N O . 1 2 2 T H E T R U S T Y S E R VA N T
Archie Campbell Murdoch ( 1911-2016 )
Christopher Van der Noot ( K , 53-57 ), our obituarist , writes :
After more than ten years as our Sen Man , Archie Campbell Murdoch died on 29th June 2016 , aged 105 . Having converted to Roman Catholicism in 1941 , he was a great lover of the Extraordinary Latin Mass and wished to have his own Requiem Mass celebrated in Latin . Thus it was that , when a congregation of 300 attended St Osmund ’ s , Salisbury , there were five robed clergy conducting the Mass and a further six in the congregation . Fortunately , English was printed alongside the Latin in the order of service !
Archie was born in Casablanca in 1911 and remembered well waving his father off at the railway station on his way to the Somme , where he was killed .
After attending preparatory school at Langley Place , St Leonard ’ s on Sea , he came to Winchester in 1924 . He left a term early and travelled with his stepfather in the Middle East , through Palestine and on to Damascus . Whilst at Oxford he fell in love with Sheila Haigh and they married secretly in September 1932 . However , they were spotted whilst on their honeymoon by members of the family , who were horrified , and so a public wedding took place at St Andrew ’ s Church , Pont Street , much to the delight of the Scottish and Irish Presbyterian members of the family .
He studied singing at the Royal College of Music , was a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio and
successfully auditioned for Glyndebourne in 1939 , although the war intervened . Because of poor eyesight , which prevented him joining the Royal Navy , he joined the London Auxiliary Fire Service , working long hours of two days on and one off : he called himself George to avoid ribbing by his Cockney fellow fire-fighters .
After the War , he started his career as a teacher , ending up as Headmaster of the Thomas More School , which catered for 54 disadvantaged children . He then retired to Malta , with its strong Catholic and musical roots and a pleasant climate . Life was good for those expatriate ‘ sixpenny settlers ’ who paid tax at 6d in the pound until Dom Mintoff raised the rate , whereupon he returned to the UK in 1985 . His stoicism and commendable attitude of not wanting to cause a fuss are well known : when he was in hospital just before his 100th birthday , the occupational therapy team were assessing him and wanted to know who his carers were , who did his shopping , cleaning and cooking . He had to ask them what a carer actually was , and they struggled to grasp that Archie was completely self-sufficient . As his 105th birthday approached he was asked if he would like to receive a card from Her Majesty . ‘ Oh no – I really do not want to bother her ,’ came his reply . But Her Majesty did bother and her card duly arrived . When his distinctive battlescarred red Renault failed its MOT , he gave up driving at age 102 , much to the relief of the citizens of Salisbury . Sheila , his wife of 71 years , died in 2000 : Archie was devastated for they had still giggled together like young lovers .
And so Archie ’ s life was acknowledged with dignity at that masterly Requiem Mass at St Osmund ’ s Roman Catholic Church in Salisbury .
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