National Trust welcomes new leader in the East

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Old Harveian Ben Cowell has taken the reins of the country’s leading conservation charity in the East. Ben, who was most recently in charge of the charity’s policy and external affairs work, has returned to his roots to lead a team of over 500 staff and 5,000 volunteers.

Ben said; “I am delighted to be taking up this role, which is easily the best job in the National Trust! I have loved the people and landscapes of the East of England for as long as I can remember. After leaving The Harvey, I studied as an undergraduate at UEA in Norwich, where I specialised in landscape archaeology at the Centre of East Anglian Studies. I now live just outside Saffron Walden in Essex, with my wife Julie and our two boys, Reuben and Toby.”
“The National Trust looks after wonderful places, wildlife, collections, community spaces and heritage for the benefit of everyone. Here in the East that includes miles of glorious coastline from Blakeney in North Norfolk to Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast, important houses like Blickling, Ickworth and Wimpole, and really special countryside including one of the nation’s most ancient woodlands at Hatfield Forest in Essex.”

For many years Ben was a civil servant at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in London, before joining the National Trust’s external affairs team in 2008. Prior to attending the Harvey, Ben was at All Souls’ Primary school in Cheriton. His parents (father David was a school governor at Harvey) live in Sandgate.

John Hine (57-63)

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We were very sorry to learn of the death of John Hine (57-63) following a motorcycle accident in New Zealand. His friend and executor Dr Philip Stimpson very kindly provided the following obituary.

“John Hine attended the Harvey from 1957 to 1963 before going on to Bristol University and a career in accountancy. At Bristol he gained a 2.1 in Economics and Accountancy. While at Bristol he lived in the Holmes, a town mansion in the grounds of Churchill Hall of residence. The friends he made in the snooker room and on the croquet lawn of the Holmes and in the Berkeley coffee rooms have remained with him throughout his life. Following Articles at a firm in Canterbury he joined KPMG in the City of London where he worked for more than 30 years as a tax expert. During this time he developed a delight in steam railways and model railways ultimately filling his loft in Stoke D’Abernon with a working model of Dover Priory station. His other great passion was in motorcycling and, in particular after taking early retirement, in touring far away places. With groups of friends he visited Russia, North America, S Africa, Chile and Argentina not to mention most countries in Europe. Sadly, but doing what he loved, it was on one of those trips he died on 3rd of February in New Zealand following a motor accident. A few years ago he led a group of his friends to East Kent and took great pleasure in showing us around places in Dover and Folkestone that meant much to him. A lifelong bachelor he had no close surviving relations; his friends were his family. He will be remembered for happy dinners and good wine but most of all as a loyal friend who you could come to at a time of need.”

John was cremated in New Zealand but there will be a memorial service on Saturday 20th April at 12.30 at St Mary’s Church Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham, Surrey. The church is about 1km from the station. There will hopefully be light refreshment afterwards in the church hall.