News of Old Boys and Former Staff

If you would like to get in touch with any of the Old Boys featured – or any other Old Boltonian – please contact the Development Office.

David has been a fan of Bolton Wanderers all his life – and is one of the survivors of the Burnden Park disaster in 1946 – and so it was only fitting that he celebrated his 90th birthday with a trip to the University of Bolton Stadium to watch his team play. His family booked a hospitality box in the West Stand for the occasion and they all enjoyed seeing the mighty Wanderers beat Lincoln City. David also got a mention in the match programme – a fantastic souvenir of a wonderful day!

Norman has just published two new poetry books, one in English, Poems in a Crazy World, and the other in French Apprendre ou Mourir. Both are available on Amazon. He and his wife are also supporting a local Ukrainian family. During the Summer they met up with Peter Greenhalgh (19541963) in St Cyprien where Peter has a second home. Peter had read Norman’s autobiography, The Boy from the Back Streets of Bolton (which was reviewed in the Autumn 2021 edition of The Bugle), and got in touch. Poskitt, Booth, Ingham, Howard and others were among the items for discussion, not to mention comparing their respective journeyings around the world.

In 1960/61 Malcolm was a student in the Biology Sixth Form and most of his fellow students were very keen on cutting up dead rats and not too keen on the wonders of botany. This led to him being assigned the task of helping to maintain the plants in the School greenhouse on the roof of the recently opened School wing. This wonderful building effectively became his private study. He brought a few cuttings from his home garden to propagate and one such plant – if he remembers correctly – was Lophophora Williamsii, a cactus. The original was probably bought from Bolton market or from a fellow collector in the Bolton Cactus Society. However, although perfectly legal, Malcolm believes, at the time, it is now listed as a dangerous drug owing to the plant producing mescaline, a powerful hallucinogen. Malcolm now lives in New Zealand so hopefully well away from any prosecution for supplying dangerous drugs 60 years ago. He has often wondered if the plant has survived.

Simon has been living in Majorca for a number of years. He has had a distinguished sailing career: he was the GP14 World Champion from 1985 to 1991, and Scorpion European Champion in 1986, as well as having won the GP14 Irish Championships a record seven times in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1992 – a record which still stands today. Simon is currently the owner, editor and publisher of The Islander magazine, a monthly professional yachting publication which provides news and information for the global yachting industry. Simon remembers his School years fondly, especially trips abroad with Clifford Ingham, camps at Instow and Saundersfoot and football on the Levels. He remains in close contact with fellow Old Boy Chris Taylor (Class of 1973) and maintains his home connections by following the fortunes of Bolton Wanderers.

Hearty congratulations are due to Dr Nicholas Ogden on his election on 1st September as a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. After training as a vet at the University of Liverpool, Nick completed a doctorate in Zoology at the University of Oxford. He trained in disease modelling at the Université de Montréal before joining the Public Health Agency of Canada, where among other things, he led the Covid-19 modelling teams in response to the pandemic.

Peter retired in April 2022, shortly before his 60th birthday in May – just enough time to train furiously for the ultimate test of his resilience: participation in a 7-day Ultra Cycling Challenge with Team Tactic-UK, an Amateur Racing Team. The Epic Challenge started on 30th July from Zurich Airport, riding over the Swiss Alps, Italian Alps, and Italian Dolomites to Belluno, Italy. Every day involved riding several colossal mountain passes in 35°C heat – village water fountains were an absolute life saver. It was the equivalent of riding the toughest UK Cycling Sportive – The Fred Whitton – not once, but repeatedly over consecutive days. The team rode 600 miles, involving an epic 69,000 feet of climbing. The scenery was spectacular from start to finish, but the absolute pinnacle was the Sella Ronda route in the Italian Dolomites. If you have one ride left in life, then it has to be the Sella Ronda: a stupendous lap over four colossal passes surrounded by a cathedral massif of jagged limestone. Peter’s daily routes were recorded on Strava with his usual Old Bolts reference. He was fortunate to be supported and inspired by a group of very talented and determined riders with an astonishing age range from 22 years to 69 years old.

Charles recently reached the landmark age of 60 and celebrated acquiring his senior citizen’s railcard with one last fundraising marathon before retiring from such exertions. On his 60th birthday in early October he and his three sons, Tom (Class of 2011), Toby (Class of 2013) and Hal (Class of 2017), ran the Munich Marathon to raise funds for two very worthwhile causes. The quartet of Old Boys took up the challenge to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society, in memory of a wonderful lady, Amanda Anderson, who recently died of this dreadful disease and for many other friends who suffer from its awful debilitating impact. They also raised funds for Manna House, a wonderful charity in Kendal which looks after the homeless and the vulnerable of South Lakeland. Manna House does vital work, which is particularly important at this time of a cost of living crisis when the most vulnerable in our society are often the hardest hit.

If either of these important causes resonates with you and you would like to donate, you can do so at lnkd.in/ eSsGY9v3 (Multiple Sclerosis) and at lnkd.in/eqYESFCx (Manna House).

Paul was honoured to celebrate the Opening of the Legal Year not once, but twice, in his capacity as President of the Manchester Law Society. The first event took place at the Palace of Westminster and was especially poignant, given it was the venue for the recent Lying-in-State of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Paul then led the procession of dignitaries into Manchester Cathedral for a further service which acknowledged and celebrated all those associated with the law and the upholding of justice in Greater Manchester.

During the Summer Richard set himself the challenge of running five events over nine days to raise money for Cancer Research UK, having witnessed amazing bravery and resilience in the face of this horrible disease.

Richard covered 503km (313 miles), taking in the Ultra Trail of Snowdonia, a solo loop round Darwen, Peel and Turton Towers, Great and Winter Hills and Rivington Pike, the Cheddar Gorge Circular, the Lakeland 50 and the Ultra X Wales and raised an amazing sum. Anyone who would like to contribute may do so at www.

morris500.

Scott recalls having his photograph taken with Geoff Thompson MBE when Geoff visited School in 1986. Scott never forgot his name, so he clearly had an impact on him all those years ago! 36 years later, Scott has been working as Venue Security Manager at the Alexander Stadium following his retirement from the police and he was thrilled to bump into former five times world karate champion and sports administrator Geoff, Deputy Chair for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It’s a small world and just proves that little interactions at School can last for decades!

Professor Mike Waring (1986-1993), Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at Newcastle University, has been awarded the prestigious UCB Ehrlich Prize for excellence in medicinal chemistry by the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC). It was awarded for various aspects of his work in medicinal chemistry at AstraZeneca and at Newcastle. His conceptual work on controlling lipophilicity, which is a property that determines how drugs distribute within the body and bind to proteins, has shown ways to better and more quickly design drug candidates. He pioneered the discovery of covalent inhibitors of a mutated protein called EGFR, which is a critical driver for the growth of some lung cancers, leading to the discovery of osimertinib. Osimertinib is now widely used as a treatment for lung cancer and is one of the world’s current best-selling drugs. Finally, his work on fragments and DNA-encoded chemical libraries, two important techniques in modern drug discovery, can be used in the vital early phase to find chemical start points for the development of new medicines. Mike gave a plenary lecture at the EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry in Nice in September of this Scott and Geoff in 1986 year.

Scott and Geoff at the Commonwealth Games this year James has been taking his football coaching badges since 2017, having started coaching in Grassroots. There are five levels to football badges (UEFA Pro Licence being Level 5). James’ badges are through the FA of Wales (FAW), whose coaching education system is said to be the best in Europe (Thierry Henry, Roberto Martinez, Patrick Vieira, Chris Wilder have all been past pupils). In July 2020 he qualified as

James (back row, far right) and his squad

a UEFA B Licence coach, which allows him to coach anywhere in Europe, including the EFL and Premier League. In April of 2022 James was approached by Cheltenham Town FC and asked to pull together a brand new age group for them. The age group was a mix of U14s and U13s and is now a year into its formation, having formed last May. A close-knit bunch, the group endured a tough start to last season in the JPL, which is a big step up from Grassroots. Slowly but surely, they began to find their feet and enjoyed a good second half to the season, finishing a respectable mid-table in the SW Championship, alongside the likes of Yeovil Town, Southampton and Gloucester City. They also reached the second round of the JPL Plate. The development amongst the lads was huge over the course of the season, both on and away from the grass, earning them the hashtag #BandOfBrothers and is now considered a strong age group to watch, with a clear and proven pathway to senior football and the EFL (they are targeted with providing three first team players by the time they reach 18 years of age). Having recently had his appraisal, James’ aim is to kick on professionally and begin studying for his UEFA A Licence within the next two seasons. He is also in talks to be named Lead Youth Phase Coach, which will give him responsibility to oversee the development of the U13s, U14s, U15s and U16s.

Anyone interested can follow the club on Twitter (@CTFCDCHfd), and James is on Facebook and Twitter too.

James lives in Newcastle upon Tyne where there is a wonderful charity called Action Foundation which supports and empowers seekers of asylum and refugees in the North East. James did a short stint as a teaching assistant with them during lockdown on their Action Language programme. Having spotted that Action Foundation was starting a fundraising scheme called the Step up for Refugees Challenge, he pledged to walk 20,000 steps per day in August, about 300 miles, sharing his progress and thoughts with pictures and VLOGs on Instagram and YouTube. He was also interviewed about the Challenge on BBC Radio Newcastle. More details on James’s Challenge are available at bit.ly/3JZgfZL. After leaving the RAF in 2011 James retrained as a solicitor in Newcastle, and qualified into a Healthcare team doing work for NHS Resolution and northern NHS Trusts. He was subsequently diagnosed with late onset PTSD in 2018 due to his military service. Finding the process of claiming what was previously called a War Pension, now the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, to be a bit of a nightmare, he has since used his healthcare law experience to set up a website (afcshelp.co.uk) to help others going through a process that is widely regarded as substandard and often additionally harmful. Earlier this year James was interviewed by bestselling author Geraint Jones on his podcast, Veteran State of Mind, which is supported by the Royal British Legion. The podcast is not to everyone’s taste, especially as the language can be at the salty end of even military discourse, but has received a lot of positive comments – it can be listened to here: spoti.fi/3JTqJd8.

Andrew, who founded the law firm Truth Legal solicitors, has set-up a new nonprofit political organisation: the Crowd Wisdom Project. At School, Andrew’s fascination in politics was encouraged by teachers: Mr Joseph, Mr Whitten, Mr Wardle, Mr Wadsworth and many others. The Crowd Wisdom Project uses an advanced and altruistic political tech tool called Polis to survey thousands of people in their own words. Polis uses an algorithm to find consensus in areas of extreme polarity. Polis, created in Seattle (not by Andrew), famously has been used by the Government in Taiwan to solve national disputes. Andrew’s instance of Polis is being used in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wigan – helping local people to understand their issues and to find common ground. Unlike on social media, Polis is used anonymously, meaning that debate is gentle – but rigorous – uncovering previously unknown consensus. Businesses and campaigning groups have been the Crowd Wisdom Project’s first customers, with the tech free to use for any environmentally focused organisation. Andrew is particularly interested in speaking to business owners who want to use the very best technology to survey their teams, in order to unearth the best ideas and build consensus.

Team Marauders: Peter (right) and Tim

Peter was a competitor in last year’s Swimrun World Championship held at Sandhamn, Sweden, in September 2021. Competitors work in teams of two and Peter was partnered by Tim Calver who is an Australian Youth Triathlon international. The course for the final at the legendary venue of Otillo was a continuous run of 65.13 kilometres and a swim of 9.45 kilometres over and between 24 islands. The pair, competing under the name of Team Marauders, had to carry all the equipment that they needed to use and had to remain within 10m of each other at all times!

David, now working as a capital markets and corporate insurance lawyer for Willkie Farr & Gallagher in London, was named

“Young ILS Professional of the Year” at the 2022 Trading Risk Awards. The award recognised his leadership and accomplishments advising prominent brokers, cedents and investors on an array of sophisticated insurance-linked securities (ILS) transactions, including major collateralised reinsurance deals, sidecars and catastrophe bonds.

Congratulations to Pete and Emily (née Harper, 19992009) on the arrival of Daniel James Lucas on 17th June 2022, a little brother The Lucas family for Evie.

Congratulations to Jordan who tied the knot with Claire Manley (2003-2012) on Saturday 21st May 2022 at Scarlet Hall in Cheshire. They were joined in their celebrations by several Old Girls and Old Boys: Alex Fletcher (Best Man; 2003-2010), Michael Hilton (2003-2010), Shivam Sukha (2003-2010), Zakary HarrisonTwist (2008-2015), Samara Mohtasham (Maid of Honour; 2005-2012), Olivia Heald (Class of 2012), Ben Smith (20032010), Josh Smith (2003-2010), James Samuel (Class of 2017); Sophie Bentley (Class of 2011), Hannah Bentley (20032014) and Serena Mohtasham (20052016).

Hadley was very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak at the Festival of Education at Wellington College in July, alongside Naomi Lord (Class of 1998; Boys’ Division Staff). Their session, ‘A Decade of Lessons: in conversation with a gay student and his former teacher’, explored Hadley’s experiences of being gay at School, the role that Naomi played as an ally and positive role model during that time, and the lessons they would like to pass on to teachers of LGBTQ+ students today. The pair were invited to speak at the festival by LGBTed, an organisation that empowers LGBTQ+ educators to be visible and authentic in schools for the benefit of young people. Hadley was nominated for the Positive Role Model Award for the LGBT category at The National Diversity Awards 2022.

Christian is currently working towards his PhD at the University of Bristol and recently took some time out from his busy days in the lab to propose to his girlfriend, Becca McCallum from Brighton; happily she said “Yes”! The couple met when they were both studying at the University of York and will be getting married in the late summer of 2023.

Reflecting on an incredible summer of sport, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was the stage for the first-ever cricket T20 competition in multisports history, with eight of the best international women’s teams competing for Gold.

Rishi has spent the last year in Birmingham as the Assistant Manager of the cricket competition which sold a record 173,000 tickets at Edgbaston Stadium across the 16 matches – the most for any international women’s T20 tournament. The success of cricket at Birmingham 2022 has attracted interest from Olympic Committees as Rishi met with the intrigued organisers of Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 who paid a visit to Edgbaston during the Games. A moment Rishi won’t forget was when he was asked by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai to be introduced to the Pakistan team on the opening day. After losing their first match, Rishi was not sure how the players would react but said the whole team were more than happy to oblige in a nice ceremony on the pitch. Rishi puts the success of the competition down to the months of preparation by the whole Edgbaston venue team, practising and refining procedures during several pre-event simulation exercises. Although he has learnt that not everything goes according to plan in the events world, and leaving room to improvise when Claire and Jordan on their special day the unexpected occurs is absolutely imperative! This was Rishi’s first experience of organising sporting events and highly recommends opportunities in the Games world, especially as a volunteer, for anyone looking to break into a highly competitive sports industry.

Former Senior School goalkeeper Matthew Schaffel joined the Years 8 and 9 water polo team for a training session. Matthew, who continues to play water polo at the University of Oxford whilst studying, passed on some top tips to aspiring players.

Naomi and Hadley in conversation Happy couple Becca and Christian