OA BULLETIN
Members of the CCF RAF Section pose in front of a Spitfire in Lincolnshire
Old Albanian Club
Reach for the sky November 2015
OA CLUB www.oldalbanianclub.com President Alan Philpott 01992 584862 alanjphilpott@gmail.com Secretary David Buxton 01727 840499 d.buxton@virgin.net Treasurer Brian Sullman 01582 460317 bhsullman36@btinternet.com Membership Secretary Roger Cook 01727 836877 Rogercook@btinternet.co.uk OA SPORTS RUGBY www.oarugby.com President Richard Milnes 07940 255355 richard.milnes@oarugby.com Chairman Rory Davis 07748 146521 rory.davis@oarugby.com Treasurer Mike Curtis 01727 866848 mikecurtis509@hotmail.com Secretary Peter Lipscomb 01727 760466 peter.lipscomb@oarugby.com Mini Chairman Mike Fisher mikefisher2001@hotmail.com Junior Chairman Ian Tomlins 07867 971585 juniorchairman.oarugby@yahoo.co.uk OA Saints Chairperson Maddy Gunnell maddy.gunnell@oarugby.com FOOTBALL www.oasoccer.co.uk Club President Simon Bates & Manager 07720 383600 01442 240247 Treasurer David Hughes & Club Secretary 07890 831315 01727 769237
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Sponsorship Secretary
dh@sherrards.com David Burrows 07841 431614
CRICKET www.oacc.org.uk President Tony Dalwood 07958 522261 adalwood@yahoo.com Chairman Richard Morgan 01727 843844 richard.morgan50@btinternet.com Treasurer Denis King 01727 859552 denis.king@btinternet.co.uk Secretary Alison Finley 01727 853985 ajfinley@ntlworld.com TENNIS Membership Enquiries Sue Barnes 07970 301345 susyb52@hotmail.co.uk OTHERS Rifle & Pistol Angling Golf
Andrew Wilkie 01202 424190 Andrew.Wilkie@ymail.com Geoff Cannon 01727 861622 /01582 792512 cannon.morgan@btconnect.com Peter Dredge 015827 834572 pjdredge42@aol.com
OA LODGE Assistant Secretary
John Williams 01438 715679 johntwilliams@talktalk.net
SCHOOL www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk
OA COMMENT
O A C O N TA C T
OA BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2015
Editorial
We will remember them
those who desperately wanted to do their bit but couldn’t. School Archivist Nigel WoodSmith has unearthed a poignant letter from While leafing through the glossy St OA A J Barratt, sent from Oxford Albans School Foundation Annual University exactly 100 years ago (see Review that dropped on my doormat page 21). In it, Barratt laments his this week – appropriately timed failure to be allowed to enlist in the as Armistice Day approaches – a services, despite several attempts. particular piece As Nigel remarks: “It caught my eye. “The has always puzzled Archives Department We rightly revere me what medical is very grateful to the condition Barratt had Foundation for paying those who made that disqualified him for the cleaning and from military service, nominal additions to the ultimate given his outstanding the War Memorial,” sporting success at writes Archivist sacrifice for their school.” Michael Hollins. “In One WW1 veteran our research on the country, and who did survive – First World War, it was and the reason why discovered that the applaud the lucky you’re able to read names of three OAs this today – was my were missing: George ones who survived grandfather Thomas Alfred Scott, Leslie Chappin, who enlisted Harry Shrewsbury and to tell the tale in the Hertfordshire Frank Walter Wilks. Yeomanry, a Territorial They have now joined Force unit that was the 87 other Old Albanians to be mobilised in August 1914. Badly remembered.” wounded at Gallipoli, he recovered We rightly revere those who to rejoin his squadron and serve made the ultimate sacrifice for throughout Egypt, Mesopotamia and their country, and applaud the Palestine. It was an eventful few lucky ones who survived to tell years. He had his horse shot from the tale. But we perhaps overlook under him, lost his front teeth when
DIARY DATES
OA City Networking Drinks – Thursday 19th November 2015 OA Club AGM – Thursday 8th December 2015 School Carol Service – Monday 16th December 2015 3
OA COMMENT
OA BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2015
Nick Chappin Editor Andy Chappin Design & Production Printing
President’s Notes his mount reared up (and was still recently. wearing the temporary set fashioned Among other notable departees from the dentures of a dead comrade this year are Professor Sir Jack some 60 years later), and survived Goody (38), a major figure in postcapture and certain execution at war British social anthropology, dawn by the Turks when a raiding and John Marsh (41), son of former party under the command of General Headmaster W T Marsh. Allenby launched a successful night Among the sports clubs, David attack on his captors. Many of his Rourke reflects on a stellar season comrades were not for the cricket sides so fortunate, and to after some lean years, The rugby First borrow a quote from and the rugby First XV the poem For the Fallen has made a solid start XV has made by Robert Laurence in an effort to bounce Binyon, “At the going straight back up after a solid start down of the sun and in last season’s relegation. the morning, we will Finally, I would in an effort to remember them.” like to express my On a lighter note, my personal thanks to bounce straight hearty congratulations OA Club President to the class of 1965, Alan Philpott, who is who survived a fourback up after hanging up his chain day marathon reunion of office shortly. He last season’s to mark the 50th has been an invaluable anniversary of their help behind the relegation departure with no scenes in getting the reported casualties – Bulletin published, see David Merriott’s and persuading report on page 23. organisations like the Paradise The School has enjoyed another Wildlife Park to sponsor each issue. spectacular year of academic My thanks, as always, to all the success, sitting proudly near the regular contributors, I will end with bottom of the league tables for my usual request to all readers to GCSE results (don’t worry, Jonathan continue to send in their stories, Gillespie will explain – see page 8), anecdotes, memories and views, and OA Lodge Assistant Secretary either by post or e-mail to me or to John Williams pays tribute to two the School Development Office. loyal members, Don Carnell and Nick Chappin (75) Alan Smith, who have passed away Editor
Herts & Beds Printing 01923 234959
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Please send your contributions to: Nick Chappin, Editor Post: 18 The Pleasance, Harpenden, Herts AL5 3NA Email: nick@chappin.co.uk
Signing off n As OA Club President Alan Philpott nears the end of his term in office, for the benefit of his successor he describes a typical year in the role
As I sat down to write potentially my last contribution, in this capacity at least, to the Bulletin, I felt the need to reflect on nearly three years. Where did they go? So I thought I would summarise, for the benefit of my successor, ”a year in the life of the OA Club President.” You will have gathered from the OA President Alan Philpott foregoing that it will be my intention to stand down as President at the December reunion of the Class of ’65 who were still AGM. It has been an honour and a standing after several days of celebrations. privilege to be in this role, and I hope I This reunion is described more fully have carried out the duties elsewhere in this Bulletin to your satisfaction. My (see page 23). The Garden successor will find some 28 Party also benefitted from a I was pleased to engagements listed on the musical interlude provided paper mentioned above, by Mike Hodge and Dianne welcome those some being Committee Walters. This was a first at meetings, most being the event; whether it has set from the reunion functions involving the a precedent will be decided School. So although this is by my successor. of the Class of not comparable to the annual Soon after the Garden engagements of the Mayor ’65 who were still Party, I was delighted to of St Albans (some 700-800, I attend the School Leavers’ believe), it does represent a Event, at which I was able standing after commitment of time that I to introduce the OA Club to have been delighted to give. more than 100 students and several days of At this time of the year, I their parents. like to mention the events of During September, I celebrations the summer, a busy time for attended the Prize Giving OAs and for the President. in St Albans Abbey and, The highlight for this President has been later the same week, the Annual Dinner the Garden Party in June; in addition to at the School. I think the future of the the usual invitees from the sports clubs, OA Dinner has been assured by both I was pleased to welcome those from the the change in format to one of relative
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The Headmaster addresses the Abbey congregation at Prize Giving
Sponsor the OA Bulletin Are there any OA-run local businesses out there that would like to sponsor the next issue of the OA Bulletin? We are very grateful to our previous sponsors Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne, and Claridge and Hall Bros, Builders of Harpenden, who have sponsored the last four issues. The cost is very affordable and the revenue is used to cover the extra expense of “upgrading� the Bulletin to a glossy colour format with as many photographs as possible. Please contact me on 07939 287573 or alanjphilpott@gmail.com if you can help.
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informality, and by its location at the School. The earlier black tie event had been moribund, and that is being kind. The current event is full of vitality and well attended by over 120 OAs spanning an age range of 70 years. We were very pleased that both the Headmaster and the Chair of Governors and their respective wives were able to attend, together with a sprinkling of teachers to keep us in order. The success of the event may be measured by the length of time it continued after the dinner had been consumed. I look forward to the events still to come this year, including the Remembrance Service at the School and the City networking evening. The OA Bulletin It seems that the glossy printed Bulletin
OA BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2015
has met with universal approval. Of course, it is read in printed form by a minority of members, whose number will gradually decrease, as online and social media take over. That we have managed to publish in this form, without incurring additional costs to the Club, has been due to the generous sponsorship from Paradise Wildlife Park and Claridge and Hall Bros Ltd. We shall need to work hard to maintain such a level of sponsorship, so again I urge any OAs running local businesses to consider whether they could take a turn. The amount of money involved is just a few hundred pounds. So please consider this and give my successor a flying start! I have wondered whether it is more difficult to obtain sponsorship or the copy that the Editor needs in order to fill the Bulletin. In football terms, a score draw. I estimate. The Bulletin can only ever be as interesting as you make it, so do keep the contributions flowing. Sports Clubs The sports clubs file their own reports for the Bulletin. May I congratulate the cricket club on two championships this past season, for both the second and third elevens. Both teams thoroughly deserved their promotions. The rugby club has begun the season in fine style, three wins and a draw for the first XV at the time of writing. The tennis and fishing clubs would both welcome more participants; the contact details accompany their reports in this Bulletin, or you can contact me. The Committee At this time, I would like to thank all
The President sporting an OA blazer at a medieval dinner at Coombe Abbey, Coventry members of the Committee who have participated in the smooth running of the Club during the past three years. Your support has been amazing. Development Office In thinking back to three years ago, it is obvious to me that one of the major changes that has influenced the Club has been the proactive role of the Development Office under Kate Gray and Chris Harbour. The clear result has been better attended and more events. Other than the various functions I have already mentioned, there are now Regional Dinners across the country, a welcome innovation. So, my thanks are extended to Kate and Chris. Successor I wish him or her the best of good fortune during their tenure of office as President of this great Club. The incoming President will be assured of great support from you all. Alan Philpott President, Old Albanian Club
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Headmaster’s Notes
Bottoms up n Jonathan Gillespie explains why St Albans is proud to join other top academic schools near the bottom of the Government’s league tables for GCSE results
As always, it is a great pleasure to write with news of the School. The summer months brought a nervous wait for those who had been welcomed into the OA ranks by your President at our Leavers’ Graduation at the beginning of July, as well as for their teachers, but when the results were published in August there was much to celebrate in terms of individual pupils’ examination results and the School’s results overall. 45% of our A Level cohort received at least one A* grade, 35 candidates (more than one quarter of our cohort) achieved at least 2 A*s, and one in ten achieved three or more A*s. The overall results saw notable improvements compared to 2014 in our A* % (up by almost one percentage point to over 25%) and to the A*A% which increased by 2.5 percentage points to over 67%, which is more than 40 percentage points above
School’s out: 2015 Leavers’ Graduation ceremony
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the national A*A rate and all the more encouraging in the context of a slight national decrease in these grades. The A Level results also brought good news for many of last year’s Upper Sixth Formers in respect of their university applications, although as every year this was tinged with disappointments for a few. Some three-quarters of our UCAS candidates were accepted by their firstchoice university and a further 15% by their insurance place. Over 80% of this year’s leavers have moved on to a Russell Group university (a group comprising 24 of the leading research universities with the notable exceptions of Bath and St Andrews) with, in descending order, Nottingham, Durham, Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield, Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter and Southampton the most popular destinations this year. At GCSE we are celebrating an A* grade record for the second year running. Our A* % increased by 2.5 percentage points this year to 59% whereas the national percentage decreased slightly to 6.6%, so our A* rate has increased its lead over the national rate to well in excess of 50 percentage points and is almost 25 % points above the A* rate in the independent sector as a whole. 87% of GCSE grades were A*A, an increase of more than 1% on 2014. More than two thirds of our GCSE candidates achieved at least 5 A*s, over 60% gained at least 6 A*s, almost half the cohort achieved at least 7 A*s, 40% achieved at least 8 A*s, well over a quarter of our candidates achieved at least 9 A*s and 20 boys (just under 20% of the cohort) achieved at least 10 A*s, an outstanding achievement. These excellent GCSE results will
Swelling the ranks: President Alan Philpott welcomes the 2015 Leavers into the OA community guarantee our continued position at the foot of government league tables, where we sit proudly with a number of the country’s top academic schools. This is due to the Department for Education’s continued policy of excluding the International GCSE, which our pupils now take in the majority of subjects, from their performance league tables, so by those criteria 0% of St Albans School pupils achieve 5 more GCSEs including English and Mathematics at grades A*-C. We offer the IGCSE qualification for several reasons, the most important of which are that it provides a greater intellectual challenge and a better preparation for A Level study. At the beginning of this term we welcomed some 180 new pupils and eight new members of the Common Room. Several colleagues have taken on new responsibilities this term. Miss Rebecca Baxter has succeeded Mr Peter Byrom as Head of Middle School at the end of his 30-year tenure of this important senior pastoral role. With a new title of Deputy Head Academic, Mr Mark Davies now
Leavers’ Graduation: drinks on the lawn
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Ready for action: the CCF Army Section on manoeuvres in Yorkshire
Peak practise: CCF Adventure Training in the Peak District this summer
heads an academic leadership team which includes two important new positions: the roles of Assistant Head Teaching & Learning (Mr Mikey Smyth), and Data & Curriculum Manager (Dr Jon Saunders). These emphasise our commitment never to rest on our laurels but rather to embrace new ideas, to develop further good practice and to identify and implement incremental gains across our provision for the benefit of our pupils. That aim is not just limited to the academic curriculum as we now also have an Assistant Head, Mr Gareth Burger, responsible for the Co-curriculum which of course has a fundamental importance to the School’s ethos and values. Finally, the advent of a new senior post, that of Director of Marketing, Admissions and Communications, for which we are currently recruiting, indicates our strategic intention to develop further in this
(Adventure Training). The shooting team continued its development with pleasing scores at the Schools’ Meeting at Bisley. The final weeks of August saw many pupils involved in pre-season training for rugby, swimming and netball in St Albans and cross-country at Pen Arthur. The summer holiday period was a busy one for support staff and contractors. In addition to the usual routine summer maintenance schedule the Science refurbishment programme begun last summer has continued with significant work to remodel one of the Chemistry labs (C3). The boys’ toilets in the Middle Yard have also had a complete, and muchneeded, makeover and the Refectory has been prepared for our revised catering arrangements in place from the start of this term. A new ‘follow me’ printing and photocopying system has been installed
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important area. School groups travelled widely and successfully during the summer. Our cricketers accumulated the most air miles on their tour to Sri Lanka from which the 1st XI returned with an impressive unbeaten record (with due gratitude to the heavy rain that made a significant contribution to this outcome in one particular match!). The 2nd XI found the going tougher, but as with the 1st XI they returned with their cricketing and cultural knowledge significantly enhanced and enriched by the touring experience. Our Duke of Edinburgh Gold candidates on the expedition in the Pyrenees all completed this element of their award successfully as did the Silver candidates in the Brecon Beacons. The CCF enjoyed camps in North Yorkshire (Army Section), Lincolnshire (RAF Section) and the Peak District
across the campus. And so another year in the long history of this great School is underway. With 845 pupils on roll, significant competition for places at all points of entry and another year of academic and extra-curricular success behind us, we look forward to what this year will bring and to guiding our current pupils through the next stage of their educational journey with us. I write this on the eve of the OA Dinner: we look forward to welcoming a good number of you back to the Abbey Gateway on this occasion and at other events during the year ahead, and we hope that our website and other digital media, especially Twitter, enable you to keep up to date with the School’s news. Jonathan Gillespie Headmaster
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OA Lodge
Absent friends n Assistant Secretary John Williams pays his respects to two loyal members of the OA Lodge who passed away earlier this year
The Lodge year duly commenced at the Installation meeting in May when the outgoing Master of the Lodge, Richard Denney installed the Master Elect, Chris Whiteside in the Chair, after which Chris appointed his officers for the year. Chris was initiated into the Lodge in 1996 and would have been elected Master 10 years ago, in 2005, had it not coincided with the general election in which he was standing as a parliamentary candidate in the Copeland constituency in West Cumbria. Chris is a dedicated member of the Lodge and despite relocating to Cumbria, he has regularly attended Lodge meetings over the years, often returning home the same evening! At the September meeting the members of the Lodge stood in silent tribute in memory of two members, Don Carnell (see his obituary on page 18) and Alan Smith, who had both died in the week before the Installation in May. Don was a member of St Albans Round Table, Verulam Swimming Club, the Verulam Auto Club, and was a Past President of the Old Albanian Club. A keen golfer all his life, he and his wife Pat were both past club captains of Mid Herts Golf Club. Don was initiated into the OA
Lodge in 1986 and was installed as Master in May 2001, and promoted in the Province of Hertfordshire to Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in 2008. Although he also joined the OA Chapter, his many other commitments, particularly golf, meant that he was unable to attend frequently. He never smoked, but for the last four years Don fought a long and determined battle against lung cancer eventually succumbing to this dreadful disease on 5th May this year. He leaves his wife Pat, son Robert and daughter Sarah, and three grandchildren. Don was one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet, and will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.
Don Carnell
Alan was born in 1942 and was brought up in Lee-on-Solent. He was educated at Boundary Oak School and later at Kelly College. On leaving school he tried his hand at a number of jobs – in his father’s newsagents, as a bus conductor, and as a driving instructor, before eventually deciding to become a teacher. Alan undertook his teacher training as a maths teacher in the early 60s at Bletchley Park, which after the war had been converted to a Teacher Training College. It was there that he met Sandra and they later married. On completing his training he returned to the Portsmouth area and took a number of teaching roles. In 1989 he came to St Albans School to teach computing which he continued until his retirement in 2007. He continued to be involved with the school after retirement as a volunteer helping with the school Archives. Alan was always a great ‘enthusiast’ and had many hobbies – angling, photography, and gardening, not to mention masonry. His first involvement with Freemasonry had come in 1969, when he was initiated into his father’s Lodge – the Duke of Connaught Lodge No 1834, meeting at the Royal Naval and Royal Albert Yacht Club in Portsmouth. He became a joining member of the OA Lodge in May 1992, and having progressed through the usual offices, he was installed as Master in 2002 and served as Secretary of the Lodge from 2009 to 2012. He was appointed
Alan Smith to Active rank as Provincial Grand Pursuivant in the Province of Hertfordshire in 2009 and promoted to Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon in 2013. In 1999 Alan joined the OA Chapter, and for the first time since F E Walker in 1962/63, he was First Principal of the Chapter for two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007. Before installing his successor in 2008, a photograph was taken to mark the unusual occasion when the three Principals of the Chapter were all School masters, albeit retired. Alan was also a member of the Scholars in Amity Mark Master Masons Lodge; the Kindred Arts Lodge No 5784; Herts Masters Lodge No 4090; and was Master of Hemelhemstede Lodge No 7923 at the time of his death. He leaves his wife Sandra, daughter Vicky and
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The Old Albanian Royal Arch Chapter March 2008
son Alex who, until his move to the USA, was also a member of the Lodge. Commencing in early 2014 and lasting until the summer of 2019, the Province of Hertfordshire has been ‘In Festival’, collecting for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. The RMTGB is the oldest of the four main Masonic Charities and has as its mission statement: “The relief of poverty and to advance the education of children of a Masonic family, and when funds permit, support other children in need”. The Trust helps children and young people of all ages to overcome the barriers created by poverty, and complete their education. This
support is also available for those in higher or further education or those participating in apprenticeships for practical trades. The majority of the beneficiaries attend their local state school, and support for children at independent schools is usually only provided to those who are already attending the school when the distress occurs, in order to maintain the stability of their education. During the Festival Period the Lodges in Hertfordshire are asked to do everything they can to raise as much money as possible to go towards and achieve the target of £3 million set by our Provincial Grand Master. So far, with just under four years to go, the total sum amassed
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already exceeds £1,000,000, so we are very hopeful of beating the target! The Lodge meets only five times a year on the second Saturdays in January, March, May and September and the first Saturday in November. All those connected with the School, including fathers of past or present pupils are welcome to apply for membership, for which purpose the first approach should be to any Lodge member, the Assistant
Secretary as below; or Nigel WoodSmith or Mark Pedroz at the School. Members of other Lodges, be they OAs, parents of past or present pupils, staff or Governors are encouraged to visit the Lodge whenever they wish, and the Secretary or Assistant Secretary will be delighted to hear from them. John Williams Lodge Assistant Secretary johntwilliams@talktalk.net
Notice of Annual General Meeting l On the 8th December 2015, the 123rd AGM of the Old Albanian Club will be held at 8.00pm in the 948 room at Woollams, the OA clubhouse and sports ground. All members are welcome to attend; indeed, new members to the Committee are always needed to fulfill the objectives of improving links between the School and the club.
Agenda 1. Apologies 2. Minutes of the 2014 AGM 3. President’s Review of 2015 4. Social Events Report 5. Clubs’ Reports 6. Bulletin, Development Office & Membership 7. Annual Accounts 8. Election of Officers 9. A.O.B. David Buxton Secretary
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School Development Office
Diary dates OA City Networking Drinks We will be holding the annual OA City Networking Drinks on Thursday 19th November at Corney & Barrow, Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1AP from 6pm. Whether you’re looking for a job opportunity, work experience/internship, to promote your company or just to catch up with old School friends, we very much hope that you can join us. The event is FREE and there will be a welcome drink on arrival. If you haven’t already done so, please register for the event so that we can add your name to the guest list. To register please send an email to Hannah Nelson at oaevents@stalbans.herts.sch.uk and let us know the following: Name Leaving year/Class of Email address (to be circulated on guest list)
Job title/Employer or any other relevant profession/higher education details PLEASE NOTE: This event is not the OA London Drinks Party, which now takes place in March. Please email oaevents@st-albans.herts.sch.uk for more information. Into The Woods We are really excited to announce that this term sees the Drama and Music Departments reunite for the musical production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. Performances run from Wednesday 25th – Saturday 28th November in the New Hall with curtain up at 7.00pm. Tickets are now available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/ sasproductions Tickets cost £12.00 and concessions are £8.00.
Membership Secretary’s Notes
Keep in touch n Membership Secretary Roger Cook urges members to make sure that the School Development Office has up-todate contact details for them
Chris Harbour and his Development Office team continue to provide an excellent service to all OAs by circulating School news, organising
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events, and providing a contact point for all OAs. He needs your contact details: if yours change or if you know of any ‘lost’ OAs, please send the contact details including, if possible, year of leaving the school, to either Chris or myself. I have a few OA bow ties (not pretied) at £13 including postage. Roger Cook Membership Secretary
Old Albanian Blazers l As usual, we maintain a stock of the OA blazers in the shop at Woollams and the price is still £120.00. These are quite unique and many members wear them with pride at OA events at Woollams and away fixtures. They are also popular with members around the world and are worn as “smart casual” at many different types of occasion. The shop is open on 1st XV home match days but if you are interested and are unable to visit the shop, we can offer mail order at a UK mainland surcharge of £12.50, overseas mail cost on application. The sizes in stock will change, of course, and we can only afford to hold a limited number of sizes but if you would like to email your jacket size and fit (short, regular, long) we will let you know if we have stock. Where we do not have your size, we will look at adding it to the next manufacturing run. For stock, ordering and payment details, please e-mail the Club Secretary, David Buxton, at d.buxton@virgin.net. If you already have a blazer, why not e-mail in a photo of you wearing it at an event other than those held at Woollams that we can publish in the Bulletin – especially those members overseas? STOP PRESS: Ladies’ blazers are now available, modelled here by the President’s daughter Anna Philpott, OA.
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De Fortunis Albanorum Deaths It is with regret that the following deaths are announced: l Professor Sir Jack Goody (38) died on 16th July 2015 at the age of 95. He was a major figure in postwar British social anthropology who taught at Cambridge from 1954 to 1984, succeeding his teacher, Meyer Fortes, as the William Wyse professor of social anthropology in 1973. He and Lilian will continue to be remembered in our Founders’ Day commemorations as loyal supporters of the School, for which we are all most grateful. l John Marsh (41), son of former Headmaster W T Marsh, passed away in Luton & Dunstable Hospital on 2nd April 2015. He leaves a widow, Daisy, a stepdaughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. l Malcolm Craddock (56), died in August 2015. He was Head Boy at School in 1956, sharing the role with Bradshaw and Farquharson after Hutchinson left. l Robert Matthewman (64) died on 1st June 2015 at the age of 69 after a short illness. His brother John writes: “He loved his time at St Albans School and in his final years in Cornwall was always in the multicoloured blazer, which he wore with pride.” l Mark Weir (73) died on 2nd
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October 2015 aged 60. Helen Richardson writes: “Mark attended Sussex University where he read European Studies. Subsequently he lived in Italy, working first at the University of Bologna, and then moved south to Naples where he taught at the Instituto Universitario Orientale for 30 years. He also worked freelance as a translator. Mark’s other great enthusiasm was music, and in addition to playing the viola, piano and organ, he also sang with two choirs in Naples. A kind, warmhearted person, he made many friends.” l Michael Watts (71) died on 25th February 2015. l Christopher Johnson (01) died in April 2015. l Alan Smith, former member of the School staff, died on 8th May 2015. A brief obituary appears in the OA Lodge report on page 13.
Obituary l Don Carnell Don Carnell passed away on the 5th May 2015, aged 77, after a long and brave battle with lung cancer. Don was a stalwart of the OA Club and for many years a member of the OA Club Committee. He served as President of the OA Club for three years from 1998 to 2000. Don was born in the Royal Northern Hospital, Holloway Road
in 1937. At the outbreak of war his family had relocated to St Albans where his father, who was a skilled carpenter, was put to work at the De Havilland Aircraft Company building Mosquito aircraft, which were constructed primarily of wood. Don first attended a prep school in Jennings Road, and later Bernard’s Heath infant school. From there he passed the entrance exam to St Albans School and gained an assisted place. His mother was delighted as he could at last wear the School boater that she so much admired! In his own words, Don was an unremarkable student but he did have a penchant for maths. An early knee injury put paid to his rugby career but he was a proficient swimmer. After leaving School in 1954, and following a brief spell at Martin’s Bank (now Barclays), Don joined the De Havilland Aircraft Company. In the early days he was involved with the D110, Sea Vixen, Dove and Heron aircraft. Later, Don moved into the Flight Test Department which was preparing for testing on the Trident aircraft, and also the Executive Jet, the DH125. By now, his enduring love affair with car rallying had also taken hold and he joined the Verulam Auto Club as an enthusiastic amateur driver. Don’s career continued to thrive, and when De Havilland was absorbed into Hawker Siddeley, which eventually became British Aerospace, Don was appointed Head of Computing in Hatfield
and eventually Executive Director responsible for IT and Investment on six British Aerospace sites. He enjoyed the challenges of the job but he also had a varied and busy social life. Don was a member of the OA Lodge and a past Captain of the OA Golfing Society where he was a capable and competitive player. For many years he regularly participated in the OAGS matches and events. Don met his lovely wife Pat at Townsend Tennis Club in St Albans. He didn’t play tennis but, like a number of chaps from St Albans, he attended the social evenings there. They married in 1960 and their son Robert (OA 1986 and former Head Boy at the School) was born in 1967, and daughter Sarah-Jane completed the family a couple of years later.
News l Peter Byrom (Mathematics) Cycle Challenge: Peter Byrom and his team of OA cyclists thank all OAs who supported their ride with a contribution to the GOSH charity. The venture was not without its problems; half a day was lost due to a cancelled ferry (due to poor weather) and a further day and a half due to torrential rain. However, the cycling was very satisfying (but tough!). Two particular highlights were: reaching the summit of the Col Du Tourmalet, having climbed 3,200 metres (vertical gain) in one day; and the final 25km descent, at times exceeding 50mph! Other
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benefits included weight loss and improved fitness, evident on rides back in the UK. l David Pickard (78) was appointed as the new Director of BBC Proms in May this year. David, currently General Director at Glyndebourne will take up his new role later in the year. l Ian Mote (91) has recently released his new book, From Chicken Feet to Crystal Baths, an Englishman’s travels throughout China. The book tells stories of a Western expat adjusting to life in China, sharing stories from Hong Kong and every province in China. Nigel WoodSmith writes: “My reaction whenever I meet an OA after not having seen them for X years is to ask ‘what have you been up to since I last saw you?’ If every OA wrote a book like this 25 years after leaving school we
would have an amazing collection of memories in the Swinnerton Room library. It was a gentle pleasure to read the volume that Ian sent to the School although I already had a copy on my Kindle having heard he had published through the OA grapevine.” l Neil McGregor (62) is walking the Nottingham Robin Hood half marathon to raise funds for Age Concern Carlton & District in memory of his late partner Caryl Moore who was a passionate supporter and fundraiser for many causes in Nottingham. If anyone would like to make a donation, please visit his JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/ Neil-McGregor4. He has offered to match any donations that come through our promotion with donations to the SAS Foundation, up to the value of £500.
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An evening with Simon Godwin On Thursday 8th October the School hosted ‘An Evening with Simon Godwin, OA’. After leaving St Albans School, Simon read English at Cambridge University. Following graduation, Simon began directing on the London fringe before founding his own theatre company, Stray Dogs. He collaborated with the poet Simon Armitage on Mister Heracles, which Simon directed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. In 2000, Simon became Associate Director at the Royal Theatre in Northampton, where he stayed for three years. He was later appointed Associate Director at the Bristol
Archive, Museum and Gateway
100 years ago… n School archivist Nigel WoodSmith shares a poignant letter from OA AJ Barratt, written from Oxford University exactly 100 years ago
Author Ian Mote at his book signing
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Dear Sir, I write from a deserted Oxford what I imagine will be the last of a series of letters, upon which I look back with an uncomfortable feeling that they are perhaps the least creditable efforts of an existence for which I claim no credit. The European war will have achieved one good end by
Old Vic, where he directed a series of modern classics. He then became Associate Director at the Royal Court, where he specialised in new writing. After directing seven world premiers, Simon made his début at the National Theatre with Strange Interlude, starring Anne-Marie Duff. In 2013 Simon was awarded the Evening Standard/Burberry Award for Emerging Director. The following year, he made his RSC debut with The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In 2015, Simon returned to the National Theatre to direct Man and Superman, starring Ralph Fiennes, and The Beaux’ Stratagem. He has just finished directing Richard II for the The Globe and in 2016 will return to the RSC to direct Hamlet.
relieving hapless subscribers to the Albanian from the strain of reading epistles which they do not want to read, by one who certainly does not want to write them. The anti-Varsity atmosphere of the present day, perhaps, may be illustrated by the story of an American lady in Oxford, who stopped he cabby outside John’s, with a “Say, driver, what’s that edifice?” Jehu replied “St John’s College, madam.” Whereupon the lady took up her parable and said, “Oh you’ve got cahlidges over here, hev you?” I need scarcely add that arma virumque is all the Classics we are concerned with now, and that lectures seem more than ever cut
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and dried – dried by the dons and cut by the men. The grumbler finds fresh material in the lamentable fact that the dwellers in Mesopotamia and d the parts beyond Edom, etc., etc., are apparently in a majority pro. tem. at this abode of learning: From Isis’ banks see Oxford front the war, While all the Ganges flows into the Char. Thus the poet lifting up his voice in the wilderness... Meanwhile, the tutors, whom one previously regarded with awe if not respect, have the minimum of work to do, and are presumably engaged upon research, either counting the number of full stops in Homer or establishing on an indisputable basis the historical significance of date of the Ark. I am, yours, etc. JB A J Barratt entered the School in 1905, at the age of 11. He obtained a Junior Scholarship in 1908. He obtained 1st X1 colours in 1911, and was for three years Captain of the Football Club, and played for the Public Schools XI. He had the best batting average in 1911, 1912, and 1913. He was a school prefect in 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1913. In 1913 he won an open Classical Scholarship for four years at Jesus College, Oxford supplemented by the Nicholson Exhibition. It has always puzzled me what medical condition
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Barratt had that disqualified him from Military Service, given his outstanding sporting success at school. He was a serial applicant for the services and clearly felt from this letter that his latest application would be successful. It wasn’t until conscription was introduced when the medical standards were also lowered. A consequence of conscription was that the school abandoned its ‘Roll of Honour’ and replaced it with a ‘Roll of Service’, a distinction that profoundly upset Barratt. The Museum is open to the public on the second Sunday in September but OAs may access the Museum and Archives at any time on application to the Development Office.
Letter
Fair cop n Dr Matthew Murray, Academic Consultant Paediatric Oncologist, corrects my schoolboy spelling mistake
In response to your Editorial in the OA Bulletin (May 2015) entitled ‘Labour Pains’, you stated that “we didn’t realise it at the time, but we were witnessing a fundamental ideological shift in education.” A pity that the education you refer didn’t include spelling! Miliband, not Milliband. See me after class Chappin! PS – Please take this in good humour!
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Passing out n David Merriott (65) reports on a marathon four-day reunion for the intake of 1958 who left School 50 years ago this year
AWB was there. And PNC and MRN and CMA. Amazing that the initials of schoolmates stick in the mind after all these years. Alfie was there too, and Happy and Whiffy. But unlike our first reunion seven years ago, Grubby wasn’t. Did Mr JOW Webb, realise that he was nicknaming boys for life? In June this year, over 30 of us from the 1958 intake gathered in St Albans for a four-day extravaganza. Yes, four days. A welcome lunch at Woollams on the first day, followed by a climb to the top of The Clock Tower to work it off. Then a day at the School, including the unveiling of a Captain’s Board at the new swimming pool in honour of one of our own. And then two OA days at Woollams, with the Cricket Club Vice Presidents’ Lunch on Saturday (Guest of Honour MRN and his unlikely-to-be broken record of 1,409 victims), followed by an Old Lags game of cricket, and on Sunday Alan Philpott’s lunch as the outgoing OA Club President. Phew! A number of partners accompanied their men over some or all of this period, and good naturedly stood back while old friendships were rekindled. So why do schoolboys return ‘50 Years On’ to spend time with some old school mates? There must be a
reason – some 1958ers had flown in from the US, Ireland, Belgium and Hong Kong. For those who have kept in touch over the years this was a chance to meet up again with their particular posse. For others this was an opportunity to see again people with whom they had spent much of their formative years. Some absentees were ill, others quite happy to have put their school days firmly behind them, while others – astonishingly in this Internet age have simply disappeared. The school tour, introduced by the new headmaster Jonathan Gillespie, offered a chance to marvel at how many buildings could be squashed into such a small place, causing Moore, Mackenzie and one or two other old lunch time footballers to worry that the hallowed turf of their old pitch at the bottom of The Orchard might be next to be built on. And to enjoy nostalgically those rooms untouched by progress, and to note the rooms that were no longer there. Mr Pryke’s room has gone, prompting members of 3A to remember the day that, during
The Class of 65 reunion in full swing. David Merriott pictured left
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The full team at Woollams
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a lunchtime battle, a misthrown chair rubber had taken out a large window in the New Block classroom. The whole class was then lined up outside the study to receive two whacks of the plimsoll, kept there for this very purpose. Alas, Grubby wasn’t there to confirm who misthrew the chair rubber. And in the Abbey Gateway “Up Pre’s” books of our era had been retrieved from the archives for perusal. It was quite uncomfortable to read the slightly pompous, legalisic writing up of every Prefects’ “court case”, and to be reminded that “eating an ice lolly in the town in school uniform” was a beating offence. Different times, indeed.
The 1958 year had made donations towards the purchase of a Swimming Captain’s Board, in honour of Roger King, who died in a car crash two months before our “A” Levels. Bill Neale, who along with Chapman and Griffiths completed a crack swimming team, gave a moving tribute to Roger, who was a thoroughly good bloke. On the wall of the new pool was an old black and white photo of 3 shivering boys at the old Belmont pool, two tentatively identified as Gatford and Morgan, a reminder to the current generation who bask in the magnificent new pool of April swimming lessons of yore in a 52oF unheated pool. Three members of the crack
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shooting team from our year were there – Coles, Wilkie and Lewis. All are still shooting for the OAs versus the Young Guns – and young eyes – of the School, this year both at Bisley and, more nostalgically, the School rifle range. On Thursday evening, by some magic of planning, Peter Knapp unveiled at The Abbey Theatre his songs-and-stories show from the great musicals of the 1930s to the 1970s, with some merry stories, great songs, and not least two gorgeous singers. On Friday evening, after an afternoon game of golf at Aldwickbury for those still persevering with this most perverse of games, Mike Hodge – the mover and shaker of this whole event, and a clear future OA President in the making – hosted a dinner at the golf club, and complete with busking guitar took us through a medley of 1960s pop hits. And we all remembered the words! Mike’s hat was then swept round the room, raising £200 for the St Francis Hospice charity. During the evening a question was asked that briefly stopped the conversation: “which school masters actually inspired you?”. The aforementioned Pryke and Webb got a mention, downgraded for excess of sarcasm and in the latter’s case a deadly aim with a piece of chalk, and Happy Heather was commended by one person for helping him to tell his zeugmas from his syllepses. But overall the feeling was that the
teaching was best exemplified by a history and geography teacher, of volcanic temper, who read from his notes for the whole lesson and then departed. No one was quite sure whether this was the norm for the times, or whether – since we were all at a “good school” – we should have expected more. The sports teaching did not get good marks either. Rugby was felt to be all fitness, via Jock Faulkner’s notorious gym sessions, rather than skills or tactics, and cricket teaching was thought to be almost nonexistent. Hockey coaching got good marks, and not just because Mike Highstead was present! And so to Saturday, and back to Woollams for the Old Albanian weekend The fact that many us in the 1958 year are friends for life is due in part to the Old Albanian Cricket Club helping to keep friendships going after leaving school. Many of us played for the 2nd XI from the age of 13, and then on into our twenties in the 1st X1, and the Herts Advertiser Trophywinning team of 1969 included four members of our year – Knapp, Hodge, Merriott and Thomas. The latter two went on to captain the Club, followed by another from our year, PA Dew, when he returned to cricket from golf. The other cementing event was Mike Hodge’s hockey X1 versus the School, which started in 1966 with a return of the 1965 side, and then, remarkably, continued each year for 30 years, with numerous pulled hamstrings
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The Herts Advertiser Trophy-winning team of 1969 Back row (left to right): Chris Christmas (Umpire), Jim Hopwood, Brian Ward, Mike Smith, George Giffen, Alec Holt, Don Kiff, Sue Keighley (scorer) Front row (left to right): Peter Knapp, Mike Hodge, Ian Jennings, David Merriott, Mike Thomas. but an unbeaten record, and annual pre- and post-match gatherings in local hostelries for many in our year, players and non-players alike. It was a particular pleasure at the cricket lunch to see cricketers of the older generation, including Roy Bacon, John Smith, Nigel Cartwright, Peter Sherring and Brian Ward, the latter a Brearleyesqe captain in that he was the only school or OACC captain who ever gave my canny induckers a go, apart of course from myself! And sad that other old team mates like John Josling and George Giffen couldn’t make it. The Old Lags versus the
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OACC 4th X1 was quickly rained off, but not before Merriott and Dew, with over 18,000 runs for the OACC between them, were back in the rabbit hutch with just one run added to their aggregate. And back again to Woollams on Sunday for Alan Philpott’s lunch, and a chance to pay our respects to a great man of the OACC and the OA Club as well. Once again those in OA blazers commanded attention, with some nostalgia that the wonderful old School summer blazer was out of print. I have could have taken a numbers or orders for the “bluey” if it was still being made.
Bouncing back n With the season now in full swing right across the club, Paul Plant reports on a successful start with our First XV challenging for top spot in National Two South
Despite the unfortunate outcome of last season, the First XV has conditioned itself well for the new campaign, with a tough but impressive pre-season with run outs against Bedford Blues, Ampthill, Richmond, and Darlington Mowden Park. In the tri-header with Bedford and Ampthill we played 40 minutes against each, putting in two cracking performances, only losing narrowly to Bedford, while just
beating Ampthill. The following week Richmond came to Woollams. Due to injuries and players being unavailable we fielded a back line with no less than six wingers! “By the end of the game, I felt the way the boys applied themselves was outstanding and they deserved the last-play win,” said coach James Shanahan. “It also allowed me to test a couple of players in previously untried positions, which has actually helped to strengthen us.” The tough league campaign started well, with three wins and one draw under our belt, and sitting in second spot. However, these were against teams that OAs would be expected to beat, and we have not always played with the fluidity in
Ruck and roll: OA Rugby on the attack against Bishops Stortford
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OA Sport Woollams home of: - Old Albanian RFC - Saracens RFC training ground - Old Albanian CC - OA Tennis LTC Regular venue for representative rugby fixtures at both county and international levels
Our nationally recognised state of the art pitches and pavilion facilities are also available for: - Corporate sports and social events - Private weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other social functions - Fundraising events for local charities www.oasport.com The place to meet, relax and have fun! www.oasport.com For more information please contact one of the events team on 01727 864 476 Or email fiona@oasport.com Woollams Playing Fields 160 Harpenden Road St. Albans Herts AL3 6BB Phone: 01727 864 476 Fax: 01727 737 644 E-mail : fiona@oasport.com OA Sport is a registered charity
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On the charge: action earlier this season from the home win against Bury St Edmunds
attack and intensity in defence that the coach wanted to see. It was felt that the next six games would define our season, and at the time of writing we have played four of the six. We have done pretty well, with three wins and a disappointing loss away at Cambridge our lack of discipline with 16 (yes, sixteen) penalties and two yellows resulted in narrow defeat. Since then we have registered a good, hard-fought win against Bishops Stortford, a fantastic away win at Chinnor, and a very workmanlike win versus a very dogged Redruth side. We now face back-to-back away games, at Dorking and Canterbury respectively, before the big top-of-the-table clash with Taunton Titans at Woollams on Saturday 21st November. Elsewhere, all the age groups from the Colts down to the Rugby Rats and Mice (under 5s and 4s) enjoying enthusiastic participation and high attendance. OA Saints The Saints have enjoyed an excellent start to the new season, headed
by coach Grant Hathaway, with invaluable assistance from Clive Cramphorn and Paul Adams. Despite losing a number of players at the end of last season due to new jobs and relocation, the Saints have recruited well during the summer, adding some experience to their squad. It’s also been fantastic to see some players who are completely new to the game and how well they have developed so far – we look forward to seeing some more great performances on the pitch from all our Saints, old and new! The Saints have already started fundraising with a new version of their popular Naked Calendar. This raised over £500 last year and with more Saints willing to shed their clothes for a good cause, we hope to better that figure this year! Our first game of the season resulted in a 17-5 win for the defending champions against newcomers Chesham Stags WRFC. Still missing a couple of key players to return from injury and with players playing out of position, the Saints brushed off the cobwebs to
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Cricket good effect with some excellent attacking play and good physicality in defence. The first mini social of the year took place after the Chesham game at the popular restaurant “The Pudding Stop” in the town centre. The team arrived post match for some delicious pecan pie and brownies and team bonding. I think we would all agree that was a great suggestion from our social secretaries! Follow OA Rugby on social media Sports clubs of all shapes and sizes are today able to engage with members and supporters across a broad mix of communications channels, and we are also keen to extend our communications activities to include all of today’s mainstream social platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Facebook and LinkedIn To follow OAs on Facebook, simply search Old Albanian RFC. There is also a Facebook Group for OA Former Players. There is also an Old
OA away: surging through the defence in the away win against Chinnor. Match photographs by Neil Baldwin
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Albanian group on LinkedIn, which is open for anyone to join. YouTube First XV and other matches and OA events can now be viewed on our new YouTube Channel – Welcome to OA Rugby. If anyone has any great OA videos that you think other club members would be interested in seeing, please contact mike.osborne@ oarugby.com. Twitter If you’re a new user, first you need to go online at www.twitter.com. You will then be invited to register (to set up your account and password). You can then search for Old Albanian RFC (our Twitter ‘handle’ is @old_albanianRFC), and once found, simply click “follow”. You will then see all the match reports and information about the club ‘as it happens’. If you want to be able “tweet” in your own right, you will be invited to set up your own ‘handle’ or user account. Paul Plant Communications Officer, OA Rugby
Nosebleed territory n After several lean years, David Rourke looks back on a season of unprecedented success throughout the club
Paradigms in sport, particularly with certain sports in modern times where money skews competition in favour of certain clubs and against others, leads to the labelling of teams or individuals as perennial champions or challengers, strugglers, midtable, over-performing or underperforming. Journalistic narratives spring from such branding, while players and spectators alike draw their expectations from the beliefs engendered therein. On the northern edge of St Albans, such expectations and sporting performance at Woollams have varied according to specific areas of the complex. The Rugby Club has enjoyed fabulous success since the move from Beech Bottom, with the 1st XV’s relegation in 2015 hopefully being but a temporary setback. Over to the west, life for the Cricket Club on the other side of the clubhouse has been harsher. Save for the odd shaft of light, the seasons at Woollams have tended to be gloomy affairs, featuring relegation struggles, on occasion a fall through the trapdoor for at least one of the XIs, and acrimony aplenty when the usually-febrile environment became overbearing during the 2000s. I wrote, this time last year, about
the 1st XI’s second-successive promotion, when the side won Division Two of the Herts League at the first attempt in 2014, and how this success had left the survivors of harder times slightly bemused as well as delighted. Little did I, or the fellow stalwarts, expect that 2015 would be even better; the OACC paradigm continued to shift the club from “also-rans” to “doublechampions”, as one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history ended with the 2nd XI and 3rd XI winning their respective divisions, and the 1st XI enjoying its highest finish in Hertfordshire league cricket since 1980. A fourth-place finish in Division One, after two successive promotions and maintaining an outside chance of further elevation right up until the final matchday of the season, speaks volumes for the ability and character of the 1st XI squad. Seven players played in at least 14 of the 17 matches (there was one abandonment), with three ever-presents, meaning that places in Jimmy Hayat’s squad, which has won 29 of its last 52 Herts League matches, have to be earned by commitment and performance. Batting was not prolific in 2015, with only Zahid Ali Khan (460 at 31) and Alex Goldstone (314 at 29) topping 300 runs. However, exceptional bowling and fielding made light of the innings scores being consistently 20-30 runs short of what appeared to be par. Left-arm slow bowler Ahsan Ali, with 44 wickets at 10
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runs apiece, was again the star performer; the mischievous Ahsan’s new habit in 2015 of bowling two or three mundane overs from his lesspreferred end, then taking a break before returning at his favoured end and causing havoc, perhaps caused the opposition to underestimate him more than they ought to! A bowler who has taken 183 League wickets at 11 runs apiece in his five seasons at OAs is priceless, and Ahsan deservedly won his second ‘player of the year’ award for this consistent excellence. The championship-winning captains of the 2nd XI and 3rd XI, Ghulam Rasool and Simon Wakeling, were also in contention for the ‘player of the year’ crown. They are both excellent clubmen, and conducted themselves well throughout the season both in terms of the new experience of challenging
for their titles, and in terms of dealing with some quite appalling behaviour from opposition sides and umpires, on occasion. The oft-touted ‘Spirit of Cricket’ can be hard to spot in the lower reaches of the Herts League. In the 2nd XI, a sluggish start nonetheless featured two wins from the opening three league games, before a good win over Old Camdenians 1st XI at Woollams kick-started a run of eight successive and convincing victories during June and July. The pivotal victory over eventual runners-up Letchworth left the 2nd XI needing one win from the final three matches to clinch the title; that this win came, after two defeats, in the final match against Old Cholmeleians at Woollams, frayed everyone’s nerve ends a little. Nevertheless, 12 wins from 16 completed matches means
Summer Sundays at Woollams n Some cricketing dates for your 2016 diary
OA Legends v “Special K” XI Sunday 26th June 2016 You will have to come to find out who they are! And an appeal for a missing OA: David Rogers (1974, I believe) agreed to join the Legends for this game, however I have lost track of him. Could someone reading this please assist the President in tracking him down, we need an elegant left-handed opening batsman! Lord’s Taverners v The Willow Foundation Sunday 3rd July 2016 The OACC is proud to host a star-studded match in order to raise funds for two great charities. Watch out for details nearer the time.
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OA 2nd XI champions 2015 Back row (left to right): Denis King (Scorer), Ibrar Hussain, Tim E Smith, Victor Stairmand, David Rourke, Chris Dobson, Syed Amjad, Dominic Baldwin, Alan Philpott (President) Front row (left to right): Zafar Iqbal, Tom Burman, Ghulam Rasool (Captain), Richard Morgan (Chairman & Umpire), Azhat Mehmood, Zahid Karim that Rasool’s side are deserving champions of a competitive league, with the skipper deserving plaudits for embracing the challenge of captaincy so wholeheartedly and returning the side to Division Six after a six-year absence. Chris Dobson was the outstanding performer, with 45 wickets at 11 runs apiece breaking the all-time club 2nd XI seasonal League bowling record; Chris also made 271 runs at 38, and broke the 2nd XI all-time fifth-wicket partnership record in tandem with Ibrar Hussain, when they added 148* against Tewin. Zafar Iqbal (355 runs and 16 wickets), Hussain, Rasool, Tom Burman and David Rourke also performed solidly, while Zahid Karim looked a class act after being dropped from the 1st XI, ending with 296 runs at 42 and seeing the
side home in the run-chase against Old Cholmeleians. 2nd XI promotion is important for the club, going forward, as the gap between the 1st XI and 2nd XI needs to be as small as possible, to enable aspirant 1st XI players to step up more easily. The same comment applies to the gap between the 2nd XI and 3rd XI, so Simon Wakeling leading his side to its first-ever title, since being formed in 2001, was also a welcome achievement. Simon kept the 3rd XI going through some difficult periods, when just about anyone who was willing and registered to play found themselves playing, regardless of ability, so it was wonderful that he could enjoy the benefits of the club’s overall improvement. In 2015, increased playing strength and excellent availability saw
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our game there in June), and ECB surveys indicate that participation levels are declining. The concern is how this will affect young players stepping up to senior club cricket; so many of us (myself included) took our first steps into 1st XI cricket during Sunday friendlies, and the challenge is to provide that opportunity for products of the successful OACC Junior section The time constraints of modern life appear to hamper whole weekends of club cricket, so all clubs OA 3rd XI champions 2015 Back row (left to right): Stuart Dunklin, Tony Perkins, Jo Burman. Centre row (left to right): Simon Bates, Arif Hassan, Simon Wakeling (Captain), Tariq Hassan, Rod Warren. Front row (left to right): David Goodier, Tom Cresswell, Ali Hassan, Finley Matheson, Chris Jukes the benefits cascade down, and experienced players of the calibre of Chris Jukes, Stuart Dunklin, Arif Hassan, Tariq Hassan, David Goodier and Tom Preest all featured regularly for the 3s. Thirteen wins from sixteen completed matches represents a terrific return, and the handful of bonus points required from the final match against Harpenden arrived early enough for the ensuing victory to be thoroughly enjoyed. While the likes of Jukes (225 runs and 20 wickets), the Hassans (both with 300+ runs and 18 wickets) and Rod Warren (266 runs and 20 wickets) formed the keystone of the side, younger players such as Brendan Warren (Rod’s son, a county U13 player, who took 10 wickets at 5.3 apiece), Finley Matheson, Noah Smith and Matt
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Burman also played leading roles. Tim E Smith’s violent 129 turned a run-chase of 241 in the first fixture against Harpenden into a stroll, while Matt Burman’s 71* off 26 balls – featuring seven sixes and a 3rd XI record 9th-wicket partnership of 85* with Ali Hassan – and subsequent 4/17 crushed Wheathampstead. In all, and as with the 2nd XI, this was a great team effort, and a very wellmerited success. The one concern from the 2015 season stems from the continuing decline of Sunday club cricket, not just at OAs but also across the spectrum. In 2005, we fielded two Sunday XIs; 10 years on, we played just two 1st XI fixtures, with a third game rained off. Other clubs are also struggling (thriving Harpenden could not raise a single side for
Golf
Dunstable ups n OA Golfing Society Secretary Peter Dredge reports on an excellent OA Cup at Dunstable Downs GC as a highlight of another successful and enjoyable season
As in the previous year, we experienced favourable weather during the 2015 season with some good golf and great camaraderie enjoyed on and off the course. A match early in the year against a strong Mid-Herts side ended in a narrow defeat but, as the weather warmed up, the OAs were undefeated thereafter with stunning victories against Old Berkhamstedians at Hammonds End and against Old Haberdashers at Harpenden Common. The OA Cup venue this year was Dunstable Downs GC, organised
must adapt accordingly. With a Saturday 4th XI under Simon Bates being regularly fielded in 2015 for the first time in several seasons, at OACC we can hopefully continue to provide that opportunity via Saturday cricket. It’s been a wonderful couple of seasons, for which Richard Morgan as Chairman should take a lot of the credit. Here’s to us, and here’s to the ongoing shifting of the paradigm. David Rourke OA Cricket Club
by local member and past Captain, Graham Tate. We enjoyed a fabulous day on a well-presented course and with very decent food and rations. The trophy was won by Rick Drakard with 39 stableford points, closely followed by John Cox and Mike Lamprell. The Dockree Tankard – the competition for our Antelope friends – was won by Brian Bysouth, with Mike Nash and John Saunders runners-up. Our Captain, Tony Clarke, kindly arranged for our Open Day to be played at his home course Hammonds End, again a huge success for the course, weather and rations. The stableford competition was won by our lowest handicapper, John Cox (4) with 33 points, closely followed by Peter Dew, Brian Hayden-Smith and Graham Tate. The final playing event of the season on 2nd October and held at Mid-Herts GC involved the Briggs Goblets, a four-ball better
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ball stableford competition. Ian Mackenzie and Peter Dredge won on a count back, with 41 points from John Smith and John Saunders, with John Cash and Graham Tate just one point further back. We are now looking forward to our annual dinner at Woollams later in the year. As always, we are looking for new
Rifle & Pistol Club
Young guns n Club Captain Andrew Wilkie looks back on another successful season, and welcomes the growing number of younger OAs participating in matches
Bisley, Saturday 10th October saw our closing full bore match of the 2015 season for the Arnold Cup against the other OAs, the Old Alleynians. The cup was first presented in 1936 when the Alleynians took the honours; we won the following year to restore the balance, and ever since then a balance has been maintained. Prior to that match the results stood at 29 wins for the Albanians and 32 for the Alleynians with three ties. I am pleased to report that the Old Albanians won 332 and 25 to Alleynians 313 and 18, meaning that we have now won three years in succession – 30:32! Since 1992, the year of the Old Albanian Club centenary, we
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members and all OAs, high and low handicaps will be warmly welcomed. Our aim is to play some decent courses, while meeting up with old friends and contemporaries. Please contact Peter Dredge at pjdredge42@aol.com or telephone 01582 834572 for further information. Peter Dredge Secretary, OA Golfing Society
have taken the opportunity to hold a dinner at Bisley each year following the match. This year it was our turn to host the event in the London Middlesex Pavilion. On this occasion, the Alleynians outnumbered us at the meal as one of their members Kit (Christopher) Sturges had chosen to retire that day from shooting after over 40 years as an officer of the club. To mark the occasion, and also to recognise another long serving officer, Gay (Gaythorn) Tuckerman, who joined the club in 1937, the Alleynians Club Secretary announced that they will be introducing two new awards in 2016: the Gay Tuckerman Trophy and the Kit Sturges Shield. We wish them well in generating renewed interest at Dulwich School and hope that this will help their shooting club membership increase again after some very lean years recently. Our own full bore fortunes have not been spectacular this summer but we have seen a number of recent OAs dropping in at Bisley and showing the older members how it’s done! We are as ever delighted to see
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them and we are now investigating if there is some way we can rejig our shooting dates to suit the university calendar and encourage more. Any suggestions for dates in 2016 would be welcome. Congratulations to Aidan Collins for achieving his first full bore “Poss” at 300yds (35.3) on the 10th, he also managed top score with 68 and 6. For the first time in a number of years we also managed to field a team at the Ashburton Veterans Match. We weren’t that spectacular at 29 out of 45 but it is at least a start and something to build on. However, we really are up against it with so many schools able to field teams of five that include three or so international shots. One day perhaps. You never know. On the small bore front the OA team was successful in winning Division 4 of the Herts Winter Rifle League 2014-15; medals have now been distributed by Owen Simmons. The down side of such an achievement is promotion to a higher division so in the Herts Summer Rifle League the team was in Division 3 where they ended up third following a spirited recovery in the last three rounds. “Bogey” won the division so the team was effectively in second place. Our annual shoot at the school on 1st July for the Gordon Coles Trophy turned out to be something of a special occasion in the competition’s history; bearing in mind that the trophy was originally presented by his wife in honour of Gordon Coles,
Derek’s Uncle, in (I believe) 1978. Earlier in June, Derek (Alfie) Coles, Alun Lewis and myself celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of our leaving School in 1965. As part of those celebrations David Russell kindly arranged a shoot for the three of us on the present 25 yard range. Although this range has been around for some time, I believe this was the first time Alfie and Alun had shot there as its predecessor unfortunately burned down. As a follow up to our reunion and for the first time since the inaugural competition, Alfie and I also managed to take part in the shoot on the 1st July 2015 with Alfie travelling over from his home in Belfast especially for the occasion. The OAs’ excuse for coming second was the extreme heat and humidity on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. Congratulations to the School for another win, and many thanks to David Russell and Owen Simmons for organising the event and the barbeque that followed. Having rediscovered the OA R+PC, it seems that Alun Lewis will now be joining us for both full bore and small bore shoots. We welcome him back, any more returners who would like to see if they still have the touch? Andy Moore continues to shoot for the OAs from his new home in Exton Dulverton where he has now become Captain of the Minehead Rifle Club. I continue to shoot with the Bournemouth Small Bore R+PC. Interestingly, both of us currently
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OA SPORT
OA BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2015
seem to have improving averages. Could this be something to do with reduced stress levels following retirement or the benefits of an eagle eye? We look forward to hearing how the younger OAs are getting on with their various university teams. Owen has just distributed targets
to the small bore team for the winter 2015-16 league competitions so now it’s heads down for the winter season. Good shooting to all, and here’s to a successful season. Andrew Wilkie Captain
Angling
Soggy Bakewell n Despite a rain-soaked trip to the Derbyshire Wye, Honorary Secretary Geoff Cannon looks back on an enjoyable coarse fishing season
Adrian Blackwell with a 91/2lb barbel caught on the River Wye at Hay
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The club’s programme continued throughout the summer with both game and course fishing outings. The visit to the Derbyshire Wye at Bakewell was marred by a horrendous thunderstorm, which made the river unfishable and alternative arrangements had to be organised. However a visit to Dorset, on the River Frome was more successful in delightful spring weather. We have been fishing locally on the Verulam Club’s waters and on the River Ouse around Bedford. Unfortunately, we are getting older and/or we have moved away from St Albans so our membership is decreasing. Anybody interested in angling would be welcome in our society. Geoff Cannon Honorary Secretary
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