We were saddened to hear of the passing of Peter J Lewis (OE1953-60) who was both a great supporter of the school and friend of alumni who visited Australia, his adopted home of many years. Peter had an outstanding school career in which he was a Prefect, Captain of Cricket (1960) and also played for the 1st XV between 1958-60. As well as being House Captain of Marlborough, Peter played squash, was a Sergeant in the CCF and was a member of the Science Society.

Although cricket was undoubtedly Peter’s chosen sport, he was also a very fine hooker on the rugby field and was known to work very hard in the scrum. He also played football on a Sunday morning in a semi-official school football team. When Peter was in the Sixth Form, Marlborough were extremely competitive and The Portcullis noted his invaluable contribution in winning the Parents’ Shield. As a cricketer, Peter kept wicket and bowled, playing a key role in the 1st XI having a completely undefeated season, a feat which is incredibly rare in school cricket. This notable achievement included a tour of the south of England. Peter was incredibly proud of this achievement and he and a large contingent of the team returned to Emanuel to celebrate the fiftieth achievement of their finest hour.

When Peter left school, he was awarded the Parents’ Association Prize for Services to the School and later attended Imperial College to study Mineral Technology. Peter was always proud of his years at Emanuel and, coming from humble working class origins, appreciated the sacrifices his parents made to allow him to attend. This qualification allowed Peter to travel extensively and his first job was in a big copper mine in Mount Isa, in Queensland, Australia, where his two children Anna and John were born.

Peter moved to Ireland in 1967 to work in a tin mine in County Tipperary and from 1970-1985 was employed by Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd, London, latterly as Group Metallurgist, on work mainly associated with new mine developments in Europe, the USA and the Middle East.

Whilst living in the UK, he enjoyed keeping wicket for the OEs 2nd XI and his daughter, Anna, recalled, “many wonderful afternoons watching him play and we learned to score so we could enjoy the wonderful high teas Blagdons was famous for”. Over the decades, Peter kept in touch with the school and enjoyed helping with research enquiries, passing on news of OEs in Australia and helped write obituaries to his contemporaries.

In 1986, Peter returned to Australia and joined Elders Resources based in Sydney where he was responsible for metallurgical development and design at the Selwyn and Red Dome mines in Queensland. A few years later, he practiced as a well-respected independent consulting metallurgist and worked on assignments throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

He loved his job and it took him all over the world. He was awarded Fellowships of both UK (FIMMM) & Australian (FAusIMM(CP) Institutions of Minerals & Mining.

He married again in Australia to a lovely English nurse, Donna, with whom he continued his love of travel, often vising the UK to catch up with friends and family. He loved hosting OE events in Sydney and helped organise the OE cricket tour in 1990/1. He continued to play cricket for Mosman CC and Ashfield CC (with John) and took up golf and croquet. In his later years, he enjoyed watching his grandsons play cricket, and cherished any time spent with his family.

Tony Jones, Archivist

1958 cricket tour scrap book

Peter Lewis, Charles Markum and Mike Lewis