Latymerian Winter 2021

WINTER 2021 NEWSLETTER FOR LATYMERIANS

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF CO-EDUCATION (pages 8-11)

(ALUMNI OF LATYMER UPPER SCHOOL)

The Asian Latymerian Council 1966 Victor Apps 1971 Malcolm Hanney 1990 Mark Syn 1998 Raymond Shuai - Chair 2009 Archie Preston The Australasian Latymer Council 1946 Basil Walby 1955 Clive Trotman 1956 Jim Tilley 1969 John King 1994 Eddie Gapper 1995 Thomas Correia 2004 Aleco Lazaridis The Canadian Friends of Latymer Board of Directors 1955 David Havard 1957 Trevor Jones - Chair 1957 David Stiles 1960 C. Hugh Grant 1962 Jeffrey Simons 1963 Peter Basey 1982 Jimson Bienenstock The US Latymerian Council 1964 David Godfrey - Treasurer 1965 Peter Taylor 1967 David Kendall 1968 Robert Stevens 1969 Simon Kisch 1976 Maciek Brzeski 1976 Jamie Grant 1980 Mark Bullimore - Chair 1989 Tony Hynes 1992 Anton Xavier 2004 Abi Ronan 2010 Josh Henderson The Foundation Office Team: Amanda Scott Executive Director, Latymer Foundation ams@latymerfoundation.org Gareth de Graaff Director of Development gld@latymerfoundation.org Siân Davis Alumni Relations Manager sdd@latymerfoundation.org Rhianna Williams Alumni and Communications Officer rpw@latymerfoundation.org Natasha Nolan Bursaries Appeal Manager njn@latymerfoundation.org James Thorpe-Woods Fundraising Assistant jet@latymerfoundation.org Linn Alexander Events Manager lda@latymerfoundation.org Johanna Ingram Events Manager jci@latymerfoundation.org Takumi Sakutsame Development Assistant tls@latymerfoundation.org David Jones Database and Finance Manager dvj@latymerfoundation.org Aliette Boshier EA to the Executive Director afb@latymerfoundation.org Independent Consultants (Alumni Relations): Sally Markowska sjm@latymer-upper.org Nigel Orton nro@latymerfoundation.org Chris Hammond latymerians@latymerfoundation.org Latymer Foundation Office Latymer Upper School 237 King Street, Hammersmith W6 9LR latymerians@latymerfoundation.org www.latymerfoundation.org 020 3004 0466

WELCOME, GARETH DE GRAAFF We are delighted to welcome Gareth de Graaff as the new Director of Development for the Latymer Foundation. He succeeds Amanda Scott, who, as Executive Director of the Foundation, will now focus on the delivery of the Foundation’s many partnership and outreach projects with local schools, charities and community groups, as well as planning the work of the Foundation beyond 2024.

With 16 years of experience working in relationship management and business

development for leading international firms, Gareth will be working closely with Amanda on the final stages of our Inspiring Minds campaign and plans for the Foundation’s 400th anniversary celebrations.

Gareth is also married to a Latymerian - Laura De Graaff, née MATTHEWMAN (1998).

Gareth says: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Latymer Foundation. The Inspiring Minds campaign is hugely ambitious – to raise £40 million by 2024 in order to fund 1 in 4 students at Latymer on a bursary is a fantastic initiative and one I am very proud to join.”

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO… On behalf of the School, we would like to thank James Priory for serving on the Board of Governors, a post he has held since 2013. We are so thankful for James’ contributions over the years!

“I’m hugely grateful to James for his support and advice over the past eight years. His experience as Head of Tonbridge, and before that Portsmouth Grammar School, has been invaluable both to me and to his fellow Governors of the Latymer Foundation” - Ros Sweeting, Chair of Governors of the Latymer Foundation at Hammersmith After graduating from Lincoln College, Oxford, James went on to secure his first teaching post in 1994 at Bradford Grammar School, where he helped introduce the first girls to the school as Head of Year 7. James’ career continued as he moved south and became Head of English and later, Assistant Head (Head of Sixth Form), then Headmaster at Portsmouth Grammar School. Since 2018, James has been Headmaster at Tonbridge School.

We’re excited to announce Raymond SHUAI (1998) as the new Chair of our Asian Latymerian Council. Raymond takes over from Victor APPS (1966), ‘who retired from the role last month.’ Rephrase this section to instead say the following - who has now retired from the role last month. Victor has done a fantastic job in keeping our Asiabased Latymer community in touch – thank you, Victor - we’re all very grateful that you will stay on as a valued advisor to the Council.

met Latymerians from a wide range of generations and have found them to be a great group. We all share a love of Latymer, and we all view our years at the School as being crucial to our development. I left Latymer in 1966 and it is wonderful to see that it continues to do an amazing job nurturing young minds.”

“I would like to thank Victor for all his efforts over the past 10 years as the Chair of the Asian Latymerian Council. Under his leadership the alumni network in Asia has grown into a vibrant and social group with diverse backgrounds, but a shared fondness of the School. I look forward to continuing his good work.”

Raymond Shuai, new Chair, Asian Latymerian Council Victor Apps adds, “My years as Head of the Asian Latymerian Council have been great fun. I have

Pictured together at a dinner for Latymerians in Asia, March 2021. Victor APPS – back row, second from left. Raymond SHUAI – back row, second from right

The Latymerian Councils across the globe help keep Latymer connected with our alumni based in the US, Canada, Australasia and Asia as well as the UK. Have you recently moved to Asia? Let us know at latymerians@latymerfoundation.org If you’d like to get involved and become a member of your nearest Council, please contact Siân Davis (Alumni Relations Manager) at sdd@Latymerfoundation.org Connect with the Council on Latymer Connects - find them under ‘groups’!

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS AWARDS 1. Isabel ADOMAKOH-YOUNG (2011) has been shortlisted for Best Actress for her role as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre by the Black British Theatre Awards.

2. Roger ANGOLD (1958) has received a lifetime award from the Food and Drink Federation for services to the Food Industry.

4. Rufus JONES (1993) has been nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award (Best Comedy category) for his role in Home.

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3. Henry FIELDMAN (2007) and the GB team took home a Bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Men’s VIII Rowing event.

5. Charlie KENNARD (2004) has been awarded an MBE for his services to youth music as cofounder of East London Arts and Music (ELAM).

6. Jay MORJARIA (1993) has been shortlisted for the Chef to Watch award in the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2021.

Jay was previously a winning contestant on BBC Two’s Million Pound Menu programme!

CAREERS n Poppy AHCHAY (2012) is now an E-Commerce Executive at Aspinal of London. n Niloo ALAGHBAND (2014) has launched her product, HydroPod - a selfwatering planter drawn from Japanese rituals and Nordic design. It’s available from thehydropod.com. n Fran BOORMAN (2000) is the Entrepreneur in Residence / Visiting Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. n Cas BRADBEER (2019) has curated their first exhibition, ‘Building Grand Junction: At the Centre of Our Community’. Cas has also started a queer arts blog ‘Queering Culture’, and helped produce the Queer Heritage Forum’s online Pride. n Katie BROWN (2011) has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Holland Mountain. n Rebecca BUDD (2018) has started an audio-fiction podcast project with friends, including some fellow Latymer alumni. The ‘Attic Monologues’ is releasing monthly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. n Harrison DUNK (2009) has a new contract with recently promoted Cambridge United. n Izzy DU PLESSIS (2011) has competed in the World Kickboxing Association - US National Championships and won Gold in her first Muay Thai tournament n Bill EMMOTT (1974) is Chairman of the Trinity College Long Room Hub for Arts and Humanities in Dublin - International Institute for Strategic Studies and Chair of the Japan Society of the UK in London. n Josh LLOYD-WATSON (2008) and Tom MCFARLAND (2007) of Jungle have released their third album, ‘Loving in Stereo’. n Calam LYNCH (2013) is set to play Theo Sharpe in season two of the Netflix Phenomenon, Bridgerton. n Simon MANLEY (1984) has been appointed as the UK’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade

Fran BOORMAN (2000)

Calum LYCNH (2013)

Augustus PREW (2006)

Alex Roe (2009)

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NEWS

The Latymerian Council (UK) 1971 John Davidson 1973 Steve Faktor 1976 Paul Taylor 1976 James Graham 1979 Mike Cooper 1990 Harmeet Ahuja 1991 Rajesh Goyal 1992 Laurence Hopkins - Chair 1994 Kunwar Ahuja 2000 Alan Sendorek 2008 Suzanna du Plessis (née Rennie) Deputy Chair 2014 Connie Campbell 2016 Charlotte Collingwood

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Organisation (WTO), United Nations. n David MASON (1968) is working on an international project providing informational videos and materials on sharks, conservation and ecology. n Nick MAYHEW (2017) and Flynn TRAEGAR (2018) participated in the Men’s 1st VIII in the most recent IRA National Rowing Championships. n Floss MORRIS (2020) held an art exhibition of her work in September, which included ceramics, paintings, prints and drawings. n John O’CONNOR (1965) is a Visiting Senior Lecturer for the Cornell University Media and Performing Arts Department.

He returns to England every summer to teach Shakespeare in the Oxford University Postgraduate Summer Programme. n Gerry PIMM (1993) has a new position as a member of the Financial Tracking Service Working Group at the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). n Augustus PREW (2006) will be joining the cast of the Netflix film, Players for his next role. n Abi ROHAN (2004) has been appointed as Brand Partnerships Director at Adventure of Art Curators. n Alex ROE (2009) is playing the lead role of Ben Pownall in Freeform’s US TV series Siren. n Deeba SHADNIA (2013) has a new position of Open Source Intelligence Analyst at Tech Against Terrorism n Ricky TAVARES (2002) and George RENDEL (2002) have recently sold The Medic Portal and The Lawyer Portal, which together support nearly five million users each year and work with over 1,000 schools globally. they have been acquired

by Dukes Education, where Latymer’s Head, David Goodhew serves on the Board of Governors. n Stephen WYATT (1966) has his new play Two Cigarettes in the Dark opening at the Chichester Festival Theatre in February 2022 to kick off a nine-week tour.

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EDUCATION University of Navarra on their MBA. n Jessie DURLACHER (2018) has completed her BSc in Neuroscience from the University of Bristol. n Jasmine FRENCH (2014) has graduated from the University of Bristol and is studying for a Master’s in Russian at University College London. n Yasmin KHAN-OSBORNE (2016) has completed her BA in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge. n Alice KOSSE (2018) has completed her BA in Classics at the University of Nottingham, and has been elected as the Welfare and

Wellbeing Officer at Nottingham Students’ Union for 2021-22. n Floss MORRIS (2020) has completed her Art Foundation course at the Royal Drawing School and has begun her degree at Queen’s, Belfast, in Anthropology. n Barry O’REILLY (2013) is studying for his Master’s in Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. n Charles SILLET (2016) has completed his Master’s in Physics from the University of Oxford and is now at King’s College London to complete his PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

LATYMERIAN AUTHORS n Peter DUNCAN (1971) has published his book, Socialism, Capitalism and Alternatives. n Bill EMMOTT (1974) published his latest book Japan’s Far More Female Future in 2020.

Dr Hilary JONES (1971)

Bill EMMOTT (1974)

n Christopher GUARD (1972) is editing his memoirs ready for publishing and composing music for the Sahara Desert Challenge. n Bernard HETHERINGTON (1951) has had his experience of living through WW2 published in U3A magazine. n Lucy IVISON (2001) has published a new book for children, The House of Serendipity. n Dr Hilary JONES (1971) has released his novel Frontline, a narrative set on the ‘battlefields of Europe as a global influenza pandemic looms’.

n David KAUDERS (1962) has released his latest book on economics, The Financial System Limit. n Christopher LENON (1971) has released his book, Zero Carbon Our Choice. n Reverend Richard MARTIN (1959) published his autobiography, Those Were the Waves in 2020, recently followed by a further volume, Ten of the Best, which includes his memories as a Middlesex Scholar at Latymer from 1952 to 1960.

n Giles MILTON (1985) has published his latest work of history, Checkmate in Berlin. n Brigadier Tank NASH (1958) has published his seventh book of military history, The Siege that Changed the World. n Graham SEEL (1968) has published Conflicted Faith, a devotional commentary on John Donne’s Holy Sonnets (John Donne presided over Edward Latymer’s funeral). n Bill WHITE (1953) has written for TheTrafalgarWay.org on the creation of the Trafalgar Way in 2005 in commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. n Stephen WYATT (1966) has had his story ‘Paradise Towers’, issued on Blu-ray in the BBC’s Dr Who - The Collection, Season 24. ‘Paradise Towers’ is the inspiration for a new graphic novel from Cutaway Comics and Build High for Happiness, an upcoming collection of stories. Stephen has also recently coauthored ‘Hurst on Film’, a celebration of the life and films of film director, Brian Desmond Hurst.

CONGRATULATIONS

Guy Ansah-Palmer (2010), Sushil Thomas (2010), Charlie Conner (2010)

In France this September, Hannah MARKOWSKA (2009) celebrated her wedding to Sam Homer; her bridesmaids were Indy FITZPATRICK and Charlie PORTER, while Claire CURTIS-WARD and Harriet MORRIS (all 2009) sang at the ceremony. Other Latymerians present were Hannah’s brother, Joe MARKOWSKI (2006), as well as Frankie REID and Angus RESTON (both 2009) – and of course, Hannah’s mum, Sally Markowska who many will remember from her time as an English teacher at Latymer, now working in the Foundation Office!

Daniella Mogilner (2011), Jess Weiss (2011), Charlie Conner (2010), Laura Gurney (2011), Celia Reston (2011)

NEWS

NEWS

n Flora BAIN (2015) has achieved a First in her Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal College of Music, and is now studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for a Master’s in Music Performance. n Rachel CANNINGS (2017) has graduated from the Glasgow School of Art with a First in Communication Design (Illustration). n Kalpana CHARI (2010) has started at Imperial College Business School on the Weekend MBA programme. n Daniel COOK (2013) has started at the IESE Business School at the

Sushil THOMAS (2010) celebrated his second wedding anniversary with his wife, Sarah, on 18 May 2021. Many Latymerians were in attendance on the big day back in 2019, and it was very fitting that the bus full of Latymerians drove past the School on the way to the wedding reception!

Geoffrey WOLF (1954) has just celebrated his Diamond Wedding Anniversary this October with his wife, Doreen.

REUNIONS HONG KONG In late May, some of our Latymerians based in Hong Kong met up at the Hong Kong Football Club and generously raised money for our Inspiring Minds bursary appeal.

Those in attendance were: Sam CHALLENOR (2008), Kelvin UNG (1996), Mungo PATERSON (1996), Raymond SHUAI (1998), Cheung YU (1986), Victor APPS (1966), Eliot SIMPSON (1986), Peter DAVIES (1998), Vicken MEDAZOUMIAN (2006), Nick LEACH (1971).

USA Tony DURHAM (1951), David BAINES (1951) and Eric MAYHEW (1956), together with their wives, were finally able to meet up again. They reminisced about their days at Latymer at ‘the best fish and chip shop’ on their side of the Atlantic, which is on the waterfront at Bellingham, Washington.

THE COMBINED CADET FORCE

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On Thursday, 21 October, members of the Fledgling Army run by Tom Stewart (fondly known as the FARTS) attended The Grove restaurant in Hammersmith to catch up and talk all things Combined Cadet Force (otherwise known as the CCF)! Tony MEIER (1956) had been working on the restoration of a Latymer crest plaque and was pleased to finally be able to present it to The Grove, where it was immediately mounted on the wall – marking it as the official FARTS HQ!

The group meets bi-annually at The Grove. If you’re an ex-CCF member and would like to join them, please get in touch at latymerians@latymerfoundation.org

Liam JAMES (2020) and David CRESSY (1963) take tea in Claremont, California.

Did you know that the FARTS developed their own book on the history of the CCF? It’s available to purchase on our online shop!

Liam is a student at Claremont McKenna College and David is Research Professor in Arts and Humanities at Claremont Graduate University. Liam was also the most recent recipient of the US Latymerian Bursary.

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MEMORY LANE

Reflections on...

As we know, COVID-19 is not the only pandemic that has affected our nation; back in 1918/19, we faced the Spanish Flu. We have scoured the Latymerian magazines to find some snippets from this time.

The schedule of the debating society – which met on a fortnightly basis – had a ‘gap filled by a Reading’ on October 11th 1918 ‘caused by illness’.

No more is said. Interestingly, when the Literature Society meets in the following week, there is also no formal debate, but a talk by Dr Dale on Beowulf. Dr Dale described the attack in Beowulf by the monster Hrothgar: ‘attacked in the night by a fearful day monster called Grendel – probably a close relation of that latter-day monster called the Flu’.

Robin FAIRHURST (1959) has kindly sent in an original copy of the 1959 programme for a school production of Twelfth Night and a 1954 edition of the Junior Latymerian.

Robin was featured in this edition, where he spoke about his musical talents, including how in April 1954, he was asked by the BBC to sing ‘Home, Sweet Home’ with the view to concluding the ‘Welcome Home’ broadcast for the Queen when she returned to Britain after her tour of the Commonwealth.

Percy Brill, a long-standing Chemistry teacher (who ran the School Cadet Corps, otherwise known as the CCF), was the only teacher listed on the war memorial in the School Hall. Percy volunteered as soon as war broke out, and was the only permanent member of staff who died in uniform. In fact, he died of pneumonia (very likely to be related to the Spanish Flu given the timing in autumn 1918) aged 37 in India while Acting Sergeant on the Adjutant staff.

Other stories of the time included articles about an outing to Greenwich, a cricket quiz, tips on playing chess, and even a recipe for chocolate creams!

We have included the quiz above — have a go!

Mr Fowler – a master of 24 years’ service, and one of the founding masters at the Upper School since it opened on King Street in January 1895, died ‘after an illness of eleven days’. There is a note in the opening pages of Latymerian from his form saying ‘it would be in accordance with the wishes of the form to express the deep sorrow and regret we feel for the loss of our old school master’. His funeral was held at St Saviour’s, Cobbold Road.

France, 1958 In September 1958 a group of Latymerians, all from the Class of 1955, decided to go to France. The party was comprised of John BARNES, Fergus O’BRIAN, Richard PERHAM, and Ian SLATER. John had completed National Service in the RAF and was about to go to Trinity to read Mathematics; Fergus had avoided National Service and had been at Sidney Sussex for two years reading Mathematics; Richard had done National Service in the Navy and had a place at St John’s to read Natural Sciences; and Ian had completed his National Service in the RAF and was looking forward to going to Queens’ to read Mathematics.

The only pupil mentioned In Memoriam in the key period of November 1918 - February 1919 is T.F. Hinton. He was a scholarship boy and had progressed to the Sixth Form in September. He left school on 11th October, feeling ill, and was ‘found to be suffering from influenza and later pneumonia supervened’. On 23rd October both he and his sister died.

MEMORY LANE

MEMORY LANE

The Latymerian in 1954

School Days – 1950s/60s Tony CORDERY and Godfrey GRAVER (1962) remember meeting on the day of their entrance exams and forming a firm friendship from then on.

Here we see the Ford Consul with its bonnet open from overh eating at the end of the circuit!

The group hired a Ford Consul from Godfrey Davis of Victoria, who also booked the ferry crossings from Dover to Calais. Only John and Richard were over 21 and so the only ones allowed to drive. The general plan was to visit Northern France including Normandy and Paris, and they managed to fit in many sights including the

D-Day landings, Mont-St-Michel, Rouen, Deauville, the tapestry in Bayeux, and much of the capital city.

They recall that as 11-year-olds they were placed in one of the five Second Form classes 2V— Mr. Vellacot – History 2H— Mr. Hull – English 2B— Mr. Burrows – Science 2S— Mr. Stanley 2W— Mr. Wilkinson Each class consisted of about 30 pupils (all boys in those days). Supposedly, all were of equal standing but pupils in 2H were regarded as supreme by their peers!

Second Form classrooms were placed at the end of the long corridor near the north playground. The playground was truncated by the building of a new dual carriageway, and an underground tunnel which enabled access to the canteen and Rivercourt House Preparatory School.

The hub of activity centred on the Great Hall with prayers and hymns each day at 9am, while the Headmaster’s study and school office were on opposite sides of the raised stage at the south end. The stairs at the north end allowed access to a gallery and organ.

At lunchtime, Tony and Godfrey remember that the most popular activities included Tiddlywinks and Chess (The Spassky-Fischer match was all the rage in the 1960s!)

John remembers that in a hotel in Rouen the group had suffered a bout of food poisoning. There was only one toilet on each floor of the hotel, and the one on their floor quickly became uninhabitable, so they had to quick march to the facilities on other floors!

However, among John’s favourite memories of the trip is driving around Le Mans. John says, “I was driving.

Poor car! The thing about Le Mans is that it is just normal roads with all the usual rules.”

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Pictured: John BARNES and Fergus O’BRIAN on the trip

Ian recalls that John had been keeping the accounts during the holiday. On the ferry back across the Channel, John made the final reconciliation to discover how much of the budget remained unspent. The result was not divisible by four, so a small coin was thrown overboard in order that the remainder could be shared equally.

Let’s hope they made a wish!

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25 years of Latymerian women

ZOE MAGNELIA (2019) After leaving Latymer in 2019, I started studying Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. During my second semester I joined MoonRanger, a research team that is building a small autonomous rover that will search for ice at the South Pole of the Moon. Throughout the semester, I worked on the systems and mechanical engineering teams. This project allowed me to develop my professional communication skills, apply my engineering education to real-world problems, and network with current NASA employees.

During summer 2020, I was lucky enough to intern for MoonRanger in person; my housemate and I were often the only people at work, but that didn’t stop us from building mass proofs (fake parts used for vibration testing so that the real parts don’t break) and assembling mockup rovers. He and I also co-led research on materials that could simulate the Moon’s soil and performed mobility

testing to improve the wheel design. My favourite assignment of the summer was building a carbon fibre chassis for the mock-up rover that would undergo vibration testing.

On top of the hands-on work, we developed documentation required by NASA in order for us to fly to the Moon. This experience sparked my interest in space exploration and in September 2020, I was recruited to work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Mars Sample Return project. So far, I have been creating code that analyses the mass properties of mechanical structures and I have been designing and building mechanical ground support equipment.

Following these two experiences, I will be taking a leave of absence from university and doing a long internship starting in January 2022 at a start-up called Universal Hydrogen in Los Angeles. I will be assisting in the design and build of a plane that runs on hydrogen fuel cells. I hope to continue my career in aerospace engineering and look forward to what the future holds!

DR VICTORIA SAMPSON (2013) I graduated from Latymer Upper in 2013 and five years later, finished my Dentistry studies!

As a dentist during lockdown, I devoted my time to publishing the first-ever research on the link between the oral microbiome and COVID-19 disease, with our findings showing that gum disease significantly increases your risk of COVID-19 complications. This research has now led to the first study in the world on the oral microbiome in COVID-19 patients at UCL Hospital.

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My research is now the most accessed and read article in the journal of all time for the BDJ and in the top 5% of all research ever published! The research shows that patients who have gum disease are 4.5 times more likely to need to go to ICU due to COVID-19 complications compared to those who do not.

Based on this, I have been volunteering by donating oral hygiene care packages to our most vulnerable in care homes whilst they are not able to access the dentist. I am also now spearheading research at UCL Hospital and Whittington Hospital on the connection between the oral microbiome and COVID-19 complications. This research has allowed for me to lecture worldwide on the connection between systemic disease and oral disease, and I have been in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Oral-B. My contribution to healthcare was most recently acknowledged by Forbes, who shortlisted me for the Forbes 30 under 30 in Healthcare and Science in Europe; and the Dentistry Awards who, shortlisted me for Best Young Dentist of the year.

Overall, my career aim is to break the stereotype of the ‘typical dentist’, through personalised care, my research, or some great tunes in the background whilst I am working!

Follow my journey at @DrVictoriaSampson

From the age of five when my dad woke me in the middle of the night to watch the rowing at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, I knew the magic and drama of sport were going to be a huge part of my life – though I never quite realised I’d be lucky enough to make it my job. I’ve always been quite sporty and, when I joined Latymer for Sixth Form, I was part of the rowing squad. I also loved writing and English, which I studied at University.

Over my three years at University I was part of the student radio station while also writing articles for the Women’s Sports Trust, as a volunteer.

It led to an opportunity to enter the Sports Journalism Awards (the Oscars of the sports journalism industry!) and I won the Student Sportswriter of the Year category. It was a huge shock but opened the door for me to start working at The Telegraph and BBC Sport which is where I find myself now four years later, commentating and reporting on the athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics for BBC Radio 5Live and World Service!

At the Paralympics my days were mostly made up of preparation and

research in the mornings and then doing live updates and commentary in the evenings from inside the Olympic Stadium. When I’m back in the office in the UK, I work across a number of BBC radio stations providing sports news bulletins, as well as presenting a sports show on the World Service. We get to interview a lot of global sports stars which is one of the best parts of my jobs. The stories we get trusted to tell are as wide-ranging as they are inspirational. I then cover football matches and Diamond League athletics at the weekends, providing live radio coverage.

Sports journalism is still a maledominated industry in many ways but it is definitely changing for the better and I feel very proud to be part of a BBC team who give female athletes and colleagues a platform and voice to improve equality. My biggest piece of advice for ‘getting into’ sports journalism is be prepared to work lots of weekends, never say no, listen and read as much as you can and always reach out to people in the industry.

You’d be surprised how few actually send an email and more often than not people will be happy to chat!

I used the word ‘lucky’ earlier, and while a sprinkling of luck is necessary in anything you do, I’m also proud to be the youngest member of the BBC radio team sent to Tokyo. It’s a bit of a cliché but if you work hard to do a job you love, you don’t really have to work a day in your life.

LAURA O’DRISCOLL (2013) I wasn’t one of those people who grew up knowing exactly what they wanted to do in life. When I left Latymer in 2013, I had vague ambitions of working abroad and, hopefully, doing something useful.

I knew I wanted a meaningful challenge, a sense of purpose with a sense of adventure. I didn’t know I’d find it eight years later, in the middle of a field in the Donbas, on my hands and knees in heavy body armour, digging for landmines.

I studied English and French at university, using my holidays and year abroad to work as a tutor, researcher, and to intern in everything from travel to fitness, pet-sitting to publishing.

Each role had its value, and helped me understand more about what, for me, made a job worth doing.

After graduating, I sharpened my focus and spent a few years working in business intelligence and crossborder investigations, alongside studying for an MA in International Relations. I travelled further afield, and was exposed to more challenging environments, complex issues and real-world problems. This helped create not just my vision of what I wanted from a career, but my awareness of what was possible.

I wanted to do challenging and interesting work in intercultural environments, and to make a practical contribution with a meaningful outcome. When the opportunity to

work at The HALO Trust came around, I realised exactly what I’d been looking for.

It’s hard to give a standard “day in the life” for an operations role in HALO. Demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal are often associated with Hollywood-style images of big explosions and ‘red or blue wire’ decisions. Although we do work with explosives, most day-to-day work is less dramatic and more varied.

You might be visiting a minefield to monitor progress, investigating an accident, hosting a visit from a donor or journalist, drafting a report or work plan, or carrying out a controlled explosion. You spend a lot of time in vehicles on bad roads. Urgent jobs can appear with little or no warning.

In remote locations, the resident ops officer might also be the local medical, legal, and safety expert.

I spent my training with HALO on the Ukraine programme. Working in the context of such a recent conflict is a pretty unique experience; the crisis began in 2014 and is still ongoing.

Senior national staff have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, and I’ll never forget the conversations I had, during minefield survey tasks, with locals living on the frontline.

My new posting in Angola - still one of the most heavily mined countries in

LATYMERIAN WOMEN

LATYMERIAN WOMEN

This academic year marks 25 years since Latymer Upper School first took the momentous step of welcoming girls to the Sixth Form. We are hugely proud of the impact this has made on the School and look forward to hosting a celebration of this anniversary in Spring 2022.

To begin marking this milestone, we are thrilled to share with you the stories and achievements of just a handful of our strong and talented alumnae.

KATIE SMITH (2013)

the world, following a 27-year civil war which ended in 2002 - will present a completely different set of challenges and opportunities. Our projects there include training and employing all-female demining teams, and clearing landmines in the Okavango headwaters - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - laying the foundations for conservation-led development.

Working as an Operations Officer at HALO is tough, but incredibly rewarding; it is as much of a mental challenge as a physical one, with a tangible human impact. You get to travel off the beaten track, and experience life in other cultures in a way you never would otherwise.

You get to meet and work with the most amazing people. You never stop learning. And every day, you make measurable progress towards eliminating landmine contamination.

It’s not a nine-to-five job, but a 24/7 way of life - and one that I wake up looking forward to every day.

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DR KLARA WEAVER (2011) skills. This coincided with a rediscovered love of the outdoors and a fledgling subspecialty making waves in the medical community – Wilderness and Expedition Medicine.

During medical school, I initially thought this something different was ground-breaking laboratory and clinical research, truly out of the box thinking towards a grand cause. That changed in my fourth year on my first ambulance ride with my paramedic mentor Mike Skillern working with London Ambulance Service. Driving the wrong way down Oxford Street with sirens wailing and lights flashing on the way to a cardiac arrest with my favourite Tom Petty song coincidentally on the radio, it hit me.

This was that ‘something different’.

Today, I am days if not weeks away from another doctor. During winter, the only medical evacuation option is by air and that can take days to organise if the weather behaves, which it never does. That is days alone with a potentially very sick person. This occurs rarely, and even if I am prepared for it, the idea that a patient, who is also a friend, might be sick enough for evacuation is a thought I am glad I have not had to entertain.

After medical school, I branched off first into prehospital medicine in London and then in Iceland, working with ambulances and search and rescue helimedical services. I refocussed my attention to Emergency Medicine, a busy speciality on the front line of hospitals with a good combination of patient contact, variety and practical

So, what does a lone doctor do to occupy herself for six months? My week begins with a clean of the surgery to keep my clinical space ready for action. I start my day at nine in the morning with a cup of coffee, a check of my emergency monitoring defibrillator and my various email inboxes. From then on, however, the day varies wildly between helping in the kitchen, updating clinical guidelines, organising medical resources and operating the incinerator to burn the base’s sewage waste!

Practising alone in a remote setting requires me to be my own technician and

pharmacist as well as doctor. Once a month I go through my medication stocks and dispose of out of date drugs that I have in abundance. If I don’t have many left, I tend to hold on to them which has developed slightly into an art of deciding how many pills is not enough. I also have to calibrate and check all my diagnostic machines, making sure batteries work, are charged and the devices will give me accurate readings. This may be far from the glamourous, windswept, stethoscope wielding, social media doctor! It is, however, the reality of remote and wilderness medicine. The skills you learn about self-sufficiency and a clinician eclipse the glamour-shot with a penguin. As a speciality, emergency and remote medicine gives you a chance to grow, to learn more about the world and the privilege of immersing yourself in it. Plus… I saw an orca on my run yesterday and met a penguin on my commute to work this morning. If that’s not a reason to walk the road less travelled, I don’t know what is.

CHLOE HOLE (2007) My family actually has quite a long history with Latymer.

My great-great grandparents lived in Hammersmith and had 12 children. One of them, Harold, went to Latymer.

And then his nephew, Bill, my grandmother’s cousin, followed in his footsteps. My Dad, Ian HOLE (1972), then attended and I continued the family line by joining for the sixth form.

When I joined the Lower Sixth from an all girls school there were about 50 girls and 150 boys so I quickly had to adapt. I loved the slightly more rumbustious lesson style and remember having lots of lively debates. I was the only girl who did Physics in the Upper Sixth, and I think it set me up for my career in technology and taught me not to be fazed in male-dominated environments!

When I look at Latymer today, I do hope more girls are taking physics! I hope too, that the girls make use of the new sports facilities available; I would have loved them in my time! Most importantly though, I hope Latymer is a place where girls can be themselves, happy and supported at quite a pressurised time in life. I had a great time at Latymer and Mr Bearman (who also taught my Dad), Mr Foynes, Dr Coetzee and Mr White were integral in my path to Cambridge to read History.

My first job after university was working for British Rowing around the time of the London 2012 Olympics

How Time Flies!

JESS WEISS (2011) I can’t quite believe that this year will mark ten years since leaving Latymer. There is not enough space to summarise it all, but it includes a couple of ski seasons (instructing - not a ski bum!), a degree in Spanish and Portuguese, plus a year abroad in Barcelona and Rio, followed by three years living and working in Colombia.

Here I am on my travels in Cali, Colombia, with my salsa teacher. I absolutely couldn’t put two feet in front of the other before taking these classes, and then I ended up dancing in the “Feria de Cali” on Christmas Day 2017 - it’s the biggest salsa festival in the world!

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My closest friends from Latymer all came out to visit me in Colombia in April 2019 and we stayed on an island off Cartagena. It was such a brilliant holiday all together and very special to show them what was home for me!

which was a really fun experience. I then moved into technology consulting and had a blast travelling all around the world working on different projects.

Consultancy is so varied and gives you exposure to so many different businesses; I’ve worked with Dutch dairy companies, global retail brands, ‘Big Four’ accounting firms, lots of interesting healthcare problems and great technologies like Salesforce and Google.

I’ve recently started a new job in Partner Strategy for ServiceNow, one of the fastest growing software companies in the world. ServiceNow is one of those enormous multi-billion innovative companies that aren’t household names (yet!). My job is to make sure that with our rapid pace of growth, we still maintain a high standard of quality with our implementations and continue to expand the skills of our partner ecosystem.

ServiceNow is also much better than average in the technology sector for female leadership; it is the first time in my career that I’ve experienced such strong diversity at board level.

LATYMERIAN WOMEN

LATYMERIAN WOMEN

When I left Latymer for Imperial College London, I had no idea that 10 years later I would be several months into an isolated winter at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica.

I did know, however, that I wanted something different.

I’m now back in London where I manage the post-sales relationships at Darktrace (the world’s leading artificial intelligence company for cyber defence). I look back on Latymer with such fond memories and am so grateful to the wonderful friends I still have by my side!

At Darktrace, I work on the same team as Benji DRUTTMAN (2011); we’re both Customer Success Managers. Although Benji works in Madrid, we were lucky to spend some time together in the London office recently. We worked out we probably hadn’t seen each other since leaving school but it didn’t feel that way at all and it’s an absolute delight to work alongside him and lovely to reconnect! Oscar HOLMES (2015) also works within Customer Success but as an Operations Analyst and Jordan EGGAR (2008) is on the sales team.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. At 29, after a few months of mysterious illness, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma (a type of blood cancer).

This was a massive shock having previously been fit and well. I had only recently got engaged to my partner, Gemma, so it was a very stressful The Wedding Party time going from a great high to a difficult low. I underwent six months of intense chemotherapy and was lucky to make a full recovery. All my friends from Latymer were a great support and it was fantastic to be well enough to get married shortly after my treatment ended in January 2020, even if I did have no hair!

Annie HARDY, Johnny MARLBOROUGH and Andrew WHITESTONE (all class of 2007) were my ‘bridesmaids’ and there were lots of Latymerians at the wedding - both from my year and my Dad’s!

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New ventures during the pandemic Everyone in the events industry remembers the week in April 2020 when, almost overnight, we watched hundreds of our projects and events be cancelled.

We began the wait for our industry to return. Not knowing when that would be was an incredibly unnerving time. I know that my colleagues in the hospitality and entertainment industries share these memories, and I was one of the many thousands of people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

It can be very frightening when the only job you have ever wanted to do looks like it may no longer exist; however, during the dark depths of the first lockdown,

and in a moment of either sheer optimism or isolationinduced madness, I decided to start planning my own events agency. I figured that nowhere would be hiring in this sector for a long time, so my only option was to create a job and offer it to myself!

I truly believed that vibrant, physical events would return. Perhaps even better than before after what ended up being almost two years of cancellations, lockdowns, and no parties! In November 2020, as the situation appeared to be improving, I proudly launched Sauveur - a creative events studio. After a couple of weeks, in December, the UK was plunged into another lockdown that, for the events industry, did not end until 21st June 2021.

As many of my fellow entrepreneurial Latymerians know, starting a business is very challenging and is rendered even more so when the service you offer is temporarily illegal. Things got off to a bumpy start causing many sleepless nights. However, I am pleased to now be writing that, thanks to the support of family and friends, and a growing list of individuals and brands, Sauveur is in full swing. We are back to doing what we love: bringing people together and producing exceptional events and experiences.

In the last few months we have produced weddings, summer parties, and celebration dinners with more exciting projects scheduled over the coming months.

Building a business has been a thrilling journey but the most exciting aspect for me so far has been watching people reconnect, couples walk down the aisle, and life’s milestone moments celebrated. I feel very lucky to play a part in this, and there is nothing more human than coming together to dance, exchange and celebrate. I would hope that, after the two years we have all been through, you agree. www.sauveurstudios.com @sauveurstudios

THE DOFE SCHEME AT LUS

Over six million young people in the UK have taken part in the DofE scheme since 1956, including many generations of Latymerians!

Latymer subscribes to this value system on an even wider basis; we are members of the Round Square group of schools across the world that share a commitment to six principles or IDEALS that help to shape the education of their students. The IDEALS, suitably ‘Latymerised’, permeate and inform much of what we do in the School.

For the first time since February 2020 Latymerians past and present were able to attend a live art exhibition at the School. The Late Summer Show 2021 was a stunning exhibition of A Level, Year 12 and GCSE art and photography, curated by Head of Art, David Mumby, and his team.

ONE HUNDRED REASONS TO HOPE Latymer Sixth Former, Nina, has been featured in Captain Tom Moore’s book One Hundred Reasons to Hope. The book contains stories of courage and community, everyday kindness, and perseverance.

As well as bright colours and bold patterns, textiles and collages, were multimedia confections, abstracts, selfportraits and landscapes; these adorned the walls and spaces of the Atrium Gallery, Art School and Dining Hall.

EXAM SUCCESS – SUMMER 2021

SCHOOL NEWS

LATYMERIAN ADVENTURES

MATTHEW SHAW (2012) FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT SAUVEUR

In memory of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, we wanted to celebrate the success of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (commonly abbreviated as DofE) - a youth awards programme founded in 1956 by the late Prince. It is inspired by the ideas of the educationalist Kurt Hahn and his Six Declines of Modern Youth model.

The six IDEALS of self-improvement are: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service.

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THE LATE SUMMER SHOW

Nina was included because of her fantastic work in setting up Community Senior Letters, a non-profit community project that matches schools to care homes so that students can write letters to lonely elderly residents.

Over 250 care homes and more than 250 schools, both in the UK and internationally, have become involved, writing hundreds of thousands of letters. There have been letters sent from all corners of the globe – North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia – with coverage in various media outlets such as CBBC Newsround, Telegraph and Independent. Nina has been recognised by The Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award, Children and Young People Now: Children’s Achievement Award and Hammersmith & Fulham Covid-19 Champion Award.

LATYMERIAN CYCLES THE LENGTH OF THE UK ‘END TO END’ FOR CHARITY Year 12 student Angelika raised over £3,000 this summer for the charity Facing The World by cycling 1874 kms from John O’ Groats to Land’s End, and climbing a height twice that of Everest!

Angelika said, “My dad is an Oculoplastic surgeon and he spends time every year doing voluntary work abroad for medical charities.

One of his favourite charities is Facing the World which specialises in Craniofacial reconstruction in Vietnam and other developing countries.

He has told me about some of the amazing work that they do.”

GCSE Over half of all the grades awarded to Latymer Yr 11’s were 9s and 83% of grades were at 9-8 (A*). A remarkable total of 76 students achieved straight 9-8 (A*) grades. Amongst the data and statistics are individual stories of success. The 22 students who achieved straight 9s at GCSE, include bursary holders and many students who have successfully balanced their studies with additional co-curricular, academic and community activities.

A Levels n 86% of students who applied to university have secured a place at their first choice n 26 bursary students confirmed places at leading UK and International universities (88% at Russell Group) n 20 students secured places at Oxford and Cambridge and 30 at top international universities including MIT, Princeton, Yale and UPenn n 15 students are going on to study medicine and veterinary science -one of whom has been awarded a prestigious ‘President’s Scholarship’ at Imperial College London.

Among these brilliant students are Latymer Bursary recipients Tianrun and Oyin. Music Scholar Tianrun achieved straight A*s and has gone to Cambridge to study Maths, while Oyin achieved stellar results with top marks across all 4 of her subjects; having been offered places at Cambridge, Princeton and St Andrews, she will be going to MIT where she plans to major in Chemistry.

We wish all our new alumni well in the next stage of their educational journeys.

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AN EVENING WITH ANITA LASKER-WALLFISCH AND TAYLOR DOWNING (1971)

A GIFT THAT LASTS A GENERATION

As a member of our 1624 Society, Peter generously left a donation in his will, and we were able to honour his love of rowing with a new boat bearing his name.

Peter’s daughters say that as a father of four daughters (all

of whom were taught to row a dinghy), he would have been delighted to know that this boat is being used by the Girls’ 1st VIII; helping develop the same lifelong love of the river as he did.

Find out more about the 1624 Society on our legacies’ page on the Latymer Foundation website or contact Gareth de Graaff on gld@latymerfoundation.org

2020 GRADUATION CELEBRATION On 3 September, the first in-person event for this term was the long-anticipated graduation for the Class of 2020, who, because of the pandemic, missed their leaving prom the year before. We decided to create something magical for them, inspired by ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, transforming the piazza with flowers, vintage fairground games, live music, and burgers from Patty & Bun! (owned by Latymerian Joe GROSSMAN (2004).

On 4 September, award winning TV producer and Latymerian Taylor DOWNING (1971) took a group from the Latymer community on a fascinating guided tour of the Imperial War Museum, all in aid of the Bursaries Appeal. If you missed this tour Taylor has very generously agreed to host another one on Saturday 5 March.

2015, 2016 & 2019 REUNION On 9 September, we welcomed back graduates from the leaving classes of 2015, 2016 and 2019 to enjoy a memorable evening together with their former classmates and teachers reminiscing about their time at Latymer. Some were taken by surprise to the amount of change that had

1624 SOCIETY RECEPTION 30 September was a date in the diary that we greatly looked forward, welcoming our 1624 Society Members back to Latymer for their annual reception. Our guests enjoyed musical performances by some amazingly talented prep musicians that performed pieces composed by Bach, Fauré and Chopin before listening to the prep choir singing “We are Unstoppable”. The evening ended with a delicious Afternoon Tea hosted by the Chair of Governors, James GRAHAM (1976) and the Latymer Head, David Goodhew.

After a year and a half where our social lives were left to gather dust, it was so lovely to be able to welcome people back to King Street.

We have so enjoyed seeing new and familiar faces walking through the school gates again joining us for an array of amazing events!

GUIDED TOUR OF THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM WITH TAYLOR DOWNING (1971)

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Here we see Peter’s boat pictured with the Girls 1st VIII after winning Bronze at Nationals!

occurred at Latymer since they left; such as the brand new Sixth Form common room!

LEGAL NETWORKING RECEPTION On 20 September, it was wonderful to see so many members of the Latymer community, together with students from nine of our partnership schools, at our Legal Networking Reception. Attendees got the chance to have their burning career questions answered as they networked with experienced Solicitors and Barristers in the beautiful surroundings of The Middle Temple, hosted

by Latymerian parent Derek Sweeting QC.

LATYMER LAUGHS On 26 September, we were thrilled to host an evening of comedy in aid of the Inspiring Minds campaign on Sunday 26 September. Our guests enjoyed a lineup of comedians our neighbours at the Hammersmith Apollo would envy... With opening act, Latymer parent Shaparak (Shappi) Khorsandi, followed by Saul BOYER (2010), Sam DEARDS (1996), Hatty Preston, Alex MacKeith, and Jack WALDOUCK (2007), before a headline set from Latymer parent Bill Bailey, all compèred by alumnae parent Mel Giedroyc. We can’t remember a time we laughed more and all for a fantastic cause!

INSPIRING MINDS LAUNCH RECEPTION On 7 October, the Main Hall was decorated with balloons and flowers as we recognised everyone’s contribution to our Inspiring Minds campaign, and launched this year’s programme of activities. Our guests were treated to live jazz by Latymerian musicians and speeches by David Goodhew (Head), Andrea Rutterford (Principal, Latymer Prep School) as well as Hadeel AL HASANI (2021) and Amir RAFATIFARD (2018), that shared the impact of the campaign so far on bursary recipients and the positive effects it continues to have on the wider Latymer community. In these extraordinary times, we are so grateful to the generosity of our Latymer community in going above and beyond to help expand Latymer’s bursary provision. Thank you!

CLASSES OF 2010 AND 2011 10-YEAR REUNION On 5 November, we welcomed back the Classes of 2010 and 2011 for their 10-year reunion, just slightly belated for the Class of 2010! Our Latymerians were thrilled to be joined by peers and former teachers alike, many of whom hadn’t seen one another for years.

REMEMBRANCE DAY On 11 November, we paid tribute to those that fought in the First and Second World War. Activities of remembrance included recognising a two-minute silence and organising ‘I Choose to Remember Cards’, where every member of staff was invited to remember a Latymerian from the memorial boards in the Main Hall.

INSPIRING CONVERSATIONS WITH EDDIE MARSAN On 14 November, we were joined by one of the UK’s most versatile actors (and Latymer parent) Eddie Marsan, in conversation with arts journalist and Latymerian Peter ASPDEN (1976). We heard of Eddie’s journey - from growing up in Bethnal Green to his career as an awardwinning actor.

On Friday 26 November, we were thrilled to host the Annual Latymerians’ Dinner back on-site, on Friday 26 November. One of the longest-running Latymerian traditions, the Annual Dinner began 108 years ago.

Barring two world wars and last year’s covid-induced lockdown, our alumni has returned to the School each year to enjoy good food and great company in the evocative surrounds of the Main Hall.

A FESTIVE EVENING OF CAROLS AND JAZZ On Thursday 2 December, we enjoyed a truly magical evening of mulled wine, Christmas carols and jazz with Freya PARRY (2016), Latymerian parent Sandy Burnett and Mark Wallace (Teacher of Economics at LUS), together with Upper Sixth students Oscar and Stanley. They treated us to timeless winter classics, sprinkled with some new hits to get us into the Christmas spirit!

LATYMER STAFF PANTOMIME Wednesday 19 Saturday 22 January 2022

Welcome in the New Year with some laughter, as the staff pantomime swings into action across multiple dates next January. This year, they will be performing Aladdin in the Latymer Theatre for anyone to enjoy. A favourite occasion every year, we can guarantee a memorable night!

EXCLUSIVE GUIDED TOUR OF THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM WITH TAYLOR DOWNING (1971)

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

EVENTS ROUNDUP

In May we celebrated the memory of former Boat Club Captain, Peter SIMPSON (1944).

On 28 September, we heard from musician (and Latymerian parent) Anita Lasker-Wallfisch in conversation with historian Taylor DOWNING (1971). Anita is one of the few living survivors from Auschwitz and Belsen. in a powerful and fascinating conversation, she spoke to Taylor about her time at Auschwitz, what kept her alive, and the lasting effects of the Holocaust on her family today. If you missed it, the recording from this interview can be found on the Latymer Foundation website under “Virtually Speaking Archive”.

108th ANNUAL LATYMERIANS’ DINNER

Saturday 5 March 2022

From World War One to present day, the Imperial War Museum is home to many interesting pieces of history.

That plus a tour from author, historian and awardwinning TV producer Taylor DOWNING (1971) is a combination you just can’t miss.

TWO BRIDGES RUN Sunday 13 March 2022

Dust off your trainers for our annual Two Bridges Run in aid of our Bursaries Appeal. It’s all about taking part, having fun and raising money, so don’t be scared. The run starts in the South playground, down to Barnes bridge, across Hammersmith Bridge and back again to the school. We hope to see you there!

To register for any of these events please visit our website: www.latymerfoundation.org

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n Geoffrey David DUNSTER (1960) We are grateful to Bob POTTER (1966) for the following tribute

We mark the following Latymerians who have sadly passed away recently.

n Barry Leonard Cyrus MACEY-DARE (1944) We are grateful to Thomas Macey-Dare for the following tribute

After leaving Latymer, having attended on Scholarship in the Direct Grant era, Geoff went on to study Medicine. After graduating from the Welsh National School of Medicine in 1966, he worked in hospitals in Cardiff, Liverpool and finally in Bristol where he reached Registrar and Consultant status.

n Robin NAYLER (1954) n David FINCH (1959) n Anthony DARBY (1940) n George HEMMEN (1945) n Anthony BAMFORD (1957) n Andrew GRIFFITHS – Former Latymer Governor

n Patrick FINN (1951) We are grateful to Elizabeth Brogan for the following tribute

Patrick grew up in Hammersmith until the family moved to Colwyn Bay, North Wales at the outbreak of war.

The family returned to London in 1945, in time for Patrick to join Latymer at the age of 13.

Patrick always fondly remembered taking part in Latymer’s Johanneum Patrick FINN Exchange as part of early post-war efforts to rebuild shattered relationships across Europe. The German boy hosted by the Finn family only had one coat which still had various undesirable insignias on it.

It was swiftly replaced before he strode out into King Street!

After finishing Latymer in the autumn of 1951, Patrick went up to St Catherine’s College, Oxford where he read English Language and Literature. In the late 1950s he accepted a job with the British Council, teaching English in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Aeroplane flights were rare and expensive so he sailed there instead, entertaining himself on the voyage by playing bridge with the Pretender to the Brazilian throne and others.

At the time that Patrick arrived in Rio it was still the political capital of Brazil so there was a busy social calendar to enjoy and a healthy British expat community supported by the Embassy. His great love was cricket and there were more than enough Brits to field a team.

In due course Patrick married Stella, one of his adult students, and settled permanently in Rio. They had a daughter, Kathleen, and a son, David, and have been blessed with grandchildren Jessica, Benjamin and Ivy.

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Patrick eventually moved on from education into providing translation services. In this work he benefitted from the development of Brazil over the past 60 years.

On one occasion in the 1990s he called his mother in England on a mobile phone from the middle of the Amazon rainforest where was working, just to show that he could! The advent of personal computers, email and the Internet made it even easier to attract translation work and he was probably busier with freelance work after he retired than he had been as an employee.

Barry was born in Barnes on 20th July 1926. He won a Scholarship to Latymer Upper in 1938, but then spent two years at Bath City School during the Blitz before returning to Latymer and obtaining his School Certificate in 1944.

Whilst at Latymer he excelled in athletics, winning the mile race at a London Scout jamboree.

He fondly recalled cross-country races along the Thames towpath, and boys creating human pyramids against the playground wall.

Barry Leonard Cyrus MACEY-DARE

In September 1944 he joined the army, bearing a letter from the Officer commanding Latymer’s Cadet Corps, which read: “Mr. Barry Dare was a member of the school cadet corps for some five Barry Leonard Cyrus MACEY-DARE years. He proved a loyal and efficient cadet. After minor promotions, he became RSM of the corps and has left his impress on all its activities: Drill, Weapon Training and Signalling. I hereby pay tribute to his integrity, enthusiasm, efficiency and loyalty and hope that he will do as well in the army which he joins tomorrow”.

Following demobilisation, he trained in dentistry at the London Hospital, qualifying in 1955. He held posts as Registrar in Prosthetics and Oral Surgery before going on to work as a children’s dentist in the NHS and his private practice in Guildford.

In 1962, he married fellow dentist Mitzi Coyle. He retired in 1990 and died 30 years later on 9th April 2021, aged 94. He is survived by his wife, 5 children and 12 grandchildren. n Alan DAVIS (1958) We are grateful to Joanne Rogers for the following tribute

Alan was born October 23rd, 1939 and passed away from a short illness with cancer on June 1st, 2019 at the age of 79. He was a successful accountant, a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and lived his life to the fullest!

He had a keen interest in research and teaching which led him to set up and run a diabeticobstetric clinic. Geoff was also Chairman of the District Medical Advisory Committee and a member of the Regional Consultant and Specialist Committee.

n Colonel Michael John REECE (1954) OBE We are grateful to Peter Reece for the following tribute

Michael died peacefully at his home in Poundbury, Dorset, on Sunday 21st March this year; his daughters Caroline and Samantha were present. He was a very proud Latymerian, especially of his time in the Combined Cadet Force where he was the Cadet Company Sergeant Major.

Geoffrey David DUNSTER

n Hugh Malcolm CHRISTIE (1951) We are grateful to Carolyn Christie for the following tribute

Hugh was born in Hornchurch, Essex. He often talked of his pride of his time spent at Latymer. After leaving school, he worked in Hospital Physics, initially at the Royal Marsden Hospital and then at the Royal Northern Hospital as a Research Physicist working on radiotherapy treatment planning. In 1961 he moved to Gloucestershire and worked in the Health Physics Department at Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories until retirement in 1990. The last year of his working life was spent in health and safety, improving Safety Procedures.

Geoffrey David DUNSTER

Geoff was known for his dry sense of humour (which he often used to defuse difficult situations) a sense of fun, boundless energy and a sound judgement. He had an uncanny ability to get to ‘the nub of the matter” quickly, had an extensive and varied general knowledge which enabled him to find common ground with most people.

He was generous, kind, stoical and brave; the latter two of his characteristics being amply demonstrated during illness. He suffered from hypertension and atrial fibrillation, and seven years ago, he suffered a STEMI caused by a Dissection of Aortic Arch. He made a good recovery and returned to a fairly active lifestyle during which he met two new grandchildren, saw his oldest grandchild obtain a place at his Alma Mater (Cardiff University) and her sister obtain her GCSEs and enter the sixth form at the school where her father taught chemistry. Geoff is survived by his wife and two sons. n Dr Peter Bamford NUTTER (1947) We are grateful to Joyce Nutter for the following tribute

Peter attended Latymer from 1940 to 1948 when he obtained a scholarship to Christ’s College Cambridge to read Mathematics and Physics. After gaining a double first he was offered a research scholarship to study for a PhD. Upon leaving university, he worked in the Naval Scientific Service at ASRE Portsdown. After five years he moved to Boston USA to join the research division at Raytheon Manufacturing Corporation, a large electronics firm.

On returning to the UK in 1964 he joined the Mathematics department at Manchester University as a lecturer in Mathematical Methods and Quantum Mechanics. In 1968 he re-joined the MOD and became superintendent at the Defence Operational analysis establishment at West Byfleet, and later became the first director at Bureau West, a centralised secure bureau built to support a wide range of connected MOD users.

In 1980 he became director of Shore Maritime Projects at MOD, Northwood, finishing his career as weapons’ design chief in Bath, from which post he took early retirement.

He also founded a Residents’ Association and Neighbourhood Watch of which he was an area coordinator, a job he took seriously and enjoyed.

OBITUARIES

OBITUARIES

Obituaries

Modern technology and improved travel have also made it far easier to keep in touch: Patrick was WhatsApping the family in the UK until only a short time before he passed away in March 2021.

He also enjoyed his family, walking, gardening, music and holidays – mainly in the UK but also visiting USA where he had family. He is very much missed by his family and friends. n Anthony (Tony) FRANCIS (1950) We are grateful to Arthur SKINNER (1948) for the following tribute

Tony met Arthur, the author of this tribute, at Latymer in 1943 and the two remained firm friends for the next 78 years!

After school, Tony joined aircrew as a wireless operator/ air gunner during his National Service, serving in Coastal Command. After demobilisation he joined an engineering company manufacturing garage equipment, becoming Regional Manager before retiring to South Yorkshire. He died after a period of poor health over the past two or three years.

He is survived by his wife, Molly. n Nigel CARTLIDGE (1959) We are grateful to John BONESS, Gareth HUGHES, and Keith WILSON (all class of 1959) for the following tribute.

Spencer Nigel Cartlidge was born on the 13th of August 1941 in Hyde, Manchester – the only child to Gladys and Norman. He was Nigel CARTLIDGE diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer last summer and passed away peacefully in March of this year surrounded by his loving family.

He won a scholarship to Latymer Upper, where he was a diligent student and an enthusiastic football and cricket player, representing the school in the 1956 Senior Colts cricket eleven. He graduated with four O Levels

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demands of Oxford where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later for his Masters at the London School of Economics. He credited his education with giving him the knowledge and the confidence to seek out a job he loved, as an economist at BP, and also for inspiring him to continue learning throughout his life.

n Marek MILLER (1977)

1956 Senior Colts Cricket 11, Nigel Cartlidge back row 2nd from right

and studied Mechanical Engineering at Queen Mary College in London. Following in his father’s footsteps, he pursued a career in technical management as a Chartered Engineer for British Rail for over fifty years. In his semi-retirement, he set up his own consultancy firm.

Nigel was a devoted family man. He met his wife Maggie, a trainee nurse in the Spring of 1966 at the Hammersmith Palais. They were married just over a year later. Michelle, their daughter, was born exactly one year later, and Nigel was known to often comment with a mischievous wink that her birthday would prompt him to remember his anniversary. Their son Stephen was born the following year in June, completing their family. They eventually settled in the Medway Towns and brought up the two children surrounded by friends and Nigel’s love of football and cricket.

Nigel was an avid traveller who visited over 70 countries; he was also a voluntary Governor for Medway Hospital and later for Chatham Grammar School, a referee for Stephen’s St Mary’s Youth football team and helped run both Hempstead Cricket Club and Dixwell Football Club for over twenty years.

Nigel’s premature passing sadly diminishes our Latymerian 1959 class quartet of lifelong friends; we cherish many happy memories of how he enriched our lives and those of his family and friends. He lived life to the full and will be sorely missed by all those who knew him. n Keith CARLEY (1952)

We are grateful to Amanda Cook for the following tribute Wing Commander Keith Carley died in April following a relatively short battle with lung cancer. He was very proud of the scholarship he achieved which allowed him to attend Latymer.

He leaves a widow, Jennifer, daughters Susan and Amanda, and four grandchildren.

n Perry PHILLIPS (1962)

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n Trevor Cyril PEAT (1957)

We are grateful to Marcin Miller for the following tribute

Professor Marek Miller was born in Chiswick on 14 June 1959 to Polish parents. It often came as a surprise to those who knew him that English was his second language: Marek spoke only Polish until he was six years old, and never lost his pride in his Polish connections.

We are grateful to Anne Peat for the following tribute Trevor was born in May 1939 and entered Latymer when he was 10, as a fee-payer for a year, before passing the exam to gain a Middlesex Free Place.

Marek MILLER

Something of an all-rounder at Latymer, Marek developed a lifelong interest in literature and culture at School. He was “an able actor and a passable clown” as well as a keen athlete, initially in track and field but by the sixth form developing into “a direct hard runner who has just started to take his rugby really seriously.” Marek was always popular, charming and sociable, to the extent that he had to re-sit his A Levels because academic studies were inconvenient to his extensive social life. That episode taught him a lesson and it never happened again: he always worked hard at whatever he set his mind to.

Having graduated in Psychology from Bristol University in 1981, Marek was increasingly drawn to medicine, enrolling at University College Hospital Medical School in 1982 and qualifying in 1987. In 1998, Marek was appointed consultant urologist at Northampton Hospital where he was a talented surgeon. He was deservedly appointed as Professor at Cranfield University in 2013.

There was more to Marek than his distinguished career.

Cultured and urbane, he is remembered for his love of life and – above all – his wit, expressed with a humour that was intelligent and gently sardonic, but never cruel; his sotto voce observations usually had those within earshot in fits.

However, his main passion was his family: he met Charlotte at medical school in 1984 and they had four talented sons.

Having retired in January 2020, Marek intended to spend his well-earned rest with his family and friends, fishing and watching rugby. But within a few months he was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer to which he succumbed on 11th June 2021, just days short of his 62nd birthday. Despite this cruel and premature affliction, he never burdened those around him with his suffering, and his gentle humour lasted to the end.

We are grateful to Niamh O’Sullivan for the following tribute

n Jonathan KAY (1961)

Perry died in May 2021 at the age of 77. He was a proud Latymerian who remembered his school days with great fondness, and was grateful that the academic foundations laid down at Latymer prepared him for the

Jonathan succumbed to the Covid-19 virus on April 6 2020 at his home in Ealing. He was a Geordie ‘immigrant’ from Blaydon on Tyne and had an almost unintelligible accent when he joined Latymer after his O Levels. Amongst so many other new Latymer experiences, Jonathan recalled PE teacher Mr Bond suggesting a “run round the river”, at which point the new boy enquired, “which river?”.

Unsurprisingly that response did not go down too well with Mr Bond.

We are grateful to Barry COVILL (1961) for the following tribute

Perry PHILLIPS

He left after taking O Levels and became an articled clerk before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. He worked in private practice in London for his entire working life, rising to become a partner in the firm of Heywards, where he was much respected by his colleagues and clients.

Millikin & Co in Swindon with his American wife, Sandra.

They lived in Uffington for many years, enjoying the countryside, his garden, and his basset hounds.

David’s passions were music, especially church music, railways, architecture, good food, wine and travel. An accomplished organist, he played the Peter Collins organ for 45 years at St. Faith’s Shellingford. n Jeffrey Anthony

EASTON (1969) We are grateful to Ian MICHELL (1962) for the following tribute After Latymer, Jeffrey went on to study medicine at University College Hospital where he met his wife, Heather.

After he retired in 1999, he continued to use his skills and experience by working as a volunteer for Age Concern, and TaxAid and Tax Help, charities which offered tax advice to those who couldn’t afford an accountant.

The couple eventually settled in Salisbury, where Jeffrey Anthony EASTON Jeffrey worked as a GP and enjoyed sailing in his free time. After news of Jeffrey’s passing hit the local community, dozens of former patients took to social media to express their sadness. Jeffrey was referred to as an ‘outstanding GP’ who had saved the lives of many throughout his years of practice.

Trevor passed away on March 9 2021 and left behind a wife, two sons and two grandchildren.

n Lt Col Ken CHENNOUR

n David JOHNS (1947)

We are grateful to Sheila Johns for the following tribute David was a Latymerian through and through, and very sporty, playing both football and cricket for School. In fact, he was in every football and cricket photograph displayed in the main hallway in the late 60s and 70s. While at Latymer, David also met his wife of 67 years, Sheila, who attended nearby Godolphin.

OBITUARIES

OBITUARIES

He is survived by his wife Niamh, his children, Cressida, Melissa and Benedict, and six grandchildren.

The School honours’ board in the main hall shows Jonathan as a recipient of a scholarship to Guys Hospital to practise dentistry. He retired a few years ago and travelled frequently to meet up with his many South American chums in Colombia. Jonathan said that he was always quite surprised to have never been stopped at customs on his return to the UK even though his passport indicated so many trips!

He will be greatly missed by his large family and wide circle of friends.

(1948) We are grateful to Kate Chenneour for the following tribute Ken passed away peacefully at his Surrey home this October at the age of 91.

Both Ken and his younger brother, Ray, who predeceased him by some 40 years, were scholarship boys attending Latymer during the war years.

David JOHNS

After his National Service, David joined the Old Boys Club at Whitton, where he and Sheila spent many happy days.

David went on to have a successful career as a Financial Director for Crown Agents, having established Merchant Banks in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. David and Sheila then went on to run a hotel in North Devon, and later in Cornwall, where they hosted breaks for groups of Old Latymerians known as ‘The Golden Oldies’. n David MILLIKEN (1962)

We are grateful to Peter LEWIS (1962) and Sandra Milliken for the following tribute David died peacefully on 27 September 2021, aged 77, in Oxford.

David went to Latymer alongside his younger brother, Paul (now a retired RAF Vulcan pilot). After Latymer, David read law at Magdalen College, Oxford. He qualified as a solicitor in 1968, working initially at Clifford Turner (now Clifford Chance), and subsequently ran the legal department of the Ladbroke Group. Later he established

Lt Col Ken CHENNOUR

The sons of a former Guardsman who, during the hungry years of the thirties had obtained the post of school caretaker, they lived in one of the rougher ends of town. Otherwise an exemplary student, Ken was several times caught not wearing his cap between the bus stop and school – in war years the cap was about the sum total of identifiable uniform the boys were expected to wear. During one of the inevitable detentions that followed, whilst Ken was completing the ‘lines’ set as a punishment, his teacher enquired why he kept repeating this misdemeanor. His reply; the local lads will beat me up as a swot and cissy if they catch me wearing the cap, you will only give me lines!

Local boys were not the only hazard – one morning a doodlebug landed surprisingly close, Ken was covered in dust and dirt, but brushed himself down and continued on his way to school, after all, there was a war on!

Latymer offered both boys otherwise unobtainable opportunities. Ken had a successful military career with REME; in military retirement he went on to a second career working for The British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT), an organisation still in its infancy. In the 12 years Ken worked with BABT, things came a long way but next time you are checking out your 4G, just remember that it was a Latymerian who helped create the phone culture we have today!

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