Tim Card

Timothy Stormont Bardsley Card: schoolmaster and writer; born Lichfield, Staffordshire 19 November 1931; Vice-Provost, Eton College 1988-99; died Blandford Forum, Dorset 13 September 2001.

Tim Card was a schoolmaster of rare talent and energy. He served Eton faithfully and was an influential figure there for 45 years, and by his two recent books he opened up the school's arcane world to a wide readership.

He was a distinctive figure, large and somewhat unconventional in dress, firm in his opinions and never afraid to express them. Younger colleagues sometimes claimed to find him a touch pompous; but those who knew him best delighted in his wisdom and warm hospitality and in the humour which was often directed at himself. He was much amused when the Trustee Savings Bank asked him in view of his names to help promote their TSB Card, and he enjoyed modelling a "moleskin suit (for the larger man)" for a clothing catalogue brought out by an old boy.

As a boy at Eton he had a distinguished academic career; then, after National Service and a degree at Trinity College, Cambridge (where he took Mathematics part i and History part ii), he was invited back by Robert Birley to teach Mathematics. Before long he persuaded the authorities to let him introduce Economics as a new A level subject; as there were no teaching notes available he had to produce his own – the sort of labour that he relished. The subject rapidly caught on with the boys, and he then added Politics, which was equally successful; keeping his own allegiances concealed from his pupils, he always referred to the Conservatives as "your party". His one-man department now has a staff of eight.

Being much concerned with boys' involvement in life outside their usual sphere, he encouraged community-service activities, and it was largely by his efforts that Eton Action, a fund-raising charity, was set up in the early 1970s. Previously almost all of the money raised by the boys had gone to the Eton Mission in Hackney; henceforth it would go to causes of their choice, and substantial sums are raised annually. But warm links with the mission parish continue, and Card remained a trustee until his death.

He was also a long-serving governor of Reed's School, Cobham, and, with his great belief in fostering initiative in the young, devoted much time to the Gap organisation, which finds worthwhile placements abroad for school-leavers.

Card was a housemaster from 1969 to 1984, and this was probably the part of his career that he enjoyed the most. Understanding boys well, he knew how to give them their head and call them to order if they went too far. His charges responded by working and playing hard; they respected him greatly, kept contact with him after leaving and turned up in impressive numbers to a dinner held in his honour earlier this year.

In 1988 he was appointed Vice-Provost, a resident but non-teaching post reserved for a distinguished senior master. By tradition its duties are largely pastoral, caring for the ancillary as much as the teaching staff, and fostering links with the local community, as well as recommending clergy for the livings in Eton's gift. Card carried out his duties meticulously, lavishing homegrown fruit on all and sundry, and winning great affection.

The Vice-Provost is also a member of the Eton governing body, and here his financial expertise gave him an important say in such matters as staff pensions. He then expanded his role by taking on the management of the college's collections of books, pictures and other treasures. Under his guidance a programme of exhibitions was arranged, for the benefit of the general public as well as the school.

On top of all of this he found time for researching and writing his first book, Eton Renewed, which was published in 1994. This is a fascinating account of Eton from 1860 to the present day – in Lord Carrington's words, "evocative, informative and full of good stories" – no mean achievement for a literary tiro. Earlier this year he published a companion volume, Eton Established, a concise and very readable account of Eton's first 400 years.

Leaving Eton in 1999 was a great wrench for Card, but he lost none of his energy and could now give adequate time to his large garden in Blandford, in Dorset. He was a very knowledgeable plantsman and delighted in growing tender and unusual plants; his strategic placing of modern sculptures gave focus to the lawns and borders stretching down to the Stour, where a graceful and ingenious timber bridge built by Jamie McCullough links them to an island.

At Eton too he has left his mark on the landscape; the line of hornbeams at the main gateway was planted by his inspirations, as was the very extensive arboretum beside the new rowing lake. It was just after returning from a meeting about this at Eton that he died suddenly at home in his armchair.

Howard Moseley