Training Corps. He appears in the College Team for the Ashburton Competition 3^rd July 1947 in the History of Churcher’s College (p.16) and carried the big bass drum! In those days the college provided various extra curricular courses, among which David undertook ‘Railway Operating’ while completing his Cambridge School Certificate!

David left Churcher’s to join the Royal Armoured Corps as part of his National Service and subsequently transferred to the 8^th Royal Tank Regiment, based in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

At the age of 21 we find David as Inspector in the Ugandan Police Force, Kampala! Following an enquiry he had made he was offered the post of Assistant Inspector and was duly dispatched to Mombasa on the MV Durban Castle via the Mediterranean and Suez Canal, and then by steam train to Kampala. However on arrival it looked like it could be a short lived adventure as, on reporting for duty at Kampala Police HQ, they had absolutely no idea why David was there! Either the Crown Agents for the Colonies had not been informed or had forgotten that the Ugandan police had stopped recruiting from the UK preferring to promote from within the local force. Disaster was averted by the fastest promotion in history for by immediately promoting David to the rank of full Inspector the local restriction didn’t apply! His uniform arrived with two stripes and not one as he was expecting. Uganda at that time was a peaceful country and the job not overtaxing. In his role he acted as police courier collecting diplomatic mail from Entebbe airport, was second in command in the Finger Print Bureau and finally publisher of the Uganda Police Gazette. Although David only completed one tour of duty he did manage to see quite a bit of Africa and had a tale or two to tell.

On his return to the UK, David joined the family house furnishing business in Southsea where he worked 15 years until it closed in 1966. With his substantial contacts within the furnishing industry David’s services were in demand and he pursued a career working in senior sales management positions with three major bedding companies, his last being seven years at Harrods in Knightsbridge until his retirement in 1995. During his working life David enjoyed meeting many famous personalities and recounted with delight his sale and personal delivery of beds to Shirley Bassey and Susan Hampshire!

David’s love of DIY and woodworking skills kept him very busy in ‘retirement’ embarking on numerous projects at his local Christ Church School, Surbiton where he was relief caretaker, his tennis club and wherever his talents could be put to use.

David’s strength and upright bearing displayed from those days in the JTC at Churcher’s remained with him until he had to retire from his weekly tennis matches at the age of 88! After a short period of failing health he passed away a few days before his 90^th birthday.

David married Barbara Fiander in 1958. She survives him together with their daughter and two sons, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.