143045 kes edwardian autumn 2014 higher res

Issue 19

Forthcoming Reunions Class of 2004 – 10 year reunion

Are you older than 98? Have we found our oldest living OE?

29th November 2014 at 7.30 pm Hospitality Suite, KES

Class of 1965 – 50 year reunion 30th January 2015 at 7.30 pm Hospitality Suite, KES

Class of 1989 – 25 year reunion 27th February 2015 at 7.30 pm Hospitality Suite, KES

Poole Veterans’ Luncheon 14th June 2015 at 12.00 pm Dining Hall, KES

Pre 1939 Leavers’ Luncheon 19th June 2015 at 12.30 pm Hospitality Suite, KES For further details of any of the above events, please contact edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk or ring 023 8070 4561

Update us with your contact details Please help us to stay in touch by sending us your current postal address, email and mobile. This will assist us in staying in contact with you and ensuring you receive information and invitations to the relevant reunion events.

Please email us at: edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk giving your full name and date of birth.

Join our KES network group on LinkedIn

1932 Hockey 1stXI (Benjamin middle row, second from left) Benjamin Atkins who was at King Edward’s from 1927 to 1932 is now 98 years of age! Despite being registered blind, he still enjoys his copy of The Edwardian that his son Peter Atkins (also an OE) reads to him at his residential nursing home, in Winchester. He would like to hear from anyone who remembers him during his time at School. Please get in touch with us on edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk if you remember Benjamin or, if indeed, you are older than him!

King Edward VI School Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561

www.kes.hants.sch.uk 1

From the Development Office to a formal dinner in gratitude of their generosity to the King Edward VI Foundation.

More recently we were delighted with the turn out for our London Drinks reception.

This drop-in event proved popular with those living and working in London as they met at the Charing Cross Hotel on an October evening. A number of sporting events have also taken place including an Edwardian boys’ cricket match and an Edwardian girls’ hockey match. It is always a pleasure to meet all of you who attend such events (whether sporting or social) and we hope to see many more of you over the coming months.

Since the last edition of The Edwardian we have had a further five reunion events for alumni of a variety of ages. Those events held at the School included one for those boys who left between 1970 and 1975, our annual Poole Veterans’ Reunion and a luncheon for our oldest alumni. At the end of the summer term we welcomed a good number of William Capon Club members

The coming year will see a period of significant expansion in terms of the fabric of the School as a major development of the Dobson Theatre and surrounding area is planned. Architects have been appointed and plans are in place to expand the current theatre to provide the School with a theatrical space big enough to seat 400 people. This is obviously a large project

resulting in significant changes to the Hill Lane site and one that alumni will, no doubt, be interested to view when they revisit.

Despite physical changes to the buildings though, the ethos of KES remains largely the same. KES continues to be a place of exceptional learning that offers a myriad of co-curricular opportunities to all those children fortunate enough to study at the School. Our work to ensure that places are also available to children with less fortunate family financial circumstances continues in our efforts to raise money for bursaries via our King Edward VI Foundation. Any donations or bequests, regardless of size are very much appreciated. Regular monthly donation of a few pounds right through to substantial bequests are all used solely for bursarial support.

Suzanne Hooper Development Officer

From the Head The new academic year began with some excellent weather, so much so that we might have been better advised to have extended the cricket season rather than playing rugby and hockey in near tropical temperatures.

August saw some very good IGCSE and A level results. 82% of our students will proceed to The Times top 25 universities and twelve students have gained places at Oxford and Cambridge.

The School continues to invest in all of its principal facilities. The School Hall has undergone a major refurbishment with new House shields, School crest, improved lighting and an enhanced sound system.

It has been re-painted in delicate shades of cream and white and looks very smart!

The Tower has also received some urgent attention. It should be safe for another seventy-five years following complete replastering and new windows. Our Sports Pavilion at Wellington has been subject to a major renovation with new windows, a balcony and the addition, by the end of November, of another hospitality area on the

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ground floor. On the Stroud site, our prep school in Romsey, we have built a new dining room and additional classrooms.

There have been several farewells to note this year. Mr Putt retired in April as our Deputy Head (Registrar), after nearly thirty-eight years of service to the School.

He has guided the School through periods of major change in a variety of important roles in particular as the key link with Stroud following the acquisition in May 2012. Mrs Putt, his excellent PA for a decade, retired in July. Miss Peachment has also retired after over twenty years as a key figure in the PE Faculty as our Head of Girls’ P.E. and Mr Kelsey has retired after twelve years at King Edward’s teaching Classics and Religious Studies. Dr Leaman has been appointed as Director of Music at Blundell’s School, Mrs Parkyn, Head of Modern Languages, has moved to Southsea to take over as the Head of Mayville High School and Mrs CottrellFerrat, Mr Watson and Dr Sinnett-Jones have all moved to roles in other schools.

We have enjoyed catching up with alumni over the past six months at various reunion events – much more detail and photographs are provided in the accompanying pages.

The King Edward VI Foundation continues to provide support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can benefit from an education at King Edward’s. Further details may be obtained from the School through Ms Hooper or via the website.

As ever we are grateful to the OE Association for its support of the School’s activities and to our staff who organise reunions of various sorts, particularly Ms Hooper as Development Officer.

AJ Thould Head

News from the School 50th anniversary of city status Earlier in the year, students joined other school groups in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Southampton’s City status with the Lord Mayor, Councillor Ivan White. A plaque commemorating the anniversary was presented to the School.

Thanksgiving 2014 The annual Thanksgiving Service took place on 25th March with this year’s guest speaker being the Revd. Alex Aldous from Oakham School who was formerly a teacher at KES. The service provided an opportunity to thank all the School’s founders and benefactors in a collective celebration of the KES community past and present.

National Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

KES student rows for Team GB Earlier in the year a team of KES girls entered the National Schools’ Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The girls all performed with dedication, retaining the two trophies for the team competitions. For the third year running the School finished as U19 National Rhythmic Team Champions and a five further Gold medals were also awarded to members of the team in the individual categories.

Congratulations to Harry Uglow whose rowing career continues to go from strength to strength since his recordbreaking cross channel row in 2012. Harry is now in his third season training for Leander. In the summer he attended the Junior GB trials where he was selected to represent Team GB in the single scull event at the 30th ‘Coupe de la Jeunesse’ in Libourne, France. In this competition all entrants compete in the same event twice to give them a chance to improve. In the first single sculls race Harry achieved Bronze but bettered himself in the second race achieving a Silver medal. We will continue to follow his progress with interest.

The KES Annual Art Exhibition In June the creative academic year culminated, for the Art Department, in the Annual Art Exhibition. This year, as a one off event, the department transformed one of the squash courts into a gallery. The other court, with its glass back was an ideal venue in which to project over sixty images of sketchbook pages and photographs. The overall result was a very contemporary setting much like a professional gallery.

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An island tour Over the summer break fifteen students and four members of staff travelled to Sweden for the KES kayaking Swedish archipelago tour 2014. The team spent four days visiting just a handful of the approximate 24,000 islands making up the archipelago, kayaking in a variety of weather conditions during the day and setting up camp on the deserted islands overnight. They spent an exhilarating four days experiencing some breath-taking scenery and finished their stay with a couple of days sightseeing in Stockholm.

A new exchange for KES! During the spring break, a group of Fourth Year pupils from KES visited the Czech Republic as part of the new Prague Exchange. They spent the week staying with host families attending the local secondary school as well as visiting the tourist highlights that Prague has to offer. The ‘home leg’ of the project saw Czech students visit the UK in September and enjoying a surprisingly warm week during which they explored the South Coast and visited Winchester, Southampton Walls, Stonehenge, Salisbury and London. It is hoped that the exchange will continue over the coming years.

KES in concert with Southbank Sinfonia On 9th October King Edward VI School were delighted to welcome the Southbank Sinfonia with whom they experienced an actionpacked, inspiring day of music making. Pupils from several feeder Prep Schools, singers from the KES Adult Choir and musicians from the KES Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Choir all took part in a variety of activities with the visiting musicians. One of the Sinfonia’s violinists is Avril Freemantle who attended KES in the Sixth Form from 2006-2008.

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In the morning the visiting Prep School musicians were involved in the full orchestral rehearsal and composed pieces for the preconcert performance whilst the KES Chamber Orchestra played alongside the Southbank Sinfonia. In the afternoon the Chamber Choir enjoyed rehearsing Mozart with a professional orchestral accompaniment and throughout the day Lower School artists sketched the orchestra as part of their Cubist art project. The day culminated in an evening concert at The Turner Sims Concert Hall in Southampton.

Leaving Staff

Rob Putt Deputy Head (Registrar) Rob Putt retired at the end of the spring term after nearly 38 years of service to the School.

He was appointed in September 1976 to teach mathematics on a princely salary of £3,195 and was one of the last members of staff appointed when King Edward’s was still a state grammar school. He has seen some significant changes in his time at KES including independence from the Local Authority, co-education, the expansion of the School and, most recently, the acquisition of Stroud School.

He quickly made his mark at KES as an exceptional teacher of mathematics, an outstanding sportsman and, with such evident potential, soon reached the daunting heights of running the School Tuck Shop. Rob continued to be an innovator throughout his career supporting the introduction of computing at KES, the promotion of the Lower School merit system, the organisation of a number of cricket tours across the globe and participating in the school ski trips for many years. He even had a critical role in devising the School’s policy on the use of Christmas tinsel!

In 1984 he agreed to take on the running of the 1st XI cricket, ‘just for a year’, after Mr May decided to stand down. This was a tenure that ultimately lasted nineteen years. During his time in charge of cricket he overhauled the fixture list, moved to playing all day games and increased the number of fixtures to 20-25 a season. In 1993 King Edward’s was one of the first schools from the UK to tour South Africa after the country had been welcomed back into the international fold just before the first elections that brought Mandela to power. In 1985 Rob was appointed Head of First Year and then promoted to Head of Lower School in 1994. In 2003 he took on the very senior role of Registrar which he has managed with great aplomb and apparent calm. More recently, as Deputy Head, he played a significant role in the merging of Stroud and King Edward’s.

Rob has been an exceptional Deputy Head and we wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement. He will be sorely missed as a colleague, friend and teacher.

Carol Peachment Head of Girls’ P.E. Miss Peachment was appointed to her post in 1993 as the first ever female P.E. teacher at KES. The first girls joined the School a year later so to begin with Miss P became involved with teaching rugby in, what was then, an all boys’ school. She spent a great deal of her first year setting up suitable programmes and fixtures for the girls’ intake and much of the current provision is down to the hard work put in by Miss P some twenty years earlier. The first year of fixtures proved to be extremely challenging with just a dozen or so girls forming all the girls’ teams for netball, hockey and rounders.

During the course of her career at KES, Miss P showed outstanding organisational ability and she was utterly hardworking and reliable.

Everything was always on time and in its place.

She made extraordinary efforts to get to know her pupils and this was evident by the detail in

her report writing. She earned the respect and trust from all around her, staff and students alike. As a PE teacher, she has always aimed to get the best from her students whilst being keen that they enjoy their involvement in sport.

Carol also helped run nine ski trips and assisted with several Spanish trips and numerous sports tours, including the world tour in 2003.

One of her personal passions is DIY and her move to restore an entire house in Cornwall should satisfy her thirst for this. She is also a keen photographer and this is another field she is keen to develop. Her last major goal may take a while to complete. She enjoys travelling (mainly in challenging back-packer style) and has only one continent left on her list – Antarctica!

Carol, Miss P, Peachy (she has been known by all these names) will be greatly missed!

David Hodson (KES 1965-1972) appointed OBE David Hodson, Partner and co-founder of The International Family Law Group LLP, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his “Services to International Family Law”. David was born in Portswood and attended Shirley School before he came to King Edward’s. He undertook his legal training and early years as a solicitor at Hepherd Winstanley and Pugh, now Bond Pearce.

Today, David is a solicitor, mediator, family law arbitrator, parttime family court judge and also Australian qualified solicitor and barrister. He was appointed a Deputy District Judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division, High Court, London, now the Central Family Court, in 1995. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading and highly innovative and inspirational family lawyers of his generation, with particular expertise in international family law.

Over the past 25 years David has informed, explained and educated on the complex yet hugely relevant aspects of international family law to the English legal profession and to many lawyers abroad, from small local groups around England and Wales to keynote speeches at major conferences around the world. He is a prolific writer in family law journals here and abroad and has written several books including the leading textbook, “The International Family Law Practice” (The Grey Book) (Jordans), now in its third edition.

David was the originator and a creator of the English family law arbitration scheme, now emulated in other countries worldwide.

He was one of the creators of the English family law accreditation

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scheme based on models in Australia and elsewhere and was co-founder of the world’s first metropolitan practice to combine lawyers, mediators and counsellors in a holistic, professionally collaborative model. He is co-founder of The International Family Law Group LLP which is the world’s first practice specifically set up to provide legal, mediation and arbitration services and advice for international families and their children. David was responsible for the groundbreaking English Code of Good Practice in family law to be put into Plain English which contributed to making family law more accessible to the public.

For the past 25 years David has been invited to sit on committees and organisations for law reform and good practice. He has tirelessly advocated for the interests of international families and their children to be taken into account in national laws and by national parliaments, and by the EU, the Hague Conference, and across the world.

David comments, ‘I am obviously delighted to receive the OBE. I owe a lot of what I have achieved professionally to date, to the foundation education that I received whilst at King Edward’s. I am deeply appreciative of the start in life that this gave me and spent a wonderful seven years at the school.’

David now lives in Surrey with his wife but still remains a keen, lifelong supporter of Southampton FC.

Medicine in Malawi The elective is a rite of passage for any medical student. For me, this hard-earned adventure signalled the end of six years at Oxford and was the final hurdle before embarking on life as a junior doctor.

In May of this year, after a month at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, I travelled to Malawi where I spent six weeks working at the Beit CURE Hospital in Blantyre. The hospital was founded in 2002 and specialises in treating paediatric orthopaedic and plastic surgical conditions. It is part of a wider network of hospitals across the developing world, all run by CURE International, a Christian charity, which aims to deliver life-changing surgery to children.

Here I worked alongside British, American and Malawian surgeons to manage a wide range of conditions experienced by the children of Malawi. Common cases included clubfoot, burns, contractures and chronic bone infections. The hospital has 60 inpatient beds, but also, through their mobile clinic and operating service, reaches children in every district of the country. Clubfoot is a particular focus in Blantyre and the hospital is the Malawian hub for CURE Clubfoot Worldwide, which aims to treat 100% of clubfoot cases across the developing world. In Malawi alone they have established 28 clinics, trained 256 members of staff and treat nearly 1000 children per year. Worldwide they have over 300 clinics across 18 countries.

My involvement spanned every aspect of the treatment pathway: from the initial assessment in the outpatient clinic, to assisting in the operating theatre, to helping in the rehabilitation of the patients in the post-operative period. Through this treatment process I was fortunate enough to see many children walk free from their crippling disabilities.

This experience was of huge educational benefit and gave me the opportunity to gain a wealth of first-hand surgical experience. It has also opened my eyes to the overwhelming positive impact that CURE has in Malawi and the important role that we, as British doctors, can play in providing first-class healthcare in the developing world.

CURE works on the principal that the role of visiting overseas medics should not simply be to provide treatment, but to provide training.

It is this model that has helped the charity to sustain growth and to reach the surgical needs of the wider population.

I am incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to work with CURE in Malawi. I would like to thank King Edward’s for awarding me the Whittington Prize and for the generous financial support that I received from KES and my other benefactors.

Tim Fowler (KES 2001-2008)

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Sport Hockey Edwardians V KES 1st XI boys’ hockey match On 26th March a team of Edwardian boys took on the School’s current 1st XI. Both teams played extremely well, particularly in the first half, with the 1-1 score at half-time leaving everything to be decided. However, the OE team proved themselves to be stronger in the second half of the match as they pushed forward, scoring six further goals to finish the match victorious with a final score of 7-2. The School side put up an impressive fight (against one of the strongest OE sides that we have seen in a while) and are to be commended for their performance. The trophy was presented to the OE captain Will Page to whom we are grateful for helping to organise the team. Thank you also to Mr Gilbert and Mr Crichton for their involvement scheduling the match.

Edwardians V KES 1st XI girls’ hockey match The annual Edwardian girls’ v KES 1st XI match took place on Saturday 13th September at Wellington Sports Ground. At half time the OEs were 3-0 up but in the second half the KES girls fought back taking the score to 4-4 and eventually to 6-4 to secure a further victory for the KES team. The match was played in a friendly, fun, yet competitive, spirit and was enjoyed by all those who took part as well as the spectators.

Our thanks to all those ladies who travelled down to play, to Alex Morgan for organising the OEs and to Mr Crichton and Miss Campbell from KES. Better luck next year ladies!

The Edwardian girls’ team included: Jo Walford, Charlotte Gallagher, Ria Rhodes (goalie), Hannah Parvin, Jill Tombs, Em Ball, Ellie Stephens, Nicky Brooks, Gemma Crouch, Helen Carter, Hanna Davies, Olivia Ellis and Alex Morgan.

Cricket In June, a team of Edwardian boys played the KES 1st XI cricket side. The OEs batted first and were all out for 141 in 29 overs with Tom Fay (KES) taking 4 wickets in an impressive spell of spin bowling. The school 1st XI chased this target down winning by 7 wickets with 10 overs to spare. The OEs sported their new bespoke kit and we look forward to seeing them back next year for a rematch! Thanks to Ali Cheyne for organising the OE team and to Mr Kent for coordinating the fixture.

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Golf Third successive Triangular Cup victory Congratulations to the OE golf team who retained the Triangular Cup again this year playing the competition at Hockley Golf Club on 3rd June. The team collectively held off both the OS and OT teams by 9 points to 7½ a piece.

This makes a third victory in as many years, something that has never been achieved by the OEs until now since the inaugural match in 1949.

The Wally Kemp Cup Two times previous winner, Nick Lawton, was again amongst the favourites to contest the Wally Kemp Cup 2014 along with Joe Sach, Howard Hilliker, Carey Moore and Steve Potter. The event was played on a beautiful sunny July afternoon and the course was in fine condition. In addition to the first, second and wooden spoon prizes, kindly sponsored by Darren Cooper of Peter Cooper Volkswagen Group, Howard Hilliker had donated additional prizes for the best cumulative points score on the Par 5 holes and nearest the pin at the 16th. Joe Sach scored a very creditable 41 points to win the cup on count-back from Howard Hilliker (also with 41 points), Carey Moore scored the best on the Par 5s and Darren Cooper was nearest the pin on the 16th hole. This year’s wooden spoon (last place) with 23 points went to Peter Feltham, again on count back from Nick Creal.

The Ray Paul Challenge Cup In almost perfect autumn conditions, nine OE golfers and two guests met at the Goodwood Park Golf Course in Sussex for the third running of the Ray Paull Challenge Cup and Medal. To begin with the course proved quite difficult to get a run of good scores and James Lay, a new recruit playing off 2, was the early leader over the first three holes with a very creditable even par start.

He was closely followed by last year’s winner Jonathan Porter (one behind) and Guy Bewick, Andrew McNaught, Howard Hilliker, Joe Sach and David Collins at two over. At the half-way stage Howard was one shot clear of Joe, and James a further shot off. The back nine proved a little more testing and Guy Bewick was the player to maintain his best form to come in with a net 70 (equal to Andrew McNaught) but winning on the count back score over the last three holes. This event brought to a close the 2014 fixtures. It also concluded the Order of Merit table.

Order of Merit table This year saw the first running of an ‘Order of Merit’ table to find the most consistent/successful OE golfer. Points were awarded to everyone who participated in the four OE golf events. Additional points were added for the top four places. At the start of the last event of the year (the Ray Paull Cup) eight potential winners were challenging for the title and honour of being the first winner of the fine ‘claret’ jug trophy. The eventual winner was Joe Sach by a narrow two point margin over Darren Cooper. Altogether twenty-six OE golfers played in one or more event and only three managed to accrue negative points for managing to miss the event having entered and paid!

Any other alumni wishing to play friendly but competitive golf with the OEs should email edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk and your details will be passed to Peter Feltham, OE golf organiser.

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Reunions OEA Past Presidents’ Luncheon

The OEA held their 32nd Past Presidents’ Luncheon on May 18th at The White Horse Hotel in Romsey. There were seventeen past Presidents in attendance and guests included the current OEA President Professor John Rogers who had travelled down from Stoke-onTrent to attend the event.

1970-1975 Leavers’ Reunion On Friday 9th May, the School held a reunion for those pupils who left between 1970 and 1975.

Pre-1939 Leavers’ Luncheon The pre-1939 leavers’ enjoyed a convivial lunch in June despite being saddened by the absence of Doug Barnes (a regular and popular attendee) who died earlier this year. This group of alumni are amongst the oldest of our former pupils who still meet up on an annual basis.

William Capon Club Dinner The number of William Capon Club members continues to grow with alumni from around the world donating and bequeathing money to the School to fund bursaries for gifted children from less affluent families. In recognition of their support and commitment to the King Edward VI Foundation, the School held a dinner for members in June and over twenty guests travelled back to KES from around the country.

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London City Drinks In October the School organised a drinks reception at the Charing Cross Hotel, London for those alumni living and working in London. To end the working week a good number of former KES pupils, who attended the school from the 1940s through to the last couple of years, dropped in to share a drink and chat with those present.

Poole Veterans’ Luncheon This year saw the 16th annual Poole Veterans’ Reunion Luncheon take place at the School. The event is always well attended and this year was no exception with over forty former evacuee pupils returning to King Edward’s.

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Lew Creedon (KES 1939-1945) What was it like to be an evacuee?

On 3rd September 1939 I was a ten year old “scholarship boy” in

The Americans arrived in mid-1943. They were very friendly and

bed with mumps. My grandmother arrived and announced “It’s

they taught us softball, their domestic version of baseball, which

started!” My instant reaction was that since I was fortunately ill

I played into the fifties at work. We got a glimpse of a somewhat

I would not have to be evacuated but my mother disillusioned

more relaxed world, they were so obviously non-British. I think

me immediately, and two weeks later she and I travelled alone

they welcomed a small glimpse of domesticity, theirs was a

to Poole, and were cycled through the school and billeting office

hard situation. We also met a lot of ‘Free French’ soldiers billeted

to my home for the next two years with Mr and Mrs B. He was

about half a mile from where I lived; their coffee is still the best I

a carpenter, churchwarden, union secretary and employee of

have ever tasted.

‘Holton Heath’ the somewhat dangerous munitions factory and she was a choir member and temporarily baffled housewife with

Along with my friend, Godfrey Cawte, I spent a considerable

three ration books instead of two.

amount of time in various activities, including the manufacture of peashooters from bamboo cut in the park, using indigenous

School, in premises shared by the compulsory generosity of

hawthorn berries as ammunition. On the south side of the

Poole Grammar School, was a very stabilising influence. All

railway line, through the arch, there was a 25 foot high sandstone

KES pupils were in the same boat and initially, at least, we

cliff facing the harbour. Godfrey and I decided that we would cut

worked amusingly eccentric hours, four hours on six mornings

steps up it. It was a long job, occupying several weeks, and near

one week and four hours on six afternoons the next week. This

completion another of our friends decided he would ‘wing it’ to

seemed to give us a great deal of time to explore an increasingly

the top. About four feet up, a large slice of cliff separated itself

large area, especially when the conventional ‘bicycle’ for

with him and he landed on his back, thankfully and surprisingly

winning a scholarship arrived. On several occasions, I cycled to

unharmed.

Bournemouth to get a copy of yesterday’s Southampton Echo and in May 1944 all the way to Tarrant Rushton airfield to see the

I was a madly enthusiastic aircraft spotter and throughout the

entire field covered with Horsa gliders and Albemarle tugs with

war piled up an impressive list of aircraft seen, including Walrus

only the runway being visible.

naval training planes, Catalina ocean patrol aircraft, Boeing 314A flying boats and a Vought Kingfisher. At age sixteen in the Air

There were inevitable wartime experiences. One Sunday evening

Training Corps, in an aircraft recognition contest, my team won

we walked home from church with shrapnel from anti-aircraft

by 30-3 and I got 28 of them. I even saw the only Spitfire with

fire pattering down around us and, on another occasion, a small

floats, which Jeffrey Quill was unwise enough to fly over Poole

bomb fell on open ground about 200 yards from where I lived.

Harbour. The A.A., who had instructions to shoot at anything

This left a perfect conical crater with a flat bottom, in fact a

they didn’t recognise, registered dozens of near misses We were

correctly banked cycle racing track....children are blessed with

in a classroom facing the harbour and all the boys rushed to the

pragmatism! On my return from one of my visits to Sandbanks

window to watch.

I also had the enlightening experience of watching bayonet training. Not standard experiences for an eleven year old boy

As the prospect of invasion and bombing eased up, many boys

nowadays!

went on the long alternate weekends back to Southampton.

School finished at 12.45 on Saturday and for months athletic

On entry into the fourth form I was moved to stay with an elderly

youths bearing luggage somehow caught the 12.44 from Poole!

widow – Mrs P. Together with George Groves, one year my junior,

Eventually Clifford Harper relented, and school closed at 12.30.

she encouraged, or at least did not dissuade us from, smoking;

In the summer of 1944 after D-Day, it became obvious that

and so continued our wartime adventures. Forged shell blanks

continuing the evacuation had very little point and so a date

(for machining) and finished ammunition used to pass along

was set for our last attendance in the premises of long suffering

our road, to and from the station to the munition factories at

Poole Grammar School.

Creekmoor and Holton Heath. Fairly often the hurriedly-loaded cargo would fall into the road, leaving schoolboys with ‘valuable’ and very dangerous souvenirs. My prize find was a 20mm cannon shell. I’ve been back to where I buried it, it’s not there and no deaths have been reported!

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Lew Creedon

Edwardian Merchandise The Development Office has a selection of Edwardian Merchandise for sale. This includes bespoke gold or silver plated cufflinks which come in individual presentation boxes and make ideal gifts. We have also recently introduced a new bespoke KES school scarf. If you would like to purchase any of these items you can do so by visiting the KESpay section of the main school website.

Silk Ties: £17.00 Books: King Edward VI School 1553-2003.

An Illustrated History (paperback)

by Graham Darby

£10.00

King Edward VI School, Southampton, In the Twentieth Century (hardback)

by John Rowthorn

£13.50

Gold plated cufflinks: £30.00 Silver plated cufflinks: £25.00 **NEW** 100% Wool school scarf: £29.50 All prices include Postage and Packing.

Have you considered leaving a gift to King Edward’s in your will?

The King Edward VI Foundation was set

Bequests and donations at all levels are

up to provide bursaries for applicants to

gratefully received and if you would like

the School who demonstrate academic

to receive further information on the

capability but who do not have the

Foundation or how to leave a gift to King

financial means to pay for fees. The

Edward’s in your Will, please contact the

Governors and staff at KES are keen

Development Office on 023 8070 4561 or

to maintain a wide social mix within

email edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk

the School and through offering more bursaries, the School will open up the opportunity of a King Edward’s education to as many students as possible.

We hope that you may feel inclined to support the Foundation and bring the opportunity of an education, such as that which you received yourself, to young people who would otherwise be unable to apply.

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FROM THE OEA Lost members!

Over the past few months, the OEA has been updating its Old Edwardians’ database and is now looking for your help in tracing lost members.

If you know the present contact details for any of the members listed below then please ask them to establish contact with Suzanne Hooper, the School Development Officer by email at the School on edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk who will pass details on to the OEA. It would be helpful, if you are now married, if you could identify yourself by your maiden name as your school records will reflect this.

Louise Allnutt Jenny Bennett-Bristow Paul Arnold Derek Best Kevin Attrill John Bickell Edward Bailey Charlotte Black

Nicholas Baker Natalie Black Roger Baker Jessica Lloyd Russell Baker Stephen Blincoe Jeremy Baldwin David Board

Verrill Baldwin Katherine Boltwood Edward Balfour Nicola Boot Eric Barendt Anthony Boulton Colin Barnes Diana Bowtell

Clive Barwell Julia Bowtell Anke Batty Emily E Braga Alice Beaumont Alexander Bray Johnathan Bowen

Note from the Development Office: Some of you may have been in touch with the School via the Development Office over the past few years and have provided us with updated contact details. However, we are unable to share these unless we have your written permission so please do get in contact with us if you appear on the OEA’s list.

Subscribing Members - Can you help us please?

We receive listings of annual subscriptions for the OEA from our bankers, annually and at various times during the year. These total in excess of 550. Each time, approximately forty of these are difficult (and in a few cases impossible) to identify due to insufficient or incorrect information. The information we require is basically the identity of the payee and the banks and/or building societies normally allocate two lines or more for identification purposes. May we ask, therefore, if you will kindly instruct your bank or building society to correct these on the basis of the criteria listed below: •

If you are including subscription for more than one person in your payment, please list both names and initials

•

If the payment is being made from a joint account, please list the surname with initials and add the payee’s (member’s) surname and initials prefixed “Re”

•

If payment is being made on behalf of a married lady member from a joint account, please list the lady’s maiden surname and initials separately, prefixed “nee”

•

If payment is being made from a joint partnership account, please list the surnames and initials of both parties and surname and initials of the member’s name

•

If payment is being made for a third party, please list the member’s surname and initials prefixed “Re”

•

•

If payment is being made from a single account holder in the name of a married lady member, please list the married surname and initials and the maiden surname and initials prefixed “nee”

If payment is being made from a single account holder, please list the member’s surname and initials

Thank you for your help with this.

Tony Rowthorn (Past President, OEA)

14

Obituaries Wing Cdr Douglas John Barnes MBE (KES 1930-1936) Doug passed away in March 2014 aged 92. He was born

Stanley Victor Newbold (KES 1944-1949) Stanley passed away in February 2014 aged 81.

in 1920, the son of a timber and coal merchant and attended King Edward’s from 1930 to 1936 after which he joined the Royal Air Force as a boy entrant, and trained to become an armourer. He was seconded to the Fleet Air Arm in Sussex where he met his future wife Signe. In 1941, Doug was sent out to the Far East where he served as an air gunner on the Singapore flying boats before being transferred to Ceylon and allocated to the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. Doug survived the sinking of the Hermes and the continuing war and eventually came back to the UK in 1943. He returned to the RAF and gained a regular commission as an Engineering Officer; the role he performed for the rest of his career. He served at home and overseas, became a Chartered Engineer and was appointed a military MBE for his conspicuous service while in Coastal Command. Doug’s last posting was at RAF Boscombe Down and he retired as a Wing Commander in 1978. During retirement, Doug served 11 years as Secretary of the Romsey Agricultural and Horse Show Society, was a dedicated Church Warden at St. Margaret’s Church in East Wellow and became a member of the Royal British Legion, the RAFA, Rotary and Probus. Doug’s wife, Signe, and two of his daughters predeceased him but he leaves a daughter Elizabeth.

Professor Rodney Frederick William Coates Ph.D., FIEEE, MIET, C.Eng (KES 1955-1962)

Rev Professor Dennis Eric Nineham (KES 19321938) Dennis was born in 1921 and joined the School in 1932. He was Head of Lake House when he left in 1938. Having suffered from polio as a child, Dennis was ineligible for military service and so progressed to Queen’s College, Oxford, after KES, graduating with a first in Mods and Greats and a first in Theology. He completed a short course at Lincoln Theological College, before he returned to Queen’s as Assistant Chaplain and, from 1946, as Chaplain. In 1954, the Dean of King’s College invited him to take on the new Chair of Biblical and Historical Theology and he later became a London University Professor of Divinity. In 1964 he became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, which was combined with a Fellowship at Emmanuel College before accepting the position as Warden of Keble College, Oxford. In 1979 he resigned and became Professor of Theology at Bristol University, and later an Honorary Canon of Bristol Cathedral. Dennis was 91 when he died. He is survived by his wife Ruth and two sons. His daughter sadly predeceased him.

Dudley Pryor (KES 1954-1995) The School is sad to announce the death of Dudley Pryor who retired in 1995 after serving the School for 40 years. Dudley joined KES at the age of 26 as a teacher

Rodney was born and brought up in Southampton and both he and his

of History and Geography finishing his career as First Deputy Head and

younger brother, Lionel, attended KES. After leaving school he studied for

Registrar. He was born in London but brought up in Leeds where he

his BSc in Electronics at Southampton University and went on to study

attended Roundhay School and Leeds University. Following a period of

for his PhD at Queen’s University, Belfast. Rodney began his academic

national service in Egypt and Libya he met and married his wife Doris and

career at the University of London later becoming a lecturer at the

moved to Southampton. Dudley was passionate about rugby and coached

University College of North Wales, where he taught for fourteen years. In

the 1st XV rugby as well as captaining Trojan’s Club and serving as a county

1985 he moved to the University of East Anglia (UEA) as a senior lecture

referee. He was a keen painter, enjoyed painting his own landscapes and

progressing to Professor of Electronic Systems Engineering and Head of

was the first recipient of the Governors’ Travel Award. Described as having

the Department. In 1991 Rodney was appointed Professor of Acoustical

a Yorkshire toughness whilst being charming, direct but always fair and

Oceanography in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at

never dogmatic whilst retaining a great sense of humour, he undoubtedly

the University of Birmingham, taking early retirement in 1996 whereupon

shaped the lives of many Edwardians during his tenure.

he returned to Anglesey and with his wife, Gillian, founded Seiche Ltd - a company that offered week-long training courses in Underwater Acoustics.

Rodney leaves his wife Gillian, a son Damion, a daughter Shana, four grandchildren and a brother.

Nathan Neil William Farnham (KES 20032006) Nathan sadly passed away in January 2012 after a long and brave battle with brain cancer. He was just 22.

Barry Arthur Tarrant (KES 1930-1938) Barry attended KES from 1930-1938 and on leaving School joined John Laing Construction Ltd for whom he worked as a surveyor for forty years. He was an active Freemason, a Past Master of Yarborough Lodge and joined the Southampton Old Edwardian Lodge in 1967. He was elected to Grand Rank in 1986. He enjoyed both cricket and golf and was a member of the Stoneham Golf Club for many years. He is survived by his wife Marie, daughter Maggie and sons Nigel and Stephen, both of whom are alumni of

Harold William Frederick Ingram (KES 19371942) Harold joined the School in 1937 and, after leaving School,

the School.

the RAF, training as a navigator, later returning to serve in the Hampshire

Michael John Verdon L.D.S., R.C.S (KES 19451948) Michael joined the School for a short period (January to March

Constabulary for over thirty years, retiring with the rank of Acting Chief

1940) before returning home to Greggs School in Southampton but coming

Superintendent, having spent the last ten years of his service as Staff

back to King Edward’s in May 1945 and staying until September 1948.

Officer to one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary in the Home

After leaving, he was called up for National Service in the RAF but after

Office in London. He travelled extensively throughout the South of England

demobilisation he trained at Guys Hospital, London, where he graduated as

carrying out pre-inspections of those forces that would eventually be police, he joined Hambros becoming a financial consultant, specialising

a dental surgeon, and later became a partner in a practice in Southampton where he remained for most of his professional life. Michael was a keen gardener and director of Red Lodge Nursery in Chandlers Ford,

in private pensions. He was a Past Master of the Friendship and Justice

specialising in growing dwarf conifers, and exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower

Lodge, a member of the Old Edwardians Lodge and held Provincial Grand

Show for many years winning medals and other awards. He is survived by

Rank. Sadly in 2012 he suffered a severe stroke. He is survived by his wife,

his wife Maureen and daughter Gemma.

joined the Police force as a cadet. He completed his National Service in

visited and inspected by one of the HMI’s. After his retirement from the

Joan, and daughters Susan and Sally from a previous marriage.

15

News Snippets Matt Nahajski, Tom Durham and Will Hurrell (2007-2014) undertook the national 3 Peaks Challenge after finishing their A Levels. Over the weekend of 6th-7th September, the team started at Ben Nevis, followed by Scafell Pike and finally Snowdon completing the trip in a worthy 22 hours, 27 minutes and 13 seconds.

Rhodri Adamson (2007-2012) played rugby for the England U20 Counties team this year.

Micah Stewart (2010-2012) now lives in America. His basketball team at Wando High School in South Carolina won the state championship this year.

Elinor Cooper (2009-2011) has been accepted onto the Genesis Sixteen programme: the Sixteen’s training programme for young professional singers. She is also now a member of the National Youth Chamber Choir, and has been working as a singer in Bristol and London this year.

Caroline Taylor (2006-2010) toured St Andrews, Perth and Greenock with St Andrews Opera in June. In August she travelled to the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival where she was cast as Aline in ‘The Sorcerer’ and Nicemis in ‘Thespis’ and as lead soprano Leonora Braham in the world premiere of ‘The Ladies of Gilbert and Sullivan’. She is currently applying to music school.

Oliver Rew (2003-2010) was Musical Director for a new musical in Edinburgh called UCAS during the Edinburgh Festival.

Emily Davies (2003-2010) graduated from the University of Birmingham with a First Class Honours Degree in Biological Sciences and received a prize for the best performance in her chosen specification of Zoology.

Jonathan Higginson (2002-2009) completed the Marathon des Sables – 236km in 5 days – the toughest foot race on earth. He finished in 375th place!

Will Peveler (2000-2007) completed his degree in Chemistry (MChem) at Christ Church, Oxford in 2011 and is now currently pursuing a PhD at University College London as part of the SECReT Security Science Doctoral Training Centre.

Jon Garner-Richardson (2000-2007) is now working as a Chemistry and Biology teacher at King Edward’s School in Bath.

Matt Fuller (1999-2006) is now Head of Geography in a prep school in Wiltshire having completed Teach First and spending three years in an inner city school in Leicester.

Catherine Senior (2001-2006) gained a First Class Honours Degree in Mathematics from the University of Birmingham and is now training to be an actuary with Ernst & Young in London.

Chris Wootton (1980-1987) has published his memoir book on survival with cystic fibrosis entitled, ‘How have I cheated death?’ and is widely available to purchase. The book (in diary form) counts down to his 40th year unpicking what it has taken (physically and mentally) to defy the medical odds both with the cystic fibrosis and diabetes, go to University, get a job, get married and start a family.

Glyn Meek (1961-1968) spoke at the 40th Anniversary of the New York Film Festival in Madison Square Garden. As a board member of a sponsor company he was asked to present some awards. He even got to walk the red carpet!

Andy Chilton (1958-1965) is retired and lives on the Isle of Wight. He has continued his love of singing, from days with Eric Merriman, and is a member of the Newport Jazz Club and West Wight Arts Association.

David Wrixon (1955-1962) is now retired after a long and successful career in which he held the position of Assistant Director of the National Radiological Protection Board and also Head of Radiation and Transport for the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations. He now lives in Vienna with his wife and still works on a consultancy basis for the IAEA. They have two children and one granddaughter.

Michael Halls (1955-1961) is working for VICTIM SUPPORT as a volunteer and training to be a Street Pastor.

Michael Freemantle (1954-1961) has published his second book entitled ‘The Chemists’ War’ 1914-1918. The book tells the stories of several WWI chemists and explains how their work underpinned and shaped what became known as The Chemists’ War. Peter Jones (Former Director of Sixth Form) has published a second book over the summer entitled ‘A Torch in Flame’ which follows the fortunes of five Hampshire cricketers during WW1.

Rhodri Adamson

3 Peaks Challenge

Please continue to email us with your news items on edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk

King Edward VI School 16

Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561

www.kes.hants.sch.uk