Herrlich Herr Ferrar

OV Marcus Ferrar (Cr 53-63 and Old St Alban’s) very kindly journeyed from his Oxfordshire home to speak with the King’s Sixth Form Germanists in preparation for their visit to Germany.

Having lived in East Berlin in the 1970s as the sole Western reporter, working for Reuters, Marcus shared his experiences of living in communist times with the Sixth Formers to give them an insight into a part of Berlin’s rich history. The students were particularly enthralled to learn how Marcus’s flat had been bugged with multiple microphones and all his conversations recorded by ‘the state’. Marcus explained to the students how East Berlin came into being, giving a comparison with what is happening now with Russia and the Ukraine. He also explained that for some, particularly women, life in East Germany was good due to the encouragement to work and state-supported childcare, which all ended when the Wall came down.

The Sixth Formers asked Marcus a huge range of questions, from the Stasi Camps, to what he wrote about when he was in East Berlin – they were amazed to learn Marcus submitted his copy by dictating the article over the phone, which was then relayed via further telex messages around the world. The King’s Germanists were particularly interested about Marcus’s own journey with languages: He explained that having studied French and German at university, he then learned Czech and Portuguese when he was posted there during the Revolution. However, learning never stops, and Marcus is currently learning Slovene for his Slovenian wife!

Marcus, who is also the chair of The Dresden Trust, gave the Sixth Formers an overview of the bombing of Dresden in 1945, with images of ‘before’ and ‘after’, including the pros, cons, and ethics of the bombings. Marcus will be in Dresden in February 2025 with The Duke of Kent, the Trust’s Royal Patron, to commemorate the 80th anniversary and celebrate the subsequent reconciliation.

Having spent the morning with the Sixth Formers and their teachers, Diana Drew (Hon OV) and Rachel Rutter (Hon OV), Marcus took a walk around the School site and revisited King’s St Alban’s. While Marcus enjoyed seeing the facilities and buildings that hadn’t been available when he was at school, including the swimming pool, he also enjoyed retracing his footsteps through those buildings that had been there. Marcus shared that one of his best memories from his time was being appointed a Monitor (and then Head of School) and walking slowly across the Monitors’ Lawn, watching all the other pupils having to walk around!

College Hall brought back great memories too. As Head of School, Marcus had to ensure the gathered pupils and staff were quiet and ready for David Annett (HM 1959-1979) to come sweeping in to College Hall every morning promptly at 0900 for Assembly. It took some skill to time it just right, so the pupils didn’t settle down too early and then start talking again, and not too late so there was noise when Annett arrived. Marcus added, “The pupils were usually very good at settling down; the same couldn’t be said for the teachers!”

Marcus spent more time in College Hall than many others as his father, the late Harry Ferrar, had been Second Master (from 1954-1968). One of Harry’s many duties was to attend Sunday Matins every week, where he was joined by Dan McTurk, the then Head of School House. The two masters were very good friends, and had both served in Burma during the War so had a shared history, along with a number of other members of the teaching staff.

Thank you, Marcus, for giving your time to the Sixth Form Germanists, and for sharing your personal memories of your own time at King’s.