Burch, Glynn

OT 90 - West

Date of Death: 31/12/2014

Taken from The Gazette No 61

A moving eulogy delivered by a longstanding friend began “One man in his time plays many parts”: a reference not only to the varied career history of his friend but to the many significant activities in which Glynn had participated in his life, and to the numerous roles he had performed in amateur dramatic societies through the years, foreshadowed in Ottershaw School plays many years previously.

Glynn was born in Woking, and at the age of eight he won a place at King’s College School, Cambridge, where, as a young boy, he began a lifelong love of music. He would later return to Cambridge as a student. In May 1949 he became a pupil at the new boarding school founded by the Surrey County Council in Ottershaw Park. The Mansion itself was occupied by North and East Houses – as well, of course, as the Headmaster, Arthur Foot. A new boarding house was planned, which was to become West House, but this was not completed until 1951. Thus, as a member of West House he spent two years boarding at Lyne Hill House, travelling in every morning at 8am. He was a popular pupil, modest and  unassuming, who participated in a wide range of activities.He continued his love of music in the school choir and began his interest in drama, taking part in school plays. A keen athlete and sportsman, he played rugby for the School First XV and was an outstanding swimmer. He was also one of the early editors of the Ottershaw Weekly News. He was the first Ottershavian to gain a place at Oxford or Cambridge, being accepted by Pembroke College, Cambridge.

On leaving school, Glynn commenced National Service with the Royal West Surrey Regiment and after initial training went to Malaya as a medical orderly. At the end of his service he took up his place at Pembroke College, where he renewed his interest in drama and sang in the College choir. He also took up rowing and was a member of the winning College crew in the Ladies Plate at the Henley Regatta in 1957, thus distinguishing himself as one of the few Old Boys to make his name in that sport. After graduation Glynn commenced an interesting and varied career in business. These business activities were wide-ranging, including work study, personnel and training management, industrial relations (in companies including ICI), and hospital staff management at the London Clinic. During a career break he had studied at the London School of Economics, gaining an MSc in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, which enabled him to pursue
such a diverse professional life. Despite this multifaceted and intensive business career,

Glynn continued to develop his musical and thespian interests. He formed and performed in several bands over the years graduating from the bass drum to the trombone. One band in particular, Random, gained quite a degree of recognition. He was equally active in amateur dramatics, where he performed a variety of roles, not only in the works of Shakespeare and the mediaeval playwrights but also in those of many contemporary dramatists. With all this, he was a devoted family man. He and his wife Sheila, their son Simon and their two daughters Sara and Kate travelled widely throughout Europe in their camper van. Their trips took them from Sweden in the North to Tuscany and Greece in the South.

In domestic life as in business and with his hobbies, variety and enthusiasm were keynotes. His life was typified by loyalty, love, devotion to family and friends and the unselfish giving of himself to others. Glynn is and will continue to be greatly missed.

Peter Jones