THE
ABERDEEN GRAMMAR SCHOM MAGAZINE
\plume 106
September 2003
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 119th year No. 241 (New Series 108th year No. 232)
September 2003
Vol 106
The Magazine is published under the auspices of The Former Pupils' Club each year General Editor & Editor of Notes etc.
Bnan K. Crookshanks, TD, MA, LL.B 99 Fountainhall Road Aberdeen AB15 4EB
Secretary of the FP Club
John F. Hendry, LL.B 36 Albyn Place Aberdeen AB10 1YF
Treasurer of the FP Club
Alan W. Man, CA 4 West Craibstone Street, Aberdeen ABI I 6YL
Membership Secretar).
Mrs Whilma Jeffrey, The Willows, Dalmuinzie Road, Bieldside, Aberdeen AB15 9EB
The General Editor is happy to receive contributions for the next issue of the Magazine at any time before mid-Ma), 2004
Former Pupils are encouraged to make use of the insert regarding Notes, Marriages etc., to provide details about themselves or others Information may be sent by E-mail to briancrookshanks*lineone.net
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
james
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Contents Page School Section — Rector's Report School Office-Bearers School Prizes 2001-2002 Extra-Curricular Activities School Sports Clubs Clubs & Societies Wildlife Garden Pied Piper Productions Face the Music "Anything Goes" Charities Group Enterprise Education StaffChanges School Board The Phil Love Trophy
12 20 23 23 25 27 28 31 33 33
General Section Costa Rica Venture FPs and Mount Everest The Inalbion Job Rupert the Shetland Collie
35 39 42 43
Former Pupils' Club Section Club Office-Bearers 2003-04 Club Consuls Annual General Meeting President's Report Presidential Profile Centre Reports Club Centre Canada Edinburgh Glasgow London Yorkshire Sports Section Reports Annual Dinner Club Membership Subscriptions New Members Long Service Members Notes about Former Pupils Marriages Obituaries Abstracts of Accounts
6 8 8
44 46 46 49 52 55 55 56 57 59 59 60 71 72 73 73 76 84 85 100
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OUR ADVERTISERS As a Club we are most grateful to all our under-noted advertisers who have supported the production of this Magtrine 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 Property Leasing Aberdeen Solicitors' Property Centre Atholl Hotel Bain Henry Reid Bell Lawrie White Campbell Connon Country Ways Flower Vogue Halliburton IFB Internet Jamieson & Carry Ledingham Chalmers Marcliffe at Pitfodels James Milne & Co Queen's Hotel William Wilson & Co
Aberdeen Asset Management Adam Cochran Albyn Hospital Armour & Partners Bank of Scotland F.G. Burnett Collins Halden & Burnett Steven Esson G Machines Michael C. Hastic Richard Irvin Johnstone Rose MTM Construction Michies the Chemist Northsleep Ltd Raeburn Christie Williamson & Dunn
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
School Section Rector's Report With Learning and Teaching the clear focus of any school's responsibility, my annual report begins with reflection on the most rapidly growing influence on learning, namely Information Communication Technology (ICT). The classroom environment continues to change with projection equipment linked to computers providing the interactive whiteboards of the future rather than the blackboards of the past. Unfortunately perhaps, the process is more gradual than we would like as it is necessarily constrained by finance but a lot of progress has been made and good practice is being shared by staff. Another influence on the learning environment has been the national policy on inclusion, different interpretations of which can be emotive and can lead to considerable media attention. In our situation, a few more youngsters with special needs are being admitted and we are endeavouring to combine behaviour support provision with the wellestablished support for learning and comprehensive guidance services already in place. One indication of this priority is that the only substantial accommodation growth in recent years has been in provision of bases and offices for this work. News from the curriculum includes a recognition that the College courses mentioned last year, particularly Psychology, have been a success in S6. Also in a whole range of subjects the Scholar programme links a range of Higher and Advanced Higher subjects to material available from Heriot Watt University, again through modern communication systems. Across all subjects, examination results continue to be very encouraging and with particular emphasis being placed this past year on results achieved cumulatively by the end of S6, the school performance was outstanding. Extra-curricular activities continue to flourish and I am constantly grateful for the staff expertise and commitment which makes this possible. School pupils, individually and in teams have excelled in football, hockey, basketball, rugby, swimming, skiing, cricket and canoeing. The school's outstanding reputation for debating is being sustained by younger pupils moving through to the top levels achieved by their recent role models. Given the current political emphasis on enterprise skills, it is very pleasing to note that we had two Young Enterprise teams in the six selected for the Grampian final and one took the local title to progress to the Scottish final. There has been huge participation in annual events like the school show, and our music concerts in October and March, with equally high audience support and appreciation. Similarly, the pupils' own Pied Piper production in March was a revelation. Mention of sport and extra-curricular activity always activates concern about facilities. There is some good news about developments which are still admittedly in the realm of good intentions but which seem to be supported by very definite plans. The Games Hall to be sited at the school is part of the City's 3Rs project (rationalise, refurbish and re-build), broadly equivalent to PFIs elsewhere hut in our case non-profit making. The Rubislaw Field Committee and a steering group formed from it have produced indicative plans for an ambitious set of improvements at Rubislaw and Harlaw, with an equally ambitious timescale. I hope to be able to report tangible progress soon so that we can meet the expectations of modern sporting standards and give our young people the opportunities they deserve. Despite concerns about facilities, schools are still about people, and probably the most significant single event of the past year has been the retiral of Bill May after 40 years in the school, 30 of them as Principal Teacher of Chemistry. The occasion was commemorated by a very special dinner in January 2003 at which tribute was paid to him in words, music and song, all specially commissioned. Another long-serving teacher, David Swanson, retires this summer from the Physical Education post he took up in 1979, a position of particular importance to the sporting links with Former Pupils. Again there will be a special dinner for him at which his special contributions can be recognised 6
School Section
Head Cirl and Head Bo) 2002-2003
Sarah A. Proctor and Colin W Shaw
7
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine There are more detailed tributes about both later in the Magazine, but I would like to record the appreciation of the whole-school community for their absolute and selfless dedication to the ethos and values of the school, conveyed in their work within and well beyond the curriculum. They have set an outstanding example for those who follow. Aberdeen Grammar School June. 2003
WILLIAM J. JOHNSTON Rector
School Office-Bearers Session 2002-2003 Head Boy: COLIN W SHAW Depule Head Boy: CALLUM S. SINCLAIR S6 Prefects: CHRISTOPHER BARNETT NICHOLAS G. EDWARDS AIDAN P. FLANAGAN DANIEL, K. R LAW RHYS K. MILLINGTON STUART M. MUNN HUGO G. PILLATH ANDREW J. PRINGLE NEIL PURVIS MICHAEL REPPER ALISTAIR RUSHWORTH BILLY WONG
SARAH A PROCTOR /lead Girl: Depute Head Girl: FRANCESCA SOUTTER
HAZEL ANDERSON JADE BOULTER JEMMA V CRAIG SARAH DARGIE FIONA DUNCAN SHEILA P. HOWITT EMMA LINES ALISON F. McKAY SAMARA MOIR LUCIE H MORRISON NATALIE STRACHAN LAURA E. VALENTINE FIONA WARK
S5 Prefects: STUART AFFLECK GUY DOUGLAS PHILIP GRANT GRANT JAMIESON WILLIAM JONES MICHAEL LLOYD MARTIN LITTLE IAN LUMSDEN MALCOLM McLEISH MARTIN PRINGLE STRUAN ROBERTSON MALCOLM STILL BLAIR STEPHEN ANDREW WEDDELL
EMMA ARMSTRONG IMOGEN BEGG ANNA CAMPBELL BARBARA DUNCAN GAYLE HARRIMAN JUDITH HERBERT ANNA JOHN TARA KLEIN KATIE McARTHUR TRACEY MAIR MARIANNE MILNE AMANDA STIRLING HOLLIE TAYLOR LYNNE WIGHTMAN RHIANNAN WILL
School Prizes 2002-2003 The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Biology The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Chemistry The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Computer Studies The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Geography The Former Pupils' Club Prize in German 8
Anna John Hugo Pillath Billy Wong Neil Purvis Fiona Duncan
School Section Isabel Hunter Callum Sinclair Anna John Jessica Spry Stacey Barr David Stott Samara Moir Sarah Dargie Liam Connelly Sara Rohan Aidan Flanagan Billy Wong Anna John Elizabeth Ilett Malcolm McLeish Nathalie Graham The German Consulate Prize — S3 Catherine McDougall The German Consulate Prize — S6 Malcolm McLeish The Charles Alexander Walker Prize in History Heather Cowie The Jenny C. Archibald Prize in Home Economics Joint Suzanne Home Award Sarah Proctor The Campbell Cannon Prize for Local Studies Joint Caitlin Burke The Derek Stewart Memorial Prize in Award Lucy Harrington Mathematics in S2 Kcjia Wu The Alexander Thomson Prize in Mathematics (S3) The Hamish Adams Greig Prize in Mathematics and Anna John Science in S5 The J. Mortimer McBain Prize for Proficiency in Anna John Joint Award Mathematics in S5 or S6 Katie McArthur Matthew Eyre The George G. Whyte Prize in Mathematics in S6 Judith Herbert The Gavin Falconer Memorial Prize in Music Imogen Begs The Dr J. Minto Robertson Prize in Shakespearean Studies Emma Yan Hui Joint The Alastair G Simon Memorial Prize in Spanish John Yule Award Alasdair Lynch The Bon Accord Metal Prize in Technological Studies Anna Plasberg-Hill The May Thomson Scottish Poetry Prize Neil Purves Joint Award The Caritas Cup Callum Sinclair Joint Anna Campbell The AGS Dramatic Society Award for Outstanding Imogen Begg Award Contribution to Drama Mardi MacGregor The AGS Junior Literary & Debating Competition The Rector's Shield for outstanding contribution to William Jones running of the literary• & Debating Society Rose Grogan The Edith & David Bishop Prize for Public Senior Joint Award Marianne Milne Speaking Laura Wilson Junior The Sir JJ. Robertson Award for outstanding Contribution Sarah Dargie to the School Magazine Gayle Harriman The Andrew Middleton McLaren Prize for Enterprise Joint Isabel Hunter Award Laura Wood The Philip Love Trophy The AGS "Face the Music" Award for an outstanding performance in the School's Musical Production Amy Lennox The Pied Piper Award for outstanding talent and commitment Ben Hunter from a cast or crew member in a dramatic production
The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Modern Studies The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Physical Education The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Physics The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Religious Education The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Spanish The Former Pupils' Club Prize in Technical Subjects The Samuel Pope Prize in Art The Arthur L. McCombie Prize in Art History The Donald Paton Prize for Painting The John Muir Robertson Prize in Business Studies The ALBA Trophy The Gordon McMinn Prize in Computing Studies The Masson Bain Prize in English Joint Award The William Brebner Prize in French
9
All Round Trophy Willows and Runners-up
AberdeenGrammarSchool Magazine
Back Row: Colin W. Shaw, Callum S. Sinclair, Andrew Pringle, Hugo Pillath Front Row: Lucie Morrison, Fiona Duncan, Francesca Soutter, Sarah Proctor
School Section
Sports Awards The Neil Meldrum Inter-House Rugby Trophy — SI
Melvin
Dun The Former Pupils' Inter-House Rugby Cup Dun The Former Pupils' Junior Rugby Cup Byron The Former Pupils' House Hockey Cup The Girls' Cup for Swimming The Rector's Medal for Swimming The Dr Morland Simpson Cup for Swimming The Isobel 0 Anderson Medal for Swimming The Former Pupils' Club Rugby Football Section Trophy The Arthur McCombie Golf Trophy Keith The School Inter-House Football Cup The Ronald MacKinnon Trophy for Athletics The Women's Henderson Cup for Basketball (on behalf of the Grammar Timberwolves) & the Women's Silver Division League Award
Donald MacAndrew Ross Taylor James Hearn Patrick Maughan Qi Zhao Anna Harrington Greg Topp Anna Harrington Greg Topp James Hearn Peter Whyte Craig Fraser Ben Hunter Sarah Proctor Fiona Duncan
All--Round Awards The David Alexander Irvine-Fortescue Prize — S2 The Norman Mackie Memorial Award in S3 for a pupil outstanding in Scholarship, Conduct & Sportsmanship The Former Pupils' Club All-Round Award in S3 The Former Pupils' Club Certificate of Merit
The Former Pupils' Club "1965" Award for the greatest contribution to the life of the School
The Runner-up to the Former Pupils' Club All-Round Trophy for Girls The Runner-up to the Former Pupils' Club All-Round Trophy & the Agnes Durward McDonald Prize The Former Pupils' Club All-Round Trophy for Girls The Former Pupils' Club All-Round Trophy & the John No Dawson Prize
Carla Plasberg-Hill Jenny McArthur Nathalie Graham Lucinda Morrison Francesca Soutter Hugo Pillath Andrew Pringle Sarah Proctor Hugo Pillath Andrew Pringle Callum Sinclair Andrew Wilson Fiona Duncan Callum Sinclair Sarah Proctor Cohn Shaw
Colours Awards Sport Basketball Canoeing Cricket Football
Full Colours Half Colours Full Colours Full Colours Full Colours Junior Colours
Golf
Half Colours
Fiona Duncan, Sarah Proctor, Lynne Wightman Stephanie Lai, Katie McArthur Edward Kay Grant Jamieson, Kieran Findlay Daniel Law, Cohn Shaw, Callum Thomas, Gordon Thomson Andrew Bagshaw, Richard Dargie, Tom Forrest, Simon Mathers, Garry Wood Sandy Hamilton, Graeme Nethercott, Neil Purvis, Cohn Shaw ll
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Hockey
Half Colours
Rowing Rugby
Junior Colours Half Colours Full Colours
Swimming
Half Colours Junior Colours Half Colours
Stuart Anderson, Anna Campbell, Elizabeth Ilett, Tara Klein, Stuart Munn, Hugo Pillath, Andrew Pringle, Michael Repper, Lynne Wightman Jenny McArthur, Matthew Sawyer Malcolm McLeish, Jack Montgomery Craig Blyth, James Hearn, Andrew Leighton, Nick Rose David Hume, Peter Whyte Andrew Foreman, Liam Reid, Ralph Thompson Anna Harrington, Nikki Grant, Ross Ovenstone
Extra-Curricular Charities Debating
• Face the Music' /Pied Piper
Full Colours Full Colours Half Colours Jun. Colours Full Colours Half Colours
Junior Colours Music
Full Colours Half Colours
Junior Colours
Neil Purvis, Callum Sinclair William Jones Imogen Begg, Rose Grogan, Marianne Milne Alasdair Lynch, Mardi McGregor, Katy Roy Amy Lennox, Michael Lloyd, Andrew Wilson Hazel Anderson, Emma Armstrong, Michelle Barclay, Imogen Begg, Ashleigh Bowers, Anna Campbell, Jennifer Casson, Gayle Harriman, Ben Hunter, Gillian McHattie, Tracey Mair, Lucy Nicoll, Ross Ovenstone, Sarah Proctor, Callum Sinclair, Amanda Stirling, Greg Topp, Rhiannon Will Kirsty Arthur, Andrew Dean, Natalie Douglas, Rose Grogan, Amy Preston, Judith Swanson, Anna Watson, Verity Wyper Hazel Anderson, Rachael Duthie Barbara Duncan, Judith Herbert, Chris Lindsay, Katie McArthur, Malcolm McLeish, Tracey Mair, Marianne Milne, Hugo Pillath, Struan Robertson, Blair Stephen Keith Allan, Kirsty Anderson, Kirsty Arthur, Steven Christie, Peter Cross, Jenni Garden, Louise Hamilton, Jordan Hewitt, David Lough, Thomas Lough, Jennie Love, Thomas McCabe, Neil McFarlane, Caroline Patmore, Michelle Patterson, Shonah Richard, Anna Watson
Extra-Curricular Activities School Sports Clubs Basketball Basketball continues to flourish in the School with a healthy number of SI, 52 and S3 pupils training on a regular basis every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Unfortunately other schools are not participating in the sport at the moment, and thus games have been difficult to arrange on a regular basis. The SI teams have competed in the various Primary Festivals arranged in the School and have an unbeaten record in all of the games they played. Although the opposition consisted of Primary 7 pupils, the teams were mixed and our girls did very well to combat the threat of the boys, who were often taller and more athletic. The S2 team had various friendlies during the year, notably against the International School. Their rate of improvement over the year can be measured by the fact that in their first game they were comprehensively beaten by a much better ISA 12
School Section team, but by the last friendly the Grammar girls were easily beating the ISA girls. Other notable games were against St. Margaret's who, despite fielding girls from all age groups from SI to S6, failed to overcome our S2 girls at any time. Hopefully, the girls who have played at this level will continue next year as there are some promising players who could have a bright future in the game The S3 girls' team was forced to play in the U-I 5 boys' league due to the fact that no other girls' team, apart from the International School, exists at the moment. They competed extremely well against the much more physical boys, only losing two games by very close margins to Portlethen Academy and Northfield Academy. The highlight of the year for the S3 team was undoubtedly the annual International Tournament held at the International School. Competing against teams from Aberdeen, Stavanger and London they won all of their games and were widely complimented by their opponents for their style of play, sportsmanship and conduct. Despite the current state of the game in this area, with few teams going around at the moment, the sport will continue to be played at the School as the girls work hard and get a lot of pleasure from being in the Basketball Club. Hopefully things will improve next season and more opportunities for competition will exist. Boys' Hockey— First XI The 1st XI season was a mixed bag of some good results and some best forgotten. It got off to a very good start with a 2-0 victory against Edinburgh Academy played at Keith Park. The team's usual penalty taker, Jory French, gave us the lead in the first half, with Sean Malley making sure of the win with a goal late in the second half. This was followed by a game against Watson's College, Edinburgh who produced some excellent hockey and were 4-0 up at half time. Strong encouragement was on offer at the interval, and we competed well in the second half, but unfortunately we finally lost 6-0 Our next game was against the `Old Enemy', Robert Gordon's College, played at Countesswells. This proved to be a tight game, ending in a 2-2 draw, with Michael Lloyd scoring first and Sean once again adding a second. The Dundee High School fixture took place this season for the first time in three years, and the team sensed the chance of a long-awaited win. This was achieved through hard work and not a little skill, and we recorded our best result of the year, winning 4-0, the goals coming from Jory with another penalty, Sean, Michael, and Stuart Munn. Our annual trip to Gordonstoun was never going to be easy, especially with some key players missing through illness, but the younger players did their best. Sadly, the opposition proved too strong and sharp in front of goal, and we suffered our heaviest defeat of the year, losing 7-0 The fact that Gordonstoun, and indeed all our opposition, have the use of their own astro-pitches both for training and playing gives them a decisive advantage in games. Perhaps fortunately, the return match was cancelled because of bad weather. We were next drawn to play Gordon's College again, this time in the Scottish Cup, and the team was confident of winning and progressing to the next round. The game was played in thick fog, which made playing conditions difficult for both sides, and the match finished once again in a 2-2 draw. The goals came from Sean and Michael Repper. Our hopes of winning were dashed when we converted only three penalties and Gordon's scored with four. The final trip of the season took the team to Fettes College, and once again we were faced with very strong opposition who enjoy excellent facilities, both outdoor and indoor. Our defence had to work hard throughout the game, hut after a sticky first period they showed a dramatic improvement in the second half. The much stronger Edinburgh side had already scored four goals and this is how the game
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and 2nd Girls' Hockey Squad
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
School Section finished. The highlight of our trip was an overnight stay at Fettes, with our captain, Stuart, being invited to attend Chapel on Sunday morning. Our annual fixture against the Former Pupils for the John Drummond Trophy again was a closely contested game, with some 'youthful' F.Ps on show — not least Ben Johnson, whose three goals were not quite enough to secure a victory . With the game ending in a 3-3 draw, the School once again retain the trophy for another year. The last match of the term was played at the request of our 6th year, determined to beat Robert Gordon's College. Like the previous games, this also finished in a 22 draw, proving that practice on astro-turf is essential if the School team is to progress and be enabled to compete against other schools on an equal basis. Team players:- Stuart Anderson (captain), Qi Zhao, Michael Repper, Jory French, Martin Pringle, Andrew Pringle, Stuart Munn, Chris Ferguson, Neil Shepherd, Sean Malley, Michael Lloyd. John Henn, Hugo Pillath and StayIon Carvalho. Cricket The 2003 cricket season at the School proved to be eventful in several ways. Firstly, there was the excitement of new fixtures, which helped to establish the School as a cricketing force in our part of the world. We also tried to establish good relationships with other schools and clubs which, we hope, will continue in future seasons. One of these new ventures was our first game of the season at Fochabers Cricket Club on April 26th. We arrived in bright sunshine at 9 a.m., only to lose the toss and be put in to bat on their excellent artificial wicket. Unfortunately, overnight rain meant that the wicket had a lot of moisture lurking beneath the surface. Fochabers Colts XI's bowlers used the dampness well, and our top order batsmen found balls rearing off at a length difficult to deal with. Good partnerships of 36 for the third wicket between skipper Kieran Findlay and Andrew Russell, then 33 for the tenth wicket, with Stuart Crichton scoring 29 not out rallied the side to a respectable total of 126. After an excellent lunch in the restored Pavilion, the wicket had dried out, and their batsmen knocked off the runs for the loss of four wickets. By the time they had done so, a fairly large crowd had gathered. We played on until mid-afternoon to give them a little more entertainment before heading home. It was a superb day out against new opponents and everyone up there was impressed with the way our boys acquitted themselves both on and off the field. Crowded fixture lists meant we were unable to arrange a reverse fixture in Aberdeen. Our next game was at home at Rubislaw against FPs in a 25-over encounter. Luigi Govil top-scored with a well struck 3! not out when we batted. Grant Jamieson, Peter Cross and Rory Annand shared the wickets in a narrow defeat for us in a match which ended in the gloom of an overcast day at 9 p.m. Gordonstoun away proved to be another enjoyable trip. We recorded our first victory of the season, thanks to a thrilling partnership of 80 between Grant Jamieson on 48 not out and Kieran Findlay on 42. In the return fixture at our place the tables were turned when Gordonstoun achieved a similar result over our team, which was depleted by injuries to key bowlers. It left Keiran carrying our attack, without much luck, as he did for the whole season. Against local rivals Robert Gordon's College our injury jinx struck us again. Luigi was hit on the side of the head by a beamer which accidentally slipped out of one their bowler's hands. He proved to be OK after a check up at ARI. This incident showed the desire and resolve of the team, as they battled hard to try and save the game which, unfortunately, they were unable to do. Situations like this revealed the character and spirit in the side, and that is pleasing to report. Another new fixture was a first ever game against Fettes College in Edinburgh. This was to be combined with an overnight stay and visit to The Grange Cricket Club to watch the Scottish Saltires in their successful first season in the national cricket 15
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine league. Unfortunately, the game at Fettes had to be called off at the last minute due to the sudden indisposition of the team's minibus driver and umpire. Attempts to rearrange the match proved to be futile. However, we intend to honour future matches against the Prime Minister's former school next season Away trips have been a pleasure with School making a good impression wherever we have visited. We have played good cricket, even if the same cannot be said about the choice of music to help journeys seem less arduous! We have been well looked after wherever we have been, and frequent stops for 'munchies' at popular places of carbohydrate replenishment meant that we did not starve. The team has been encouraged to field and perform like the Gloucestershire Gladiators, surely the best one-day county side the game has ever seen. They responded well, with Phil Grant and Stuart Crichton doing particularly well in their positions. Jim and Fiona Bramald from FPs have been an excellent influence and support to the team, and we thank them for that. Hughie Miller, our groundsman, has seen to it that we have had good pitches to play on and quality kit to use. In the year that Twenty 20 cricket was introduced in the pro game, we have shown that we are adept in matches of similar length. At least a couple of our players can look forward to joining other former pupils who now play their cricket at the highest levels in the land. Kyle Coetzer, who left School last year, is the current captain of Scotland's under-19 Team. He made his debut for the full Scotland side against Pakistan on June 7th. Cricket is booming in Scotland right now. With some good young players in S2 and S3 coming through, plus our existing crop of keen and talented lads, we want to be part of our nation's cricketing future Finally, the departing Mr Swanson, head the PE department, deserves much praise for his enthusiasm, effort and commitment to the game during his 24 years at the School. The number of players School pupils have provided for many local cricket teams, not just our own FPs, is a tribute to his coaching ability and the impact he has had on the great game. We wish him well in his move to the `other place', and we look forward to meeting him next season, strangely, as an opponent. Squad: Kieran Findlay (capt), Grant Jamieson, Luigi Govil, Stuart Anderson, Phil Grant, Andrew Russell, Chris Law, Mike Lloyd, Rory Annand, Ian Lumsden, Peter Cross, Stuart Crichton, Martin Little, Chris Lindsay, Bob Cumming and Callum Sinclair. Girls' Hockey There were fewer cancelled matches this year due to dry conditions in the early and later parts of the season The 1st XI had a very steady season, and for the first time ever there were no 6th years in the team. The results against the local schools were improved with good wins where expected, and closer games with the astroturf-trained teams. Gordonstoun, with a very talented new player, proved to be a handful, but our team rallied out of their spectator role in the second half to compete harder and learn something from the experience. The success of the 1st XI can be measured by their appearance in both the outdoor cup final, and the knockout cup final. It is several years since we have appeared in the latter, as the astroturf-trained teams compete more easily on this surface. In this final, the girls worked very well to contain the better Robert Gordon's College team, and we collected the runners-up medals with honour. In the grass final of the tournament we were unfortunate not to win the game in the first half, but we were not at our best in the lottery of the penalty shoot out, and St. Margaret's claimed the trophy. With continued focus and hard work, this team should improve over the next season. There has always been a climate of mouthing at umpires in adult hockey, which has started to creep in to the junior game. It must be noted that several coaches have commended the Grammar girls this season on their pleasant, co-operative and sporting behaviour during matches. 16
School Section The 2nd XI started with the `Lone 6th Year' as captain, but the search party has still never found her. She disappeared in early January, and we expect her to emerge, dusty and somewhat older, from Hughie's boiler room, or The Howff, or even from under Byron's coat. She was definitely not left behind in Mrs Miggin's pie shop. The second XI survived this loss with 5th years taking on the mantle of captain, and the results overall were workmanlike and pleasing. The second XI had a very good performance in the tournament, and they must set their sights high on improving sufficiently to compete for 1st XI places. The 3rd years and 2nd years included several players new to team hockey this season, and results improved as the season wore on. The 3rd years, in particular, started to compete with more focus and determination, and they proved that we do catch up with the primary trained independent schools by the end of 3rd year. The increased first year intake in school was reflected in the number of girls who scampered along each Saturday to try out hockey. By the end of the season we still had the numbers to field two teams. This was partly due to the dedication of two parents, both P.G. trained, who fired up the girls and did the odd bit of umpiring, but mainly due to Sari Johnson, who committed herself to coaching the first years all season. I prefer to have someone younger working with the lower end of the school, but this age group is not to everyone's taste. It would be terrific if someone from FPs could follow Sari's lead, and dedicate themselves to the next new first year. On a Saturday morning it is impossible for me to get round all the teams, and although the girls soon adapt to no spoon-feeding, and learn to organise themselves, it is unfortunate when there is no input into performance. However generations have survived with this system, and the standard in the 1st XI is well sustained. The lack of an all weather pitch for learning and training facilities creates the difference between ourselves and the better schools. Seeing will be believing, and when the first sod is cut I will eat it with chips. Lastly we would like to congratulate the FP Ladies' hockey teams who won both the First and Second divisions of the local leagues. P.S. — Just received a text message. Someone has seen a grimy hand waving a hockey stick from the School tower window. ...No, false alarm, it is not the 2nd XI captain, it is one of the 1st X1 practising taking penalties. tinder-Fourteen Football After what promised to be a fine year for a strong under-fourteens side we were left to reflect upon winning_ well not much, despite having some excellent players. Harry Hendry is on schoolboy forms fir Aberdeen and he together with Ross Graham, Ross Scott and Gordon Russell have all attended an SFA training day at Pittodrie. We did manage to get to the Sportsman's Cup Final and a second place in the lower league. Along the way, Ross Graham notched up 12 goals in 10 games, and we had some stunning success over our local rivals Harlaw (beaten 10-l), Tony (beaten 7-1) and Bridge of Don i beaten 10-1), yet on the day Kincorth would prove to be our "bogey" team, resoundingly beating us in two key games . A disappointing year for the lads but, as the saying goes, 'ere's always next year..."
Under-Fifteen Football After the successful Under-I 3s Scottish School Shield victory of last year the team moved up to Under- I5s age group. This provided the chance ot'a further year's coaching. Unfortunately, as otlen happens in football, we came so close to reaching a second successful final, but the team was defeated in this year's national semi-final, and was knocked out at the semi-final stage of the local cup as well. We had to settle for second place in the league.
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine However, the season ended on a high with Andy Bagshaw gaining further Scottish School-boys Caps for his country, both at U-15 and U-I6 levels. The U-16s beat the Czech Republic in a final where Andy scored the wining goal for his country. Most of the squad are now moving up to U-I 6s and we wish them every success for next season as a new squad of U-15 boys comes forward. Senior Rugby The School senior rugby team participated in a very competitive rugby season which saw the School represented at a number of different levels including the Bell Lawrie White Scottish cup. The team, captained by Andrew Leighton, consisted of members of the FP Club under-I 8s, together with a few Fourth year pupils who also play for the FP under I6s and some senior players who are relatively new to the game. The season got off to a good start with a narrow defeat in the first round of the Scottish Cup by Thurso Academy. This was despite a hat trick from Peter `Lightning' Whyte and — what was to become a familiar sight — Jake Bothwell crashing over for another score. The cheer of "come on the slug!" still echoes in many a head Game two was to prove more of a 'battle royal' than a rugby match, with Fraser Foreman proving that he was good enough to take on Mike Tyson. An under strength side lost 21-0 to Mintlaw. From there, a two-game winning run in the Scottish Bowl followed against Kingussie Academy (26-1I ) and against Rosehall Academy, Coatbridge (25-0). From there the final two games ended in disappointment as we were comprehensively beaten by Gordonstoun and Linlithgow Academy who were both bigger and better drilled sides. Throughout the season many players impressed: Peter Whyte's amazing pace left the opposition in a spin, Fraser Foreman and Jake Bothwell both shone in the forwards, Dave Hume and Nick Rose were the power houses of the backs, while Andrew Leighton's tackling was excellent. Other notable performances came from the young and talented fourth years in the team. Ally Ferguson, Nick Hearn, Raffiq Abdul Jalil and Stuart Griffiths proved themselves to he able to compete at a higher level and take on much larger opposition. Our sincere thanks go to Mr Montgomery, the teacher in charge of the rugby team, and in particular to Mr Reidy, the Grammar FP 1st team coach and our games teacher Both contributed greatly to the team in their different ways. While Mr Reidy made us match tit, taught us all very well and gave up his free time for out-of-school practices, Mr Montgomery ensured that we had opposition to play against and kept us in line. With a bit of luck and persuasion it is hoped that there will be an Aberdeen Grammar School Senior Rugby Team for many more years and rugby in the North East of Scotland will continue to flourish. The top try-scorers during the season were — Peter Whyte (7), Jake Bothwell (4) and Nick Rose (2). Squad members : Andrew Leighton (Captain), Nick Rose (Vice-captain), Rory Annand, Craig Blyth, Jake Bothwell, Guy Douglas, Ally Ferguson, Kieran Findlay, Fraser Foreman, Luigi Govil, Stuart Griffiths, James Hearn, Nick Hearn, David Hume, Raffiq Abdul Jalil, Grant Jamieson, Rory Kennedy, lain Lumsden, Nicky Riddoch, Struan Robertson, Andrew Russell, Callum Scott, Callum Sinclair, Callum Thomas and Peter Whyte. Secondary 1 Rugby This season the Si rugby team has had mixed fortunes. At the start of the season we played in a tournament held at Robert Gordon's College playing fields at Countesswells. We played against local teams such as Banchory, Aboyne and Robert Gordon's, and we did reasonably well in these tournaments. 18
School Section Later on in the year, we travelled further afield to play in tournaments and in friendly matches. One of the places we visited was Inverness to play against teams from all over Scotland, including Orkney and the Highlands. In this tournament we sadly lost every game and a few of our players were injured. Towards the end of the season, after vigorous training sessions, we started to improve our play and worked together as a team a lot better. The highlight of our season was when we played in the North of Scotland 7-a-side tournament at Countesswells. Grammar entered two teams in the competition. Our 'A' team managed to win all their games running up to the final, beating teams like Kirkwall 'A', Robert Gordon's 'B', whom we played in the group stages, and Ellon in the semi-finals. In the final we faced Kirkwall 'A', whom we had beaten in our first game. Unfortunately, this time we lost to them in a nail-biting match. Sadly, the 'B' team didn't pass beyond the group stages, but put in a great effort and tried their hardest. Overall, our team has done exceptionally well this season, considering that most of the players only started playing rugby at the start of the season, compared to Robert Gordon's, who have played from at least Primary 6. On behalf of all the team we would like to thank Mr Montgomery, and also Mr Raphael who left in the middle of the season, for the tremendous contribution and effort which they put in to train and organize our team. Some of the players' Dads also helped with the team, so we would like to express our thanks to them as well. Finally, we must thank some of the Second years who also helped us to improve.
Secondary 2 Rugby Season 2002/03 saw a slow start for S2 rugby, with only eight players turning up for the first day of training, but making a difference by joining the squad were Callum Stewart, Marcelo Sasso and Ross Graham. With numbers improved, the season progressed and so did the team — reaching the semi finals of the North East District tournament for schools. In March, at Countesswells, a number of teams, including Portlethen, Robert Gordon's College, Stromness and Kirkwall, gathered for the North of Scotland Sevens toumament. Grammar were confident and focused on the task in hand. Winning hard games, especially the semi final, the team lined up in the final with Robert Gordon's College An exciting match saw Grammar win through and take the cup, the first time in 15 years that it had not returned to the College. Team members Patrick Maughan, Ross MacDougall, Calum Stewart, Ross Graham, and Lewis Watson were selected for the Aberdeen Hurricanes District Squad. The S2 squad members are looking forward to the next stage of rugby as the Under-I5s, to developing skills in S3 with Mr Reidy and to continuing to be part of the FP squad. Our special thanks go to Mr Montgomery for his help and support this season. Coll This year's competition for the Arthur McCombie Trophy saw an entry of sixteen pupils from years 4, 5 and 6, but sadly only one for the newly formed Junior Cup, open to pupils in SI, 2 and 3. The quarter finals of the Senior Competition saw Chris Law, Neil Purvis, Calum Thomas and Peter Whyte emerge to play the semifinals. These were both hard fought close matches with Peter beating Calum 2 and I, and Neil beating Chris 3 and 2. The final, played at Flazlehead, was another close match but once again, for the second year in succession, Peter won 3 and 2 to lift the Trophy. This is the first time that the Trophy has been retained in all the years of the competition. The School team had mixed fortunes this year, and although we were defeated only once by Gordon's College 2-I, we missed out on qualification for the final play-offs at Craibstone. The School was very well represented by Neil Purvis, Sandy Hamilton, Graham Nethercote, Calum Thomas, Chris Law, Peter Whyte, 19
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine and latterly by Nick Rose, Fraser Forman and Ben Stewart. All of them performed well, and as usual were a great credit to the School. Rowing Quite a number of pupils have taken advantage of the new schools' boat-house of Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association near the mouth of the River Dee. Training takes place both on the river, normally in coxed fours, and off the river on rowing machines — "ergos". Some pupils have rowed or coxed in competitions at Strathclyde Park. Glasgow and here in Aberdeen, winning silver tankards.
Clubs and Societies Book ('Iub This year's club has been lively, topical and informative. There was a better mix of girls and boys than in previous years. Many members attended the Edinburgh Book Fair in August 2002 A dependable group of up to twelve S 1/2 pupils attend on a weekly basis talking about books, discussing issues, and checking web sites ranging from those that disclose your Hobbit name to those listing the Nation's Favourite Books. Members were delighted to see some of their favourites on the list - Pullman, Rowling, Wilson and Pratchett, as well as the evergreen A.A. Milne and Roald Dahl. The annual cinema visit was to see The Two Towers, and a desire was expressed to see the next film in the trilogy It is hoped that in lune we will be able to fit in a visit to the local bookshop to stock up on new texts for the Club. For individual effort, mention must be made of the one member who deciphered the runes in Artemis Fowl and discovered the prophecies of Ohm, Phlegm Pot Cleaner to Frond, Elven King.. Try it yourself if you dare! lie can he found at smallandmad.com. Everyone in the Club is ready to queue for the new harry Potter book and at 378 pages it should be a quiet summer, parents. Craft Club This new club was offered at the end of October in response to several S2 pupils looking for a cosy corner to install themselves on a rainy lunchtime. The idea was to use last year's Christmas cards plus some craft materials with which to create personalised cards Initially three pupils appeared but, as word spread, this rapidly grew to forty-eight girls turning up every lunchtime from mid-November until the end of term! Once Christmas cards were completed, we used funding from the Amenities Fund to purchase blank masks, boxes, key-rings and clear baubles , which we then decorated to give as gifts We all had fun, producing some lovely things (they were a very talented and creative bunch) and also saved ourselves a fortune. The English Theatre Club The Club attended two productions In October 2002, atter being roared at by Branagh's Hamlet and brought to tears by Olivier's Lear via the School video, a group of S6 pupils attended a pre-production workshop on Lear followed by Timothy West's performance at His Majesty's Theatre. Both these experiences greatly enriched their understanding of Shakespeare. and Timothy West's Lear was unanimously declared magnificent. More Shakespeare please, HMT At the end of April, a keen group of S3 pupils attended a schools' matinee performance of the much heralded An Inspector Calls. The lack of sound from the audience proved this to be an engrossing production, however some thought that the 20
School Section actors were being too melodramatic at times — perhaps playing more to the younger audience. Literary & Debating Society Debating has never been, and probably never will be, the most popular extracurricular activity in the School. Saying to most people that you participate in debating is rather like admitting to a penchant for stamp collecting, or revealing that you suffer from a particularly repellent skin disease. And indeed, given the image which debating conjures up, that of a stuffy, insular, public-school dominated training ground for embryonic Tory MPs, you couldn't really blame them. But if going to debating competitions over the past five years has taught me anything (apart, of course, from the many inventive things you can do with statistics and useless facts about everything under the sun) it's that debating is something that never fails to surprise me. Last year the Grammar became the first ever state school, to our knowledge, to win the most prestigious of British schools' debating prizes — the Oxford Union Schools' Competition, and although this year we have not retained it, our team (comprising Rose Grogan, Marianne Milne and William Jones) has had a very successful year, becoming finalists in the Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St. Andrews' university debating competitions, not to mention the best speaker prizes picked up by our speakers individually in both the TSB North of Scotland and Balaka debating competitions. Debating is one of the few competitive areas where it really doesn't matter if you win or lose, because either way you pick up invaluable life skills. Since the publication of a survey a few years back which said that most people feared public speaking more than death, I have come to realise just how useful it is to be able to stand up in front of others and say what you think, clearly and calmly. It is a great thing to be able to cut to the heart of a controversial issue, to sweep aside the irrelevancies, the dross and the misrepresentation that clouds a clear view. Debating teaches this skill. When preparing for a debate you must research carefully, sift thoroughly through the huge amount of information available, and choose apposite examples. And you must learn to communicate, if you wish to persuade. Debating requires you to be clear, to connect with your audience, to take the right tone and the right pace, to hold the attention and the interest. Debating teaches you how to make things happen. I cannot think of a better training for people who wish to make their mark on the world or for those who simply just want to get on in life. Finally, all of us who have been involved in debating would like to offer our sincerest thanks to our teachers for the unparalleled help, encouragement and dedication they have offered us throughout our school careers: Mrs Straiton, who never failed to find something we did right even after the worst of our speeches, and has constantly had to drive us to schools in the back of beyond through the worst conditions; Miss Innes, for always coming along to the competitions and making our participation in them possible; and, of course, our university coaches Mark McDonald and Gemma Smith, for offering us great critique and advice. Debating at Aberdeen Grammar has been a great experience and I cannot do it justice in such a short article. Just remember to keep calm, try not to forget which side you are on, William Jones and never take it too seriously. Junior Debating Another strong year which, as ever, saw some new debaters "emerge" from our Third Year pupils. We were able to field two teams in the English Speaking Union competitions, and by the end of the year we could have fielded a third! The most successful team of Laura Wilson and Mardi McGregor made it through to the regional final 21
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine The weekly debates have also proved very popular (when advertised), with up to 100 pupils taking part in a couple of these on drug legislation and abolishing the monarchy (although not at the same time!) All of the pupils involved have enjoyed the activity, with a number of them becoming much more confident over the course of the year about their own ability to debate. As ever we will hand over our strongest to the seniors' team for next year and start all over again... Music Another busy year in the music department draws to a close with the usual round of anxious participants preparing for the Aberdeen and North-East Music Festival. Aberdeen Grammar School is widely represented across all sections in this event, and boasts many successes. In particular, the Senior Choir, under the direction of Zoe Birnie, last year brought home the "Challenge Banner" for the third time. The Junior Choir also fared well, winning the "Innes Rose Bowl" in the SI - 3 Choir section. The Concert Band continues to expand under the baton of Dr. Foster, necessitating the purchase of more music stands to accommodate the swelling ranks! They are currently practising for the Aberdeen Youth Wind Festival Concert which involves intensive rehearsals during the day, culminating in an evening concert to be conducted by one of Scotland's leading wind band conductors, Nigel Boddice. The school orchestra is also going from strength to strength, and youngsters have enriched concerts with a fullness and maturity of sound beyond their years. Extra-curricular activities are ongoing throughout the year and include the Ceilidh Band, Chamber Group, Jazz Band, Woodwind Ensemble, Horn and Trombone Quartets, with assorted duets and trios rehearsing as the need or the occasion arises We continue to support the Annual Carol Service with a blend of carols, old and new, and offerings from soloists, choirs and ensembles, with something to cater for all tastes at this special time of year. Many of our young musicians are members of National Children's Orchestras, are key players at the Music Centre, and have in addition achieved exceptionally high grades in Associated Board exams. Finally, our School show this year saw us board S.S. America for a journey of love triangles and gangster intrigue in "Anything Goes". Our pupils sailed through the show, singing and playing superbly and impressing the audiences with their sheer professionalism and talent. A huge thank you must go to all our young participants who faithfully attend rehearsals, giving of their time so willingly, and who serve as shining examples to their peers as well as enhancing the ethos of Aberdeen Grammar School. Science Club This Club meets on Wednesday lunch-times in Lab 8, and members carry out a variety of pretty cool experiments. Methane bubbles, rocket, beastie-finding in the wildlife pond, slime and crystal gardens are among our favourites. We have been on a visit to Robert Gordon University to see a demonstration on light experiments, and we got glow lights. Four of our members competed in the Salters Festival of Chemistry at Aberdeen University and had a great day. School Magazine . The production of the School Magazine continues to be a popular extra-curricular activity for S6 pupils, and provides an opportunity for pupils from all years to display some of their excellent writing.
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School Section We were lucky to have yet another dedicated Editor, Sarah Dargie, who was assisted by a great team comprising Carron Cheetham, Aidan Flanagan, Sheila Howitt, Chris Milton, Kate Morrison, Stuart Munn, Nicola Munro. Hugo Pi'lath, Andrew Pringle, Alistair Rushworth and Laura Valentine. Time and energy levels permitting, there should be another Magazine next year Trampoline Club The report on this Club is very much a story of frustration. The club has an experienced coach, plenty of enthusiastic members and a trampoline, but a venue for practice which, apart from being less than ideal, is frequently unavailable due to the heavy demands on the Assembly Hall from other users. As a result, our meetings during the past session have been seriously curtailed, and the gain which would accrue from having a (lames Hall is too obvious for words. Maybe, as reported elsewhere in this illagcrine, hope for this might be on the horizon, as long as we manage to head towards it - and not away! In the meantime the Club will continue to function, despite the frustration, as and when it can V ildlife Garden About a year ago, while on work placement, I attended a Bioforum on Bio-diversity. One of the presenters at this conference was trying to encourage people to attract wild life into their gardens. I was inspired, and thought that it would be great if there were an area within the School grounds which was attractive to wildlife After some thought, and consultation with other members of staff. I decided to try to develop the area in the centre of the School, as it was less likely to be vandalised than others. After a great deal of research and planning. I managed to secure three grants, one from Scottish Natural Heritage, another from the Aberdeen Countryside Project and the third from the School Amenities Fund, together totalling about £2,000. I started to buy tools and plants and, with help from other staff members and some pupils from years 2, 4, 5 and 6, have been working to create the garden. We are developing an area into a flower meadow, a herb garden, an area with other insectattracting plants, and we are increasing the number of plants to provide birds with cover. A frog has already been seen in the pond, into which I recently introduced three common newts. This is a long-term project and, while I hope that I can continue to receive funding from the School, the wild-life garden group has also sold plants to raise funds and we intend to sell spring and autumn bulbs to raise further money. I hope that in future many departments in the School and our associated priman, schools will find this an enjoyable, as well as useful, resource Jenny Cawdron (Biology Teacher)
Pied Piper Productions "Off With Their (leads" This year, Pied Piper took a tumble down the rabbit hole and a trip through Wonderland in its production of "Off With Their Heads" The group allows pupils to experience all aspects of drama production. from acting to directing to controlling and designing the technical side, all with only a little help from the Drama Department This year's play was written by a Grammar pupil and was based on Lewis ('arroll's 'Alice In Wonderland' Encouraging budding talent from all over the School. the cast comprised pupils ranging from 1st to 6th year, and all interested were given the opportunity to audition: even this process was done by the production team of senior
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Face the Music - "Anything Goes"
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Reno (Amy Lennox) and her Angels impress their fellow passengers
School Section pupils, without the help of staff. The pupils themselves also undertook scheduling, rehearsals, costume, set, sound and lighting, with only a little help along the way. Pied Piper has been running at the Grammar for many years, and work on this year's production began in mid-October. With lots of hard work from all those involved it found its way to the stage in the School hall for the three nights 26th — 28th March. Although it had suffered a few minor scratches, the play was none-the-less a success. From the first entrance of the White Rabbit as he bounced along the stage on opening night, the audience had entered Alice's dream world and were not eager to escape, as old favourites such as The Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dec and Tweedle Dum and the Queen of Hearts appeared throughout the night. By the end of the final night, everyone was sad to see "Off With Their Heads" leave the stage; it had been a fun and enjoyable experience for all those involved, from pupils to staff, and especially the audiences. Perhaps some were even left wondering, like Alice, was it all just a dream?
Face the Music: "Anything Goes" "Anything Goes", yet another Face the Music production brilliantly directed by Miss Adams, opened on a cold Wednesday night in November. Just as we thought that all the talent had left before the summer and we were all wondering where members for the cast were going to be found from probably the least 'dramatic' Sixth form.... ever, Miss Adams somehow managed to cast the School's production of "Anything Goes". Once again Aberdeen Grammar School was set ablaze with song, dance and acting of an extremely high standard for the annual musical. Despite being the second time we have done this show, we did so in record speed. We set sail in August 2002, the show having been cast before the summer break, and whilst the journey was certainly not plain sailing all eighty pupils in the cast had a wonderful time rehearsing like mad. The show went down with a storm on all three nights, after everyone involved managed to pull it together after only three months of intensive rehearsal. The show was set aboard the SS America, departing from New York bound for England. On board was the striking American heiress, Hope Harcourt, played by Isabel Hunter, a recent arrival at Grammar. Isabel sang amazingly, and managed to avoid her marriage to Evelyn in favour of Billy. Her clueless English fiancé, Sir Evelyn Oaklcigh, is also on board as was Hope's melodramatic Mother. Sir Evelyn, played by Andrew Wilson, is rather pleased to be seduced by Reno, the sexy night club evangelist, who hopes to stop his marriage to Hope. Meanwhile Mrs Harcourt, played by Barbara Duncan, is always there to keep everyone in line and add that little bit of battle-axe humour. Stowing away on board is Billy Crocker, a young admirer of Hope, who can't believe she is marrying the silly Sir Evelyn,. He tries to stop the marriage which, after rather a lot of strange antics, he does. Public Enemy No. 13, with his moll Bonnie, is also along for the ride, and he passes on to Billy the passport and ticket of a gangster friend who didn't make the trip. This leads to unwelcome complications for Billy, as he and the Public Enemy have to keep changing disguises to avoid arrest. Ross Ovenstone, who played Billy, demonstrated his excellent acting ability with the diverse role as a chef. gangster, sailor, a Frenchman and a rather sexy old lady in order to avoid arrest. Meanwhile keeping the steam at boiling point in the ship's engine room, and working the stabilisers overtime is the sexy, incandescent Reno 'Hot Pants' Sweeney; exevangelist and current nightclub singer. Played by the very talented Amy Lennox, she and her four stunning Angel hack-up singers make sure that the shipboard disasters are averted and all romances are sorted out — including her own. Eventually, just before Amy's pants get TOO hot she finally succeeds with Evelyn and his 'bit of ice'. Hope, on the other hand, finds romance with Billy and in true musical style they live happily ever after.
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
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School Section Once again Mrs Belford was responsible for transforming eighty scruffy pupils into glamorous, well-dressed pillars of society. Likewise, she dressed Amy and her Angels in sexy outfits just to encourage the boys to attend the rehearsals. Other outstanding performances came from Bonnie, played by Imogen Begg, whose solos and acting stunned the audience. Callum Sinclair, draped constantly with beautiful women, including the brilliant Mrs Harcourt, added yet more humour to a hilarious show. Barbara Duncan portrayed Mrs Harcourt brilliantly and kept the straying Hope in line. Andrew Dean, an S4 pupil in his first principal role, played Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No 13, and was excellent as the incompetent gangster. This stunning show played once agaip to full houses of grandparents, parents, teachers, pupils, and even strangers looking for a Broadway Musical standard production. A great amount of thanks must go to the choreographers, all senior pupils, Gayle Harriman, Tracey Mair, Gillian McHattie and Sarah Proctor. They were burdened with the huge task of trying to teach eighty pupils, including teaching the male cast their left and right feet, how to dance. Mrs Wattie aided them, too, and whilst we couldn't manage the dances until the last, very last minute, we stunned them all by doing the same steps in unison by opening night. Miss Adams' threats of "I'll never do another show again!" (we know she doesn't mean it) still echo in the hall today. Mrs McLeod, on the other hand, was fooled into thinking that we could sing as loud as we speak during rehearsals. The cast put them to hell and back, just to scare them, however we managed to put on a show which I am sure made them proud. Gold medals must certainly go to both of them for enduring the stress and being so patient with the cast who always have something to say, usually not regarding the showl I really cannot express how grateful the cast are to the talented teachers who dedicate their skills and so much of their time to 'Face the Music'. Finally, despite the exhausting Thursday rehearsals and the hours (well...) spent on learning dances, songs and lines, I can confidently say that everyone enjoyed participating in "Anything Goes". We arc all trying to find other means of filling our schedules on a Thursday afternoon. And although, in the words of the classic song from the show, it is `Bon Voyage' for this year, we can't wait for next year's fabulous Face the Music show. Andrew Wilson (Sir Evelyn)
Charities Group Kerrie Bavidge was a pupil here from 1992-98 and is shortly to finish her final year of a medical degree at Aberdeen University. She came to talk to the Charities Group in April about her forthcoming trip to Moyolamba, Peru, where she will work on community heath projects which reach out to people desperately in need of sustained health care. In February, a Christian, a Jew and an Arab from Israel-Palestine spoke to our meeting about what life is like in the divided land which gave birth to three of the world's great religions. As believers, they try to get on and live peacefully alongside each other. Such a desire is often denied them, as the political situation determines how the common land is divided up. Olive trees offer a sign of hope. We gave our guests f60 so that four such trees could be planted as a declaration of faith in the future. Then there is water. Our brains are 75% water; our blood is 92% water, and our muscles are 75% water; moderate dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness; a 2% drop in hydration can slow mental recall. I I billion people, i.e. one-sixth of the world's population, do not have access to clean water; 6,000 children every day die from unsafe water and sanitation; 10 litres of water provides the daily drinking, cooking and washing needs of one person in the developing world; 10 litres of water flushes one toilet in the UK, 10 litres of water is less than 10% of the daily usage of one UK citizen; 27
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 10 litres of water weighs 10 kilogrammes. Women in Africa carry an average of 20kg of water over 6km every day. Sema Kadir was the mother of three. She was recently found hanging from a tree in Ethiopia. Beside her was found a clay pot. Sema had collapsed on the final leg of the 12 mile hike from the nearest water well, and spilled the precious liquid which would have kept her children alive for another day or two. She was already in debt to a neighbour she could not afford to raise money for a new pot. The tree proved to be her only option. The Charities Group Tuck Shop this past year sold bottles of water at just over cost price to help ensure our pupils maintained their hydration throughout the long school day. The product sold very well. The Tuck Shop was staffed by regular stalwarts Callum Sinclair, 6/5 and Neil Purvis, 6/2 and two new assistants Lucie Murray and Elizabeth llett, 5/3. It continued to be our main source of income. Profits from it were donated as follows:The Fersands Family Project £350 250 Aberdeen Cyrenians Children with Leukaemia 250 200 Instant Neighbour Olive Trees for Palestine 60 6th Year Book Appeal 50 100 Barnardo's 200 Red Cross Iraq Crisis Appeal Kerrie Bavidge's trip to Peru £ 1560 The monthly collection scheme also raised £188.22 for the Archie Foundation Appeal for the new Aberdeen Children's Hospital. In addition, we supported on a monthly basis six third world children from Haiti, Guatemala, Malawi, Bangladesh, India and Uganda We should not forget the much missed former staff member Norman Constable of the Art Department. A donation of £1236.31 was sent to the New Roxburgh House Art Project in his memory. The response to Mrs Welsh's Shoe Box Appeal for children in war-torn Bosnia was phenomenal. Pupils brought enough requested items, many of them beautifully wrapped, to fill over 300 shoe boxes, which were delivered by Mrs Welsh's charity. Mrs Arthur carried on with her successful recycling of Christmas cards and stamps, primarily for fundraising for Aberdeen hospitals. The English department also raised money over the year for different charities, including Comic Relief. Miss Sinclair, Mrs Duncan and Mrs Walker showed they had the knack of persuading pupils to donate to worthy causes. Miss Brown of the Business Studies Department was a stalwart at meetings and in our book keeping. There are other staff who continually support our work, including Mrs Belford, Mrs McLean, Miss Adams, Mrs Wattle, Dr Selway, and the now retired Mr May, plus numerous others whom I risk offending by not naming. Thanks a lot everyone.
Enterprise Education The Enterprise Challenge Event organised by Careers Scotland for pupils in Second Year was held again in May this year The venue was, like last year, the Richard Donald Suite at Pittodrie Stadium. Teams from all over Aberdeen and District gathered to compete against each other in the day long event. The objective of the event is to introduce the youngsters to the rigours of working as a team in order to complete a challenge which is set within the context of the world of business. With this being the Centenary Year of Aberdeen Football Club, and the event being at Pittodrie, this was used as an influence on making up the challenge brief. The teams 28
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The Enterprise Education Team with their Trophies. Certificate and Winner's Cheque
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine were asked to devise a business plan and strategy for promoting Aberdeen Football Club to the under-12 age group 'They had to conceptualise and market as a business an Under12s Supporters Club for AFC. Creativity, originality and commercial potential were all important judging criteria. The teams had three minutes at the end to put their plan forward to the judges in the form of a presentation Working with each group throughout the day was a mentor from the world of work The broadcaster Jane Franchi worked with our team and provided tremendous support. The mentor's role is as a facilitator and to act as a guide It is the team members who provide the ideas and execute the task At the end of a long hard day the team from Aberdeen Grammar put a presentation to the judges which can only be described as magnificent. When the awards were announced, Aberdeen Grammar School won The Best Team Trophy as judged on their efforts throughout the day This is a rather special trophy to win as it was donated by ASCO, who are main sponsors of the AFC centenary year, to mark the event this year, and the School will retain the trophy. In addition, ASCO presented the school with a cheque for £ 100 The team members were thrilled to win, and sincere thanks go to Jane Franchi for the encouragement she gave the team and to ASCO for their generousity. Enterprise Education is gaining increasing prominence in the curriculum in schools, evidence of which is the £40 million which the Government is currently investing to promote it. Various initiatives arc planned, and one which is aimed particularly at secondary schools is called "Up For Enterprise". The national launch of this took place at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre in mid-June. Schools from across Scotland were asked to attend by invitation and to enter a team to compete against each other for the Up For Enterprise Challenge Trophy This was quite a prestigious event as it was the first time such an initiative had been launched by Careers Scotland outside the Central Belt. The keynote speech was given by Bonnie Dunbar, a NASA astronaut, who has flown in five Shuttle missions in space. Her presentation to the audience, which was comprised mainly of pupils at Second Year stage, was truly inspirational. Her message about motivation will surely stay with them for many years to come Nicol Stephen MSP was also present in the afternoon for the prizegiving. Aberdeen Grammar were invited as one of the schools to attend and the "Pittodrie" team, minus two members due to other commitments, but plus two substitutes, went along The challenge was along exactly the same lines as the other event, only this time they had to market a new brand of sweets with Scotland and its tourists as the focus. Once again they got down to the task and worked tirelessly throughout the day This time they only had two and a half minutes to make their final presentation to the judges, but they had been observed and questioned continuously by them as the day had gone on. When it came to announcing the winners they did it again! They won The Up for Enterprise Challenge Trophy, and deservedly so, as their performance as a team and their output and ideas were terrific The team can feel very proud of themselves, not only for winning these trophies, but also for the manner in which they did it. The mentors expressed their pleasure at working with them and commented on how positive they had found the experience of being their facilitators. Well done, and congratulations to the team who were: Lindsey Arthur, Edward Jones, James Lindsay, Karen Little, Grant Mitchell, Carla Plasberg-Hill, Alix Rattray, Gordon Smith, Jennifer Sweeney and Sam Watson. Young Enterprise It has been yet another successful year for Aberdeen Grammar School Young Enterprise, with two companies running in the School, both of them with strong ecofriendly themes Cadcaux produced unique hand-painted, recycled terracotta pots, with or without plants and herbs, in addition to cutting wine bottles in half and using them as decorative candle holders or, alternatively, bulb planters The source of all the wine bottles remains unknown' 30
School Section Feathers 'N' Fur, again keen to utilise materials beneficial to the environment, manufactured their products using specially recycled wood to make attractive bird feeders. For non-bird-lovers they also made colourful cat toys. In addition to running the companies, many of the members chose to sit an exam set by the Strathclyde Business School, and did so with great success, the majority passing with credit. Although the various products were available at different social events, such as School shows and parents' nights throughout the year, the main thrust of sales activities took place at the annual Christmas Fayre in the Music Ilall. Here, their enthusiasm and commitment to their respective companies was obvious, particularly with Feathers 'N' Fur, who took the honours as the Fayre's over-all winner. The competition was judged on product, sales techniques and stall presentation. They were rightly delighted to have won, as the standard from the other participating schools was exceptionally high. More good news followed as Cadeaux were also named, along with Feathers 'N' Fur, as one of the six schools chosen to proceed to the Grampian finals, where once again both companies did themselves proud with their professional approach. Once again, Feathers 'N' Fur were outstanding and took both prizes, one for best presentation on the night and the other for best over-all company. No other company has ever achieved this Feathers 'N' Fur now go on to compete in the national finals in Edinburgh in June where we wish them every success in their bid to become Scotland's No. 1.
Staff Changes An Appreciation of Mr Bill May Bill May retired earlier this year after just over forty years of totally dedicated service to Aberdeen Grammar School Appointed as a teacher on 23 August 1962, he was promoted as Special Assistant in 1967, Assistant Principal Teacher in 1973 and Principal Teacher of Chemistry in 1974. On arrival, he was described as "a breath of fresh air", and the most remarkable aspect of his character and impact is that this comment is still true forty years on. His freshness and enthusiasm remain completely undiminished, and have been appreciated by generations of pupils, colleagues and parents. He personified energy, loyalty, integrity and cheerfulness, managing to transmit all of these in his teaching. In the extra-curricular scene he was a legend through his organisation of quiz teams, his participation in visits and activities, but most of all his annual dynamic leadership of arrangements for the Leavers' Ball. His farewell dinner on Friday 17 January 2003 was attended by 140 present and former colleagues. Gratitude was expressed for his many contributions to the School and its reputation. Tributes included a cake baked in School and beautifully decorated, table flowers in tasteful measuring cylinders with water in the litmus colours of red and blue, words set to some of his favourite tunes and sung by a staff choir, and finally a rendering of the fiddle tune 'Bill May of Boddanf. He also received many gifts and cards, reflecting his many qualities and the positive effect he has had on so many lives. A few words from a colleague on behalf of the many who have been privileged to
work with him: Bill has always been a go-getter. From the earliest days in the old Maths/Science staff-room he not only 'procured' girls by the busload for the boys' social functions, but also insisted on doing the same for their (young male) teachers. He could not, of course, guarantee that the girls would have the 'vital spark' so often quoted as the prime criterion for his own entrapment. There is, to our relief, no formal record of any outcomes of these arranged liaisons and, sadly, for Bill himself the second requirement ('she must have more money than myself) seems to have formed an insuperable obstacle to his getting hitched. 31
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine He has always been the man for a wager. Whether it has been horses, the lottery, football pools or even the length of a retirement speech, Bill has been the sweep promoter par excellence. Success, as (he claims) with his stock exchange investments, has been mixed at best. There was the 1967 football pools coup, when 30+ staff members scooped umpteen first dividends Monday morning's euphoria soon evaporated on Tuesday with the news that early retirements would NOT decimate the Grammar staff as hoped but our stake money would be covered for the next 6 weeks. As the sometime doyen of male fashion in the staff-room Bill has been wont to strut While he has, it must be his stuff in his new suit, demanding guesses at the price. admitted, made some amazing buys from interesting places, we have found that the response `Eight pounds ten' produced the desired behaviour modification. Not that Bill could remain downcast for long! We will all miss Bill. His friendly smile, infectious giggle, boyish sense of humour and his indefatigability have endeared him to all. When leaving, he remained `the fittest member of staff', and long may that continue. We all wish him a long and productive retirement. And finally: Bill had left before this year's Leavers Ball took place in the Queens Hotel on 13 May. The pupils, however, saw to it that he did not miss out and invited him along as guest of honour. They were delighted to welcome him to their special night and took the opportunity to express to him formally the appreciation and good wishes of all pupils both present and past. Francesca Souter, the Deputy Head Girl, presented "Mr May" with a clock from the pupils, after which, in true Bill May style, he went round every table and thanked all the groups of pupils individually. The pupils could not let him go without one final and special farewell, and that night provided just the right occasion. . Literally hundreds of pupils have attended the Leavers' Ball over the years, and Bill made every effort to make sure that it was memorable for each and every one of them. An Appreciation of Mr David Swanson Dave Swanson retired in July 2003, having been appointed Principal Teacher of Physical Education in November 1979. His farewell dinner took place on 27 June 2003 and was attended by many present and former colleagues. The following report provides an indication of tributes accorded to him. As a teacher, his skills were exemplary. He managed to teach with that combination of authority, patience and encouragement which has been appreciated by generations of Grammar pupils. Beyond the curriculum, it is impossible to overestimate the long-lasting positive effect of all that he has done to sustain sporting opportunities, and particularly team sports, with all the benefits they bring to individuals and to the school ethos. His commitment has been huge, every week and every year. Excerpts from Came Welsh's speech, given on behalf of all Dave's colleagues in the PE department. "Dave started teaching at the Grammar in November 1979. Over the next 24 years, many changes took place in school and in education. One change was made due to Health & Safety Regulations. In 1979, the Rubislaw first aid box contained 3 plasters, a roll of lint and a rusty safety pin. Nowadays the box contains the same 3 plasters, a dusty roll of lint, a pile of rust but, in addition, 3000 pairs of surgical gloves - enough to perform open heart surgery on everyone in a small African nation. The gloves are in case bleeding children contaminate us — not because of fear of aids or hepatitis B — but in case the pupils have picked up anything from the ancient Rubislaw changing rooms and lavvies.
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School Sec-lion "When Dave attended P.E. College students were trained to teach movement and sport to children, with the emphasis on activity In contrast to this, for over a decade the subject has become quite cerebral. With no texts for reference, PE staffs across the country had to write courses from scratch, with the pen pushing itself being an alien intervention. Consequently, time had to be re-allocated to fit in developments in the subject, and in many P.E. departments after-school spoiling activities stopped. Not at the Grammar, however Dave succeeded in sustaining the spoiling ethos long present in the School and among staff, and platoons of pupils have been pleased to perpetuate the long tradition of inter-school team sports. "Some things did not survive. Members of staff will remember summer term nights at Rubislaw, when 80-plus pupils would turn up to train for athletics, bowl and bat in the nets and play tennis. The end of this programme, apart from cricket (kept alive by Messrs Smith and Swanson) is a reflection of time added on for the preparation of the cerebral components of physical education. "Dave was a talented hockey player and at one time was manager of the Scotland men's indoor national squad. He has been dedicated to developing Boy's Hockey at AGS and has produced many teams of a high standard. However, Dave, if you ever give one syllable of coaching to the Robert Gordon's hockey girls, my players and I will come up and — get you. "Finally, Dave has been a great boss to work for. He has had a difficult job: teaching and managing the department; juggling the F.P. angles; dealing with P.E.'s elevation to academia, and controlling the many strong personalities who have worked in the P.E. department. Dave deals with people in his own calm way, sorting out problems by thinking and taking time. Going head to head is not his style. As a boss, he has tried to get the best out of us by giving us plenty of freedom to be creative, and enabling us to expand our own sporting interest. One thing is sure, we are all going to miss you. "We wish you well in your new career with the `auld enemy —.
School Board The Board has once again had a busy year, including visits from local Councillors, MSPs and senior officials of the City Council. As ever, a wide range of topics appeared on the Board's Agendas, including . The National Debate on Education (a response was submitted on behalf of the Board • to the Scottish Executive) A Games Ilan for the School (now included in the City's 3Rs Programme for school • improvements) The Rubislaw Field facilities (the Board is delighted to learn that the Council intends • to roomed with a comprehensive programme of improvements at the Field) • The City Council's new Accord Card (The Board had a number of concerns regarding the implementation and operation of the scheme) On a final sad note, members were sorry to lose a valued member of the Board in Mr Bill Adams, the School's Supervisory Janitor, who died suddenly in the early part of the year.
The Phil Love Trophy The recipient of the trophy this year began an interest in her chosen sport, she says, at the age of two. In the years since then she has devoted herself to achieving an amazing level of success at home and abroad, both for school and country. By the time she came to Aberdeen Grammar School in 1997 she had already started to become noticed as a prominent young competitor who in the past six years has clearly consolidated that reputation. The very worthy winner for 2003 is Laura Wood, in recognition of her outstanding record in skiing. The list of Laura's achievements is quite staggering, but hopefully the 33
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine following outline of her skiing career so far will capture many of the highlights, particularly during her time with us. As early as when she was in First Year, Laura had come to the selectors' attention and after coming 3rd in the Super G at the British Championships she was asked to join the British Children's Ski Team During that year she competed in Andorra and Canada, gaining 9th place internationally and 1st British girl Nearer home, Laura was runner up in the Scottish Schools Dry Mat Minors' Race and received the Aberdeen Sports Council Award of Merit Further success with the British Team came the following year, when she also became the Interschool Combined Children's Champion, the John Clark Champion and was runner up in the BBC Radio 5 I.ive Passion for Sport Award, where she had to submit an article about her achievements and why she liked and enjoyed her sport. In 1988, for the second year running, she was awarded the Aberdeen Sports Council Award of Merit and also made it into the Top 60 List of British Female Racers. An injury in 1999 meant that she had to turn down races in Sweden and Czechoslovakia. Undeterred, her catalogue of success soon resumed and she was invited by the British Ski Academy to join their Youth Team but had to decline She was also selected that year for the Activate Development Youth Squad, won the Chris Anderson Award and a third Aberdeen Sports Council Award In the 2000-01 season, Laura was in her Fourth Year at school when, at the age of only 14, she was asked to join the Great British Girls' Team, in which she was the youngest by three years She went on that season to become the Scottish Schools Girls' Champion, 3rd in the British Schools Girls' event and 22nd overall in the World School Championships, not to mention gaining a fourth Aberdeen Sports Council Award. The following year, she was invited to join the Scottish Ski Team in Australia but had to decline the offer as she was by then studying for four Highers She did, however, continue to have success in the competitions which she entered and she made it into the ranking of the Top 25 List of British Female Racers. During season 2002-2003, Laura has combined an increased training schedule with her ongoing competitions. She spent last summer in Saas Fee with the English Ski Team, trained with the National Korean and French Male Teams in October/November, and in December/January trained with the Scottish Ski Team in Panama, Canada and the U.S.A and again with them in March in France In the British Championships. in April this year, she was placed as 12th International Woman Overall behind, it has to be said, girls from the home nations who are actually full time members of their development squad, which meant that Laura was first amongst the part-time competitors. Laura's record of achievement in skiing is, without question, one of which she can rightly be extremely proud. Like previous winners of this Trophy, it reflects a combination of her skill, dedication and determination. It has meant she has been away from home a lot, but somehow she found the stamina to juggle that with her commitment to her academic studies. She also played a part in the wider life of the school, assisting with the Yearbook and acting as a counsellor to the younger pupils From that "early" exposure with her family to what has turned out to be a major part of her life, she is now in the Top 20 List of British Female Racers and is in course of being considered as a potential candidate for the Great British Development Ski Team — and yet again this year she was awarded the Aberdeen Sports Council Award of Merit! Laura has managed to achieve so much so far, and the above summary hardly does justice to the overall list of prizes and placings she has amassed. We congratulate her on receiving this Trophy to add to her collection, and wish her all the very best of luck and success in what will undoubtedly he a long sporting career. Next year sees her heading off to do a business course at St Andrews, and we extend our best wishes to her in her studies there. She has been an excellent ambassador for her sport and an example for others to follow with regard to what can he achieved through personal dedication and motivation, and who knows what still lies ahead for her, given the right level of support and sponsorship
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General Section COSTA RICA VENTURE "Only when the last tree dies, the last river is poisoned, and the last fish is caught, we understand that we can't eat money" - Old Indian Proverb of Costa Rica. Statistics state that in 2001 poachers stole 35% of all leatherback turtle eggs. Currently, Costa Rica is slowly recovering from decades of deforestation. After reading facts such as these, my ideas about volunteering and accepting a challenge developed from a distant dream into reality. After a phone call, application form and induction day, I was nearly on my way. Meeting other volunteers who were also going to Costa Rica, and indeed all over the world, made me feel that I was going to make a real contribution to an area of the world desperately needing help. At the beginning of March I had accumulated all my equipment, done all my research, and was ready to embark upon the challenge of working in Costa Rica's National Parks doing conservation work and turtle protection. Making my way through the jungle with a machete and patrolling the beach in the small hours of the night were to be some of the best and most rewarding things I have ever done. In the short five weeks before my departure I decided to do some fundraising to try to cover my project fee for volunteering. This involved some intensive car washing at the local radio station, a coffee morning and raffle, and lots of phone calls and letter writing! In addition to enormous support from family and friends, I received a lot of positive replies and very generous contributions from businesses and local companies and charities. Without this generous support the project would not have been possible. The programme to which I was assigned involved working in three National Parks, spending two weeks working at each one, followed by visiting other parks. I would be living in a variety of accommodation in the heart of the parks with park rangers and other volunteers. The work involved tasks such as using a machete to clear areas (and attempt to chop down rather large trees!), raking camping areas, beach cleaning, recording of wildlife, path building and turtle patrolling. On 5th April 2002 at 5 a.m. I was standing at the gate in Aberdeen airport watching the rain. On the 6th at 9 p.m. I was sitting in the Alfaro family home in Costa Rica, San Jose, feeling slightly bewildered, while frantically scanning my Spanish phrasebook! The next morning after a plate of exotic fruits and broken conversation, I spent my first day at school — Spanish school of course. The next six days involved intensive Spanish tuition throughout the day, and practice with the family at night. At the end of the week I had learned the basics and hopefully would be able to build on this when I reached the parks (where no English was spoken!). On 13th April, after a very uncomfortable 7-hour bus journey, I arrived at my first destination — Arenal Volcano National Park. This park was established in 1994 and is in the North-western region of Costa Rica. It is a living laboratory because of its geologic and geomorphic richness, including one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It holds a variety of flora and fauna such as palms, ferns, tapir, jaguar and peccary. I arrived late at night and a ranger drove me up the winding dirt track to the park station, which would be my home for the next two weeks. I was lucky enough to he treated to a spectacular show of lava and tremendous explosions. During my first week there I worked with two other volunteers carrying out wildlife surveys, clearing old volcanic rock from paths and taking tourists along the trails. The weather there was dry, with the odd storm which flooded the lagoon at the back of the station. Some of the work was very demanding, such as the 17km hike through
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Louise Harriman - road building in Costa Rica
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General Section dense forest surrounding the volcano carrying out tree and wildlife recording. Maintaining the area at the entrance to the park involved many hours of raking and rubbish collection. On my two days off at the park I spent my time reading down at the quite lagoon and exploring the `senderos' — trails all round the park In between work and sleep I helped to cook dinner and wonderful things such as empanadas Spanish shortbrcads. I also painted the ranger station and park signs. In no time at all, it was time for me to make my way to park number two - but this time with a lot more Spanish up my sleeve! Ititoy Cerere is a Biological Reserve, which was created in 1978 and is located in the North-eastern region. It is a world heritage site, and is surrounded by numerous indigenous reserves. The Reserve protects forty species of mammals and birds, including endangered ones such as ocelot, silky anteater and oropendolas. This was my second park, but little did I know what lay ahead. Living in very basic accommodation, with only one other volunteer, we had very different tasks from our first parks. Our work here was effectively controlled by the weather. This park receives the most rain in the whole of Costa Rica! Hitoy was one of the most remote parks, with very few visitors, which made it more of a challenge for me living in complete wilderness and having to cope with the major red alert floods — the worst they had experienced in fifteen years! This made it very difficult to work, and we had problems obtaining food. No one could leave or enter the park. We had to have our food airlifted to us by helicopter, and we also had to distribute emergency food bags to the Indian families living in the jungle around us. It was a very testing time and one I will never forget — especially drinking muddy water and eating jelly, as there was no other food! The work at Hitoy involved clearing the main flooded areas and fixing the water piping system. I also spent a lot of time learning Spanish. We managed to leave only one day late, as the rains had eased, and we walked for four hours to the next town where we caught the bus to our next town on the Caribbean Coast. There, we were hoping for more work and better weather. despite being aware that it was wintertime in Costa Rica. When we reached Cahuita National Park, we had high expectations due to the rumours we had heard about it being one of the best parks to work at. This was certainly true and was due to a mixture of its location, weather, rangers and volunteers. Cahuita is located on the Caribbean coast near to the border with Panama. We spent two weeks in very hot sunshine, but also unbearable humidity. There were ten of us during the two weeks I spent there and we did a variety of work. A typical day involved waking at 6am and having a large breakfast of the famous rice and beans, which normally filled me up for a week! We split into groups and did work such as raking, beach cleaning and clearing the jungle paths. This lasted from 8 until I, then after lunch one group would work from 2-6 and the other lucky group would be resting. This was for a very good reason. This group would be doing an eight-hour beach patrol through the night checking for turtles and poachers. My first turtle walk was absolutely incredible, but also nearly killed me! At 8pm we set off in the dark equipped with water, darkened torches and bags of Henry, the 'Turtle Master' as we called him, had been doing these patrols energy. for 14 years and was an expert at finding turtles and their eggs. We had to walk very fast in the pitch black for 17km until 4am. It was very tough and I soon discovered tricks such as wearing no shoes and walking along the line of the tide to find the hard sand. On my first night I was lucky enough to see three beautiful leatherback turtles and helped collect their eggs and hide them from poachers. These creatures were huge — over two metres long. They were amazing and I helped to tag them, identify them and take samples for research. They lay up to 100 eggs during each lay, so I was crouched under the turtles' behind for over an hour to catch all her eggs! When I returned from the walk I was absolutely exhausted but so elated that I 37
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine had managed to help so much on my first night and prevent poachers stealing eggs I did turtle patrol every second night and became very fit in the process! I saw many turtles and baby hatchlings, which was very special. My time in Cahuita was so memorable as we did so much work, learned so much about the Caribbean culture and saved a lot of turtles. I had made a lot of good friends and was sad to leave, but the next two weeks would involve travelling all over Costa Rica to visit other parks and experience new things From 1st to 15th June I travelled round the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts and experienced such a diversity of National Parks and cultures By this time I could have pretty good Spanish conversations and navigate quite well I could also order nice food without having to guess what it was! I took a 5-hour boat trip with two friends to Tortuguero National Park in the north- east near the Nicaraguan border. This park was only accessible by boat and was alive with wildlife and sounds. It was the nesting place for the green and leatherback turtle, and had the most monkeys and crocodiles t had ever seen! We kayaked through the canals and helped clear up the local community on the Island. After spending three days there, we travelled to the Pacific to some dry forest parks and Cabo Blanco Reserve, one of the most popular. Our last two weeks allowed us to meet lots of locals and experience the culture of this Latin American country. We helped volunteers in many other parks — stopping bush fires, identifying species of snake, and cooking elaborate, but basic, meals with meat which didn't look very familiar! I also had the pleasure of snorkelling on the Caribbean to help identify types of coral reef and sharks The three months which I spent in Costa Rica were three of the best months of my life. I did work I never dreamed of doing and sometimes found myself in situations I never thought were possible. I know that there is only so much that one person can do in the world, but I know that I made a real contribution to the conservation of Costa Rica's precious National Parks and endangered turtles I met people from all over the world, learned a new language and in many ways became a new person There arc things I will never forget, such as the first times I heard a howler monkey, fell into a termites' nest or collected leatherback eggs. Staying in very basic conditions and sometimes struggling to find food was definitely character building. Living in the jungle surrounded by nothing but animals and forest was wonderful and gives one such a different perspective on life I would definitely do it again and the only thing I would change would be to have a longer period of time there. Spending a long period of time in a country is the best way to get a feel for the place and really become part of everything. I miss Costa Rica and its wonders, but my experience has given me new skills and confidence which I can apply now and in the future. I would recommend this type of venture to anyone and my advice would be to really research all your options and the programmes available in order to find the one best suited to you - just like I did. It is one of the best things you will ever do 1 am most grateful to everyone who helped to make my Costa Rica Venture possible. I hope that I have succeeded in conveying to readers something of my amazing experience and of the world of volunteer work. Louise Harriman (1991-1997) In her 6th year at School Louise shared (with one other) the FP Club '/965' Award for the greatest contribution to the life of the School. Louise graduated R.A. from Strathclyde University in 2001 with honours in Sociology. She is now an assistant manager for the Halifax and living near Newcastle.
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General Section
F. Ps. and MOUNT EVEREST A chance spotting of a headline in the Press & Journal in May this year triggered a new line in Editorial thought. The headline read "Forgotten Aberdeen scientist pioneered high-altitude physiology". Might he be a Former Pupil of the School? The newspaper was silent on this, simply noting that he was born in Aberdeen and studied at Edinburgh University and Heriot-Watt College. A little research soon elicited that Alexander M Kellas (for he was the subject of this piece in the press) was, indeed, an F.P. and that his exploits had been recorded faithfully in the Maga:ine on a number of occasions, but most significantly in March and June of 1921. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing Norgay on the eve of the Coronation, it seems not inappropriate to revisit this distinguished alumnus of our School and remind ourselves, as if that were necessary, that there is usually an FP around when anything of significance is happening in the modern world. To reach the most inaccessible places on the earth has always been a problem that has appealed to the imagination. In the many attempts that have been made to penetrate the wastes of snow and ice which surround the North and South Poles, Former Pupils of Aberdeen Grammar School have taken a prominent part. In the early years of last century JAMESON BOYD ADAMS (1893-94), was second-incommand of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-09, which got within 97 miles of the South Pole; ROBERT SELBIE CLARK (1894-1901)was the biologist on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16; and JAMES WILLIAM SLESSOR MARR ("Scoul Marr)(1913-19)was a member of Shackleton's last expedition. In 1920, the Maga:me recorded the pioneer flight over Africa from North to South of Dr. P.CHALMERS MITCHELL (1879-80) which ended in a crash at Tabora. Then, in the following year, came the announcement of an expedition the aim of which was to climb the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest. The Former Pupil who was to take part in this ambitious expedition was Dr. ALEXANDER M. KELLAS (1881-84) who had already been the subject of Notes in the Maga:the from time to time. In 1911 he had ascended Mount Pawhunri, 23,180 feet, in Northern Sikkim, and in 1920 he reached a height of 23,500 feet on Mount Kamct in Garhwal. It was recognised at that time that no one had done better work than he in Himalayan exploration or knew more about the effects of high altitude on the human frame. It was only natural, against that background, that the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club, which were jointly organising the Mount Everest Expedition, should arrange to have the services of Dr Kellas. The results of his explorations and physiological tests would be of the utmost importance to the expedition, both in making preparations for it and in its subsequent conduct. At the beginning of 1921 Dr Kellas was already in India and joined the reconnaissance party which was examining the mountain from every angle and testing the possible ways by which, it was hoped, the summit might be reached the following year. A writer in The Times said "The expedition will undoubtedly be the most important one to explore the great mountains of the earth ever attempted. For not only will there be Mount Everest to climb, but the survey an exploration of the entirely unknown district that lies to the north of the mountain will be carried out as far north as the Brahmaputra or Tsan-pu river. There will be considerably over 10,000 square miles of new country to be explored, a country about which we know practically nothing". Dr Kellas was born in Aberdeen in 1868, the son of James F Kellas of 48 Carden Place, the eldest of four brothers who all attended the Grammar School. He entered Middle III in 1881 at the age of 13. After leaving School at the age of 15 he continued his studies at the Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh before entering University College, London, where he graduated BSc. He was recognised as a distinguished student of physics and chemistry and was appointed an assistant to Professor Ramsay, in whose
39
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine laboratory he was working at the time of the Argon discovery. Wishing to continue his own studies and also to learn about the German method of training, he entered the University of Heidelberg. There he gained the degree of PhD. with special distinction. He returned to his former post with Professor Ramsay and was later appointed lecturer in chemistry at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School During the intervals between summer and winter lecturing schedules he visited India five times before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, and carried out exploring and mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas As a youngster he had developed a keen love of the mountains while climbing and hiking in the Grampians and Cairngorms, thus firing his later enthusiasm for the heights of the Himalayas. During the War he undertook special scientific work in London, and continued with his lectures at the Medical School. In 1916 he was invited to address the Royal Geographical Society on the physiology and possibilities of climbing Everest. He later completed an extensive manuscript on the subject in 1920, in which he calculated the oxygen delivery from the atmosphere to the muscles. Although such a climb would push against the limits of human capability, Dr Kellas concluded that "Mount Everest could be climbed by a man of excellent physical and mental constitution in first rate training, without supplemental oxygen". This manuscript was never published in the scientific literature, and was largely forgotten. Although beset by ill-health in the winter of 1919-20, and compelled as a result to cease lecturing, by the spring of 1920 Dr Kellas had recovered sufficiently to set out again for India where he managed to carry out another season of exploration. Instead of returning to London, he spent the winter of 1920/21 in Darjeeling, conducting preparations for the Everest expedition. The Expedition started from Darjeeling in two parties on 18 and 19 May 1921, and all was believed to be going well although, of course, this was happening in the days before modern means of communication and news travelled only slowly It transpired that while travelling across a pass at Kampa Dzong Tibet, at a height of 17,500 feet on the approach march to Everest, Dr Kellas suddenly and quite unexpectedly died. The cause of death was attributed to sudden heart failure. It remains unclear whether his death was due to the complications of altitude or was occasioned by some pre-existing medical problem. The Mount Everest Committee issued the following appreciation. "Dr Kellas had for many years interested himself in ascertaining how far it is possible, by the use of oxygen, to overcome difficult breathing at high altitudes. He had frequently visited the Himalayas for this purpose, and had made several remarkable ascents in Sikkim. Last year he attempted the ascent of Kamet in Garhwal, and reached an altitude of 23,600 feet. This year he had intended, by climbing the same mountain, to pursue his investigations in the use of oxygen still further. The Mount Everest Committee, however, invited him to carry out his experiments on Mount Everest instead of on Kamet, and he accepted the invitation. But Dr Kellas, though he was over 50, was an indefatigable climber, and when he might well have been recuperating from his severe climb last summer, he spent the whole winter and spring in climbing in Sikkim He reached the summit of Narsing, nearly 20,000 feet in height, and last week the Committee received a letter from him stating that he had climbed more than 20,000 feet on Kabru to try and get photographs of Mount Everest. His energy was untiring, and the probability is that by his ceaseless exertions he overstrained himself. The Mount Everest Committee deplore his loss and are greatly indebted to him for having placed his services and experience at their disposal". The following three decades saw ten major Everest expeditions, none of which succeeded in reaching the summit. When the mountain was first conquered in 1953 it was done with the aid of bottled oxygen, a practice followed by later expeditions. It is interesting to note, however, that Dr Kellas' work was not in vain, but in fact helped to pave the way for yet another significant Everest event in 1978 an ascent was completed without supplemental oxygen. 40
2 i
A Classic Car Line-up at Tayntouth Castle
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
THE INALBION JOB The tinkling of tappets, the caressing of carburettors, the checking oil and water, a final application of turtle wax. The gang of six are readying for the oft' - three days of punishing driving ahead of them on some of Scotland's most demanding roads — led by the intrepid Malcolm Caine (better known as Copland). The plan which was to be enacted had been hatched with painstaking detail several months, the time for action had come At 0900 hrs at The Club Centre on the 6th of June 2003 — the inaugural \ GSM Classic Car Tour begins. The team members don their jackets and caps, all proudly sporting The School Shield, and fix decals to their cars a la "Monte Carlo". The line-up of Malcolm Copland (Porsche 911 Carrera), Brian Deighton (Triumph TR4), Keith Douglas (Alfa Romeo GT Junior), Norman Garden (Mini Cooper S [BMWJ), Roy Murray (Daimler XJC) and Peter Robertson (Morgan 4/4 + 4), begin the day en route from Aberdeen to Ullapool. A pit stop for lunch at Bonar Bridge brings a deal of amusement to the local worthies, however pride was swallowed, along with somewhat large portions of excellent food with which even twitcher Garden could not cope — Norman having decided that he ought to combine his interest in ornithology with the delights of the Easter Ross coast-line The other five are just occasional bird watchers. The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool provided a haven for the night, with visits to some other hostelries included, although all the group were reasonably abstemious, having in mind that drink drive laws apply even to our most westerly shores. The distance travelled on day one was 1926 miles, and the drive time was 5 hours 42 minutes. Next morning, Messrs Douglas and Robertson are up early to climb Arkle, some many hands high. Inclement weather, unusual for the area, converts the Morgan into a two-seater mobile bath - watch your TV screens for the new commercial coming out soon. First stop on day two is at Inverewe Gardens The rain problem is solved — Peter arrives last with the latest fashion accessory — the Morgan semi-automatic umbrella. Onwards through Torridon, Shieldaig, Lonhain and we arrive for lunch at Applecross A more leisurely drive through loch and Strathcarron, Morvich and along Loch Cluanie before turning South at Invergarry to Roybridge and The Glenspean Lodge where, despite being somewhat amused and bemused, the staff provided highly recommended fare. Most cars were standing up well to some tortuous roads, except that Roy's Daimler had a minor problem with overheating — water consumption almost matching the inordinate amount of fuel going into the petrol tank. Distance travelled today 217.9 miles, in a drive time of 7 hours 12 minutes. Sunday, day three and the final stage The team prepare early in the knowledge that a new keg of Real Ale would come on at The Club Centre that evening. The drive through Fort William, Tyndrum, Kenmore, lunch at Pitlochry, then by Spittal of Glenshee and Aboyne to home provides an adequate thirst, to be duly quenched at Queen's Road All arrive in good order bar tail-ender Douglas, complaining bitterly about having to drive the last stage with virtually no brakes - but then, that's Italian Classic Cars for you. Overall, the team had covered 621.6 miles in two days, 2 hours 36 minutes. All agreed on the success of the inaugural tour, and spent the rest of the evening plotting the next event If you would like to join them, contact Malcolm Copland at The Club Centre for more information. Malcolm Copland (1968-71)
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General Section
RUPERT, THE SHETLAND COLLIE (1988-2002) Former Pupils of Aberdeen Grammar School fortunate enough to have enjoyed the hospitality of our Glasgow Branch Secretary, the legendary Basil Emslie, will undoubtedly have met his canine companion Rupert, a Shetland Collie of noble breeding and such good manners as to match those of his master. Or was Basil Rupert's master? Perhaps this menage-a-deux represented a case of role reversal? Whatever. Basil and Rupert were wont to hold court together in their suite before the Glasgow Dinner - one dog and his man who clearly enjoyed each other's company if only by reason of each knowing his own sharply contrasting place. Basil was - indeed is and. God willing, ever more shall be - gregarious, warm, ebullient, bustling. bourgeois - born to serve. Rupert was. but alas is no more, God rest his soul - aloof , cool, restrained, calm, patrician - an aristocrat to his paw tips - bom to be served. Yet perhaps role reversal was reversed ... while Basil dispensed drinks and bonhomie, an ever cheerful Wooster, Rupert played Jecves presiding autocratically over the free loading peasants. observing human greed and folly from his princely seat (twin bed actually), a disdainful half smile playing across his damp, well nourished nose. For Rupert was extremely well looked after, his meals carefully chosen and fastidiously consumed. his slightest snuffle prompting immediate veterinary attention, his constitutionals and frequent outings embracing the social and business life of Basil himself — visits to the golf club. bowling green, hairdresser, tailor, garage, as well as private homes and, of course the highlight of his year, the Glasgow F.P. Dinner. It was because of his regular attendance on this annual occasion that the writer dared, in the course of addressing the company, to put Rupert up for honorary membership of the Club Whether it was ultra wires of the Constitution to let a quadruped join was not, it must be confessed, researched, but it is nevertheless gratifying to record that the proposal was carried nem con. amid warm applause And everyone present swore they could hear a faint bark in courteous acknowledgment from a distant bedroom And now Rupert is no more Regrettably there is no doggy dialysis and Rupert went to his long kennel aged only 13.11/12ths. Consolingly for Basil the end was peaceful and such an apparently tender age does represent, in terms of a dog's life, a near century innings. The Glasgow Dinner will not be the same without Rupert His home with Basil at Mugdock Park is an emptier, sadder place. Basil is a sadder man. But Basil is getting over his loss, adjusting to life after Rupert and will, we hope, continue busily to serve, if not Rupert any longer, the F.P. Club as long as he lives. S.A.C. Robertson (1939-51)
ALL-ROUND TROPHY WINNERS In the 2001 Magazine, to mark the presentation by the FP Club to the School of new oak panels inscribed with the names of all winners of the All-Round Trophy, a list of those winners was published with brief biographical notes about each Out of 110 names, only twelve were unaccounted for and bore the phrase "No up-to-date information". Members were asked for news of the missing dozen, but in vain Further editorial research has been carried out, and this year's Notes include reference to five more The Editor would still like to complete this survey, and seeks information about .1948 1968 1973 1982
1984 1986 1989
John Dunn Ruaraidh McKay Leslie W Ross John M Steele
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Null A. Steele Sally A Hutchison Emma I Allan
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
Former Pupils' Club Founded 11 September 1893 Club Office-Bearers, 2003-2004 Honorary President: WILLIAM J. JOHNSTON, BSc, DipEd (Rector) Honorary Vice-Presidents: (Past Presidents ex officio) GEORGE E.C. BARTON (1923-26), MA (President, 1973-74) The Very Revd. J. FRASER McLUSKEY (1920-31), MC, DO (President, 1974-75) JOHN W. CRADOCK (1941-46), CA (President, 1977-78) T. GORDON COUTTS (1938-49), QC, MA, LL.B (President, 1980-81) JAMES A.N. WATT (1927-39), CA (President, 1982-83) BRIAN K. CROOKSHANKS (1934-46), TD, MA, LLB (President, 1983-84) ERIC D. WATT (1937-50), BEd. (President, 1984-85) Prof. PHILIP N. LOVE (1952-58), CBE, DL MA, LL.B, LLD (President, 1987-88) W. MORRISON BROWN (1933-46) (President, 1988-89) ERIC CRAIG (1934-46) (President, 1989-90) T. IAN MORRISON (1934-47), TD, BSc, MSc, CChem, FRSC, (President, 1990-9I) DR. J.R.S. INNES (1923-35), MB,ChB (President, 1991-92) A. KEITH CAMPBELL (1944-53), TEng (CEI), MInstEA (President, 1992-93) IAN M. DUGUID (1938-43), OduM, MD, PhD, FRCS, FCOpth, LLD, DO, (President, 1993-94) JAMES C. LYON (1953-59), RIBA, FRIAS (President, 1996-97) J. EDWARD FRASER (1936-49), CB, MA, BA, FSA(Scot) (President, 1997-98) RICHARD H. CRADOCK (1940-51) (President, 1998-99) CHARLES RITCHIE (1945-51) (President 1999-2000) RICHARD F. TYSON (1944-49) (President 2000-01) STEPHEN A.C. ROBERTSON (1939-51) MBE, MA, LL.B, MUniv. (President, 2001-02) DOUGLAS G. FOWLIE (1950-64) MB,ChB, FRCPsych. (President 2002-03)) (Specially Elected) ARTHUR L. McCOMBIE, MS, FSA(Scot) (Deputy Rector, 1973-90) BASIL D D EMSI,IE (1929-35) President: ALEXANDER E McILWAIN (1945-51) Vice-President of Club and Chairman of Executive: MARTIN JEFFREY (1942-57) BSc. Secretary: JOHN F. HENDRY (1951.65) LLB Treasurer: ALAN W MARR (1969-75) CA General & Notes Editor of Magazine: BRIAN K CROOKSHANKS (1934-46) TD, MA, LL.B 44
Former Pupils' Club Section Secretaries of Centres Club Centre — BRIAN DEIGHTON, 172 Springfield Road, Aberdeen AB15 7SD Canada - J PETER JEFFREY (1944-59), 2635 Fifth Line Road, RR# I, Dunrobin, Ontario K0A I TO, Canada Edinburgh - NIGEL G. M. WATT (1963-69), WS, 5 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NJ Glasgow - BASIL D. D. EMSLIE (1929-35), Flat 8, Westerton of Mugdock, Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8LQ London - SANDY NICOL (1962-71), 4 Avenue Gardens, Acton, London W3 8HA Yorkshire — MARTIN COULTER (1983-89), 51 Morton Lane, Beverley, East Yorks HU17 9DA Secretaries of Sections Cricket — RICHARD S.T. FERRO, Suilven, Beaconhill Road, Milltimber, Aberdeen Curling — IAN P. SOUTER, 14 Earlspark Gardens, Bieldside, Aberdeen Football — CRAIG STUART (1980-86), 17 Boyd Orr Close, Craighill, Aberdeen Golf- PETER M. ROBERTSON (1967-73), LL.B, 10 Anderson Drive, Aberdeen Hockey — KEVIN POPE, 2 Craigie Loanings, Aberdeen Petanque — STEVEN J. C. ESSON (1951-64), Fairfield, 9 Angusfield Avenue, Aberdeen Rugby — DAVID ROBINSON, 19 Crollshillock Place, Newtonhill, Aberdeen Swimming — ANGUS J. THOMPSON (1969-75), 48 Camperdown Road, Aberdeen Women's Hockey — EMMA A. MAIR (1985-91), 354 Great Western Road, Aberdeen Executive Committee The Vice-President of the Club, Chairman The Secretary, the Treasurer and the General Editor of the Magazine, ex officiis The Rector of the School, ex officio JOHN G. MITCHELL (1990-96) WENDY A. BRADFORD (1984-90) HARVEY E. MORRISON (1951-65) ALAN G. CAMPBELL (1959-65) W. MICHAEL MURRAY (1945-54) MELDRUM B. EDWARDS (1947-60) IAN P. SOUTER (1947-61) NORMAN K.B. EDWARDS (1959-64) INNES TAYLOR (1974-80) H. ALAN S. HAMILTON (1943-56) ANGUS J. THOMPSON (1969-75) DAVID S. LEIGHTON (1959-72) Section Representatives Club Centre - RONALD R. COMBER (1947-52) Cricket - IAIN S. HOPKIN (1962-68) Curling — MARIO L. VICCA (1952-56) Football — CRAIG STUART (1980-86) Golf- GORDON M. INKSON (1986-92) Hockey — DAVID S. LEIGHTON (1959-72) Petanque — RONALD R. COMBER (1947-52) Rugby — MALCOLM COPLAND (1968-71) Staff— RUSSELL GRAY (1951-65) Swimming — Women's Hockey — LUCY MITCHELL (1985-90) Auditors Messrs. BOWER & SMITH, C.A. Club Centre Committee (• Denotes member of Management Team) RONALD R. COMBER* - Chairman BRIAN DEIGHTON •- Secretary HARVEY E. MORRISON — Treasurer 45
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine W.B. BROWN, K. DOUGLAS, N.K.B. EDWARDS N. GARDEN*, H.A.S. HAMILTON, J.F. HENDRY, I.S. HOPKIN*, M. INGLIS* J.M. JEFFREY, S. JOHNSON, D.S. LEIGHTON*, H. MILLER, W.M. MURRAY, R. NICOLSON, C. RITCHIE,
Club Consuls Australia — JIM W. HOWISON (1937-50), 98A Hull Road, West Pennant Hills. New South Wales 2125, Australia, Tel. 00-61-2-9487-3164 E-mail: howisongtech2u.com.au Australia — DR. FORBES J. SMITH (1945-57), Level 10, 409 St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Victoria, 3004, Australia, Tel. 00.61-2-9487-3164 E-mail: forbessmithf&nabenet.corn.au Canada — GORDON B. SINGER (1949-50), Box 7, Site 5, RR #2, Okotoks, Alberta, Canada T1S IA2, Tel. 00-1-403-995-0331 E-mail: singsing@telusplanet.net Canada — IAN McG. MARR (1954-58), 4 Milne Crescent, Kanata, Ontario, Canada. K2 K I H6, Tel. 00-1-613-592-2730 E-mail: marri@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Canada - DAVID R. AULD (1947-61), 2187 Lafayette Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8S 2P2, Tel. 00-1-250-595-0616 E-mail: davidauld4shaw.ca Corsica - IAIN WARES (1941-52), Via G.M Angioi 34, Cagliari 09124, Sardinia, Italy Tel 00-39-070-652508 Hong Kong - MARSHALL H. BYRES (1960-69), 2A Hatton House, 15 Kotewall Road, Hong Kong, Tel. 00- 852-2846-9878. E-mail. marshall.byrescathk.eyi_com Ireland — ANDREW M.M STEVEN (1936-50), 5 Beechhill Avenue, Saintficld Road. Belfast Northern Ireland BT8 6NS. Tel. 028-9070-2315 Malaysia - GRAEME W. KING (1966-72), 26 Jalan Pakat, Ukay Heights, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. Malaysia Tel. 00 60-3-4252-9297 E-mail: gwking@pc.jaring.my New Zealand — MICHAEL B. THOMSON (1938-51), 39 Jubilee Road, Khandallah, Wellington 4, New Zealand Tel 00-64-4-479-5678. E-mail: thomson.wgtn(rjOrtra.co.nz Thailand - PROF. ALASTAIR M NORTH (1937-50), 79/78 Sol 7/I Mooban Tararom, Ramkhamhaeng Road Soi 150, Saphan Soong, Bangkok 10240, Thailand, Tel 00-662-373-28 I 8 E-mail. amnorth@ksc.th.com
Annual General Meeting The Ninety-eighth Annual General Meeting of the Club was held at the Club Centre in Aberdeen on Monday 31 March 2003, with Mr J. Martin Jeffrey, the Vice-President, in the Chair Chairman's Report I am pleased to report that the Club is in good heart after another year of sound progress. Membership numbers are up, membership communications continue to develop, our finances are stronger, the Club Centre has taken a big step forward, the five Regional Centres are active and growing, Sport continues to flourish, we have been able to increase our support to the School and we have continued to make good progress with the City Council regarding the redevelopment of Rubislaw. Membership At the end of last year, our membership had risen to 1,208 - a very healthy net increase of 41 over the previous year Perhaps inevitably, we lost a few old friends along the way, and these included three Honorary Vice-Presidents — Melville Watson. Alan Peters and Ian Lewis Smith. who are all sadly missed
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Former Pupils'Club Section We continue to make enhancements to our Membership database. The inclusion of details of Membership of the Club Centre and also the Beyond 500 Draw means that we can provide an even better service to Members while streamlining the administration. Communications Communication with Members is a vital part of the Club's activities. The Magazine, which remains in the experienced hands of Brian Crookshanks, continues to be eagerly awaited by Members every year. The Newsletter now appears three times a year and it does much to keep Members up to date between Magazines. The Newsletters are now supplemented by the Club's website — wwwagsfp.com - which was launched last September. The site has already attracted new Members as well as being the catalyst for Members who had lost touch to return to the fold. We have extensive plans for the development of the website, and these will be implemented in the coming months Another feature of the electronic age has been the big increase in the use of email, which makes it so much easier to respond promptly to queries from Members and generally keep in touch. Finances We had another excellent year from a financial point of view and the Club finished with a surplus of just over £2,000. We have a good budget process in place and have implemented a number of changes that will allow us to continue to maintain tight control over all aspects of our finances in the future. As a result of our sound financial position, we have repaid the major benefactor loan and put in place a new facility at the Bank in order to provide essential working capital for the Club Centre Once again, Members have been extremely generous in their support for the Club and this is greatly appreciated. However, we must continue to look for additional sources of income as well as developing our existing sources Finally, our thanks must go to our excellent Treasurer, Alan Marr% who continues to do a highly effective job for the Club. School We have had yet another good year working with the School, and the Club continues to benefit from the support and advice of the Rector. Helen Inns, his very able Depute, and Russell Gray, Assistant Rector. We are always looking at new ways of increasing our involvement with the School and, in particular, at how we can encourage School Leavers to develop a positive view of what the FP Club can offer them. Last year we reintroduced the practice of issuing free copies of the Magazine to all pupils entering 6th year. We have also formalised a process for awarding financial support to pupils (and young FPs) who wish to take part in voluntary projects which require them to raise funds or sponsorship In addition, we made a contribution to the finances of the School I,cavers' Yearbook, which was greatly valued by the 6th year pupils Social Activities Last year's Annual Dinner, under the Chairmanship of President Doug Fowlic, was another successful and well-attended occasion with over 150 members, guests and friends enjoying an evening with a slightly different format. Our thanks go to Lucy Mitchell, our new Social Convener, who has taken over from Norman Garden who did so much to revive the fortunes of the Dinner during the previous two years. After consultation with the Centres, we arc looking at a new date for the Aberdeen Dinner as well as new dates for some of the Centre functions. It is likely that the next Aberdeen Dinner will be held in March 2004 (there will be no Dinner in October this year) when it will become the final event in the Presidential year. The Committee has also been considering how best to develop the social calendar and fill the gap created by the demise of the FP Ball, which was so successful until numbers started to decline in the early '90s and which finally disappeared from the calendar tour years ago. We are planning to launch a Grammar FP Ceilidh, which will provide an 47
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine attractive, stylish and enjoyable occasion for the young at heart of all ages from 18 to 80 plus! The first Ceilidh is planned for October of this year. The Regional Centres All the Centres held successful functions during the year, and I have just returned from Glasgow where I attended another very successful Glasgow Centre Dinner. The Centre Secretary, Basil Emslie, was in typical irrepressible form and had attracted no fewer than 96 people. One of the most encouraging features of the various Annual Dinners has been the marvellous support from the Office-Bearers from the various Centres. Congratulations go to all the UK centres and, of course, our Canadian Centre, for their very successful efforts to provide a focus for FP activities in the Regions. Club Centre The Club Centre made outstanding progress in the last twelve months, finishing the year with a surplus of just over £7,000 — the first surplus for very many years. Great credit goes to the Operations Committee which takes care of the day to day running of the Centre — Ron Comber (Chairman), Norman Garden, Brian Deighton, Ian flopk in, David Leighton and Mike Inglis. Our warm thanks also must go to the Head Barman, Mike Tasker, and his team of part-time staff for their friendly and professional service. It is going to become increasingly difficult to achieve further financial improvements as inevitably the maintenance costs of the building are going to increase year by year. The Club also needs to find fresh ways of encouraging Members to use the facilities more frequently if we are going to continue to build the income.
The Sports Sections However, FP Sport continues to flourish despite the shortcomings of the facilities at Rubislaw and the fact that all hockey has to be played at other locations. Special congratulations to the two Hockey Sections who are doing well in the various Leagues and to the Rugby Club who could still finish 4th in the Premier League, and who only yesterday blew away Glasgow Hawks to become the first winners of the new Integrated Trophy. I am also encouraged by the continuing efforts by the various Sections to develop their links with the School. Rubislaw We continue to make progress! There is a formal Steering Group in place with representation from the City Council, the School and the FP Club. This group currently meets at least twice a month with significant interim involvement from the FP Club, Council Officers and the Consultants. This is a £3 million plus project which will transform Rubislaw and give the School, Club and City an outstanding sports facility. The major issues revolve round Planning, Roads (including parking), Funding, Legal and all the related management issues, plus the whole tendering process. The firs► of a series of information meetings is scheduled for 28th April and these should be followed by an application for outline planning permission. I hope that the Executive will be in a position to put a clear proposal to a Special General Meeting of the Club in the autumn.
The next 12 months Our Number One priority will be the redevelopment of Rubislaw, including a new Clubhouse, and this is going require a sustained effort over the coming months. Next, we need to take a close look at the best way of running the FP Club, the Club Centre and FP Sport at Rubislaw and the structure which we need to achieve this. Finally, we must continue to work at recruiting more members of all ages and finding ways of involving them more in the activities of the parent Club as well as the Club Centre and the various Sections. I would like to close by thanking all the Office Bearers — Jock Hendry, Alan Marr and Brian Crookshanks — for their dedication and support throughout another demanding 48
Former Pupils' Club Section year. Also special thanks to my wife Whilma who acts as Membership Secretary, to Lucy Mitchell our new Social Convener and to Grant Jeffrey, who has put so much effort into developing and maintaining our website. My thanks also go to a hardworking Committee who have contributed much in the way of useful ideas and comment, as well as being prepared to take the necessary decisions.
General Business Section Reports Reports were submitted by representatives of the various Sections and of the Club Centre, and similar Reports appear elsewhere in this Magazine.
Accounts and Treasurer's Report The 2002 Accounts (reproduced at the end of this Magazine) were submitted and approved. The Treasurer reported a surplus of £2,025, some £210 more than in ►he previous year. He drew attention to the repayment during the year of the Benefactor's Loan and its replacement with overdraft facilities negotiated with the Club's bankers. He referred to the tidying up of the various funds which previously figured in the Accounts and reported a healthy Balance Sheet
Election of Office-Bearers Officials of the Club were elected in accordance with the list published elsewhere in this Magazine. A proposal from the Executive to confer Honorary Membership of the Club on the recently retired Bill May, in recognition of his contribution to the interests of the School for over forty years, was warmly approved.
Auditors Messrs Bower & Smith, CA, were unanimously re-appointed Auditors of the Club and Section Accounts for the coming year.
Presentation At the close of the meeting the Chairman showed members the now customary Quaich, suitably inscribed, which would be presented to retiring President Dr. Doug Fowlie as a memento of his year in office and in token of the esteem in which he is held by members of the Club. Unfortunately Dr Fowlie was unable to be present at the meeting.
In terms of the Club Constitution, the Annual General Meeting is always held on the last Monday in March The 2004 A.G.M. will therefore be held on Monday, 29 March at 7.30 p.m. in the Club Centre, 86 Queen's Road, Aberdeen
President's Report The President's commitments may have a familiar ring to those who study the Magazine. The organisation of the Former Pupils' Club and the highly productive links with the School facilitate regular reminders of the profound influence which an association with Aberdeen Grammar School has on its pupils (past and present), staff and all associated individuals. It is inevitable that an educational establishment with a legitimate claim to a 750year history should have world-wide connections, and the Former Pupils' Club in its various manifestations both represents that heritage and facilitates communication. My wife and I were privileged to officiate at the School Prize Giving in June. I attended the Edinburgh, London, Yorkshire and Glasgow Centre Dinners, in addition to 49
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the Annual Dinner The Stewarts Melville and Watsonians Aberdeen Dinners and the social evening promoted by the Albyn School Former Pupils Club were also stimulating and enjoyable functions The Year included additional invitations from the FP Canadian Centre, Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen High School and Aberdeen Academy Former Pupils' Clubs, while exchanges of correspondence often led to further reminiscence about local connections. The work of the Former Pupils' Club, its Executive Committee and its various Centres, Sections and undertakings is described in detail in this Magazine, in Newsletters and on the expanding web site. The commitment represented is considerable. We are indebted to the individuals who make the Club work. The privilege of being President has allowed me to reflect, at random, on a number of individuals whose prominence was founded on an education at Aberdeen Grammar School. During these random researches, I have often marvelled at the commitment and vision of so many former pupils. A local example is James Hay, educated at Tarvcs, Aberdeen Grammar School and at Aberdeen University, entering law practice in Aberdeen in 1899 and later becoming a City Councillor As Convener of the Links and Parks Committee he fostered sports developments for all throughout the city. He became secretary of both Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and the District Association, subsequently becoming President of the Scottish Golf Union. He extended public library access, served on the Board of Directors of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, on the University Court and on the Milk Marketing Board, was a Justice of the Peace and became President of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen. The description "service to the community" undoubtedly fits. It was Hay who brought Doctor Alister MacKenzie to the city to design llazlehead Golf Course, a facility, perhaps now in need of additional attention, but consistent with the best courses world-wide. The designer links the city to Augusta National, home of the Masters A pink granite obelisk in the Duthie Park commemorates the life of Sir James McGrigor now identified at the father of Army Medicine and the first Director General of the Royal Army Medical Corps McGrigor entered the Grammar School aged 9 and left aged 14. He was a founder of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1789. He contributed significantly to the campaigns directed by Wellington and developed a true understanding of the soldier's lot. He identified the impact of infectious disease, fatigue and alcohol-related damage The link between capability and serving conditions was constantly re-emphasised in his presentations and reports. He confirmed that effective campaigning is enhanced when well-trained medical staff are recruited, deployed and, perhaps most importantly, listened to The clarity of his thinking has been forgotten regularly in the last two centuries. His proposals for maximising the fitness of any fighting force have also been re-invented in the interim. McGrigor was adept at maintaining confidentiality, enabling others to cope with distress, dealing with His uncertainty and promoting the requirements for satisfactory occupational health policies improved the efficacy of Wellington's forces and arguably contributed to our continuing to have English as a native tongue. A gravestone in Allanvale Cemetery in Aberdeen states simply "Professor JJR MacLeod, born September 1876, died March 1935 Co-discoverer of insulin". Insulin has had a huge impact on clinical medicine. MacLeod remains the only Aberdeen medical graduate to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. His family moved to Aberdeen in 1883 and he entered the Grammar School Although described as an able pupil, he never figured in prize lists. His research on insulin has led to four generations of disabled patients now leading lives with average life expectancy. Whilst perusing Theodore Watt's Roll of Pupils and reading about the (then) only FP recipient of the Victoria Cross, Lieutenant Robert Grearson Combe, a pharmacist who settled in Canada before service in the First War, I came across Robert John Collie, at School from 1873 to 1876. Another FP Doctor, he established himself in London practice as a specialist in medico-legal work and consulting Medical Officer to the 50
Former Pupils' Club Section Ministry of Pensions. He was instrumental in creating the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1906. Knighted in 1912, he was Member of Parliament for Partick from 1922 His First World War experiences in the Royal Army Medical Corps led him to establish a home to aid the recovery of discharged soldiers suffering from battle shock. He became Director of the Neurasthenic Institute and the associated psychotherapeutic clinic Blue, Red, Yellow and Green continue as the House Colours representing Byron, Dun, Keith and Melvin. Given the history of the School from before 1256, the House system is very new, being initiated in 1922 to allow younger pupils "to have an enhanced feeling of belonging to a social bodyGeorge Gordon, Lord Byron wrote that he differed not at all from other children, being neither tall nor short, dull nor witty, but he recognised that he was always mischievous. There is little doubt that Byron was disabled by a genetically inherited mood disorder for which there was no effective treatment in the nineteenth century. His creativity was coupled to volatility, intensity of emotion, impulsive generosity and a caustic and bitter wit. His insights into the human condition may have been enhanced by his inherited limb deformity which caused him to be taunted as a child. Byron's anguish is manifested in his writings His early education, however, was clearly supportive and encouraging in the face of that disability. and his time at the Grammar School was seminal. Byron's only daughter, Ada, became Countess Lovelace She had unique mathematical abilities and is now recognised as the first computer programmer because of her work on Babbage's Calculating machine in the mid nineteenth century. The US Department of Defense honoured her contributions by naming its programming language ADA in 1980 I suspect that Byron remains the universally known former pupil Media references A recent article, for example, questioned why young people get to him are common. pregnant when they are surrounded by the multitude of contraceptive options available and armed with the knowledge of the adverse consequences of unsafe sex. Byron had the answer in his conclusion when he noted that "the reading or non-reading of a hook will never keep down a single petticoat". Patnck Dun MD was Principal of Marischal College during the seventeenth century He mortified the lands of Ferryhill for the maintenance of four masters of the Grammar School. In July 1906 in connection with the Quater-Centenary Celebrations of Aberdeen University, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland forwarded friendly greetings and The citation noted hearty congratulations to the ancient and renowned University specifically that Dun, the distinguished native of Aberdeen, had been President of that College in 1681. It paid tribute to the contribution made by Dun to the advancement of medicine and ancillary sciences. James Francis Edward Keith, born in 1696, was a pupil at the School He rose to be Second-in-Command in the Polish Succession War of 1733-35 and became a FieldMarshall under Fredenck the Great in 1747 Frederick the Great created Prussia by amalgamating disparate and hostile lands. Perhaps Keith's education at the Grammar School was crucial in shaping the skills necessary to command an army of invasion and domination. James Melvin was born in Aberdeen to poor parents, studied at the Grammar School and Manschal College and taught at a private academy at Udny before returning to the School as Assistant in 1822, becoming Rector in 1826 An outstanding Latin Scholar, he was also a Lecturer at Marischal College but was passed over for the Chair in Classics That disappointment is said to have hastened his death. His brother George Melvin was Head of Robert Gordon's Hospital from 1832 to 1841. Byron. Dun, Keith and Melvin remain part of the experience of all who attended the School. These snippets of information about the origins of the House names gave me an additional glimpse of our heritage. I suspect, then, that wherever former pupils gather. countless similar accounts could be given of the protean contributions made by former pupils over eight centuries. These random insights, gathered through representing the
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Club, have been hugely educational for me, and reminded me repeatedly of the privilege associated with a connection to the School. I thank the Club for allowing me to hold office as President. I am left in no doubt about the enduring benefit of the Former Pupils' Club and I know from this year's experience how important the Club is to the vibrancy of the School. I hope that the Rubislaw Development becomes the next tangible manifestation of that link. D C Fowlie (1950-64)
Presidential Profile Alexander Edward Mellwain, CBE, MA, LLB, SSC, WS (1945-51) My first memory of our new President is quite colourful. There he is, in my mind's eye, twelve years old, in his new school uniform, a rather smarter version of Just William, with his cap at a raffish angle. The scene is the austere back-cloakroom off the main corridor of the School — away at the West end before you tiptoe past the holy of holies, the Rector's room. And Just William (or Sandy Mac, as he turns out to be), recently arrived at the Grammar — hence the new blazer and shorts — is playing football with his schoolbag, a cheerful activity which is rather at odds with the fact that he is looking worried. I am to learn that he is worried and that this is a lifetime condition — or at least up to the time of writing when he is nearly seventy and not likely to change. What he was worried about fifty-eight years ago I have, of course, no recollection. Homework perhaps? Loss of childhood? What he's continued to be worried about ever since I'm not too sure about either because, Heaven knows, he's had a hugely successful career. Who's Who gives the details: "President, Law Society of Scotland, 1983-84; consultant, Leonards, Solicitors, Hamilton 1995-97 (partner 1963-95, senior partner 1984-95); b. 4 July 1933, married Moira 1961; 3 daughters; educ. Aberdeen Grammar School, Aberdeen University MA 1954 LL.B. 1956; President S.R.C. 1956-57; commissioned Royal Corps of Signals 1957-59, Lieutenant; admitted Solicitor in Scotland 1957; S.S.C. 1966; Burgh Prosecutor, Hamilton 1966-75; District Prosecutor, Hamilton 1975-76; Dean of Society of Solicitors, Hamilton 1981-83; Vice-president Law Society of Scotland 1982-83; Honorary Sheriff, Sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries & Galloway at Hamilton 1982; Temporary Sheriff 1984; WS 1985; Chairman, Legal Aid Central Committee 1985-87; Hamilton Sheriff Court Project 1991-94; Member Lanarkshire Health Board 1981-91; Central Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace 1987-96; Supreme Court (formerly Review) Committee, Scottish Legal Aid Board 1987-93; Cameron Committee on Shrieval Training 1994-96; Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal Panel 1997- ; Judicial Studies Committee 1997-2000; Criminal Injuries Compensation Board 1998-00; President Temporary Sheriffs Association 1995-98 (Vice-president 1993-95 ); chairman Lanarkshire Scout Area 1981-91; Member of Council, Scout Association 1987-97; Founder Fellow, Institute of Contemporary Scotland 2000; Honorary Member, American Bar Association 1983; Recreations — gardening and listening to music." A pretty impressive CV, it must be said — very worthy, a little boring perhaps, but if so, this is nothing to do with the Sandy Mac I know. Not a mention is there of the surprising fact that he is an elder of the church at Glasgow Cathedral — just because he admires the minister. Or that foreign travel is a big interest, as long as it is arranged by his wonderful wife, Moira, who is a whiz-kid at tracking down great value deals — even as far as Ballater, where they have had a timeshare for many years. Or that he is a seriously good family man, Moira and he delighting supportively in their three daughters — great girls, one charming son-in-law and three terrific grandchildren; oh yes, and not forgetting his widowed Mum, aged ninety-nine and still going strong
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Alexander E. Mc!twain (1945-51) President, 2003-2004
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But the CV misses out far more than these circumstances which relate to Sandy's present life-style. No mention of the wicked sense of humour which has been with him as long as the worried look, and which is the keystone of a friendship which began with the kicking of the schoolbag, in which I enthusiastically joined. The shared perspective (with laughs) and a less than solemn approach to undergraduate studies is no doubt what encouraged us to have a go at writing stuff for the Students' Show and Gaudie, the student newspaper, with varied success, and to skip many a lecture in favour of the Union and the social whirl. And we certainly needed a sense of humour to survive a month's hard grouse beating in Inverness-shire and twelve weeks of square-bashing at Catterick during National Service. All that was so long ago, but when you're getting on you do remember the vivid colours of youth rather than the Saga break of a month ago. Which is why there spring to mind quite a number of other vignettes in the life and early times of Sandy Mac, which don't find a place in the stuffy biography, but are surer indicators of the real man — or maybe that should be real boy, who in my mind is never far below the respectable surface. Examples? There was the time on a school trip to France when he absentmindedly lost contact with the main party, supposedly being looked after even more absent-mindedly by our loveable but dozy French master Sly Bacon. That was at Waterloo Station where the boat-train departed — without Sandy. Ticket-less, but undaunted, he made it to the ferry in the guard's van of another train — just in time And was received back into the fold like a conquering hero, amid loud cheers acknowledged with an airy wave and a triumphant guffaw as he climbed the gangway. Sandy and sport jostle strongly in the mind too. On the rugby field his ample frame could generate a fair turn of speed on the wing, and was tough enough to break many a tackle, but did not have quite the power, alas, on one remarkable occasion to get through a wooden upright off which, as he glanced backwards at an opponent in hot pursuit, he rebounded spectacularly and failed to score a certain try. And the same robust physique looked handy in white flannels, too, as he thundered up to the wicket, a Trumanesque figure in respect of shoulder, beam and pace but less so in accuracy. And as a batsman he played good golf strokes, and as a golfer he played good cricket strokes — all of which physical exertions were informed by gallus enthusiasm, happy-go-lucky sportsmanship and that familiar worried look. Perhaps however the funniest and, as it transpired, the most significant mental picture from these best of times is alcohol-related. That's so often the case, isn't it? To be specific, the alcohol was wine and the occasion a rather smart Wine Tasting which Sandy was attending in his well-behaved capacity of President of the Students' Representative Council. Well, the waitresses, recruited from the French Department and well known to our hero, were not only comely and attractive but also extremely generous as they plied the guests with the best of Burgundy and the choicest of Chablis. This was less a Tasting, more a Guzzling, and the combination of delicious free plonk and a presidential palate, which was deeply Aberdonian, was lethal. To be frank, the guy got stoned - sozzled, bleezing, maraque, out of his skull. Even the worried look had gone. And this was even before the pub-crawl, following which total disintegration took place in the small hours in the cold bleakness of West North Street in the form of a bizarre encounter with a lady of the night, who was also the worse for wear on less expensive sauce and who very nearly got into a taxi with him to see him home. After that experience — harmless really, but this is the significant part of the story — Sandy never touched a drop of the demon drink again. It occurs to me as I write this piece — and I hope the reader will also have spotted — that Sandy Mac has been four times blessed presidentially — as a student by his peers on the Representative Council, as a first class lawyer by the Law Society of Scotland (a distinction which, in his case, carried with it the CBE), by the Association of Temporary Sheriffs and by the wise counsels of the FP Club Executive. These are honours seldom gained by someone separately, but as a quartet they must surely represent a unique achievement. They are the honours of a serious man — dare I say it, a worried man, a man 54
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who on the shrieval bench would often not have known whether to laugh or to cry at the parade of human vice and failings passing before him; and, I'm sure, would have agonised on the sentence. Or maybe not. Maybe he would just have been business-like and brisk and wished he were at home in his garden or with the books and music and pictures he loves. Who knows, with this private, complex, very human being? 1 know, anyway, that the friendship I treasure is that of the still scarcely concealed schoolboy, he of the mischievous wit and humour, the explosion of mirth and that worried look. S.A.C.R. (1939-51)
Centre Reports Club Centre As Chairman of the Management Board, I would like to give my personal thanks to Brian Deighton, Norman Garden, lain Hopkin, Mike Inglis and David Leighton, who have met almost fortnightly throughout the year. Thanks arc also due to those volunteers who, over the year, have painted the downstairs bar and stairs, trimmed the shrubs and trees and tidied up the grounds. During the year we have completed several other jobs including the painting of the ground floor windows, replacing the snooker room window and fixing a long-term problem with the drains in the cellar. The membership of the Centre stands at 612, which is about the same as last year. An increase of forty new members would make a considerable difference to our trading, and members are asked to introduce friends and family and sign them in. Mike Tasker, our bar manager, has given sterling service throughout 2002 working very hard to generate promotions and 'freebies' from our suppliers. The general standard of bar service has improved and staff members are now better trained to cope with the needs of our members. Bar turnover is still very reliant on rugby days and functions and although the bars showed a double-digit growth last year this will be difficult to maintain. The Club quiz nights have proved particularly popular and therefore well attended. It is hoped to continue these Club Centre functions in the future. The Club Centre ended the year with an £8,000 surplus, which is a great achievement, and the aim is to repeat this during 2003. R.R. Comber Canada The Canadian Centre held its annual reunion weekend in Ottawa last September. As usual, Canadian FPs came from far and near to meet up for dinner on the Saturday evening, followed by brunch the following day. We were delighted to have FPs and their wives from the "west" — the Pities and Singers represented British Columbia and Alberta respectively. Peter Jeffrey was living in Wales for one year, but was certainly not prepared to let that stop him attending! Nearer home, the Thomsons and Kings drove from Sudbury to join up with other FPs. Twenty-two 1, 13s, spouses and partners gathered at a cheerful restaurant in the heart of Ottawa's "Little Italy" on the Saturday evening. Peter Jeffrey, standing in for last year's President, David Auld, installed the new President, Michael Hardie, with the Badge of Office and presented him with the "Duguid decanter". Peter was especially pleased to have the honour of installing Michael as President, as they were classmates from 1948-59 and have kept in touch over the years. Michael gave an excellent speech and presided over a relaxed and convivial evening. The following FPs attended the Dinner: J. Peter Jeffrey (1944-59), Michaelston-yFedw, Wales; Ed Anderson (1945-57), Manotick, Ontario; Peter Green (1946-57), Kemptville, Ontario; Phil Barron (1948-56), Kanata, Ontario; Michael Hardie (1948-59),
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Almonte, Ontario; Ken Pine (1948-59), Sidney, British Columbia; Gordon Singer (194849), Okotoks, Alberta; William Balfour (1949-58), Westmount, Quebec; Michael King (1951-60), Sudbury, Ontario; David Thomson (1952-58), Sudbury, Ontario; Ian Thomson (1952-60), Nepean, Ontario and Ian Man (1954-58), Kanata, Ontario. Peter Green and his wife Anne kindly invited everyone to their historic and picturesque farm for brunch the following day. This is the third time that they have hosted the FP brunch, and for the third time it was — unbelievably - a golden fall day in the Ottawa Valley. The combination of beautiful surroundings, great conversation, and Peter and Anne's incredible gourmet brunch made a memorable finale to the weekend. This was the tenth reunion of the Canadian Centre, and Canadian FPs are showing the same enthusiasm for keeping in touch as they did in 1993. Sadly over the years we have lost some faithful supporters of the Canadian Centre, among them Douglas Menzies who was one of the founders. It is thanks to his vision that we all enjoy the annual gettogethers, which hopefully will continue for many years to come. This year's Canadian Centre annual reunion weekend will be held in Calgary on September 13/14. We are delighted that Gillian Thomas (nee Crookshanks) (1975-80) has agreed to be this year's Canadian Centre President, and our first lady president. Gillian, Tim and family have been based in the UK for several years and return to Calgary this summer. As in previous years, there will be a dinner on Saturday evening and a brunch on Sunday morning - and indeed the whole weekend is an excellent opportunity to spend time with other FPs, spouses and guests. We have already heard that FPs in Calgary. Victoria and Ottawa will be attending, and we would be very pleasi-d to welcome any FPs who are travelling in Canada at that time. September in Calgary is hard to beat! If you would like any more information about the reunion weekend, please contact Peter Jeffrey (e-mail pjeff65046@aol.com) or Gordon Singer (403-995-0331, email singsing@telusplanet.net). Edinburgh The Centre held its Annual Dinner on Friday 25th April 2003 in the Clubhouse of the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society. President Sandy Monro welcomed the company of thirty-nine members and guests, who included Colin Lamont, principal guest and President of Edinburgh Gordonians, Depute Rector, Helen Innes, Head Girl, Sarah Proctor, Head Boy, Colin Shaw, Martin Jeffrey. Vice-President of the Parent Club, Roy Alexander, Secretary of Edinburgh Gordonians and Malcolm Daniel and Douglas Skene, representing respectively the Glasgow, and Yorkshire Centres. Cohn Lamont proposed the Toast of "The School and The Club" and replies were made by the Depute Rector, Head Boy, Head Girl and Martin Jeffrey. A most enjoyable evening was again greatly helped by the relaxed chairmanship of retiring President Sandy Monro. During his three years in office Sandy has represented the Centre with infectious enthusiasm. He is succeeded by Neil Borthwick. In late August last year, the annual golf match with the Glasgow Centre was played within the Centre's outing at Tulliallan and resulted in a victory for our friends from the West for the fourth year in a row. The Morr Brown Trophy for the best individual score was won by David Allan with a Stableford score of 34 points. Stuart Macdonald was second and Gordon Barron, third. All three are members of the Glasgow Centre! In late October the Centre held a Wine Tasting in the Offices of James Rust. The numbers were very disappointing — especially in view of the success of the inaugural tasting the previous year. Special thanks are due to James, who helped organise the event. Next year's Dinner will he held in the Clubhouse of the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society on Friday 246 April 2004.
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Former Pupils' Club Section Any FP who has recently come to the Edinburgh area and who has not received any communication ftom the Centre is invited to contact Nigel Watt at his business address at 5 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NJ — telephone number 0131-718-4737. The following FPs attended the Dinner- B.D D. Emslie (1928-35), A. Stuart ( 193245), A.J.K. Monro (1933-46), A.1. Cheyne (1936-48), J.E. Fraser (1936-49), T.G. Coutts (1938-51), J.M. Jeffrey (1942-57), D.A. Brittain (1943-49), A.H. Cairns ( I 94356), A.E. Philip (1943-56), A.M.M. Beattic (1944-47), W.A. Steele (1945-51), J.P. Cairns (1945-57), D.J. Stephen (1946-52), N.K Campbell (1952-58), Dr N.M. Borthwick (1952-65), D. Skene (1959-64), K.I. Masson (1959-72), N.G.M. Watt (1963-69), J.H. Rust (1963-71), R.H.A. Malloch (1970-76), M.Daniel (1975-81) and M. Coulter (198389). Glasgow It has been a very successful and enjoyable year. Our annual golf outing and match versus the Edinburgh Centre was held in August 2002 at Tulliallan Golf Club. The weather was kind, the facilities good and the golf varied! Happily we retained the Caithness Globe, the winning team being David Allan, Stuart MacDonald and Gordon Barron. David Allan also won the Morr Brown Trophy for the best Stableford round. Top player from Edinburgh was Nigel Watt. The results were:Glasgow David Allan Stuart MacDonald Gordon Barron
Edinburgh Nigel Watt Grant Milne John Barron
34 pts 33 pts 33 pts IV() pts
32 pts 31 pis pts 91pts
A Joint Outing with Aberdeen High School FPs. and Gordonians, the first for some time, was most enjoyable. Guides showed us round s.v. Glenlee, built at Port Glasgow in 1896 and which now sits proudly at Glasgow Harbour. With the guides, we explored the last remaining Clyde-built tall ship and relived the hard times of the sailors who struggled to race their competitors home with their cargo. An excellent lunch followed at Pier 17. The Centre's Annual Dinner was once more held in the Swallow Hotel in March 2003. Ninety-six FPs and guests attended - thirty-four FPs and School representatives, five Gordonians, eight from Aberdeen High School, and one each from Albyn School. the former Central School and the Huntly Gordon Schools - this last being our principal guest, George Donald. George is perhaps best known as the Musical Director of the highly successful revue "Scotland the What?". At last year's dinner we were entertained by the other two members of the team, Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson, and this year George, in his toast to the School and the Club, was equally brilliant. In his wonderfully crafted speech. he drew on his teaching career, particularly at Aberdeen Grammar, and on his humorous recollections of many of the characters he worked with. He complimented our Rector, Bill Johnston, on the School's achievements under his leadership. Finally, to end the evening, George played and sang a number of songs from the revue, bringing back lots of wonderful memories. President Doug Fowlie was also in great form and his reply, along with the Rector's and the reports by Colin Shaw, Head Boy, and Sarah Proctor, Head Girl, completed another very successful Dinner. At our brief A.G.M. held during the evening, Malcolm Daniel took over as President from David Allan, who had completed his three-year term, and Malcolm Gauld was elected to the Committee. The following FPs attended the Annual Dinner: Basil Emslie (1929-35), Wilson McIntosh (1932-45), Sandy Monro (1933-46), Ian Duguid (1938-43), Steve Robertson (1939-51), Ronald Walker (1941-46), Martin Jeffrey (1942-57), David Allan (1945-58), Peter Cairns (1945-57), Sandy Mcllwain (1945-51), Malcolm Gauld (1947-61), Douglas 57
Glasgow Centre Dinner, 2003
AberdeenGrammar School M agazine
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L to R: Malcolm Daniel (President), Basil Emslie (Secretary), George Donald (Guest Speaker), David Allan (Past President)
Former Pupils' Club Section Fowlie (1950-64), lan McLeod (1951-55), Ken Campbell (1952-58), Bill Hutcheon (1953-58), Graham U'Ren (1958-64), John Hannah (1959-71), Doug Skene (1959-64), Jim Leask (1960-66), Sandy Nicol (1962-71), Gary Allan (1963-76), Nigel Watt (196369), Stephen Lamb (1972-77), Lesley Galloway (1974-80), Alan Kinghom (1974-79), Graham Stuart (1974-79), David Reid (1975-80), Margery Coutts (1975-81), Malcolm Daniel (1975-81), John Stevenson (1975-81) and Stefan Colling (1990-96) Loudon The highpoint of the 2002/2003 season was the Annual Dinner, held in the Caledonian Club on Friday 16th May and hosted by our President Grahame Young. Despite a disappointing attendance, we enjoyed an excellent and convivial evening. Our guest speaker was Wylie White, recently appointed Chairman of the Royal Scottish Corporation. This ancicnt charity, which has been helping needy Scots in London since the reign of James I and has been awarded no fewer than four royal charters, continues to do sterling work. In the past four centuries, over a million Scots have been assisted by the Corporation. Other leading guests were the President of the Parent Club, Sandy Mclwain, Doug Skene and Martin Coulter of the Yorkshire Centre, Basil Emslie of the Glasgow Centre, Assistant Rector Grahame Whyte representing the School and John Gibson of the London Gordonians. The full list of FPs attending was: John G. C. Brown (1930-42), Martin Coulter (1983-89), Basil Emslie (1929-35), William Jack (1945-51), Sandy Mcllwain (1945-51), Sandy Nicol (1962-71), Douglas Skene (1959-64), Grahame Whyte (1978-81) and A.G. B. Young (1940-47). Our executive committee remains concerned about the lack of support from members of the London Centre. We have a membership list of over two hundred, but few are active supporters. It may well be that the Centre is simply not offering the type or style of event that members would wish to attend, and we are certainly not attracting younger FPs. As a first step to addressing the situation, all London Centre members will be sent a short questionnaire asking for their views on what we should be providing and where they feel we are failing them. For this exercise to be worthwhile, we would ask that all of our members take the opportunity to respond. At the Annual General Meeting, to be held later this year (date not finalised at the time of going to press), it is our intention to put forward key initiatives to revitalise the London Centre. Yorkshire The Yorkshire Centre enjoyed a very special night at the Dower House in Knaresborough celebrating our 25th consecutive annual dinner there and Dick Tyson's eighth year as Centre president. Sadly, this was also Dick's final dinner in that role, and many thanks were expressed to him for keeping the Centre in such strength during a very successful tenure of office. It was a tenure that saw membership of the Centre grow, and it included a year when Dick was also President of the parent club. Dick's energy, experience and enthusiasm in connection with the day to day running of the Centre will be much missed. After seven years service as secretary, Doug Skene was introduced as the new President, with Martin Coulter taking over as secretary. Our guest speakers for the night were the Rector, William Johnston, representing the School, and Club President Dr. Douglas Fowlie, both having made a very welcome journey south to be in attendance. Dick Tyson replied on behalf of the Centre. The Rector delivered a broad summary of the activities, and many successes, of the old School over the past year. Many remarked on the range and depth of the extracurricular activities undertaken and excelled in. In an ingenious and well-researched speech Doug Fowlie revealed a connection between a Yorkshire based Scot and the design of the famous Augusta golf course. We Anglo-Scots enjoyed the parallels that
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine were drawn out, while reflecting that we may not be as well travelled as our Yorkshire forebear, preferring to remain largely on this side of the ocean now Former pupils attending the dinner were: Wilson McIntosh (1932-45), Dick Tyson (1944-49), David Allen (1945-58), Doug Fowlie (1950-64), Doug Skene (195964), Sandy Nicol (1962-71), and Martin Coulter (1983-89). This year sees the opening of a new chapter in the 56-year history of the Centre, with the Dinner being held for the first time in York, the cultural and historic capital of the area. The dinner will take place at the highly reputed Grange Hotel www.grangehotel.co uk. Please make a date in your diary for the 12th of September 2003
Section Reports Cricket Last year, the joint Grammar Gordonian XI continued to compete in the Strathmore Union, but found increasing difficulty at this cricketing standard, with fewer and fewer quality players available. At the end of the 2002 season the decision was taken to abandon the joint venture and both FPs and Gordonians would continue with their membership of the Strathmore Union, but as non-playing teams. It is to be hoped that both teams will be able to retrench in the Aberdeen Grade leagues and will join the Strathmore Union as playing teams in the forthcoming years The second team had a moderately successful season, wining six, drawing two, losing seven, and finishing a comfortable seventh in the league. The team was knocked out of the cup in the first round. Highlights of the season included a maiden century from Stephen Murphy, the emergence of Vito Govil's steady medium pace, and an amazing collective effort to beat the league champions at Rubislaw against all the odds. Last year was a season of two halves in Grade 4 for the 3rd XI After a shocking start, losing heavily to our city rivals, Gordonians, fortunes changed mid-season. Victory against Stonehaven paved the way to us winning all our remaining games in the year, and only the weather put paid to our plans for promotion to the dizzy heights of Grade 311 Our most memorable game was at Duthie Park when, after being invited to bat by Portcullis (who won the league) we proceeded to score 222 for 7 (12 of which came from lain Hopkin twice depositing the ball in the duckpond), and then skittling them out for a meagre 69 Our turn around in fortunes was due to the combination of attracting new members to the Section and the bringing on of youth members from the School A number of School members played significant roles during 2002, and we look forward to their increasing contributions over the years to come. Curling For our team curling we continued our relationship with Rubislaw Curling Club. This provided good competition in a friendly environment throughout the curling season. Due to our lack of numbers, we were only able to field one team, skipped by Geddie Hay. The arrival of two new members during the year will enable us to field two teams for the coming season, and we will be continuing our joint curling with Rubislaw. Our province team. skipped by Norman Patterson, continued to make a significant challenge within the mini-league competition, only losing our leading position in the last couple of games. This team continues to represent FPs in other province competitions. At the time of writing, it looks likely that all the required funding will be in place for the new Curling rink near the Lang Stracht Because of various delays, not least funding from Sports Scotland, the facility will not he ready for use until the 2004/5 season. For the moment, thanks to generous support from BP, curling will continue at Stoneywood
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Former Pupils' Club Section The Section would welcome new members who should contact the Secretary, lan Souter, if they are at all interested. Beginners are welcome and coaching is available at the rink.
Football This has been a very difficult year for the football team, as we did not appoint a Manager and various problems occurred as a result. We were again playing in Division 2 (East) and finished mid-table following a poor run of results in the latter half of the season. However, the team had a great run in the North of Scotland Cup and was only narrowly knocked out in the Quarter Final after extra time. The team which beat us, Mintlaw, went on to win the cup. They also lifted our League title, which surely proves we were in one of the strongest divisions with Kingseat and Byron Munich. A new coach will be in place for the start of the season, and thanks go to all members of the committee who did a great job last year. The players' player of the year award went to Kenny "Milk Bottle" Macpherson, which was well deserved. Anybody keen to train or play for the team should please contact Craig Stuart on 895 I 40.
Golf The section is in good heart as we prepare for the forthcoming season. Membership is up from last year, and outings continue to be well attended. We are also solvent. Two outings were held at Braemar, one at Ballater and we also had our week-end outing to Taymouth Castle. There are plans afoot to convert the Castle into the UK's only 7-star Hotel. The cost of the new Parliament building would not begin to meet the costs of refurbishing the Castle and meeting the "7-star " requirements, which not only necessitate a helipad, but direct connections to private airports around the UK. It will afford all those well-heeled FP's an opportunity to vary their travel options, because that trans-Perthshire road by-passing Dunkeld can get tiresome. No success to report from Barnton, as we lost, albeit narrowly, to St Beghians in round 2, having negotiated a bye in round 1. But glory befell our humble section when Norman Garden's team of four (which included a Gordonian, a Strathallian, and a Darlingtonian) triumphed in the Braemar Centenary Invitational, holding off a much fancied select from Ma Camerons.
Hockey The Hockey Section would like to express its thanks to a number of people for their hard work yet again in support of the Section during the past season. Our gratitude goes to Dave Swanson and the School for nurturing the future talent of our Section. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish Dave every success for the future as he leaves the Grammar School for pastures new. In addition, our thanks go to Ben Johnson and his many helpers for their continued dedication to the Section and its youth policy. Thanks to the Club Centre staff and management for helping us to socialise with great gusto, and providing great deals on various beverages to make our fundraising event and social functions all the more enjoyable. Thanks, too, to all of those brave enough to pick up a whistle to umpire — especially Kevin Pope for stepping into the National League firing line when David Wallis was injured. Finally, thanks to our Aussie contingent, who captained our First Eleven, provided the coaching and training, and produced a weekly newsletter. The Men's Hockey Section can report yet another fun-filled season, both on and off the pitch.
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine In our two charity matches, the John Drummond Trophy and the Craig Clark Memorial Trophy, the younger contingent within the club took full honours — and this despite a hat-trick from Ben Johnson in the first encounter with the School First Eleven. Our First Eleven, captained by Cohn Richards, attained the runner-up slot in National Division 3, securing a promotion play-off against Aberdeen University, and a place in the National Plate semi-finals. Unfortunately, success did not come our way in either of the matches, despite valiant efforts. The drivers for this change in fortunes came from a more robust pre-season fitness programme, more rigorous training and some Aussie guile. With an average age of twenty-nine, it was very encouraging to see two young FPs, David Anderson and Andrew Goodenough, secure permanent positions within the squad. The Second Eleven experienced a mixed, but ultimately disappointing, season. A struggle to field a full team after the winter break resulted in five unwelcome defeats in a row. A late surge during the final games of the season, however, saw four victories to secure a more respectable tally of points and fifth place in Regional League North. Highlights included taking full points from two hard encounters with Elton, Stuart Anderson, our Colts Vice-captain, holding a permanent place in the squad, and the successful introduction of three new Colts players from our youth contingent in the last few games of the season. The Third Eleven had a shaky start to the season, which was followed by a ninegame unbeaten run either side of the winter break. This change of fortunes was put down to the introduction of four colts into the squad, namely Jory French, Andrew Pringle, Mike Lloyd and Sean Malley. The team are much better players now, showing a marked improvement in their abilities and they finished the season in a respectable fifth place in District League One, with thirty-one points. Despite early season optimism the Fourth Eleven struggled to find any form or consistency of team members, and the results reflected it. Before Christmas the team had managed only one victory out of seven matches. Although no Sir Alex type talking-to happened mid-season, a transformation in the team spirits and results seemed to occur. With new players, and an injection of youth, a couple of initial defeats to settle the team saw a change of fortune. Eight playing wins and one defaulted game led to securing third place in District League Two on thirty six points. Many of the fourth team players are members of the older fraternity, but one of its aims is to help promote the youth contingent up through the ranks. Matt Sawyer and Barry Mitchell were two of the school S3 level who demonstrated their potential in a senior team. Top scorer for the Fourth XI was an FP returning to the sport — Brian Fitzpatrick netted well over fifteen goals. It was very encouraging to see many of the Colts being selected for men's teams this year. The Colts themselves have again done well this season, finishing one point and one place behind our Fourth Eleven in District league Two. An additional success of the season was entering the Colts team into the Indoor Hockey scene within the District. This enabled the players to further their skills and in addition gave them more matches. The selection for the Graham Fraser Trophy was once again difficult this year. The winner, however, deemed to have shown the greatest improvement in his play and club spirit during the season, was David Anderson who had come through the Third and Second elevens to secure a permanent place in the first squad. The selection for the Williams Trophy, presented to the First Eleven players' player, taking into account all aspects of hockey, on and off the pitch, was unanimous. The award went to Alistair Flett. In recognition of the many years that Kevin Pope has been an active member of the Club, Howard Smith, the Club Captain, presented Kevin with Club Colours. As always, new members arc more than welcome. For further information please contact either of the following: 62
Former Pupils' Club Section Howard Smith, Club Captain — Tel: 639588 (howard.smith2@halliburton.com) Kevin Pope, Hon. Secretary — Tel: 647562 (kevin.pope@uk.kcadeutag.com) Masque Due to adverse weather during the 2002 season, only the Summer Solstice competition was completed, with Charlie Ritchie emerging victorious. The Section Dinner in the Club Centre was its expected excellence — bouillabaisse, roast beef, sweet & cheese board, all washed down with copious amounts of yin-rouge. At the Dinner a minute's silence was observed in honour of Doug Georgeson, our President, who died in office — sadly missed Doug. Petanque is a good family game — try it. Rugby The 2002-2003 programme kicked off the season on 10th August, with the 1st XV being invited to take part in the Mansell Cup at Heriots FP's Goldenacre ground. We were drawn in a pool of three along with Kirkcaldy and Heriots. The lack of match sharpness showed as, having put up a sterling battle with Heriots in our first match, we let Kirkcaldy slip in to pip us on the final whistle. The following week both 1st and 2nd XVs entertained Glasgow's newest Club, formed by the amalgamation of Glasgow Southern and Hutchesons Aloysians. This proved to be a very entertaining afternoon, with both teams winning their matches and provided the coaching staff the opportunity to cast their eyes over new club members. Finally we were entertained by old rivals, Kirkcaldy, at Beveridge Park, this proving a most valuable warm-up for the season's start the following Saturday. BT Premier League Division I The season's league games are outlined below with overall impressions following the match descriptions. Hopes were high that we would be able to lay the Boroughmuir ghost to rest, as we had them up at Rubislaw for the season's opener on 31st August. Alas, this was not to be as, despite scoring some very good tries, we were outgunned by the polished 'Muir play, losing eventually by 25 points to 38. This loss must have had an electrifying effect on the team as they went down to Goldenacre the next week and destroyed their pack (no mean feat), running out eventual winners by 22 points to 13, a most satisfying scalp! Local rivals Stirling County were the next visitors to Rubislaw on September 14th and found our team in fine form, succumbing to FPs by 29 points to 8 in a hard fought match. Hoping this form would continue, we made the longest trip in Division I to Riverside Park at Jedburgh, only to find that we had left our match plan on the blackboard. Neither the players nor the spectators enjoyed the match, despite our pulling the score back to an apparently close finish, losing by 18 points to 20 to a much more committed (and vociferously supported) Jed team. Peebles were our next visitors on 28th September and it appeared that the loss of confidence apparent during the Jed game had been carried over as we fell to a more street-wise Peebles, and lost by 19 points to 21. Another long trek followed, this time to the Greenyards to take on Melrose. The early loss of Ben Prescott set the seal on a day best forgotten, except that the FP coach to his credit - did not call for uncontested scrums following Ben's retiral from the field, allowing the ever-faithful lain Stanger to withstand the might of the Melrose front row. Losing scrummage ball proved too much of a handicap, with Melrose running out eventual winners by 48 points to 20. The injury to Ben proved more serious that at first thought and he is still, in June, slowly recovering his fitness following a successful operation on a ruptured Achilles tendon. We wish him a speedy return to full fitness. Glasgow Hawks were at Rubislaw on 12th October and, at last, the team had 63
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine rekindled its match sharpness, running out eventual winners by 26 points to 14, against a Glasgow side that never gave up. One abiding memory of the game was Paul Coward's crunching tackle on the Hawks' hooker, Chris Docherty, who had to be helped from the field, taking little part in the rest of the game. A most sociable evening followed, as Hawks' Australian No 8, Mark Sitch, was on his bachelor night and the sight of large hairy forwards attired in mini skirts and wigs was a sight to behold. Happily all the Hawks team survived their Saturday night's festivities in the town. The 'Green Machine' of Hawick were our next visitors and, for the first time ever, we managed to put our nose in front, going into the last quarter of the match leading by 16 points to 14. Hawick's never-say-die attitude, helped by some skulduggery from their forwards and the ability of skipper Kevin Reid to persuade the referee that he had won legal ball, before sliding over for a try which was duly converted, gave them a final 21-16 victory. The mid-point of the season was reached on Saturday 26th October with a visit to Malleny Park, the home of Currie RFC. Early exchanges were quite warm, with neither side willing to yield to the other. Sadly, the match officials did not intervene soon enough to settle both teams down, FPs' scrum half Alan Clark incurring the touch judge's displeasure on 20 minutes for retaliation. The referee, on receiving his touch judge's report, decided to dismiss Alan from the field of play. This left FPs with an uphill battle, having no suitable sub for the pivotal scrum half's role. Keith Oddie stepped up to assume the task and, with Luke McCann moving into stand-off, FPs were a revelation, never yielding the lead to a tactically inept Currie side. Despite having the wind at their backs for all the second half their only try came from a defensive mix-up. Rather than take kicks at goal, Currie opted to kick for the corner and the FP defence proved more than equal to the task. To rub salt into the wound, some astute play from Luke McCann contrived a try out of nothing for Dan Teague, and skipper Rod Seib was mightily relieved to come away with a win against all the odds. This took us to the halfway point in the season in 6th place, having won four and lost five games. Positions at the halfway stage were important as they would be used to establish the opposition (and venues) for the end of season Premier 1 Integrated Tournament, of which more below. Finishing sixth gave us home games in the IT against Peebles and Glasgow Hawks, with away games at Stirling and Boroughmuir. We began the second half of the season with a visit to Meggetland on Sunday 10th November to tackle Boroughmuir, and sadly our team was outplayed both in attack and defence by a well-drilled home team We lost by 31 points to 5. The only consolation was some cohesive attacking moves from the three-quarters. The following Saturday saw Heriots at Rubislaw where they emerged worthy winners by 27 points to 12; we tried hard but could not quite get our act together. Travelling to Stirling on the following weekend the team must have absorbed some of the Wallace spirit as they took on, and soundly beat, a combative Stirling County side by 36 points to 19 — an excellent all round team effort. The team had obviously remembered their off-key performance at Riverside Park as they next took on Jed-Forest up front and by so doing established a strong platform for the backs to revel in quality possession. FPs were eventual winners by 40 points to 18 and so firmly put their earlier performance out of their minds. One of our bogey teams this season, Peebles, were next to be visited and they were allowed to establish their game plan with only intermittent resistance from FPs, so running out eventual winners by 19 points to 15. This game had, however, an extremely controversial finish, with the substitute referee, having warned Peebles that another infringement would result in a penalty try to FPs — then ignoring his touch judge's advice that Peebles had again deliberately gone offside, and blowing for "No side". This game led us into the long break over the Festive Season. The long trip to Mansfield Park to take on Hawick followed on the first league Saturday in the New Year, 18th January, and a closely fought match saw FPs' Luke McCann slot a penalty in the dying moments of the game for us to emerge winners by 14 64
Former Pupils 'Club Section points to 12. The referee had to dodge some forthright Hawick questions, but the doyen of Rugby reporters, Bill McLaren, confirmed that in his view the penalty award was justified. The Hawick scalp was a very sweet one for Coach Damian Reidy to capture and his praise for his players after the match was well justified. The following Saturday saw Currie, struggling to avoid relegation, visit Rubislaw. They certainly played for three-quarters of the game with extreme dedication, aiming to go home with 5 points under their belts, and they led by 36 points to 5 going into the last 20 minutes of the game, much to the delight of the Cume Committee members. That last quarter was a revelation for the FP supporters, as all of a sudden the team clicked into gear, running in five tries unopposed, with Murray Strang claiming two vital conversions, the last on the pip of the final whistle. A 36 points all draw saw both teams take away 3 points from the game, a small consolation to Currie, but a most enjoyable match for all who attended. This left us with two postponed games to play, one versus Melrose postponed from December due to Rubislaw being unplayable and the second versus Glasgow Hawks, whose pitch at Anniesland, was rock hard on the morning of 4th January, the FP team having travelled down to Glasgow the previous night. The Melrose match was played on a free Saturday between IT games in March on a fine, though breezy Aberdeen afternoon. The spirit of the IT games must have rubbed off on the FPs as they took the game comprehensively to Melrose and won by 48 points to 27. The only fly in the ointment was allowing the flying Melrose winger, Geoff Caldwell, to round FPs' defence to notch up their fourth try (and a bonus point), thus keeping us out of fourth place in the league by one point. The season's finale against Glasgow Hawks was played on Saturday 5th April in superb conditions, Glasgow being well and truly beaten by a better drilled and cohesive side, the final score of 34 points to 15, giving us the much-needed bonus point. One play was an illustration of how the team can play when running on all cylinders. Skipper Rod Seib fielded a Glasgow chip ahead deep in his own 22 and proceeded to run the width of the field in his own goal area before rounding the Glasgow defence. Approaching halfway, Rod committed the opposing full back before slipping a pass to the supporting Luke McCann. Luke managed to outstrip the Glasgow cover, touching down in the right-hand corner. It was only after scoring that Luke realised that the opposing team's hooker had nearly caught him! We had to wait nearly a month before we knew whether we would finish fourth or fifth in the League, the result of the Hawick-Melrose game on 3rd May being the crucial game for us. Fortunately, although Melrose won by 27 points to 13, this was not enough to deny us fourth place in the Premier 1 League - they needed to score another 67 points to do that. It was a very satisfying campaign all round, though there is certainly room for improvement, a point which has been taken on board by the Coaching team of Damian Reidy, Colin Robertson and Alan Hardie. The season's tally was: Played 18: Won 9 — Drawn 1 — Lost 8 For 436 — Against 401, Bonus Points — 10; Total Points — 48 There were concerns that, in this, our second season in Premier I, we might find it harder to maintain our position, given that the opposition would know our strengths and weaknesses from the previous season and that they might be more accustomed to travelling the "vast" distances to Aberdeen While our early form in the league was mixed, we had a strong finish to the season with four points more than the previous season. BT Cup In the Scottish Cup we had victories over Langholm by 93 points to nil and Kirkcaldy by 29 pints to 7, only to be beaten by Peebles in a twice-postponed round 5 match. This was a bitter disappointment to us. Given the good run of form we showed over the latter part of the season, a trip to the cup final at Murrayfield would have been something to relish. Maybe next year? The Langholm game had one truly memorable moment, when stand-off Keith Oddie 65
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
broke clean through from the halfway line, only to be chased — and very nearly caught — by arguably the biggest prop forward in Scottish rugby. Was he glad to pop the ball down over the Langholm line? You bet. Sadly, the Kirkcaldy game saw Keith injured by a wayward boot, an injury he is just now recovering from following remedial surgery. We all wish him a very speedy return to full playing fitness, as he is without doubt a player who sends a shiver down the spines of the opposition with his overall skills in both attack and defence. Integrated Tournament This Tournament was conceived by the SRU to give clubs the opportunity of drafting non-Scottish qualified professionals plus those professionals not required by the National Squads into the Premier Division I club teams for a compressed tournament over the period when the Six Nations matches were being played. The players we selected were Tommy Hayes, Graeme Burns, our own Andrew Wilson and Rory McKay, plus Mike Bartlett. Of these, scrum half Graeme Bums was unable to play any games due to injury and Mike Bartlett only featured in the final, coming on as a sub. in the second half With home games versus Peebles on 22nd February and Glasgow Hawks on 15th March we knew we faced a stern test, considering that we had another Sunday game versus Boroughmuir and a postponed game at Bridgehaugh on 1st March. Nonetheless we got stuck into the new tournament with vigour, defeating Peebles by 20 points to 19. This was followed by a nail-biting win at Bridgehaugh by 32 points to 31, the vital winner coming from Tommy Haye's boot with a penalty conversion from wide out on the right side of the halfway line. The FP supporters had to withstand another 10 minutes of pressure from Stirling, during which they missed several kickable penalties and two dropped goal attempts. Todd Patterson was playing against Andy Nicol for the whole of the second half and gave nothing away to his much more experienced opponent. The away game at Meggetland was played before the Scotland-Wales international at Murrayfield, and unfortunately only a small group of FP supporters made the trip. They missed an epic game with FPs taking the lead in the first minute with a Tommy Hayes penalty and they never looked back, beating a committed Boroughmuir side by 35 points to 19. One moment of the match illustrated how well FPs were playing in the new tournament. Tommy Hayes, Rod Seib and Luke McCann all rotated stand off duties as occasion demanded. In this instance, Tommy took good scrum ball from Todd Patterson and displayed a stroke of genius which left his fellow Glasgow Pro, Calvin Howarth, dead in the water. He carried the break on until David Millard, who had run into space, latched onto his pass, creating a hole in the defence to allow Rod Seib to take the outside pass before scoring in the corner To rub salt into the wound, Tommy slotted over the conversion. With only one game remaining two teams were unbeaten, FPs and Glasgow Hawks, and they were due to meet in the final pool game at Rubislaw on Saturday 15th March, with the winners hosting the opponents in the Final. FPs really fired on all cylinders for this game, beating Hawks by 43 points to 27. And so to the final on Sunday 30th March — Mothering Sunday — at Rubislaw, where FPs again demonstrated their ability to play champagne rugby, winning the inaugural Integrated Tournament by 57 points to 13. While the score-line looks distinctly one-sided, all credit must be given to Hawks, who never gave up, attacking whenever the opportunity presented itself Nevertheless, on the day, the FP team, despite losing Tommy Hayes to a first half injury, outgunned them. Abiding memories of the IT included being privileged to watch Tommy Hayes coaching his fellow backs during the game - especially Ramsay Wilson, who visibly benefited from Tommy's tutelage; Mike Bartlett's short spell on the wing in the final demonstrated just what a lethal attacking weapon he could have been if fit; the silky skills of Rod Seib who combined his trade mark "kick, catch and score" tactic with his supreme distribution skills and last ditch tackles. It was unfortunate that the IT received such a bad press, as long-term FP supporters were heard to admit they had stayed at home rather than watch a pointless, processional 66
Former Pupils ' Club Section and dull series of games. The truth, so far as FPs were concerned, was poles apart from the narrow, jaundiced views of the Central Belt "sporting" press. lad XV The 2nd squad, having last season gained promotion ►o the Scottish 2nd XV National League Division 1, have maintained their position in the top flight finishing 6th out of 10 in their league. Given the number of injuries in the 1st squad, together with the unavailability of some players, the 2nd squad has had a very hard season, but came through at the end to maintain their Division 1 status. Well done lads! Their playing record was: Played 18: Won 7 - Drawn 0 — Lost 11 For 332 — Against — 492 ; Bonus Points 0 - Total Points 32 It was, however, unfortunate to note that we had to claim points for two games, when the opposition (including Hawick) decided not to travel to Rubislaw — not at all a satisfactory outcome in the First Division of the 2nd Team's League! Season's Summary We were delighted to secure the services of Damian Reidy as our head coach, who returned for his second successive season with the Club. Colin Robertson, Alan Hardie, Dave Clark and Alan Thomas have ably supported Damian throughout the season There have been some notable playing achievements this season, and our congratulations are due to Andrew Wilson on his selection for the Scotland 'A' Team, Grant Strang, Stuart Corsar and Ramsay Wilson on playing for the Scotland Under-19s and Dan Teague, Luke McCann, Murray Strang and Cammy Wilson on representing Scottish Universities in their annual match against their English counterparts. Congratulations also to our captain, Rod Seib, who was awarded the Scottish Rugby Magazine's "Player of the Month" award in March. Our new Rugby Academy has now been established, with specialist support services being provided to accelerate the development of young talented players and this should hopefully provide us with the stars of tomorrow. During the season, due to injury and work commitments we used a total of 38 players in the first team squad which shows the necessity of maintaining a strong 2nd team backup squad if the I sts are to do well throughout the season. A special mention goes to our captain, Rod Seib, who in all games played over the season was the top try scorer with 25 tries. This equates to an average of a try a game, which is a magnificent achievement. Finally, sincere thanks to the coaches, doctors and physios for their hard work and commitment throughout season, and certainly not least, to our sponsors, our supporters and the committee who have all helped to maintain our status as one of the top sides in Scotland. Midis & Juniors This season there have been full squads at SI, S2 and Under-15s. SI got off to a slow start, mainly because of bad weather, but as the season progressed, the squad had begun to settle. They competed well at the SRU North Midi Finals at Elgin at the beginning of November, and have had some good matches. S2 has had a strong season. They won the S2 North Midi Finals at Elgin, retaining the trophy won last season by the current U-15s for Grammar FPs. They went out in the National quarterfinals to Glasgow Hawks, who eventually appeared in the S2 finals at Murrayfield. S2 has also had a lot of match success this season and there is no doubt ►hat they have improved significantly. The Under-15 squad played their matches this season in the SRU Under-15s Caledonia Premier League, finishing second to Stirling County, which took them to the National Competition. After a further three qualifying matches, they went through to the National Finals at Murrayfield with Stirling County, Hillhead/Jordanhill and Gala. Unfortunately, on the day, they lost both their games, so that they finished 4th overall in 67
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine the U-15s club competition in Scotland. In the Caledonia Cup competition, the U-15s had a win in their final against Dunfermline, so that Grammar FPs now have the Caledonia Cup. Eleven of the Under-15s Squad were selected to play for the District early last season and all acquitted themselves well. One of the squad, Rory Ward, has been invited to attend the SRU Camp at Struan in the summer. The structure and functions of management within each squad need to be reviewed from time to time and this initial review will be carried out before the start of next season. It is always helpful to get coaching assistance from more experienced individuals. The U-I 5s have had some external input, which has been useful, but now we require this input on a more regular basis if the players arc to progress. Their coaches have worked well with them and the boys themselves have also worked very hard but (as the coaches would be the first to admit) they have taken the boys as far as they can and more objective and professional coaching is now needed. We hope that members of the Senior sections would be willing to address this. Minis The season commenced on Sunday August 18th 2002 with the majority of the coaches participating in a Coaching Foundation Level I Training conducted by Alan Clarke. Registration and coaching commenced on 25th August, and we currently have had a total of 81 youngsters officially registered with the following distribution, although probably up to 100 have participated over the course of the season. A total of 13 coaches are associated, with a minimum of 2 per team. More than 75% of the coaches have been through the Level I training; 60% have been through the Referee Level 1 Theory, all passing with flying colours. There is a Level 2 course scheduled for June 27-29 in Aberdeen University and, subject to availability, we hope to have some of the coaches participating. The kids have played in a total of 7 away tournaments during the course of the season, and are placed "Middle of the Table" although the P6s have come closest to outright winning a tournament. During the course of the season Ellon hosted a combined coaching and training session (gathering) which was regarded as a success, and following the NE fixtures meeting in April it is proposed to increase the number of these sessions for next season. It has also been decided that there will be no fixtures for the Mini section during December, January and first half of February in future seasons. The Mini Section is planning the Grammar Tournament for 18th May. Communication between the Mini Section, Midi Section and the senior Club has improved significantly with the result that all equipment requests for the Mini Section have been approved and supplied very quickly; official Grammar jerseys have been suuplied for each Mini Section team; the Minis have been providing a mascot (selected by coaches based on attitude, capability and attendance) to run out with the Senior team for all home games; and through Sponsorship obtained from Schlumberger the entire mini Section has been provided with fleeces which brands the entire club when representing the Grammar on away tournaments etc. Social During the season the Rugby Section staged a number of successful social events in the Club Centre, including guest bands, fancy dress, karaoke nights and the now famous "cheese and wine". Santa Claus also paid a welcome visit with his usual sack of goodies! Many thanks in particular to Tim Dinnen and Cohn Ballantyne for their work in organising these events.
Future Plans A number of our players arc leaving Aberdeen to seek fame and fortune elsewhere and we wish them well in their future careers. Work is now underway in assembling a
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Former Pupils' Club Section squad for next season which will be capable of maintaining and, hopefully, improving our position in Scottish Club Rugby. Swimming The Section continues to function as a recreational pursuit on Tuesday evenings at the School pool from 7 — 9 pm. Accompanied children are welcome to attend in the first hour. Adult swimmers attempt in the second hour to retain (regain?) the athletic physique of their youth. This laudable effort is then usually cancelled out by the customary visit afterwards to the Club Centre. Several evenings were lost at the beginning of 2003 because of work on the filtration system and repairs to the pool itself. Unfortunately the repairs did not extend to refurbishment of the showers. New members are always welcome. The Section Office-bearers continue as follows:President — Peter Robertson Treasurer — Gordon lnkson Secretary — Angus Thompson Women's Hockey As opposed to a game of two halves, the Ladies' Hockey Section is only too pleased to report on the season of two halves! At the half way stage in the league's proceedings for the season 2002-2003 the 1st XI were somewhere in the middle of North District Division One and the 2nd Xl were almost at the bottom of North District Division Two. The 1st XI had one defeat to their name, but a large number of difficult and outstanding postponed fixtures following some fairly atrocious weather in the latter part of 2002. The 2nd XI, on the other hand, had been beaten on quite a few occasions and had been finding things quite tough. The girls' spirits were all still high (some higher than others) and they all cased themselves into the indoor season relishing the prospect of upping the fitness levels at a traditionally highly unfit time of the year! For the first time ever the Section decided to enter two teams in the Indoor League. In previous years it would have been difficult for the Ladies' Section to field two sides in the Indoor League as the interest in the game from those playing for the 2nd Xl was limited. The game is very quick and requires a good level of fitness to withstand the pace. However, in a bid to improve their knowledge of the game, and with the sole goal of having fun, the indoor 2nd team took up the challenge. They battled hard and even did some midweek training to boost their skills and rules experience. All the hard work paid off, they began to score some goals and gave some of their stronger oppositions a more difficult challenge than they would have anticipated. They ended their indoor season on a high with a win and are already looking forward to this year's indoor league. At the other end of the table the 1st team finished runners up in the League by the narrowest of margins. They lost one game in the League, the score was 4-3 against them and the opposition scored that all-important, fourth goal with 19 minutes and 45 seconds on the clock! The games last 20 minutes each way and each team has 6 players on court at any one time. Unfortunately, the Grammar team had had to play 35 of those minutes with the same 6 players on the court, as two of the squad were injured and unable to continue to play. The opposition had managed to use all of their rolling substitutes to good effect, and won the game. The 1st team were still fairly pleased with the overall result, but hope to go one better next year. Then the outdoor games commenced again at the start of 2003, and what a set of results there were! Both teams got back into the swing of things with a couple of good wins. Suddenly, the 2nd X1 found themselves in the middle of the 2nd Division and 69
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
before they knew it the season was drawing to a close. With the right results, they realised they could earn themselves a promotion place. As time went by they recorded a great run of victories and with one game to go (against their nearest rivals — doesn't it always end up like that919/ 7) the league title was theirs for the taking! In a true top of the table clash, both sides brought along a lot of supporters to the match. A win or a draw for the Grammar girls would give them the title, while a win for the opposition (Granite City Wanderers 2nd XI) would see them take the title. The match was played at Inverurie on a fairly typical cool day, but no-one was interested in the weather! Both teams put on an excellent show and early in the second half the Grammar girls finally got the goal which had looked so likely in the first half They then played out the last twenty minutes fairly comfortably and almost scored another goal on a couple of occasions. The 1-0 win was fully deserved and the celebrations after the match continued well into the early hours of the next day! In Division One the 1st Xl had also pulled together a string of excellent results and were catching up on the outstanding matches from the first half of the season. On the same day that the 2nds won their title the 1st Xl gained crucial ground on their nearest rivals for the Championship as their rivals dropped some points. The rivals had been expected to set a fairly high total number of points and finish their games a couple of weeks ahead of the Grammar I sts but this lapse in their concentration made the Grammar girls' task slightly easier. In the final run of games we needed only 4 points from a possible 9 to clinch the title and — they did it'll!!! They even had a game in hand at the end! The title was fully deserved, a great tribute to all those who have put in so much hard work over the year. The 1st Xi's traditionally excellent Scottish District Cup run was halted early this year (at the quarter final stage) when the girls were beaten (for only the second time in the whole season) 1-0 (a penalty). The team on the day was missing six of the regular eleven so the stand-in team really acquitted themselves very well. The 2nd team enjoyed their Cup run and got the chance to get some of the younger members of the Section blooded in the competition. Earlier in the season the Section won the North District 7-aside tournament for the second season running. Now to the most important part of this report, the Section's thanks to those people who have supported the girls through this season. Richard Wallis, once again, receives the Section's main vote of thanks for umpiring nearly all of the matches for the 1st Xl. His tireless efforts and expert knowledge of the game are second to none, and the Section cannot ever thank him enough for his time. Thanks also go to Scott Forsyth who has coached the girls' squads this season. His own hockey and work commitments make it difficult for him to be in attendance every week, but the Section is very grateful for his work. This season's supporters have also been tremendous and the girls have been delighted to reward them with trophies for the cabinet this year The Section also thanks Carl Celedin, Rob Bruce, James Williams, Stephen Mair and many others for their help with umpiring this year. The games really cannot go ahead without this support. The girls would also like to thank the Club Centre for all its efforts to continue to encourage our teams to keep coming back for more! Other than two league titles (that's right - two!!) the section's main events were a hockey tour to Dublin, an excellent Mexican evening, another of the famous Casino nights at the Club Centre and finally a Section dinner in June. The return to Dublin (after an absence of seven years) was just as good as everyone had hoped it would be. Some hockey was played, but the focus for the weekend was on fun, fun and more fun. The Kabadi (strange Eastern game like team sumo wrestling) was a highlight on the Monday, when some of us expended more energy than on the hockey pitch — apparently the Scottish Kabadi squad are looking for new members! Most of the other highlights are difficult to describe before the watershed! Trying to change names to protect the innocent was considered, but at the end of the day there were so few innocents that it wouldn't be worth it!
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Former Pupils' Club Section As for the main social evenings of the year, they all went very well and there is no doubt the fact that an emergency was called on the supplies of gin at the Casino Night will amuse many for years to come! The Dinner was also a success, and it is hoped that other sports sections might join the Hockey Section at the event in years to come. Finally, the players are also due a vote of thanks for all their hard work over the year. With the Section at its largest ever, it is delighted to announce the launch of a 3rd Xl. This team will, hopefully, allow some of our younger members to play senior hockey more regularly. The Section is running this side as part of its overall development plan which we hope will tie in nicely with the redevelopment of Rubislaw Playing Field. All in all, a thoroughly satisfying season and one which will be very tough to beat next year — but as we are sure you all know by now.....we will certainly try to do so!!! As always, new members are very welcome — even if you have not played for years or have never played hockey before — for further information please contact: Emma Mair Lindsay Geddes Lucy Mitchell
01224 313386 01224 583773 01224 319359
Secretary Treasurer President
Annual Dinner The Annual Dinner, attended by around 150 members and guests, was held at the Queen's Hotel, Aberdeen on the evening of Friday 25 October 2002 with President Dr Douglas Fowlie in the chair. As has become the custom (isn't it amazing how quickly customs become established?) those of the Club's Honorary Vice-Presidents who were among the company entered as a group, to polite applause, to take their places ahead of the entry of the President and top table guests. These included representatives of other local FP Clubs and Associations. Also present, as a guest of the Club, was the Headmaster of Robert Gordon's College. As has also become a standard and very acceptable practice, the School was represented not only by the Rector but also by the Head Boy and I lead Girl. The hotel staff excelled themselves once again by providing a splendid meal, which was served by courteous and efficient staff. The principal toast, to the School and the Club, was proposed by the Rector in a role reversal justified by his position as Honorary President of the Club. The Head Boy and Head Girl replied on behalf of the School, giving interesting insights into its working in the present day from their perspective. The President replied on behalf of the Club. A new development this year was the introduction of a musical interlude contributed by the Deveron String Quartet, included in whose ranks is the President's wife, Midge. They entertained the company with a selection of classical pieces which were well received. It is believed that this was a 'one-off change in the evening's format, but it is refreshing to know that the committee which organises the Dinner is not afraid to try new approaches rather than cling rigidly to what has been the pattern in the past. Thereafter the President proposed a toast to the Guests, on whose behalf Dr Tom Reid, a Gordonian bacteriologist, replied in humourous vein to the great delight of the company. The organisation of this Dinner was a 'first' for Lucy Mitchell, who made an excellent job of what is not an easy task, thus ensuring that she is charged with doing it all again, and again - many times, we hope. The party spirit evident throughout the evening continued for as long as permissible after people rose from the table, a sure sign of a successful and most enjoyable evening. As mentioned elsewhere in this Magazine, there will not be a Dinner during the calendar year 2003 due to a change in time-tabling, and the next Dinner will be held in the Queen's Hotel on Friday 5 March 2004. It is hoped that some Class Re-unions may be arranged around that week-end, adding another dimension to the occasion.
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The following FPs attended the Dinner (in order of entering School): J.R.S. Innes (1923-35), J.C. Sellar (1924-34), B.D.D. Emslie (1929-35), S.L.Henderson (1932-38), A. Stuart (1932-45), A.J.K. Monro (1933-46), B.K. Crookshanks (1934-46), J.A. McGregor (1935-41), J.P. Grant (1936-45), W. Wood (1937-48), W.D. Brooker (193850), S.A.C.Robertson (1939-51), J.W.Cradock (1940-46), D.Kelly (1940-49), I.R. McDonald (1940-52), H.B. Paterson (1941-50), J.M. Jeffrey (1942-57), W.W. Wolkoff (1942-51), W.B. Brown (1943-57), A.E. Philip (1943-56), A.K.Campbell (1944-53), D.B. Galloway (1944-58), E. Grieve (1944-50, D.R. Harper (1944-58), D. Jack (194450), J.C.A. Michie (1944-58), R.F. Tyson (1944-49), W.M. Murray (1945-54), W.A. Steele (1945-51), C.A. Michie (1946-60), L.J.C. Rennie (1946-53), J.B. Davidson (194760), M.W.R. Gauld (1947-61), R.S. Rilley (1947-55), M.L. Wolkoff (1947-59), R.W. Grant (1948-61), D. Maxwell (1948-52) H.A.B. Will (1948-62), M.S. Webster (194957), D.G. Fowlie (1950-64), A.D. Milne (1950-58), S.J.C. Esson (1951-64), J.F. Hendry (1951-65), I.H. McLeod (1951-55), M. Colvin (1951-65), W.R. Hutcheon (1953-58), J.C. Lyon (1953-59), J.H. Gauld (1956-62), K.G. Jones (1957-66), M.A. Batchelor (1959-65), A.G. Campbell (1959-65), N.K.B. Edwards (1959-64), M.C. Hastie (195963), W. Barlow (1960-72), N. Garden (1960-66), D.W. Inkson (1960-66), M.C. Hastie (1961-64), J. Main (1961-63), K.C. Carter (1962-68), I.S. Hopkin (1962-68), W.R. Hutcheson (1962-68), S. Nicol (1962-71), N.G.M. Watt (1963-69), P.M. Robertson (1967-73), D.G. Moir (1969-75), AJ. Thompson (1969-75), D.A. Harley (1974-80), I. Taylor (1974-80), G.K. Crookshanks (1979-85), D.M. Watson (1979-85), H.C. Wallis (1981-87), T.J. Rolfe (1982-86), W.A. Bradford (1984-90), D. Harris (1985-91), E.A. Mair (1985-91), L. Mitchell (1985-90), G M, Inkson (1986-92), M. Wisely (1988-94), S. Johnson (1990-96), L. Morrison (1997-02) and K. Riach (1997-02). In addition to the Rector, W.J. Johnston, former Staff members A.L. McCombie, R. McLeod, and I.T. Stephen were present
F.P. Club Membership Subscription Rates !He Membership: New Life Members: £100 plus a £15 "Top up" every 5 years, the first "Top up" being pay-able 5 years after Life Membership is taken out. £15 "Top up" every 5 years Existing Life members: Annual Membership: Ordinary Members: fl 1 (or £10 if paid by Standing Order) Junior Members: £6 (or £5 if paid by Standing Order) — applies to Members under 23 years of age on 1 January) £5 (covering remainder of year of leaving plus 1 year) School Leavers: School Leavers — (Extended): £20 (covering remainder of year of leaving plus 5 years) Special Note for Members over 75: Life Members aged 75 and over do not have to make any "Top up" Payments. Ordinary Members aged 75 and over are not required to pay any Annual Subscriptions, but will become "Long Service" Members of the Club. Payment of Subscriptions: Subscriptions should be sent to the Membership Secretary, Mrs Whilma Jeffrey, The Willows, Dalmuinzie Road, Bieldside, Aberdeen AB15 9EB. Mrs Jeffrey will also deal with queries, changes of address etc. Fax: 01224 — 862020 Email: martinjeffrey@btintemet corn 72
Former Pupils 'Club Section
New Members of the Club - 1 July 2002 to June 2003 Life Members 1968-71 1948-62
Malcolm Copland Mike Mitchell
Tom Paton Cameron Weir
1953-60 1942-57
Annual Members 1981-87 I 982-88 1950-60 1983-89 1961-67 1961-67
Mark Anderson Malcolm Atkinson Robin F. Cook Martin Coulter Bruce D. Gardner Mike Inglis
Dermott Keith Ian Macdonald Charles Mulvey Stephen A. Pacitti Malcolm Ritchie Alasdair Rutherford
1979-85 1943-45 1945-59 1947-56 1982-85 1990-96
School Leavers, 2003 Chris Booth Christopher Barnett Chris Boddy Jade Boulter Graham Cox Jemma Craig Fiona Duncan Rachael Duthie Nicholas Edwards Gary Elliott Matthew Eyre Clare Findlay Aidan Flannigan Sandy Hamilton John Henn Amy Home Sheila Howitt Daniel Law Catherine McDougall
1999-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03
Rhys Millington Chris Milton Lucie Morrison Ross Ovenstone Hugo Pillath Andrew Pringle Sarah Proctor Michael Repper Jill Robertson Alastair Rushworth Colin Shaw Megan Sim Rona Simpson Callum Sinclair Natalie Strachan Fiona Wark Andrew Wilson Billy Wong Laura Wood
1998- 03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03 1997-03
Long Service Members It was at about this time three years ago that the Executive Committee took the decision to introduce a special category of membership for all members who had reached the age of 75. All of these have been Club members for very many years — often for fifty years or more, and the Committee wished to recognise the quite outstanding interest, loyalty and support for the Club shown by all who had reached this major milestone in their lives The new category of Membership, known as Long Service Membership, applies to both Annual and Life Members. It means that once a member becomes a Long Service Member they remain as members, but without any requirement to make further payments to the Club for Subscriptions or "Top ups". As it happens, many such members do continue to support the Club financially, and all such contributions arc treated as Donations and credited to the Club's Second Century Fund. The Club is blessed with a quite remarkable band of elder statesmen. As at the beginning of this year we had no less than 155 Members who had reached the age of 75 73
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine in 2002 or earlier — 135 Life Members, 16 Annual Members and 4 former Staff members — a quite astonishing number. It is also interesting to note that the above band is matched fairly closely by the 141 Members who are currently under the age of 25, giving the Club a reasonable balance between both ends of the age scale! Included m the list of Long Service Members is a further very special group — our amazing "Nonagenarians". Today, we have no less than 6 Members over the age of 90: 1921 - 24 26 May, 1907 Cohn Jackson 1923 - 26 9 November, 1909 George Barton 2ISeptember, 1912 1919 - 31 Alfred Raffan 13 October, 1912 Norman Clark 1919 - 29 1921 - 31 26 April, 1913 Norman Beanie 4 June, 1913 George Rickart 1923 - 30 During 2003, a further 15 to 20 members will reach the age of 75, and will be designated Long Service Members at the beginning of 2004. Martin .leffrey Chairman Annual Members William Connon Eric Cruickshank Gordon Dawson William Farquhar Fred Gardiner Gordon Hendry Douglas Jamison Bill Johnston
Duncan Laing Peter MacPhee John Masson Fraser McLuskey Mark Nicol Peter Rennie Eric Rogers James Russell
1928-40 1926-31 1921-34 1938-42 1937-44 1927-39 1922-34 1940-44
1931-43 1929-41 1937-43 1920-31 1933-44 1938-43 1940-43 1932-37
Life Members Michael Aggett Quintin Aitken Eric Alexander Frank Alexander Martin Allan Spence Alsop George Anderson Sandy Anton Robin Armstrong Bob Bain George Barton Norman Beattie David Bishop Kerr Borthwick Nelson Bowman Stuart Boyd Ian Brown Roy Brown Morr Brown Bob Carswell Harry Christie Norman Clark Peter Cooper David Cowie Joseph Craig Sydney Cruden
1930-42 1939-45 1935-43 1935-42 1930-36 1930-40 1930-42 1932-40 1934-41 1929-41 1923-26 1921-31 1928-38 1933-42 1931-43 1927-40 1930-42 1932-43 1932-46 1933-43 1938-44 1919-29 1938-44 1942-44 1926-39 1939-45
Robert Lindsay Gordon Lindsay Douglas Lobban James Mackay Harry Macpherson William Malcolm George Mathieson James Matheson Herdman McDougall Jimmy McGregor Wilson McIntosh Harry McLaren Eric Meldrum Peter Millar Lawrence Milne Alec Murray Alastair Mutch James Nairn Norman Nicol Douglas Patterson Douglas Patterson Harold Pearson Don Pennie Ellis Philip Alistair Phillips Ian Phillips 74
1933-39 1931-39 1922-34 1919-32 1938-44 1924-26 1928-32 1939-45 1921-34 1935-44 1932-45 1929-40 1929-41 1933-44 1939-43 1928-39 1935-41 1929-38 1925-39 1928-36 1926-38 1927-36 1928-37 1937-43 1938-42 1936-42
Former Pupils' Club Section James Davidson Ian Duguid Gordon Elmslie Grant Elmslie Basil Emslie Joe Farquharson George Fearby Dudley Fiddes Graham Findlay James Finlayson James Finnie Sandy Fox Fraser Gauki Harry Golding Malcolm Grant Charles Grant Douglas Grassick Peter Gray Trevor Gray John Gray Jim Guy George Hadden Hamishilenderson Steve Henderson James Hendry Ken Hogg Tom Hutchison Alan Hutchison James Inns Donny Innes Neil Irvine Ernest Jack Colin Jackson Sydney Jackson John Jamieson Leslie Johnston Norman Jones Forbes Kemp Gordon Laing John Laird William Lawrence
Alfred Raffan Harry Reid Douglas Reith George Rickart Glen Robbie Alastair Robertson Clifford Robertson Eric Sangster Collie Sellar Michael Shewan Robin Simmers George Skakle Rowand Skinner Luther Smith Erik Smith George Smith Sandy Speirs George Stephen Clyne Stewart Charles Stobie Sandy Stuart Douglas Stuart Alastair Tawse Andrew Taylor Ian Taylor Sandy Thomson Gerald Townshend Norman Walker Lumsden Walker Arthur Wallace John Warrack George Warrack Eddie Watson Donald Watt Harold Watt Ian Watt Jim Watt John Whyte Hugh Willox Norman Wishart
1926-33 1938-43 1933-43 1932-45 1929-35 1929-43 1936-45 1936-43 1940-43 1933-37 1934-41 1925-37
1938-44 1926-37
1941-43 1925-38 1930-33 1928-40 1921-32 1925-35 1924-36 1925-37 1932-40 1932-38 1928-39 1929-41 1920-31 1923-35 1932-39 1923-35 1928-34 1930-38 1921-24 1924-35 1930-35 1932-45 1928-40 1928-39 1931-43 1928-40 1940-43
Former Staff Members
Ian Stephen
Robert McNay Ronald McLeod
James Morrison
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1919-31 1922-34 1924-35 1923-30 1930-41 1930-40 1936-42 1927-39 1924-34 1933-43 1925-34 1927-39 1935-39 1928-40 1926-38 1942-45 1926-38 1936-42 1931-41 1924-27 1932-45 1929-43 1930-43 1929-35 1933-40 1930-41 1941-45 1930-40 1926-36 1937-42 1939-42 1924-37 1937-43 1931-43 1926-38 1931-43 1927-39 1931-41 1925-35 1927-40
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
NOTES about
FORMER PUPILS Honours and Awards Honorary Degrees At ►he Summer Graduation Ceremony held by Aberdeen University in July 2002 Honorary degrees were conferred on two Former Pupils, each of whom has distinguished himself in his particular sphere of professional life. The degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) was conferred on John Philip Grant (193745) BL, CA. In presenting him, Steve Cannon, Secretary to the University, said:"The University of Aberdeen has some 12,000 students, nearly 3,000 staff and an annual turnover approaching f135,000,000. The man who has been charged with ensuring the financial health of this multi-million pound business is the man we honour today. "John Grant was born in 1932 and is a son of Aberdeen. He attended the University of Aberdeen in 1949 and graduated in 1953 as a Bachelor of Law and, after two years of post-graduate study, qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1955. On his return from National Service he joined the family firm of Flockhart & Grant. Throughout an enormously successful career John steered the firm through several alliances and mergers, latterly with the accounting giant Ernst & Young. In his later years with the company John was a highly successful insolvency practitioner — practical training for his future role in the public sector! "John's professional connection with this University dates back to 1960 when he became a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Law. It is, however, in his role as a Court member and as Chairman of the Audit Committee that we wish to honour him. John was invited to join the Audit Committee in 1989 and was co-opted to the University Court in 1990. Since that time he has made a substantial and innovative contribution to the sound financial and general management and governance of the University, primarily in his role as Convener of the University's Audit Committee. His extensive financial and legal expertise has driven wisely the onerous and painstaking work of the Committee. With his support and encouragement, the development of sound control systems, financial stability, value for money reviews, and sound governance practice and procedures have held the University in excellent stead. Vice-Chancellor, John Grant has made an outstanding contribution to the development of this University — he has given freely, willingly and always highly constructively to his alma mater throughout his long career. "Outside his family and his profession John's true love is golf — he represented his University, played for many years off scratch, and his 63 at Royal Aberdeen in 1960 has never been bettered. In 1967 he was invited to become a member of the Royal and Ancient and in 1972 was invited to join the Championship Committee. Although his playing days are sadly behind him, he retains membership of no less than five golf clubs! "John's commitment to public service is outstanding. He is a member of many Trusts and chairs the John Gordon Fund, a major Aberdeen trust dispensing funds in this city for young people, education and the relief of poverty. He is a member of Aberdeen Civic Trust. "The University of Aberdeen, the City of Aberdeen and the game of golf owe an enormous debt of gratitude to John Grant. For its part, the University, in awarding him this honorary degree, has gone some way to settling its account and balancing the books — and a balanced book has always been dear to John's heart." 76
Former Pupils' Club Section The degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) was conferred on John Garvie Robertson Howie (1942-51) CBE, MB.ChB, MD, PhD. In presenting him, Professor Ritchie said:"We celebrate today the distinction of an internationally recognised academic general practitioner whose name is synonymous with the advancement of scientific rigour in the discipline of general practice. "John Howie was born in Glasgow in 1937, and shortly afterwards had the good fortune to move to Aberdeen when his father, Sir James Howie, was appointed as Director of Pathology at the Rowett Research Institute. John spent the majority of his formative school years at Aberdeen and, like his brother, attended the Grammar School — but unlike their dad who had previously taken the precaution of having his own schooling at Robert Gordon's College. "In due course, John studied medicine at Glasgow, graduating in 1961. His postgraduate studies led to his first doctorate, a MD — in which he addressed why and what happened when surgeons took out the human appendix. He soon discovered that surgeons did not always do what they taught — and that the traditional language of medicine did not provide an adequate explanation for this. "In 1970, John returned to Aberdeen and joined the University Department of General Practice. Just as he had observed earlier with surgeons, his landmark research demonstrated that patient care in general practice is influenced by a host of factors over and above clinical signs and symptoms. In quick succession, he completed his second doctorate — a PhD — and published his definitive first book: Research in General Practice, which has influenced a whole generation of primary care researchers. "Appointed to the Chair of General Practice at the University of Edinburgh in 1980, he began to explore the relationship of stress with the work of general practitioners and the quality of caring within the doctor-patient consultation. He found that the longer the consultation time, the better the outcome for both patient and doctor. This research has had a profound impact on clinical practice. Before John Howie's work began, five minute GP appointments in the UK were commonplace - now ten minute appointments are regarded as the minimum acceptable standard for quality care. "Over the years John has made many invaluable contributions to a number of national committees in the fields of prescribing, education and research policy — including the Howie Report on community research in Scotland. Perhaps his most enduring and unsung achievement has been his successful pursuit of additional resources to support the community teaching of medical students. In the last ten years communitybased medical teaching has increased over five-fold in the UK — much of the credit for negotiating the resourcing of this belongs to John Howie. "Numerous international invitations have followed on and John has personally influenced the development of family medicine and primary care in a long list of countries throughout the world. "There are other sides to John Howie's achievements — he is known for his sporting prowess, including cricket and golf. He also has been found at the occasional rugby match — indeed, he admits to being the touch-judge at the Scotland —v- Wales International in 1963, which Bill McLaren memorably described as the worst international he ever commentated on. "Throughout his career, John has continued to pursue the core values of good general practice — their definition, measurement and delivery. In all of this, the support received from his wife Margot and three children emphasises the importance of a loving partner, caring family and loyal friends. "John Howie's distinction has been recognised in many ways, including appointment as CBE in 1996. We honour it again today with a third doctorate, a third of a century after his father was similarly recognised by the University of Aberdeen in 1969."
George Gordon Allan (1939-51) has recently published his seventh book, First and Last Editions, (Alpha Press, Brighton; illustrated; £7.95) his exploration of nearly one hundred 77
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine of England's provincial second-hand bookshops from Northumberland to the Isles of Scilly. His other books include three on bowls, one on rugby union and one on his Fleet Street career. Apart from eighteen months in Edinburgh, he has worked in London since 1960, and now lives in Carshalton, Surrey. Lesley Anderson (1985-91) qualified as a chartered accountant in 1998, having trained with Deloitte & Touche in Aberdeen. She then joined the staff of Skene & Co and has played a part in the firm's expansion. She has recently been appointed as a partner. Christopher John Moloch (1960-73) BSc has recently retired after twenty-four years as a member of the Forensic Science department of Grampian Police. Living in Stonehaven, he devotes his spare time to sailing and is a crew member of the Stonehaven life-boat. His brother Jonathan Alfred Anstock (1955-68) has lived in Australia since 1973, and for most of the time has been in teaching, presently at a Rudolf Steiner school just north of Sydney. Dugald Fuan Baird (1942-54) MA, DSc has recently been appointed to membership of a new International Advisory Board charged with advising Scottish Enterprise in regard to its economic development efforts. He is chairman, president and chief executive of Schlumberger. Last year he led a £3.6 billion takeover of information technology group Sema which led to the formation of SchlumbergerSema, an IT company providing services to the oil and gas, telecommunications, energy and utilities, finance, transport and public sector markets. Ile holds a number of non-executive directorships, has been a trustee of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and of the Haven Management Trust. He has been a member of the Prime Minister's Council of Science and Technology since 2000. Martyn Aubrey Batchelor (1959-65) MA, MLI, MILA retired in June from his post as Land Renewal Manager with South Tyneside Council after a total of twenty-nine years with that local authority. Despite the note in last year's Magazine (based on an entry in the 1965 Re-union biographies) Martyn has been in this post since 1993. He previously worked for the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne as a landscape architect after completing a post-graduate Diploma in Landscape Design at Newcastle University in 1971. He hopes now to be able to spend more time north of the border pursuing his interests in landscape photography and hill-walking. Fiona Elizabeth Bennett (1982-88), an All Round Trophy winner in 1988, graduated from Edinburgh University in 1993, after which she served as an ordained minister for the Lanarkshire Circuit of the Methodist Church, based at Wishaw. In 2001 she was appointed Associate Minister of the Church of Scotland charge at St George's West, Edinburgh. She is married to Peter Moir and has two young daughters. She retains her maiden name. William James Leslie Buyers (1941-55) BSc, PhD, FRSC has been awarded the CAP Gold Medal, the premier award of the Canadian Association of Physicists, in recognition of his development of neutron scattering techniques for the study of magnetic phenomena in metals and insulators, and for his work as a leader in the Canadian neutron scattering community. He has been Secretary of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada since 2001. After completing his degrees at Aberdeen University he went to Canada as a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow, working at Chalk River Laboratories. He later took up a post as a scientist with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., where he focused on the field of condensed matter physics. Cohn David Campbell (1961-74), as managing director of Langstane Press in Aberdeen, heads a successful family enterprise. Established as a one-man printing business in 1922, 78
Former Pupils' Club Section it has now developed into a company with three divisions — printing, office furniture and office products. The firm recently won a European Office Products award for investing in people and last year received an award for excellence from the British Office Supplies & Stationery Federation. He has just retired from the Presidency of the City of Aberdeen Rotary Club.
Hugh Sinclair Clark (1951-65) reports that he is still all at sea, captain of the motor yacht 'Sarah' and sailing the world's oceans. A grandfather and 'born again hiker', when not sailing the warmer seas he is exiled near Devizes in central Southern England. Kyk Coetzer (1996-2002), who is learning his craft as a cricketer the academy run by English county side Durham, was selected to play for Scotland in the one day cricket international friendly against Pakistan in Glasgow in June. His cricketing prowess led to his sharing the Phil Love Trophy at School last year. Robin Finlayson Cook (1950-60) MP resigned from his post as Leader of the House of Commons earlier this year in a principled protest against the Government's plans for war with Iraq. He had previously been Foreign Secretary since Labour's return to power in 1977. He has been Member of Parliament for Livingston since 1983. Dermot Ashley Craig (1974-77) who is a fishmonger in Aberdeen, has emerged as the winner of a crystal rose-bowl and certificate of merit from the National Federation of Fishmongers at their annual oyster and fish fair in London. He entered six categories at the fair, but his collage of mixed fish was the winner. Among the items at his disposal, with just fifteen minutes to arrange the display, were flats, John Dory, conger eel, hake, dogfish and squid. He is the first Scot to win an award at this event.
Jeremy Wynne Creswell (1962-65) has been appointed by Aberdeen Journals as editor of the Offshore Journal, a monthly publication in association with the Press & Journal newspaper. He covered the energy sector for the newspaper for eleven years until 2000, and is widely respected in the oil and gas industries. He is the chairman of the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group.
Gregor Euan Deans (1984-90), whose marriage is reported elsewhere in this Magccine, is working as a senior engineer with Schlumberger in Houston, Texas.
William Gordon Downs (1950-63) was appointed general manager of North Wales Golf Club at Llandudno in October last year, having immediately prior to that been secretary and manager of Denbigh Golf Club. He assures any visiting FPs of a warm welcome. Ruth Ellen Dukes (1989-95) LL.B, LL.M, an All Round Trophy winner in 1995, graduated from Edinburgh University in 1999 and obtained her Master's degree from Humboldt University, Berlin last year. She is now working on a Ph.D in Labour Law at the London School of Economics where she is to take up a teaching post this autumn.
Lennox Robert Dunbar (1964-69) recently held an exhibition of his works at the Foyer Restaurant and Gallery in Aberdeen. Currently head of printmaking at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, he has exhibited throughout the UK, Europe and the United States. He has also won numerous awards for his work, including the International Print Biennale in Bulgaria. He commented that the recent exhibition represented a series of paintings constructed from his experiences, the visual work reflecting aspects of what he was doing at the time. As well as lecturing at Gray's, he is visiting tutor at the Santa Fe Printmaking Centre in New Mexico.
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Graeme Dunphy (1975-79) continues to teach at the University of Regensburg and is pursuing his research on Mediaeval German studies. Two more books are due out in the next year. He reports that the family now has a website where old friends can see what they look like now and keep in touch. The site is www.duanhv.de Monique Marie Flecher (1982-88) and her older sister Michelle Gabrielle Herd (née Flecher) (1977-82) plan to walk the Great Wall of China over ten days in May next year in aid of cancer research. They are busy fund-raising towards the £3000 per head cost of the expedition. Stewart 'tarnish Fowlie (1990-96) has just completed a year as Sports Union President at Edinburgh University He has been coaching and playing football. Christine A. Fraser (1988-94), an All Round Trophy winner in 1994, went on to study product design engineering at Glasgow University/Glasgow School of Art, and graduated as top of her class in 1999, gaining her MEng degree with first class honours. As a result of winning, among others, the RSA Student Design Award for engineering design she was offered a job at the Technology Partnership, near Cambridge, where she has worked for two and a half years on the design of new products. This summer she has undertaken two voluntary projects, first on a game reserve in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and then community-based work in Malawi. In August she moves to Australia where she is to seek professional work Bruce Knight Gardner (1961-67) MA, BD, PhD was recently inducted to the charge of Banchory Devenick and Maryculter-Cookney. Teacher training at Jordanhill College was followed by teaching in the Glasgow area, in the North-cast and at Oldmachar Academy, Aberdeen, where he was principal teacher of English. In 1984 he made a career change, and obtained an honours degree in Divinity and later a Ph.D in Hebrew Bible Studies at Aberdeen University. He has served in parish ministry in Aberdeenshire and the Western Isles, with spells of missionary service in Peru and Sri Lanka. His academic studies led him to write a book on Biblical calendars, The Genesis Calendar (University Press of America, 2001), in which he has caused a stir by interpreting the strange genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 (with their exaggerated ages, such as Methuselah's 969 years) as really concealed priestly calendars used to control the Temple under the noses of the religious enemies of the Jews. Similar calendars have been found, too, in a different form among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Bruce has been a Teaching Fellow in Hebrew Bible in the Divinity department of Aberdeen University and, prior to his recent induction, was for two years a research fellow there. James Hendry Gauld (1956-62) BSc was one of twenty staff members of the Macaulay Institute of Soil Research in Aberdeen who were recently presented with certificates in recognition of their long service. Jim, who is head of soil survey and evaluation, has been with the Institute for thirty-three years. Lesley Jane George (ate Meldrum) ( 1977-83) after thirteen years in London, where she worked in the management of educational-travel programmes, is presently taking a career break and accompanying her husband, Steve, on an assignment in Brazil along with their fifteen-month-old daughter. Catriona. Susannah Gilmour (1984-90) has recently had her second book published. Holding out or Giving in? is described as a quirky romantic comedy which explores the nature of relationships and choice Susie spent three months in Kenya researching the book and teaching creative writing. Her first novel, Love Stuck, was published in 2001.
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Former Pupils' Club Section Susan Tennant Grant (1988-94), who is education co-ordinator with Peacock Visual Arts in Aberdeen, has recently been involved with the Citadel Project, a collaboration between Peacock and the Workers' Education Reach Out group. This has allowed five local adult learners to research the history of the Castlegate area of the city and the Salvation Army Citadel which is presently on the market. The group's research has utilised photography, digital imagery, archives and the memories of people living and working in the area. An exhibition of their work was mounted at Peacock's premises and a limited edition book was produced.
Nicholas R Hall (1987-93) BSc, a winner of the All Round Trophy in 1993, graduated in Computing Science from Edinburgh University and is working in information technology at the US Investment Bank in London. He lives in St Albans. Gordon Harold (1977-83), after a career in hotel management which has taken him to various parts of the country, is now the proprietor of the Victoria Restaurant in Aberdeen
Scott Henderson (1964-70) BSc, MBCS after several years as a senior systems designer and later as a technical support programmer with Grampian Health Board spent nine years with BP Exploration in various roles in IT, but latterly as head of the company's Logistics Centre of Expertise. After some years as a project manager and then as a senior consultant in the same field, he is presently Regional Manager (Scotland) with iSOFT, a company which provides software to the Health market His team maintains all of NHS Grampian's computing infrastructure. He won the All Round Trophy in 1970.
Robert Bruce Macneil Howie (1972-78) LL.B, who was called to the Scottish Bar in 1983, has had the rank and dignity of Queen's Counsel conferred upon him.
Steven Alexander Jack (1979-85), whose marriage is reported elsewhere in this Magazine, is now working in London as an aircraft broker. This involves sourcing and chartering private jets around the world for a broad client base of VIPs, Governments and media personalities.
David Johnson (1960-66) is now a Divisional Director with the Mott MacDonald Group, one of the world's leading engineering consultancies, and is seconded to Network Rail in Mil►on Keynes as head of Commercial and Finance on a fifty-mile stretch of the West Coast Route Modernisation project. After qualifying as a chartered surveyor in 1971 he worked in the Aberdeen area for several years and was involved in major construction projects such as Police Headquarters in Queen Street, the Town House extension, most of the high-rise local authority housing, the Music Hall, His Majesty's Theatre and the Royal Infirmary. In 1992, having become one of the two Scottish partners in Franklin Andrews, quantity surveyors, he moved to civil engineering and the oil and gas sector as well as buildings, on projects throughout Scotland. In 1998 he moved to their Singapore office and worked on projects mainly in Singapore but also in Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. Last year he returned to London and was involved in the integration of Franklin Andrews with Mott MacDonald. In a note to the Editor, David remarks that he has only had one employer over the 37 years since he left School — it is only because of mergers the name has kept changing; his payslip still lists his start date as 5 September 1966 Donald Alexander Lamont (1951-65) MA takes up his new post as HM Ambassador to Venezuela in August, having earlier in the year completed his tour as Governor of the Falkland Islands Philip Noel Love (1952-58) CBE, DL, MA, LL.B, LL.D retired in the summer of 2002 after ten years as Principal of Liverpool University. Already honoured with doctorates of laws 81
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine from Aberdeen and Abertay, he was similarly honoured by Liverpool University on his retirement. He was later awarded a Fellowship by John Moores University, Liverpool. He is now resident in Formby, Merseyside. Barry James McClashan (1986-92), who is now a lecturer at Gray's School of Art, part of Robert Gordon University, was recently winner of second prize in the Shell Award category of Aberdeen Artists' Exhibition. Damien Martin McLeod (1969-73) MA has graduated from Robert Gordon University with an MSc in e-business, one of the first students to graduate from the University's Virtual Campus. He undertook this course after realising the potential of business on-line when he set up and operated a Scottish gift web-site for one of the first UK companies to trade on-line. Damien has been involved in broadcasting for over twenty years and now hosts a Sunday night show on Northsound 2, in addition to lecturing at Aberdeen College. Martin James Main (1983-89), whose marriage is reported elsewhere in this Magazine, after obtaining a degree in engineering at Aberdeen and completing post-graduate study at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, worked with Flalliburton Ltd in Newfoundland. He is now in Perth, Western Australia, working for a company concerned with international risk management. Duncan Law Murray (1964-71), who is a partner in the Edinburgh law firm of Morton Fraser, has been elected Vice-president of the Law Society of Scotland. He has been a member of the Council of the Society since 1999 and has been a member of its Parliamentary Liaison, Insurance and Client Care committees. David Romer Paton (1941-43) OBE, OSIJ, FRICS, FSA(Seot) has recently been elected president of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. A chartered surveyor by profession, he is heavily involved in a wide range of business, community and charitable organisations. He is spearheading Macmillan Cancer Care's biggest appeal, for the new Roxburgh House palliative care centre in Aberdeen He has also been appointed chairman of Aberdeen Foyer which addresses issues of youth homelessness and unemployment in the area by providing supported accommodation and employment opportunities. Murray George Horsley Pittock (1973-78) MA, who has held a professorship at Strathclyde University, is moving this summer to take up a chair in Scottish and Romantic Literature at the University of Manchester. This is the first chair in Scottish literature awarded at an English University John Stewart Raitt (1944-57) BSc is now retired and living in Perth, Western Australia. After graduating from Aberdeen University he left for Australia where he worked as a geologist with the Bureau of Mineral Resources. In 1966 he joined Conoco and travelled extensively — the Mediterranean countries, Equatorial Africa, Egypt, the United States — before moving back to Perth. In 1981 he set up his own consultancy business which he ran until head-hunted as managing director of Tri-Central Oil based in London, where he lived for a time. In 1988 he formed his own company, Seafield Resources, which was successful enough to be floated on the Stock Exchange three years later. The company was sold in 1996 and he returned to Perth where he spends most of the year playing golf and the rest catching up with his four children and seven grandchildren in various parts of the Western world including, most notably, Braemar. Earlier this year John had a visit from an old friend, Stephen A.C. Robertson, to whom the Editor is very• grateful for this update. John's two brothers are also FPs — W. Lindsay Raitt (1938-40, 1944-51) BSc and David Gordon Raitt (1950-63) MBChB.
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Former Pupils 'Club Section Campbell Malcolm Reith (1962-73) CA, joined Simpson Forsyth, chartered accountants in Aberdeen, as senior tax manager in 1998. He has now been appointed as a tax partner with the firm. Previously he had been an Inspector of Taxes with the Inland Revenue and a senior tax manager with an international firm of chartered accountants in Aberdeen. Also with Simpson Forsyth is Lindsay Anne Caldwell née Steele (1977-83). Stephen Andrew Cormack Robertson (1939-51) MBE, MA, LLB, MUniv returned to the stage of HM Theatre in Aberdeen at the beginning of June for a one-night show called simply "Steve at 70". The performance marked Steve's 70th birthday in April (a date which he shares with the Queen) and was in aid of research into cerebral palsy and motor neurone disease — and, not surprisingly, was a `sell-out'. George Stephen (1935-43) has, since 1974, been North Atlantic regional architect for the US National Park Service and is still employed there at the age of 76. On leaving School he enlisted in the Royal Engineers, later being transferred to the Royal Army Education Corps. On leaving the army he studied architecture at Aberdeen and London, before going into private practice in Edinburgh. lie moved to the USA in 1957 to take up a post with the Boston Redevelopment Authority where, in 1965, he became Director of Rehabilitation Dcsign He is the author of many books and publications. The third edition of his highly acclaimed book, New Houses for Old, was published in the UK earlier this year by Dover Publications. Michael Alexander Aggett (1930-42) writes that George's home on the edge of Boston Harbour is a fine example of the design principles which he extols in his book. Neil Stirton (1992-98) graduated from Aberdeen University in July last year with a first class honours degree in Computing Science He has now formed his own company, Ikiji E-Business Solutions, providing electronic solutions for the needs of small to medium businesses. The company tries to help businesses with all their computer and technical needs, whether by creating an online shopping facility, creating a customer database, or simply registering and hosting a company's web site for them For the next year or so he will be running the business from Japan, taking advantage of the technology available. Neil, who has been small-bore shooting internationally since leaving school five years ago, set up his new business so as to have the flexibility to train and attend competitions as and when he desired. He aims for a medal at the next Olympics. Maura Telford Watine (née Grant) (1982-88) continues to work part-time at GCHQ in Chelmsford. Her son, Edward, was born in January 2002. Neil William Watson (1971-77) is managing director of the Aberdeen-based NW Group specialising in e-business, web services, graphic solutions and e-documentation. Leaving Aberdeen College of Commerce in 1979 with a H.N.D. in graphic design, he proceeded to obtain experience of technical illustration and cartography with a number of companies before branching out to set up NW Graphics in 1985. Later, a joint venture with another company saw the establishment of Industrial Publications Services. Having recognised the benefits of remote working NW has now developed its Virtual Office product, with clients in the consumer, construction, leisure and charitable sectors as well as the energy industry. Outside his business interests, Neil is chairman of the Bon Accord Silver Band and secretary of the Scottish Brass Bands Association — he being a euphonium player for over thirty years. John Watt (1958-71) BL took up the post of Procurator Fiscal for Grampian last year. The appointment comes as part of the re-structuring of the Fiscal service following an extensive management review. John started his Fiscal career at Jedburgh in 1976 and was previously in Aberdeen in the early I 980s, later serving in Crown Office and Glasgow. He was Procurator Fiscal at Kilmarnock from 1999. 83
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Malcolm Scott Webster (1949-57) writes to say how delighted he was, as a former winner, to be invited to the unveiling of the All-Round Trophy panels at the School two years ago. Having taken pan in most sporting activities within the school curriculum, at the age of fifty he took up hill-walking, and in 1998 completed the 284 Munros. His interest and training for this (for him) new outdoor pursuit was encouraged by the Cults Hill-walking Club of which he has been chairman for the past eight years. He says that he now has the time to walk on the continent, and he has completed all of the best walks in Grindelwald, Zermatt, Chamonix and the Italian Dolomites. William (Bill) W. Wolkoff (1942-53), whose marriage is reported below, retired on 31 May 2002 from the Toastmaster Division of Salton Inc. as the senior standards engineer, after over twenty-five years with the company. He now lives in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Marriages Addison (1982-87) — At Marycuher House Hotel, Aberdeen on 23 May 2003 Scott Chalmers, son of Mr & Mrs Brian Chalmers, 10 Laurel Braes, Aberdeen to Lucy Anne Addison, daughter of Mr & Mrs Donald Addison, 58 Burns Road, Aberdeen Cormack (1983-89) and Hardie (1985-91) — At Pittodrie House Hotel on 26 April 2003 Geoffrey Beaton Cormack, son of Geoffrey George Cormack (1943-46) and of Mrs Irene Cormack, Aberdeen to Paula Fay Hardie, daughter of Mr & Mrs Gordon Hardie, 15 Harcourt Road, Aberdeen Davidson (1983-89) - At King's College Chapel, Aberdeen on 5 April 2002 Robert James Davidson, younger son of Mr & Mrs Robert Davidson, 13 Cromwell Road, Aberdeen to Morag Isabel, younger daughter of Rev & Mrs Douglas Hutcheon, Glasgow Deans (1984-90) — At Maryculter House Hotel on 28 December 2002 Gregor Euan Deans , younger son of Prof & Mrs Norman Deans, 13 Rubislaw Den North, Aberdeen to Samantha Jane Gibb, elder daughter of Mr & Mrs James Gibb, 3 Princess Terrace, Dyce, Aberdeen Fowlie (1988-94) — in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa on 29 March 2003 Alistair John Fowlie, elder son of Dr Douglas G. Fowlie (1950-64) and of Mrs Fowlie, Banff to Chantall, daughter of Mr & Mrs Desmond Arendse, Western Cape Hay (1979-84) — At St Peter's Church, Ruthin, North Wales on 24 August 2002 Kelvin Douglas Hay, younger son of the late Mr Herbert Hay and of Mrs Elizabeth Hay, 37 Belvidere Street, Aberdeen to Lucinda Ceri Talog Davies, only daughter of Mr & Mrs James Talog Davies, Ruthin Jack (1979-85) - In Perth, Western Australia on 3 November 1999 Steven Alexander Jack, younger son of Mr & Mrs Malcolm Jack, 25 Kingshill Avenue, Aberdeen to Anne McKerracher, daughter of the late Mr John McKerracher and of Mrs Ann McKerracher, Alness McCraw (1986-90) — At Beechgrove Church, Aberdeen on 30 May 2003 Scott George Bruce, son of Mr & Mrs David Bruce, I Ashwood Circle, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen to Lynn McCraw, elder daughter of the late Mr lain McCraw and of Mrs Ann McCraw, 8 Hamilton Place, Aberdeen
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Former Pupas' Club Seclion MacLennan (1985-91) — At King's College Chapel, Aberdeen on 24 August 2002 Andrew MacLennan, son of Mr & Mrs Christopher MacLennan, 64 Louisville Avenue, Aberdeen to Tina Houston of North Carolina, U.S.A. Main (1983-89) — At King's College Chapel, Aberdeen on 31 August 2002 Martin James Main, son of Mr & Mrs Raymond Main, 15 Richmondhill Road, Aberdeen to Liz Sully of Horsham, West Sussex Philpott (1977-80) — In Aviemore on 14 March 2003 Cohn Addison to Marjory Philpott, daughter of Mr & Mrs Albert Philpott, 17 Lerwick Road, Aberdeen Pithie (1979-85) - At Norwood Hall Hotel, Aberdeen on 15 March 2003 Ian Williams Pithie, younger son of Mr & Mrs David Pithie, 216 Westburn Road, Aberdeen to Gayle Davidson, Wolkoff (1942-53) — At Grace Episcopal Church, Jefferson City, Missouri on 14 April 2002 William W. Wolkoff, eldest son of Mrs Margaret Wolkoff, 191 Countesswells Road, Aberdeen and of the late Mr Wolkoff, to Barbara Jean Owen of Jefferson City
Obituaries William Johnston Alesaader (1931-43) BSc, MSc died suddenly while on holiday in the West Indies on 23 December 2001 aged 75. A prefect in his 6th year at School, he went on to graduate in Mechanical Engineering at Aberdeen University in 1945 before call-up to the forces. He was commissioned in REME in 1946 and was demobilised with the rank of acting Captain in 1948. lie then took up a post as a research assistant with VickersArmstrong Ltd in Newcastle before joining C.A. Parsons & Co. as a research engineer in 1951, later becoming an assistant engineer in charge of compressor design. After six years as chief engineer with ITT Bell & Gossett in Letchworth he was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Education from Leeds University in 1967. He was then appointed to Bradford Technical College as a lecturer in engineering, becoming a senior lecturer in 1975. He graduated a Master of Science at Leeds in 1973 In retirement he was very active, involving himself enthusiastically with the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and in Shipley Art Club. He did a great deal of voluntary work and was keenly interested in tribology. An enthusiastic supporter of the FP Yorkshire Centre, he served on its committee for many years and was President of the Centre in 1980-93. William Dallas Allardice (1934-39) died peacefully in hospital at Dundee on 4 June 2003 aged 83. Born in Glasgow and educated at Huntly Gordon Schools until he was 14, he then entered Middle II at the School. A keen footballer (later playing centre-forward for Huntly Football Club) he was introduced to rugby in his first week at Grammar and at once came under the influence of Duncan MacGregor. He played for the School 1 st XV for three seasons, first as centre three-quarter, second as scrum half and vice-captain and third as scrum half and captain. fie also captained the 1st XI in his final year as well as being in the swimming and tennis teams. Aged 19 at the outbreak of war, instead of starting at Loughborough College of Physical Education he found himself in the 1st Battalion of the London Scottish Regiment. After initial naval training in submarines, and seeing service in the Norwegian campaign of 1940, he opted for commando training. He was involved in raids on the coasts of Sicily and Italy and then with the Long Range Desert Group in North Africa. Ile took part with them in a daring raid on German supply lines to Tobruk in which, despite establishing a bridgehead, most of his group were killed and he was taken prisoner. He was moved to Italy, escaped, but was recaptured. After escaping again he and a colleague, with help
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine from locals, spent nine months wandering and hiding in the mountains of northern Italy before reaching Allied lines. He was mentioned in despatches in January 1945. Following the War he spent a year on a shortened training course at the Physical Education College in Aberdeen before taking up his first teaching post at the Grammar in 1947. There he was a hugely popular master, shared in rugby coaching from the 1st XV downwards, coached in cricket, and took a keen interest in swimming and life-saving. He moved to Dundee High School as a PE teacher in 1959 and was head of department for twenty years. From 1979 until retiring in the mid-80s he was assistant rector. In 1947 Dally gained his first "cap" for Scotland against Australia, with J.R.S. (Donny) loses (1923-35) as Captain, the first occasion on which two FPs were both capped at the same time. He had a total of eight caps in that and the following season. As a scrum half he was famed for his dribbles, drop kicks and flying passes, of which last, now a regular feature of the modern game, he has been claimed to be the inventor. Daily was made an Honorary Vice-President of the FP Club at the 2002 Annual Meeting, and was very appreciative of this honour. It followed a reception hosted in his honour at the Club Centre two years earlier when a presentation was made to him in recognition of his immense contribution to Scottish (and FP) rugby. Writing in The Times of 10 July, Gene Gordon Allan (1939-51) wrote "As a pupil in the late 1940s I had the pleasure and privilege of being taught the rudiments of rugby by Daily. He treated us as if we were the first and second teams, instead of the seventh and eighth. Even to boys at the humblest level of the game, which we were, his enthusiasm was inspiring". Daily is survived by his wife, Pat, with whom he celebrated their Golden Wedding in 2001, and by two sons and two daughters and their families. At a well-attended service at Dundee Crematorium on 9 June, Chris Rea, a former pupil at Dundee High School. and himself a former Scottish and British Lions player, paid a warm tribute to his former teacher and coach: "There can be no more fitting tribute to someone who dedicated and committed his working life to the guiding and shaping of young people than the certain knowledge that he has, through his matchless skill and wisdom, enriched and enhanced the lives of so many. Dally would never compromise on standards, and I recall the four senior members of the Cricket XI whom he suspended for turning up late for a match and behaving like complete prats during it. We had let the side down, of course but, more importantly, we had let Dally down, and the pain of that knowledge was infinitely more intense than six of the best. "What Dally represented, and what we learned from him, transcended sport and physical recreation. They were the priceless values of comradeship, discipline, honesty and respect. For those who, albeit briefly, were in his charge, or spent time in his company, there remains the imperishable memory and privilege of having known a man who lived his life without vanity, boastfulness or a shred of immodesty. Dally's sole reward was in the fulfilment of others, but what greater reward and fulfilment is there than that?" Brian Gregory Anderson (1963-1965) MB,ChB died in New York on 18 February 2003, following a long battle with stomach cancer, aged 55. Alan G. Campbell (1959-65) writes: "Brian was one of a small number of pupils who made the transition from Junior Secondary School to the Grammar after completing four secondary years — in his case at Kaimhill, where he was Dux in 1963. His two years at the Grammar were spent obtaining university entrance qualifications for medicine, but during that time he demonstrated a particular talent for art — painting in particular — and he could undoubtedly have gone on to Art School. "Brian studied medicine at Aberdeen with a large group of fellow FPs and during holidays would join others who had been friends at school labouring, or working in pea canning factories, in Kent or Peterborough. The experience and cash earned resulted in trips to the south of France, and in 1968 he visited America for three months. This visit to California and the hippy culture was to be hugely influential on Brian's life. While at 86
Former Pupils' Club Section University he was critical of the narrowness of medical education, and this was a theme he would often revisit over the years. "Brian graduated in 1971, and left Scotland immediately after the ceremony to go and start an internship at the Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, Canada, following which he went on to specialise in psychiatry. Brian remained in North America, with most of his work being at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, a state psychiatric hospital where he obtained a very senior position. At his funeral, medical colleagues talked about him with much affection for his professional expertise and dedication in an institution which treated the most ill, chronic, violent and incapacitated psychiatric patients. He also worked part-time at a psychiatric clinic where the patients were high functioning career people — lawyers, managers, actors and such. Brian found that the contrast between the groups gave him a wealth of clinical experience, and he remained at the forefront of his profession in New York. "Brian's life was affected by a manic depressive illness which manifested itself from his mid-twenties until the end of his life, although it was for the most part kept in check by medication. Brian was homosexual but his early life had been characterised with enviable success with the opposite sex and he continued to enjoy a wide circle of cosmopolitan friends in New York. "He was keen on poetry and would give the occasional recital in New York in full Highland dress. Indeed, one of the highlights at the reception following his funeral was a video performance of him reciting poetry at such an event. Although it had the potential to be excruciatingly embarrassing, it portrayed the best of Brian in the sense that it displayed his flamboyant, inter-personal skills, his ability with language and his sense of humour, which was always 'far too developed for the U.S.A.' — to use his own words". Those who attended the funeral service and party included Brian J. Carrie (1951-64), Roddy G. McDonald (1951-64) and the writer who, as a good friend since school-days, delivered an appreciation. Nigel Eckford Anderson (1935-43) died suddenly, but peacefully, in hospital in Dundee on 3 August 2002 after a period of failing health. He was aged 77. He entered the RAF in 1943 and served in South Africa, India and Japan until 1948. Instead of proceeding to university as originally planned, he joined Steele Bros & Co, a company trading widely in the Far East, as a mercantile assistant in Rangoon Promotion took him as manager of a tea garden to Assam and later to Calcutta. His next move was to Karachi in West Pakistan. While on home leave he attended a dance organized to help raise funds for the FP Club, and was introduced by his brother, David, then teaching at the Grammar, to a member of the staff of the Lower School, Margaret Andrews. They married in Lahore in 1957. Returning a few years later to the UK, Nigel joined Crosse & Blackwell, and thereafter held a number of management positions with Valentines of Dundee with whom he remained until retiring in the late '80s. As a young man Nigel enjoyed rugby, squash, swimming and rowing, while in later life he was a keen walker and gardener. He was a voracious reader, with a particular interest in history and politics (especially Russian), and enjoyed classical (especially Russian) music. He is survived by his wife and daughter Carol, a freelance writer who was, until recently, a lecturer in Scottish Literature at Glasgow University. His brother David Anderson (1935-42) BSc, MEd died in 1977. Richard Alexander Bisset (1959-65) MA died suddenly at his home in Barnsley on 24 August 2002 aged 55. He graduated with honours in Geography from Aberdeen University in 1969 and after qualifying from Aberdeen College of Education he joined the staff of Mackie Academy, Stonehaven in 1970. He became principal teacher of geography in 1972 before taking up the post of assistant rector and principal teacher of guidance at Banchory Academy in 1979. He moved to Kemnay Academy as deputy headmaster in 1982. When promoted to be Rector two years later he was one of the
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine youngest rectors ever appointed in the north-east. He moved south a few years ago and had latterly been working with the education department of Barnsley Borough Council. He is survived by a grown-up son and daughter. Patrick Kilgour Booker (1933-45) OBE, MA died peacefully in Aberdeen on 3 December 2002 aged 74. He graduated from Aberdeen University in 1949 with second class honours in History, sharing the Caithness Prize in History. After two years' service in the Royal Air Force he went up to Oriel College, Oxford before joining the Overseas Civil Service. Appointed assistant adviser in the Eastern Aden Protectorate, he spent the next thirteen years in the Middle East. He was senior, and later principal, adviser at the British High Commission in Aden, before secondment for two years as development secretary of the Federation of Southern Arabia. His final posting was as permanent secretary to the Ministry of Finance. He retired from the Overseas Civil Service in 1968 and was awarded the OBE at that time. He joined Rolls Royce as a contracts administrator for a short time before appointment in 1969 as senior administrative assistant at Aberdeen University. In the following year he became Assistant Secretary, a post which he held until his retirement. Patrick was pre-deceased by his wife but is survived by his son and two grandsons. His brother Robert Kilgour Booker (1928-41), All-Round Trophy winner in 1941, was in legal practice in Singapore until his death in 1991. Harry Donald Christie (1908-21) MB,CMil died peacefully at Stonehaven on 26 June 2002 aged 99. The son of Alexander James Christie (1883-87), he was born in May 1903 and was the oldest member of the FP Club, a distinction of which he was very proud. From School he went on to study medicine at Aberdeen University, where he graduated in 1926 with distinction in his final examinations. After holding posts as a house officer and resident medical officer at Gravesend and North Kent Hospital he was briefly an assistant in a practice in Gravesend before entering general practice in Bamsbury, in the London borough of Islington in 1929. The surgery was just off the Caledonian Road, mid-way between King's Cross station and Pentonville Prison. He had a particular interest in obstetrics and midwifery and was proud of the large number of babies he had delivered, home confinements being then the rule rather than the exception. As factory doctor for St Pancras Borough from 1934 he examined employees for their fitness for work, both new recruits and those reporting work-related injuries and illnesses. He retired to Stonehaven in 1963 and was latterly amazed to think that he had been retired for longer than he had worked. He spent many hours tending his large garden and greenhouse — the latter containing a flourishing peach tree which he had grown from a peach stone. Unfortunately his eyesight deteriorated to the extent that in the 1970s he was registered blind, a situation which he faced with his customary patience, embracing new interests through Grampian Society for the Blind and the pleasures of Talking Books. He was a founder member and keen supporter of Stonehaven Probus Club and a member of Stonehaven Heritage Society. Dr Christie was twice married, his first wife having died in 1939. He was predeceased by his second wife in 1987, after which he lived alone until compelled by ill health to move to a nursing home in the late 1990s. He is survived by a daughter of his second marriage. Douglas Robson Craig (1962-64) died suddenly at his home in West Linton, East Lothian on 21 August 2002 aged 56. Michael Colvin (1951 -65) writes: "Having transferred from Robert Gordon's College for his final two years he spent a large amount of his time in the art department with Mr Hemingway. Most of his working life — 30 years — was spent with the Inland Revenue. He loved the country life, being out of doors, reading, bird-watching and photography. Barbeques and bonfires with quantities of food and alcohol being consumed were probably his happiest moments. Friends from school-days will remember him as a fine 88
Former Pupils' Club Section swimmer, and jealously recall his plum summer job — presiding over the beach rescue, changing huts and deck chairs. "Doug is survived by his wife, Susan, and his step-daughter, Kirsten " Arthur Ian Greenwood Davidson (1944-54) M,B.ChB, ChM, PhD, FRCSE died peacefully in hospital in Perth on 6 May 2003 aged 66. He studied medicine at Aberdeen University, graduating in 1960. He was awarded a half blue in badminton and was co-administrator of the 1959 Students' Show. After a spell as a house officer at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary he lectured in anatomy at the University. He was a registrar in surgery and lecturer in surgery from 1962 to 1966, interrupted by a year as residential fellow at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1965 he gained his Master's degree in Surgery on his thesis on "Left Heart By-pass in Cardiac Resuscitation: An Experimental Study". He was admitted to a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1965. There followed five years as a senior registrar in surgery at Woodend hospital in Aberdeen before he took up an appointment as a consultant surgeon with Eastem Regional Hospital Board in Dundee and Perth. He retired a few years ago. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, and three grandchildren. John Simmers Duguld (1934-41) died peacefully in hospital in Dundee on 5 March 2003 after a long illness, less than a month before his eightieth birthday. He entered the RAF in 1941 and served for the rest of the War as a fighter operations controller. After eight years with Joseph Lucas Ltd in Birmingham he moved to Leicester as an assistant cost accountant with a division of the British Xylonite Company. In 1956 he joined J.W. Lawrence Ltd. as chief accountant and company secretary, continuing as chief accountant in 1966 with Marston Radiators Ltd. following a take-over. In 1973 he was transferred to Scotland as general manager of the company's Scottish division. Following redundancy in 1983, he acted as a consultant to the Scottish Development Agency until retiring five years later. He was an Associate member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants. He is survived by his wife, Freda, to whom he had been married since 1945, and by two daughters and four grandchildren. Douglas Wyndham NIaling Grant (1937-41) BA(Cantab) died suddenly, but peacefully, at his home in Inverness on 13 August 2002 aged 79. He entered the School in Middle II from Inverness Royal Academy and was a boarder at the Boarding House for the next four years. On leaving School he joined the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, serving with them until invalided out in 1943. After teaching in Preparatory Schools in England for two years he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge from which he graduated BA with second class honours in the History Tripos in 1948. For the next four years he taught English and History at Drumtochty School before entering Edinburgh Theological College. He was ordained into the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1955 and thereafter served in various parishes in the Highlands and the North-east of Scotland. He was elected a Canon in 1988 and retired to Inverness in 1989. He is survived by his wife, Tshbcl, and by two sons and a daughter. John Hector Gray (1917-29) MA, LL.B, CA died peacefully in hospital in Aberdeen on 18 June 2002 aged 89. From School he proceeded to Aberdeen University where he graduated in arts in 1932. He served an accountancy apprenticeship with Bower & Smith in Aberdeen until 1936 and was admitted as a chartered accountant in 1937. By this time he was a law apprentice with Gray & Kellas, advocates in Aberdeen, a firm founded by his father in 1897. He graduated in law from Aberdeen University in 1939, sharing the Edmond Law Prize for the most distinguished graduate of his year. He remained with Gray & Kellas until he was mobilised in the 9th Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) with whom he served in 1942-43. He was then transferred to the Admiralty to serve as a costs investigator in the professional accountancy division. Demobilised in 89
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 1946 he returned to his legal practice, being assumed as a partner and admitted to the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen that year. He retired in 1997 having been the senior partner following the death of his uncle Alexander Gray (1910-22) in 1981. He was predeceased by his wife some years ago, but is survived by his second wife and by his son and two daughters. Alexander Davidson Henderson (1937-46) MA, MSc died very suddenly at his home in Aberdeen on 3 July 2002 following a brief illness. He was aged 73. A keen hockey player at School and an enthusiastic member of the Air Training Corps, he went up to Aberdeen University, graduating in 1950 with honours in Economic Science. He then worked for a time in the Manchester area before joining the Scottish Gas Board in Edinburgh in 1955. Two years later he returned to Aberdeen to a post with the Agricultural Research Council unit of statistics. As a result of his work there he produced a thesis which led to the award of a Master of Science degree. He became a statistician with the North-East Regional Hospital Board in 1967, transferring to the Grampian Regional Health Board in 1974. He retired in the early `90s. William Gordon Henderson (1926-38) MB,ChB, FRC(Path) died suddenly in Devon on 9 August 2002 following a long period of ill-health He was aged 81. After graduating from Aberdeen University in 1945 he held orthopaedic house surgeon posts at Stracathro and at Raigmore before army service in the RAMC with the Parachute Field Ambulance for four years until 1949, latterly as a pathologist. He was appointed registrar in pathology at Edgeware General Hospital before moving in 1951 to North Middlesex Hospital, first as registrar, later as senior registrar, in pathology_ He lectured in Bacteriology at the London Hospital Medical College before joining the Institute of Ophthalmology as senior lecturer in Pathology. His career in pathology and micro-biology continued until his retiral some years ago. He was appointed a Fellow of both the Microscopical Society and the Royal Society of Medicine. His death occurred just a week after his Golden Wedding. In addition to his wife, Bill is survived by his daughter, having been predeceased by a son. William Garth Logan (1922-29) died peacefully at his home in Aberdeen on 19 August 2001 aged 87 From School he entered the service of the former North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen and then moved to the Standard Chartered Bank of India in London. In 1939 he volunteered for the Royal Navy and served on various ships, notably the battle cruiser Renown, throughout the Second World War After demobilisation he worked in Aberdeen and Glasgow, initially in insurance and subsequently in the Civil Service. He was Area Organiser of the National Savings Committee for many years. Garth's enthusiasm for the sea and for healthy exercise persisted to the end of his life. He was predeceased by his first wife but is survived by his second wife and by his two sons, the younger of whom is Peter Knox Logan (1962-68) who is a civil servant in the Scottish Office. His lifelong friend from the age of 7 was the late James Craig (192232), well known in Edinburgh legal circles, who died some years ago. Ronald William McDonald (1947-50) MA, MEd, FSA(Scot) died very suddenly in Aberdeen on 27 October 2002 aged 67. Born in Longside he became an apprentice engineer on leaving School. He later enlisted as a gunner signaller and served in Africa and the Middle East before returning to Aberdeen and completing a marine radio officer's course. His posts then ranged from a season on a whaler in the Antarctic to a spell intelligence gathering at GCHQ in Cheltenham. He then changed career and went to Aberdeen University to study English and History, graduating in 1970. After graduating from Aberdeen College of Education he took up his first teaching post at Toffy Academy where he later became principal teacher of history. He retired in 1996. He was a prolific writer of fiction and poetry, much of it in the Doric, and much of his work appeared in magazines such as New Writing Scotland, The Leopard and Lallans. He was a member of the Scots Language Society. He is survived by his wife and four children. 90
Former Pupils' Club Section Archibald McKenzie McGregor (1933-40) MB,ChB, MRCGP died peacefully in hospital in Aberdeen on 12 September 2002 after a sudden severe cerebral haemorrhage. He was aged 78. He graduated in medicine from Aberdeen University in 1949 and following various house officer appointments and trainee assistantships in general practice in Shetland he was appointed to the island practice of Westray, in Orkney, in 1952. He moved in 1957 to the rural practice of New Deer. Nine years later he became a partner, along with his wife, in Turriff where he remained until retirement in 1984. He was known as a very conscientious and progressive doctor who always made time to listen to his patients. As a young man he had a great love of hill-walking and climbing in the Cairngorms and north-west of Scotland, and he did many long distance walks through the Scottish mountain passes. His other great interests were antiquarian books, family history and the history of the north-east of Scotland. In 1986 he and his wife retired to Edinburgh where he continued to pursue these interests. In 1995 he returned to the north-east, living in Aboyne. A few years ago he gifted the twelve volumes of the Scottish National Dictionary to the School. Archie is survived by his wife, to whom he had been married for fifty years, his elder son Colin, daughter Jane, and six grandchildren. His younger son died in 1976. His brother James Alexander McGregor (1935-44) MB,ChB is now retired from general practice in Edinburgh and lives in Ballater. George Alexander McNab (1936-44) DipArch, ARIBA, ARIAS, AMTPI died peacefully in Blairgowrie Cottage Hospital on 17 January 2003 aged 74. On leaving School he went up to Gray's School of Art to study architecture, graduating in 1950. He was awarded the Rutland Prize from the Royal Society of Architects in Scotland for Design and Working Drawings, and won the Institute of British Architects' Silver Medal for the best set of drawings submitted to an annual exhibition by British and Commonwealth students at final schools of architecture. After a time as an assistant with Aberdeen City Architect he joined the firm of Riach & Cowan in Edinburgh. He was later a founding member of Riach & Hall, architects in Edinburgh and of the Riach Hall Blyth Partnership. In 1984 he went to South Africa as an architectural consultant on behalf of GMW Computers Ltd of Berkhamsted, Herts. In the following year he was appointed Professor of Architecture at the University of The Orange Free State in Bloemfontein, with responsibility for studies in computer-aided architectural design and for post-graduate studies and masters' degrees in this field. He was a former chairman of the Board of Architectural Education of the UK Regional Council and was a council member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In his younger days he was a keen skier and tennis player. George was a long-serving member of committee of the Edinburgh Centre of the FP Club, and was President of the Centre in 1980. He was predeceased by his son. Charlotte Cordelia McNeil (1983-85) died very suddenly following a catastrophic stroke on 8 June 2002 aged 31. She had left School at the end of Year 2 when her family moved to the London area, and her education was completed at The Mount School, Mill Hill and at South Hampstead High School for Girls. At this time she was active as a lechic' with the National Youth Theatre. She then studied at De Montford University (formerly Leicester Polytechnic), specialising in arts administration and graduating with a 2:1 in Performing Arts. After some years working in this field she decided on a change of direction and made the switch to law. She studied at the College of Law and completed her Common Professional Examination and Diploma in Legal Practice in 2000, and at the time of her death she was working for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, with whom she had been from its inception. She had hoped to obtain a training contract in a civil service context. Malcolm MacPhail (1934-40, 1942-47) BSc, LL.B died peacefully at his home in Perth on 20 April 2003 after a short illness. He was aged 74. He studied economics at London,
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine graduating in 1954. He then returned to Aberdeen University from which he graduated in law in 1957. He spent a year as an assistant with Messrs. Morrison & Richards in Aberdeen and a year with the Scottish Midland Guarantee Trust in Edinburgh before taking up a post as a legal assistant with Aberdeen Corporation in 1959. In 1962 he joined the Procurator Fiscal service and served as a Depute Fiscal at Dundee for eleven years. He was appointed as Procurator Fiscal at Stonehaven in 1973, where he was the first full-time holder of that post, his predecessors having been local solicitors. In 1980 he moved as Fiscal at Perth where he remained until retiring in 1991. In retirement he was a member of the Perth & Kinross Valuation Appeal Committee, was a member of the local panel of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, and took an active part in the affairs of the Perth Civic Trust of which he was for a time chairman. Malcolm is survived by his wife and his son and daughter. His elder brother also attended the School — Ian MacPhail (1930-41). Alasdair Burnett Matheson (1952-58) OBE, MBChB, FRCS died peacefully in Aberdeen on 13 December 2002 aged 62. While at School he was the School's representative to the Aberdeen Schools Scientific Society. Awarded a bursary in the annual Bursary Competition, he proceeded to Aberdeen University, graduating in medicine in 1964. After posts in Aberdeen and Newcastle he was engaged for a short time in general surgery at Carlisle. His medical training was completed with admission to membership of the Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons. Most of his career was spent in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's Accident and Emergency department, of which he was for many years the consultant-in-charge. His appointment to OBE in the New Year Honours List at the end of 1990 recognised his key role in the treatment of survivors of the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster of 1988. In his free time he enjoyed curling and trout fishing in addition to model engineering and photography. He is survived by his wife and his three sisters. Richard George Paterson (1937-47) MA died in hospital in London on 31 May 2001 after a brief illness, aged 68. From School he went to Fettes College and thence to study at Aberdeen University, where he graduated in 1956 with honours in French and German. His studies were interrupted by a year's study at the Paris University of the Sorbonne, on a Stevenson Scholarship He taught for two years at Gordonstoun before moving to Hong Kong where he taught at St George's School, the services' school in the New Territories. He later moved to Munich to work for a German industrialist friend before he returned to teaching first in Riyad, Saudi Arabia and then in London before moving to Lichtenstein. He finally returned to London where he ran a tutoring business until the time of his death. His brothers both attended the School — Albert John Horne Paterson (1935-47) now living in retirement near Elgin, and Alan Keith Gordon Paterson (1943-56) who retired two years ago from the chair of Hispanic Studies at St Andrews University. Alan James Peters (1920-30) CA died peacefully at his home in Aberdeen on 3 November 2002 aged 89. He had suffered from Parkinson's Disease for several years and latterly had been in poor health. He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1936 and was admitted to membership of the Society of Accountants in Aberdeen. His career was interrupted by War service with the Royal Army Service Corps in which he attained the rank of Major. After leaving the army he joined the firm of James Jamieson (Aberdeen) Ltd, oil merchants, whose premises were in Whitehall Place and Albert Place, adjacent to the School. He spent the rest of his working life with the company, of which he was for many years managing director. Alan was a leading member of the FP Hockey Section for many years in the late '40s and early '50s, and was captain of the 1st XI in season 1947/48. He was a District finalist in 1946. Ile was elected to the FP Club Executive Committee in 1949 and was an enthusiastic supporter of the Club's affairs. He served as Vice-chairman of the Executive in 1959-61 and was Chairman of the Executive and Vice-President of the Club in 196192
Former Pupils' Club Section 63. He later declined for personal reasons to accept office as President of the Club, but some years ago was elected as an Honorary Vice-President in recognition of his earlier sterling service. Thomas Ian Morrison (1934-47) writes: "To those of us who joined the Hockey Section straight from School, ex-serviceman Alan proved an ideal person to have 'in charge'. His enthusiasm, kindness and sagacity rubbed off on all of us — to a greater or lesser degree! — and on more than one occasion his calming influence, on and off the field, curbed youthful exuberance and over-reaction. "Not that Alan was any 'softy' on the field himself. I well remember one instruction which he issued during a game, and which was destined to quieten a rather noisy opponent - "You knock him down and I'll remove him!" Strong language for the late forties, if not for the 2Ist century. "He and Jane were wonderful hosts at Windy Ridge. Evenings at Milltimber were always enjoyable and did much to promote the camaraderie which existed in the Section at this time" Alan was predeceased by his first wife, Jane, and by his only son, from whose tragic death in an accident they never got over. He is survived by his second wife. David James Pirie (1949-52) died suddenly, but peacefully, in Harare, Zimbabwe on 3 December 2001 aged 67. While still at School he was awarded a flying scholarship to Cranwell Air Force College as a trainee navigator, and there he learned to fly. It was a great disappointment to him that ill-health prevented him from pursuing a flying career. He decided to train as a laboratory technician and studied at the College of Agriculture in Aberdeen. He worked for a time in the laboratories of Aberdeen City Hospital before emigrating in 1961 to what was then Salisbury, the capital of Southern Rhodesia. There he worked in the Government Veterinary Services for a time before moving to Northern Rhodesia to work for Anglo American in their medical laboratories at Nchanga Hospital. Returning to Salisbury David worked for Blanes Private Laboratories before taking up an appointment as chief medical laboratory technologist in the paediatric department of the University of Rhodesia. a post which he held until retiring at the end of 1999. David had been a cub and scout in Aberdeen and took this interest with him to Africa, and he was for many years a scoutmaster in Harare. He was enthusiastically involved in the Caledonian Societies of Bindura and later of Harare, where in 1993 he was installed as Chieftain. Two years later he was installed as President and in 1997/98 he was elected as Provincial Chieftain and his wife as Lady President for Zimbabwe. Just two months before his death, David again became the Chieftain for Zimbabwe at the Congress of the Federated Caledonian Society of Southern Africa. He was involved in the life and work of his local church and was also a Freemason. David is survived by his wife, Evelyn, whom he had married in Aberdeen in 1956, and by a son and daughter. His two younger brothers also attended School — Hugh Sandison Pirie (1949-55) and lan Maxwell Pirie (1957-63). Craig Ivan Riddoch (1995-2001) died tragically as a result of an accident in Aberdeen on 9 November 2002. He was aged nineteen and was studying engineering at Robert Gordon University. He was a sergeant in a city squadron of the Air Training Corps. Alexander Robb (1953-59) died in hospital in Aberdeen on 16 August 2002 following a short illness. He was aged 61. After leaving School he entered the Civil Service and spent twenty years in the Inland Revenue, mostly in Scotland, but he was for a time in London. He then had a change of career and following teacher training he entered the teaching profession. From 1980 he was on the staff of the Primary Department of Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen where he was highly regarded as an enthusiastic and popular teacher. He is survived by his wife and two children, Michael Robb (1979-81) and Angela Robb (1979-83).
93
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Robert Alexander Robson (1932-44) died peacefully in a nursing home in Suffolk on 16 December 2002, following a stroke on Christmas Day 2001. He was aged 75 and had lived in the village of Drinkstone, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk for forty years. After war service with the Gordon Highlanders he chose, rather than follow his father Robert McKimmie Robson (1902-06) of Bumside Nurseries in Aberdeen, into the business in Scotland, to branch out on his own. He worked for a time in a horticultural business in Yorkshire, where he met and married his wife, Agnes, in 1952. He moved to Chevington in Suffolk in 1956 and there developed a highly successful rose growing business before joining another nurseryman in Drinkstone in a highly successful partnership for almost thirty years. Robbie, as he was always known by family and friends, was a true countryman with a love for his garden and his precious plants. He enjoyed badminton and golf, never more happy than when in the open air. He is survived by his wife and by his son, Geoffrey and daughter, Stella. Richard Lyall Sharp (1920-27) KCVO, CB, MA died peacefully on 25 July 2002 aged 82. The elder son of Alexander Sharp (1889-91), an Aberdeen advocate, he left the School at the age of 12 and completed his education at Fettes. From there he proceeded to Aberdeen University where he was a distinguished student of Classics. Winner of the Jenkyns Prize in classical philology he went on to graduate in 1937 with first class honours in Classics, winning the Seafield Gold Medal in Latin and sharing the Simpson Prize and Robbie Gold Medal in Greek. In 1939 he was placed in Class 1 of Part II of the Cambridge Classical Tripos. He contributed an article on an eve of war visit to Germany and Poland to the November 1939 issue of the Magazine (vol. xliii, 9). Mobilised early in the 1939-45 War, he was commissioned in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and sent to Malaya. He was posted missing in 1942, but it emerged that he was captured soon after his arrival there and he was a prisoner of the Japanese until 1945. In 1946, having obtained a post as an Established Principal in the Home Civil Service, he joined the permanent staff of the Treasury. He was appointed one of the private secretaries to the Chancellor, Sir Stafford Cripps, and was later private secretary to Hugh Gaitskell, the Minister of State for Economic Affairs. In 1952 he was posted to the United States on a 2-year appointment to the UK Treasury and Supply Mission in Washington. In 1961 he joined the staff of the Imperial Defence College, moving to be Under-Secretary at the Prices and Incomes Department in 1966. From 1968 he spent eight years at the Treasury and from 1977 until retirement in 1982 he was Ceremonial Officer in the Civil Service Department. A distinguished Whitehall career was recognised by his creation as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the Birthday Honours of 1982. He retired to Norfolk, where his recreations were gardening and viola playing. Sir Richard is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jean, daughter of Sir James Ian Cormack Crombic (1908-21), and by two sons, two daughters and five grandchildren. The death of his brother Judge Alastair George Sharp (1918-24) was reported in last year's Magazine. Ian Lewis Smith (1918-30) BSc, AMICE, MlnstR died suddenly on 21 December 2002, aged 90, at the home of his son, Ronald lan Lewis-Smith (1946-60) near Cambridge, where he and his wife had been living for the previous eighteen months. This was just two weeks before their 63rd wedding anniversary. He was the youngest of three siblings, but survived his brother Howard and sister Hilda by about thirty years. At School his greatest interests were rugby, athletics and art (for which he was awarded the Samuel Pope Art Medal). He was a keen scout, becoming Scout Master of the AGS 17th Troop. He went on to read Engineering at Aberdeen University, where he was also an active sportsman, winning medals for various athletics events (hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, and the Scottish Inter-Universities one mile relay). He was awarded a blue for
94
Former Pupils' Club Section athletics and won The Deans Medal for Athletics. Throughout the 1930s he played for the FP 1st XV. Ian served his apprenticeship with [Sir] Robert Macalpine, working on one of the Thames bridges in the Port of London. During the Second World War he served with the Royal Engineers, in the Highland Division before Dunkirk and in the 8th Army in North Africa and France. On his return to Aberdeen, he joined the refrigeration engineering firm of Sparks of Aberdeen, of which he was Managing Director from 1955 until his retirement in 1982. He enjoyed playing golf, again winning many trophies, fly fishing, hill walking, skiing, gardening, playing bridge, and latterly grass and indoor bowling and oil painting. He was a long-serving member of Aberdeen Rotary Club, and a keen supporter of various charities and of the Scottish National Trust. Ian was elected to the FP Club Executive in 1948, and over the next 25 years gave loyal service to the Club. In 1969 he became Vice-chairman of the Executive and in 1971-73 he was Chairman of the Executive and Vice-President of the Club. Some years later, when invited to become President, he declined office, but his devoted service to the Club was later recognised when he was elected an Honorary Vice-President. He is survived by his wife, Raymonde, three sons and eight grandchildren. Robert Clement Steven (1933-41) MA, LL.B, TD, WS died peacefully in hospital in Salisbury on 7 May 2003 after a short illness. He was aged 78. He was a prefect in his 6th year at School, President of the Dramatic Society and Vice-president of the Literary & Debating society. War service with the Royal Corps of Signals during 1943-46 broke into his university course, but he returned to graduate with honours in History in 1947. He then graduated in Law in 1950, sharing the Whyte Prize for Accountancy. He moved to Edinburgh as an assistant solicitor, first with Mackenzie, Innes & Logan and then with Cuthbertson & Watson. He was admitted as a Writer to the Signet in 1953. He joined the staff of the Trade Indemnity Company in London in 1958 before entering the insurance broking business with Price Forbes & Co in 1963. He became assistant managing director of Sedgewick Forbes (UK) in 1973, and later chairman He was for three years chairman of Claverhouse Investment trust. He retired in 1984 His military service continued after the war with 51 (Highland) Signal Regiment TA, and he was one of eight FP officers at the unit's annual camp in 1952 under the command of the late CoL Thomas P.E. Murray (1907-18). He was a keen golfer, and being a former Captain of Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club he was, at the time of his death, Vice-president of the Club. His other sporting love was fishing, and he enjoyed nothing more than a trip to the Highlands for a fishing holiday. He also enjoyed gardening, music and the theatre. With his enthusiasm perhaps first whetted in the School Debater, he took a real interest in politics and was a member of Chatham House. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren. His brother, Ranald Fyfe Findlay Steven (1933-43), died in 2001. His younger brother is Andrew Marshall Macdonald Steven (1936-50) who is the FP Club Consul in Northern Ireland. Lionel Stuart (1908-16) died peacefully in hospital at Aberdeen on 1 December 2002 just a month before his ninety-ninth birthday. Born in Buenos Aires on Hogmanay 1903 he came to Banchory when his father retired from banking in Argentina and returned to his native Deeside. When his father became Secretary of Banchory Golf Club his 9-yearold son was enrolled as a member and received coaching tips from the legendary Harry Vardon. This led him to aspire to a career as a golfer but, faced with parental disapproval of this idea, he joined the Merchant Navy and by his mid-20s was a master mariner, becoming master of an oil tanker with the Standard Oil Company. His career continued through the war years 1939-45, but always there was golf practice. either on shore or on deck, where he had a net erected regularly to give lessons to his crew. He worked in the Dutch West Indies for a number of years until returning in retirement to Banchory in 1959.
95
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Aged 56, he at once turned professional, and for the next ten years held the post of professional at Banchory Golf Club. Apart from the early tips from Vardon, he was selftaught, had a classic swing and was credited with fourteen holes-in-one. His career was interrupted by a heart attack in 1969, but he continued to assist his successors for several years and became the starter at the club, his sterling efforts being recognised with honorary membership. He was predeceased by his wife and one son, but is survived by his daughter, two sons, twelve grandchildren and twenty-three great-grandchildren. Melville Forsyth Watson (1943-56) MA, LLB died peacefully in hospital in Aberdeen on 14 August 2002 following a long illness. He was aged 63. At School he was recognised as an effective hooker on the rugby field and as an outstanding swimmer. He was captain of Swimming in his 6th year. He graduated from Aberdeen University in Arts in 1959 and in Law in 1961. After serving his apprenticeship with Watt & Cumine, advocates, in Aberdeen he joined Storie, Cruden & Simpson in 1961 and became a partner in that firm in 1964. Senior partner from the mid 1980s he retired only recently. He was a part-time chairman of Social Security Appeal Tribunals at Aberdeen from 1972 and a foundermember of the Aberdeen Solicitors' Property Centre. He devoted much time to charitable work, being a director of Voluntary Service Aberdeen for over twenty years and its chairman in 1981-83. He was also for some years chairman of Seabank House and of Castlehill Housing. He was President of the Society of Advocates in 1995-96. Melville was a long-serving member of the FP Club Executive and of the Management Committee of the Club Centre, of which he was a founder-member. Vice-chairman of the Executive in 1986-88, he was Chairman of the Executive and Vice-President of the Club in 1988-90. He was elected President of the Club for 1994-95. From its opening in September 1969, Melville carried out the monthly stock-takings at the Club Centre in a most diligent manner for over twenty-five years. Stephen Pacitti (1947 - 56), a classmate of Mel's, who conducted the memorial service in Beechgrove Church, said: "I have referred to Mel as the bright lad of promise and the gifted athlete; Stuart, as a son, has spoken of so much more; and his other son, Douglas, has read to us Mel's favourite poem, Kipling's 'The Thousandth Man'. That it should be his favourite says a great deal about Melville Watson, who himself would be regarded by many as a 'thousandth man'. "In the strange way in which memory so often chooses to delete the momentous and retain the trivial, random images of Mel flash into my mind — I see him powering ahead in the school swimming gala, and modest as always in his inevitable victory; I see him dashing off a cheerful tune from Gilbert and Sullivan on the music-room piano; or courteously expressing his thanks to a Lower School teacher for having taught him; laughing uproariously at some witticism in the prefects' room; scratching his head over an awkward piece of Latin translation — not to dwell on the vision I have of his back diminishing rapidly in front of me in the hundred yards sprint. Why I should remember these particular things I do not know. Yet one can be thankful that memory does work in this capricious way, and that we hold on to such irrelevant detail because, in the end, it is the details that add up to the man, and the important thing is not a person's gifts and achievements, but how he or she uses them, with what modesty he contains them, at whose disposal he places them. And what was true of Mel the schoolboy, remained true of Mel the man. "I am conscious of how easy it is, in paying tribute to a departed friend, to paint, not a portrait, but something akin to a commercial poster. Mel would have abhorred that. He breathed the same air as we did, he knew the give and take of life, the high demands of honourably pursuing an exacting profession, the warts-and-all living of family life, of accepting and being accepted, despite our human imperfections. But if perfection is beyond our attainment, we have expectations nonetheless that somehow, as Aristotle put it, the good and the beautiful will shine through. Mel Watson was a man of character for
96
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine assistant in the Technical department of the School in 1959. While there, he was a keen participant in the activities of the Hillwalking Club. He left the School in 1966 on appointment as head of department at Bankhead Academy, from which he later moved to become senior lecturer and then Head of the Department of Technical Education at Aberdeen College of Education. He served for many years as a Territorial Officer in the Royal Engineers and was later associated with the Aberdeen University Officer Training Corps. He married in 1962 Alison Kitchen, whose first teaching post was as a temporary assistant Science teacher at the School in 1960-61. The story of their meeting is told in a light-hearted article in the Magazine of June 1984 (vol. 87, page 13). Mr Innes is survived by his wife, a son and daughter and ►wo grandchildren. Margaret Macmillan (Staff 1945-66) died peacefully in an Aberdeen Nursing Home on 27 April 2003, aged 91. A former pupil of Aberdeen High School, she graduated in Arts from Aberdeen University in 1932 and trained as an infant teacher. She married on the eve of the outbreak of War in 1939, and her husband, Dr Peter Macmillan, was mobilised immediately thereafter. He was killed on active service with the R.A.M.C. in the Middle East in July 1942. Mrs Macmillan joined the staff of the Kindergarten department at the School in 1945 and gave sterling service until the closure of that department in 1966. Her warm and caring personality endeared her to her charges. After leaving the School she took up a post as an assistant infant teacher at Mile End Primary School, from which she retired some five years later.
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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
Abstract of Accounts for Year ended 31 December 2002 Former Pupils' Club Income and Expenditure Account
INCOME Subscriptions Existing Members — Annual New Members — Annual & Extended Arrears Life Members Transfer from Life Members' Account Top-up Payments Donations Club Centre Members' Donations & Bequests Less : Transfer to Second Century Fund Dividends Interest Magazine — advertising Fund Raising - Beyond 500 Social Events — Surplus Less: Charitable Donation — Archie Foundation Share of Rent less Expenses — 1 Bayview Road Honoraria Waived Miscellaneous
1,564 1.564
455 100
EXPENDITURE Membership Communications Newsletters — Printing, stationery & postage Printing, stationery and postage — Membership Secretary Printing, stationery & postage — Magazine Printing, stationery & postage - Secretarial Website Development & Support Honoraria Travel and accommodation Grants — Capitation School — Prize-giving School — Amenities Fund Accountancy Fee Corporation Tax Special Projects Bank Interest paid Loss on Redemption of Investment Legal Fees & Bank Charges re Loan facilities Miscellaneous
SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR
100
2002
2001
L
L
2,234 505 11
2,176 452 50
861 2,189
885 1,776
3,500
3,500
259 3,121 3,470 2,383
739 4,039 3,530 1,797
355 2,263 201 21.352
32 1,834 275 346 21.431
1,420 254 4,515 649 527 3,225 597 860 66 925 575 148 3,050 682 121 1,115 598 19.327
1,941 192 4,591 506 3,225 1,104 850 166 750 575 661 4,082 466 507 19.616
=
1.815
Former Pupils 'Club Section Balance Sheet As at 31 December 2002
2002
2001
113 969
113,969
-
4.160
200 5,548 60,000 35.988 101,736
248 7,416 60,000 66.997 134,661
60,799 91,810 1,830 4,378 8,856 167,673
91,810 100,000 1,822 5,326 5,990 204.948
165.937)
(70.2871
48432
4.7.$42
16,686 16.686
16,810 1,848 961 19.619
4,416 9,261 17.669
1,270 851 4,372 6,086 15 644
a,3,L16
28.223
la=
41„8_4_2
£
HERITABLE PROPERTY INVESTMENTS CURRENT ASSETS Stock Debtors Club Centre — Benefactor Loan Drawdown Bank Accounts
CURRENT LIABILITIES Bank Overdraft Club Centre Loan Benefactor Loan Subscriptions in advance Life Member Top-up Payments Creditors
NET CURRENT LIABILITIES
CAPITAL ACCOUNTS Life Members Robert G. Wilson Bequest Miss Isabella Grant Bequest
REVENUE ACCOUNTS Robert G. Wilson Bequest Miss Isabella Grant Bequest Beyond 500 Second Century General
101
£
Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine
Abstract of Accounts for Year ended 31 December 2002 F.P. Club Centre Income and Expenditure Account 2001
£
£ BAR ACCOUNT 122,130
BAR SALES
136,516
4,749 65,616
COST OF SALES Stock on Hand at 31 December 2001 Bar Purchases
77,017
70,365
5,550 64.815
Less Stock on Hand at 31 December 2002
57,315
GROSS PROFIT
11,329 2,524 120 1,753 2,613
MISCELLANEOUS INCOME Annual Subscriptions Gaming Machine Revenue (Net) Snooker and Pool Surplus from I Bayview Road Miscellaneous Income Interest Received (Net)
61
5,550 71.467
6.613 70.404 66.112
11,766 2,961 (177) 2,280 3,740
331 87,013
19,267 18,690 7,819 427 8,708 3,500 630 1,353 1,481 7,205 2,750 6,264 1.468 79.562 (3.7841
OVERHEAD EXPENSES Wages and National Insurance Rates and Insurance Heating and Lighting Telephone (Net) Repairs and Maintenance Donation to Former Pupils' Club Other Donation Interest Payable to Former Pupils' Club Administration Expenses Cleaning Honoraria Miscellaneous Expenses Depreciation
25,760 17,430 7,660 467 3,414 3,500 555 1,835 1,287 7,426 2,750 5,694 1.240 79018
DEFICIT FOR YEAR
102
7995
Former Pupils' Club Section Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2002 As per last Balance Sheet
2001
FIXED ASSETS f 1,005 7.290
91,810 5,550 10,350 13,610 1,593 122,913
22,848 7.082
1,005 7.290
Furniture and Fittings Equipment
CURRENT ASSETS Loan Account—AGSFP Club Stock in Hand Sundry Debtors Cash in Bank Cash in Hand
Depcn. £ 150 1 090
f 855 6.200
1.244
7,055
91,810 6,613 8,471 23,063 610 130,567
CURRENT LIABILITIES Sundry Creditors Subscriptions in Advance
23,597 8.667 32,264
29 930 92.983
98.303 105,358
101278
5,550 14,249 60.000 79 799
LOANS AGSFP Rugby Section Tennent Caledonian Breweries plc AGSFP Club
4,050 11,834 60 000 75 884
21,479
NET ASSETS
29 474
13.495
CAPITAL ACCOUNT Appeal Fund & Other Donations
13,495
7,984 (3,784) 2472
SURPLUSES Amount per last Balance Sheet Surplus/(Deficit) for Year
7,984 7 995
103
15.979 29,474
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