His brother, Gilbert Wills (who became the first Lord Dulverton) and Canon Sewell (the first chair of governors) entertained the thought that 'if there had been no Magdalen, there would have been no Rendcomb'.
Noel Wills' time at Oxford was marked by wide-ranging reading, a generous appreciation of the talents of those around him and, in the words of Professor G S Gordon (who became president of the college), an 'unostentatious goodness'.
A slightly later report records that the estate was to be auctioned; it "only" extended to 160 acres but included the "whole of the angling in the Garry below the falls and in Loch Oich".
Noel was a very wealthy man and had inherited a third of his late father's estate in 1909[3] His son MDH Wills was a captain in the Coldstream Guards at the time he was reported missing in Africa in July 1943 and was later confirmed dead.
[6] The Wills family was no stranger when it came to educational altruism; the founder's uncle and three of his cousins had founded and endowed buildings at Bristol University.
On 2 June 1920, Rendcomb College opened with twelve boys, Simpson at the helm and Noel Wills as chair of governors.
In 1924, the founder wrote an illuminating piece for The English Review which gives a fascinating insight into those early years and his progressive educational vision.
[7] ‘Remembering what he wanted us to be – his pride in what has been done well, his indulgence for what has been done less well – we must go forward, humbly, but confidently, in the work of making his vision a reality.’ James Herbert Simpson, founding Headmaster of Rendcomb College Noel Wills died in Cheltenham in October 1927, aged 40, following an operation.