Humphrey Nye (1957)

1938-2024

Humphrey Nye 1936–2024

Humphrey was born in Beckenham, south London, although his family moved to Dulwich shortly after WW2, and in 1946 Humphrey followed his elder brother David to Dulwich College where he was a keen member of the CCF. Notwithstanding the tragedy of David’s drowning aged 16 while the boys were away together on a sailing camp in North Wales, Humphrey went on to become Company Sergeant Major of the CCF, played in the unbeaten 1953-54 1^st XV, and was School Captain 1954-55.

In common with many of his generation, Humphrey did National Service before university, in his case with 19^th Signal Regiment in Singapore and Malaysia. This was followed by further service as a Territorial in the Royal Signals and in the Artists Rifles. After going up to Queens’ in 1957, Humphrey continued his passion for rugger and sport in general, vice-captaining the college XV on their 1960 tour of France and also joining the Boat Club and the Kangaroos. Following graduation in 1960 he stayed on at Cambridge to train as a teacher, carrying out his teaching practice at Haileybury where he remained for his entire career.

At Haileybury, he was swiftly appointed an assistant housemaster and after a few years took over the Haileybury CCF, serving two periods as Lt Col Commanding: 1970-1978 and 1990-1992. In between these he served twelve years as housemaster of Melvill, and when head of maths he initiated computing at Haileybury. He was also i/c sailing, and coached rugby at all levels in the school.

In 1994 Humphrey moved to Shropshire to be closer to other family members who had also migrated from the London area. Early retirement gave him the opportunity to continue his service to the CCF and to travel: amongst other things he led the Council for Cadet Rifle Shooting under-18s (Athelings) team tour of Canada in 1995, and supervised the UK CCF shooting contingent at the main Bisley meeting from 1997 to 2000. In later years he applied his puzzle-solving skills to family history, and continued to support many societies and good causes, both national and local. Following a gradual, then sudden, decline in his general health he moved into a nursing home in May 2024, and passed away peacefully in the early hours of November 19^th. To the last, he was always good company, a generous host, and a dutiful and committed servant to everything in which he believed.

Peter Clarke (Nat.Sci. 1989-92)