The jacket was worn by Mr C. G. S. Widdows when teaching at Queen's, so it will be of particular interest to OQs in the senior school between 1973 and 1985, when he was a member of staff.

All teachers leave their mark, for good or ill, to a greater or lesser extent in the eyes of the pupils - whose views are, of course, subjective. Nonetheless, some teachers are universally held in high regard. Mr Widdows, or Chris as he is affectionately remembered by colleagues and pupils, is one of these teachers.

He was very knowledgeable about his subject, History, with the imagination to embellish the story which pupils found beguiling. He was studious but entertaining. Even if  a pupil had not been taught by Chris, they may have benefited from knowing him in other areas of school life - perhaps in the school choir or drama productions, on the sports field, boarding in the sixth form block or as a day boy in Fielding House.

When he left Queen's to take up the post of Deputy Head at Christ College, Brecon in December 1985, he gave the jacket in a glass case to his colleagues - a tongue in cheek gift inspired by the All Black shirt which was damaged in the Pavillion fire of 1962, and which was subsequently preserved in a glass case.

When he retired, Chris resumed his links with Queen's, teaching Politics to sixth formers and, livign locally, he still attends functions and responds to calls for help. No longer on the wall in the common room, the jacket in its glass case hangs, appropriately, in one of the history rooms in which Chris taught - H2, now the archive.