Roddy Forman: An Obituary

Jan 2014: Roddy Forman was master in charge of Fives at Eton for several years and, in retirement, was an ardent coach at Summer Fields, Oxford. He was the ideal person to instil in young players the ethos of the game and was no mean performer himself.

At Eton, he introduced Fives leagues and the New Boy Fives Competition; his philosophy was to encourage the less talented. In recognition of this, James Woodcock, the organiser of the annual Prep Schools Competition, instigated a new trophy, the Roddy Forman Bowl, for the top pair in the third section, i.e., those pairs eliminated after the first round of the Marston Plate.

Retiring from Eton after 40 years of service, Roddy moved to Oxford and in 2000 offered to do two hours a day at Summer Fields, helping with Fives and some individual maths tuition. However, he became totally immersed in the Summer Fields community, spending every morning break in the Fives courts, enthusing younger boys for the game. He also helped with the school's football and cricket and his stay was to last 13 years.

Roddy Forman won a King's Scholarship to Eton in 1949 and later became Captain of the School; he was also secretary of the Eton College Music Society. Winning a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, he achieved a first in Mathematics and Moral Sciences and nomination as Senior Scholar.

For his National Service, Roddy served as a submariner in the Royal Navy, where he qualified as a submarine officer within four months of being commissioned as a Midshipman.

When the Head Master of Eton approached him to return as a Master in 1960, he accepted with alacrity. Recognised as a brilliant mathematician, he produced a course book, Additional Mathematics, which is still in use today. Eton soon recognised his skill as an administrator, not merely in devising smooth organisational structures, but in having the vision and ingenuity to adapt these structures to changing times. He served on several major committees, but he was probably happiest composing schemes alone, working late into the evening or during the holidays. He was largely responsible for creating Eton's website.

Roddy was seen as a man of great fairness and proportion, unshakeable loyalty and untold discretion. No more was this in evidence than in the running of Common Lane House, over which he presided from 1974 to 1989. They were happy years and his House was successful academically, in music, drama and sport - in particular in swimming, where they were unrivalled for ten years. In 1985 a relay of six boys swam the Channel from Cap Gris Nez to Dover in just over 14 hours. Roddy was a conscientious housemaster: no detail was too small for his attention. His willingness to listen to what the boys had to say was just one way that every boy felt valued. He will be remembered for his humour, the range of his mind and his unfailing support.

Away from Eton Roddy was a respected figure in the niche world of crosswords: he was a solver and setter of great repute. Whether compiling solo under the handle of Radix, or as part of the Mango team, his puzzles always drew rave reviews. Among many periodicals, he composed for The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent and The Listener. In his memory, Roddy’s family has presented the Radix Auditorium Jug, a prize to be awarded each year for the first-time Listener crossword solver who sends the most correct entries. He was a founder member with James Leonard of the Listener Setters' Distinguished Oenophile Elite.

An entertaining person with a charismatic presence, the soul of geniality and generosity, Roddy Forman will be much missed.

With acknowledgement to Eton College/Summer Fields