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His son Simon Rosen (S64-73) has sadly been in touch to say that his father had died on Friday 24 July 2026.  Brian was a former SOF President (1976-7) and former teacher at Brandeston.  He was the brother of the late Michael (S40-46) and Anthony (S40-48) and father to Philip (S63-71), Simon (S64-73) and Timothy (S66-75) and Sarah (89-93).

There will be no funeral or cremation as he “ gave his body to medical science’. There is a small private informal memorial buffet meal at his daughter Sarah’s house next Saturday 26 September (coinciding with what would have been his 97th birthday on 23 September).  It is possible that there be something at the College in the future.

His brother Charles Carter OBE (R61-69) sadly advises us that his brother, JEM Carter died peacefully in the early hours of this morning in his carehome in Norfolk.  As many contemporaries will be aware he collapsed with a brain haemorrhage some 40 years ago whilst serving as a Major in the Army.  Charles and JEM (Jay) visited the College a few years ago and he had many happy memories, particularly of his time as Head Boy in 1970-71.

His funeral was held at 13:30 on Wednesday 23 September 2026 at Our Lady of Pity, Swaffham, PE37 7HP and a number of OFs were present.  Charles wrote the following about the first half of his life which was printed out and given to all those who attended the service  :

My brother Jay, known to others by a variety of names including JEM to his schoolfriends and to my Grandmother as Jamie when he had committed one of his rather numerous “offences”, was born in a hurry on the steps of Klagenfurt Hospital on 27 July 1952.  As I was only 14 months older we spent much of our younger years together.  As sons of an Army father, we lived in numerous military quarters and were sent off to school at a young age.  For both of us being in what was Malaya was such a contrast to UK that we had many memories of what was a wonderful and colourful environment.  We learnt to swim in an outdoor pool at the Sungei Ujong Club (Jay became so competent that he eventually captained Framlingham College’s swimming team). There was strange wildlife in the garden as our house bordered the jungle (eventually the disappearance of the fish from the aquarium was traced to a venomous black snake that ventured into our bedroom nightly)  and many frequent visits to what we called the “coffin shop”, where poorer Malay families “borrowed” a coffin for a couple of days before the funeral – we were fascinated with everything. We were also present at various functions that marked the independence of Malaya.

In 1961 we both went to Brandeston Hall, Framlingham College’s preparatory school, in Suffolk.  Jay loved his time at Framlingham, so much so that he stayed on and took his “A” levels three times.  I am not certain whether it was the fun he had there or the appendicitis during his second go at A levels that meant he was always proud to claim 13 “O” levels prior to getting some “A” levels.  He was Head Boy during his final year and over the last few days I have had a number of old boys writing to say how good he was at the role, as well as commentating on his beard. Mike Beverly, who is with us today, remembered that “he stayed with our family in Dusseldorf for a New Year. Jay and he were in a bar when the huge barman decided that they should pay for all the empty beers on the table. They managed to do a runner back out into the narrow cobblestone street. There they were met by a hail of fireworks being discharged along the road and bouncing off windows and cars. It was several degrees below zero and the walk back to the house was no fun. Fortunately, our parents were asleep and he and Jay were able to test nearly all the many bottles in their drinks’ cabinet.”

After school, Jay decided that the Army was the career for him; however, he ended up with a “spare year” which he spent with my parents who were then living in Bielefeld.  He decided to learn German and spent many hours working on a construction site.  During that period the senior general in Germany threw a cocktail party for the local German dignitaries and Jay was asked to be the main interpreter at the function.  There were a rather large number of shocked guests when he carried out his role, interpreting the General’s speech – his German was, unbeknown to him, liberally enhanced with very choice swear words he had learnt and used on the building sites!

Jay enjoyed his time in the Army, serving in Germany, Northern Ireland and Belize.  He was able to continue riding, which had been a favourite pastime when we were on holidays from school; there was also the occasional game of polo.  During his early days in the Army he was well known for editing an “undercover” magazine describing what life was like for soldiers in Northern Ireland.  He was also remembered for biting his Commanding Officer’s ear when playing Mess rugby; perhaps not a wise thing to do.   Following his spell as Adjutant of the Belize Defence force he transferred from the Fusiliers to the 16/5 Lancers where he served for four years.  It was during that time he met and married Anna.

Although Jay’s life was altered immeasurably by his brain haemorrhage he managed, with Anna by his side, to recapture his sense of fun and enjoyment in the good company of family and friends. I will miss his ready humour and fortitude which has come to characterise the last 40 years of his life.

The spoken eulogy was more about his time after his brain haemorrhage so was focussed on his favourite sayings/ phrases.

Professor John Iliffe (G52-57)  died on 20 August 2026 at the age of 87.  His late brother Charles (G48-53), his nephews Mark Iliffe (G80-88) and Simon (G82-90) all attended the College.  John is a Distinguished OF – click here for his entry.

His funeral will be at 11:00am on Monday 28th September St John’s College Chapel Cambridge.

Tributes have been paid to a distinguished St John’s College Cambridge University researcher renowned for his life’s work in African history and the following has been sent in by the family.

John Iliffe MA PhD LittD, Emeritus Professor of African History, wrote many notable books on Africa and specialised in Tanzania, where he taught at the University of Dar es Salaam for several years. 

Professor Iliffe was educated at Framlingham College, Suffolk, and Peterhouse, Cambridge. After completing his PhD, he taught at the University of Dar es Salaam from 1965-1971

He became a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, in 1971, when he was appointed University Assistant Director of Research in History. From 1980-90 he was Reader in African History and was Professor of African History from 1990 until his retirement in 2006. He was working on his latest research until recently and died on Thursday 20 August 2026.

“African history owes John a staggering debt in his sheer curiosity, his extraordinary appetite for gruelling hard work, his courage in publishing in so many areas of others’ expertise, perhaps above all his intellectual capacity to lodge intimate human anxieties, hopes, obligations, determination and expectation in long spans of continental-wide change and continuity, said Professor John Lonsdale, Emeritus Professor of Modern African History and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.  

“To those who had the good fortune to know him he will be sorely missed. And future scholarly generations who will never know him personally, will, so long as reading continues, benefit from engaging with his thoughts, always expressed in such clear and uncomplicated prose. His combination of query and encouragement was always so positive.”

Arriving soon after the unification of Zanzibar and Tanganyika as the independent republic of Tanzania, Professor Iliffe was a central figure of Dar es Salaam’s ‘School of African history’, which focused on African agency. 

“African history owes John a staggering debt in his sheer curiosity”

A Fellow of the British Academy from 1989 to 2006, his seminal books include A Modern History of Tanganyika(1979), which he researched while teaching in the East African country, the comprehensive Africans: The History of a Continent (first ed 1995), and Honour in African History (2005).

In 1988 the African Studies Association awarded Professor Iliffe the Herskovits Prize – now known as the ASA Book Prize – for The African Poor: A History (1987), which gained him recognition in US academia.

Professor Iliffe taught generations of St John’s students as a Lecturer and Supervisor in History until 2015. Professor Simon Szreter, Professor of History and Public Policy and a Fellow of St John’s College, learned under him as an undergraduate.

“John’s wonderfully thorough and eye-opening lectures and classes enabled a complete novice in African history to grapple enjoyably with the primary sources of French and English missionaries, colonial authorities and translated Baganda memoirs,” said Professor Szreter.

Professor Lonsdale said Professor Iliffe’s Modern History of Tanganyika ‘is still the best national history of any new African state’. 

“Nobody else has tackled such a humane variety of historical topics: African famine, African capitalism, the many different senses of African honour, political biography, the birth of the East African medical profession, the suffering and endurance of the African poor over the centuries, the AIDS epidemic, culminating in his absolutely essential  Africans, The History of a Continent – from the origins of humankind to the present day – and of which the third edition appeared from the Cambridge University Press in 2017

His daughter has advised us that her father David sadly passed away peacefully at Ipswich Hospital on 14th July, 2026, aged 87 years old.

Funeral service followed by internment was held at Brandeston Church on Tuesday, 18th August at 11 a.m.

His death was announced in the Telegraph on 6 July 2026.

He died peacefully on 30th June 2026 aged 91. Beloved husband of Anne for 66 years and father of Deirdre, Katie and Priscilla, grandfather of Serena, Theo, William and Lara. The funeral service was at St Mary’s Church, Stoke D’Abernon, KT11 3PX on 15th July 2026. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Help for Heroes or Princess Alice Hospice. He was the brother of Distinguished OF Lt Col Robert Lynn Stevens OBE (S51-55).

James Ruddock-Broyd (G46-52) writes that he recalls many conversations with John as he had a career in the Royal Corps of Signals and I had done two years National Service in the Corps with two UK postings in unusual units so I will look forward to the military part of John’s obituary.  My last meetings with John were annually at the Wine Society AGM in Westminster Conference Centre 10 and more years ago so it was ironic that his death notice in the press was on the day of this year’s AGM.

His wife Jennie has advised us that he had died on 13 June 2025.  He was the brother of David Richard Metcalf (R50-55).

A family funeral service was held at the Cam Valley Crematorium on the 15^th July 2026, followed by a family gathering at Haverhill Golf Club.  He died after enduring some years of ill health and is survived by his wife, Jennie, and children Claire and Matthew, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He lost his elder son, Simon, in 1998.

The following is a tribute sent by his cousin Peter Metcalf (R55-60) :

The death is announced of Roger John Metcalf, ACII, on 13^th June 2026 at the age of 85 at St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds. A service was conducted at the Cam Valley Crematorium on the 15^th July, followed by a family gathering at Haverhill Golf Club.         He died after enduring some years of ill health and is survived by his wife, Jennie, and children Claire and Matthew, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He lost his elder son, Simon, in 1998.

Roger was one of several OFs who attended the College. His family included his father, Robert William Metcalf, 4224, 1917-21, FICA, his uncles Maurice Arthur Metcalf, 4454, 1920-24, and Thomas Coates Metcalf, 4663, 1923-27, TD.  Also his brother, David Richard Metcalf, 6174, 1950-55, ACA, and his cousin, Peter Russell Metcalf, 6599, 1955-60, MICE.

Roger played hockey – his favourite sport, for Richmond and subsequently Morpeth, Northumberland, where he was chairman of the club. He, on one or two occasions, played with his son, Simon, in the same team. They toured all over NE England. He also represented the OFs against the College.

Roger worked initially for the Atlas Assurance Co, and subsequently moved into business with Express Dairy and finally Unichem, managing their large warehouses in London.

His other pursuits included golf, gardening –  where his knowledge was much sought after, and bridge.

His ashes are buried with his eldest son , Simon, at Saffron Walden Radwinter Road Cemetery.

His son James advised us that he had died in November 2025.  He was the brother of Keith Ian Treadaway (R60-65) who died in 1994.

His daughter, Alice Massey, notified us that he had died back in 2021 and has provided the obituary attached.

James Ruddock-Broyd advises us that John died on 5 June 2026.

Further details to follow