On Friday I recounted harrowing new evidence of historic sexual abuse at my old school Warwick and feared that the new Head Master, Dr Deneal Smith, was set to do the same as his predecessor Gus Locke, that is to say more or less nothing. I judged the man harshly – he called me on Friday before reading my latest article.
The first thing to note is that I have now contacted another survivor who makes allegations about the master who stands accused of sexualabuse. What is frightening is that both survivors tell a common tale, a common modus operandi. They do so without having spoken of this to another person in decades. What is more frightening is that the teacher in question may not be at Warwick but thanks to the School’s grotesque negligence in days gone by he is still giving lessons to young boys.
My hope is that both survivors will lodge formal complaints with the Police and that, as a result, boys today will be protected from this monster. To his credit Dr Smith is working with the Old Bill on this matter.
As importantly, Dr Smith has agreed to my long term demand, viz that there be a full article in the Old Warwickian asking other victims of abuse at the hands of Warwick staff to come forward. That is is a great step forward. It is vital that this article makes it clear that there have been allegations of both physical and sexual abuse at the school so that other victims realise that they are not alone and feel that they can come forward and be believed. I made that point to Dr Smith and sincerely hopes that he takes it on board. If Warwick is going to deal with this it must do so properly.
Should other victims of sexual abuse come forward the Police will act. However those like myself who suffered physical abuse, in my case from a sadistic bastard called Geoffrey Eve, will get no help from the law and the question Dr Smith must answer is what will Warwick do next?
The sadism of Eve has now been recounted by more than half a dozen victims and witnesses – including one who is most credible indeed – yet there is nothing the law can do. What happens if more OWs step forward with testimony about Eve? My suggestion is that the school asks a local solicitor to undertake a formal enquiry not only into Eve’s acts but also into how Warwick protected and covered up for this awful man for so long and that it then publishes that report in full.
Time is not on our side as Eve is now 93. There is another senior teacher who , I know, acted with honour almost forty years ago and could provide valuable evidence as to why Eve was protected but he is 87.
I applaud Dr Smith for taking the first steps on this matter and urge him to be bold in his language in the OW and to consider my suggestion of what must happen next to achieve a final resolution for all victims of historic abuse at Warwick.