Friends, family, staff and Old Witleians from across the years gathered at the School on Saturday 26th June for a Memorial to celebrate the life of former teacher Albert “Bertie” Mawer who sadly passed away in March 2020.
As a Housemaster and then Senior Master, Bertie taught History and English at King Edward’s for 37 years from 1949 until his retirement when he continued to fundraise for the School. Passionate about music and a keen sportsman, Bertie dedicated 71 years of his long life to the School with fundraising for the School Library, developing the School orchestra and launching the House Music Competition amongst many of his notable achievements.
Following the postponement of Bertie’s Memorial in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, the planned gathering of over 200 people from the King Edward’s Witley community in June 2021 was still not possible. Instead, 90 invited guests joined Bertie’s wife, Dr Rosemary Mawer, and their two sons, Charles and Nicholas, to celebrate the life of this remarkable man who was known to so many former pupils and staff and had such a positive influence on their lives.
The beautiful service, led by Director of Music Stasio Sliwka and involving the Camerata Choir, was live streamed from the Chapel to audiences gathered in Charter Hall and the Library as well as to a global audience via YouTube. The afternoon concluded with refreshments being taken on the picturesque School lawns which were fittingly bathed in sunshine for a truly extraordinary gentleman and Old Witleian.
