Born on 15th June 1914 in Sidcup, South London

1933 (June) Entered Les Vauxbelets Juniorate

1933 (December) Novitiate and Scholasticate at Castlemount, Dover

1936 Teaching at Les Vauxbelets, Guernsey

1940 (August) Final Profession

1940 Evacuated to Cheshire

1941 Teaching at St Ambrose College, Altrincham

1945 Teaching at St Joseph’s Prep. School, Ipswich

1949 Teaching at St Joseph’s College, Southsea

1965 London District Bursar, Herne Hill, London

1975 Secretary to Brother Assistant

1976 Secretary to Brother Superior General

1999 Clayton Court

Died 18th June 2009, at Clayton Court

This life was assembled by Brother Edmund Damian and

produced at the De La Salle Provincialate, 140 Banbury Road,

Oxford. I am grateful to Brother Anthony Brunning for the

illustrations and the printing.

Eric Heumann was born in Sidcup of Austrian background, a few weeks before the outbreak

of the First World War. The family moved to Streatham and Eric, the eldest of three children

became a schoolboy at St Joseph’s College, Beulah Hill. He was so impressed by his teachers

that at the end of his studies at St Joseph’s College he expressed the wish to become a

Brother and moved in June 1933 to the Brothers’ junior novitiate at Les Vauxbelets in

Guernsey where he spent a couple of months. Then in August he was accepted at the

Brothers’ training college in Castlemount, Dover, and became Brother Aldhelm there in

December 1933 at age 19.

Aldhelm wrote later about his name: “My father advised me to take ‘Aldhelm’ to which I

could add any other name and so I hyphenated it with ‘Anthony’. The day after being

renamed, Brother David Mary Brunning informed me that ‘Aldhelm’ means ‘Old Hat’ and

Aldhelm’s dad was a Pilsner representative of the Beer Company in England and used to

send a crate of the liquid to Beulah Hill and Marden Hill, which the Brothers drank on feast

days. On one occasion Bro Dennis Robert took his juniors to London where they met up by

arrangement with Mrs Heumann, Aldhelm’s mum, who was an honest English house wife.

The juniors had tea with her in Lyons Corner House. After tea and after his day’s work along

came Aldhelm’s Austrian Dad. Aldhelm’s two young sisters used to come to the Beulah

Chapel Mass on Sundays.

On completion of his time in the scholasticate at Dover Aldhelm was placed in 1936 to teach

in the Junior Novitiate of Les Vauxbelets. He was good at languages and knew French and

German. When before the war Hitler gave his twenty-hour speeches to the fatherland and

the world, Aldhelm would translate the said harangues for the junior novices. Each

Christmas, thanks to Brother Aldhelm’s ingenuity and liberality the juniorate were able to

load the Christmas tree with appreciated gifts.

A devoted Brother Aldhelm left the junior novitiate during the summer of 1939 and moved,

still at Les Vauxbelets, to the college that occupied the same site. He joined in the

evacuation to England when the Germans invaded France and reinforced Brother Clarence’s

staff in Hale in Cheshire. It took the name of St Ambrose College and in time moved to

Altrincham.

With Aldhelm at Altrincham was Brother Dennis Bernard who was the manager of the yearly

Scout concert where he especially looked after dancing and singing. A pupil could still

remember a few lines of the pack song:

We are St Ambrose, we are St Ambrose

We are the 9th Altrincham pack of St Ambrose

And we pass by with our heads high

Etc., etc....

When, at the end of the war, the Brothers withdrew from St Ambrose Aldhelm was moved

to St Joseph’s College, Oakhill, Ipswich in September 1945. He was welcomed with a wish for

a long, happy and fruitful stay. To young boys Aldhelm seemed a rather forbidding and

distant figure. At the back of the buildings across the playground he installed a workshop

and when the door was open would invite youngsters in who were playing to watch him

work at carpentry. He would make the boys some boxes with sliding lids to keep their

pencils in. It enabled them to see another side to Aldhelm.

The community took the opportunity of thanking Brother Aldhelm for the excellent chapel

benches that he constructed. Visitors were unanimous in their praise of them, both for

comfort and appearance. They also admired the Stations of the Cross completed under the

direction of the College craftsman. They were plain crosses, in black walnut, polished, and

set on a gilt disc background.

On one occasion when Brother Lawrence O’Toole, newly elected Brother Assistant, visited

Oak Hill, Aldhelm prepared a welcome for him with a rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus

which he got the boys to practise hard. They were surprised that Aldhelm, obviously a gifted

musician, played the elaborate accompaniment on the piano and greatly enhanced the

performance. John Hazell a pupil of Aldhelm wrote

When he taught geometry his method of getting the boys to learn the

theorems was somewhat hard, since if they failed one they had to copy it out

and he increased the number if they failed to present the work on time. It got

so bad and so many of the class were so far behind in the copies Aldhelm

demanded, that the situation became impossible, so the lads wrote and

signed a petition to the Director who was Brother Denis Victor. Our original

petition had become so untidy and blotched with all the signatures that it

was decided to make a fair copy and sign it simply as the class in general. The

upshot was that Denis came to the class very gravely about this “anonymous

petition”, but after listening to our explanation, he gave us an amnesty!

Though intellectually brilliant Aldhelm was noted for the manual work he did around the

place. Under his direction fifty tons of rubble from a bombed site was collected in a tip-up

lorry, and this went to making the foundations for asphalting the playground.

Assisted by Brother Reginald, Aldhelm worked from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. extending the

Community Room; and the floor area was increased by just one-third and all walls were

lined with book-shells. He also redecorated the boys’ refectory with the aid of Brother

Sebastian. This then became a classroom and meals were taken in a newly acquired

property of Birkfield.

Ipswich lost Brother Aldhelm to St John’s College, Southsea after four years of devoted

pupils some time to get to know him, but once you were his friend he was kindness itself.

Brother Aldhelm in his younger days

A colleague of Aldhelm’s, Peter Bostock, wrote:

I would go to the Brother Director to get permission to leave the campus for

a haircut (one had, as you well know, to get such permissions in those days).

Brother would sign a note for the shilling or two shillings that a haircut used

to cost. That note I would hand to Brother Aldhelm, since he was the college

bursar. At first he would invariably refuse to give me the money, saying the

transaction would have to be recorded in his books, suggesting that the

entering of the figures was a nuisance for him. But eventually he would hand

over the pittance, and I would leave the security of the “monastery” to have

my worldly appearance enhanced by a tonsure. But Aldhelm obviously had a

heart of gold. It simply took a little digging. I appreciated our distant

friendship over the years and across the Atlantic. I will miss him too.

Brother Aldhelm in his days at St John’s

A pupil at St John’s reported:

My memory of Aldhelm at St John’s College Southsea is when he ran the

school shop which was housed in a part of the Castle building next to the

playground. If you went in asking for a pair of socks he would place the foot

part of the sock on the counter and tell you to clench your knuckles and put

your fist on the sock. He would then wrap the sock around the sides of your

fist. If the toe of the sock met the heel of the sock (on the top of your

knuckles) then you had the right size!

Aldhelm took the non-Catholics for Bible lessons and the young Brothers called the class the

Quakers because they were so afraid of Aldhelm. The Community found him a delightful

confrère, he would do anything for them. He played the organ each Sunday at the Fratton

prison.

Aldhelm was a first class photographer and towards the end of a celebratory meal

concluding an educational conference or retreat he would pass round showing the

photographs he had taken.

One Sunday, several boarders’ letters contained the information that Brother Aldhelm and

half a dozen boys had gone to hospital with the “bug”! The “bug” was, in more precise

terms, an attack of dysentery. Thus, Brother Aldhelm was off to Saint Mary’s Hospital. As

the treatment, at least after the first few days, consisted chiefly of rest, and being isolated,

Brother Aldhelm was able to carry on his prefectorial duties over his six companions.

3

Adjoining rooms, separated by glass partitions, made it possible to discourage any

temptation to unlawful activity. We are glad to say Brother Aldhelm is back with us, having

benefited, we hope, by the enforced rest.

Edward Hoar was in the hospital with Aldhelm and told this story. It was a most unusual

situation for boys to be confined with a Brother and of course banter developed – which Bro

Aldhelm took in very good part. The boys nicknamed him Harry – also accepted and he

enjoyed the leg-pull poem that they compiled:

There once was a Brother called Harry

The night nurse he wanted to marry

He bought her a ring

The poor silly thing

And now with a saucepan he parries.

The joke died as soon as they were released.

A colleague of Aldhelm, Peter Bostock, who many years later was in the USWA, wrote

Aldhelm and I exchanged Xmas cards for more than fifty years. Which is kind

of ironic, since as a young Brother at Southsea (when I was in community

with him from ’59-’66) he always appeared to be a bit of a curmudgeon. We

would go to the Brother Director to get permission to leave the campus for a

haircut (one had, as you well know, to get such permissions in those days).

Brother would sign a note for the shilling or two shillings that a haircut used

to cost. That note I would hand to Brother Aldhelm, since he was the college

bursar. At first he would invariably refuse to give me the money, saying the

transaction would have to be recorded in his books, suggesting that the

entering of the figures was a nuisance for him. But eventually he would hand

over the pittance, and I would leave the security of the “monastery” to have

my worldly appearance enhanced by a tonsure. But Aldhelm obviously had a

heart of gold. It simply took a little digging. I appreciated our distant

friendship over the years and across the Atlantic.

He was a very gifted man. He “sculpted” a map of the world out of wood,

showing all the Brothers cities of ministry with a small light that he could turn

on. When Brother Dennis Robert came looking for vocations at Southsea,

Aldhelm was persuaded to part with his creation, and I think BDR took it to

Half Moon Lane to show off to applicants to the Brotherhood.

Aldhelm also was a fine photographer, at one time being the President of the

Portsmouth Photographic Society. He won numerous cups and prizes for his

work. I would see him setting off for the evening meetings on his bike each

week.

Two of his photographic creations I especially remember: one was a close-up

of Brother Charles’s (Brunning) hands in the praying position, and a photo of

Brother Ralph working at his easel (Ralph was the art teacher at the time, and

a fine artist in his own right). And of course Aldhelm took the thousands of

whenever I want. In addition, I occasionally receive emails from OJ’s who add

attachments which are photos done by Brother Aldhelm. They too are proud

of his work.

Aldhelm had a hand in producing a tercentenary exhibition to honour the birth of the

Brothers’ founder, St John Baptist De La Salle. This Exhibition was a Vauxbelets product, Mr

Derek Blew, the photographer, being a member of the faculty, and Brothers Dennis Robert,

Aldhelm Mary and Lionel Mary being Vauxbelets Old Boys. At St John’s the Exhibition with

4

Brother Aldhelm Mary, the Artist won both admiration and astonishment. When it arrived at

Saint John’s according to experts and authoritative advice, it should have fitted in the new

Art Room adjoining the Gym, but after the Sixth Form had brought all the packages into the

Art Room, previously emptied for the occasion, serious misgivings began to arise in many

breasts. Brother Aldhelm rapidly erected the Exhibition very nicely into the New Gym, and,

moreover, room was left for a hundred tubular chairs, kindly loaned by the Corporation, so

that lectures and film shows could be held in the Exhibition room itself, a very pleasing and

friendly compactness.

Aldhelm took very little part in the boys’ activities whether boarding, house or sport, with

reported that from September 1952, Aldhelm undertook the duties of school secretary. His

name did continue to appear as the school organist. In 1953 we find Aldhelm lending a hand

to a Vocations Exhibition shown in London.

Gasps of wonder accompany a first glimpse of Brother Aldhelm’s new file,

planned and executed by himself. The natural sequence is that each boy

should now wear corresponding “medal ribbons”, so that a glance at his lapel

will reveal: age, form, I.Q., address, religion, whether he did last night’s

homework, etc.

It is also recorded that in 1954 Aldhelm had recently added to his many other duties the role

of school photographer. St John’s had a boat, Spice Islander. Brother Aldhelm took it over in

1956 and arranged three quite enjoyable trips until he fell ill.

Aldhelm took the school photograph in the summer of 1958. He made his way in the

photographic world when five of his photographs won for him the “Privett Cup” in the

italics “Photo by Brother Aldhelm” have been appearing frequently in the school magazine

over the last five years. Readers have no doubt noticed that the standard has been

5

Aldhelm, the organist

constantly rising, so much so that Brother Aldhelm now exhibits in the very best circles. In

1960 Aldhelm was congratulated on becoming President of the Portsmouth Camera Club.

Then at Prize-giving Aldhelm enjoyed himself immensely, stalking quietly around the stage,

taking careful aim, and then shooting any speaker or group of prize winners who dared

show themselves. His photographs appeared with good effect in corridors and staircases of

the school, as well as illustrations in the school magazine. He even appeared with his exhibit

“Surface Tension” in the television programme “Day by Day”. All this time, though

unreported, Aldhelm was busy dealing with the school and community financial accounts

and with supervision of the school shop. When St John’s became Direct Grant “the school

closed and for a number of days shelves were torn down transferring Brother Aldhelm’s

dark room from the Castle to St Catherine’s, while Aldhelm kept a watchful eye so that the

doors and walls were not necessarily down in the rush”. The Gazette mentions that Aldhelm

represented the school at the funeral of the Portsmouth Archbishop John King.

Aldhelm’s stay at St John’s came to an end in the summer of 1965. At that speech day the

headmaster, Brother Edwin reported “Brother Aldhelm is leaving St John’s after fifteen

years spent at various assignments at teacher, in charge of the boarding department, the

school shop, and community and school bursar. His efficient bookkeeping was mainly

responsible for the acceptance of the school on to the Direct Grant list. He was a formidable

man who took in the rights and wrongs of a case at a glance and rapt out an answer to all

and sundry irrespective accordingly. He will probably be best remembered in the manner of

our juvenile world or jejune world that strains at a gnat and swallows a camel – for his

photography.

In 1965 Brother Visitor, Richard, brought Aldhelm to the newly acquired property at Half

Moon Lane, Herne Hill to take over care of the property together with the finances of the

Brothers’ London District. This move involved Aldhelm in the District management.

All enjoyed the Institute Film, recently made in France, but the consensus of opinion

seemed to be that it would not serve in this country without judicious editing. While at

Herne Hill, Brother Aldhelm also looked after the greenhouse and the garden. There seems

little doubt, from the reports of numerous guides, that’s the magnificent triptych by Brother

Aldhelm was the single exhibit that staggered most. Bournemouth’s Education Officer

waxed lyrical, and spoke of “golden threads encircling the world”; Bournemouth’s Mayoress

quoted Tennyson:

“For so the whole round is every way

Bound by gold chains about the feet of God”.

There was an occasion when the request of the Jersey community for borrowing in order to

finance their new building had to be considered. The Council considered that it did not have

sufficient information to come to decision; it therefore deputed Brother Aldhelm to go over

to Jersey and produce a feasibility study and budget. Brother Aldhelm reported to the

Council on his recent visit to the island. He had established the budget which should enable

the school to live within its income. After a careful examination of the accounts, he

considered the estimated surplus satisfactory, assuming repayment over two years and

provided that fees rose with the increase in prices.

Brother Gerard Rummery, a Brother from Australia, wrote: Brother Aldhelm has been

labouring for many weeks at Half Moon Lane to make elegant shelving of cabinet maker’s

the world, chosen with Brother Denis Victor’s impeccable taste. He had a very practical

intelligence and a real genius in getting mechanical and electrical things to work.

Aldhelm’s interests were not confined to money. His concern for other matters appeared in

6

Dear Brother Editor,

I would like to make a comment on one of the points for discussion during

our retreat. The question opening the discussion was “are we making the

right decisions for the future”, and the decision implied seemed to be that we

should be closing schools in view of the shortage of Brothers. The fact of

keeping schools open was regarded not as a decision but as the continuation

of the status quo.

The better solution would seem to be in finding more vocations in our

schools. To bring this about it is essential that our boys see in the Brothers’

life something more than merely being a teacher, for such also can be a

layman. This something more is ‘community life’ and if the group and the

retreat was a real cross-section of the District, there is a genuine and

heartfelt need not merely for what we normally think of in these two words

but for what might be termed the spirit of community life.

The Brothers get together indeed for prayer, discussion, meals and

relaxation, but something more is added. They are eager and happy at having

the chance of being together and of meeting one another in their passage

from place to place.

Younger Brothers, and perhaps also some of the older ones, sometimes have

their difficulties sorrows and troubles and for want of a sympathetic listener

may not always be able to unburden themselves when their need may be

very great indeed. Brothers in charge of boarders feel the need of being with

the community, yet when they come off duty there is no one about. There

might be occasions when other Brothers could replace them for a time or

when two or three could keep them company when circumstances permit.

The Brother Director should be available at all times, within reason, for the

Brother to pour out his woes and such should be his genuine concern and

affection for each one that he would have no hesitation in going to him when

he feels the need for help and consolation. It is unfortunate that the Director

is at the same time the headmaster and has to give a large part of his time to

7 paragraph c, the role of the director, there are but ten words which could

refer to the school. The remaining three-quarters of a page refer to his

relations with the community.

importance. If this is so, then community life ranks third after our nature and

end, and the spirit of the Institute. All that precedes and much more besides

can be found in this chapter, where we also find the words “The unity of the

Brothers in community is itself a sign of the presence of God in this world”.

If our boys could not help but say of us, as the pagans said of the first

Christians, “See how they love one another”, would we not draw many of

them to participate themselves in such happiness.

I regret that my facility in the use of words is not on a par with my use of

figures.

Brother Aldhelm.

Brother Aldhelm’s handiwork at Half Moon Lane produced a large map showing the

numerous houses of the Brothers throughout the world. It received special mention and

evidently impressed the prelate of the Nigerian Church when he came on a visit!

Gradually Aldhelm seemed to get tired of living at Half Moon Lane and Brother Visitor was

7

happy when Aldhelm moved to Rome. In 1975 Brother Visitor reported to the District that

Brother Aldhelm had been transferred to Rome where he would be the Secretary of Brother

Assistant, Richard Allen. He would probably help as well in the Comptabilité. Brother

Aldhelm had been at Half Moon Lane for ten years. As one of the first pioneers of the house

and as District Bursar he rightly deserved a few words of appreciation and thanks for the

work he has done.

Later we read: In the Mother House in Rome the London District had three of their best

men. First there was Brother Aldhelm, Secretary to Brother Superior, perhaps the most

versatile man in the District, who spoke French, German and Spanish as well as his native

English, a master carpenter, a first-class photographer and gardener. In the archives you will

find Brother John Hazell, B.A., B.D., specialist in theology and in the life of the Founder, one

who wore his learning lightly and was always ready to put it at the disposal of the less

enlightened.

At Rome Aldhelm was often employed for simultaneous translation, in particular of the

Superior’s letters. On one occasion in 1982 he got the clock in the tower to work again. One

story has it that the Clock ceased to chime after Aldhelm returned to England in 1999. He

mentioned his care of the sick and wrote that he had used £30 worth of aspirins, cough

drops, ointment etc, and carried meals to the sick, that electronic typewriters needed

repair. “I have to go to the chemists to get the medicines needed, sometimes four or five

times a week. Otherwise I do not go out. The Secretary General lent me his pedometer the

other day. In one day it registered 8 kilometres”. “We are now on retreat at Lake Albano; it

is cooler up here. I had to drive a Brother back to Rome, he had forgotten his medicines.” In

1983 Aldhelm wrote: “Bus fares have gone up six-fold this month to what they were when I

came seven years ago. I am horrified at how expensive it is to be ill over here”.

In Rome Aldhelm was very happy and appreciated the friendships he made. His wonderful

wooden maps depicting the Institute in the world with tiny lights showing the various

districts and communities was a great success and a highlight for visitors. He also built as a

hobby a very elaborate model railway in a room along the top corridor which he would

willingly demonstrate. He would invite the English Brothers, feeling a bit homeless in a

foreign environment, to his room on Christmas afternoon for some cake and a drink. For a

time he was infirmarian who showed great kindness to his patients. He would also drive to

the airport to meet or take Brothers there. He was an excellent chauffeur and used to have

his Advanced Driver’s badge on the front of the car. Aldhelm had been dealt a very strong

hand by way of his talents, but there was a real humility about the man. He carried his

giftedness lightly and enjoyed sharing it with others.

8

Aldhelm’s model railway

There was an occasion when Brother Aldhelm joined the ranks of the hospitalised for about

a week, but he did not need more than minor surgery on his arm. Brother Aldhelm initiated

a most efficient and expert clinical service for CIL. One year several Brothers of the Central

Community, including Brothers Gabriel and Aldhelm, took advantage of the Lenten period to

make their annual retreat in a beautiful spot not far from Assisi. The community shared in

Brother Aldhelm’s sorrow on the occasion of the death of his sister and accompanied him in

their prayers when he left for London on February 10th. He was with the Herne Hill

community when on 16th February the community welcomed Mr Bill Grace, brother-in-law

of Brother Aldhelm and former deputy at Bishop Thomas Grant School.

Back in the Central community, Brother Aldhelm volunteered to be the coordinator of the

Infirmary service and therefore moved into the infirmarian’s quarters, together with his

wonderful set of model trains. He was thanked for translating the Spanish correspondence

that came to the Mother House.

Brother Leo, using Brother Aldhelm’s much admired world map of Brothers’ Schools as a

blackboard, would give an account of the Founder’s life and the work of the Brothers

worldwide. Brother Denis Victor would follow with a talk on the Dogmersfield Collection of

Institute publications.

In 1983 the District newsletter announced that “during this year, the following Brothers will

be celebrating the GOLDEN JUBILEE of the Taking of the Habit: BB Aldhelm, Lawrence

Charles, Caedmon and Ralph Sherwin.”

Aldhelm found the changes brought about in the community life after the 1976 chapter

rather difficult to adapt to, and for some time after the changes in the organisation of the

chapel, he would follow Mass and the community prayers from the main body of the nave

rather than with the body of the community grouped in the sanctuary.

The highlight of one Easter week was the visit of the Lord Mayor of London, Colonel Sir

Ronald Gardner-Thorpe, an Old Boy of St John’s, Southsea, and an affiliated member of our

Institute. He and his party which consisted of the Sheriff, the Chief Commoner and the

Master-at-Arms, arrived at the Mother House in April and were received by Brother

Superior General and Brother Aldhelm. Their first visit was to the refurbished “Founder’s

Room” which they thus unofficially inaugurated. They were especially interested in Brother

Aldhelm’s World Map of the Institute.

Re-arrangements in the administration of the Institute have resulted in Brother Aldhelm

now becoming the personal assistant to the Secretary General. There was an Inter-Capitular

meeting in Rome in May 1981. The technical side was supervised closely by Brother

Aldhelm. Late in life Aldhelm took up painting and he produced some fine pieces, until

9

Brother Aldhelm’s World Map in the Generalate

failing eyesight brought this pleasurable pastime to an end. He had been dealt a very strong

hand, by way of his talents, but there was a real humility about the man. He carried his

giftedness lightly and enjoyed sharing it with others.

By nature, Aldhelm was a private person and could appear rather severe and forbidding,

even unapproachable. He was a man of strong opinions, not least in matters pertaining to

community prayer and liturgy. There was a time when in the Generalate Chapel in Rome red

armchair-style seats were introduced into the sanctuary. Aldhelm’s opinion on the matter

was made abundantly clear when he took up long-term residence at the back of the Chapel!

He had little time for newer forms of prayer. Brother Aidan who spent several years in the

Generalate Community with Aldhelm related an occasion when he, Aidan, entered the

Chapel carrying a guitar. He was about to accompany the Community Evening Prayer. A

couple of strums on the guitar from the front of the Chapel were met by a pronounced

closing of Office Book from the back, followed by the departure of Aldhelm!

The wearing of the religious habit was important to Aldhelm. While in Rome he would even

wear it going into the City on business. He did not wear socks and on one occasion he was

approached by a woman who, assuming he was extremely poor, offered him money to go

and buy a pair.

In 1990 Brother Mark Boyle reported: Aldhelm is the infirmarian for the Mother House

community and as I am infirmarian for CIL, I have regular contact with him. Later Mark

reported that Aldhelm sent his best wishes to the Brothers of the District. Aldhelm kept the

English Brothers supplied with all kinds of office equipment. In his leisure moments he read

the whole of Literature in Italian, having completed the same task some years earlier in

Spanish.

While Aldhelm was in England in the summer of 1990 his sister arranged a ‘Golden Jubilee’

party attended by family, friends and Brothers to celebrate fifty years to the day when

Aldhelm took his final vows. There was a special Mass for the occasion in the parish church

at Stow-on-the-Wold.

10

Aldhelm with some of his paintings

In December 1990 the Rome Community fittingly celebrated Aldhelm’s Golden Jubilee of

Perpetual Profession and it was good to see Aldhelm on the “Top Table” for the occasion.

Aldhelm’s sister Helen came to Rome in summer 1991 and both were delighted to attend

the Pope’s Mass and have a few words with him afterwards.

During the Institute Chapter in 1994 the groups using the Chapter Hall and other

simultaneous translation facilities kept Aldhelm busy. In particular he kept an eye on the

Public Address system in the Chapter Hall. Brother Emmanuel Sciberras informed the

England District that “Aldhelm often finds that even anglophiles are floored by Saxon

onomastics: one day we will present him with a piece called “Aldhelm Variations”. Aldhelm’s

cough mixture helped Brothers Anthony and Allen beat coughs and sneezes in January

1995.”

Autumn 1997 Aldhelm went into hospital for an operation for cataract. With the acquisition

of new glasses his sight became much improved. Then in 1999 Aldhelm left the Mother

House with his cheerful smile and gentle manner after twenty-four years of service during

which he was infirmarian for sixteen years.

Brother Aldhelm retired from Rome at age 85 and came to live at the Brothers’ house for

the elderly at Clayton Court, near Petersfield, where he was to spend the last ten years of

his life. He expressed immense gratitude at being accepted into the Community and spoke

in glowing terms of the love and kindness shown by the Brothers of the Community and by

the Care Staff at Clayton Court. At first he continued to be a strong correspondent. Family

and friends, particularly Angela and Andrew, wrote regularly to Aldhelm from Uttoxeter

which letters he always answered till failing eyesight brought an end to his correspondence.

From Carms it was Richard, Alison and Matthew who wrote, and from Carmarthenshire

Brian and Jeanne.

In retirement Aldhelm maintained his interest in the world-wide Brothers. He wrote to the

Conversations of Father Zossima’.

Aldhelm’s faith in God and Roman Catholicism was uncomplicated. The Office of the Church

was his mainstay and he did not like to deviate from it. In the Mass you offered Aldhelm the

11

Aldhelm at his Golden Jubilee Party

Brothers Cuthman Morgan, David Leo, Michael Sherry

Dennis Robert, Aldhelm, Walgan and Wilfred Stutt

sign of peace at your peril. Each day in Clayton Court he tuned into Vatican Radio to follow

the Mass and the Office. This practice had the added bonus of enabling him to keep in touch

with the Italian language he had come to know and love during his years in Rome.

Failing eyesight and increasing deafness now added a degree of isolation to Aldhelm’s

private world. He accepted personal care very graciously. He showed a wicked sense of

humour when enjoying a joke. To a friend he wrote: “The worst thing the flyer can do is to

grab the catcher. No, the flyer flies and the catcher catches. Going into death, don’t try to

grab God. Just stretch out your arms and hands and trust. In our dying we may be giving to

others the greatest gift we have ever had to offer. We should not forget that.”

Gradually Aldhelm’s health declined and he died quietly and peacefully, God’s good and

faithful servant, shortly after his 95th birthday and is buried in the Brothers’ plot in Midhurst

cemetery. Aldhelm’s trust in God stayed with him to the end and the God who loved him in

life will have caught him safely and firmly in death.

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Aldhelm in retirement, with Julie Jackson

Pray for Brother Aldhelm Heumann

who died on 18 June 2009 aged 95,

in 74th year of his Religious Profession.

With wide embracing love

Thy spirit animates eternal years,

Pervades and broods above,

changes sustains,

dissolves, creates and rears.

There is no room for Death,

nor atom that has might

could render void:

Thou – THOU are Being

and Breath.

And what THOU art may

never be destroyed.

Emily Bronté

1818–1848

Printed at De La Salle Brothers Oxford – October 2009