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September, 2017
Freddy Zelouf
We are very sorry to have to inform you of the passing of
Mr
Freddy Zelouf.
The funeral will take place today, Thursday 14th September, 4.00
pm at Edgwarebury Lane Cemetery.
We send our deepest
condolences to his wife Aida, his children Philip, Diana and Jack Zelouf.
His brothers Danny and Albert Zelouf, sisters - Amira Shamash and
Yvonne Shashoua.
We wish all the family a long life, free from further sorrow.
April 20th, 2017
Eric Shanes
It is with sadness that I write to you of
the passing of Eric Shanes. Many of us remember him from the reunions
and his book "Jake's Legacy", which can be found online, here on this
site. Eric attended Whittingehame from 1956-61.
A full page
obituary in the Times
highlighted Eric's achievements in the Arts and Literature. He
became a leading authority on JMW Turner
and his life story makes interesting reading.
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Eric Victor Shanes was born in Bedford in 1944 into a
family with Russian-Jewish heritage. His father, Mark, and mother, Dinah
(née Cohen), ran a newsagent’s. His autodidactic father greatly valued
education and made considerable sacrifices to send him to Whittingehame
College, Brighton, a boarding school for Jewish boys that had been founded
in 1931 by Jacob Halévy, an eccentric figure and a passionate Zionist. Most
of the pupils came from Middle Eastern countries and the first language of
many was Arabic, followed by French and Hebrew. One master, John Murry, the
son of the literary critic John Middleton Murry, quoted in Jake’s Legacy,
Shanes’s history of the school, recalled that the “roll call sounded rather
like a cast list for a production of Arabian Nights, with its
Abdulezers, Alaghbandzadehs, Djanoglys, Behroozis, Atraghjis and
Ebrahimzadehs”.
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February 14th, 2017
It is with deep sadness that I bring you the news Eldon Smith passed away this morning (14th February) aged 97. He died peacefully in his sleep. The school and the club were an enormous part of his life and I know that you all meant a lot to him. Please pass this message on to others who may not be part of this group. I shall post news of the funeral arrangements once they are in place.
Owen Holmes
Tribute to Eldon Smith
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All,
Thank you so much for your very kind words - I feel so
privileged to have had Dacu as my grandfather. Edward, your
description of that time is particularly moving, bringing
back wonderful memories of visits to their house in
Carmarthen and enjoying those same quizzes and riddles as a
teenager.
The
funeral will be at Llanelli Crematorium on Monday 6th March
at 11am. There will also be a webcast if you aren’t able to
make it in person (I think he would have approved of this,
though I can tell you that trying to explain how such things
are possible was a bit of a challenge!)
As a family, we’d like to
encourage donations be made to the charity Age UK (http://www.ageuk.org.uk)
in his memory.
Kind
regards,
Owen Holmes |
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Dear All,
Eldon was truly an amazing man.
Joan and I had the privilege of having Eldon and Ella stay with
us in our house in Chappaqua NY for six weeks about 25 years
ago. Ella had to have an emergency procedure at White Plains
Hospital NY and she was hospitalized for an extended period.
Those weeks were magnificent. I used to drive Eldon to the
hospital every day and I had him all to myself. White Plains
court house is next to the hospital. After visiting Ella, he
would sometimes go to the court house to observe on going
trials. He would then discuss it with me on the way back in the
afternoon. Eldon could have been an excellent lawyer!!!
Never to be forgotten.
My children couldn't wait for dinner time every day to have
Eldon entertain them with all interesting quizzes, riddles,
stories and of course jokes. And all the time he wouldn't stop
drinking his favorite black tea. ( maybe his secret to
longevity). It was an amazing time and we really got to know
him very well. We were so sorry when Ella and Eldon had to go
back home.
Eldon will be missed but the world that knew him is so enriched
by his soul.
May we remember him with all the respect and affection he
deserves and be grateful that our paths crossed at
Whittingehame.
Best,
Edward Cohen. |
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Eldon Smith was the best teacher I ever had
in 18 years of schools/colleges/universities, and it’s not
even close. He mastered VR (Virtual Reality) fifty years
before the high tech industry discovered it: who can forget
his history classes, where he so vividly brought us into the
midst of the demise of the Spanish Armada. He was a hard but
fair task master, both at school and outside, chasing us
through Preston Park or Andy’s and the Jazz Club, like a
mother hen protecting its young and ignorant chicks from our
own follies. And, he kept us all together for many years
past the passing of Jacob Halevi and the passing of the many
amazing teachers they recruited to teach that strange
conglomeration of kid characters from all around the world.
In return I think we all repaid Eldon and Ella with our deep
affection to both of them, on a level that few assistant
headmasters ever experience.
Indeed, as Chvili says, Eldon’s passing is
the end of an era, or at least the beginning of the end.
Hopefully the unique bonds between us remaining Whits will
continue in the coming years.
Thank you Eldon, and may you rest in peace.
Eli Harari.
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I was at Whittingehame for 10 years, from
1952 to 1962. Eldon was a
constant feature of our lives in these
formative years, and continued
to be after I left -- until now. It
is the end of an era that has
spanned three quarters of my life,
and of many others.
-Jacob Israelachvili (or just "Chvili
!" to Eldon). |
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My deepest condolences to
his family and to all the Whitts
that were like his
children.
May
he Rest In Peace.
Lupe Mann |
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I am extending my deep sympathy to Owen
Holmes for your loss.
Eldon Smith (Zichrono le
Bracha)
A most amazing giant of a MAN who we were privileged to
know.Mr. Smith’s leadership and devotion to education and
humanity directed, civilized and educated us. After the
school closed, he was able to revive it through his
persistence. He devoted time and effort to find us and
create the ever-special Whittingehame club, which gave us
the pleasure of meeting our school friends and keeping our
friendships alive.
For
this, I will always be grateful and indebted to Eldon and
Ella. May Eldon’s soul rise (have an aliya) and together
with Ella find rest in peace in heaven.
Tony
Lev (Anton Loew)
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I came to know Eldon much better in the
years after I started publishing this website. Whenever
photos were posted, it would be followed by a stream of
emails from Eldon detailing who was who on each photograph.
It didn’t matter if the pictures were from the 1930’s or
1960’s, for over a period extending almost 4 decades, he had
managed to remember all those names and faces. Still more
remarkable, he would know who was friendly with whom, what
their academic and sporting accomplishments were and what
and where they perused their careers and businesses after
they left the school. I always imagined that Eldon must
have had some little red book where he noted down all these
facts. It just didn’t seem possible that a person could
absorb and remember so many details.
With Eldon’s passing we have truly lost
a teacher, mentor and friend.
He will be missed.
Louis Mandel
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