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Obituaries
Geoffrey Calvert M69
Geoff was a very competent all-rounder at Canford. He was a keen rugby player, claiming to have been relegated from the 1st XV squad only due to his hair being too long!
Geoff was also keen on pottery and spent many happy hours in the "Scum Shack" (Art building) being creative in that direction. This was a hobby he continued to pursue as he got older.
Geoff had an iconoclastic/rebellious streak which fitted in with the '60's zeitgeist. This included having various radical opinions in politics and other areas, most of which got substantially watered down as he mellowed in later life.
After A levels, he obtained a place at Worcester College, Oxford, specialising in Arabic History and Language.
After Oxford, Geoff was keen to work in the Middle East and was taken on by the British Bank of the Middle East, which was later bought by HSBC. His productive career saw him working for the bank in various far-flung locations, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Oman and Jordan.
Latterly, Geoff was awarded the OBE for promoting British business.
One of Geoff's most admirable strengths was his ability to network - this extended to keeping in touch with several Canford contemporaries. Additionally, he had a long-standing friendship with Andrew Davis, his charismatic House Master.
Following retirement from the bank, Geoff split his time between a flat in London and his farmhouse in Ceret, France, at the Eastern end of the Pyrenees.
Geoff will be much missed by his many friends and is survived by his wife and daughter, plus dog, cats, and not forgetting several hundred bees in their hives in France!
