Myles Arkell
Former Staff
Myles Arkell (MCR, 1955 – 1990)
Died on 2nd September 2021.
Myles Arkell was born June 16, 1932, in Northampton and grew up there. He attended Eagle Hurst Prep School and then Aldenham where he excelled both academically and in the sporting arena. He was an excellent and effective left-arm, slow spin bowler, a competitive swimmer, hockey, Eton fives and football player.
He left school and completed two years National Service, becoming a lieutenant in The Royal Artillery. He served in both Edinburgh and Belfast. It was during this time that he became a most efficient boxer, winning most of his matches in the first round. A deliberate policy, he said, to minimise pain.
After his National Service, Myles took up a place at King’s College, Cambridge to read History. While at Cambridge he played cricket, hockey and Eton fives for the University, hockey for the Midlands and South of England and Cricket a few times for Northamptonshire when he memorably fielded short leg for Frank Tyson, one of the fastest bowlers in history.
Myles joined St Edwards school in 1955, a very early Frank Fisher appointment. He was based in the History Department with John Todd, Charles Mather, Fran Prichard and Malcolm Oxley. It was a strong and convivial department and he thrived there. He is remembered by his contemporaries as a thoroughly nice man who never uttered a cruel or unkind remark and as an outstanding schoolmaster, valued colleague and friend. Many letters the family received after his death speak not only of his inspirational teaching but also of his patience and diligence in giving any extra help that might be needed. He was a considerate but firm teacher with a twinkle in his eye who went to great pains to encourage and support boys in their learning. There are legions of boys who went on to study History at university because of him.
He also taught English and grew to love it as much as History. So many boys passing through his Shell form credit him with their love of reading as he created an environment where books were easily accessible and fun. And both History and English students appreciated immensely that there was always one question on a test that they knew they would be able to answer – “which is the best football team?” Northampton Cobblers, of course.
Myles sense of fun was evident as a long-standing member of the English O level awarding team for the Oxford Examinations Board. He with his friends John Vernon and Colin Dexter spent hilarious hours gathering together unintentional but amusing grammar and spelling mistakes from that year’s papers, to be cherished but never published.
St Edwards was to benefit hugely when he became master in charge of hockey and master in charge of cricket. As master in charge of hockey, he coached winning XIs and led legendary tours to The Netherlands. But he is especially remembered for the cricket, where he teamed up with Brian Edrich to develop successful first XIs. Countless old boys reminisce about the joy of playing cricket at St Edwards and many come back year after year to play for The Martyrs Cricket Club, which Myles used to organise and manage. Myles always created a happy environment and ensured that the game was played in the right spirit. Nothing was taken too seriously. One old boy remembers a match against Radley where he ran out their captain with a direct throw to the stumps. He asked Myles and Brian after the game whether they had seen this amazing throw. “Terribly sorry” came the reply, “we were in the Red Lion”!
Myles was Housemaster of Field House from 1971 to 1983. He is recalled for his kindness, humour and sense of fair play. Many of the boys passing through his house remained in contact with him until the end and have always felt that they were part of a larger family. Indeed, when the Arkell family dog died suddenly, the boys all clubbed together to buy them a replacement who was swiftly named Cobbler after his favourite football team! They recognised how close Myles was to his dogs, who would follow him as he walked the fields each morning while reading his newspaper.
On passing the reins of Field House to Robert Aldrich, Myles insisted that “they were all good boys”. And it was this willingness to see the good in everyone that was especially appreciated. Although this may have been seriously tested when the roof of Sings house was graffitied with giant anti-nuclear weapon slogans, it was vividly celebrated on other occasions, when both Fran Pritchard and Myles joined in the Sings vs Field House snowball fights on the fields.
Myles, his wife Ann and their four children, Ros, Clare, Nick and David were very much a part of the St Edwards fabric. It was their home for many years and was a closely knit community. Indeed, both Nick and David went to Teddies themselves. Younger colleagues have emphasised how grateful they will always be for the kind, generous and wonderful support they received from Myles and Ann, especially, in helping them to settle into the rhythm of school life.
Myles retired in 1990 and eventually moved to the Cotswolds to become an active member of Leafield village. With Ann, he was a stalwart member of St Michael’s Church and Chairman of the Governors of the village school, where he also helped with remedial reading.
He continued to be actively involved in the educational world, working for The Gap Year Project to find and assess work placements in Canada for school leavers. It gave him and Ann a chance to travel and also a good excuse to visit daughter Clare, who lived in Vancouver at that time.
He leaves behind his wife, four children, 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. A modest and gentle man, a true gentleman if you will, Myles was content to leave the limelight to others. That he touched the lives of so many so deeply is surely the most fitting testimony to the quiet achievements of this devoted member of the St Edwards community.
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