no sixth form Ray was sent to a grammar school for two years to prepare for the Higher School Certificate. In 1948, he won a scholarship


to read medicine at University College, London, but after a year, encouraged by John Z Young, he switched to anatomy, taking his BSc in 1951. He stayed on to do research, under Young’s supervision, on the hypothalamus, for which he was awarded his PhD in 1954. In December that year he married Margot Pepper, a medical student at St Mary’s Hospital who later became a dermatologist; they had three sons and a daughter. Ray never forgot Sibford and in later life kept in very close contact with the school. Rocket editor Ali Bromhall said: “It was my privilege to meet Ray during his visits to Sibford. He was a generous and humble man who always had a smile on his face. The first steps on his career path were made during his time here … he told me that he had been in Nansen House and, although he didn’t realise it at the time, Nansen was a neuroanatomist … just like Ray was to become.”


Arnold Lamb 31 March 1929 ~ 10 October 2017


M


any Old Scholars


will remember Arnold Lamb who died on 10 October 2017, aged 88. Arnold was husband of Ina, father to David, Joanna, Colin and Adrian and grandfather of eight


grandchildren. Arnold had strong


connections with the school … his great, great grandfather, Joshua Lamb, was involved with the school’s foundation, and his father-in-law, Roland Herbert, was head of woodwork at Sibford. His funeral was held at Sibford Quaker Meeting House on 20 October. Frederick Arnold Lamb was born


at Woolman Cottage, on Hook Norton Road in Sibford Ferris. It was a small thatched house with no mains water or electricity. His parents, Fred and Ivy, had 6 children – Barbara, Bob, Gerald, Judy, Arnold and Len. Just after the war the family moved to Grounds Farm (where Fred farmed). Arnold went to Sibford Gower Primary School, which he enjoyed. When his younger brother, Len, got a scholarship to Banbury Grammar School, Arnold went as well, so that he could accompany his brother on the cycle ride to school. Ill health, however, led to Arnold leaving school early (he didn’t much like Banbury School any way) and when he recovered, he started work on his father’s farm.


Arnold married Ina Herbert on the 7th August 1954 at Sibford Meeting House. At first, they lived with Ina’s mother, Eva. They then moved to Pillerton Priors where they lived in an old army hut, which had previously been used as a cafe. They had a small holding and Arnold worked on threshing gangs and did other agricultural work.


When


Arnold took over his


father’s share of the farm, the family moved to Grounds Farm. Arnold’s sister, Judy also worked on the farm. Later, when she retired, his son, Adrian, joined him. They bred and fattened pigs, had sheep and arable land. Always mindful of animal welfare, the pigs had plenty of room and clean straw. If one of the breeding sows was short of iron, Arnold would even take it out for a walk to allow it to root around in the earth. He won many prizes for the quality of bacon produced from his pigs. Their four children, David, Joanna, Colin and Adrian were born in quick succession from 1958 to 1962 and Ina became a full time mother as well as farm accountant and part time farm worker. The farm was very hard work and despite this, Arnold would often be found in his large garden producing a lot of the fruit and vegetables used by the family. Being a farmer and keen gardener weather was always important to him and he recorded rainfall from the rain gauge in the garden. As well as his gardening, Arnold had a keen interest in nature. He wanted to create a lake to attract all types of wildlife, particularly birds. Not having a site on the farm that could be used, he bought land and built a lake, now usually known as Lamb’s Pool. For many years, he wrote the ‘nature notes’ in the Sibford Scene. He was also a valued member of the Parish Council. Ina and Arnold then found an


acre of land in Sibford Ferris. Not only did it have an area of woodland for wildlife but also an old overgrown rockery. They bought the land and built Back Acre (a pun which Arnold enjoyed). Over time the rockery was made into the beautiful garden that can be seen today.


The Sibford Rocket / 29


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