Peter Hewett (RGS 1959-1967)

My Connections with Reigate Grammar School

This is the history of the members of the Hewett family who have been pupils at Reigate Grammar School. The family’s association with the school now spans nearly 125 years, and, given the school’s 350th anniversary, it seems an appropriate moment to celebrate that connection. Four members of the family, across three generations, have been educated there.

Walter Hewett (RGS 1907-1911)

Walter was the first Hewett to attend RGS. He was born on 25 May 1893 to Edward and Margaret Hewett, of Buckland and Norfolk respectively. They were my great-grandparents, and Walter was my great-uncle. The Hewetts were a large family with ten children, living at 34 St Mary’s Road, Reigate. Walter attended the school from 1907 to 1911.

While at RGS, he represented the school in both football and cricket. He later trained as a teacher at Goldsmiths College. Before the First World War, he was a member of the Territorial Army, and at the outbreak of war in 1914 he was called up, joining the 20th Battalion of the London Regiment. He crossed to France on 10 March 1915 and took part in several engagements that year, including the Battle of Loos.

In early 1916, as part of the 47th Division, his battalion was stationed behind Vimy Ridge. The trenches there were in a dreadful condition—badly dug, poorly maintained, with few strongpoints and many unburied bodies. Walter was killed in action on 20 March 1916 and is buried at Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery. He is commemorated on the memorial on the main school staircase, honouring those former pupils who died in the First World War.

Walter Albert Hewett (RGS 1928-1936)
RGS (24 October 1917 – 23 October 1965)

The next generation to attend the school was my father, Walter’s nephew.

My father was born in Toronto in 1917, following his parents’ emigration to Canada some seven years earlier. His parents, Harold Thomas Hewett and Ida Hewett (née Roberts), had lived in Reigate and Redhill before moving to Canada around 1910. They returned to the UK in the mid-1920s when my father was seven.

He was educated at Reigate Grammar School and later trained as a teacher at Goldsmiths College between 1936 and 1938. A keen sportsman, he represented both school and college in cross-country running. Before the Second World War, he was Senior Assistant Master at Chingford C.E. Junior Mixed School. Interestingly, I was responsible for appointing staff to that same school in the early 1980s when I worked as an Education Officer in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1940 and appears in the London Gazette (June 1942) as Corporal Walter Albert Hewett. He served as a medical orderly in India before transferring to Officer Training School in Belgaum. He then served in the Indian Army, attached to the 17th Dogra Regiment, reaching the rank of Acting Major. From 3 November 1943 to 5 September 1945, he served at the Indian Military Academy, returning to the UK on 17 April 1946.

He had married my mother on 18 November 1944 at St Thomas Church in Dehradun, a city near the Himalayan foothills and still home to the Indian Military Academy.

After returning to the UK, he was appointed Assistant Master at Cromwell Road Secondary School in Redhill, later becoming Deputy Head at Frenches Road Secondary School. He then moved to Reigate Priory School, where he became Head Teacher in the mid-1950s.

At home, I remember him working in our spare bedroom, constructing the school timetable on a large board using coloured pins and pieces of card—quite an innovative system for the time.

Reigate Priory School itself is a Grade I listed building set in 65 acres of parkland near Reigate town centre. Founded in the 13th century, it later passed through notable families after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and has been used as a school since 1948. My father served as Head Teacher there from 1957 to 1962.

His finest achievement was opening the new Redstone Secondary School (later Warwick School) in Redhill, where he was Head Teacher from 1962 until his death in 1965. He was active in professional and civic life, serving on the Surrey County Teachers’ Association Council, leading the teachers’ panel of the Southeast Division Joint Advisory Committee, and chairing the Southeast Division Road Safety Advisory Committee. He also served in the Territorial Army and was a senior officer in the local Army Cadet Force.

Losing him when I was so young was extremely difficult, as I had to take on responsibilities while still at school. Despite the short time I had with him, I hope I inherited some of his qualities.

A tribute from his deputy at Redstone School reads:

“He was the most wonderful person and the finest headteacher anyone could hope to work with. He was an idealist with both feet firmly on the ground… He had imaginative and far-reaching ideas for the development of the school, the seeds of which he was only just beginning to sow… He will be sadly missed for a long time to come.”

Dr David John Hewett (RGS 1958-1965)

The next generation at RGS was my brother, Dr David Hewett, and myself.

David was born on 6 October 1946, shortly after our parents returned from India. He joined RGS in September 1957 from St John’s C of E Primary School, part of the first “boomer” generation to complete a full primary education after the school opened in 1953.

He recalls:

“My first impressions of RGS were dominated by its very old buildings, antique desks, and a six-day rolling timetable that meant you were never quite sure what day it was. The meals, changing rooms, showers, and open-air latrines were somewhat unwelcoming.”

Conditions improved with the opening of a new dining hall in 1959. David became a waiter, later helping manage the team, and enjoyed the perk of eating teachers’ food between sittings.

As pupil numbers grew, additional teaching space was required, including the Friends’ Meeting House, Cornwallis House, and temporary huts in the headmaster’s garden.

After streaming into sciences, he benefited from inspiring teaching, gaining three strong A levels and securing a place at Liverpool University in 1965.

David went on to a distinguished medical career in public health and NHS management, including senior roles in planning, information systems, and medico-legal work. He played a key role in developing NHS information systems and was awarded professional recognition in both medicine and computing.

Despite serious cardiac issues requiring major surgery in 1991 and again in 2007, he made strong recoveries. In retirement, he has enjoyed DIY projects and horse riding in the New Forest.

Peter Michael Hewett (RGS 1959-1967)

I was born on 25 July 1948 and was the last Hewett to attend the school.

In September 1959, I arrived at RGS—satchel packed, wearing shorts, cap, and blazer—and joined 1WN in a classroom at the back of the gym. I felt like a very small fish in a very big pond, especially as many boys were already in long trousers. Fortunately, I graduated to them later that term—complete with turn-ups and eighteen-inch bottoms!

The school was very traditional: masters in gowns, prefects maintaining order, and an atmosphere that felt like a bygone age—though not quite Dickensian. Facilities such as the showers, outdoor toilets, and playground milk bar were rather archaic.

Sport dominated school life. As later described by David Walliams, “you were cool if you excelled at sport”—and that was certainly true in my day. Unfortunately, I did not excel. I played rugby (often as hooker, ending up covered in mud), cricket, and left-handed hockey, but without distinction.

Everything changed when I joined the Combined Cadet Force in the fourth year. Inspired by my father’s military background, I chose the Army section. There I learned map reading, shooting, and even how to dismantle and reassemble a Bren gun at the age of 15. I rose through the ranks to Under Officer by the time I left.

The school had a shooting range above the chemistry labs, and we regularly shot .22 rifles at lunchtime. On Saturdays, we travelled to a quarry near Betchworth for full-bore shooting, sometimes carrying .303 Lee-Enfield rifles—something that raised no eyebrows at the time. On one occasion, the police stopped us, but once satisfied we were the RGS shooting team, they simply sent us on our way.

We also competed at Bisley and, in 1966, our team won the national Country Life Schools Rifle Shooting Competition, beating over 150 schools. I was one of only 16 cadets to score a perfect 100.

Academically, I began as a fairly average pupil—“satisfactory” appeared often in reports—but gradually improved. By the fourth year, I was top of the class, despite one teacher suggesting I was “not really university material.” That remark spurred me on.

Tragically, in my Upper Sixth year, my father died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage. I attempted to resuscitate him, but without success. The months that followed were a blur, and my studies suffered. I failed Biology A level but passed Chemistry—just.

The headmaster allowed me to stay on, and with support from excellent teachers, I retook Biology and also gained A level Geography. I became a prefect, chaired the Junior Road Accident Prevention Committee, and ran the ornithology club.

Perhaps most importantly, I formed lifelong friendships. Our VII Form group has met regularly since 1967—nearly fifty gatherings over seven decades—sharing walking, conversation, and good real ale.

After school, I studied Biological Sciences at Leicester University, captained the shooting team, and represented English Universities. I later trained as a teacher, became Head of Biology, and eventually moved into education administration, overseeing major school reorganisations and national initiatives.

I retired in 2000 on medical grounds.

Peter M. Hewett
April 2025

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