Desmond Lowden (B2 1951-55), brother of Jeremy (B2 1949-53) and Tim (B2 1954-58), died on 19th May, aged 86.
Des was born at home in Winchester in 1937 and grew up with his two brothers. As a child, Tim has fond memories of Des reading to him in bed at night. However, these weren’t your typical Beatrix Potter books but instead stories that Des has made up. Tim recalled his favourite stories created by Des being ‘Big Policeman and Little Policeman’. Des went on to study at Pilgrims School, and whilst there, he contracted TB of the bone and had to spend long periods in the hospital. This left him with a permanent handicap of one leg being shorter than the other; however, he used a pair of crutches with great skill and never complained about his disability.
During Des’s time at Marlborough, he was fast tracked into the choir and sang the traditional boy’s solo ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ to start the annual Carol Service. Despite his disability, Des swam for the school and competitively shot for the VIII. To get to the rifle range was a major operation involving collecting his rifle from the armoury, located on the opposite side of the road, to then get to the playing fields. This required Des to cross the A4 at full speed on his motorised bicycle to reach the playing fields, meaning a long run up through Court before making the crossing. Des, being brave, had to put a great deal of faith in his school friends assuming they’d successfully stopped the traffic. Des was also an important member of the ‘Light Entertainment Society’, which used to entertain hospitals, care homes etc. His brother, Tim, recalls Des asking him to run on the stage wearing only a grass skirt, with Des chasing after him pushing a lawnmower – a snippet that shows Des’ zany sense of humour and incentive mind.
After Marlborough, he found work at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios, first working as a runner and then moving on to assistant editor. Des travelled to work in the South of France as a deckhand and then to Crete as a TEFL teacher. He married his wife Gillian while in Athens, and the couple returned to Winchester, where they had two children.
With a lifelong passion for writing, Des became a full-time writer and continued this career for the rest of his life. He published a number of books and plays, two of which were turned into films. He also produced plays for the BBC, including ‘The News-benders’ staring Donald Pleasence and Nigel Davenport in 1968. He was awarded the Silver Dagger for crime writing in 1989. Des also continued his passion for music and sang in choirs for most of his adult life, as well as running his own jazz band for several years.
Des was a very talented but modest man, inventive, brave, and very funny with huge determination.
