Tower and Town, July 2021

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'An itinerant childhood meant that I’ve valued putting down roots and calling Marlborough home'

Christopher Joseph, 81, came to Wiltshire in 1967. He has lived in Alexandra Terrace, Marlborough, for 40 years.

In 1966 I was a grammar school teacher caught up in comprehensive reorganisation. In the state system, no one could promise a stable job. I was fortunate to be appointed head of Geography at Marlborough College aged 27. Here was stability: a contract until “the summer after your 60th birthday”. Geography was a backwater and it was a challenge to bring it into the mainstream, against some prejudice from pupils and staff alike. Success in breaching the barriers has been very gratifying.

I grew up as a mixed-race boy in the 1940s and 1950s. School and university shielded me from racism. Not so once I started city life. This brought me sharply up against a very different Britain. Marlborough has been wonderfully free of that; it’s a place where variety flourishes.

An itinerant childhood meant that I’ve valued putting down roots and calling Marlborough home. I miss the mix of small shops that there used to be. Bring back our cinema, and thanks to those independents who survive. As a geographer, it’s not surprising that I value the countryside enormously. Kipling’s view of Sussex applies equally here: “Our blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed Downs” are a joy to walk on, with their views in so many directions. For contrasts, there are woods ranging from Gopher to Savernake, with their seasonal variety. Also we have the River Kennet, where ARK is doing such splendid conservation work.

Music has played a large part; a source of many friendships, much fun and laughter. I’m still with the North Wiltshire Symphony orchestra after 54 years. I’ve played with orchestras in Swindon and elsewhere. The choir of St John’s, Devizes has been my main musical focus since retirement. We are a mixed choir of 37 reaching far beyond parish standard and singing in every nearby cathedral. Watching children grow and passing on to college has been a constant joy, sadly all too rare in parishes now.

Chris Joseph