(Thomas) Max Bygrave (past staff)

The following has been written by Max's former colleagues, Tom Adams (College staff 1981-2014, Head of Physics 1986-2013) and Andrew Gasson (College staff 1987-2017, Assistant Head Co-Curricular 2011-2016).

Max began his long association with College in 1994 when he joined the Science Department as the Physics Technician. He integrated well within the department and quickly became a valued member of the Physics team. At that time we studied the Nuffield A level course which involved a great deal of practical work. As part of the examination, each student had to perform an individual ‘Practical Investigation’ of their choice. This often required the technician to make some specific apparatus. Max really enjoyed the opportunity that this gave him to use his carpentry and workshop talents and he loved discussing with the students their ideas for progressing their experiment, helping to guide them down sensible lines of scientific enquiry. 

Another part of the A level assessment process was the ‘Practical Problems Paper’. In this exam eight students entered the laboratory where the technician had set up eight different experiments for them. Each student had only 11 minutes to work on one experiment before having to move on to the next one. It was therefore critical that each of the experiments worked reliably and could easily be re-set by the staff before the next student moved to it. Thanks to Max’s meticulous preparation and frequent testing, everything invariably ran smoothly.

An accomplished player himself, Max soon got involved coaching badminton. He was as much at home on the court as he was in the Physics Lab. He coached the sport for 19 years, seven of which as Head of Badminton, and countless Cheltonians benefited hugely from his expertise and skill. Badminton was listed as a ‘minor sport’ in Max’s time but one would never have guessed this when visiting the sports hall on a games’ afternoon. He always ensured that everyone was fully involved on the courts, which then gave him the chance to move from one group to another to offer encouragement, as well as valuable technical advice. 

Through his passion for the game and his commitment to College's pupils, badminton duly flourished. When the time came for Max to retire, Badminton was a well-established and successful sport. Pupils, past and present, have so much to thank him for and it is fitting that Max is remembered every year when the Bygrave Trophy is presented to the most improved player in the club.

After his retirement, Max remained connected to College, supporting academic trips and sporting fixtures and working as a minibus driver (for St John’s Primary School as well as College) and later a car park attendant. Age was no barrier for Max and he was a highly regarded member of the transport team.

Max was very fond of College and College benefitted hugely from him – not only from his work as an excellent technician and inspirational coach but also from his cheerful demeanour, his enthusiasm to help others and his great loyalty.