Page 32 - The Keble Review 2016

Farewell to...
32
The Keble Review 2016
Revd Professor Dennis Nineham Former Warden
(1921-2016)
Sir Christopher Ball (Ninth Warden), writes:
Dennis was the eighth Warden of the College – and one of the best. He served for ten years from 1969 to 1979, between spells in Cambridge and Bristol where he held prestigious Chairs of Theology: his first love was scholarship and teaching. Look at the portrait in Hall to catch the spirit of the man – mindful, didactic, humorous. He led the College through an era of change in which the Gladstonian ideals of widening access to the University were re-emphasised – for example, by the admission of women in 1979 – while relaxing the influence of the High Church tradition associated with the name of John Keble – for example, by opening the Wardenship to lay people. Others have written perceptively about his contribution to theological scholarship and the resolution of the tension between the dictates of faith and reason. He was one who would have approved of the guidance of Simone Weil, a modern Christian mystic, who taught that, when confronted by an apparent conflict between scriptural authority and scientific evidence (‘Christ and truth’), Jesus would wish us to follow the truth. He did.
I recall his kindly wisdom and sharp intelligence. He once told me the story of the departing college head who gave his successor three letters – to be opened in turn, whenever the government of the college proved difficult. After a few years the new Principal opened the first letter – which read: ‘Blame your predecessor’. The problems were solved – for a time. Some years later it became necessary to open the second letter: ‘Re-organise the committees’. All was well for a time, but in the end the beleaguered Principal had to open the third letter – which read: ‘Now, write your three letters’.
Dennis, and Ruth his remarkable wife, were a formidable couple who graced the Lodgings and served the College faithfully and generously. Their kindness, commitment and good humour will be remembered by all who knew them. After a long and happy marriage they died only a few months apart. She was an exemplary wife and mother – and much else besides. He was a good teacher, a good scholar, a good leader, a good man – and a hard act to follow.
Dr Denys Potts
Besse Fellow and Tutor in French (1923-2016)
Michael Hawcroft (Besse Fellow and Tutor in French), writes:
In 1989, when Denys Potts retired after thirty-seven
years as Besse Fellow and Tutor in French, he said that his successor would enjoy the students very much more than he would enjoy the Governing Body. Denys certainly enjoyed the students, both undergraduates and graduates, and many kept in touch with him until his death. They appreciated his kindness, his geniality and his quiet encouragement.
Denys had turned to French in his mid twenties through genuine interest. Indeed, both he and his wife Doraine, who survives him, were to share an infectious love of France, its language and literature.
Denys had in fact read Mathematics at Brasenose and had started a career at Rolls-Royce before deciding to return to take a degree in French and afterwards a DPhil on the seventeenth-century Epicurean writer Saint-Evremond. Whilst Denys’ research career, both pre- and post- retirement, ranged widely (and included important work on Boileau, Molière and Eluard), he sustained his interest in Saint-Evremond up to the end.
Epicurean himself, Denys had no time for dogma of any kind, but unrestrainedly indulged a deep passion for theatre and music, especially opera. Until well into his eighties, he and Doraine travelled indefatigably in pursuit of unmissable performances.
If Denys was wary of the Governing Body in 1989, it was
no doubt because he had just served as Sub-Warden at a difficult time in the College’s history. Having previously been Dean, Fellow Librarian and President of the Senior Common Room, Denys had, with other key colleagues, devoted almost four decades to making the College a humane and liberal place with an academic reputation considerably better than it had enjoyed in 1952. The Governing Body had much cause to be grateful for his patience and wisdom.