<div>The Morris Silvera Scholarship Fund has been created to honour the memory of Morris Silvera a devoted husband and father and a high school teacher for over 35 years. Morris passed away tragically at the age of 60 from cancer in 2023.
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<div>The Scholarships beneficiaries will be primarily disadvantaged students who have overcome significant barriers in order to continue with their education at university level. The value of the Scholarship will be a one off bursary of £1,000.
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<div>Obituary from Jerry Duxbury
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<div>Morris Silvera MAP1981
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<div>The fabulous Mo Silvera succumbed to cancer in October at age 60.
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<div>Morris grew up in South London, the third of five children, and was destined for sporting success. He competed in judo for Britain and was a keen footballer and athlete.
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<div>On joining UEA in 1981 to study mathematics, he found that no judo club existed, so he twisted the arms of J Block residents at Horsham until he had 30 signatures - enough to form a Student Union club.
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<div>That first year, he led the UEA Judo Club to the UAU Championships at Crystal Palace where he won bronze in the Under 71kg event. It could have been more, but insisting on trying to drop down to that weight category, he stopped taking liquids for two days and thus cramped up in his semi-final bout.
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<div>Morris’s sporting acumen wasn’t restricted to the fields or mats, he became Horsham Sports Officer (where his sports reports became the highlights of some particularly dull meetings), then, in his final year, Student Union Sports Federation President.
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<div>And so vital was his place as captain of the judo team that his teammates persuaded him to stand for the sabbatical role of SU Treasurer so he could lead the team for one more year.
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<div>Fellow judoka Conrad Griffiths (LAW1982) shared his reflections: “It only seems like yesterday we were all crammed into a minivan on a judo trip to ‘somewhere’ with a cast of characters.”
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<div>“I started laughing thinking about Morris on those trips including in an elevator in a hotel in Bruges when he asked Tony Hadlee from Spandau Ballet if he was George Michael!”
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<div>“Morris was universally adored by all who knew him and were lucky enough to be his friend.”
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<div>Indeed, ever-friendly, super witty and self-effacing, Morris was possibly the most popular student of his time. For his 21st birthday, he and a friend hired the LCR and filled it with 500 guests.
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<div>It was difficult to see any flaws - well, perhaps his poor eyesight. In 1983, his champion 5-a-side team Raw Recruits went to Brighton to represent UEA at the UAUs.
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<div>They did pretty well, beating the favourites Bath Uni in the opening rounds, but came unstuck in the quarter-finals. Mo’s eyesight played a crucial role when he passed the ball to the ref - then sprinted forward screaming for the return.
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<div>Jon Mellor remembers the headshave that Mo and four others had to raise funds for the Football Club’s tour of USA.
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<div>“We posed on the uni steps afterwards - four of us looked like clowns, whilst somehow Morris looked even better!”
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<div>Yet perhaps all his joyful demeanour covered for some deep hurt inside. He’d lost his mother a few years before coming to UEA, but would never speak about it. “I try to forget,” he said, stopping the conversation when asked.
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<div>When standing for SU Treasurer, he was challenged at the hustings by the Anti-Racism Soc for not joining them.
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<div>“I know I’m black,” he responded. “I don’t need to advertise it.”
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<div>He had, of course, suffered discrimination. After buckling the wheel of his friend’s racing bicycle in Norwich City Centre one night, he put it over his shoulder and walked the three miles up Magdalen Street back to Fifers. The police stopped him four times.
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<div>And whilst at UEA, his older brother ended up in hospital after being attacked by a group of skinheads.
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<div>Morris was Morris. The most unassuming, neutral person you could ever meet. He won people over with his humour, conscientious and genuine friendliness. And definitely the coolest.
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<div>On leaving UEA in 1985, he studied for his PGCE at Loughborough where he swapped his judo black belt for a pair of rugby boots, just to see how he’d get on.
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<div>He played on the wing for what was known as the Freshers XV. Though only 5’8”, he was built like a brick outhouse, and boy could he move. He hadn’t yet learned to sidestep, so in the opening match of the season he ran straight at and through his defender, leaving the poor fellow to be stretchered off.
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<div>Whilst at Loughborough, he made several attempts to beat the Merrydown Challenge in the SU Bar. Never much of a drinker, he had however spent four years on the cider in Norwich, so reckoned he had a chance.
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<div>He might have beaten the record; he might not have. Who knows? Certainly not Morris, who couldn’t remember a thing the next morning.
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<div>With PGCE in hand, Morris then taught mathematics in South London for the next 35 years, rising to assistant headteacher at Kingsdale Foundation School in Dulwich.
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<div>Always committed to delivering the best education to pupils, regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds, Morris established the Main School and Sixth Form Mathematics Scholarships.
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<div>This resulted in hundreds of students receiving extra maths support, one-to-one tuition, trips abroad and entrance into competitions worth £1,000 a year.
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<div>Following a year-long battle with cancer, Morris passed away peacefully in the early hours of Friday, 20 October, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Aldjia, and 15-year-old daughter, Delina.
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<div>In accordance with Morris’s wishes, his lifelong friend Steve Verrall, whom he met at age 5, has established a bursary in his honour on behalf of his family.
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<div>The Morris Silvera Scholarship Fund will primary help disadvantaged students who have overcome significant barriers to continue their education at university.
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<div>RIP Morris, you extraordinary man.
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