Issuu

OA BULLETIN

Lodging an appeal: the Asian Tsunami 2004 Floods Relief Chest for victims of the disaster. See page 11

Old Albanian Club

DIARY DATES

May 2005

Presidents’ Garden Party – Sunday 19th June 2005 Annual Dinner – Friday 1st July 2005 Founders’ Day – Saturday 2nd July 2005

01727 843538

OA CLUB www.oldalbanianclub.com President

Andrew Barnes 01582 712650 andysbarnes@hotmail.com Secretary David Buxton 01727 840499 d.buxton@virgin.net Treasurer Brian Sullman 01582 460317 Membership Secretary Roger Cook 01727 836877 Rogercook@btinternet.com OA SPORTS

www.oasport.com

RUGBY President

Ali Mills ali.mills@oarugby.com Chairman Richard Milnes richard.milnes@oarugby.com Commercial Director Simon Heath simon.heath@oarugby.com Finance Director Chris Walker chris.walker@oarugby.com Admin Director Peter Lipscomb peter.lipscomb@oarugby.com Fixture Secretary Darren Ead darren.ead@oarugby.com Director of Coaching Bruce Millar bruce.millar@oarugby.com Director of Rugby Steve Bedford steve.bedford@oarugby.com Mini & Junior Rugby Chairman Rory Davis

Nick Chappin – Editor Andy Chappin – Design & Production Roger Cook – Membership Mike Highstead – Gazette Printing - Herts & Beds Printing 01923 234959 2

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

FOOTBALL Manager

www.oasoccer.co.uk Simon Bates 01727 852418 / 0772 0383 600

CRICKET President

www.oacc.org.uk John Josling 01296 632227 Chairman Andrew McCree 01727 845513 andrew@oacc.org.uk 1st XI Captain Robert Bee 2nd XI Captain Colin Bashford Treasurer Denis King denis.king@btinternet.co.uk Fixture Secretary Julian baines Jules_baines@msn.com OTHERS Rifle & Pistol Angling Golf

OA LODGE John Williams

Andrew Wilkie 01727 856857 Geoff Cannon 01582 792512 Royce Bryant 01727 863130

01438 715679

SCHOOL WEB SITE www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk

Address for correspondence: Nick Chappin 18 The Pleasance, Harpenden, Herts AL5 3NA Telephone: 01582 461674 (home) 07980 565645 (mobile) e-mail: nick@chappin.co.uk

OA COMMENT

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Editorial

Old prose

describes, I am intrigued by the date in the description. Maths was never my strong point – a fact with which I must confess that although I work the Colonel himself would heartily in the media, my knowledge of the concur – but by my reckoning, the publishing business is sketchy at history of cross country running best. To be honest, I’m more apparently began nearly 300 years interested in the content of my daily newspaper or weekly men’s magazine before the official founding of the School. There’s probably a perfectly – which I buy purely for the articles rational explanation for this on cars, you understand – than how it arrived on the rack (or top shelf). It anomaly, but alas the work is not currently available for downloading. will come as no surprise, then, that One that is – but don’t make my until recently I had never heard of mistake of hitting the print command the John Insomuch Press. For the uninitiated, the improbably instead of download as it stretches to some 144 pages – is ‘Then we had named John Insomuch was the tea’, a collection of poetry and prose Schoolmaster printer of St Albans compiled by former who established a English master John printing press at St Albans Abbey around John Insomuch was Mole. As he notes in his introduction, most are 1479. According to local folklore, he acquired the the Schoolmaster taken from The Albanian, “which, like unusual soubriquet as a many school magazines, result of a number of his printer who has tended over the surviving texts years to maintain a beginning with the word established a somewhat uncertain, on‘insomuch’. The off relationship with Insomuch Press – and I printing press at creative writing.” My quote from the website here – “is a new venture the Abbey in 1479 school years were certainly an ‘off’ period, which breathes life into as there are no examples his legend by the at all between the late sixties (when promotion of works of merit by pupils and staff of St Albans School.” the creative void was briefly filled by Impulse magazine) and the mid One of the current works listed that caught my eye was ‘A History of seventies. There are also several works by the prolific Major Wood Cross Country’ by G E Pryke, Smith, including ‘Sporting Heroes’ described as “a history of the which was originally conceived “out amazing success of St Albans School of irritation with a Daily Telegraph Cross Country from 658 to the sports reporter who commented that present day.” Apart from fervently St Albans School had not produced hoping that the book is more any sportsmen of note.” With his interesting than the tedious sport it

01727 843538

OA CLUB www.oldalbanianclub.com President

www.oasport.com

RUGBY President

Nick Chappin – Editor Andy Chappin – Design & Production Roger Cook – Membership Mike Highstead – Gazette Printing - Herts & Beds Printing 01923 234959 2

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

FOOTBALL Manager

www.oasoccer.co.uk Simon Bates 01727 852418 / 0772 0383 600

CRICKET President

OA LODGE John Williams

Andrew Wilkie 01727 856857 Geoff Cannon 01582 792512 Royce Bryant 01727 863130

01438 715679

SCHOOL WEB SITE www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk

Address for correspondence: Nick Chappin 18 The Pleasance, Harpenden, Herts AL5 3NA Telephone: 01582 461674 (home) 07980 565645 (mobile) e-mail: nick@chappin.co.uk

OA COMMENT

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Editorial

Old prose

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President’s Notes

OA COMMENT The flags of the English Schools RFU, St George and Italy flying at Woollams for the England v Italy international rugby match on 26th March

Connect with OAConnect ■ The Old Albanian website OAConnect is now up and running – and the more members that register, the more effectively it will function, says Club President Andrew Barnes

kind permission we have reproduced another of the Major’s pieces in this issue of the Bulletin, an entertaining article on the 1919 conversion of the School from association to rugby football (see page 48). The site (www.johninsomuch.com) is well worth a visit, and would-be writers are invited to submit contributions. Ditto the Bulletin. As always, I’m keen to receive material from OAs of all generations, and in this issue I’m delighted to see a steady trickle of letters from recent school leavers as well as our more seasoned members. Elsewhere we have contributions from all our regulars, including the President, Headmaster and

Membership Secretary, plus the OA Gazette and all the latest news from the various sports clubs. Once again I am grateful for their continued support. Finally, a couple of dates for your diary: the Annual Dinner takes place this year on Friday 1st July (the evening before Founders’ Day) at the School sports pavilion at Woollams, and watch out for the Lord’s Taverners versus Lashings charity cricket match at Woollams on Sunday 7th August, part of the Cricket Club’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Nick Chappin Editor

WHO TO CONTACT Please address your correspondence to the following people – you’ll find their contact details on page 2. OA Bulletin Nick Chappin, Editor Comments, letters, photos Subscription/membership enquiries Roger Cook, Membership Secretary Change of address, notification of deaths OA Gazette Mike Highstead, Archivist Member news, obituaries, School archive and museum

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

I am pleased to report that the Old Albanian Club is moving steadily towards its permanent objective of becoming the unified, relevant association of all past members of the school community. A current focus is that of the needs and interests of younger Old Albanians. It cannot be denied that very few of the youngest Old Albanians have renewed their subscriptions after the initial five year prepaid membership has expired. It becomes obvious that the twenty-something and thirty-something age group have not found much of interest or relevance in our club up to now. The committee believes that the establishment of a lively Internet-based forum for each year group will prove to be the key. The one overriding interest for every year group is the progress and success of friends and acquaintances they knew as fellow pupils. With OAConnect we are starting to see the potential for correspondence and interaction between members on our website. Steadily more of our existing members are registering with OAConnect and providing information about themselves. The mantra remains: the more members that register with OAConnect, the more complete and colourful the information provided, the richer will be the search experience for all other members. We would like to find a member of each year group to fulfil the role of a Web Master, an individual who will co-ordinate

the posting of information provided by their friends and acquaintances, on a dedicated web page, a year group notice board. The responsibilities will not be onerous. Please e-mail me, andysbarnes@oldalbanianclub.com Spurred on by the success of restoring lapsed members and new members who had previously registered with friendsreunited, we are making a serious effort to contact all living OAs for whom the club has no current contact details. The hard work for this process is being undertaken by Katie Martin, the daughter of a member of staff, from an office at the School. She will be emailing all those who are currently registered with friendsreunited, and writing to the last known parents’ address for younger OAs to obtain current contact information, and urge everyone contacted to register with OAConnect. All OA club members for whom we have current addresses will received a letter containing the names of all members of their school year and those of the year above and below. Our aim is to jog the memory with the list of names from the past and enlist the help of all members to provide any up-to-date addresses for those they may still be able to contact. The rediscovered OAs will then be invited to repeat the process to find other OAs. We have high hopes that this ripple effect will prove to be effective. We have little alternative. Every newly discovered OA will receive an information pack about the OA Club, its range of activities and how to register with OAConnect. When you receive your letter, please help! Back to the Younger Old Albanians. A Young Albanians Group has been formed, with representatives from 6th Form , university and first jobbers who have left school within the last 10 years. It is quite

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President’s Notes

OA COMMENT The flags of the English Schools RFU, St George and Italy flying at Woollams for the England v Italy international rugby match on 26th March

Connect with OAConnect ■ The Old Albanian website OAConnect is now up and running – and the more members that register, the more effectively it will function, says Club President Andrew Barnes

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

clear that an OA committee composed of much older members is ill-equipped to stimulate interest in the club for the younger group. Activities and initiatives from this new group will receive appropriate support from the Club but there will have to be ideas and effort from the younger group themselves. Each year the group will be reinforced by the inclusion of new school leavers. The group would be delighted to hear from any young OA with ideas and interest and who would like to help. Please contact Davinia Ankerson (97) at davinia@incite.co.uk With an ever-widening circle of sporting interest at Woollams, it is very pleasing to underline the success of our sports clubs. The rugby season has drawn to a conclusion with the 1st XV finishing in the upper half of London 1. The fully integrated Old Albanian Saints Women’s team was even more successful and topped their league. Woollams saw international rugby at both under 16 and under 17 age groups and women’s internationals against South Africa. The effort put in by club members, particularly for the Under 16 international,

Good cheer: Andy Barnes (64) and Ian Jennings (62), above, and Chris Willis (89/90), John Lake (59), and Edward Slade (89/90), right, enter into the spirit at the London drinks party shows that the club retains a high level of commitment from members for the benefit of the Rugby Club itself and OA Sport. Please read the rugby club President’s report on page 42. The Presidents’ Garden Party, 3pm, Sunday 19th June We intend to follow a similar format to that pioneered last year. There will be a champagne reception, jazz band, delicious canapes, culminating with a pig roast around 5 pm. Representatives of every element of the Old Albanian community will be invited, many of them as the guests of their sporting clubs as a tangible thank you for the effort made on behalf of the club during the season. I do stress once again that this is a joint effort by the Old Albanian Club, the Cricket Club and the Rugby Club. Everyone is very welcome and tickets are available from Brian Sullman at Woollams. £12.50 single, £25 double. We

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expect to have a most pleasurable afternoon, where the ladies will enjoy the opportunity to wear their summer finery and gentleman will complement them with a suit or blazer. Annual Dinner, Friday 1st July The Old Albanian Dinner is to be held at the school sports pavilion at Woollams this year, on Friday 1st July, the day before Founders’ Day. The building itself is impressive and will make a first-class venue. We will gather for drinks round 7:00pm when the school cricket match is concluding. The dinner will be black-tie, as in the recent past. My thanks to Judy Bee for organising this year’s dinner. Our guest speaker will be Mark Elliott, who spoke at the dinner some years ago with great success. He has recently been appointed chairman of the Herts rugby selectors. The application form for tickets for the dinner is enclosed with this Bulletin. “Our sport is your sport’s punishment” Of all the things I disliked during my schooldays, cross- country running tops the list. In a 1957 prospectus for the School, W T Marsh mentions that “…there is also some

Cross-Country running in the Upper School.” I was vaguely aware that during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s cross-country running was consistently strong. In 1989 Nigel Wood-Smith took over from GE Pryke. Reports in The Albanian and the local press detail the extraordinary success in crosscountry running by boys from St Albans School throughout the whole of this period up to the present day. For the last 27 years George Harrison has been the inspirational coach for our young runners, a role he took on after some persuasion. Other members of the staff assisted George until in 1997 the baton was passed from Nigel to Major K Everitt, the most recent Master in Charge of cross-country. These partnership over the last 30 years, have yielded such consistently high standards and race successes that St Albans School is undoubtedly the most successful cross-country school team in the British Isles. George Harrison has recently been ill, but has committed to continue coaching the squad until 2008. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. Andrew Barnes President

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

Headmaster’s Notes

In the swim ■ As plans for the School’s new swimming pool and sports hall are finally approved, Headmaster Andrew Grant reports on another excellent term of academic, artistic and sporting achievement To pick up from where I left off in the last Bulletin, we were, of course, delighted, towards the end of November, by the Council’s decision to approve our plans for the Swimming Pool and Sports Hall. There are still a large number of details to be sorted out but it made for a celebratory end to the Christmas term, which closed with the traditional Carol Service in a very full Abbey and a magnificent performance from the School Choir that drew admiration even from Cathedral clergy who hear world-class choral music on a daily basis. In the previous week, the studio at New Place was, for the first time, the venue for the major Christmas Play, a vibrant modern-dress production of Romeo and Juliet that caught both the vitality and the pathos of the play. A fortnight earlier, the size of the audience, the numbers of performers and the entire scale of the School concert was such that we had to move from the Library and revert to the Hall for an evening of superb music. It was a good term for sport. The First XV had a very good season, winning all but three of their matches, and the Second XV and Under 14 sides were unbeaten. The girls won their way through to the District Netball Final, where they were runners-up, and the cross-country squad marked a return to form with an undefeated first half of the season, retrieving the King’s Trophy from last year’s nemesis, Judd School and

First XV from 1938: picture kindly submitted by Deryck Sidney (36) leaving the best of the opposition trailing in their wake in the Dr Challenor’s relay, which they won for the eighth successive year. There were good results, too in swimming, basketball and badminton. Over the Christmas holiday, there was a First Form trip to the famous Christmas markets in Cologne, which included a visit to a chocolate factory and further opportunities for bingeing on various varieties of sausage and non-alcoholic Gluhwein. The CCF cadets were at Thetford camp, as usual and, again as usual, acquitted themselves well in trying weather conditions. It has been a respectable, if not been a bumper year for Oxbridge offers, with three students holding offers from Oxford and four from Cambridge. At the end of the term, Paul Legouix, who, in his 24 years at the School has led the Maths department to a record of academic success matched by few schools in the country, retired, taking with him not only our good wishes, but those of generations of past pupils who have owed their success to his efforts. At the same time, Andrew Langlands left to take up his post as principal Hockey coach at Bromsgrove School (where he himself was educated) and equally to pursue his own international career with the personal goal of securing Olympic selection, while Justin Clarke left the PE department at the end of the spring term to take up his new post as Director of PE at the Dixie Grammar School in Leicestershire. Overall, the spring term saw a fair measure of sporting success without, by our standards, being an outstanding one. In swimming, the Seniors took first place in the Herts League. The First Hockey XI had a mixed season, with too many winning draws in which they outclassed the

opposition in every measure except the number of balls that crossed the goal line, but the U16s and U14s in particular lost very few matches between them and the girls’ hockey season also brought them victories over much more established sides from all-girls schools. The Easter holiday mixed hockey tour of Holland brought two wins and one defeat for a side that played together for the first time on tour. Against club opposition in a country that is serious about its hockey, these were good results. U12 rugby continued to flourish, with both A and B sides vanquishing all they encountered by mighty margins until finally meeting their match in the final of the Broxbourne tournament against Enfield Grammar. It was their only loss in their two-term (and first-ever) rugby season. Badminton saw success at U13 level with runners-up position in the County Schools league. In the second half of their season, the Senior cross-country team took second place to perennial rivals Winchester in the Knole run at Sevenoaks, pushing equally predictable opponents Judd back into third place. James Newman took individual silver.

In the King Henry VIII relays at Coventry, however, the old firm of St Albans, Winchester and Judd that has dominated this event for the past decade, St Albans winning an unrivalled five in succession, was swept aside by new kids on the block Marling School, from Gloucestershire, fielding two England internationals. Nevertheless, the Seniors comfortably retained most of their trophies – including our own Geoffrey Pryke relay and the Merchant Taylors’ Cup, where Head Boy Matt Grant was the individual winner – and provided 50% of the county team in the English Schools National Championship. Meanwhile, and auguring well for the future, the intermediate squad kept their grip on the season-long Pat Bagnall trophy competition, run by Highgate School. A cloud was cast over the end of the season by the serious illness of our peerless coach George Harrison, whom we wish a full and speedy recovery. The annual OA Netball Tournament saw a very large number of former students return to renew old friendships and sporting rivalries and to take on the might of the current sixth form at the end of a

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Headmaster’s Notes

triumphant season. In the end, not even the sponsored team kit of the more serious of the past years’ teams (Lucy Turner & Co.) was enough to prevent a showdown in the final between the Upper and Lower Sixth, from which the latter emerged victorious in the last minute of play by the narrowest of margins. The Sports Tours Dinner, featuring excellent speeches by Alastair Hignell, David Lloyd and Gareth Chilcott, overturned all previous assumptions about how many people it is possible to accommodate in the Hall whilst still being able to ply a knife and fork and raised a correspondingly large amount of cash. The crowning sporting event of the year so far was, of course, the England U16 - Italy U17 rugby match held at the Woollam Playing Fields on the first weekend of the holiday – the first international ever to be held in Hertfordshire. The splendour of the venue was easily a match for the prestige of the event and much impressed the ESRFU’s officials. For the home crowd, of course, the day was perfected not merely by a convincing victory for England, but by seeing our own Tom Haller receive his first England cap. In the penultimate week of term, the Joint Schools Oratorio, Mozart’s Requiem, directed by Grayson Jones in the Abbey, was an outstanding public showcase of musical talent involving a very large number of pupils and parents past and present in a professionally accomplished performance of a complex and very demanding work. A still more democratic side of our musical life was seen (and heard) on the last day of term, when the entire School crowded into the Hall for the finals of the House Music Competition, an event which,

in terms of serious musicianship, has come a very long way from its early beginnings and of which the rock bands’ performances are always a highlight. Meanwhile, New Place was a scene of feverish dramatic activity for the last fortnight of term, with an intense round of assessed performances for GCSE, AS and A2. Over the holiday there were Duke of Edinburgh Scheme expeditions at Silver level at Pen Arthur and in the Peak District, the latter, run by the CCF, running into bad weather and providing an impromptu exercise for the local mountain rescue team, complete with dogs. A number of cadets also took part in a UK Land Forces leadership course. Fresh from a triumphant oratorio, the choir and orchestral musicians visited Belgium, performing to appreciative audiences in Brussels Cathedral and churches in Ghent and Aalst, interspersed with cultural sightseeing. A very large number of classicists of various ages went to Sorrento and Rome (fortunately, as things turned out, in the first week of the holiday) and also visited Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia, while the skiers went to Les Deux Alpes for four days of glorious sunshine and skiing under cloudless skies, albeit on slushy snow from the mid-station downwards, followed by two days of almost total white-out from the mid-station upwards, but escaped without a single visit to the medical centre. Term has opened in fairly typical fashion for the cricket season with rain for the first Wednesday games afternoon. I hope that by the time many of us meet on Founders’ Day we shall be able to discard the sweaters and waterproofs. Andrew Grant Headmaster

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OA Lodge

Disaster relief ■ Lodge Secretary John Williams reports on a busy few months for the OA Lodge, and highlights the importance of the Grand Charity in helping victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster The Lodge is looking forward to the meeting in early May when the new Master is installed in the Chair by the outgoing Master, followed by the appointment of the Lodge Officers for the ensuing year. It is invariably the best attended meeting, and dinner jackets are the norm – although this is entirely optional. This year there has been a break with tradition in that our most senior Joining

Member, Geoffrey Goodman, has been elected to serve as the new Master, rather than our Senior Warden who has been forced to stand aside – we all hope temporarily – due to ill health. Geoffrey, who was initiated into Halsey Lodge, joined the OA Lodge in 1975 and subsequently served as Lodge Secretary for some 11 years. The Lodge is in good heart, with a number of young Initiates and also joining members, who are fathers and sons of Old Albanians. However, the brethren have been saddened in recent months by the deaths of two senior members, Leslie V F Hider (27) and David J I Gray (43). Leslie, one of the oldest members of the Lodge, was initiated in 1955 and attended

Tsunami disaster: Freemasons played a part in providing rapid assistance to the victims

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OA Lodge

Tsunami disaster: Freemasons played a part in providing rapid assistance to the victims

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4 Rollswood Road Welwyn Herts AL6 9TX Telephone: 01438 715679

regularly until he and his wife Doris left St Albans a few years ago to take up residence in an RMBI home at Oadby in Leicestershire to be nearer their son John. David was initiated into the Lodge in 1964 and installed as Master in May 1975. In the late ’70s David’s career took him to New York where in 1979 he joined Jeptha Lodge, founded in 1860 in Huntingdon. Following his retirement in 1990, he and his wife Elizabeth settled in Scotland and despite the distance, he was able to attend Lodge meetings from time to time. At the November meeting, the Lodge transferred £15,000 to the Provincial Fund for 2009 ‘Festival’ Appeal in support of the Grand Charity, which Hertfordshire is hosting. The importance of the Grand Charity was brought home to us in December following the horrendous Tsunami. As the scale of the disaster became apparent the Grand Charity immediately transferred £100,000 – the maximum grant the chairman could make without reference to the Council – to the British Red Cross, who were involved at the forefront of providing aid and assistance to the victims. In addition, he authorised two further emergency grants to the District Grand Lodges of Madras (£10,000) and Sri Lanka (£25,000) to assist them in their efforts to help victims of the disaster. The District Grand Lodge of Madras, which covers the area of Southern India worst hit by the disaster, rather than donating to a general fund is working with SOS Villages and Chatnath Homes on

a long-term project to provide safe villages for orphaned children. The children will be given protection and education until such time as they are old enough to support themselves. The District has provided an initial five million rupees to start the project but sees it as a long-term financial commitment. In addition, the District Grand Charity in Madras also made grants to Lodges in the worst affected areas to provide immediate relief. When the Council of the Grand Charity were able to meet they increased the grant to the British Red Cross to £300,000 and at the same time, in response to requests from a number of Provinces and to the generous reaction of members of the Craft, they established a designated Asian Tsunami 2004 Floods Relief Chest to receive contributions from Lodges and individual Freemasons. To date over £560,000 has been sent to this Relief Chest. The Council have since allocated a further £300,000 from the Grand Charity’s general funds towards provision of long term support to children orphaned or otherwise affected by the disaster and resolved that the money donated to the special Relief Chest should also be applied to this project. The Grand Charity has been in discussion with a number of specialist international charities operating in the affected areas to identify suitable projects. Memories of the horrendous Tsunami disaster will always be with us, but it is heartening to know that Freemasons played a part in providing rapid

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assistance to the victims – and will continue to provide support in the years to come. The Lodge meets only five times a year on the second Saturdays in January, March, May and September and the first Saturday in November. All those connected with the School, including fathers of past or present pupils are welcome to apply for membership, for which purpose the first approach should be to any

Lodge member, the Secretary as below, or Nigel WoodSmith or Alan Smith at the School. Members of other Lodges, be they OAs, parents of past or present pupils, staff or Governors are encouraged to visit the Lodge whenever they wish, and the Secretary will be delighted to hear from them. John Williams Lodge Secretary

Helping hand: grants from the Council of The Grand Charity helped provide desperately needed supplies for victims of the tsunami

O A U P D AT E

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4 Rollswood Road Welwyn Herts AL6 9TX Telephone: 01438 715679

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

Helping hand: grants from the Council of The Grand Charity helped provide desperately needed supplies for victims of the tsunami

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Membership Secretary’s Notes

Go online ■ OA Club Membership Secretary Roger Cook rounds up all the latest membership news – including a reminder to register for OAConnect Those of you with Internet access will, by now, have realised that the new database system has been named OAConnect. The information from my existing database has been transferred to OAConnect; individuals must personally register before they can make use of the system. I remind you that the system is secure and only members who have registered can gain access to its content. A significant number have already registered. Now that OAConnect is operational, we are expecting a major influx of registrants over the next months. If you have not yet registered, register NOW. Go to the OA website where you will find the appropriate links to OAConnect. For the moment, I am retaining the existing database mirroring the information from OAConnect. Bulletin This Bulletin, as promised, is available in printed form and is also available on the OA website. Earlier issues will also remain until the permitted capacity of the site is exceeded. The password for this issue is 4378: OAConnect registrants will find the passwords listed on the OAConnect system. I remind you that the cost of receiving the Bulletin by post is set at £18 for three years’ issues. The

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year your Bulletin subscription expires is shown before your name on the address label. We request that life members of the club who require a postal copy make a donation of an equivalent amount towards the costs of postage. OA Directory The OA Directory, which I promised in the last issue, has now been sent to members. My apologies that, due to its gestation time, the information in it was not up to date at the time of posting. If you did not receive a copy please let me know. OA Website You will have noticed that the layout and structure of the OA website has changed. There are now more pages and, I hope, helpful information. Comments and items for inclusion are always welcome! I am planning to show a new photograph from the archives every couple of weeks – perhaps you can provide one? (preferably in .jpg format or, if not, a print that I can scan and then return to you – NO negatives, please!) Waifs and strays The School is working hard to find the addresses of former pupils who are not members of the OA Club. We confidently expect a major jump in the number of members in the near future. In the meantime, the usual list of ‘waifs and strays’ is published right. Finally, I still have a stock of OA ties (£12.50 silk tie – £15 bow tie). Roger Cook

Waifs and strays We have lost contact with the following OAs – can anyone help? Year

Name

38 39 41 42 43 44 54 55 55 56 57 58 59 60 62 63 65 66 67 67 67 68 68 70 71 71 71 71 71 72 72 72 73 74 74 74 75 75 76 76 76 76 76 77 77 77 77 77 77 77

Buckingham, K M Wilkinson, A D Wright, J A Powell, G H Bracewell, C M Hudson, P H F Dilley, N C Coombe, B J Knight, J V Ingram, P Bishop, S C O’Sullivan, P J Mills, K J Robertson, D M Clarke, J Bass, Stephen Kirk , D Thomas, R N Ansell, Paul Cockbain, P A Marsh, A Craighead, R M Gingell, R R Martin, I G Barker, Mark Duxbury, M J Earl, G Lawrence, D J D Williams, D P L Bayley, A R J Mattingley, R J Parker, S C Thom, D K Kingham, D R Marshall, J T J Warner, I C Forbes, I A Funnell, Stephen Bulsing, J M Lavin, C N Orange, C A Turner S E Waygood-West, Kevin Bayoumi, T A Clitherow, P A Granger, Andrew Jones, A P R Lee, A P Marshall, N J Stansbury, C J

Last known location Harrow Harpenden St Albans St Albans Leicester Cranbrook High Wycombe Brookmans Park Blackboys Glasgow Shefford Harpenden Stoke-on-Trent Herts Knebworth Dabvury Walthamstow Edgware Luton Redhill Borehamwood Potters Bar Bury St Edmunds Birmingham Sutton Coldfield Hitchin Newbury St Albans Harpenden Chesterfield Baldock Harpenden Stevenage East Grinstead St Albans St Albans Bristol Barnet Welwyn Garden City Attleborough London Faversham Hatfield Welwyn Garden City Harpenden London Keithley Gwynedd St Albans St Albans

77 78 78 78 78 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 80 80 80 81 81 83 83 85 85 85 85 85 85 86 86 86 86 86 87 87 89 89 92 92 92 92 92 92 93 93 93 93 94 94 94 95 96 97 97 98 99 00

Welsh, David J Evans, N G Parker, P E Samuel, M G Welsh, Keith Albury, C D Armitage, Stephen Cooper, R C Dixon, C Hall, M Haysom, A J Lester, John Menzie, B Richardson, Paul Riddle, J Tynan, P George, A J Warwick, Neil Woodrow, J C G Hodge, R J W Palmer, Andrew Norris, R G T Pryce, Tim Andrews, David Finlay, Laurence Gresswell, A M Smart, Adrian Somerville, D J Turner, Andrew Bladen, John Bending, Thomas Cook, Adrian Dewhirst, Martin Newman, P L Meeson, Mark W Payne, Nicholas Hollingsworth, Damian Jones, Christopher Carden, Richard E W Harris, Daniel S James, Jonathan Simmons, Jonathan E Moss, Radley Wheeler, Seth Brian, Andrew J Clarke, Richard P King, Caroline Ives, Simon Clayton, Thomas Lester, Miles Simmons, Matthew Topper, Marc Barclay, Mathew Morgan, Dean Summers, Paul Forrester, Alison Myers, Richard B P Ford, Adrian

St Albans Hemel Hempstead Harpenden St Albans Eccles St Albans London Luton Harpenden Rickmansworth Harpenden Crewkerne Wheathampstead Harpenden Wakefield Cockermouth Flamstead St Albans Wheathampstead Peterborough Bracknell St Albans Notting Hill Gate High Wycombe Barnet Welwyn Brighton Hemel Hempstead Swindon Luton Cambridge London Hatfield St Albans St Albans St Albans St Albans St Albans Southhampton Radlett Wheathampstead Totteridge Radlett Utica, USA St Albans St Albans St Albans St Albans St Albans Hadley Wood Flamstead Stanmore St Albans Watford Harpenden St Albans Barnet Winchmore Hill

1 Pondwicks Close St Albans AL1 1DG Telephone: 01727 836877

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Membership Secretary’s Notes

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Waifs and strays We have lost contact with the following OAs – can anyone help? Year

Name

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1 Pondwicks Close St Albans AL1 1DG Telephone: 01727 836877

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De fortunis Albanorum ● Clive Simms (62) Enjoying early retirement and has learnt to cope with Parkinson’s. Still active with the Boys’ Brigade in Tamworth and was present at the Brigades’ Remembrance Day Parade with Colours and Band. ● D E J Ramsden was awarded a CBE in the New Years Honours 2004. ● Edwin Cooper (92) Studied at St Bartholomews and Royal London Hospital School of Medicine and Dentistry and was awarded BSc Hons in Experimental Pathology (Class 1). Last year achieved MRC Path and was admitted to the Royal College of Pathologists. Recently appointed Consultant Histopathologist at Yeovil District Hospital. ● Matthew Scase was wrongly attributed a Geography degree in the last issue – should read a Masters in Maths at Oxford followed by a PhD in Applied Maths at Cambridge. ● Marcus King (99) gained his first Hertfordshire Rugby Cap this year. ● Chris Jepperson (00) gained a 1st Class Hons in History at Cambridge and is now doing a M Phil in Historical Studies. He intends to go on to a PhD.

Deaths It is with regret that the following deaths are announced ● Leslie Hider (27)

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John Hider writes of his father: Leslie died peacefully on October 3rd 2004 aged 94 in the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution in Ogdby Leics to which he and Doris had moved in 1998 to be near to the family. Leslie was a Montague-Jones man. He was orphaned at the age of 13 and so only stayed on to do the General Certificate and then had to leave at 16 to bring income to the maiden aunts who raised him thereafter. He was working at the time of the General Strike but he had a school prize dated 1927 presented to ‘Tactics’ (Cert A) and signed by MontagueJones. Perhaps it was chosen by Monty as it is ‘The Life of Napoleon’ and it was probably presented after he had left school. Leslie was involved from the start in the Company of Ten with Terry Newell and Cyril Swinson and took the nickname ‘Ali’ from a leading role in ‘Ali Baba’. He did a lot for the 1948 Pageant. He joined the OA Lodge in 1956 and attended regularly until leaving for Leicestershire. Doris is coping well. ● Major C (Peter) Newbold died earlier this year. His son-in-law Richard Wainwright writes: “He had a good innings at 91 and read OA Bulletins to the end.” ● Sir Charles Pereira (31) died on the 19th December 2004 – see obituary from The Times above right. ● Dr Robert Blowers (33) died on the 17th December 2004.

● Robert Plenderleith DFC (35) died in March 2005 – see obituary below. ● Anthony George Dorman (46) died on 9th November 2004 – see obituary on page 18. ● Michael Maloney (51) died in October 2004 at the age of 72. He won an Open Scholarship to Trinity College, taught at Shrewsbury School, became a head in Africa and later was head of Welbeck College and Moreton Hall – see obituary on page 19. ● John F Rooley (57) died October 16th 2004 aged 65. ● David Aston-Davies died 14th June 2004.

Obituaries ● Robert Plenderleith DFC (35) The following obituary appeared in the Herts Advertiser of Thursday

17th March: One of the few remaining Battle of Britain fighter pilots has died at the age of 86. Flight Lieutenant Robert Plenderleith, who lived in St Saviour’s View, St Albans, served in Fighter Command throughout the Second World War before becoming a test pilot. He was one of the first pilots to see action in France in May 1940 when 73 Squadron RAF in which he was serving was one of two Hurricane squadrons sent to resist the German advance. They returned to England after the fall of France and Mr Plenderleith, who received a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his service, was shot down by a Messerschmitt 109 on 11th October 1940, receiving burns to his face. While recovering from his injuries he served as a flying instructor but went back to operational flying in North Africa and Italy. After his war service Mr Plenderleith joined the de Havilland

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Deaths It is with regret that the following deaths are announced ● Leslie Hider (27)

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Obituaries ● Robert Plenderleith DFC (35) The following obituary appeared in the Herts Advertiser of Thursday

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Engine Company at Hatfield and worked on Vampire and Venom jet fighters before transferring to Rolls Royce at Leavesden where he became a helicopter test pilot. At the end of his flying career he became the company’s marketing promotions manager. His first wife died about 25 years ago and he married his second wife, Sylvia, four years later. Mr Plenderleith leaves his wife and daughter from his first marriage and granddaughter Abigail and stepdaughter Jane. Mr Plenderleith, a keen gardener, is believed to have been the last surviving member of 73 Squadron.

Anthony George Dorman (46) 12.8.1930 – 9.11.2004 Albany Wiseman writes: Tony was no great scholar during his years at the School, (and no great friend of W T Marsh!). Having left school, his life and careers became

The obituary for Robert Plenderleith that appeared in the Herts Advertiser extremely diverse and colourful; he always had a touch of Walter Mitty about him, which often brought a wry smile from his friends. At various times he was a pigfarmer, a designer working for a national newspaper, world sharkfishing champion, racing driver, cyclist, county table-tennis player, and a very accomplished artist. He moved to the west coast of Ireland with his wife Shelly (who predeceased him). They opened a shop and Tony took out tourists in his boat giving them opportunities to catch sharks. He was a member of the local life-boat crew for about 11 years. Returning to England he and Shelly became estate managers and gardeners to one of the local gentry near Longleat in Wiltshire. I attended his funeral on the Longleat Estate, I think I was the only OA present. The school has produced many

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graduates, scholars, and captains of Industry. Tony was a ‘one off’, achieving more after school than his years struggling with the school curriculum. One regret in his life was not keeping a beautiful pre-war 8 litre Mercedes which had been owned by Henry Cotton, the golfer. He bought it for about £200 and sold it for not a lot more. It later fetched over one million pounds at auction. He told me when we last met, that would have been his pension for life. He leaves a son Jeremy and daughter Nicola.

Michael Maloney (51) Peter Dunham writes: Michael Maloney, like many others, came to St Albans as a result of the war. His family were advised to leave the vicinity of Hendon as it was believed that the small aerodrome there would be a target for the Luftwaffe. When later his father’s job was moved to Birmingham, Michael became a boarder in School House. Perhaps because he was so long a day boy, Michael never acquired the hard shell of the long-term boarder but he made good use of the extra time by learning carpentry from Mr Wille – a skill which gave him much pleasure in later life. However, Michael had always been interested in mathematics and science and had an understanding of these subjects which went far beyond that of most of his contemporaries. Michael was a pupil whose response

to teaching made a teacher’s job worthwhile. He was one of an elite group chosen to take school certificate two terms early so that he might have three years in sixth form giving extra time to win an Oxbridge scholarship. Michael’s talents were duly recognised by Trinity College Oxford. His success was marked by a half day’s holiday for the school. After University and the Royal Artillery (why did so many OAs at that time choose gunnery?) Michael became a teacher at Shrewsbury School where he met Jancis who became his wife. It is reliably reported that they met because at a party where many wished to watch a televised World Cup game, he was loyal to rugby and she had forgotten her glasses. Later Michael and Jancis moved to Eastbourne College and afterwards to the Headship of Welbeck College. Then they had three memorable years when Michael was headmaster of Kamuzu Academy, a showplace educational establishment in Malawi where Michael not only ran the school but a tobacco estate, a farm and a village as well. When Michael returned to England he was headhunted to become Principal of Moreton Hall – an independent girls’ boarding school which had been through a serious staffing crisis. He was much respected by colleagues in Education and although I never saw Michael in action, it always seemed to me that there was a little of the rather direct W T Marsh style in his approach. By this time Michael was firmly

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rooted in Shropshire and he and Jancis continued to live at Chirbury near the Welsh border although their children Patrick and Bridget moved to Ireland and Australia respectively. Michael was a magistrate, a performer of monologues at village entertainments, a parish Councillor and a Trustee of the local Charity. Jancis and Michael entertained their many friends, enjoyed duplicate bridge across the border and played more cut-throat bridge with me and my wife. Our investigation of the Principle of Restricted Choice remains unfinished. He did much furniture construction and restoration including the church’s bier which was later used for his coffin. He never joined the OAs but was glad to read my copy of the Bulletin and was surprisingly knowledgeable about the careers of

Meet and greet: Sam Patten (94) and ‘one of the Lake boys’ (96), above, and Club President Andy Barnes (64) with Jack Richardson (36), right, at the London Drinks party held annually at the East India Club

OAs who had gone into education. Michael faced his illness with fortitude, humour and a properly scientific interest in his treatments. He claimed to be the most voracious vampire in the county. Michael lived a full life and he will be much missed not only by his family but by his very many friends.

Donations to the Archives ● Robin Ollington (47) Has found more about Sir Thomas Spencer Wells FRCS (1818-1897). He also notes the great success of the

Thiepval Project which has raised £600,000. ● Ron Simmons (50) Has given his Black Book with staff names. Also a Millenary Souvenir Programme and Albanians of 1945, 1949 and 1950. ● Brian Davidson (53) Both a pupil and member of staff, he has given: Pageant Programme, Photographs – with names of: Colts XV 1960, 3rd XI 1952, 3rd XI 1951, 1st XV (worst ever) 1952-3, CCF Inspection 1952, Fifth Form walking group Lakes 1961, Keswick 1962. Also letters from WTM and Olive Marsh and the order of service for the WTM Memorial Service of Thanksgiving.

cufflinks. Various War Office papers relating to his father Ronald Herbert Saltmarsh. These indicated that he had the General Services Medal and was ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’ on 7/11/17. He had gained a County Minor Scholarship to the school in 1906. Also given were his Commissioning Document into the Infantry in 1915 and a letter of thanks from the War Office for services rendered. All contributions for the Gazette and any items you wish to be donated to the School Archive should be sent to Mike Highstead.

Please send all items for inclusion in the Gazette to: Mike Highstead, 33, Cornwall Road, Harpenden,

● Richard Saltmarsh (54) OA boater hatband, pair of OA

Herts AL5 4TQ.

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Donations to the Archives ● Robin Ollington (47) Has found more about Sir Thomas Spencer Wells FRCS (1818-1897). He also notes the great success of the

Please send all items for inclusion in the Gazette to: Mike Highstead, 33, Cornwall Road, Harpenden,

● Richard Saltmarsh (54) OA boater hatband, pair of OA

Herts AL5 4TQ.

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Degrees of excellence

in Mathematics.

Some of the outstanding achievements of Old Albanians at university this year include:

● Adam Shindler, at Peterhouse, Cambridge, has been elected into a Senior Exhibition in History.

● James Browne, at Corpus Christ College, Cambridge, has been awarded a First in Part IIA of the Economics Tripos with the third best mark in the University. The College has awarded him a Foundation Scholarship and the Eastbridge/Parker Exhibition.

● Ross Talbot, at Leeds University, has been awarded First Class Honours in Environmental Management.

● Vanessa Hare, at Cardiff University, has been awarded First Class Honours in Music, one of only two firsts awarded in the subject at Cardiff this year. ● Michael Henson, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has been reelected into a Senior Exhibition in Social and Political Sciences. ● Richard Little, at Christ’s College, Cambridge, has been awarded starred First Class Honours in Business Studies and Management. ● Krishan Ramyead, at Brunel University, has been awarded First Class Honours in Information Sciences. ● Nigel Rawlins, at Queens’ College, Cambridge, has been awarded a First in Part 1B of the Cambridge Mathematics Tripos. ● Matthew Scase, at Peterhouse, Cambridge, has been awarded a PhD

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The Revd Canon Bruce Duncan (56), bearing the Cross of St Augustine awarded by the head of the Anglican Church

● Jamie Wheeler, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has been elected into a Senior Exhibition in Economics.

Reverend recognised ■ Congratulations to The Revd Canon Bruce Duncan (56), who was recently awarded the prestigious Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury The Cross of St Augustine was founded by Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1965 and has historically been awarded to clergy and lay people of foreign churches who have contributed conspicuously to advancing friendly relations with the churches of the Anglican Communion. More recently it has also been given for outstanding service within the Church of England whether centrally or in the dioceses, or the Anglican Communion as a whole, and to those who have contributed to advancing relations between the various Christian communions and churches. There are only around 150 holders of this Cross. Bruce Duncan was one of eleven to

receive the award from Archbishop Rowan at Lambeth Palace in November 2004. “Bruce Duncan has contributed enormously in bringing together Christians of various denominations,” read his commendation. “This has come about in setting up Sarum College, an ecumenical centre in the building that

once housed the Salisbury and Wells Theological College. It has been a significant exercise in ecumenical cooperation, involving academics, pastoral clergy and laity in joint study, discussion and teaching. It describes itself as a place of ‘living theology’ where the love of learning and the desire for God can flourish together.”

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Degrees of excellence

in Mathematics.

Some of the outstanding achievements of Old Albanians at university this year include:

● Adam Shindler, at Peterhouse, Cambridge, has been elected into a Senior Exhibition in History.

● Ross Talbot, at Leeds University, has been awarded First Class Honours in Environmental Management.

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The Revd Canon Bruce Duncan (56), bearing the Cross of St Augustine awarded by the head of the Anglican Church

● Jamie Wheeler, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has been elected into a Senior Exhibition in Economics.

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The class of 97 ■ A reunion for the class of 1997 will take place at Woollams on 18th June 2005. Davinia Ankersen (97) shares her experiences of organising the event “What do you mean, we’ve got 120 email addresses to find?” were the only fitting words. Six months previously we were sitting on a sunny afternoon in West Hampstead and conversation turned to absent friends, to old friends, to forgotten friends – and curiosity got the better of us. A reunion it would have to be – whatever did happen to that guy who sat near the wall when we had Politics in the West Turret? Now I’m sure to most of you 1997 doesn’t sound that long ago – the year Tony Blair first came to the throne, Ibiza Uncovered hit our screens and the Spice Girls were still slightly ginger (just). However, for three people attempting to sift through the shreds of contact information in an attempt to formulate a comprehensive e-mail database for 1997 alumni it has not been the swiftest of processes. Our first point of reference was to dig out our UVI photo in order to assess the initial scale of what we had taken on – it wasn’t looking good. Another factor is that in 1997 email was not for life but just a boring aspect of office life. The likes of Hotmail and Yahoo were just spawning and nor did we have mobile phones. Our initial thoughts were that as a year group there were still large pockets of us still in touch

eight years after leaving school. However, it turned out that, when put in the context of the total number of pupils in our year, it made about 10% of the total. Suddenly there was a wall between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – how would we find ‘them’? I decided to put it off as long as possible! In the sense of ‘getting things done’ we set the date for the reunion (based on the diary commitments of Martin, Carrie and me) and immediately felt better! The OA pavilion at Woollams seemed the obvious choice as a venue but the money was always going to be stretched to afford the hire fee – we were hoping that people wouldn’t see paying for a ticket as unreasonable as we obviously weren’t happy with simply hiring out a corner of the local Weatherspoons! Once that was done and it had sunk in that we’d paid a deposit on the venue thoughts turned to ‘we may as well give it a go and see how far we get’. I was thrilled the following week when I went on the friendsreunited website only to discover they had a ‘Reunion Service’ which promised to e-mail everyone (no cut, copy or paste in sight), manage the responses, keep a tally of acceptances and send out reminders about venues/payments etc. I was thrilled as there were about 80 people listed as having left St Albans School in 1997 on the website. I clicked eagerly on the ‘Reunion Service’ thinking it would wash all my troubles away – ‘We’re sorry, this page is currently under

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construction…’ I’d built myself up to the fact that this would all be a breeze but it so obviously wasn’t to be! Well, ‘copy and paste’ it is then. I paid my £7.50 to make me a ‘full member’ of friendsreunited which would enable me to e-mail everyone. Slowly but surely the responses came in – I’d started with friends I knew would come (three-line whip and all that) so that made me feel better. Then the guy from Politics in the West Turret appeared – it was only then I knew we were making progress. To date, we have found 50 people and all except three have accepted. Following the e-mail attempts we decided a letter would have to go out to the remainder – the luxury we do have is having only been eight years since we left, the chances of parents still living at the same address is quite high – although large ‘Please Forward’ notices were stuck on each letter. The reunion is just over a month away and I am hoping it will be the success we all imagine. It does make you realise that having said ‘keep in touch’ 119 times on the last day of school, not only does it rarely happen, but when you eventually wish it had you find yourself clutching straws in a vain attempt to find people. The organisation of this reunion has been vast and my inbox is almost melting but if it comes off it will all be worth it. This really is one of those ‘the more the merrier’ moments in life and we would love to see as many as possible. If you’re reading this and are in touch with

1995 5th Year leavers, 1996 LVI leavers or 1997 UVI leavers then please tell them to contact me. There aren’t many things that are certain at this juncture but one thing I can say with confidence is that after all the UVI politics takes a side-line my e-mail contact list will have had a healthy boost. davinia@incite.co.uk davinia@oldalbanianclub.com

Our Man in Basra ■ The final despatch from Iraq by OA Committee Member Calvin Man (91), as he prepares to return to civilian life Several things were a shock to the system on my return after seven months in Iraq with the 1st Mechanised Brigade: the cold, clean streets and alcohol to name a few. Another surprise though was being congratulated by a number of OAs and being told what an interesting read my updates from Iraq had been. I was unaware that my updates had been published but nonetheless pleased that they entertained. Iraq was a fascinating experience and I thought it would be interesting to share with fellow OAs the remainder of messages from Iraq. They are a little out of date now but I hope they will continue to entertain and provoke some thought on the situation out there and on our role. Unless the Government mobilises me again for the next bit of defence diplomacy, I can be found in the City of London… BASRA, 4 August 2004: We are

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Man to man: Calvin Man, far left, deals with some civilian unrest, and left, on patrol in Iraq now over half way through our tour and thoughts are now naturally turning towards our exit and the handover to the next UK Brigade to come here on Op Telic 5. Our role in the Provincial Support & Liaison Team (covering Governance and Economy) is now becoming the Brigade’s unofficial main effort (Security remains the real main effort) as we turn our minds towards elections (both local, happening in the next few weeks, and national, planned for January 2005). Every senior visitor in the last two months has specifically asked to see us. It is interesting to note that our team is primarily TA, with each one of us bringing skills that the Regular Army does not have. I have effectively become the Army’s economic adviser in the South of Iraq, dealing with economic policy, central bank operations and interpreting economic statistics to

spot potential civil unrest. A colleague (a teacher in real life) is advising the Education Department. I am quite confident that the Army could not fulfil our role, nor indeed deploy effectively at all, without the TA. Our importance has been underlined by the fact that our role will be carried out by a whole subunit of the next Brigade and we have been reinforced by nearly 100 officers and soldiers within the last week to support our work – is this the first case of Regular soldiers augmenting the TA? I jest a little about the TA/Regular distinction. There has been no sense that the TA has been treated differently. In fact there has probably been more interest in the TA from the Regulars, especially amongst those thinking about leaving the Army and working out how to work their way into a civilian job!

BASRA, 9 August 2004: A quick update today as the situation in Basra has changed rapidly in the last 72 hours. Ever since the Americans started their attacks on insurgents (many of whom are followers of Moqtada al-Sadr) in Najaf and we detained four members of the Sadr party in Basra for having illegal weapons, tensions have been growing between, us, the Basrah Council and the Sadr party. We have now been locked down in the Palace for the last three days so we can not get out and about to do our business because of the heightened tension. Yesterday there were demonstrations on the streets and outside the Basrah Governorate building, probably incited by Moqtada al-Sadr and last night there were attacks (mortars, RPGs and small arms fire) on our locations. Today the tension has escalated further with members of the Moqtada

militia out on the streets and around our locations. Our troops have been attacked and we have had vehicles damaged in the city. Fortunately, no serious casualties reported at this stage. Gunfire and explosions have been heard all day in the city and our base security has been stepped up. This will be a real test of the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces since they now have primacy in security matters. We are waiting to see whether we will adopt a more overt and aggressive stance. More soon. Op TELIC 4 is turning out to be a more interesting by the minute than any of TELIC 1, 2, or 3... BASRA, August 2004: We are now a week into the heightened security situation. There are Moqtada al-Sadr’s militia men running around in Basra and surrounding some of our locations. More are expected to arrive. At the request of the Basrah Council, we are

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taking a less overt stance within the city and are only patrolling the areas around our bases and likely mortar firing positions to ensure the safety of our bases and supply routes. We are, however, taking a more aggressive stance outside the city to prevent Moqtada reinforcements from coming in. Our aim is to deescalate the tensions. The Iraqi Police and Iraqi National Guard are taking the lead in ensuring security in the city but there are doubts about their effectiveness and willingness to engage with the Moqtada Militia, as well as the loyalties of Basrah Chief of Police – some think he is a Moqtada supporter. It is also believed that some politicians here in the south are secretly supporting the escalating violence, seeing it as a means to achieve independence of the south from the rest of Iraq. There are moves to try to get the Provinces of Basrah, Maysan and Dhiqar (in the south west corner of Iraq) to break away and form a mainly Shia state (or at least achieve autonomy). There is a certain amount of support for this amongst the general population and the leaders of Maysan and Dhiqar have been more vocal about this. Basrah’s leaders are not publicly supporting this line at the moment. Unfortunately, we lost another soldier today as a bomb went off as his armoured vehicle was passing. Generally, the soldiers are not fully hatched down in the vehicles (quite unbearable in this heat) unless there is a specific threat and this soldier was hit by fragments packed into the

bomb. Another two were seriously injured in the same incident. A sad day. I have volunteered to do a ‘normal’ military role until the situation calms down and will be running the operations room (which has obviously become much busier) for the infantry unit providing the area security around our base. The news in the UK has probably focused on the activities in Najaf, the site of the Imam Ali mosque, the holiest of Shia shrines where the remains of Imam Ali, son of the Prophet Mohammed, are supposed to be buried. Many insurgents, many of whom are probably not Iraqi (Iranian?), loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr are hiding out in the grounds of the mosque. I am not sure if people back at home understand the significance of this mosque. The followers of Imam Ali believed he should have succeeded Mohammed (as the first Caliph). Eventually, he became the fourth Caliph but was assasinated shortly after, which led to the split in the Muslim world between Sunnis and Shias. The mosque is important not only in Iraq but to Shia Muslims around the world, whether in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. It is like Mecca to the Sunnis. Hazim alAnaichi, the Basrah Council Coordinator assasinated a few weeks ago, who was pro-British and one of our key allies, said to us once that if Coalition Forces attacked the Imam Ali mosque he would kill us himself. This was said quite earnestly, not as a threat but to stress what the mosque means to Shia Muslims.

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Calvin Man’s image of damaged buildings from his tour of duty in Iraq Similar sentiments have been relayed to me since and the Basrah Council has urged us to use our influence to persuade the Americans, in whose area of operations is Najaf, to deescalate the situation and not enter the mosque. I am not sure what will happen if the Americans do enter the mosque. It is probable that those who are generally supportive of us (the British) will turn against us and even use violence. I just hope those in power understand the situation. BASRA, 26 October 2004: This is my last update from Iraq as I will finally be leaving soon. I apologise for the lack of emails for the last two months but they have probably been the busiest for me. When I last wrote, I think it was August when the security situation here became significantly worse. The militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr were

running around the streets and there were several serious engagements with our forces in Basra City. The only way I could move around routinely was in Warrior armoured infantry fighting vehicles or by helicopter – we later found out that the Militia had put a big anti-aircraft gun on top of a building in the city! There was some tactical low-flying done and throwing of flares to protect against heat seeking missiles. It was during this time when two soldiers from the Black Watch, based with my team in Basra Palace, were killed by roadside bombs. There were many more ambushes on our troops and, fortunately, in all cases the junior NCOs who were usually in command of the patrols demonstrated their professionalism and their reputation as being the best in the world by reacting correctly and ensuring that more of our

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soldiers did not get seriously injured or killed. Our bases were attacked daily, with rockets and mortars and sometimes drive-by shootings. There were some close calls and we all slept with our body armour and weapons at hand. As some of you know, I came back to UK for two weeks leave in early September. When I returned to Iraq, the situation had calmed down and we were free to move around again. Unfortunately, the relative calm did not last long and the last few weeks have been more tense, possibly because the Militia and other Shia and Sunni extremists have worked out that our Brigade is about to hand over to the 4th Armoured Brigade – there was a similar upsurge in violence when we arrived in April. Some members of my team were caught in a roadside bomb. The bomb was packed with bolts and several went through the bodywork of the Land Rovers. There were injuries but it was pure luck that no-one was killed. Unfortunately, two days later two soldiers from the sub-unit supporting us, Corporal Marc Taylor and Gunner David Laurence were killed. They were out on a mission for me when, as you will have read in the papers, their vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade which entered the cab of the Land Rover and detonated inside. The patrol was then attacked with small-arms fire while they were trying to deal with the casualties and secure all our communications equipment in case they were captured. Again, it was the

leadership and courage under fire of our junior NCOs that ensured the remainder of the patrol extracted safely. As my Brigade gets ready to leave, the focus is turning to the National Elections in January and also the Black Watch who are going north to assist US forces. These elections are going to be key to the future of Iraq and it remains to be seen whether the population participate as intended and whether there will be violence either in the run-up, during and afterwards if some parties do not get the result they wanted. In any case, it will soon be someone else’s problem. I have enjoyed my tour in Iraq; it has been a great experience and I have met some good people. I am, however, frustrated by the unwillingness of many Iraqis to help themselves and the fact that many will try to steal from you when you are trying to help. I am also frustrated by the lack of engagement from UK government departments other than the MOD and the way the US administration has totally screwed up here – I can tell you the real story in person when I get back. Roger and out!

Chinese whispers ■ Ben Robson (04) highlights the differences between St Albans School and his new school in the USA – and reports on his progress in learning Chinese It has been nearly two terms since I

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left St Albans school, and I thought you may be interested in my progress so far in America, at Brunswick School. The initial highlight was selection for the school’s Varsity Soccer team, in August, after a gruelling three weeks of trials. It was a great way to make friends and introduce myself into the new school system, plus I had to become extremely fit very quickly to keep up! The team had a successful season, and went on to win the FAA Championships; we narrowly missed out on a place in the New England schools tournament. Academic life also had its differences. I am studying, maths, English, French, physics, American history and Chinese, so the curriculum remains very broad, but luckily there has been minimal overlap with my GCSE work, and I find the subjects very stretching. I am hoping to study AP courses in at least two of these subjects next year. Brunswick promotes itself as a single sex school, however all lessons except math are co-educational, as it is linked with Greenwich Academy, the equivalent girls school. This is an interesting set up and I normally find myself walking from one campus to the other at least once a day. Students are given the choice where they wish to eat, but most schedule the thirty-minute lunch break in the site of their next class. Personally I find the school day demanding, and at the beginning of the year I was getting up at ten past six and arriving in school at seven thirty,

however since passing my driving test I am entitled to an extra ten minutes in bed! The school day ends at two forty and sports last two hours every day at a separate campus similar to Woollams; this means ten hours sport per week which can be very taxing. A large part of communication throughout the school is done by email, and students access their homework in class conference folders on the net. Computers also play a big part in lessons, as it is compulsory to take notes on a laptop. The system involves constant testing and quizzing, which help accumulate a grade, later used for college entrance. However, my main concern at the moment, is the College entrance SATs, which I take in May, they consist of verbal, math and writing. I have already had meetings with my college advisor, and everything is underway, I am keeping an open mind as to whether I continue to study in the US or return to a UK university. A revelation has been my enjoyment and progress in learning Chinese. In a relatively short time I have mastered the basics, I can communicate orally, and by using a significant number of characters. Recently I became a volunteer classroom assistant at the Connecticut School of Chinese Language. I have thought about St Albans School a great deal whilst settling into my new surroundings and have kept in regular contact with my good friends Daniel Grimwood and Alex

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Byrne. It would be a great pleasure if I could make a visit to the school when I return to the UK in June or July, so that I may give a fuller picture of my life here in the US.

Old flames ■ OA Club Secretary David Buxton renews acquaintances with Mike Harvey (60) – and his sister! I am seeing much more of Mike Harvey (60) these days and apart from fact I used to go out with his sister in the 1960s and do so now again after many years, our families have been friends since forever – so we chew the fat! He recently donated a mounted cricket ball to the school which was presented to his father H L (Harry) Harvey for taking 10 wickets for 27 runs in a match for the school against Old Finchleans on July 16th 1932! Now he has sent me the attached photo with the comments: “This

The cricket XI from 1929

photo is ancient and shows the school cricket team in 1929. My father (Harry Harvey) sits in the middle of the front row and the umpire on the left is none other than ‘Beery’ Webster. I have fond memories of seeing him cycling around on an old upright jalopy, rarely in a straight line having (allegedly) often been visiting various pubs in Fishpool Street. On arrival at school he would then try to teach history to me and the rest of 1C – with little success. Sadly he failed and the duty was passed over to ‘Dad’ Reid.” It would be interesting if we could find out who are the other players.

Road to Damascus ■ Tom Martin (02) describes life in the Syrian capital – and playing for the country’s only rugby team I left the School in 2002 to study Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Trinity College Cambridge. I’m

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still not sure why I decided to study Arabic at University but it seemed like a good idea at the time and so far I haven’t regretted my decision. At the moment I am living in Damascus, the capital of Syria and the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. For most people the mention of Syria conjures up images of Kalashnikov wielding fanatics and scud missiles. While it is true that one of the country’s few claims to fame is that it made it into George W Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’, the reality of the place is far removed from this. The people are unfailingly friendly and hospitable and despite its dubious geography (Syria shares borders with Israel, Iraq and Lebanon) it is an extremely safe and stable nation. However, it would be wrong to say that Syria is without its problems. Although the government has loosened its grip on society since Bashir al-Assad replaced his father, Hafez, as President in 2000 Syria is still far from being a democracy and seems to be becoming increasingly isolated internationally – partly because of its support for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. There is a story that the Prophet Muhammad passed by Damascus on one of his journeys and stopped on Jebel Qassioun (the mountain that overlooks the city) to take in the view. When asked if he wanted to go down to the city he replied that he only wished to visit Paradise once and that was when he died. If Muhammad could squeeze past the various aerials, satellite dishes and

mobile phone masts that top Jebel Qassioun today I doubt his answer would be the same. Although it is true that much of the old city remains it is surrounded by a concrete jungle of Soviet style apartment blocks. I live in a flat on the ground floor of one of these blocks next door to a dentist on Baghdad Street, just north of the old city. For the last few months I have divided my time between studying at the University of Damascus and playing for Syria’s first and only rugby team, the Damascus Zenobians. It is amazing how rugby continues to be such an important part of my life. I fell in love with the game while at school and have played fairly seriously ever since. The result of this has been some pretty mediocre exam performances at Cambridge balanced by a few appearances at Twickenham and my participation in the first ever rugby match in Syria.

Morning prayers ■ Michael Millard (45) fondly remembers morning prayers at School – and fallen comrades When I first entered the School, before the war, morning prayers took place in the Abbey but on some days in the School Hall. During the war, though, we mostly went into the Hall. As my parents were not churchgoers the service in the Abbey was to me mysterious and impressive, though in no way complicated. But the Hall was more

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Byrne. It would be a great pleasure if I could make a visit to the school when I return to the UK in June or July, so that I may give a fuller picture of my life here in the US.

The cricket XI from 1929

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cosy: some tall boy near the front roared “shun”, the Head strode on to the stage and all was quiet (it was some years before I worked out what ‘shunning’ was). Then the Head read some prayers from a book. This stimulated my boyish critical faculties. I had been attending a Crusaders Bible Class where prayers were offered “as a man speaks to his friend”. How could prayers possibly be read seriously, I thought? Things were made worse when the luckless individual to whom the privilege of reading the school prayer had fallen lost his way after a few words. “Stop that, start again and do it properly”, roared a voice from the quarterdeck: and so he did. I do not recall that the hymn was sung with gusto but in one of the verses of Bunyan’s pilgrim hymn is the line “He’ll fear not what men say”; somehow we all forget our local glottal stops and it sounded quite good. Then we had the announcements from WTM. These were varied: criticisms of certain kinds of behaviour; commendations of achievement; for example when Gardner-Jennings established a new shot-putt record; or some bright boy won a scholarship to Oxford (come to think of it I suppose that happened to me eventually). But on one occasion, which few of us ever forgot, we were being harangued over the way we day boys had failed to show our appreciation of the cast at the end of the school play. “If it had not been for the splendid way in which the boarders…” interrupted by a voice with a local accent: “Oh

yeah”. “Who said that? Find him for me, Sarn’t Major”. There was a sound of a scuffle at the back followed by the triumphant voice of Charlie-my-Son; “I've got him, Sir”. On another occasion we were well on in the singing of a certain Christmas carol when, on the last of four Nowells we were treated to a single rich tenor voice ‘doing’ the descant. Such a deviation from the norm could not, of course, escape official notice, but the castigation was couched, I thought, in a benevolent turn of phrase. But as the war went on some of the announcements changed. K C Doran was one of the first to be given the DFC. Later on names that we did not recognise: who were dead. Then men we had seen but did not know. Then men we had seen and had spoken to and had remembered. Gardner-Jennings killed in action; both the Morgan brothers; Bryan Dennis (who had once thrown me into a blackberry bush for being cheeky); and many, many more. And in a different category, Christopher Bradley Payne, who had been a member of the teaching staff (his picture was up in the staff room for many years) – his body washed up on the South Coast after his first op. I learnt some years later that at Chris Payne’s quiet family funeral there was a stranger whom no one knew: this was WTM who had taken the trouble to attend because of his respect for a dead colleague. Occasionally I find myself in a Church where the service follows the seventeenth century prayer book.

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The man at the front reads the words but the voice comes back over sixtyodd years “Lord of all Par (sic) and Might Who art the Author and Giver of all good things, graft in our hearts the love of Thy Name…” or perhaps “We beseech Thee to look upon our infirmities; and those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us…” The cadences may (or may not) belong to Cranmer, but the voice I hear is that of W T Marsh. Which brings me back to my childhood question: could he sincerely mean it? I now believe that he did and I am grateful to God for him: and for those morning prayers with their complex mixture of teaching, humour, provocation and tragedy.

Aces of rhythm ■ From School Band to dance band – Trevor Forecast (45) recalls his drumming days It was my turn to be surprised to see a picture of myself in the School Band 1950 sent to you by Titch Tyson. (I was also known as ‘Titch’ – must be something about drummers). I have often wondered what became of Trevor as I still play drums (only at home now!). I remember he was chosen to play drums in the British Youth Jazz Orchestra or similar name and that a lot of our band rehearsals for the drummers were taken up by Trevor teaching us the latest jazz riffs. From that I have developed my great love of jazz and joined a local dance band when I was

Drum rolls: the 1950 School band

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Drum rolls: the 1950 School band

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16 years which I subsequently led for the next fourteen or so years. We were called the ‘Aces of Rhythm’ and perhaps some OAs will remember we used to play regularly at Beech Bottom, until a young group from school played one of their first gigs during our interval! They were called ‘The Zombies’ and went on to worldwide fame, we moved to the Waterend Barn and other more sedate venues! I also remember going to Annual Camp at Padgate where I think we won the band competition, and then Barry in Scotland where the Scottish drummers taught us a thing or two! They were thrilling moments leading the parades with Trevor throwing the mace, and the front row of drums wondering whether he would catch it! Sadly, I can also tell you that a friend of mine John Hollings (back row in the photo) died in 1983 of lung cancer at only 49 years old leaving a wife and young family. I also attach my CV for the last 50 years (see below) and look forward to reading about some of the other members in the picture. Thanks for reviving a lot of memories. Trevor Forecast, Ch Eng, MCIM, FHCIMA, MI The CV Trevor Forecast completed a five-year engineering apprenticeship with Hawker Siddeley Aircraft at Hatfield in 1955 and, after National Service in the Middle East became Marketing Manager for the Polymer Corporation of America (Polypenco, Welwyn

Garden City). His career in the Hotel industry began when, in 1972, he and his wife purchased the Crown Hotel, Downham Market, Norfolk, where they welcomed several OAs including the Angling Club and an OA cricket team. Trevor and Christine then created Congham Hall Country House Hotel in 1982, which they ran as full-time working proprietors until their retirement sale in October 1999, again welcoming several OAs to stay. During this time Congham Hall received many awards including Johansens Hotel of the Year 1993, RAC Gold Ribbon award 1998, AA Red Stars since 1985, two rosettes for the restaurant, and a Catey Award, the industry’s equivalent of an Oscar, for marketing in 1992. Trevor sits on various committees connected with the industry as well as being past Chairman of the British Hospitality Association, Pride of Britain Hotels and the Master Innholders of Great Britain and a past Director of the Norfolk & Waveney TEC representing the Hospitality Industry. He and his wife now act as advisors to the Hotel Industry with Trevor visiting Local Hotel Associations around the country. He now also has time to become more involved with his favourite charity, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, where he is Chairman for West Norfolk. Trevor is a regular at the annual OA Dinner and is in regular contact with Dick Carrington who has lived in Muscat, Oman for the last 30 years or so. “A fabulous country which we have visited several times now”. He

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also recently renewed contact with Keith Doherty through the MG car club as we both have a TF. Mine is a 1954 model and we meet at the yearly weekend meeting, last year in Wales, this year in the Peak district. We would be pleased to welcome anyone visiting Norfolk, after 30 years up here we know a lot of good pubs!

Athletic support ■ D K R (Bob) Phillips (56) corrects a few of our facts – and identifies an OA present at one of the greatest moments in athletics history I have just seen a copy of the November 2004 issue and I congratulate you on an excellent production. Having spent a lifetime working in journalism and in press relations, I know it is not easy to produce something as appealing and entertaining as this. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got a mention, though I don’t know the source for your paragraph on page 20. As it happens, it’s not quite correct! I am, indeed, retired from my full-time occupation, which was as a chief press officer in the nuclear industry, and from my parttime indulgence as a member of the BBC radio athletics commentary team for 17 years, but I would not regard myself as ‘retired’, having written five books on various aspects of the history of athletics in recent years and continuing to edit a quarterly journal concerned with the history and statistics of the sport. I also don’t live in the Dordogne but in

the neighbouring department of Lot. You mentioned an interview I did regarding Roger Bannister’s fourminute mile, and your readers might like to know that the famous and oftpublicised photograph of Bannister crossing the finish line prominently features an Old Albanian in the background. Standing on the inside of the track wearing a college scarf is Richard Wortley, who I remember as being at School in the early 1950s and who, I believe, became a BBC radio drama producer. I was intrigued by two articles you published in the November issue by contributors whose names I know John Hartley and John Billington. I would very much like to contact Mr Hartley in Australia if this is possible as he has raised a point which is of significant interest to m as an athletics historian. I also presume that John Billington is the same person who was the school high jump champion. The school produced several athletes of prominence in the 1950s – due, largely, to the tutelage of the athletics master whose name was Willé, and perhaps to J M K Finley, who was a noted sprinter at university. Mike Palmer ran the steeplechase for Great Britain at the 1960 Olympics and John Knopf won the three miles for Oxford v Cambridge. All this information, may, of course, have appeared in the past in the OA Bulletin – in which case, please ignore it, but if you would like me to elaborate for a future Bulletin I would be happy to do so.

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Woollams Update

Premier league ■ OA Sports Chairman Andrew MillsBaker reports on a successful conversion to charitable status as the club cements its position as the area’s premier sporting venue OA Sports facilities at Woollams continue to be enjoyed by a growing number of members and visitors alike. Frequent visits by the Mayor of St Albans and prominent Councillors are confirming its position as the premier sports facility in the area, with a growing reputation nationally – and even internationally. At the end of 2004, the Old Albanian Sports Association successfully completed a programme to convert into charitable status. OASA has always been a not-forprofit organisation, but, until the charity status was achieved, has not been able to take advantage of some of the principal advantages of charitable status. The Woollams facilities are, like all property, subject to business rates. Charitable status gives OASA 80% relief by right and the opportunity to apply for discretionary relief of the remaining 20% from the local council. This is a most significant benefit as the business rates levied on the facility run into tens of thousands of pounds. A further benefit is the ability of individuals to make Gift Aid donations to OASA, and any donations received will be put towards maintaining and improving the excellent facilities that have been established.

Neil Dekker, our General Manager, and his team have responded admirably to the increased use of our facilities and we receive many letters of congratulations on the standards we achieve both from members and third parties. Throughout the winter we have hosted Saracens second team fixtures on Monday evenings and have welcomed a good many of the England World Cup winning team, both as spectators and participants. The highlight of the season occurred on Easter Saturday when we hosted an international fixture for the first time, England v Italy, at the Under-16 level. The match has been reported in more detail elsewhere, it was a fantastic day, not least because Thomas Haller, a current St Albans school pupil, came on in the second half to earn his first England cap. The cricket season is now underway and the highlight will be the Lords Taverners v Lashings fixture which takes place on Sunday 7 August. As well as a full programme of cricket over the summer, we continue to host our local Rugby League team, St Albans Centurions. Details of all our activities are set out on the website on www.oasport.com or telephone Neil Dekker at the Club on 01727 864476. Andrew Mills-Baker Chairman OA Sport

The 948 Foundation The mailing of the last edition of the Bulletin included a letter from John Josling, a Trustee of The 948 Sports Foundation, requesting that members consider making Gift Aid donations to the Foundation. Nigel Seale, the Chairman of the Foundation, has written to personally thank those members who responded. Some £2,000 has been donated, of which approximately £1,500 will continue to be made on an annual basis. Thank you very much to everybody concerned. The Foundation was launched just over two years ago and over £40,000 has been donated to some 40 local sports clubs (including OA clubs using Woollams), schools and

individuals. Donations have included the funding of the 948 Sports Bursary, designed to assist the schooling of a sixth-former at St Albans School who would otherwise be unable to join the School. Every year, the Foundation holds an annual review of its activities at Woollams inviting representatives of local schools and clubs, the 2005 presentation was held on the evening of Monday 16 May. Nigel Seale Chairman, 948 Foundation

Woollams hosted the England v Italy Under16s international rugby match on 26th March

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Woollams Update

Woollams hosted the England v Italy Under16s international rugby match on 26th March

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OA Cricket

75 not out ■ Club Captain Tom Preest looks forward to the Club’s 75th Anniversary celebrations off the field – and improved performances on it The cricket season is upon us, and OACC are in the final stages of their preparations. 2005 marks the 75th Anniversary of the cricket club, and OACC will look to mark the celebration of this landmark with improved performances on the field. Thus the summer promises to be an exciting one for the club and for all our members and supporters, whether players, umpires, scorers or spectators. The core aims for the club in 2005 are to consolidate and improve both the player base, and the respective league positions of the three teams entered in the Hertfordshire Cricket League. The club will also be participating in the Chess Valley League and the Becker Cup, which will ensure a high level of competitive cricket on Sundays through out the summer. We also intend to run a 4th XI on Saturdays when resources allow. The club will also be looking to extend the scope and success of the Colts section. This should ensure that the standard of cricket produced by the club matches the superb facilities available at Woollams. The club has secured the services of Andrew McClean as our overseas player for 2005. Andrew plays for the Northern Districts club in Sydney, and made some appearances for their

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1st Grade side over the recent Australian summer. Anyone who knows anything about the structure of Australian cricket will be aware that this is an extremely high level at which to be performing. We look forward to Andrew bringing this experience to bear on the cricket fields of Hertfordshire over the summer, and to the potential for improvement his presence will offer those who play alongside him. Andrew comes highly recommended by a previous OACC overseas star and Northern Districts team mate, Matthew Bruce. Matthew still holds the record for the best bowling in a Hertfordshire League game, taking 10-26 against Berkhamsted on a memorable if damp afternoon in 1999. If Andrew can leave even a similar legacy then we are in for an exciting season. New players and supporters are always welcome. Practice sessions this summer will be held on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm 8.30pm, at Woollams. All prospective players are welcome, and if you require directions or more details on nets or general issues regarding playing for the club please contact club captain Tom Preest at tom.preest@camden.gov.uk There are games at Woollams every Saturday and most Sundays through out the summer. Please find further details at the OACC web site www.oacc.org.uk The bar at Woollams is open through out the hours of play, enabling visitors to sample to delights of the extensive food and

Charity Cricket Match The Lord’s Taverners v Lashings Cricket Club International XI To Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Old Albanians Cricket Club

Sunday 7th August 2005 Woollams Playing Fields, Harpenden Road, St Albans

For further information about corporate sponsorship opportunities, contact Andrew McCree, 29 Redmond Beaufort Drive, St Albans, Herts AL3 5LA Tel: 01727 845513 E-mail: mccreea@bp.com

drink menu. Woollams really is a beautiful venue at which to watch cricket, so please do come along during the summer if you can. Finally some dates for your diary: Friday April 29th – 75th Anniversary Black Tie Dinner at Woollams. There are still some tickets left for this exciting event. Please contact Andrew McCree (MCCREEA@bp.com) if you would like to attend. Sunday 7th August – Lords

Taverners v Lashings International XI at Woollams. Sunday 14th August – Herts Village Cricket Competition Semi Finals and Finals Day at Woollams. Sunday 21st August – Presidents’ Day at Woollams. We are looking forward to the challenges ahead, and hope you are able to join us as we tackle them. Tom Preest Club Captain

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Charity Cricket Match The Lord’s Taverners v Lashings Cricket Club International XI To Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Old Albanians Cricket Club

Sunday 7th August 2005 Woollams Playing Fields, Harpenden Road, St Albans

For further information about corporate sponsorship opportunities, contact Andrew McCree, 29 Redmond Beaufort Drive, St Albans, Herts AL3 5LA Tel: 01727 845513 E-mail: mccreea@bp.com

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OA Rugby

Pope selected ■ Rugby Club President Ali Mills reports on another successful season for the club – topped with 1st XV captain Steve Pope appearing for the Barbarians As the 2004-05 campaign concludes, it is time for me to reflect on our third season at Woollams. Once again it has been absolutely enthralling both on and off the field as far as the club is concerned, and one which has included a number of exciting invitation rugby occasions on which I will expand later in this missive. Our League campaign, for only our second season in London One, has had a number of highs and as previously reported, has been even more competitive than last year. We all thought that Richmond and London Scottish would storm through but it has been Cambridge and Worthing who have come through to take their places in the National League Area South next season. With just one away game to play at the time of writing, against Thanet Wanderers who are doomed, we will be finishing up a very creditable 6th place in the League, only one point behind Canterbury. We have recorded memorable home wins against Richmond and London Scottish, both of which have been very complimentary about our wonderful set-up. Yes, newcomers to Woollams are still mightily impressed with our state-of-the-art facilities. We had a good run in the Intermediate Cup, beating Clevedon

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away down in Bristol, but going down narrowly to another Bristol side, Cleve who went on to the semifinals. The general feeling is that we had the side to do so and could have gone all the way, but that’s cup rugby. We have done the double over Sutton & Epsom, London Nigerians and Old Colfiens and have notched some impressive away wins as well during the season. The whole 1st XV squad can be proud of their record this season but special mention must be made of Captain, Steve Pope, and Greg Botterman, both of whom had the honour of playing for the Barbarians in the Mobbs Memorial Match against the East Midlands, and it was Steve who scored a splendid try for the Baa-Baas. It was a huge and welldeserved honour for the players and it was a very proud occasion for the club with a large number of supporters making the journey up to Bedford. There is no other club at our level in the country who can boast two Barbarians playing in the same game, let alone the same season. Strength in depth remains the key to success, and whilst the 2nd XV have not had quite the season they had last year, there have still been great wins over London Nigerians, Cambridge, Sutton, Dunstablians, Old Colfs, Shelford, Cantebury, Chinnor, Woodford and – last but not least – OVs 1sts. The 3rd XV have taken on tough competition and beaten OVs 2nds and Harpenden 2nds twice this season, as well as Barnet and Welwyn 2nds. However,

they had to suffer three defeats by just one score each time against Hertford. This year’s Colts have had a difficult time but it has been encouraging to see that a number of the have been included in the development games, which Director of Coaching, Bruce Miller, has organised as part of our recruitment drive. Bruce also organised a local Schools’ competition for the first time, which was much enjoyed by the few schools that were able to attend. The competition was won by St Albans School and it is hoped that the competition will be run again next season with more schools participating. As for the 4ths, notable scalps have been OVs 3rds,Watford 2nds, Harlow, Tring Woodford, Barnet Elizabethans and Cheshunt. The 5th team results again reflect the stronger opposition we are now

taking on and whist having a mixed season, had a great run in early in the new year with wins over Vauxhall 2nds, Hatfield 2nds and Fullerians. However, the win of the season was against Welwyn 4ths, known as ‘Fogey’s Heroes’. It would take a separate book to properly put into perspective the OA Saints Women’s achievements this season, but in their first full season affiliated to the Club, as with last season, they continued their unbeaten run and are now top of South East Division One. Our congratulations to them. Around 400 players have been enjoying a wonderful season of Mini and Junior rugby with the club heaving with little people every Sunday, including your President (ho! ho!). The U17s got to the semifinals of the County Cup and the U13s went on tour to Cornwall, won all their games and then got to the

Club stalwart Ian McMillin flat out at Beech Bottom

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Club stalwart Ian McMillin flat out at Beech Bottom

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final of the County Cup. Chairman Rory Davis reports that all junior and mini age group squads have increased in number with demonstrates the continuing success and growth of this section of the club. Off the field, there have been a number of large attendances for the Saracens 2nd XV games on Monday nights and a number of stars of the game have been seen watching their developing players. It is quite an eyeopener to see Lawrence Dallaglio running on as water boy for his club, and Richard Hill sitting on the terrace quietly nursing his leg and happily chatting away to all. The fireworks night went off with a bang and we welcomed over two thousand people at the club for the England U16s v Italy, which England won comfortably. The biggest cheer was reserved for St Albans Schoolâ€™s Tom Haller, who came on at prop in the second half to earn his first cap. Hertfordshire beat Surrey in the curtain raiser. We have staged the U17s National Semi-finals, a Southern Area Womenâ€™s tournament and the County Junior 10 a sides on the weekend of the 30th April/1st May. The above are just some of the highlights of the season and as always, there has been lots going on at the club. New members and old friends returning to the area are always welcome and you are encouraged to make contact through our website oarugby.combut for those who still use the good old fashioned telephone, please feel free to call me on

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07974414342 and I will do my best to direct your enquiry to the appropriate officer of the Club. For next season, we are making a concerted effort on fund raising to help the club in its higher profile. Needless to say, we would be delighted to hear from OAs who may be able to help in some form of sponsorship. I look forward to reporting in the next issue. Finally, a date for your diary: the Summer Ball is being held on 9th July, always the highlight of the social calendar. Alastair Mills President OARFC

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OA Shooting

Give it a shot ■ Shooting is a very demanding and precise sport, says OA Rifle & Pistol Club Secretary David Buxton – so why not give it a try? The summer of 2004 was a quieter season last year, sadly again due to lack of numbers. Shooting at the School now requires that we hire the range and although not a large amount of money, has resulted in some reduction in numbers. The hard-core of regulars continue their endeavours whilst we welcome occasional new members from the School, sadly few from beyond. Probationary shots (a requirement under new legislation) will attend for a period of time during which they will get training as needed and will be able to use club equipment. During that period, they can evaluate the joys of shooting and we can evaluate their suitability to use a firearm. Once they have decided that they want to become a member, their application for membership has to be ratified by the Committee for the authorities. Then, if required, they are able to approach the police and apply for a firearms licence. Otherwise, the club equipment can be used for as long as is preferred. The Club now numbers 14, divided between regular shooters, country, honorary, social and probationary members. Much of the summer has been spent on the full bore ranges at Bisley shooting shoulder-to-shoulder against other clubs, with reasonable success but sadly, we recorded a loss

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against arch–rivals Old Alleynians, the first loss for about five years. Shooting averages have maintained a good level and there is always that extra edge of being best in the club in addition to beating the opposition. Shooting outdoors at ranges up to 900 yards is very demanding and requires skills in reading the wind and light – skills not required in the consistent conditions of the indoor range. This year Andy Wilkie has achieved that top spot. All average over ‘4’ per shot (out of 5), but the old decimal point sorts out the cream from the curdled. To the unpractised shot, shooting outdoors at these distances is a revelation, targets are about 8ft wide and seem miles away. You fire, hold the aim and eventually the bullet gets there and seemingly minutes later, someone in the butts waves the relevant flag to show you hit the bull – very rewarding. The season will always end with the Christmas Shoot, a very serious affair in theory apart from the hilarity generated by a strange collection of targets that have to be shot. There are three targets, each very different and each requiring very little skill! The ‘chessboard’ is a mass of numbers printed on the target, fire off your shots and hope they hit the higher numbers, hope even more that the shots cut the line between two numbers to claim both, hope even more that the shot cuts the intersection of four numbers to claim all of them. The eccentric’ targets are 1 inch black aiming spots having a 10-9&8

ring. Outside that the scores go down to a 5 ring. Sounds easy but the ‘bull’ is eccentric so may be positioned in various positions within the ‘black’. So, if you don’t have telescopic vision, your aim could be hopelessly wrong. The third target consists of silhouettes of 6 animals. Hope to hit the heart and you hit the ‘10’ ring, after which it is outward scoring. There is also a bonus point for hitting a prominent (male) part of the stag, if you can see it. All in good fun but it does teach you to think about the target rather than the consistent ‘aim at the centre’ of competition targets. To win requires some luck, an unprofessional approach to the competition and a complete disregard for the breathing and aim controls required in competition. Telescopes are not permitted and anyone taking the competition seriously is penalised. This year Andy Wilkie’s wife exhibited all these non-skills and bolstered by an occasional sherry relaxed enough to win. Of course, one would never condone the use of alcohol as a relaxant but the writer does admit that on his first invitation to shoot for the County at the Imber Court range of the Met Police – his nerves were somewhat relaxed by the emptying of his hip-flask – and he was first to shoot at 0900! So having knelt under the dashboard of his car whilst he took this medication, he then approached the firing point with some additional confidence. After an amount of

fumbling, he then relaxed and fired off at the 6 targets, with minimal delay – as by the 4th target, there was a considerable desire for a ‘comfort’ break. The shooting may have been fast but it was surprisingly accurate. However he manfully finished the task and shot all 6 targets within a space of about 30 minutes, whilst others would take all morning. Having returned to the firing point, the adjoining shooter for the Met asked – “how did you get on?” I replied: “ I think I dropped 5 shots.” The other chap asked how I managed on the 2nd target to which I replied – “No, that was for all 6 targets!”. The moral of the story is that there is no moral to this story and a drink before 0900 is not the way to shoot – but didn’t it help! To cap it all, the Met Police later sent the writer a medal for the highest score of the day! Of course, a taxi was needed to take the writer home – really. Shooting is non-PC these days for various ridiculous reasoning by treehuggers, our never-ending hope is that those who have shot in the past may like to try their hand again and that those who have never shot would like to try. It is a very demanding and precise sport. We would welcome anyone who has been away at university, working overseas, living elsewhere, etc or those who would like to have another look at shooting please contact us (see the web or Bulletin for contact details) and see if you can still do it. Target shooting is self-discipline, shooting is self-control, shooting is

OA SPORT

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

OA Shooting

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

OA Golf fun, shooting is highly individualised until you are part of a team, come and enjoy. Hold that aim! David Buxton Secretary

RUGBY FOOTBALL

A Retrospect ■ Major Wood Smith on the 1919 conversion of the School from association to rugby football, taken from the School’s John Insomuch Press web site The football season just concluded is chiefly notable for the fact that a radical change has been carried out. Following the example of many other Public Schools, we decided at the beginning of the term to drop the “soccer” game and adopt “rugger” in its place. As was only to be expected, it took the School some time to settle down to a new game and a new code, but, when we consider the fact that no playing member of the School had ever apparently played the game before, we may take the results as most encouraging, and the thanks of all are justly due to those masters who turned out regularly and did their best to initiate the younger generation in the game that they themselves had loved so well in their earlier days. It would not be amiss to draw attention to the points in the game to which insufficient attention was given and to which the earlier failures were due. Firstly, the “soccer” habit of kicking the ball

hard “on sight” persisted to the end; the fact that hands are better than feet with which to stop a forward rush was never fully grasped; we suffered badly from the want of capable half-backs who could combine and make openings for the three-quarters; the material was good, but all the backs failed to learn to pass properly – “hard and low” was told them, but “soft and high” was what they chiefly did. The forwards came on well and soon learnt to control the ball and dribble, but amongst both forwards and backs the tackling was very feeble; until all learn to tackle low and hard, they will not win matches worth winning. To be personal, Pike, Attwood and W H Bailey developed into good sound forwards, Owen and Purner played hard and should be good in time. Several players tried to play half, but none seemed to be born with the gift. Of the three-quarters, F Chandler was the best, though Bredin at one time showed more promise; the latter with his pace might turn out really good, but he must learn to keep his place, to combine, and to handle the ball better. Groves, though slow, was the only one who was any use as full back. Next season we hope the XV will start by playing a harder, faster game, that they will learn how to tackle and handle the ball to better purpose, and that we shall find halfbacks who can play to one another and make openings for the threequarters.

Driving forward ■ A busy 2005 season is underway with a match against Mid Herts Golf Club. Don Carnell reports on an excellent day and invites new members of all ages and levels of ability The 2005 season teed off with the annual club dinner where the men invite their ladies – partly as a “thank you” for letting them escape to golf during the rest of the year, and partly to have someone to drive them home! This year it was held at Mid Herts Golf Club where following an excellent meal the new captain Peter Dew entertained the gathering with some well chosen words. On Saturday 9th April the first of the 2005 golf events took place with a match against Mid Herts. After all the recent cold weather including sleet and snow everyone was pleased to see the sun shining, although the temperature was slow to rise. After the customary bacon baguette and coffee, 16 Old Albanians took on the members of Mid Herts in a 4 ball better ball match play tournament with the respective captains Peter Dew and Pat Maguire for Mid Herts (see photograph on the first tee) along with their partners Chris Dew and Allan Green taking the tee at 8.45am. Following a closely fought match, which the OAs just managed to win, everyone enjoyed a good lunch with entertaining speeches from both captains.

The next event is a visit to Tadmarton Heath Golf Club on 31st May, where OA John Cox is secretary. This is an afternoon event with the first tee time at 2.00pm. There are sandwiches on arrival followed by 18 holes of golf and culminating with dinner. If anyone is interested in participating in any of the events, Royce Bryant, the Golf Society Secretary, will be pleased to hear from you. His address is 23, Meadowcroft, St Albans, Herts, AL1 1UD or telephone him on 01727 863130. It is worth noting that all the events are designed to be enjoyed by all levels of golfer and the ages range from 24 to 70 years. Don Carnell

OA BULLETIN MAY 2005

OA Golf fun, shooting is highly individualised until you are part of a team, come and enjoy. Hold that aim! David Buxton Secretary

RUGBY FOOTBALL