Howard (Anthony) Northam (OW 1957)

(30 December 1937 – 2023)

The Waynflete Office has been informed by his son Simon of the death of OW Howard Northam at the age of 85. We are grateful to Simon for these words about his father:

Although Dad’s first name was Anthony he was always known as Howard, and it will certainly be the name by which his contemporaries knew him. Dad studied History at Balliol College following his time at Magdalen College School and then completed two years of National Service where he was attached to the RAF Mountain Rescue team.  In 1963 he took a position as a teacher at Bolton School, an Independent School up in Lancashire (now Greater Manchester) where he remained until his retirement in 1996.  For much of the last 20 years of his time at Bolton School, Dad was the First Year Block Master and responsible for the entrance exams required to be taken to receive an offer of a place at the school.  Not surprisingly Dad was also heavily involved in the school sporting life and led regular trips to Austria fell walking in the Austrian Alps.  He married my mother, Judi, in 1963 and she is still living in Bolton. I also have a sister, Anna.

Following his retirement, both Dad and Mum did a number of “big trips” to Nepal and Everest Base Camp, Peru and Borneo, in keeping with his love of outdoor adventure. He also spent a lot of time researching our Family Tree which has taken him around the country to look at local records which he then meticulously documented.  The last few years have been quieter although he remained an avid reader of both fiction and history, amassing quite a library in the house!