Adrian Cary Wright (C1 1946-50) died 7th May 2024. His grandson, Toby, wrote the below obituary.

When I’ve thought of my grandfather Adrian Cary Wright in the weeks since he’s passed, I’ve thought of many things. His love for gardening, his appreciation of classical music, and how proud he was to be an Old Marlburian. He was a sentimental man who kept many mementos from his time at the school – to the extent that he wore his schoolboy’s dressing gown for the entirety of his adult life! But more importantly he always carried his memories from his time at the school with him.

Adrian had a sensational life, seeing five monarchs and twenty-two Prime Ministers come and go. He was born on 1st August 1932 and spent his early years living with his parents and siblings in an apartment that was the top floor of his grandmother’s home in Croydon. He had strong memories of seeing Crystal Palace burn from their home at just four years old, and in happier times he would always be ready to receive a bag of sweets from his visiting Aunt Lil. The family moved in 1940 to Welwyn, to a home complete with a traditional caravan that acted as an extra bedroom in the garden. His prep school was Heath Mount, which he attended during wartime. Being so young he didn’t speak of this time as often as he spoke of Marlborough, but we know that being as clever as he was, he thrived at school, particularly in maths.

Following in the footsteps of his father Esmond (C1 1912-17) and brother Nigel (C1 1940-45), he started at Marlborough in 1945. His fondest memories of his time at the school include the visit of King George VI and the then Queen Elizabeth in 1948, cycling from Marlborough to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice with his peers, and daily visits with a friend to a nearby bakery to buy a cream cake. Adrian was always an appreciator of good food, and I remember his eyes lighting up when I asked him about “tuck” after first reading Malory Towers when I was about seven! His strongest point continued to be maths, to the extent where his school reports chronicle him asking for extra sums. Therefore it was only natural that his profession would be a Chartered Accountant. Being able to bypass National Service due to a dislocated shoulder, straight after leaving school he began his apprenticeship at Edward Moore & Sons. Impressively, he worked for the same firm for his entire career. He was a hard worker, and this paid off when he became a partner. He travelled a lot both within the UK and abroad, and through work met his wife Patricia who began working for the firm in 1966. After a secret Christmas drink (as partners and staff weren’t meant to mix socially) they were engaged in September 1970, marrying the next month in Guildhall; a venue chosen from a shared love for the City of London. In order to qualify as a resident of the City, Adrian booked into the Great Eastern Hotel for six weeks, travelling from the office back home to Hertfordshire for his dinner then back to the hotel to sleep, a sign of true love. Their wedding reception was at Painter’s Stainers Hall, where his father had been master for two years, and they then went to Mauritius for their honeymoon and then New York the next year for three weeks.

Adrian continued to work and play hard throughout the second half of his life. He would go from entertaining American clients back at Painter’s Stainers Hall to watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus and listening to The BBC Proms at home, a highlight of his year. He and Patricia had two children, Andrew and then Lucy, who grew up to be very well travelled, as the family ventured to Austria, Italy, Ireland, Jersey, Switzerland and Gibraltar. For someone who loved his work so deeply, he enjoyed his retirement too, filling his time with pub lunches and numerous hobbies: daily dog walks, tending to his beloved garden and delving into our family’s vast history. He also kept an interest in the goings-on of Marlborough, his study contained old copies of The Marlburian, dating back to 1915 and 1917 (which we believe were inherited from his father), as well as other paraphernalia. In his final years he became addicted to his iPad! Even when his sight and hearing declined he continued to enjoy looking at photos from his favourite topics online, as well as using social media to keep in contact with his family. He passed away on 7th May 2024, a few months before his ninety-second birthday, and even in his final weeks he fondly shared memories of his life, and most poignantly his heroes, which made us think of ours. It was only after he died that we realised that within our family, he was our greatest hero.

In August 2021, my Mum and I were driving back home after a holiday in Cardiff, and after noticing it was en route for our return journey, decided to make a brief diversion to Marlborough. Whilst we were perfectly happy just to walk through the town and see the school through those big, picturesque gates, after speaking to a staff member we were allowed to come through and see the school from the courtyard. It was such a special moment, and I felt closer to my Grandpa as I was able to have something to picture whenever he spoke about his school days afterwards. We printed and framed one of the photos, and he kept it on his dining room table as a treasured item. After his death we have had to go through his study, where we’ve found lots of artefacts from his school days, such as all of his school reports in order, and several photos of him in several sports teams, which have been lovely to see. We’ve also found a notebook detailing all of the cricket matches he attended, including several at Marlborough. He’d written notes about some of the matches, including who had bowled and who had won the game for his beloved school. Not only was Adrian proud to be an Old Marlburian, but we are also proud to be connected to such a historic institution as Marlborough.