November 8, 2023
Akeley Wood Alumni: Christopher Arundell
What an honour it was to welcome back an Akeley Wood Alumni, Christopher Arundell, to discuss his time at the school and incredible life that followed.
Christopher attended Akeley Wood School from 1950 to 1954 following a turbulent and unsettled start to life.
Born in the Philippines to an English Father and an American Mother, he became a prisoner of war with his Father at 3 years old, joined by his Mother and younger brother shortly after. He lived in the Japanese camp for over three years amongst terrible conditions and scared for his life.
Fortunately, Christopher and his family were amongst those liberated by US forces and made the long journey through France then finally to his home for the next 4 years at Akeley Wood School.
“I will never forget the view driving up and seeing the Tudor building”.
-Christopher spoke of his time boarding at Akeley with great fondness.
After such a tumultuous start, Akeley Wood School provided Christopher with consistency and a sense of community where he would form great friendships and find his passion for sport; excelling in football, swimming cricket and tennis (he went on to take part in The Yule Cup at Wimbledon).
He shared, ‘Akeley Wood was one of my fondest memories’ and explained the delight he would feel when he bought his Cadbury bar from the tuck shop after working on maintaining the grounds with his fellow students. He recalled sneaking into the Silverstone Grand Prix and enjoying the remote countryside setting, a life once considered unimaginable.
When walking around the school during his visit, Christopher could remember so clearly his way and was able to identify his dormitory like he was boarding only yesterday. He remembered the staircase and the Billiards Room explaining ‘it’s exactly the same’ – not bad for a man who attending the school over 70 years ago. He was pleased to find the sun dial was still part of the grounds which he remembered so vividly.
At the time of Christopher attending Akeley Wood School, it was a prep school and therefore children left at age 14 so eventually he moved to Devon and continued his education by the coast. However, his travels were far from finished and Christopher settled in the US, living in Seattle for 40 years working in maritime law and insurance.
He has kept his Akeley Wood embroidered blanket with him for over 7 decades and was pleased to learn the school colours of red and green remain. Christopher was so thankful for the opportunity to revisit the school he found so much happiness at and his one request was that he take a tie to wear back home in Arizona.
He concluded his visit with the one line, "I will wear this tie with pride".