We were saddened to hear of the passing of Stafford Ellerman (OE1944-47) who attended Emanuel shortly after the school reopened in 1943 whilst the majority of pupils remained ensconced in Petersfield until 1945.
In the earlier stages of the war, Stafford was evacuated to Bath before spending three years at Emanuel. During his time at school, Stafford was awarded a Mathematics prize. He left school at seventeen after completing his London General Schools Certificate whilst in 5B to join the NatWest Bank.
Apart from his National Service in the RAF, he remained with the bank for his entire career, moving around various London branches after starting out in Clapham. Stafford’s great interest was transport, in particular buses, coaches, trains and paddle-steamers. He travelled widely, particularly around the UK, and was fond of coastal trips, particularly if they involved steam travel. For many years Stafford was treasurer of the Paddle Steamer Medway Queen and was very generous with his time in supporting this historic tourist attraction.
It was always lovely to see Stafford at Dacre Day, browsing our photographic displays with his great friend Brinsley Sheridan and at other reunion functions.
Tony Jones, Archivist
Stafford (far left) at the Pre-1959 Reunion in 2019 with Brinsley Sheridan, Peter Monk and Peter Jones