Elizabeth Tucker – Head Mistress Hertford 72-82

Taken from the Eulogy submitted by Malcolm Young (Nephew)

Elizabeth was born on the 20th of July 1936 in London. She enjoyed a happy childhood with World War two making life exciting as the four tuckers moved out of London to Northamptonshire where they caught up with neighbourhood friends from Friern Barnet who had evacuated earlier. A lady I spoke to last week, remarked how happy she was as a child playing with Elizabeth and my late mother Margaret throughout the war. She also remembered Elizabeth’s brother victor who served in the royal engineers. Victor was able to celebrate his 21st birthday because the Normandy landings were delayed by 24 hours until 6 June 1944. Elizabeth was quietly proud that I too served in the royal engineers.

She started to make more friends at Cheltenham ladies’ college from the late 1940’s to the mid 1950’s. One joined the classics stream with her at school and after they became teachers joined the classical association as well as the Horatian society enjoying annual dinners together. Elizabeth bumped into her in a theatre in Cambridge and announced, “you are coming with me to climb Mount Olympus next spring!” So, they did, before moving on to Troy where they, now two classical Headmistresses, politely brow beat a tour guide into spending far longer than the allotted twenty minutes on site because as they explained “we have waited all our lives to be at troy! 20 minutes is not enough!” Poor man didn’t stand a chance.

The numbers of friends grew in her formative time at Newnham college, Cambridge gaining her BA classical tripos. She then attended Kings’ college London for a year to study for her post graduate certificate in education so launching her into her thirty-seven-year career in that noble calling. As far as I am aware her first appointment was as assistant mistress at Queen Anne’s Caversham in Reading from 1959 to 1964. She moved on to Notting Hill and Ealing high school from 1964 to 1972 where colleagues became friends, and pupils became friends in later years sometimes for their whole lives. Elizabeth was head of classics and a classics teacher who joined the school in 1970 kindly shared with me that she “will never forget her kindness and her example” and “the way she was always so joyful to see me”. This joy in seeing people is a beautifully common thread in so many of my conversations with people who knew her. Her beaming smile accompanied by “I can’t believe how wonderful it is to see you”. She simply loved people and almost inevitably we loved her back, we couldn’t help it. The classics teacher continued that they remained friends ever since, attending Notting Hill old girls parties every year where she was always delighted to meet old girls she had taught, staff colleagues, and fellow ex-head teachers. In those Notting Hill years she and her mother Doris visited a family in Canada. The two families have known each other for about a century. These folk, and I quote “remember Elizabeth as a cheery, kind, affectionate, talented human being who contributed so much to this world not only in education but in so many other facets of life for many people. They remember her laughter, her poetry, her dedication to her pupils, and her fervent religious feelings and actions”.

As headmistress of Christ’s Hospital girl’s school in Hertford from 1972 to 1982 she was a happy and inspirational force for good for the school, her pupils and her colleagues. One of her pupils from the 1970’s became a friend going to church concerts with her. Once they had lunch together before a talk Elizabeth was giving at the British museum, during which the former pupil got to confess a few crimes and misdemeanours when she didn’t get caught at school. Elizabeth was extremely amused, and with perfect timing said: ‘well, it wasn’t your turn to get caught.’

Whilst at Notting Hill and Christ’s Hospital she managed to squeeze in being an enthusiastic second soprano in the Bach choir for seventeen years. As headmistress of Headington girls’ school in Oxford from 1982 until her retirement in 1996 she continued her inspirational work with people and the school. Her personal generosity shines out in the story of a Russian girl in a comprehensive school whose parents and UK guardians worked very hard to help her with her education. In short Elizabeth provided this talented girl a full scholarship for two years to succeed at A level. Elizabeth gave £500 per year of her own money towards her success. The impact on this girl is such that she is leaving a quarter of her estate to Headington in her will. In retirement Elizabeth learned the cello, having played double bass intermittently in her school years. She loved playing in concerts with the Enfield chamber orchestra.

She also became a passionate supporter of the Angola London Mozambique Association (ALMA). In 1998 she visited the affiliated church out there and was sadly involved in a road traffic accident that took the life of Mozambique bishop Dini’s wife Berta. Elizabeth only lived because of the care she was given in the ensuing hours and days by others in the vehicle, and hospitals in Mozambique, South Africa and UK over many months. This inspired her love for so many people in ALMA and Mozambique who loved her back in full measure. So much so that they are holding a service in memory of her in Mozambique. She was a lady of unshakeable faith who loved being a member here in St Johns. She was splendidly musical with a lovely singing voice and great to hear on the piano. Some of you have enjoyed playing duets with her at home. I have fond memories of her enjoying playing with her sister Margaret, galloping though some tricky piece with lots of twiddly bits hitting more and more wrong notes and eventually collapsing in uncontrollable fits of the giggles. I have undoubtedly failed to mention other wonderful organisations and people that Elizabeth knew and loved, for which I apologise. I am going to borrow some splendid final lines from the service of thanksgiving for Elizabeth’s own mother Doris that I attended with her. The reverend, just down the road in St James’s, had received advice from his father, a bishop, that in terms of love one could very broadly pigeonhole people in two categories. The first are drains, who sadly suck the love out of you when you are in their presence. The second are radiators who simply radiate love without even trying and make you feel loved. Elizabeth was an almighty radiator. So: a loving daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, great aunt and god mother; a school friend, Cambridge classics graduate, inspiring teacher, accomplished headmistress, friend, colleague, mentor, philanthropist, church member of immense and abiding faith, cellist, singer, piano player and neighbour who will be sorely missed.