Cliff Simpson 2024

My pre-BBGS schooling was at St. Paul’s Infant School and then Victoria Infants School.  My sister Elizabeth, older by 16 months, had negotiated the 11 plus without problems and was at BGGS but my parents were justifiably worried that I may not pass the hurdle so they arranged some private tuition.  Thanks to them for this, and subsequently many other things, I passed and joined Form 1C under Form Master Titch Haywood.  He, and my other teachers at School, were subsequently a constant source of inspiration to me.

To be honest I never excelled at any subject or sport at school.  I participated and enjoyed all the sports but was always, at best, in the second team.  I think the only event I ever won on sports day was the slow bicycle race which probably sums up my prowess and ability (or lack thereof!).  I auditioned for the School Choir but was rejected as being tone deaf – some contrast with Graham Currie.  I actually enjoyed most of the lessons and though the education was of course serious we also managed to make it fun much of the time.  I never made it to be a prefect but did manage to restrict my twankings from Sam Price to just one.

I enjoyed my time as a Boy Scout with the St. Paul’s troop and made lots of trips to the Lakes.  One particular memory was looking down from the Great Tower site onto Windermere to see the Lancasters and Yorks being used in the filming of the Dam Busters film.  I was friends with Rob Verity, Geoff Benson and Ron Forrest and we progressed from fell walking to rock climbing in the hills.  We started off with two hemp ropes spliced in the middle so as to allow us to attempt the longer pitches.  Thankfully none of us ever peeled off to test the doubtful quality of our splicing.  As a teenager having an elder sister at BGGS wasn’t exactly a social disadvantage either!  Elizabeth was not only my sister but also my best friend later in life; sadly she passed away in 2005.

One of my enduring memories was the summer School trips abroad.  The first one was to Rhineland staying in youth hostels.  This must have been around 1956 and I was really surprised to see that farmers there were still using oxen to pull their carts and farm implements.  At this time we were somewhat ahead of Germany and even my grandfather had 3 horses on his tenanted farm at Roanhead.  Germany needed indeed to recover from WW2. 

The second trip was to Norway, and the third a climbing trip to the French Alps.  By this time I was a keen, if not so talented, climber and fitness-trained for the holiday by walking in the Lakes with my rucksack filled with rocks.  First day in the Alps was rock climbing which went fine.  However on the second day we were practicing with crampons on an ice wall on a glacier and I peeled off and broke my leg.  I spent the next week in hospital and the following week in solitary back at the base, envious of everyone else out climbing.  The plaster cast came off two days before the next school year started.  At least the seven week itch, thanks to the plaster cast, was over.  Not the best summer hols ever.

I had an uncle based in Carlisle and who had worked in Iran in the oil business.  When he came back to the UK he always seemed to have six months holiday, a flash car and money in his pocket.  We weren’t poor but certainly were not in that league.  I decided I wanted a career doing whatever he did – not really knowing what that was.  So when I left school rather than go to university I took up an industrial apprenticeship with BP and said I wanted to go into the drilling business in their exploration department. 

After an enjoyable and varied four years on an HND sandwich course in Mech Eng I went overseas and was grateful for a subsequent career travelling and seeing the world at BP’s expense.  Whilst working in Thailand I met a wonderful Thai lady and we were married the following year by which time I had moved on to New Zealand.  Subsequently we were blessed with two sons, one of whom lives near me in South West London and the other is in Thailand and whom I visit for a couple of months each winter, which is where I am whilst putting this document together.

BP was a great place to work.  In 1978 they decided that my experience in the exploration business could do with some broadening and sent me off to Imperial College for a Masters in Petroleum Engineering.  Subsequently, after 32 years with BP I took early retirement aged 50 and was lucky enough to get a job in marketing with a Houston-based US drilling contractor.  Based in London I travelled a lot, though generally on trips rather than moving residence.  I think the most interesting part was visiting the former Soviet Union republics following their independence.  Exciting times out there.  A three-month assignment to Alaska one summer was not short on enjoyment, nor was a similar assignment in Trinidad and Tobago.  I eventually hung up my boots and hard hat in 2007.

That I could have enjoyed such a broad and wonderful career would not have been possible without the support from my parents and the dedication and expertise of my teachers at School.  To work in the Drilling business around the world was a rewarding, challenging and at times exciting experience.  I consider myself amongst others of my generation to be the lucky ones.  We had a superb education at the taxpayers’ expense, a happy childhood with an element of outdoor life and weren’t directly involved in a war. We joined the workforce when real careers, rather than just jobs, existed. 

I now live in Wimbledon and work virtually full-time pro bono for a charity that takes donated laptops and refurbs them for needy children and refugees.  Every time I meet a family with kids that is struggling in the current economic climate, or one of Ukrainian refugees I am reminded as to how lucky I am and have been. I am glad to be able to give just a little back.