Interview with former School Captain, Christopher Kelley (OE1960-68)

Former School Captain, Chris Kelley, went on to a distinguished career in surgery. He was appointed as Consultant General Surgeon at Ealing and then Mount Vernon and Hillingdon NHS Trust. He became an honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College and examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. We caught up with Chris to ask him about his experiences as a School Captain at Emanuel.

     Emanuel taught me to seize every opportunity that comes your way and never give up – everything is achievable if you stick with it.”

 What are your best memories of Emanuel?

I still vividly remember my first day at Emanuel as I walked down the seemingly never-ending drive in my new Harrods uniform and found my two friends from my previous school in the quadrangle in front of the Hampden Hall. The three of us stayed good friends throughout our time there but, sadly, we lost contact when we left some seven years later. Emanuel gave me the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of activities, including my first taste of rugby union which I still follow avidly to this day. The academic curriculum was extensive and all inclusive, driven by a dedicated team of enthusiastic teachers, some with a more fearsome reputation than others, but they all had our best interests at heart (at least, for the most part, we thought they did!) and were often involved in the wide range of extra-curricular activities available ranging from drama to sport and the CCF.

What were your responsibilities as School Captain?

As School Captain I was responsible for appointing the other prefects and organising the rotas of the School and Sub prefects, in conjunction with the Senior Sub prefect, and help maintain discipline throughout the school which was, mostly, reasonably straight forward. There were, as always, a number of “usual suspects” that seemed to be behind most of the misdemeanours that occurred and it usually fell to the School Captain to keep these miscreants in line, usually achievable with some good humour on both sides. I had regular meetings with the Headmaster and Second Master to relate back the general feeling within the school and perhaps come up with ways to help things run smoothly. I would also represent the school in functions in the local community and would visit the feeder junior schools to tell the prospective Emanuel boys what they could expect if they passed their eleven plus and were lucky enough to be accepted to join us.

Can you share any funny moments from your time as School Captain?

There were many happy and funny moments during my time but I do remember one occasion when I was told of a group of new boys who had been trapped in their classroom by a “vicious” wild animal. When I and two other prefects got there we found a small group of boys in one corner of the room in a Mexican standoff with a tiny mouse in the opposite corner. The mouse displayed an impressive set of incisors, especially for such a small creature. We managed to cover the poor little thing with a large glass retort and were able to humanely move it out on the corner of the playing field.

Who was the Head during your time as School Captain? What are your memories of them?

The Head Master was Charles Kuper and the Second Master was Peter Hendry. They had very different personalities with Dr Kuper a strict disciplinarian and Mr Hendry more quiet and reflective but both were very approachable and supportive.

Did any particular teachers at Emanuel influence you in life or your career path?

It was at the very early age of 13 that I decided to follow a career in medicine. In those days this meant following a scientific pathway leading to the four science A levels of physics, chemistry, zoology and botany. The latter were taught by Mr Stanley Inward who was always very helpful and encouraging; he even awarded me the biology prize so I must have done something right. It was his support that kept me on the on the appropriate trajectory leading to my successful exam results.