The Times, London, Obituary - 10 August 2005  Memorial Service, 20 September 2005  St John's Church, Notting Hill, London Tribute by Danny Pevsner Tribute by Glynn McDonald Tribute by Christopher Carrington Tributes (printable version - word doc) Impressions of the Day by Kate Kelly Photos (Lansdowne Road, after the Memorial Service)*

THE TIMES, London, Obituary - 10 August 2005 WALTER CARRINGTON May 4, 1915 - August 7, 2005 Exponent of the Alexander technique who inspired generations of teachers WALTER CARRINGTON was a leading figure in the teaching and development in Britain of the Alexander technique, the system evolved by the Australian actor Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) to promote wellbeing through awareness of balance, posture and physical co-ordination. Alexander reasoned that this awareness allowed individuals to adjust unconscious bodily habits into new patterns which offered a number of physical and mental benefits. For more than 60 years Carrington made an immense contribution to the preservation and development of the teaching of the technique. Walter Hadrian Marshall Carrington was born in Selby, Yorkshire, in 1915, the only child of the Rev Walter Marshall Carrington. In 1917 the family moved to London where he spent the rest of his life. He attended St Paul’s School. He had intended to join the Society of Jesus but he was so impressed by the lessons which his mother had taken in the Alexander technique that he started taking lessons himself. In 1936, he joined Alexander’s teacher training course and he qualified in 1939. He married Dilys Jones in 1940 and, the following year, qualified as an RAF pilot, serving in the Pathfinders. He and his crew survived being shot down over Hungary in 1944, but were taken prisoner. Carrington had broken several bones, including his pelvis, and was sent to a military hospital from which, however, he eventually escaped. On demobilisation with the rank of flight lieutenant in 1946 he rejoined Alexander’s practice in London where he gave lessons and taught on Alexander’s teacher training course. Fifty years later he published A Time to Remember: A Personal Diary of Teaching the F. M. Alexander Technique in 1946, which provides insights into Alexander’s methods and personality as well as conveying the atmosphere of the time. In those early days Carrington also taught regularly in Cardiff, Guernsey, Oxford and Nottingham. After Alexander’s death in 1955 Carrington and three other teachers carried on the training course according to Alexander’s methods. In 1960 the course moved to Holland Park, London, where it remains, and was renamed the Constructive Teaching Centre,with Carrington and his wife as its directors. The training course grew with the upsurge of interest in the technique in the 1970s and it became the largest operation of its kind in the world, with up to 45 students each year from the 1980s onwards. Around 300 Alexander teachers have qualified from the centre. The problem facing teachers who carried on courses or started new ones after Alexander’s death was how to provide training in the absence of the founder of the technique. Carrington refused to become a “master” whose words would be taken as absolute; instead, he developed a training programme which respected the autonomy of each student and which encouraged questions and explorations. The process of teaching was adapted to the needs of individual students who were treated as equals. Instead of adopting a pre-existing teaching approach (as in, for example, the traditional classroom model), the Carringtons evolved a way of teaching and training in accord with the principles of the Alexander technique itself. Their methods have been taken up by training courses throughout the world. Carrington was an inspirational teacher because he embodied the principles of the technique in his own life. His dedication to the technique helped him to overcome many difficulties. Because of his war injuries he suffered periods of severe pain during the 1970s. Despite this he retained an optimistic outlook, and the pain eventually disappeared after three operations. Carrington taught from 9am to 6pm, five days a week, until he was 80, at which age he reduced his hours. Horsemanship, including dressage, was among his lifelong interests. He continued to ride until the age of 87 and was still teaching until shortly before his death. Though without a formal scientific training, Carrington took a keen interest in scientific developments of relevance to the Alexander technique: he kept his students informed about papers on posture, balance, human and animal movement, and related subjects, whenever he thought they made a valuable contribution to the practice and theory of the technique. In keeping himself up to date with Alexander technique literature, Carrington amassed what is thought to be the largest collection of books, papers and articles on the technique in the world today. His phenomenal memory of the history of the technique, and his readiness to grant others access to his library, were tremendously important for researchers — two recent biographies of Alexander owe much to him. Carrington published two collections of lectures, Thinking Aloud (1994) and The Act of Living (1999), in which he discusses such matters as breathing, the balance of the head, the effects on the body of gravity, habitual behaviour, ethics and many other topics related to the development of physical wellbeing and the consciousness of self. These transcribed impromptu talks, erudite but always accessible and jargon-free, capture the flavour of what one observer described as Carrington’s “gentle, almost hypnotic, quiet rhetoric”. For his students and others, Carrington was also their living link to Alexander himself.   © The Times, London, 10 August 2005. This article may not be copied or reproduced without the prior permission of the copyright holders. www.timesonline.co.uk   back to Top

Tribute by Danny Pevsner

It is some 36 years ago since I went to Walter to have my first Alexander lesson. What, I assumed, was going to be a casual, temporary association, turned out to be a life long friendship. Soon after we met Walter decided to take up horse riding again and, that I was to be his instructor. It had been a good few years since he last rode so, as a good friend, I did my best to dissuade him; after all, he was in his late 50’, injured and handicapped - not good material to work with. Well, as I am sure some of you know, Walter could be an absolute mule when the mood took him… The first year must have been a torture yet he never relented. He had this trick up his sleeve whereby he never acknowledged pain. He did not simply overcome it, in the ordinary sense, he just discarded it.

For 10 ten years or so we kept up with his lessons whenever possible, using various riding school horses. Then, in ’83, when I bought a stable yard, Walter got himself a horse of his own and kept it with me. He did in fact have two; the first, Jake, was trained and prepared for him by my former wife, Gloria. The next one was Badger who in some ways, was trained by Walter himself, to suit his own needs. During the next 20 years, Walter came to ride three times a week, even in the worst of weathers, until alas, it all came to an end a couple of years ago when the place had to be sold and Badger, conveniently perhaps, was due for retirement; he was over 30 by then, a venerable age for a horse.

Walter had all the attributes of a true horseman and made himself a good rider by surmounting some great physical limitations. Miss Goldie, who came regularly to watch him ride, thought that his, was a marvellous example of mind over matter and, that him riding, was the best advert for the efficacy of the technique.

While horse-riding gave Walter much pleasure, it also gave him some further insight into the workings of the Technique. Here, perhaps, it is necessary to explain that Walter practised Classical Horsemanship which, in olden times, was regarded to be one of the arts. Riding enabled him to follow Alexander’s recommendation to apply the Technique to some practical activity so that one has a better criterion for right and wrong while being able to monitor progress more accurately. Riding taught Walter not only about his own use but also about the use of the self, in general. From the horses Walter acquired a deeper understanding of the Primary-Control. There is nothing like a horse for demonstrating the relationship between head and neck and the rest of the body. A major part of training the riding horse, is concerned with the development of this relationship and the enhancement of it through teaching the animal, the horsey equivalent of what we call inhibition. Walter’s equestrian research went on for well over 30 years and, by his own admission, had a profound influence on the way he used himself and of the way he taught. Alexander, I think, would have approved.

In appearance and manner Walter was a pre-war, old school Englishman but his way of thinking, the way he related to people and situations were a product of the 18th century, the Age of Reason. His favourite philosopher was the Austrian Karl Popper, whose book, “The Logic of Scientific Discovery,” helped explain the process of Alexander’s quest and confirmed it to be good science. Popper’s is a philosophy of action and practicality, in defence of choice, of freedom of thought and against all dogmatic impositions; values, that always had a strong appeal for Walter, and guided him, mundanely and spiritually. God, for him, was universal, above denomination. Like Gurdjieff before him, Walter believed that the world will only reach salvation when all individuals attain enlightenment. Although he knew, from his own experience, of the power of religion and of the comfort it gives, he believed, nevertheless, that our fate is in our hands and that humanity is responsible for itself.

Neither Alexander, nor Walter, saw the Technique as therapy, despite the fact that it often has such a beneficial effect on the health of the pupil. They thought of themselves as teachers, not curers or healers. For them the Technique was a method of self-help which, in order to be successful, has to be learnt by a pupil who is prepared to take responsibility. To Walter, the medical benefit of the Technique was only one element amongst others and not always the main one. He regarded learning the Technique as the best foundation for the learning of skills and for putting them to use. Even more importantly, he thought of the Technique as a wonderful way of introducing people to rational behaviour.

Walter Carrington gave the whole of his being and all of his working life to the cause of the Alexander Technique. He understood its spirit and message and, with the help of his much loved wife and partner, Dilys, gave all his energies to the training of future generations of teachers and to the general promotion of the Technique. Sadly, in recent times he also had to become its protector and its defender. His immediate, urgent legacy to us is best spoken in his own words:

“… these two things - the unity of mind and body, and the attitude towards right and wrong - are the two main features that distinguish our work… It is not good seeing our work like that of anyone else, because it is not. If we are true to our own principles, if we really live the Technique… then there won’t be much room for presenting our work as though it was like anything else. To present it as a form of therapy… or to present it as anything other than it is - a psycho-physical process - is to misrepresent and mislead.”

Thank you all.

Danny Pevsner - 20 September 2005

 

Tribute by Danny Pevsner (printable version - word doc)

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Tribute by Glynn McDonald

Today we've come together to remember Walter. We have been truly blessed to have known him. Those of us who were taught by him are doubly blessed because he gave us not only the technique but somewhere from that vast well of himself he gave something special to each of us. From his hands we learned a new way of being. Throughout his life this man who had an infinite capacity for taking pains dedicated himself to the technique that he had learned so thoroughly from Mr Alexander himself. He did not spare himself and he never took short cuts. He saw the work grow and develop worldwide. We have, as his beneficiaries, the honour and the privilege of continuing the work.

In January 2000 we spent the day making a film. In the morning we sat in his study and talked and in the afternoon we moved to the teaching room and he demonstrated teaching the whispered ah. I'd like to share with you something he said:

“I’m coming up to 85, I’ll be 85 next May. And I've experienced a great deal of change in myself and of course as one gets older the changes with aging are very interesting and very significant because life does take on a very different aspect as you get older and the great deal of the problem with aging is that you’ve got such strongly established habits which of course at an advanced age are totally inappropriate. You are trying to do things in the way that you used to do them but you can’t do them like that. But the more you try to do them that way the more you fail and the more you get into a muddle. So, it does come back to the same Alexander thing you’ve got to stop and you’ve got to say “Hang on a minute” lets see what the situation here is and how do I proceed from here. Instead of telling yourself “well I know how to proceed from here. I’ve been doing this for x number of years”. You’ve got to say “no, this is something different”. You see the readiness is all. When FM gave his books he would write this in the dedication of the front page.”

That quote is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Walter loved Hamlet and he loved the gospel of John, especially John:14

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.”

So we remember Walter and thank him.

“now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!”

Glynn McDonald - 20 September 2005

 

Tribute by Glynn McDonald (printable version - word doc)

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Tribute by Christopher Carrington

Think of Walter, and most people will think of the Alexander Technique. However, for his family there are, perhaps, more complex memories.

The Walter we knew and remember was, like anybody else, shaped by events in his life. He was born on 4 May 1915 just at the time when his father, a Congregational Minister, was about to rejoin the Church of England as a priest. Walter subsequently became a chorister and pupil at the Choir School of All Saints Margaret Street, just off Oxford Street, in London. He then moved on to St Paul’s School to complete his education. In his teens he fully intended on leaving school, to join the Society of Jesus, but was diverted by the Alexander Technique. Shortly before he started his training to become an Alexander teacher, he was still debating whether or not to join the Jesuits immediately, or to wait until he had completed his Alexander Technique training. As we now know, he decided to join FM’s 2nd teacher training course, which he completed in 1939.

When war broke out, he had clearly abandoned his Jesuit ambitions, for he married my mother and his life-long partner, Dilys, and he enlisted in the RAF. It was while on a pathfinder mission, guiding a bomber raid from Italy over, what was then, Yugoslavia that his Halifax aircraft was shot down. His crew, with whom he remained in contact all his life, are quite certain that they owe their lives to his skill and commitment as a pilot. When their aircraft was hit and on fire, most pilots would have engaged the auto pilot and attempted to leave the aircraft as quickly as possible. Walter did not do this. He remained at the controls to prevent his aircraft from going into a spin while his crew got out safely. He left last and suffered severe injuries including a broken pelvis and collarbone. These injuries resulted in him being kept in hospital instead of a prisoner of war camp. He was released from the hospital, interestingly, with the help of a Jesuit priest, when the Russians captured the area a few months later. After being repatriated to Italy, he wrote that “looking back on it the experience almost seems worthwhile - I have learnt so much about people and things, and above all about myself!”

Walter later returned to flying duties before he was discharged from the RAF in 1946. He always told me that he could have continued flying in the newly formed BOAC, but chose instead to return to Ashley Place and to teaching the Alexander Technique.

These events, and, no doubt, many others, formed the man we all knew and love. He had a wide range of interests, and a detailed knowledge and understanding of a great many subjects. He lived his life enthusiastically and happily in his pursuit of his many interests: furthering the work of FM Alexander, riding, reading and music. He supported the Costume Society, the National Trust and English Heritage, the Royal Institution, the Countryside Alliance, the British Field Sports Society, and the Sporting Arts Trust, to name but a few. Although I never knew him to do crossword puzzles, he could always be relied upon to come up with the correct solution when required, because of the great range of his knowledge including the classics, religion, literature and science.

In short, Walter was interested in everything and all subjects. He was wise enough to know that what suited him was not necessarily right for someone else, so he rarely imposed his views on others. Instead, he provided the encouragement and the “means-whereby” for others to take their own decisions and to achieve their own goals.

You will all have your own, individual and personal memories of Walter, but everyone will remember him for his happy laughter, his warm personality, his ready wit, and above all, for his welcoming smile.

Christopher Carrington - 20 September 2005

 

Tribute by Christopher Carrington (printable version - word doc)

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Impressions of the Day by Kate Kelly

The Carrington family hosted a wonderful 'finale' for Walter. There were over 420 people at the church and probably about 380 at the Lansdowne rd reception.

People came through both the side gate into the garden and the front door into the house after lingering outside the church, so there was a steady but staggered flow rather than a flood of arrivals.

Bottles had been on ice since early morning and a team of student (and teacher) volunteers were directed by Tommy, a wonderful professional butler.

Amongst those welcoming us back to Lansdowne rd were some of Walter’s grand children including Penny, Victoria and Kevin who were there with their parents.

Mountains of sandwiches, 1000 canapés, mini fairy cakes and 'cream tea' scones were part of the fare. Sue Hall, who also catered for last years Australia House celebration, remarked that for the first time in her catering career there were no left overs and she always makes extra!

Of course some people hadn't seen each other for years and had come from Belgium, Ireland, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Sweden, France to be there. With duplicate books to read of tributes from those not able to be present, the conversations ranged through the years and over thousands of miles.

At one point it felt as though there were two separate parties going on, one in the main teaching room and one in the garden, so packed had it all become.

Walter's room, with its familiar bookcases and his desk and teaching chair and that red collection box for the 'Rest Home for Horses' on the mantelpiece, was open for people to leave bags and coats or to have a space to quietly remember and to look out of the big window onto a view of the roses.

The Service of Thanksgiving for Walter took place at St John's Church, Notting Hill (around the corner from Lansdowne Rd).

We heard the Choir of all Saints church Margaret Street sing some of the same music that Walter would have also sung as a chorister at St Margaret's in the late 1920's. Richard Carrington gave one of the readings: "For everything there is a season" from Ecclesiastes and Christopher, his eldest son, read a tribute to his father, including many biographical details. One of Walter's pupils. the soprano Felicity Palmer gave a moving rendition of the Shakespeare song, "Fear no more the heat o' the sun" (by Gerald Finzi) as well as the lovely "A perfect day" (Carrie Jacobs-Bond words and music).

Danny Pevsner, who as many know enjoyed a friendship with Walter for 36 years first as an Alexander pupil, then as Walter's riding instructor, talked about Walter's courage and perseverance 'discarding' pain and difficulty as he learned to make himself a 'a true horseman and good rider'. He spoke of Walter's dedication to the cause of the Alexander Technique, his understanding of its spirit and message and the help he received from his beloved wife Dilys. Quoting Walter in his own words "These two things -the unity of mind and body, and the attitude towards right and wrong-are the main features that distinguish our work.. It is no good seeing our work as though it was like anything else, because it is not".

Glynn Mac Donald told us about her work with Walter when making a film about the Whispered Ah. She also spoke of his love of Shakespeare , finishing her tribute with the quote from Hamlet, Walter's favourite Shakespeare

"Good night, sweet prince,
and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"

At the party it wasn't possible, in a few short hours, to see everyone that was there let alone have a proper conversation with them.

Some lovely encounters stand out for me:
Jane Aaronson was there as well as her brother Adam the glass designer (he was responsible over the years for the ever increasing quantity of exquisite glass pieces in Walter’s study!). As some of you will know it was Jane who as a little girl with Spina Bifida was brought to see FM and then had lessons with Walter, at first seated on the Toy donkey and eventually as she grew up, on the saddle we use in saddle work today. She told me, "I owe my life to Walter".

I also saw teachers, at least one now with her own training course, meeting up again with their first ever teacher!

Dilys was upstairs in her sitting room during the reception where the steady stream of her visitors was regulated by Alice Olsher, over from California, standing like a guarding angel at the bottom of the stairs.

Two days before Walter had his accident he went out with students and teachers from Lansdowne Rd to the Singapore restaurant on Holland Park avenue for a very happy evening.

Many of his teachers and students were also able to visit Walter and to 'accompany' him during the two weeks he spent in hospital.

This wonderful day felt like a continuation of the sharing of experiences about him and with him. It was also an opportunity for younger teachers to meet the people from his 60 years of teaching who Walter has consistently spoken about and referred to in his inclusive way as though he was there still speaking Alexander history to us.

We are all part of that living History now, each one of us with a gift that Walter gave us for which we all have a separate name and a different story to tell.

I do not doubt that in every case at its core, is love.

Kate Kelly - 12th October 2005

 

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	Memorial Service (St John's Church, Notting Hill, London - 20th September 2005) To get a bigger (and printable) version of each photo click on the corresponding thumbnail.
	* Photographs are courtesy of Kate Kelly, Gerald Foley and Julie Barber   Walter Carrington's photo at the top of the page © 2001 Jean M.O. Fischer back to Top