Earlier this month, my former school, Wimbledon College, lost one of its most treasured icons.  Today's Obituaries in The Daily Telegraph remember Richard Milward, who died aged 82, having spent 40 years as a history teacher at the school.

On a personal note, I was one of thousands of pupils over the years, who had living proof of Richard's extraordinary humanity, both during my time at the school and both during and after university.  My blog entry today simply wishes to remember and give thanks for Richard's life and record a great piece of advice highlighted in Richard's obituary.

“Richard would impress on boys that every point they made in an essay needed an example.  "When they opened up Mary Tudor after her death," he would say, "they've found 'Calais' engraved on her heart.  When I die they'll find 'significant detail' engraved on mine."”

For those in business whose job it is to persuade others to walk with them, and that is pretty much all of us, this is sound advice.  "Give examples" and "lead by example".