Derek Thornbery - In Memoriam

Daniel Antony Livette: It was an honour to attend the funeral of Derek Thornbery yesterday. I felt honoured, and that's how he made you feel: honoured to know him; honoured to listen to him; laugh with him; to play tennis with him; to run away from him and for anyone out there that had the pleasure to play music with him.

Can anyone tell me how Doc managed to squeeze teaching lessons into his day? The man was inexhaustible, and with it we all fell under his warm wing: a fair, caring and absolutely no nonsense kind of guy. And I'll put the emphasis on fair. If there's one thing we can all come away from Woolverstone after a stint with the Doc is the lesson of how to be fair. And the lesson is he didn't teach fairness .... he simply showed it.

May He Rest In Peace .....

Kyriacos Zap Tsaparelli: When we set up the Memorial day for Doc Thornbery at Ipswich High School for Girls, they literally bent over backwards to accommodate us and gave us the use of the school auditorium, opened up Orwell House and allowed us to wander around and to feel the energy of Woolverstone Hall.

The catering was above and beyond the call of duty for about 150 people who attended, and they even displayed some old school photographs.

Donations for Derek Thornbery came in abundance and we decided to donate 16 x Concert Music stands to the school in Derek's name and we also donated the remaining £215.77 in memory of Derek Thornbery to Norwich Cathedral where he used to be a curator.

It was an amazing day which we shared with old friends, wives and teachers. As Louis said, it wasn't just about Derek. The spirit of Woolverstone Hall was a direct result of everyone who played a part in our early years, and I am sure that we all pass the legacy of Woolverstone Hall to our children and everyone that we come into contact with.

Chris Snuggs: Derek sublimely achieved the noble ambition of a true teacher: to give every pupil the encouragement and opportunity to achieve his or her full potential. He did this in and out of class, the latter most astonishingly with his Orwell House Orchestra and concerts, but also as cricket coach and indeed in multiple ways around the school as well as in personal contact with boys and staff alike. A high proportion of WHS boys went on to achieve great success in music, drama, academia, sport and other activities. For this we have to thank Derek and his colleagues with all our hearts.

Louis Parperis in February 2022: "Kyriacos Zap Tsaparelli and I visited the school together last summer during the Open Weekend, together with a large number of OWs. While we were there, Zap noticed that the rowan tree that had been planted in memory of Derek Thornbery in May 2017 had failed to survive. In the following weeks, he liaised with Ipswich High School to see if it was possible to plant another tree next to the headstone commemorating Doc and he received these photographs yesterday of the newly planted rowan tree and its protection, together with the assurance that the tree will receive regular attention during its early days to ensure that it takes root properly and thrives.

This would not have been possible without the support of Ipswich High School and, in particular Naomi Limer, who has seen the whole thing through from the start following Zap’s initial request for help and to whom we are enormously grateful."

SEE ORIGINAL TREE HERE