Tony Joyce, Honorary OW

(8 September 1929 – 21 July 2023)

The Waynflete Office has been informed of the death of Tony Joyce, former MCS Usher (1968 – 1972). Tony is pictured above right with Director of Alumni Relations Alan Cooper on a visit to MCS in 2021.

Below we share the eulogy from Tony’s funeral, written by his son Oliver:

Anthony Michael Joyce was born on 8 September 1929 to parents Lucy, a PE teacher and Arthur, director of an engineering company. They were living in Harrow at this time and 5 years later Tony had a younger sister, Wendy. By all accounts Tony and Wendy enjoyed a happy and idyllic childhood and were doted on by their parents. He was always out and about, playing with friends in the street, including Wendy with whom he was very close.

Tony attended Merchant Taylors School in Northwood. He was academically gifted, as well as sporty. He was a popular Head Boy and played in the cricket, hockey and rugby teams. This success at school secured him a place at Pembroke College, Cambridge, studying Physics. He played in the fives and cricket teams whilst he studied there.

Following graduation he undertook National Service. He was commissioned at Dartmouth Royal Naval College and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander while teaching at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon. This experience set him on the path of a teaching career, his first formal teaching post being at Oundle School, near Peterborough. From here the next step was becoming a Housemaster at Clifton College in Bristol, where he stayed for 10 years and married his childhood sweetheart, Jenny, on 6 August 1955. Jenny and Tony went on to raise 3 children, Caroline, Stephen and Oliver. Sadly, Jenny is no longer with us having passed in 2004.

After Clifton College he secured the post of Usher at the prestigious Magdalen College School in Oxford where he stayed from 1968 to 1972. He fell in love with the city of dreaming spires and not only enjoyed the academic environment but also loved the architectural beauty and history of the city. He and Jenny bought a family home in Headington. When his professional life later took him to Lancaster Royal Grammar School with a promotion to Headmaster for 11 years, they kept the Headington home to return to in the summer holidays. As Head of Lancaster Royal Grammar School, one of his proudest achievements was preserving the school’s selective status when this came under threat. Tony believed vigorously in maintaining high standards in the pursuit of excellence and also offering opportunities to all.

Tony’s esteemed teaching career finally culminated in the post of Headmaster of Plymouth College. As well as guiding the school forward, he enjoyed the relaxed Devon lifestyle that he remembered from his naval days. He rekindled his naval connection by serving on the Admiralty Interview Board for a number of years.

When he took his retirement at 62, he and Jenny returned to Oxford to enjoy the next part of their lives. He became a founder member and chair of Headington Residents’ Association. Retiring from teaching gave him the time and opportunity to throw himself into his other great passion – town planning! He pressed for changes and improvements in Oxford City, lobbying MPs and seeking pragmatic solutions to problems, insisting things were done properly. With his natural leadership qualities, he soon became Chairman of The Oxford Civic Society to preserve Oxford’s heritage. He exerted his influence at the Museum Trust, the Canal Trust and Oxford’s Transport System and was involved in decision making for the development of the Castle site, the pedestrianisation of Cornmarket and Broad Street, and the merging of Radcliffe Infirmary with the John Radcliffe Hospital. Other credits include involvement with the Blue Plaque scheme and the volunteer-led annual spring clean that is OxClean.

I came across an article in the Oxford Mail from November 2010, where Sir Hugo Brunner, a former Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, summed up the ‘Joyce approach’: “Tony is no firebrand, but he is resolute, even brave. And his concern is for the whole city, as much for the disadvantaged areas as for the historic city centre.” He was honoured with an award acknowledging his exceptional service to the city.

In terms of pastimes, he maintained a love of sport and enjoyed watching Tennis, Rugby, Cricket and Snooker on TV. He was also a great fan of Inspector Morse, of course! A deep appreciation of culture included art, literature, history, theatre and opera. Another keen interest was gardens, taking design ideas from other gardens to inspire his own landscaping plans at home. He and Jenny went on garden tours around Europe including the Italian Lakes. He and both wives, Jenny and later Kate, enjoyed travelling and exploring the food and culture of Italy and France. They visited Canada several times but perhaps his most memorable trip was taking the epic Trans-Siberian Railway that links Moscow to Vladivostok (over 9000 kilometres of track!).

After Jenny’s death, Tony focused his energy on his various interests and it was through the Oxford Civic Society that he became acquainted with Kate Miller, then working as the planning secretary. With their shared values and energy for instigating local changes, they soon developed a loving relationship and on 15 April 2006, they married. Kate and Tony had 12 happy years together until she too passed 6 years ago. He embraced her Quaker beliefs and became an active member of the Oxford Quaker community.

Kate’s children, Clare and Fred, have been an important part of Tony’s life since then. Clare and her children in particular have been hugely supportive and caring in his last years.

As a person, Tony was a natural communicator. He loved social gatherings and parties, his distinctive laugh always there in the background. His excellent social skills would be put to good use, engaging folk in conversations, listening attentively and sharing his knowledge with others.

He remained curious throughout his life, always keen to hear what his children and grandchildren were up to. He felt the best thing he could do in life was to acquire and impart useful knowledge to others. Tony departed peacefully from this world, loving family at his bedside. He had an outstanding career and achieved much in life. He was a man of influence who took on many challenges that mattered; Oxford City has a lot to thank him for. So too do his family and friends, who will miss him dearly for the inspiration that he was and how he contributed to their worlds

The school flag flew at half mast in Tony’s honour marking his roles as former Usher and acting Master.

We are grateful to former MCS Usher (1977-99) Honorary OW John Harrop for these words about Tony’s time at MCS:

Ian Thomson retired as Usher of MCS in July 1968, a year after Alan Tammadge became Master, and the Schools Committee of the College appointed as his successor Tony Joyce, a housemaster at Clifton. Tony had been Head Boy at Merchant Taylors before going up to Pembroke, Cambridge. After National Service in the Navy, Tony started his career at Oundle teaching Physics. He then moved to Clifton and started at MCS in September 1968.

On becoming Usher Tony not only took on the usual routine of a deputy head but also effectively became the bursar, a role previously filled by Bob Stanier when he was Master. In those days there was a School Secretary and very little else in the way of support staff. Tony enthusiastically embraced Alan Tammadge’s vision for a range of buildings along the Iffley Road to incorporate form rooms and much-needed house rooms which a few years later resulted in the opening of the new biology labs and Music school, the two ends of the planned building. Money was tight, political storm clouds were gathering with the phasing out of Direct Grants but Tony remained ever-optimistic.

When Alan Tammadge left to become Head of Sevenoaks in 1971 Tony became Acting Master for two terms during which he gained valuable experience, made some good appointments and created a new house, Leicester, inviting me to be housemaster. The College had appointed Bill Cook, the Head of Durham School to be the new Master. Tony meanwhile was successful in his application to become Head of Lancaster Royal Grammar School but served one further term under Bill Cook helping him to settle in amidst rumours in the press about the possible closure of MCS as the College had set up a committee to look into its future with the imminent end of Direct Grant status.

Tony spent several years at Lancaster fighting a successful battle to maintain its selective entry and then moved on to become Head of Plymouth College. Although he was only at MCS for four years he maintained his affection for the school and for Oxford. He and his wife Jenny kept their house in Headington as a base for school holidays and later retirement. When he retired he became very involved in Oxford civic affairs working closely with the Council on planning and heritage matters. He was also a fairly regular attendee at OW functions well into his 90s.