Denis Compston 1913 – 2010 (Ridgeway 1927-30)

Denis Compston who died at the age of 96 on 23rd February 2010 was, with his brother Tym, the second generation of the four generations of Compstons who have attended Mill Hill.

At School he was more academically inclined than a sportsman, also being a keen member of the OTC. On leaving School, he joined the TA becoming an officer. He would recall that at the outbreak of the 2nd world war he received a letter from King George VI that ‘it was His Majesty’s pleasure to offer him a commission in the regular army’, an offer, in the circumstances, he did not feel he could refuse! He fought with the Suffolk Yeomanry anti tank regiment in France, Holland and Germany, being the front line officer in command when the ‘Bridge Too Far’, the Arnhem Bridge, was finally captured from the Germans.

A chartered accountant, he spent all his professional career in the electricity supply industry, being responsible for one of the world’s first utility company computer generated billing systems.

He was a quite excellent cook and disproved medical theory of the appropriate lifestyle for long life. He loved gourmet food and in quantity, with the finest wines followed by a good liquor and a cigar and he lived to 96!

David Compston (52-55)