Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Trevor Simmonds: Aberdeen teacher who travelled the world, and wrote letters to The Press and Journal, dies aged 92

Trevor Simmonds.
Trevor Simmonds.

Trevor Simmonds, teacher, traveller, theatre lover, bon viveur, and dedicated Press and Journal letter writer, has died aged 92.

He worked for the British Council teaching English in South America, developed a teacher training course for Trinity College, London, and spent much of his retirement touring the world with his wife Irene.

Trevor was also an actor and producer with Carden Arts Group in Aberdeen, and a founding member of the original Aberdeen Food and Wine Society.

Man of letters

His letters to The Press and Journal over many decades covered religion, politics, theatre and observations of everyday life.

Trevor was born in London in 1928. He was a proud Englishman who came to support Scottish independence.

His parents were Arthur and Florence Simmonds. His grandfather William had served with the Royal Navy during the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War when he was chief cook at Chatham naval dockyard.

William’s commanding officer refused to release him for service on HMS Indefatigable, saying Chatham’s needs were greater.

Battle of Jutland

Shortly after, HMS Indefatigable and more than 1,000 lives were lost at the Battle of Jutland. Trevor was named in honour of the commanding officer who had refused to let him sail with the ship.

Trevor’s father was a customs officer who was transferred to Aberdeen at the start of the Second World War.

He was educated at Robert Gordon’s College and then Aberdeen University before beginning a career in teaching.

Marriage

At Ruthrieston Secondary School he met his future wife, fellow teacher Irene. He proposed at Retiro Park, Madrid, and the couple married at King’s College, Aberdeen, in 1959.

Trevor then went to work with the British Council, teaching in Montevideo, Uruguay, which gave the couple the chance to explore large areas of South America.

They had many adventures including crossing the Andes by train, visiting Peru, the ancient Inca city of Cuzco and Machu Pichu.

Trevor Simmonds during a stage performance.

Their elder son, Christobal, known as Chris, was born in South America in 1962 and the family returned to Aberdeen the following year.

Trevor was asked to set up a unit for teaching English to foreign students at Aberdeen College of Commerce, and also ran a teacher training course on behalf of Trinity College, London.

The couple’s second son, Nicholas, was born in 1967 not long after the family moved into the Northcote Avenue house that would be their home for the remainder of Trevor’s life.

Parties

Chris Simmonds said: “At the College of Commerce, my father taught students from more than 70 countries, many of whom would attend the legendary end-of-year parties at the family home.

“He was also one of the founding members of the original Aberdeen Food and Wine Society and a member of the British Association of the Experiment in International Living, helping to develop greater understanding between citizens of the world.”

World travel

When he retired from the college, Trevor was invited by Trinity College, London, to become one of their international examiners, which took him all over the world.

In retirement, Trevor and Irene stepped up their own travels. They celebrated Trevor’s 80th birthday in Cuba, their 50th country. They went on to visit the Azores and travelled the Silk Road to Samarkand.

In 2019, the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Trevor was also an avid supporter of classical music, opera, ballet and theatre.

The family’s announcement can be read here.