Old Scholars’ Association
THIS YEAR’S PRESIDENT - PETE CAUSER
Born on the 25th of April 1955 in Stevenage, Herts, Pete Causer is the elder son of architects Harry and Margaret. Two years later brother Michael was born and shortly afterwards the family made the move to another new town – Cumbernauld, in Scotland – where their father took up a new post as one of the original 12 architects tasked with creating a new town to house the overspill from Glasgow
Growing up with the town, Pete spent five years at Cumbernauld High School, working his way through the Scout movement and being chosen as part of the Scottish contingent to the 1971 World Jamboree in Japan before transferring to Ackworth for L6 where he thoroughly enjoyed just one year studying maths, physics and metalwork. Although he left Ackworth without any academic qualifications, an interest in engineering and especially in motorcycles was sparked off which has stayed with him ever since.
Having left school, Pete worked his way through college and worked in the health service, manufacturing industry and motorcycle retail and servicing before an ongoing interest in bike racing led to him working full time in the racing industry for several successful years, an involvement which continues to this day as a Technical Official at the Isle of Man TT and other races. After a stint of truck driving, a return to college to upgrade qualifications then gained him a post as a development engineer with a major car manufacturer.
He has four children and two grandchildren. He has been married to Nici (well known to Easter Gatherers) since 2013 with whom he has lived since 1999. They have lived on the Isle of Man since 2008.
Pete’s tenure as President has been extended for a year, because of the suspension of AOSA activities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PETER CAUSER PRESIDENT A.O.S.A. 2019-21
Photograph by Charles T. Stuart
EDITOR’S FOREWORD 2020
COVID-19 ruled out any possibility of any Scholars’ activities this year. The school wisely decisively cancelled the Easter Gathering, a dec that was deeply regretted, while being wi supported.
The Easter Team, led by Sal Wright, organis Virtual Easter that enabled Old Scholars participate in many of the traditional E Gathering activities. A summary can be found in this year’s greatly truncated Annual Report, which is surely one of the slimmest on record
Our thoughts have been with the problems facing the school during the pandemic. The ingenuity of all concerned to sustain the education of day pupils and boarders has been remarkable
One consequence of the pandemic has been the decision to extend President Pete Causer’s term of office for a second year. This is the first time such an extension has happened during peace time.
The extra space made available in this year’s Annual Report has been filled by a look at the official school photographs of the 1960s. Each picture is accompanied by an outline key with a list of names
Elsewhere, news items have been reproduced, with permission, from Ackworth Today.
David Wood
ACKWORTH OLD SCHOLARS’ EASTER GATHERING 2020 UNDER LOCKDOWN
The hoped for Easter Gathering fell victim to Covid-19, but the school’s prompt and decisive action in postponing the event was widely welcomed by Old Scholars, avoiding any last-minute confusion However, regret was evident in bucketloads.
Undeterred by the lockdown, our Easter Secretary, Sal Wright (who was already putting on the finishing touches in organising the event) went into overdrive to arrange a ‘virtual’ Easter Gathering.
The President’s Address normally takes place on the evening of Easter Saturday, marking the end of his/her presidency, before handing the role to the successor. Under the circumstances, it was agreed that Pete Causer’s presidency would be extended for a full year. This is not without precedent. In 1888-89, when the Ackworth Old Scholars’ Association was very young, the chosen president, William Jones, was working abroad, and was unable to carry out his duties, so was replaced for part of the year by Joseph Pattison Drewett, but Mr Jones’s presidency was then extended by a full year. During World War I, William Graveson had a threeyear presidency (1916-19) and during World War II, both Arthur Cooper and James Westwood served for two years each. Frederick Andrews, Ackworth’s longest serving head teacher, was president in 1892-93 and again in 1919-20. But Pete Causer’s extended presidency is the first to be the result of an international health emergency.
The photograph (right) depicts Pete Causer, the current Ackworth Old Scholars’ president flanked by a sea of all previous presidents, from 1882 to the present.
A number of Easter Gathering events recur annually, and Nick Seed (scholar 1965-71) continued the tradition of planting sunflower seeds at Easter, and subsequently publishing photographs on social media to compare results.
For many years, Charles Stuart has created a challenging quiz for Old Scholars to digest and solve. This year, it was a music quiz, sent out via social media. Charles might well consider this a better way to do things, as there were fewer arguments about the answers during lockdown!
Sunday Evening Reading was presented this year by Janet Blann on YouTube
Easter Sunday Meeting for Worship was introduced by a video of the interior of the meeting house, with an invitation to continue with a private meeting for 45 minutes. A second video (by Jeffrey Swales) introduced the Easter Sunday walk, but this year, it was a slow, atmospheric stroll from the bottom of Great Garden to Centre Library, and to other areas of the school grounds – a touching reminder of the school’s idyllic environment.
The annual ‘Badsworth’ cross-country run has continued to attract Old Scholar runners every year, and it continued in 2020 in a different form. The measured
distance of the old Senior Badsworth course is 7.44 km, so Old Scholars were invited to run this exact distance from their homes, on Easter Monday morning at 10 a.m., the normal date and time of the event. On completion, competitors were asked to send GPS evidence of their run, including distance ran, along with elapsed times. President Pete Causer fired the virtual starting gun, and supporters waited patiently for news of the runners. The women’s race was won by Eleanor Thompson in a time of 38:58. David Wood won the men’s race in a time of 37 min, 33 sec. This was the first time he had won a Badsworth race since 1970 – exactly 50 years earlier. All participants acknowledged that although the distances were identical, there were inevitable differences in the courses being run.
Easter Gatherings are often an opportunity for year groups to arrange a reunion. This year was no exception, except that everyone involved stayed at home: “On Saturday night ‘Class of ‘85 to ‘92, had a wonderful Zoom reunion. It is 30 years since our GCSE’s, being the 3rd year to do GCSE’s I think Any way our Zoom evening went incredibly well, with about 15 or more of us. Many have messaged since to say they are sorry to have missed it. Thank you to Susie Hinchcliffe for hosting. Unfortunately we were so absorbed we forgot to do a screen shot. After two and a half hours of us all chatting I was left with an overwhelming feeling of what lovely people I went to school with and what interesting lives and careers they are having. Everybody is keen to have a proper reunion after Covid. Lastly thank you to Easter Gathering and Pete Causer for their words of support.” Victoria Dublon Macdonald
Perhaps an opportunity missed was the ‘Music for a Sunday Evening’ annual event It was a chance for individual musicians to post their performances online, but nothing came of this. However, some YouTube posts of non-Ackworth performers did at least give a flavour of what might have been.
Other significant contributions included ‘Pop’ and ‘Poetry Half Hour’.
Finally, Old Scholars were invited to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at home
Looking to the future, it was envisaged that a delayed reunion might take place this autumn, but this is far from certain at the present time. Meanwhile, we hope all Old Scholars, families and friends are passing safely through this pandemic, and that we may be able to meet again soon.
The 2020 “virtual”
Easter Gathering – a view from your president
Well, as everyone knows, the annual Ackworth Easter Gathering fell victim to the global Coronavirus situation which meant that for the sake of everyone’s health and well being, the event had to be cancelled. However, our intrepid Easter Secretary wasn’t going to take things lying down and with the help of FaceBook and YouTube, pulled out all the stops to transfer as many activities online as she could and Chas Stuart provided his usual excellent quiz on Friday after dinner (excellently prepared by yourselves this year!).
On Saturday David Wood and Catherine Jackson provided us with “School Today” in the form of the spring edition of Ackworth Today and Nick Seed gave us a demonstration of planting sunflowers. Sunday morning the local walk was a gentle stroll with Jeffrey Swales around Great Garden and on up to the Meeting House where meeting for worship was held in a very empty room! After lunch, again prepared in your own kitchens, Chas gave us a music quiz from the Mason’s Arms, there were Easter baking and bonnet competitions (unfortunately we had to disqualify a couple of entries, in particular those from Eggbert, Elspeth and ex-president Aidan Mortimer, since it was deemed that their entries were not their own work!), a musical recital from very special guest performer, Andrea Bocelli, singing live from the Duomo Di Milano and, after a bit of a delay due to technical difficulties, Janet Blann gave us a wonderful Sunday Evening Reading. There was “virtual Badsworth” (run your own course around your garden or wherever) and there were submissions from Dee Yates and Sandra Lambert amongst others for Poetry Half Hour. To polish off the event we had probably some of the best entries for Pop that we’ve ever seen including a beautiful couple of pieces submitted from Missouri by someone who would not normally have been able to join us and finally, an old friend of mine gave us a lovely rendition of Auld Lang Syne
So despite the problems, we still managed to gather to have a great, if socially distant, Easter, most of which can be accessed through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/55068420952.
As a result of the situation I’m afraid that we had to forego a couple of the formalities of Easter, in particular, the AGM and Presidential Address which, along with my presidency, I’m told will have to be carried forward until 2021. We can only pray that the situation will be back to something more like normality by then and that we can go back to having the sort of Easter Gathering we are more used to. Until then, love and best wishes to all Friends out there.
Pete Causer
GLENTHORNE WEEKEND November 2019
from a newcomer to Glenthorne
A calming yet stimulating, peaceful yet sociable weekend
As an Old Scholar, I’ve known of Glenthorne Quaker Guest House (https://glenthorne.org) for 35 years. My familiarity with the name was helped by the fact that the parents of two of my contemporaries, Rebecca and Rachael Harrison, were the wardens whilst we were at school in the 1980s. A few years ago, I made a small detour especially to see what it looked like, but this November was the first time I have stayed there.
For one weekend every November, an Ackworth-connected group of Old Scholars and Quakers stay for two days with a remit to do nothing but relax and spend time together. It is an experience I will definitely repeat: the alchemy of Lake District beauty, comfortable rooms and beds, fantastic food and the peace that always seems to be present in a Quaker establishment. The company was the highlight though: Ackworth as our common thread is always a rich starting point for stories
and looking for the connections, coincidences and the ‘keeping bright the chain’ that follows from sharing experiences of our particular few years in one of our collective favourite places. I love finding those two or three degrees of separation when you talk to an Old Scholar who was at school more than a decade before or after you, but who you can link to through the common knowledge of others (children or staff) who were there in the intervening years.
I knew most of those attending at least a little, through Easter Gathering, Open Day or School Committee (I became a School Committee Member just over a year ago so am still learning the ropes), but the meals, evening in the common room, leisurely but good walk on Saturday, wandering round Grasmere and having coffee as a group in one of the posh hotels in the village on Sunday gave plenty of opportunities to get to knowpeople better and learn more about the diversity of what people do after Ackworth.
There were a number of particular highlights for me: the kindness of Stewart Huntington and Andy Whiteleyin trailing out to collect me from Windermere station late on Friday night; successfully bidding in an informal evening auction for a print of Henry Melville’s 1830 engraving of school that had been kindly donated by Helen Beaumount and Stephen Lonsdale to raise funds for the school Swimming Pool Appeal; the chance spotting that Mozart’s Requiem was being performed in the village church early Saturday evening so five of us could nip down and hear it; meeting on Sunday morning with the added beauty of Lakeland fells around us.
I was not the only first-timer on the weekend: Alison Tyas, Old Scholar 1951-57 and a previous Clerk of School Committee, attended for her first time despite having a Quaker pedigree stretching back centuries, whereas I am a ‘Muggleborn’ Ackworthian in contrast.
We agreed entirely on what a welcoming experience it was – we highly recommend it to you.
OLD SCHOLAR NEWS
Remembering Ackworth: Dorothy Robbins – 100 years old (Scholar 1933-38)
Ackworth School would like to wish a happy 100th birthday to Dorothy Robbins who celebrated it on14th November 2020. Dorothy is the granddaughter of our ninth Head of Ackworth, Frederick Andrews, who served as head for 43 years. From all of us at Ackworth School, Happy Birthday!
“Some time ago a large and heavy parcel arrived in the mail from the U.K. It
turned out to be three copies of the 2018 issues of ‘Ackworth Today’ with a covering letter signed by Anton Maree, Head of School and Janet Blann, OS General Secretary. This explained the changes in the AOSA and the Annual Report as we have known it for many years. I have perused all of these issues with great interest, including the Old Scholar news which is quite sufficient for me at this stage of my life. I am fascinated by all the exciting happenings that are going on in the School today, so many things and all delightfully written, mostly by students Any comparison between the School now and that of the 30s when I attended is purely coincidental, which has inspired me to write something of ‘our time’.
“I was born in Nova Scotia, the third daughter of Frank Walker and Gertrude Andrews, who was the youngest daughter of Frederick Andrews, Headmaster of Ackworth School for 42 years, 1887-1920. Because our mother had grown up in the School and had attended as a student along with her other three siblings … AND my father and his sisters had also gone there, Ackworth was a constant topic of conversation when we were growing up and it was a ‘given’ that all three daughters would go to Ackworth. As the youngest I was the last to attend, travelling of course by ship across the Atlantic and I spent five wonderful years at the School. In the Spring 2018 Issue of ‘Ackworth Today’ there is a story of the early days when John and Henry Burtt arrived at Ackworth in 1847.
“Well! I was there in the 1930s, not quite 100 years later, but to those reading this in 2020 our life in the School then will sound equally amazing. Outwardly the buildings are much the same with some new additions, but there are many changes on the inside and everything else is completely different, except for the Quaker ethos which shines through in so many writings from the Head right down to the younger students. There is indeed something special about Ackworth which continues over the years.Eighty years ago there were two distinct schools, girls –in the west wing, boys – in the east and ‘seldom the two shall meet’. By 6th form, because of smaller classes, we did join up with the boys and even went over to their class rooms near the Great Garden! Mostly however, we watched the boys from our windows in the west wing…. but on weekdays relatives from both sides were allowed to walk together on the Terrace, I think it was at noon hour. To enable this togetherness there was a tendency to develop what we termed “Ackworth cousins” of which there were quite a few! On Sundays after Meeting you were also allowed to walk up and down the ‘Boys Green’ (which was asphalt) with a ‘special’ friend and this was very exciting! At this time we were all boarders, with only one or two day students, children of staff members and once the term began we were in the School and only allowed to go to certain places in the village when family or relatives came to visit.
“Founders’ Day always saw us (the girls anyway – I don’t know what the boys did!) off in charabancs (not buses as we would call them in Canada) to places in the moors – generally some historic spots like Fountains or Rievaulx Abbey, arriving back at school for the infamous bangers and mash. In the sixth form we did take a week or 10 day trip to the Continent but mostly to Holland or Belgium and it was very carefully controlled and only girls!
Classrooms and common rooms were on the first and second floors in our wing, heated only by a grate fire so you either froze near the windows or burned up beside the fire! We spent what little free time we had, particularly on Saturdays, in the common rooms. That was when we could go to the tuck shops (only 2 of them) in the village, spend our allowance of 6d per week, then come back and ‘pig out’ on our goodies, cosied up by the fire!!
Sleeping accommodation was mostly on the second floor of the girls’ wing in dormitories of anywhere from 4 to 16 or 18 girls. There was no heat, as I recall, and I particularly remember one year in one of the bigger dorms, pulling the floor mat beside my bed on top of me to try to counter the cold. I spent one year at Ackworth House about a 10 minute walk towards the village and this was a delight – with smaller rooms and a more family like atmosphere. There were two other houses, Seatons and Carr House which accommodated smaller groups of older students but I did not experience those.
Field hockey was the main sport for girls and the boys were involved in cricket We had some competition with other schools but seldom went very far. Tennis was popular, played on the Girls’ Green and up at Flounders. Meeting for Worship was held twice a week in the Meeting House, half an hour on Thursdays and an hour on Sundays with every student in attendance. The big excitement of the week was a lecture or slide show by visiting speakers on Saturday evening in the Fothergill Hall These were also times to get a better look at the boys, also in attendance!
In retrospect and in comparison to today’s freedom of choice and activity it sounds pretty awful but I loved my five years there and credit much of my success in future years to the influence of Ackworth and the Quaker background. It is still very dear to my heart and very much a part of me
After leaving Ackworth I chose to return to Canada and decided to pursue physical education as a career following in my mother’s footsteps. This eventually brought me back to Nova Scotia in the mid 1940s where l was involved in the initial development of physical education and recreation within the Province at a time, post WW2, when very little was happening. And so my career continued over
many decades through all the phases of development in education to the sophisticated schools we now have.
I am one of the few ‘pioneers’ of this era in Canada still living and reasonably active at 100 years young! In 1963 I received a Doctorate from Acadia University in Wolfville for my contribution to the Province and am now the ‘heritage item’ and source of information for physical education through the years in Nova Scotia!
Dorothy Walker Robbins, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Duan Repcák and Viren Pandya
Old scholars Duan Repcák and Viren Pandya have created a publication on Medium called ‘PR Business and Economics Review’. Both have published their first articles: Viren, about Carbon Tax, and Duan about the European Emissions Trading System. ‘These are both topics about the environment that Viren and I think concern us all,’ said Duan.
Aili Hyde
I was at Ackworth from 2009-2016, and then studied for a BA at Cambridge in Human, Social, and Political Sciences, graduating in June 2019. Since then, I’ve been working as the Education Officer and Deputy President of Cambridge University Students’ Union. This is a full-time year-long elected position with the aim of representing students across the Collegiate University, specifically on issues related to their education.
I’ve done a lot of student representation work throughout the years, including being a School Officer when I was at Ackworth, heading the Student Union’s LGBT+ Campaign, and performing the role of Vice-President on my college’s internal Student Union. What’s so interesting about my current job, however, is the cross-section of the university that I get to see and the insight that comes from being involved in such a broad range of projects.
As sabbatical officers (‘sabbs’), we do a lot of different kinds of work. We campaign, both within the confines of the university but also on national issues. We sit on committees, presenting the student view on the issues that the university is currently focused on. We support students in their own peer advocacy work and we run events for students.
I’ve been running the Student Union’s Boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS) this year, encouraging students to not fill out this particular survey, as it is a metric which feeds into the Teaching Excellence Framework, the regulatory framework that ranks universities against one another and exacerbates a culture of marketisation in Higher Education that our union has policy against. One of the other parts of my job is supporting the student academic representatives in the university. I run a fortnightly forum for them to meet and discuss the issues that they’re working on and joinup to campaign on cross-faculty and cross-school problems I also lobbied academics last year to vote ‘placet’, (yes), in a ballot to reform the way academic representatives are elected and it’s very exciting that those reforms are going to be in place from October onwards!
I also run the Student-led Teaching Awards which are an opportunity for students to recognise the great work teaching and support staff do in the university.
Those are only three of the projects I’m working on – it’s a mad job!
It is really rewarding to be able to put into practice all the advocacy skills I’ve learned over the years and to spend one more year in this city. Ackworth started that process off and it was also where I really discovered my passion for music and I still play in my college’s jazz band and sing in the chapel choir. Music keeps me sane in what is a very busy and highly scrutinised role. I am very lucky to have such a busy and varied life – and Ackworth definitely laid the foundations for that!
Sally Harby
Sally Harby taught piano here at Ackworth until a serious road accident in 1982 put an end to her career.
She has lived in France for the last 16 years, but on 3 February 2020 she visited Ackworth to see the new Steinway pianos. After a tour of the Music Department, she played a piece of Rachmaninov on the Steinway grand, much to the delight of a Coram class. Sally’s verdict on the Steinway was - ‘formidable!’.
Here she is seen with family members including her sister Celia Wolfe who taught History at the school for 25 years.
Robyn Wickham
The Adventures of Poetry Continue after Leaving Ackworth.
On the 25th September 2019, I read my college emails and saw a new delivery. Three beautiful words bold letters: ‘Poetry Writing Competition’. My ed like an excited child and I hastily clicked and ore to find that ‘Young Writers’ was running poetry contest with the theme of ‘Through Their Eye he email gave some suggestions of starting points for inspiration, such as world leaders lebrities, but I wanted to explore the qualities of tract noun within this theme. Being the sup ssed manga and anime fan I am, I first took ins he character ‘Truth’, a godlike character that appears in the series ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’. However, after exploring this idea I found my work was lacking originality, so I decided to change the topic What other theoretical images could I come up with that in many ways symbolised an all-powerful deity? What other notion could make people face the facts at the end of the tunnel?
One particular suggestion bounced around the walls of my brain: Death - a pretty clever suggestion considering my known morbid style of writing. Soon, I found myself experimenting with similes, metaphors, alliteration and other literary devices. Before long, I was submitting the poem online and eagerly awaiting the results.
A letter arrived at my college some weeks later from ‘Young Writers’ stating that my poem had been selected as one of those to be published in their book. I was over the moon to receive my copy of the book and can now proudly say that I am a published poet. (+photo)
Maddy Ward
Old Scholar Maddy Ward recently celebrated her marriage to Tom Pennington at Ackworth School. Here she describes what it was like to have a wedding at her old school:-
‘Words can’t describe how grateful we are to Ackworth School for everything
they did to make our wedding perfect. The first thing to say is that the School’s flexibility and can-do attitude cut through a wedding industry that is otherwise daunting and commercialised, and made us feel immediately at ease.
‘They respected the traditions of the Quaker wedding we were having, and tailored their package around it; we were always made to feel like valued customers. We had a vision for how we wanted our wedding to look andfeel, and they made it happen. Every member of theteam went above and beyond with their kindness, energy and imagination to bring our hopes to reality.
‘The service was professional and personable throughout. The food was absolutely out of this world, and several of our guests said it was the best wedding meal they had ever had. The price was very reasonable for everything we got, and the range and combination of services on offer can’t be matched by any other venue in the area.
‘And then, of course, the venue itself is absolutely stunning - the star of the show! The School also allowed our guests to stay in the boarding houses overnight for a very reasonable price, which made it so much easier for all those who were travelling and gave the sense of the wedding as a ‘whole-weekend’ event We can’t stress this enough: if you are looking for a wedding reception that is personal, beautiful and good value, you must choose Ackworth School.’
Deb Henery
Deb Henery is an Old Scholar of Ackworth School, joining in year 5 of Coram House in 2006. Now she has returned to work with the PE Department as she trains to be a PE teacher.
“I left Ackworth in 2013 and like many young adults I was unsure about what career pathway I would take As all my teachers and peers knew, I was an avid sportsperson and as well as representing the school in most sports, I also ski raced competitively for England. However, my other huge passion was baking and cooking, and I aspired to become the next Michel Roux Jr. I set my hopes high, and for the next three years trained as a professional chef at York College. A
couple of years after graduating the reality of being a professional chef had hit hard and the industry was gruelling
“I took some time to re-think my future and took a huge risk. In 2018 I became a student once again and enrolled at Sheffield Hallam University to study BSc Honours Physical Education and School Sport I am now in thesecond year of my degree and have recently started aseven-week work placement here at Ackworth. It is a privilege to work along side the teachers who inspired me to be the best version of myself all those years ago. I believe Ackworth School allows you to be creative, unique and instils confidence, motivation and drive within all young people that step through its doors.
“Working at Ackworth as a trainee PE teacher is very different from my days here as a student; however the sense of warmth and belonging remains the same In my opinion, the school has made incredible improvements within the PE department. There is a larger number of activities available to students which help to encourage all students to be active. Hopefullythey will find enjoyment and purpose in physical activity in order to encourage lifelong participation It is also evident that great measures have been put in place in order to support elite athletes throughout their development I am excited to continue my development as an individual and as a trainee teacher here at Ackworth and work towards an inspiring future.”
ARCHIVE CORNER
The archives recently received a donation of early needlework and a splendid Quaker bonnet from Mark Eastman of Devon. They probably belonged to his ancestor, Hannah Bevington, who was a scholar at Ackworth School from 1806 to 1811. Four of Hannah’s siblings also attended Ackworth between 1803 and 1809. The family came from Worcester and research suggests that they were glovers. The school is very grateful to Marl for his very kind gesture.
SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS - SUMMER 1963 and SUMMER 1966
Ackworth School has a proud record of school group photographs, dating back to the second half of the 19th century. To the school’s great credit, from the earliest days, each individual on every class photograph was clearly recorded for posterity - that is, until the 1970s, when labelling appears to have been discontinued.
In the summer term of 1963, group photographs were mostly taken in the newly created “house-form” groups. Only the first years were pictured as a single group. The house-forms were mixed ability tutorial groups, quite distinct from the academic teaching groups, which were rigorously streamed in most cases. Indeed, the boys’ dormitories continued to be populated according to academic groups for several more years - a practice that now seems difficult to justify.
1963 was the last year when group photos were taken in the Area. From 1966 onwards, the new location was Centre Library steps, and whole year group photographs became the norm.
Ackworth School group photos became an ongoing feature of school life in the 19th century, with full labelling of all individuals. These photographic records are stored in albums in Centre Library. .
Staff photos have been omitted, though these are being considered for a future Annual Report.
1 Paul Lindsay
2 Christopher Curry
3. Adrian Sharp
4. Michael Smith
5. Stephen Thomas
6 Peter Gunn
7 Alan Fleming
8 Philip Legg
9 Andrew Nichols
10. Peter Davenport
11. Roger Burtt
12. John Darbyshire
13 David Eaton
14 Philip Lodge
15 Melvyn Pratt,
16 David Wiggles worth
17. Christopher Jagan
18. Ian Crossley
19. Elizabeth Hunt
20. Hilary Garland
21 Annabel Scott
First Years - Summer 1963
22 Piers Holmes-Smith
23 Alan Lapage
24. Matthew Jones
25. Peter Evans
26. Christopher Johnson
27 Charles Hague
28 Christopher Bostock
29 William Corder
30 Martin Talbot
31. Peter Burnett
32. Nigel Wade
33. Jane Ashford
34 Peggotty O’Sullivan
35 Ann Malcolm
36 Carol Webster
37 Rosemary Brown
38. Linda Hawkes
39. Susan Wilson
40. Avril Brown
41. Harry Needham
42 Noelene Walmsley
43 Christopher Pilling
44 Susan Jervis
45. Susan Sturdy
46. Janet Tyson
47. Katharine Prescott
48 Anne Kenyon
49 Marjorie Trotter
50 Judith Craven
51 Jennifer Spinks
52. Alison Percy
53. Annette Newby
54. Wendeline Beyts
55 Jane Tod
56 Deborah Watkinson
57 Penelope MacConnachie
58 Mary Lewis
59. Kathleen Common
60. Barbara Duck
61. Olwyn Southworth
62. Naomi Phillips
Fothergill/Gurney 2 - Summer 1963
1. Michael O’Connor
2. Martin Fine
3. Robert Addis
4. Bernard Lazenbury
5. Andrew Popplewell
6. Julian Oliver
7. John Wood
8. Paul Craddock
9. Stuart Moss
10. Anthony Hunt
11. Patrick Reynolds
12. Alan Crossley
13. Margaret Tidby
14. Tessa Upson
15. Jennifer Glaister
16. Veronica Smith
17. Michael Charles
18. Richard Pickles
19. Gavin Mendham
20. Nicholas Seymour
21. Vivienne Hicken
22. Jill Sara
23. Mary Clerehugh
24. Catharine Bishop
25. Anne Gilderdale
26. Sally Jepson
27. Gillian Harrison
28. Rowena Sutton
29. James Lincoln
30. Joy Worley
31. Hilary Chappell
32. Diana Craven
33. Valerie Gray
34. Mary Crosby
1. Peter Morrison
2. David Mountford
3. Richard Oates
4. Graham Evison
5. Robin Evans
6. Charles Rowntree
7. Robert Mather
8. John Renwick
9. James Body
10. Stephen Todd
11. Brandon Everett
12. Christopher Fawcett
13. Hugh Laycock
14. Christine Lytollis
15. Deborah Hopkins
16. Esther Richardson
17. Paul Wilson
18. Andrew Tetley
19. Leslie Fenning
20. Christopher Townend
21. Susan Richardson
22. Veronica Wilson
23. Pauline Lincoln
24. Jean Robson
25. Christine Firth
26. Joanna O’Sullivan
27. Sally Harrison
28. Peter Lammin
29. Judith Weale
30. Christine Pearson
31. Jane Marshall
32. Marie Rehak
33. Deborah Spencer
Fothergill 3 - Summer 1963
1. Richard Petrie
2. Martin Bingham
3. John Garfield
4. Fergus Lapage
5. David Hayhurst
6. Dennis Roberti
7. Charles Wade
8. Hugh Brown
9. Kirsten Forrester-Paton
10. Penelope Fine 11. Rosemary Bowler
12. Joyce Snowden
13. Gordon Jennings
14. Marilyn Yougn 15. Judith Ashford
16. Janet Frazer
17. Deborah Smith
Gurney 3 - Summer 1963
Hazel Oliver
1. Graham Blakeman 2. Peter Ross
Tom Aisbitt
Peter Jagan
Andrew Garland
Michael Lamb
Tony Ackroyd
Neil Macpherson
Adrienne Shaw
Valda Dagnell
Jennifer Lewis
Miriam Bescoby
Lotte Honig
Bruce Dick
Christine Tetley
Caroline Trickett
Margaret Langley
Penn 3 - Summer 1963
5.
14. William Westwood
15. Margery South 16. Jane Higgins 17. Patricia Ireland
1. Christopher Todd 2. Crispin Cullingworth 3. Robert Cummins 4. Brian Olver
Philip Ireland 6. James Marriage 7. Andrew Wilson 8. Peter Harwood 9. Susan Watkinson
10. Jennet Baily 11. Jane Rule
Juliet Smith
Barbara Johnston
Woolman
3 - Summer 1963 1. Patrick Phillips 2. Nicholas Orton
Timothy Roper 4. Kenneth Hakin 5. Alan Crabtree 6. Robert Milner 7. Robert Richardson 8. Martin Hardman 9. Rosemary Burtt
Margaret Vincent
Josephine Clewer
Doreen Bywater
Laurence Fitton
Lindsay Cashmore
Hester Goundry
Ruth Castick
Fothergill 4 - Summer 1963
1. Jonathan Fine
2. John Crossley
3. James Darricote
4. Brian Jardine
5. Richard Wolfe
6. Alan Roberti
7. Michael Lindley
8. Andrée Mendham
15. Peter Hope
16. Susan Brown
17. Elizabeth Gee
18. Mary Burgess
19, Etain Addey
9. Hilary Fassnidge 10. Carol Baldwin
Elizabeth Maxcy
Frances Willis
Linda Shaw
Joan Mason
Gurney 4 - Summer 1963
Martin Large
Michael Rawlinson
Richard Baker
Stephen Parker
Christopher Smith
Jacqueline O’Connor
Julia Hague
Jane Lodge
Kenneth Rosewarne
Barbara Dawson
Sarah Lamb
Valerie Main
Alison Sharp
Hilary Dagnell
Gerald Craddock
Paul Jepson
Richard Evans
Nigel Hicken
Julian Noble
Janet MacFarlane
Ruth Rollinson
Penn 4 - Summer 1963
1. Roland Kaye
2. Robert Rhodes
3. Ian Mitchell
4. Martin Everett
5. David Budd
6. David Lever
7. Simon Corder
8. Robert Gibson
9. David Harrison
10. Gina Malcolm
11. Susan Tod
12. Sally Lee
13. Valerie Turton
14. Arthur Brighton
15. Wallis Johnson
16. Eleanor Thomas
17. Susan Barlow
18. Sheila McIntosh
19. Margaret Southworth
20. Gail Nichols
21. Judith Young
Woolman 4 - Summer 1963
1. Robin Johnson
2. Richard Kirkby
3. Bruce Bailey
4. John Edmondson
5. Richard Coldwell
6. Desmond Fawcett
7. Martin Pierce
8. David Gibson
9. John Steele
10. Stephen Moore
11. John Boddy
12. Judith Mitchell
13. Jennifer Coldwell
14. Shanti Bhatia 15. Susan Harvey
16. Lynne Kernot
17. Stephanie Baldwin
18. Phillips Harris
19. Jennifer Vaughan
20. Richenda Harris
21. Carol Fitton
22. Lesley Durrans
23. Hilary Clunes
Fothergill 5 - Summer 1963
1. John Pickles
2. Neil Williamson
3. Timothy Robinson
4. David Vaughan
5. Robert Haworth
6. Nigel Morris
7. Andrew Stephenson
8. John Coleman
9. Elizabeth Cochrane
10. Carol Bell
Judith Butler 12. Gael Clark 13. Victor Mendham 14. Barbara May
Valerie Sutton 16. Jennifer Robson 17. Mary Wiggins 18. Rosemary Fassnidge
Gurney 5 - Summer 1963
3.
5.
Hilary Lawson
Brendalyn
1. Catherine Seymour
2. Geoffrey Heslop
Richard Whiteley
4. Richard Perrin
Stephen Waller
6. Adrian Large
7. Francis Woodcock
8. Richard Huddleston
9. Clare Collin 10. Gwynneth Charles
Tessa Schiele
Jinnie Schiele
Lucy Cowan
Brian Sara
Margaret Robinson
Janet Lipton
Waterfall
Penn 5 - Summer 1963
1. Howard Webb
2. Richard Evans
3. Andrew Gradon
4. Martin Armitage
5. John Peters
6. Simon Edmunds
7. John Ogley
8. Peter Lee
9. Annemarie Kunzel
10. Jill Wilson
11. Pauline Hayden
12. Judith Petrie
13. Mary Scott
14. Fred Scott
15. Rosemary Stanton
16. Margaret Johnson
17. Sheila Grudgings
Woolman 5 - Summer 1963
1. Elizabeth Bush
2. Francis Gilliat
3. Alan Bostock
4. Patrick Goundry
5. Richard Aynsley-Smith
6. Maxwell Eaton
7. Michael Smith
8. Ronald Wade
9. David Cowans
10. Susan Yellig 11. Mary Beyts
Elizabeth Orton
Jennifer Wood
Christine Burtt
Anthony Cashmore
Margaret Millward 17. Rosemary Robson 18. Mary Whitaker 19. Anne Rowntree
Lower Sixth (6G) - Summer 1963
1. Lesley Tittle
2. Robert Vincent
3. Nicholas Binks
4. Robert Walker
5. Christopher Jones
6. John Vallance
7. Richard Garfield
8. Richard Wood
9. Paul Boyd
10. Andrew Houghton
11. Sandra Wells
12. Margaret Vallance
13. Vera Rehak
14. Judith Stanley
15. Sheena Clark
16. Anne Maclean
17. Roger Spinks
18. Barbara Waddington
19. Ruth Shaw
20. Christine Powell
21. Francesca Cross
22. Helen Nicholson
23. Hilary Westerman
Lower Sixth (6B) - Summer 1963
1. Silochina Hariram
2. Jill Turton
3. Thea Baily
4. Anthony Covington
5. Brian Bigland
6. Andrew Wragg
7. Carol Baldwin
8. Corinne Cashmore
9. Jane Ogle
10. Julia Kirkby
11. Jean Timmis
12. Peter Speirs
13. Roger Harris
14. Timothy Gray
15. David Hough
16. Stuart Huntingdon
17. John Yarwood
18. Christopher Christie
19. David McCobb
20. Per Arnold Rorholt
21. Michael Hargreave
22. Therle Dagnell
23. Ann Straughan
24. Gwyneth Jones
25. Margaret Cory
26. Miranda Holmes-Smith
27. Barbara Waddington
28. James Collin
29. Doreen Johnson
30. Pamela Renwick
31. Gillian Upson
32. Anne Brearley
33. Rosalind Millington
Upper Sixth (6A) - Summer 1963
1. Edwin Brocklehurst
2. Peter Olver
3. Ifor Ffowkes-Williams
4. Ian Foster
5. Derrick Smith
6. Edwin Aird
7. Christopher Nelstrop
8. Martin Wragg
9. Alan Walker
10. John Purvis
11. David Lindley
12. David Muschamp
13. William Wicksteed
14. Christopher Stephenson
15. Richard Haworth
16. John Burgess
17. Sarah Gee
18. Eileen Greenwood
19. Rena Heslop
20. Ceri Waddell
21. Caroline Fox
22. Nicolette Mendham
23. Catherine Lilwall
24. Melissa Baxter
25. Patricia Simm
26. Anne Gibson
27. Kathleen Oldham
28. Mary Tod
29. Ruth Orton
30. Bronwen Charles
31. Jennifer Tether
32. Charlotte Dakin
33. Phyllis Sadler
34. Ivan Gray
35. Gerald Brown
36. Anna Large
37. Annette Alonso
38. Marion Martin
Jackson
Tabachnick
Michael Chubb
Second Form - Summer 1966
Peter Armitage
36 Bridgitta Reischer 37 John Adams
38. Kathryn Strange 39. Stuart Gray
Katherine Johnson
Martin Fawcett 42 Catherine Wilson 43 Hugh Beyts 44 Judith Spinks
45 Roger Rowntree
46. Elin Robson
47. Martin Lester
48 Julia Bishop
49 Richard Kent
50 Hilary Foster
51 Philip Fieldsend
52 Hea her Burtt
53 Gary Watson
54. Elizabeth Young
55. Michael Illingworth
56 Zephyrine Holmes-Smith
57 Geoffrey Tomlinson
58 Elspeth Forrester-Paton
59 Robert Penman
60 Subash Arora
61 Stuart P Cassie
62. Carol Q. Gillett
63. A. Wallis Johnson
64 T Peter Rowlands
65 Christine Verity
66 Patrick Braithwaite
67 Irene Common
1 Simon Guyler
2 Alan Pearson
3. Allan Braithwaite
4 Richard Green
5 David Lister
6. Anthony Bunn
7 Peter Johnson
8 Ian Addis
9 Nicholas Rieveley
10 Hugh Dower
11. Pamela Strafford
12 Gabrielle Westerman
13 Miles Leach
14. Richard Gomersall
15 Paul Kader
16 Daniel Robson
17. Sandra Fisher
18 Brian Hurwitz
19. Julia Corder
20 Anthony Biggin
21 Amanda Graddol
22. Frank Ward
23 Jane Rapson
24 Judith Lytollis
25. Jonathan Bradbury
26 Elizabeth Leightley
27. Themba Matabese
28 Jane Foster
29 Robert Dealey
30. Phillipa Gray
31 John Rich
32 Pamela Wilson
33. Richard Aisbitt
34 Catherine Thornhill
35. David Bunney
36. Ruth Midgley
37 Christopher Hewitt
38. Judith Stafford
39 David Whiteley
40 Jill Turton
41. Simon Bemrose
42 Helen Bowker
43. Richard Liddle
44. Caroline Barr-Taylor
45 Andrew Rayson
46. Margaret Temple
47 Peter Luscombe
Third Form - Summer 1966
48. Alison Hart
49 John Bowler
50. Barbara Leadbeater
51. Philip de Cobain
52 Mary-Claire Graddol
53. Victoria Smith
54 Christopher Hartley
55 Diana Hargreaves
56. Martin Barker
57 Susan Burgess
58. Richard Moss
59. Anthea Dagnell
60 Christopher Edge
61. Maureen Pratt
62 Nicholas Fearnley
63. Angela Hanson
64 Gideon Sharp
65. Kenneth Barker
66. Carolyne Turner
67 Gordon W Jennings
68. Marilyn Young
69 Fred Davies
70 Lotte Honig
71. Dennis H. Mitchell
72 Ila R Patel
73. William Westwood
74. Joan Anderson
75 Stephen Grimes
76. Jeanette Mitchell
Fourth Form - Summer 1966
1 Robert Mather 2 Jeremy Clewer 3 Anne Gilderdale 4 Gavin Mendham 5. Lance Skinner
6. Andrew Tetley 7 Anne Whitaker
8 Stuart Moss
Deborah Hopkins
Stephen Richards
Joan Greenwood
Charles Rowntree
Sarah Bebington
Andrew Popplewell
Veronica Wilson
Bernard Lazenbury
17 Andra Veitch
18 Robert Addis
19 Rhona Sharp
20 Anthony Hunt
21. Christine Firth
22. Paul Craddock
23 Paul Swanton 24 Gillian Harrison
25 James Boddy
26 Catharine Bishop
27 John Banks
28 Esther Richardson
29. John Sheehan
30. Rowena Sutton
31 Stephen Franklin 32 Martin Fine
Fifth Form - Summer1966
Jennifer Glaister
Peter Harwood
Sally Harrison
Julian Oliver
Marie Rehak
Hugh Jones
Valerie Gray
John Renwick
Pauline Lincoln 44. Stephen Todd
Deborah Spencer 34 Graham Evison
Mary Clerehugh 46 John Wood
Lindsay Harris 48 Nicholas Seymour 49 Sally Jepson
Hilary Chappell
Christopher Fawcett
Jane Sadler
Alan Crossley
Veronica Smith
David Mountford
Jane Marshall
Brandon Everett
Mary Crosby 59. Richard Oates
Tessa Upson
65. Christine Lytollis
66. Nicholas Orton 67 Diana Craven
68 Hugh Laycock
69 Jean Robson
61. Robin Evans 62 Joanna O’Sullivan 63 Margaret Tidby 64 Jeremy Bowler
70 Patrick Reynolds
A. Eileen King
B. Victor Mendham
C. Sara Leese
D. Fred Scott
E Mary Scott
F Christopher Pilling
Lower Sixth - Summer 1966
Desmond Lawrence
Jacqueline O’Connor
Richard Petrie
Jennifer Lewis
Graham Blakeman
Margery South
Crispin Cullingworth
Adrienne Shaw
Timothy Roper 44. Susan Watkinson
John Garfield 46. Andrew Binns 47. Pamela Welch 48 Charles Wade
Rosemary Burtt
Roger Spinks
Barbara Waddington 52. Ivan Gray 53. Joyce Spinks
James Collin
Rosemary Bowler
56 Christopher Todd 57 Hazel Oliver 58 Andrew Garland
Upper Sixth - Summer 1966
1. John Edmondson
2. Martin Pierce
3. Isobel Heap
4. Wilhelm Jacobson
5. Richenda Harris
6. Robin Johnson
7. David Sharp
8. Richard Kirkby
9. Rachel Weaving
10. Andrée Mendham
11. Diane Renaudon
12. Peter Liliendal
13. Barbara Valtin
14. Jennifer Smith
15. Elain Addey
16. Judith Mitchell
17. Elizabeth Gee
18. Julian Noble
19. Ursula Hunter
20. Jennifer Vaughan
21. Bruce Bailey
22. Alison Sharp
23. Hilary Fossnidge
24. Brian Jardine
25. Mary Burgess
26. Jane Lodge
27. Sheila McKintosh
28. Gaynor Darbyshire
29. Alan Roberti
30. Sarah Lamb
31. Richard Evans
32. Phyllis Sadler
33. Ivan Gray
34. Gerald Brown
35. Gail Nichols
36. David Lever
37. Margaret Southworth
38. Susan Barlow
39. Martin Large
MEMORIAL NOTICES
Dorothy Agnes Bostock (née Wade) 1941-45
Dorothy was born in Stroud Gloucestershire in 1927 and attended happy early years at Ackworth between 1941 and 1945 She trained as a teacher and taught at the air force base in Malta after her marriage in 1953 and then continued in England. Dorothy really loved life and always had a mischievous twinkle in her eye!
Jeanette Crookes née Nuttall (Scholar 1943-50)
On arriving at School in 1943 Jeanette was immediately moved up a year, then quickly settled in and spent five happy years there notably excelling as a pianist. In particular I remember a most enjoyable eight-handed performance of ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ on two pianos in Centre Library in which we both took part....an exhilarating experience and great fun.
Instead of going on to University, Jeanette decided to join the Civil Service and worked in Liverpool for many years until her youngest child had left home. She brought great tenacity and an enquiring mind to her job and indeed to all her many interests On promotion she moved to Blackheath and Jeanette tackled a new job with the Department of Health. At some point she was awarded the MBE. Her husband Brian was an active member of the Labour Party and Jeanette supported the cause all her life. In her late 50s Jeanette became aware that she was losing her sight. She and Brian decided to move north to Malton in order to set up home while she still had enough sight to navigate her way in a new home. She enlivened the local blind and partially sighted groups as well as learning new computer skills to further her quest to find a way to translate sheet music into an accessible form. When her husband died Jeanette fiercely resisted moving into supportedaccommodation with the question, ‘do you think I can’t manage’? And indeed she could and did manage because she was highly organised. Living alone, she would only accept minimal support for several years until ill health problems forced her into a Home in Harrogate for the last years Throughout her life, wherever she lived, Jeanette and her husband attended their local Quaker Meeting, where she occasionally spoke, often posing challenging questions of herself and the Meeting.
Peter Dibb (Scholar 1943-50)
Peter Dibb, the son of a Huddersfield accountant, was born in 1933 in Honley. The excellent sporting facilities that Ackworth offered may have prompted his parents to send him to the school because he soon developed a life-long passion for sport, especially cricket.
Peter was a remarkable individual. He played cricket for nine different clubs in the Huddersfield League over 62 seasons, scoring over 17000 runs and taking over 3000 wickets. He had periods as the professional for five of the clubs. Apparently he kept his cricket bat under his bed because he valued it so highly Toward the end of his cricket career, Peter enjoyed playing for the Penguins, a team formed in 1924 by a group of doctors from Leeds Royal Infirmary. They came to Ackworth every year to play a fixture against a Masters’ XI, a team of 3 or 4 masters and the best cricketing boys from the First XI which included Peter. Peter, as a 16 year old in 1949, would have been batting against the Penguins, with the master and future head of school, Albert Lindley.
Apart from cricket, Peter played hockey until he was 61 and was a member of Longwood Harriers Athletics Club from 1980. Even at the age of 76 he was running distances from 100 to 1000 metres He usually attended the Easter Ackworth Old Scholars weekend and, of course, he ran the Badsworth. Peter was a gentle, quiet spoken man. He worked as an accountant in Leeds. He had one daughter Paula, a sister, Gillian, three nephews and one niece. He was the archetypal Yorkshireman, and rarely out of the county for long. On one occasion he went with a group of Ackworth Old Scholars fora weekend in Paris, but the city and the food were not to his liking.
After ending his sporting activities Peter still remained very active. He walked, together with his friend Patricia, doing the Three Peaks, Scafell Pike, Skiddaw, Snowdon and other local mountains.
He died suddenly walking in a bluebell wood near his birthplace, Honley.
Mary Dunning, née Wetterstrand (scholar 1939-42)
Mary was born 1926 in Tonbridge Her mother Hilda died in childbirth, so Mary was brought up by a Great Aunt in Saltburn, Yorks. In 1939-42 she was a boarder at Ackworth School to avoid the bombing of Middlesbrough area, but she remembered vividly a stray bomb that broke the dormitory windows at Ackworth. She worked for her father, Gustave, on his fruit farm, until starting nursing training at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Newcastle,1945-1948, when the benefits of the new Penicillin treatments were discovered.
In the RVI she met a young doctor, Derek Bryant, and married in 1949. They had two children, Pamela and Peter, and got divorced in 1960. Mary continued to work in nursing, also after her second marriage to John Dunning, also an Ackworth old scholar, in 1961, and moved south to Hertfordshire. Here she was active in the local Operatic Society, joined AOSA activities in London, and also worked with drug addicts. Jonathan was born in 1964. In 1982 she divorced and later took early retirement from District nursing, moving to Portsmouth with her partner in 1986.
Mary was active in Portsmouth Cathedral congregation and also guided visitors round the warship “Warrior” in Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
Mary travelled to various countries, especially to Switzerland to visit family, and twice to New Zealand. She was a keen reader and enjoyed knitting and sewing until her eyesight worsened, and was a regular swimmer.
She died peacefully at home on 5 July 2020, aged 93, leaving three children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Margaret Frazer nee Sandy (Atom) - Scholar 1945-52
Margaret came to Ackworth at the end of WWII just after the nuclear attacks on Japan. Being the smallest person in the school it was not long before she was nicknamed Atom! She very much enjoyed her time there and made many good friends.
After leaving school she decided not to go on to higher education immediately but began her working life with Boots the chemist where she ultimately qualified with a certificate in pharmacy. This led her into work within the hospital service which kept her very active brain well occupied. She married Don Fraser in 1956 and began married life in Dartford, Kent. Her three children grew up there and they all enjoyed their involvement in the scouting and guiding groups locally. She and Don moved to Farnsfield in Nottinghamshire after he
retired, and for many years she was the secretary of the Women’s Institute there, which again, kept her active brain very much alive Margaret died of cancer in May and is survived by her son and two daughters and her sister, Diana.
John Parkinson
John Parkinson (scholar 1945-1951) was born in Scarborough in 1934 and was orphaned in his late teens.
After national service as a conscientious objector at the Retreat Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases in York with the support of his older sister Janet he qualified as a solicitor. John met his wife Civil at the Retreat and together they raised a family of four children. John returned to Scarborough in 1964 and built a successful law career in Scarborough including being president of the Scarborough Law Society. John used his talents as a solicitor to good effect in Scarborough. John did not advertise his good works but from other sources it is clear that he did a great deal for individuals and for many of Scarborough’s charitable institutions. Among the beneficiaries of his talents was his help in the relocation and building of Scarborough Friends Meeting House
Outside his professional activities John’s interests were in family history and he was a keen supporter of Derby County football club and Scarborough and Yorkshire cricket clubs. Civil died in 2005 and in 2014 John made the difficult decision to move from Scarborough to be near family at Harpenden in Hertfordshire where he died on 19th April 2020. In Scarborough John lived out the Ackworth School motto “Non sibi sed omnibus” (Not for self but for everyone).
Stephen Wright
Stephen Wright’s name or doodlings will most likely still be found around the school or grounds of Ackworth. I think he had the time of his life there; stories of girls, orange peel wine and smoking behind the bike shed were often lamented over.
Studying was not important to Dad at the time, with his interests firmly focused on the music, art and culture of the late 1960s. However, after his time at Ackworth, instead of going off to art school he decided to open his own antique shop in Wakefield. Five years later he sold it and joined
his father Colin in the footwear distribution industry. After 11 years of great business he made another change by moving into financial advice.Apparently he was talked into joining by his own financial advisor!
In 1978 he married Louise Wright and they had two children, Gemma and Jeremy who all had a great family life in Nun Monkton for more than ten years During that time he went back to footwear sales with great success and then the distribution industry collapsed with buyers going direct to their own factories. This forced dad to go back into financial advice for several years. In that time he divorced, moved to London with Jyoti, learnt to ride motorbikes, moved back up to Boston Spa and enjoyed a few years as a bachelor.
Dad was always a maverick at heart and after one too many pieces of compliance paperwork he decided to set up his own business as a painter and decorator in 2012. He also started painting pictures more often and sold a few great ones but sadly this was cut short by an accident. In October 2019 he was pulling ivy off the front of his house when he slipped from his ladders. He leaves behind four grandsons but his wisdom and humour will certainly be passed on
Jeremy Wright
Liz Morgan (Scholar 1972-74)
We are sad to learn that Liz Morgan (scholar 1942-74) died recently.
Ackworth School Old Scholars’ Association FULL
LIST OF PRESIDENTS
1882-83
Joseph Simpson
1883-84
William Coor Parker
1884-85
James Henry Barber
1885-86
Joseph Stickney Sewell
1886-87
Henry Thompson
1887-88
Thomas Pumphrey
1888-89
Joseph Pattison Drewett
1889-90
William Jones
1890-92
Henry Tennant
1892-93
Frederick Andrews
1893-94
Charles Brady
1894-95
Alfred Simpson
1895-96
Helen Bayes
1896-97
Sir James Reckitt
1897-98
Henry Ecroyd Clark
1898-99
Albert Linney
1899-1900
Mary Caroline Pumphry
1900-01
William Harvey
1901-02
John William Graham
1902-03
Robert Henry Taylor
1903-04
Rachel Oddie
1904-05
Alfred Henry Taylor
1905-06
Philip Burtt
1906-07
Joseph Firth Clark
1907-08
Septimus Marten
1908-09
Joseph Spence Hodgson
1909-10
Anna Louise Jackson
1910-11
William Whiting
1911-12
J. Travis Mills
1912-13
Samuel E. Brown
1913-14
Caroline C. Graveson
1914-15
W. Trevelyan Thomson
1915-16
Sheldon Leicester
1916-19
William Graveson
1919-20
Frederick Andrews
1920-21
Ellen M. Fry
1921-22
Charles H. Smithson
1922-23
Isaac Henry Wallis
1923-24
Harold Collinson
1924-25
Henry Binns
1925-26
Margaret Andrews
1926-27
William F. Nicholson
1927-28
Alfred E. Binyon
1928-29
Mary F. Hartley
1929-30
Edmund Henry Gilpin
1930-31
Walter Robert Bayes
1931-32
Gerald K. Hibbert
1932-33
Leila Sparkes
1933-34
Edgar B. Collinson
1934-35
Frank Ward
1935-36
Ernest Bowman Ludlam
1936-37
Jane H Williamson
1937-38
Thomas Foulds
1938-39
Joseph H. Lester
1939-40
Bertha Smith
1940-41
G. Noel Hyde
1941-42
Helen Andrews
1942-44
W. Arthur Cooper
1944-46
James Westwood
1946-47
Blanche M. Bennett
1947-48
Rowland C. Moore
1948-49
J. Stanley Carr
1949-50
Reginald Broomhead
1950-51
Eleanor Crosland
1951-52
Rex Yates
1952-53
Theodore W. Allen
1953-54
R. Percy Foulds
1954-55
Dorothy Mussell
1955-56
Bernard Wright
1956-57
A. Eric Ellison
1957-58
Lucy Binks
1958-59
James S. Lidbetter
1959-60
Ashton Watts
1960-61
Lucy O’Brien
1961-62
Eric Bellingham
1962-63
Arnold Sewell
1963-64
Elfrida V. Foulds
1964-65
Helen J. Neatby
1965-66
Arthur G. Olver
1966-67
Stanley G. Horner
1967-68
Ralph E. Handy
1968-69
Kathleen Binns
1969-70
Phillip Radley
1970-71
Donald Birkett
1971-72
Margaret Martin
1972-73
Phyllis M. Sadler
1973-74
Albert F. Lindley
1974-75
Stephen Burtt
1975-76
Mary Rogers
1976-77
Hilary W. Smith
1977-78
Roger Spinks
1978-79
Walter Fearnley
1979-80
Agnes Thompson
1980-81
Ian Bailey
1981-82
D. Keith Daniel
1982-83
Elisabeth F. Heywood
1983-84
John R. Postle
1984-85
Stephen Ward
1985-86
Mary Fulford
1986-87
George Bunney
1987-88
Molly Longley
1988-89
Colin Mortimer
1989-90
Peter Norris
1990-91
Margaret Postle
1991-92
Sheila Banks
1992-93
Celia Brebner
1993-94
Gordon Mckee
1994-95
Mary Robinson
1995-96
Michael Hargreave
1996-97
Anne Telford-Kenyon
1997-98
Margery Bunney
1998-99
Robert Gibson
1999-2000
Grace Hunter
2000-01
Christopher Moore
2001-02
Celia M. Ball
2002-03
Peter Lambourn
2003-04
Michael & Annabel McRobert
2004-05
Marguerite Hill
2005-06
Geoffrey R. Pedlar
2006-07
David J. Bunney
2007-08
Diana Chadwick
2008-09
Christopher Rengert
2009-10
Donald Elliott
2010-11
Martin Dickinson
2011-12
Shirley Day
2012-13 Stephen & Joyzelle Kelsall
2013-14
Christopher Jones
2014-15
Michael & Marjorie Bliss
2015-16
Peter Speirs
2016-17
Nicholas Seed
2017-18
Belinda Walters
2018-19
Aidan Mortimer
2019-21
Peter Causer