{"id":20160,"date":"2026-10-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/?p=20160"},"modified":"2026-10-25T11:55:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T11:55:42","slug":"rosamund-comins-1926-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/rosamund-comins-1926-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosamund Comins (1926-2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d6b478f1 wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-x-large-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:700\">Remembering Rosamund Comins OBE (1927\u20132026): Former ESB Board Member and Champion of Spoken Communication<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"992\" height=\"992\" src=\"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Roz-Comins.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Roz-Comins.png 992w, https:\/\/esbuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Roz-Comins-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/esbuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Roz-Comins-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/esbuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Roz-Comins-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\"><strong>English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB International) is saddened to learn of the passing of Rosamund \u2018Roz\u2019 Comins OBE, a former Board member, examiner and dedicated advocate for spoken communication, who died in September 2026, aged 99.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rosamund enjoyed a remarkable career spanning nearly 70 years in voice education, including a 40-year association with English Speaking Board. Her commitment to nurturing confidence, self-expression and effective communication reflected the principles upon which ESB International was founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:700\">A lasting contribution to English Speaking Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond her work with ESB International, Rosamund made an exceptional contribution to voice education and vocal health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1993, she founded the Voice Care Network, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting professionals whose work depends upon their voices, including teachers, performers and public speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her pioneering work helped raise awareness of vocal health and the importance of protecting the voice as a professional resource. In recognition of her services to education, Rosamund was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her passion for teaching remained undiminished throughout her later years. Remarkably, she delivered her final voice care workshop to trainee teachers in Birmingham in 2015, aged 88.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:700\">Remembering Rosamund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rosamund&#8217;s enduring belief in the power of the spoken word continues to resonate with ESB International&#8217;s mission today. Her contribution as an educator, examiner and Board member forms part of the organisation&#8217;s rich history and its longstanding commitment to recognising and celebrating the voices of learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are grateful to Rosamund&#8217;s son, Oliver Comins, for sharing his mother&#8217;s story and helping us recognise her remarkable contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone at ESB International extends their sincere condolences to Rosamund&#8217;s family, friends and all those whose lives were enriched by her teaching, dedication and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\"><strong>Rosamund Comins OBE (1927\u20132026)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph\"><em>For a fuller account of Rosamund&#8217;s remarkable life and career, read<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2026\/oct\/18\/rosamund-comins-obituary\"><em>her obituary in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><em>, written by her son, Oliver Comins.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remembering Rosamund Comins OBE (1927\u20132026): Former ESB Board Member and Champion of Spoken Communication English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB International) is saddened to learn of the passing of Rosamund \u2018Roz\u2019 Comins OBE, a former Board member, examiner and dedicated advocate for spoken communication, who died in September 2026, aged 99. Rosamund enjoyed a remarkable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"wp-custom-template-esb-template","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,66,5,6,8],"tags":[71,105,103,104],"class_list":["post-20160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcement","category-board-of-trustees","category-learning","category-oracy","category-speech","tag-71","tag-obituary","tag-rosamund-comins","tag-roz-comins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20160"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20166,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20160\/revisions\/20166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}