OPM MAGAZINE 2016
OLD PLYMOTHIAN & MANNAMEADIAN CLUB
Officers 2016 President: Chairman: Immediate Past Chairman: Honorary Secretary: Honorary Treasury: Chairman (House): Chairman (Social): Membership Officer: Vice Presidents:
John Herman Dr Penny Atkinson Peter Organ Bob Anstis Peter Webb Tom Clenaghan Jazmin Buxton James Friendship Pat Newnhan, Tom Savery
General Committee
Tim Binding, Ed Keast, Nigel Lyons, Chris Robinson, Jason Sweby Bar and House Manager: Ash Brown Williams Headmaster: Jonathan Standen Sports Section: Martin Finlay (Rugby), Chris Vinson (Cricket), Jason Sweby (Hockey) Lodge Rep: Lloyd Inwood
OPM Magazine
Editor: Chris Robinson Layout: Ben Robinson
OPM Club Trustees 2016:
John Herman (Chairman), Dave Hardy, Ed Keast
CONTENTS 2015 / 2016
Chairman 2 Dr Penny Atkinson President 4 John Herman Secretary 5 Bob Anstis Treasurer’s Report 8 Pete Webb House Report 13 Tom Clenaghan Alumni Office 14 James Friendship & Jazmin Buxton Heads of School 16 Myles Pillage & Amy Warnock School History 22 Chris Robinson An OPM’s Endurance 30 Dr AH Macklin An old Master at 80 35 Doug Martin A Sailor’s Son 38 Colin May Burns Night 42 Pictures and attendees Gala Dinner 43 Pictures and attendees
London Dinner 48 Pictures and attendees Weddings 50 Worth & Day, Brown & Webb, Thomas OPM Cover Story 56 Steve Daniel - Sixty and Still Surfing OPM Notes 58 News, pictures and stories OPM Lodge Report 88 Steve Welsh In Memoriam 90 Obituaries OPM Golf 95 Ray Roach OPM Cricket 96 Chris Vinson OPM Hockey 100 Jason Sweby Rugby Chairman’s Report 104 Mark Turner OPM 1st XV 108 Steve Cole OPM Jesters 110 Matt Price OPM Juniors 112 Jenny Trinder
Published by the OPM Club, Ford Park, Plymouth PL4 6RN Layout and Design Pen & Ink Publishing Printed by Latimer Trend, Estover Some text and photographs appear courtesy of the Herald
REPORTS .............................
CHAIRMAN
Dr. Penny Atkinson Welcome to this year’s OPM Magazine. In the last twelve months we have seen a number of changes both within the Club and at the School. Firstly I would like to thank John Charlick for his service to the Committee over recent years. Still an active OPM rugby player, John has stepped down due to other commitments but Tom Clenaghan has joined us and has thrown himself into the Bar Secretary role, supporting Ash with events and bringing fresh ideas. By the time you read this, you will be able to pay for your pint with contactless technology! We continue to run the traditional events at the Club, and following feedback from a number of members we will continue to run two Senior dine-ins from now on, as well as supporting the Alumni Office with their Gala Dinner. The OPM Lunch, cricket lunch and Burns night continue to thrive. The London Dinner has been re-energised and hopefully the new format and venue will be attractive to more of you. This year we had a number of new OPMs attending and hope that this will continue. The London Committee have all dedicated a great deal of their time to the Club over the years, for which I am very grateful, but have handed over the administration side of the dinner to the Alumni Office now which can take on the task of contacting members and organizing the event. OPM 2
We are trying to increase use of the OPM Suite all the time and find events that appeal to all ages of OPMs. The OPM Hockey Club has just launched the Ladies’ Section and they hope to field a squad for the league next season. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved. The new Headmaster, Jonathan Standen, has been immensely supportive since his arrival at the School and we are forging stronger links with the School and hoping to work together more with both the Parents’ Association and the Foundation Office to make best use of the Club and ensure that new OPMs continue to come back and use the facilities. If you are reading this as a parent member, you are warmly welcome at any time as an Honorary Associate of the Club. I was so pleased to catch up with an old school friend recently on social media and his story was so amazing that we asked him to write a piece for us. Caspar Craven is currently sailing round the world with his family and his inspiring story can be found later on in the Magazine. As for the profile picture this year – shameless showing off I am afraid, but we are all very proud of Henry Slade OPM and it had to be done.
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“We are forging stronger links with the School and hoping to work together more� ~~~~~~~~~~~
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REPORTS .............................
PRESIDENT John Herman
Yet another year with changes for the Club. Firstly the OPM CLUB LTD is now in being, with only one problem to overcome. When the OPM Suite was built and paid for by the Club it was felt necessary to safeguard the Club’s financial position in case the School moved premises or, heaven forbid, ceased to exist. In order to satisfy the Club’s members it was agreed that the Club take a charge on one of the boarding houses as security for its investment. The problem to solve is substituting OPM Club Ltd for OPM Club on all legal documents relating to the lease on the boarding house. Ed Keast in particular and Steve Coles, the Club’s Solicitor, have spent large amounts of time trying to untangle the wording on the original agreement, to both the School and the Club’s satisfaction. This is still ongoing.
Since last year we have welcomed a new Headmaster, Jonathan Standen and there has been a change on the Club’s main committee – a long serving member – John Charlick has retired and I would like to take this opportunity of thanking him most sincerely for his contribution. He has been replaced by Tom Clenaghan who has taken on the role of Bar Secretary. It has been another successful year for the OPM Club both socially and for its sporting sections and I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone involved.
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“Another successful year for the OPM Club, both socially and for its sporting sections” ~~~~~~~~~~~
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HONORARY SECRETARY Bob Anstis
Cricket was once again limited but as always Cricket Week was enjoyed by all concerned with memorable performances by individual OPMs of all shapes and sizes, as well as their opponents.
At a recent Committee meeting an AOB item from the President and the Chairman suggested I made their lives more difficult than they ought to be, by being too wide ranging and comprehensive with my reports to the AGM. They claimed that they were repeating items that I had mentioned in their reports in the Magazine. Hopefully they will find that I have left ample scope for them both this year. The sports section representatives have masses of statistics to report so a few headlines from me. The major winter sports “enjoyed” mixed fortunes with both senior rugby and hockey teams having to endure relegation. On the positive side they both enjoyed excellent club spirit and did much to help the Clubroom battle its way through the year.
Personally I find nothing more relaxing than sitting on the balcony, enjoying the spectacle whilst supporting the OPM Beer Fest. Our other major statistics are the annual accounts, impeccably presented as always by Peter Webb.
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“The Gala Dinner in the capable hands of the Alumni Office was once again a major triumph.”
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This is a time-consuming task and I ask him to accept our thanks for his diligence and commitment. Overall the bottom line does not make happy reading. As Peter has said the solution lies in the members’ hands. As we often hear rugby referees saying at the ruck and maul – use it or lose it!
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R............................. EPORTS
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“I find nothing more relaxing than sitting on the balcony, enjoying Cricket Week, whilst supporting the OPM Beer Fest.� ~~~~~~~~~~~
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Socially the year has had its ups and downs. The Gala Dinner in the capable hands of the Alumni Office under the camouflage netting was once again a major triumph with several year groups using it a reason for a reunion. A number of our other regular events have proved to be a success whilst some have been as popular as in previous years. This has involved Jazmin adopting Ray Pashley’s tried and tested use of telephone calls to likely attendees She has worked tremendously hard all year on our behalf. THANK YOU. I mentioned in my report last year that we were now able to communicate with you quickly and economically using facilities made available by the Alumni Office. I also said that digital contact with some of the membership might prove to be a problem. This certainly has been the case and a number of our members have been unobtainable when contacted by the Alumni Office on previously acceptable addresses.
I also admire those of you who have stood up and been counted and encourage action when things are not right. I thank you for your commitment to improving matters. Many of our local members still fail to support the Club’s activities. They are prepared to be critical but do not through our door. Finally a few words about the Clubroom. I have already said that this is well supported by sports sections. It is here for you, the members. If you are considering celebrating some notable event or just a gathering of two or three friends then have a word with our bar manager, Ashleigh Brown -Williams. See what he has to offer. He can be extremely accommodating and works very hard for us. We need the membership to use what is here and to suggest improvements that could make the Clubroom more amenable. It isn’t Jurassic Park it’s the OPM Club. Think about it. This is your Club so USE IT or LOSE IT.
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REPORTS .............................
HONORARY TREASURER Peter Webb
The accounts published in the Magazine are those that I presented to the AGM in November 2015. However, at the present time, the accounts have not been drafted in the format required under the Companies Act 2006, as there are still some matters relating to the incorporation of the Club as a limited company which remain incomplete. Specifically, negotiations are ongoing between the School and the Club with regard to the assignment of the lease of the OPM Suite from the unincorporated members’ association to the limited company. As soon as this matter has been completed, I will finalise the statutory accounts and arrange for these to be published on the Club website. I should also mention that there was a misprint in the 2015 Magazine in that the accounts, as presented, included two copies of the balance sheet but omitted the explanatory notes. Should anyone require a copy, please send an email to me and I will forward a set: peter.webb@thomaswestcott.co.uk
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So the figures for the year ended 31 August 2015 are drawn up in the usual format that I trust the membership will find self-explanatory. I am sorry to have to report a reversal in the Club’s fortunes this year with income falling and costs increasing. Looking at the income & expenditure account, total income amounted to £21,729, the main reductions being in subscriptions and rents receivable from our investment property in Saltash. The Committee are currently discussing the possibility of amending the current Headmaster’s Scheme so that all School leavers become members of the Club, the subscription being automatically added to the School fee. This should increase our membership whilst reducing the administrative burden on the School staff.
The Saltash rent has fallen due to difficult operating conditions on the part of our tenant. As a committee, we have agreed rent reductions in order to keep our tenant but this has obviously contributed to the fall in income. The next most noticeable figure is the deficit on the OPM Suite this year. I have detailed this figure in the notes to the accounts on the third page. Income is down by nearly £6,000, but at the same time costs have remained fairly static. However, please note that some of these costs will relate to our sports club subsections which we subsidise by providing their match day meals. It goes without saying that the sports clubs contribute greatly to the bar turnover! I am, however, concerned at the reduction in the level of turnover in the OPM Suite and although the Committee are constantly considering ways to boost income, we should be pleased to receive any suggestions from the membership.
Other costs have largely been contained this year especially those relating to printing as a result of publishing the Magazine electronically. Overall, the deficit amounted to £2,234 compared with our surplus in 2014 of £6,540. There is still, however, a corporation tax liability as we are assessed on our investment income arising from the Saltash property and any interest we may earn. The balance sheet provides a financial snapshot of the Club’s affairs at the yearend. I have covered many of the main points in previous years’ reports and in the notes to the financial statements. The main point to highlight on the balance sheet is that we still retain nearly £30,000 in liquid funds at the bank with a further £100 on deposit under the overall control of the trustees. Our financial position remains secure for the foreseeable future.
The other increase in expenditure was in our contribution to the Alumni section where we agreed to help fund the salary of OPM, Jazmin Buxton, who provides crucial assistance to the Committee in her joint role for the Alumni office and in her role as Social Secretary.
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REPORTS .............................
OPM CLUB
Income & Expenditure
Income Subscriptions receivable Regalia Surplus/(deficit) on social (net of costs) Donations and sundry income
£
2015
Investment Income Interest Rent (net of expenses) Expenditure Deficit from OPM suite Printing, postage and stationery (including magazine) Legal and professional fees Secretarial and committee expenses Website costs and contribution to Alumni office salary Insurance Sundry expenses Sub Sections Rugby London
CORPORATION TAX Provided for year Under provision in previous year
SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT) FOR YEAR
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£
£
2014
£
8,653 57 155 190
9,854 149 1,384 -
134 12,540
30 14,005
21,729
25,422
9,811
4,946
2,253 1,945 252
3,758 2,925 409
6,100 2,364 338
3,669 2,262 13
500 400
500 400 23,963
18,882
(2,234)
6,540
2,535 -
2,807 2,535
2,807
(4,769)
3,733 4,5
OPM CLUB Balance Sheet
ASSETS Freehold investment property OPM Suite
£ 478,666
Loan to Plymouth College Loan to OPM RFC Stock (at cost) Debtors and prepayments
50,000 5,524 6,756
Cash at Bank Current account Rent deposit account High interest account Trustees' deposit account
21,048 3,254 4,656 -
Cash in hand TOTAL ASSETS LIABILITIES Corporation tax provision Creditors and accruals TOTAL LIABILITIES
2,077 571,981
2015 £ 185,000 100,000 285,000
£
2014 £
185,000 478,666
185,000 479,168
50,000 5,524 6,756
50,000 500 5,240 16,226
21,048 3,254 4,656 100,000
7,927 3,250 14,526 100,000
2,077
2,898
856,981
864,735
2,535 9,437
-
2,535 9,437
2,807 12,150
11,972
-
11,972
14,957
NET ASSETS
560,009
285,000
845,009
849,778
ACCUMULATED FUNDS At 1 September 2014 Surplus/ (Deficit) for year
561,045 (4,769)
285,000 -
849,778 (4,769)
846,045 3,733
At 31 August 2015
556,276
285,000
845,009 849,778 The accounts were approved by the committee on 19 November 2015 and signed on its behalf by: P Atkinson (Chairman)
P M Webb (Treasurer)
In accordance with your instructions, we have reviewed the accounts of the OPM Club together with the underlying accounting records and information and explanations given to us. In our opinion, the accounts give a true and fair view of the state of the Club's affairs as at 31 August 2015 and of its surplus for the year then ended.
THOMAS WESTCOTT Chartered Accountants
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REPORTS .............................
OPM CLUB
Notes to the Accounts 1 ACCOUNTING POLICY The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 2 VAT All figures are stated net of VAT where relevant. 3 OPM SUITE The OPM Suite is shown in the accounts at cost as follows:
£
Share of building costs Transfer from club Additions in year Less depreciation
£
474,145 5,023 (502) 4,521 478,666
No depreciation is charged on equipment as donations receivable will cover total costs. 4 INVESTMENT PROPERTY The Club's freehold investment property in Saltash was revalued in 2004 by Viner Fulfords at £185,000. 5 LOANS The loan to Plymouth College is unsecured, interest free and was reviewed in September 2005. No date has been fixed for its further review or repayment. Sports section loans:
Rugby £
At 1 September 2014 Written off in year
500 (500)
At 31 August 2015
-
6 DEFICIT FROM OPM SUITE £
2015
Bar sales Suite hire and rents
£ 28,757 7,287
£
2014
36,044 Purchases (stock adjusted) Wet stocks Food & catering Bar sundries Wages costs Licencing and legal fees Repairs and renewals TV rental & licence Sundry Clubhouse costs Depreciation
Deficit for year
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14,140 3,718 1,149 23,575 371 1,516 884 502
£ 34,584 7,064 41,648
14,751 4,252 2,411 23,782 350 677 371 45,855
46,594
(9,811)
(4,946)
HOUSE REPORT Tom Clenaghan
The past year has been positive for the Bar and Club. We have expanded our range of events, and have seen a corresponding increase in interest. The Senior Dine-In, Burns Night and various Christmas gatherings have been great successes; all were well supported and turned into fantastic social affairs. The Hockey and Rugby Clubs continue their much-valued support of the House, often combining their social events and filling the bar on Saturdays. Ashley Brown-Williams has revamped the Drinks menu and nows offer a range of beverages, including cocktails, various malt whiskies and some fantastic Cornish gin. We enjoy a good relationship with local suppliers and often stock ales and ciders from Westcountry producers. Members of the Sixth Form are now also Members of the Club, allowing them to use the bar. This has proved popular and is helping to strengthen the link between the OPM Club and the School.
The forthcoming year brings some exciting developments to the Club. We will be accepting card payments imminently, and will be working to develop a variety of ‘pre-packaged’ children’s party events. Always available for both exclusive or non-exclusive use, the Club is a friendly, central location with very competitive prices. As ever, we would like more OPMs to use the Club. It is our bar - let’s make the most of a great asset. Please do call in if you’re passing, and make sure to leave your details with us or the Alumni Office so that we might let you know about our upcoming events.
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REPORTS .............................
ALUMNI OFFICE
Jazmin Buxton & James Friendship
When was the last time you visited Plymouth College? It is probably longer than you think! We would encourage all OPMs to come back to Ford Park, to take a trip down memory lane. The Foundation and Alumni Office has created lots of events over the last year or two in order to reach out to OPMs. A full list of events can be found on the back cover of this Magazine, hopefully we have created something for everyone; whether it’s the glitz of the Gala Dinner or the more quietly social OPM Christmas Lunch. If however you would like a personalised visit around the School on a normal working day, please get in touch – 01752 505114 or alumni@plymouthcollege.com. This year has seen a few changes, the Alumni Office now helps with the organisation of the London Dinner, which sold out very quickly last year. The change of venue provided an intimate and very convivial occasion. To improve the event further this year, we have taken over the whole of Raymond Blanc’s Tower Hill Brasserie for the evening. This will mean we can take a further 25 guests. We hope to see some new faces this year, but make sure you book soon. OPM 14
Another aspect of the Foundation and Alumni Office’s remit is raising funds for the School and its pupils’ development. We are often asked, “Why does the School need to raise money, surely the School fees cover everything the School needs?“ In fact the School fees never have. The development of the School Pool was only possible with the kind involvement of OPMs, along with the MK Hall development, OPM Suite and Music Department. These earlier developments have seen Music in the School flourish and Plymouth College is now considered the top swimming school in Europe. Many people are unaware that the School is actually a charity, and it takes this responsibility very seriously, being generous with bursaries and scholarships, to ensure the next generation of deserving pupils can attend the School. There are no shareholders benefiting from Plymouth College, only its students!
Plymouth College does not have a generous endowment, like many independent schools, to call on to offer bursaries. This is something the Foundation Office is trying to remedy. In the last two years the Foundation Office has raised some £120,000 from generous OPMs and parents and we have received over £500,000 in legacy promises, but there is still an enormous amount left to do. In order to stay ahead of our competition, the School will need to develop further over the coming years, particularly in the areas of the boarding, science lab development and the creation of a new food technology centre, to ensure that Plymouth College students don’t starve when they go on to university.
In February this year Jazmin Buxton and Martin Tippets (Head of Boarding) travelled to Hong Kong to meet with the Hong Kong OPMs, after the Headmaster’s highly successful trip last year. The Hong Kong OPMs are an amazingly successful group of people who really hold the School close to their hearts. We will report on the outcome of the trip with plenty of photographs in the next edition. If you would like to get involved with any of the developments at the School, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and remember to come back and see us soon, you will be most welcome! OPM 15
REPORTS .............................
PLYMOUTH COLLEGE Heads of School Speech
Our remit as the Heads of School is to tell you a bit more about what has been happening outside of the classroom. There have been so many remarkable individual achievements that have left us all humbled and in awe. It would be impossible to name them all, but here is a snapshot of the depth of talent that we have. You may have heard Annabel Kennedy and Sid McLaren [offered places at the Royal College of Music and the BRIT School for performing arts, respectively] performing at a school concert or play. We are so proud of their rise to stardom and will all watch their bright futures in the world of performance with interest.
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Harry Preston won a GB gold medal at the European Triathlon Championships, Robbie Lockyer raised £1,500 by running a very fast time of 3:13 in the London Marathon, Poppy Tank won the Devon Cross Country Championships and came 4th in the English Schools. In addition, Annie Cobbold qualified for the Badminton Horse Trials. It didn’t stop there. The Modern Pentathlon Academy has been going great guns and have now produced 57 National Champions in the 8 years that it has been running. Kerenza Bryson, Eimear O’Neill, Anne Kleidon and Georgina Mitchell between them brought home nine gold medals this year and at the risk of embarrassing him here up on stage, Myles Pillage also medalled at the European Pentathlon Championships.
Annabel Kennedy
Sid McLaren
Poppy Tank
Tia Simms-Lymn won a silver medal for Jamaica at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships and Paddy James qualified for the National Youth Rib Championship finals. Let’s not forget Tash MacManus’s great performances Diving for Ireland or Robin Willoughby being elected onto the Youth Parliament – and causing a stir in the House of Commons! What about our swimming community? Well, where should we start? Obviously Ruta will stand out for her spectacular year of gold and silver medals at the FINA World Championships and we continue to be proud of her position as the world’s leading female breaststroke swimmer. What an accolade! But we also have a plethora of other successes to report from the European Games in Baku. Tom Fannon gained a GB gold, whilst Joe Hulme won a silver and Laura Stephens gained bronze.
Paddy James
Charlotte Atkinson dominated the Island Games in Jersey, winning 9 gold medals, while Isabella Blacklock gained a silver and a bronze. There was other international representation from Molly Smalley, Katarina Blanco, Rafaella van Nee, Yael Danieli, Darren Lim, Tuvshintur Khurelkhuu, Jamila Lunkuse, Shauna Lee, Eliza Duffy, Ethan Harrington and Oliver Goodhew. In many of these cases, medals were won, records broken and national representation gained. Our Swimming Programme here at Plymouth College is now the best in the world. No other school can boast so many remarkable athletes under one roof. We know you all fall asleep in lesson guys, but with all those 4am wake-ups, who can blame you!
English Schools Swimming Associations Championships success
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REPORTS .............................
Abbie Ingram
Tom Dinnis
Our major games teams have had an excellent season and there are too many successes to mention here but we had a multitude of good wins against Mount Kelly, Exeter, Taunton, Truro, West Buckland and Brecon as well as the local grammar schools. Many players have gained county caps and regional representation in Hockey, Rugby, Cricket and Netball as well as demonstrating great pitch etiquette and a sense of fair play.
The School continues to dominate in the domain of business competitions and enrichment.
Special mention should go to our top performers such as Damon Ackerman for Rugby, Bizzie Dinnis and Harry McEleny for hockey, and Tom Dinnis and Aaron Richards for Cricket. We know there were many, many more of you who made massive contributions which is what team sport is all about so well done everyone. We continue to punch well above our weight due to our team spirit.
In the National BASE competition, Tom Little, Paul Vallis, Kevin Vandabona, Victoria Stace, Annabel Norris and Annie Cobbold went all the way to the wire, beating 48 other regional teams to make the high profile final and Gala Dinner in London. The team won the ‘Highly Commended’ award. Well done!
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Amy Warnock, Jess Prosser, Moritz Backu and Charity Brifaut went on to win the Plymouth ‘You’re Hired’ competition, fighting off many other schools. The team achieved in two days what most professional companies would need two months to complete!
BASE ‘Highly Commended’
Our Modern Foreign Languages department have also been busy. Luc Dewulf won the German prize at the MFL Speaking competition at Bath University, while Sauri Roche-Walker secured the Spanish runner-up position. Science was not to be outdone and have laid on some really exciting lecture opportunities and presentations. The Medical School opened their doors to us, allowing students to attend inspirational and thought-provoking talks on red wine and health, crime solving ‘using the skin of your teeth’ and meerkats at Derriford. Dr Roy Lowry came in to blow up the MK Hall with his ‘Pyromania!’ lecture and Professor Foulkes demonstrated his skills in spectroscopy.
MFL Speaking Prize Winners
Our top Science students also shone, winning awards in the Physics Olympiad – Nguyen Khanh won silver, Paul Vallis and James Douie won bronzes and Kevin Vandabona gained a commendation. Interestingly, all four are now following engineering-based degrees now. Science took a further interesting turn when Dr Green got our sixth form creating a new shower gel brand for a 5 star boutique hotel. Lots of new skills were tested; from designing mood boards, to presentations and product pitches – replicating what big companies in the aroma trade would be doing.
1st XV face a Haka from New Zealand’s Massey High School
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REPORTS .............................
The Entrepreneurial Society has enjoyed some amazing speakers throughout the year thanks to Mr Summons and Charmian Evans’s efforts, including Levy Roots of Dragons Den fame, Mr Wetherspoon and Melanie Leach from Two Four, and our esteemed guest at the Senior Awards Evening, Mr Dawson, who kept everyone on the edge of their seats with his challenging questions.
Piano Concert Evening
Creative arts has had a great year with lots of real talent shining through. The senior students put on a wonderful concoction of extracts spanning four centuries to create a highly entertaining evening of comedy. Robin Willoughby, Will Hambly and Ollie Roberts were typically hilarious, while Charity Brifaut, Sid McLaren and Laura Brown kept the audience equally enthralled. And what can we say about Mayson in his lion outfit...? The A level and GCSE Drama exam performances were also stunning and thought-provoking, with Saul Auty, Phil Habib, Ben Harvey and Tom Brooker demonstrating their genuine talent under the spotlight. OPM 20
If you have not yet been to a Plymouth College Concert, book your tickets now! 23 guitarists for the Guitar Evening, seven pianos lined up to play together at the Piano Evening and a mass of Music Scholars all performing their hearts out at the Summer Concert all lend to a spectacular result. Highlights have been: Annabel Kennedy and Will Hambly singing; or Annabel Norris playing her saxophone; or Mayson Tam and James Douie playing Spanish guitar. What an incredible depth of talent and expertise we have here! The House System continues to be as vibrant and fun as ever and we enjoyed over 70 events last year. There was lots of sport and a great amount of participation but the highlights as usual were the House Drama and House Music events. The Swimming events were particularly interesting with spirited House members gallantly taking on Olympians and British Champions! Despite the wind, the rain, the bogs and the soggy sandwiches, our Duke of Edinburgh and Ten Tors teams have been resilient and determined. Some have canoed down the Wye, whilst others have slogged up the hills of the Brecon Beacons or Dartmoor to gain their gold and silver awards. A special mention should also go to this year’s 45 mile Ten Tors team, who after 200km of training walks secured a really good finish time with all 6 members intact to gain both a certificate and medals.
Posh dinners, crazy rowing, crawling through gorse at Tregantle Fort, flying the skies and sailing the high seas – it all happens in the CCF as they enjoy their biggest recruitment of members for many years. Well done to all the senior NCOs for keeping the rowdy, younger cadets in order and a special commendation must go to Ralph Hayes, the most senior NCO for all his efforts; especially during the important biennial inspection. The year was filled with many other fun events. The Marines came in and gave the sixth form a taste of boot camp, the School raised thousands of pounds with the Christmas Fair, a fashion show and a fun run. In addition, the solar eclipse caused quite a buzz and the Halloween Ball was a great success. But before we go, let’s not forget the staff, because they are pretty impressive as well!
The 45 mile Ten Tors Team
Did you know that both Dr Norris and Miss Starling have represented GB in triathlon this year and done really well? What about Mr Beavington, Dr Jordan and Dr Burns running the Bath Marathon? Mr Beavington was so fast that he even matched his time of 3.15 when he did a marathon at the age of 22! In addition, Jon Rudd won the National Coaching Award of Excellence. We could go on and on as this is such a special school, but we simply haven’t got time. So if you have Kayaked, Sailed, Run, Played or Competed in any way for the School – we congratulate you too! Perhaps you have been a prefect, senior prefect, sports leader or house captain. We applaud you. We are proud to be Plymouth College students and challenge the future generation to match all these wonderful achievements.
Myles Pillage & Amy Warnock
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HISTORY .............................
SCHOOL HISTORY Part II
The second part of the School history, reviewing the period from 1955 onwards, is progressing and Chris Robinson is looking for your memories of masters and moments from that period. Recent years have been well served by the comprehensive and impressive year books that the School has produced since the late-1990s, but the late-1950s, 1960s and early-1970s are not nearly as well documented photographically. Chris has a complete run of Plymothians covering those decades but is keen to hear from anyone who has any pictorial material – snaps taken by pupils or parents, prospectuses, programmes, pamphlets or photographs from school plays, music events, sports days, field trips or whatever. OPM 22
Ideally if the material could be scanned at over 300 dpi (or higher for smaller images) and emailed, that would be great but Chris is also happy to receive original material and, of course, will send it back – his address is: 28 Lockington Avenue, Plymouth, PL3 5QS or you can email him at: chris.robinson@blueyonder.co.uk The first volume was ten years in the making, but Chris assures us that the second volume will not be so long in the compiling and writing – let’s hope he’s right. Meanwhile here is a selection of images that are almost certain to be included, many of which have already appeared in either Chris’s Plymouth in the Fifties and Sixties book or the more recent Plymouth in the Seventies.
Opposite: The School Pool in 1977 Anti-clockwise, from above: 1964 Sports day Ted Mercer does chalk & talk 1966 Shooting team with Mike Parker 1966 Rugby boys: Stewart Daniel, Mike Harrington, Mike Griffiths, Tony Burnel, Brian Carder and Chris Brant
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HISTORY .............................
CCF CAMP 1974 Julian Fiddick
The above image was taken during the RAF camp visit to RAF Lynham in the summer of 1974. It was a very interesting and eventful visit, as during it the Cyprus crisis kicked off (when the Turks invaded Northern Cyprus). One day all was normal, next morning we woke up to see a column of vehicles stretching all the way out of the camp and down the main road. Initially we were re-deployed to help erect temporary beds, etc. to accommodate expected evacuees.
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Then, a couple of us, myself included, were assigned to the RAF police to help keep the journalists in line, i.e. to prevent them from running into the props of the taxiing Hercules transports incoming and also from mobbing the evacuees. I particularly remember the rush when it was thought one of them had a bullet hole in their suitcase! After it was all over we got some “circuits and bumps” in a Hercules as a thank you. Above, from Left: ‘Roly’ Jones, ‘Dilly’ Bye, John Owen, Stewart Jones, unknown, Julian Fiddick, rest unknown
THE MEADE-KING HALL Official opening, 1974
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Phil Avery, now a well-known BBC weatherman, wrote this charming seasonal verse as a member of 3A in the same year.
The Meade-King Hall was officially opened on 6 July 1974, by Lord Roborough. Former long-serving Martin Meade King can be seen at the back on the left. John Goddard, one of the School’s shortest reigning heads and Chairman of Governors, Alderman Leslie Paul, are standing on the right. OPM 25
HISTORY .............................
PLYMOUTH IN THE SEVENTIES
Latest Decade in Chris Robinson’s Plymouth in the 20th Century Series While my own memories of the decade are hazy, reading Chris Robinson’s latest book, Plymouth In The 70s, proved to be a personal nostalgia trip. This is the sixth book in Chris’s decade by decade review of the city in the 20th century and is split into sections covering all aspects of Plymouth life. You could, of course, read this straight through, but I found dipping in and out of the different chapters more satisfying. The book is picture led, so an initial flick through the pages brought back many memories and information on key events of the period. One of the first things that leaped out at me was the changes to the city centre. I remember the colourful flowerbeds by the underpass on Royal Parade and hadn’t realised it opened in 1973 and that the flag pole is the point from which all mileages to the city are measured. OPM 26
The book is a treasure trove of delightful snippets of information such as this. Also interesting to see are photos of the Theatre Royal area. Building work for the theatre started in 1979, so for most of the 1970s Derry’s clock was the dominant feature in that urban landscape. At the other end of the City Centre was a sprawling shopping centre demolished ten years ago to make for the Drake Circus mall. It was opened in 1971 by Princess Anne and shops included C&A, Arcadia Newsagents and Tesco, plus some independent stores. It resembled a concrete box, but I remember eagerly taking the openair escalator up to visit Arcadia most Saturday mornings to see what delights lay inside – it was an Aladdin’s cave to a young girl.
The Barbican and waterfront area also underwent many changes during this decade. The sight of a Brittany Ferries vessel sailing out of Plymouth Sound may be a common sight nowadays, but the commercial service between Brittany and Millbay was introduced in 1973. The service to Santander followed in 1978. Sutton Pool was still tidal at this time and in 1972, 70 moorings were created alongside Sutton Wharf.
The Quality Inn on the Hoe has been in the news of late, due to its fall into disrepair, but its roots lie in the 1970s. Opening in 1970, Mayflower Post House offered “high standards of comfort at low rates” and boasted the Mayflower Bar, with fine views across the bay. The Holiday Inn also opened in the same year.
Proving popular, the moorings were snapped up within two weeks and in 1974 the number was increased to 400. This started a slow change in this part of the waterfront, with a reduction in mercantile vessels and an increase in pleasure boats. As the need for warehousing also declined the buildings were converted into flats. All of these changes laid the foundation for how the Barbican looks today.
Transport links to the City picked up in this decade and 1970 saw the arrival of Brymon Airways, which had its primary base at Plymouth Airport and a secondary one at Newquay. Regular services started in 1972 and built up a number of routes including the Channel Islands. In 1978, Brymon got the goahead to fly to London Gatwick, which cemented the firm’s success.
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HISTORY ............................. Education-wise, the old technical college was upgraded and transformed into a polytechnic, and a new art college was built. A new site to accommodate a teacher-training facility was also built for the reolcation of the College of St Mark and St John from London. There were also plenty of cultural changes, including pubs being permitted to open at 10am on weekdays, but they had to close at 2.30pm and then reopen at 6pm until 11pm.
On the road, the cost to cross the Tamar Bridge was 10p per car, 1p per bicycle and 2.5p per motorcycle. You could also halve those rates if you bought a book of 20 tickets. A family day trip to Cornwall wasn’t complete without the mandatory rummage in the glove compartment by my parents for that elusive last bridge ticket. By the end of 1976 the cost to cars had increased to 15p. Motoring was becoming more affordable with the amount of private cars increasing. In 1975 Mumfords car dealer was visited by Pan’s People, the dancers from BBC’s Top of the Pops, for the launch of the new Austin Morris 18/22 range. Allen’s Garage had central premises in Coburg Street with a distinctive frontage and was the City’s Vauxhall dealer. OPM 28
There were also seven cinemas in the City at the start of the decade: Drake, ABC, Odeon, State (St Budeaux), Belgrave (Mutley), Studio Seven and Arts Centre. By the end of the decade there were fewer cinemas but more screens, with the Drake and the ABC going triple-screen. Music-wise, the Van Dike Club in Exmouth Road hosted many great names including Fleetwood Mac, Status Quo and David Bowie. The Guildhall later became the venue of the choice. One stand-out gig in 1979 was at the Fiesta Suite and saw Madness, The Specials and The Selecter perform. Top Rank in Union Street also became the place to go to hear great DJs and to dance the night away. Family entertainment was another matter. Do you remember the zoo? It sadly closed in 1978 but I remember excitedly running up from the entrance to gaze at the guinea pigs and rabbits in the children’s area. A skateboard park was created on the site soon after closure.
There is also a chapter on sport and it’s interesting to learn that Plymouth Argyle started the 1970s in the Third Division of English football. Though they briefly touched on the Second Division, it didn’t last long and they ended the decade still in the Third. Plymouth was also the centre of some large sporting events. Cycling was a growing sport and the staging of the 1973 Milk Race gave it a local boost. The 1730-mile road race started in Plymouth and ended in Blackpool. In 1974 Plymouth hosted a stage of the Tour de France along Plympton Bypass. It would be remiss to leaf through this book, sharing highlights and not mention the media. The Western Morning News and Western Evening Herald both cost 5d (2p), which increased to 7p in 1976. Other news providers of the day were Spotlight South West and Westward Diary. In 1971 Westward Television celebrated its tenth birthday. The cuddly Gus Honeybun became an icon of the era and I had the pleasure of meeting him once, during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977... though he didn’t say much.
The final chapter, For Queen and Country, looks at royal visits to the City. In 1977, the Queen spent three months touring various towns, cities and countries for her Silver Jubilee. Plymouth was among them and while I was meeting Gus Honeybun at my infants school street party, thousands were lining the streets to get a glimpse of the Queen and Prince Philip. Great memories indeed. The 1970s were formative years, not just for me, but also for the city, which blossomed in the following decades to become the centre of culture and industry we know and love today. This article by Gillian Adams appeared in The Western Morning News 17 February 2016
Plymouth in the Seventies is available to buy from www.chrisrobinson.co.uk
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HISTORY .............................
DR ALEXANDER MACKLIN An OPM’s Endurance
6 April 1906, Alex Macklin competes in the high jump at Ford Park, note the recently completed Hyde Park Junior School in the background.
Flitting through the internet I came across a name that was not only distinctive, but familiar – Alexander Hepburne Macklin. Dr AH Macklin, as he became, was at Plymouth College at the beginning of the twentieth century and I seemed to recall using a few images in Plymouth College – The First Hundred Years that included him. Indeed one of them, Macklin doing the high jump on Sports Day, 6 April 1906, I used again in the recent tome Plymouth’s Great War: The Three Towns United in Conflict. OPM 30
Born in India the son of a British doctor who subsequently set up practice in the Isles of Scilly, Alex Macklin was a boarder at Ford Park. On leaving Plymouth College, he went to read Medicine at Manchester University and soon after qualifying became one of the younger, ‘senior’ figures onboard Ernest Shackleton’s HMS Endurance, which sailed for the Weddell Sea and Antarctica from Plymouth just days after war was declared, on Saturday 8 April 1914.
Plymouth College Ist XI, 1907 Alex Macklin is second from the right in the middle row with the ball in his hand.
Endurance arrived in Plymouth the day that the news that we were at war had been broken and with the mass mobilization of men that followed Shackleton was prompted to reassess his position. Having consulted his crew, he contacted the Admiralty. “There are enough trained and experienced men among us to man a destroyer,” he wrote. In reply he received a very simple and succinct telegram from Whitehall – it said ‘Proceed.’ Winston Churchill was the then First Lord of the Admiralty, and in a follow-up missive he assured Shackleton that it was the wish of the British Government for the expedition to go ahead as planned. Famously the expedition was to run into great difficulties and six or seven months into the trip Ernest Shackleton and his team on HMS Endurance found themselves making very little progress.
1905/6 AH Macklin is in the middle of the front row with the rugger ball in his lap – it is only the second season in which Plymouth College have fielded a rugby team – football having been the main game since the School’s foundation almost 30 years earlier.
Eventually, after being held captive for weeks on end by massive white floes of frozen water in sub-zero conditions the ship would be broken up by the intense pressure of the ice-vice grip; the timbers making cracking sounds like ‘heavy fireworks and the blasting of guns.’ The subsequent story of the Endurance expedition and Shackleton’s epic 800mile open boat journey to mount a rescue operation is truly the stuff of legend. Macklin didn’t make that journey with him, rather he, and the other surgeon in the party, James McIllroy, were detailed to remain behind on the uninhabited Elephant Island and take care of the men. Frostbite, gangrene, dysentery, boils, sores, heart conditions and nervous breakdowns were just some of the issues the pair were destined to deal with, as the intense cold and the desperate bleakness of their situation took hold. OPM 31
HISTORY .............................
~~~~~~~~~~~ “He valued loyalty above everything, no one ever questioned his authority” ~~~~~~~~~~~
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After the expedition Macklin and many of the other men who’d been on the trip, signed up to fight what remained of the war. Macklin served as an officer in the Medical Corps and saw action on both the French and Russian front, the latter perhaps because of his experience working in extremely cold conditions. The difficulties faced by the men in the Antarctic undoubtedly made for a lasting bond between them and Macklin remained in touch with Shackleton. In a reply to one of his missives, sent in June 1917, Shackleton referred to a number of their comrades: “I have heard from Mick, seen Wild, also Wordie, and heard from Hussey. Poor old McCarthy went down in a torpedoed ship the other day. I am just waiting for an appointment which I expect will take me to Russia very shortly.” Referencing Macklin’s own letter he continued: “You say that the tanks are tame after the Antarctic. I can quite understand that for our trouble was always at hand there. However we all got through and I hope we will all get
through this business. I always have the warmest feelings of friendship and gratitude towards you, for you never failed me throughout the Expedition. The best of luck to you.” Also, before signing himself off as ‘your cautious old boss’, he added: “When this war is over I, like you, hope we may all foregather.” Macklin clearly had an extremely high regard for Shackleton and was in later life quoted as saying: “There radiated from him something strong and powerful and purposeful so that even to meet him was an experience. It was something that I have never come across in anyone else. He valued loyalty above everything, no one ever questioned his authority.” In 1921 a number of the men did team up again, Macklin and the aforementioned Frank Wild (who had also been on Scott’s Discovery and Shackleton’s Nimrod expeditions), along with McIIroy, Hussey (the meteorologist) and Worsley (who had captained the Endurance) among those accompanying Shackleton on his ill-fated Quest expedition.
Endurance ice-bound, mangled by the intense pressure of the surrounding ice. As one of the ‘senior’ men on the Expedition Macklin had charge of one of the six teams of dogs, all of which performed an excellent service going back and forth between the ship and the camp they had set up for safety once the vessel had broken up. On more than one occasion Macklin and his party not only returned with valuable, but dwindling supplies, but he also killed and brought back a huge Weddell seal weighing around 800lbs and two emperor penguins. OPM 33
HISTORY .............................
Sadly Shackleton was to die of a heart attack on 5 January 1922 on the eve of the Quest’s arrival at Grytviken, South Georgia. The great explorer was just a few weeks shy of his 48th birthday and it was the Plymouth College educated Alexander Macklin who had the unhappy job of preparing his esteemed colleague for burial. The following year a book was written by Frank Wild, Shackleton’s Last Voyage – The Story of The “Quest” – it was based heavily upon the official journal and private diary kept by Dr Macklin.
AH Macklin one of Shackleton’s surgeons.
During the Second World War he once more responded to the call to arms and served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Corps, in East Africa. After the war, at the age of 58, Macklin married and moved to Aberdeen, where he was to enjoy a distinguished end to his medical career. Retiring in 1960 he was to die seven years later, as one of the last surviving members of the Endurance expedition.
In 1926, Alexander Macklin, who won both the Military Cross and the OBE for his wartime service, set up in practice as a doctor in Dundee (his mother’s family was from Scotland). OPM 34
In 2002 a Channel 4 TV series dramatised the story of the Endurance with Kenneth Branagh in the title role as Shackleton, winning a BAFTA for best drama. Meanwhile Macklin himself is forever remembered in the naming of Mount Macklin – part of the Salvesen Range of South Georgia.
DOUG MARTIN Long-serving teacher turns 80 Doug Martin started and ended his teaching career at Plymouth College, the two events were separated by 36 years, all of them spent at Ford Park. Educated in Oxford, his home town, he went to the City of Oxford High School, which later ceased to exist having merged with Oxford School in Southfield – ‘They couldn’t cope without me,’ he quipped. Notable alumni, apart from Doug, include TE Lawrence (of Arabia fame) and Ronnie Barker. National Service intervened between school and further education and from 1954-56 he served in the RAF, in Lincolnshire. Already a keen cricketer by this stage – he played Minor Counties Cricket for Oxfordshire – it was while playing the game that Doug met his teenage sweetheart, while just 14. ‘I was playing cricket with Pat’s father and I saw her and thought “she’s a pretty little thing”. We were not an item immediately after that, but in 1957 we were engaged and in 1959 we were married.’ By that stage Doug was in his final year at Exeter College, Oxford, reading French and German. He passed with the classic gentleman’s degree, a third (equivalent to a 2:2 in modern parlance).
Doug Martin at his 80th Birthday
‘At the end of my degree I thought about teaching. I loved my school,’ says the man who can recite the names of every boy in his class, and their initials, and their house. ‘I’d always enjoyed the aura of schools generally and thought that I could see myself carrying on in that profession ... and I’d always wanted to move to the Westcountry – Somerset, Dorset or Devon. ‘My mother had died when I was only seven and I’d been brought up by my grandparents in Oxford, but had spent almost all of my holiday time in Chard with my aunt. I loved every aspect of country life, even down to milking the cows. OPM 35
HISTORY .............................
‘And so I looked for a job in the area. I had an interview at Kelly, but then I got a call from Mrs Cox, the Headmaster’s secretary who asked me if I could come to Plymouth College with a view to being taken on here.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“The School was a friendly place; old and young mixed well in the Common Room”
~~~~~~~~~~~
‘On the day I arrived I was taken around the School by Meade-King, the Headmaster, and as we wandered around the quad, I thought, “this seems like a lovely school to teach in”.’ Meade-King had been at Exeter College too, so I wonder if that helped. ‘A day or so later I was offered the post, accepted and moved down. For the first year or so we lived in a flat on the Hoe, that had just been vacated by Trevor (TAP) Pritchard and then we moved out to Goosewell, and we’ve been in Plymstock ever since, 50 years in the same house in Elburton. OPM 36
‘The School was a friendly place, old and young mixed well in the Common Room. I remember we hadn’t been in Plymouth long when our twins were born. I went into School and announced it to the Common Room. “Bloody cornucopia,” said David Giles, the newest member of the English department, while Eric Holman, second master, who was about to retire and who was in charge at the time, said “take the day off my boy”, which was as good as paternity leave ever got back then.’ Over the next few decades Doug became a distinctive member of the Common Room, organising several Christmas Entertainments, many of which witnessed him lending his powerful singing voice to the proceedings. He also coached several of the School Cricket and Rugby teams. From his arrival in 1960 until 1974 he played and often captained the OPM Rugby team, and from 1961 through to 1984 was a regular off-spinner for Plymouth Cricket Club. In the event he decided to retire early, at 60, in 1996, rather than 65. ‘They’d stopped the cane, it wasn’t the same, and a thoroughly good shout didn’t do it for the idle toads anymore, so I decided to go.’
Doug still enjoys a thoroughly good shout though. He turns out to watch the OPMs play rugby, and the School if they’re playing at home. He also continues to do his bit for the community, collecting for the Fisherman’s Mission (‘I think I’ve probably raised over £75,000 over the years’) and, one day a week, he works as a voluntary driver for Age Concern. Left to right: Keith Dockray, Doug ‘Muscles’ Martin, Denis Collinson, Ivor Cleave in a scene from the 1971 Christmas Entertainment, The Happiest Days of Your Life. Picture taken from Chris Robinson’s Plymouth in the Seventies
‘If you’ve been in a school a long time, you can either say, at the end of it all, “right, I’m going to do something completely different,” or you can keep in touch and I’ve been very happy to do the latter. It’s been lovely and I’ve had some marvellous feedback from past pupils who I now meet in a different context.’ Every month he meets a number of his former staff room colleagues too, as the Wrinklies Club get together for a pub lunch somewhere in the area. Happy days.
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HISTORY .............................
COLIN MAY A Sailor’s Son
Leaving a dull job in London to sail the Atlantic, and work in the West Indies, before hitch-hiking from Mexico to Canada sounds like the perfect gap year for our recent school leavers. Yet, this particular voyage was carried out almost 60 years ago by OPM Colin May - well before pre-university international adventures became commonplace. British backpackers were as novel to the rest of the world as the world was to them - Colin’s small Union flag helping him make friends where his lack of Spanish and ready cash failed him. Colin has never stopped adventuring and went on to join the Navy - taking him to Singapore, Borneo and the Falkland Islands as well as his own personal missions to Nepal and New Zealand.
Extracts from his adventures were published at the time in the Western Morning News
He recounts his life and his travels in his newly published memoirs A Sailor’s Son, and we take a look at his school days in this exclusive extract.
I won a free scholarship to Plymouth College and mother was delighted to write out perhaps the only telegram she ever sent: ‘College for Colin’ to my father in Ceylon. She was pleased not only with her economical wording and my success, but the possibility it offered for her to have a better married life while my education could continue uninterrupted as a boarder.
I don’t remember being especially concerned; my case of clothes had gone ahead and awaited me in an upstairs room I shared with three others of similar age though not in my form.
This new life started for me when I was taken by my grandmother to the Boarding House at 12 Thorn Park.
The real surprise came at ground level when newcomers were instructed in the expected routine.
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In the corner was a hand-basin with cold water, while up another flight of stairs and under the eaves, was the cramped room for our weekly bath.
We were to come in only via the lane and back door, take off our shoes, clean them and wash. Our school-bags were to be placed in individual lockers and kept there until ‘prep’, i.e. the time set aside for homework. Younger boys studied around a table in the locker-room; seniors in the dining room. In the lockers we could also keep comics, personal effects and most important, our rations. Having gone through the war we were all too familiar with food shortages, but at home this was organised by Mum. Rationing, however, went on long after the war ended. As boarders we each received a weekly issue of sugar and butter, and, each month, a pot of jam, usually plum. For breakfast there was cereal and bread but you learned quickly to eke out what could be spread on it. Some, often the sons of farmers, had extra supplies which caused envy, and on one occasion an open pot of honey enticed many ants to a sticky end – there was no shortage of volunteers to help the owner consume the honey, ants and all!
Bedtime in the ‘small dorm’ was 7.30pm with lights out 20 minutes later. At home, as an only child, I’d always had a toy black Scottie dog as a comforter and, though I sensed this was ‘a bit sissy’, I’d placed it in my case under the bed so I could, with some trepidation, retrieve it after dark. It helped the strangeness of the first night to pass and I was pleased to smuggle it back to the case unobserved in the morning where it remained. Then, of course, there was much to do. Sort out clothes, tie your tie, fold your pyjamas, make the bed and get to breakfast before the second bell rang. All basic stuff, but testing for a 10-year-old away from home for the first time. There were much bigger boys there too, about a dozen, all noisy and selfconfident; you just had to be watchful and learn fast. This I could do from experience of my six previous schools.
Boarders at Thorn Park, with the Battricks
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HISTORY .............................
Plymouth College Rugby First XV, 1952 [Date deontes Full Colours]: Standing: BN Williams [‘52], A Richards, GC Gray, LM King, FSW Furze, GR Pengelly, JW Reid, IDW Wright [‘51-2] – Seated: JE Taylor [‘52], JR Cundy [‘52], Colin May, [Capt. ‘52], JC Battrick [Hon. Sec. ‘51-’52], PA Jolly [‘52] – Ground: DF Porter, JM Hewitt
Fortunately, my mother kept all my reports and I’ve recently read them, some for the first time. Not an entirely pleasurable read but interesting to see how I was thought of by others and a worthwhile thing for any parent to do for their child. Receiving the only ‘Excellent’ in my primary school report in Handicraft made me laugh. While at the College I hovered near the bottom of ‘a very bright A-stream’, surviving as I did better in exams than term-work. Class positions were specified for both in that elitist age when ambition to be top was encouraged, and failure emphasised as an incentive to do better. And a good thing too.
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I enjoyed school there, though in hindsight I recognise its limitations. Too set in its ways, with undue deference to Classics and no Biology when I joined. There was very limited Arts, few outwardlooking extracurricular activities and undue attention to team games, although I benefited greatly from that. While I was slightly built, I was athletic, keen and had no other distractions. Being a boarder helped, especially when Dr Battrick succeeded Mr Holman as House Master. An athlete himself, Dr B. was a 3As champion who only missed selection for the 1936 Olympics through injury and was determined to imbue us boys with the importance of physical fitness – ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ (a sound mind in a sound body).
Just as well our fitness didn’t depend solely on food, which was very poor at first and not just due to rationing. School lunch was served in the top floor of the pavilion and nothing was to be left on the plates we returned to the servery. I am not a fussy eater, but my plate was often only clear as the contents were folded into my cap and ditched later. Always in the pack, I played anywhere except hooker and that versatility helped to gain my place in the Devon XV. Two years later I captained the School First XV and received glowing reports from Ted Mercer, no slouch at rugby himself having played at stand-off for the Barbarians.
In the third form we had had options on Friday afternoons: Combined Cadet Force or Scouts. CCF was a misnomer as initially there was only the Army section, which I joined. Despite the drill and being shouted at, it was fun, especially Field Days when we went by train to Clearbrook, marched up to the moor where there were mock attacks and stalking exercises. The following year a Naval section was started and I was appointed Leading Seaman in charge. What power!
He said I would gain further county recognition, but he was wrong. I played for the OPMs and a couple of ships’ teams but was limited by a back injury, and in any case got more pleasure from tennis and squash, so it was no loss. In action for the School 7s (not in stripes), 1954, Colin is on the left with Bob Pratt (tackling), Noel Blackler and John Quick
Colin’s autobiography is available to buy for £9.99 - with proceeds being donated to St Luke’s Hospice and other charities. A Sailor’s Son was edited, designed and published by Pen & Ink Biographies. If you have a story to tell and would like help in turning it into a full-colour, printed book, please visit penandinkbooks.co.uk or call Clare on 01752 228120. OPM 41
EVENTS ..........................
BURNS DINNER
The OPM Suite - 23 January, 2016 Burns Night was more popular than ever, with more than 50 turning up for a spirited address to the Haggis from Jan McKinnel and a fiendish quiz from Chris Robinson. The team on the Chairman and Honorary Secretary’s table won the keenly contested competition, a tie-break question being correctly answered by team member and School physio, Alison Moreton. For the curious it was: Which Scottish band, formerly known as Dean Ford and the Gaylords had a No.1 hit in 1968 with a Lennon and McCartney cover? Other teasers included a question about Conan Doyle’s Inspector Lestrade from Scotland Yard: Conan Doyle only ever gave him an initial – not a Christian name – was it A: G B: A C: D or D: M? Answers on page 94.
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GALA DINNER
The Meade-King Hall
This year’s Gala Dinner was a huge success, seeing some 132 guests. The food was created by our in-house catering team and was of exceptional quality, especially the Great British Menu style Plymouth College Picnic. Freshly Squeezed provided the entertainment and it was especially gratifying to see the 35 members of the Class of 2005. The evening featured special guest, Henry Slade, who although busy preparing for the Uruguay Wold Cup match, took the time to send us a video message, outlining the preparations for the match and wishing all attending bon-appetite!
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EVENTS ..........................
GALA DINNER
1995 Reunion Table
1 Andrew Deschamps, Anna Deschamps, Phil Gerry, Tonya Gerry, Elizabeth Soper, Marc Soper, Ian Watson, Sarah Watson, Tracey Whittingham, Wayne Whittingham
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GALA DINNER
2005 Reunion Table
2 Poria Alinia, Skye Atkins, Laura Brown, Oliver Brown, Duncan Bruce, Kirran Bruce, Alex Buxton, Todd Crofts, Franciska Earle, Dom Gambarini, Tamsyn Hutchins, Thomas Jackson, Coral Jonas, Liam Jonas, Alexander Kent, Natalie Lancaster, Christopher Lewis, Anna Luff, Oliver Marshall, Tom Moore, Johnny Orme-Williams, Cassandra Patten, Richard Petch, David Reddaway-Richards, Ben Robinson, Ralph Robinson, William Roose, Katie Spring, Sam Sterry, Danny Thompson, Tom Trevarthen, Marina Waters-Fealey, Alistair Williams and James Wroe
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EVENTS ..........................
Attendees by table 3 Alan Harris, Bill Joce, Mo Joce, Simon McDermott Brown, Ian Penrose, Maggi Penrose, Chris Robinson, Clare Robinson, Jonathan Standen, Kathy Taylor, Suzie Tooze
4 Steve Brady, Tracy Brady, James Clarke, Jeanette Clarke, Eilish Doran, Jay Foster, Sarah Ibbotson, Robert Lang, Richard Rabin, Sarah Rabin, Nuala Taylor, Philip Thorneycroft
5 Jenny Anstis, Robert Anstis, Penelope Atkinson, Richard Atkinson, Christina Hardy, David Hardy, Di Harris, Laurie Harris, Nigel Lyons, Paula lyons
6 Adele Burt, James Burt, Jemima Elford, Stuart Elford, Mike Fisher, Sarah Leighton, Sarah Taylor, Maurice West, Mark Wray, Tamsin Wray, Robert Zacal
7 Peter Blake, Sarah Blake, Lindsey Dodd, Nick Dodd, Richard Harris, Sarah Harris, Duncan Humphrey, Natasha Humphrey, Jeremy Oatey, Sarah Oatey, Andrew Willoughby, Helen Willoughby
8 Alexander Crichton, Kate Evans, Paul Evans, James Holman, Jen Moreton, Phil Moreton, Robin Owen Moody, Caroline Sweby, Jason Sweby, Hannah Wilkinson, Mark Wilkinson
9 David Baylis, Francis Baylis, Janette Belsey, Chris Gatherer, Alison Mills, Jonathan Mills, Richard Pengelly, Colin Squance, Tom Waldock, David Woodgate
10 James Friendship, Neil Glasson, John Herman, Dan Lampard, Teresa Normington, John Rudd, Adrian Rundle, Max Trebilcock OPM 46
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EVENTS ..........................
LONDON DINNER
Brasserie Blanc, Tower Bridge The London Dinner moved from its recent regular venue at the Royal Overseas League, to Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie near Tower Bridge. The evening was attended by over 50 alumni of all ages from 19-90. The food was excellent, all being freshly prepared. The speeches by Jonathan Standen and David Woodgate were warmly welcomed, especially the sporting results in our local derby matches. This year’s event saw a greater number of younger alumni attend, which is a sure sign of future success.
Table One Chris Robinson, Clare Robinson, James Robinson, Ben Robinson, Chloe Robinson, Alan Harris, Pete Harris, Tom Harris, Luke Dickinson Table Two Paul Habib, Annabelle Kennedy, Olivia Moore, Jamie Johnson, Harvey Turner, Pete Sumner, Jazmin Buxton, James Friendship, Peter Berryman Table Three Charles Thompson, Chris Rose, Andy Pring, Phil Harris, Jeremy Daybell, Willoughby Cocks, Sue Carson, Tam Carson, Mrs Moore, Paul Moore, Ian Armstong Table Four Chris Morton, Giles Herman, Myfanwy, Suzie Tooze, Liz Herman Jonathan Standen, John Herman, Richard Atkinson, Penny Atkinson, David Woodgate, Table Five Peter Nesling, Peter Bray, Stuart Jones, Simon Parkes, David Searle, Mrs Boot, Richard Boot, Mrs Jones, Peter Jones, Stephan Chase
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~~~~~~~~~~~ This year saw a greater number of younger alumni attend - a sure sign of success ~~~~~~~~~~~
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WEDDINGS .......................................
JACOB DAY & EMILY WORTH The 28th June 2014 saw the wedding of two 2007 leavers, Emily Worth and Jacob Day. They had been engaged for almost two years and the wedding ceremony took place at St Andrews Church, Harberton. Family and friends travelled from all over the country for a Devon wedding that started in the village church and finished with the reception at Emily’s family farm. The weather promised much but the church’s leaking roof was soon heard by all in the service! Despite the afternoon rain, a yurt protected our meal and then the sun came in full force for the evening celebrations.
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It was quite a Plymouth College affair, not just from the bride and groom, but also their siblings– James Worth, Edward, Tristan and Dominic Day – who were the ushers; Greg Newman, the best man; Jessica Roose, Rachel Moiser, Frances Bleksley and Paryssa Aliniawere Emily’s bridesmaids; Benedict Cook who read a poem during the service; and other OPM guests included Matt Wyman, Steve Cowsill and Reavely Maitland. It was a perfect day and thanks must go to everyone who made it so. Emily and Jacob are now living and working in Exeter.
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WEDDINGS .......................................
OLIVER BROWN & ROSIE WEBB
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Oli Brown married Rosie Webb, daughter of OPM Club Treasurer, Peter, on Saturday, 27 June 2015, a perfect summer’s day. “About time too” was the common cry as the couple had met at a Plymouth College/Plymouth High joint Young Enterprise party in November 2003! After a church ceremony at St Werburgh’s, Wembury, Oli’s home village, the reception was held at Pamflete House on the Flete Estate near Holbeton. As well as the groom and the bride’s father, other OPM’s attending, included Ralph Robinson (best man), Rebecca Brown (bridesmaid), Joshua Webb (groomsman), Richard Webb (bride’s uncle) and various friends of the families, John Williams, Dr Simon Jordan (School staff), David Matthews, Aaron Summers (School staff), Ed Vaughan, Dan Lochead and Hedley Putnam. Rosie & Oli enjoyed an all too brief honeymoon touring Southern Italy and Sicily before returning to their busy lives in Bristol where Oli continues his surgical training at Southmead Hospital and Rosie practices as a vet in a busy small animal practice.
Left to right: Josh Webb [2008], Richard (Arthur) Webb [1971], Peter Webb [1977], David Matthews [2005], Oli Brown [2005], Simon Jordan [staff], Rosie Webb, John Williams [1978], Rebecca Brown [2007] & Ralph Robinson [2005] OPM 53
WEDDINGS .......................................
ALEX THOMAS & EMMA WILLIAMS
Alexander Thomas [02] was married on 20 December 2015 in an intimate country celebration in North Devon. He and his wife, Emma welcomed 30 guests to the family church where his parents were married in 1973. OPMs James Robinson [02] and Robert Mullen [02] were in attendance. James was also an usher, and performed a song for Alex and Emma at the reception. Having met at a music festival in Cornwall in the summer of 2013 they fell in love over a mutual appreciation for live music and events. The couple are planning a bigger reception in 2017 in the field where they met overlooking Watergate Bay. Alex and Emma now live with their dog Gus in the State of Qatar, where they work as an Event Specialist and a Teacher respectively and are planning to stay until the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
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Weddings
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STEVE DANIEL British Surfing Champion ‘81
Steve Daniel was interviewed on camera at Newquay in 1978 as a member of the British Surfing team. Thirty-seven years later, SWFTA contacted Steve to say they would be using the footage as part of the Britain on Film launch. He was pleased and shocked to see the footage. ‘SWFTA sent me the link to the vide and we’re talking about a film that’s almost 40 years old - it was pretty scary really. ‘But it was good because I’ve got five kids and two grandchildren so to be able to show it to them and relay the whole thing and explain was amazing.’ Steve still surfs today. He was named British Surfing champion in 1981 and is the man responsible for bringing stand-up paddle boarding to the UK having brought it back to Britain after a trip to Hawaii.
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He recalls the contest he and Nigel competed in after they were filmed - the South African leg of the World International Professional Surfers Tour. ‘In 1978 there was no internet, no Trip Advisor, there were some of the most sharkfilled waters on the planet. What we weren’t really prepared for was that we were going into Apartheid - racially divided South Africa. ‘Being a naive 20-year-old I wasn’t really concerned about politics but then we were involved because we were one of the only British teams to compete in South Africa that year.’ Steve had some royal company when it came to his passion for surfing. ‘The patron of the British Surfing Association was Prince Charles and right after the filming we were invited for a private reception with him,’ Steve says. He was a keen surfer and I surfed with him twice at Bantham. He was at Dartmouth Royal Naval college so he’d turn up, have a surf and disappear again. ‘It was quite sad because those days were numbered for him and he was quite envious of us competing around the world.’
After South Africa Steve visited Hawaii and Australia. ‘Surfing was perceived as a “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” pastime in the Sixties and didn’t really gain sporting status until the Seventies.’ Steve says. Steve now owns his own surf distribution business Daniel Surf, with 300 accounts throughout Europe, and says things have only imrpoved since 1978: ‘I turned 60 last week and I think I surf better now than I did then!’ A far cry, then, from his final Plymouth College report where Mr Meade King commented ‘Stephen will never make a living from surfing’. A version of this article appeared in the Plymouth Herald 18 Jul 2015. The above edition of Atlantic Surfer, featuring Steve on the cover, was published in 1978.
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CASPAR CRAVEN
A Family of Adventurers ‘The last time I spent more than 48 hours in Plymouth was the year when I left Plymouth College. That was in the summer of 1990. ‘This time round it was late August 2014 and was the final stop in the UK before setting off on a circumnavigation of the world with my wife Nichola and our three young children, Bluebell (9), Columbus (7) and Willow (2). ‘I’d circumnavigated in 2000-01 on the BT Global Challenge as one of 18 crew racing around the world. This time it was very different, as a Skipper with my family as crew. OPM 58
‘We’d spent 5 years planning our adventure and preparing as much we could for our voyage, which would take us from European waters to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, then 6 months traversing the Pacific – stopping at many distant, barely-explored islands. Australia and Indonesia followed and then across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. ‘As I write we’re 300 miles away from making landfall in Brazil. From there to the Caribbean in April 2016, where we complete our circumnavigation crossing our outbound track.
‘We’re still figuring out where to go after that and what to do. ‘We’ve now sailed some 35,000 ocean miles together and experienced massive highs and some challenging lows – ranging from complete power failure 500 miles from land in gale force conditions deep in the Pacific Ocean, to rigging failure South of Madagascar.
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‘We’ve had to contend with our three-year-old cracking her head open hundreds of miles away from medical help and having to stitch her head back together, to our 10-year-old catching Dengue Fever in French Polynesia. ‘We’ve swum with whale sharks, climbed an active volcano, helped rebuild a cyclone-hit village in the Pacific and walked wild in the bush with African animals, amongst a countless array of experiences. ‘We’ve learnt to live with each other and have had to cope with our relationships changing from seeing each other only a few hours a day to living together 24 hoursa-day for what has now been 18 months together. ‘Our trip was financed by launching a range of internet based businesses in the four years building up to our departure, which we continue to run from onboard our yacht, and home, Aretha, and from the sale of my business, which was completed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, whilst at sea. ‘I’m now in the final stages of writing the first draft of a book capturing our blueprint for how we made our adventure happen and changed our lives from suburban commuters to living our dream. ‘We’ve been blogging whilst we’ve been away at sea and have a blog capturing much of our story at: www.familysailing.co.uk and via Facebook at: www.facebook.com/casparcraven. ‘I’ll be releasing details of the book on the blog and Facebook. Make yourself at home.’
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We’ve swum with sharks, climbed an active volcano and had to contend with our three-year-old cracking her head open hundreds of miles from medical help”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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JASON SWEBY Herald Business Award Winner
TOM DALEY
Jason Sweby [93] OPM Committee Hockey Representative and Technical Director of Carval Computing has won the Herald Business Award for Best Medium-sized Business of the Year. The award presentation was made at a blacktie, gala dinner held at the Plymouth Pavillions and comes only four years after Carval won the award for Best Small Business at the inaugural event in 2011. Carval is a specialist supplier of fully integrated HR, Payroll and Time & Attendance software and apps, and has seen particular growth in the demand for its Payroll Bureau Services.
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Jason, who was proud to collect the gong on the night stated: ‘This is a reward for all the employees who work so hard to make Carval what it is today. ‘We are delighted that we were shortlisted from hundreds of entries, and then judged as the winner – certainly a testament from the judging panel, made up of business experts, who recognise the hard work of the team, growth of the company and contribution that Carval is making to business in the region.’
JOHN SYMONS
CLIVE JENKINS
Raising Huntingdon’s Awareness
Composing Romance
OPM John Symons [64] author of a Tear in the Curtain, about which Dr Michael Bourdeaux said ‘He is a tremendous expert, and it was a miracle that he took the initiative to do this review’, has recently completed a video with the distinguished documentary director and author Jonathan Stedall, in order to raise the profile of Huntington’s disease and to raise funds for the HD association. John has written two books about the disease, The Devil’s Dance and The Stranger on the Shore. The cause is a passionate one for John, who finds himself in the position of having a 50:50 risk of contracting the disease himself. The full video can be seen at: https://goo.gl/bvhPGr
This piece, with string orchestra accompaniment, was composed in 1987 for Jonathan Mallalieu, now artistic director of Beauville Arts in France, then a gifted viola player at Plymouth College, where Clive Jenkins was director of music. Jonathan recorded the piece with the South East Cornwall String Orchestra under Hans Kassier for BBC Radio Cornwall. Its first professional performance was by Steve Gleed with the South West Sinfonietta under Derek Kitt. This Viola (or Clarinet) and Piano version was made at the suggestion of Jeanie Moore MVO, concert organiser for Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery, for a lunchtime recital by Keith Lovell of the Dartington String Quartet with the pianist John Bryden.
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DAVID, MARK AND PETER ELLYATT OPM Brothers All three Ellyatt brothers, David, Mark and Peter, enjoyed an early Christmas 2015 together in Christchurch, Hampshire with their family as this wonderful picture shows. David Ellyatt [92] went on to spend a few months at his parents’ home in Plymouth with his wife Izzy and 18-month-old daughter Leyla before heading back to their home in East Africa, in early March this year. David and Izzy, a Ugandan-born chartered accountant, had met at a Uni friend’s wedding in Kampala, Uganda, and stayed in touch. Eventually David took a sabbatical from his job in the UK, went out to Africa to Izzy’s home in Uganda and never returned. He had trained in oceanography and environmental engineering at Southampton and Plymouth Uni, initially working for Black and Veatch, a Global Engineering Consultancy, which in the UK, specialises in water and environmental management. OPM 64
In Tanzania both he and Izzy worked for the same company, SBS, a service provider and supply base for the offshore oil and gas exploration in East Africa. The company also specialised in waste and environmental management, which is unique in the area: ‘The idea of doing something with waste other than landfill is generally a foreign concept and it has been very interesting: there’s a lot to be proud of,’ explains David. When the oil prices in Africa plummeted, as they did across the globe recently, the work out there came to an end and the pair took six months off to return to the UK and catch up with friends and family. ‘To have been able to take time off so much time to spend with Leyla and introduce her to all the family has been a great privilege,’ says David. While in Plymouth, David did a health and safety certificate, which he says is always a useful qualification to have in his line of work. Despite enjoying time in the UK he said he was looking forward to returning to the African way of life.
‘There’s a wonderful sense of freedom over there, but it always takes time to adjust.’ Both he and Izzy are applying for new jobs in East Africa and David was looking forward also to spending his spare time fishing and water-skiing in Lake Victoria, playing a bit of squash and touch rugby or watching rugby in Kampala. David also filled in some details about his brothers. Mark [89], his elder brother, is married to Anne with twin boys Sam and Oli, now at secondary school. He’s based in Fareham where he runs his own yachtbroking business, Williams and Smithells, having started there as a partner, before taking over the business.
Mark studied and gained a degree at Portsmouth Poly before working on super yachts. He has various sailing qualifications to his name including his Yachtmasters and when he’s not sailing the ocean waves he keeps fit by running. Peter [97] aka ‘Pod’, who spent Christmas 2015 in New York with his girlfriend, Vanessa, is now lecturing in physiotherapy in Bristol. He qualified in London with a sports therapy degree which he then topped up with a degree and Masters in Physiotherapy. He spent a few years practising as a physio but is now lecturing pretty much full time. Pod carried on playing rugby for a while after School, he continues to enjoy a game of hockey and played for the over 30s England Touch Rugby Team.
David’s news of more of The Class of ‘92... Duncan ‘Cheese’ Lown [92] is married to Chloe Milsom [93] and they have just relocated from Toronto – where they have been living for around 15 years – to Yelverton, with their two boys, Freddy and Dougie. Duncan does industrial scale engineering and likes to say he “burns stuff for a living”, while Chloe is in gene research and microbiology. Nathan Ormshaw [92], an ex RAF pilot who used to fly Hercules, now flys 777s for British Airways. He lives in Bath with his wife, Jaime King, a former Olympic swimmer, and their two children Zac and Finnley.
Pete Furneaux [92] married another OPM, Annette Kennedy [95], lives in Berkshire with two children, Beth and Jago, with a third due in May. Steve Kennedy [92], Annette’s brother, has enjoyed working extensively throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa, engineering Water solutions. He is married to Claire, a Chartered Accountant who runs her own practice, and lives in Wiltshire with their two children; Jasmine and Kieran. Outside of work Steve still enjoys watching Argyle when he can, is an FA accredited coach and coaches a local grassroots football side. OPM 65
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TONY PENGELLY R.A. Pengelly Recalls
Thanks to Tony Pengelly for these interesting and self-effacing memories that he was happy to share with us. As he puts it himself: These few notes don’t have any heroic or moving moments that people might associate with war experience.
If I’d taken papers in military strategy and tactics I might have done better. My naughty moments tie in with my wartime activity: as a Home Guard looking after the BBC HQ in Mannamead and our Company HQ off Mutley Plain: and fire-watching at School and at St Gabriel’s Church, where I was choirboy and server. At the College we had a free run of the roof and one night I hung an empty paint tin on the central column over the front door. It was up there for some time – till after the war if I remember right. These days it would count as a Health and Safety hazard, but then – with so much shrapnel and other stuff dropping around – I don’t recall thinking like that.
I made a contribution to naughty episodes which might perhaps, after all, be worth seeing on record. At School I stopped working after I got very good marks in my School Cert. I let Bert Ralph down rather badly in the Classical Sixth, with Johnny Trevaskis and ‘Gobby’ Hamlyn having gone before me. I was more especially upset not to have done justice to Dicky Drew, whom I learned a lot from – how to think especially. OPM 66
The other thing was that the roof above the Classical Sixth, which was above the staff room at the west end of the main building, was holed by something from above and we decided to turn it into a trap door to give ourselves a free run of the roof. Such was our workmanship that, not surprisingly, it leaked. Bert told ‘Pro’ Heywood to check it out. We, very nervously, told him what we had done and asked him not to let on. Nor did he, to our great relief, and he got it properly repaired. Not an episode I’m proud of. And maybe Bill Barnes wouldn’t have taken me on as his batman if he’d known about it.
After my infantry training at Brecon I joined the 2nd Monmouths at Whistable. We went over to Normandy on D plus 20 (after being held up by the storms). Towards the end of the campaign I was asked by the press to help out with an old lady who’d been found all alone in the village of Amaye sur Orne which we had just ‘liberated’. Something that I owe the College, as not many of us had any French. I was photographed with her and nearly 70 years later the village put up a memorial stone dedicated to the Welsh Division, made me an honorary citizen and had me to unveil the stone jointly with Mayor Colino. We keep in close touch, most notably with the local school.
Opposite Left: Tony in the first form after getting a scholarship from Hyde Park School Opposite Right: 17-year-old Tony in the Home Guard Above: The post-war serviceman Below: Cutting from the Amaye sur Orne incident
I’m sorry I have nothing on Bill Barnes at this time. All I can say is that the School did a good job for the South Wales Infantry Brigade. After meeting him entirely by accident at the end of that campaign I had a cushy time for the rest of the war. Oddly enough, I did hesitate before accepting the job as his batman but it’s something like a one in five chance that I wouldn’t be here to write this if I hadn’t. And I certainly wouldn’t have gone on to spend a delightful 18 months in London learning Chinese and ended as a 2nd Lieutenant. OPM 67
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CLASS OF ‘05 Footballing Reunions
The Gala Dinner provided the opportunity for many 2005 leavers to catch up on familiar territory, but for some it was as if they’d never been away. One group of ‘05 OPMs have been returning to the Plymouth College all-weather pitch every year on Boxing Day for an annual grudge match. The latest line up, above, featured: Ben Robinson, Liam Jonas, Josh Clements (07), Kier Clements (07), Bernard Wicksteed, Richard Petch, William Roose and Thomas Clements. They are hopeful the tradition will continue, alongside other familiar faces, such as Richard Duncan, Alex Kent and Nick Eddy (shown below after their 2007 game).
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They weren’t the only 2005 cohort to take advantage of their OPM membership, and use of the School facilities this year. Alex Rennie disappeared off to the US a few years ago, but returned this year with a new Plymouth Argyle fan in tow. Young Theo Rennie was warmly greeted by the old gang, who marked Rennie’s return with a kick around on the School astro. Above: (back) Tom Trevarthen, James Pryke [06], Dan Thomson, Harry Hocking [06] and Dominic Gambarini (front) Alex Rennie, Kirran Bruce, Sam Johnson, Tom Jackson, Sam Boot, Duncan Bruce [06]
MICHAEL BALL Back to School (and the Pavilions) Broadway and West End star, Michael Ball OBE, visited Plymouth College earlier this term to open the School’s new drama room, the Michael Ball Studio. The former pupil hadn’t been back to the School since he left 35 years ago. The Michael Ball Studio was built with help from TR2’s Sebastian Soper. The new space, which has a performance area, raised seating and lighting, is in addition to the School’s main theatre.
Michael met current drama students and told them how it was a production of King Lear at the School that ignited his passion for the stage. Remembering teachers and classmates, he said Plymouth College had helped him become the person he is today. Michael was also in town appearing at the Pavilions on tour for his new album, If Everyone Was Listening.
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HENRY SLADE Rugby World Cup Debut
Henry Slade finished an excellent second season in the Aviva Premiership, starting every game for Exeter Chiefs, scooping several awards and securing a place in England’s Rugby World Cup squad. Following on from his Player of the Month prize back in February 2015, he was also named the LV Young Player of the Year (inset) at the RPA Players’ Awards and the Land Rover Discovery of the Season at the Aviva Premiership Awards.
After a strong performance in his test debut against France in August (below), Henry was a popular addition to Stuart Lancaster’s ill-fated World Cup squad. In the end, Henry was only called up after England had been knocked-out of the group stages. Nevertheless, he impressed again, scoring a try and earning praise for his role in England’s demolition of Uruguay. Henry was unfortunately injured just before he was able to contribute to England’s 2016 Six Nations campaign. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to see him wearing the Rose again soon.
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BILL FISHER
KEITH DOCKRAY
Tournament Revived
Henry VIII: The Evolution of a Reputation
An historic bowls trophy has been uncovered and a tournament that previously spanned over 70 years is to be resurrected. Whiteford Road-based bowling club Plymouth Sir Francis Drake have been given the silver trophy which was the perpetual prize for players in the Western Morning News Pairs competition. The men’s pairs tournament welcomed players from across the South West, with the winners names on the silverware going all the way back to 1929. Bowling club secretary and former Plymouth College Classics master, Bill Fisher, and two-time winner of the trophy Dave Cutler are pictured with the trophy.
Keith Dockray, who taught History (and attempted to teach Economics!) at the School in the late Sixties, early-seventies, has written numerous weighty academic tomes on medieval English History and our early monarchs, but his latest work was originally intended only as an introduction to a ‘never completed biography of the second Tudor king.’ However Alan Sutton of Fonthill Media has picked it up and turned it into an absorbing review of the life of Henry VIII with particular reference to all those who have written about him from the Sixteenth Century to the present day. The text perfectly illustrates how a reputation is dependent on the information available and, more importantly perhaps, the spin biographers bring to the interpretation of the life of their subject. The illustrations, meanwhile, especially those contemporary with the celebrated many-times-married king, afford a fascinating insight into the way so many great Tudors wanted to be recorded and remembered. If only all history books were so well illustrated!
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PLYMOUTH SPORTS PERSONALITY 2016 Success for Henry Slade, Sarah Dunn and the School
Former Plymouth College pupil and England rugby star, Henry Slade, has been named Sports Personality of the Year in the Herald Sports Awards. The Exeter Chiefs player made his World Cup debut last autumn, scoring a try for England against Uruguay.
In her 20 year career at Plymouth College, Sarah has been the driving force behind many of the School’s sports partnerships that has seen great success, including international honours, in Swimming, Diving, Modern Pentathlon, Fencing, Hockey, Rugby and Basketball.
Henry was announced the winner at a glittering ceremony at Plymouth Pavilions, which was attended by more than 500 people and was hosted by Olympic swimming medallist and TV presenter, Sharron Davies MBE. England football legend, Kevin Keegan, was the guest speaker.
Sarah told the Herald: ‘It’s just been the most magical 20 years with the most fantastic kids – it’s humbling.
Deputy Head and Director of Sport, Sarah Dunn, won the Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award.
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‘Their dedication, their spirit, resilience. I’m going to be heartbroken because I leave them now as I’m going away in the summer... ‘This has been my passion, so I’m just chuffed, really chuffed. Can’t believe it.’
~~~~~~~~~~~ Sarah has been the driving force behind many of the School’s partnerships that have seen great success ~~~~~~~~~~~
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NOTES ....................... Current Plymouth College pupil, Ruta Meilutyte (swimming) was runner up in the Sports Personality of the Year category as was OPM Ben Proud (swimming). Current pupils Georgina Mitchell (modern pentathlon) and Tom Fannon (swimming) were runners up in the Young Sports Personality of the Year category, while Director of Swimming, Jon Rudd, was runner up for Coach of the Year.
Another OPM, Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert OBE, was runner-up in the Good Sport, Fair Play, Respect category. Anthony has raised more than ÂŁ110k for the treatment of injured servicemen by organising an annual rugby match, Medics Rugby Challenge, between the Royal Marines and medical students from the Peninsula Medical School.
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~~~~~~~~~~~ “All the nominees have real strength of character; commitment to their sport and an incredible resilience” ~~~~~~~~~~~ Plymouth College co-sponsored the event with exclusive jewellers, Michael Spiers, who have been heavily involved in local sports for many years. Plymouth College Headmaster, Jonathan Standen said at the event: ‘It is a true honour to be part of these Awards; something both Michael Spiers and Plymouth College are very passionate about. It is always refreshing to see a local business giving something back into the community, both at a grass roots and elite level. ‘The Herald Sports Personality of the Year Awards embrace the whole spectrum of sport in the city; from community teams, to individuals giving up time for others; young people just starting out, to the trailblazers putting Plymouth on the map. The breadth of talent is outstanding. What all the nominees have in common is real strength of character; commitment to their sport and an incredible resilience to keep going and achieve their goals.’
The quotes in this article appeared in The Plymouth Herald 03 February 2016 OPM 75
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SIMON PETHERICK First Hand War Stories
It doesn’t seem that long ago that there was extensive media interest around Harry Patch, the last surviving soldier from the Great War. Harry had not long turned 111 when he died in 2009 and with him went our last direct link to the action of that terrible conflict. Among those prompted to consider just how close, in comparative terms, we are to losing the voice of authenticity for the Second World War were Simon Petherick, Tamsin Griffiths (pictured, top) and their Community Interest group The Word Machine. In 2013 The Word Machine conducted a series of interviews with older Plymothians who had lived through the war, and the subsequent rebuilding of the City. The result was the handsome book, The War in Plymouth: Destruction and a New Beginning – covering almost 400 pages, the book contains extracts from some 60 interviews. Accounts from several OPMs are included in the book. Mike Turpitt who was born and lived in Rollis Park Road, Plymstock, recalls a couple of incidents from his early childhood. ‘In 1941 when I was four years old, the Germans scored a direct hit on the OPM 76
oil tanks at Turnchapel. My grandfather woke me up and carried me to the front window to see the flames and said: “You will never see a sight like this again”. Seven firemen were killed because the oil bubbled up over the tank and they were trapped. The black smoke billowed over our house for several days.’ On another occasion, young Mike was being carried to the garden shelter by his mother after the siren sounded: ‘She stopped as we heard a “rat-tat-tat” and we looked up and could see a plane above us which suddenly caught fire. It was a German plane and had been shot down by one of ours. The pilot bailed out and was captured by farm workers at Tamerton Foliot. When told that he would be taken to Plymouth he said: “But there is no Plymouth we’ve completely destroyed it!”’ Ray Pashley (right) lived in Elliot Street on the Hoe when war was declared but was eventually evacuated to Yorkshire when the bombing got really bad. He remembers witnessing the assembling of troops in preparation for D-Day. ‘I recall seeing about forty thousand American troops at Slapton Sands. I saw them because my father had been supervising places for them to stay and making things okay, so landing craft could access the beach. ‘At the end of the beach was a big
house that, I think, was a hotel. He converted that into the headquarters for the Army generals to use as they were preparing for D-Day. The whole village of Slapton was evacuated so the American troops could be based there.’ Another of the interviewees was Tom Savery (bottom right), former Lord Mayor and leader of Plymouth City Council. Tom vividly recalls his father bearing bad news about his friend Jimmy. ‘”Look Tommy,” he said to me, “you’ve got to be a brave boy. Your friend Jimmy has died.” ‘What had happened was that Jimmy and his parents and siblings had taken shelter in their house near ours in Hooe. The house had received a direct hit and it was flattened. The family were uninjured, but they were trapped in the cupboard – a gas main had fractured and they were all gassed.’ Musing later on the fate of Charles Church and it’s preservation as a memorial to the civilian war dead of the City, Tom says: ‘I remember how the idea was that the younger generation would not be able to conceive that a building could be blown up. People believed then that in the ‘brave new world’ it would never happen again. Of course, as we know, sadly, that was a great disillusion.’ Featuring over 50 colour photographs of the interviewees by Fotonow CIC and a number of period images from the war, the book is available now, via thewordmachine.org priced £8.99. OPM 77
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~~~~~~~~~~~ “There are few more readily recreatable shots of the band” ~~~~~~~~~~~
DAVID QUANTICK Beatle Bums Music journalist, comedy writer and OPM, David Quantick, was always a massive Beatles fan and he was delighted when Plymouth City Council Leader, Tudor Evans, invited him to come to Plymouth to unveil the ‘Beatle Bums’ on Plymouth Hoe.
Incidentally, no Plymouth footage made the film, which was first screened in black and white on the BBC on Boxing Day 1967, although there is a brief glimpse of the Tamar Road Bridge on their route to Newquay where much of the film was shot.
The memorial was inspired by the iconic photograph taken on Tuesday 12 September 1967 when the Beatles were in the Westcountry filming Magical Mystery Tour. They had intended to go to Widecombe Fair that day, but by attempting to avoid traffic queues, the driver ended up creating one when the coach got stuck on a narrow moorland bridge.
Quantick, who was barely six years old and living in Plymstock at the time, said had he known that the Beatles were here, he would have pestered his dad to take him over to the Hoe to see them.
Eventually, after much shouting, filmshooting, and reversing, the bus headed back onto the A38. To appease the restless retinue of photographers in the 20-car convoy that had followed them out of London, they came to Plymouth, had lunch in the Berni Grand Hotel, and posed for photographers on the Hoe. Local BBC reporter Hugh Scully interviewed them for Spotlight and David Redfern took his historic shot of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Apart from the Abbey Road album cover there are few more readily recreatable images of the band in recognisable locations. Left to right: Kev Day (John/Fab Beatles), Tudor Evans, Mickey Dunn (George/Fab Beatles), Dave Quantick.
As it transpired very few people were aware of the visit until after the event and the image itself was little known for years until Chris Robinson published it as a poster in 2002. Chris says that David Redfern was hoping to be at the unveiling himself, but he sadly died in October 2014. The Hoe memorial takes the form of four bronze, Beatle bum moulds, with hand and footprint moulds where appropriate so that those wishing to create a photo opportunity and replicate the scene can easily get themselves into the correct positions. Meanwhile David Quantick, who was at Plymouth College in the Seventies, says that his dad later told him that he did take him to see the Beatles, in Paignton, when he was very young. David says his dad was clearly confused and that it was probably the Barron Knights. OPM 79
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MATT BUCKETT The Weapon Five years in the making and carefully and beautifully hand-drawn and inked, The Weapon is the gripping debut graphic novel from fine-artist and OPM, Matt Buckett. A fast-paced adventure story, The Weapon follows a scientist and his mysterious companion on a desperate mission to avert a global disaster he may be responsible for creating, all the while fending off a shady organisation under scrutiny from a conspiracy-hunting journalist.
‘There have been many OPMs who have bought my work over the years, some who have more than one of my pictures on their walls.
Matt left Plymouth College in 1993 to study at Falmouth Art College, followed by a degree in Fine Art at Southampton Institute of Technology.
‘I can honestly say that my time at PMC helped me understand the true potential I had in the skills that I use, and gave me confidence to continue to use them.
‘At School I was producing lots of art but not drawing comics. I was really into impressionist painters and throwing lots of paint around, the love of ink has been a relatively new passion.
‘I managed to sustain this artistic production for almost ten years until the arrival of our first child.
‘I left art college and began painting full time, producing commissions for collectors and galleries. OPM 80
‘Then the need for more regular income became apparent and I juggled three part-time jobs – picture framer, landscape gardener, tree surgeon – whilst continuing to paint.
‘Eventually this was too much and I found a full time job with a local independent wine merchant. ‘I continue to create works of art, and produce short stories. During the last ten years I have developed my love of storytelling and practiced the art of writing scripts to help draw from. ‘This book was written as a film script before I started drawing it. I see what I need to draw clearly, like a film, so this process seemed logical. ‘It was important to me that the art in the book was hand drawn and inked. I wanted to illustrate the story in my own style and not have the finished product looking like a superhero comic book, I wanted it to represent an artist’s attempt at storytelling. ‘I live in Tavistock and still see a number of OPMs from my year group, many of whom seem to have returned to the Southwest after various careers away from the region. ‘I chose to self publish my first book as a means to publishing faster than traditional routes. I raised funds before going to print through the crowd funding website, Kickstarter, where you are given just 30 days to fund your project.
‘I received support from 157 backers, some of whom pledged hundreds of pounds and there were a number of OPMs who supported the project. ‘I decided to ask for less than I needed in an attempt to maximise the chances of hitting the target… and it worked because I raised the target amount of £2750 within three days!
‘The final figure was double what I set out to raise, so there was enough to pay for extra goodies to send out to everyone who backed the project.’ The project is still visible on the Kickstarter site; although it’s not active anymore, you can still see the campaign: http://kck.st/1MErctf Matt will be promoting The Weapon at the ‘Geek Fest’ Comic Con in Redruth on 4 - 5 June and participated in Plymouth’s DevCon sci-fi/comic festival in March.
The Weapon is published by Ink Pot Graphics and available to buy in paperback from www.ink-pot-graphics.com for £11.99 or as an e-book from Amazon.co.uk for £3.99
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ANDREA VASILIOU Prized Apart Former Head Girl and actress, Andrea Vasiliou [08], came third in a new Saturday night game show on BBC One. Competing against ten other couples from around the country, the new show titled Prized Apart - saw Andrea Vasiliou and boyfriend Jonny Pease complete a series of daring stunts and tasks in a bid to win £100,000. Producers initially approached contestants via social media and, for the self-confessed adventurers, Andrea admitted taking part was an obvious choice.
‘One of the show’s producers got in touch with Jonny on Twitter and we were immediately interested,’ Andrea revealed. ‘We discussed it and we were both up for the adventure so applied for it. The show was filmed on location in Morocco and in a studio in the UK. We can’t give too much away, but we had to flip a coin to decide who would be the adventurer contestant out in Morocco or the studio player here – I was quite jealous that Jonny got to go!’
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THE OLD OPM CLUB 1066 and All That Game of Thrones after party? No, it’s a 1066 and All That party at the old OPM Club c.1979. Looks like Roger and Penny Punch on the left in the togas, think that’s Al Stoneman, OPO, in the loin cloth and not sure about the Viking couple, but Mr and Mrs Hot Wax in the Egyptian garb in the background. For those who remember the old clubhouse, it certainly looked marginally better from the inside than it did from the outside, but there wasn’t a lot in it. Generally the aroma of Edna’s burgers was all-pervading, but on this occasion the kitchen looks closed and there was doubtless a different menu on offer.
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PETER SOMMER Tour Operator of the Year Archaeological and cultural tour specialist Peter Sommer Travels has been named ‘Tour Operator of the Year’ by Britain’s Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).
Personally led by Peter (pictured holding the award), the tour was named one of the world’s ten best educational holidays by National Geographic Traveller magazine in 2008.
Peter Sommer left the School in 1988 and became an archaeologist and BBC documentary maker, before going on to found a travel company that escorts small groups among spectacular coastal landscapes and ancient sites in Greece, Turkey, Italy and Croatia.
‘To receive this award based on the criteria of exceptional independent customer reviews is an enormous honour and we’re immensely proud,’ Peter Sommer said.
One of Peter Sommer Travels’s signature tours, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, was inspired by Peter’s own 3,200km trek across Turkey in 1994 and his subsequent work on a BBC documentary of the same name.
AITO is the UK’s most prestigious and leading organisation for specialist tour operators and travel companies and was also celebrating its 40th anniversary on the night of the ceremony. The award was presented by Simon Reeve, celebrated author, BBC television presenter and explorer (second from left).
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OPM ROUNDUP News from around the city and beyond
Our chairman tells me that she bumped into Andy Copperhall [90] with his husband and two daughters in the summer, visiting from San Francisco. Andy is working for Apple spending a lot of time in the Far East. ‘We used to paddle together with Paul Rose whilst at school,’ Penny adds. It was nice to meet Ken Bingham [45] recently, at a Devon Family History talk and at a presentation about the Civic Centre. Ken worked for Walls & Pearn on the Plymouth Pannier Market back in the late-Fifties and was telling me what a thoroughly nice chap Hector Stirling, who produced the early designs for the Civic Centre, was. Out on the cycle path from Yelverton to Tavistock, and what a wonderful ride that is, spotted the eternally youthful Simon Murray [73] (right) on his bike. Enjoyed a pint or two in the Dolphin with Messrs Savery, Petherick, Gill, O’Hanlon, Kingdom and Murray (junior) all from the class of ’78 over the festive period. All in fine form.
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Good to hear that Chris Savery is putting his back into his playwriting again and great to see that Simon Petherick’s House of Britannia, below, is growing so well. Bringing together some of Britain’s oldest and best known luxury brands, the company sets out to give our high-end home market ‘the presence on the global stage it warrants.’ A high-profile board of directors and major meetings he’s had in Downing Street suggest there is significant support for what he’s doing.
Congratulations to Charles Martin (07) for winning Philanthropists Cricket Club batsman of the year, setting a new club record of 763 (ave. 64) runs in the season. Charles was one of a dozen or so OPMs to turn out for the team who, after 30 years at Torpoint moved in with Plymouth Cricket Club at Mount Wise see how many you can spot in the picture above. Plymouth’s Club Manager and all round good egg Andy Sewell [77] welcomed the newcomers who, over the course of the season, had a dozen or so OPMs on their team sheet, among them Chris Robinson [73], Paul Shepheard [75], Nick Roper [78], Ian Johnson [79], Robin Moiser [79], Ben Robinson [05], plus one or two more recent leavers Jack Styche [06], Jon Hall [10] and Adam Dabbs [04]. Moiser also appeared twice against Philanthropists, for Wolferstans (with John Williams [78] and Charles Connaris [15]) and Entertainers (with Paddy Marsh [73]).
Not seen in his kit but threatening to play was Jay Foster [78], of Lang and Co., a keen cricket fan and a sponsor of Plymouth Cricket Club, as well as the School’s First XI (below with Andy Sewell).
Joy and Peter Vittle celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 3 September. They were joined by their family for a celebration lunch at St. Elizabeth’s House and the festivities continued over the weekend as friends and family popped in to their flat in Hartley to toast the couple’s health and longevity.
Other OPMs spotted wearing white and white on the social cricket circuit included Rich Barker [84] and Roger Harvey [73], playing for Holbeton, Dudley Tolkein [64] for Housing, and Keith Waters [79] for Ermington. OPM 87
NOTES .......................
LODGE Report 2015 However, at the April meeting, Bro Henry Brookshaw was passed to the Second Degree. Amongst those taking part were W Bros David Luke, Bill Daw, John Perry, John Smerdon, Ron Heath and both Peter and Brendan Brookshaw, the grandfather and father of the candidate.
Sean Lynch was installed as Master of the Lodge in October 2014 for a second consecutive year at a meeting attended by 43 masons. At the November Meeting a new member, Mark Wilcox, joined the Lodge and was initiated. January was a brief meeting to ensure plenty of time for the Social Evening which followed, attended by wives, partners and guests. It was the usual convivial event greatly enjoyed by all present. In February the opportunity was taken to rehearse the Second Degree but it was not possible to carry out the Ceremony planned for March due to the ill-health of the intended candidate. OPM 88
To maintain the family theme, the May meeting saw the W. Master’s own brother, James Lynch, also passed to the Second Degree. It was at this meeting that W Bro Tom Savery was presented with a certificate celebrating his 60 years in Freemasonry, a remarkable achievement. W Bro Colin Gale, who holds the rank of Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Devonshire, presented the certificate, giving an overview of W Bro Tom’s professional, political and masonic careers. Forty-two masons were present on this occasion and it was Tom’s wish for the proceeds of the evening’s raffle to be donated to the Shekinah Mission and St Luke’s Hospice. (see photo) In fact this year the Lodge gave over £4,500 to charity of which £2,500 was given to the very worthwhile Plymouth Christmas Basket Brigade. Brethren and family members helped with the packing and distribution on the day. (see photo) 76 baskets were donated to needy local families identified by the education welfare officers of Plymouth schools.
At the September meeting, the usual end of year business was conducted and on 26 September the final social event was a well attended barbecue held at the outgoing Worshipful Master’s premises, namely The Terrace, on Plymouth Hoe.
Our monthly meetings are followed by a formal dinner (Festive Board), and this is always a very convivial part of the evening. The installation meeting is in October. Committee meetings are held at the OPM Suite whenever possible.
However the year finished on a very sad note with the loss of W Bro Peter Merchant on 2 October 2015. W Bro Peter was a popular member of the Lodge and occupied the Chair in 1997 and 1998. W Bro Ron Heath gave a full and touching eulogy to the Lodge at the Installation Meeting.
Visiting Masons are warmly welcomed and OPMs of any era who wish to know more about the Lodge or Freemasonry in general, are encouraged to make contact.
The Lodge meets at Manadon Masonic Hall, Smallack Drive, Crownhill, Plymouth at 6.45pm on the third Wednesday in each month, except June, July, August and December.
Membership requirements for the Lodge are no longer restricted solely to former pupils and masters. If you have a connection with the School and would like to find out more please contact the Secretary, Steve Welsh, or any of the members 01752 516436 or email secretary@opmlodge6279.co.uk
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OBITUARIES ........................................
TONY BEARD The Wag from Widecombe
Tony Beard was a weekly boarder at School, he always went back to Widecombe at weekends. Never a distinguished sportsman, he sang in the choir and I think I was the first to set him on a stage outside of Ford Park, recalls classmate Mike Turpitt. It was at the Oreston talent show and there were three prizes up for grabs, and I persuaded Tony to have a go. “You won’t win first prize (7/6d) because that will be won by Sheila Stevenson, a local girl, and you won’t win second prize (5/-) because another local girl,
Jean Meek, will get that, but you could end up with third prize of half a crown.” It wasn’t that easy to get Tony to the event though, as Mr Battrick, who was in charge of the Boarding House, wasn’t at all keen. In answer to the request: “Can Beard come and sing,” the initial response was “No.” “It’s OK,” I said, “my mum will make him tea, he won’t go hungry.” OPM 90
And so we got there and Tony elected to sing Over the Mountains, Over the Sea. The musical accompanist was happy. Both Sheila and Jean performed to rapturous applause from the 200-strong audience that had gathered in the field behind Oreston School, and when it came to his turn I pushed the hesitant Beard onto the stage. He was going to yodel his way through the song, but panicked part way through and ran off stage. I tried to cajole him back onto the stage. “Give the lad a second chance,”
someone shouted and eventually Tony got back up and managed a stirring, yodelling performance of the song. He came third and left the field 2/6d better off. Tony was a true Widecombe boy, he loved the place and its folklore, indeed he firmly believed that the song Widdecombe Fair (which he would sing countless times throughout his lifetime), was based on real characters from the village and possibly an event that took place in the Spreyton area in 1802.
Long known as the ‘Wag from Widecombe’ his waggishness and his broad Devon brogue, were acknowledged early on as another Mike Turpitt anecdote testifies. Captain Hill used to take us for second year Latin, and one day Beard stood up and said, “Zur, can I ask ‘ee a question?’ “Go ahead,” said Captain Hill. “Zur, I’m writing a book about Widecombe and I wonder if you can tell me the Latin word for ‘bubble’.” At that point the class all started giggling because Captain Hill’s nickname was ‘Bubbler.’ Without hesitating however, Captain Hill replied, “Beard, I think you need to master the English language before you need to become better acquainted with Latin.’ The class cheered.
of the Devonshire Association in 2008 and his presidential address was entitled Farming over the Years. In it he described his special interests as being: ‘farming, the Devonshire dialect, folklore, history and wildlife.’ Current incumbent Tom Greeves noted that Tony fulfilled his presidential year ‘with great aplomb, and his inimitable humour, celebrating everything special about the county and travelling all over it to engage with members.’ Last year, Tony was diagnosed with bladder cancer and fought a brave battle against the disease, missing the odd week but broadcasting most Sundays. He died on the same day as Sir Terry Wogan and like the genial Irishman will be much missed.
A popular figure around the County, Tony became a well-loved entertainer, singer and raconteur. For over 30 years he presented a Sunday request show for BBC Radio Devon and there were many that thought his accent wasn’t genuine ... but it was. He was recently honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the BBC Gillard Awards for his contribution to local radio and he was an extremely popular member of the station family. A farmer with a treasured collection of axe-heads, flints and other bronze-age bits and pieces that he found over the years, and a great love of his home county, Tony was installed as President OPM 91
OBITUARIES ........................................
DENIS WALTERS [41-47] 1930 - 2015
Denis Robert William George Walters was born in Plymouth on 10 August 1930 and is survived by his only sibling, sister Pam. He grew up here and joined Plymouth College during the war, in 1941, then started work in the aircraft industry in Bristol, but this was followed with a career in lecturing in History, Economics and Politics which took Denis and his family to many different locations in the UK. While in Colchester he married a young nurse, Jane, and they married on 16 March 1969. They had two children, Sarah and Edward and later a granddaughter, Sian. Denis also had a spell of serving his country: both by doing his National Service in the army and then a spell in the Royal Navy Reserve. Their travels around the country with work – Denis had a measure of wanderlust anyway – put them in the position of having been neighbours to Peter Sutcliffe, the infamous Yorkshire Ripper. It also meant that for a while they had a lovely holiday home at Caernarvon, North Wales. Eventually, in 1986, Denis and Jane settled at Newton Abbot. But the wanderlust was still there and Denis loved to be out and about – although he also had a passion for reading, not OPM 92
only his large collection of books, many covering his lecturing speciality, but also his regular Daily Telegraph! Travels took him through many of the popular, and also some of the not-so wellknown, destinations throughout Europe. He also went on cruises and took day trips to many South West beauty spots; invariably with his dogs, who were never short of exercise. Throughout his life Denis nurtured a firm conviction that education changed lives, and was of the belief, that teaching was a vocation. Good teaching could enlighten a mind and change a person for the better, not only materially, but as a person and a member of humanity – and that will be his legacy.
PETER MERCHANT [52-59]
MAJOR ARTHUR HARVEY [39-51]
1941 -2015
1934 -2015
Born in Singapore in 1941, Peter, with his mother, was on one of the last ships out of the city before it surrendered to the Japanese. His father did not return home at the end of the war, so Pete never knew him. I don’t think he even knew where his grave was, if he had one. Peter went to the College and subsequently became a teacher at St Boniface. He played and then coached at Albion. It was there that I met him when I left OPMs to try my luck at Beacon Park. He was coach for Albion Thirds. He knew all about me, but I had never met him before! I assume he had read about my Athletics achievements in the Herald. Anyway he very much took me ‘under his wing’. It was through his help and encouragement that I rapidly got promotion to the Seconds. Injury forced my early retirement. After my marriage we drifted apart, apart from meeting at OPM functions. When I joined the Lodge he was Senior Warden and subsequently became Master. I know he had two daughters. I know he served behind the Bar at the El Sombrero whilst at the College. I know he retired early from teaching because of hearing problems brought on by being in charge of the Shooting Team at Boniface. John Herman
It was clear from an early age that Arthur was destined for a military career. He shone in the CCF, was always well turned out, had a good power of command and excelled at shooting. I well remember his prowess in the boxing ring where he was often bloodied but kept coming forward; retreat wasn’t in his nature. On the rugby field too, though not the quickest, he was always in the thick of it. After Sandhurst he joined the Royal Artillery but an even better decision was marrying Judith, a DHS girl and Devon table-tennis star. Together they served in Hong Kong and for many years in Germany, where their four children were largely raised. On retirement they bought a farm at Moretonhampstead where they started a shooting school and trained the Army team and many others. Together they were very involved with the local community, so much so there was standing room only at Judth’s funeral. It was the same on 9 October when Major Harvey’s life was celebrated in the presence of many friends, his brother and sister, his four children and six grand children at St Andrews. Afterwards a volley were fired over his coffin by a varied group of the shooters he trained. The final volley after an interesting life, well served. OPM 93
OBITUARIES ........................................
JOHN RALEIGH CUNDY [40-53] 1935 - 2015 After School John worked as a sales representative, travelling around the South West, but he also started manufacturing copper bracelets, he made them and sold them and in the end demand was such that he gave up the rep’s job and bought a shop on the Barbican.
Along with Colin May and John Battrick he also earned a place in a Devon Public and Grammar School trial match, and went on to win a county cap. Academically, he readily admitted that he wasn’t top flight: ‘As C-streamers we weren’t expected to do overly well in exams. The only reason that I went back for what was my last term at School was so that I could carry on playing for the First XV. Ted Mercer wanted to keep me in the side I didn’t do any formal schoolwork that term, I just helped Ian Edwards out in the gym! ... Can you imagine that now?’ It was while John was still at School that he met the great love of his life, Marylyn. ‘We were engaged when I was 19, and married when I was 21, I had been at St Dunstan’s and we used to meet at parties, very innocent parties!’ OPM 94
John’s ‘Janner’ shops were a key feature of Southside Street for many years, and his Jaguar, bearing the distinctive licence plate JC 01, was instantly recognisable. ‘He was very lucky to get that’, says Marylyn. ‘He got it many years ago off an old ambulance that he spotted on a rubbish heap.’ ‘It’s funny because we were both members at St Mellion Golf Club and John, who wasn’t a wonderful golfer but he wasn’t bad either, was Captain and President of the Fossils (the team name for the ‘older’ golfers), and the professionals at the club always called him JC rather than John,’ says Marylyn. John and Marylyn were married for 58 years before John passed away, aged 80, peacefully, last August. The couple had four children, Gabrielle, Matthew, Ben and Dominic, and 16 grandchildren.
Answers to page 42 1. Marmalade (Ob La Di Ob La Da) 2. A: G
John Cundy distinguished himself as an all-round athlete at School, setting a new record for the 220 yards sprint in 1952, and also winning the 100 yard race at Sports Day.
‘We were the first in the area to sell sheepskin coats and we built up a good business. John loved to trade and in the end we have five shops on the Barbican, and a number of flats.’
SPORT .....................
GOLF Ray Roach
This year’s Golfing event was held on 14 October at the Yelverton Golf Club. We were blessed with good weather to play this challenging moorland course, keeping out of the gorse played a major part in the results. The event was attended by 16 players, eight others were unable to attend owing to prior engagements, but four new faces were Richard Mears, Mike Crocker, Alan Crickmore and John Hambly. The competition was followed by an excellent supper and our thanks go to Yelverton and their Chairman, Nick Holman(OPM) who handled the internal arrangements,and also presented the trophies and prizes.
2016 WINNERS Bowering Bowl: John Hambly (Dave Smerdon*) Woodrow Salver: John Hambly (Dave Smerdon*) Spear Plate: John Hambly (Dave Smerdon*) Meerkat Trophy: Max Strelling Nearest the Pin: John Hambly Longest Drive: Ray Roach *runner up OPM GOLF DAY 2016 WILL BE 5 OCTOBER AT YELVERTON GOLF CLUB Contact rayroach42@gmail.com
Players (above) back row: John Lyddon, Dave Smerdon, Cliff Roach, John Hambly, Keith Waters, Mike Turpitt, Julian Bacon, Bill Daw, Mike Crocker Front row: Max Strelling, Ray Roach, Roger Warne, Nick Holman, Richard Mears, John Smerdon Absent: Alan Crickmore OPM 95
SPORT .....................
CRICKET Chris Vinson
MONDAY 27 JULY: OPMS V HASSRA SW OPMs 114ao Chris Vinson 43no, Ashleigh Phillips 18; Phil Taylor 4-14 Hassra SW 118-6 Sid Lawrence 47, Matt McCann 38; Chris Vinson 3-13, Dave Ackford 2-10
Hassra SW won by 4 wickets
A friendly, yet competitive, game to start the week ensued. 12 players had travelled to this game as part of a Plymouth Cricket Club reunion from the team of 1994-6. Old friends battling against each other. The game was turned by a brilliant spell of swing bowling by Taylor. The end of game frivolities went well into the night – a special mention to McCann’s ‘double three on the knee’ darts finish (available on Youtube). TUESDAY 28 JULY: OPMS V YELVERTON BOHEMIANS Yelverton 225-9 Ben Groves 71, Ben Jones 43, Luke Julyan 39, Mike Godkin 23; Chris Vinson 6-32 including hatrick OPMs 226-9 Alex Hill 62, Ben Singlehurst 28, Iain Cunningham 28; Tony Carter 2-21, Jamie Cooper 2-27
OPMs won by 1 wicket
Wow, what a game! OPMs winning off the last ball courtesy of a sweep shot by number 11 Connie Watson. Yelverton amassed a good score, despite a fantastic spell of bowling by Vinson – including a hatrick. OPMs were always slight favourites with every batsman contributing.
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~~~~~~~~~~~ Friendly, yet competitive old friends battling against each other ~~~~~~~~~~~
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WEDNESDAY 29 JULY: OPMS V PCOS PCOs 221-7 Matt Mckay 84, Dom Wood 64, Dan Robottom 43; Chris Vinson 4-38, Fahid Ali 2-33 OPMs 94ao Fahad Ali 31, Chris Vinson 13; Mike Burnett 3-4, Stewart Yetton 3-15
PCOs won by 127 runs
On paper this should have been a very competitive game with high quality players on both sides. PCOs smashed the leather all around the Ford Park ground and were on course for breaking all records (highest ever score currently 387 runs), but Vinson and Ali thwarted this possibility. A supreme, different class, bowling spell of 8 overs, 3 wickets for only 4 runs thrust the sword through the OPMs valiant heart – game over. THURSDAY 30 JULY: OPMS V PHILANTHROPISTS Philanthropists 243-4 Tim Cresswell 81, J Hearn 51, Charles Martin 45; Chris Vinson 2-51, Connie Watson 1-33 OPMs 245-5 Stuart Summers 100no, Charlie Hellier 57, Brian Spear 18; Charles Martin 1-21
OPMs won by 5 wickets
A very competitive game, always played in the correct spirit. Many a fine shot saw the ball sizzling to the boundary from both teams as bat dominated ball. The winning difference: Summers’ innings was attacking from the start, forcing the Philanthropists’ fielding into retreat and, finally, submisson. Winning boundary scored from the penultimate ball of the game. FRIDAY 31 JULY: OPMS V DEVON DUMPLINGS Devon Dumplings 237-7 Harry Bexendale 49, Ben Van Niekerk 41, John Cummings 34, Dan Fogarty 34; Stuart Summers 2-29, Hadleigh Kirk-Scott 2-35 OPMs 217-9 Richard West 94, Stuart Summers 73; Dan Fogarty 5-32, Harry Bexendale 2-30
Devon Dumplings won by 20 runs
An odd game with OPMs seemingly in control all day. OPMs bowling keeping the strong Dumplings’ batting attack at bay. Then, cruising to victory, at 202-2 with 12 overs remaining and several players already changed, not expecting to bat… Then Collapse! Say no more. OPM 98
BOWLING AWARD
BATTING AWARD
Chris Vinson 16 wickets
Stuart Summers 173 runs
Fahad Ali 2 wickets Stuart Summers 2 wickets Hadleigh Kirk-Scott 2 wickets
Richard West 94 runs Charlie Hellier 79 runs Iain Cunningham 75 runs
BATTING PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK MOST PROMISING YOUNG PLAYER
Dan Fogarty
Oliver Parsons
PLAYERS REPRESENTING OPMS DURING THE WEEK (28) Chris Vinson, Sam Betts, Iain Cunningham, Stuart Summers, Connie Watson, Ian Dawe, Dave Ackford, Alex Hill, Ashleigh Phillips, Ben Singlehurst, James Casey, John Hall, John Casey, Josh Stephens, Luke Edmonds, Charlie Hellier, Oliver Parsons, Ben Lander, Ben Stein, Ralph MacPherson, Fahad Ali, Henry Higley, Tony Carter, Brian Spear, Dudley Tolkien, Richard West, Matt Price and Hadleigh Kirk-Scott. Special thanks to Plymouth College and the groundsmen for great wickets, Karen Tidy for the sumptuous teas, Ashley Brown-Williams for providing fine beverages(and everything else), Dave Gates for organising all the umpiring, Sammie Dawe for scoring and John Stevens for his annual support and providing the prizes. OPM CRICKET WEEK 2016 WILL BE MONDAY 25 JULY - FRIDAY 29 JULY Feel free to contact Chris Vinson on 07866616956, The OPM Suite and/or the OPM website/ Facebook pages for more details.
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SPORT .....................
HOCKEY Jason Sweby
THREE MENS AND A LADIES It was only three years ago that the OPM Hockey Club added a third men’s team, to accommodate the growing numbers at the Club. This year, I am extremely pleased and proud to announce that we are introducing the Club’s first ever ladies hockey team as well. With the background of Plymouth College being a boy’s school, it isn’t a surprise that the sporting sections primarily comprise of men’s teams. With the introduction of sixth form girls in 1976, the move to co-education in 1995 and the merger with St Dunstan’s in 2004, there are now thousands of female alumni and OPMs, and so the Hockey Club wants to provide a sporting section for those in the local area.
If that’s you, or someone you know, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you played in the past, or have never played before, we would welcome you into the Hockey Club. These are early days, and so details of training, matches, coaching, etc. have yet to be finalised, but we are putting in an application to form a league side from September 2016, hoping to attract anyone who wants to play competitive hockey, as well as those who just want to give it a try or meet some new people. Contact details are at the end of this report and the website is always up to date with the latest news and results. FIRST XI As for the mens’ teams, it was another mixed season. The First XI consolidated their position in Southern 1 nicely with a 4th placed finish under new captain Richard Moore. Former skipper Alex Peacock was the season’s top scorer with an impressive 18 goals which also earned him the team’s Player of the Season award. This season, as of mid-January, the First XI lie 6th in the table, with new skipper Aaron West also leading the goal scorer’s table.
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SECOND XI The Second XI, freshly promoted into Southern 2 last season, finished 9th out of 12. This sadly saw them relegated back to South West 1, where they are currently in 5th place, largely helped by an enormous 12-0 home win against Penzance in January. Their player of the year last season was Ben Norton, who has unfortunately moved away, but new joint-captains Alex Doidge and Jake Abbott are enjoying their season and have plenty of players to select from. THIRD XI The Third XI, playing in the newly formed South West 2, finished 5th out of 6 last season, the same position they currently occupy this year. Also under new leadership, courtesy of Mike Swain, the 3s have also enjoyed some big wins, including an 11-1 away thrashing over Plymouth University. Vice-captain Steve Mathis picked up the team’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
AWARDS At the Club’s annual end of season dinner and awards evening, the main prize of the evening is always the Clubman of the Year, awarded to the member of the Club who has contributed the most. As with all of the awards, this is voted for by the members, and player/coach Charlie ‘Chopper’ Helyer deservedly picked up the trophy for the second time in three years. A level 2 coach, Chopper has been coaching the juniors at Lipson Lions, as well as the men’s teams, week in and week out for years. VETERANS
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SPORT .....................
HOCKEY VETERANS REUNITED
Many retired members of the Hockey Club still meet regularly and continue to enjoy the superb social time that was enjoyed during playing days both after home matches and at numerous hostelries throughout the Westcountry following away matches. An Annual Veterans Dinner is held in October at the OPM Suite, and is enjoyed by dozens of current and former players and their partners. With a summer social in June each year, there are also quarterly ‘Pub lunches’ in February, May, August and November. Newcomers are welcome at all functions - if you played for the OPM Hockey Club and would like to join them on these most enjoyable occasions, please email Pat Newnham at prnewnham@yahoo.co.uk for further information.
Here’s a sunny shot of the OPM Hockey team as it was c.1979/80. Remember when almost all games were played on grass, real grass, apart from the odd match inside the Citadel or somewhere like it? ‘A fine bunch of men from the preseat-belt and drink-drive era,’ recalls the then bearded Paul Shepeard who, incidentally, was the last of those pictured still to be playing for the OPMs. He’s now hung up his goal-keeping kit, but not his wicket-keeping cricket kit. ‘Many happy days and nights travelling the length and breadth of Devon and Cornwall,’ adds Paul.
Back row: Bob Foulkes, Pete Heath, Tommy Taylor, Richard Stoneman, Bob Pratt, Bob Organ. Front row: Ed Keast, Kevin Baker, Paul Shepheard, Pat Newnham, John Skerry, Pete Organ.
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HOCKEY FEST A new pre-season event we put on in September was #HockeyFest, an initiative backed by England Hockey to encourage new players and kids to get involved with the sport, as well as encouraging a social element to the day. Organised on the mini-astroturf pitch at Plymouth College, we were delighted to see new players coming along as well as about a dozen kids. The afternoon was split up into a mixture of matches and coaching, followed by a BBQ in the OPM Suite. Talking of the OPM Suite, on behalf of the whole Club I’d like to thank Ash Brown-Williams in the bar and Jayne Logan in the kitchen for post-match hospitality. It has been overheard that the OPM Suite is one of the best clubhouses to go back to in the region, of which we are immensely proud. My thanks also go the OPM Club, without whose support the Hockey Club wouldn’t be the current success it is.
Contact us if you fancy joining in, we’d be delighted to see you. Jason Sweby, Club Captain jason.sweby@opmhockey.co.uk Web: www.opmhockey.co.uk Twitter: @opmhc Facebook: facebook.com/OPMHC OPM 103
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RUGBY
Chairman’s Report Well, as it happened, the 2015 World Cup year proved not so good for England or OPM Rugby with England crashing out in the group stages and even worse OPMs relegated to Devon 1!
Nevertheless, as many old heads know, rugby success often flows in cycles. In fact, reviewing the last 18 league seasons, OPMs have spent ten in Devon & Cornwall league and eight in Devon 1, having been relegated five times and promoted four but never having stayed in either league for more than three seasons in a row. So, as it happens we’ve always had our ups and downs and the younger OPMs need to keep smiling and accept the learning cos as the saying goes: ‘we’ll be back!’ OPM 104
2015 also proved to be a year of change with Leigh Puttock rejoining us as Head Coach but with special thanks to Steve Luffman, who stood down in 2015 after a very challenging and difficult season. We lost a few OPM rugby stalwarts through age, injury or career moves including Adam Geogeghan, Rich Brown and Ed Steven and we celebrated a trio of new daughters, which kept influential OPM regulars Matt Glastonbury, Rhys Philips and Henry Matthews busy for a while. So as 2016 begins, Steve Cole continues to lead the Club from the front on the field with massive heart, dedication and skill which inspires all around him and has led to some heroic winning performances … South Molton away in darkest December being the highlight with a largely scratch team – awesome! John Readey’s wicked wit and banter as Jester’s captain/manager has put the fun back into the 2s and this has helped many new and returning players to enjoy their rugby in a very competitive Merit Table against some big Devon teams. Special mention to Jon Charlick and Mark Hardie for their efforts in support and to the many new OPMs that have joined us for the 2015/16 season in both 1s and 2s.
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OPM Touch Rugby continues to thrive and received national recognition in 2015 with a Legacy Gold Standard award from the RFU – well done Ernie, Dave and Stacey amongst others.
Finally as a note to all readers, OPM Rugby recognises the tremendous support (often financial) given by sponsors and past OPM players who we call vicepresidents.
And so to the Juniors, who recovered their playing numbers during 2015 and seem to be moving forward well.
Pete Organ has done a fantastic job over the last few years keeping all VPs informed and we now regularly host a VP and sponsor day when we have a few drinks, a bite to eat, watch some rugby and have a laugh and reminisce as friends old and new.
Special thanks go to all coaches, parents and volunteers for their efforts and perseverance to keep things going.
If you’d like to become a sponsor or VP and/or join us please let Pete or someone from OPMs know – it would be great to see you.
Mark Turner, Chairman OPM 106
~~~~~~~~~~~ OPM Touch Rugby continues to thrive and received national recognition in 2015 from the RFU ~~~~~~~~~~~
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1
ST XV
Following last season’s relegation to Devon 1 it would have been understandable if pre-season was the last thing on our players’ minds. Thankfully the boys reacted superbly and put in some seriously sickening sessions in the summer sun and came away from the first few games of the season with a few emphatic victories. Unfortunately the momentum of these victories has been lost somewhat due to the usual problems that our local clubs face – injuries, work commitments and family commitments (congratulations to all the new dads)! Similarly, the Plymouth weather has not been kind to the pitches so our fixture list has been more than a little disjointed. On a positive note, training numbers began with up to 30 players per session – new coach, Leigh Puttock, putting the lads through their paces. It has been great to see so many new players of quality turning up and earning appearances at various levels.
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The Touch Rugby programme and ‘return to rugby’ have been incredibly useful recruitment tools and many of the lads have represented the senior sides as a direct result – they certainly haven’t been there to make up the numbers. We have also welcomed a group of players from other local sides who have given their all for the shirt: Marc Leighton; Chris Hayes; Huw Moorcraft and Shaughn Lewis, and been lucky to welcome Plymouth University students Tom Von and Jake Townsend who have added some much needed energy to an ageing squad! Recent training sessions have been well attended and the Club have helped us to put in place some exciting strategies to ensure a strong finish to the season. The players are under no illusions that things will not be easy but they have the right personnel and attitude to switch around their fortunes and we look forward to filing a winning report next season!
Steve Cole, Captain
~~~~~~~~~~~ It has been great to see so many new players of quality turning up and earning appearances
~~~~~~~~~~~
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2
JESTERS
ND XV
At the start of the season our brief for team Jesters was simple: ‘To get more people on the pitch and involved in the Club; and when on the pitch, enjoy their time on it and hopefully pick up some wins along the way.’ That ethos was put into practise from the first game away to Tavistock. They were struggling for players so we happily obliged and lent them three of our own. We narrowly lost the game, but to be thanked after the game and a few pitchers of beer bought for the team, echoes what we are trying to achieve.
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The same can be said for quite a few sides this season where we would rather make it a fair contest and have a good game than be a results based club. We have managed to attract a few fine players this season which is fantastic. Regular reports and a good relationship with the coach has seen many of those players initially pushing for first team, now finding themselves there week in week out, which can only be good for the Club. So all in, things are looking good.
John Readey, Captain
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JUNIORS Jenny Trinder
We have seen an eventful year of Rugby. We ended one season with low player numbers and started a new one with a lot of work and on a high, having doubled our numbers in a matter of weeks! With our home now firmly at KGV, we are spreading the OPM name throughout the Plymstock community and the surrounding area with fun days, open mornings and advertising at the ground. The Rugby World Cup brought rugby onto the television, into the shops and generally helped to heighten the interest in rugby, which in turn has helped the Club to grow. The Six Nations is next, so this will hopefully keep the interest going! We look forward to welcoming lots more new children in the future.
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The weather put a dampener on training and matches for the latter end of the year, and with so many new players integrating into established teams, it was frustrating for not everyone being able to play. We all hope that 2016 will bring more players, more volunteers, better weather and more rugby!
OPM REGALIA Show your colours with a Club Tie, available in various styles including formal, sports and bow – ready-tied or self-tie ... silk or polyester – as well as Blazer Badges, Polo Shirts, and more.
contact James Friendship via email opms@plymouthcollege or The OPM Office, Plymouth College, Ford Park, Plymouth, PL4 6RN
Welcome to the new OPM Magazine. As ever we are dependent on members for information, images and updates. If you see any address that you think may be out of date ... if you have any news you would like to share, or if you have an article or item you would like to contribute to next year’s OPM Magazine, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with James at the contacts above. You can also ring the Club during opening hours
O P M EVENTS 2016 FRIDAY 11 MARCH Dine-In | OPM suite, Ford Park (1900, £18.00) Dress code is lounge suits MONDAY 25 - FRIDAY 29 JULY Cricket Week and Beer Festival | OPM Suite (from 1400) Contact: Chris Vinson (07866 616 956) FRIDAY 29 JULY Cricket Lunch in Cricket Week | OPM Suite WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER Golf Day | Yelverton Golf Club Contact: rayroach42@gmail.com SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER Gala Dinner | M-K Hall, Ford Park (1930) Includes reunion for classes of 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, 1981, 1976 and 1966 FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER Senior Dine-In | OPM suite, Ford Park (1900, £24.00) Dress code is lounge suits
THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER AGM | OPM Suite, Ford Park (1930) Copies of the AGM minutes are available from the Alumni Office SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER London Dinner | Brasserie Blanc, Tower Bridge EARLY DECEMBER (DATE TBC) Christmas Flowers’ Demonstration Date | OPM Suite (£5 on the door) Contact: penelopeatkinson@blueyonder.co.uk FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER Alumni Christmas lunch | OPM Suite (£10 Ticket includes a glass of wine on the table) FRIDAY 27TH JANUARY (DATE TBC) Burns Night | OPM Suite – (1930)
Unless otherwise stated, contact the alumni office for tickets and more information: 01752 505114 or alumni@plymouthcollege.com
OPM SUITE CONTACT NUMBER: 01752 505166 WEBSITE - www.opmclub.co.uk