Dod Wainwright tribute
We are very sad to announce the death of Thomas ‘Dod’ Wainwright, former headmaster of St Andrew’s School, on 28 May 2019.
Dod’s involvement with St Andrew’s was colossal – spanning no less than 22 years as man and boy. As a pupil here in the early 1950s he excelled at sport particularly in his swimming, shooting and cricket and rose to become captain of the latter two in 1954. He was also appointed head boy for his final two terms.
He went on to Eastbourne College where he was head of house and then head of school from 1959-60. He continued to excel at sports, on the track as a sprinter, on the rugby field and in the swimming pool, not to mention on the cricket pitch. He was described in The Eastbournian (the Eastbourne College annual magazine) as ‘one of the outstanding schoolboy cricketers of his time’. He spent three seasons in the 1st XI, the last as captain, during which he scored over 700 runs at an average of 51.
After studying at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Dod taught at St Andrew’s for two years before joining the Eastbourne College staff, where he taught economics and history from 1965 to 1969. He was also house tutor in Wargrave, and a coach for cricket and other sports.
He returned to St Andrew’s in 1969 as Headmaster, having been appointed at the tender age of just 28. He held this position until 1984. During his tenure he guided the school through massive and challenging changes at a crucial stage in its history. Facilities were hugely improved, girls were introduced and there was also the merger with Ascham in 1977. What emerged by the early 1980s was a school that had been totally transformed. Pupil numbers had risen significantly and the school’s reputation for academic excellence was galvanised by scholarship success at an unprecedented level. In 1975 St Andrew’s boys won the top four scholarships to Harrow and in 1983 six of the top scholarships at different public schools were won. With a style and charisma of his own he left an indelible mark on the school and earned the respect of pupils, parents and staff alike.
Following his departure from St Andrew’s he pursued a totally different, but no less successful, career as an Investment Banker and worked for Smith Barney in Cleveland, Ohio, before retiring to Florida.
He was married to Annie and the picture above shows them with their two children, Mark and Sarah, just before their move to the States.
A family funeral will be held in the US, and a memorial service is planned for the UK later in the year.
