Barbara Megson 1930-2023

Barbara was one of the founder pupils of LEH at Hampton and was one of the few remaining pupils who had been present at the official opening, attended by the Duchess of Gloucester in 1937.

She joined in 1936, after LEH bought out the small private school she attended, called Summerleigh, in Teddington, to use as a temporary home until the new building in Hampton was ready to move into.

As well as making the most of her academic opportunities at LEH, Barbara played in the first teams for lacrosse, tennis, and badminton, gaining her colours in all three sports. But she was probably best known for her flair for playing the piano, and even stood in for the piano teacher, Mr Ridgeway, when he broke his leg in the winter of 1947-48.

During the Sixth Form she researched and wrote a painstaking account of the history of LEH, which up until the publication of Grace and Integrity, was the only chronicle of the School’s foundation and subsequent years.

Barbara attended LEH during the war, and her recollection of the details of life at the School then was vivid and impressive. Aged 13, she remembered being sent to Twickenham County School for Girls, along with other LEH pupils, to do their part for the war effort in the run-up to D-Day.

They were asked to help pack spare parts for tanks and other army vehicles used by soldiers in battle, ensuring each batch had exactly the right number of screws to allow them to be used with ease. After working long days, Barbara received her first ever pay packet for this vital contribution. She also recalls going to the ballroom at Hampton Court Palace to sort clothes that had been donated by Americans to help Londoners bombed out by the Blitz.

Barbara set her sights on attending Cambridge University and, against considerable competition, won a place at Girton College to read History. She would not have been able to take up her place without the help of a loan from LEH’s Nora Nickalls Trust Fund. “It made all the difference,” she said later. It left her with an enduring sense of gratitude towards the School, and the determination to do what she could to give back.

After graduating, she dedicated her professional life to the field of Education, working first as a teacher, including a stint at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, an administrator and then in 1968 becoming one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools for more than 20 years, until her retirement in 1990.

She enjoyed a full and active retirement in Cambridge, chairing the local National Trust committee, and being an administrator for the Cambridge University of the Third Age. She maintained her deep interest in history, undertaking research projects for several of the London Livery Companies, and publishing six books, including an informal history of Girton College.

In 2001 she was made a Freeman of London and joined the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Stationers in 2013.

Barbara always maintained her interest in LEH, playing a key role in the 75th anniversary of the opening of LEH in Hackney; donating a vast collection of memorabilia to the School archives, including the immaculate white gloves she was wearing at the official opening; and becoming a generous donor to the LEH Bursary Fund.

Last year we named one of the meeting rooms in the new Quadrant Building in her honour – the Megson Room.  And she kindly gifted us a prestigious oil painting of herself, by Royal portrait artist Andrew Festing, MBE, to put in it. His other notable commissions include portraits of the Queen, the Queen Mother and Princess Anne.

He painted Barbara in 2009 when she was 79-years-old. She won the commission in a fundraising auction for her alma mater Girton College during her time as patron of their celebrated art collection.  In her hand she is holding a sixteenth century document which is part of her specialist research into medieval London. 

We are very proud of everything Barbara achieved and are very grateful for all the support she showed LEH over the years.  She will be much missed by all of us.