Death of Ian Foster (K46-53)

This comment is provided by James Ruddock-Broyd (G46-52) :

Not being a Sporty type, I saw little of Ian in the 30 years after joining Framlingham on the same day in 1946. Then in the 1980s Ian and I appeared beside the same seat in an Amsterdam nightclub and later he asked me to do his Farm Accounts.

Those two events sparked a very close friendship over the last 40 years and many Fram and other ‘dos’ were with our mutual friend John Gooderham until he died in 2014. Christine and I will sorely miss Ian. He taught me how to get on with inhabitants when travelling abroad and introduced me to many of his City and boating fraternity.

In particular he was most hospitable at many Boat Shows and allowed me his boat Marinella in Menorca when times were hard and in the following years he had much pleasure in telling friends the story of my partner and I falling into the sea when transferring to a dinghy to get us to the mainland for a last night dinner and all dressed up.

We attended his 70th and 80th Birthday Parties in Majorca which were 4-5 day events with his detailed itineraries of visits and partying throughout the day. It was a most wonderful surprise the other way round when Ian and Tessa appeared at my Surprise 80th at Beckenham and he was cajoled by Christine do to the main speech for 120 surprise guests on the lawn. RIP, Ian

Ian was a good friend of mine being at school at the same time as me, he was a very good sportsman, and as I told him I don't think I ever beat him at anything, including boxing, which we took part in reluctantly, and were told not to behave like a couple of fairies by Norman Borrett. Then in 2020 we visited him in Majorca and enjoyed a very nice lunch at the golf club near to his house. Much earlier we had all enjoyed a very good evening at the centenary dinner at the school.

Very sad news. Ian was one of the foremost sportsman of the early 1950’s and Captain of Cricket in 1953. An outstanding hockey player after leaving school. Ian was an accomplished businessman in a variety of fields and a staunch supporter of the OF’s.