Remembering Thomas Ridgway

Thomas Ridgway (6.86-91), known as ‘Flash’ to his contemporaries, died on 16 April 2025 at home in Paris surrounded by his family following a protracted battle with cancer.

Tom arrived at Malvern in 1986 and emerged from the College with a passion for art and architecture, a love of French literature, and a healthy mistrust of the conventional. Much of this he took from Mike Harvey, who had taught him French and History of Art in the Sixth Form.

A lifelong West Bromwich Albion fan, Tom was the first XI goalkeeper during the 1990/91 season whose friends never forgot the Telegraph headline “Ridgway holds firm to keep Repton at bay” despite this modest man wishing that perhaps, after so many years, they had.

At well over six foot, Tom was a physical presence but rarely felt the need to impose. He preferred to express himself through his writing, with close friends able to point to their collection of carefully curated postcards from his travels, each bearing a witty aphorism in Tom’s elegant hand.

After university in London at Queen Mary and Westfield College where he had begun to hone his skills as an editor on the London Student newspaper, he settled in Paris. From here he took on a series of editorial roles, even holding his nose long enough to edit a fashion magazine, before moving into freelance French to English translation.

He was remarkably bohemian for a lad from Lichfield, a contrarian who was able to live life in his own unique style. His devotion to travel, crosswords and strong coffee sat alongside his enthusiasm for obscure musical artists and avant-garde directors. For as long as he could, he incorporated his love of walking for miles at a time into his treatment. Recalcitrant flâneurs were encouraged to join him “because it helps distribute the chemo drugs around the system” as he set off on a seven-mile circuit around the Seine.

His eclectic tastes were reflected in his widely-drawn group of friends, referred to as ‘the archipelago’. He is very much missed by them and his family, and is survived by the two greatest loves of his life; his wife Delphine and daughter Aiko.