The School is delighted to have been included within the pages of Jungle Wallah to International Businessman, a recently published memoir by Old Suttonian John MacNaughtan (1962 L). John, who went on to become Head of School during his final year at SVS, details the tough approach he endured as a new pupil at the School. With traditional boarding school rituals, such as ‘fagging’ and prefect-led punishments that were a prominent part of School life at the time, John recounts the discipline and leadership those early experiences taught him.

As he rose up through the years, he recounts the important part that CCF played in day-to-day life at SVS and how pupils played a central role in the management of the School operation. John’s recollections of the time, in particular the discipline-led approach, are synonymous with public schools of the era. That often results in quite tainted memories, and it is therefore refreshing that John writes so positively of his time with us and, in particular, the impact that the School had on his life and future.

Jungle Wallah to International Businessman is a fascinating insight into the life of a remarkable man. John left SVS to study at the University of Sussex before starting a long and successful career in the cycle industry, most of it with Raleigh. In the memoir, he recounts wheeling and dealing in Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan, China and the USA. He was an innocent agent of British Intelligence in Sudan and recalls hair-raising exploits in his light aircraft whilst covering his bases in Britain and Europe. Jungle Wallah to International Businessman is available to purchase here.