In The Spotlight: David Yorke

This month, David Yorke (1952-59) is in the spotlight:  

Tell us about what you do now. Has your time at the School influenced your life today?

I left BMS in July 1959 after taking my O levels. I had no idea what I wanted to do and I wanted to relieve the financial burden on my parents.

I spent a couple of years working in the Metallurgical Lab at Britannia Iron & Steel (now Georg Fischer) and starting my HNC but I decided that science was not for me and I moved into insurance, which was regarded as a secure & respectable occupation. My office was the Sun Fire Office, above Barclays Bank in Bedford High Street. I moved up the ranks, through various departments and was eventually promoted to Inspector. My role was to retain contacts with the Sun's Agents, mainly solicitors, garages and building societies and it meant a company car, a Morris 1100! In1971 I was promoted to London City Office. Working in the City you certainly felt at the centre of things and I actually had to own a bowler hat but was not expected to wear it!

1973 saw me promoted to Assistant Regional Manager, based in Manchester. Now with three young daughters we moved to live in the Peak District of Derbyshire, which was a delight.  As a lifelong Manchester United supporter this was an added bonus.

It was about this time that North Sea oil exploration was beginning and as a Life Office specialising in long term disability and salary continuance, we were asked to provide cover but no one knew anything about the offshore occupational risk so I was deputed to find out. It was then that I flew conventionally to Aberdeen by helicopter, and in mid-December in the Pentland Firth I found myself on a self-propelled oil rig, trying to find out what was going on!

I greatly enjoyed my time in Manchester but in 1976 I was offered the position of Manager for Scotland. The following years were ones of consolidation in Financial Services, which unfortunately resulted in redundancy for myself and my staff - a very demoralizing time.

Redundancy forced me to do what I lacked the confidence to do before, become an Independent Financial Advisor. I was fortunate enough to join a well-established practice in Edinburgh specializing in Retirement & pre-retirement planning. After several months I was appointed as Director which was my first experience of helping to run a private company.

Then Piper Alpha happened!

An existing contact of ours was appointed Employee Benefits Manager for Occidental Oil barely a month before the Disaster. With the loss of 167 men, many dependent families would need immediate help and support to deal with very substantial death in service benefits. We were respected for our reputation for this service and our fees for the whole operation were paid for by Occidental. We were also called upon to advise redundant employees and I, and several of my colleagues, spent time on offshore rigs, Claymore & Piper B.

I spent several years travelling throughout the UK, all together a very satisfying time but the responsibilities of management, whilst advising up to 150 or so clients, was getting to me and so I reached agreement with my other Directors to leave, taking a number of clients with me, and set up my own practice. This was a major exercise which I survived, but financial services was becoming more and more heavily regulated, so to make business easier I joined St James Place. The marketing support was excellent, but your own activities were very restricted and I only stayed for 12 months. By good chance a fellow IFA who ran his own practice was looking for another advisor and I joined Edinburgh Risk management in September 1991. This began the most satisfying & final years of my working life. We were a medium sized practice of several like-minded individuals with an office in Edinburgh's New Town, who enjoyed a first-class reputation and a common purpose- to be the best! By this time I was approaching 60 and thoughts of my eventual retirement began to concern me. By joining ERM I had secured continuity for my clients but events took a hand in 2006 when I suffered a stroke whilst on holiday in Greece. I wasn't hospitalised until I returned to the UK. I was remarkably fortunate and suffered no serious long term damage, although my mobility has deteriorated since.

I finally decided to retire from full-time employment in 2009 but such is the satisfaction that I obtained from my work that I continued to do some consultancy work for another five years.

So here I am now with my second wife, Mary, living in rural Perthshire, a couple of miles from Gleneagles Hotel & Golf Courses. It was in 1984 that I met Mary, to whom I have now been married for 37 years. We met on the pier at Bournemouth - now there's a romantic story for you!

My three daughters live close by and I have six grandchildren. Two have completed their master’s at Strathclyde University, a third is in his final year at Stirling University and my youngest is about to begin her degree course at Glasgow Caledonian. She also continues the family tradition, playing trumpet in Perth Junior Symphony Orchestra.

Tell us about your time at BMS. Do you have any special memories you would like to share?

I was one of the post war generation for whom life at BMS was light years away from today's enlightened environment, scrutinised as we were under the beady eye of The Headmaster JET Taylor & Rev ‘Blanket’ Bennnet.

My school career was respectable if uneventful. I was a capable, if not leading, scholar.

At the time there was a very close relationship between the school and the county church, St Paul's, and I was fortunate enough to become Head Chorister, under the direction of Fred Rawlins. As choristers we were given consent to miss school to sing in the Assize Service or the Mayor making celebrations.

By most standards my seven years were largely unremarkable but I achieved much in a quiet sort of way.

Due to being a part of the Musical Society and because of a very active CCF I joined the Corps of Drums. There was always the annual inspection when the band was expected to put on a display, there was the Remembrance Day march to the war memorial on The Embankment led by Drum Major Tim Page & latterly by "Ears" Summerfield. Lastly annual camp for the band competition at Thetford, Kinmel Park near Rhyl and Aldershot. We were a very successful and champion cadet band in Eastern, Western & Southern Command. On the sporting front I played rugby for North House and Bedford Athletic. I narrowly missed out playing cricket for the Colts XI in what was a very good side, but subsequently became a very capable wicketkeeper with Bedford Argus, Bromham Nomads and The Ath.

After my O levels I decided I wanted to join the Royal Marines as a bandsman at Kneller Hall but my House Tutor, Charlie Deveson felt I was not cut out for military life & I listened. It's a decision I have always regretted but without any recriminations.

Who was someone from your time at BMS who had an impact on you and why?

My abiding love was music, under the inspiring leadership of the inimitable Fred Rawlins, ably supported by John Railton. The highlight of the musical year was always our performance of one of the major choral works, Mass in B minor or St Matthew Passion, with professional orchestra, Boyd Neal, and professional soloists. It's only been in later years that you realise what an enormous undertaking these concerts were and how fortunate we were to participate. From the musical society to St Paul's church, to St Michaels Church, Linlithgow (the biggest Parish Church in Scotland) & most recently Dunblane Cathedral I have been a chorister for more than 70 years. I was Chairman of Stirling. Male Voice Choir for 20 years.

What do you do like to do in your spare time?

I have just turned 82 so take things a little easier but I am an active member of Auchterarder Probus and currently serve as Hononrary Treasurer. As a local organisation we are providing active support to Ukrainian immigrants now resident in Scotland.

Roughly speaking you can divide the world into joiners and abstainers. I am definitely a joiner, I like to get involved - to give something back - definitely BMS influence.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

With unstinting support of parents and family, I have enjoyed a very satisfying and fulfilling life. BMS taught me to be open minded and enthusiastic. Far be it from me to proffer advice, I would merely add- ‘Don't be remembered for what you took out, rather for what you put back’.

Are there any other thoughts you would like to share with the OBM and BMS community?

My intention in putting pen to paper is I hope to demonstrate that what may seem a routine, deskbound occupation can turn out to be something quite different.

So, what has BMS given me? A lasting loyalty to my alma mater and a resilience to be able to confront challenge, change and misfortunate.

Deep inside I know that without my years at BMS my life wouldn't have been half as good.