Tim Cecil (OW 1963)

Tim sadly passed away on 29 September 2017. His brother, fellow OW Desmond (1961) supplied the following words:

After leaving Magdalen College School (1954-1963), where he notably developed the electrical system in the Big School roof, Tim Cecil went on to Exeter College Oxford and graduated in Chemistry.

He initially worked as an engineer, and then became heavily involved in running coach trips abroad, for example to Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Nepal and elsewhere. He set up his own independent bus company (based near Luton), with local school and community runs, as well as more exotic trips overseas. The company expanded, and he was personally involved in every aspect of the business – mechanical, financial and caring staff management.

He married Ursula Rotton, an artist/potter whom he met on a coach trip to Russia and supported her in her artistic work. They had two sons, Rob and Tom, both now married with children of their own. It remains a close-knit family.

In 2003 Tim sold his thriving bus company, and they moved to Dinan in Brittany. He liked the French way of life, not to mention the local oysters and wine. He and Ursula restored their beautiful old house on the edge of the historic town centre. They became very integrated into the local community, she through her pottery and he as Treasurer of the Dinan Rotary Club for many years. In his final weeks, when he was suffering from cancer and a stroke, their local French friends were immensely supportive, as were Rob, Tom and their families.

He loved music, playing the trumpet, history, life, jokes and people. All of these facets of his personality were movingly represented at his funeral at Saint-Pierre-de-Plesguen in Brittany on 6 October 2017, when a large number of family and friends, British and French, gathered to celebrate his life.