David Miller. 1935 - 2025. BGS 1976 - 1997.

We are saddened to announce the death of long-term former staff teacher and Head of Classics, David Miller. Husband to Ida and father to Amos, Luke and Toby and an inspiration to many. 

Funeral details

To be confirmed. 

Extra from the Chronicle, when David retired from BGS. Written by Charles Martin. 

David Miller's name went before him. Months before my arrival here, well-informed sources were telling me how fortunate I was to be inheriting the finest classics teacher in the land. Since then at meetings and conferences of various kinds I have been approached by former pupils of his from Westminster, Eton, King's Canterbury and of course BGS who have en­quired fondly after the great man and asked especially to be remembered to him.

David took up his appointment as Head of Classics in 1976. The subject had for long prospered under his Olympian predecessors and was to do so mightily throughout his time here. In their various ways boys and girls of different ages and abilities who were lucky enough to be taught by him appreciated that they were being offered a unique educational experience. One of them wrote 'Any lesson with Mr Miller left you thoroughly educated like no other teacher could manage. He was one of the most approachable, effective and distinctive teachers in the School'.

David was distinctive in so many ways. A man of towering stature, even in his sandals, he was a quixotic figure in his yellow helmet as he pedalled into school on his enormous bicycle, very often with a bassoon strapped across his shoulders. Given his knightly appearance it seemed all the more appropriate that he should also have been an athletic and skilful fencer (a Cambridge blue and county champion) who did much to foster an enthusiasm for the sport at the School.

He was also of course a very talented musician (hence the bassoon) who gave gener­ously of his support to school music over the years, playing regularly with a number of our orchestras. One of my first memories of him is as a player at a local operatic society production. As the lights went down, except for those in the orchestra pit, I was amazed to see his familiar profile hunched over a pile of exercise books which he was quietly marking in between reaching for his instrument at regular intervals to join in with his fellow woodwind players. I became far more interested in David than in the opera. As far as I could tell he never missed a note, while the Greek or Latin exer­cises appeared to be receiving their customary detailed annotations and comments.

I have another memory, albeit of a gastro­nomic nature, which further illustrates his amazing focus and intensity. During the great gales of 1989 he alone among the staff appeared to be sublimely unaware of the elements outside as he steadily ate his lunch in the Great Hall with the dust of ages cascading down from the beams above and liberally peppering his chicken curry. Lunches. although often hurried, are not usually as dramatic as that and at a personal level I shall greatly miss our conversations as he has held me enthralled with talk of Mozart, Haydn, classical mythology, and the Silk Road. He was a man of integrity and honesty who made no secret of his misgivings about many current developments in education. He abhorred paperwork and administration and, as for Schemes of Work, the very mention of them was enough to drive him into apoplexy. From that point of view he retires with few regrets. What he will miss however will be sharing with his pupils his love and knowledge of his sub­ ject. And how much they will miss him.

This close reciprocal bond between David and his pupils, particularly his Sixth-form tutees, was epitomised by one of them who said to her parents about Oxford 'The chief thing wrong about the University is that it doesn't have David Miller'. We too shall experience a sense of loss without him. We wish him and Ida good luck with their move, and a long and happy retirement.

Charles Martin

David Miller with Daniel Watkins and Andrew Keen - all Heads of Classics at BGS.

David Miller with Philip Revill.