The Bradfield Chronicle magazine of October 1965 when he retired after 41 years of service to Bradfield read “The impact on life at Bradfield made by John Moulsdale was so varied and comprehensive that an expert in several fields would be needed to do full justice to his achievements.”

He learned the business of house mastering from scratch having been put in charge of G House soon after his arrival at 25 years of age under the Headmastership of Mr Eric Whitworth. He made the house into a body of individuals with a sense of purpose and the energy to see things through. He did not suffer fools gladly; everyone had his part to play according to his gifts. He was Housemaster of G House for 29 years until 1953, an inspiration to his colleagues and no fewer than 112 of his boys’ sons also came through the house during his tenure.

A Cambridge scholar, John when he was first appointed to Bradfield was given a variety of subjects to teach. He did this with his customary originality and thoroughness, but he always held that his emancipation was due to HM Inspectors. After the first inspection, it was recommended that perhaps he might stop teaching Latin; after the second inspection the same thing happened with French. Then began his true vocation as a teacher of English to young scholars and of History to Sixth Formers. The secret of his stimulating effect lay in his ability to ask the right kind of question which cannot be answered off the cuff, and which drove his pupils to read and research. The results are famous and some of his former pupils became fellows of their colleges after Bradfield.

He was Second Master for 15 years, giving wise counsel when asked for it. His colleagues remembered both his personal kindliness and his unswerving devotion to the best interests of the school. Amid the trials of his own life and through ill health, he maintained outward serenity, to the wonder of many, as befitted one brought up in the faith of a Quaker home.

He ran the History department at Bradfield for 20 years and continued until his retirement to teach history with inexhaustible enthusiasm and success.  His love of the subject, particularly English and American history, force of character a d knowledge of boys made him an ideal teacher. John was at all times bringing history into the lives of his pupils. The results were remarkable: between 1942 and 1964 some 40 Bradfield boys won History awards at Oxford and Cambridge, including such distinguished scholars as John Prest, Jeremy Lever and Timothy Hornsby. The climax was in 1961-2 with six Oxbridge awards, 100% success at A level and two History Firsts at Oxford and a large number entering universities through history. He left most of his history books to the Layton Library when he retired, where the Moulsdale Shelves intended to help future history specialists to maintain the standards that he set.

His career as a footballer was noteworthy, as a full international and also amateur captain of Wales. On the days when he went away to play, a leek would be inserted in his suitcase, only to be invariably discovered before he left Bradfield and used as a weapon to attack fellow members of the SCR who came within reach. Unlike most Welshmen, he never had the gift of music, but he had no inhibitions about breaking into song when he felt like it. His reputation as a games player was justly high and his footwork and anticipation made most ball games easy for him. His first love was football, but as a cricketer he was an incomparable fielder near the wicket and much more than a competent bat.

As in all his activities, for the House on the Hill and for the footballers on New Ground his retirement meant the end of an era. Bradfield Football was enlivened by his coaching for 20 years and the flourishing Old Boys Club had its most successful playing record while he was most active in running the school football. Of those he coached, 7 won Blues in the period 1933-38 and it was felt only the war prevented the Arthur Dunn Cup from reaching Bradfield. The under 16 cricket was also one of his responsibilities and when it is remembered that he was at the same time a Housemaster and teaching Sixth Form History, gives some idea of the immense amount of work that he did.

After he passed away on 4 July 1982 at the age of 82, a Service of Thanksgiving for his life was held in Chapel on Saturday 25th September 1982 where he was described by colleagues with great affection as a ‘giant’, a legend and a great schoolmaster. He is quoted as saying ‘Sport still dominates my life more than it should do’ but it is thanks to him that his last publication was a history booklet of the Bradfield Waifs Cricket Club for which the college is most grateful. “An appropriate contribution to the history of the school he had served for over 40 years and whose intellectual ambitions he had done so much to awaken and foster” was noted by Bradfieldian John Prest, Modern History Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford during the service.

Bradfield was his life’s work and he will never be forgotten.

Mr Moulsdale in his last year as Housemaster of G House 1953