At Commemoration at the end of the Summer term in July this year the Stirling Johnson Prize will once again be awarded to a promising Engineering student. The Prize is awarded in memory of Stirling Duncan Arthur Johnson (D 71-76) who was fatally injured in a road accident 20 years ago in October 2002 at the age of 44. He left a legacy to Bradfield with the idea that, in his own words, "the innate leadership skills a young person learns at Bradfield make them generally well-suited to contributing to society as professional engineers and entrepreneurs. Some of my wealth should help with that one day." The first Stirling Johnson Prize awards were made at Commemoration in 2006.

His obituary at Bradfield was written by David Norwood (SCR 54-86) as follows. Stirling, better known to his contemporaries as Duncan (or 'Lanky'), entered D House with nine others in September 1971. He came from Hall Grove (Bagshot) whose Headmaster in 2006 was Alastair Graham (D 67-72), who was his first Head of House. Stirling came from a long line of engineers and seemed determined to follow them. Supported by strength in Maths and science subjects - and an engineer father - he earned himself a place at Imperial College to read Mechanical Engineering, and sponsorship in the form of a GKN scholarship which gave him invaluable practical experience. He left London University with an Honours B.Sc.Eng. and a prize for German (which he had failed - twice! - at O'level). GKN sent him out to Germany where he spent three years as one of their technical representatives. They then agreed to sponsor him on the one-year MBA course at Insead, the French Management School at Fontainebleau, before promoting him to further responsibilities at home.

One thing led to another, more demanding jobs, different companies, opportunity to travel widely in Europe, the setting-up of his own company and the subsequent buy-out which left him free to turn his attention to politics. At the time of his death he had been adopted as a prospective MEP and was much looking forward to playing a rather different part in European affairs. In a comparatively brief working life of just over 20 years, he had been elected to Fellowship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, become Chairman of the Governors of one of his local schools, gained a private pilot’s licence, married Jane, only to lose her to illness at an early age, and reached the threshold of European Parliament.

Through it all he remained a very loyal and appreciative OB - he even named his spaniel 'Bradfield' - and he was determined to repay what he saw as a debt to the School. He could not, of course, have foreseen the motor accident which caused his death and the tragic loss, not only to his family and friends, but to a much wider circle of those with whom and for whom he had worked so devotedly. His memory continues to be kept alive at Bradfield College by the regular awarding of this prize.

Mark Blackburn (D 71-76) remembers: "Stirling and I were close friends, best friends even, from the moment we both arrived at Bradfield in September 1971, discovering a mutual love of cars and a similar taste in rock music. Youthful rebellion also caused Stirling to reject his given name for a while and adopt his second name, Duncan, though I think this might have had something to do with his dislike of the nickname Lanky. As he was six foot five in his early teens this soubriquet was not exactly surprising.

As we graduated towards seniority, we were thrilled to move out of the ‘houseroom’ and share one of the brand new studies in the block built for the purpose at the back of D House, putting our band posters up on the pristine walls and fighting over the record player.

We were also aviation enthusiasts and both joined the RAF Cadets, flying the infamous DIY rubber-band glider on New Ground, and even going off together on camp to Germany. We had a truly eye-opening week at RAF Laarbruch, scuttling between the Lightnings and sharing a mess with some very streetwise lads from Hulme in Greater Manchester.

We also discovered the best way to meet girls was to join the Choral Society despite our limited singing voices. As a result we both had girlfriends at Downe House. There may have been visits there, and Newbury Races might even have been involved, but as Stirling was possibly Head of House by this time, I couldn’t possibly comment!  As head of the Engineering Society, Stirling even managed to blag his way into keeping a car at Bradfield – I won’t forget that bright blue Mini. I’ll never know quite how he got away with that one!

After Bradfield, our friendship continued as we found ourselves next door to each other at college in London, Stirling pursuing his love of engineering at Imperial and me my love of politics at the LSE. (Actually, Stirling loved politics too, although we didn’t always agree on this! We had some great discussions though, and never let it affect our friendship.) We would sometimes leave the stress of London for an Exmoor weekend and had some epic trips to his beloved home and family in West Somerset.

Alas, after that, as too often happens we drifted apart as our careers and lives took us all over the world, and I was saddened like many in the Bradfield community to learn of his sad loss in a car accident. He was one of a kind, lost to the world far too soon."

Bradfieldian Colin Campbell (E 69-74) also remembers meeting Stirling in 1986 when they were both in the same MBA class at INSEAD, Fontainebleau.  "As a bizarre aside, there was another Bradfieldian in our class, Robert Pitkethly (E 70-74), which meant that three of the 30 Brits in our class were Bradfieldians - I am sure that Bradfieldians have never before or since had a 10% share of the Brits in an INSEAD MBA class."

Colin says that INSEAD alumni "will toast his memory when we meet in Fontainebleau in early October for our '35 Years After' class reunion (actually 36 because of Covid), where Stirling will be much missed by his many friends in our class from 30 countries."

We are so pleased to continue to award the Stirling Johnson Prize and that his memory continues to be kept alive at Bradfield College by the regular awarding of this prize.