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Born in Dublin in 1948, Luke was the eldest of five sons of Simon and Lavinia Campbell. He arrived at Lancing in September 1961, joining Teme House during Christopher Chamberlin’s last year as Housemaster there. This was also the first year of E.W. Gladstone’s first year as Head Master. Luke was a keen, lively student and enjoyed, in particular, Geography with Tom Aubrey, English (Trevor Foulkes and Donald Bancroft), Biology (Dr. Shaw, Luke’s tutor) and Art (Tom Griffiths). When I joined him in Teme in 1962 and Rory joined us in 1964 we were the three brothers, - Campbell ‘ma’, ‘mi’ and ‘min’ - from Ireland.
Luke had a keen, original mind and was a gifted writer both in his school essays and in his letters home. He was a talented cross country runner, a passionate follower of motor racing and had a love of American Blues and R&B music. He was good friends with Stephen Easter, Willy Clarke and Robert MacDonald (Teme), Richard Roney-Dougal (Sanderson’s) and Martin West (Field’s). Luke was a pupil at Lancing at an exciting time in the early 1960s, when a younger generation was beginning to challenge the older ideas of society. He was a spirited, individual figure and on one occasion questioned why he, as an Irish citizen, should have to join the CCF (Corps. He often escaped from the College to attend motor racing, once, without permission, catching a ferry to the Netherlands to attend the Dutch Grand Prix!
After Lancing he went to Italy to study Italian language and culture at the University of Perugia and then in autumn 1966 he went up to Trinity College, Dublin to study English and Geography. In some summers he worked as an extra on film sets, and he was the proud possessor of second-hand Italian motorbikes. However, increasingly he struggled with his studies and he dropped out of University. Sadly, Luke’s life took on a different trajectory from that of the majority of OLs. He suffered recurrent mental illness and led many difficult, peripatetic years.
But he soldiered on gamely; writing, travelling around Ireland to attend music festivals and go on religious pilgrimages. He had a strong religious faith and a profound sympathy for the poor and marginal members of society. He loved Nature, had a passion for Folk and Blues music and could recite by heart poems by WB Yeats, and by his grandfather Joseph Campbell. In later years Luke found security and contentment living in a sheltered community in Dublin, cared for by the Health Service. I was privileged to spend time with him on his final day in November 2019. He had a clear memory and enjoyed reminiscing. He was loved by his parents and his brothers, and is remembered as a kind and gentle soul by his cousins and his friends in Dublin and at Lancing.
Julian Campbell (Teme 1962-1967)