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COVER PHOTO
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Former Head of Classics David Miller who passed away in March 2025. Read some memories of David on Page 27.
EDITORIAL THANKS
A huge heartfelt thank you to all contributors in this issue of Bristolienses. Want to contribute to our 2026 issue? Let us know! community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Bristolienses magazine • Issue 65
Printed Summer 2025. Design: adart.design
Bristol Grammar School University Road, Bristol BS8 1SR
+44 (0)117 923 7037 community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Bristol Grammar School is a Registered Charity No. 1104425
FROM THE SOCIETY
By Marcus Cryer
It’s been another great year for the Old Bristolians, and once again I am delighted to report that the Society is in a good place. I’m really pleased to announce that a new lease for the Sports Club, a hot topic over the last few years, has been agreed and will hopefully be in place by the time you read this. The purpose of granting the lease is to offer comfort to the Sports Club that we are in total support of all that they are achieving in our name, and to enable them to apply for grants and raise funds for a redevelopment of both the clubhouse and the grounds. I must also take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved with gaining planning permission to bring our Memorial Playing Fields into the 21st Century. You can read more about this on Page 7.
Interestingly, the due diligence around the drafting and delivery of the lease highlighted areas where our structure as a Society needed updating, so we used this opportunity to redefine the roles and responsibilities of our trustees, and find a way forward with confidence that our structure is suitable for the modern world.
Once again the relationship of the golden triangle of Society, Sports Club and School is working well, and long may it continue. Old Bristolians regularly assist with careers events and act as mentors for Sixth Form students preparing to progress to the next stage in their lives, an exciting yet daunting time. This mentorship between Old Bristolians is the biggest strength of the Society. Whatever a young OB is trying to achieve, they can rest assured that an older OB probably has experience in that field, and is willing to help and advise. The mentoring scheme on the OB’s website is very important, and I would encourage any OB to sign up to it and be there to support a younger OB at the start of their career.
On the more social side, there have been some fantastic events at school that I have been lucky enough to attend this year. A particular highlight was the Carol service, which took place in Bristol Cathedral for the first time. It was a fabulous atmospheric event that was full of joy.
As well as the Annual Dinner, which is always a highlight, the Society arranged drinks in Oxford and Edinburgh alongside the Headmaster’s trip to visit OBs in New York. We intend to roll this out all over the country, so please follow us on social media to get involved. Please get in touch if you’d like us to arrange an event in your city.
Our monthly Lunch Club, held on the first Friday of the month from October to June, is still well supported and we’ve been delighted to see numbers as high as 40 this year. It’s such an important event with inspiring speakers, fine food and wonderful company. This is an easy way to keep in touch with School and the Society, and I would recommend coming along if you are able to as it is a most enjoyable couple of hours.
I take great pleasure in working with the Development department at BGS, who are doing a fabulous job with the 500 Campaign, ‘changing lives through bursaries at BGS’. Quite frankly what they are achieving is outstanding, and we should all support them. It is really interesting to see the traction this is achieving, not just through School and the Society, but also throughout the whole of Bristol. It amazes me how often people talk to me about it who have no involvement in the school whatsoever, but are proud Bristolians and praise us for what we are trying to achieve. The Development team offers a lot of support to the Society, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all that they do.
Finally, I must point out how much time and effort the management committee put into the Society; it is quite a commitment, and we could not run without them. Whether it’s the secretary, treasurer, trustees or indeed anyone who is involved, your hard work is massively appreciated.
I wish all OBs the very best for the year, and I hope to see some of you at our events throughout the next year. I would also encourage you to check out the Digital Archive on the OBs website – all of the Chronicles have been uploaded and you can search yourself or friends for a trip down memory lane – like this glowing report on me from the 1992 Ski trip.
Marcus Cryer OB 1993 Chairman of the Old Bristolians’ Society
FROM THE HEADMASTER
This year, I have served as Chair of the Heads’ Conference (HMC), which represents over 300 leading independent schools across the UK and internationally. It has been an honour to represent the sector at what has been one of the most challenging periods in recent memory for independent schools. The government’s decision to impose VAT on school fees and to remove charitable status‑related business rate relief have generated considerable uncertainty for many schools and the families they serve.
I have worked hard in my role as Chair of HMC to represent the broad interests of our sector, making the case for the vital role independent schools play in the wider education ecosystem. It has been an opportunity to celebrate the diversity, dynamism and dedication found in schools up and down the country, and to help ensure that our collective voice is heard. Some schools, sadly, have not been able to weather the pressures this year, and the impact of closures is felt most acutely by the young people who lose the continuity and community of their school life.
Despite the challenges, I’m pleased to say that BGS remains in excellent health. Our pupil numbers are strong, and we continue to attract families who value not only academic rigour and opportunity, but the culture of kindness, curiosity and confidence that underpins all we do. That said, we are by no means complacent. We know that the landscape is shifting, and we remain focused on both preserving the core strengths of our education and adapting thoughtfully to new realities.
Our BGS community – past and present – continues to be a source of strength and pride. This year, we’ve seen that spirit reflected in the generous support for the 500 Campaign, ensuring that talented, curious and ambitious young people from all backgrounds have the chance to flourish here. My thanks go to all of you who have supported the campaign, in ways big and small; your generosity really does change lives.
We’re also proud of the work we continue to do beyond our own walls, across the city of Bristol. Whether through collaborative projects with local state schools, co-curricular partnerships, or outreach programmes, we believe that the value of what we do is measured not only by what happens within our school, but by the relationships we build and the impact we can have more broadly.
While the sector may be evolving, I hope it is reassuring to know that BGS remains fundamentally the school you remember. We continue to offer an education that is challenging and engaging, one that encourages pupils to think deeply, question boldly, and step forward with confidence into the world.
Our alumni go on to pursue a remarkable breadth of pathways. Whether in the arts, sciences, public service, entrepreneurship or academia, our former pupils continue to make their mark, and these stories – many of which are shared in this publication –are not only a source of pride, but an inspiration to the young people walking the same corridors today.
As ever, my sincere thanks to all of you who continue to stay connected with us. Your involvement, your interest, and your support matter deeply to us. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you this year, in particular on our dedicated OB trip to New York in March. Please do keep in touch.
Jaideep Barot Headmaster
Over
£ 2.7 million
raised so far for life-changing bursaries
I promise to carry your kindness and generosity with me every step of the way. Your support has not only changed my life but also inspired me to pay it forward and make a positive difference in the lives of others, just as you have done for me.”
––– Bursary Award holder
More bright and ambitious children than ever before, from all backgrounds and without financial means, are now benefiting from an education at BGS, thanks to their own hard work, partnered with the philanthropic support of over 1000 OBs, parents and friends.
Our vision is that by 2032, the 500th anniversary of our school, one in four children will receive substantial (over 50%) means tested Bursary Awards through our 500 Campaign which is already creating a lasting impact – not only on the lives of the Bursary Award holders and their families, but on the whole school culture.
Funds raised come from leadership donors, some of our most generous supporters, who sponsor students – often with up
to 100% of their fees. We are also grateful for and reliant upon all those who choose to donate with smaller donations and with their time, expertise and friendship.
The whole school community gathered on the 2 April for Giving Day – where thanks to a generous OB who matched every pound, over £90,000 was raised from over 360 people. This money was matched by a generous OB and, with Gift Aid will ensure that over £200,000 will be used to support at least 15 children to begin their Sixth Form education with us in September. In addition, thanks to funds raised throughout the year and together with support from trusts and our endowments, many more children throughout the School are receiving philanthropic support for their Bursary Awards.
New Legacy Brochure for the 500 Campaign
Legacy giving remains the most impactful way to support children at BGS and, for centuries, we have benefitted from the far-sighted generosity of people looking to create an impact and live on through the stories of our pupils.
‘Pass the Torch’ is our new legacy programme which is an integral part of the 500 Campaign. To find out more about the important work we’re doing, please look at our refreshed web pages and browse our new brochure by scanning the QR codes at the bottom of the page.
Nadine Latte Development Director
Scan to find out more about the 500 campaign
Would you like to talk to us about how you can be involved? Contact Nadine directly nlatte@bgs.bristol.sch.uk 0117 933
FROM THE SPORTS CLUBS
Planning Ahead
Failand is on the verge of an exciting new phase. The Directors of the Old Bristolians Sports Club Ltd are delighted to report that in January planning permission for the re-development of the OBs’ clubhouse facilities was granted by North Somerset Council. The plans include a new entranceway via an atrium and lift, redesigned changing facilities to incorporate integral showers and toilets, and a balcony to be able to watch both cricket and rugby.
Having recently completed some internal refurbishment, which was very well received, the Club is now ready to push forward with implementing this exciting new development programme to bring the facilities up to date, providing the clubhouse with a completely new aspect and elevating the experience of those competing and watching sport at Failand.
The club is currently working with a an external fundraiser to explore how the necessary funds can be raised to bring these plans to fruition.
With the new lease granted by the Society soon to be in place, the ability to source funding on the basis that security of tenure is ensured will be a major benefit as the Club approaches the various donor organisations for financial support.
Rich Berry Old Bristolians Sports Club Director
Rugby 2024/25 season sees highest ever league finish
Old Bristolians’ rugby has, on the face of it, had a very successful season in terms of 1st XV results. At the end of the league programme, we finished in third place –our highest ever league position at L7 of the National League pyramid. We were the only side to defeat the eventual winners and convincingly beat other teams with a great brand of running rugby. In 22 games we only failed to score a try bonus point in three of them. The side has also been involved in the Papa Johns Cup and is hopeful of some success.
However, like most other rugby clubs nationally, we have had a challenging season in terms of player numbers. Participation in the adult male game is down across the country and OBs is no different. For the first time in twenty years we have only fielded two regular teams which is something we will look to address… Our Veterans side however, has regular fixtures and good numbers. Within the Mini & Junior Section our numbers remain strong in comparison to other clubs from Under 6 to Under 16. In some age groups we have had to cap membership such is the demand for places. The challenge lies in converting Under 17/18s into adult players as the game gets more physical.
“Our Ladies’ section has seen real growth with a number of girls gaining representative honours at County and South West level and we look forward to more success for them.”
Rich Berry Old Bristolians Sports Club Director
Hockey
A mixed bag
The 2024/25 season has been a very mixed one. The Men’s firsts travelled great distances and just finished in the top half of the division. The Ladies’ firsts and seconds and the Men’s seconds all staved off relegation from their divisions with a couple of games to go.
The Men’s thirds and Ladies’ thirds and fourths were sadly relegated and are looking forward to a less challenging season in 2025/26. Our other teams fared much better and we continue to offer a range from very skilled games to those for players who just want to enjoy their Saturday exercise in a social atmosphere. There is also a regular mixed team who play on Sundays and finished unbeaten this season.
Our junior section continues to flourish with children aged from four to 18. After a short hiatus in numbers in certain age groups, we started to see some under 16s join our adult teams and these look as though they will go on to higher teams and be replaced by more youngsters.
We finished the season with a very well attended and enjoyable dinner at the Heineken Lounge at Ashton Gate and there were monthly gatherings at various pubs around Bristol.
Cricket
After a challenging season in 2023, the winter of 2024 saw the club working hard to recruit players at all levels in the club and to further develop our flourishing youth section.
notwithstanding some very strong performances from the senior part of the club, it was pleasing to see that without question the most success came in our youth section, who collectively managed four league wins and two cup victories, with the girls’ sides doing particularly well:
taking us to our highest league standing since 2005.
Our 2nd XI was also promoted to B&D Division Three after losing only two games all season.
We also had an excellent game against the MCC and a second very successful Club Sixes Day which brought together the three different sections of Old Bristolians.
U11s Sunday team finished joint 2nd in the North Somerset League
Both the U-11 Girls hardball and softball teams won their leagues and in fact every game they played. The U-11 performance side only lost one game in winning their league and also won the Dave McCarthy Knock Out Cup
There was a league title too for the U-13 Girls, who also won the Gloucestershire 100 Cup Plate – particularly impressive given OBWCCs have not fielded a U-13 Girls team before
In terms of representative honours, an incredible 21 of our youth players represented county teams. So much effort goes into our youth section, with huge contributions from our members, parents and other volunteers to make it all happen and it is fast becoming the cornerstone (and future) of our club.
and this was epitomised most by all-rounder Zoe Snelling, who finished with both the most runs and wickets for the team. Her match winning performances began in week one when she took one wicket and achieved a run out at home to eventual league winners Golden Hill, before scoring 41* with the bat having come in with the side 5-1. OBWCCs went on to win the game by four wickets.
The men’s section did its best to match the success of the youth and ladies’ sections. Back in the West of England Premier League after a one year hiatus and having strengthened their squad significantly over the winter off-season, the men’s 1st XI was always aiming high and they duly gained immediate promotion back to the West Of England Premier League (WEPL) division 2 – two back-to-back promotions
Looking ahead to the 2025 season and beyond
It will be hard to reproduce the achievements of last year in the upcoming 2025 season, due to start in earnest on Saturday, 3rd May. Our aim is to ensure the 1st XI consolidate its position in WEPL division 2 and we will look to achieve promotion for our 2nd XI and consolidate the 3rd XI into a genuinely competitive and solid team. On a slightly longer term basis, we would also like to reconstitute our 4th XI so that we can provide a bridge between our youth players and the adult league teams – one of our most important and central aims as a club is to provide as many children as possible with access to cricket in a fun, safe and inclusive manner –and at an affordable level for all.
All new members – of any age and ability – are most welcome.
Michael
Dodson
Chairman OBWCC 2024
A YEAR IN PHOTOS
The Old Bristolians’ Society continues to cherish friendships, expertise, advice and support, hosting events throughout the year for all OBs.
Want us to arrange an event or reunion? Contact us – community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
FEBRUARY 2025 Past Presidents’ Lunch
MARCH 2025 New York
ALL YEAR Lunch Club
A regular on the Society social calendar, the first Friday of every month from September to June features a two course meal and a guest speaker at the OB Memorial Ground.
JANUARY 2025
London Networking Drinks
MARCH 2025 Charter Day
Read more about the Lunch Club from Mike Burmester on page 25
DECEMBER 2024 Carol Service
JUNE 2024 Leavers Dinner
Sue Poole celebrates with the Class of 2024 as they go on to become Old Bristolians.
For the first time, the Carol Service took place in Bristol Cathedral.
SEPTEMBER 2024 Speed Networking Careers Evening in the Great Hall
Old Bristolians returned to the Great Hall to help students with networking skills.
NOVEMBER 2024 Remembrance Former BGS staff Roger Cox and Albert Pearson at the Old Bristolians’ Remembrance Lunch.
MARCH 2025 Annual Dinner
VISIT US for the 113th Annual Dinner 14th March 2026
We're always delighted to have visitors to BGS, to give a talk, have lunch or just take a walk down memory lane.
If you'd like to visit get in touch community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Fran Ripley supporting our third Giving Day
APRIL 2025 Giving Day
You helped us raise over £200,000!
Old Bristolians’
PROFILES
The BGS family includes experienced and talented OBs from around the world. From Australia to Long Ashton, from filmmakers to flying doctors – and from the Great Hall to becoming accomplished Old Bristolians; here we celebrate their achievements and ask them about their memories of BGS.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
Ruth Penfold | David Pope
James Harris | Sarah Birde | Jon Hodgetts
Ruth Penfold
OB 1998
Ruth Penfold is a former Chief People Officer turned leadership coach and speaker, on a mission to close the Authenticity Gap – the space between who we are and who we feel we need to be to succeed at work. Drawing on her leadership experience at companies like Shazam, Onfido, and bp Launchpad, Ruth now helps individuals and organisations build cultures that celebrate individuality over conformity. She is the founder and creator of the Bloom Method, a framework designed to help people lead with authenticity, courage, and self-trust.
My best memories of BGS are of time spent with other students – laughing, getting up to goodness knows what – and the quiet sense that we were growing into ourselves. It was a place where I first began to realise that I might do things a little differently. I remember Lisa Hutton, my English teacher, who encouraged me to find my voice and showed me the power of authentic storytelling, even with a mind as wild as mine can be. Honestly, that was a seed that’s grown into much of the work I do today.
After school, I followed a winding path through recruitment, startups, and leadership –eventually finding my purpose in helping leaders (especially women) lead with more courage and authenticity. I now work as a leadership coach and facilitator, and I’m the founder of Bloom, a methodology that helps people create workplaces where we all get to thrive. I also run a programme called Women Who Lead, supporting women through the seasons of their careers using cyclical wisdom.
“You don’t have to shrink to belong – you are here to take up space, exactly as you are. And that goes for you too, dear reader.”
I moved to the US for love initially, but stayed for the energy, ambition, and deep sense of possibility that exists here. New York is currently home. Career highlights have taken many forms – from becoming a Chief People Officer, to training as a yoga teacher, to now getting to do the work I love as a leadership coach. I’d also include launching my podcast Women Who Lead, delivering talks around the world, and witnessing the incredible humans I’ve coached step into their full power.
What’s next? Continuing to grow Bloom, writing more, recording more content – and maybe, finally, starting that book. I’m motivated by the belief that when women rise, we all rise.
I relax by exploring new places, maintaining a daily yoga, movement and breathwork practice, and making as much time as possible to simply be.
My advice to my younger self? You don’t have to shrink to belong – you are here to take up space, exactly as you are. And that goes for you too, dear reader.
David Pope
OB 1998
David is a filmmaker and entrepreneur based in the U.S., initially gaining recognition for his work in horror cinema. Over time, he expanded his expertise, producing films, music videos, and promotional content while also working as a script consultant and screenwriter.
David’s passion for storytelling extends beyond filmmaking into education and mentorship. In 2019, he founded Script School, an educational initiative that teaches screenwriting and filmmaking to kids and young adults, connecting them with industry mentors and providing hands-on learning experiences. Now expanding to multiple cities across the U.S., Script School plans to bring media and film students from the UK to Hollywood, where they will create their own short movies in a real working film studio and get to enjoy the spectacular highlights the city has to offer.
Currently based in Austin, Texas, David continues to develop new projects through his production company Rogue Cowboy. Whether through filmmaking, education, or mentorship, he remains committed to fostering the next generation of creatives.
What
are your best memories of BGS?
Some of my best memories from BGS come from the friendships I made and the teaching staff who really cared about making a difference in young minds. There were definitely moments of chaos but it was a place that encouraged curiosity and independent thinking, which helped shape my own path in filmmaking. While I found my passion for storytelling outside of school, it’s great to see BGS now offering more creative opportunities for students, giving them the chance to explore filmmaking and the arts in exciting new ways.
Can you remember any teachers who had an impact on you?
There were a bunch of teachers I remember, but one who stands out is Mr. Morgan from the Lower School. He was the first teacher I had ever really connected with in a meaningful way. His lessons were engaging, and he had a great sense of humour that made a big difference at that stage.
What did you do after school?
After school, I decided to go to university to study Media and Film. It was a bit of an unconventional choice, especially since many of my peers were pursuing more traditional academic paths. But I stuck to my passion and spent three years diving into film theory and production. Once I graduated, it became clear just how tough breaking into the
industry was, so I took matters into my own hands rather than waiting for opportunities to come to me. Alongside making my own films, I got a teaching certificate because, as it turned out, rent had to be paid! After some success with short films on the festival circuit, I moved to Los Angeles in 2010. And that’s when the real adventure began!
Why film?
I was obsessed with film from a very young age. I’m not sure what the psychological reasons were, maybe I just loved the escape it offered, but cinema was always a top priority for me growing up. One of my earliest memories was seeing Back to the Future on the big screen in London, and I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever experienced.
Throughout school, I was always the one known for being into movies –I even ran a free VHS rental service for other students! I once got in trouble for screening a horror film for a group of classmates during a sports game abandoned due to rain. Looking back, it would’ve felt unnatural not to at least try to turn my passion for film into a career once I left school.
What was it like being a young Brit in LA?
LA was a unique experience, and I have so many stories from that time that I’m actually in the process of writing a book about it. The culture shock was real—the differences between the UK and the U.S. are pretty stark. One of the things that stood out to me immediately was how open and expressive people are in LA. They’re not afraid to put their feelings on the table, which can be refreshing because you always know exactly where you stand.
As a Brit, I found that my accent often worked to my advantage. People are so intrigued by where you’re from, and it gives you a way to connect with them instantly. It definitely opened doors and sparked conversations I might not have had otherwise. In a city like LA, where everyone is constantly networking, it felt like a small but significant point of difference that helped me stand out.
What have been the highlights of your career?
One of the major highlights of my career was having my first short film, Gasoline Blood, screened at Frightfest in Odeon Leicester Square. It was especially surreal because it was shown alongside the World Premiere of Pan’s Labyrinth, which is such an iconic film. It felt like a huge milestone to have my work presented in that kind of company. Another unforgettable moment was being invited to a private screening at CAA and having the chance to chat with Al Pacino. It was one of those moments where you realize how legends in the industry are just ordinary people.
But honestly, some of the most rewarding moments are the smaller ones. For example, watching a group of kids create their own alien movie on set through Script School – seeing them bring their imaginations to life and witnessing their excitement is something that really sticks with me. It’s these kinds of experiences that remind me of why I got into filmmaking in the first place.
What’s next for you?
Right now, I have three feature films in various stages of development, with plans to begin shooting the first one this summer in Austin. There’s also another higher-budget project that was ready to go before COVID hit, and I’m currently working on getting it back on track.
Alongside filmmaking, expanding Script School is a top priority for me. We’re focused on providing more opportunities for kids to access creativity and filmmaking education. Recently, we were awarded a grant from the City of Austin to offer film clubs at
How do you relax?
With a French cop movie from the 1970s… and an Old Fashioned.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Everybody knows how tough the film industry is. It takes a lot of perseverance and commitment. I threw myself into it by heading to Hollywood on a wing and a prayer, which, in hindsight, was a lot of fun but perhaps a bit reckless. If I could go back, I’d tell myself to set up a side hustle sooner rather than later – it would have eased a lot of the anxiety!
“ Looking back, it would’ve felt unnatural not to at least try to turn my passion for film into a career once I left school.”
lower-income schools, with a special emphasis on diversity. We’re in the process of setting that up, and it’s incredibly rewarding to know we’re helping to make creative education more accessible for all.
What motivates you?
The film industry is notoriously difficult, but what often goes unexamined is why that is. A big part of it is simply the sheer volume of people trying to break into it. What motivates me is the drive to succeed and not be just another face in the crowd. I’m also deeply motivated by the desire to make a lasting impact through my educational company. Seeing students grow, learn, and find their own path in the industry is incredibly fulfilling.
I’d also advise myself not to get caught up in the noise or listen to the empty talk that often surrounds Hollywood. It’s easy to be swayed, but I’ve learned that you can’t rely on others too much. Instead, focus on doing your own thing, and always have clear, personal goals.
www.scriptschool.org www.roguecowboy.tv
Reverend James Harris
Outgoing President, the Old Bristolians’ Society
James is Rector of the Benefice of Long Ashton with Barrow Gurney and Flax Bourton. He is an involved parent of two current Bristol Grammar School students and has been a supporter and friend to the OBs Society and to the School for many years. James hosted a ‘Summer Celebration’ concert at his church in Long Ashton on Fri May 16th, with the help and talent of our Director of Music, Guy Guerrini and BGS staff. The performance benefited the 500 Campaign at BGS, which is raising funds to support bright and motivated local children with bursary awards.
What are your best memories of BGS?
Trips! When we were choosing Year 9 options, I was famously ‘headhunted’ from the Modern Languages department (where I was all set to take Russian) to the Classics department – all on the promise of trips to sunny destinations such as the Bay of Naples and Crete (Moscow didn’t really compare…) The opportunity to travel to these and other places (I also remember a very brave Religious Studies department taking us to Israel in Year 9!) enriched my education beyond measure and set me up for later periods of living, studying and working abroad.
treated us like scholars, set high standards and made the most labyrinthine grammar and sentence structure achievable. David Selwyn reciting Chaucer in perfect Middle English… David Lunn singing ‘Sumer is icumen in’ in his monk’s habit… Maddalena Davidson introducing me to Italian language and literature… I could go on!
What did you do after school?
I redeemed my previous dismissal of Modern Languages, and kept up my Classics, by combining the two in a Modern & Medieval Languages degree at Cambridge focusing
“As BGS knows well, passion and enthusiasm are more important than money!”
Can you remember any teachers who had an impact on you?
So many inspiring characters with a passion for sharing their knowledge and interest… Roger Perry sparked a love of Latin by teaching us how to greet our parents in the very first week (Salve, Pater!) and helping us translate the School Song. Barbara Bell brought the stories of the Cambridge Latin Course to life with an endless supply of creative activities, trips (again!) and sheer joy in the language. David Miller, who sadly died only just before I wrote this and is featured on the cover,
on Latin and Italian. After a year abroad in Siena, Italy, I graduated in 2001 and then spent ten years working for PR and Marketing agencies in Cheltenham and Bristol. I eventually went freelance, including some work for BGS when Rod Mackinnon was Head, and coordinating a major capital fundraising appeal for our local church, before I was ordained and became a Vicar in 2015.
Why the church?
The short answer is God! The longer answer is also God – who gradually, over a number of years, brought certain people across my path and drew me into the life of local churches in such a way that my own personal life and worldview was transformed – but also showed me how this way of living had the potential to change the world for the better.
It seems to me that most major life events make more sense in hindsight than they do at the time –and I can now look back and see this was the purpose God has planned for me and my family all along, even though it took some major leaps of faith to get here!
What have been the highlights of your career?
Working in PR I focused specifically on fundraising for local communities which was incredibly gratifying. To be able to mobilise a community to come together around a project to purchase a derelict building, raise funds for its refurbishment and open it as a community resource hub. The community may not have been financially abundant but the enthusiasm and will to see the project realised made all the difference to the external funders we showed round. The day the new facility opened was a real celebration. As BGS knows well, passion and enthusiasm are more important than money!
In church life, the opportunity to serve abroad was life-changing for us all as a family. We spent a year living and working in Athens from 2018-19 when I served as an Assistant Priest at St Paul’s Anglican Church there. The girls went to
international school and we all met such an amazing, diverse group of new friends from all over the world. It was a truly formative year.
What motivated you to reconnect with the school and the OB Society?
I had never really lost touch and always enjoyed receiving news from school – but when we were looking at options for schools for our daughters and visited BGS, I realised that so many of the things that were special for me about my time there were still evident –including some of the teachers who had taught me 30 years previously!
I don’t think that’s an accident and speaks of the enduring ‘pull’ and value of the BGS community. It has been great to re-join the community with a different perspective as a parent.
What’s next for you?
No major changes foreseen in the coming years… We have GCSEs for daughter no 1 next year and then daughter no 2 making the transition into the Senior School the year after. There are plenty of projects in my parishes to keep me occupied and we love living in Long Ashton.
James and his family at the Annual Dinner 2024
What motivates you?
I often joke that, in my PR career, I got paid for creating good news for clients but now I have the best news of all to give away for free!
I really love the opportunity my ministry gives me to meet a huge variety of people, to listen to their stories and explore with them how God might be working in and through all that. It’s great to be able to offer something that makes a difference or helps bring clarity.
It helps that I’m relentlessly nosy –which I prefer to term ‘holy curiosity’. I need to get up and out of my office regularly for a walk round the parish to see who I bump into.
How do you relax?
The Vicarage has a huge garden which I enjoy trying to get to grips with on days off. Away from home, I find being at the coast really restorative – there’s something about the sea, whatever the weather. As a family, we spend a lot of time together in the kitchen cooking up feasts of various descriptions. I might also sometimes be found propping up the bar in The Angel Inn at the top of the lane where we live… the pub’s about the same age as the church and does much the same job in terms of building community and providing a space to mark life’s milestones.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Seize more opportunities when they present themselves. It’s too easy to think you’ll leave it for now and do it at some other time in the future; or not to try something new because you’re not sure how it will turn out. The older me has learned to say: go for it, what’s the worst that can happen?!
Sarah Bird
OB 1988
Dr Sarah Bird was a GP in Portishead before moving to Australia in 2008. She now works for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill, NSW. She is married to Steven Bird (OB 1988) and they have three children Emily (OB 2005-2008), Katie (OB 2005-2008) and William.
What are your best memories of BGS?
So many to choose from! As the second year of girls to commence in 3rd form (Year 7), I loved the sporting opportunities, the breadth of subjects offered and the ancient science labs piqued my scientific curiosity. No one can pass through BGS without mentioning the magnificent Great Hall and I have fond memories of the canteen, whole-school assemblies and performances including Benjamin Britten’s opera Noye’s Fludde. Golden Hill playing fields still existed and Lodge Hill was a Geography field trip fun
“No one can pass through BGS without mentioning the magnificent Great Hall”
getaway. The PA block was built and being school librarians, we met Princess Anne at the official opening. Sixth Form was the pinnacle of our school career – we were finally allowed into the Sixth Form Centre with our own common room and canteen! Above all, I met my husband and we’ve been married for over 30 years.
Can you remember any teachers who had an impact on you?
Mr Cox, my house master, was a constant throughout my school years. I now appreciate the power of pastoral care ensuring stability and continuity. I’m truly grateful for his guidance and the leadership opportunities he gave me in my senior years. Mr Cockitt, my biology teacher and sixth form tutor, clearly saw my potential
before I did. His encouragement and wise words remain with me today. Our daughters attended BGS 2005-2008 and I would occasionally bump into him. If I defaulted to calling him Mr Cockitt, he would delight in correcting me with ‘I think you can call me Ron now, Sarah’. Ian Rolling must also be mentioned. My chemistry is rusty these days but Ian was formative in the foundations and my love of the subject. He is a master of keeping in touch and only recently we caught up with Ian and his wife Jean over dinner in the Blue Mountains. There were many great teachers and mentors during my time at BGS and they are all remembered fondly.
What did you do after school?
I studied Medicine in Wales, spent the first year working at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport then commenced GP training in Bristol. I joined the Portishead practice as a partner in 2000, took the family to Christchurch, New Zealand for a 6-month sabbatical in 2004 and finally left the practice for Sydney, Australia in 2008.
Why medicine?
I only ever wanted to be a doctor. I found the human sciences fascinating and I was intrinsically drawn to learning about health at an individual level, using a broad lens and wide scope of practice. It’s been a privileged career offering many and often unexpected opportunities along the way. No regrets!
What motivated you to move to Australia?
As a medical student, I secured a 6-week elective in Paediatrics at the Prince of Wales Children’s Hospital, Sydney and loved the experience.
As a GP I had developed an interest in dermatology and minor surgery and in 2008, I was fortunate to be offered a position to upskill in skin cancer in Sydney. My brothers had migrated and settled there too, so we seized the opportunity to spend time with them.
Initially we planned a 12 month experience, but we loved the outdoor lifestyle, Sydney climate and being close to family too much to leave. We became Australian citizens in 2013.
Ian Rolling with Sarah and her husband Steven in March 2025
What have been the highlights of your career?
Throughout my training, I have been fortunate to have worked with, and be taught by, some of the best clinicians. I gained MRCGP with distinction despite having two very young children at home and working full time. My sabbatical in Christchurch, New Zealand enabled us as a family to explore the stunning South Island and for me to experience working in an alternative health system.
Migrating to Australia was an exceptional opportunity allowing me to upskill in skin cancer, then lifestyle medicine and remain sufficiently flexible as a local GP in Sydney as the children grew. I am now able to add rural and remote medicine to the list.
In 2021 following a prolonged Covid lockdown, Steven and I took a road trip to Far West NSW. We visited Broken Hill, the home of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and BHP, the world’s largest mining company. RFDS were seeking GPs to deliver primary care to rural and remote communities and I was offered a role to lead the GP team. Never one to turn down an adventure, Steven and I moved to Broken Hill for 12 months. I enjoyed the challenges of recruiting and developing the GP team while managing complex primary care alongside the tyranny of distance and limited services. I now fly to work for 3 weeks then fly home to Sydney for 3 weeks.
What’s next for you?
Working with RFDS has enabled leadership opportunities in supervising medical students, GP registrars, team building, medical education and upskilling in rural and remote medicine. Delivering primary care where it’s needed the most remains my priority. Outside of RFDS, I’m an advisor for the local Clinical Council and write Health Pathways for GPs to follow localised guidelines for clinical care. I’m also a regional Medical Educator for GP registrars throughout their training, exams and preparation for independent practice.
This year I’ve been extremely fortunate to be selected for the Royal Australian College of General Practice Future Leaders Program and am working with inspirational individuals both within my cohort and the alumni. I have no idea where this will take me but the future is exciting!
What motivates you?
I’m motivated by delivering good quality, evidence based primary care to individuals living rurally and remotely. Far West NSW experiences geographical isolation, low socio-economic status, high chronic disease and mental health challenges on the background of long term healthcare underservicing. This is not unique to the region, much of rural and remote Australia suffers the same where life expectancy is significantly reduced for both Indigenous and non Indigenous patients.
How do you relax?
We now have two grandchildren and we love spending time with the family. I enjoy walking, yoga, pilates, reading, coffee with friends and travelling – not necessarily in that order!
What advice would you give to your younger self?
As an 18 year old, if you had told me in 35 years time I would be living in Australia with 3 children, 2 grandchildren and working with the RFDS in the outback, I would have never believed you. Just don’t say no to opportunities and follow your passion – look where it’s taken us!
Jonny Hodgetts
OB 1994
Jonny lives in Alice Springs, central Australia where he works for the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA). The Australian desert is one of the largest and most culturally connected and environmentally significant areas on the planet. It has been cared for and expertly managed over thousands of years by Indigenous minds, hearts and hands. Today, a network of Indigenous rangers are sharing information, practices and working together to provide the highest standard of stewardship and care for the desert. Jonny’s role with the IDA includes bringing together IDA member organisations, desert ranger teams and partners to ensure the desert story, especially the Indigenous desert land management sector, has a strong and united voice that is heard both nationally and internationally.
What are your best memories of BGS?
Almost all my memories are centred around sport at BGS. From Saturday mornings in the Lower School playing rounders at Golden Hill through to captaining the 1st XI at hockey in the Upper 6th and being a recipient of the Cutter Stick (awarded for services to school hockey). Other sporting memories include the opening of the Sports Hall and the trip to Twickenham to watch my peer group win the Daily Mail cup in rugby.
Can you remember any teachers who had an impact on you?
My housemaster, Ian Rolling, would have had comfortably the most influence over the years and we remain in touch. Others include the late Shaun Holman, who I played hockey against at club level occasionally and was always a supporter of my sporting endeavours, and Pete Jakobek as PE Teacher.
What did you do after school?
I’m sad to say I didn’t take advantage of any academic virtues I may have had and did not finish university. I had a few jobs before starting a brief career in IT which led to me taking a six month break to travel Australia and New Zealand in 2005. Within a year of returning to the UK, I was back in Australia on a Working Holiday visa and have been here ever since.
Why environmental work?
I chose to study again as a means of obtaining additional visas in Australia and environmental stewardship had always been an interest and passion. By studying in this field in Australia, it opened new opportunities and experiences and I continue to reap the rewards of such a decision.
Left to right: Sam Murray (IDA CEO), Lynda Lechleitner (Anangu-Luritjiku Ranger Facilitator), Boyd Elston (IDA Chair), and me at Muruntji on the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal Land Trust.
What motivated you to move to Australia?
There was no underlying motivation, more a desire to travel. My original intention was to seek out a career in New Zealand however I found myself enjoying my time in Sydney where I ended up spending the first four years of my Australian life. I subsequently moved to the Sunshine Coast to study and then to the Northern Territory for work.
What have been the highlights of your career?
I have spent the last thirteen years living in the Northern Territory. In that time, I’ve worked on some of the largest cattle stations in the world on a weed management program, have spent time in remote Indigenous desert communities working with Traditional Owners to develop Indigenous ranger programs and, more recently, now represent an organisation supporting and advocating for the work that Indigenous rangers do in caring for Country; where cultural land management activities also have significant environmental benefits and help maintain one of the world’s most significant and iconic landscapes, as well as 60,000 plus years of culture. I have been taken to many incredibly remote sites of cultural significance by senior Traditional Owners and am always thankful for the privilege. I have also had the honour of representing IDA at COP28 in Dubai and travelling to Peru to learn and share knowledge with the Awajún people of the western Amazon, both times travelling in support of Indigenous colleagues. As such, there are too many highlights to mention!
Find out more about the IDA and how to support them financially by visiting www.indigenousdesertalliance.com 100% of funding being directed to supporting on-ground priorities determined by Indigenous ranger teams.
What’s next for you?
I’m happy in Alice Springs and thoroughly enjoy my work with the IDA. As the desert Indigenous land management sector continues to grow in scale and visibility, there will be plenty more work ahead and I am excited to be a part of the journey.
What motivates you?
The Australian desert is one of the most culturally and environmentally significant ecosystems on the planet. To be part of an organisation that supports the work that Indigenous people have been doing within it for millennia in a system that supports them to continue for many years to come is motivation enough.
How do you relax?
Alice Springs is around 1500km from a city however, we are surrounded by an incredible landscape. We have hundreds of kilometres of marked trails around town and the 230km Larapinta Trail that runs west out of town. My relaxation is to run as many of these trails as I can! I recently upped the mileage by running an Ultra Marathon in Rotorua, New Zealand, and have a shorter trail race coming up on part of the Larapinta in May.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
To stay patient and enjoy the journey. My time at BGS gave me a strong foundation and I left as something of a generalist. It took me a long time to find my forever, but I had the skills from a strong educational foundation to try many other pathways first.
1. + 2. Peter Jakobek with Tuppence Middleton and Alex Betts at their respective book launches.
3.An impromptu 1994 Zimbabwe Rugby Tour reunion
1. Peter Jakobek bumped into Justin Johnson, at Victoria Station. 2. Members of the Class of 1982 celebrated their 60th birthdays together in June ‘24. 3. Kevin Blackburn bumped into OB Tom Quinlan at Lords watching the cricket
“ She was absolutely brilliant, we were so proud of her”
Chairman Marcus Cryer with OBs Mia Cryer and Bella Godfrey watched OB Emma Abel perform in Peter Pan at Birmingham Hippodrome.
Four OBs represented the MCC in their match against the 1st XI
Geoff Bolland and family visit from Melbourne
Past + Present
POTS PRESIDENTS
Southcott OB 1971
For many, many months the word ‘President’ has been in every news bulletin, every newspaper, every social media message wholly due to the presence in the White House of a certain Donald Trump –POTUS – President of the United States. To redress this unfortunate imbalance this article will feature POTS – Presidents of the Society and will feature the longest living President, Tony Warren, the most recently invested, John Bassett, and a faithful servant of the School and the Society, Mike Burmester.
TONY WARREN
E.A. ‘Tony’ Warren, inevitably given the sobriquet ‘Bunny’, was a Master at BGS for 34 years between 1954 and 1988, a Housemaster for 12 years and was Second Master when he retired as well as being a Department Head and Head of Sixth Form during his career at Bristol Grammar. Tony’s education was interrupted by National Service and he spent over two years in the Army Education Corps with six months initial training at Alton Towers, sadly not known for its rollercoaster rides at the time! He also had what he describes as a ‘cushy job’ with the British Advisory Staff to Polish Resettlement Corps coaching servicemen through exams in English.
After National Service he taught at a prep school and, requiring Latin to get into Oxford, learnt this for two hours a day to enable him to go up to Keble College to study Geography.
Tony was President of the Society in 1996 and recently celebrated his 97th birthday. Talking to him about his life and having not encountered him since my days at school, I hesitated about calling him Tony when ‘Sir’ seemed the right thing to say!!
In the 1988 edition of The Chronicle, I came across an article commemorating Tony’s retirement; it was penned by ‘Tweedledee’ and includes the following –
“I shall miss Tweedledum. Tweedledum and Tweedledee was the analogy we sometimes used in attempting to convey to visitors the parity of our occupations and the closeness of our association; though I do not recall that we ever ‘agreed to have a battle.’ We even share a birthday!
The School is losing a good and faithful servant but will not begrudge him now the leisure to indulge his delight in the countryside and his pleasure in the arts. I shall miss Tony as a colleague: I know I shall continue to count him as a friend.”
Tweedledee was apparently the Senior Master at the time, R.G. Smith.
Ian
MIKE BURMESTER
Our second President in focus is M.N.J. ‘Mike’ Burmester. Mike was at BGS as a student between 1953 and 1964 and was Dehn’s House Captain in ’64 when I was at the other end of the house list in my first year in 3B. The aforementioned Tony Warren taught him Geography in 4A but it was Eric Dehn (French) and ‘Ned’ Osborne (German) who awoke and nurtured his love of Modern Languages, an ability he put to good use throughout his career in the banking world.
To become House Captain when upon his own admission he was ‘useless’ at sport was an achievement in itself. Nevertheless, wishing to get his name in the Chronicle and hearing that the Hockey 2nd XI was desperate for a goalkeeper, he duly volunteered and somewhere in those dusty volumes his name appears to record this somewhat kamikaze exploit.
Mike read German at Exeter and managed to get his year abroad at a German university in West Berlin and had the rather
A Guiding Hand
The role of President of the Old Bristolians’ Society is a multifaceted one with its scope ranging from the pride-inducing attendance at Charter Day, the Friday Lunch Club and the legendary Annual Dinner, through to representing the OBs at the very moving Remembrance Day Service and attending funerals and memorial services of much-loved Old Bristolians.
surreal experience of being in that city at the height of the Cold War.
At Exeter Mike was Hall president and was involved in booking and looking after visiting ‘popular musicians’ and relates his experiences on meeting the likes of Eric Burden and the Animals, John Peel and T-Rex.
Mike has maintained a close relationship with the School and the Society over the last 25 years being Treasurer (20012006), Vice Chair (2006-2009) and a co-opted member of the Management Committee (2017 -2022). During this time he also served as Clerk to the School Governors from 2009 to 2012. He was elected President in 2016. From 2022 – 2024, he took on the role of Vice Chair of the Society once again and provided valuable support and a source of knowledge and experience to the incoming chair, Marcus Cryer.
Although Mike has stood down from the committee, there is little doubt that his affection for and engagement with the Society will remain.
As such, a guiding steer on what to do, where to be and what to say is invaluable. Mike Burmester tirelessly offered his support during my year and I very much enjoyed taking him for afternoon tea at The Ivy in Clifton to thank him for keeping me on track throughout my term.
JOHN BASSETT OBE
Having become President Elect of the Society in 2024 and assuming the Presidency at the 2025 AGM, John was formally invested at the Annual Dinner in March. At BGS between 1970 and 1980, John returned to School to give a lecture to Sixth Form students in 2024. He also recently spoke at the Society Lunch Club where his thoughts on the gentleman mentioned at the beginning of this article – one Donald J. Trump –were enlightening.
A classicist at Sixth Form and awarded an MA on Classics from Oxford, he complemented these skills with an MSc in IT from UWE. John was a specialist in cyber security and worked for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) from 1991 to 2010 in a range of posts at home and overseas. As head of GCHQ’s London office he frequently represented GCHQ at COBR (crisis response committee) between 2004 and 2007 and attended ministerial groups on foreign and security issues. He was also posted to the British Embassy in Washington DC, where he liaised with the US Government on cyber security and related issues. Interests include cyber security, the future of network defence, interception legislation and civil liberties, the trans-Atlantic security relationship, crisis management, resilience and counter-insurgency. Obviously, a man whose experience in the current climate would be invaluable!
Kate Redshaw on Keeping the President on Message
Kate Redshaw
Serving Up Excellence
Since moving to Failand a few years ago, the OBs’ Friday Lunch Club has enjoyed a new lease of life. Meeting on the first Friday of the month from October to June, the club provides a most palatable mix of good food and entertaining speakers. But don’t be misled by the term ‘club’; while those who come might be termed ‘regulars’, any and all OBs are welcome to join us.
In recent months the entertainment has included the recently installed President of the Society, John Bassett OBE, describing his career in the FO, GCHQ and COBRA, the School’s Development Director, Nadine Latte, who reported on the progress of the 500 Campaign and the former Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson was May’s guest.
During Covid, when the fayre became virtual, we were regaled by two distinguished OBs in the then Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Sarah Crew, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset.
A highlight of the year is the December lunch when the School’s Reel Folk Group led by Director of Music, Guy Guerinni, provide some excellent festive entertainment.
In February 2025, Failand said goodbye to Nick and Lisa Merrick (pictured below), who have looked after the catering since the move to Failand.
We look forward to seeing new ‘regulars’ over the coming months.
Michael Burmester Past President
CHARTER DAY
2025
The Charter Day service is always a very special occasion, something that stays in the memory. This year was no exception. The sun shone over College Green and daffodils adorned those present. At two o’clock there was but a handful of attendees in the cathedral; within half an hour it was packed with year groups arriving in line with the School’s master plan.
1964
A delightful mix of the traditional and not so. The Headmaster processed up the main aisle followed by the City Sword Bearer and the Deputy Lord Mayor as organist Nigel Nash gave it his all. The choir sang Mozart’s “Lacrimosa” (Requiem Mass in D Minor) to be followed by the congregation singing “Jerusalem.” There were prayers, readings, and intercessions as well as that roof raiser ”Guide me O Thou great Redeemer.” Interspersed came “Indodana” a traditional South African song from the choir including a delightful female duet from the pulpit. Staff member Louis McKenzie gave the address, which certainly made us all think. He urged us to “keep it real.” Life is more than qualifications and money. “Mr. Mac” believed that the world needs people who are at rest with themselves and quoted statistics of how much our lives are dominated by being on-line and glued to the phone.
As the service came to an end we sang “I danced in the morning when the world was begun” and it drew to its close with the school song delivered with the usual gusto. Before we knew it, it was all over. Time to reflect and talk to those we had known for years as well as more recent acquaintances. Back home, remember to put the date in the diary for 2026 – or into the phone even.
Michael Burmester Past President
1964
David Miller 1935 – 2025
BGS
1976 – 1997
We are saddened to announce the death of former Head of Classics, David Miller. Husband to Ida and father to Amos, Luke and Toby and an inspiration to many, we chose to put him on the cover of this issue of Bristolienses in his honour. When David retired from BGS in 1997, Charles Martin wrote an article about him for the Chronicle. We have included an excerpt of this below.
The Chronicle, 1997
David took up his appointment as Head of Classics in 1976. In their various ways boys and girls of different ages and abilities who were lucky enough to be taught by him appreciated that they were being offered a unique educational experience. One of them wrote ‘Any lesson with Mr Miller left you thoroughly educated like no other teacher could manage. He was one of the most approachable, effective and distinctive teachers in the School’.
David was distinctive in so many ways.
A man of towering stature, even in his sandals, he was a quixotic figure in his yellow helmet as he pedalled into school on his enormous bicycle, very often with a bassoon strapped across his shoulders. Given his knightly appearance it seemed all the more appropriate that he should also have been an athletic and skilful fencer (a Cambridge blue and county champion) who did much to foster an enthusiasm for the sport at the School.
The close reciprocal bond between David and his pupils, particularly his Sixth-form tutees, was epitomised by one of them who said to her parents about Oxford ‘The chief thing wrong about the University is that it doesn’t have David Miller’.
I loved my Classics lessons with Mr Miller. He was a great teacher and very patient dealing with shenanigans on school Classics trips.
–– Candida Mottershead
Mr Miller was quite simply the most influential teacher in my life. I will never forget him.
–– David Bagley
He must have had a lot of students who were his fans. He was a much loved teacher.
–– Anna Janie Heath
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David Miller with Daniel Watkins and Andrew Keen – all Heads of Classics at BGS
David Miller with Philip Revill
My education at BGS
“...he marched into 3C’s classroom, greeted us with a forceful ‘Bonjour’, then pointed to the door he had just passed through and – looking at us meaningfully – said ‘La Porte!”
In 1952, with an eye to my future, my father put my name down to sit the entrance exams for three old-established and respected Bristol boys schools: QEH, (his own alma mater), Cathedral School, and Bristol Grammar School. I was accepted by Bristol Grammar School and started there as an eleven-year-old. Dad was to pay my fees to attend that very reputable school for the next seven years. I was confused that the class that one joined for the first year at a secondary school was called the third form, and at BGS there were three: 3A, 3B, and 3C. I found myself in 3C, which I guessed at the time was for the boys with the lowest scores in the entrance exam. That was probably right, but all three streams studied the same subjects and I expect had the same teachers.
It was a quantum change from primary school. The mathematics we studied was not just ‘times
tables ‘, and there were new subjects like Geography, Science, French and Latin to contend with. We had different teachers (‘masters’) for each subject. They addressed us by our surnames, and we called them ‘Sir’ (although we had nicknames for many of them!)
There must have been some re-streaming based on our performance and aptitude in that first year because there were changes in my syllabus the following year. To my relief I was no longer expected to learn Latin, but it was replaced by a new subject: History. And science became three separate subjects –Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Many schoolchildren remember a particular teacher that they admired and respected. I encountered mine in my very first week at BGS, when he marched into 3C’s classroom, greeted us with a forceful ‘Bonjour’, then pointed to the door he had just passed through and – looking at us meaningfully – said ‘La Porte! ‘ Next he strode to the
Top: Richard Tozer (left) with Ian Rolling (right) in New Zealand 2024
Eric Dehn
Richard Tozer OB 1958
Charter Day 1958
window, spread his arms as if greeting it and, turning to his stunned audience of eleven and twelve year-old boys, carefully enunciated the words ‘La Fenêtre’ Then it was the turn of Le Mur (with a vowel sound we had never in our lives heard before) and ‘le tableau noir’. Next this extraordinary individual returned to each of those four objects in turn, indicating that we should repeat their names in chorus as he named them.
That was my introduction to the French language, and to the energetic master who taught it at all levels. His name was Eric Dehn, whose powerful personality and sense of humour made him popular with pupils and staff alike. That same week I learned that he was to be my house-master too.
Eric Dehn was a very active member of the English-Speaking Union and, as a talented and popular public speaker himself, twice travelled on speaking tours to the United States on ESU scholarships. He visited New Zealand in 1967, where he found my name in the Auckland phone directory and visited my home.
and excelled at sport. By the time he was sixteen, he was playing rugby for the school’s First XV, and when he left BGS, held the school record for both discus and shot put.
He and I were to remain close and loyal friends until his death in 2011. Our career paths were very different, but both involved extensive travel. When we happened to both be in England at the same time we would meet up, sometimes visiting old haunts. On one occasion we even called on our former economics teacher, ‘Tug ‘ Dyson, who was long retired by then. During Malcolm’s spell living in Vanuatu, (one of several foreign postings) he, his wife Christobel, and their two daughters made two visits to New Zealand, staying with
us in Auckland, and at our house on Waiheke Island.
The other lifetime friend that I met as an eleven year-old at Bristol Grammar School was Mike Tucker. I am glad to say that as I write this, Mike is still in excellent health and still living in Bristol. At age sixteen Mike and I shared an adventure that we remember well to this day. We hitch-hiked to John o’Groats in the extreme north-east of Scotland, then back to Bristol. A journey close to 650 miles (1,040 km.) each way.
It might flesh out the picture of that first year at BGS if I mention a few other boys in that class. One was Dave Priestly. I’ve had no contact with him since we left school, but he warrants a mention because when we
I made a number of friends in that first year at secondary school. All of them in my class, and two who were destined to become lifelong friends.
One was Malcolm Seath, who I’d known slightly at primary school. Perhaps it was inevitable that we would become pals, because he lived in the next street, less than five minutes from our house. Malcolm was physically strong
were fifteen, he shared another adventure with me. We cycled to Cornwall and back on a four day Easter weekend.
Among my other classmates in that first year at secondary school were two boys whose names begin with W: Wren and Wedlock. I don’t think I ever knew their first names. They liked to pretend that they were aliens from another planet, and for a short time they called me ‘Rezot‘ so that I could be part of their little extraterrestrial clique. I think it was the same two boys who started a competition within the class to see who could hold their breath the longest. There were times that you could look around the classroom during a lesson and see a boy squirming and going red in the face. I myself achieved a ‘personal best ‘ of three minutes during one of ‘Chips‘ Rendall’s geography lessons.
That last paragraph is evidence enough that I was not an attentive pupil in my first year at BGS! And I stayed that way for the next three years.
As one of the oldest schools in Britain, BGS seemed to have retained some of the traditions and quirks of its earlier days. The uniform was a grey jacket, trousers and shirt, the monotony relieved by a tie and schoolboy cap in the school’s blue and gold colours. Only sixth-formers could wear long trousers. Even when there was ice on the playground, younger boys went to school in shorts. By tradition the head boy was allowed to grow a moustache.
We attended school six days a week, although on Tuesdays and Saturdays, only for the morning. Morning assembly was held in the ‘Great Hall’. We would sit in rows clutching little blue hymn books. Our schoolmasters would face us from elevated and ornately carved seats evenly spaced along both sides of the lengthy hall, keeping an eye out for any whispered conversations – or boys who’d forgotten their hymn books. The headmaster (John Garrett during my time) would preside over assemblies, and on Saturdays would often introduce a guest speaker. We were privileged to be addressed one Saturday by the poet and broadcaster, Sir John Betjeman, who went on to become one of Britain’s most popular Poets Laureate, and on another occasion by Sir Peter Hall who was directing plays at the Shakespeare Memorial theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon at that time, and soon afterwards founded the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Boys who wanted to could have a two-course lunch in that same Great Hall, although for some archaic reason the meal was called dinner. A school prefect would say grace in Latin at
the start of the meal. We were seated according to the House we belonged to, and as time went by I became a Dehn’s House ‘Table Prefect‘. (What an honour!)
Bristol Grammar School is probably unique in Britain in that the motto emblazoned on its very fine shield, was intended as a witticism. ‘Ex Spinis Uvas’ looks very fine to those who don’t know Latin, and a little odd to those who do, because it means ‘Out of Thorns come Grapes’. Only when you know that the School was founded by two brothers named Thorne does the meaning start to become clear.
I was not a good scholar in my first few years at BGS. There were too many other things going on in my life: friends, cycling, holidays in Germany, and Redland Green Church youth club. Maybe it was the headmaster’s comment at the bottom of a school report saying that ‘the traffic light has turned to green’, but for whatever reason, at age fifteen, I started to take school studies seriously. It was just in time. In the summer of 1958, just before my 16th birthday, I sat eight subjects at ‘GCE O-Level‘ – and passed seven of them! The first I heard of my success was at a summer youth camp at Exmouth, when I received a congratulatory telegram from my housemaster Eric Dehn.
On the strength of those O-Level passes I was able to progress to the sixth form (Lower and Upper). I spent two more full years at BGS, studying Economics, History and Geography and sat ‘A-Level‘ exams for those subjects in the summer of 1960. I passed all three.
But BGS hadn’t quite finished with me.
I’d been advised that a foreign language qualification would buttress my three A-Levels when applying for admission to universities. So in September 1960, two months after my eighteenth birthday, I went back to school for just one more term – and learned enough French to pass that subject at O-Level. (I’d dropped the subject in my ‘inattentive years‘, probably after a poor performance in the fourth form).
I applied to two or three universities and was accepted by one: Swansea University. But by the time I received their acceptance letter I was an officer cadet at Sandhurst. And one reason for that brings me to another aspect of my time at BGS: one that deserves a mention.
Bristol Grammar School was listed as a ‘Public Day School ‘ and like other public schools after WWI, It had a Combined Cadet Force (CCF). It was certainly not compulsory, but I was keen to join, and did so at age fifteen. It meant giving up Tuesday afternoons to military training. I wore my army battle dress uniform on Tuesdays and made good progress through the ranks to become a sergeant in my final year at BGS, I drilled my squad of younger boys on the asphalt area in front of the school’s main building on Tyndalls Road and, in a vacant classroom, taught them what they needed to know to pass the Army Proficiency Certificate (APC) test, Level 1. I was proud when all of my class passed! I became quite a good shot in the school’s indoor rifle range (we fired .22 rifles) and was entitled to wear a marksman’s badge on the sleeve of my battledress blouse. We had exciting escape and
evasion exercises in the nearby countryside, and one year went to a training camp in Essex, where we were taught by real soldiers.
There is no question that my experience in the CCF influenced my decision to apply for admission to Sandhurst, although at age eighteen, it was an uninformed decision, made with little consideration of what a professional army career might be like.
By 1966 I was settled in New Zealand: a married man with a steady job. Late that year a friend suggested that I enrol at the University of Auckland to gain a tertiary qualification. I took his advice and the following year embarked on a course, choosing subjects for which lecture times did not clash with my working hours.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree early in 1973. It had taken me six years to achieve this ‘liberal arts’ qualification. Most school-leavers would aim to complete a BA in half that time, but I had a full-time job and, just as important, two baby sons who were born while I was a university student.
To say that university broadened my mind would be an understatement. It shaped my views on many things, and led to lasting interests in science, languages and literature.
Memories of BGS
Michael Dunnill OB 1946
My name is Michael Simpson Dunnill. I am 97 years old.
I entered BGS in 1942, admitted by R W Moore, the Headmaster, to 4a. I had been at a dreadful Prep school and had done no science but was rescued by J M Harrison, the senior science master. He gave me his book on general science and told me to work hard and all would be well. So it proved to be.
In the summer holidays we went to farming camps in Somerset. I went with a group under Mr Langford to Stogursey and an estate owned by Lord St Audries.
On Monday morning the entire 6th form were assembled in a large room in the University for the Headmaster’s lesson. He spoke to us about current affairs but also always had a prominent figure to talk for an hour. Among those who came were Stafford Cripps, Quinton Hogg, Lady Violet Bonham Carter, Lionel Whitby and Benjamin Britten. We were able to ask the questions and they came to lunch afterwards.
I had always wanted to do medicine and gained the Higher Certificate in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I failed to get into Oxford and then, along with five others, failed to get
“It was war time and groups of six or eight of us stayed overnight to do fire watching. We had the run of the School and had to climb onto the roof of the Great Hall. We slept on stretchers placed over desks.”
Outstanding masters at the time were Garrett, the Head, Harrison, the senior Science and Chemistry master, T A Morris, the Physics master, Fred Perry, the English master and Frank Beecroft who taught French and produced the annual school play and concert.
into Bristol. Garrett was furious and went to see the Vice-Chancellor who said there were only thirty places and these were all taken by ex-service men and women. He was persuaded to create thirty extra places and we all were accepted. I had a scholarship that paid all my fees and gave £90 a year.
One more way in which BGS may have affected my life. After two years in the army I came back to Bristol and had two junior jobs in the BRI and University. I then felt I should have some experience elsewhere and I saw an advertisement for a Graduate Assistant in Pathology in Oxford. To my surprise I got the post and thought I would be back in Bristol after a year or so. I never went back and in 1960 applied for a consultant post in Oxford that I did not expect to get as there were strong candidates from London. I went trembling into the interview by the Board of Governors, chaired by Oliver Franks. He greeted me with ‘Dunnill – you and I were at the same school”. The other members of the Board were no doubt horrified, but I got the job. I had been invited to Columbia University in New York as a research assistant and I asked Franks what I should do and he told me to go and they would appoint a locum for a year and that I must promise to come back. This I did and have been there ever since. When I returned from the USA to the consultant post in Oxford, I was elected to a fellowship at Merton College.
I have always considered BGS the best school in the country. By a stroke of fortune, my younger son obtained a post at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, never having been there before. I am pleased to say that my four grandchildren have been to BGS.
“I have always considered BGS the best school in the country.”
Michael at the Donors’ Lunch 2024
BGS and Beyond
David Poole OB 1965
After BGS, I enjoyed a reasonable career as a Civil Engineer before retiring in 2010. I started with Freeman Fox and Partners in London (designers of the wonderful Sydney Harbour Bridge – that’s well worth a climb). Then, as my wife was expecting and could no longer work, I had to get a job with London Transport and changed from office to site work – as required by the Institution of Civil Engineers. I had a very interesting few years with them (all above ground!) before my wife decided that she wanted to go back to Australia, so we “emigrated” to Brisbane. (I was not a 10 pound Pom – it cost me 20 pounds!!) It was intended we would have a few years there and then move back to our house in London but when we tried that Margaret Thatcher had created 3 million or more unemployed and there were no jobs at all. The ICE advised me to go back to a job I still had in Brisbane, Australia and so we did, selling the house soon after, and the rest is history, as they say! All my work in Brisbane
was with the rail department designing bridges, associated infrastructure and whole railway lines – very interesting!! (but not too highly paid alas – if only I had done Medicine or Law!!)
Having learned sword fencing at BGS and competed in London afterwards I got into it here in “BrizVegas” but here it is very much a minority sport. I still do a bit and take one of my 14 year old grandsons to my club to get him going on it. Another thing I have to thank BGS for!
And I must also say how much I learnt to appreciate organ music because of the fine organ in the Great Hall and Mr Rusbridge’s wonderful playing. I still go to organ recitals here in Briz when I can.
I hope everyone had a brilliant time at the Annual Dinner this year. Should anyone want to get in touch please do – Quot Quot!
David
Poole damyasp@gmail.com
Do you have any old photos or memorabilia of BGS? Contact us! Get in touch!
We’re deeply saddened to announce the deaths of people associated with Bristol Grammar School notified to us in the last 12 months. Please join us in honouring and remembering them.
Roger Martyn Barr 1945-2023. BGS 1956-1962
Peter Charles Sidney Baston 1936-2013. BGS 1944-1954
Simon Bennett 1945-2017. Former Governor
William Hardwell Bruton 1932-2023. BGS 1942-1950
Keith Stanley Carmichael 1929-2025. BGS 1940-1946
Zachary Aaron Cook 2002-2024. BGS 2016-2020
Geoffrey Roger Coombs 1934-2024. BGS 1945-1953
Paul Hampton Cooper 1943-2024. BGS 1954-1959
Robert Leslie Cordell 1941-2023. BGS 1949-1959
Michael Dare 1935-Unknown. BGS 1943-1955
Sheila Elaine Dawes Died 2025
Simon Millar Downs 1930-2023. BGS 1940-1947
Jonathan Edwards 1947-2024. BGS 1969-1978
Nancy Macdonald Elliott 1947-2024.BGS 1990-2007
Julie Ellis 1967-2024. BGS 2022-2024
Denys Edward Leflaive 1937-Unknown. BGS 1945-1955
Malcolm Charles Ernest Leflaive 1939-Unknown. BGS 1946-1957
Nigel John Maggs 1935-2024. BGS 1946-1954
Colin William McFadyean 1943-2025. BGS 1957-1962
David John Duppa Miller 1935-2025. BGS 1976-1997
Kenneth Charles Napier 1939-Unknown. BGS 1947-1957
Harmer Parr 1949-2024. BGS 1972-1974
Albert Edward Pearson 1940-2025. BGS 1979-2001
John Lewis Richard Proops 1947-2024. BGS 1958-1966
In memoriam
Thomas Garry 2022-2025. BGS 2013-2020
Michael William John Heyes 1931-2024. BGS 1942-1948
Jeremy Iles 1938-2024. BGS 1949-1956
William Ian Kerry Roberts 1953-2025. BGS 1964-1971
Conrad Snook 1942-2024. BGS 1978-2002
David Richard Spray 1947-2019. BGS 1958-1965
Peter Stephen Taplin 1935-2015. BGS 1946-1950
Alan Graham Thomas 1927-Unknown. BGS 1936-1945
Anthony Tregoning 1935-Unknown. BGS 1949-1951
Anthony Colin Tucker 1935-Unknown. BGS 1946-1950
Timothy Lancaster West 1934-2024. BGS 1943-Unknown
Full obituaries, where provided by family, friends or news resources, are available on our new Obituaries page on the website (scan the QR code with your phone camera on the right for links) To inform us of a death or to provide an obituary, please contact us on community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk Sometimes we are notified of deaths without full dates or details. In this case we will write ‘Unknown’.
Old Bristolians Society Management Committee 2025-26
Chair
Marcus Cryer
President
John Bassett OBE
President Elect
Romesh Vaitilingam
Immediate Past President
Rev James Harris
Treasurer Richard Leonard
Secretary Ian Southcott
School Liaison Officer
Peter Jakobek
Archivist
Anne Bradley
Careers Co ordinator
Rob Hagen
Failand Memorial Officer
James King
Bristolienses Editor
Ian Southcott
Sports Club Representative
Rich Berry
Nick Stibbs
Trustees
Julian Portch
Melanie Guy
Martin Bates
If you would like to contact any of the management committee members please email community@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Past Presidents of the Society
1900 Herbert Ashman Bart
1901 Charles McArthur
1902 C E L Gardner
1903 Bourchier F Hawksley
1904 The Rev T W Openshaw MA
1905 Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith GCB, MA, BSc
1906 Professor H Lloyd Tanner DSc, FRS
1907 The Rev V P Wyatt MA
1908 Sir Hartman W Just CB, KCMG
1909 Philip W Worsley JP
1910 W Nicol Reid
1911 The Rev A W Oxford MA, MD
1912 T B Silcock BSc
1913 The Rev Canon F E Brightman MA D Phil, DD, FBA
1914 The Rev A B Beaven MA
1919 Sir Holman Gregory KC
1920 Sir Cyril Norwood MA, D Litt
1921 George Langford
1922 Col T H Openshaw CB, CMG, MS, MB, FRCS, LRCP
1923 The Rev Canon G A Weekes MA
1924 The Rev Canon Peter Barker MA
1925 D S Davies MD, LLD, DPH
1926 Col T M Carter OBE
1927 R C Hobbs
1928 Oscar Berry
1929 Sir Duncan Grey LLD
1930 Cyril Rootham MA, MusD
1931 Wilfrid E F Peake
1932 Sir Cyril Norwood MA, D Litt
1933 J Sumner Dury JP
1934 T Reaveley Glover MA, LLD, DD, Litt D
1935 Rear-Admiral V H T Weekes CB, CMG
1936 Charles W Stear
1937 E W B Gill OBE, MA, BSc
1938 Brigadier A L W Newth CBE, DSO, MC, TD, DL, JP, Legion of Merit (America)
1939-1945 Col G S Castle MC, TD, DL
1946 Brigadier M Angell James VC, DSO, MBE, MC, DL
1947 The Right Rev Henry McGowan MA
1948 The Right Hon Lord Gridley KBE,MIEE, MP
1949 J E Barton MA, Hon RIBA
1950 Rev Canon J M D Stancomb MBE, MA
1951 Sir W Marston Logan KBE, CMG
1952 Professor T F Hewer MD, FRCP, FLS
1953 Leslie Morris MA, BSc
1954 Sir Oliver Franks PC, GCMG, KCB, CBE, MA
1955 R C W Cottle
1956 Sir W Ivor Jennings KBE, LittD, LLD, QC
1957 H P Lucas BSc
1958 The Right Rev Bishop D B Hall BA
1959 C R Setter JP, FIOB
1960 Sir Douglas Veale CBE, MA
1961 Dr John Garrett MA, DLitt
1962 C H Clements
1963 E H Totterdill FCll FIArb
1964 K W Jones ACIS
1965 Very Reverend D E W Harrison MA
1966 Alderman L K Stevenson
1967 H C H Punchard
1968 Col J B Cossins MBE
1969 J Angell James CBE, MD, FRCP, FRCS
1970 Philip E Maggs
1971 Edward V Colman
1972 Vivian H Ridler CBE, MA, FSIA
1973 Sir Paul Osmond CB, MA, CIMgt
1974 M E Dunscombe TD FBOA, FSMC
1975 Air Vice Marshal W J Maggs CB, OBE, MA
1976 R A Dolton
1977 D J Mann CBE, MA
1978 Dr J Mackay MA, DPhil
1979 Professor B H Harvey CBE, MA, MSc
1980 J C Higson
1981 M L Booker MA
1982 The Very Rev S H Evans CBE, MA
1983 J B Ackland OBE, FRIBA
1984 G F Jarrett TD, MA
1985 D W Williams OBE, TD, DL
1986 E H Dehn BA
1987 J R Cottle MA
1988 P F Stirratt BSc (Econ)
1989 Major General IOJ Sprackling OBE, BSc
1990 K J Stidard AE, DMS, MIMgt
1991 T L Beagley CB, MA, FCIT, FIRTE(Hon)
1992 M B Nichols FCA
1993 J R Avery MA, FRSA
1994 A F Stirratt MA
1995 Professor Keith Robbins MA, DPhil, DLitt, FRSE
1996 E A Warren MA
1997 K G H Binning CMG, MA
1998 K D J Prowting FCA
1999 His Honour Judge PNR Clark MA
2000 R Lacey MA
2001 M Sisman LLB
2002 C E Martin MA
2003 J A E Evans MA
2004 R F Kingscott Dip Arch (RWA), ARIBA
2005 R A R Cockitt BSc
2006 Professor Sir Nicholas (‘Nick’) Wright MA, MD, PhD, DSc, FRCP, FRCS, FRCPath, FMedSci
2007 D L J Watts JP, MA, FRICS
2008 D Pople MA
2009 P J Revill MA
2010 K T Gerrish BA
2011 N A Baldwin
2012 G E Ratcliffe BDS, DDPHRCS
2013 D Furze MBCS, CITP
2014 D Yeandle OBE, MA, MCIPD, FRSA
2015 M N J Burmester BA, ACIB
2016 J D Perkins MA
2017 Anne Bradley MA (Oxon)
2018 Melanie Guy
2019 John Sisman
2020 Rich Berry
2021 Rich Berry
2022 Kate Redshaw
2023 Peter Jakobek
2024 James Harris
Annual Dinner
Saturday 14 March 2026
CAREERS + MENTORING
Volunteer to be a mentor, attend a careers or networking event or join our Linkedin group.
EVENTS
Organise a reunion table for the Annual Dinner, attend our networking drinks in London or Bristol or come along to our Lunch Clubs.
GIVE BACK
Donate to our 500 campaign and help change lives through bursaries at BGS.
VISIT US
Have lunch in the Great Hall, have a guided tour around BGS, or come back to talk to the current students about your journey after BGS.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow us on social media, join our private Linkedin and Facebook groups or download the Old Bristolians app.
TALK TO US
If you want to visit, suggest a new event, advertise your business or have any questions or feedback, get in touch.
The Old Bristolians is a community for Old Bristolians by Old Bristolians. Let’s stay connected.
