Obituary Edwin John Wilton Bonds
The following obituary was forwarded to us by John's son-in-law, Roderick S Black. John wrote the piece himself and asked for it to be forwarded to the Secretary of the OB Club in the event of his death.
E.J.W. BONDS (JOHN, OH 1948-53) was born in India in 1935, the son of a Cornish mining engineer. His early childhood was spent there with the Sharp brothers (Nigel and Richard) and after coming to England and an unpleasant prep school, he was relieved to arrive at Blundell's with its much more civilized ways. As a member of the Classical Sixth he was especially lucky to be taught by Geoffrey Lucas and also had Pat McElwee as housemaster of OH where he became head of house. He annoyed Jimmy Carter by deciding not to enter for Balliol but take Christopher Silk’s recommendation to go to New College at Oxford, one of his best ever decisions.
After national service as a second lieutenant in the Royal Signals he read Greats at Oxford and then decided on something more practical with a career in financial management, joining the Shell oil group and taking an accounting qualification. He worked for Shell for 35 years including assignments in Thailand, Laos, Africa, Norway and even the UK, his final appointment being Finance Director for Shell Europe based in The Hague. On retirement he was invited by the Home Office to become a Charity Commissioner (1995-99) with specific responsibility for finance and accounting matters. He chaired the committee which produced the Year 2000 Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting by Charities (Charities SORP).
From 2001 to 2007 he was Treasurer / Trustee of the British Red Cross, an organization very dear to his heart and was very much involved in restoring its finances. He was awarded the Queen’s badge of honour. He was also a member of the New College Endowment Committee and on the board of Schroders Charity Equity Fund.
Widowed twice (Margaret 1979 and Inger-Marie 2003) he had a daughter (Judy), son (Michael) and granddaughter (Eleanor) who brought him great happiness, particularly in his later years.
Although he lived in Surrey he retained his affection for Cornwall and acquired a fondness for Norway where he met his second wife.