Sean Beer's Tribute to Michael Downward at a Thanksgiving Service on Saturday 31st May 2025 at All Saints Church, Eggesford.

Michael

Good afternoon Pat, My Lady, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Sean Beer, I was Head Boy at West Buckland School in the academic year 1980/1981, and I have been asked to say a few words about the life and times of Michael Downward, AKA Daisy.

Michael maintained to Pat that if you could not say something in 10 minutes it was not worth saying. This might be slightly difficult for someone who is an autistic academic and whose grandfather was a Brethren preacher, however, I will do my best.

It is up to us, during our conversations today and in the future to add our own thoughts and reflections to this brief outline. I hope that there is some humour in what I have to say. I know that this is a sad time, but it is also a celebration of a life well lived, and Michael had a wicked sense of humour.

By way of introduction

At one time the corridors of West Buckland echoed to the swish of an anorak, the padding of sensible shoes, and the padding of sensible paws, as Michael made his rounds accompanied by a lovely Yellow Labrador called Daisy, hence the nickname. As somebody once said, it could have been worse.

Such wanderings would often result in a cry of CAVE DAISY. Hopefully the use of Latin in the school gladdened Michael’s classicist heart. Cave (KV) is evidently the imperative of cavēre to take care, beware (I had to look that up - not much Latin was spoken when I was at West Buckland).

What I have to say today about Michael will contain some facts, some reflections, and reflections on the reflections of others. There may also be a slight West Buckland bias.  By its very nature it will be personal, however, I believe there is a consensus. Michael was a good man, a good Christian. Someone who cared, who always gave more than 100% and achieved great things. Things with a legacy.

A friend of Pat and Michael’s said that “He exemplified Christian teaching both as Headmaster and after it. He was both interesting and interested. He always looked to the betterment of others and put them first.”

I intend to divide what I have to say into three parts.

• What I did not know (the time before West Buckland).
• What I knew (from my time at West Buckland and afterwards),
• And what I have come to know (of his life post West Buckland and his contribution in so many different areas).

What I did not know

Michael was born in Ewell in Surrey in 1941. He never knew his father, who was shot down over the channel in June 1942. I am sure that they are now united now in Christ. He went to prep school and then to Epsom College as a Scholar and kept in touch with friends from this time until very recently, when compatriots’ health started to fail.

In 1960 he went up to Clare College, Cambridge as an Open Scholar to read Latin and Ancient Greek. It was here that one of his lecturers suggested he helped out at Beeston Regis Prep School in Norfolk to see if he might like to become a teacher. He did help out and he did want to become a teacher. He was a born teacher, his sister-in-law called him “Mr Chips”.

He undertook a PGCE at Bristol University.  Then, from 1964 until 1978 he taught and became a Head of Department at Loughborough Grammar School, where he met Pat.  Many children and parents from this time have kept in touch right up to the present day.

What I knew

Michael and Pat moved to North Devon in 1979 when Michael became Headmaster. I think that they found it a little remote and the weather at times a little inclement.  They arrived to deep snow, a house with no heating and burst pipes.  Pat remembers it also rained for most of the next four summers.  So much for those “Come to sunny Devon postcards” she remembered, however they soon got into the swing of things.

Looking back, I believe that Michael had a vision; to hold on to the essence and traditions of what made West Buckland special, but to expand and develop the experiences of the pupils and staff as a caring community.  All things solidly underpinned by the Christian ideals that had caused the Rev. J.L. Brereton to found the School in 1858.  All this was fundamental to securing the school’s economic viability and long-term sustainability.

Sometimes Michael moved quite slowly in a very patient way.  This is not a criticism, but a compliment. Sometimes he moved swiftly, and I think that the move to coeducation was an example of this.

Michael had always thought that coeducation was a good thing and my year as Head Boy (a year after he arrived) was the first year in which girls were admitted to all sections of the School; previously it had been limited to the Sixth Form. I remember lots of pig tails and satchels.  Pat seems to think that it led to the boys smartening up their act a little.

He allowed people to try things, to succeed and to fail; in essence to learn. He took risks and allowed people to take risks. He gave people responsibility.

I now need to digress a little and to tell a story which I think exemplify these ideas of care and community.  I must say at the start that Pat has asked me specifically to tell this story.

A few days after a dance at a School in Bideford a knock came at the door of my study/bedroom.  I had learnt by bitter experience always to respond politely when you cannot see who is knocking, which was particularly useful in this case because it was the Headmaster.

He had received a telephone call for me on his private phone line.  Well, that was a bit of a worry.  From one of the House Mistresses at Edgehill College. My worry grew.  Evidently, I had met a young lady at the dance.  Our meeting had affected her in a way that meant that she had subsequently stopped eating and would it be possible for me to speak to her.

Ok, so you need to imagine me - less weight, more hair and beautiful cheek bones. And also total mortification. Michael was very calm, very kind, and if he thought that this was hilarious, he wasn’t showing it. I went across and took the call. And yes, the young lady and I did go out for a while.

As someone who is autistic, I wish that Michael had been available to facilitate some of my other relationships as for the most time I have no idea what is going on. In many ways this also characterized our working relationship. Always calm, even when things were difficult, mutual respect, directness, and care.

I know that he showed this care for others.  For some pupils West Buckland was not the school for them.  They could not thrive and as a result those around them suffered.  I know that he would ring round looking for other schools where they might fit in.

One of my contemporaries said, “I remember him as a fair and thoughtful headmaster. He wrote to me to congratulate me on my graduation four years after I left school, so I guess he also tried to keep up to date with his ‘flock’.”

Through this process of listening, experimenting, taking risks, accepting success and failure, caring, making difficult decisions, giving responsibility, praising (and at times chastising), Michael secured a strong financial footing and sense of community which has enabled all the subsequent developments that we have seen at the school to take place.

He did not do this on his own.  There was Pat, there were the governors, staff, pupils, past pupils, and friends, but Michael was Headmaster.

What I have come to know

After retiring from West Buckland in 1997, Michael's commitment to public service remained undiminished.

He became:

• A magistrate 
• A governor of Plymouth College and St. John's School, Sidmouth
• A trustee and chairman of the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstable
• A supporter of youth music through Dartington's Young Musicians Support Group
• He represented the HMRC on Admiralty Interview Board Panels
• He served as an Independent Schools Council regional coordinator
• He worked with the University of Buckingham and took a specific interest in those starting out on a career teaching classics
• He gardened
• He landscaped
• He DIYed

He walked with Pat and canine companions across Exmoor.  The swish of anoraks, the padding of sensible boots, the padding of sensible paws.

Lists can hide depth. For example, as a magistrate Michael saw past the offending, to the people. He took a particular interest in drug addiction, working in very practical ways, such as helping addicts find accommodation.

I retired two years ago, and this doesn’t sound like retirement. A few weeks ago he attended West Buckland School’s Exmoor run, arriving early for the assembly, leaving late when all the runners were home.  Pat said that he did so enjoy the day.

In 2011, Michael returned to serve as a Trustee of the West Buckland School Foundation. As Chair of the Bursary Committee, he brought his vast educational experience to the fore in identifying and supporting recipients of fully funded, transformational bursaries. I know that this was important to Michael. We spoke on the phone a few weeks ago.  This was the last thing that we spoke about.

That word transformational is important. I know that everyone has a different experience of their time at school, but I also know that for many that experience is, transformational. My life was changed by attending West Buckland through the people that I met and the experience of life that it gave me.

A generation previously my father's life was changed. Albert Beer attended West Buckland from 1946 to 1953 on a full County Scholarship. He came from a poor background with a Devon accent so thick that he maintained that people could not understand him in Barnstaple: he lived at Newton Tracey 5 miles away! He left school as head of house, a fine sportsman and went on to study at Reading and Cornell Universities then pursuing a career in agricultural extension before returning to his beloved North Devon to farm.

Michael’s Christian beliefs were central to all he did. I believe that the Christian foundation of the school has been central to its success and was something that Michael nurtured and cherished, as he cherished the way that the school could transform lives.

He also served God here as a church warden for 25 years in this beautiful Church of All Saints, Eggesford, continuing the 600 plus years of service and witness in this place.  He was both spiritual and practical. Following Covid as soon as groups were able to meet together outdoors for worship Michael could be found helping to organise services in the churchyard, with small groups, socially distanced, but joined together in worship.

In conclusion

Living at Merryfield in Winkleigh gradually became too much work and it was two years ago that Pat and Michael moved to a more manageable property at North Molton. Unfortunately, Michael’s health declined rapidly.  Problems with his back and the onset of dementia took their toll. 

I remember a telephone conversation a few weeks ago. He was obviously struggling to breathe, but he was still so vibrant and so enthusiastic about everything. In all this Pat was by his side, ever present, ever supporting, ever loving.

Many people have said so many thoughtful things about Michael. The WBS Foundation summed up the feelings of many:

“Michael’s exceptional service to education and to his community was matched by the personal qualities that defined him. He was a man of warmth, humility, and deep conviction, whose generous spirit and shrewd counsel earned the respect and affection of all who knew him. He was supported throughout, by his wife Pat, whose kindness, humour and legendary hospitality were deeply appreciated by the school community and beyond. West Buckland School was fortunate indeed to have had such a gifted and dedicated Headmaster at the helm for 18 years. Michael Downward leaves a legacy of excellence, compassion, and visionary leadership. He will be deeply missed.”

From one of my contemporaries: “He was a kind, fair man out to achieve for the school and he did. Without him the school might not be here now.” A friend of Pat and Michael’s wrote: “Michael's gentle voice, his ready smile, his kindness and great work for the good of North Devon will stay with us all. It has been a great privilege to know you and Michael over the years.”

A life well lived. A man who wished to help others, especially the young.

Michael, you are much loved,

Peace be with you and God be with you,

Pax vobiscum et Deus vobiscum,

Amen.

Dr Sean Beer