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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 137th year No. 259 (New Series 126th year No. 250) ________________________________________________________________________

Vol 124

September 2021 The Magazine is published under the auspices of The Former Pupils’ Club each year General Editor & Editor of Notes etc.

Brian K. Crookshanks, TD, MA, LL.B 99 Fountainhall Road Aberdeen AB15 4EB

Interim Secretary of the FP Club

Iain S. Hopkin, MA 4 Westwood Crescent Westhill Skene AB32 6WU

Treasurer of the FP Club

John C.A. Michie, 391 Union Street Aberdeen AB11 6BX

Membership Secretary

John C.A. Michie, 391 Union Street Aberdeen AB11 6BX

The General Editor is happy to receive contributions for the next issue of the Magazine at any time before 31 May 2022 Former Pupils are encouraged to provide details about themselves or others for inclusion in the Notes Section of the Magazine Information may be sent by E-mail to editor@agsfp.com In order to assist in the distribution of the Magazine, members of the Former Pupils’ Club are requested to advise the Membership Secretary promptly of any changes of address

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Contents School Section  Head Teacher’s Report School Office-Bearers School Prizes 2020-21 The Languages Club Charities Group Coronavirus – First Year Experience Coronavirus – Sixth Year Experience Developing the Young Workforce The Phil Love Trophy General Section F.P. Club History Joint Statement on Resolution of Club Centre Finances When we used to have Holidays A Deloitte Rabber’s Tale Over the horizon More Centenaries Canadian FPs & the Great War Former Pupils’ Club Section Club Office-Bearers 2021-22 Club Consuls Annual General Meeting President’s Report Presidential Profile Centre Reports Canada Edinburgh Glasgow London Yorkshire Sports Section Reports Social Events – Annual Dinner Integrated Database-Driven System Club Membership Subscriptions Long Service Members Notes about Former Pupils Obituaries Abstracts of Accounts

Page 7 8 8 12 13 13 15 19 20 21 26 27 30 33 35 38 43 46 45 51 52 57 57 58 59 59 60 66 66 68 71 72 73 96

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

OUR ADVERTISERS As a Club we are most grateful to all our under-noted advertisers who have supported the production of this Magazine by taking advertising space. Club members are encouraged, in turn, please to patronise our advertisers who would value our members’ custom every bit as much as we value theirs. Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre Anderson, Anderson & Brown Bain Henry Reid

Blackadders

Bower & Smith

Brewin Dolphin

F.G. Burnett

Campbell Connon

Country Ways

Cummingandco(Aberdeen) Ltd

Inchmarlo Retirement Homes Kenway Tyres Langstane Press

Michies the Chemist

School Section

Head Boy and Head Girl 2020-21

Head Boy Fin Renton Head Girl Holly Hendry 5

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Head Teacher’s Report In the absence of any Prize-giving Ceremony as a result of the COVID Pandemic, Miss Murison has written the following up-date on the School situation. As I reflect on the past session, I feel a great sense of pride in our whole school community. Working through the pandemic has been extremely challenging and it has taken much dedication and commitment from all of us. Our vision statement “Working Together, Learning Together, Achieving Together” continues to be a key driver in our work. I am fortunate to lead a fantastic group of staff and young people. The continued support of our parent/carers and FPs is highly valued by all of us. As I reflect on what we have achieved, it is a considerable list: The return to school in August 2020 and putting in place all related covid mitigations The disappointment of moving into a second lockdown at Christmas 2020 and moving swiftly to home learning Running the school virtually for a term and maintaining learning and engagement for all of our young people Phase 1 return to school prior to the Easter holidays and timetabling all practical subjects with a high level of practical activity to ensure these subjects received time in school to allow completion of qualifications. Phase 2 full return of all young people after the Easter holidays and all associated planning and mitigations Running the Alternative Certification Model following the cancellation of the SQA Exam Diet. We have just issued provisional results to our young people in S4-S6 completing N5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications. The workload associated with this has been extensive. That said, having analysed the provisional results, we have served our young people well as it is a very positive picture. There is no doubt that we miss the wider life of the school – all the extracurricular opportunities. We have run as much as we can virtually but our young people value the opportunities we normally offer and we look forward to building back stronger in this area. Of course, this will depend on the mitigations required as we return in August. An exciting development for us is that we will have the use of the building known as the French School next session. I plan to submit a paper to FPs regarding our plans for the use of this accommodation and perhaps some joint 6

School Section working on a range of projects relating to the performing arts, extra-curricular activities, science and engineering. I would be more than happy to hear from any FP with a particular interest in supporting us in these projects moving forward. For now, thank you for your ongoing interest in our school and my kindest regards. Aberdeen Grammar School, June, 2021

Alison Murison Head Teacher

School Office-Bearers - Session 2020-2021 Senior Prefects HOLLY HENDRY REBECCA DARGIE MILLICENT McKENZIE

FINLAY RENTON MARCUS BURNS ANDREW DENISON

S6 Prefects: Rhona Adam-Gair, Matthew Alderson, Daisy Allan, Mariam Amish, Samuel Anderson, Samiha Begum-Uddin, Rowan Campbell, Michelle Cockburn, Christopher Cowe,Adam Dalioui, Aimee Davidson, Luke Dempster, Helen Forbes, Rebecca Freeman, Ashley Geddes, Philip Gibson, Tanuj Givi, Siobhan Glad, Susannah Grant, Farhan Gurbanov, Sophie Hatrick, Justin Holland, Matthew Hughson, Annabelle Hume, Karo Iredje, JoPaul Jobi, Amy Johnston, Benjamin Kelman, Christy Lynch, Anna Macdonald Kayla Macgregor, Mairi Matheson, Tate Mckenzie, Atholl McMillan, Amelia Morawiak, Lara Morris, Grant Mutch, Caterina Nespolo, Evelina Orba, Jenna Penman, Millie Pinch, Santiago Rivett Barragan, Joseph Ritchie, Thomas Robertson, Rohaanth Thangaraj, Oscar Thorpe, Dipshikha Upreti, Nidhin Varughese and Martha Webb. S5 Prefects: Sam Armour, Ansu Bhandari, Anusuya Bohara, Bianca Buhaciuc, Grace Campbell, Thomas Coutts, Deidra Dias Alberto, Alan Forbes, Fergus Gault,Sam Griffin, Rory Halliday, Troy Hayton, Hayleigh Ironside, Winnie Kwan, Patrick Lang, Robyn Low, Andrew Lyon, Toni MacLean, Leah McAllister, Andrew Melville, Heba Menezes, Halcyon Morgan, Heather Reid, Megan Rodger, Valyla Rodrigues, Victoria Scott, Donnie Scott, Bhawana Sitaula, Georgina Stewart, Siena Sumai, Una Taylor, Katie Thom, Esther Thomas Jamieson, Cameron Vargesson, James Williams and Jonathan Wiseman.

School Prizes 2020-2021 The Joyce Tease Award for excellence in Modern Languages Millicent McKenzie The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Modern Studies Fraser Bruce, Troy Hayton Hayleigh Ironside & Amelia Morawiak The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Physical Education Troy Hayton & Joe Miller The Hamish Adams Greig Prize in Biology Leah McAllister & Lewis Mair The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Spanish Josephine Law, Millicent McKenzie & Anita Mosca

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in German Rebecca Dargie The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Engineering Science Sherwin Fernandes & Megan Rodger The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Drama Aimee Davidson, Danielle Dupitas & Erin Inglis The Former Pupils’ Club Prize in Home Economics The Samuel Pope Prize & Donald Paton Prizes for Art & Design Mia Coman, Annabelle Hume, Una Taylor & Alicia Webb The John Muir Robertson Prize in Accounting & Finance Aaron Bedowi & Rowan Gillies The ALBA Trophy for Business Management Vanesa Dineva & Siobhan Glad The Gordon McMinn Prize in Computing Science Philip Gibson, Dominic Inglis, & Ioannis Papavasileiou The Sandy McIlwain Prize in Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies Ava Kennedy The Masson Bain Prize in English Hannah Choi, Andrew Davidson & Oren Leslie The William Brebner Prize in French Josephine Law, Millicent McKenzie, & Esther Thomas Jamieson The Charles Alexander Walker Prize in History Rachael Dargie, Leah McAllister & Katherine Scott The Campbell Connon Prize for Geography Fraser Bruce, Mairi Matheson & Bhawana Sitaula The J. Mortimer McBain & George G. Whyte Prizes in Mathematics & The Alexander Thomson Prize in Mathematics Aleksandr Chasovski, Luke Hughes, Millicent McKenzie & Lewis Mair The Gavin Falconer Memorial Prize in Music Caitlin Barry, Archie Lund & Moro Olaosebikan The CNR International Prize for Physics Japaul Jobi, Lewis Mair & Mason Moir The CNR International Prize for Graphic Communication Sherwin Fernandes & Jonathan Wiseman The CNR International Prize for Chemistry Josef Bokedal, Matthew Hughson & Lewis Mair The University of Aberdeen for Human Biology Pattapon Nettip The Philip Love Trophy Jenna Penman The Brian Robertson Prize for commitment to the School Holly Hendry & Finlay Renton Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Jessica Barr All-Round Awards The Dr Alexander Cormack Award to the best all-round pupil in S1 Alexander Denison The David Alexander Irvine-Fortescue Prize – S2 Amy Robertson The Norman Mackie Memorial Prize Fatima Sellami The Edith & David Ritchie Bishop Prize Josephine Law The Former Pupils’ Club All-Round Award in S5 Esther Thomas-Jamieson The Former Pupils’ Club 1965 Prize Philip Gibson The Runner-up to the Former Pupils’ Club All-Round Trophy Finlay Renton The Agnes Durward McDonald Prize (Runner-up) Rebecca Dargie & Susannah Grant The Former Pupils’ Club All-Round Trophy for Girls Holly Hendry The Former Pupils’ Club All-Round Trophy & the John Ivo Dawson Prize Andrew Denison Dux Award

Eleanor Tuladhar-Douglas

Colours Awards 8

School Section

Sport Athletics

Bronze Colours

Rowan Gillies, Sam Griffin, Aleksandar Jovcic

Badminton

Bronze Colours

Samuel Armour

Basketball

Gold Colours

Santiago Rivett Barragan, Jopaul Jobi, Atholl McMillan, Evelina Orba, Zeping Zeng Abdul Rahman, Valyla Rodrigues

Silver Colours

CrossCountry Running Gym Hockey

Bronze Colours

Matty Doering, Gargee Gautam, Dominik Lagowski, Heba Menezes, Kaitlyn Thomson

Silver Colours Gold Colours Silver Colours

Patrick Lang Anna Blues Winnie Kwan

Gold Colours

Rebecca Freeman, Susannah Grant, Holly Hendry, Abigail Jessiman, Atholl McMillan, Lara Morris, Gregor Morrison, Elliot Read, Finlay Renton, Rohaanth Thangaraj Nyall Angus, Morgan Daniel, Satram Khanwani, Iona Laidlaw, Alex Lawrence, Chrysal Saji Aiden Daniel, Conor Gardiner, Ben Johnston, Mahdeen Zaman, Katrina Morrison Gregor Morrison

Silver Colours Bronze Colours Distinction Netball

Silver Colours

Rugby

Bronze Colours Silver Colours Silver Colours Silver Colours Gold Colours Silver Colours

Hannah Allan, Robyn Collie, Hayleigh Ironside, Neave Kelly, Ava Kennedy, Katie Thom Jack Marlow Oren Leslie, Mason Moir, Jonathan Wiseman Josef Bokedal Alex Grant Caterina Nespolo Deiiidra Dias Alberto, Bianca Buhaciuc, Irina Statescu

Silver Colours

Fergus Gault, Donnie Scott

T/Tennis Tennis Volleyball Young Engineers Club

Arts & Culture 9

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Concert Band

Gold Colours Silver Colours Bronze Colours

Choir

Silver Colours Bronze Colours

Choir & Show Gold Colours Choir Silver Colours Tuned Percussion String Orchestra

Alice Arthur, Andrew Denison, Martha Forbes, Rebecca Freeman, Susannah Grant, Martha Webb, Grant Mutch Grace Campbell, Thomas Coutts, Alan Forbes, Rory Halliday, Troy Hayton, Andrew Lyon, Leah McAllister, Halcyon Morgan, Donnie Scott Conor Gardiner Hayleigh Ironside, Heather Reid, Esther Thomas Jamieson Managya Bhurtyal Samuel Anderson, Rebecca Dargie, Aimee Davidson, Rebecca Freeman, Ben Kelman, Millicent Mckenzie Christopher Davidson, Leah McAllister, Siena Sumal

Silver Colours

David Ekpenyong

Bronze Colours

Josef Bokedal, Sherwin Fernandes, Esther Thomas Jamieson, Cameron Vargesson

Citizenship Awards Yasmine Benaissa, Anusuya Bohara, Jamie Buchan, Freya Campbell, Rachael Dargie, Rebecca Dargie, Dominic Dargie, Skyla Deans, Rebecca Freeman, Conor Gardiner, Sophie Hatrick, Ben Kelman, Daisy MacCallum, Aurora Macdonald, Callum McGregor, Rogan McInnes-Pirrie, Oliver MacRae, Lewis Mair, Ioannis Papavasileiou, Harrison-Lee Perruchot Smith, Donnie Scott, Katherine Scott, Usman Shehu, Irina Statescu, Matthew Stevenson, Una Taylor, Kaitlyn Thomson, Nidhin Varughese

School Section

The Languages Club It is said that languages bring people together and we believe that this could not have been more true over the past year. Learners all over the country have felt isolated since March 2020 - sitting at home in front of a screen, with constant technological issues, deprived of face-to-face teacher support and with a lack of social interaction. At Aberdeen Grammar School everyone strives to triumph academically, and one of the ways by which we deal with this pressure is by engaging in extracurricular activities. During Covid, these activities were inevitably cancelled and pupils were left feeling overwhelmed. We are Rebecca and Sophie, two S6 pupils, who were determined to bring students together during the Covid crisis by speaking languages. Since August 2020 we have been running our Language Club virtually, using the tool of Google Classroom to upload presentations, activities and games, all made by us and our members, to expand our knowledge about other languages and cultures. At this moment in time, where everyone is coming together to support each other, it is more important than ever to be able to understand other people and their backgrounds. We don’t just focus on learning grammar and vocabulary but on traditions, festivals and history. By diving into other cultures we have been able to be more accepting of the world around us. Aside from our weekly lessons and zoom meetings where we practised putting our speaking skills to the test, we continued to organise other opportunities for our members. Back in September we arranged a quiz for the school in order to celebrate European Languages Day. Normally we would organise a house event, assembly and registration activities but this year it had to be an online quiz for classes. We worked together with our librarian, who helped us to find resources about different countries and their cuisines. Then, in December 2020, we started a very exciting project. We entered two teams into the SEET film festival competition where pupils had to create and develop a film, based on one of the sustainable development goals that included at least two languages. Team 1, ourselves and Fatima, an S3 pupil, created a film in French and English about saving life under the sea whilst Team 2, Rebecca Freeman, Polly Connell and Sophie Jacobson, made a film which provoked discussions about equality, based on the differences between governments and how they handled Covid differently here in Scotland and in Mali. We started by drawing storyboards, then we wrote scripts and finally we went out and filmed short films which were then sent on to the judges. Only a few weeks ago, we attended the virtual awards ceremony and we are very pleased to say that Team 1 won the category for Best Use of Language, a huge achievement as we wrote the halfFrench half-English script by ourselves. Covid may have prevented us from travelling but it will not stop us from making links with our peers around the world. By learning languages we are 11

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine opening many doors that will lead to great opportunities for our future, both in terms of our careers and our personal development. For this reason we have both decided to pursue our language studies at University. Rebecca has the goal of becoming a Languages Teacher and Sophie hasn’t yet decided where languages will take her, but she knows that she has many options to choose from. We hope our perseverance with the Languages Club throughout lockdown will demonstrate to students that, with a bit of hard work, anyone can learn a language, for one language sets you in a corridor for life, but two will open all the doors along the way. Rebecca Dargie & Sophie Hatrick, 2021 leavers.

Charities Group Our nominated charity this year was SAMH, which is Scotland’s national mental health charity. This charity was chosen because the Group felt strongly about raising awareness that, in the same way we know we should take care of our physical health, we should also take care of our mental health. Pupils of the School’s Charities Group raised awareness of mental health and the work of SAMH by handing out information leaflets at whole school events such as parents’ evenings and the School Show. They also worked alongside the Emotional Health Group to display information posters around the school and to stock information booklets outside the school office for people to help themselves. They also organised a number of fundraising events before the school year was disrupted due to the Covid 19 lockdown. The Group sold ribbons during tutor time but the main event was the stalls on each night of the School Show ‘Grease’. During the intermission, people could buy from a large variety of home-bakes which had all been kindly donated by volunteer pupil bakers, or pay a donation to have their photo taken in the American prom-themed photo booth. The final fundraising event before lockdown was the raffle of a signed AFC shirt which was organised by S6 pupil Grant Mutch alongside AFCCT. In total the School raised over £700 for SAMH.

Coronavirus: The First Year Experience Alexander Denison The pandemic has changed the last year and a half for me in dramatic ways; it affected my social life, my life at home and it completely eradicated my regular 12

School Section routine. School certainly was no different, and the year I had in S1 had to be completely abnormal from what any past S1s had experienced before. When I first faced S1 after the chaotic Summer of 2020, I finally was in school, but just not anything I was used to. The transition from P7 to S1 was not a transition at all, yet a confined and difficult process through google meets and online introductions. The Grammar really did all they could in the circumstances, but in the end it was like getting chucked into the deep end because there wasn’t a shallow end to practice in. All of these new systems, new teachers and new people is already one thing, but the fact that all you could be surrounded with was one-way systems, social distancing and constant hand sanitizer made settling in more than a challenge, but a whole expedition in itself. Having said all that, settling into S1 for the first two terms became easier and easier as the school day became second nature. Even though covid would have twisted the true essence of lessons throughout the year, teachers were miraculously able to create appealing and enjoyable lessons, even if you couldn’t do the regular activities from previous years. The S1 we should have had may have been taken away but this didn’t stop the last months of 2020 becoming a true success for pupils and teachers alike. As S1 became the new normal, and things started to settle down, I certainly became quite surprised when all of that was snatched away as Lockdown 2.0 came around. The second lockdown definitely became some of the hardest months of school I've ever had. S1 means you have almost every subject, which makes focusing difficult and rather stressful at some points. The work you got was about the same as in school - less actually - but with you stuck in front of a computer all day, confined in one room with no real human interaction apart from your family, it just makes a school day turn into a dragging journey with no end in sight. Although what I’ve described is true, it wasn't every day that was like this, in fact there was a lot to enjoy throughout the Spring term. Being able to do your work while chatting to friends or engaging in new fun online lessons made some days just joyous, and throughout all the hardships there was still a whole lot to enjoy in S1. As the year has ended in S1 and now I find myself stumbling into S2, it’s easy to point out all the difficulties I’ve had over the past few months: Covid is a massive restriction in almost all circumstances, but it gave me the opportunity to build myself from the ground up, face challenges and get through them. However, most importantly, I managed to make it through the year and at the end of it all actually say that I enjoyed it. S1 was never going to be easy, but the new hurdles stacked on top of it made me stronger as a person as well as strengthening my relationships with others. Covid has always been something pulling everyone at the Grammar apart, but in the end it has bonded everyone together creating a truly fantastic school which Aberdeen Grammar School will always be. 13

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Coronavirus: The Sixth Year Experience Andrew Denison I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that the past sixteen months haven’t gone quite as expected. In March of 2020, Scottish exams were cancelled for the first time since their 1888 introduction. The uncertainty which this caused for myself and fellow Aberdeen Grammar School classmates was not helped by schools shutting that same week and everyone being sent home. At first, home learning was relatively minimal, as teachers focused on collecting evidence to support our predicted grades for the year. All things considered, it was an impressive turnaround, as the sixth year timetable officially started from home a month later. Google services such as Classroom, Meet and Mail allowed learning to resume, just in a completely different way to the norm. My chosen subjects were Advanced Higher Maths, Physics and History and the teachers wasted no time jumping straight into the courses. All of a sudden, time management and following disciplined routines became of the utmost importance: two skills I have historically been lacking. One thing I must commend the staff for was their continued one-to-one support. The school email system meant that the teachers were almost always contactable if there was ever something you were unsure about. With the digital term over and a summer of uncertainty as we awaited results finally at an end, the pupils of Aberdeen Grammar School looked to return to the - real - classroom. Of course, not all was the same. An array of health measures such as face coverings, hand sanitizer, social distancing between staff and pupils, a one-way movement system, classroom cleaning procedures and Track and Trace - made us as pupils feel safe, despite the strange feeling of being surrounded by crowds of people again. However, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss the assemblies, extra-curricular activities and school events that had to be put on hold due to the unprecedented circumstances. But, as we are all painfully aware, the 2020 summer lockdown would not be the last, and once again, all learning was done from home. More so than ever, my success depended on me alone, and I would only get out of my subjects what I was willing to put in. While I can’t speak for younger years, this turned out to be exactly what I needed at this stage of my learning. Many senior pupils like myself are soon leaving home for work or University, therefore the ability to act independently is crucial and is a skill that was really tested over lockdown. From my perspective, the brilliant staff also learned a lot more than they bargained for throughout the year. Teachers who once could hardly fill in the online register correctly were, by the end of lockdown, effortlessly presenting a power-point while filming their handwritten notes, while assigning us yet more homework on Google Classroom all at the same time. 14

School Section All of this is not to say the sixth year experience was in any way easy. Constantly looming deadlines combined with the relative lack of social interaction to which young people are used often resulted in significant stress. The kind of stress that causes you to freeze up and do nothing at all instead of chipping away at the mountain of work expected of you. I think for me personally, it was the fact that my house was both my school space and my rest space, and it was harder than expected to separate these two worlds in order to achieve any level of focus. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, we did return to school. Teachers eased us in with an introductory set of presentations, offering reassurance for the assessments that would inevitably decide our grades. Yes, while “exams” as we knew them were not to go ahead, the school offered a fair substitute. We would first have practice exams in class to understand our progress, then a week or two later, would return for an in-class assessment conducted under exam conditions. Fortunately for me, all my classes had finished the course while still in lockdown, meaning that all the remaining in-class time we had could be focused on revision. From what I understand, not every pupil was as lucky, with some still learning new information a matter of days before the crucial final assessment. In the end, however, the provisional results provided by the school seem to have pleasantly surprised a large number of pupils, and given them a sense of pride for the work they put in over this trying academic year. Overall, I am immensely proud to have been a part of Aberdeen Grammar School, and the challenges over lockdown have not changed that. Of course, there may be things that could have been handled differently, with the benefit of hindsight, but it was never in doubt that the school always acted in the best interests of safety, wellbeing and quality education. Frankly, I’m happy to have just survived these past 16 months. And so, reader, should you be.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Rebecca Dargie

Millicent McKenzie

Deputy Head Girls 2020-21

School Section

Deputy Head Boys 2020-21

Andrew Denison Marcus Burns 17

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Developing the Young Workforce Developing the Young Workforce continues to be the youth employment strategy of the Scottish Government which aims to keep youth unemployment at the lowest possible level. Schools and employers have been encouraged for the past few years to enter into partnerships with a view to preparing young people for employment after leaving school. This arrangement has resulted in the School engaging with a number of local employers who deliver careers talks and provide opportunities for pupils to visit their offices and experience the reality of business life. The current list of employers willing to become involved with the School, whether during class time for talks or by way of visits to their premises, is as follows: Ernst Young John Clark Royal Bank of Scotland Bank of Scotland Aberdeen City Council Entier Porsche Aberdeen Wood Group Skene Street Dental Practice Foundation Apprenticeships, which help young people to gain valuable, realworld work experience and access work-based learning while they are still at school, are also available to pupils in a two-year programme. The two currently promoted in the school are that in Children and Young People, which is now accepted as an entry qualification by Aberdeen University into the Primary Education Course, and the Apprenticeship in ICT & Digital Hardware/system support. Recently about fifty S5 and S6 pupils who are studying Art, Drama & Graphic Communication received a presentation from a member of Info Film about careers in the film industry related to digital technology, film technology, computer graphics and gaming.

School Section

The All-Round Trophy Awards For the second year it was not possible to have face-to-face interviews with the candidates nominated for the All-Round Trophy Awards. President Stuart Cummings and President-Elect Ken McHardy with the help of specially co-opted Holly Imperiale, herself the winner of the Women’s Trophy in 2018, met by Zoom call to consider the submissions of the candidates. Each candidate had made detailed submissions on their academic success, their School background, their sporting and other interests, their leadership and citizenship achievements and their involvement in extracurricular activities. Selecting the awardees was made difficult due to the very high quality of those presented for consideration. With helpful input from Assistant Head Teacher Janet Adams the committee were able to make their choices and the names of the winners appear on the Prize List at page 9 above.

The Phil Love Trophy The Trophy has been awarded this year to Jenna Penman. Jenna started to play football for Westdyke Community Club when she was aged 8, and progressed up to the Women’s team. While playing there she was selected for the Scottish schools U-15 team and played against Wales, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Later that year she was selected for the Scottish Women’s Football Association U-16 squad where she captained games against Poland, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. Jenna then moved to Dundee United Women’s football team, staying with them for a year. During this time she was selected for the SWFA U-17 squad, where she played against Italy, Northern Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Poland. She next moved to Aberdeen Women’s Football Club where she currently plays. This team are looking to finish the season strong and to be promoted into the Scottish Women’s Premier League 1 (they being currently in SWPL 2) as they are at the top of the table around 10 points in front. Jenna has recently been selected for the U-19 SWFA squad. Her commitment to women’s football and her promotion of it in School make her a worthy winner of this Trophy.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

F.P. Club History – Part 1 As the Club looks back on the 50-year history of the Club Centre at 86 Queen’s Road it is instructive to reflect on what went before. The proposition in 1968 that consideration should be given to the acquisition of premises for a social club in the neighbourhood of Rubislaw was not entirely new. In 1916 Rubislaw Field had been opened and, well before the end of the War in 1918, it had been resolved to erect a Pavilion as a Memorial to former pupils of the School who had lost their lives in the War. The opening of the Pavilion had been scheduled for the day of the School sports in June 1924 but there were some last-minute outstanding matters to be completed. Instead of such a formality the Pavilion was open for inspection by parents and pupils attending the Sports and in view of the recent unveiling of the War Memorial in the School hall it was decided not to have any formality about the Pavilion. In 1923 a new Constitution for the F.P. Club was adopted, updating the original Constitution of thirty years earlier, and it is interesting to see within it detailed provision for the Sections of the Club. There were the obvious Sports Sections of Rugby, Cricket, Hockey and Tennis, but there was also a Motor Section and a Club Room Section. At that time car ownership was in its infancy and the objects of the Motor Section were to hold runs and competitions. Their events included Speed Trials, Reliability Trials, Hill Climbs and Speed Trials. It will be recalled that the 2016 Magazine contained a reprint of an article from June 1913 narrating the Motor Section’s inaugural weekend run and revealing the difficulties both of vehicles and roads which faced drivers just over a hundred years ago. The objects of the Club Room Section were to promote social intercourse among the members of the Club. To this end they were permitted to meet in the Club Room in the Rubislaw Field Pavilion on three nights each week during the months of October to April inclusive from 7p.m. to 10.30p.m. No gambling of any nature was permitted and no excisable liquor was allowed to be supplied or consumed on the premises. In these days there was a resident groundsman whose home was on the upper floor of the Pavilion and he would have had a supervisory role in regard to this Section. The various sports sections in the 1923 set-up reported regularly in the Magazine but no such reports were published in respect of the Club Room Section. Whether it still functioned at the time War broke out in 1939 is unknown. What its activities may have been can only be a matter of speculation, as eighty years on from then there is no longer anyone alive who can answer such questions. At a guess, members may have played bridge or other card games, may have played chess, may have debated current affairs or may even have given thought to how best to support their School. 20

Former Pupils’ Section As things returned to normal after 1945 the Sports Sections continued but there is no sign of any information about either the Motor Section or the Club Room Section and it is assumed that they were not revived.

F.P. Club History – Part 2 In the years following the end of the War in 1945 the Club resumed its usual activities, most notably in the Sports Sections with, in particular, several seasons of high class Rugby, Cricket and Hockey teams fielded in the name of the Club. Post-match socialising was done in different locations, notably in the case of Rugby in the George Hotel. There were from time to time thoughts from the Rugby Section about having Club premises at Rubislaw Field, but the impossibility of obtaining permission for licensed premises on a sports ground, the main use of which was for children’s education, was recognised and the thought was never any more than just an idea. In the mid-1960s the Gordonian Association leased premises in Seafield Road, close to their Sports ground, where they opened a licensed club. Gordon Henderson (1921-34) was a long-serving member of the Executive Committee and himself a former Rugby player for FPs, who was aware of the Rugby Section’s thinking. In April 1968, as Vice-President of the F.P. Club and Chairman of the Executive, he was a guest at the Aberdeen Heriot Club annual dinner where he learned much about that Club’s presence at Goldenacre in Edinburgh. He was so impressed by what he heard that he put himself about to learn in detail the nature of their premises. The critical difference in their case was, of course, that Heriot College was a private school and owned their Goldenacre ground and the buildings on it and the Edinburgh Education Authority had no input to their activities. Gordon came to the next meeting of the Executive, explained how impressed he had been with what he had learned about Goldenacre, and proposed that the possibility of obtaining premises for the Club in the vicinity of Rubislaw should be explored. The members of the Executive were infected with Gordon’s enthusiasm and the idea was to be further considered. By the time of the next meeting, in the summer of 1968, it had become known that a member of the F.P. Club, Bill Wisely, was the owner of 86 Queen’s Road and was planning to move to Kincardineshire, where he had farming interests. It was believed that he might be willing to sell his house to the Club. Of all the possible buildings in the area this was without doubt the best suited for the needs of the Club and its Sports Sections. Described at the time as “this handsome mansion” Bayview House, as it was formerly known, was built in the 1870s but was completely re-designed in 1913 by the distinguished architect Dr. William Kelly R.S.A. and finished to a high standard of craftsmanship and distinction. In the view of architects it was one of the finest dwelling-houses in the city. The 21

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine lounge, which was the eastmost front room of the building, had a most distinctive plaster ceiling with the four seasons of the year depicted in its corners. The fireplaces there and in the bedrooms upstairs were distinctive and of high quality. The task of considering all that had to be done in preparation for acquiring the building was entrusted to a small sub-committee, under the chairmanship of Philip Love, which investigated the viability of the project, the feasibility of obtaining a Club licence for the premises and the availability of funding for a purchase. They also had discussions with architects about the alterations which would be needed to meet the Club’s requirements. It was fortunate that Mr. Wisely was in no rush to sell, as such a project was outwith the powers of the Executive and general meetings of the Club were required before a formal offer to purchase the premises could be made. While the Executive Committee was from the outset enthusiastically in favour of the project there were some among the general body of members who had doubts about its viability and who argued cogently against the idea at a General Meeting of the Club in January 1969. The proposal had sufficient support at that meeting that it was possible to bring the necessary changes to the Club constitution before the Annual General Meeting in March 1969. The Executive was empowered by the members at that meeting to proceed purchase 86 Queen’s Road and convert the premises to its requirements. The price was £25,000, which fifty years later seems unbelievable. That said, this was in the days before North Sea oil became a factor in property prices, and it is clear that had we waited until five years later it is unlikely that the project could have gone ahead. Prior to opening the Centre alterations were required to some parts of the building, the most extensive of which were in the basement. What were five rooms were merged into one occupying the whole front area of the basement in order to create the Sports Bar. A leading Gordonian commented at the time what a boon such a bar would prove to be, separating celebrating rugby and other teams from the more orderly members who would frequent the Lounge Bar on the ground floor. He contrasted this with the single bar at the Seafield Club. On the ground floor what had been the dining room was adapted to form the Lounge Bar, the counter accessed by staff from a stock room at the rear of the building. What had been the butler’s pantry was transformed into a gents’ toilet which remained in that position despite other alterations to the lay-out over succeeding years. On the mezzanine floor above the kitchen, accessed off the main staircase, there was created an up-market Ladies’ Powder Room. On the main first floor three bedrooms were upgraded for the use of visiting Former Pupils and a well laid out Committee Room to the west front of the building was furnished appropriately. On the top floor there was a Billiard Room furnished with a handsome table donated by Mr. Wisely. The Sports Bar opened for business on 13 September 1969 and a month later, with the remaining alterations completed, the official opening of the Centre was 22

Former Pupils’ Section performed by the President, George Crombie, on 17 October with an encouraging number of Former Pupils present. Official guests included representatives of the various firms of contractors and suppliers who had been involved in the reconstruction and refurbishment of the premises. These included the architects who had been responsible for the planning of the conversion of the premises and the designing of the two bars. The Steward and his wife and son were housed in what had been the chauffeur’s small flat above the garage and wash-bed off Bayview Road at the rear of the site. The first Steward left after only a year and his successor, Bill Mackie, had a family of three for whom the small flat was wholly unsuitable. They were temporarily housed in the bedrooms in the main building while the garage was converted into a modern detached house with a large living room and three bedrooms. The funding of the purchase and conversion of the premises came from a heritable loan from the Standard Property Investment Company secured on the building, funds from the Scottish Rugby Union and the FP Rugby Section and from an Appeal Fund launched for support from individual Former Pupils. The Standard Property loan was in part secured by a life insurance policy on the life of a Former Pupil who was involved in the licensed trade. At a later stage some of the F.P. Club’s investments were realised. After five years fully functioning it became apparent that the premises required further improvement and major works were undertaken in 1974 involving the removal of the old entrance hall and the creation of a new lounge bar occupying the whole of the ground floor to the front of the building. A suspended ceiling allowed the introduction of an improved heating and ventilation system although concealing the beautiful original ceilings. With the original front door now serving only as a fire exit, a new doorway and vestibule were created on the west gable of the building to the rear of the bar and stock room. Over succeeding years various door entry security systems were installed there, some more successful than others, in order to comply with the requirements for a private members’ club. In the 1980s and into the ‘90s, with the oil industry booming in Aberdeen, enhancements were made to some of the committee rooms with a view to making them available for let to outside companies for conferences and other purposes to generate rental income. In 1985 the Lounge Bar was enhanced by the installation of a magnificent trophy cabinet in which to display trophies, shields and memorabilia of the Sports Sections and their distinguished members. Upgrading of the Centre facilities was undertaken on a regular basis and significant changes in the 1990s were made possible with input from the steward, George Mackenzie, who, before entering the licensed trade, was a time-served joiner. In 1995 the one-time “Snug” area in the Lounge Bar was removed in order that the kitchen could be expanded to enable the provision of snack meals for 23

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine members’ convenience. This work was done entirely by the steward. In the following year he played a major role in the refurbishment of the rear wing above the kitchen by removing the ladies’ toilet and revamping the whole area to accommodate a Fitness Room comprising a mini-gym and shower facilities. This involved an investment of £14,000 but proved very popular and was much used by the Sports Sections. At about the same time the dining room was converted into a television room and Sky Sport TV was installed. The finances of the Centre were reasonably sound in the first forty years of its existence, with an annual payment to the parent Club and a donation to the School Amenities Fund regularly paid. From the financial crisis of 2008 and later things became increasingly difficult to the point that in 2015 these contributions ceased and the Centre required increasingly to be sustained by parent Club funds. This was only eased by the generosity of Club members making available interest-free loans. In the Appeal Brochure issued at the time of the formation of the Centre in 1969 it was stated that the premises would provide “a long-needed permanent social base for the Club and a focal point for its members from which much that is good can follow”. The view was expressed that the F.P. Club should be an active, foregathering, go-ahead concern which is precisely what the Club Centre allowed to happen over the following fifty years. That the radically changed circumstances of the third decade of the 21st century mean that this significant part of the F.P. Club’s history has come to an end is sad, but we all have fond and differing memories of what the Centre meant to each of us and we will long cherish these memories. Addendum by FP Club Chairman to the comprehensive article in this Magazine by The Editor recounting the 50 year history of the FP Club Centre [page 21] under the heading FP Club History-Part 1 and Part 2. Just as this magazine went to press, the following agreement was reached between the FP Club Executive and the Club Centre Committee. The agreement, which is replicated in full, allocates almost £60,000 of funds remaining in the Club Centre account, after all liabilities have been met, to support the sports sections of rugby, cricket and hockey who were all supporters of the Club Centre. These funds, nominally 50:50 owned by the Club Centre and the FP Club, are therefore being handed over on an equally attributable basis. The aim of this agreement is to achieve a harmonious conclusion to the era of the Club Centre recognising the contributions of many parties to its longevity. After an extensive marketing campaign and professional advice, 86 Queen’s Road was sold for £875,000 earlier this year. While considerably less than our

Former Pupils’ Section ambitions when such properties were formerly in high demand in Aberdeen, it is in contrast to the £25,000 purchase price of 50 years ago.

AGSFP JOINT STATEMENT ON RESOLUTION OF CLUB CENTRE FINANCES – SEP 2021 Recognising that this is an opportune time to draw a line under an element of disharmony which prevailed in the relationship between the Club Centre and the AGSFP Club surrounding the sale of the Club Centre, the following declaration is made in a constructive spirit and in the context of disbursing residual funds as contained in the Club Centre final accounts. Prudent management of the Club Centre in recent years significantly restricted financial losses with apparent achievement of a modest annual surplus, but only as a consequence of indirect subsidy from the FP Club which, in turn, needed to raise loans from members to maintain financial viability. With changing times and social options, neither the FP Club, nor the Club Centre, could raise sufficient revenue to invest in maintaining 86 Queens Road. With little prospect of long-term sustainability, the Club Centre Committee reluctantly had to concur with the FP Club’s decision to sell the property. The final accounts of the Club Centre show a substantial residual balance. The operation of the Club Centre was well managed in the context of Covid and the availability of government financial support. In addition there was also the challenge of flooding at 86 Queen’s Road caused by an extreme weather event covered by an insurance claim. While it is clear that the overall residue is around £56,000, there is little merit in attempting to precisely disentangle years of accounts and minutes. Suffice to say that, for all practical purposes, the residual balance is approximately half attributable to Club Centre and half to the FP Club. In that general context and recognising the huge amount of work and commitment which went in to the running of The Club Centre at 86 Queen’s Road over half a century and wishing now to disburse the funds which remain in the Club Centre account. The AGSFP Club Executive Committee and the Club Centre Committee have agreed that all the surplus remaining in the Club Centre account (after all liabilities have been met and in accordance with the final audited accounts) be 25

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine allocated to the sports sections of cricket, hockey and rugby in a formula to be agreed by a short-life group of 2 representatives each from the former Club Centre Committee and the Club Executive. This joint settlement recognises the important role the sections played in the life of the Club Centre as well as the role played by the FP Club itself in inaugurating the Club Centre and supporting it financially. This settlement also recognises the valuable role played not just by FP members of the Club Centre Committee but by associate members. In a similar way the vital role of associate members of the sections is recognised in furthering sport and coaching. In that spirit our energies will be directed at securing the future of the FP Club and associated Centres and Sections with an emphasis on coaching and the encouragement of young people including pupils of AGS. This joint statement and agreement is made on the explicit basis that any tensions remaining about the closure of the Club Centre are now a matter of history.

When we used to have holidays What is 1,132 feet long, 135 feet across, 236 feet in height and weighs 148,528 tons? The answer, of course, is a ship but what ship fits these dimensions – Queen Mary 2, the flagship of the Cunard Line and our holiday home for four weeks in late November 2019 when holidays still existed. Pre-Covid, we set off from Aberdeen courtesy of British Airways to be collected by a pre-booked taxi at Heathrow to deliver us to Southampton in plenty 26

Former Pupils’ Section of time to board the ship. It felt really good to be setting off on holiday, especially given the ship we were travelling on and the time of year – mid November, leaving behind grey skies and cold weather. The first view of QM2 is an amazing sight. It is a massive ship (although there are bigger) and would be home to 2,695 passengers and 1,253 crew. The crew are all excellent and if they can help make your holiday more comfortable, enjoyable or memorable they will do so. With 2,695 passengers on board you may think space would be at a premium but this is not the case, with plenty of areas to relax that are not over-crowded. After booking in, it was a quick and easy process to find our cabin and our luggage arrived shortly afterwards. A quick unpack and away to the buffet for lunch and a wander round the deck with magnificent views over Southampton. The other two Queens (Victoria and Elizabeth) were also in Southampton and all three ships set sail in the early evening. This was a celebration of Cunard’s 100 years of sailing from Southampton and we had the Red Arrows flying in various formations overhead in a tremendous display. What a start to a holiday! As always when you travel abroad it is more than possible to bump in to other Former Pupils of the School and we had the pleasure of bumping in to Jim Cooper and his wife Vi who were on exactly the same length of cruise as us. 28 days of reminiscing ahead. The next day we were out in the Atlantic with a seven day voyage in front of us to New York. I thought I had left the grey skies behind in Aberdeen but this first stage of our holiday was grey skies and leaden seas. But who cares about the weather when on a floating palace with so many activities and facilities to enjoy. Food of course, but also expert lectures on many and varied topics including three talks from David Gower who is just as laid back as he used to be on the cricket pitch and TV as a commentator. What else can you do – there are restaurants, bars, rest areas, a well-stocked library, the gym, nightclub, ballroom dancing, shows in the theatre at night and so many other activities to keep one amused. The Captain had a daily spot on the tannoy to advise our progress and there were many mentions of the life existing on the sea floor beneath us followed by references about how close we were to the site where the Titanic sank. Our evening meal was at a table of eight and we had great fun with the other guests who came from a variety of places and all with hugely interesting backgrounds and stories to match. Our evening meal was a time to catch up on the day’s activities and was very much the highlight of each day. On arrival at New York we watched other passengers disembarking whose voyage was complete but we had a further three weeks on board this luxurious ship. We had a quick tour around New York, seeing the usual tourist attractions, before returning to the ship and setting sail for our next destination – the Caribbean! 27

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine What a difference a day makes. One day after heading south from New York, the cold weather and grey skies were already a thing of the past. The sun was out and the temperature rising. Three days of luxury on board the ship and we arrived at our first island stop, Tortola, with the temperature now in the 80’s and extremely pleasant. We docked at Road Town and our excursion was a sightseeing bus trip around the island with many panoramic views as we drove up and down the volcanic hillsides and along the ridge. One of the views was looking out at Nekker Island, Richard Branson’s holiday island for very wealthy visitors. The beautiful island of Dominica was our next stop where we docked at Roseau and prepared for our whale and dolphin trip. This was an amazing trip and fully lived up to expectations. The whales were in abundance and it is hard to believe how close these huge mammals came to our small boat. They just float on the surface and then, with a few spouts of water, the tail comes up and down into the sea they disappear. It was quite a privilege to see these mammals in their natural environment. Bridgetown in Barbados was next and I have to mention the gentleman in Barbados who gave us a lift when the heavens opened and saved us getting completely soaked walking back to the ship. This was the only time we saw rain and boy did it rain – but only for twenty minutes or so and then the sun was back out again and normal service resumed. However, the highlight of our organised tours also occurred in Barbados when, in the evening, we went on a submarine to view the reef and aquatic night life. This was such a peaceful and beautiful experience to be travelling three hundred feet under the sea and to see so much aquatic life and vegetation in their natural environment. To St Lucia where the usual pictures show the two volcanic pitons and we set off, again by boat, on a dolphin watch. The dolphins had not really appeared at Dominica but they were certainly in abundance in the sea just off Castries. Two very large pods cavorted alongside and around our boat as we moved along the coast. Basseterre in St Kitts was our next and last stop in the Caribbean. From Basseterre we took a magical trip around the island, the highlight being a visit to Brimstone Hill Fortress – testament to the ever changing ownership of Caribbean islands between the Spanish and British and the need for defence. At all of these islands our organised trips gave us a great insight to the islands and the local people in a very short period of time. The locals on each island could not have done more to make us feel welcome. Sadly, we were now over half way through our cruise and had to head back to New York. This, of course, was the reverse of our trip south and the further north we travelled the colder it became and the grey skies appeared again. A further twelve hours sight-seeing in a very cold New York followed. On our first visit we did the usual tourist attractions – Central Park and Strawberry Fields (the memorial to John Lennon), the top of the Rockefeller building, Grand Central Station, a very poignant visit to 28

Former Pupils’ Section the 9/11 memorial and many more. This time we set off by ourselves and visited Macy’s – a huge store full of everything you could imagine but, for me, the best bit was the wooden escalator from the first to the second floor – probably over a hundred years old and still working perfectly. It was very cold by now and a quick bite to eat in Grand Central Station and back to QM2 to warm up and prepare for our return voyage to Southampton. There was a change occurring on the ship as we soon found out, with Christmas decorations appearing all over the ship. There were artificial Christmas trees in the most amazing places and the count numbered over forty. The biggest and most spectacular tree was in the central lobby - some thirty feet high and with, surprisingly, three foot high models of Snow White and the seven dwarfs surrounding the base of the tree. So, seven days left to enjoy the ship and all the passenger groups (Ann, my wife, was in the passenger choir), lectures, entertainment and lastly but not least – the food! On the way back across the Atlantic, thoughts turned towards home, family, Christmas and the New Year celebrations to come. Who was to guess that in only three months’ time we should be at the start of the covid pandemic and all the various restrictions this entailed. So, no holidays in 2020 and probably none in 2021 but the thought of getting on-board when the ships start sailing again is a reassurance we shall get through the pandemic and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Bring on 2022 and another round of being wined, dined and so royally looked after.

Iain Hopkin

A Deloitte Rabber’s Tale Iain Whyte (1975-80) made contact with the Editor through one of his former School class-mates with whom he remained in touch and offered to share his challenging and life-changing experience after resolving that drastic measures were needed to address his weight problem. I have ridden the Deloitte Ride Across Britain in three successive years, 2016, 2017 and 2019, having first signed up in 2015 weighing 27 stone and with an idea that the training was going to make me fitter and let me live longer. I was doing it partly for myself but most of all for my wife and three young children. I wanted to show our children that you can achieve anything to which you set your mind. When I arrived at base camp at Land’s End in 2016 the enormity of what I had taken on suddenly sank in. All I saw was very fit people who knew exactly what they were doing whereas for me, I had never experienced anything like this before. The support which these very fit people gave me and the camaraderie, along with the Threshold support team and chaperones helped me to believe that I 29

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine could do this as each mile and day went by. I was always the first out and generally last in each day, spending around twelve hours a day in the saddle. I spoke to everyone as they passed me on the ride, but as each day went by I fought to be able to make it through and not be on the dreaded “Broom Wagon”. The best moment of 2016 was crossing the line at the Kyle of Sutherland. There was a huge cheer which I did not realise at the time was for me! Emotions were certainly high when I received the “The More is in You” award that evening. The relationships which I have built from Deloitte Ride Across Britain are truly life-lasting. The focus has always been the finishing line. Because of the Threshold support Chaperones and the relationships I gained during the Ride I had developed the strength to complete the next day and cross the finishing line in John O’ Groats. I can’t even begin to describe the emotions which I felt when I saw my children supporting me over the finish. Fast forward three years and I managed to get to camp every day around 3 or 3.30pm, and enjoy a warm shower, afternoon tea and time to relax! Each day I found myself feeling better than I did the day before. I also enjoyed playing the game with people whom I had met in 2016 who did not recognise me because I now weighed 14 stone as opposed to 27. After the first two rides in 2016 and 2017 I realised the pressure I was putting on myself and on the support team during my rides. In August 2018 I made the conscious decision to change my lifestyle and decided that I wanted to lose 10 stone within a year. My weight loss was going well, cycling and running daily to improve my core fitness. Daily time in the saddle is definitely invaluable. A year later, by August 2019, I had lost 12 stone. I even challenged myself to run the Loch Ness Marathon in October just after completing the RAB. Emotionally Deloitte Ride Across Britain has delivered many highs and lows, the highs outweighing the lows threefold. The things you learn about yourself during this dedicated time are life-affirming. The fear running through you as you cross the start line to the ecstatic feeling of relief when crossing the finish line must be lived. Mentally, you have to “begin with the end in mind”. An expression which has helped me on the rides which I have completed is “don’t get your imagination mixed up with your abilities. Deep down you know how much you have trained or not, so you must not get carried away. It is a tough nine days without putting extra pressure on yourself. You have to ride at your own pace and enjoy the experience. After the first few days you will meet people going at your pace and you join together to help each other through. I cycled 90% of the 2016 ride on my own due to my lack of confidence in myself and in my cycling ability. In 2019 after day four I was riding in a group daily and we all helped each other, which made a huge difference. But when all is said and done, it is only a bike ride. Enjoy it, it is life-changing and incredibly rewarding.

Former Pupils’ Section

John Stevenson MP for Carlisle John Stevenson (1975-81), son of former Head of Physical Education at the School, Andrew Stevenson, became the Member of Parliament for Carlisle at the 2010 General Election reflects on his role at Westminster. To be a Member of Parliament is to accept a strange, unstructured, and unpredictable existence. It is an experience like no other – to be at the very centre of our national political life and to have the opportunity not just to help improve the lives of your constituents but also to influence national policy. Each MP has their own experiences and journey to reflect on. I was first elected in 2010 with a majority of just 853, having won a seat which had been held by the Labour Party for the past fifty years. Believe it or not, after the General Election of 2015, in which my party finally won an overall majority after five years of coalition government, I (along with many others) thought that we would be in for a period of relative political stability. Well, that was not quite how things worked out! The challenge for any MP in a marginal seat is always to try and hold on at the following election, but sometimes the political narrative is with you and so it has proved with me in my subsequent re-elections. During this time, I have experienced a coalition government, a small majority government, a minority government and now a comfortable majority government. From a backbencher’s perspective, I have to say that small majority government is the best, as it is then that you have the greatest ability to influence policy! A minority government is a completely different experience, and although it has its positives (it requires huge amounts of collaboration and transfers effective power from the Executive to the House) it is a delicate arrangement not suited for big decision-making. We saw this during the Brexit debate. I remember that when I was first elected, someone described the House of Commons chamber to me as “the cockpit of the nation”. Some see it as more of a bun fight, but on the big occasions it is at the very centre of politics and the focus for our nation. It can at times appear a loud and competitive place (such as during Prime Minister’s Questions). However, at other times, it is a deliberate and serious debating chamber where divergent views can clash but in a respectful and democratic way. The working hours in the House are unusual: we finish on Mondays at 10pm with votes that can go well beyond 11pm. Tuesday and Wednesday, the House finishes at 7pm and Thursday at 5pm. These timings are all dependent, of course, on what the government needs to get through the House and when it needs to get it through. In the past, sessions have gone on into the early hours of the morning. 31

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine The traditional aspects of the job and the rituals can also be unusual to say the least – bobbing up and down on the benches to catch the Speaker’s eye and ask a question, referring about (not to!) each other by the constituencies we represent rather than by our names, and of course, the voting system which requires us to walk through the “Aye” and “No” lobbies being tallied off as we do. The vision of a herd of MPs being corralled and counted through the lobbies may look a little archaic (and quite familiar to a Cumbrian sheep farmer!) but it is through this system that a lot of work is done. Even Ministers (including the Prime Minister) have to vote by walking through the lobby and this presents an opportunity for backbenchers like me to have a quick word about a pressing issue or constituency matter, both of us in the knowledge that neither can escape. There is much more that happens in Westminster; speaking in Parliament and sitting on Select Committees, Bill Committees, All-Party Groups, and meeting Ministers. But that is only part of an MP’s job. Being an MP also involves constituency work and local surgeries, attending functions and businesses locally, and campaigning in the hope of re-election. For all the flaws and quirks of the system, we are fortunate to live in a country that has such robust traditions and strong democratic institutions – and I will always consider it the greatest of honour to serve in our Parliament. MPs have their role to play in ensuring this institution continues, but so does the voter. No MP should ever feel that they have a seat for life and therefore as it is the job of MPs to hold government to account, it is incumbent on the voter to hold their MP to account because it is important that we continue to make sure that all MPs’ lives remain strange, unstructured and unpredictable.

Over the horizon… Author note: Tim Rolfe (1982-86) enjoyed a 30-year career with Bristow Helicopters, predominantly as a pilot and instructor/examiner. In July 2020, he joined HeliOffshore – a not-for-profit international association focussed on achieving the highest levels of safety in offshore aviation. Helicopters have been a familiar sight in the skies of NE Scotland since offshore drilling activities began in earnest in the 1970s. Aberdeen has benefitted from being a global centre of oil and gas expertise and the airport has been cited for decades as the ‘busiest heliport in the world’ with, at the height of activities in the 80s and 90s, over 100 flights a day disappearing over the horizon as they transported oil and gas workers to and from the 200+ platforms, rigs and boats that lie out of sight of the coastline. But other than those who work out there or support the many offshore locations in the UK sector, few have an insight into

Former Pupils’ Section those flights which have provided a lifeline to tens of thousands of workers over the last 40-plus years. Typically, 12 or 19 passengers are transported in what are very technically referred to as ‘medium’ or ‘large’ helicopters respectively, travelling out to destinations ranging between 40 and 200 miles out of Aberdeen, the Shetland Islands, Norwich, Blackpool or Humberside. At speeds in the region of 140mph, outbound flights take anywhere between ten minutes and two hours, with weather (and especially strong winds) often heavily influencing the flight times. Costing tens of millions of pounds per airframe, modern helicopters have many of the sophisticated autopilot and navigation systems found in present day airliners, meaning that the pilots no longer have to spend the flight ‘welded’ to the flight controls. ‘Flying by hand’ is these days reserved for take-offs and landings, with the autopilot taking up the burden at other times, reducing fatigue for the crew (and – let’s be honest – allowing them to enjoy their lunch whilst looking out of the window). The North Sea is renowned worldwide for providing a very challenging aviation environment, but modern aircraft are built to withstand freezing temperatures, lightning strikes and severe turbulence, and can safely operate in near zero visibilities. Essential on those days when the haar rolls in! Old hands might describe flying offshore as being 95% boredom, interspersed with 5% hard work; after all, the waves and seagulls look pretty similar on a clear day whether you’re 80 miles west of Shetland or 150 miles east of Newcastle, but that hugely undersells the satisfaction of safely delivering passengers to work and returning them home in whatever conditions prevail - and every day sitting in an office with an unrivalled and incredible view of a unique part of the world. When the sun shines brightly and the wind is calm, an all-round view of up to 70 miles is a privilege. Arriving in an oil field with its cluster of platforms, ‘homes’ to many and each adorned with a bright flare-stack glowing in a dim early morning or evening light, evokes a warming sense of coming across a remote, close-knit and privately hidden highland community after a long journey through the hills. At the other end of the comfort scale, landing a 12-tonne helicopter at night, without a visible horizon, in a 50mph snowstorm, on a helideck that measures 70ft square, as it heaves up and down through almost 20 feet is undeniably demanding and rewarding in equal measure. Throughout the recent pandemic, helicopters have played a critical role in serving the offshore community, ensuring ‘business as usual’ for the energy industry and responding immediately to any suspected cases of Covid-19 discovered offshore; each time returning ‘patients’ to the beach for the necessary medical attention or isolation. This continued activity meant that for a number of weeks at the height of the national lockdown, Aberdeen Airport claimed a record of being busier than Heathrow where flight numbers had been significantly reduced. 33

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine The mechanical complexity of helicopters means that approximately eight hours of maintenance is required for every hour flown and whilst pilots take approximately 18 months to train, engineers’ apprenticeships take several years to gain the required levels of technical knowledge and hands-on experience. Dedicated engineering teams are on shift 24 hours a day to ensure that aircraft are fit and healthy for flight and whilst pilots are often seen as having the ‘headline’ role in aviation, the maintenance professionals are truly the unsung heroes of the industry. Generations of offshore aviation professionals have made northeast Scotland home and, with huge changes in industry afoot, some may be wondering what is in store in the coming years. The development of new technologies such as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (or eVTOLs as they are known) runs at a pace similar to the technological developments during the 1960s ‘space race’, and is set to transform the industry, with the momentum further driven by the global agenda to reduce carbon emissions. Discussions over the use of sustainable fuels across aviation will inevitably include helicopters – it’s amazing what can be run on recycled ‘chip oil’ after all! Small, unmanned aircraft (where the pilot is literally sitting in a shed on land) are flying in the North Sea today completing tasks such as methane detection using highly sophisticated sensors to detect leaks in underwater pipelines. Indeed, as the energy industry itself shifts towards renewable sources, it is easy to imagine a future without today’s recognisable helicopters flying regularly overhead. But given their unique ability to take-off and land on the proverbial ‘postage stamp’, their resilience in our all too changeable weather conditions and their essential ability to provide lifesaving search and rescue services to the 12,000 folks currently working offshore in the UK, it’s likely that they’ll be around in one form or another, serving ageing oil platforms or newly built windfarms, for some time to come. The helicopters we will see tomorrow may be built of different materials, run on different power sources and be manned by one instead of two pilots - some may even fly autonomously - but they will undoubtedly continue to provide a uniquely rewarding professional career in a very unique environment to those budding engineers and passionate aviators of the future. Exciting possibilities lie over the horizon…

More Centenaries Last year’s Magazine contained an account of the work of Prof. John McLeod (1883-93) on the discovery of insulin. It seems appropriate now to record other significant events in which Former Pupils were involved a hundred years ago this year. 34

Former Pupils’ Section

(1) The University Students’ Show “Show,” as it is universally known nowadays, was first produced in 1921. In contrast to the stage production in His Majesty’s Theatre which has become such a familiar feature of the Aberdeen scene, the first production took place in the Debater in Marischal College and took the form of a mock trial, which was a common form of entertainment at the time. It was a fund-raising exercise for the University RAG week. In the following year Stella the Bajanella was the first scripted musical comedy which was written and produced by a student, Eric Linklater (1913-16). It was a resounding success and set the pattern for later years. While this may have changed to a sketch-based revue in recent years the bond between participating students is as intense as ever. Linklater was elected Rector of the University in 1945 by a substantial majority and it was typical of his versatility and ability that he wrote the script for the 1946 Show, To meet the MacGregors which was hugely successful, playing to packed houses in H.M. Theatre. Over the years many Former Pupils have played prominent roles in Show and, while Show experience is not a prime qualification for becoming President of the F.P. Club, Linklater himself was President in 1956-57 followed in 2001-02 by Steve Robertson. Dozens of other FPs have taken part both on stage, as musicians and as administrators.

(2) A Himalayan Disaster The First Martyr to Everest On 5th June 1921 Alexander Mitchell Kellas (1881-84) died from sudden heart failure at Kampa Dzong, Tibet while he was a member of the 1921 Mount Everest Expedition. He was one of four brothers who all attended the School in the last two decades of the 19th century. His father was head of Aberdeen Mercantile Marine Board with his home and office in a mansion on Regent Quay who moved the family to Carden Place so that the boys could attend the Grammar School. He went on to gain a DSc. from London and a PhD from Heidelberg after which he lectured in physics and chemistry at Middlesex Hospital in London. From a young age he had a fascination for hills. His mother’s family farmed near Ballater and Alex explored the Cairngorms on a regular basis. Day trips to Lochnagar expanded into long walks into the Cairngorms, a favourite overnight stop being at the Shelter Stone below Ben Macdhui. The strength which was to be critical in his later mountaineering was evident when, at the age of 17, he and his 15-year-old brother walked from the family farm at Ballater to the Shelter Stone,

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine a distance of 35 miles, in twelve hours, over-nighted there, climbed Ben Macdhui and on the same day walked back to Ballater. While still climbing in Scotland Alex expanded his experience by climbing in Norway and in the Alps, but none of this was significant. Then, on impulse, in 1908, at the age of forty, he visited India where he made several journeys to the mountains of Northern Sikkim and Garhwal. He then revisited the region every year until the outbreak of war in 1914, by which time he had climbed several virgin peaks in Sikkim above 20,000 feet and had spent more time at that altitude than anyone else alive at that time. In 1911 he climbed Mount Pauhunri, 23,180 feet, and in 1920 reached 23,600 feet on Kamet. Kellas had trained in chemistry and taught this subject to medical students. His own early research had been into various aspects of both organic and inorganic chemistry. He gradually became interested in the physiology of high altitude, no doubt because of his scientific background and his personal experience of high altitude. He became an authority on acute mountain sickness and wrote on this subject. He worked in conjunction with one of the most eminent British physiologists of the early 20th century on a study of acclimatization due to repeated exposure to low pressure in a chamber of the Lister Institute in London. While his early Himalayan expeditions were primarily exploratory he became gradually more interested in using them to study the physiological problems of extreme altitude, and at one point he wrote a tentative proposal for a medical scientific expedition to remain for a period of several months at an altitude of 20,000 feet to study the physiology of acclimatization. It is remarkable that such an expedition was not organised until more than forty years later, and then at a slightly more modest height of 19,000 feet. Kellas did not publish much, but noteworthy was his paper entitled “A consideration of the possibility of ascending the loftier Himalayas” which was published in the Journal of the Royal Geographic Society. An unpublished study entitled “A consideration of the possibility of ascending Mount Everest” was written while Kellas was preparing for what were to be his last two Himalayan expeditions. He posed the question as to whether it was possible to reach the summit of Mount Everest without adventitious aids and, if not, does an ascent with oxygen appear to be feasible? The first physical difficulty discussed was that of access. The mountain had so far never been visited by white men and it was unlikely that any mortal had reached an altitude of even 20,000 feet upon it. His knowledge of the local geography enabled Kellas to suggest three possible routes from Darjeeling, depending on permission from the authorities of Tibet or Nepal, the former being the most likely, and so it turned out. In 1919 Kellas had a period of ill health at home in Aberdeen, suffering a mental breakdown. He benefited from expert advice and was able to resume his plans. He returned with a colleague to Kamet in the Garhwal in 1920, reached 36

Former Pupils’ Section 22,998 feet and broke the back of the mountain. A porters’ rebellion ended the attempt, but he continued with further experiments on the use of oxygen at altitude. He predicted that Everest could be climbed by a fit, strong person without oxygen, as was proved when this feat was achieved by two climbers in 1978. Over the years of his visits to India Kellas explored the approaches to Mount Everest and to Kangkenjunga. His detailed knowledge made him a natural choice for the first Mount Everest Expedition of 1921 and, had he been younger, he would very possibly have been its leader. Having set out on the expedition, Kellas died at Kampa Dzong, in Tibet, from a combination of dysenteric illness brought about by unhygienic food and the effects of his strenuous mountaineering activities in Sikkim before he joined the Expedition. He was buried on one of the slopes within sight of Everest and overlooking the three great peaks Chomiomo, Chumalhari and Kungchinjinga which he alone had already climbed. The grave lies in a site unsurpassed for beauty looking out over the broad plains and rolling hills of Tibet to the mighty snow mountains of the Himalaya. Another memorial was erected at the Rongbuk Glacier in 1924 where the duo of Mallory and Irvine and several Sherpas had lost their lives. Kellas Rock peak near Everest was named after him as was Kellas Peak in Sikkim which is still unclimbed. ** ** ** **

Lt Robert Combe, Canadian FPs and the Great War The Canada Centre of the Former Pupils’ Club has honoured the memory of Robert Grierson Combe, a resident of Melville, Saskatchewan, with the following inscription on the Centre President’s Badge of Office: “Commemorating Lt. Robert G. Combe (1894-97), VC, 27th Bn. Canadian Infantry, d. 3rd May 1917, France.” In honouring Robert the Centre also seeks to remember all Canadian FPs who served and fell in the First World War, their names among those of the 243 FPs who lost their lives in that terrible conflict and who are remembered on the School’s War Memorial. (Combe is also remembered elsewhere in Aberdeen, including Bon Accord Terrace Gardens, at various locations in Canada and on the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge.) Canadian FPs predominantly served with Canadian military units; a small number returned to join British units such as the Gordon Highlanders and the Royal Engineers. However, those who served and fell in the latter group have yet to be added to the statistics that were reported at the time for FPs in Canadian units. The statistics were compiled by the indefatigable Theodore Watt (1889-1901) when preparing the Aberdeen Grammar School Roll of Pupils, 1795-1919 (1923) and revisited by Richard Dargie (1964-73) in The Grammar at War, 1914-18 (2014). About 80 FPs were reported as having served in the Canadian 37

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Expeditionary Force (CEF) and 21 fatalities were recorded. This loss represented about 8.6 percent of all FPs killed and noticeably diminished the population of FPs living in Canada who numbered in the low hundreds at the outbreak of hostilities. Moreover, when viewed from the perspective that a number of FPs who survived the conflict did not return to Canada (possibly as many as 14) and that the FP migration momentum of pre-War days was severely blunted (perhaps 100 FPs came to Canada in the period 1914-45), the cumulative impact of war upon a young Canada from this one Scottish school was notable. Robert Combe was of that cohort of FPs who, motivated by opportunity and adventure, came to Canada in considerable numbers in the quarter-century prior to WWI. Combe’s first step upon leaving the School was not dissimilar to that of other FPs who chose to gain experience through local apprenticeships or similar means prior to their emigration. A number were apprenticed to local engineering firms, for example Robert first attended Ferryhill School and then the Grammar, and was subsequently apprenticed to be a chemist with William E. Hay in Aberdeen and received further training in his chosen profession in London. In 1906 (some sources say 1907) he moved to Canada and found employment in a drug store in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, and later set up his own business in Melville. He married Jean Traquair Donald of Scottish descent in August 1909 and enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, with the CEF on 1 April, 1915. Thereafter he was in Britain and France with various Canadian units until his death between Acheville and Fresnoy near Vimy Ridge. Just as Combe found opportunity to pursue a career as a chemist on the prairies, so were other FPs attracted (or recruited) to careers throughout Canada with such as the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Canadian Pacific Railway and Hudson’s Bay Company, or through personal endeavour in urban business, farming or fruit growing, mining and medicine. Cross-country railway tours by visiting FPs such as William McCombie Alexander (1887-96) in 1912 and Canadian FPs’ correspondence with the Editor of the Magazine brought evidence of FP omnipresence from Halifax to Victoria, and stretching northwards to include those who were participating in the fur trade. I have been gathering information on FPs in Canada and my interest, in part, has been drawn to those who served with British regiments and who are unaccounted for in statistics about Canadian FPs. While conceding that my data are incomplete what has been assembled to date broadens our appreciation of the overall contribution by Canadian FPs. Also to be noted is that the vast majority re-crossed the Atlantic to the European theatre of war; very few served in Canada alone. Some instances follow of those who served with British units. Robert Smith Asher (1898-1903) first worked as an engineer with William Jackson of Aberdeen and then moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan, as Assistant City Engineer. He returned to Britain and served there and in France for five years with the Royal Engineers. Asher subsequently worked with the City of Edinburgh 38

Former Pupils’ Section and the City of York. He did not return to Canada. Of the three Gray brothers who went to Canada, one, Eric (1897-1900), enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery. His brothers David (1895-98) and William (1895-99) served with the Canadians – the Canadian Mounted Rifles and Canadian Infantry respectively. Both David and William were killed. Leonard Smith (1890-1902) joined the Royal Engineers, survived the war and returned to Canada. Stuart Robertson (1895-1904), after employment with the North-West Mounted Police and Dominion Lands Branch, joined the Fort Garry Horse, CEF, then the Gordon Highlanders and afterwards the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, winning the Croix de Guerre. He returned to Canada. Through recourse to dates of departure from the School and other sources (especially Watt’s Roll and the School Magazine) the record suggests that almost 330 FPs went to Canada during the period 1880-1913, a number far exceeding the less than 70 FPs known to have gone there during the prior period extending back to the 1790s. Of the population of 1880-1913 migrants about one third joined Canadian and British units, all but a handful being men who left School in the quarter-century before the War; that is, from 1890 onwards. This means that the number of Canadian FPs in total who served slightly exceeded 100. There are known to have been four Canadian fatalities among British units, bringing the total of known Canadian war dead to at least 25. The former were Douglas Jamieson (1895-1903), an architect from Vancouver who obtained a commission in the Royal Engineers; John Rattray (1903-05), in business in Montreal, who joined the Gordon Highlanders and was killed by a shell while laying cable near Ypres; Thomas Keith (1903-04) in service with the Canadian Bank of Commerce who served with the Black Watch, Lovat’s Scouts and Cameron Highlanders; and Alexander Robertson (1893), a solicitor in Winnipeg who joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment. In 1917 Jean Combe was presented with her late husband’s Victoria Cross, posthumously awarded for “conspicuous bravery and example.” In 1963, Mrs Combe donated the medal to the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan in Regina. Perhaps little known too, is that Jean followed her husband to Britain in 1915, working in a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) in England and at Edinburgh War Hospital. A relative, Ian Macdonald, has suggested that she may also have spent time at Aboyne Castle Hospital. If such occurred one wonders whether Robert Combe’s wish of 2nd January 1915, printed in the Magazine, for Jean to see “the old School” of which he was so proud was fulfilled. Doubtless many an FP at that time of conflict, upon his impending return to Britain from experiences to date in Canada, likewise held this same wish. Participation by Canada in WWI, notably at Vimy, is widely acknowledged as the country’s “coming of age.” We cannot forget that Canadian FPs within their limited number contributed mightily to that endeavour. Together with their FP forebears from a century and more before, Canadian FPs by the end of the war 39

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine had become part and parcel of the Canadian story, their efforts, sacrifices and accomplishments indelibly etched into the fabric of this vast country. Robert C. Scace (1954-60)

The Paton Bequest The Magazine of December 1957 recorded the death of Herbert William James Paton (1896-99) together with the intimation of what was then described as a valuable bequest for the benefit of the School. Mr Paton entered the service of the old North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen until 1908 when he left to form the travel agency Paton’s Travel & Shipping Offices in the city. He directed this business for eleven years before moving to London to join Walter Hepworth & Co., Yeast Merchants. He was managing director of this company at the time of his death on 10 July 1957 at the age of 74. Intimation was made soon thereafter that, subject to certain liferent interests, one eighth part of the residue of his estate was to go to the F.P. Club for the provision of scholarships and/or prizes for the School for the promotion and encouragement of the study of the English language, Mathematics and Science. At the time his estate was valued at over £30,000 so the bequest was reckoned, in the very different financial circumstances of over sixty years ago, to be very valuable. Intimation was received in May of last year that the liferentrix had now died and the capital of the Trust Fund could be paid over to the F.P. Club for the benefit of the School. The sum involved is £1,695.67. The School and its finances are very different now in contrast to the time of the making of Mr Paton’s Will, scholarships as envisaged in 1957 being outdated. Discussions are taking place with the School on the most appropriate way for this long delayed gift to be utilised.

Former Pupils’ Club Founded 11 September 1893 40

Former Pupils’ Section Club Office-Bearers, 2021-2022 Honorary President: ALISON MURISON MA (Head Teacher) Honorary Vice-Presidents: BRIAN K. CROOKSHANKS (1934-46), TD, MA, LL.B (President, 1983-84) Prof. PHILIP N. LOVE (1952-58), CBE, DL, MA, LL.B, LL.D (President, 1987-88) A. KEITH CAMPBELL (1944-53), TEng (CEI), FInst AEA (President, 1992-93) DOUGLAS G. FOWLIE (1950-64) MB,ChB, FRCPsych. (President, 2002-03)) IAN H. McLEOD (1951-55) (President, 2004-05) GORDON G. MILNE (1950-61) MB.ChB (President, 2005-06) DAVID L. ALLAN (1945-58) QPM, LL.B, MPhil, FCMI (President 2006-07) GARY J.G. ALLAN (1963-76) QC, LL.B (President 2007-08) JAMES M. CLARK (1947-59) (President 2008-09) NEIL BORTHWICK (1952-65) BSc, PhD (President 2009-10) DONALD A. LAMONT (1952-65) MA (President 2010-11) TRACEY J.H. MENZIES (1981-87) MBE, DCH, LL.B (President 2011-12) NIGEL G.M. WATT (1963-69) LL.B, WS (President 2012-13) J. MARTIN JEFFREY (1942-57) BSc (President 2013-14) MARGERY G. TAYLOR (1975-81) (President 2014-15) DOUGLAS R. HARPER (1944-58) MB,ChB, MD, FRCSE, FRCS (President 2016-17) GILLIAN A. THOMAS (1975-80) (President 2017-19) IAIN S. HOPKIN (1962-68) MA, FCCA (President 2019-20) (Specially Elected) J. PETER JEFFREY (1944-59) MSc (Eng) (Elected 2010) H. ALAN S. HAMILTON (1943-56) (Elected 2012) GRAHAM LEGGE BEd, MEd, (Rector 2004-15) (Elected 2016) President: STUART W. CUMMINGS (1965-69) President-Elect: KENNETH McHARDY (1964-73) Vice-President of Club and Chairman of Executive: ALAN G. CAMPBELL (1959-65) CBE, LL.D, LL.B, Interim Secretary: IAIN S. HOPKIN (1962-68) MA, FCCA Treasurer: JOHN C.A. MICHIE (1944-58) General & Notes Editor of Magazine: BRIAN K. CROOKSHANKS (1934-46) TD, MA, LL.B

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Regional Centres Edinburgh:

President –NIGEL G.M. WATT (1963-69) Acting Secretary – NIGEL G.M. WATT (1963-69) ngmwatt77@gmail.com Glasgow: President – MALCOLM GAULD (1947-61) Secretary – MARGERY TAYLOR (1975-81) marg7ery@ntlworld.com London: President – SANDY NICOL (1962-71) Secretary – GRAHAM THOMSON (1979-83) grahamsally501@btinternet.com Yorkshire: President – Secretary – DAVID GALLOWAY (1976-82) davegalloway1964@hotmail.com Canada: President – ROBERT C. SCACE (1954-60) Secretary – MICHAEL G. KING (1951-60) michaelking806@comcast.net

Secretaries of Sections Cricket – RICHARD S.T. FERRO Curling – NORMAN PATERSON (1947-61) Football – MALCOLM ROBERTSON Men’s Hockey – DUNCAN HARRIS (1985-91) Women’s Hockey – EMMA MAIR (1985-91) Pétanque –

theferrofamily@lineone.net nwp21tp@outlook.com grammarfps@gmail.com dharris@technip.com emma.mair@gmail.com

Executive Committee ALAN G. CAMPBELL (1959-65) Chairman Vice-Chairman The Secretary, the Treasurer and the General Editor of the Magazine, ex officiis The Rector of the School, ex officio RICHARD L.C. DARGIE (1964-73) RUSSELL GRAY (1951-65) GRANT A. HAMILTON (1988-94) J. MARTIN JEFFREY (1942-57) EMMA A. MAIR (1985-91) JOHN C.A. MICHIE (1944-58) GEOFFREY E. MORRISON (1992-98) HARVEY E. MORRISON (1951-65) BARRY J. SHEPHERD (1988-94) DAVID R.D. WALLIS (1979-85)

Section Representatives Cricket – SAM KNUDSON (2004-10) Curling – COLIN R. SUTHERLAND (1947-60) Football – Golf – DALLAS G. MOIR (1969-75) Men’s Hockey – JAMES P. WILLIAMS (1986-92) Pétanque – Women’s Hockey – EMMA MAIR (1985-91) Staff – JANET C. ADAMS (1980-86)

Auditors Messrs. BOWER & SMITH, C.A.

Former Pupils’ Section

Club Consuls Australia – JIM W. HOWISON (1937-50), 98A Hull Road, West Pennant Hills, New South Wales 2125, Australia, E-mail: howison@tech2u.com.au Tel. 00 61-2-9875-1296 Australia – Dr. FORBES J. SMITH (1945-57), 242 Main Creek Road, Main Ridge, Victoria, 3928, Australia E-mail: forbessmith@alphalink.com.au Tel. 0061-3-5989-6234 Canada – GORDON B. SINGER (1949-50), 2421 Erlton Street SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2S 2V9 E-mail: singsing@shaw.ca ; Tel. 00 1-403-266-6448 Canada – DAVID R. AULD (1947-61), 2187 Lafayette Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8S 2P2 E-mail: davidauld@shaw.ca ; Tel. 001-250-595-0616 Corsica – IAIN WARES (1941-52), Via G.M. Angioy 34, Cagliari 09124, Sardinia, Italy. Tel. 0039-070-652508 Hong Kong – MARSHALL H. BYRES (1960-69), 2A Hatton House, 15 Kotewall Road, Hong Kong E-mail: marshall.byres@hk.ev.com ; Tel. 00852-2846-9878 Ireland – ANDREW M.M. STEVEN (1936-50), 5 Beechhill Avenue, Saintfield Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT8 6NS. Tel. 028-9070-2315. United States – MICHAEL G. KING (1951-60), 1640 Williamsburg Way, Eugene, Oregon 97401-7836 USA E-mail: michaelking806@comcast.net Tel. 1-541-344-8931

Annual General Meeting The One-hundred and seventeenth Annual General Meeting of the Club was held on Monday 29 March 2021 with Mr Alan Campbell, the Vice-President, in the Chair. By necessity, in view of the then prevailing Covid restrictions, the meeting was held remotely by Zoom. The Chairman reported as follows: “This has indeed been a year like no other. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions have affected each and every aspect of life. Our AGM in March 2020 could not take place. We were right at the beginning of the first lockdown and Zoom was not, at that point, widely available. Members of the FP Club were kept up to date by way of email. Alan Marr, our President, was probably most affected by the restrictions as travel and attendance at events 43

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine which are the normal part of a Presidential year were all impossible. Alan will be reporting to this meeting as the demitting President and will outline an initiative he was unable to implement but which he will set about achieving when restrictions are lifted. Aberdeen Grammar School, like every other, has had the most traumatic and interrupted year in its 700-year history. Our admiration and support go to the Head Teacher, staff and pupils as they face uncharted waters. All activities, such as our recently inaugurated Luther Kitson Smith golf initiative, have had to be suspended for the time being. The Covid 19 lockdown brought fundamental changes in everyone’s routine. An unexpected but very welcome initiative was a decision by five of the class which left School in 1969 to compile a volume of their family histories, their time at AGS and their lives subsequently. Remarkably, this they have achieved in less than a year. A superb book of about 500 pages with many photographs relevant to the history of North East Scotland and changing times has been published privately. The camaraderie of the School and the debt due to dedicated and inspirational teachers are recurring themes. The front cover of this handsome volume is a photo of the Staff in 1947. A copy was given to the School, and one to the FP Club. A full appreciation of this unique addition to our history will appear on our website very soon. The five authors are John Curran, Stuart Cummings (our President Elect at the time of writing this), David Smith, Philip Turberville and Nigel Watt. The issue of the marketing of 86 Queen’s Road and 1 Bayview Road has been on the agenda for a number of years. Back in December 2017 all members of the FP Club were advised that the decision to market our Club Centre property at the beginning of 2018 had been taken after a great deal of heart-searching and exploration of alternative methods of achieving financial sustainability. At that point, over three years ago, it was commented that times were very different from those days of fifty years ago when the Club Centre was first opened as our social club and a focus for our sports and other sections. Such social clubs have, for a good number of years, found it increasingly difficult to break even in the conditions which have prevailed over the last decade or so. Indeed it has only been through inspired leadership and a close eye on income and expenditure that the Club Centre has survived. It should be noted, however, that the Club Centre has been unable to make payments to the parent Club and the financial burden has been borne by the FP Club membership generally. Very significant payments have been made by the FP Club to the Centre over the last twelve years or so and ‘rent’ payments to the parent Club and to the Amenities Fund for use in the school have been deferred. Consequently FP Club finances have been unable to cope and interest-free loans amounting to some £80,000 have been received from generous FPs to tide over the FP Club pending a sale; 44

Former Pupils’ Section repayment of these has already been delayed by our inability thus far to secure a sale. With all that in mind the decision was taken at a Special Meeting of the FP Club on 2 July 2018 to accept an offer of £2.25M conditional upon the buyer obtaining planning consent for a care home. After an extended period of negotiations between the prospective purchasers and Aberdeen City planners the purchasers withdrew as they were unable to achieve the scale of home they required. There was then a further approach from a company with care home aspirations and the Executive Committee agreed to pursue that at an offer of £1.5M but that company, too, failed to proceed. Following detailed advice from F.G. Burnett, Chartered Surveyors, who have been our agents throughout, we agreed to remarket the property in 2020 with a greater focus on the domestic market. It was accepted that these were difficult times given the continuing downturn in oil and gas activities which has been compounded by the impact on business of Codid 19. The view of the property advisers is that the existing gross over-supply of offices, hotels and blocks of residential accommodation is unlikely to diminish to any significant degree in the short to medium term. It is accordingly their view that prices in Aberdeen are unlikely to recover to any significant extent over that period. As there is concern that the withdrawal of government support and furlough payments as the virus recedes may further impact upon the local economy, as well as an accelerating global shift from hydrocarbons, it was agreed to remarket our property. A potential offer, being the best received, is currently being evaluated after some preliminary discussions with the offeror with a view to the Executive Committee assessing the position when Heads of Terms have been agreed for a clean sale, i.e. one which is not conditional upon planning permission being granted. It may appear that delaying a sale in the hope that market conditions might improve is an option. Given the difficulty of identifying any factors suggesting potential for increased prices in our area, coupled with the costs associated with the continuing ownership of the buildings and site it was agreed to examine very carefully all offers which were received from several parties. The flooding of the Club Centre caused by the rainstorms of 12 August 2020 caused extensive damage to the basement of No. 86. The Club Centre Chairman and his team did sterling work to get the property back into condition with costs generally recovered from an insurance claim. Inevitably, following that claim, intimation was received of a massive increase in the insurance premium. After much research and negotiation the premium hike was reduced but still increased from £3k to something like £10k per annum. It should be recalled that from 2018 the loss of the annual rental income of £27,000 in respect of 1 Bayview Road was a major blow as was the loss of car parking income of £13,000k per annum. (The £27k rental had been split equally 45

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine between the FP Club and Club Centre). An already precarious financial situation had worsened significantly. In anticipation that missives for the sale of 86 Queen’s Road looked as if they might be concluded in the next eight weeks or so the Club Centre committee took the decision to cease trading from 31 March 2021. I was advised on 12 and 16 March by the Club Centre Chairman, David Leighton, that “The Club Centre formally ceases trading with effect from 31 March 2021 and consequently the entity AGSFP Club Centre will cease to exist and will therefore not be relocating”. An emergency meeting of the Executive Committee was held on 17 March. The position regarding the decision to end trading and the decision of the Club Centre Committee to cease to function was noted and accepted. Appreciation was extended to the Club Centre Chairman and his team for the work and immense commitment put in to keep No 86 operating for so long as it did. It was also noted that an assurance had been received that all debts, loans and other financial obligations up to 31 March 2021 can be settled from existing Club Centre funds and that it was the aim of the Centre Committee to do so. The Executive Committee joined with the Club Centre Chairman in agreeing that the issue of the financial relationship between the FP Club and the Club and the Club Centre would need resolution and agreed that it should be the subject of further friendly dialogue and ultimate agreement. In this connection it was agreed that the FP Club and the Club Centre should each appoint a representative to have discussions with the auditor, who happens to be the same person for each set of accounts, with a view to presenting a joint report for approval. It was unanimously agreed that we will collectively move to the formal conclusion of all matters in a constructive way. On a positive note about our future, I am pleased to report that the Executive Committee some four years ago, conscious of the need to change the focus of the Club to take account of vastly different times, began examining how to harness technology to improve communication with and interaction amongst members. The objective of this initiative was clear – to create an interactive website and platform which would be attractive to successive generations of FPs and to encourage and facilitate school leavers to join the Club. I am delighted to say that after much research and consideration by the Executive Committee, and following the receipt of an extremely generous donation from a Former Pupil, the website is now up and running. If you have not already registered you are warmly invited to visit the website and then register and log in. You will soon have a sense of how the platform is being used to share FP News and to create the networking opportunities. Developing the platform to create what you wish to be able to do is paramount as is the objective of liaising with school leavers and extending our membership. Discussions with the School will happen when restrictions permit but I should say 46

Former Pupils’ Section that the Head Teacher has been extremely supportive of the concept and the need to involve young people while still at school. She has welcomed the proposal with open arms. The opportunities presented are enormous with 400 Former Pupils already on the new platform, including some recent school leavers – an excellent response. Some of the benefits already evident include a members’ forum providing an opportunity to post news items; members finding an easy way to get in touch with schoolmates after many years; sharing memories of old staff photos and past sporting triumphs being recalled. The platform offers sports and other sections the ability not only to disseminate information but also to create discussion threads and to serve as a recruitment tool. It will be much easier for Regional Centres to liaise with their members and year groups will find it easier to organise class reunions. The Club and its sections will be able to advertise social events and keep members up to date. May I encourage you to register and log in and consider how you can contribute to its usefulness and let us know what you would like to access. In my role as Chairman of the FP Executive Committee I see much of what goes on behind the scenes to keep the Club functioning. There is a great deal of hard work, hours of commitment and, yes, disturbed sleep as we attempt to cope with not just the impact of Covid and lockdown but also with changing times and expectations. David Leighton and his support team have had years of challenges, hard work, long hours and effort to keep the show on the road, long before the strictures of lockdown. This needed to be recorded in our minutes as it has indeed been well beyond the call of duty. Our interim Secretary Iain ‘Hoppy’ Hopkin has delivered on the onerous task of moving our activities to the new website and has done so with typical Hoppy gusto. He has also delivered on the secretarial role and adapted to these socially distanced days. Our indefatigable Editor, Brian Crookshanks, is an example to us all as he commands the helm of our Magazine having acquired computer skills and techniques to add to his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things AGS. Our Treasurer, John Michie, has been coping with increased interaction with members, which is very welcome, as well as keeping our finances afloat. A Membership Secretary function is now required. In view of the changing pressures on officials I suggest that a priority task of the Executive Committee following this AGM should be to revise the roles and skills required to move forward as an organisation. This will inevitably require the experience, skills and aptitude of a set of FPs who are generally younger than currently – but the same level of enthusiasm as found in many of the older generation will certainly be required. The tasks required need to be shared across a much wider group of volunteers.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Last, but not least, a very special thanks to those FPs whose generous donations and interest-free loans have kept us solvent during these difficult years and have allowed us to move forward with the website. Given the recent decision taken by the Club Centre Committee in regard to the Centre it would be wrong to allow this AGM to pass without recording how much the Centre on Queen’s Road has meant to so many of us over its half century of service. It has been a very important and integral part of the FP Club for all that time. Memories of convivial chats with good company at the bar, gatherings after sports events, televised sports events such as epic rugby internationals, Petanque, the spectacular 5th November Fireworks displays, Year reunions and our excellent Stewards and bar staff over all the years are all precious memories. Our thanks are expressed for the dedication and work of so many enthusiastic volunteers and staff who made the Club Centre a focus and a happy venue over all these years. I propose that we record this in the Minute of this meeting with acclamation. General Business Section Reports Reports from the various Sections were noted. Regional Centre reports noted little activity due to the pandemic but that all were using the new membership platform. The significance of the loss of James Rust from the Edinburgh Centre was noted. Accounts and Treasurer’s Report The Treasurer reported on the Accounts for 2020 which were still in draft form. The meeting authorised the Executive to approve them once audited. The Accounts appear on page 46 below and show a loss of £2771. Election of Office-Bearers Officials of the Club were elected in accordance with the list published elsewhere in this Magazine. Auditors Messrs Bower & Smith, CA, were unanimously re-appointed Auditors of the Club and Section Accounts for the coming year. In closing the meeting the Chairman expressed his appreciation of the support given by so many in the current difficult conditions. ** ** ** ** **

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Annual General Meeting 2022 The next Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 28th March 2022, the place and format to be advised in terms of the Constitution.

President’s Report To begin with I should like to repeat what I said towards the end of my Presidential Profile last year, namely that I feel extremely honoured to have been nominated as President of the Former Pupils’ Club. It is customary at the Annual General Meeting for the outgoing President to reflect on the year that has gone by, highlighting the various Club functions and events in which he or she has been able to participate as well as the opportunities to engage with the present school pupils and staff. This past year has not turned out quite as planned, as whilst I was getting back into the groove of FP matters through my role as President-Elect the lockdown in March 2020 and the ensuing restrictions that we have all had to endure have significantly inhibited development of the role I was looking to playing. Notwithstanding these restrictions I have still enjoyed what contact I have had with the School and my fellow FPs. The virtual meeting held to select the winners of the All Round Trophy last year stands out as both an uplifting and a humbling experience, as the achievements and contributions made by each of the candidates to both the school and the community were gone through by the panel. We should all be proud of the current generation. I have also appreciated the links with the Club Centres around the UK and abroad. Whilst travel restrictions have conspired against physical meetings I have appreciated the electronic exchanges when possible. Perhaps I can participate more fully post lockdown. The main goal I had planned for my year as President was to draw together a group of musicians from the membership of the FP Club to form either an orchestra or concert band to engage with the current pupils through some form of collaboration at an appropriate event. Having taken soundings from a number of FPs it was clear to me that there was an appetite for such an ensemble, and it would be my intention to follow this through once a degree of normality has returned to our lives. There is a highly talented pool of FPs out there and I am excited at the prospect of achieving this goal. This past year has been very challenging and demanding on the business front as I have strived to run my professional accountancy practice without the luxury of having a fully functioning physical office. Without the modern day means of communication and technological advances this would not have been possible and I am reminded of the parallels to be drawn with the FP Club. Conscious of 49

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the Club Centre having been out of action due to the pandemic for a large part of 2020, it is the personal bonds that have been built up amongst FPs that have ensured the continued interest in the School and FP Club. It is the membership after all that is the most important asset of any Club. The new membership platform can but enhance and assist this going forward and I encourage all FPs to sign up to it. In closing I must pay thanks to Alan Campbell, John Michie and Iain Hopkin for their endless enthusiasm, support and encouragement throughout my term as President. To my successor, Stuart Cummings, I wish every success for the year that lies ahead and trust that he will continue to enjoy the support and friendship extended to myself.

Presidential Profile Stuart W. Cummings (1965-69) MA, PhD Stuart William Cummings was born in York and spent the first five years of his life in England before his parents moved back to Scotland and settled in Scone, just north of Perth. After completing his primary school education at the Robert Douglas Memorial School, his first two years of secondary schooling saw him attend Perth Academy in his first year and Queen’s Park School in Glasgow in his second year. In the late summer of 1965, the family moved north to Aberdeen when his father took up a position with the Aberdeen University Press and Stuart entered Aberdeen Grammar School at the start of Third Year. Within a week he was playing his first game for the Colts rugby team, having borrowed the necessary kit from former FP President, Nigel Watt, a moment that marked the beginning of a steadfast friendship that has prevailed for over fifty years. On leaving the School, Stuart studied mathematics at Aberdeen University and in 1972 he began four years of postgraduate education at Strathclyde University, where he obtained a Master’s degree and a PhD in Operational Research. During his PhD research, which concerned the modelling of resource needs of stroke patients in the east end of Glasgow, he was invited to conduct the statistical analysis of clinical trial on behalf of Berk Pharmaceuticals. As a consequence of this work, and upon completion of his studies, he joined Berk as a medical statistician and moved to Guildford in 1978. 50

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In 1980 Stuart moved to Brussels to join Merck, the major US pharmaceutical company. During a 25-year career at Merck Stuart was responsible for building the company’s European core biostatistical and clinical data management capability, becoming Senior Director in 2000. Initially, his primary task was to provide statistical support for marketing studies across Merck’s European subsidiaries but from the mid-1980s onwards he assumed responsibility for developing innovative computing systems and processes for capturing and accelerating the acquisition of international clinical trial data, in particular the early adoption of remote data entry solutions. Throughout the 1990s, under Stuart’s leadership, the European department expanded their remit to include phase III research programs and several mega trials, notably the 4S study, the first end-point study to demonstrate that reducing cholesterol levels in cardiac patients had a significant impact on reducing mortality. On leaving Merck, Stuart worked for several Clinical Research Organisations providing clinical trial design and operational support to both pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Stuart left full-time employment in 2010 but continued to work for several years in a consulting role accelerating the acquisition of international clinical trial data, in particular the early adoption of remote data entry solutions. Throughout the 1990s, under Stuart’s leadership, the European department expanded their remit to include phase III research programs and several mega trials, notably the 4S study, the first end-point study to demonstrate that reducing cholesterol levels in cardiac patients had a significant impact on reducing mortality. On leaving Merck, Stuart worked for several Clinical Research Organisations providing clinical trial design and operational support to both pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Stuart left full-time employment in 2010 but continued to work for several years in a consulting role. Stuart was awarded full colours for rugby in his 5th year and his enthusiasm for the sport continued while at Aberdeen University, playing for the Grammar FP first XV for four seasons between 1969 and 1973. During this period he was also a member of the ‘Buzz Collectif’, a 7-aside team, which included three other contemporary Grammar FPs (‘Tufty’ Duncan, Roddy McDonald and Marshall Byres) and three Gordonian students, and which won the inaugural Aberdeen University open sevens tournament in 1971 and successfully defended their title the 51

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Stuart W. Cummings (1965-69)

President 2020-21

following year. On arriving in Glasgow in 1973 to continue his studies, he joined Clarkston RFC, and ended his rugby days in 1998 after eight 52

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seasons with the Brussels British Rugby Football Club. For more than fifteen years Stuart played for the Exiles in the annual Aberdeen Select vs. Aberdeen Exiles match on Boxing Day, captaining the side on three occasions. A keen hillwalker, Stuart climbed his first Munro early on the morning of the longest day in 1976 to watch the sun rise from the summit of Ben Lomond. Over the next 35 years, despite the challenge of living most of his time in Brussels, Stuart continued his Munro odyssey, ‘compleating’ his final Munro, Stob Coire Sgreamhach, in Glencoe in 2011 in the company or more than fifty family members, friends and fellow hillwalkers. Stuart is married to Catriona, a retired conference interpreter. She is a founder member of the Brussels Shakespeare Society and has acted in, directed and produced many plays during a 40-year involvement in Brussels amateur dramatics. Stuart and Catriona have two sons. Alistair works in marketing for a shipping insurance company in London and Andrew, who led a life of global adventure for many years including two years teaching primary schoolchildren in Cambodia, and who is currently studying electronic music production in Bristol. Stuart has also been the driving force behind the very successful reunions of the ‘Class of 1969’ which started in 1999 and culminated in the 50th reunion in 2019. The reunion dinner on that occasion was held at the Royal Northern University Club and was attended by more than 50 former pupils and five former teachers. Last year, together with four other ‘69ers, John Curran, David Smith, Philip Turberville and Nigel Watt, he co-authored a book, The ‘In’famous Five, with the subtitle, ‘Tales and Tributes from Five of the Class of 1969 at Aberdeen Grammar School’. The book recounts the authors’ memories of growing up in Aberdeen, their professional and sporting careers, and the lives of their antecedents in war and in peacetime while also reflecting on the bond that ties the authors together – the privilege of an Aberdeen Grammar School education. The book has recently been published on the AGSFP platform. In retirement, Stuart and Catriona continue to live in Brussels and have recently both become Belgian citizens. Stuart enjoys writing odes, cooking, particularly Indian cuisine, and has built a reputation as a proficient quizmaster, running quizzes, both in person and more recently online, to support UNICEF and other charitable organisations in Brussels.

Centre Reports 53

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Canada At the beginning of 2020 preparations were underway to hold the 28th Canada Centre Reunion weekend in Ottawa in early September. With the onset of the pandemic plans for that gathering had to be cancelled and preparations for events beyond 2020 were also put on hold until the pandemic waned and travel regulations within Canada and cross-border with the USA returned to normal. At the time of writing (June 2021) unrestricted travel has yet to be reinstated, although there are hopes that this will happen during the summer. With that prospect in mind we are exploring the possibility of organising regional one day gatherings in the regions where we customarily meet in September. We will then look forward to arranging a full reunion weekend in 2022. We will use the input we receive from forthcoming 2021 gatherings when planning the 2022 reunion and making a decision on its location. In the absence of an annual reunion as the main event for the Canada Centre we have kept our membership up-to-date on FP matters by issuing three newsletters since the 2020 Magazine was published. In one of these we acknowledged the gift to the School of drafting tables and ancillary equipment by the family of Canadian FP George Porter Fowlie (19131916). We have also embraced the new FP Club website as a means of providing regular communication to our members and have committed to posting our newsletters there so that all members of the Club can read about our activities. Because of the vast geographical expanse of North America chance encounters between FPs are rare, so we are conscious of the opportunities our newsletters provide to inform fellow FPs of the many ways Canadian FPs have contributed to the growth and development of Canada. Finally, we look forward to a post-pandemic world where we can gather together in person and toast the School and the Club. Edinburgh Last year’s Centre Report was compiled by long standing Centre Secretary James Rust who sadly died after a short illness in August 2020. Past Parent Club President, and former classmate of James, Gary Allan, composed an eloquent and touching obituary for inclusion in last year’s Magazine. 54

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The Centre has now been inactive for three years which, apart from World War 2, has been the only such period since its inception in 1932. Other Centres, notably London and Glasgow, have gone through a similar experience but have been resuscitated. There is a willingness within the committee to facilitate social gatherings of FPs which will command sufficient support from the local membership and, to this end, FPs are respectfully invited to be in touch with the acting Hon Secretary (contact details below) with views on what type of gathering might be of interest to them, or indeed to indicate that they have no interest in such. At present, there is no Annual Dinner of the Centre planned for 2021, but it is hoped to organise an informal get-together in the autumn similar to the one which had to be cancelled at short notice in March 2020. In the absence of a formal AGM, which is traditionally held during the Annual Dinner, Nigel Watt continues as the Edinburgh Centre President and is also acting Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. Any Former Pupil who is in the Edinburgh area, defined as the geographical boundary south of the River Tay and east of Stirling all the way south to the English border, or has recently arrived there and has not received any communication from the Centre, is invited to get in touch with Nigel G M Watt, 10 Ware Road, North Berwick, East Lothian EH39 4BN -Tel. 01620 890305, Mobile 07802404056, ngmwatt77@gmail.com Glasgow The Glasgow Centre has a small committee whose members meet about three times a year to catch up with relevant news from our members, news of the parent FP Club, Curling match details and make arrangements for the annual Dinner. We would be interested in having some social events to bring more AGSPs together and would be interested in any ideas. Our annual Dinner is an occasion to invite the FP Presidents from Edinburgh, York and London, as well as the Branch Presidents in Glasgow of the Aberdeen High School FPs and Gordonians to attend and for the Parent Club President to introduce themselves to the Glasgow Centre. Head Teacher, Alison Murison, attends and continues the practice of bringing one of the current senior Pupils to give an up-to-date report on the School. On occasions we have had guest speakers for the Dinners, this depending on our circulation of friends and acquaintances at the time. Many famous 55

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and infamous characters have attended the Dinners, with Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson entertaining the 111 members and guests back in 2002. Unfortunately the numbers have been decreasing in recent years with fewer Former Pupils attending. Looking back through our history it is important to recognise the value of our education at Aberdeen Grammar School and to reminisce the ‘good old days’ and rekindle old friendships. Some Year Groups have been involved in reunions and hopefully we will continue to encourage these events to take place all over the world. The Centre fell into abeyance for a number of years in the seventies but thanks to two stalwarts in Basil Emslie and Andrew McLaren it was revived again at a General Meeting and Annual Dinner in November 1983 and dinners have continued since then until the Covid pandemic ruled them out. Presidents of the Centre since 1981 have been Basil Emslie 1981-84, Andrew McLaren 1985-89, Peter Cairns 1990-92, Ian Ferguson 1993, Gary Allan 199496, David Reid 1997-99, David Allan 2000-03, Malcolm Daniel 2004-06, Stefan Colling 2007-10 and Malcolm Gauld from 2011.

London In light of the ongoing Covid restrictions activities for the London Centre have been focussed primarily on getting the new Club website up and running. Currently there are around 100 FPs ‘tagged’ to the London Centre and the functionality of the new site will make communications with our group much easier going forward. We did experiment with an online ‘Zoom’ meeting of London members in April with twelve members present, and we were joined by the new FP President, Stuart Cummings, who provided a very informative update on the activities of the School and the FP Club. In June a history of the London Centre was published on the AGSFP.com website and I would like to thank Nigel Watt, the Edinburgh Centre Secretary, for all his help in pulling this together from his archive of School Magazines. It was fascinating to learn how active the London Centre has been over its 112 year history and to see the pictures of packed function rooms. Let us hope that we can get back to having some further outings for our members before too long!

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Yorkshire The sparkling new FP website features a brief history of the Yorkshire Centre and all FPs, especially those who are now based in the North of England, are encouraged to sign up to the website, and to the Yorkshire Centre in particular, so that we can widen our membership. This might enable us to plan for a resurrection of the Annual Dinner of the Centre in the autumn of 2022, having been forced to cancel in both 2020 and 2021. This would be dinner number 62, and we would love to see some new faces for an always convivial evening – and not forgetting the traditional post-dinner breakfast in Betty’s Tearoom! David Galloway

Section Reports Cricket In similar circumstances to many grassroots sports, Covid had a huge impact on cricket in 2020, with recreational competitive cricket suspended for the whole summer. Friendlies were allowed at the tail end of 2020 and we played one game against a strong Stoneywood Dyce side at a very cold Peoples Park. While the game was a heavy loss, it was good for those who did play to see teammates for the first time in many instances for over a year. There was hope for a prompt start to the 2021 season but these hopes were dashed by the lockdown imposed at the start of the year. Thankfully we did finally get playing friendlies on the 8th of May with competitive cricket again allowed from May 22nd. The 1st XI was invited to play in the Scottish 2020 Cup against National league and Strathmore Union sides and started well, shocking Aberdeenshire at Mannofield in a rain affected win and then seeing off Huntly. The momentum could not be maintained as the other four group games were lost, albeit we remained competitive against the sides from the higher leagues. The 1st XI campaign has, at the time of writing, been a very successful one with the season approaching its finale. We currently sit top of Grade 1 having just defeated nearest challengers Bon Accord and are in the Aberdeenshire Cup Final where we will face old rivals Gordonians. Skipper Rob Swiergon has been in incredible form making 6 half-centuries while racking up 577 runs thus far in 9 innings. Fraser Proud has been just as impressive averaging over 100, including 57

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine making a flawless century in the cup. Alex Keith has also continued to score heavily, his standout innings being a century against Masterblasters. Karan Anand having been stuck in India has not played as often, but still found time for a match-winning 107 in the cup semi-final. These four have been the key batsmen, but they have been ably supported by Geoff Morrison, Conner McKinney and Hamish Penman who have all chipped in when needed. Conner McKinney also continues to be the standout fielder in all of Grades cricket, taking some unbelievable catches and covering the field like a whippet. His recent catch against Bon Accord was rightly clapped by a sizeable crowd who had gathered for the game - it was an extraordinary effort. Bowling wise, wickets have been shared round with Prash currently leading the way with 18 at 17 a-piece. Mahesh Challa claimed a 5 for at Inveruie and has 15 victims, and the evergreen Roland Knudson continues to flummox batsmen with 16 wickets from his off-breaks. Fraser Proud, John Thomson and Karan Anand have all weighed in and it will need a team effort if the season is to finish as hoped. You can find out how it goes each week at www.aberdeencricket.com The 2nd XI has had a tougher season in Grade 2, not helped by the loss of a number of players who have moved away due to Covid and some players perhaps drifting away after a year without play. They have remained spirited throughout and have just collected their first win of the season, skipper Aman Sood claiming 5 wickets in a low scoring game at Methlick. He has been their top run-scorer and wicket-taker and has also turned out in the 1s when needed adding a good all round dimension to whatever side he plays for. With a late surge, the 2nd XI may be able to save themselves from relegation, but they will need some wins and results to go their way. Going forward there is certainly a need to attract more players and anyone who wishes to play should get in touch. We will also be looking to improve our facilities, as during lockdown the pitch was badly damaged by a disposable barbeque. While it has been patched up, it is far from ideal and will need to be replaced in the fullness of time. The recent addition of a movable batting cage has certainly aided practice. The Club continues to be run by three or four key enthusiasts and their efforts should not be underplayed in keeping the Cricket Club on a first footing.

Football As a result of the covid pandemic, season 2020-21 was completely wiped out, although we did manage to play the occasional friendly match. Fortunately the situation has now eased and we have fixtures arranged for our new 2021-22 season commencing on 7th August.

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Men’s Hockey As with so many things in life this past year, season 2020/2021 was somewhat disrupted. One interesting aspect was that we had to introduce a new committee position of Club Covid officer. Robert Parfit loves reading confusing government literature so was at home in this new position. We were very fortunate that the North district managed to organise a league of sorts whilst the rest of the country was in lockdown. This league ran from October to December and was a great success. It was not lost on the players how fortunate we were to be playing matches in a friendly environment when so many other sports were unable to even train. The first team played in a competitive league of four against the national league teams from Gordonians and Granite City as well as the district team from Ellon. We had a relatively large squad to work from with the schoolboys Gregor Morrison, Fin Renton, Troy Hayton, Morgan Daniels and Satram Kawanhi playing in almost every game. Fraser Bruce had committed himself to playing in goals and what a fine decision this was as he was outstanding. Recent school leavers Sam Sharp, Leon Potts and rugby refugee Ben Renton were also regulars. Not so recent school leavers David Anderson, Stephen Malloy and John Dargie also played when available, as did veterans James Williams and Duncan Harris if the first team were short. For the first time in many a year the 1st XI were able to have a full eleven of FPs and Grammar school players on the field at one time. Without any official records at hand I would suggest that this is the first time this has happened since possibly the 1980’s. Although results were unimportant, we did have the honour of one match against Granite City being the top game in Europe one weekend the fact that only the north east of Scotland was actually playing any competitive hockey is just a footnote to history. The second team played in what was billed as a non-competitive friendly league, however this does not mean games were not played without spirit. John Chalmers captained the side wonderfully and plenty of club members managed to play several games. The 2nds are a Sunday league team, and this is reflected in the mixture of ages that roll out each week the youngest being 14 through to the oldest 80+. Murdo Sheriffs is at the higher end of the scale, but he still plays with aplomb. Club stalwart 59

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Ben Johnson has confusingly been joined in the team by Ben Johnson a school boy (no relation). Fortunately, they play at opposite ends of the pitch from one another so they don’t often have to double up. The seconds had the formidable Stuart Anderson in goals and it really was a shame for the opposition to have to play against someone of his standard (I believe a university player is still recovering from one of Stuarts more enthusiastic saves). Stephen Mair took on club treasurer duties as well as playing in the seconds with his son Lewis. The books are in fine shape which is more than can be said about Stephen’s back. We are very grateful to those members who decided to donate their share of the club centre crowdfunding to the hockey section. One of the saddest moments of the last year was the eventual sale of the Grammar Club house due to commercial necessity. Over the years great friendships have been formed at 86 Queens Road as well as several marriages. Some of my fondest hockey memories are having a post-match beer with friends and opposition teams and it was fantastic that we were able to continue this almost to the end, albeit under ever differing Covid restrictions. One fine parting memory was returning to the club fire-pit at approx. 10 pm to check to see if everyone had gone home; I am happy to say they had not and both the Grammar players and the University hockey team were still enjoying a beer as the embers settled. We would like to thank David Leighton and the outgoing Club Centre committee for the fantastic work they put in to keep the place going these last few years. There are countless others over the years who have spent endless hours helping run the Centre as well as those original members who dared to dream that such a facility could and should open. Although the end of the Club Centre has come, it is most certainly not the end of the Hockey Section. Best wishes to all past, present and future James Williams Club Captain

Rugby Season 2020-2021 As everyone is no doubt aware the Board and Council of Scottish Rugby voted to cancel all league rugby for Season 2020-21 in light of the public health issues regarding playing contact sport and groups travelling from one area to another in Scotland and possibly spreading Covid 19. 60

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We had completed our fixtures for season 2019-20 but as many other clubs had not, prior to the first lock down, all rugby competitions were declared null and void. Our 1st team had already secured 5th place in the Premiership, being the highest placed totally amateur club in Scotland. Our 2nd XV finished in Caledonia North 2 in 4th place. During the first lock down a large number of players, committee members and assorted volunteers conducted an emergency food and prescription service and assisted over 300 individuals in the Aberdeen area. We mobilised before local authorities and Scottish Government launched their integrated volunteer network, and we were one of the first emergency assistors registered. All our clients were very grateful and it assisted in keeping the club spirit going amongst those involved. We stood down in July, after various local authority and government initiatives filled the void we had stepped into. Although limited pre-season commenced in Autumn 2020 at Sheddocksley (Rubislaw was closed other than for School pupils) everything ceased due to Government lockdowns in November. In the hiatus caused by the pandemic we have been busy digitalising all the historic documents associated with the Club, including photographs. These will be on the new website we have commissioned and will also feature as an aid to a dementia assistance programme, as well as a social media monthly feed on the history of the Club. We have been busy preparing for season 2021/2 and have recruited further coaches (Craig McLeod, Stuart Corsar and Rod Aspe) to assist in running the squads along with Head Coach Ali O’Connor, Greg Ryan and Ian Stanger. At this year’s AGM Colin Neilson stood down as President due to his move to Edinburgh to practice as an Advocate. Howard Moles was duly elected to serve as President for 2021 onwards. A partnership agreement between the Club and the SRU has allowed us to set up a new schools coaching programme as well as a partnership with Aberdeen University to provide coaching for their men’s and women’s BUCS Rugby Union teams. These developments will further embed the Club into the rugby structure of North East Scotland in the years ahead. A number of senior players, who had planned to retire at the end of season 2020/21, have missed their last year of pulling on the jersey. We wish them all the best and hopefully we will see them remain connected to the Club either as supporters or coaches. A crop of new talent has been 61

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

undergoing pre-season training since May and hopefully they can replicate the performances of their predecessors. We have also been busy at Rubislaw purchasing replacement posts, refurbishing the stand and have carried out maintenance on the floodlights as well as clearing away assorted debris around the field. A new loudspeaker system is being installed into the stand as well as a means of mounting our new electronic scoreboard. The season kicks off on 4th September 2021 when we host Edinburgh Academicals at Rubislaw and hope to see as many supporters as possible after our 18-month suspension. Gordon Thomson Chairman

Women’s Hockey Life in August 2020 was so very different to the start of any other of our thirty-five seasons for our hockey girls, as indeed it was for the whole world. It was touch and go as to whether schools would even be allowed to resume in class teaching. None of us would have believed that we would have mostly been working from home since March and that even hugging people was illegal! Lots of people put in lots of hard work behind the scenes and, once the authorities had been persuaded, AGSFP Hockey finally got permission to resume outdoor training (with restrictions!) at Rubislaw in October 2020. There was a frenzy of activity for the committee members responsible for booking pitches, identifying coaches and contacting all the players. The Club appointed a COVID Officer and set out the rules and restrictions for the players, coaches and parents. The rules were driven by Scottish Hockey’s instructions in conjunction with other guidance from Aberdeen City Council. The final efforts before the return to the pitch focussed on producing COVID kit bags for all the different training groups. A set of multi coloured (so we knew which kit bag was for which training group!) bags were purchased. After much discussion on what each bag should contain, the COVID kits were then invented. Each bag finally contained: COVID spray (for wiping equipment); single use masks (for use in first aid moments); hand sanitiser; disposable gloves (for first aid moments); and plastic bags (for disposing of any first aid waste). Only once these many 62

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hours of effort and countless zoom meetings did the Club get back on the turf. The relief for all was significant. The turn-out of players was exceptional (and within the rules thankfully for the COVID Officer) and even though the restrictions made the experience bizarre everyone was thrilled to be back at Rubislaw. When North District confirmed a set of friendly fixtures were to be arranged, the girls were elated. Clubs were not permitted to travel outwith their own health board region. This meant no trips to Inverness or Elgin but the two team Captains knuckled down and pulled squads together. The games were such a joy for all concerned. The friendly nature of the fixtures coupled with the unbridled relief of ‘doing something (almost) normal’ again resulted in some exciting hockey and lots of fun for everyone. The Club succeeded in presenting two teams each week of the preChristmas friendly season and grateful thanks go to the players, Murray Bissett (coach), Gillian Bain (Umpire Secretary), James and Emma Williams (for all the pitch bookings), all the umpires (we could not play without you all) and of course all those who kept COVID registers to keep everyone playing. The indoor facilities were all still off-limits and so 2020-2021 gave us a season with no indoor training or matches. Devastating for those for whom indoor matches are a highlight and in fact the way the weather evolved there would have been very little in the way of outdoor training or matches from January to March either! A whole year after the nation had been asked to ‘stay at home and save lives’ and the subject of getting back onto Rubislaw was on the agenda again. Training resumed (with noncontact restrictions in place) and then finally in April hockey was allowed for adults under almost normal conditions. For the first time ever the Club trained right through until the end of the school session in late June. Sincere thanks to Helen Bruce and Claire Drummond for leading the training sessions. There were no matches between clubs during this time but there was plenty of hockey and lots of attendees at training which bodes well for the coming season.

Youth hockey was amazingly well attended at all levels. The Club had to register all the primary school and Aberdeen Grammar School players with Scottish Hockey as Active Schools were not operating normal activities through the pandemic. By the end of June 2021, Emma Mair (and her merry band of coaches – thanks in particular to coaches Peter Goldie, Alasdair Freeman, Brian Fitzpatrick, Emma Williams, Andy 63

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Martin, Lewis Mair, Rebecca Freeman, Rob Bruce and Gillian Bain amongst others) were delivering hockey to 130 different youngsters every week. Some of the youths were attending several sessions and some of the coaches were attending several sessions every week for which the Club is very grateful. In May and June several U10, U12, U14 and U16 match play sessions took place across Aberdeen City and it was hugely satisfying to see all our young hockey stars in AGSFP colours. It is still not clear what season 2021-2022 will bring but the good news for us all is that there is lots of young talent on the books. Thanks to all those who made the youth events possible for this group. In summary, our sincere thanks go to all the AGSFP Club members involved in the NHS, education and other key workers, you all went above and beyond this year and we are forever grateful. As ever, if you are keen to take up hockey again or have never played before you are very welcome to come along to training to see how you get on. Training is on Tuesday evenings at Rubislaw from 7.00pm – 8.30pm and hopefully starts around the third Tuesday in August. This coming season we are planning to offer P6/P7/S1 and S2 the chance to play in another weekly session from 6-7pm on Tuesdays before senior training time. Emma Mair, Secretary - emma.mair14@gmail.com

Annual Dinner Following the last-minute cancellation of last year’s Dinner at the start of Covid lockdown a provisional booking was made with the Royal Northern & University Club for Friday 26 March 2021. This could not go ahead because of the continuing Covid restrictions. It is hoped that, subject to the relaxation of dining guidelines, a Dinner can be held at about the same time in 2022.

New Integrated Database Driven System Membership Platform Update 64

Former Pupils’ Section Following research carried out on a number of suppliers and much discussion, the Club Executive decided on ToucanTech as the vehicle for our new Membership Platform. The platform was set up with a go live date in mid-November 2020 and there has been a tremendous uptake of members registering. All that is required to register is an internet address and a visit to agsfp.com. If a member does not have their own unique internet address it is possible to register under another person’s address e.g. spouse. The site is still being developed, but already contains much information on the history of the School and Club. News stories and monthly updates are being issued by email to members. Once registered, contributions to the site may be submitted for publishing on far-ranging topics from memories of Schooldays, how careers have progressed, calls for reunions and any other topic that may be of interest to others in our Former Pupils community. It is also possible to interrogate the site and to send a note to other FPs registered on the site. A further development was the creation of sites for our existing Centres – Canada, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and York. This allows the Centres to communicate easily with their members and to have their own unique area for their members to utilise. One area where current members can assist as we build on the existing structure of the Platform is by inviting Former Pupils, be they school friends, relatives, neighbours or whatever, to register at www.agsfp.com and help contribute to our Former Pupils Club. Details regarding current subscriptions may be found on page 67 of this Magazine. We have already repatriated some ‘lost’ members where contact had been lost as a result of changes of address. Your assistance with this very important task will be much appreciated. When we think of the new Platform we have to remember none of this would have been possible without the generosity of one anonymous FP benefactor and our thanks are due again for his support to our Club in bringing us up to date with modern technology which benefits us so much.

General Data Protection Regulation The attention of Club members is drawn to the following Privacy Statement in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation which came into force on 25 May 2018. About us The Aberdeen Grammar School F.P. Club is a small not-for-profit organization. No officials receive a salary. Any reimbursement is on a receipt only basis. 65

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine The information we collect The only information held about you will be names, postal and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and years at school if you have provided this information. The basis on which we hold this information is “Legitimate interests”. Information about you will only be held for the following reasons: 1. To communicate with you regarding membership and subscriptions; 2. To communicate with you about FP Club or School events; 3. To enable FP Club Magazine distribution. Telephone calls You may be contacted from time to time for the purpose of informing you of Club and School events or for maintaining your membership subscription. Your Data Your postal details only will be sent to the printer to enable Magazine distribution. Requesting your Data You may request details of personal data which we hold about you. Any have the right to request that your personal data is erased from the records if you are no longer a member of the FP Club. Amendments to our Policy Any information found to be incorrect will be corrected as soon as possible. You amendments necessary will be intimated at the AGM or in future communications to you. F.P. Club Membership Subscription Rates The current policy of the Executive is to review Subscription rates annually, but in normal circumstances we would hope that it will only be necessary to amend them every 5 years. The Life Member “Top up” scheme – which has been hugely successful – involves a payment of £20 to cover a five-year period. Topups are now due for the period 2020 to 2024 inclusive. A number of members’ Top Ups from prior periods remain unpaid. The Life Fund is stronger than it was, but still requires further “topping up”. The £20 “Top up” works out at just £4 per year for the 5-year period and greatly helps to offset the ever-increasing cost of producing this Magazine. We also draw down 5% of the Life Fund each year which works out at roughly £1 per Life Member, so that, when this is added to the £4 from the “Top up”, the Club receives £5 per Life Member in total each year. This doesn’t yet match the £10 or so we receive from Annual Members, but is 66

Former Pupils’ Section moving in the right direction and we are certainly much better off than we were before the “Top up” scheme was introduced in 2000. We had a tremendous response to the introduction of the scheme, which is voluntary, and the vast majority of Life Members have responded very positively. These payments are a vital part of the Club’s income. Subscription rates for 2021 are as follows:Life Membership: New Life Members: £100 plus a £20 “Top up” every 5 years, the first “Top up” being payable 5 years after Life Membership is taken out. Existing Life members: £20 “Top up” every 5 years Annual Membership: Ordinary Members: £12.50 by cheque or £10 if paid by Standing Order School Leavers: Free up to five years from leaving Special Notes for Members over 75: Historically, all members of the FP Club become “Long Service” Members from 1st January in the year following the year in which they reach the age of 75. Thereafter Life Members are no longer expected to make “Top up” Payments and Ordinary (Annual) Members no longer have to pay Subscriptions. However, as a very significant number of members are aged over 75, it is suggested that they might continue to make Top-up and Annual payments on a voluntary basis. Payment of Subscriptions: Subscriptions should be sent to: The Membership Secretary, John Michie, who will also deal with all queries about Membership, changes of address etc: His address is: 391 Union Street, Aberdeen AB11 6BX. Tel: 01224 – 580641 Email: membership@agsfp.com

Donations and Bequests The Second Century Fund was set up in 2000 to receive all Donations and Bequests. This Fund is used to finance specific School and Club projects, and is not used for normal ongoing Club expenses. As will be seen from the Accounts 67

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine elsewhere in this Magazine, the total from this source in 2020 was £4,518. Our grateful thanks go to everyone who has contributed. It is hoped that this Fund will receive a significant boost from the current round of Top-up payments.

New Members of the Club – 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 Life Members Neil Craigmile Laurence Gray

1977-82

Craig Ritchie

1980-86

Annual Members David G. Browne Morgan Butler Ewan Faskin

1953-58 1958-64 1981-87

Douglas Simpson Alan Watson

1950-56 1962-67

Under-23 School Leavers Jonathan Bell Mhmoud Ghandari Patrick Hartley Holly Imperiale

2012-18 2012-18 2012-18 2012-18

Fergus Kennedy Cejo Matthew Samuel Oyewusi Rithin Robin

2012-18 2012-18 2011-17 2012-18

Congratulations to the following members of the Club who will attain the age of 75 during 2021 and so will become Long Service Members on 1st January 2022.

Life Members Roy J. Abel Eric G. Archibald Martin A. Batchelor David S. Brown Alan G. Campbell Douglas B. Campbell Richard Cowling Peter I. Davidson Kenneth E. Dawson Michael A. Forsyth Douglas G. Fowlie Alexander M. Grieve

1951-64 1958-64 1959-65 1950-64 1959-65 1958-64 1959-65 1960-64 1954-64 1958-64 1950-64 1951-64

William Leiper F. Ivor Lloyd Graeme A. Lobban Leonard J. MacKay Neil Mackie Hugh M. Munro Richard B. Rae Ian Reid Iain G.H. Ross John R. Spence William G. U’Ren Derek J. Walker

1959-65 1958-65 1958-64 1959-64 1964-66 1951-64 1959-65 1951-63 1958-63 1962-64 1958-64 1959-65

Former Pupils’ Section Michael C. Hastie

1959-63

Keith M.C. Webster

1958-63

Annual Members Colin F. Caie Gavin T. McEwen

1959-65 1958-64

John Main Hugh A O Mennie

1961-63 1954-56

Long Service Members For several years now we have published the names of our Nonagenarians. Sadly, twelve of these died in the past year, but seven others have been added to the list who have attained the remarkable age of 90 or will do so later this year. We have two Centenarians in our ranks. We congratulate them all and thank them for their continuing interest and support. The full list, with their dates of birth, is as follows:-

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

George C. Hadden John A. Cruickshank Eric G. Sangster Peter Rennie Michael P. Littlejohn Ellis M. Philip Alastair H. Tawse Peter Cooper Quintin A. Aitken George W. Warder James G. Matheson Frederick M. Gardiner James A. McGregor Arthur W.A. Main Norman K.B. Robson Ian Stuart Leonard Bird Alan G. Craig Brian K. Crookshanks Peter L. Cromar William D.G. Coutts Peter M. Gordon Robert Walker James M. Hunter Richard F. Allan John M. Eddison Kenneth F. Brown G. Moray M. Slater Dennis A. Ritchie Arthur F. Tough Martin J. Wagrel Brian S. Gray Campbell Murray Herbert J.A. Longmore Myron G. Hampton James C. Milne

1925-37 1926-29 1927-39 1938-43 1939-43 1937-43 1930-43 1938-44 1939-45 1935-46 1939-45 1937-44 1935-44 1939-45 1933-40 1933-46 1936-46 1933-46 1934-46 1942-48 1935-46 1939-48 1940-46 1936-47 1937-48 1939-48 1935-47 1935-47 1943-46 1946-49 1943-49 1943-49 1943-49 1943-48 1947-49 1944-50

22 May 1920 20 May 1920 3 May 1922 29 December 1924 26 September 1925 15 October 1925 31 December 1925 23 April 1926 14 July 1926 3 October 1926 24 December 1926 20 July 1927 31 August 1927 15 January 1928 31 March 1928 5 April 1928 18 January 1929 27 March 1929 17 August 1929 23 April 1930 1 June 1930 1 July 1930 12 July 1930 10 August 1930 17 August 1930 2 September 1930 25 September 1930 25 September 1930 23 December 1930 10 March 1931 10 March 1931 23 April 1931 13 May 1931 8 September 1931 4 November 1931 14 December 1931

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NOTES about FORMER PUPILS New Year’s Honours Member of the British Empire David Reid (1956-69) MB.ChB was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours in recognition of his service as chairman of the Grampian Osteoporosis Trust which was founded in 1969 to raise money for bone scanners. Having acquired two scanners the Trust went on to raise funds for research into the disease. With a genetics expert colleague he conducted wide-ranging studies to better understand the effects of the disease and how to screen for it. David specialised in rheumatology and held various posts in the National Health Service and in Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities before being appointed a consultant in 1986. He returned to Aberdeen University as a senior lecturer and later as a reader. **************** Kristin Mary Bailey née Brunt (1974-80) is now basking in the reflected glory of her husband, Bill Bailey, winning the 2020 Strictly Come Dancing series on television. Kristin met Bill in 1987 at one of his comedy gigs in Edinburgh, where she was then running a bar. He says that he was drawn to her by her wild spirit and distinctive style. He wrote to her every day for the next year and they started dating in 1988. Kristin worked as a costume designer, but now manages Bill’s business affairs. Zoey Clark (2006-12) BSc was a member of the British Athletics contestants at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, competing in the Women’s 4 x 400 metre Relay and in the 4 x 400 metre mixed Relay. While at School she won Gold in the European Junior Championships, medalled in the Scottish Schools indoor championships and competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games. She was awarded a School Cap and the Phil Love Trophy in her 6th year at School. After graduating in 2017 Zoey spent three years as a full-time athlete before becoming a graduate chemical engineer with a firm in Aberdeen. Zoey trains with Aberdeen Amateur Athletic Club and with Thames Valley Harriers. With her coach she is now looking ahead on the road to the 2024 Olympics in Paris but before then to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the Europeans in Munich and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next year. Having helped to set up a national record in mixed relay she will try to ensure that she is an essential part of the relay squad and also get an individual 400 metre spot. In July 2021, Douglas Ross Harper (1944-58) attended a ceremony at Newquay Island to celebrate the restoration of his grandfather’s (Louis Harper (1881-83) suspension bridge of 1900. Douglas had advised the owners and structural engineers about the original hanger design and this they had adopted. The restoration was entered into the 2019 competition of the Institution of Structural Engineers where it won the Heritage Award and was also a finalist for the Sustainability category. Because of Covid, the ceremony was

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine postponed from 2020. Previous winners of this prestigious international award include the Hoover Building, the Forth Rail Bridge, the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the Cutty Sark. Charles Mulvey (1945-58) writes of his thirteen years in the School from just after the end of World War 2. I started in the nursery - wearing a smock to school. I eventually left after a very happy school experience in 1958 to go to Aberdeen University, where I graduated with honours in economic science in 1962. I then held positions as a Lecturer in Economics at Trinity College, Dublin, Assistant Professor at New York University, Reader at Glasgow University, Associate Professor at Princeton University and then, finally, for twenty years, as Professor of Economics and, latterly, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at the University of Western Australia. I resigned in 2001 to set up my own consulting business in economics. I have now worked in this role for twenty years and am now aged 80. I have no plans to retire. I have met up with various of my former schoolmates here in Australia - including the late Eddie Slater (in France), John Sinclair and Forbes Smith and we enjoyed reminiscing about the good old days at the Grammar. I still have fond memories of my schooldays and look forward to visiting the school again when I am next in Aberdeen. My brother Peter (1952-62) lives in Braemar in retirement after a distinguished career as an architect in Aberdeen. Nigel George Morley Watt (1963-69) WS, former Parent Club President and now Acting Secretary of the Edinburgh Centre left the Law twelve years ago, after over thirty years practising in Edinburgh and has ever since been a professional golf referee. He has served on the Rules Committee, the Championship Committee and the Rules of Amateur Status Committee of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for four years respectively. During that period he refereed at eight Open Championships, numerous R&A Championships and also as a guest referee at many European Tour tournaments. Turning professional in 2008 he worked with the Ladies’ European Tour for a season and for the last twelve years he has been working with the PGA, mainly on the Europro Tour and annually for the European Tour at its Qualifying School. He is currently Joint Chief Referee for The Arnold Palmer Cup, an annual match involving the top male and female amateur golfers in the world. He has refereed in forty-seven countries on six continents. Sadly, having reached his allotted three score years and ten, he has had to retire from the R&A Rules Panel but continues to officiate for Scottish Golf which has no ageist policy!

Obituaries Eric Archie Alexander (1935-43) BSc (Eng) died at his home in Aston-on-Trent, Derbyshire on 17 February 2021 after a short illness. He was aged 94. From School he went up to Aberdeen to study engineering graduating in 1945. He was for a time a technician with the engine division of the Bristol Aeroplane Co. before spending the rest of his working life as a combustion engineer with Rolls Royce, first in Bristol and then in Derby. He retired in 1989 after working for thirty-nine years on aero-engine research. He loved his work as an engineer but also thrived in retirement, becoming involved in all aspects of village life in Aston on Trent. He was predeceased by his wife after fifty-six

Former Pupils’ Section years of marriage but is survived by his three children. His older brother Francis William Alexander (1935-42) died in 2016. William Anderson (1939-51) died peacefully in hospital in Aberdeen on 1st August 2021 aged 88. Bill’s father had been a tea planter in Assam, India who returned to Aberdeen in 1929 where he was born in 1932 living in Bayview Road. His parents separated and Bill started his education in Ealing. When war broke out in 1939 his father wanted Bill to return to Aberdeen and he enrolled at the Grammar. On his father’s death in 1947 he was brought up by the family housekeeper. From school he attended Aberdeen Technical College studying engineering before moving to Glasgow where he obtained an apprenticeship at Fairfield shipyard to learn mechanical engineering. He then joined the Blue Funnel Line and went to sea as a ship’s engineer. He sailed all over the world including the Suez Canal at the time of the crisis with Egypt. During six years at sea he rose to become a chief engineer. In the early ‘60s, with the convenience and frozen foods market beginning to develop, Bill approached a Unilever subsidiary which was operating in Torry to develop manufacturing products. In 1965 he struck out on his own and opened Wilmar Engineering in small premises near the Aberdeen beach. He was doing mechanical jobbing work, repairs and machine stripping. After a short time the oil industry came to the north-east and Wilmar played a major part in servicing the new industry. The firm also developed new products, including a caravan tow-bar stabiliser which was widely adopted. Wilmar relocated to East Tullos and was a significant employer in that area. As well as running his business, Bill became involved in representing the engineering sector both locally and nationally. Following the 1988 oil price collapse Wilmar closed, but Bill continued to undertake occasional engineering projects and devoted his energies to the promotion of engineering and providing mentoring for apprentices. In this connection he was for many years chairman of the Engineering Industries Association in Scotland and served as chairman of the Aberdeen Industries Training Board. He played a major role in forging links between academia and the industry. Bill was an enthusiastic fly-fisherman, fishing beats on the Spey as well as on the Dee and Don. He was for several years chairman of Banchory-Devenick Community council seeing it as his duty to support his local fellow-residents. Bill is survived by his son Iain. Robert Joss Bain (1929-41) died peacefully in Hallow, Worcester on 25 April 2021 aged 98. In later life he had good recall of his schooldays and in an interview he placed on record stories of some of the masters teaching in the Upper School in his last couple of years there. His lifelong love of rugby was first nurtured at School and he was a long-term forward for the FP 1st XV. In later life he recalled playing with such greats as Donny Innes. He was a member of the all- conquering 1947/48 XV and in 1979 attended their first reunion. In 1949 Bob went into business as a partner in Gray & Bain, building contractors in Aberdeen but when this did not work out satisfactorily he sold the business. He was awarded the National Certificate in Building at the School of Architecture of the former Robert Gordon’s Technical College and in 1979 became the local representative of the Construction Industry Training Board.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Bob was a keen golfer and was for many years a member of the FP Golf Section, serving several terms as captain and being a frequent prize-winner at their outings. He was also fond of shooting and in the winter months enjoyed indulging this interest on the moors. Bob was predeceased by his wife Jean to whom he had been married from 1951. He is survived by two daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. William McPherson Birnie (1944-57) died peacefully in a nursing home in North Berwick, East Lothian on 1 January 2021 following a long period of ill-health. He was aged 81. Born in Glasgow his family moved to London and then to Aberdeen during the war years when Bill entered Kindergarten 1 in 1944. He began a lifetime love of rugby and was a member of the School Army Cadet Force. On leaving he studied at The North of Scotland College of Agriculture graduating with a Diploma in Agriculture before moving to the West of Scotland College in 1960-61 from which he graduated with a Diploma in Dairying. Bill then worked for the MacRobert Estate at Tarland where he had earlier had experience as a student. He then spent two years at the Scottish Agricultural College sheep farm at Broughton, near Biggar. 1965 saw a move to Auchincruive, Ayrshire as assistant manager of the College dairy farm. Two years later Bill was offered the post of manager of the Home Farm at Craigielaw for Wemyss & March Estates, living in Aberlady. Bill was made redundant when the Wemyss Estate was restructured in the late 80’s but he remained at Craigielaw. He undertook work for various firms, including the setting up and management of pasteurisation tunnels for Fenton Barnes Mushrooms. He later returned to work for Wemyss Estates as a consultant. He was involved with the management of the restoration of the ornamental ponds at Gosford House and the building of Craigielaw Golf course. He finally retired in 2012. Bill loved motor sport and built several rally cars, mostly Ford Escorts, and drove competitively for many years with local sponsorship in forest rallies all over Scotland. His love of rugby was undiminished and he spent hours on the side line encouraging and supporting his sons. Bill also enjoyed fiddle playing, having taught it while in Aberdeen and had the gift of playing by ear. He enjoyed nights of Scottish music and traditional jazz. Bill was diagnosed with an unusual mixed dementia in 2015 but was well cared for and managed until a downturn in mid-2020 necessitated full-time care. He is survived by his wife, Moyra, to whom he had been married for fifty-four years, by three sons, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. John Garrick Craig Brown (1930-42), perhaps better known as Ian Brown, died peacefully at his home in Haslemere, Surrey, on 10 March 2021. He was 95 years old. In his 6th year at School he was one of the two School editors of the Magazine. After a false start in medical studies at Aberdeen University in 1942-47 (although never regretting the time spent there), Ian embarked on a business career, initially in the paper and board industry, which brought him to London and the south east, where he spent most of his life. After a few years in the City of London he moved to Weybridge and then to Guildford, Surrey, finally operating his own business in Kingston-upon-Thames. This enabled him to continue working until he was seventy. He was an enthusiastic member of the Former Pupils’ Club London Centre, serving on the committee on several occasions, and attended the dinners in the Caledonian Club

Former Pupils’ Section regularly for many years. He was saddened by the demise of the Donside Paper Company, Aberdeen, several years ago, because of his family’s links with the company. Ian twice wrote articles for publication in the Magazine. The first, A Plea for the Silent Majority was published in the 1991 issue at page 28. The other, Alaska in Comfort, published in the 2002 issue at page 41, narrated his experiences while travelling in Canada and Alaska at the time of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Ian’s interests included drawing and painting, reading, travel and visiting old friends connected with the School and University. He always averred that his education at both the Grammar School and University was of inestimable value to him throughout his lifetime. Ian is survived by his wife Miriam, two sons and four grandsons. His younger brother, Alastair Mackenzie Brown (1934-46) died in 1957. Brian Mitchell Bruce (1947-52) died peacefully at his home in Colsterworth, Lincolnshire on 19 April 2021 aged 85 following six months of ill health. Originally a chemist by discipline he was a Food Technologist for the large majority of his working life. He initially worked for the Scottish Gas Board, before joining a MAFF Research Team and was subsequently in a variety of roles within the European food industry. While working as European Technical manager for a multinational group he was Chairman of the European Quality Council. Latterly he ran Christian Salvesen Food Services’ Central Laboratory and Central Quality Department for over fifteen years. Brian’s service on various committees for Trade and Research Associations included Chairmanship of the Campden & Chorleywood Frozen Food Panel and membership of the Government Food Processing Surveillance Working Group set up following the Richmond Report. He regularly lectured on a range of food topics, was an Affiliate Member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. Brian married Jacqueline Priestley in 1960 in Aberdeen, but they soon moved south near Great Yarmouth after he gained employment in Product Development with Birds Eye in Lowestoft. Seven years later Brian relocated to north Lincolnshire, south of Grimsby, again for career progression. He then worked for several companies, all within the chilled and frozen food industry. 1985 saw the last relocation to Colsterworth, in south Lincolnshire, where he worked for Christian Salvesen until his retirement. His family aside, his enduring passion was New Orleans Jazz. He was an accomplished improvisational clarinet player and over the years played in several local bands, which invariably coincided with his love of real ale. A Rugby Union devotee, he was a fanatical supporter of the Scottish team and although he only managed to see the team live on a few occasions, he rarely missed a televised match. He enjoyed relating to fellow FPs at the annual Yorkshire Centre dinners. Brian is survived by his wife, Jackie, his four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Nicola Jane Brunt (1975-81) BSc, MB.ChB died peacefully at her home in Duston, Northants on 5 April 2020 following a long period of ill health. She was aged 56. She obtained her medical degree from Manchester University in 1987 and went on to train in the cosmetic aesthetic field for over fifteen years. She was fully trained in minor cosmetic procedures as an assistant to a renowned plastic and cosmetic surgeon in Australia. On her

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine return to Britain in 2001 she continued to practice in this field, including running an online clinic. She was a director of the Cosmetic Science Co. Ltd. Nicola suffered severe injuries in a road traffic accident a few years ago from which she never entirely recovered. She is survived by two children and by her sisters Kristen Mary (1974-80) and Corolie Anne (1977-83). Albert Caie (1942-48) died peacefully at his home in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire on 26 November 2020 aged 88. Duncan Macrae (1948-52) writes: “When I retired in1986 to live in Ballater my house was next door to the Glenmuick Church manse and Bert Caie became my neighbour in 1992. “Brought up in Footdee, Bert was educated at the Grammar from which he joined the Royal Navy in Portsmouth in 1950. He served as a medical orderly but was medically discharged with asthma after three years. He then moved to Dingwall and worked as a coat clerk. There he met and married his wife in 1954. He next worked for the North of Scotland Hydro Electricity Board as one of the ‘Hydro boys’ building dams, tunnels and power stations in the Highlands. In 1966 he moved to Glasgow and held such varied posts as a church organist, a security guard and a theatre technician at the Southern General Hospital. “For ten years from 1973 he studied for highers to allow him to gain university entrance to study divinity. He graduated in Theology from Glasgow University and was appointed to the charge of Hatton of Fintray & Keithhall at Kinellar. In 1992 he was inducted to Glenmuick Church in Ballater where he remained until retiral in 1997. He was renowned for his powerful preaching, his sensitive counselling, his ecumenism, his musical talent and his sense of humour. He lived his life primarily in the service of others and his was a shoulder that many lent on. His advice was always wise. “Bert and his wife moved to Stonehouse, Lanarkshire in 2002 to be near their family. His wife, Betty, died in 2013. Bert is survived by two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.” Martin Alexander Campbell (1947-60) died suddenly at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on 25 June 2020 aged 78. He and his elder brother James both loved sports and the garden at their home in Midstocket Road alternated between Lords Cricket Ground, Wimbledon, Hampden and Murrayfield depending on what sports were in season. His talent and love for both tennis and hockey were nurtured while at the School. Around the time that he left school he and his family moved to Edinburgh. Martin started working for The Bank of Scotland, initially at the Head office at the Mound before working on the mobile banking unit around East and West Lothian. He also worked in various branches in Edinburgh. He had a two year break from the bank when the family moved to Newtonmore to run a Bed and Breakfast business. When they later moved to Inverness Martin went back to working in the Bank of Scotland in branches in Inverness and Beauly, retiring in 1999 due to ill health. Hockey was Martin’s passion and he played for many years as a right back for Inverleith. He was a member of their Scottish Cup Final winning team in 1968. Shortly after that he retired from playing due to a medical condition but turned to umpiring instead. He umpired both indoor and outdoor hockey and umpired his first outdoor international match in Dublin in 1975. After he stopped umpiring he went on to be

Former Pupils’ Section Umpires Manager for tournaments as well as Technical delegate, and was lucky to travel across Europe for tournaments in these roles. In 2003 he was the Tournament Director for the first ever Indoor World Cup in Leipzig. Martin was then appointed as a Scottish member of the International Panel of Hockey Umpires. He was secretary for the European Hockey Federation (EHF) indoor committee for approximately fifteen years and in 2005 was awarded their diploma of merit in recognition of the work he had done for them. He and one of his fellow hockey partners in crime, Ernie Wall, were responsible for setting up indoor hockey in Scotland at Meadowbank. After retiring, Martin was troubled on and off by ill health but he enjoyed gardening and watching sport as well as trips out for coffee and sitting at Nairn harbour watching the world go by. During the first Covid lockdown he became ill and was told that he required to undergo a heart procedure. He was admitted to hospital on 18th June and transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on the 24th for the operation. Unfortunately he died very suddenly on the morning of the 25th before this could take place. Martin was so proud to be a former Aberdeen Grammar pupil. The family often heard stories about some of his Masters/Teachers and fellow pupils. When in Aberdeen he liked a drive past the school which provoked further memories. Whenever the FP Club Magazine arrived he would be ‘lost’ until he had read it from cover to cover at least three times! Martin is survived by his wife, Beryl, to whom he had been married for over fifty years, and by two daughters and three grandchildren. His elder brother James George Campbell (1943-54) died in 1982 Norman Kenneth Campbell (1952-68) died peacefully in hospital in Spain on 21 March 2021 after a short illness. He was aged 79. Born in Buenos Aires he was, as he later described it, “brought home” in 1946 to Harris from which his mother hailed. He then came to Aberdeen for two weeks holiday and stayed for 39 years. After school he trained in audit accountancy and tax work and served with various firms in Aberdeen until 1972. He joined the John Wood Group in 1973 and was latterly accountant for the General Industries Division of the Group until 1997. He was at the same time running his own limited company. Ken served with the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry, Scottish Horse Regiment T.A. in Aberdeen for thirteen years until 1974. He was a keen clay pigeon shooter and a member of several clubs, being selected for the Scottish Clay Pigeon team. He had a lifelong interest in militaria through his hobby of collecting and trading in rare books and medals. Ken moved to Edinburgh in 1990 and once their family were at university he retired to Spain in 2005, spending the rest of his life there and and continuing to indulge his hobbies. Ken is survived by his wife, a son and daughter and two grandchildren. His brother is David Archibald Campbell (1954-62)

William James Coulson (1936-44) BSc, MRIC, CChem, died peacefully in a care home in Coatbridge on 8 December 2020 aged 92. He had been in indifferent health for some time but finally fell victim to Covid. From school Bill went up to Aberdeen University to study science, graduating in 1948 with honours in chemistry. He then undertook three years of research work on uranium and radioactive materials at the Atomic Works of the Ministry 77

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine of Supply at Preston before turning to teaching. After qualifying he began as an assistant teacher of science at Peterhead and Fyvie before moving to a similar post at Galashiels Academy. Three years later he took up a post at Kelso High School. While in these Borders towns he played hockey for the Gala Reivers. In 1964 he moved to Falkirk and at this time played hockey for one of the ICI teams at Grangemouth. Bill continued playing hockey until in his mid ‘40s and tennis until his late ‘50s. From 1969 he taught chemistry at St Mirin’s and St Margaret’s High School in Paisley from which time the family home was in Bridge of Weir. Bill retired in 1986 and moved first to Stirling and later to Cornton, next to Bridge of Allan. Bill was awarded membership of the Royal Institute of Chemists in 1963 and became a chartered chemist in 1976. His wife predeceased him in 2013, but he is survived by his son and a granddaughter. Brian Dignan (1952-55) died peacefully in hospital in Aberdeen on 31 May 2021 aged 80. He left School at age 15 and worked initially for George Mellis & Sons grocery store in Aberdeen before moving to the Aberdeen Coal & Shipping Company. There he rose to be manager and later managing director of the company. He had a keen sense of business and a meticulous eye for book-keeping but business was not his main interest. Golf was Brian’s true passion, his enthusiasm dating from his primary school days. Aged nine, and despite having suffered before then with polio, he could be seen with golf clubs strapped to his back cycling from his home near the Duthie Park to Murcar Golf Course. In his teens he was an avid golfer, spending such free time as had with his friend and future Scotland International Sandy Pirie. He won Hazlehead Golf Club’s Champion of Champions tournament in his 20s. Brian became secretary of Hazlehead Golf club before moving to Westhill in later years where he had a spell as Club Captain. He served as President of the North-East District Scottish Golf Union and was for a time their Youth and Coaching convener. Brian is survived by his wife, Paula, a son and two grandchildren. William James Farquhar (1938-42) died peacefully at his home in Peterculter on 19 October 2019 aged 93. From School he joined the then Aberdeen Savings Bank, and continued in the service of Lloyds TSB when they took over. He became branch manager at Strichen/New Pitsligo, at Stornoway and finally at Torry, from which he retired in 1985. While in Stornoway he was Secretary of the local branch of Rotary and Treasurer of Martin’s Memorial Church. On his return to Aberdeen he continued as an elder at St Peter’s Church, Culter, edited the church magazine and assisted the Treasurer. A keen golfer, he continued to enjoy this in retirement. William is survived by his wife to whom he had been married for sixty-five years, by his son Peter James Farquhar (1961-68) and by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. William’s brother-in-law Joseph Farquharson (1929-43) died on 30 January 2020 aged 95. Following war service as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, latterly in the Pacific, he studied accountancy and was admitted to membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Both these Former Pupils were ranked among the Club’s distinguished Nonagenarians.

Former Pupils’ Section Francois Louis Pierre Fouin (1944-47) MB.ChB, DObst.RCOG died peacefully at his home in Milltimber after a short illness. He was aged 92. Born in Torphins and brought up on the Glentanar estate, where his French-born father was butler to Lord Glentanar, Pierre was schooled in Glen Tanar and Aboyne before moving into Aberdeen and the Grammar School. From there he went up to Aberdeen University to study Medicine. He graduated in 1954, and after the usual house posts at the Royal Infirmary he completed National Service in the RAMC. In 1957-58 he was a post-graduate obstetrics house officer at Aberdeen maternity hospital, at which time he received his doctorate from the Royal College in London. Pierre became an assistant to Charles Liddell (1920-31) at Cults and thereafter practised in Cults and Culter. Married, and with a young family growing up, the surgery was in the family home, which led to Pierre being a driving force behind the building of new health centres in Cults and Culter. He also played a part in the mentoring of new GPs and he was for many years actively involved on medical boards. He retired some years ago. Pierre played an active role in the Aberdeen University Alumnus Association, serving on its committee, was keenly interested in the affairs of the University and never afraid to make his views known. Pierre was passionately interested in the area of his birth and published two books on the area. The first The Early Times of a Glen Tanar Exile focused on his own childhood. The second book Glen Tanar Valley of Echoes and Hidden Treasures focused on his search for the rocks and plaques on the estate which bear phrases and poetry. A third book, Kick Those Sleeping Dogs was a reflection of his political views and opinions which he was never slow to express, often in the letters pages of the Press & Journal newspaper. Pierre was predeceased by his wife and by his daughter. He is survived by his son Peter and by four grandchildren. George Leslie Fraser (1936-49) BSc died peacefully at Inchmarlo Care Home, Banchory on 14 August 2019 aged 82. He underwent National Service as a Sergeant in the RAEC attached to the King’s African Rifles in Nairobi. He then went up to Aberdeen University graduating with Honours in Geography in 1956. While at University George was part of a Rectorial team which went to London and engineered the kidnap and ransom of Group-Captain Douglas Bader. He was heavily involved in golf and was one of four FPs in a team of ten which won the Scottish Universities team championship. He also had a half blue in basketball. George took up a post as a prospecting field geologist with the Aluminium Company of Canada and worked first in Greenland before a posting to French West Africa. Two years later he returned to Britain and was an educational representative in Scotland and Ireland. From 1962 he was principal teacher of Geography at Ross High School, Tranent before moving to the English School in Nicosia, Cyprus where both George and his wife taught for four years. After a short spell in Penicuik he became a company director in Broxburn. In retirement George was in 2001 vice-chair of the Campaign for Border Rail, which campaigned for the restoration of the Waverley line from Edinburgh to Carlisle. George was a frequent attendee at the regular reunions of the 1947-49 school leavers held in Aberdeen and always reported in the Magazine.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine George is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. James Edward Fraser (1936-49) CB, MA, BA, FSA(Scot) died peacefully at his home in Edinburgh on 20 July 2021 following a period of declining health. He was aged 89. At School he was a prefect, president of both the Debater and the Dramatic Society and was School editor of the Magazine. He was a patrol leader in the 1st Troop of Boy Scouts. Eddie left School as Classical Dux, proceeding to Aberdeen University to read Classics. While there he was editor of the student newspaper Gaudie and was for several years administrator of the annual Students’ Show in which he also participated. He graduated with First Class honours in Classics in 1953, winning a number of prizes in addition to a Classics scholarship to Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge. National Service in the Royal Artillery followed and once commissioned he was stationed in the Suez Canal Zone where in his second year he was Staff Captain “Q” at Tel-el-Kebir, itself a mark of distinction as NS officers were seldom promoted beyond 2nd Lieutenant. On his return he took up his Cambridge scholarship, but instead of Classics he read Law. He was successful in the administrative grades examinations for the Civil Service and in the autumn of 1957 he entered the administrative grade as an Assistant Principal. During a thirty-four year career Edward was successively Private Secretary to the Permanent Under Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scottish Office, and held posts in the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, the Scottish Office Finance Division and, as Under Secretary, in the Local Government Finance Group at the Scottish Office. He was recognised as an exceptionally able high calibre civil servant with a sharp mind and a charming personality. He retired in 1991 and for two years thereafter was Secretary of Commissions for Scotland. Edward was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a pastPresident of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland branch of the Scottish Hellenic Society. Edward’s involvement with the FP Club spanned all the years since he left the School in 1949. He regularly attended the reunions of the 1947-49 Leavers and was a member of the Edinburgh Centre, serving on its committee for several terms and being its President in 1992-93. The Club’s highest honour was conferred on him with his election as President in 1996. He undertook his duties with characteristic diligence and was warmly welcomed at all the Centre dinners. Presiding over the annual dinner in 1997 he welcomed the guests and followed this by saying ‘Grace’ at some length in fluent Latin. After a brief silence the company showed its appreciation of this departure from the norm by applauding warmly. Always a keen traveller and with an enthusiasm for all things Hellenic Eddie and family in his retirement spent several weeks each summer in the Eastern Mediterranean and especially in the Greek Islands enjoying the way of life of the locals and with a keen appreciation of the wonderful scenery and customs. Edward is survived by his wife, Patricia, to whom he had been married for sixty-one years, and by two sons and three grandchildren. His brother is John George Nevill Fraser (1942-65). Alan John Gardner (1957-70) CA died suddenly at his home in Aberdeen on 15 March 2020 aged 67. Alistair Adam (1957-70) writes: “Born in Aberdeen, where his father was a senior manager with the Clydesdale Bank, Alan attended St Margaret’s Nursery School before

Former Pupils’ Section entering the Grammar Kindergarten department. He performed well academically, was gifted at sports and served as a monitor in the Lower School. A popular and sporty pupil, Alan’s secondary education was interrupted in 1966 by a lengthy spell of radiotherapy for lymphoma, from which he made a full recovery. In spite of this he achieved excellent grades and applied successfully to study architecture at Scott Sutherland’s. “Alan was particularly good at tennis, winning the School championship, and was a fine footballer, displaying his cultured mid-field skills for the legendary, but short-lived, Byron Athletic amateur team. Other interests which he maintained for the rest of his life were music, cycling and passionately following Aberdeen Football Club. “Alan found himself ill-suited to the study of architecture and after a year found his true metier as an accountant. He studied at the University of Aberdeen and with the firm of Williamson & Dunn, was admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1976 and became a partner in the firm in 1979. In 1998 he left to set up his own business, Gardner Chartered Accountants in Queen’s Road. He remained there for the rest of his life, working tirelessly for his clients. Many trainees were employed learning their profession under Alan and going on to successful careers of their own. “Alan enjoyed football, swimming and cycling and was passionate about music as a regular concert-goer. He was cheerful and friendly, with a splendid and self-deprecating sense of humour, and almost impossible to offend.” Alan is survived by his wife, Mary, and by one son and two grandsons. His younger son predeceased him. Alan George Gibb (1926-36) MB, ChB, FRCSE died peacefully at his home at Ballater on 5 September 2020 aged 101. From school he went up to Aberdeen University to read Medicine, graduating in 1941. After house posts at Aberdeen and Stracathro he was called up to the Royal Air Force in 1944, serving with the rank of Major as a specialist otologist in West Africa and other areas until 1948. Following his demobilisation Alan obtained a diploma in Laryngology and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He was a registrar in Carlisle and West Cumberland for two years before taking up a post as an Ear, Nose and Throat consultant at Dundee and lecturing on that subject at St Andrews University Medical School. He became senior consultant at Tayside in 1960 and continued in post until retiring in the 1980s, after which he set up teaching departments in Malaya, Hong Kong and Singapore and lectured in the USA, Canada and the Far East. Alan was a keen golfer all his life with a handicap of 3. He won the Cullen Open in 1950 and played 90 holes on his ninetieth birthday in 2009. He was a keen skier from the early ‘50s and was skiing at the Lecht and Glenshee until the age of 93. He remained active until his last two years, fishing as often as he could. Alan is survived by his wife, a son and daughter and grandchildren. Eric John Grove (1960-1966) MA, MA(Lond), PhD died at his home at Bispham, Blackpool on 15th April 2021 aged 72. Born in Bolton, Lancashire he moved to Aberdeen 1960 when his doctor father took up a senior appointment with the Blood Transfusion Service at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Eric joined the Grammar School class 1S in August of that year and became a keen member of the school choir and of the St Andrews Cathedral choir, both then under the leadership of John Cullen. His lifelong interest in rail and road transport and matters military was evident even at school and in 1965, with fellow pupil

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Forbes McCallum (1959-65) he co-authored a handbook, published by Ian Allan Ltd, on Scottish Bus Fleets. In 6th Year he was President of the Railway Society. From School he went up to Aberdeen University to study Arts, graduating with Honours in History in 1970. After obtaining a post-graduate degree in War Studies at Kings College London he joined the civilian staff of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, during which time he became the first Dartmouth Academic to exchange for a year with the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. For much of the 1980s Eric became a freelance Academic and Defence Consultant, and developed a proficiency on Soviet military matters, thanks to several visits to the then USSR, to add to his British and American expertise. During this period he authored several very highly regarded books including “From Vanguard to Trident; British Naval Policy Since 1945” and “The Future of Sea Power”. Working closely with the Royal Navy he coauthored in 1995 the British Maritime Doctrine, helping to shape British defence policies in the 1990s and beyond, including the recent procurement of two aircraft carriers. In 1993 Eric joined the Centre for Security Studies at the University of Hull, obtaining a Doctorate three years later based on his growing number of academic works. In 1997 he spent a year away as a visiting fellow at the University of Woolongong, Australia. In 2005 he moved to the University of Salford as Professor of Naval History and Director of the Centre for International Security and War Studies. To add to his busy schedule he lectured at many conferences and seminars throughout the world, published articles and academic papers and continued his close relationship with the Royal Navy. In 2015, after a final two years as professor of Naval History at Hope University, Liverpool, he stepped down from full-time teaching but continued to lecture, write and act as a visiting supervisor and examiner for PhDs at Cambridge University. He was an entertaining enthusiastic and hugely knowledgeable lecturer who rarely used notes but always wore a trademark bow-tie. Eric frequently appeared in television documentaries on naval matters including on BBCs “Timewatch” programme and Channel 4s “Hunt for the Hood and the Bismarck”. He was frequently called on to comment on naval and defence policy matters on radio and television news programmes. A larger-than-life character and a “bon viveur” who enjoyed good food and wine, Eric is survived by his wife Swee Poh and his brother Peter (1969-74) John Louis Harper (1940-54) BSc, MEng, died suddenly on 25 September 2020, following elective cardiac surgery. He was aged 84. From school he went on to the University of Aberdeen, graduating BSc in mechanical engineering in 1958. He secured a position as a graduate trainee with Babcock & Wilcox in Renfrew. After posts as a project engineer at Dalmuir and as a contract engineer at Clydebank he returned to Babcock as a mechanical engineer in 1965, later becoming production systems manager. When Babcock won the contract to manage Rosyth Royal Dockyard in the mid-1980s John was part of the management team which was seconded there and he worked through in Fife until he retired in 1993. At School John was a hockey player, a member of the 9th Scouts and Pipe Major of Army Cadet Corps pipe band. His main passion was hill walking, rock climbing with other Grammarians such as W.W.Hutchison and the Grassick brothers (Ken and Brian). Bob Scott’s Bothy was his second home. In retirement John took up golf and played regularly at Douglas Park Golf Club in Bearsden. He was an elder of New Kilpatrick Parish Church for 49 years.

Former Pupils’ Section John is survived by his wife Fiona, two children and three grandchildren. Several members of the family attended the School, including his father Louis Reginald (191017),grandfather Louis (1881-83) and brother Douglas Ross (1944-58). Gordon Frederick Hendry (1927-39) CBE, MA died peacefully in Yorkshire on 12 September 2020 aged 98. He was born in Aberdeen in June 1922. His grandfather had originally been a domestic gardener at Lumphanan and the family moved to Mannofield, Aberdeen in 1891. Gordon’s father, John, was the eldest son and having started as office boy was ultimately a partner in William Leslie and Company, a herring merchant company. Gordon had a happy boyhood and, like his older brother, Ian, attended the School in the pre-war years. He was a well-motivated and bright pupil. Thereafter he went up to Aberdeen University, graduating with first class honours in Economics in 1942. He was called up to serve in the Royal Air Force as a radio mechanic. After demobilisation in 1947, he began work in the Scottish Office in Edinburgh as an assistant agricultural economist. Promotion followed rapidly and in 1952 he was a principal economist. There followed a long, successful and interesting career at an exciting stage of Scotland’s development - New Towns, North Sea oil, roads and transport infrastructure. Having attained a senior position as Assistant Secretary, he was awarded a CBE for public service in 1982. Gordon was a strong family man and an Elder in the Church of Scotland for over sixty years. He was proud of his son and daughter, Ian and Susan, and then all of his five grandchildren with their various pursuits all over the world, and two great-grandchildren in Australia. He was married for 67 years and latterly cared for his wife Elsa, who he had met at University, until her death in 2013. He continued to live at Buckstone, Edinburgh until late 2017 after which he moved to Yorkshire to be near Susan. People constantly remarked upon Gordon as a gentleman, both because of his impeccable appearance, and his dignity and gentle polite manner. Gordon’s elder brother John (Ian) Maddison Hendry (1920-31) died in 1991. Lorraine (Lori) Houlihan neé McKenna (1979-85) BA died peacefully at her home in Harpenden, Hertfordshire on 19 April 2021 following a lengthy illness. After primary education at Mile End School she came to the Grammar two years after the first intake of girls to the school. She then went up to Robert Gordon University, graduating with a degree in Business Studies in 1988. Her first post was as director of marketing for Health Promotions with the NHS. In 1999 Lori was appointed as Aberdeen University’s first director of student recruitment and admissions. Two years later she became the first director of marketing and then director of development and external affairs. She was in the lead of the hugely successful fundraising campaign marking the six hundredth anniversary of the founding of the University. This campaign saw the building of the Sir Duncan Rice Library, the Suttie Centre for Teaching & Learning in Healthcare and assistance with the funding of the Aberdeen Sports Village. She was most proud of the Library, which at the outset she saw as an impossible dream. In 2011 Lori moved to University College London to take up the post of executive director of development and alumni relations. In 2016 she was promoted to Vice-provost (development) and again, in 2018, to vice-provost (advancement). One of her notable

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine achievements was to devise and lead the It’s All Academic campaign which was launched in 2016 with the object of supporting the university’s research and teaching, expanding scholarships and other provision for students, and building up an engaged and involved global alumni community. This campaign met its targets in 2020, a year ahead of schedule. Her portfolio also included the communication and marketing function for UCL and the university’s London Strategy. Lori was also a champion of equity and inclusion as a member of UCL’s LGBTQ+advisory group and Friend of Out@UCL. She was the university’s first Interfaith Champion, a role which she established to improve understanding and awareness of faith on the campus. In 2015 Lori completed the advanced management programme at Columbia University and in 2018 was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Europe. In addition to being a member of numerous committees and a board member of several organisations she was a Burgess of the City of Aberdeen. In the spring of 2019 Lori became suddenly unwell and following a seizure glioblastoma was diagnosed. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy all followed to no effect, forcing her to retire in March 2020. She was aware how little the treatment for her disease had changed over the last twenty years and that the drugs which she was receiving had been in clinical trials when she was at primary school. In light of this she set up the UCL Lori Houlihan Glioblastoma Fund to enable research to bring about advances in the understanding and treatment of this disease similar to those seen in other cancers. Lori was awarded an honorary doctorate by UCL in December 2020 in recognition of her exceptional and dedicated service to the university and the wider sector. Lori served on the Executive Committee of the F.P. Club for a few years prior to her move to London and as one would expect her input was always focussed and relevant. Lori is survived by her husband Dominic, an emeritus professor of Aberdeen University, by her daughter, Poppy, and three step-children. She is also survived by her sister Alison McKenna (1982-88). Archibald Stewart Hunter (1945-54) MB,ChB, DCH(Glas), MRCP, MRCPE died peacefully in a care home in Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries & Galloway on 18 February 2021 aged 84. At School he was a prefect, played both Rugby and Cricket and was CSM of the Combined Cadet Force. From School he went up to Aberdeen University to read Medicine. He was elected to the Students Representative Council, served as its secretary for a year and was later Senior Vice-President. Stewart graduated in 1960. Stewart held the usual junior hospital appointments in Aberdeen before deciding on a career in paediatrics and while training at Great Ormond Street in London became interested in children with heart disease. After further training in Edinburgh he was appointed as senior resident associate in the department of child health in Newcastle where he started the development of one of the UK’s most outstanding Children’s Heart Units. Stewart next held a research post in Pennsylvania State University where he was a resident Fellow for a year and helped to develop cine angiography in adults. On his return he became a consultant in the Newcastle Heart Unit and worked in close collaboration with a radiologist at Harefield Hospital in establishing the principal diagnostic tool in establishing the types of heart malformation in children. He set up the first

Former Pupils’ Section echocardiography course in Britain which ran between Newcastle and Harefield and which was attended by most practitioners. Stewart earned a reputation as an excellent teacher. In 1987 the first heart transplant in a baby in Britain was carried out in Newcastle, which is still one of only two centres in the UK authorised for this. Stewart, as a good organiser and team-builder, set up the Children’s Heart Unit Fund in 1984 which has raised over £10million for its support. Stewart was heavily involved in two major inquiries into the outcomes of the treatment of child heart disease, first in Bristol and later in Harefield Hospital. As a result of these the need for reliable data was established leading to the establishment of a national database so that risk-based assessments can be made. Stewart was the co-author of Echocardiography for the Neonatologist published in 2000. Stewart enjoyed hill-walking in the Scottish hills and was a keen golfer and cricketer. After retiring to Gatehouse he became an elder of the local Church of Scotland, particularly important as his father had been Professor of New Testament Theology in Aberdeen. Stewart is survived by his wife Val, to whom he had been married for sixty years, three children and seven grandchildren. Michael Sutherland Jamieson (1936-49) MA died in a nursing home in Brighton on 28 July 2020 aged 89. After school years, he studied at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1953.After National Service as a Flying Officer in the Education branch of the RAF he studied at Princeton and as a Carnegie Research Scholar at King's College, Cambridge. He was on the staff of the University of Keele for two years before moving to the University of Sussex in 1962 as a lecturer in the School of English and American Studies. Here, under the professorship of the late David Daiches, he taught alongside Dr Patty Thomson and Dr Maurice Evans, both of whom had earlier been on the staff of the English Department at Aberdeen. Michael later became resident Warden at Sussex's Falmar House, where his gift of sociability made him a popular figure among the students. He also taught briefly at the University of Rome and the University of California at Santa Cruz. His publications included a study of As You Like It and articles on Elizabethan acting, on Shakespeare's celibate stage and on modern theatres for Shakespearean production. Douglas Kynoch (1948-56) writes: “An engaging conversationalist, Michael was no less arresting as a correspondent (his letters characteristically being written in several colours of ink). On a greetings card decorated with a painting by Duncan Bell of Bloomsbury (and Rothiemurchus), he once recalled being 'shown round Charleston by Quentin Bell when Duncan was asleep upstairs and the remains of his lunch were visible on the DIY Bloomsbury painted table.' A more lasting brush with celebrity had come as a boy at the Grammar School during WW2, when he first made the acquaintance of the worldrenowned opera singer, Mary Garden. When the great lady left Paris in 1940, it was to return to the North-east, where she spent the war years in and around Aberdeen. The home she bought in town after the war was situated only a few stone-throws from the School. Michael remembered it years later as 'a charming flat where she re-created in Aberdeen something essentially Parisian. There, surrounded by mementoes, she would sometimes talk animatedly but without regrets of her career in a musical world that had vanished.' So well acquainted did the star and the schoolboy become that, when Miss Garden died in

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 1967, he not only paid tribute to her in The Times but pointed out a number of inaccuracies in their obituary!” Michael's younger brother, Gavin (1944-52), predeceased him in 2010. Neil Roderick Johnston (1935-53) MBChB DObstRGOG MRCGP died peacefully in Edinburgh on 5 November 2019 following a long illness. He was 84. Neil was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1935, where his father Herbert Johnston worked for Cable & Wireless. Herbert was transferred to Hong Kong in 1937 and Neil lived there with his father and mother Betha. After the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941, Neil and his mother were evacuated to Australia and then home to Great Britain under convoy, which he recalled was an exciting experience for a small boy. He was reunited with his older brother Leslie and his grandparents in Aberdeen. Herbert Johnston was detained in Hong Kong in Stanley Internment Camp and remained there until 1945 when Japanese forces surrendered. On his arrival in Aberdeen, Neil joined the School Boarding House and often spoke fondly of his time there, in particular the food! He was a keen rugby player and forged many lasting friendships during this time, including John ‘Toby’ Chalmers and Ronnie Duncan. In 1953 Neil gained a place at Aberdeen University to study Medicine. He continued playing rugby, becoming part of Aberdeen University Rugby Club First XV in 1957-59. He graduated in 1960 with a degree in Medicine and after house officer posts in Aberdeen spent a further year of study in Hull, specialising in obstetrics. In 1962 he married Moyra and they moved, first to Eastbourne as a trainee general practitioner, and then to Norwich, before finally settling in Edinburgh in 1964. There he became a founding partner at the Grange Medical Group and worked with them for thirty -four years until retiring in 1998. He loved his job as the local GP and delivered many babies during his career. As his family later recalled “He would often get up at night and head out to deliver a patient’s baby – we grew up thinking all dads wore pyjamas under their suits!” Neil enjoyed playing golf at The Kilspindie Golf Club in East Lothian. He also enjoyed travel, probably inspired by spending his formative years living abroad. Family holidays were caravanning trips across the UK and Europe, including one memorable trip around the sights of London on the way home from a summer holiday – with caravan attached! Neil and the rest of the family retained strong links to Aberdeen, regularly returning to visit family and friends. A trip North was never complete without stocking up on treats – rowies and ‘mealy puddings’ were carefully stowed in the car and brought home to Edinburgh to be enjoyed. Neil is survived by his wife Moyra, to whom he had been married for fifty seven years, by a son David, a daughter Judith and five grandchildren. His older brother Leslie Graeme Johnston (1932-45) died in 2009. Raymond George Lascelles (1940-49) MB,ChB, MD, FRCP, died at his home in Altrincham, Cheshire on 17 February 2020 aged 87. From School he went up to Aberdeen University to study Medicine, graduating with honours in 1955. As the most distinguished graduate in Medicine for 1954-55 he was awarded the Murray Medal and Scholarship.

Former Pupils’ Section National Service in the R.A.F. followed which he spent in the Neurology Centre of the R.A.F. Hospital at Hatton, Bucks. From 1962 Raymond was for three years registrar in neurology at St Thomas’ Hospital, followed by five years as senior registrar at Guys Hospital. In 1970 he moved to Manchester as senior consulting neuro-physician at Manchester Royal Infirmary and honorary lecturer in neurology at Manchester University. He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine having graduated as Doctor of Medicine in 1964 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians ten years later. He had been retired for several years. Alastair Moyes Lessells (1963-65) MB,ChB died peacefully at his home in Edinburgh on 16 May 2021 following a short illness. He was aged 63. He came to the Grammar to Upper V(1) from Fraserburgh Academy, leaving two years later to go up to Aberdeen University to read Medicine. He graduated in 1971 and following the usual house posts in Aberdeen hospitals and after a period on probation he became a lecturer in Pathology at the University. Three years later he moved to Manchester and then in 1984 relocated to Edinburgh as a pathologist at the Western General Hospital, where he remained until retiring in 2012. In 1978, just before moving south, Alastair was introduced to Orienteering by his wife who had become aware of the sport through her connections with the Girl Guide movement. He attended his first event in Aberdeen and continued in Manchester where he displayed great enthusiasm for the sport, acting as competitor, helper and official. On moving to Edinburgh he joined the East Scotland Orienteering Club where he soon became a member of the committee and by 1990 was Club President. He was a very competent event official, with extremely good planning and controlling skills. In retirement Alastair threw his energies into volunteering. He was a volunteer with Lothian Conservation Volunteers, Edinburgh City Council Rangers on Corstorphine Hill and Cammo, National Trust Volunteers and Bawsinch Nature Reserve where he picked up many new skills. As well as an orienteer, Alastair was a keen and extremely good golfer and bowler. He was Seniors Captain at his golf club and the Seniors Champion at his bowling club. Alastair is survived by his wife, Katy, and by a son and daughter. His brothers Gordon Stewart Lessells (1963-66) and James Stewart Lessels (1963-69) also attended the School. Alan Richards Lyall (1933-46) MB.ChB, DObst.RCOG, MRCGP died peacefully in London on 24 May 2021. Keenly involved in Swimming while at School, he went up to Aberdeen University to study Medicine, graduating in 1951. After the usual house posts at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary he was called up for National Service in the RAMC, serving as a senior medical officer with HM Troopships. He was a house surgeon at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital in 1955 before spending thirty years as a very popular family doctor in Laurencekirk. He became a Doctor of Obstetrics of the Royal College of Gynaecologists of London in 1957. Alan is survived by his widow, Fiona, a son and daughter, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. His younger brother Malcolm George Lyall (1935-48) is a retired consultant ophthalmic surgeon. His elder brother Alexander David Lyall (1932-45) drowned in a yachting accident off Shetland in 1965.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Ian Robert MacDonald (1940-52) died unexpectedly but peacefully at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 18 November 2020 aged 85. He entered school at Nursery and, not being particularly academic, left school at 16 and took employment with the Commercial Union Assurance Co. in Aberdeen prior to carrying out his National Service in the Army. Rugby was his main interest during this time, and he played for the Army against several of the English County sides before returning to play for the FP 1st XV for many seasons. He was frequently selected for the North-Midlands XV, culminating in representing them against the South African Springboks at Linksfield in 1961. In the meantime, on his return from National Service, Ian joined the family business of The Aberdeen Glass & China Co Ltd which had just begun trading. He remained there as Managing Director until selling the business 35 years later. Ian’s main interests were hill-walking and golfing at Deeside Golf Club where he had three holes in one, although in his own words he “wasn’t much of a golfer”! Ian’s wife, Betty, to whom he had been married for 59 years, died in 2019. He is survived by his daughters Diane and Claire, his son, Alan, and six grandchildren. His elder brother Alistair Gordon MacDonald (1942-52) died in 2007. Colin Campbell Reith Macpherson (1935-40, 1942-44) MA, BD died peacefully at his home in Edinburgh on 2 July 2020 aged 89. After completing his schooling elsewhere in Scotland Colin went up to Aberdeen University to study Arts, and graduated with 1 st Class Honours in History in 1952. He was awarded the Forbes Gold Medal and the Caithness Prize for History. He also received the Clark Bursary from Aberdeen Presbytery for three years to enable him to go on to study Divinity. During this second course Colin became a member of the Students Representative Council, rising to be its Senior Vice-President. He was awarded the Primrose Prize in Church History, graduated with distinction in 1955 and was again a prize-winner. Having been awarded a King William scholarship to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Colin studied there for three years. He also studied at Götingen University in Germany. Having been licensed to preach after graduation Colin became assistant minister at the Auld Kirk, Ayr in 1959 before being called to Inverurie West Church the following year. He was granted a TA commission as chaplain to the 3 rd Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders. In 1966 he was called to St Margaret’s Parish Church in Dunfermline where he remained until retiring in 1997 after a ministry of 38 years. In retirement Colin lived in Edinburgh. Colin had a reputation as a scholarly but powerful preacher and his keen analytical mind was critical to solving organisational and other problems as they arose on the courts of the church. Barrie Mitchell (1959 -61) died at Woodchurch, Kent on 24 January 1921 aged 73. Considering his career as a footballer, it is interesting that he did not play in any of the then recognised sports teams, although he did turn out to play hockey on sports afternoons. He preferred to pursue his football skills with outside teams as the School did not play soccer. Barrie turned down advances from Arsenal as a youth to join Sunnybank Football Club before moving on to Arbroath. After only a few games for the Second Division side he signed for Dunfermline for the then record fee of £13,000. He had a difficult first season,

Former Pupils’ Section having broken a bone in his foot and injuring himself in a car crash. After scoring his first goal he became a first team regular. Barrie made his European debut against Olympiakos, scoring and then being sent off in the first leg of the contest. That red card gave him the unwanted honour of being the first British player to receive a three-match ban from UEFA. After five years at Dunfermline, for whom he had scored 40 goals in 177 appearances, Barrie moved back to Aberdeen to sign for the Dons. Injury struck again before his Aberdeen career even started. He suffered a slipped disc which inhibited his most important attribute, speed, with the result that he spent only one season with the Dons. Barrie next signed for Tranmere Rovers with whom he spent three seasons. He then had a spell in Canada with the Vancouver Whitecaps. There he lined up against Pele, Eusebio, George Best and Franz Beckenbauer and scoring a winning goal against the New York Cosmos. He next returned to England to play for Preston North End, York City, Morton and Wigan Athletic. After retiring from playing Barrie returned to Merseyside to establish a popular public house named the Coach and Horses. William Murray Moncur (1945-48) died in hospital in Camberley on 3 April 2020, aged 90. After his earlier education at Culter he was awarded a Drum Scholarship to attend the Grammar. He was a Prefect in 1947-48 and was a dedicated member of the Army Cadets rising to the rank of CSM and achieving his cert A. He was later associated with the University Training Corps. Whilst awaiting post war prioritisation for call-up or University, Bill worked as an Engineer’s assistant on the Glen Affric Dam construction. Called up in 1948 he started a lifetime’s happy and proud association with the Corps of Royal Engineers. He was rated for Officer selection and underwent Officer training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in 1948/49 followed by a 2Lt Training Officer appointment with 8 Training Regiment, RE at Elgin. Troop Commander appointments to two Field Regiments and a Junior Officer course at the School of Mechanical Engineering between 1950/53 was followed by Battle School in Japan before deployment to HQ Royal Engineers in 1 Commonwealth Division, Korea. There he was tasked with constructing permanent winter divisional accommodation with limited material and manpower. Bill’s next posting was to HQ Malaya Command as a staff officer with responsibility for Plant and Equipment. On his return to the UK Bill was part of the War Office Selection Board team at Barton Stacy, before posting to the Army Apprentice School Harrogate as OC Electrical Trades Training from 1956/58. He then underwent Long Transportation Course between 1959/61 consisting of six months of studies each on Railways and Port Operations followed by another six months of detachments to the Port of London Authority and British Rail. One of Bill’s most enjoyable postings was as exchange officer to the Royal Australian Engineers Training Centre at Cowder Bay, Sydney as Senior Instructor in 1963/65. This involved the end of an era of sea passage for service postings, going out on a cargo ship and back on a liner. Part of his responsibilities was to set up a long Transportation Course for Officers and Warrant Officers culminating in a Tactical Exercise involving the survey of the remote and infrequently used Queensland Railway system for the mobilisation of forces from the South and follow-up US reinforcements. The subsequent study was developed

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine for early computer modelling. Training with RAE LSM vessels consisted of deep sea navigation capabilities. A special duties detachment to BAOR in 1967/68 was followed by Bill’s final posting as OC 59 Port Squadron and Port Commandant at Famagusta, Cyprus in 1968/69. After taking voluntary retirement Bill worked with Easams on Military, Aviation and Transportation Organisation, Methods and Project management. Other appointments followed with P&O Sealine Services as Logistics Manager and the setting up of a North Sea Re-supply Base for International Watts Fincham. Finally he set up his own consultancy and engineering equipment sales company. Bill had a keen and detailed knowledge of Engineer Corps history, and a particular interest in the Corps’ involvement with the design, construction and installation of the Mulberry Harbour on D-Day. On a visit to Arromanches, he was fired up by seeing that the only commemoration of the Corps war-winning Mulberry achievements was in the form of a small plaque from the RLC. He was determined to put this right with a fitting memorial, singlehandedly raising £90,000. He commissioned designs for the memorial and the elaborate castings to be incorporated in it, coordinated with the civic authorities of Arromanches for the construction work and made arrangements for appropriate ceremonies. His efforts culminated in a spectacular unveiling ceremony by Lady Soames, daughter of Winston Churchill, who conceived the idea of the floating harbour, on the 2000 D-Day anniversary. Subsequently, Bill played a major part in ensuring that Major Allan Beckett’s design work of the Kite Anchor and Floating Roadways, so crucial to the Mulberry success, was commemorated in a similar manner. Bill is survived by his three sons. Derek Ogston (1937-39,1946-47) CBE, MA, MB.ChB, PhD, MD, DSc, MLitt, BTh FRCP, FRCPE, FRSE died peacefully at his home in Aberdeen on 27 February following a short illness. He was aged 88. He finished his schooling at a London boarding school before going up to Aberdeen University to study Arts. After graduating in 1952 he studied Medicine, graduating in 1957. After the usual house officer posts at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary he was a Gordon Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University. He became a lecturer in Medicine in 1962, in which year he was awarded a PhD for which his thesis was based on “A study of fibrinolysis with particular reference to intravascular thrombosis”. Professor Ogston became a senior lecturer in 1969 and a reader in 1975. During this time a Medical Research Council travelling scholarship enabled him to spend a year in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1977 he was appointed Regius Professor of Physiology and six years later became Professor of Clinical Medicine. From 1984 to 1987 he was dean of the Faculty of Medicine before promotion to Vice-Principal in 1988. During his last four years of service he was senior Vice-Principal and as such played a leading part in the organisation of the celebrations to mark the Quincentenary of the University in 1995. Outside his University posts Professor Ogston was for a time a member of the General Medical Council and was a governor of the Rowett Research Institute. He also served on Grampian Health Board, including a spell as chairman. His services to medicine and education were recognised by the award of a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1995.

Former Pupils’ Section Following his retiral Professor Ogston returned to the University to study fine arts, graduating with an M.Litt degree and followed this by a course of studies in theology earning him the degree of B.Th. Always deeply interested in music, he contributed to the cost of the purchase and installation of the Aubertin organ in the University chapel. His support for the Opera Society and the Chapel Choir led to opportunities for students backed up by several Ogston Scholarships and Ogston Awards as well as the Ogston Music Prize awarded annually at a Music Festival in the University which attracted many highly gifted entrants. In 1999 Professor Ogston co-authored a book celebrating the 500-year-old University buildings in Old Aberdeen, charting the history of King’s College through a series of photographs, illustrations and paintings. All profits from the sale of the book were donated to the funding drive for the Duncan Rice Library. Professor Ogston’s outstanding contribution to University life was recognised by an honorary degree in 2007. In 2016 he was presented with a Benefactor’s Medal. Professor Ogston is survived by his wife to whom he had been married for nearly sixty years, by a son and two daughters, one of them Nicola (1985-91). Alastair Graeme Robertson (1930-40) MRCVS died at his home in Como, Australia on 4 October 2020 aged 95. His father Douglas Graeme Robertson (1904-15) worked in the Far East and Alastair initially resided in the Boarding House. He finished his schooling in Western Australia but returned to Scotland to qualify as a veterinary surgeon at the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College in Edinburgh in 1952. For a time he was in private practice before spending fifteen years with the Ministry of Agriculture in Aberdeen. He then moved abroad and was employed with the Department of Agriculture in Western Australia. An interesting article by Alastair, Random Reflections of a 1930-40 Pupil was published at page 35 of the Magazine of 1992. He was one of the Club’s distinguished Nonagenarians. Donald Macbeth Thomson (1962–65) B.A., C.A. died peacefully at home in Glasgow on 30 April 2021 aged 71. Donald left the School at the end of his third year when the family moved south to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On leaving school in Newcastle, he completed an economics degree at Newcastle University and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before returning to Aberdeen to work as an auditor with the North of Scotland HydroElectric Board. He had a wide range of interests, including music, skiing and climbing, and was a member of the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team for several years. After moving to Glasgow, he was promoted to Director of Finance of Greater Glasgow Community Mental Health Trust. In retirement, Donald volunteered with Citizens Advice Bureau for several years, as well as singing with a number of choirs and continuing to display his musical talents, of which he had many, on the guitar. In distilling the essence of the person Donald was, we might say that he surrounded himself with the things that mattered to him most – the music he made, his professional improvements to the lives of others, and the friends, family and people he loved. Donald is survived by his much loved wife Morag and his son Jamie, his older brothers Kenneth (1949-63) and Alan (1951-64), and his younger sister Julie.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Harry Law Warder (1937-44) died in hospital in East Hills, Sidney, New South Wales following a short illness aged 94. His father was a captain in the merchant navy and for some years the family lived in India and Burma from where Harry and his twin brother came to Aberdeen where they boarded until their parents moved back to Scotland. Both boys entered the Lower School at the age of ten. At School Harry enjoyed sport playing both hockey and cricket and together with his twin being opening batsmen for Melvin House. Leaving school at the end of 1944 Harry was conscripted in the Army and served in the Middle East with a Light Cavalry Regiment. In 1948 the family decided to emigrate to New Zealand but engine trouble on the ship enforced a long delay in Sydney and they liked the place so much that they remained in Australia. Harry went into the field of audit and accountancy, although without professional qualifications. He worked for many years with an audit firm and after retiral worked in internal audit for a local authority. Harry continued to play hockey and played for Sydney against the New Zealand national side. He also continued to play cricket with a reputation as a medium-fast bowler whose action batsmen found it hard to read as he used to bowl off the wrong foot. In his later years Harry was a member of Bankstown Sports Club. He was also a passionate trout fisher, having learned this as a youth in the Aboyne area. Harry was predeceased by his wife but is survived by his two sons and by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His twin George Wyllie Warder (1937-45) is still resident in New South Wales. Alan Rodger Webster (1943-56) BEng, PEng passed away peacefully in Surrey, Vancouver on 23rd August 2021 at the age of 82. He had fought a long and brave battle with debilitating illnesses for some years. He is survived by his wife, Lucille, a son and daughter and three grandchildren. At the Grammar Alan was a bright, friendly and lively individual who was well liked by pupils and staff. He did well academically and was also a talented all-round sportsman. Then suddenly, in the late summer of 1956, much to the consternation of his classmates, he disappeared off the radar. His father had accepted the post of Director of Ship Construction with the Canadian Federal Government and the family emigrated at very short notice to Ottawa. Martin Jeffrey (1942-57) writes: “I have a very clear recollection of Alan as a friend and classmate at the Grammar School in the early/mid 1950’s. A friendly, dark haired, loose-limbed, athletic individual and good looking with it. Alan was a talented all-round sportsman with a particular interest in rugby, cricket and athletics – he had a wonderful throwing arm which served him well in throwing the Cricket Ball and Javelin at Sports Days - all important accomplishments at that time of life! Alan was also very good academically and a fellow School Prefect in 5th year (1955-56). “Scouts (Aberdeen 1st Group) were an important activity on Friday evenings and at various camps at Clinterty and at sites round the North-East in the summer. Alan was always good company and an excellent leader. I have a wonderful photo of him as a Patrol Leader with his Patrol ready for morning inspection at a summer camp at Corriemulzie (1954) a few miles outside Braemar. We had some great times, particularly at camps and hikes/adventures that we did together to qualify for various badges. Barrie Harper and Ken “Tucker” Thomson were often part of the group. They also shared an interest in Rugby.

Former Pupils’ Section “As the family adjusted to their new home, Alan finished his schooling in Ottawa and then studied engineering at Carlton University. He was a very keen rugby player and was selected to represent Canada in an Under-25 Select Team against the unbeaten 1964 All Blacks Touring Team. They came very close to beating them, the final score being 6-3 to the All Blacks. Alan graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and throughout his career he was involved in large construction projects in Calgary and then Vancouver. In 1980 he was appointed vice-president of CANA Construction, a company in CANA Construction Group of Calgary, with responsibility for the company’s building projects in Southern Alberta. “I, like many other classmates, was so disappointed when Alan suddenly emigrated to Canada with his family in 1956. For many years we only had very occasional snippets of news about him, so it was a great joy to be able to meet up with him at the Canadian FP Centre Dinner in 2013. It was the first time I had seen Alan for 57 years – the black hair was now distinctly grey, but the same friendly smile was still very much in evidence. It was also so nice for my wife, Whilma, and I to meet his wife Lucille. “I meet up with a small group of old classmates for lunch every few months and it so happens that we gathered last Thursday, 26th August. They all immediately recognised Alan in a Class Photograph from 1956 that I had taken along and a few stories emerged. All were saddened by the news of his death.” Alan was a member of the Canadian Centre of the FP Club and a regular attendee at its annual reunions. Michael James Watt Wilson (1962-68) MA, MEd died in an Aberdeen hospice on 22 August 2021 after a short illness. He was aged 71. After leaving school he went up to Aberdeen University to read Arts, graduating with honours in 1972. After teacher training he took up a post at Dunottar Primary school, from which he moved to Newtonhill. In 1977 he was appointed as head teacher at Rhynie Primary school. While in these posts Mike continued to study and in 1987 graduated with a Master’s degree in Education. He and his family lived in Rhynie until 1990 when he returned to Aberdeen, continuing a daily commute to Rhynie until retiring in 2005. Outside education Mike’s interests were diverse. He was a drummer in the rock band Mr Fantasy playing gigs around Aberdeen. In retirement he took on a variety of part-time jobs, including voluntary driving. He was for many years a member of the Caravan Club and spent many weekends travelling around Scotland and taking summer trips into Europe. Mike was also a keen skier at Aviemore and Glenshee. He golfed at Craibstone and was both a freshwater and a sea fisherman. Mike and his wife had a holiday flat in southern Spain where they spent the winter months. Mike is survived by his wife, Muriel, by three children and two grandchildren.

The death of Mrs Isabel Mary Gill, the widow of former Rector the late Robert Gill, has been noted with regret. Isabel died peacefully at Inchmarlo Nursing Home on 15 June 2021 aged 93 following a period of declining health. Isabel had 93

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine a wonderful contralto voice which was a great asset to her. An ever welcoming hostess at and following School functions she was a strong loyal support to her husband who had to over-see the closure of the Lower School, the introduction of girls to the new Rubislaw Academy and the renaming of the School. Isabel is survived by two sons and two grandchildren.

Former Pupils’ Section

Abstract of Accounts for Year ended 31 December 2020 Former Pupils’ Club Income and Expenditure Account INCOME Subscriptions Existing Members – Annual New Members Life Members Transfer from Life Members’ Account Top-up Payments Donations: Club Centre

2020 £

2019 £

2,649 -

3,958 -

592 1,450 1,000

Members’ Donations and Bequests Interest Magazine – advertising Fund Raising – Big Draw Share of Rent – 1 Bayview Road Book & Tie Sales EXPENDITURE Magazine – Printing, stationery and postage Club Secretary – Printing, stationery & postage Website Operations Stationery & Printing Grants – Capitation to Regional Centres School – Amenities Fund School Prizes Accountancy Fee Corporation Tax Bank Charges Bank Interest paid Miscellaneous Bayview Road Property Expenses SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR

4,518 1,445 1,195 120 10 12,979

612 930 1,000 2,908 6 2,490 1,195 12 13,111

4,965 200 1,898 3,500 200 1,320 78 1,757 1,832 17,241

4,530 400 61 500 3,500 200 1,320 78 (198) 6,850 17,241

(2,771)

(4,130 )

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Balance Sheet As at 31 December 2020 2020 181,172

2019 £ 181,172

5,109

400 32,969 20,500 85,000 38,879 177,748

1,650 12,807 19,500 85,000 29,883 148,840

74,064 5,915 5,802 78,087

74,064 5,740 3,722 46,271

77,000 240,868

79,000 208,797

NET CURRENT LIABILITIES

(63,120)

(59,957)

NET ASSETS

123,161

126,324

11,244

11,636

4,153 21,565 5,470 80,729 111,917

4,153 21,565 5,470 83,500 114,688

123,161

126,324

HERITABLE PROPERTY INVESTMENTS CURRENT ASSETS Stock Debtors Donations due from Club Centre Club Centre – Loan Drawdown Bank Accounts CURRENT LIABILITIES Club Centre Loan Subscriptions in advance Life Member Top-up Payments Creditors Loans from Members (repayable on demand and interest free)

CAPITAL ACCOUNTS Life Members REVENUE ACCOUNTS The Big Draw Second Century School Prize Fund General

Former Pupils’ Section Draft Abstract of Accounts for Period ended 30 June 2021 F.P. Club Centre Income and Expenditure Account 2019 £ 114,347

4,944 45,527 50,471 4,825 45,646 68,701 14,312 2,227 13,672 50 153 99,115 30,807 604 29,944 (2,389) 9,319 653 2,452 5,642 4,155 862 1,300 1,180 1,309 1,042 152 1,579 5,734 94,345 £4,770

£ BAR ACCOUNT BAR SALES

£ 57,861

COST OF SALES Stock on Hand at 31 December 2018 Bar Purchases Stock on Hand at 30 June 2021

4,825 25,034 29,859 29,859 28,002

GROSS PROFIT ON BAR – 48% MISCELLANEOUS INCOME Annual Subscriptions Room Hire Car Parking Donations Covid 19 Support Grants Employment Support Grants Gain on sale of assets Interest Received Miscellaneous Income

4,977 148 3,451 1,075 45,550 15,249 1,600 47 23,571

OVERHEAD EXPENSES Wages & National Insurance Employer’s Pension Costs Redundancy Costs Rates and Insurance Rates Reduction Heating and Lighting Telephone (Net) Repairs and Maintenance Administration Expenses Cleaning & Waste Management Bank Interest Miscellaneous Expenses Stock-taker Entertainment Credit Card Charges Equipment Leasing Corporation Tax Depreciation

27,546 359 12,500 9,575 7,673 1,479 9,204 3,969 2,948 607 573 576 122 1,430 139 665 4,000

95,668 123,670

83,365

(DEFICIT) SURPLUS FOR YEAR 97

40,305

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2021 2019 FIXED ASSETS £ Furniture and Fittings Equipment

Per last Bal. Sheet £ 4,000

Added

Depcn. £

4,000

4,000 4,000

74,06 4 4,825

CURRENT ASSETS Loan Account – AGSFP Club Stock in Hand Sundry Debtors Cash in Bank Deposit Account Cash in Hand

74,064 1,016 56,879 131,959

450 17,64 6 20,35 3 1,025 118,3 63 33,85 5

CURRENT LIABILITIES Sundry Creditors Subscriptions in Advance Bank of Scotland Loan A/c

17,500 -

1,915 3,900 39,670 78,693 82,693 5,110 3,429

17,500 114,459 114,459 LOANS Bank of Scotland Heinekin UK Loan

Former Pupils’ Section 85,000 (93,539)

AGSFP Club

85,000 85,000

10,846

NET ASSETS(LIABILITIES)

13,495

CAPITAL ACCOUNT Appeal Fund / Donations

29,459

13,495

SURPLUSES/(DEFICITS) Amount per last B/Sheet Surplus/Deficit for Year (24,341) (10,846)

(24,341) 40,305

15,964

29,459

(10,846)