Death of much-loved OH who wrote of Rousdon at war
by George Hayter

Ralph Harding (Baker 36-43) passed away peacefully at home on the night of
15 October 2025. He was 99 and had been so looking forward to his 100th
birthday. A regular at the Sidmouth lunch and other events, Ralph had for many
years been the oldest known OH — the honoured father of the club.
Invariably accompanied by his nephew Jeremy Harding (Chudleigh 64-69),
Ralph’s enthusiasm, humour and friendly demeanour long delighted old boys
and girls at gatherings.

He had been in Swindon Hospital with advanced and untreatable lung cancer.
Determined to get home, he made that final journey to Devizes with the support
of his two daughters, arriving just one day before he died.
Ralph Durbin Harding entered Allhallows in the summer term of 1936, aged
just nine, initially joining the school’s junior section.

His parents were from Honiton but had moved 80 miles to Devizes to farm. “I
grew anxious about leaving home for the first time,” he recalled in an article on
page 18 of the 2016 OH Magazine.
“I was also concerned about being worthy of upholding the Harding family
name.” At Allhallows before him there had been seven Hardings, and two
cousins. “I loved being at school in Honiton because all my relatives were living
in the town.”

He excelled at rugby and boxing, earning his boxing colours in each of his
final three years. He was a house prefect for two terms before leaving the school
in 1943 at age 16.

Ralph remembered headmaster George Shallow coming into class in 1937 and
announcing out of the blue that the school was going to uproot and leave
Honiton.

Boys were used as labour in the exciting relocation to Rousdon, which was
completed the following year. “Working parties were sent over to Rousdon to
help remove debris from what were to become sports pitches, and to clear up
around the buildings. The stables beneath the bell tower were being converted
into classrooms.” Ralph was awed by the size of the clifftop estate, and its
isolation compared to the school’s town centre position at Honiton.
His education was disrupted again a year later, when war was declared.
“Three masters were called up, along with some boys over 18.” Because of his
farming background, young Ralph was put in charge of 200 hens and was
expected to double the school’s wartime egg ration.

And there were nocturnal observation shifts in the mansion’s tower, to warn
of German bombers heading for Plymouth. “I found I was able to tell Dorniers
and Heinkels apart, not by their outlines against the night sky, but by the
different sounds of their engines.”

Ralph remained deeply connected to Allhallows and its legacy throughout his
life and was devastated by the school’s closure in 1998. “I do not understand the
reason why this had to happen to such a great school,” wrote Ralph, whose life
was a testament to loyalty.

You can view the full interview with Ralph with his Nephew, Jeremy Harding, asking the questions here: