Mark Clayton 26/6/1945 to 2/8/2024

We are saddened to announce the death of Mark Clayton on Friday 2 August.

Mark was diagnosed with cancer some time ago, a fact which he kept largely to himself. Taken ill whilst on holiday in Finland in July he was repatriated to Geneva, after a short stay in the Geneva Hôpital Cantonal, followed by palliative care in the Hôpital de Bellerive he succumbed to his illness.

Mark arrived in Geneva in 1981 to work for the World Organisation of the Scout Movement as their Director of Public Relations and Communications and in 2004 he became their Director of Corporate Publishing until his retirement.

Mark served on the GEDS committee from 1992-2000 and again from 2012- 2016 where his skills were eminently useful working on publicity for the society. Mark was instrumental in the early days of the GEDS website and eventually became the webmaster until GEDS updated to a new website format in 2015/16.  He advocated changing our programme size to A5 in order to use online printers thereby cutting costs. Many members fondly remember his lively mailing parties, filled with laughter and conviviality, as Mark ensured everyone’s glasses were refilled while they worked to prepare publicity materials for distribution.

Mark coined the name “GEDS at a Glance” and expanded an initiative that grew from a simple email reminder for a play reading to a monthly calendar of events. His talents were evident in the publicity artwork he produced and he was always willing to step in to help with urgent requests showcasing his skills in publicity software.

In 1996, Mark joined the organizing committee for the FEATS festival held in Geneva in 1999, where he contributed significantly to its success through promotional flyers and securing local media coverage. When GEDS brought FEATS to Geneva again in 2011 Mark was once again publicity manager for the 3 year existence of that committee.

Mark left the GEDS Committee in 2000 to work on publicity for Howard Productions, which brought professional theatre shows to the Geneva area twice a year from 2000 to 2012.

Mark preferred to work behind the scenes, dedicating much of his time to various aspects of publicity for GEDS, taking photographs for GEDS productions and even ran the bar for a few GEDS shows. His strong opinions would sometimes come to light in the form of late-night emails best left to the morning when matters cleared. Yet, he was always reliable, consistently delivering results.

Mark was only seen on the GEDS stage once as Uncle Fred in Prelude to a Kiss in 1999, however from about 2011 he became a frequent member of the men’s chorus in many GAOS shows making use of his rather fine signing voice. He also recently served on the GAOS committee as secretary and publicity manager.

A bon vivant, Mark enjoyed hosting dinner parties, though guests would risk finding Prince, his Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, landing on their shoulders. On several occasions I had the pleasure of spending time sailing with Mark as part of Tim Hancox’s crew, where during calm waters the focus often shifted to wine and Mark’s delicious homemade nibbles.

Mark has left us with a legacy of photographs taken at numerous GEDS BBQ’s and other events – Click here to view.

Our condolences go to his three brothers, Bruce, Steven and John.

A memorial service is to be held at a later date. 

Jane Easton

 

Howard Productions

Mark and I were good friends – not close but nevertheless, GOOD buddies.

The most important part of our relationship started around 1998 when the idea of bringing “professional” theatre to Geneva became a reality.  Howard Productions was born in 2000 and Mark was the obvious choice for publicity management. He was part of a team that brought up to 1500 people to the Chateau de Prangins every summer for 12 consecutive years.

He also managed publicity for the winter shows which played everywhere in Geneva, from the Cité Bleu to the Pitoëff and of course the Uptown!

Mark was responsible for all the group’s publicity, design and graphics production and could always be relied on to make sure that publicity material was collated accurately, graphically interesting and was technically correctly generated to allow internet printing of the publicity and programmes.

Mark and I lived in the same area (Palettes) of Geneva although at different times; I recall several times going to his apartment looking for something he knew he had, but simply couldn’t find because of the clutter at home. However, his professional abilities always resulted in high quality publicity materials, on time and on budget.

Howard Hornfeld

 

I was very saddened to learn of Mark’s death. He was a true gentleman – a friendly gentle man – who made me welcome after I joined the Society 30 years ago. I remember the unlamented stuffing parties he organised at the Scout HQ where he worked. I remember him serving at the bar in the English church hall. I remember lunching with him when we were heads of communications at our respective organisations. I’ll miss his shy smile and warm greetings. Thank you, Mark!

David Lewis