“As an Army man he knew what a proper community was like and should be, and took to that dimension of College like a duck to water”

An ex-Army officer and former Domestic Bursar of St John’s College has died at the age of 91.

Colonel Richard Henry Robinson OBE, a Fellow of St John’s, began his uniformed career as a trooper in the British South Africa Police before joining the British Army. After retiring from the military, Col Robinson was appointed Domestic Bursar at St John’s, and for 13 years oversaw the many operational activities involved in College life.

He died on 15 July 2024 and a family funeral service will be held in St John’s College Chapel on Friday 16 August.

Professor Malcolm Schofield, Emeritus Professor of Ancient Philosophy and a Fellow of St John’s, said Col Robinson was ‘a delightful person, ever the soul of courtesy and kindness’.

Col Robinson joined St John’s as Domestic Bursar in 1987, following his Army career spanning four decades. He retired as Domestic Bursar in 2000 but remained a Fellow.

Professor Schofield was President of the College for four years when Col Robinson was Domestic Bursar and remembers him as having ‘a great sense of fun, not beyond the occasional practical joke’.

“As an Army man he knew what a proper community was like and should be, and took to that dimension of College like a duck to water,” added Professor Schofield.

“He had some original turns of phrase, which much amused us. He would often speak of 'the mundaneries' of College operations. He took pleasure and pride in having elegant notices placed at gates and in the courts,

“He was in his element in a crisis, for example, one day when the kitchens lost all power in the afternoon. Dinner for all was secured nonetheless at the usual time by Richard's commissioning something like 60 meals from the Chinese restaurant over the road.”

A report of Col Robinson’s retirement in The Eagle said his College career had seen him ‘shoring up the Chapel, getting loos and bollards up and running in a timely manner... and all with such enormous good humour’.

Col Robinson also oversaw the building and official opening of the Working Library in September 1994 and, in 2001, he was made an Honorary Member of the College’s Lady Margaret Boat Club for his work on the club’s behalf.

He called his own time at St John’s, ‘the greatest fun and especially made so by the tremendous support, understanding and friendship’ that he and his wife Elizabeth had received.

At his College job interview he recalled saying he could not foresee any difficulties in moving from a regimental environment to an academic one: “It seemed to me to be a move from one family environment to another and that is just how it has been.”

Born in Yorkshire, Col Robinson was a trooper policing the outback of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1951-1954 before joining the British Army, where he served in The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment during the Malayan Emergency. In 1958 he transferred to The Royal Leicestershire Regiment initially as an Intelligence Officer before rising up the ranks.

As well as being in the armed forces in the UK and Malaya (now West Malaysia), he served in Aden (now part of Yemen), Malta, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 1972 he was awarded an MBE, followed by an OBE in 1977 for his work as Commander in the Union Defence Force in the UEA (now UAE Armed Forces). He was also a recipient of the UAE Distinguished Service Medal.

Col Robinson leaves Elizabeth, his wife of 63 years, and children Guy Richard Aspland-Robinson, Victoria Kim Dorfman and Timothy Edward Robinson. Friends are welcome to attend the funeral service at noon in the College Chapel on Friday 16 August.

Published 5/8/2024

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