The Old Cranleighan 2024

THE OLD CRANLEIGHAN 2024

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THE OLD CRANLEIGHAN

2024 27/11/2024 13:43

CONTENTS The Old Cranleighan 2024

CHAIRMAN’S PIECE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

No. 19 December 2024

FROM THE HEADMASTER – A SPECIAL PLACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MRS SAMANTHA PRICE – CRANLEIGH’S NEW HEAD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Editorial Team: VICKIE INGLE MARTIN WILLIAMSON

FROM A DORMITORY IN LOVEDAY – HENRY CATCHPOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 FARMING IN A COPRORATE ENVIRONMENT – BEN DEAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Consulting Editor JODY COOKSLEY

ALL IN GOOD TIME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Photographers: LILLIE SPIBEY and MARTIN WILLIAMSON

FASCINATINGLY ABHORRENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Design: screambluemurder.co.uk The Editors thank all others who helped to produce our magazine

THE COACHING GRID – GEORGE EALHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 THE GOODMAN GALLERY – JO STELLA-SAWICKA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 A LIFE OF LESSONS – NICK MEYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 FAST FORWARD TWO DECADES – HILARY CRONIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

President: DUDLEY COUPER

ARTHUR TABOR AT 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chairman: MARTIN WILLIAMSON

OLD CRANLEIGHAN FUNDRAISING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Honorary Secretary: DODIE KHURSHID

THE HILLS WERE ALIVE – PAUL BEESON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Honorary Treasurer: TONY STRACHAN

SCHOOL ROUND-UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

OCS and Cranleigh Network Manager: VICKIE INGLE e-mail: vli@cranleigh.org

THAMES DITTON – EVOLVING PLANS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 OC SPORTS AND SPORTING HONOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 OC CLUBS AND SOCIETIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

The OC Society website: www.ocsociety.org

ENGAGEMENTS, MARRIAGES, BIRTHS & DEATHS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

www.facebook.com/ oldcranleighans

WHO’S STARTING WHERE IN 2024 – UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS. . . . . . . 74

Follow @oldcranleighans ocsociety.cranleigh.org

NEWS OF OCS AND COMMON ROOM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 COMMON ROOM LEAVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

OCS CALENDAR EVENTS FOR 2025

NOTICE OF AGM

All dates provisional for obvious reasons, please keep an eye on the website and social media.

➔ APRIL

TUESDAY 29TH

➔ JUNE

SATURDAY 28TH

➔ JULY

FRIDAY 11TH

➔

OCTOBER DAY TBA

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BUSINESS FORUM NETWORKING EVENT, SAVOY PLACE LONDON Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OC DAY AND SPEECH DAY Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OC GOLF DAY AT THE SCHOOL Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OVER 70s’ RECEPTION AND LUNCH AT THE SCHOOL Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org

The 121st Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held in the Clubhouse at Thames Ditton on Tuesday 14th January 2024, starting at 19.30.

This will be followed by the next meeting of Excom.

Front cover: Aerial view of Cranleigh School October 2024 Back cover: Aerial view of Jubilee August 2024

JONATHON SCOTT

create such powerful productions.

2017-2014

Jon has also directed a number of musicals in his time, which, given that our earliest conversations centred around his dislike for many shows in this genre of theatre, may have come as a surprise.

Nevertheless, some of my fondest memories of our time working together was in the rehearsal space for We Will Rock You and West Side Story. I consider it a privilege to have been able to witness his directing prowess, and the care and attention that he gave every element of the production process and each individual involved. While many may have seen his common pose of head in hands, sat at the back of the auditorium hunched over while his actors looked on with worried faces from the stage as concerning, I quickly learnt that Jon was simply having a moment in his ‘mind palace’, working through creatively to ensure the highest quality of performance.

Jon Scott joined Cranleigh in 2017 as Director of Drama and since that time has made an indelible mark on the Cranleigh stage and beyond with his choice of plays, which have always sought to push boundaries for the betterment of our audiences and actors. These have included Enron, Ash Girl, PunkRock and That Face. Each offered audiences and actors alike the opportunity to be challenged to see the world differently and to reflect on their role within it. The impact of his directorial work extends far beyond the stage, resonating deeply with all who have had the privilege of witnessing or being a part of it.

The many students who have found themselves now working in the performing arts industry, studying drama at university or at drama school are testament to his encouragement and dedication to and athletics as well as being a brilliant tutor to the girls in West.

He is a first-class teacher who has achieved outstanding results year on year and he will be missed in the department by pupils and staff alike.

Nick Miller

RICHARD VENABLES

example. Richard was active in Chapel life, leading his own life as an example for others, I know that the students benefitted from hearing him speak in Chapel. Richard leaves us for Marlborough College Malaysia to teach Maths and to help run a day house.

His commitment to the rehearsal process ensured his students felt both inspired and challenged to enable them to strive for the potential he would so often unleash in them. Very quickly his mottos of ‘good enough isn’t’ and ‘do it again, but better’ would become commonplace in the studios, not as a judgement but as an encouragement to all to always strive for the best in a nurturing and supportive environment. Cranleigh is known for its professional quality performances and that is in large part down to Jon’s tireless determination to adhere to his own advice.

Inside the classroom his influence on students has been nothing short of transformative. Whether introducing challenging texts and practitioners to his Sixth Form students or encouraging Fourth Formers who have never set foot onstage, his knowledge of theatre is always mind-blowing. It is also his

LISTINGS

ability to talk to students beyond the curriculum that has always inspired me; being able to draw on the politics of the world, open their eyes to history or just impart some life lessons, I know his students have left more rounded individuals, equipped to deal with the realities of the world thanks to his words of wisdom and advice. This is something I know his previous tutees and students in Martlet have also hugely appreciated.

I consider myself fortunate to have had not only found an amazing mentor, colleague, leader, director and life coach in Jon but also a dear friend who has left me and Cranleigh such a wonderful legacy which we will both protect and build upon in the years to come. If there was someone who could truly encompass our school motto, it is Jon, who inspires all around him to appreciate that from culture comes strength.

Emily Mcghee

TAYA SELLERS 2021-2024 Taya leaves Cranleigh to take up the position of Head of the Geography Department at Monkton Combe School.

Simon Quinn

2018-2024 From the moment Richard joined the Cranleigh Maths Department it was clear that we had gained not just a brilliant mathematician, but also a passionate teacher. Alongside teaching Maths Richard ran the United Kingdom Maths Challenges with great success, allowing our students to excel and shine. During his time at Cranleigh he also stepped into the role of Assistant Head of Maths as maternity cover, providing great support and helping to drive the Maths Department forward.

As Assistant Housemaster in Loveday, Richard has been a valued team member, supporting his tutees and the house pastorally.

His dedication to their wellbeing and personal growth has been truly commendable, always going beyond expectations to ensure that the house runs smoothly and that all students feel seen and supported.

His contributions extended beyond academics and House, as a rugby coach, a tennis coach and running cross country, always leading by

PREP SCHOOL GAPPIES Three 2024 leavers have spent the Michaelmas term working at Cranleigh Prep School, both on the sports field where their experience and enthusiasm were valued hugely, and in the classroom as an etra pair of hands.

EMILY REED (

South 2024), HAMISH RAMSAY (

Cubitt 2024), CHARLOTTE BARR (

South 2024)

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CHAIRMAN

A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP CHAIRMAN, MARTIN WILLIAMSON (2&3 SOUTH 1980)

“The OC Day passed off as usual. I dislike this institution as do most of the boys, although it is a good thing to get as many OCs together at their old school as possible… the pity is that not enough of the right type attend. The majority think it rather ‘big’ to show off in front of the present boys.” This was written about the OC weekend, as it then was, in May 1938 by one of the School’s secretaries. It goes to show that the relationship between the School and the OCs has not always been an harmonious one.

Soon after I left in 1980 I contacted the School to ask if my OCHC side could play a pre-season hockey match against Guildford at Cranleigh as our pitch at Thames Ditton was undergoing work. The curt refusal came back with a note that while pitches were available “the last thing we need at Cranleigh is old boys coming back to play club sport”. The game took place instead at Charterhouse.

Around the same time a parent contacted the School to ask for some advice about his son’s career after university. Remarkable as it may seem now the response was a singularly unhelpful one. “You had a five-year deal where we would educate your son; that deal ended when he left”.

I mention these examples for two reasons. Firstly, to show the relationship between Cranleigh and its former pupils has not always been a healthy one. Secondly, to highlight how strong it is now.

The nadir probably came in 1959 when a group of Old Cranleighans on the governing body, egged on by some OCs on the outside, engineered the removal of the Headmaster, Henry March. The damage it did to the School was considerable and the ramifications lasted decades.

For a long time the only thing the OC Society offered was an annual dinner and OC Day, some sport as well as the OC Club at Thames Ditton. Links with the School were scant.

Under the last two Headmasters the fences have not only been mended but the relationship has blossomed with their support and cooperation. We now run a full-time office at the School where the indefatigable Vickie Ingle works throughout the year to help bring together OCs and organise events for them. The Cranleigh Network and mentoring schemes help OCs of all ages, particularly recent leavers, to use all the contacts we have to help in their career choices. We run various societies aimed at specific career specialties and have recently started an annual Business Forum to provide further help through networking.

OCs ARE INCREASINGLY WELCOME BACK AT THE SCHOOL .... AND SEEM TO BE INCREASINGLY PROUD OF THEIR SCHOOL

While OC Day remains, with the decade reunions becoming increasingly popular, we also help anyone who is interested in organising their own targeted get togethers including ones held abroad.

Perhaps most hearteningly, OCs are increasingly welcome back at the School for plays, sporting and social events. They, in turn, seem to be increasingly proud of their school and to some extent that is reflected in the large numbers of OCs who send their children back to Cranleigh. The OC and Cranleigh Friends Carol Service shortly before the end of term has within a few years of its introduction become hugely popular with several hundred returning to the Chapel in early December.

It is in both the School’s and the Old Cranleighan community’s interest that a healthy symbiotic relationship exists and thrives. Long may it continue.

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FAREWELL FROM THE HEAD

A SPECIAL PLACE MARTIN READER REFLECTS ON HIS DECADE AS HEADMASTER

In 1964, the first ever amateur performance of West Side Story was put on by Cranleigh School. Sixty years later I sat having lunch with OC Nigel Bishop (2&3 South 1966), an original cast member returning to meet the actors of 2024.

With keenness he showed us his collection of press clippings, programme and photographs from the time. Impressively, Nigel could still remember moves and songs, as he proved on screen when he joined the cast for a TV interview. He told me how he, a rugby player in the XV, had never expected to be in a show that expected not only acting but singing and dancing.

After the final performance in March, I stood chatting to two of the cast, both of whom were rugby players who had been dragged along to audition by a mate and who had never expected to sing and dance on stage. They had loved every minute: “I can honestly say that it has changed my life”, said one.

In that sense nothing had changed in 60 years. When nine of the original cast were called up on stage at the end to share the final applause, it was a poignant marker of the heritage of Cranleigh and Cranleigh drama over the decades. People coming together with a shared experience of the special moments with friends that Cranleigh creates.

In October we celebrated 50 years of the Helen Wareham Competition. An audience of 300 was filled with former music award holders, sharing their Helen Wareham memories. They were impressed by the skill of the next generation. In May, Richard Winter (Loveday 1986) and Alastair Chesser (2 North 1983) played the first squash matches on the new courts and in June, Ollie Pope (2016), England Test Vice-Captain, formally opened the new fitness and dance studios and squash courts. He was joined by many of his friends and sportsmen and sportswomen as we celebrated Sport at Cranleigh.

Since 2014 there has been a total of 121 national team awards across 13 sports, and this does not include the Old Cranleighan success in the Rugby Football Union National Vase in 2016 and Cricketer Cup victories in 2014 and 2018. However, as Andy Houston (East 2001) comments, like the actors from 1964, it is the hard work that goes behind the scenes and the creation of moments with friends that are most important.

One of the strange things about being a teacher at Cranleigh is that our whole five years is dedicated to equipping young people to leave, and yet our part in their story then ends. Therefore, for me, it has been a joy this year to see so many Old Cranleighans reconnect and share their stories, and very special that Chantelle Phillips (2016) and Lew Bedford (2017), two OCs from my time, were willing to encourage the current generation to think differently about their futures on Speech Day. The interconnectedness of Cranleighans past and present is so important for Cranleigh to continue to thrive.

PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER WITH A SHARED EXPERIENCE OF THE SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH FRIENDS THAT CRANLEIGH CREATES More sadly this year, at two memorial services for Cranleigh parents, Mark Austin and Mike Dickson, and the untimely, tragic death of Weston Lord (2014) after his brave battle with cancer, have also shown that the strength of bond that Cranleigh friendships bring is both moving and real.

We also lost Nicholas Dimbleby (2 North 1964) this year to the cruelty of Motor Neurone Disease The time I spent with Nicholas as he talked through his plans for the War Memorial right through to its installation was precious indeed. When I look back over the last ten years, the War Memorial is the project of which I am most proud.

On the 80th anniversary of D Day we remembered the six who lost their lives on the 6th June 1944 and the battle for Normandy that followed. We also remembered Headmaster Marc van Hasselt who was awarded the Légion d’honneur for his part on D Day. It is impossible to imagine what that time was like for the community but friendship must have given them strength.

The War Memorial is called ‘Leaving’ as Nicholas wanted it to speak to the current generation as they left, considering the words of WH Auden’s poem ‘September 1939’ which are inscribed on the plinth: ‘We must love one another or die.’ They go alongside the more usual inscription. ‘We will remember them.’ I have always seen both as profound promises for each generation of OCs, and I have had the privilege of seeing both lived out.

As I leave Cranleigh, a special place which I have loved and been so blessed by, the idea of legacy does not really sit easily with me, but if I have played some small part in enabling special moments and memories that strengthen friendship and give future opportunity, then I will be pleased with that.

Therefore, to receive my Old Cranleighan tie alongside the 2024 leavers was a genuine honour. Thank you to the Old Cranleighan Society.

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size of the field of experienced serving Heads who applied to succeed him as our next Head. Leadership succession is often fraught with difficulty. That Sam Price’s impending arrival as Cranleigh’s next Head has been so effectively prepared for, and anticipated with such enthusiasm, owes a huge amount to Martin’s warmth, openness and stewardship values on behalf of the School.

Martin and Amanda Reader came to Cranleigh with their two children in the late summer of 2014, following Martin’s eight years of first headship at Wellington School in Somerset. On the occasion of Martin’s retirement at the end of this Summer term, we can look back on the Reader years as a decade of remarkable change and progress for Cranleigh.

Perhaps we should not have been surprised at the impact that Martin has had on Cranleigh, as there were clear signs from the very beginning of what was to come. At his very first Governing Body meeting, Martin produced a flip-chart – not often seen on such occasions – and presented with exceptional clarity his vision for what Cranleigh was, could be and should indeed become. In doing so, Martin revealed the first of many distinctive leadership traits that we would all come to know well.

Martin’s early vision was built around his four pillars of Service, Leadership, Relationships and Excellence.

He set out an intent to build on the inheritance of his transformational predecessor (to whom Martin always paid tribute throughout his decade as Head), with an initial bias towards raising Cranleigh’s academic sights, while continuing to celebrate and nurture the School’s existing high reputations in sport, music and the performing arts. Martin made some very astute early appointments, both internally and through external recruitment, with a strong orientation towards lifting Cranleigh up externally. Indeed, if the previous decade at Cranleigh had been one of internal transformation, the Reader decade has undoubtedly been one of external transformation.

Perhaps one of the greatest testimonies to Martin’s decade of leadership at Cranleigh was the quality and

Across the independent schools sector, Martin is exceptionally well known and highly regarded, not just for what he has achieved as a Head but (maybe even more importantly) for how he has achieved it. Early in his time with us at Cranleigh, Martin was appointed as Chair of the Boarding Schools Association – and throughout his time with us, he has been constantly sought out by fellow-leaders on HMC and the BSA for advice, insight and, increasingly, with questions as to ‘How does Cranleigh do this?’ ‘How does Cranleigh think about that?’

Martin has always been happy with the conceptual ‘stuff’, but he was even happier to translate big conceptual ideas into tangible actions, progress and significant additions to Cranleigh’s DNA. Cranleigh Thinking, Being and Giving are now permanent fixtures in our lexicon, and the ideas have linked brilliantly ‘what it is we do’ to ‘what it is that we want our pupils to be as a result of their time at Cranleigh’.

In this rests Martin’s overarching passion, the thing that he has cared about the most by a mile throughout his time as Head of Cranleigh – how do we prepare our pupils best for the real world ahead of them? As Martin would put it, ‘It’s not about my vision for the School, it’s about my vision for Cranleighans, because if young people flourish, they will make a difference in the world’.

Martin and Amanda leave Cranleigh to retire to Abbotsbury in their beloved Dorset. Both of them embody that very special value of stewardship – which, put simply, means how to leave somewhere better off than when you arrived.

Cranleigh bids them farewell with much pride and with immense gratitude.

Adrian Lajtha, Chairman of the Governing Body

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THE NEW HEAD

MRS SAMANTHA PRICE CRANLEIGH’S NEW HEAD SAM PRICE TOOK OVER AS CRANLEIGH’S HEAD AT THE START OF THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR. WE CHATTED WITH HER A FEW WEEKS INTO HER FIRST TERM.

Sam read History of Art at Edinburgh University and from there worked at the Tate Britain in London. “But I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” she said, “and then a job came up at Reading Blue Coat School to teach History and History of Art.” They took her on and trained her and within two years she had become Head of Year 8. She then spent five years at King’s Canterbury where she ran a boarding house before becoming deputy head at Hereford Cathedral School. After that she went to Godolphin School before being appointed as Head of Benenden in 2014. Sam is married with two children.

After a decade at Benenden she decided it was time to look around. “I wanted a new challenge and felt there was another headship in me and if I was going to be head again I wanted to go back into co-ed as I was not going to get a better allgirls school than Benenden. I wanted to go somewhere I felt I could bring some value along with my experience, and somewhere that there was a strong community.”

She admitted she knew little about Cranleigh when the role came up. Her interview was the first time she had seen the School, but once she had been appointed she became aware that Cranleigh’s links were widespread. “Everywhere I went people seemed to know someone who was at, or had been at, Cranleigh. “ She met with the staff and pupils and “got a very good feel about the community … I felt the warmth of the culture and the atmosphere in the school”. She was also impressed with the campus. “I say to parents, it’s an embracing site and the geography of it reflects the embracing nature of the community. It felt right.”

Sam is aware the School faces major challenges. “Obviously the financial climate, VAT on fees, and affordability in the future is a very significant challenge. We have to manage our costs but also continue to invest to make sure we warrant the fees we will be charging as well as continuing to punch our weight with our competitors. We have got to be focused on ensuring everything we offer is excellent.

AS I HAVE GOT TO KNOW THE SCHOOL OVER THE PAST YEAR AND GOT A SENSE OF WHERE I BELIEVE THE GOVERNORS WANT US TO GO, I JUST FEEL REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO

“Once you visit and meet the community you realise what a great school it is. But away from here we are less high profile and we also need to work on that. Everyone has recognised it’s a priority … we don’t talk loudly about what comes through the School.”

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CRANLEIGH IN NUMBERS

ACADEMICACADEMICS 2014-2024 2014-2024 8

S U O R E G DAN INDS M COMPETITIONS

835

PUPILS TO TOP UK UNIVERSITIES

5

333

ACADEMIC JOURNALS PRODUCED

423

ACADEMIC TRIPS AND VISITS

VISITING LECTURERS

20 HOUSE CHALLENGE COMPEITIONS

749

EPQ

S SUBMITTED

73% since number grading 9-7 (exc. CAGs)

80.3% of A Level grades at A*-B

78% of EPQ grades at A*-B

GCSE

A LEVEL

EPQ

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STRAPLINEXXXXXXX

FROM A DORMITORY IN LOVEDAY

HENRY CATCHPOLE (LOVEDAY 2000) ON HOW HISTORY TEACHERS AND A CAR MAGAZINE SOWED THE SEEDS FOR HIS CAREER IN JOURNALISM

THE VALUE OF A VEHICLE HAS NO BEARING ON HOW WELL IT HANDLES AND THE ENJOYMENT IT CAN DELIVER

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HENRY CATCHPOLE

more concerned with content than carefully crafted alliteration in a sentence), and there were teachers that appreciated and encouraged my efforts - the likes of Peter Longshaw and Nicholas Menon in particular.

History came alive for me in my early years at Cranleigh, too, thanks to Neil Hawkins, Mike Payne and Peter Kemp. The way they could describe an event was inspiring, often making it personal, human and relatable, peeling back the decades or even centuries as they talked. Many of the stories I’ve loved writing over the years have included a historical element and I’m certain the foundations for the way I approach those tales were laid in those lessons.

However, it wasn’t until the first term of Lower Sixth that everything clicked. The aforementioned Bruce, brought in the first ever issue of evo magazine (a publication born out of the ashes of Performance Car as it happens) and when I borrowed it and read it there was a lightbulb moment. Driving the best, most fun cars in the world was a dream and this seemed the perfect way to achieve it. But it was more than that; the beautiful photography and inspiring writing appealed like no other magazine I’d read.

However, with only a handful of people working for evo it was a pretty long shot. Careers advice (and my parents!) suggested Law might be a more realistic avenue and I was more than happy to keep my options open with my degree - Philosophy and Art History (alongside plenty of golf) up at St. Andrews.

How did I end up here? Well, as I write this, I’m sitting in the Pyrenees waiting for the rain to stop and I got here, to this exact location in the mountains, by way of a Porsche 911. I drove along the meandering bends of the valley and then up through a dozen hairpins to this currently cloudy summit car park following the tailpipes of an Aston Martin Vantage, driven by my friend and fellow motoring journalist, John Barker.

But we can go back a bit further, a slightly scary 30 years in fact, and trace the journey to get here to a dormitory in Loveday. Mine was an upper bunk, Simon Treasure was on the lower one and Bruce Frost was on the other side of the room. And blu-tacked to the wall at the foot of my bed was a poster from Performance Car magazine. It was from the Car of The Year issue and it showed the victor for 1995… a Porsche 911. The man driving it? John Barker.

I hadn’t joined the dots at that stage; I wasn’t hell-bent on a career in motoring journalism or any job in particular. I just loved cars, always had, and the future, as much as I thought about it, didn’t extend much beyond the idea of GCSEs and A-Levels. But I did love writing (probably to my detriment if I’m honest, as exams were obviously

I loved my four years in Scotland and in amongst everything else I tried hard to keep the motoring journalism dream alive. I managed to get some work experience at evo and Autocar during the summer holidays, entered various motoring journalism competitions, wrote for the student newspaper, The Saint, and managed to get my race licence at the local circuit, Knockhill. Somehow, I even contrived to do my dissertation on the BMW Art Cars. Nonetheless, I was still realistic about my chances. So much so that I nearly joined the Army after I graduated.

Then, in the summer after I came down from the Auld Grey Toon, I got lucky with the timing of a visit to evo. I’d decided to give motoring journalism one good go for six months and paid the offices in Northamptonshire a visit to see if some more work experience might be possible. As it turned out there had been a bit of a reorganisation of the staff, a shuffling of the pack, and there was half an opening. I did three months of work experience, living out of B&Bs during the week, working all hours, proof reading, writing little news stories, making copious amounts of tea and coffee (even though I didn’t drink either) and hardly driving anything. I could not have been happier. And then just before Christmas, realising they hadn’t put me off, the editor, Peter Tomalin, caved in and offered me a job. I became staff writer at evo, on a salary of £15,000.

Over the next couple of years I was able to serve what was in effect an apprenticeship. Learning to write different types of feature, learning to drive fast on different circuits, learning to scout locations, learning to drive for photography, learning to interview, learning how to perform a 0-60mph test, learning to work data logging software and, of course, learning about how to assess and evaluate many of the cars I’d read about.

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HENRY CATCHPOLE

Even though the salary wasn’t huge I had some incredible, money can’t buy experiences too: the Monaco Grand Prix as a VIP guest of Ferrari; being flown on Ford’s private jet to meet Carroll Shelby and visit Pixar Studios to see Cars (the animated movie) before it was released; driving up the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an event I’d been going to since I was first at Cranleigh.

In 2007 I wrote my first car of the year test (a Porsche 911 won, again), tapping out over 15,000 words in a couple of weeks at home. I became Road Test Editor, then Features Editor.

Perhaps best of all, I got to live out my flat-over-crest fantasies and compete in the British Rally Championship, driving in events like the Manx and Jim Clark.

And then it all changed. The financial crisis of 2008 and the launch of the iPad were like a onetwo jab and uppercut to the magazine industry. Everyone was predicting the end of long form articles printed on paper. Websites were booming, but writing for search engine optimisation was anathema to everything I loved about evo. Videos were also in the ascendency, however, and having grown up watching Top Gear, I liked the idea of creating little films about cars.

Unfortunately, as a quietly spoken mumbler who wasn’t (and still isn’t) likely to be the most gregarious person in any given room, I seemed and felt ill-suited to being in front of a camera.

But where there’s a will there’s a way and I didn’t want to see a career I loved fizzle out. So, somehow, I now spend most of my time producing and presenting films about cars on YouTube.

At first it was for evo, then I had a brief spell working with Clarkson, Hammond and May on DriveTribe before going freelance and working predominantly with Carfection and now Hagerty.

Most of my days are nothing like as glamorous as the job sounds, but the highs are even loftier than anything I can convey in words or on film. Of course I’ve had bad days too; I’ve crashed a couple of cars (the worst accident was actually while I was on work experience at Autocar magazine, writing off a Mitsubishi on an airfield and almost scuppering my career before it had even begun) and I’ve spent many frustrating days and long nights staring at a blank document on a screen hoping for inspiration. I only read the comments if I’m feeling brave.

But I’ve had to pinch myself more times than I can remember. There have been days driving cars worth tens of millions of pounds. Days where I’ve been entrusted with one-off prototypes or historic, race winning machinery. There’s even been the odd scoop, such as driving the extraordinary McMurtry Spieling fan car and bringing together the iconic McLaren F1 and its successor, the GMA T.50, for the first time.

I CERTAINLY DIDN’T APPRECIATE HOW THE FOOD ARRIVED ON MY PLATE AND THE JOURNEY IT HAD TAKEN FROM SOURCE TO CONSUMPTION IN THE CRANLEIGH DINING HALL

The fundamental joy of the job always comes from two main factors though. Firstly, the driving; the sensations through the steering, seat, gearshift and pedals allied to the sounds that you can orchestrate with an engine - that’s what I love about cars. The value of a vehicle has no bearing on how well it handles and the enjoyment it can deliver. I own and drive a scruffy 2004 Renault Clio 182 every day and it always brings a smile to my face.

The other big part of the job that I have come to love is creating something. Whether it’s a feature in a magazine or a video for YouTube, there is huge satisfaction in working with brilliant photographers and film makers to try to bring experiences to a page or screen. I still find it horribly nerve-wracking when something is published though.

I’ve no idea what the future holds, hopefully more cars but I’d love to write about some other subjects too (not myself - this has felt very awkward and I fear that, if you haven’t turned the page already, you’ll think I’m a hatefully insufferable, jammy, so-and-so!). I’ve done a bit of cycling journalism in amongst the cars and it’s fun having the variety. Some people might think the two - cars and bicycles - are mutually exclusive, but while pedalling up mountain passes is certainly harder than driving up them there’s a surprising amount of crossover when it comes to both the enjoyment and creating a feature for a magazine.

Anyway, given the weather on this particular Pyrenean pass, I’m glad I’ve got a roof over my head today. Although I might venture out to see if I can swap seats with John and have a go in the Vantage. I seem to remember I had a poster of an Aston on my wall in Loveday too.

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BEN DEAN

FARMING IN A CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT BEN DEAN (EAST 2007 ) ON HIS INVOLVEMENT AND PASSION IN SUSTAINABLE FARMING

I saw that the canteen at Cranleigh was on the receiving end of a make over this summer. It looks very swish. In trying to remember its old face, lots of nostalgic memories came to mind. Much time was spent in that canteen and Dining Hall pretty much three meals a day, six days a week for five years. Food, when I reflect upon it, was a big part of the school experience.

I don’t ever remember being at all disparaging about the food, but I also don’t remember fully appreciating how incredibly fortunate I was to receive the gastronomic experience that I did. I’m not saying it was the River Café, but to have hot, healthy, varied, substantial and tasty food literally served up on a plate, every day, for every meal, is a privilege I’d bite your hand off for now.

I certainly didn’t appreciate how the food arrived on my plate and the journey it had taken from source to consumption in the Cranleigh dining hall.

The UK imports 75% of its fruit and veg, we are burdened with 30% waste in the food system end to end, and it’s a system that is responsible for 25% of carbon emissions. There is some change required to be more resilient and sustainable in the long term. This is something I now think about constantly since co-founding Square Mile Farms nearly four years ago.

Trying to encourage others to make healthier and more sustainable food choices is a prominent part of the company’s mission. We don’t do this didactically however (here’s hoping that my old English teacher, Mr Neill is impressed that I used a big word). We achieve our mission by installing hydroponic, vertical farming systems in to corporate offices, apartment buildings, schools, hotels, restaurants etc, so that communities can grow some of their own ultra fresh, zero-mile food.

We also provide a Farming-As-A-Service experience which manages the end-to-end growing operation, delivers engaging and educational harvest events for the community, as well as all the harvested produce. We’re now growing over 40,000 edible plants across 100 sites in the UK helping our clients achieve their various ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) objectives. We hope that by growing more food locally, and in urban environments where no incremental land is required, we can make a small difference and influence some positive change.

With a greater societal focus on sustainability, hopefully young people are more aware than I was of the provenance of their food and the journey it’s been on to arrive on their plate. I also hope that a swanky new canteen means that current students fully appreciate how good they’ve got it!

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THE CLOCK TOWER

ALL IN GOOD TIME Cuthbert Peek, who had almost single-handedly funded the building of the Chapel, donated £50, triggering further contributions from boys, parents and villagers.

The clock was made by Thwaites & Reed of Clerkenwell (a ‘three-train flatbed’, chiming on two bells and striking on one) who still trade and claim to be the oldest clock makers in the world. The bells came from Mears and Stainbank, bellfounders, of Whitechapel.

The School magazine, a few months later, was able to boast that “we have a most satisfactory instrument and, up to the present time, it has not varied one half-minute in a week”. But by the turn of the century all was not well, with a letter to the Cranleighan complaining the “bell is always broken and the clock usually wrong”.

IN 1925 A POEM WAS PRINTED IN THE CRANLEIGHAN IN ITS HONOUR:

[1]

Thou double Janus, who with faces four, Four contradictory times dost show, Who, starting slow, As the week passes gainest more and more, Leaving the Village lagging far behind.

During the recent summer holidays the clock and clock tower underwent long overdue repairs and renovation. It was a fitting refurbishment to mark the 150th anniversary of the installation of the clock faces and bells.

The turret containing the clock is slightly older. It was not part of the original buildings which opened in September 1865 but was added in 1870 shortly after the completion of the Chapel. However, funds were tight and for the next four years the turret stood empty, with blank circles where the clock faces were to be.

In the early years of the School time was regulated by a large clock housed in the Middle School classroom (now the Williams Library) but this caused regular complaints as it was far from accurate, losing and gaining minutes at will. There are accounts of trains in the village being missed because of the inaccuracy of the School time-keeping.

In 1874 fund-raising started to enable the installation of the clock which cost £82/10/0, and the bells which were an additional £29 (a total of around £16,000 in today’s value). Initially this went very slowly until

Some of the problems were undoubtedly mechanical, others resulted from the almost inevitable pranks. Situated right underneath the South dormitories, access to the tower was relatively straightforward and boys often used the tower for drinking and smoking. While up there some took the opportunity to play around. More than once the four clock faces ended up telling entirely contradictory times. On another occasion in the 1950s the clock hands were tied together, thoroughly upsetting the entire mechanism. This was not discovered for several days as the face affected was only visible from the golf course.

In 1895 an alternative timekeeping device, a sundial, had been erected on the eastern side of the Quad – it was relocated to its current position in the 1950s – and even that was not immune from pranks, often being removed in the night and relocated to various parts of the School including once appearing on the side of the Headmaster’s House.

The clock tower played a vital role near the end of World War Two. In June 1944 the threat of V-1s suddenly became a major concern. There was one air-raid siren in the Village but that was all but useless when it came to flying bombs. So a corrugated iron shelter (“little more than a dog kennel, mounted over a roof trapdoor”) was erected by the southern side of the clock. “It was held down by no visible means,” Bob Burgess (East 1947) wrote in Ex Cultu Robur the official account of the School during the War, “and any nearby blast would have made the shelter the best guillotine imaginable.”

A rota was drawn up so two more senior boys acting as spotters, scanning the sky with binoculars and listening for the tell-tale sound of the rocket’s engine, were always in or around the hut, with a master joining them at night. On the approach of a flying bomb one of the spotters had to climb down inside the turret and press two buttons, one of which rang a bell in Carn Brea (the prep school evacuated to share with Cranleigh) and sounded a hooter at the Junior School, while the other blew a Klaxon horn by West dormitory in the heart of the main school. At the same time a third button, which had to be pressed and released every three seconds, operated the siren itself, situated on the landing of the first floor of the Connaught Block by the stairs.

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[2]

“For the first few weeks the spotters quite enjoyed missing periods and whiling away a morning by reading,” Burgess wrote. “As time went on, however, and as excitement became limited to an occasional stray projectile, it grew boring, although spotting gave an admirable opportunity for the pastime of furtive smoking.” On one occasion a careless spotter enjoying a quiet cigarette leant against the buttons, and Carn Brea and the Junior School took shelter for a quarter of an hour, until an angry master came up to find out what was happening only to almost fall over the smoker. “It was also noticed that the actions of the clock were more erratic than usual, until the door into the works was locked.”

The hut was removed early in the Michaelmas term as the threat of the V-1s diminished, although the initials of boys who had been on watch remained, carved into the lead surrounds.

Until 1995, when the system was changed to being electric, the clock had to be wound manually, necessitating a weekly precarious trip up to the tower by a member of the bursarial staff.

The bells sounded day and night until the 1990s when following a complaint from the East housemaster they were silenced between 11pm and 7am to the immense relief of the boarders around the Quad. That time was later extended to 10pm to 9am. One boy, years earlier, had written about “the deliberate digestive noise of the innards of the School clock ticking and whirring above, rather like a huge, many jointed insect cricketing in twilight grass – slowly ticking – and every now and then convulsing itself to excrete a chime, startling in its nearness, and timeless in its reminder of the never ending hours”.

More recently the timekeeping became even more erratic, the ageing mechanics upset by meteorological factors such as damp and cold. The tower itself also started to show its age. Finally this summer all was put right.

1. The clock undergoing a complete overhaul during the summer 2. An 1873 etching showing the tower before the clock was installed 3. The finished article

[3]

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SUMMER 1944

‘FASCINATINGLY ABHORRENT’ ALTHOUGH WORLD WAR TWO WAS IN ITS FINAL YEAR THE SUMMER OF 1944 WAS ONE OF THE MOST TRYING BECAUSE OF THE NEW THREAT OF GERMAN V-1 ROCKETS

Both 1940 and 1941 had seen England regularly bombed but the impact on Cranleigh was relatively small. There had been the occasional attack, often by lost bombers dumping their cargo before heading home, but the direct impact on the Village and surrounds had been limited. All that changed in 1944.

On June 13th the Germans launched the first V-1s against London.

At their peak, more than a hundred such rockets were fired at southeast England every day, decreasing in number as sites were overrun, until October 1944 when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was destroyed by Allied forces. In four months over 9500 rockets were launched.

Within days of the first attacks the School created a system of lookouts to spot the rockets. Alarms in the early days were regular. At first everyone trooped downstairs on the warning, as they did during the first days of the blitz. Bob Burgess (East 1947) wrote in Ex Cultu Robur the official account of the School during the War. “Very soon, however, it was decided that they should stay in the dormitories and shelter under their beds whenever the siren sounded.”

Many boys were curious more than afraid. Rather than shelter, they crammed the windows to try to catch a glimpse of the latest weapon. “Cutting night air, searchlights. Then suddenly floating over your head, a glow of light …the flying bomb itself, serene, menacing. Awe, an uncanny feeling, you feel yourself part of a Weilsian novel. Morbid interest—will the light go out? The hard coldness of a bed-rail below gets your feet, a sheer drop on to the grass below.

Now and then bright flares like Guy Fawkes night. Then with a sudden feeling of anti-climax the ‘plane is over. .

“Five seconds empty bewilderment,” Burgess continued. “The cold of the evening frost about your neck. Silence in the cavernous dormitory. The explosion, a hollow rattling of the windows like teeth chattering. Somewhere over the hills, twisted metal, mutilated bodies torn from their sleep. A pall of black smoke rises above the silhouette of a church steeple on the horizon… five seconds earlier, and …”

Odd as it may seem to us now, the attacks were exciting and even enjoyable to the School, who found them at first a welcome break in routine. “Somehow the doodle-bugs were eerie and mesmeric, attractive in spite of themselves. There was something fascinating about them, abhorrent weapons though they were. For these reasons, then, we were for some time not unfavourably disposed towards them; but the feeling did not last for long, and the reaction, when it came, was strong.”

Unlike the Blitz, when the all-clear meant just that, the bombs were unpredictable and constant, so there was no downtime to relax. One boy recalled the worst aspect being the loss of several hours sleep as they tried to rest in the corridors of the Connaught Block.

The last six weeks of the Summer Term of 1944 took a heavy toll.

“The strain was felt most heavily by those whose responsibilities were greatest, and so telling upon the Staff were the continuous raids, that it seemed at one time as though Cranleigh, like one or two other schools, would have to close down.”

The V-1s also disrupted exams where candidates in the Speech Hall had to take shelter underneath their desks when a flying-bomb was reported, only resuming when the danger had passed. Extra time was allowed. Many masters said that the last fortnight of term, when the exams were in progress, were the most nerve-wracking of the war.

“In those uncertain days, when a cricket match on the Lowers would cease for a minute while faces turned upwards to watch another of these pass on its way toward London. We were heartened no end by the procession of heavy bombers which passed every evening in the opposite direction to have their revenge. One summer evening, between the end-of-prep bell and lights-out I remember counting 550 planes pass over. “ The closest the School came to being hit came in the summer holidays. A flying bomb landed in the middle of Gatley’s Field (near where Bluett’s is). David Loveday, the Headmaster, was asleep in his house and woke up to find his bed covered in plaster where the blast had brought his ceilings down. Other damage was done to the roof of the Sanatorium and to the windows in the Quad. But it was lucky it was not much more serious.

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GEORGE EALHAM

THE COACHING GRID GEORGE EALHAM (LOVEDAY 2020) HAS PUT HIS LOVE OF SPORT INTO A BUSINESS WHICH AIMS TO MAKE TOP COACHES AVAILABLE TO ALL

This will be a very different winter for George Ealham. Since leaving Cranleigh, every autumn he has headed south to spend the winter playing cricket in Australia. This year he is staying put as he continues to work on his new coaching business .

George was an outstanding all-round sportsman at Cranleigh and from there he spent time playing cricket at Surrey, Kent, and most recently Sussex. “I loved playing any sport that I possibly could, with cricket always being my passion. I have always wanted to be a professional cricketer from a very young age, and am still chasing that dream.”

The idea for the Coaching Grid came to him when he was in Perth last year.

“There’s already a very similar scheme out there and they approached me to do some coaching. I didn’t end up signing up as a coach but I thought the idea was very clever. I then looked around here in the UK and there was nothing like it across a range of sports, so I thought I’d give it a go.”

reminded me why I started The Coaching Grid and made all the hard work worthwhile.”

There are also advantages for the coaches. “If you arrange coaching yourself it can be quite fickle. I’ve done a session where I agreed a price for a one-to-one and the father turned up with three or four kids, then also gave me much less than what we agreed. You can’t say no but it’s a very tricky situation to navigate. The Coaching Grid removes that kind of problem.”

It has also helped George. “Before I started this it was cricket 24/7. By having something else to focus on, it has helped me be more present when I am actually playing cricket, and it has definitely helped my performances. It’s a second passion.”

He spent the rest of that Australian summer formulating a business plan and then working to bring the coaches onboard. He used his breadth of contacts to assemble a pool of – so far - around 40 coaches across a number of sports. “They’re all professionals and we’ll be sticking to that for the moment.” The available sports include rugby, featuring top players like Oscar Beard, Will Trenholm, Grace Crompton, and Cadan Murley, alongside cricket stars such as Adam Hollioake, Tom Lawes, Yousef Majid, Mark Ealham, and Darren Stevens. Additionally, there are also coaches for tennis, hockey, golf and netball. As word spreads, more coaches are being added. There are also strength and conditioning specialists dedicated to both rugby and cricket.

“I am aiming to get to a point where you can get everything here, including nutritionists, physio’s and even sports psychologists. I’ve always been sporty and I would have loved something where I could have accessed all of this in one place.”

The Coaching Grid is an all-sport platform that provides access to better coaching for more people. “I noticed that unless you’re at a school like Cranleigh where you have top-level coaches, or at an academy, getting access to a good coach can be quite hard. And once you leave a set-up like that, it’s even harder. It’s also aimed at getting more kids involved in sport and making these professionals available to them.”

It is run through an impressive website which launched in September.

Anyone can access it, choose the sport they want and find their desired coach, then simply book online. It’s a very easy process. “The session types vary; we have one-to-one sessions, group sessions (“we had Grace Crompton booked for some coaching at a birthday party for a young girl that loved rugby”) and also sessions that can also be held online.

Another example cited by George was a young Harlequins fan, who’s Dad had booked him a one-to-one session with Oscar Beard. “To see the smile on the boy’s face was amazing. He absolutely loved it. It

GEORGE EALHAM, FIELDING AS SUBSTITUTE FOR ENGLAND, IS CONGRATULATED ON RUNNING OUT STEVE SMITH AT THE OVAL IN AUGUST 2023. THE DECISION WAS OVERTURNED ON REVIEW

George still wants to be a professional cricketer. “I can run the Coaching Grid from anywhere … the nature of the business being online is that I can keep the cricket dream alive. I also know if the cricket doesn’t work out then I still have this. I’m looking forward to seeing how both parts of my life progress.

“I hope that I can make a difference to as many people as possible and to help young kids understand that, if they are dedicated to something, then anything is possible.”

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[1] 1. Jo with Iranian artist Shirin Neshat who’s Portrait of Malala was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and is on permanent display there, where it influences scores of school children about her campaign on girls education

THE GOODMAN GALLERY – INSPIRING SOCIAL CHANGE

JO STELLA-SAWICKA (WEST 1996) EXPLAINS HOW SHE CAME TO BE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF THE GOODMAN GALLERY WHICH CHAMPIONS A LEADING COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS WHO INSPIRE SOCIAL CHANGE.

Images: Courtesy of the Goodman Gallery

2. Jo with South African artist Yinka Shonibare CBE

On leaving Cranleigh, Jo went straight onto an Art Foundation at Wimbledon School of Art for a year, where she discovered she loved art but didn’t think she would make it as an artist. “I (then) had a place at Leeds University to read English and Art History which whizzed past and by the time it finished I knew I wanted to continue studying.” She had heard of a new postgraduate programme at the Royal College of Art in Curating Contemporary Art. “I don’t think anyone in my family knew or understood exactly what it was, but I was convinced I had to go to the RCA as it is the leading art school in the world. Choosing the right postgrad proved critical as it developed my professional practice working on exhibition management and built my professional network. The early 2000s wasn’t exactly the most booming time for young graduates in such a specialised field.

Christies didn’t even have a contemporary department at the time.

“Today the London art scene is unrecognisable from the pioneer days of the 2000s. In ten years, London had become the centre of the European Art Trade and second largest art market outside of the US. Tate Modern opened and ushered in a whole new era of museums across the country. After working in commercial galleries for a decade, I moved to Frieze to join the leadership team, firstly running the flagship Frieze Art Fair and then working across the business to launch Frieze New York and Frieze Los Angeles. It was an incredible journey working in such an exciting brand on this global project and I stayed with the business for over a decade.”

When the opportunity arose to launch Goodman Gallery in London Jo did not hesitate.

Their artists have taken part in major exhibitions from William Kentridge’s Royal Academy Exhibition of 2022, El Anatsui’s Samsung Turbine Hall Commission at Tate Modern in 2023 to Yinka Shonibare CBE’s Serpentine Exhibition this summer. “For me, getting back to working with artists has been so rewarding as I get to be part of the creative process from the production of the artwork to the presentation and eventual sale. It is a huge privilege to have such direct access to leading artists of our time and work on exhibitions which we believe, will be defining events of art history.”

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JO STELLA-SAWICKA

[2] The Goodman Gallery holds the reputation as the preeminent gallery from the African continent. Established in 1964 it has championed social justice causes from its founding.

In 1966, during South Africa’s apartheid years, the gallery opened its doors to artists of all races, refusing to discriminate against artists of colour, becoming one of the first spaces in the world to exhibit artists beginning to gain global recognition as pioneers of 20th century African art. Today, with branches in London, New York, Cape Town and Johannesburg the gallery represents over 40 artists from Africa and the diaspora and participates in global events around the world. “Our programme is pretty heavy hitting, many of the artists are activists or have social practice at their core. This means that the art is part of a bigger project where they are supporting others or raising awareness on critical issues of our time.”

South African artist William Kentridge in particular has been a huge influence on the gallery, working in partnership with them for over 30 years. Based in Johannesburg, he works across many artistic mediums to make art that is grounded in history, literature and politics. “We were thrilled that Kentridge’s career was celebrated by the Royal Academy in 2022 for his largest ever exhibition. It attracted over 100,000 visitors”.

working on an acquisition. The London art schedule is packed, so I might be at evening events a few times a week or during Frieze, it’s 10 non-stop days of openings, dinners, talks, prizes and film screenings.

TODAY THE LONDON ART SCENE IS UNRECOGNISABLE FROM THE PIONEER DAYS OF THE 2000s . IN TEN YEARS, LONDON HAD BECOME THE CENTRE OF THE EUROPEAN ART TRADE AND SECOND LARGEST ART MARKET OUTSIDE OF THE US

The Gallery worked with the Barbican Centre to present Kentridge’s operas on the stage in London. “Despite touring internationally to the Met Opera and Paris Opera Garnier, his works for the stage do not come to the UK frequently so it was a rare treat to bring the company of performers from South Africa to perform in the UK and spotlight the non-profit he co-founded ‘The Centre for the Less Good Idea’ which originates some of the most exciting experimental works for the stage on the Continent.”

The Goodman Gallery and its artists have a long history of supporting social responsibility projects in South Africa, including the Red Cross, Orange Babies Foundation and Witkoppen Clinic, with a particular focus on providing essential medical care to women and children. This year the focus is around social responsibility in communities, conservation and social impact. In March the Gallery launched a new project space with Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve to initiate dialogue with leading artists and experts around sustainability and conservation. This is coupled with a commitment to bring clean water to towns and villages in rural South Africa enabling communities to access safe drinking water for the first time. “It is initiatives like this we would like to see grow, in a country with such unequal access to resources it is an important part of our mission.”

There is no such thing as a typical week for Jo. Work takes her abroad frequently. “I normally start the week with research and visit Artist studios which can take me out to freezing warehouses in Dalston or Deptford.

If I’m in London I will be hosting meetings at the gallery in Mayfair with curators, collectors and the media who are exploring our programme or

If I am abroad, it’s likely I am supporting an artist at a museum opening. Later this month for example I will be in Madrid for an opening at the National Museum Reina Sofia with artist Grada Kilomba. Or I might be visiting South Africa and catching up with colleagues in the Cape Town or Joburg branches and visiting some of the amazing museums in the country like the spectacular Norval Foundation or Zeitz Mocca. Both are new museums in extraordinary settings and show the ambition and scale of the African art scene.”

Jo believes that Cranleigh gave her the independence to follow her own path and pursue her interests. “I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do but I knew I wanted to be in the world of art and artists whatever that meant. I would never have imagined that I would be working in such a highly specialised field as African Art but clearly the Cranleigh Drama Tour to Kenya led by Mike Wilson in 1995 created a deep and lasting impact.

“The art school was a refuge for me and many other friends. We would find ourselves working late in the evenings in the ceramic or painting studio. It felt quite bohemian at the time. It was a space that allowed for possibilities outside of the main curricula and we felt a lot of freedom there. Clearly it had quite a special effect on us as I know Cranleigh peers from that time went on to become talented ceramicists, special effects /3D designers and architects.

“We all adored Mike Wilson. He headed up the girls’ pastoral care as at the time girls were only in Sixth Form and was a great support for all boyfriend-led dramas and academic challenges of the day.

“All my memories of Cranleigh are really about the amazing friendships made and the ridiculous fun we invented to occupy ourselves over long boarding weekends. I’m very fond of all my OC friends and I do think lifelong bonds were formed.”

What advice would she offer Old Cranleighans as they head out into the world after education. “I was so lucky to begin working at the beginning of the contemporary art boom and had a ringside seat as the industry grew. I always found the value of being present and showing up. I went to everything, any exhibition opening, studio opening, museum event and as a result was visible and opportunities came to me as I was around and willing to get stuck in. I would recommend volunteering as a very direct way to make an impact and it always pays back further down the line.

Today I continue to work on boards in my own time and I think you can learn a huge amount from other professionals in the non-profit sector. ”

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NICK MEYER

A LIFE OF LESSONS FOR OVER SIX DECADES NICK MEYER (2&3 SOUTH 1962) HAS BEEN AT THE HEART OF OLD CRANLEIGHAN LIFE. ON THE EVE OF HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY, AND SHOWING NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN, WE LOOK BACK ON HIS EVENTFUL LIFE

It was Cranleigh’s good fortune that Nick Meyer was advised that he was not likely to pass the entrance exam to Sherborne, his father’s old school, and his prep school headmaster suggested Cranleigh instead.

“As I started my first term at Cranleigh my father told me I had to learn how to drink beer and he gave me half a dozen bottles of beer to take back with me. I wasn’t sure what to do with them so I buried them. I forgot about them until the end of term. Some friends, including Andrew Cronk, started talking about beer and not wanting to miss an opportunity I told him I knew where to get some. So the bottles of beer which had cost my father 1/- (5p) each I sold to Cronk for 2/6 (12.5p) each.”

Nick is known by three names. Many of his non-Cranleigh friends know him as Monty (he is named Montague after his grandfather). To Cranleighans he is Tosh. “On my first day at Cranleigh I was at the bottom of the table and the call came ‘get some more toke’, toke being the slang for bread. I went to the top of the table and couldn’t quite remember what the word was so asked for some more ‘tosh’. Ever after I was known as Tosh.” Nick is a family name.

In his first year the School had an outbreak of Scarlet Fever and most boys were sent home. It turned out that Nick was a carrier and was away for six weeks. The absence ended up shaping his life. His grandfather had founded Montague L Meyer Limited, a timber company, which his father continued running. “My mother was ill at the time so my father had to take me to his office. He plonked me in a room on my own and to keep me busy asked me to add up the daily sales and do the costings. I soon realised there was quite a bit of money in this.”

Returning to Cranleigh he had a good time playing cricket and being one of the last boys to competitively box in inter-school matches. “But academically the place at that time was fairly useless. I didn’t find much that stimulated me. I left aged 17 and went straight into my father’s business as an apprentice. In those days there was a big divide between white collar workers and those who did manual labour. I soon became fed up with working in an office and transferred to the Millwall docks so I could see how timber was handled and what it was about.”

He started at the docks in February 1963 as an apprentice stevedore (loading and unloading timber from ships). “It taught me three things.

How to physically handle timber, what the grading was all about, and how to get on with people who are not from the same background. The latter was probably the most important lesson I learned there.”

After six months he went to France to work at a door factory and then a saw mill. From there he returned to London where he started to learn how to sell timber, initially over the phone. “I was petrified every time I answered the telephone.” After two years he was sent out on the road to sell, continuing to do that for several years.

At the time the company was expanding and Nick was appointed on the acquisition side of the business, looking for new opportunities in the UK and Europe. When his father died in 1979 he ended up “with considerable reluctance” as deputy chairman and chief executive of what was by then Meyer International. That all ended in 1984 when “my chairman upset me and I told him bluntly where to go. He decided he and I could not work with each other and so my services were surplus to requirements.

[1]

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NICK MEYER

AS I STARTED MY FIRST TERM AT CRANLEIGH MY FATHER TOLD ME I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO DRINK BEER AND HE GAVE ME HALF A DOZEN BOTTLES OF BEER TO TAKE BACK WITH ME. I WASN’T SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THEM SO I BURIED THEM

[2] “I was 40 with no job. I took a look around and was then approached

by Mike Bacon with a view to starting a new company with a different approach to the timber industry. We set up Compass Forest Products in 1985 and that went well. Other acquisitions followed and Consolidated Timber Holdings was formed. That was sold in 2020.”

Nick’s time working in the docks made an impression on him. “There were other young apprentices working there, some from relatively privileged backgrounds and some from poverty-stricken backgrounds. I very quickly learnt some fundamental lessons in life; for example, one young man had to share a pair of shoes with his brother, another was fairly illiterate, but the company was supporting him to learn to read and write properly. You remember these lessons for the rest of your life. That is why I have spent a large part of my life trying to assist others less fortunate than myself.”

He is the chairman of a charity that runs three community centres in London’s East End.” A lot of communities have lost these kinds of places and there is a real need for them.” And he is also master of two livery companies in the City, the Worshipful Company of Carmen and the Worshipful Company of Upholders both of which undertake considerable charitable work.

He is also chairman of the Cranleigh Foundation. “It is something that interests me greatly. I think it’s the way we should go. We are aiming for a Foundation pot of £10 million which will support ten Foundationers. It’s not there yet but we’re working out how to do it.” In 2019 he marked his 75th year by walking the length of the Cornish coastline, raising £25,000

1. Nick on the occasion of his last appearance for the OCRFC in 1992 - with him are Andrew Cronk (2&3 South 1959) and Stuart Olley (1 North 1963)

for the Foundation along the way. This year he walked from Winchester to Cranleigh, again for the Foundation.

His involvement in Old Cranleighan life started in 1962 when he first played for the OCRFC. “My first game was soon after I left but didn’t play much. Three years later my brother started playing for the OCs and asked me to come along, so I turned out for the Extra B XV. I got involved and enjoyed it.” He started as full back, graduating to a three-quarter before ending up in the front row. “I was reasonably good but the club was going through a difficult time and I ended up as captain of the 1st XV which was damned stupid. Fortunately, I managed to persuade Dickie Epps to take over …” He also played for the OCHC Sunday side, the Pagans – “I was a much better hockey player than I was rugby”.

He became chairman of the OC Society where his calm authority helped through some difficult times, as well as providing support for the OC Club at Thames Ditton where he remains a regular touchline supporter. And for almost two decades he was a governor of Cranleigh.

Even though he turns 80 in December he shows no sign of slowing down.

“I continue to run a small hardware business … although parts of that have been sold in recent years and I run the rump of that.

“I still keep busy. I wouldn’t be good at just sitting on a couch. I’m interested in almost all sports. I’ve got a couple of racehorses, I read a lot, I go to the gym three or four times a week, I play golf …I still think I’ve got something to give.”

[3]

2. Nick at Thames Ditton 3. On the penultimate leg of his 2024 charity walk

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MUSIC

FAST FORWARD

T WO DECADES HILARY CRONIN TALKS TO RICHARD SAXEL ABOUT HER CAREER AS A SOPRANO

Hilary Cronin was a Music Scholar at Cranleigh from 2005 to 2010.

After studying at Royal Holloway University of London, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire, she won First Prize at the London International Handel Competition in 2021, turbocharging her career and ensuring her reputation as the young soprano du jour, an opinion now confirmed by a very full concert diary, and her selection as a BBC Music magazine Rising Star. She has recently made her Wigmore and Carnegie Hall debuts, has performed worldwide with all the major Baroque ensembles, and recorded for the Pentatone SACD label. She will sing the title role in Cesti’s ‘Orontea’ for the Lautten Compagney in Vienna, at the Teater an der Wien, in December 2025. A comprehensive biography and more can be found on her website www.hilarycronin-soprano.co.uk. She met with former teacher and Director of Music, Richard Saxel.

One of the joys of teaching is when former students achieve notable accomplishments and the potential identified at an early age is fully realised. When I first met Hilary Cronin she was a shy, slightly old-fash-

ioned girl with a beautifully pure singing voice, impeccable manners, a delightfully capricious sense of humour, and a positive attitude towards everything. Fast forward nearly two decades, and we are meeting in a wine bar in central London to plan the concert we are to give together in six months’ time, at St. Martin-in-the-Field, as part of their prestigious lunchtime concert series. We have worked together many times over the past twenty years, but this is now very much a partnership of equals. Her personality hasn’t changed a bit; she remains delightfully grounded and humble but this is a young woman very much in control of her own destiny.

HOW INFLUENTIAL WAS YOUR FATHER (FORMER CRANLEIGH TEACHER, ANDREW CRONIN) IN YOUR MUSICAL EDUCATION? Music was always present in our house when we were children, and there was constant encouragement and fun. Lucy was very much the star singer, but it was fairly normal for me to come down to supper wearing Daddy’s top hat and Mummy’s nightie; I guess I always knew that I wanted to perform! His own father didn’t want him to pursue music because he felt it wasn’t a strong enough career, but my father absolutely adored music, and now I feel like it connects me to him. I was sixteen when he passed away, and now there is something about performing that connects me to him in such a special way. Of course, it pains me that he isn’t here; I would have picked his brains on everything, and he would have been an honest critic and a loving supporter, in a way that is very rare in a parent.

I feel and understand that so much more now, and it saddens me greatly that he never heard me come into my own as an accomplished storyteller.

WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST AT SCHOOL? Cranleigh gave us a chance to discover who we were, or were going to be and luckily my time overlapped with music teachers that really cared and inspired us. The musical productions by Mr Allison and Mr Pashley, House Part Songs, Lunchtime Concerts - they were all great opportunities to try things out. I was a full boarder, and the support I received from Mrs Allison massively shaped my time here, along with that of my friends of course.

Mrs Allison quietly gave you her approval and unconditional support, and I had a very real group of pupils in my year.

DO YOU THINK CRANLEIGH PREPARED YOU FOR THE CAREER YOU ARE NOW ENJOYING? My father chose Cranleigh for us, because he cared deeply about who was going to nurture us, and he knew we would be inspired, and also because Guy Waller was such a great supporter of music. I loved Mr Pashley’s enthusiastic approach to choir, and am now very comfortable in any choir, having learned from his approach. He made Congo fun for the whole school, even inspiring the rugby players to sing! I have great memories of studying works with him that were not necessarily on the syllabus, for example Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, which I have just been

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engaged to sing at the Sage in Gateshead in October next year, so to have been exposed to this repertoire at any early age was wonderful. I have great memories of playing the clarinet in the Symphonic Wind Band and the Orchestra, and even though I knew I wanted to sing, these were really important experiences in my musical development, and the Music Department was a space in which I could really be myself; it was an obvious place that I could grow as a person. My singing lessons with Miss Lindop were inspiring, as were clarinet lessons with Mr Meryon…oh, and to have the chance to work with you! Seriously, people have no idea that having an accompanist of such quality at school for every performance is so valuable!

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR BREAKS TO ACHIEVE THE CAREER YOU NOW ENJOY? There is no such thing as the correct career path for a singer, but to begin with regular work gives you a living, and I held two church jobs, performed movie sound tracks with London Voices, practised a lot, and said yes to everything. Having a strong ability to sight-read certainly helped, and studying at Trinity Laban was perfect for me (under the guidance of Tessa Cahill), and doing well in the Kathleen Ferrier competition in 2019 was important because it was live-streamed on YouTube, so reached a large audience. I didn’t win, but it gave me the confidence to try again. I won the London Handel Competition in 2021, and suddenly had three agents competing to work for me.

HAVE YOU HAD TO MAKE SACRIFICES, IN ORDER TO CONCENTRATE ON SINGING FULL-TIME? There have definitely been sacrifices in my social life, and arranging my diary is particularly difficult; there have been many times when I have let friends and family down in order to take last-minute opportunities, because I didn’t want to say no to anything. Now, it is more about maintaining a work / life balance. The hours can be crazy, I am travelling a lot but now, I am in the very fortunate position that I can turn work down, and can choose what I want to take on.

WHAT’S THE DREAM? YOUR ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE? I’d like to be able to choose more of my own programmes, and to feel confident in doing so. Really listening to the whole of my voice is both terrifying and exhilarating, and I’d love to explore that more through recital work. To continue working with extraordinary Baroque ensembles, to take on more stage work; opera, full roles, and more recitals - in short, to let audiences see me for who I am.

Hilary Cronin (soprano) and Richard Saxel (piano) perform at St. Martin-in-the-Field on Friday 30th May, 2025 at 1pm. Tickets cost £10 (or £20 including lunch), and are available from the Box Office.

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[1] 1. Arthur with his parents at Cranleigh 2. The cricket ball mounted after his hundred for the School

[3] 3. In the 1st XV 1952 4. In FA kit

[2]

[4]

ARTHUR TABOR IF HE HAD HAD HIS CHOICE, ARTHUR TABOR (1&4 SOUTH 1952) WOULD HAVE GONE TO CHARTERHOUSE BECAUSE THEY PLAYED FOOTBALL. HIS FATHER, HOWEVER, CHOSE CRANLEIGH AND “AS IN MOST THINGS, HE WAS RIGHT”. IT WAS, HOWEVER, FOOTBALL THAT WAS TO PROVE TO BE A CONSTANT BACKDROP TO ARTHUR’S MEDICAL CAREER.

Arthur Tabor arrived at the Junior School in September 1943, moving across the road to the Senior School four years later. “Because of petrol rationing we only saw our parents for three days at long leave during a 10 or 12 week term,” he said. “This instilled in us a degree of independence at an early age as well as fostering great support and camaraderie between friends.”

It was in his last term at the Junior School that something happened which changed the course of his life – he had to have his appendix removed. “The whole process was so fascinating that I persuaded the doctor to let me keep it. It found a home in a jar of formaldehyde for the next five years. I decided on the spot I was going to become a doctor.”

As a leaving present to the Junior School his father donated 25 apple trees to help get a new orchard started. Those trees are still producing apples to this day.

Sport offered a distraction from an often humdrum school life. Whilst at the Junior School he won the Victor Lodorum three years running, an award given to the best all-round sportsman. At Cranleigh he started impressively, scoring a century in his first game of cricket for the Under 14As . “It proved my undoing … I never made a decent score again.” But he did excel at athletics, something he had been fascinated with since spending every day for a week watching the 1948 Olympics at Wembley Stadium, as well as hockey and rugby, winning his colours in all three sports.

From Cranleigh, he headed to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College where he found himself facing a ferocious-looking professor in his interview. “I see you play rugby …were you coached by HP Jacob?” the professor asked. Arthur replied he was. “And what position do you play?”

Arthur said he was a wing. “Splendid, we need one of those, you’re in.”

At St. Barts Arthur again made the most of the sport on offer and also managed to qualify as a doctor in 1958. He was then one of the last of those who had to do National Service, signing on for a three-year shortservice commission with the RAF. Posted to Cyprus, once again sport was to the fore and he represented the RAF at both hockey and athletics.

By 1965 he had become a GP in Hove.

One of his patients there was the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion FC (at the time a Division Three side) who in the course of an appointment offered him the part-time job as club doctor. “At the time sports medicine was in its infancy but doctors were beginning to realise that with ever increasing sophistication and intensity sport was beginning to throw up injuries and problems not seen in other walks of life.” Soon after, the London Hospital started a degree course for doctors interested in this field. Arthur was one of only two to sign up.

His seven years at Brighton ended with a disagreement with Brian Clough, briefly managing the club after his infamous 44-day tenure at Leeds United. “We had a falling out over whether a player could continue or needed to go to hospital for an x-ray, and as Cloughie was never wrong

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[6] [5]

5. Longjumping in 1982 6. With the England U-21s

we parted company.” Twelve years later 7. At Speech Day 2024 Arthur and Clough crossed paths again.

Arthur was by then doctor of the England Under-21 side and Clough’s son, Nigel, who was due to play for the team had developed chicken pox. Arthur called Clough senior who asked how many spots his son had. “I didn’t like to say I hadn’t done a full audit so simply replied ‘473’. That seemed to satisfy him.”

In 1977, after three years away from the game, Arthur was summoned to the FA’s Lancaster Gate headquarters and offered the role of team doctor for a new international non-league side they were forming. The recommendation had come from Howard Wilkinson who had been a player at Brighton when Arthur was there. From there Arthur moved up to the England Youth team.

His first away assignment with them was in Hungary, at the time still behind the Iron Curtain. On the first day the players went down to breakfast to find all that was on offer was a fish head floating in warm water.

Bobby Robson, the manager, and Dave Sexton, his assistant (“the two best managers I ever worked with”) summoned Arthur and sent him to find somewhere selling edible food. “For the next six days the physio and I got up at 6am to join the queue at the food shops which opened at 7am.

We bought cereal, milk, bread, bananas and honey and then went back to the hotel to prepare breakfast for the players and staff. For years afterwards, whenever I bumped into Bobby he would greet me with ‘had any fish heads lately Doc?’ When the FA moved me up to the Under-21 side three years later it was apparently on his recommendation.”

Arthur later sat on the FA medical committee where he suggested setting up a residential rehabilitation centre at Lilleshall to treat those with long-term injuries. This proved a great success as it allowed the players to receive intensive treatment and relieved the strain on club physios.

The centre remained open for ten years by which time most clubs had established excellent diagnostic and treatment centres at their own training grounds.

Another role was carrying out random drugs tests on players. These were carried out either after a match on a Saturday or at a surprise visit to a training ground on a Monday. “At times, especially on hot days, it could mean a long wait but players accepted it with good humour. There were very few positive tests and they were nearly always a youngster who had been unwise at a party.”

Tests were completely random. Numbered balls were drawn out of a bag (“often by the tea lady”) and the corresponding team member tested.

[7]

“Once I visited Tottenham and the physio took me to one side and asked if I could test a certain player as they were worried about him. I said there was nothing I could do as it had to be random. It turned out that player’s number was chosen. I went to the training ground and handed the physio the names picked. He smiled, looked at me, winked and said: ‘Thanks, Doc’.

I’m not sure I ever convinced him it was pure coincidence.”

For some time Arthur was also the team doctor at Sussex CCC where he once had to insert stitches in a cut over Roger Knight’s eye sustained in an indoor game. Roger later went on to be housemaster of Loveday when Arthur’s son, Ian, was there. “The wound must have healed alright as he was always absolutely charming.”

His other association with professional sport was in tennis where Arthur used to set up and run a medical centre during the week-long women’s tour event which preceded Wimbledon.

In 1999 Arthur turned 65 and decided it was time to retire. He informed the FA. “They replied saying all the usual nice things about me, and then asked if I would consider moving across to the English Schools Football Association as they needed a doctor to cover their five internationals played each year. I fell for it, and stayed another 17 years!”

Aside from sport, Arthur also met a lot of well-known people from other spheres of life. Asked who the most famous was he unhesitatingly replied Margaret Thatcher. “I was called to visit her ahead of a big speech she was giving at a party conference. She had a throat infection which I treated and when I called her the next morning she said she was much better. The following week I received a handwritten note on House of Commons notepaper thanking me and enclosing a £5 note for my fee. I replied saying I had not intended charging and in any case my fee was £3 and so I had given the £5 to the Rocking Horse appeal at the children’s hospital. She wrote back again, once more in her own handwriting. ‘Dr Tabor. You don’t charge nearly enough. I’m delighted my throat infection has benefited some poor child’.

“At 90 years old I am very fortunate to be able to look back on a wonderful life and an interesting career in sports medicine. I was never talented in either sport or medicine but my education at Cranleigh taught me that by hard work and a reputation for reliability a lot of doors could open for opportunities in life. And they did. Thank you Cranleigh.

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CHARITY

OLD CRANLEIGHAN SOME OF THE WORTHY CAUSES FOR WHICH OCS HAVE BEEN FUNDRAISING THROUGHOUT 2023

THE VERY FIRST LONDON MARATHON Every year many Old Cranleighans run in the London Marathon, combining the love of sport and focus on charitable endeavour that the school instils.

The very first London Marathon, organised by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley, was announced in 1980. Together with other keen amateur runners, OC Dr Arthur Tabor (1&4 South 1952) secured a place. At the age of 46, whilst working as a GP in Brighton, he started training in earnest for the race due to take place in March the following year.

“I wasn’t built to be a long-distance runner, my best event was 400m hurdles, but I set myself a target of 3 hours and 10 minutes and kept up the training. It was a small race, limited to 7,500 runners, so it was relatively easy to find a pace and rhythm, but there were many highs and lows along the route.

“The first low came just after crossing Tower Bridge, turning away from the finish lane to run towards the Isle of Dogs. However, this gloom was soon lifted by the Cockneys who had turned out in their thousands, many dressed as Pearly Kings and Queens, and offering everything from jelly beans to pints of beer! The theme tune to Chariots of Fire blared out from a host of record players and my stride noticeably quickened.

“Back at the Tower, my painful feet complained at having to travel a considerable length of cobbled road and my right calf cramped. The following year they covered that stretch with matting.

Coming out of the underpass onto the embankment was wonderful, there in the distance was Big Ben and the cheering crowd helped the pace.”

Arthur completed that first race in an impressive time of 3 hours 25 minutes, running the race again two years later and adding only ten minutes onto his time. He raised £10,000 for Cancer Research.

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CHARITY

FUNDRAISING LONDON MARATHON 2024 In 2024 congratulations go to all 11 OCs (that we know of) who completed this year’s race. The most senior OC competitor, 59-year-old Robert Hugh-Jones (Cubitt 1982), finished in 6:53:13 while Callum Job (Loveday 2018) was very slightly slower than last year with an impressive time of 2:43:34. For India Hampson (Rhodes 2018) it was her second marathon in two weeks, having run the Brighton Marathon earlier in the month.

She managed to get a personal best in London.

Sasha Faure (South 2017) – 4:29:04 (RNIB) Ben Graber (Loveday 2019) – 3:42:10 (Christel House, South Africa) India Hampson (Rhodes 2018) – 4:31:35 (Diabetes UK) Elliot Hannah (North 2008) – 3:53:11 (Cancer Research) Charlie Hardy (North 2017) – 3:53:33 Freya Hough (South 2018) – 4:52:48 (Cardiomyopathy UK) Rob-Hugh-Jones (Cubitt 1982) – 6:53:13 (RNID)

[1]

Callum Job (Loveday 2018) – 2:43:34

[2]

Louis Strover (West 1987) – 5:26:35 (Alzheimer’s Research UK)

Fabi Kohler (West 2020) – 5:10:36

Tilly Woodford (Rhodes 2021) – 4:13:44

[3]

1. India Hampson 2. Sasha Faure 3. Rob Hugh-Jones

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CHARITY

CURE PARKINSON’S In September Simon Vaughan Johnson (Cubitt 1981) and his wife Fiona cycled from London to Paris. Fiona was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease so they chose to undertake this challenge to raise money for Cure Parkinson’s. They cycled 350 miles over four days, through rain, hail, and 20mph headwinds. They had punctures, discovered chamois cream, had frozen hands and wet feet, screamed and shouted aloud at hills and experienced the amazing power of the human spirit through the camaraderie of their fellow cyclists. They raised more than £7000 for the Cure Parkinson’s charity.

DEVIZES TO WESTMINSTER … AGAIN

Georgie Syms and Sara Williams (both West 2010) took part in the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race back in 2009 while still at School. On that occasion they raced over four days. They decided that in March 2024 they would take on this challenge (often referred as The Canoeist’s Everest) with the aim of completing it within 24 hours.

They raised £18,915 of vital funds as well as awareness for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in remembrance of Sara’s mum who sadly lost her battle with this cruel disease in November 2022. They were awarded a trophy (The Pfeiffer Cup) for the crew which raised the most sponsorship through participation in the Race.

HECTOR’S 100KM ULTRAMARATHON On April 27th Hector Berry (Loveday 2018) set out at 4am in Marlow and walked/ran 100km reaching Putney, after dark, 17 hours later. Many Old Cranleighans turned up to support him along the way as he struggled with knee pain and shin splints.

This amazing feat was to raise funds for The Maggie’s Centre at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and specifically in support of his friend Jake Subba Row’s (East 2018) mum, Laura, who has been battling secondary breast cancer for over a decade.

After his challenge Hector was invited to The Maggie’s Centre to present them with a cheque for over £5,000 which he raised for this wonderful charity which offers invaluable assistance to those going through cancer treatment and to their families as well.

PEDALLING FOR PUBS In March Clive Chesser (2 North 1987), the former CEO of Punch Pubs, was part of a team of 30 cyclists who cycled across Kenya for Pedalling for Pubs. They took part in the challenge to raise money and awareness for the Licensed Trade Charity and Only A Pavement Away, both charities which support people who work in the pub and hospitality industry but

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CHARITY

CONNECTIONS AND KINDNESS

have fallen on hard times. The team rode over 400km from Nairobi to the Masai Mara, climbing nearly 4,000 metres with much of it off-road, on mountain bikes. So far for this challenge Clive has raised around £11,000 with the team as a whole collecting over £300,000. In the three years of Pedalling for Pubs, the total collected is now over £1 million.

PARIS, LONDON, COPENHAGEN AND …

HACKNEY, ALL IN SIX WEEKS

In the spring Max Foster (Cubitt 2020) completed a solo walk from Lands’ End to John 0’Groats in honour of his grandfather who died from oesophageal cancer 10 years ago. In all he walked 1,231 miles (and around 2.9 million steps), which took 65 days, raising more than £25,000 for Macmillan. “This journey was not just about the miles walked or the money raised; it was also about the connections made and the kindness experienced. It reinforced my belief in the generosity of people and the impact of a shared cause.”

80 X 80 In spring of this year Nick Meyer (2&3 South 1962) walked 80km from Winchester to Cranleigh to raise funds for the Cranleigh Foundation. He received a blessing from the Bishop at Winchester Cathedral before setting off and was joined along the way by several OCs and Cranleigh staff members. He completed the walk with a ceremonial arrival in the Quad at midday on OC Day at the end of June.

Ben Graber (Loveday 2019) ran three-and-a-half marathons in the space of six weeks. In early April he ran the Paris Marathon in 3 hrs 39 minutes as part of team Cure Leukaemia, raising over £800. A fortnight later he ran the London Marathon raising over £2000 for Christel House South Africa, a non-profit, no fee school in Cape Town which provides a proper education to more than 1000 students who would otherwise miss out. Two weeks after that he completed the Copenhagen Marathon in 3 hours and 36 minutes, rounding it all off with the Hackney Half Marathon on 19th May.

FORCES CHILDREN SCOTLAND In September Ruari Barbour-Smith (East 2022) ran the Edinburgh 10K, raising over £1000 for this charity which supports over 13,000 children and young people from armed forces and veteran families across Scotland.

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CINEMATOGRAPHER

THE HILLS WERE ALIVE FOR FOUR DECADES PAUL BEESON (2 NORTH 1937) WAS ONE OF THE LEADING CINEMATOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD. HE WORKED ON DOZENS OF MAJOR FILMS, INCLUDING THE INDIANA JONES AND JAMES BOND SERIES, BUT IS PERHAPS BEST REMEMBERED FOR THE ICONIC OPENING SCENE IN THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Paul Beeson’s love of the cinema started at his prep school when, after buying a small projector with his savings, he started running film shows for his fellow pupils. He charged a penny a film to cover his costs, but while his friends were just enjoying the show Paul found himself drawn into the richness of the images.

ing how his son could get a job. It turned out they worked for the fledgling Ealing Studios (still known as Associated Talking Pictures at the time) and told him a film was about to begin shooting the following week and they were looking for a trainee. Beeson junior, still a month shy of turning 16, was summoned, went for an interview and was told to start straight away.

He had set his heart on a career in the navy but that was scuppered when he failed a medical for entry to Dartmouth, at the time a naval officers’ public school. His father offered him the choice of Haileybury or Cranleigh and after visiting both he opted for Cranleigh.

“My father was hesitant as I was due back at school, but after promising to continue education at night school he allowed me to leave Cranleigh.”

Beeson senior’s willingness may have been connected to the fact he was at the time being sued by the School over five terms’ unpaid fees!

“On arriving at Cranleigh I was surprised to find they had a film society – Atha – which offered ‘talkies’ on a Saturday night,” he said. “I took my projector back and ran the odd silent-film show in 2 North, and eventually the boys asked if this could become a regular thing. I started running shows on Sunday afternoons and this only increased my interest in film.”

Beeson started cleaning windows and sweeping up in the machine room but took opportunities as they came along and learned his trade as loader, progressing to focus puller and camera operator.

One summer holiday when he was 14 he told his father he wanted a career in film rather than the navy. “Neither of us knew where to start. I wrote off a lot of letters but most were ignored, and the few replies I got were not helpful. My mother had a friend who ran a film distribution and production company. She arranged a meeting where he offered nothing but he directed me across the road to the offices of Widgy Newman, who was also a film producer. He told me I was useless to him until I was trained but agreed to take me on as an apprentice if my parents paid my salary, which they did.”

He returned to school for the Michaelmas term but in October his father overheard some people in a pub talking about films and interrupted, ask-

When war broke out Paul was almost immediately called up. “A naval unit had been formed which dealt with aerial photography and maps and I was able to join that. Initially we had nothing to do so as cadets we shovelled a pile of coal from one side of the parade ground to the other, and then back again.” He was drafted into the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in 1941 and later transferred to the naval film unit. After his commission, he became one of the official naval photographers and worked as a cinematographer on training films, at times even directing them.

In 1944 he was part of the D-Day landings, arriving on Sword beach late in the afternoon on June 6th. He shot film which was returned to London, along with stills and BBC reports, every night by special press launches.

“I stayed on the beaches for three weeks filming. I was young at the time and it was all a big adventure.” In early 1945 he joined a new unit to cover

IN THE ABSENCE OF VOLUNTEERS I HAD NO OPTION BUT TO DO IT MYSELF EVEN THOUGH MY FEAR OF HEIGHTS WAS AS GREAT AS THEIRS

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the final stages of the Japanese war. He covered the relief of Formosa and sailed on one of the first British ships into Shanghai. It was at this time that he met his wife Olga who was seconded to the photographic division of the Wrens.

After the war he returned to Ealing Studios and was soon promoted to camera operator where he quickly established a reputation. While shooting Under Capricorn (1949) director Alfred Hitchcock slipped out of the set floor while a scene was being run. When he was asked how he felt it had gone he replied “Don’t ask me, ask Paul, he’s looking through the camera.”

He worked regularly throughout the 1950s and gained a reputation as a second unit/additional cameraman with such credits as Santa Claus (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) and on several James Bond films where he worked on car crashes and races and other explosive scenes. He was also on the Action Unit for the Indiana Jones trilogy.

In the spring of 1964 Paul was in Bavaria to film the opening scene of The Sound of Music. He felt that the only way the shot would work without shadows was to have the camera operator hanging outside the helicopter, secured only by makeshift straps. But that presented an unforeseen problem.

“None of the cameramen were willing to take the risk,” he said. “We were on the last day of filming and we had no choice but to try to get the shot. In the absence of volunteers I had no option but to do it myself even though my fear of heights was as great as theirs.” So, totally unprepared, he climbed aboard the helicopter, still wearing a jacket and tie, and off they went.

Timing was vital so a crew member hid in nearby bushes and shouted “Go Julie” as the helicopter approached. “{The helicopter} came at me sideways, looking rather like a giant crab,” Andrews said. “Beeson was

hanging out of it, strapped precariously to the side where a door would have been, his feet resting on the runners beneath the craft. Strapped to him was the heavy camera equipment. As the helicopter drew closer, I spun around with my arms open as if about to sing. All I had to do was walk, twirl, and take a breath.

“This required several takes, to be sure that both the helicopter and I hit our marks correctly, the camera was in focus, there was no helicopter shadow, and that everything timed out. Once the take was complete, the helicopter soared up and around me and returned to its original position.

At that point I’d run back to the end of the field to start all over again, until [the director] was satisfied that he had the perfect take.

“The problem was that as I completed that spin and the helicopter lifted, the downdraft from the jet engine was so powerful, it dashed me to the ground. I’d haul myself up, spitting mud and grass and brushing it off my dress, and trek back to my starting position. Each time the helicopter encircled me, I was flattened again.”

It took ten takes, made all the more difficult by near freezing temperatures and there not being a toilet for cast or crew for miles.

Paul also worked closely on a number of films with Walt Disney. On one occasion he was asked to be away from home for a long period on a shoot.

Unconvinced he wanted to be absent for so long, he asked for an exorbitant fee and his request was declined. When Disney heard Beeson might not be working on the film he said whatever had been asked for had to be paid, adding simply “I want Paul”.

Paul continued to work until the late 1980s when he suffered a stroke which ended his career. He died in 2001.

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CRANLEIGH IN NUMBERS

SPORTS

SPORTS 2014-2024 2014-2024

4

29

2

NATIONAL AWARDS

CRICKET

NATIONAL AWARDS

HOCKEY

NATIONAL AWARDS

NATIONAL AWARDS

ETON FIVES

EQUESTRIAN

1

2

NATIONAL AWARDS

28

NATIONAL AWARD

KAYAKING

NATIONAL AWARDS

BOULDERING

SKIING

2

18

NATIONAL AWARDS

NATIONAL AWARDS

2

CROSS COUNTRY

SPORTS FACILITIES

FOOTBALL

RUGBY

NATIONAL AWARD

29

WHEELCHAIR TENNIS

25

5

1

NATIONAL AWARDS

2 SWIMMING NATIONAL AWARDS

NATIONAL AWARDS

ATHLETICS

5

100

NEW SPORTS FACILITIES HOUSE SPORTING COMPETITIONS

5

TEAMS PER YEAR GROUP SIXTH FORM

5

TEAMS PER YEAR GROUP LOWER SCHOOL

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On June 8th Ollie Pope (Loveday 2016) returned to the School to formally open the new Fitness Suite. The Fitness Suite is a purpose-built extension to the Sports Centre, which includes a fully equipped gym with machines and free weights, four squash courts, a spin bike studio and a large dance studio. In his talk to a large gathering, which included past parents and many of those who had gone on to play professional sport after leaving, Ollie praised Cranleigh, its staff and facilities and thanked them for their role in his successful cricket career.

While quite a few Old Cranleighans have given the main address on Speech Day, this year marked a first when two OCs - Lew Bedford (Cubitt 2017) and Chantelle Phillips (West 2016) shared the role.

In his final innings as Cranleigh 1st XI captain Adam Thomas (Loveday 2024) became the first person to pass 1000 runs in a season for the School, finishing with 1037 runs at 64.80. A day before he had surpassed Will Langmead’s (East 2010) 2010 record of 947 runs at 67.70. The overall record for the most runs scored for the 1st XI is held by Jack Scriven (Loveday 2013) who finished with 2840 runs, with Adam closely behind him with 2460. Adam set another record for the most hundreds in a season with five, starting the summer with three in his first four innings. In August he made his first-team debut for Surrey.

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READING ROOM

The Reading Room was opened in 1930 following the conversion of the School’s two original classrooms – the other became the Williams Library – under the guidance of the architect of the Connaught Block and Speech Hall, Sir Edwin Cooper. It initially did not contain any books and was used, as the name implies, as “an area for boys to read books, periodicals and newspapers”. Although furnished with armchairs, these soon disappeared into houses and by 1933 the Cranleighan was lamenting it had “become a more barren wilderness still”. In the war the use of the room, especially in winter, was limited as the windows were too big to be effectively blacked out. In 1949 the war memorial and sanctuary was installed - these were relocated to the pavilion in 2009 with the blank boards used to make the honours boards in the Chapel corridor. The most significant change came in 1951 with the installation of “bookshelves, armchairs, coloured prints, and carpets … the woodwork designed to blend with the Memorial at the end of the room”. These changes were designed and funded by OCs. It remained like this for many years, although it gradually started to be used more for events such as debating societies, receptions and meetings. In the summer of 2024 it underwent a major refurbishment with most of the books relocated and a meeting room created at the western end, becoming a formal and much-need reception at the front of the School.

AN AREA FOR BOYS TO READ BOOKS, PERIODICALS AND NEWSPAPERS

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WEST SIDE STORY In March Cranleigh put on West Side Story, marking the 60th anniversary of when it was the first musical produced by the School. After the Friday Gala performance seven of the original cast joined the current pupils on stage. Earlier in the week Nigel Bishop attended a rehearsal and joined the cast for some songs for a report on That’s TV South East. “It stirred my memories from 60 years ago that we boys were taught to dance,” he said.

“We were a team, with the added advantage we were singing and dancing with girls who had come in from local schools.”

Back: Rupert Swyer (2 North 1964), Nick Thorne (1&4 1966) Front: Stephen Kent (2&3 South 1966) , Nigel Bishop (2&3 South 1966), Jamie Fuller (1 North 1966), Martin Hunka (1&4 South 1965), David Harrison (2 North 1966).

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CRANLEIGH SCHOOL ROUND UP

ALL ROUND EXCELLENCE

OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOOL’S ACTIVITIES IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-2024.

THERE’S A PALPABLE SENSE OF EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDORS

SCHOOL ROUND UP

This year was the tenth and final year of Martin Reader’s tenure as Headmaster and the School said goodbye to him in a range of events throughout the year, all well attended by Old Cranleighans. The highlight was the cast of the 1964 production of West Side Story joining the stage at the Gala performance of the musical.

At the end of June, we were delighted to welcome back Old Cranleighan and England Vice-Captain, Ollie Pope to open the new fitness studios, dance studio and squash courts. So many OCs returned to support Ollie in addition to OCs Richard Winter, Baz and Oliver Anayi playing demonstration squash matches.

This year we welcomed students from Cranleigh Abu Dhabi who joined the dancers on stage for a week of West Side Story. We also hosted for the first-time students from Cranleigh Cogdel schools in Wuhan and Changsha. They, and we, benefitted from the visit and we look forward to more exchanges.

New Head, Samantha Price, has taken up her post with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. There’s a palpable sense of excitement throughout the corridors as she leads the School through another phase of change. Reception has been redesigned with a smart new look for the Reading Room, Crane House has been remodelled to allow for more hosted events and the servery and kitchens have been refurbished with a lovely fresh look. We look forward to showing off the new facilities to visiting OCs.

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CRANLEIGH SCHOOL ROUND UP

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CRANLEIGH SCHOOL ROUND UP

MUSIC Our pupils took part in an enormous range of concerts and shows, and music continues to enrich the entire community. The 50th Anniversary of the Helen Wareham competition saw, for the firsttime, soloists perform ten-minute recitals in front of an audience of nearly 300 parents and former music award holders - people who really knew their music. Each performed with poise and skill beyond their years.

Our musicians make exceptional contributions to the local community through concerts at the Cranleigh Arts Centre, for residents of local care homes, in supporting the village Remembrance parade and D-Day commemoration, and in working with young autistic people as part of their Voluntary Action groups. This connection led to the extraordinary Summer Concert, in support of autism and neurodiversity. In a first for Cranleigh, our pupils shared the stage with young people from two centres for autism, and produced a life-affirming concert that celebrated the value of music in people’s lives, regardless of the challenges they face in the everyday.

The Performing Arts collaboration with Cranleigh Abu Dhabi and the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School from Ghana in the autumn was an extraordinary experience for all involved. To have unprecedented access to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and our musicians, actors, dancers and visual artists presented new works inspired by the artefacts they had seen in the museum.

As I write this, the final rehearsals are taking place for Cranleigh Live! The set list looks epic, which is testament to the enthusiasm with which contemporary music is embraced. Much credit must go to Joel Robinson for this, whose gentle guidance and calm encouragement has made so many pupils feel comfortable on this stage. He leaves to take on the role of Head of Senior Music in Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, opening the door for more exciting collaborative work between our international schools.

DRAMA The production of West Side Story was exceptional, marking 60 years since the school made history by staging the first ever amateur production of the show. The Junior Play was an ambitious and entertaining production of The Musketeers. This large cast production follows the journey of d’Artagnan and his fellows through the eyes of a young theatre group as they recreate a version of Dumas’s tale.

A Lower Sixth Form led production of Desdemona in the Afterlife was a complex intertwining of female literary characters who all suffered by the hands of male protagonists in their respective stories and end up meeting in purgatory. The production once again showcased the skills of the students who rehearsed and produced this whole production (including the tech) with minimal input from staff in the department.

This year all the boarding Houses staged House plays in their affiliated pairs. North/West: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Cubitt/South: The Boy Preference; Rhodes/Loveday: The 39 Steps; and Martlet/East: Old Times.

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CRANLEIGH SCHOOL ROUND UP THE PRODUCTION OF WEST SIDE STORY WAS EXCEPTIONAL, MARKING 60 YEARS SINCE THE SCHOOL MADE HISTORY BY STAGING THE FIRST EVER AMATEUR PRODUCTION

SPORT Upper Sixth pupil, Sophie Moore, became the U18 national breaststroke champion; Charlotte Barr and Matilda Fincken became national U18s Eton Fives winners.

In hockey our boys’ U18s reached the final of the Tier 1 National Cup, coming from behind against Repton in the quarters and winning a penalty shootout against Trinity, eventually losing out to Whitgift. National Runners-Up is a fantastic achievement.

The Football 1st XI lost narrowly to Reading Blue Coat in their final, National Runners-Up for the second year in a row.

The U15As entered the National Schools’ Rugby Cup for the first time and won the plate with style, playing on the Saracens pitch with the whole Lower Fifth cheering them on the big screen in the Academic Lecture Theatre.

We also fielded three National Equestrian champion teams, successful rugby sevens and boys’ and girls’ cricket teams. Sport at Cranleigh thrives.

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CRANLEIGH SCHOOL ROUND UP

ACADEMIC NEWS 68% of all grades a 9-7

65% of pupils achieved 6 or more grades 9-7

70% of all English/Maths grades a 9-7

15% of A-Level grades at A*

79% of all A-Level grades A*-B

57% of students achieved all A-Level grades A*-B

At A-Level 15% of all grades was an A*, with a very pleasing 79% of all grades an A*-B. Just under 30 students achieved three or more A*/A and well over half of our students achieved all A*-B. A particular well done to Thomas Cripp, Rhys Hopkins, Ozzy Larmer and Adam Little who achieved three A*, as well as Sophie Moore who will go on to read Modern Languages at Cambridge and Phoebe McCambridge who will go on to read Classics at Oxford.

Our GCSE students also achieved some excellent results, achieving 19% grade 9, 45% grade 9-8 and 68% grade 9-7. A quarter of the cohort achieved an average of grade 8 or higher and well over half of the cohort achieved seven or more grade 9-7.

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CRANLEIGH IN NUMBERS

PERFORMING ARTS PERFORMING ARTS

2014-2024 2014-2024

5

8

JUNIOR PLAYS

15

SENIOR MUSICALS

2

SENIOR PLAYS

JUNIOR MUSICALS

4

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS COLLABORATIONS

6

DANCE SHOWS

16

CRANLEIGH

50

HOUSE PLAYS AND FILMS

9 2

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS TAUGHT

5

DANCE STYLES TAUGHT

SHOWS

250 CONCERTS

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OC CLUB

EVOLVING PLANS THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OC CLUB

The season was the first under the new management of Bevan Hoogewerf who took over from the long-serving JJ and Georgie Griffin at the start of September 2023. It was something of a baptism of fire for Bevan as he juggled getting up to speed with the day-to-day demands of the Club as well as continuing to run his restaurant in Surbiton. It was a testament to his hard work (and lack of sleep) that he managed both successfully.

The tangible changes to the running of the Club have been well received.

The opening hours have been extended, the food menu completely overhauled, and regular meetings with user representatives have worked well.

There have also been more events held, most importantly in the summer months when the Club has traditionally been much quieter. The clubroom has been overhauled, a new pizza oven installed, and the patio area much improved.

The inadequacy of the clubhouse as it approaches its centenary becomes more apparent with each passing weekend and event. When the extension was added in 1993 it was done with the idea of accommodating those using two rugby and one all-weather hockey pitches. The junior sections were almost two decades away, let alone the addition of an entire other sports ground which happened with the purchase of Weston Green.

We have gone from around 175 users a weekend to well over 1500.

The planning process for the complete renovation of the clubhouse and grounds rumbles on. The original plans from 2022 proved to be more problematic than anticipated and caused us to go back to the drawing board, but in the event that has turned out to be a good thing. The revised

plans, which we hope will be submitted to the council early in the New Year, will offer more than the earlier iteration with the addition of a 3G allweather rugby and football pitch. It has also given us a chance to catch our breath and start looking at more ambitious plans for a clubhouse that will offer everything modern users demand.

Progress is inevitably slow as we have had to consult with several sporting governing bodies and a variety of local and national organisations as well. Those hurdles have been cleared through the hard work and tireless efforts of a handful of volunteers, leaving us in the hands of the planners.

Assuming we navigate them, then the fun of finance becomes a reality.

We are aware that current users continue to be faced with a clubhouse that is tired, grass pitches that become wetter with each passing year, and a car park and drive which tests even the most robust suspension. We thank them all for their forbearance and assure them that we are working hard behind the scenes.

The change in the accounting structure outlined in last year’s report proved a success and this means the Club is now on a sound financial footing. The surpluses generated will be reinvested which means, importantly, the Club is not a financial drain on the overall Society.

In the coming months the management structure will again be revised so that the OC Society becomes the ongoing operator rather than it being in effect franchised out. This gives the OC Society more control over many aspects of the operation but Bevan will remain as the on-site face of the business and his expertise will continue to be vital to the Club’s success.

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SPORT & SOCIETIES

OC SPORTS

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OC CRICKET CLUB Eds Copleston ecopleston@hotmail.com www.oldcranleighan.org.uk/occc

Last season’s report started as follows:– “The season was one marred by poor weather and sketchy availability, and although results on the field were overall good the reluctance of cricketers to commit to games – and stay committed – raises real headaches for the future”. Pretty much the same could be written about 2024, although we lost fewer matches to rain even if the sun rarely shone.

Once again, the season kicked off with the Cricketer Cup where we edged past Marlborough Blues by one wicket, thanks to an outstanding unbeaten hundred from George Ealham. Set 271, Alan Cope made a typically classy 74 but when the sixth wicket fell with 49 still required, five and a half overs left and all our other experience gone, Ealham took complete control. Of the last 36 balls which included two wides and a no ball (the free hit was missed), he faced 33, lost three partners, and made 49 of the 53 runs scored. Ten were eventually required off the final over with Ealham hammering four through extra cover off the last ball to seal the win.

The second round, once again, saw dismal availability and we took the field against a Haileybury side containing a Test cricketer – Sam Billings – with an XI containing some who had not even played 1st XI cricket at school. Only some late

hitting from Will Rollings got us past 200 and a total of 217 for 9 was never likely to be enough and Haileybury strolled to victory with almost 16 overs in hand.

We need to have a rethink about how we approach this competition. We have excellent facilities and hospitality and catering which are the envy of every other school in the competition but we are not delivering on the pitch. The School is producing a stream of good players.

We have to get them involved.

In between those two games we played the annual match against the School. This, too, was depressingly one sided even though we fielded a better side than had been the case of late. The main 40-over match resulted in a crushing ten-wicket defeat. So quickly was it done and dusted that there was time for lunch after which a T20 game was played. We fared better and only lost in the final over. Such is the standard of Cranleigh cricket that it may be too optimistic to expect the OCCC to raise a side able to genuinely compete in a longer format and increasingly one-sided games will do nothing to attract school leavers to play for us. One option could be to play a T20 match. The fixture used to be played over two days and two innings, but as the world changed it became a one-day declaration affair. That, in turn, gave way to 50 and then 40-over contests, so perhaps the time is ripe for another re-set.

The other matches during the season were largely played under the leaden skies which passed as the summer of 2024. The Cricket Week saw two rained-off games (Eton Ramblers and Abinger). Of the four matches that took place we won three and the fourth went down to the wire. We beat Old Johnians by six wickets and then travelled to Lancing where we eased to a 161-run win. Disappointingly, Wimbledon cried off the Thursday match because of a clash with a national T20 game, so our next opponents were Old Millfieldians, usually a tough opposition, but this year anything but as we eased home by seven wickets with almost 20 overs to spare. The final match of the Week looked to be a damp squib as we struggled to 103 off 26 overs. Frogs then collapsed from 64 for 2 to 78 for 7. The eighth-wicket pair seemed to have seen them over the line but with the scores tied Wheeler took two wickets before the winning single was scrambled in the next over.

There were two post-week fixtures. Flashmen slumped from 89 for 3 to 126 all out. Luke La Costa wasted little time at the top of our innings, thumping 84* off 50 balls as we cruised past the target in the 16th over. Although the season ended with a heavy defeat there are worse places to receive a drubbing than beautiful Blackheath on a sunny Friday in August.

Yet again a huge thanks to Eds Copleston in raising sides with a mixture of charm, threats, and, at times, economy with the truth. Without his

JOHN COOKE John Cooke was a loyal supporter of the OCCC on and off the field for almost 70 years.

Between 1954 and 2001 he made 130 appearances for the club taking 274 wickets at 18.39; at the time of his retirement he was the club’s leading wicket taker. He also managed to chip in with 1049 runs at 16.39, although he would have been the first to admit he was not the most athletic or agile of fielders. All this he achieved despite only playing once for the 1st XI at School “because everyone else was sitting an exam that day”.

He played little until 1970 when he returned from time in the West Country but was an almost ever present after that for more than a decade.

He willingly, some would say eagerly, came out of semi-retirement in the late 1980s when the club was struggling. His left-arm seamers were naggingly accurate and he formed a good working partnership with Peter Shelley standing up to the stumps. As the years passed John’s pace diminished and his bowling arm gradually lowered to the extent he was almost round-arm by the end, but his enthusiasm never waned.

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efforts the club would have barely functioned but that cannot go on forever. Some other younger faces will need to take a role going forward if the club is not to become nothing more than the Cricketer Cup and School games. The ground staff continue to be the envy of the circuit and we are so lucky to have them. Finally, thank you to Sami for providing catering at the home games and the School for being wonderful hosts for the Cricketer Cup ties.

This report started with a regurgitation of the introduction from last year so it ends with a repeat of that article’s conclusion. “The demands of league cricket allied to a general apathy all sports are facing post Covid is causing headaches for all so-called jazz hat and old boys’ sides. We have some real advantages that others don’t have in a wonderful ground to play on and a constant stream of talented cricketers coming off the Stuart Welch production line. We just have to work out how to get things back on track.” Plus ça change.

OC FOOTBALL CLUB

PEOPLE ARE RECONNECTING WITH MATES THAT THEY HAVEN’T SEEN FOR SOME YEARS, LAUGHING ABOUT OLD TIMES ..... ANYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN THE CLUB AND PLAY

Max Richards max.richards123@gmail.com @oldcranleighansfc

Between 1882 and 1914 the OCFC was a fully functioning club, fielding two XIs from a base in Catford. As with almost all amateur clubs it abruptly halted at the outbreak of World War One. By the time peace returned Cranleigh had switched to rugby and OC football never returned.

There was a brief resurgence in the 1990s and for a handful of seasons Sunday matches were played on the astro at the OC Club, but

As he was gently eased into a virtual nonplaying role, he became a supportive and caring president who effortlessly raised good sides to play the OCCC from among his wide network of cricketing contacts, even if he was perhaps overly keen to beat us! Latterly provided support from the boundary edge where his cheerfulness and ever-present smile was always welcome.

He will be greatly missed by us all.

See full obituary on page 67

that did not last. In early 2024 it flickered back into life under the energy and enthusiasm of Max Richards. He organised a series of friendly matches in March and April and soon had a pool of 40 young members, all Cranleighans who had left in the last decade. The inaugural game was a 2-1 win at Barnes.

“The forming of the club has received nothing but praise,” Max said. “People are reconnecting with mates that they haven’t seen for some years, laughing about old times at Gatleys, in lessons or generally during matches. Guys who have represented the school at others sports such as rugby (Dave Foster 2012), hockey (Ed

De Blaby 2013) and cricket (Max Bell 2019) etc, are now playing for the OCFC showing that even if there wasn’t as much opportunity to play football at school, university or in working life, anyone is welcome to join the club, and play.”

For the 2024-25 season the OCFC have joined the prestigious Arthurian League, a five-division competition for old boys’ sides in which all participants must be genuine old boys. The club is based out of the OC Club at Thames Ditton and home matches usually take place at 10am on a Saturday. If anyone would like to play please contact Max or visit the OCFC Instagram page (@oldcranleighansfc).

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OC GOLF SOCIETY Tony Whitty tony.whitty@airpartner.com www.ocgs.org.uk

We had a fantastic week at the Mellin. In the Peter Burles (over 65s) our team lost very narrowly to Shrewsbury in the first round and then in the Plate beat Downside and Bedford before losing in the final to Aldenham. Well done Martin Riddiford, Richard Williams, John Schofield and Jeremy Weller.

In the Mellin (over 55s) we lost a very close match to Shrewsbury in the first round 2-1. In the plate we beat Downside and Loretto and in the final we had a real nail biter against Aldenham.

Ian Darby and Andrew Staples had completed their 4th win out of 4 and Paul Tidey and Tony Whitty had lost their game so it came down to Matthew Hansford and a very late substitute, Colin Ferguson. It went to extra holes where Matthew dispatched a great drive and Colin knocked it on the green and a solid two putt won us the Plate. Well done to everyone that played and it was fantastic to retain our Plate title.

For the first time we entered the Silver Tassie at The Berkshire. Our team of Tash Rieck, Chloe Pearson, Helen Carson, Jaya Wilkinson played extremely well and finished third in the gross.

For the first time since 1968 we reached the semifinal of the Halford Hewitt. After wins against St Bees, Stoneyhurst, Greshams and Brighton we played Bedford and with the match two all eventually lost the final point down the 19th. George Wilkinson played his first Hewitt and won three points, Fraser Moore and Tony Whitty had four wins and Marcus Ferguson-Jones completed five wins out of five. It was a brilliant week.

Jeremy Weller was the Captain for the year and we had ten other fixtures against various clubs and old boys sides and we also played in the Queen Elizabeth trophy in Scotland…

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games, two league titles (men’s 2nd XI and men’s Stormers) and a promotion for the Ladies’ 4th XI. In total 536 men’s and 292 ladies’ league goals were scored, a 15% increase on the previous season, and there were several many England Hockey cup runs, of which the men’s Over 40s made the Tier 1 semi-final.

OC HOCKEY CLUB Martin Williamson msw@cranleigh.org www.oldcranleighan.org.uk/ochc

This was another season of growth for the OCHC even though both men’s and ladies’ 1st XIs struggled. Three new sides were introduced to cope with the increasing playing numbers resulting, in part, from the numbers of juniors coming through the system – one ladies’, one men’s and one masters for slightly older players. So in all the club fielded six men’s, seven ladies’ and four masters league teams on a Saturday and a ladies’ masters team on a Sunday. The season included 366 league

Following a hugely successful season for the men’s section in the previous year which saw four promotions, the main focus was reorganising, consolidating and changing priorities.

Despite a strong first half of the season for the 1st XI and a successful Indoor run during the winter break, the form fell away markedly in the New Year and they were relegated on the final weekend. While hugely disappointing it is a time to build on the squad and focus on turning fortunes around for next season. However, the 2nd XI had no such problems and under Dave Roberts they stormed their league with 18 wins from 22 matches. The remaining teams performed strongly finishing mainly mid to top table. The Stormers were the standout team with their unbeaten season to top their Masters League and whilst they were disappointed, their run to the EH Cup to the semi-final did the club proud and shows immense dedication from the squad.

The Ladies section again showed strength in depth. Following their promotion, the 1st XI underwent a rebuild and they just held their place in the London Premier League. The 2nd XI were on track for promotion at Christmas but the wheels fell off after the break and by early February a mid-table finish was almost

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OC SPORTS

inevitable. The 3rd XI came a solid third and so nearly achieved second place and promotion, missing out on the final day. The 4th XI were promoted, the 5th XI and newly formed 7th XI didn’t fare so well, but the 6th XI finished a respectful mid table.

We continue to have over 35+ juniors playing across all adult teams, whether that be in the men’s 1s or ladies 1s right through to our developing teams across the ladies and men’s sections. The impact of our juniors allows the club to grow but we get to support their development and as the years progress this will ensure for a healthy club future. The commitment of some of the juniors is unquestionable when they play their school matches and club league matches on the same day.

OC RIFLE CLUB Simon Hayton simon_hayton@hotmail.com

Our well known and highly competitive Summer League, were ably managed by Jackie Waite and Jane Taylor. This offers much needed fun hockey, player development and acts as a tool to attract new members over the summer months. They have also driven income that has allowed us to invest elsewhere. We had five leagues running across each week night evening with 15 different clubs participating. We also entered leagues organised by other clubs thus allowing all abilities to get summer hockey in during what was once the off season.

We must also thank the men’s 1st and 2nd team shirt sponsor Macai who continue to provide much welcome support to the teams.

The junior section continues to thrive with the club offering hockey to around 550 boys and girls aged between six and 18. Throughout the season, all mini-teams took part in the London Mega League and engaged in various friendly fixtures. Outside of the domestic season our U12 and U14 girls’ and boys’ teams also travelled to Real Club De Polo in Barcelona to compete in the annual Immaculada tournament.

There was a return to competitive indoor hockey after many years without. Both the men and ladies entered the London Indoor championships just before Christmas with mixed results.

The men won all their games and progressed in the Super 6s Championships.

The club continues to work in the community and we provided free introductory hockey sessions to both Hinchley Wood Junior School and St Lawrence Junior School.

OCRC AND CRANLEIGH AT THE CCF SCHOOLS’ MEETING Several members of the Old Cranleighan Rifle Club volunteered to help coach or support the school team during the CCF Schools’ Meeting.

This year’s team were mainly drawn from the Lower Fifth year group, and without exception the team showed a willingness to learn and improved through the week.

The first few days were spent establishing good position and technique and ironing out some equipment issues. This meant that a number of the pupils were sharing rifles or sights as we progressed through, but to positive effect.

On Ashburton day the team started with mixed scores but as the day progressed the level of focus rapidly increased, with the rate of loose shots dramatically dropping. At the final distance of 500x, the team averaged a score of just under 30 points per firer, climbing to 5th place on the leader board for the first time in at least 40 years.

This was an absolutely momentous result for Cranleigh School, of which we are immensely proud. We also cannot wait to welcome the team members to the club in a few years’ time.

THE SCHOOLS’ VETERANS Arguably the raison d’être of OCRC, this match saw us pit our best team of five against those of all other UK school alumni clubs, including heavy hitters such as Bradfield, Epsom, and Wellington. It was encouraging to see the team record a score of 241.25v: 16th place ex 44 and our best score for 15 years.

Interesting to note our novice club member Alex Sheikh who recently left Cranleigh put in an excellent score of 48. If his score had been included in the five, it would have elevated OCRC to 7th place! A brilliant performance for his second outing with the club.

THE IMPERIAL MEETING Rob Welford began the week as the opening wind coach for Old Cranleighans in the Schools’ Veterans, followed up the next morning by wind coaching for Wimbledon Common RC which went on to win the Astor County Clubs Challenge Cup for a third successive year. In the individual stages, Rob put in possibles (all shots in the bullseye) in the Wimbledon, Conan Doyle and St. George’s Stage 1 competitions.

Having been main wind coach for Cranleigh in the Ashburton and the closing wind coach for Old Cranleighans in the Schools’ Veterans, Tim Bourne went on to score possibles in the Alexandra, Times, Conan Doyle competitions and also qualified for his first King’s Final. As a Tyro, this meant prize lists galore for Tim, as well as qualification for the Chairman’s Prize Final. Tim narrowly missed out on the Admiral Hutton Tyro Trophy, just two points behind the winner, he was also selected to represent Hertfordshire in the County Championship Long and Short Range. As a finalist in the King’s Prize, Tim is now promoted to “A” Class.

Simon Hayton had a very busy fortnight, starting with the Match Rifle element of the Imperial Meeting where marksmen shoot from ranges of 1000 to 1200 yards, often with scoped rifles and top-grade match ammunition. He entered using his target rifle and some ammunition he had made himself. Needless to say, it was an educational (if not high-scoring) experience for him!

Simon helped coach and plot for the school team at the schools meeting including the

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Ashburton. He also took part in the BCRC Overseas Match as part of the England Rifle Team. This team was picked from the England touring squad going to the USA in September and Simon recorded the joint top score for the team. He also achieved the top score of 50.7v for the Old Cranleighans in the Schools’ Veterans Match.

completion of 300 and 500 yards, Richard Bourne was neck-and-neck with newcomer Alex Sheikh, each having dropped only four points. Alex continued in great form, but was sadly undone by a wild shot, ceding victory to Richard Bourne. Nonetheless, remarkable to have new talent at risk of disrupting the longestablished order at long last.

In the Target Rifle meeting, Simon had a very strong week, finishing 28th out of 647 entrants in the Grand Aggregate, and qualifying for the final stages of the Donaldson Memorial, St George’s, and King’s Prize competitions – placing in the top 50 for each – effectively achieving the kudos of “XXX” accreditation. Simon was also selected to represent England in the prestigious National Match against Wales, Ireland, and Scotland – a first for any Old Cranleighan in the sport of Target Rifle, certainly in recent history. England won with a score of 2073.275 (Wales next best at 2060.242).

LOOKING FORWARD

ENGLAND TOUR TO THE USA 2024 Simon Hayton travelled to Raton, NM as part of the England Rifle Team to compete in the “Spirit of America” National Fullbore Championships, culminating in the America Match between USA, England, and Scotland. After placing seventh in the SOA Grand Aggregate, Simon was selected to be part of the England VIII.

THE PRIZE MEETING The Prize Meeting was an exciting affair, with incredibly close contention between Rob Welford and Tim Bourne. Tim took the Jackson (Short Range) by two points, Rob significantly closed the gap at Long Range, scoring 50.5v to Tim’s 48.6v, and whilst this secured him the Long Range Tankard, it was one V-bull short of the President’s Prize which went to Tim Bourne.

The competition for the Lovesy trophy for Class O/T competitors was just as exciting. After

OCRC looks forward to supporting Cranleigh School next year. The format of a practice day at school in March followed by presence/assistance at the Schools’ Meeting in July works well but it may be feasible to expand that format.

Of course, OCRC is always open to new membership enquiries from Old Cranleighans, young or old, experienced or not. You do not have to have shot whilst at the school, as we are equipped to coach novice members up to the level they will wish to shoot to. Please contact ocrc.hon.sec@outlook.com if you wish to join us.

OC SPORTS

OC RUGBY CLUB Will Fawcett willfawcett007@msn.com

It has always been my principle to approach my role as Chairman of our great club with positivity, with confidence, with passion, with panache, with the history of deeds past and the brightness of a future yet to emerge interwoven. I first arrived at the OCRFC inside my mother’s stomach, and since leaving school, barring time away at university and a few years playing at Rosslyn Park, have carried this club deep within my soul.

Having played over 700+ OC matches and the end of my 13th season as club Chairman, as we approach the centenary of the OC Club at Thames Ditton in 2028, I retain that same spirit of progressive optimism despite the difficulties the past year has thrown up.

There is no doubt that rugby faces a complex and turbulent future, that since Covid, rugby clubs across the land are challenged by a significant shortfall in playing numbers, in recruitment, in player retention, by concussion litigation, by a desire to actually play our game.

This past season has been perhaps the most difficult in many years, though we are certainly not alone in this. Our 2nd XV barely crossed the whitewash all year, and whilst our increasingly decrepit Vets team trundled on regardless, our 1st XV failed to win a league game and were relegated. Frequently frustrating, at times torturous, the season 2023-24 has certainly challenged us all. We cannot and should not ignore the problems, but as I was reminded by one of our elder Vice Presidents at an OC funeral just recently… ”what’s new?!”. The club has ridden peaks and wallowed through troughs many times before.

How recent the memory of that famous day at Twickenham remains, victory in the 2016 RFU Junior Vase the culmination and high point for a vintage crop of players. The cycle has inevitably revolved, and we must rebuild once again.

Positivity and confidence. Our relegation, whilst painful is actually a blessing. The 1st XV league swiftly became a two-tier affair, with town sides leading the upper end, those in the lower half unable to compete with the squad depth and training regularity of the top tier. A new season in Surrey/Sussex Counties 2 offers opportunity. Looking at the fixture list, there is not a side listed that represent anything to be anxious about. With consistent availability, and (here’s the important bit) a strong start, there

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oversee the transition from age group to Senior adult club rugby. One of very few Level 4 England coaches, POG headed up the London Irish Academy, before his appointment as England Academy manager, responsible for Player development pathway from Premiership youth Academies through to international age groups. Welcome to Patrick, this appointment is bold, confident and progressive.

is no reason to doubt our ability to perform at the very top of this league. Success breeds success, two wins becomes three, becomes four, becomes a habit, a culture, an expectation. With the players at our disposal, OCRFC can swiftly regroup and flourish again. We must however engage in the strong start required.

We are blessed with some simply outstanding people at OCs, first and foremost our ebullient President Nick Meyer, the considerable legal expertise Hon Sec Mark Lubbock continues to bring to his role, our excellent first team captain Tom Fuller, our extraordinarily dedicated fixture Secretary Robin Board, who will forever more dine out on his 1st team try last year, that one metre flop now embellished in legend as an unparalleled pinnacle of athletic prowess. Our junior section continues to flourish, now hovering around 800 children on the books, this past season seeing the full house achieved after years of hard work, Under 5 right through to U18 Colts now representing the club. Several of those Colts played their first match for a senior club side as we romped to victory over Sutton & Epsom, Dylan Luttig scoring five tries of his own.

These lads mostly anticipate University places from September, but many of them expect to play for OCs as often as they are available.

Continuing with the Juniors theme, we now boast around 125 coaches, a thriving and vibrant clubhouse welcomes over 1000 people every Sunday, regular weekday age group evening training sessions, four U14 players achieving places on the Harlequins Player Pathway, Theo Tyler-Low represented Middlesex at Colts level.

Our U9 and U10 age groups took part in touch rugby demonstrations at half time during the Twickenham Autumn and Six Nations internationals. As of this month the appointment of Patrick O’Grady (POG) as Director of Rugby Development stands as a powerful statement of the ambition of the club to further develop and consolidate the years of work so many have put into the Junior section, and importantly, to

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The appointment of John Andrews as the Cranleigh Director of Rugby has already seen moves to reintegrate with the school. Our U11 and U13 sides took part in a schools Festival at Cranleigh in October, and John has committed to assist with our Junior training at the club.

The newly appointed Head of Cranleigh has expressed her desire to see a redeveloped TD become a major Old Cranleighan hub, both for sports as well as functions, with prospective West London parents likely to be introduced to the club as a first point of contact from the school. Planning for a major club redevelopment of the entire OC campus to include a 3G all weather pitch, a second astro, redesigned clubhouse, and freshly laid rugby pitches alongside six new Padel courts, stand testament to the ambition and an exciting future at our Thames Ditton home from home.

The indefatigable Simon Laws continues his quest for OC immortality, (possibly embalmed in rose?) managing our pitch maintenance, International tickets and putting together a hugely successful tour to Split in May. Piers Cushing has been a revelation as Director of Junior rugby, his astonishing energy and passion for the club evident in all he does, from refereeing, coaching, fronting the Junior committee, to the increasing concentration on club sponsorship, evidence of which will become more apparent in the signage around the pitch and campus and across our media in the coming months. We have at last unveiled a new website (ocrfc.com) and have various IT minded operators populating our variety of social medias. The club car park has enjoyed a major facelift. The clubhouse manager Bevan Hoogewerf has considerably improved the restaurant provision and given the club hall a pleasing facelift.

thank me adding that I had given him both great support that day as well as to all things OCRFC. His words made me smile and cry at the same time. John passed away just a few weeks later.

Passion for this club is a privilege, the rich history and hugely exciting next chapters to come in the coming years demand ongoing commitment. Last season was exceptionally tough, but as so many times before, we can all help to lift our team-mates, to lift our club. In the words I have closed every Chairman’s report with since I took office, I offer you all my positivity, my confidence, my passion…and as evidenced in this ever so slightly purple prose….more than a dash of theatrical panache. Gentlemen,…..this is the OCRFC, come and join the ride.

Will Fawcett, Chairman

OC SAILING Tim Barnett timbarnett@me.com

The Arrow Trophy 2024 ran the weekend of the 5th and 6th of October and we were met with some mixed weather, sunshine with occasional downpours. However, the wind held up and it was great sailing conditions for the racing around the cans on Saturday. We had a crew filled with plenty of regulars on board this year with skipper Tim Barnett, James Ware, Bill Mellstrom, and two father and son teams of

Andrew and James Pike and Jeremy and Matt Kaye. We picked up the boat and headed over to Cowes for our usual Friday night catch-up dinner and drinks.

We managed to get in four races on Saturday, and despite some good starts (partly our doing but the rest of the fleet seemed more reticent this year after the warning at the briefing about not damaging the boats!) our results were not the finest. Still we had a lovely day out on the water.

We headed back in to our berth at Shepherds Marina and enjoyed some drinks on board before heading off to the formal dinner, this year back in the Royal Ocean Racing Club at its very smartly renovated clubhouse in Cowes.

Festivities continued after dinner, as usually ending up at the Anchor with live music and drinks.

Sunday saw slightly lighter winds, but still great for sailing. The top four boats in the event went off for their serious match-racing series, while the remainder were set two races point-to-point around the cans in typical Solent style racing. In the usual Arrow Trophy style, the wind did die out in the final leg of the final race but another lovely day of sailing all round.

A great weekend was had by all. If anyone is interested in joining the crew for next year, please get in touch with Tim Barnett (timbarnett@me.com) and you can be added to the list.

I traditionally close with the Chairman’s tankard. Battling weekly to put teams onto the pitch, dogged and occasionally belligerent on the field, carrying hard yet for the most part retaining his humour, please congratulate our 1st XV captain, Tom Fuller.

I started by highlighting the juxtaposition between our history and our future and am forever reminded of the legacy this great club bequeaths. I attended another OC funeral last year, that of former Chairman Simon Roberts, and found myself sitting next to OC John Cooke, long time stalwart of the TD touchline. John was by then very poorly himself with the cancer that took him. I helped him to his feet for the hymns and to his car at the end of the service. That night Cookie, ever the gentleman messaged to

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OC SQUASH CLUB Richard Winter richard@richard-winter.com

The first references to squash at Cranleigh School came in 1929 when a committee was formed to look into whether it should be played, but nothing came of that until a letter from Eric Hudson (1 North 1937) in 1933 asked the authorities to build courts to encourage “the sport of the future”. His plea struck a chord and gained the support of Gordon Gordon-Potts (MCR 1934-1939) who raised funds from within the school and among OCs. So successful was he that the initial one court became two which were opened in the summer of 1935.

It proved an instant hit and there was a long waiting list for membership of the club. Despite this, the Games Committee ruled that matches against other schools were not permissible, although they could play two unofficial matches against other clubs and these were supplemented with three against the common room. Nor were squash players eligible for colours as it was deemed they were representing the club and not the school. The sought-after membership was gradually increased. In 1938 it rose from 30 to 50.

The first proper matches took place in 1939 and the fixture list soon expanded but still had to fit in around hockey commitments. During the war squash’s popularity grew further, and with the courts properly blacked-out games were played at every opportunity. Post-war squash continued, always struggling to compete with the major sports. The boom in the game’s popularity in the 1970s was also reflected in it enjoying a spell of great success at school. In 1978 squash became a full sport, so boys were allowed for the first time to opt out of rugby to play, and by the end of the decade the fixture list contained 30 matches over the two winter terms.

The sport’s popularity and success led to four more courts being built on the North Field in 1979, and the zenith for Cranleigh squash came in 1981 when the school finished runners-up in the national Premier Cup. The sport gradually declined after that, although there were good years such as 1999 when the 1st, 2nd and Under-16s won 22 out of 25 matches. In 2009 the original two courts were taken out of use.

DURING THE WAR SQUASH’S POPULARITY GREW FURTHER, AND WITH THE COURTS PROPERLY BLACKED-OUT GAMES WERE PLAYED AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY

New squash courts at Cranleigh School (now the humanities block - but still with the red line markings from the courts) were opened in May 1979, and were inaugurated by an Exhibition Match between Rahmat Khan and Mohammed Yasin. (Plaque) Old Cranleighan and England Test Cricket Vice-Captain, Ollie Pope, formally opened the new squash courts in June this year as part of the School’s sports centre redevelopment project. It was a terrific event to celebrate sport at Cranleigh.

The David Vaughan Trophy is now in its 12th year between Cranleigh School and the OCs. David Vaughan was at Cranleigh School during the 1930s and is probably the most decorated OC squash player. David lived his life making friends through squash and he inspired the Cranleigh School vs OCs fixture in 2012.

On 12th November a fantastic inaugural match in the new squash courts took place between the School and the OCs for the David Vaughan Trophy. Squash and the new courts were victorious.

OC TENNIS CLUB Chris Lloyd cmjlloyd@hotmail.com

If you might be interested in playing for the OC Tennis Club please contact Chris Lloyd (details above) or Vickie (ocs@cranleigh.org).

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SPORTING HONOURS Once again, it has been the OC cricketers who have been to the fore in the last year, with Ollie Pope (Loveday 2016) being named England captain for the series against Sri Lanka in the absence of Ben Stokes. He also led them in the first of the winter’s Tests in Pakistan. Although his county form was moderate, he scored hundreds against both West Indies and Sri Lanka. He is a year into a two-year central contract with the ECB. Earlier in the year, his epic 196 in his Man-of-the-Match performance in the 1st Test v India at Hyderabad was hailed

by BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew as “one of the great Test innings, certainly one of the best in India”.

Tom Lawes (Cubitt 2021), like Pope, again featured in the Surrey side as they retained their County Championship title, although an early-season foot injury limited his opportunities. Yousef Majid (North 2022) was an ever present in Surrey’s Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign and made his first-class debut in the final Championship game of the summer. Tommy Ealham (Loveday 2022) and Adam Thomas (Loveday 2024) also made their first team debuts in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. Announcing his retirement in November, Michael Burgess (North 2012) played in all Warwickshire’s Championship matches, scoring 745 runs at 43.82. Alex French (Cubitt 2025) played for England U19s while Molly Barbour-Smith (Martlet 2025) was part of the Scotland side who qualified for the 2025 ICC Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

[1]

[2]

In rugby, OCs continued to make a mark at Harlequins. Oscar Beard (North 2020) was called into the England squad ahead of the 2023 autumn internationals but almost immediately had to withdraw after suffering a concussion. He was recalled for the same 2024 tournament. Will Trenholm (North 2020) forced his way into the first team towards the end of the season, joining Will Collier (East 2009). Collier joined Top 14 side Castres Olympique in the summer. Dino Lamb Cona (East 2016) missed much of the campaign through injury. Hayden Hyde (East 2019) played much of the season on loan to London Scottish.

Away from The Stoop, Ireland international Sam Arnold (East 2014) returned to the mainland, signing a new contract with Newcastle Falcons. Hugh Tizard (Loveday 2018) continued to earn plaudits at Saracens. Jamie Barden (Cubitt 2018) again represented England in the HSBC Sevens.

In hockey Izzy Petter (South 2018) and Will Calnan (Cubitt 2014) both featured for GB at the Paris Olympics but both men’s and women’s sides were knocked out in the quarter finals. Petter became the first OC to reach the landmark of 100 combined caps for England and Great Britain. The evergreen David Knapp (East 1977) was in the England side which won gold at the Over-65 World Cup in South Africa while Jonny Haynes (Cubitt 2006) was in the England side who won the Over-35 competition.

1. Will Collier, Will Trenholm and Oscar Beard in action for Harlequins in April 2. Izzy Petter in Paris 3. David Knapp and Jonny Haynes in South Africa

[3]

In May, Greg Slade (Cubitt 2020) gained his second ITF 2 quad doubles title of the season at the Kobe Open in Japan. Four months later partnered with Andy Lapthorne he won silver in the wheelchair tennis at the Paris Paralympics. He also reached the quarter-finals of the singles competition.

Will Barnicoat (North 2021) continued to attract attention, improving his time in the 5000m by 26 seconds with an impressive run in Paris in early July and shortly afterwards recording a PB in the 3000m at the Diamond League meet at the London Stadium.

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SOCIETIES

OC CLUBS AND SOCIETIES OC ARMED FORCES

OC LING COW SHIPPING CLUB

Vickie Ingle vli@cranleigh.org

Ian Ferguson (Secretary Fu) iamf@btinternet.com

Haviing masterminded 19 annual reunions since the first one took place in 2002, Mike Payne has decided the time has come to pass the baton.

He emailed the members of the Armed Forces Club to ask if anyone would like to step up and there has been a very heartening response.

It looks as though the way forward may be to share the load with a different person arranging something each year. Vickie will do the emailing/ background admin and that year’s ‘Chairman’ will arrange the day. More information will be forthcoming very soon about the plan for the 2025 reunion.

OC BUSINESS FORUM Vickie Ingle

07768066975

Despite the sadness of the occasion, an extremely vivacious 13 members of the Society raised their glasses to our late Chair at our Christmas luncheon on 1 December last year, and we shall do the same this Christmas at The Boot & Flogger on 28 November. In this regard, the collective great minds of the Society very deeply analysed and evaluated the seismic behavioural changes in society and reached a firm consensus that Thursday has become the new Friday and that moving our luncheon from a Friday to a Thursday would be certain to attract considerably more members to attend the occasion. As at the time of writing, we are expecting the attendance of eight members.

In April this year, 10 members gathered for another extremely convivial and, arguably, mildly boisterous Chinese New Year luncheon at Imperial China in Soho. Hence, it may be seen that against a gross membership of over 40 our turnout is around 25%, so there is some room for improvement, and it is to be hoped that the Christmas spirit will have kindled a greater turnout, and which includes the younger generation.

As always, those moving in the world of shipping in any capacity are encouraged to make contact.

OC LODGE Tom Ware twware@gmail.com

At the 2024 February Installation meeting Tony Ho (2&3 South 1997) was installed as Worshipful Master and has presided during the 99th year of the Lodge. In addition at the last meeting the Master generously provided

vli@cranleigh.org

In April around 80 Old Cranleighans and a few former/current parents, gathered in the Maxwell Library at the IET in Savoy Square. Yemi Adegbite, James Mannix and Andrea Sparke made up the panel for a fascinating discussion about “AI and its role in future-proofing”, which was expertly moderated by Dom Hammond.

It was wonderful to see so many younger OCs and hear the buzz in the room after the discussions as OCs young and not so young caught up and did some valuable networking. We are hoping to repeat this success with another event on 29th April 2025, this time on the subject of Entrepreneurship — more details in due course. If you would like to hear about future events or would like to suggest convening a dinner, connect to the LinkedIn group (https:// www.linkedin.com/groups/2364204/) or email Vickie who will be able to pass on your idea/add you to the distribution list for invitations.

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some amazing wines for the brethren to taste (the Cheval Blanc 2006 being very memorable).

The Lodge has a wonderful mix of OCs of all ages and we are constantly growing the membership.

OC SOUTH-WESTERN AREA

Rory Field Nick Clift nickclift1@outlook.com

The OC Lodge was consecrated on the 25th January 1925 and plenty of planning is underway to celebrate during the Lodge’s centenary year.

The values of Freemasonry are based on integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness which compliments the values of our public schools and is why all the major public schools have popular Lodges. Charity is a key tenet of these values. Each year the Lodge donates £1,000 to the Cranleigh School Foundation to sponsor places at the school as well as supporting multiple charities.

The Lodge has close ties with other old school Lodges, especially the Old Epsomians and Old Johnians who are regular visitors (most former pupil Lodges are based in London). The OC Lodge meets four times a year (February, May, October and December) in St James’s and dines at the East India Club.

If you are an OC or member of Common Room who is interested in Freemasonry then please do not hesitate to contact the OC Lodge Secretary, Simon Broadhurst at sjbroadhurst@gmail.com.

OC PROPERTY SOCIETY

rory@lechampholdings.com

Steve Vause svause@totalise.co.uk Rick Vause rick@vausecribb.co.uk

In November a very jolly group of OCs and former Common Room gathered for an excellent lunch at the Arundell Arms in Lifton. Numbers were up on last year and the always enjoyable wine raffle raised £65 for the Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulance. Nick Meyer and Vickie Ingle brought everyone up to date with a short talk about the Cranleigh Foundation and events of the past year at the School.

This year’s Old Cranleighan Property Society Meeting was held appropriately at the headquarters of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Indeed it was the first social gathering ever held in the Library in over 100 years!

Thirty-eight attendees made the evening very special. We always include a round forum for people who wish to network within the industry, this includes new starters into real estate established names and upwardly mobile men and women who wish to further their careers.

We would welcome more society members and we are very much looking forward to keeping in touch with you and to next year’s event which we propose to hold at the same venue.

Huge thanks as always to Paul Jackson, Holly along with Vickie and the school for all your continued support.

Please get in touch if you would like further information or to become a member.

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ARCHIVES

Although Cranleigh’s archives continue to expand with acquisitions and generous donations, we still have specific needs which we hope OCs may be able to help fulfil.

We need clothing – games shirts, ties, scarves – and programmes from plays and concerts. We also have gaps of team photos from the 1960s through to the 1990s. If OCs will lend them to us we can scan and return them. As importantly, if anyone has informal pictures taken at the School we would very much like to see them. If you are able to help please email the archivist (msw@cranleigh.org) with details of what you have.

£15.00 MERRIMAN BEAR

The perfect companion for any OC

£20.00 SILK TIE

Available in 3 OCS designs

£15.00 BASEBALL CAP

A great gift for an OC

OCS MERCHANDISE The items on this page are just a selection of what is available. Why not visit our online shop?

We are adding new products all the time. For the full range visit ocsociety.cranleigh.org/shop.

£35.00 SUPER SOFT HOODIE Made to order

£10.00

GOLF BALLS (BOX OF 3)

£15.00 CUFFLINKS

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LISTINGS

REGISTER

ENGAGEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 MARRIAGES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 BIRTHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 DEATHS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 The Old Cranleighan 2023 | PAGE 55

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ENGAGEMENTS

HARPUR, CLAIRE

MARRIAGES

West 2001-2006

and NEEL ROBB

ROLLINGS, WILL

East 2008-2013

and POPPY PAGE

WEST, DOMINIC

Cubitt 2005-2010

and LAUREN CLARKE

O’KEEFFE, NICK

North 2007-2012

and MIA GOODLEY on 4 July 2024

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LISTINGS

HARMAN, PADDY East 2003-2008 and CASSIE on 26 January 2024

PORTER, BETHANY

TYRELL, SIMON

North 2001-2006

and KATHRYN BUTTERFIELD on 18 May 2024

West 2012-2017 and JOEL WESTON on 23 August 2023

ZOET, CECILE

South 2014 and ED DE BLABY

Cubitt 2014

on 27 July 2024

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ANNIVERSARIES

MIKE WALSHAM (East 1957) and Sandra.

60th wedding anniversary on 3 October 2024

RICHARD DAVIES

(2 North 1950-1955)

and Jan, 60th wedding anniversary on 11 July 2024

CHRISTOPHER BISHOP (1&4 South 1957) and Jane at St. Marks Church Surbiton, 60th wedding anniversary on 4 July 2024

TONY MOTE (1 North 1957) and Sue, 60th wedding anniversary on 20 June 2024

CHRISTOPHER PREVOST (East 1949-1953) and Dolores Hoffmann, 60th wedding anniversary on 6 January 2024

BRYAN WORDSWORTH

(1 North 1945)

and Mik. 65th wedding anniversary on 5 December 2024

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BIRTHS BROWN, GRAEME Loveday 1990-1995 and LOUISE WHYTE, a son, Ted on 4 January 2024

CRICHTON (NEE CARPENTER), ALEX

West 2002-2007

and ED a son, Hugo on 16 March 2023

CROSS, GEORGE Cubitt 2005-2010 and NICOLA, a son Casey-James joining Stevie on 22 June 2024

BOWMAN, NICHOLAS

2&3 South 1995-2000

and CECE a daughter, Beezie, joining Daisy and Clementine on 16 September 2021

CRUMP, MATT Loveday 2001-2006 and GEORGIE (NEE BANKS) South 2008-2010 a daughter, India on 24 June 2024

ARTHUR, PAUL Loveday 2002-2007 and CAROLINE a daughter, Evie, joining Billy on 28 October 2024

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BIRTHS GEMMELL (NEE TOWNLEY), OLIVIA West 2000-2005 and JAMES a daughter, Florence, joining Teddy and Toby on 31 January 2024

RAEBURN (NEE MILLBURN-FRYER), MAY

WALTERS, JAMES

North 2001-2006

and REETU, a daughter Lily on 21 June 2024

West 2003-2008 and STEVEN a son, Benjamin, joining Arthur and George on 8 October 2024

WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER

Cubitt 2004-2009

and EVE, a daughter Nellie on 21 August 2024

TROWER, JAMES

Cubitt 2008-2013

and EMMA CHIVERS twin daughters, Molly and Lilah on 16 May 2024

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CRANLEIGH IN NUMBERS

CRANLEIGH SCHOOL CRANLEIGH PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP WITH BEYOND OURSELVES WITH BEYOND OURSELVES 2014-2024 2011-2024

ZAMBIA 5,000 TEACHERS

600

SCHOOLS USING JOLLY PHONICS

TRAINED IN JOLLY PHONICS

300,000

STUDENTS WHO HAVE LEARNT TO READ AND WRITE USING JOLLY PHONICS

KAWAMA SCHOOL 5,350

PUPILS ENROLLED 67% of pupils completed Grade 12

286,000

GRADE 12

MEALS SERVED The Old Cranleighan 2024 | PAGE 61

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GLYDE, J.R. (JOHN)

DEATHS

2 North 1940-1945

LEFT IN 1930s

LEFT IN 1940s

COOPER, R.P (ROGER) CHRISTOPHERSEN, G.R. (ROLF)

2 North 1941-1945 2&3 South 1935-1939

Rolf died on 28 August 2024 aged 102 At the time of his death, Rolf Christophersen was the oldest OC and one of only a handful who were at Cranleigh before World War Two. He was one of several dozen Norwegians who came to Cranleigh in the 1930s. Although Rolf was a very proud Norwegian (he spoke it fluently) and held a Norwegian passport, he was born in England to Norwegian parents and never lived in Norway.

After a year at Oxford he tried to enlist in the Royal Navy, but was rejected because of his Norwegian passport. He tried the Royal Air Force instead and they accepted him.

After training, in 1942 he was posted with 221 Squadron to the Mediterranean, flying Wellington bombers used as reconnaissance planes to find and attack German and Italian convoys. For his courage during this period he was awarded the DFC. His citation stated: “This officer has completed many reconnaissances over the Mediterranean. On four occasions his skilful work has enabled successful attacks to be made on enemy shipping. Flight Lieutenant Christophersen has displayed great courage and determination, often flying at low level in face of enemy fire to ensure accuracy.”

After a period as a Wellington instructor in Warwickshire, he was transferred to Transport Command in early 1944 and began flying high-ranking officers and politicians to and from various combat areas across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, including the Yalta Conference, but also to and from India.

After VE Day, he flew important passengers to and from various liberated countries, and also took British judges to and from the Nuremberg trials.

After more than 2,300 flight hours, he left the RAF in June 1946 and began working in London for the Swedish manufacturer of matches that eventually became Swedish Match. He stayed with them until his retirement, but spent much of his free time supporting various Norwegian activities in London.

He was one of the very few Norwegians alive who in 2023 could claim to have met and talked to all three kings that have served since Norway’s independence in 1905.

He was largely responsible for reviving the Anglo-Norse Society after the Second World War and for putting it on a sound footing in the 1970s. He was Vice-Chairman for many years and was later made the first and only Honorary Vice-President. In 1989, Rolf was awarded the prestigious St. Olav’s Medal by Olav V for his efforts to improve Norwegian-British relations.

Roger died on 14 December 2023 aged 95 Roger was born in Wimbledon in 1928. After prep school, which was evacuated twice during the war, he joined his older brother, Brian, at Cranleigh in 1941. He captained the Colts cricket and played hockey, which he continued as goalkeeper for the OCHC at Thames Ditton for several years.

After leaving school he became a student engineer at Chichester, whilst also studying in Brighton for two years. He then joined Sir Robert McAlpine in 1951. In 1957, he became a Chartered Engineer and began work for Kennedy & Donkin Consulting Engineers in Weybridge.

During this time, he designed power stations and travelled to the Middle East, Jerusalem and Egypt, where he worked on plans for the Aswan Dam. He married Lorna in 1952 and they have four children, eight grandchildren and one great grandson. They lived in Oxshott for 63 years in a house designed by Roger before moving to Sussex in 2021.

Written by Lorna Cooper, Roger's Widow.

CULLEN, J.E.G. (JOHN) 1&4 South 1940 John died on 24 September 2024 aged 97

John died on 30 June 2024 aged 95 John went to the Junior School from 1940 to 1942 and from there into 2 North from 1942 until 1945.

He often recounted the time when the golf course was ploughed up to plant vegetables during the war or the times he watched Battle of Britain dogfights overhead. He played cricket and shot for the school, and was a very proud OC, attending many of the wonderful events here over the years.

After school John began training with his father in the family tea and coffee business in the City, before he changed career direction and decided to become a farmer, training on an estate in West Sussex. In 1952 he went to work at Garlands, the family farm his father had established in Rudgwick after leaving the City.

The family moved to Windsor in 1959 and took over the leasehold of Flemish Farm, part of the 6,000-acre Windsor Estate owned by The Crown Estate. John and his family remained here for many years, with John taking over the running of the farm. In 1977 he was invited to lead the parade through Windsor for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

He married Susan in October 1963, and their daughter Sarah came along in 1974. The three of them remained at Flemish Farm until around 1983, when John left farming altogether and moved to Surrey to set up his own catering supply business, Windsor Services. He and Susan ran the business together for many years and they built up a large and very loyal client base across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, until they successfully sold in 2001.

John enjoyed playing sports such as golf, cricket and tennis, as well as going to the theatre and travelling. His big love, however, was cars, a passion which started at an early age with his father’s Bentley – he managed to get Susan to agree to a first date because he had a black and white Austin-Healey. In 1965 John and Susan bought their first Aston (a DB2/4 Mark III) and there began John’s long affiliation with the marque. They went on to buy

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a DB5 in 1968, which is still in the family and has been driven thousands of miles all over the UK and Europe. John was a member of the Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC) for over 50 years and worked tirelessly over the years organising events, golf days, meetings and driving tours. This culminated in him receiving the club’s most coveted accolade, the Bertelli Trophy, in 2021, awarded to a member in recognition of their outstanding service to the Club.

He worked tirelessly over many years to organise social events and displays that have raised many thousands of pounds for charities including Help for Heroes, Support our Paras (the only charity which exists solely to support the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces) and GUTS (established in 1983 with the aim of improving bowel cancer survival in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex). As a survivor himself, this was a cause very close to John’s heart.

John was a true gentleman, a wonderful husband, brother, father, father-in-law, grandfather and friend. He had an amazing ability to engage with people on all levels and from all backgrounds.

He enjoyed a life well lived and his outlook was very much “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”. There is no doubt he will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

HARRAP, R.C.H. (BOB)

LISTINGS

2&3 South 1940-1945

Robert died on 11 February 2024 aged 97 Bob spent his early childhood in South London. A pupil at Dulwich College Prep School, he had won a scholarship to the senior school there, but with the outbreak of war, everything changed. While evacuated to Wales with the prep school, he learned that the insurance company where his father worked was moving its head office from central London to the relative safety of the Sussex countryside. The family had to up sticks and follow and an alternative school had to be found. The headmaster at Dulwich advised his parents that Cranleigh was somewhere that Bob, a bright and sporty boy, could thrive.

And thrive he did. Of course, some of the extracurricular activities were unique during those wartime years. Over 80 years on, Bob’s signature is still visible in the graffiti on the walls inside the clock tower from night-time watches for enemy planes and doodlebugs, and he assured us his experiences in the School Home Guard were not that far removed from Dad’s Army! There was still time for sport, though, and Bob developed a life-long love of rugby, proud to have played for the 1st XV in his final year. He worked hard too, and after a year of national service and the end of the War, Bob secured articles with a firm of City solicitors, Berrymans (now BLM), studying in the evenings to achieve his professional qualifications. He stayed at Berrymans all his working life, progressing to partner and senior partner before his retirement in 1988.

Had it not been for his parents’ wartime move to Sussex, Bob would not have met Anne Clark who lived in the next village. They married in 1957 and were together for 67 very happy years, retiring back to the South Downs countryside they loved after Bob’s retirement. Bob was a brilliant father to his three daughters and much adored Grandbob to seven grandchildren.

Bob always spoke nostalgically and fondly of his time at Cranleigh and kept in touch with what was going on there. He encouraged his daughters to go to Cranleigh for the sixth form – and I was the one who took him up on it! I met my husband there and one of our daughters followed three decades later. Bob was proud and emotional to attend the unveiling of the war memorial at the School in 2016 with the two younger generations of OCs. In 2022, Bob and Anne moved to a care home not far from Cranleigh. One afternoon I decided to take them out for a drive, and we came to the School. It was the holidays, and the gates were open, so I drove up and past the main school building. Bob was frail by this stage and his memory had started to fail, but he could still point out the exact window of his study in 2&3 South.

Written by Judith Sutherland (nee Harrap) (2&3 South 1979)

Cranleigh. Corporal punishment prevalent, usually six strokes with a bamboo cane ( ...) - I suffered only two beatings after which I behaved myself. I did not distinguish myself at schoolwork and failed to reach the sixth form. Sports; rugby (colours 1941), cricket, fives, squash all engaged my attention rather more keenly.”

Written by his daughter, Sarah

HENDERSON, J.A.B. (JOHN) West 1939-1942 John died on 20 September 2024 aged 99 John’s time at Cranleigh took place during the early days of World War Two and he made some brief notes on his experience. “Progressed increasingly enjoyably through the rigours of wartime school at

Between 1945 and 1947, he did his National Service for the RAF, trained as a quantity surveyor and played rugby enthusiastically. In 1955 he met and married Anne-Louise Bleibtreu. In 1957 they had a son, Nick Henderson, who later went to Cranleigh.

In 1962 he became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and worked for the family firm, Dearle and Henderson until his retirement in 1987.

In 1965 now divorced, he met and

married Juliet Williamson. They had two children, Toby and Polly (myself), and lived in Toys Hill, Kent. He was a wonderful father and a true gentleman; kind, fun, curious, energetic and careful never to impose on his children what he thought they should do with their lives. He had many hobbies including photography, travel, painting, golf, motorcycling, horticulture and opera.

Though in many ways he led a privileged existence, he did not escape tragedy: Nick died in 2010 and Toby died in 2014.

Dad and I were always close, but after this double tragedy, we were closer still and I feel grateful that he came to live with my husband and I in his last year of life. Our family, will miss his blythe spirit enormously.

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DEATHS LEFT IN 1940s Attending Cranleigh was an important part of David’s early years, nearby to where his parents had made their long term family home in Onslow Village. After finishing his schooling he joined the National Service, trained as an officer and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

LYALL, D, M (DAVID) 1 North 1944-1947 David died on 30 December 2023 aged 93

Following this, he trained as a chartered surveyor. He joined a well established company of surveyors in Mayfair, becoming a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and later a Fellow of the same institution. After his first position, he joined another company of surveyors in Mayfair where he remained for several decades.

During this time David was made a president at FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation. David joined the Savile Club on Brook Street near to his workplace during the seventies. He was a Trustee at the Savile Club and they later made him an Honorary Life Member. David joined a new company as a director

in his sixties and finally retired in his seventies. He still continued to share his great knowledge of buildings to help people in charitable ways.

David married Jo, a beautiful Australian journalist, in 1965.

They made Primrose Hill their home from the 1960s, moving into a house where they lived for over 40 years.

They had two children, Harry and Zoe, forming a close family unit.

Over the years, David contributed to community life in many ways including through the Primrose Hill Community Association and local conservation groups such as the Primrose Hill Conservation Area Advisory Committee and the Camden Civic Society.

David’s character was extremely special. Often described as a gentleman, he had so many wonderful qualities, particularly his charm and strength. David loved life - hard working, he also knew the importance of enjoying life. He was gentle and kind and a generous

Barrie died on 13 June 2024 aged 92 supporter of many causes, both through donations as well as through giving his time and expertise.

His qualities never faltered, they ran completely through him, even when he stoically battled many medical conditions in later life, he still made the effort to smile and even wink at people, becoming an inspiration to so many.

Written by his daughter Zoe Lyall

1 North 1942-1946

East 1939-1943

Died on October 20th 2023 aged 95

Arthur died on 6 September 2024 aged 98

When he was demobbed, he resumed training as an accountant with the intention of joining the family furniture business. However, after attending a church ministry selection board Arthur was encouraged to go to Cambridge. He spent three years at St. Catharine’s College where he read Maths and Theology) followed by two

East 1945-1948

IAN RONALD PHELPS

PHELPS, A.C. (ARTHUR) REVD CANON

Arthur Phelps followed his brother Reginald (East 1931) and on leaving, after a short spell training as an accountant, joined the Royal Navy. As he had been in the army and navy sections of the Officer Training Corp he had the rare distinction of having worn the uniforms of all three services.

He qualified as a Fleet Air Arm observer in July 1945 and was preparing to head to the Far East when the war ended. He finished his service training in air traffic control.

SINDALL, B, L (BARRIE)

years at Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge. He was Ordained in Liverpool Cathedral in June 1953. During his working life he was involved with various parishes in Liverpool, Essex and Suffolk. In 1988 he was installed as an Honorary Canon of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral. He retired in 1990 but continued to help out with church services in Cornwall and then Suffolk.

Arthur married Pamela Kent in April 1956. They had two children and one granddaughter. Their son, Timothy (who died in January 2015) was at Cranleigh from 1967 until 1977.

When Arthur retired, he and Pam lived in Cornwall for 10 years before moving to Suffolk in 2000.

Pam died in 2003 and Arthur continued to live independently until the end of July 2024 when he started to feel unwell. He spent

his last week in hospital. Arthur really enjoyed meeting people, talking with them and exchanging experiences – he will be missed by his family and friends.

After leaving Cranleigh Ian Phelps did two years National Service and then became a clergyman.

He was Rector of Newtimber with Pyecombe (1964-68); Vicar of St Luke’s, Brighton (1968-74); Team Vicar in the Resurrection Team Ministry, Brighton (1974-76); and finally Vicar of Peacehaven (197694). He once returned to preach in the Chapel. “I was never asked back,” he once recalled with a smile.

“I wonder why?!”

Written by his daughter Elizabeth

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LISTINGS

Barrie attended Downside Preparatory School before joining his older brother, John (East 46) at Cranleigh. He recalled cycling from his home in Purley in his last year at school when there was serious petrol rationing.

Knowing from an early age that he wanted to go into the hospitality sector, Barrie left Cranleigh to attend Westminster Hotel School where he gained a First-Degree Diploma in Hotel Operations.

Following his National Service with the Army Catering Corps, he joined the team at J Lyons & Co as a senior

WEBB, P.G. (PETER)

management trainee in charge of Outdoor Catering.

It was a natural progression to set his sights on becoming a hotel manager and in 1957 this came to fruition at Heathlands Hotel in Bournemouth. In 1972 he was appointed Managing Director of Lanz Hotels, at the time comprising four hotels in the Bournemouth area, and by the end of the decade the group had added numerous other businesses to its portfolio.

He was a dedicated, hardworking man who demanded the highest standards from his staff. He was fair

but firm and always understood the value of quality training, achieving intense staff loyalty as a result. He remained with the group until his retirement in 2009.

supporting Greyfriars, a community facility in Ringwood, and regularly held garden parties at their home to raise funds for this and other causes.

He led a busy and active life. A lifelong member of Bournemouth Rotary from 1968 until his death, he was also a JP from 1983 to 2002.

During the 1990s he was Chairman of Inter Hotels and held nonexecutive directorships of the Dorset Health Authority, Dorset Health Commission and Bournemouth & Poole College. Latterly, he and his wife devoted much of their time to

Barrie was married twice; to Susie in 1959 with whom he had four daughters, and to Ann in 1973.

He retained a keen interest in the school throughout his life and during his final visit in June 2022, his recollections spoke of the happy times he had spent there.

Written by Andrew Sindall, nephew (East 1976)

LEFT IN 1950s

West 1944-1949

Peter died on 6 May 2022 aged 90 Peter Webb almost did not go to Cranleigh at all. His Barclays Bank scholarship examination, and the interview in London which followed, were both interrupted by the detonation of Doodlebugs nearby. Having been awarded the scholarship he was offered a place at Epsom College, but was persuaded to choose Cranleigh when given a tour of the school by one of his father’s heroes, England rugby international, H.P.Jacob, who became his housemaster in West along with his childhood friend Derek Johnson (West 1949). In later life, he fondly remembered a school skiing trip to St. Moritz with future rugby international Jeff Clements among others.

After Cranleigh came National Service, then marriage to Angela and a career as a Chartered Accountant, working on a range of projects from the Volta Dam in Ghana, through Sperry Gyroscope torpedoes, to the manufacture of Douglas Bader’s legs!

Despite a spell in the OC 2nd XV Peter never quite made it on the rugby field, but for six decades from the 1960s onwards he was regularly seen on court at Birtley Lawn Tennis Club near Cranleigh until, in his mid-80s, his forehand finally deserted him. He spent many happy hours painting portraits in his art studio, and when the muse was not with him he’d be found in his study running the Surrey Tax Action Group, of which he was founder, chairman, and a proud and constant thorn in the side of generations of local politicians and government ministers.

Peter died at Eastbury Manor Nursing Home after a fall during the Covid lockdown had left him frustratingly immobile for the last two years of his life.

He is survived by his son Graham (1 North 1978), daughter Stella (St. Catherines), and grandsons Toby and Jack.

ASHWORTH, R.H (BOB)

1&4 South 1946-1950

Bob died on 15 November 2023 aged 91 Bob Ashworth led, as his widow Paula wrote, “a very adventurous life”. At Cranleigh he was in the 1st XV and after leaving did his National Service with the RAF. From there he went to Cambridge to read engineering. In later years he split his time between the UK and the South of France. A lover of classic cars and motorbikes, in 1995 he undertook a solo 10,000 km motorcycle trip round Argentina.

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DEATHS LEFT IN 1950s

Tony Butcher was never particularly interested in sports, but succeeded academically, winning an Armstrong Memorial Prize in 1949 and in 1951 being awarded an exhibition in history by Sidney Sussex College Cambridge. On leaving Cranleigh he went straight to university as he had been ruled as unfit for National Service. “I had an excellent education and I am satisfied Cranleigh prepared me for my career,” he wrote in 2012.

BRETT, R.B. (BARRY) West 1950-1955 Barry died on 5 October 2024 aged 87

He spent four years at Cambridge, reading law. After graduating he was called to the Bar in February 1957 and in the same year he joined the set of chambers to which he belonged, through its various changes of name and location, for the whole of his professional career. Tony came to be regarded as one of the leaders in the field of construction law and, in time, took silk, became a Recorder, and was

Robert Barrington Brett (‘Barry’) was born 2 years before the onset of WWII and spent his formative years in Bramley, where the family ran Bramley Linen Care (also to be found in Cranleigh!).

Barry started at Cranleigh Prep in 1945. In some memories he recently wrote of his school days, he spoke of his love of latin and rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer, the latter continuing as a hobby well into his adult life.

It was while at Cranleigh Prep that he discovered his lifelong love of choral singing, encouraged by his grandfather who had discerned a voice with some promise. He later joined the choir of the newlyconsecrated Guildford Cathedral, remaining with them until 1974. In one of his School reports a housemaster had written ‘He has some

BUTCHER, A.J (TONY) KC

1 North 1947-1952

Tony died on 27 December 2023 aged 89

good qualities. I hope that ambition will soon be one of them.’!! After school he did two years National Service in the RAF. Barry met Eileen in September 1957 during his final months of National Service. He then trained to be a maths teacher at St. Luke’s College Exeter, graduating in 1963. Barry and Eileen married that summer, knowing that he had secured a teaching position at France Hill

CHIPPERFIELD, G.H (SIR GEOFFREY, KCB) 2 North 1946-1951 Sir Geoffrey died on 30 January 2024 aged 90

School. By 1968 he was teaching at Strodes School in Egham and their second child arrived in 1970. Strodes became a Sixth Form College in 1975 and Barry was made a highlyrespected Head of Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1998.

During his long life, singing, family and faith remained constants that sustained him even through the loss of his beloved wife of 56

Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield was evacuated at the outbreak of World War Two to a remote village called Jarrow, Alberta. He put his later educational achievements down to the extraordinary teaching foundation of the young man who educated all the village children, of all ages, in one room. On his return to the UK in 1946 he went to Cranleigh School, where he later related, that with a childhood on the Canadian prairies, he was well equipped to deal with the freezing, unheated boarding school life of England in the late 1940s, including the infamous winter of 1947.

At Cranleigh he excelled academically, and maintained a lifelong friendship with his housemaster Pat Maguire. In 1952 he went up to New College Oxford to read history, and subsequently graduated with a first in Jurisprudence. He was called to the bar at Gray’s Inn in 1955, but chose not to practice, but instead to embark on a career in public service.

years in 2019. They were lifelong members of the same church and had sung God’s praise together in many different vocal groups during that time, with the exception of Dad’s Barbershop Quartet, The Millionheirs! Barry was singing publicly in church just 3 days before his death, on 5th October 2024, which is just what he would have wanted. He is much missed by his two children and four grandchildren.

Written by his daughter Rachel Boxer

The following year, he entered HM Civil Service and had a varied career culminating in Permanent Secretary in the Department of Energy, and as CEO of the Property Services Agency. He was appointed and promoted to Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1992 Birthday Honours. After leaving the Civil Service he was Deputy Chairman of South West Water, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Kent and longstanding secretary to the Foundation for Science and Technology.

He was always proud of his Welsh roots, his time at Cranleigh, and he was a committed public servant and European. He was devoted to his wife Gillian, who he married in 1959, and to his sons Giles and Oliver and to his granddaughter Olivia.

Written by his son Oliver Chipperfield.

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LISTINGS

probably the happiest years of his life. Cranleigh prepared him well for life.”

Chairman of the Official Referees’ Bar Association.

In 1949 he married Maureen Workman and they had three children. Theirs was a wonderfully happy marriage, cut short by Maureen’s tragically early death in 1982. After that bereavement, Tony devoted himself to his steadily growing family, to his Newfoundland dogs, and to the institutions which he loved. One of those institutions was the Bar itself. Another was his Inn of Court, Gray’s, where he fulfilled many roles, including Dean of Chapel and, in 2003-4, Treasurer. A third was the Garrick Club, of which he was Chairman between 1996-2002.

Tony was a man of great kindness, wisdom, wit and urbanity, who is greatly missed.

Written by his son, Sir Christopher Butcher MA PhD

COOKE, J (JOHN)

On leaving Cranleigh he joined his step father’s business before becoming Managing Director of a leading manufacturing firm making expanded polystyrene.

LEIGHTON, P. (PETER)

2&3 South 1950-1954

He maintained his interest in sport throughout his life, initially with the OCRFC. He was a regular tennis player, a member of the village snooker team, a member of Brooke Hill Golf Club and in the latter years a very keen Boules player. He leaves behind his wife of 64 years Ann, two sons and four grandchildren.

Peter died on 4 December 2023 aged 87 Written by his son Mark Leighton Peter Leighton was an exceptional sportsman at Cranleigh, playing for the 1st XI at both cricket and hockey and the 2nd XV at rugby.

He also represented Cranleigh at athletics and fives, winning colours

in both, as well as taking an active part in many societies. His son wrote that he was “a passionate supporter and follower of all things to do with Cranleigh School … he loved the years he spent there,

2 North 1949-1953 – John died on 31 December 2023 aged 87

John Cooke, friend to many OCs, died on New Year’s Eve 2023, after a short illness. John started his Cranleigh life at the Junior School before moving to 2 North in 1949 where he developed his love of sport and forged lasting friendships.

On leaving school he did National Service with the West African Frontier Force in Nigeria, a time of great enjoyment – not much soldiering but plenty of opportunity to play sport even representing Nigeria in international hockey and cricket tournaments.

After National Service he went to Durham University where he graduated with a degree in psychology. He worked in the field of occupational psychology before setting up his own company with his wife Pauline. Their company specialised in career advice, midlife and pre-retirement planning. During this time John was playing rugby and cricket for the OCs in addition to club cricket for Wimbledon and finally Dorking.

He then began a love of longdistance walking which took him all over the country. Having retired from his professional life John opened The

South Street Wine Bar in Dorking with Pauline and daughter Louise.

John quickly adapted to his new role expanding his knowledge on wines, stock control and cleaning.

The kindest of men who would find time to visit his friends, particularly so if they were ailing, many of whom were OCs. Greatly missed

by Pauline, Louise and son Andrew.

A life lived to the full and a truly lovely man.

Written by Peter Shelley (2 North 1965)

As a player John would make himself available for all OC cricket fixtures taking 252 wickets, a record which stood for many years. He was a member of the OC cricket tour to Kenya in 2001 where he played his last game. Thereafter he would be ever present as a supporter on Jubilee during the OC cricket week and at Cricketer Cup matches.

On the rugby front John played at Thames Ditton whenever he could but his most enjoyable rugby was in the ‘B’ XV at the end of his playing career. John then took on the role of setting up lunches for former players. The Golden Oldies lunches were run with military precision and continue to this day. Always present on the touchline at TD to lend his support to the OC 1st XV. John would never miss the annual Over 70s Reunion or any special commemoration or celebration to do with the School or the Old Cranleighans.

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DEATHS

John McLachlan was an excellent senior prefect at a very difficult time in the School’s history. He also excelled at sport where he represented the 1st XV and 1st XI hockey, drama and music and was a member of the British Schools Exploring Society which memorably took him to Finland and close to the Russian border. In his final term he was awarded the Allen Medal, given to the boy who was considered to have contributed most throughout the year to the welfare of the School.

LEFT IN 1950s LUXTON W. R. (BILL) East 1954-1958 Bill died on 11 February 2024 aged 83 Bill Luxton’s family had lived in the Falkland Islands since 1864 and it was there he was born. In 1954 he was sent to complete his education in England. On leaving Cranleigh he worked on a farm on Romney Marsh, and that was where he met his first wife Hilary. They married and returned to the farm at Chartres in the Falkland Islands where they had two children. Bill spent the rest of his life there. After his divorce he married Pat who had come from the UK to work on the farm as book-keeper. They had one son, Stephen (East 1991). Pat died in 1995.

In 1978, four years before the Argentinian invasion, Bill presciently wrote to the Cranleighan: “What with talks with Argentina, oil, mini-invasions, fishing, shooting up British and Polish ships in the area and so on there is never a dull moment.” When the invading soldiers arrived Bill, well known as a fierce critic of Argentina, defied the enemy orders to stay in Port

After Cranleigh he attended Glasgow University to study Agriculture, moving on to Auchincruive in Ayrshire in order to study practical agriculture for two years. It was at Glasgow that he met his future wife to whom he would remain married for over 60 years. After graduating in 1962 he began work as an Assistant Land Agent for Durham County Council. As he developed a talent in Industrial Relations John took his growing family to Dunlop in the West Midlands and British Gas in the North East of England. He ended his career as Director of Human Resources for Scottish Gas in Edinburgh while enjoying rural life in the Scottish Borders with Jessie and a succession of beloved dogs.

MCLACHLAN. J.A. (JOHN) East 1953-1958 John died on 15 November 2023 aged 84 Stanley, fleeing instead to their remote farm on West Falkland.

The couple were soon rounded up by a Special Forces team and deported. On arrival in the UK he was summoned to Downing Street to meet Mrs Thatcher. She wanted to know how the Falkland Islanders

John loved sailing and was an avid supporter of Scottish rugby. He also very much enjoyed motor racing, having competed in hill climbs as a young man. His interest in cars was lifelong, sharing this passion with his children and owning several classics of his own. He is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren and a greatgrandson.

really felt about the whole issue, because the cost of defending the Islands was likely to be high in money and lives. His reply left her in no doubt as to the strength of feeling among the islanders.

Luxton was subsequently a Member

RADBOURNE, R (RICHARD)

of the Legislative Council from 1989 to 2001 and served on the Executive Council of the Falkland Islands in the 1980s. He remained a vociferous critic of Argentina’s claims on the Falklands and the islanders right to self determination.

East 1954-1956

Richard died on 26 June 2024 aged 84 Richard joined Cranleigh in January 1954 following his brother, Michael (East 1950).

He left at 16 to work on the family farm (with Michael) in Lambourn, Berkshire. Always knowing that he was going to join the family farm when of age, he did not enjoy the academic side of Cranleigh but relished in the sport and represented the A team in rugby, hockey and cricket – the latter he played into his mid-forties for Wantage, close to the family farm, with his sons Richard and Nigel. Richard’s most memorable achievement was winning the East House snooker competition three years in a row, and beating the East House Captain in his first term – he had a snooker table at the family farmhouse! Beating the House Captain certainly earned him early respect amongst his cohort.

Richard was an outdoors man, with cricket, shooting and horse racing being some of his main passions and over the last 20 years relished in ‘picking up’ (rather than shooting) with his immaculately trained pack of black Labradors; he was never happier than being amongst nature.

Richard’s beloved wife, whom he married in 1967, sadly passed away in 1995 following a battle with cancer and he never re-married but took great interest in his family and his four granddaughters and his dogs.

Both Richard’s sons, Richard (East 1986) and Nigel (East 1988) attended the school as well as Nigel’s two daughters — Ana-Victoria (Anie) (Martlet 2021) and Karla (Martlet 2023).

Written by his son Nigel (East 1988)

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LISTINGS

LEFT IN 1960s in aviation, Richard developed wider commercial interests such as car leasing, software development and property investment.

A wonderfully engaging and humorous character, Richard was active in village life as a sidesman in the church, a helper at the village fete and the author of a beautifully written book on the history of Shipley. He delighted in taking friends for flights in his Tiger Moth or helicopter, sometimes from a local field.

A discerning collector of quality items, he attributed his love of books and reading to his English master at Cranleigh. He collected a set of first edition Penguin books, old school and station clocks, certain artwork, a 1939, 4.25 litre Bentley convertible and a 1949 Bristol 402. He designed and built a beautiful family villa in the South of France and was an enthusiastic cross-Channel sailor.

ANNIS, R.G. (RICHARD)

2&3 South 1961-1966

Richard died on 25 Agust 2024 aged 76 Richard was a popular, energetic and extremely capable polymath, aviator and entrepreneur. At Cranleigh, he was a house prefect, represented the school at hockey and played the oboe in the orchestra. But his great love was flying (he was a corporal in the RAF section of the CCF) and it was initially in the world of aviation that he achieved much of his success.

He graduated from Southampton University, then qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London.

He then worked as an accountant

BOB KNOX

1 North 1961

Bob died on 18 July 2023 aged 79 Bob enjoyed his time at Cranleigh and played all major sports, although none at first team level. He was also one of the first Cranleighans to achieve the Duke of Edinburgh’s

in South Africa and Brussels and found time to acquire a private pilot’s licence. Later, he spent six enjoyable, aeronautical months in Wiltshire operating as a ‘tug pilot’, launching gliders.

In 1975, he was able to combine his commercial and aviation interests by working in Dubai, and then Bahrain, as the FD of a company selling and maintaining helicopters and private jets. He married Hariot in 1976, and the family eventually returned to England to live in West Sussex, in 1984. While still involved

Silver Award. He went on to be a stalwart of the OCRFC for more than a decade before family and work become a priority. A chartered accountant, his career was spent with Kidsons Impey (now Baker Tilly) where he retired as a partner. He was very active in retirement immersing himself in many aspects of Ember Sports

A dedicated family man, he loved spending time with his three children (two of whom are now OCs - Charles {2&3 South 1996} and Olivia {South 2004}) and his nine grandchildren. As a notorious raconteur, Richard had the knack of seeming to lose the thread of his own convoluted stories, suffering fits of giggles, thereby eliciting tears of laughter from his hapless audience. At the conclusion of Richard’s funeral, the packed congregation enjoyed listening to his gifted friend playing the irreplaceable 1696 Stradivarius jointly owned by Richard!

Written by Colin Henderson and Charles Anniss 2&3 South (1991-1996)

COUCHMAN, J.R. (JIM) 2 North 1955-1960 Jim died on 16 November 2023 aged 81 After leaving Cranleigh in 1960, Jim attended King’s College Newcastle before working in the oil industry from 1964 to 1970, during this time he married the love of his life Barbara Heilbrun. Jim then joined the family business ‘Chiswick Caterers’ in 1970 working his way up from Publican to Director until he sold the business in 1995.

Whilst running pubs Jim embarked on a successful political career, first as a councillor for Bexley in 1974, becoming Chairman of Bexley Health Authority 1981-1983 before finally becoming the MP for Gillingham holding his seat until 1997.

As an MP Jim focused on the needs of his constituents with special interests around the Pub trade, Northern Ireland and the NHS, as well as leading the campaign in Parliament for the reform of Sunday trading laws.

Despite the loss of his parliamentary seat, Jim returned to politics as a member of Oxfordshire County Council in 2005 becoming a cabinet member in 2006 until retiring in 2013.

Jim and Barbara retired to Banstead, Surrey to be near family and friends.

Enjoying travelling the world and a busy social life, including being a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners.

Jim was kind, generous, loyal and well loved by all who shared in his life, leaving behind his beloved wife and constant support Barbara and their children Matthew and Victoria.

Written by his son, Matthew Couchman

Club which was on his doorstep, both as an administrator and an active and successful croquet player. He also returned to help the OC Club when it was at a low ebb in 2003 and his calm financial advice and scrupulous attention to detail proved invaluable. He is survived by his wife, Sue, and two daughters.

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LEFT IN 1960s DIMBLEBY, N. (NICK) 2 North 1960-1964 Nick died on 10 February 2024 aged 77 Nick Dimbleby failed the entrance exam to Charterhouse where both his older brothers had gone and his father gave him a choice between Epsom and Cranleigh. He chose wisely. He enjoyed the comparative freedom the school gave him at that time. He later said that he was mildly dyslexic (later diagnosed as acute astigmatism) and one of the things he really enjoyed was making things with his hands. At Cranleigh, the art room was his ‘refuge’ and he decided to train as a sculptor. He also represented the 1st XV for three seasons as well as acting in two major Shakespeare productions.

“Academically, I was a no-hoper like my father,” he said. “He was impressed by my brothers’ brilliance at school but had no brief for great academic success.

He believed you should take your chances and exploit your own skills, a slightly rogue spirit we all inherited … risk-taking, rather goit-alone.”

He went to Edinburgh College of Art and then to Goldsmiths College, London, where he met his future wife Kay, a trainee music teacher.

They married in 1971 (he made a harpsichord for her as a wedding present) and remained in London while Nicholas worked as an assistant to the abstract sculptor William Pye. But commissions were few and far between so he took whatever work he could to make ends meet, including digging slurry pits and making wooden gates. “Big public commissions are few and far between,” he said years later. “A lot of the time it’s wondering where the next job is coming from... You can be poor very often. But I look around and see the rest of the world and think I’m so lucky. It’s a great privilege, and great fun.”

Craving a quieter life, Nick and Kay moved to France where, to help

Above, Nick in his studio with the maquettes for Leaving Left, Nick in the School's production of Othello in 1965

to honour doctors who died during the Covid pandemic, unveiled by Professor Sir Chris Whitty in 2022.

make ends meet, they bred rabbits and chickens, grew their own food and did work to the house they were living in as rent.

After a year they returned to Britain and set up home in Devon, where he and brother Jonathan bought a rundown manor house in Clyst Hydon, Nicholas buying out his brother’s share when the family newspaper business, set up by their great-grandfather in 1870, was sold.

There they brought up their four children as Nicholas’s reputation as a sculptor grew.

He ranged widely in his work, developing a niche in sporting heroes, his subjects including the likes of Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Redgrave. Lifecasts he did of his own children as they grew led to private commissions including making a foot cast of the one-year-old Lady Louise Windsor for her parents, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.

He also did several pieces for the King when he was Prince of Wales.

Memorials include one to his father, Richard, which was unveiled at Westminster Abbey in 1 990, and a memorial sculpture commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians

Nick also helped to keep alive the art of traditional firebacks; he had been fascinated by the collection of 18th-century firebacks at Petworth House since he was a child. Many years later a neighbour was restoring a hunting lodge in Scotland and asked for one based on the owner’s coat of arms. “At first I was doubtful. I thought the brief was very constrained and would give me no room for expression, but I was quickly humbled by the challenges of such detailed modelling,” he told Country Life.

He remained his own harshest critic.

“It’s nice to have sculpture, and people can go [to see it],” he said.

“But when you make a sculpture, I put it out there, and it’s gone from me. When I go and see a piece I’ve done, all I ever see are the mistakes.”

He was, almost inevitably, often asked whether he regretted not following the media careers of David and Jonathan. “I often think that my brothers must be envious of me,” he said. “My sculptures go off to the clients and I’m left with the plaster casts, my ghosts. But when my brothers go on television in front of millions of viewers, the cameras stop and that’s it. My work goes on sustaining me, but theirs is gone with the sunrise.”

His obituary in the Daily Telegraph

said that “it was the life that he breathed into his creations – and their emotional truth – that struck reviewers. His Leaving, the war memorial unveiled at the front of Cranleigh School in 2015, was described in The Good Schools Guide as “the most moving war memorial ever seen in a school”.

His last work, a life-size figure of Samuel Taylor Coleridge unveiled in 2022 outside the parish church at Ottery St Mary, Devon, captured a youthful poet as if he was on a country walk, notebook and pen in hand.

A few months after the unveiling, Nick experienced the first symptoms of MND. In 2023 he recorded a a two-part conversation with his brother Jonathan in which he talked about living with the disease and reflected on the consolation he found in creativity. “Last Christmas, before his diagnosis,” wrote the Telegraph’s reviewer Charlotte Runcie, “Nicholas cooked the lunch for 17 Dimblebys and was right in the heart of the ‘boisterous’ conversation. But by February he was falling over in the street, his muscles flickering under his skin like a lightbulb about to cut out. By May his voice was deserting him. In the summer, he could no longer eat without choking... I listened in floods of tears, and you probably will, too.

But you’ll never forget it.”

Kay survives him with their two sons and two daughters.

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LISTINGS

LEFT IN 1970s

LEFT IN 1980s CONNELLY, M.V. (MARK) Loveday 1983-1988 Mark died on 22 July 2024 aged 53 Mark Connelly studied law at Exeter University and went on to have a very successful career in the City in corporate finance and flotations working initially for Beeson Gregory and eventually at Centros Security. He represented the golf side at Cranleigh and played in the Halford Hewitt from 1989 to 2008 winning more than half his matches playing with own distinctive swing and style. Mark is survived by his four children.

Written by Tony Whitty, 1&4 South 1983

GREGSON, P.J. (PROFESSOR SIR PETER) Cubitt 1971-1976 Peter died on 23 February 2024 aged 66 On leaving Cranleigh Peter Gregson joined GKN Rolled and Bright Steel Ltd. as an industrial scholar. He studied metallurgy and materials science at Imperial College London and graduated with a BEng (First Class) materials science in 1980, and was awarded the Bessemer Prize. He obtained a PhD from Imperial in 1983, and was awarded the Matthey Prize.

That year he was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Southampton and became professor of Aerospace Materials in 1995.

During his research career, he published over 160 papers, books and patents with over 80 being in premier academic journals. He went on to become Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton (2000–04).

In 2004 he became president and ViceChancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, repositioning the university academically, gaining accession to the Russell Group in 2006.

He served as director of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (2008–2013) and director of Association of Commonwealth Universities (2011–2015). He was appointed Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University in 2013.

SAMUEL M.M.G. (MARK)

1&4 South 1982-1987

Mark died on 25 October 2023 aged 54 I first met Mark at prep school when we were 11 and we then moved on to Cranleigh together in 1982.

Mark was a popular pupil and a true character, sometimes a tad mischievous and he owed a lot to Christopher Allen, his housemaster, for ensuring he completed his tenure right through to the upper 6th in 1987 He loved all sports and was passionate about his beloved Welsh Rugby heroes of the 1970s.

Whilst he did not represent the school 1st XV, he was an avid supporter on the sidelines, often bellowing humorous words of encouragement After Cranleigh, Mark attended UEA and then headed to the City and worked at Lloyds of London for Willis Faber. However, it was his love of sport that led him to set up his own sports PR company in the late 90s and he mixed with many sporting elites, in Formula One and Football.

Mark remained a bachelor and loved to mix business with pleasure. He was a notorious party goer and kept in touch with a tight group of his OC contemporaries throughout. However, Mark loved the high life and in many ways never wanted the party to end and this ultimately led to a progressive deterioration in his health over the last five years.

Sadly for us and his family, this lifestyle could not be sustained and Mark passed away at his home in Godalming in October last year. I, and other OCs, spoke with him in the weeks leading up to his passing and despite it all, his wit and wicked sense of humour never faltered. Many OCs including Christopher Allen attended his funeral in December last year and we have lost a flamboyant character who will be dearly missed.

Written by Andrew Grant (2&3 South 1982-1987)

Away from academia, among other roles he was a non-executive director of Rolls-Royce Group plc (2007–12), and a consultant to Alcan International and Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics (1986–2004).

LEFT IN 2010s

He was awarded a knighthood for services to higher education in 2011. He leaves a wife, Rachael, who he married in 1983 and three daughters.

After leaving Cranleigh Joe went to study at Trinity Collge, Oxford where he was a Junior Fellow at Effective Alturism and a member of the Oxford Union. Whilst at Oxford he offered professional tutoring in the Humanities at all levels and expert university application guidance. He was awarded a BA in Philosphy and Theology in the summer of 2023.

MELLOR, J.K.R. (JOE)

Loveday 2013-2018

Joe died on 21 October 2023 aged 24

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DEATHS LEFT IN 2010s

MCR & BURSARIAL PAM EMMS 1960-1970 It is said that governing bodies tend to acquire two for the price of one when appointing Heads and that was certainly the case when they chose David Emms in 1960. Pam Emms, like David, was only 34 when they and their young family arrived at Cranleigh, but she threw herself into all aspects of school life (including regularly challenging the “sporty” wives to matches on the staff court in full view of the old Common Room).

LORD, W. J. (WESTON)

Cubitt 2010-2015

Weston died on 17 June 2024 aged 27 Weston James Lord passed away on the 17th of June 2024, at the age of 27, surrounded by his family and girlfriend. He defied the odds of his Acute Myeloid Leukemia diagnosis at 19, battling through eight years of treatment with grace, humor, and an abundance of love. It has been an honor to witness such a human, such a life. The sheer grit and determination he displayed in creating meaning, in controlling his narrative amidst such adversity, is something we will never forget. He adapted, evolved, and transformed—and through it all, he found joy and laughter above all else. We know he would have been pleased with how he left this world, his playlist titled “Dying Like a Hero Coming Home” blasting through the hospital walls, with his loved ones calling out for him to soar.

Though his life was cut short, Weston lived it fully. He wanted to live with all his heart, and he lived hard. Studying those who had suffered before him, he rose to the challenge and created a life rich in love, music, adrenaline, and the wise tales of philosophers. There is peace in knowing his suffering is over, yet to wish the journey had never happened would be to wish away the very elements that made Weston so great.

Cranleigh was a huge part of Weston’s story, playing a pivotal role in shaping the remarkable person he became — dear friends, sports, drama, music, choreographing and teaching the fourth form dance, Gatley’s burgers, after prep walks and trying to sing louder and for longer than anyone else in chapel!

Weston was in Cubitt House from 2010 to 2015, and there was little he didn’t throw himself into with boundless enthusiasm. A passionate actor, he was involved in at least one play each term and was a member of National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, pouring his heart and soul into every performance.

Some of his most memorable roles included Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the Wolf in Into the Woods, and Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off. One of Weston’s greatest achievements at Cranleigh was winning the Drama Prize at Speech Day, just before he left for California to study Film and Business at USC. Weston also excelled in sports, serving as Sports Prefect and playing on the 1st XI hockey team from UVth through to his departure. He made the most of his time at Cranleigh, and his warm, kind, and occasionally cheeky nature endeared him to friends and teachers alike.

A quote that Weston loved, and which beautifully encapsulates his short but abundant life, is “Vi veri universum vivus vici”, meaning: “By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.”

He is survived by his parents, Karina and Brad, his sisters, Abigail, Olivia and Georgia, and his niece, Margot who miss him every day.

Many years later David said he could not have survived his initial difficult years without Pam’s unstinting support. On his leaving in 1970 the Cranleighan noted: “David has been very much a family man, supported by a gracious wife, and delighting in his growing children, their personalities and successes. This, undoubtedly, has been very close to his heart; and his utter immersion in the fortunes of the School could not have persisted without the other to sustain him.” Another noted that Pam gave him “a background of serenity”.

From Cranleigh Pam and David went to Sherborne and then Dulwich, finally retiring to Kent.

BRIAN DIMMOCK MCR 1957-1995 Died 1st July 2024 Brian Dimmock came to Cranleigh in 1957 from Wadham College, Oxford, joining a Mathematics department of which, some seven years later, he took charge. Under his direction it grew to be one of the largest in the school.

On Brian’s retirement after 38 years (not quite a record although his 31 years as head of the Maths department certainly is), Ray Dunnett wrote: “ As a mathematician Brian towered above almost all those who taught in his department and he was rarely defeated by any examination question. As a teacher of boys and girls, especially the more academic ones, he instilled and encouraged a real appreciation for both the beauty and usefulness of the subject and was firm in his demands for elegance and succinctness in written work. Yet he did this with a surprisingly light touch most memorably perhaps the little dance involving a shake of the hips, a shuffle of the feet and a characteristic flourish of the pen.”

The shake of the hips led to his long-lasting nickname of Disco – “there was nothing malicious or unpleasant in this soubriquet … it was given and used with real affection and appreciation” Dunnett added.

Away from Maths, he was part of West for all but two terms of his time, he ran several rugger teams (including the 2nd XV), the squash and the chess and for years he was a meticulous chief time-keeper for the athletics. In his final decade at Cranleigh, after a preparatory spell in charge of internal examinations, he ran the external ones.

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LISTINGS

ANDREW CORRAN MCR 1968-1995 When we look into space we look back in time, to worlds that may or not be inhabited. As I look back at the article below, published in The Cranleighan in 1989, I look back, as will many of us, at a world that was both inhabited and enhanced by Andrew Corran. Cranleigh fifty years ago was a very different place from the school of today: a place with, rightly or wrongly, more freedoms and different responsibilities. The life evoked in the tribute to his Housemastership of 2 North will inevitably strike some readers as nostalgic, others as remote, even anachronistic.

But it was a life relished by Andrew and all those with whom he came into contact: boys, girls, colleagues, friends; in the House, in the classroom, on the sports field and at Mannings Hill, where Andrew and Gay so often and so generously made their house an extension of the House. Ben Jonson wrote of Shakespeare that he was not of an age but for all time.

My own, rather lesser words written 35 years ago continue, I hope, to speak for themselves with an immediacy which cannot be recreated, but which remain as a testimony to the many qualities which transcend educational philosophies and which made Andrew the schoolmaster and the man that he was.

Alan Smith MCR 1973-2011

FROM THE CRANLEIGHAN 1989 As this magazine appears under new editorship, so 2 North, for the first time in 15 years, will be under new ownership. It would be possible to look back through the last 25 issues of The Cranleighan and discover some at least of what has gone on in 2 North during AJC's time there; indeed, it is an exercise that might well appeal to a statistically-minded member of the House. Such an investigator would find ample evidence of success measured by the traditional criteria of a boarding school: an outstanding sporting record in terms of House games and those representing the School; numerous House Plays and actors in School productions; House Concerts and talented individual performers; Oxbridge Scholarships.

In the eight years from 1974 to 1982, 2 North provided five Senior Prefects; in the following seven years under a new prefectorial system, the House has provided 15 School Prefects including three Senior Prefects and two Deputies. You name it, and it is pretty certain that at some stage 2 North has done it. It has obviously been a pretty talented (in some cases, as AJC would readily admit, pretty and talented) bunch of girls and boys. But talent will not always out, as even the most

idealistic school- master will tell you. That it was attracted, and that it flourished, says much for the man at the top.

So do the achievements of the less obviously gifted Just what has made the House work? There is a story which ends in St Peter's Square, Rome with two figures on the papal balcony. One of the crowd gathered below is heard to turn to his companion and say, "I don't know who the one in white is, but the one next to him is Andrew Corran." AJC's circle of sporting and other connections is legendary and may even be factual: but both legend and fact have as their basis his capacity to get on with people. It is this talent which he has brought to bear in 2 North: a remarkable insight into human nature and sympathy with what makes the young mind work - or not, as the case may be.

Which is not to say that he is soft: no one can ever accuse him of refusing to tackle a problem with any member of the House. But when he does so he has the ability to rebuke and inspire in the same sentence: not to pull punches but to offer away forward. His view is that boys will always make mistakes, and sometimes the better the boy the greater the mistake, and that he as Housemaster will give room for this to happen, warning in advance and picking up the pieces afterwards in an effort to guide those in his charge to a responsible adulthood He will defend a weak boy to the full - up to the stage where it is no longer in the boy's own interests to do so. All this is a potentially dangerous strategy, maximum risk and maximum reward, and cannot be operated by anyone who is not essentially a big man, willing and able to justify his decisions to boys, parents, colleagues, headmasters That this approach is appreciated later, if not always at the time, was movingly demonstrated at the end of the summer term, when over 150 old boys and parents came back for a farewell dinner at Mannings Hill: in many ways the natural culmination of so many House evenings generously hosted by Andrew and Gay, who in her own right has proffered comfort and wise counsel to those who on occasion have thought a particular school day not the happiest of their lives. Neither Andrew nor the House would have been the same without her stylish and sensitive presence, her influence on so many of the successes.

Can such a paragon of Housemagisterial virtue have had faults? No one but the Welsh, the smokers, the bearded or those who wear hats while driving could ever accuse Andrew of prejudice. No one but the House Tutor who was told the same piece of information five times during a 25-minute break could fault Corran's memory. No one but the listener who has tried to keep Andrew on a topic he does not want to be on might think his mind ever had a tendency to wander. But the prejudice would be overcome if a bearded Welsh be-hatted driver were in trouble; the memory would always allow a promise of help to be kept; and the mind has shown a capacity for lateral thinking which has pointed away forward from a host of seemingly impossible situations. This heady mixture of talent, experience and understanding has been offered to the members of 2 North for 15 years by a man often heavily committed on other fronts: the manner in which the offer has been taken up is, in itself, tribute and testimonial to Andrew Corran's time there.

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STARTING UNIVERSITY IN 2024

WHO’S WHERE SURNAME FORENAME LEAVING YEAR

HOUSE

Adams Aldridge-Bate Allen Anayi Anstey Arengo-Jones Arthur Backhouse Barr Bartels Batchelor Beaumont Betts Biggs Bown Boyd Bridges

Edward Benjamin Oliver Oliver Tobias Jake Jack Skye Charlotte Josh Jemima Lauren Amy Benjamin Winifred Benjamin Barnaby

2024 2024 2024 2023 2024 2023 2023 2023 2024 2023 2023 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024

L N C L N L C W S C R M W E R C N

Brookes Cooper Copson Cruickshank Cunningham Dark Davis Dawson Derrick Desler Dodsworth Dowds Evans Farrant Fewings Francis Gerrard Gevisser Glaister Gratton Gray Haines Hall Hall Hanssen

Harry Tom Ed Emma Max James Millie Helena Jack Scarlett Alexander Samuel Elliot Rafe Freddie Samuel Max Lois Charlotte Oscar Rory Jack Grace Juliette Maximillian

2023 2024 2023 2023 2023 2024 2023 2023 2023 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024

E L E M E C R S C R L L E L C L E S S E E N S W L

Harrison Harvey Hauger Hodgson Hollidge Hopkins Hounsell

Henry Ben Elizabeth Thomas Isabelle Rhys Dominic

2024 2023 2023 2024 2023 2024 2024

N L S N S L N

House House Hughes Hurd Jason Jeffery

Emilia Tallulah Alexa Benjamin Grace Isabelle

2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024

M R R C R R

DESTINATION

COURSE

Exeter International Relations Newcastle Combined Honours Bath Business with Work Placement Bath Social Sciences Oxford Brookes Sport Management Exeter Politics and Economics Exeter Geography Bristol Politics and Sociology Bath Sport Management Sussex Finance & Technology Nottingham Medicine Edinburgh History and Politics York English and Philosophy Newcastle Geography Oxford Brookes Digital Marketing Durham Physics Exeter Business Economics with Industrial Experience Birmingham History and Politics Cardiff Human Geography and Planning Oxford Brookes Real Estate Exeter Business Management Manchester Politics and International Relations Leeds Product Design Liverpool Communication, Media and Politics Newcastle Urban Planning Bath Aerospace Engineering Nottingham Chemistry Cardiff Business Management (Marketing) Loughborough Accounting and Finance York Music York Mechanical Engineering Bristol Economics and Management Sheffield Materials Science and Engineering Edinburgh Finance and Business Exeter Media and Communications Edinburgh International Relations Southampton Computer Science Exeter Economics and Finance Leeds Product Design Oxford Brookes Sport and Exercise Science Edinburgh Biochemistry Exeter Mathematics with Finance and a Year in Industry Loughborough Mechanical Engineering Newcastle International Business Management Oxford Brookes Digital Marketing Lancaster Business Economics Bath Sport Management and Coaching Bristol Politics and International Relations Exeter Business and Management with a Year Abroad Bristol Theatre and English Exeter Communications Exeter Liberal Arts York Business Management Durham English and History Loughborough International Business (with Placement Year)

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STARTING UNIVERSITY IN 2024

SURNAME FORENAME LEAVING YEAR

HOUSE

DESTINATION

COURSE

Johnson

Emilia

2024

M

Newcastle

Architecture and Urban Planning

King

Christopher

2024

L

Nottingham

Economics

Kuhle

Tobias

2024

L

Cardiff

Geography

Lamidi

Adetiwa

2024

W

Reading

Law

Larmer

Ozzy

2024

L

Bristol

Mechanical Engineering

Lawes

Georgia

2023

W

Newcastle

Medicine and Surgery

Le Masurier

Lucy

2024

M

Liverpool

Veterinary Medicine

Lindsay

Edward

2024

L

Bath International Development with Economics with professional placement

Lock

Victoria

2023

W

Newcastle

Food Business Management and Marketing

Malhotra

Aarav

2024

L

Loughborough

Management (with Placement Year)

Mansfield

Marcus

2024

N

Southampton Solent

Sports Journalism

Martin McCambridge Moore Morley Morrogh Mountford Nichols Niel Ohlson Oliver Olsen Perren-Pote Phillips Prest Quinn Reynolds Robinson Roe Sabben-Clare Saxon Senai Sheppard

Jamie Phoebe Sophie Eva Harry Benjamin Milly Theo Libby Joy Nicola Joel Amelia Anna Callum Alice Barnaby Milo Edward Gabriella Yagmur Catherine

2023 2024 2024 2024 2023 2024 2024 2024 2023 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024

C W M S N N W E W W M C W M C M E L E W W R

Slevin Smith Spooner Stehlik Stinton Surtees Syvret Taylor

Grace Charlotte Charlie Stirling Tabitha Poppy Effie Edward

2024 2023 2024 2024 2024 2023 2024 2024

M S E C R W M N

Taylor Turpin Tyrwhitt-Drake Vitek Walker Wartski Whitlam

Miles Charles Daisy Kristina Scott Matthew Felix

2023 2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023

E E R R L E C

Wilson Wong Yeldham Zhang

Emilie Aidan Freddie Lily

2024 2024 2024 2024

R N L M

Bath International Development with Economics Oxford Classics II Cambridge Modern Languages Cardiff International Business Management Durham Combined Honours in Social Sciences Cardiff Business Management Leeds Fashion Marketing Newcastle Geography Cardiff Computer Science Loughborough Product Design Exeter Drama Newcastle Business Management Newcastle Sociology Exeter Drama York History St Andrew’s English and History Exeter Economics and Finance Cardiff Geography Exeter Business and Management Exeter Communications Exeter Arabic and French Nottingham Medicinal and Biological Chemistry with an Assessed Year in Industry Newcastle Sociology Cardiff English Literature with Creative Writing Northumbria Sports Management Newcastle Ancient History Exeter Art History with Visual Culture Durham Chemistry Nottingham Trent Fashion Design SCIT - Bletchley Digital Technologies - Cyber Security and Networking Birmingham International Business Bristol Computer Science Hartpury Animal Behaviour and Training Regent’s, London Business and Management Durham Combined Social Sciences Durham English Literature Newcastle (Food) Business Management and Marketing Oxford Brookes Business and Management Exeter Business Management Newcastle Agri-Business Management University of the Arts Fine Art

The details on these pages are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of printing

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NEWS OF OCS AND COMMON ROOM LEFT IN 1940s In June the Stovold Memorial Garden was opened at West Surrey Golf Club. A bench in memory of former OCGS president and captain Bob Stovold (West 1949), his wife Pat and son Stuart was installed in the garden near the second green. Several OCs including Dudley Couper (1 North 1953), Philip Truett (1 North 1960) and David Willis (West 1959) were among 50 guests at the opening.

Angus Stovold spoke of the family’s long association with golf and Bob’s love of the OCGS. He thanked all those who generously contributed to the memorial including the OCGS

CRESSALL, PETER 1 North 1948 Peter lives in Argentina and at the age of 93 still manages to walk nine (and occasionally more) holes of golf.

WORDSWORTH, BRYAN 1 North 1949 Bryan and his wife Mik moved house about a year ago. Still in Devon it is sadly now too far for them to travel to reunions at the School “on account of various bits falling off, and having given up driving in the interests of public safety ….”. His sense of humour is nonetheless well intact and he is pictured with a Merriman Bear and his latest great granddaughter born earlier this year.

LEFT IN 1960s FOSTER-PEDLEY, JON 1&4 South 1967 From Cranleigh School Jon went to RAF College, Cranwell. After a varied career too peripatetic to describe including being an airline pilot, he is now busy building a fastgrowing business school in Africa for Henley Business School UK as dean and director, the only quadrupleaccredited business school in Africa.

He is also chairman of the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa, a Distinguished Professor at Woxsen University India and involved in sustainability, education, leadership and strategy education and writing. He no longer flies but nostalgically visits his old aerobatic Pitts Special G-AZPH from time to time – it is now hanging upside down

in the Science Museum London.

He is married to Dr Karla with two teenage children and is happy to connect with visiting OCs.

RUSBRIDGER, ALAN 1 North 1967 In 2021 Alan stepped down as Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, after six years in post. He has been Editor of Prospect Magazine since 2021 and a member of the Facebook Oversight Board.

His book, News and How to Use It, was published by Canongate in 2020. Alan has also been awarded his fifth honorary degree of Doctor in Letters, from Trinity College, Dublin.

RUSH, JONATHAN 2 North 1967 His latest book, A Remarkable Stillness, was published at the end of 2023. It is based on the true story of Australian schoolgirl, Win Marshall, who was studying music in London at the outbreak of World War Two.

cricket and tennis home and abroad and attending musical concerts as well as plenty of family childcare.

Richard made it back to the School this July for the first time in a very long time in order to play at the OC Golf Day. Richard lives in East Anglia and would love to hear from any OCs in the area.

STOCKS, RICHARD West 1968 Richard retired from the NHS in 2014 after 30 years as a Consultant Paediatrician in Norfolk; specialised in oncology and rheumatology.

Having married in 1988 he and his wife have eight grown-up children between them, and 11 grandchildren.

They have put retirement to good use travelling extensively, watching

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LISTINGS

LEFT IN 1960s BISHOP, NIGEL 2&3 South 1966 Nigel has been a frequent visitor to the School this year. In March it was for a cameo appearance in the Gala night performance of West Side Story. Having been in the original production in 1964 he and other members of the original cast were invited onto the stage on the last night. He and he wife were back again on OC Day in the summer for a picnic on Jubilee, an outing for his beautiful Austin Healey, and then again for the Over 70s’ reunion in October.

LEFT IN 1970s BENDELL, ANDY At the 2024 RICS Australia Awards Andy was presented with their most prestigious RICS Lifetime Achievement Award. Unfortunately, he was not able to attend as he and his wife were in Paris at the time, before joining Andy’s sister Heather at the School for a reunion where she became the first OC lady to attend the annual Over 70s celebration

where he became President for North West, and then Central and Eastern Europe. He went on to lead Vodafone UK before taking up international leadership positions across APAC and EMEA. As Chief Executive of Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc he helped turn the company around before negotiating its sale to Vodafone Group PLC. He is also the former President of the Food and Drink Federation, as well as the former CEO of Premier Foods.

DARBY, GAVIN

GOODMAN, PAUL

2 North 1973

2&3 South 1974 Gavin began his career with Spillers Foods in sales and marketing before joining SC Johnson and then spent 15 years at Coca-Cola

1&4 South 1977 Paul was nominated for a life peerage by Rishi Sunak and in March was created Baron Goodman

of High Wycombe in the County of Buckinghamshire. He was Conservative MP for Wycombe between 2001 and 2010 and from 2013 to 2024 was editor of the influential centre-right political blog ConservativeHome. He continues to write regularly for a wide range of publications.

LEECH-BENDELL, HEATHER 2 North 1972 Heather returned to the School in October as the first female OC to attend the annual Over 70s Reunion event.

WILLIAMSON, STEVE

years at CBRE where he established their Debt & Structured Finance advisory business. He is now parttime MD of the capital markets team at Newmark.

WOOD, JOHN East 1978 John has co-produced a feature documentary about the legendary pianist Nicky Hopkins who played with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and countless other big names musicians. John also raised funds to create a scholarship in Nicky’s name to London’s Royal Academy of Music where Nicky was a student.

2&3 SOUTH 1975 In May Steve stepped down after 11

LEFT IN 1980s BUCK, GEOFF 1 North 1986 Geoff has just started as Head of Science at the American International School of Mozambique. This follows eight years teaching in Thailand and two in Tanzania.

CHESSER, CLIVE 2 North 1987 At the end of September Clive

stepped down as CEO at Punch Pubs & Co after six hugely enjoyable years during which he also raised enormous sums of money for Hospitality Rides (formerly Pedalling for Pubs). In November he embarked upon a new challenge as CEO of PureGym.

HELLINGS, ED 1 North 1986 Ed took up the post as Bursar at The Marist School, Ascot in September

after spending 15 years in a similar role at Queen Anne’s School, Caversham.

HOLLOWAY, ADAM Loveday 1983 Adam lost his Gravesham seat at the General Election in July. He had been MP since 2005 and was defending a majority of 15,581 but such was the scale of the Conservative rout that he lost to Labour by 2712 votes.

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LISTINGS

NEWS OF OCS AND COMMON ROOM LEFT IN 1980s

LEFT IN 1990s

HOUGH, HENRIETTA

BANFIELD, STEVEN

2 North 1986 After 13 years working as a Forensic Scientist alongside the Metropolitan Police, Henrietta has more recently been working with the National Schools Equestrian Association at both local and National Championship shows, helping to coordinate their events, managing the PR and sponsorship, providing customer service, and judging. She is also a Level 1 British Showjumping judge. Henrietta loves a challenge and has run the London Marathon, swum the English Channel and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with her son, each time raising money for Cancer Research.

THUM, JONATHAN Cubitt 1980 After Cranleigh Jon studied Maths at Oxford, but then in the early 90s he did an MSc in Computer Graphics and started to work in the world of Visual Effects. Films he has worked on include Quantum of Solace, The Chronicles of Narnia, Mission Impossible II and The Matrix. In 2020 he gained an MSc in Artificial Intelligence at City, University of London. In the interim Jon wrote What Kind Of Life, a memoir about his post university travelling years “adopting a nomadic lifestyle in search of pure hedonistic freedom”.

WOODHAMS, BEN East 1988 Having returned to England after many years running the Knight Frank office in Nairobi, Ben has joined the trustees for Rhino Ark UK a charity for which John Bowden (Cubitt 1973) has been a trustee for some years. Rhino Ark was established in 1988 to help save Kenya’s Black Rhino population, today it has expanded to develop and implement practical solutions to the challenges affecting Kenya’s mountain forests and the animals that live there.

2 North 1998 Commodore Steven Banfield has had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy since 2002 and his service history includes deployments in the Caribbean, the Gulf, and Basra, and commanding HMS Iron Duke. He was recognised with an MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours. He is currently co-leader of the Maritime Capability Coalition which will build the support that the UK, Norway, and others are providing to Ukraine. This will be long term to help Ukraine transform its navy, making it more compatible with western allies, more interoperable with NATO, and bolstering security in the Black Sea.

BROWN, GRAEME

and last summer worked on five of the six Tests. In 2017 he set up Browndog Events, which offers intimate, bespoke events with current and past sporting international stars. He also finds time to be a sports coach at Dunottar School in Reigate.

HOBBS, PETER 2&3 South 1992 After three years in the Cayman Islands as Group Director, International Business and Wholesale at Digicel, Peter returned to the UK where he spent a year playing golf trying to become a single handicapper. After that failed he joined telecommunications company Ding as Chief Business Officer.

Loveday 1995 After almost two decades working at Sky Sports, Graeme now works as a freelance sports TV producer

KELMAN, NIC Loveday 1990 Nic completed a Bachelor of Science

NEVIN (NEE HAYMAN), MIRANDA 2 North 1992 Miranda is co-owner of Hayman’s of London Gin Distillery. Hayman’s have been making their family gin for five generations and have won many awards over the last 15 years. They have also won Family Business of the Year Awards in the Food and Drink category as well as claiming awards at the prestigious Great Taste Awards.

Sustainability has always been at the heart of the company and how they operate and having reduced their carbon outputs by 23% last year, they have launched a sustainable British vodka called Respirited. This August they held their first ‘Respirited Vodka Paddle & Pick’ event, in a mission to breathe new life into London’s rivers and waterways, combining paddleboarding and litter-picking to restore these vital ecosystems.

in Brain and Cognitive Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing at Brown University. His first novel Girls was a San Francisco Chronicle and New York Journal News Best Book of the Year when it was published in 2003 and has since been translated into more than a dozen languages.

He has had two further books published and the first of six screen plays Genneris was purchased by Stephen Spielberg with the later ones being picked up by Warner Brothers, and Paramount Pictures.

In more recent times Nic has worked as a narrative consultant with various film and gaming companies but is now developing his own fiction and screenwriting projects.

RODNEY-SMITH, EDWARD 1 North 1990 Edward is working as Director of Business Operations at Focus Group (UK). A true Cranleigh family his wife Kate (nee Moulden), 1 North 1990, is an OC – her brother, father and uncle are also OCs and their son Ollie (Loveday 2024) completed his Cranleigh education this summer.

Edward’s sister Vikki is also an OC.

THOMPSON, CAMPBELL (DR) East 1994 Campbell is a doctor of Applied Psychology and is currently lead psychologist for one of New Zealand’s ‘Tier 1’ National Sports Organisations as well as for Richmond Tigers in the Australian Football League. He delivered team and one-to-one well being and performance psychology to the NZ Olympic Team as they prepared for Tokyo 2020 and is currently part of an Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement working group within in the NZ sport system.

SENNET, ZANE 2&3 South 1994 A former Red Arrow and fighter pilot, Zane has set up TheZaneProject, a consultancy which offers businesses corporate training, leadership, development, and team building.

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LISTINGS

LEFT IN 2000s CRAIG, ANDREW

GATES, JONATHAN

East 1993

Loveday 2003

In August Andrew’s book Our Future is Biotech: A Plain English Guide to How a Tech Revolution is Changing Our Lives and Our Health for the Better was published. “I genuinely believe that biotech is going to be incredibly important for all of us in the years ahead,” he said. “Crucially, this is about a great deal more than healthcare and drugs. Although this is a big part of the story, and the industry is already delivering what deserve to be described as ‘miracle drugs’, biotech can and will deliver so much more. We will be able to revolutionise agriculture, roll back environmental degradation, improve clean power generation and even transcend the limits of physics when it comes to processing power, with ‘biological’ computers.”

Jonny set up his own company, Trefoil Capital Advisers in 2018.

More recently he has also established his own polo outfit, and in 2024 the team won the Barrett Cup at Cowdray Park.

HARMAN, PADDY BATEMAN, GREG East 2007 Greg founded People’s Captain in 2020, producing craft beers with a charitable foundation supporting mental health. People’s Captain exists to bring people together to be a positive impact on the community around them, and challenges like this help to spread the word, and raise some funds for charities who are doing great things for mental health.

CRUMP, MATT Loveday 2006 In 2022 Matt left the commercial world to become Deputy Bursar at Highgate School.

East 2008 In 2023 Paddy relocated to Singapore as Senior Underwriter - Political & Financial with Sompo Insurance.

JUPP, JAMES

a Senior Account Manager at Pitchside Hospitality. He also continues to commentate on cricket.

PERCY-BAXTER, NATASHA West 2006 Natasha was awarded the Rising Star of the Year Highly Commended at the Financial Times Adviser Awards. She was also a finalist for Wealth Manager of the Year at the Investment Week Awards 2. In 2021 she established her own wealth management practice – PercyBaxter Wealth Management.

TOWNSEND, DOMINIC

Loveday 2006 In 2022 Jumbo returned to the UK after seven years in the USA, latterly as head of Hollyport Capital’s New York office, and is now back in London as an Investment Partner.

MEAKER, STUART North 2007 After retiring from first-class cricket, Stuart is working as

North 2007 After several Sports Scientist work placements with Chelsea Football Club in 2010-11 while studying Sport and Exercise Science at Loughborough University, Dominic went on to study medicine and then various medical specialities. He is now a Head Injury and Brain Injury Research Fellow for the Premier League.

LEFT IN 2010s RATOFF, ABI South 2017 In 2019 Abi started her own business working mainly in digital illustration as well as painting and print-making. She creates snapshots of the lighter side of life, inspired mostly by nature and the human lifestyle with a focus on spreading joy and humour. In 2023 she joined the Glastonbury bin painting team to paint bins, poles and mini murals across the site in the weeks leading up to the event.

RENNOCKS, ISSI West 2014 Having completed an MSc in Genetic Counseling, Issi started her dream job as Genetic Counsellor at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in August.

ROBINSON, JESS South 2018 In April 2022 Jess became a top 10 finalist for the Rolls Royce undergraduate of the year

awards for her volunteering and academic achievements. Although she didn’t win, Rolls Royce were impressed with her interview and offered her an internship for the summer within civil aerospace to help programming an in-house whole engine modelling tool. The internship went so well Jess was invited back to Rolls -Royce as one of 12 civil engineering graduates.

WALKER, ROSIE South 2018 Following an internship at Expedia Group in Summer 2023 Rosie graduated with a First in Marketing from Newcastle University and in August started at Expedia Group full time as a Commercial Graduate.

WALLIKER, TED East 2018 Ted was a keen actor throughout his time at Cranleigh and in 2022 graduated from Manchester with a BA in Drama and Film. After a busy summer including four shows at the

MURPHY, GEORGIA South 2019 While studying Human Geography at Durham University Georgia taught herself to DJ and hasn’t looked back. While working as an Events Activations Intern at Mixtons, a cocktail brand, she managed to incorporate her side hustle into her working life and was mixing at Forbidden Forest Festival and Taste of London Festival. It was so successful that Georgia launched ‘Mixton’s Mixtapes’ where she could share her set with those not lucky enough to be at the festivals. Georgia will be joining Pernod Ricard as a Commercial Business Graduate shortly.

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LISTINGS

NEWS OF OCS AND COMMON ROOM LEFT IN 2010s

LEFT IN 2020s

Edinburgh Fringe he completed an MA course in Screen Acting at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and is now doing some acting as well as working at various theatres as a technician. Recently he coexecutive produced and wrote a short film about young-onset dementia.

ANDREEVA, ALICE Rhodes 2020

East 2015 Since 2019 Harrison has been worked as a sound editor, sound designer or dubbing mixer on various films including Gates in 2021 which was nominated for Best Sound at the Prisma Rome Independent Film Festival. Since 2021 he has been working for the Pinewood Group Ltd at Shepperton Studios and is now a Senior Sound Editor there. Harrison recently worked on one of Disney’s 100th Year projects – Wish.

WILLIAMSON, ELLIE South 2018 Ellie graduated with a first in English Literature from Edinburgh and is now working as a Rights Executive at Penguin Random House.

(

After graduating with a degree in International Relations and Russian from Durham University, Alice is working as Client Development Associate at CJ.

CREEGAN, OLIVER

WHITE, HARRISON

Loveday 2020 Oliver graduated from Newcastle University in July 2023 and took a year to travel around Australia and Southeast Asia, returning in June 2024. While in Sydney he did an internship with JLL as a Capital Markets Broker. He is now focussed on beginning a career as a shipbroker and has been working hard to gain work experience and make connections as well as using the Old Cranleighan Network and making contact with the Ling Cow Shipping Club for feedback and guidance.

ELLIOT, JOSH (

Cubitt 2019)

BILLINGTON, HUGO (

BAILEY, RUBY

Cubitt 2021)

West 2023)

BILLINGTON, ANNABELLE (

South 2023)

RAMSAY, MAISIE (

South 2023)

Best friends Annabelle, Maisie and Ruby met up earlier this year when travelling in Australia. These three have now started their latest adventures at Bristol (Annabelle), Nottingham (Maisie) and Exeter (Ruby).

ENTICKNAP, CHARLIE ( ST. PIER, WILL, (

North 2021)

Cubitt 2021)

Charlie and Will are both studying at Newcastle University and rowing with Tyne ARC. They qualified to row at Henley Royal Regatta this year where they competed in The Thames Challenge Cup eight oars. Quite an achievement as they were both novice rowers when they started at Newcastle University in September 2022. Coincidentally both Charlie and Will are studying Engineering with Marine bias.

Fellow Cubittians Josh and Hugo recently met up in Australia. In July Hugo did an internship with JLL (commercial real estate) in Sydney before doing some travelling then returning to Oxford Brookes for his final year. Having graduated from Oxford Brookes last year with a degree in Fine Art, Josh is currently a solar panel salesman in Sydney “unsure on return date, but missing the Cubittians!”

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COMMON ROOM LEAVERS MEADOWS, GEORGIANA Rhodes 2021

ADÈLE WORSLEY

After studying Criminology at Durham University, Georgiana has started her role as a Police Constable on the Police Now National Graduate Leadership Programme. For the next two years she will be working in neighbourhoods across London alongside the Metropolitan Police Service tackling crime at its roots.

MOORE, JOSH Loveday 2020 Josh has been elected as the President of Queens’ College, Cambridge Boat Club for the current academic year.

JONES, MAX East 2023 Max went straight into business after Cranleigh and for the last year has been working for a startup company, Perfect Ted, a Macha powered energy drink brand as a Field Sales Executive or ‘Energy Spreader’. Not only is Max known for his love of Macha but he is also the founder of The Mullet Society where he has built a community of over 30k followers on his socials.

2005-2010, 2016-2024 Adèle’s first stint at Cranleigh was between 2005 and 2010, during which time she was second in department in Maths, an A-team netball coach and was a warden (akin to Assistant Housemistress these days) in West, discharging all of these responsibilities with exceptional skill, abundant energy and what I always regarded as suspiciously bewildering positivity.

DOMINIQUE CHAPMAN 2019-2024 Dominique has made an incredible impact since starting her teaching career at Cranleigh five years ago, and she has worn many hats over the course of her time here.

Dominique has been nothing short of brilliant as a director, assistant director, choreographer, stage manager, English teacher, Drama teacher, tutor, and friend. She has the biggest ideas, and the talent to see them through. Many of you will have seen her shows over the past five years, which are truly the product of both her relentless ambition and the heart that she puts into everything she does.

Since joining Cranleigh in 2019, Dominique has directed five shows, co-directed two and assistant directed a further five. I wouldn’t want to guess how many late nights spent painting sets, making props, sourcing costumes and planning rehearsals this has translated to, but it is no overstatement to say that that her efforts have been utterly tireless. It has been an immeasurable pleasure to work with someone so positive, passionate

She then pottered off to Wiltshire, where she worked at Dauntsey’s and Marlborough, before returning to Cranleigh in 2016, when she took over from Dr Andrea Saxel as Housemistress of West.

She threw herself into the role with the passion, energy and commitment which characterise Adèle and the impact that she has had on the girls in her charge was immeasurable. This was crystallised perfectly in June, in the wonderful farewell party thrown for her in West. There were all sorts of things to enjoy about this, some for frivolous reasons, others for more serious ones. Not only had so many former girls of West come back, but some of Adèle’s old Maths students were there as well, coming from far and wide to say thank you and good luck. It says a tremendous amount about the impact she has had on the academic side of the school, as well as the pastoral

and genuinely inspirational, and the community at Hampton are incredibly lucky to get to work with and learn from her.

Megan Williams

ED PEERLESS 2016-2024 Ed joined Cranleigh in 2016 after an impressive career as a chartered accountant. He immediately threw himself into all aspects of school life having developed a taste for boarding life during his own school days at Marlborough College. Ed is one of those truly talented allrounders who can inspire a room of budding chemists and then later that same day prepare the same group for an upcoming national hockey cup fixture.

In the classroom, Ed has worked tirelessly to develop both himself and his department to become outstanding teachers and there is no doubt that the recent swell in A-Level Chemistry numbers has been down to his excellent lessons and the pupils’ hope that they will be taught by him for A-Level. After five years, Ed took over as Head of Chemistry in September 2021 and transformed

LISTINGS

side. This academic ability was something that Adèle habitually underplayed but she earned straight As at A-Level in English, Maths and Physics - an impressive subject combination – and she was a hugely respected and muchloved Maths teacher, comfortable teaching across the whole ability range.

Adèle is not only a superb housemistress and teacher, she is also a really good friend: loyal, funny and kind. She, Mike and their two children have headed off to Blundell’s for a new adventure now, as Adèle goes to be Deputy Head Co-Curricular. It’s a great school and I know that she’ll have a wonderful time there – she can go, knowing that she has left an indelible mark here at Cranleigh.

She leaves with our best wishes for what I have no doubt will be an incredibly bright future.

Gordon Neill

a very good and established department into arguably one of the best at Cranleigh. He also served as a PGCE mentor and has frequently been involved with staff training regarding teaching and learning.

Away from the classroom Ed has been a fantastic hockey coach, putting in countless hours running sessions on the Astros and taking both boys’ and girls’ teams through national cup rounds. He has also been a much-valued Head of Sailing, tennis coach, tutor in East and Assistant Housemaster in North.

It is no surprise that someone of Ed’s ability and versatility is moving onto a more senior role as he becomes Head of Science at Cheltenham Muscat. Our loss is very much their gain and we wish him, his fantastic wife Charlie and their three children all the best for their future adventures!

Rob Hardy

JOEL ROBINSON 2022-2024 Joel leaves us to take up the position of Head of Senior Music at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi.

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LISTINGS

COMMON ROOM LEAVERS LEFT IN 1950s JAMES NAIRNE 2012-2024 James Nairne doesn’t look like he should be retiring. Theories abound in the art department as to how he manages to look so youthful – his diet of coffee and dark chocolate?

Surrounding himself with artistic prima donnas? Committed Christian principles? The best drugs from his beloved doctor wife?

Personally, I’d like to think there is a Dorian Gray portrait of him somewhere in his Shackleford attic that runs the risk of being exposed

to daylight as he and Angela move back to Oxfordshire in retirement.

But it’s unlikely. In Oscar Wilde’s novel, Dorian Gray’s portrait was blighted with every demonic act of Gray’s debauchery. In the eight years that I’ve been privileged to call James a colleague and friend I’ve only ever experienced acts of patient kindness even when he’s at his wit’s end with the shortcomings of those surrounding him.

Having initially trained in Fine Art at the prestigious Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, James leaves Cranleigh in 2024 having enjoyed a distinguished 36-year teaching career. He started teaching in state schools in Berkshire before spending 11 years at Bradfield College with his young family. He was appointed Head of Art there in 1996 before moving on to run the art department at Abingdon School in 2001 and then to Cranleigh in 2012. And what advantages we have enjoyed this past 12 years!

The school has never enjoyed more gallery trips, more student exhibits – 820 GCSE and A-Level student displays at the last count. He has led nine trips abroad to various European cities.

the provision of art education at Cranleigh – to a standard that would grace most further education art colleges. His vision is of a democratic art that serves all rather than just a gifted few. Under his guidance art becomes a universally accessible creative process that engages the head, heart and hand – the intellect, feelings and skills – in a way no other curriculum subject can.

Above all, he has broadened

Mark Weighton

MAHALIAH EDWARDSWHITING 2021-2024 Mahaliah leaves us to pursue a variety of exciting projects, but leaves a lasting legacy, an agenda for change, and an increased awareness of - and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Richard Saxel

MIKE WORSLEY 2009-2010, 2016-2024 Following an international rugby career for England and Harlequins, Mike initially enjoyed a few years working in the City. However, he soon realised that he needed a different work-life balance and fortunately for Cranleigh, he decided to enter the field of education. Mike arrived at Cranleigh in 2009 to teach economics and business studies. In his first year here, it just so happened that he met Adèle and so began their journey through life together.

However, no sooner had he arrived than he and Adèle disappeared to teach at Marlborough College for five years. Cranleigh managed to lure Adèle and Mike back in 2015 to take on the running of West House.

THIS YEARS LEAVERS BEFORE THEY HEAD OFF TO THEIR LEAVERS BALL

Over the last nine years, Mike has worn various hats including being Head of Economics in 2023 and coaching all levels of rugby, netball,

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CONTENTS The Old Cranleighan 2024

CHAIRMAN’S PIECE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

No. 19 December 2024

FROM THE HEADMASTER – A SPECIAL PLACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MRS SAMANTHA PRICE – CRANLEIGH’S NEW HEAD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Editorial Team: VICKIE INGLE MARTIN WILLIAMSON

FROM A DORMITORY IN LOVEDAY – HENRY CATCHPOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 FARMING IN A COPRORATE ENVIRONMENT – BEN DEAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Consulting Editor JODY COOKSLEY

ALL IN GOOD TIME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Photographers: LILLIE SPIBEY and MARTIN WILLIAMSON

FASCINATINGLY ABHORRENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Design: screambluemurder.co.uk The Editors thank all others who helped to produce our magazine

THE COACHING GRID – GEORGE EALHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 THE GOODMAN GALLERY – JO STELLA-SAWICKA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 A LIFE OF LESSONS – NICK MEYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 FAST FORWARD TWO DECADES – HILARY CRONIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

President: DUDLEY COUPER

ARTHUR TABOR AT 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chairman: MARTIN WILLIAMSON

OLD CRANLEIGHAN FUNDRAISING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Honorary Secretary: DODIE KHURSHID

THE HILLS WERE ALIVE – PAUL BEESON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Honorary Treasurer: TONY STRACHAN

SCHOOL ROUND-UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

OCS and Cranleigh Network Manager: VICKIE INGLE e-mail: vli@cranleigh.org

THAMES DITTON – EVOLVING PLANS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 OC SPORTS AND SPORTING HONOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 OC CLUBS AND SOCIETIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

The OC Society website: www.ocsociety.org

ENGAGEMENTS, MARRIAGES, BIRTHS & DEATHS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

www.facebook.com/ oldcranleighans

WHO’S STARTING WHERE IN 2024 – UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS. . . . . . . 74

Follow @oldcranleighans ocsociety.cranleigh.org

NEWS OF OCS AND COMMON ROOM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 COMMON ROOM LEAVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

OCS CALENDAR EVENTS FOR 2025

NOTICE OF AGM

All dates provisional for obvious reasons, please keep an eye on the website and social media.

➔ APRIL

TUESDAY 29TH

➔ JUNE

SATURDAY 28TH

➔ JULY

FRIDAY 11TH

➔

OCTOBER DAY TBA

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BUSINESS FORUM NETWORKING EVENT, SAVOY PLACE LONDON Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OC DAY AND SPEECH DAY Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OC GOLF DAY AT THE SCHOOL Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org OVER 70s’ RECEPTION AND LUNCH AT THE SCHOOL Contact Vickie Ingle on vli@cranleigh.org

The 121st Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held in the Clubhouse at Thames Ditton on Tuesday 14th January 2024, starting at 19.30.

This will be followed by the next meeting of Excom.

Front cover: Aerial view of Cranleigh School October 2024 Back cover: Aerial view of Jubilee August 2024

JONATHON SCOTT

create such powerful productions.

2017-2014

Jon has also directed a number of musicals in his time, which, given that our earliest conversations centred around his dislike for many shows in this genre of theatre, may have come as a surprise.

Nevertheless, some of my fondest memories of our time working together was in the rehearsal space for We Will Rock You and West Side Story. I consider it a privilege to have been able to witness his directing prowess, and the care and attention that he gave every element of the production process and each individual involved. While many may have seen his common pose of head in hands, sat at the back of the auditorium hunched over while his actors looked on with worried faces from the stage as concerning, I quickly learnt that Jon was simply having a moment in his ‘mind palace’, working through creatively to ensure the highest quality of performance.

Jon Scott joined Cranleigh in 2017 as Director of Drama and since that time has made an indelible mark on the Cranleigh stage and beyond with his choice of plays, which have always sought to push boundaries for the betterment of our audiences and actors. These have included Enron, Ash Girl, PunkRock and That Face. Each offered audiences and actors alike the opportunity to be challenged to see the world differently and to reflect on their role within it. The impact of his directorial work extends far beyond the stage, resonating deeply with all who have had the privilege of witnessing or being a part of it.

The many students who have found themselves now working in the performing arts industry, studying drama at university or at drama school are testament to his encouragement and dedication to and athletics as well as being a brilliant tutor to the girls in West.

He is a first-class teacher who has achieved outstanding results year on year and he will be missed in the department by pupils and staff alike.

Nick Miller

RICHARD VENABLES

example. Richard was active in Chapel life, leading his own life as an example for others, I know that the students benefitted from hearing him speak in Chapel. Richard leaves us for Marlborough College Malaysia to teach Maths and to help run a day house.

His commitment to the rehearsal process ensured his students felt both inspired and challenged to enable them to strive for the potential he would so often unleash in them. Very quickly his mottos of ‘good enough isn’t’ and ‘do it again, but better’ would become commonplace in the studios, not as a judgement but as an encouragement to all to always strive for the best in a nurturing and supportive environment. Cranleigh is known for its professional quality performances and that is in large part down to Jon’s tireless determination to adhere to his own advice.

Inside the classroom his influence on students has been nothing short of transformative. Whether introducing challenging texts and practitioners to his Sixth Form students or encouraging Fourth Formers who have never set foot onstage, his knowledge of theatre is always mind-blowing. It is also his

LISTINGS

ability to talk to students beyond the curriculum that has always inspired me; being able to draw on the politics of the world, open their eyes to history or just impart some life lessons, I know his students have left more rounded individuals, equipped to deal with the realities of the world thanks to his words of wisdom and advice. This is something I know his previous tutees and students in Martlet have also hugely appreciated.

I consider myself fortunate to have had not only found an amazing mentor, colleague, leader, director and life coach in Jon but also a dear friend who has left me and Cranleigh such a wonderful legacy which we will both protect and build upon in the years to come. If there was someone who could truly encompass our school motto, it is Jon, who inspires all around him to appreciate that from culture comes strength.

Emily Mcghee

TAYA SELLERS 2021-2024 Taya leaves Cranleigh to take up the position of Head of the Geography Department at Monkton Combe School.

Simon Quinn

2018-2024 From the moment Richard joined the Cranleigh Maths Department it was clear that we had gained not just a brilliant mathematician, but also a passionate teacher. Alongside teaching Maths Richard ran the United Kingdom Maths Challenges with great success, allowing our students to excel and shine. During his time at Cranleigh he also stepped into the role of Assistant Head of Maths as maternity cover, providing great support and helping to drive the Maths Department forward.

As Assistant Housemaster in Loveday, Richard has been a valued team member, supporting his tutees and the house pastorally.

His dedication to their wellbeing and personal growth has been truly commendable, always going beyond expectations to ensure that the house runs smoothly and that all students feel seen and supported.

His contributions extended beyond academics and House, as a rugby coach, a tennis coach and running cross country, always leading by

PREP SCHOOL GAPPIES Three 2024 leavers have spent the Michaelmas term working at Cranleigh Prep School, both on the sports field where their experience and enthusiasm were valued hugely, and in the classroom as an etra pair of hands.

EMILY REED (

South 2024), HAMISH RAMSAY (

Cubitt 2024), CHARLOTTE BARR (

South 2024)

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