Fond Farewell to David Peek
From Liam Harvey:
I have many fond memories of working with Peeky, as he was always extremely good natured,
patient and very humorous in the staff room, on the games field, in the classroom and around the
boarding house. Occasionally he would attempt to appear irritated and cross, but pupils gained
entertainment from knowing full well it was all an act. It is not in his nature to be anything other
than ever cheerful!
Perhaps my fondest memory is when Marnie and I arrived, fresh faced and eager to embrace our
new roles in the Independent School sector, way back in August 2001.
Keen to impress, I met with Peeky to discuss my plans for senior boys’ rugby and how we might set
about running the senior boys’ games group sessions. I had selected my very best drills and
practices from my days coaching and playing rugby in Merseyside and North Yorkshire.
I took around 20 minutes “proposing” these ideas to Peeky who listened intently, nodded
occasionally then smiled, sat back in his chair and said “that looks great to me, I’ll do whatever you
want me to do!”
We taught games together for nine years and Peeky and I would play for the 2nd XV against the 1st
XV, always trying to stay on our feet and, of course, not tackling the boys and avoiding being tackled
by them (when we saw them coming!).
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Probably because Peeky and I enjoyed those sessions so much, the boys seemed to love them too.
Interestingly, Peeky and I noticed that it became harder and harder to compete with the 1 st XV.
We’d love to think that it is because our coaching was so progressive and inspirational but of course,
at the same time, he and I were getting older, slower and in my case, fatter!
I learned hugely from Peeky’s understanding of boys’ strengths and weaknesses in rugby, hockey
and cricket. He himself is a very talented games player and I will always remember the rugby and
hockey sessions we had with the boys who benefitted from Peeky’s endless energy, enthusiasm and
expertise.
He has shown these very same qualities in his role as a teacher of science, ICT, boarding house tutor
and ICT co-ordinator. I am well aware that prior to my arrival, Peeky had taught many other subjects
and had been Housemaster.
A fabulous colleague and a friend for life. I could go on for ever telling many an amusing anecdote,
but I’ll keep the rest for another day.
On behalf of us all here at St. Mary’s but particularly from Marnie, Mia, Ruby and me, we wish Peeky
and Jacquie a very long, happy and much deserved retirement.
[Read Michael Osborne’s speech on the next page….]
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From Michael Osborne
I first met David when he came to Belhaven for an interview in the summer of 1980. In some ways it
seems just the other day but…1980, that’s a heck of a long time ago, 36 years, 108 terms. Mrs.
Thatcher had only recently become Prime Minister, Ronald Reagan was not yet President of the USA,
Alex Ferguson was not yet manager of Manchester United. In time, it was closer to the end of the 2nd
World War than it is to the present day.
Three things about David struck Donald Vass and me when we first him. 1) He looked unbelievably
young and fit; 2) he rode a hugely powerful motor bike; and 3) he smoked extremely thin roll-yourown cigarettes.
We quickly realized that we were on to a good thing, and with the school needing two new teachers,
and there being no-one else around who was remotely employable, he and John Burnett, ‘the young
men’ as Jeannie Vass called them, were invited to join the staff. At a stroke the average age and the
average stature of the staff were significantly reduced.
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Belhaven in 1980 was a somewhat different place to the school that it is today. For a start the
headmaster smoked 60 cigarettes a day and there was little or no interference from the rules and
regulations of outside bodies and inspectors. A handful of girls lived on the top floor of the main
building and were treated as honorary boys. There were a few day pupils but none of that nonsense
with weekly boarders or weekends out, just a few days away at half term. There were no computers
(bliss), hockey was a sensible game played on grass with proper old-fashioned lumps of wood and
rules such as not raising the stick above one’s shoulder, and parents were kept at a decent distance.
David’s first year at Belhaven was transformational because also on the staff was an assistant
matron called Jacqueline Goldie. Within a year she had been wooed and wed, the roll-up ciggies had
disappeared and the hugely powerful motorbike had been replaced by an ordinary bicycle (which
some naughty teachers once placed on top of the classroom block).
Since 1980 David and Jacquie Peek have been a fundamental part of the fabric of Belhaven Hill and
crucial to its success. With perfect symmetry they have served for seven years under each of Mr Vass
and Mr MacAskill and 22 under MO in the middle. David has been assistant master, housemaster,
senior master, deputy head, head deputy, you name it, and has taught English, History, Science,
Computing. He is a brilliant sportsman who has coached every possible sport, most notably his
beloved hockey and 2nd XI cricket with those very witty reports. He has pioneered IT and produced
ever thicker and more glossy Belhaven Bugles and he has entertained us on stage, first with his
tasteless Peeklaw productions, and latterly in his appearances as Fagin, Squeers and Uncle Tom. He
has a marvelous voice and has thrilled us with his singing in Belhaven church. I well remember the
first time that he sang that solo in ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter’. The pupils gasped and looked at him in
wonder, not unlike the men in Keat’s sonnet gazing on the Pacific, ‘Silent, upon a peak in Darien’.
Many years ago Jeannie Vass asked him to sing at her funeral and he replied with more honesty than
tact, ‘I would be delighted.’ In the event he sang most movingly at the funerals of both the Vasses.
Me next perhaps? I have often thought that with all his talents, David should have gone on the
professional stage and starred in musicals. Never mind, Stratford’s loss has been Belhaven’s gain.
Meanwhile, let us not forget Jacquie. She has been a stalwart friend and supporter of the school
through many stints as a matron and as the first and most important housemistress of the Girls’
House. She was key to its happy establishment and growth and all girls who have been to Belhaven
in the last 20 years owe her a huge amount. David and Jacquie have been a team, they have been
wonderful colleagues and great fun to work with.
We all have our own special memories of Peeky, his thoughtfulness, his forgetfulness, his genial
good nature, and ability to laugh at himself. I shall remember him in Peekmode, speeding around the
hockey pitch; and how he drove the minibus back from St Andrews via Glasgow because he carried
no money for the Forth Road Bridge. I shall recall his desks in the science lab and the staff computer
room, paper paper everywhere; and his assemblies, often assembled at the last moment, or beyond
– he liked to keep me on tenterhooks – about ties, oxymorons and procrastination; not to mention
his readings at the Carol Service in the Hall. ‘I think,’ he used to say, ‘I’ll do the one about Bill Bryson
going up into the loft to retrieve the Christmas decorations. I haven’t done that one for a bit’. ‘No,
Peeky,’ I would answer, ‘not since last year, at any rate.’
One special memory is supplied by that old reprobate Liam Harvey. Once when Peeky was on duty
Housemaster Harvey and the boys in Dorm 7 thought it would be entertaining if he occupied a spare
bed in the dormitory. David came in to shut it down, and in normal fashion, leant against the door,
asking the boys a few inane questions, some of which Liam himself answered. Unsuspecting, none
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the wiser, David then said goodnight, turned off the lights and left. That dorm wasn’t very quiet after
lights out.
David and Jacquie, the large turnout this evening pays tribute to our respect, affection and gratitude.
Thank you, thank you and all the best for the future.
MO 3rd June 2016. New Club, Edinburgh.
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