Obituary and tributes to Abbot Bernard Waldron OSB

Abbot Bernard Waldron OSB

Former Old Boys and teachers from Ramsgate and later Westgate-based St Augustine’s College and Abbey School turned out in numbers to honour and remember the life of Abbot Charles Bernard Waldron who died recently. His funeral took place in Chilworth Surrey, at the new home of the Community of Benedictine monks at St Augustine’s Abbey formerly in Ramsgate.

“Fr Bernard” as he was known to boys and masters, was Headmaster for 30 years of the College and Abbey School from 1957 until 1987.

Charles Arthur Waldron was born on 4th July 1921 in London. He came from Muswell Hill to the Abbey School in Ramsgate for five years in 1930, winning many school prizes for his work. He won a scholarship to Douai School, Woolhampton and spent three years there. He was articled in 1938 for five years to a Chartered Accountant, during which time he also attended training classes of the Catholic Evidence Guild.

In the Second World War he initially joined the Home Guard. He served from 1941 as a radar mechanic in the RAF and crossed to France in September 1944 on RAF operations with his OBOE radio-location unit and by November 1944 was established in Holland and later Germany until demobbed.

Air Force blue was changed for Benedictine black when he joined the St Augustine's Abbey in 1945. He made his monastic profession in January 1947 and, on his Solemn Profession the school magazine reported this, saying: 'Congratulations, and our best wishes for a long life of useful service'.

These wishes express prosaically Father Bernard's life from then until his death.

After his ordination to the priesthood, studies at Manresa College and teaching at Madeley Court, he was appointed head master of the Ramsgate based “Abbey Day School” recently started under Fr David Parry, a post-war attempt to reintroduce Catholic secondary education in Thanet. This task was to change in nature and to grow in complexity over the years.

In those days, the community of Benedictine monks expended its energies in many pastoral activities throughout the deanery of Thanet and beyond and, of course, the Abbot of the day, as Dean, had the overall headache of providing for them.

But the school was the biggest time-and-energy absorber, and from 1957 onwards Fr Bernard bore the main burden of potential worry. He oversaw the school's growth into St Augustine's College (resuming the 19th century name of the establishment,) the Abbey Prep School's return from Madeley Court (evacuated during the war,) and the transfer of both College and prep school to Westgate in 1971/2 where they flourished under his tranquil imperturbability.

His temperament and geniality were key factors in the school's weathering its vicissitudes. But it’s most attractive mark as a Catholic community was ensured by his zeal for the faith. This was always his priority. And he remained proud both of the history of the school and of his own Community.

After his retirement as Headmaster and return to the Abbey at Ramsgate in 1987, he was all ready, after more than a year of preparation, to go out to Ghana as first superior of Kristo Buase, the Benedictine monastic foundation in Ghana.

Then the Abbot of the time, Gilbert Jones, was unexpectedly elected Abbot President of the Subiaco Congregation and Fr Bernard found himself elected the sixth Abbot of Ramsgate.

And now the economic pressures that affected so many similar small schools in England forced him to close St Augustine's College and Abbey School at Westgate in 1995– his life-time's work – and, with dwindling numbers in the Benedictine Community, he had to withdraw the monks more and more from active pastoral work. For Abbot Bernard such things were very painful, but they never shook his rock-solid faith and belief in monastic life, in which he was always exemplary.

He retired as Abbot in 1996. He continued to edify his brethren with his patience and equanimity but he had more to suffer as he entered his eighties and was afflicted with Alzheimer's. The Benedictine Community moved to Chilworth near Guildford in Advent 2011, by which time Abbot Emeritus Bernard was being cared for in a Westgate nursing home. As his condition further deteriorated he was eventually moved, first to Broadwater Lodge, then to Jubilee House, Godalming, where he was very well cared for and the Community of monks were close enough to visit him regularly.

At the age of 93, he died peacefully in the evening of Wednesday 21st January with Father Abbot Paulinus Greenwood and Father Dunstan Keauffling at his bedside, both of whom were former teachers at St Augustine’s College in Westgate.

A Memorial Mass will be held later in the year at St Augustine’s church in Ramsgate. Details will be published later.

An appreciation delivered at the reception after the funeral of Abbott Bernard Waldron OSB, at Chilworth Abbey, Surrey on Tuesday, 3 February, 2015 by K C Doherty, Wallingford, Oxon.

I expect that many of us remember still the first time that we met Abbot Bernard. I certainly do even though it was nearly 44 years ago – a long time, though I am aware that there are those here who have known him much longer than that. To be exact, my first encounter with him took place on 31st May 1971, Whit Monday that year, when he had invited me to Ramsgate for an interview to fill a vacancy for an English teacher.

It was a meeting that nearly didn’t happen, in which case I wouldn’t be here addressing you now and my future and that of my family would have been very different.

Father Bernard – I am sure that he won’t mind my calling him Father Bernard as that is how we all came to know him – had advertised in The Times Educational Supplement for a master to teach English and I wrote applying for the post on 12th April. It was 5 weeks before I received a reply – Father Bernard’s letter was dated 18th May. By then I must have given up hope. In that letter he apologised for the delay but after he had placed the advertisement, he said, he began to think that he might be able to cover his needs by reorganising his existing staffing and so might not need another teacher. Fortunately for me he liked the fact that I had graduated in Economics as he thought that that might be useful at St Augustine’s so he did invite me to Ramsgate for an interview after all.

I remember it well. The headmaster’s study was dark and gloomy and smelt of tobacco smoke – pipe tobacco. Father Gilbert, later Abbot Gilbert, looked in by arrangement, very informally, to cast an eye over me but Father Stephen couldn’t as he was in bed unwell. (They both taught English, which was why Father Bernard wanted them to form an opinion.)
Father Bernard took me on a tour of the school, though I remember few details apart from the fact that a couple of boys were playing badminton in the hall – most were away for the Whitsun break. Then he drove me over to Westgate for a tour of the buildings to which the college would be relocating for the new academic year in September. I was impressed.
Two weeks after the interview I received an offer of the appointment and as you know I stayed at St Augustine’s until the end. I felt at home.

I am sure that we all have diverse memories of Father Bernard. One fact that stays in my mind is that almost every school year, either during assembly or in his homilies during the school Mass on Fridays, he told the school that some of us would die before he did. He was, of course, correct. It was inevitable, and we can all remember some of those who were at St Augustine’s but have left us. I think, however, that we can now relax – it won’t be us.

He then went on to tell us about his route to the priesthood despite the difficulties of his family circumstances arising from having a mother who was wheel-chair bound, a cripple as he described her, but a woman of great faith in contrast to his father, a good man who had no faith. I think that this homily was the only time that he revealed anything about his own circumstances.

The tributes that have appeared on the Old Augustinians website since the news of Abbot Bernard’s death give voice to the esteem which Old Boys and teachers had for him. Of those, the tribute that I would like to refer to is that of Robin Edwards: Robin said, “He gave an outstanding spiritual example to both boys and staff; and, as headmaster, he possessed that all too rare virtue of trusting the professionalism of his teachers and of not feeling the need to give constant direction.” Being human, we teachers sometimes did not live up to that expectation. I remember on one occasion when we had fallen short in some way that I asked him afterwards, “Father, why don’t you tell us off?” “Because I don’t like to,” was his simple reply. If Father Bernard was scant in his criticism, he was also scant in his praise. Taking those together, was it a weakness in him – or a strength? If praise was rare, however, he always gave public acknowledgement to the contributions of individual teachers at some point during the course of his headmaster’s reports on Prize Days. We appreciated it.

For myself, I am profoundly grateful for, among other things, the trust he placed in me in my teaching, in my ten-years as the editor of the school magazine, in the various other responsibilities he asked me to take on, and for the fact that he welcomed me as his successor when the time came for him to step down after 30 years. Little did either of us realise in May 1971 that the headmaster was interviewing the man who would be his eventual successor many years later.

Headmasters have to make difficult decisions at times and Father Bernard had his share of them, but the most difficult must have been as Abbot Bernard when he and the community judged that the time had come to close the two schools. The headmaster’s report at the final Prize Day in 1995, fittingly in the college chapel, makes reference to the pain he must have felt so I shall say no more about it now as it is accessible to you all in its entirety on the OA website.

I trust that you will forgive me if I end on a personal note. My wife and I are very grateful to Abbot Bernard for having agreed to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Mass in the chapel at Minster Abbey by kindness of, and in the presence of, Mother Nikola and her community. That was in 2003 and now the Golden Wedding is behind us, so that Ruby event is not the final mental picture we have of Abbot Bernard. That is of him sitting on a chair at the reception in Ramsgate in September 2011 to mark the departure of the monks for Chilworth. Sadly, he was not as he had been but still was gentle and smiling, and emotionally appreciative of the kind attention he was receiving but not understanding what it was all about. Now he does, and I am sure he is at rest enveloped in the love of God to whom he devoted his long life. And I take it on myself to say on behalf of you all, “Thank you, Father Bernard, Abbot Bernard, for all that you gave us.”

Eulogy - Robin Edwards

It is with great regret that I find that I am unable to be with you all today. I should like to offer my and Doreen's condolences to all the Community and to Fr Bernard's family and friends.

I hope the Community will forgive me if I depart from strict ecclesiastical protocol and refer to FATHER rather than to Abbot Bernard, for this is how most of us remember him.

I will try to be brief, for after all the main purpose of today is to pray for Fr Bernard's eternal rest. It is right, though, that we should spend a few minutes remembering with affection and with admiration a great headmaster, who held office for thirty years.

Fr Bernard was a man who never felt the need to move at the same speed and in the same directions as those around him. I first came across this in the early summer of 1963 when I came for my interview. We talked of this and that, and Fr Bernard showed me round. At the end of the afternoon I drove happily back to Sussex under the firm impression that I had been offered the job, and that I had accepted it. I was a little surprized when a few days later I received a letter from Fr Bernard saying: "If you are still interested in the post, I would be glad to hear from you as soon as possible".

Benedictine administration was not necessarily characterized by crisp efficiency. I have another memory of a staff meeting at Ramsgate. Three monks (of whom Fr Bernard was one) sat at the top table, some puffing at their pipes, others struggling to get them alight. This scene would be unthinkable today (more is the pity), but it does symbolize the calm unflappability which characterized our headmaster. His desk was a complete shambles - but he knew exactly where everything was. There were times, too, when some problem was troubling the school which seemed to some members of staff to admit of a completely straightforward solution, and they wondered why it seemed to have escaped Fr. Bernard's attention. When the matter was put to him, it was a surprize to find that not only had he thought of this solution, but that he was able to produce several good reasons why it could not work.

This placid temperament was a great strength in difficult times. All times are difficult for a Head, but some of Fr Bernard's were exceptional, ranging from staff openly defying his authority, to appointments of staff with bogus credentials. There was the immense task of overseeing the move to Westgate in 1971, and of weathering the difficult days which followed it. Then there was the flood of 1973.

Throughout these trials there remained Fr Bernard's rock-like presence. There was never the slightest doubt what he stood for. His high standards were crystal clear, and he never deviated from his urging of staff and boys to put the spiritual before all else. This is his greatest legacy to us all, and we remember him with affection and gratitude. May he rest in peace.