TOM Edition 47

The Old Mancunian

March 2016 EDITION 47

Keeping old boys in touch with MGS throughout the world

• Old Boys’ Dinner • OM Communications • The High Master • Forthcoming Events

Looking back and looking forward … From the largest ever gathering of OMs in 2015 to more events and initiatives in 2016, we never stand still.

From the Director of Development

Above: Old Boys’ Dinner at Lancs CCC

Right: (L to R) The Senior Steward – Sir Nicholas Hytner (67-74), The Junior Steward – Faisal Islam (87-94), The High Master – Dr Martin Boulton, (84-86), The Recorder – Paul Rose (59-67)

2015 Looking Back

2016 Looking Forward

The largest ever gathering of OMs took place at the Old Boys’ Dinner in November.

We will continue with many of the initiatives and events we started in the run-up to 2015.

When we started planning for the event in 2012 we could not have imagined filling a venue with 1,000 OMs and turning people away! The event was a fitting conclusion to a most memorable year and I would like to thank the entire OM community for their support throughout this remarkable period in the School’s history.

The Business Class and Lecture series will continue at the School, there will be regular updates from the Archives, and the usual events around the country are now available to book. In response to requests from Old Mancunians, we have researched the best online alumni relations software and have subsequently launched mgsglobalconnect.org

If you would like to remind yourself of the quincentenary year, and view photographs and speeches from the events that took place, please visit our electronic time capsule mgslife.org We hope that OMs will upload their own memories, photographs and stories from their time at MGS to this online archive.

Old Mancunians will be able to register for the site through Linkedin, Facebook or email. The site will offer opportunities for making industry contacts, mentoring, internships and job promotions. MGS is the first major UK School to launch such a site and we hope that it will provide a great service to the OM community.

Simon Jones 88-95 Director of Development 0161 224 7201 ext 240 or s.jones@mgs.org

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Old Boys’ 211th Dinner The Quincentenary Dinner for 1,000 Old Mancunians at The Point, Lancs CCC was, all agreed, a wonderful event.

Organised by the staff of the Development Office and hosted by the Recorder of the Dinner, Paul Rose, the occasion featured welcomes from the Chairman of Governors, Maurice Watkins, and the High Master, Martin Boulton; grace by the OM Bishop of Manchester, David Walker; and two extraordinary freestyle raps from OM Chris Turner. The speeches of the Junior and Senior Stewards were delivered by Faisal Islam and Sir Nicholas Hytner. Their speeches, along with many photographs of the event, are available at mgslife.org – search for ‘Old Boys’ Dinner 2015’.

Here are some extracts to provide a flavour of the event…

The Recorder, about those attending: ‘This must be the largest gathering of Old Boys and certainly the largest dinner we have ever had. On a rough calculation I reckon there must be at least 800 new diners and representatives of every year of entry since 1937 with the exception of 1938.’

The High Master, about the importance of means-tested bursaries: ‘We are currently funding around 220 places – almost all of these are full-fee places. The average means-tested bursary covers 92 per cent of the school fee. However, we are still turning away incredibly bright boys who pass our entrance exam with flying colours because we do not have the funds to offer them a place. In the days of the Direct Grant over half of the boys at the School would have had their fees paid.’

The Senior Steward, about our responsibility to future generations: ‘Alan Bennett’s The History Boys was the nearest I’ve ever got to putting MGS on stage, or on screen. Hector, the charismatic, flawed teacher the boys loved haunts them as the lights fade. I think he’s talking to us, too:

Pass the parcel.

That’s sometimes all you can do.

Take it, feel it and pass it on.

Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day.

Pass it on, boys.

That’s the game I wanted you to learn.

Pass it on.’

Cricket at Lords The ‘Home of Cricket’ played host to a special commemorative match on 17 September to mark the Quincentenary of the Manchester Grammar School.

A special MGS XI boasting OMs, the school’s current Director of Cricket Mike Watkinson and his predecessor Mark Chilton, travelled to London to take on the Cross Arrows CC at the Lord’s Nursery Ground.

Bowling first, the MGS boys were set an imposing target of 246 to win after Chilton had took two wickets in his first over. However, a magnificent unbeaten hundred by Nick Anderson swept the MGS XI to victory with five wickets in hand.

The players joined 150 guests at Lincoln’s Inn in the evening for the annual London Dinner.

Fly the Flag OMs living in Hong Kong also held their own dinner to celebrate the quincentenary.

Raymond Chan, Martin Sabine, Tom Morgan and Stuart Wolfendale had a great evening reminiscing about, among other things, ‘Basher’, Dramsoc, rugby and Rodger Alderson, cricket, camps and assemblies.

Below: Fly the Flag Hong Kong (L to R) Martin Sabine (58-65), Tom Morgan (98-05), Stuart Wolfendale (62-70), Raymond Chan (88-95)

Below (from top to bottom): Cricket at Lords; London Dinner

Top (L to R): Los Angeles Dinner, San Francisco Brunch, New York Dinner

Upcoming events Troop One Reunion Lunch

2016 dinne r The 2016 d i be back a nner will Memorial Ht MGS in the Saturday 19all on November.

Places wil l be limited – book ea mgsglobal.rly at org

You should by now have received your invitation to the lunch on Saturday 23 April.

If not please contact Jane Graham.

1970s Reunion – Saturday 7 May 2016 Groups of Seventies Old Mancs have been supportive of subsequent Old Boys’ Dinners and were well represented at the 2015 events.

Whilst Manchester has been the main activity hub, London, and even Ipswich, have played their parts in informal OM gatherings. There have been reunions of Form Groups and Sporting Teams and Andy Lee and Dave Tickle are looking to bring 1975 footballers together this year as well as the existing ones such as Chess.

I have caught up with old friends, musically in Manchester, London and Newcastle, at sporting events in Madrid, Wigan and at Wembley. I have noticed a recent rise in a Blue culture in Manchester, many regaling tales of the 1981 exodus from school for the FA Cup Final replay.

Fittingly then our 2016 reunion is on Saturday 7 May, the final weekend of the Premier League Season, a good time to be in Manchester but not just for the football. For those who have met up before it will be great to see you again, for those who have not – you don’t know what you might be missing.

John Whitfield 76-83

Manchester Golf Day – 28 June 2016 Following on from the success of the golf days held in the South, the first Manchester based golf day takes place on Tuesday 28 June at Mottram Hall. The golf day at Woking will take place on Tuesday 5 July.

For details and to book all forthcoming events please go to mgs.org or contact Jane Graham.

MGS in the US The inaugural OM New York dinner was held in September, with nearly 70 OMs and their guests in attendance.

Guests came from New York and across North America and Canada. Some of the attendees also flew in from the UK, including chairman of the OM Association David Walton.

The newly appointed Chairman of the US Section of the OM Association Rob Garson welcomed the assembled diners before High Master Dr Martin Boulton spoke about the challenges the School has faced both past and present.

In the week following the New York Quincentenary Dinner, further gatherings of Old Mancunians took place on the west coast of the USA. Ian Thorpe, accompanied by his wife, represented the school first at a dinner in Los Angeles, then two days later at a brunch in San Francisco.

Anniversary Celebrations 2015 has come and gone in a blaze of celebration!

It was heartening to see so many OMs taking part in a whole range of activities to celebrate the School’s 500th Anniversary, culminating in a remarkable attendance at the memorable Old Boys’ Dinner in November.

Many Old Boys’ visited the School for the first time since leaving and I hope that many more will be stimulated to keep in closer touch – and take the opportunity to offer mentoring and support to younger OMs and boys at the School through signing up to mgsglobalconnect.org Here’s to the next 500 years …

David Walton (67-74) and Chairman of the OMA

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From the Archive From Table Tennis to Tiddleywinks: A Sprint Through MGS’ Sporting History ‘Manchester Grammar School’s greatest contribution to England’s sporting heritage lies in the realm of Tiddleywinks.’

That’s the rather startling and somewhat controversial point of view expressed in J.A. Graham and B.A. Phythian’s history of MGS, written in 1965. To be fair, there does appear to have been a short-lived craze for Tiddleywinks in the early 60s, although it seems highly unlikely that its popularity ever seriously rivalled such mainstays as cricket, football and rugby.

However, despite its provocative, perhaps slightly flippant tone, the statement does at least show that there have been other, less celebrated sports played at MGS over the years alongside the ones we’re more familiar with today.

During High Master Frederick Walker’s time at the school (1859-77) for example, archery was the sport of choice for the annual sports day, and when Samuel Dill (HM, 1877-88) took over, boxing was all the rage. The 1880s in particular were a boom time for sport at MGS with cricket, rugby, lacrosse and football all firmly establishing themselves, Dill being a key figure in reviving the idea of sport as a crucial part of daily school life. Since Dill’s influential time at the school, MGS has gone on to produce major figures in a wide variety of

A History of MGS in 50 Objects This online project to mark the school’s Quincentenary year reached its final instalment in January. Judging by the amount of positive feedback and – occasionally heated! – online discussion generated, it proved to be an extremely successful venture. Visit the site here: mgsarchives.org The series has been printed in a commemorative edition of Ulula, see back page for more details.

sports: Norman Melland in lacrosse; Matthew Mullineux and Bert Toft in rugby; Robert Crawshaw in swimming and water polo; Charles Dodson in motor cycling; double Olympic gold medallist Douglas Lowe and Mark Pharaoh in athletics; Frederick Riley in football; Ivor Warwick in tennis; John Carden in horse-racing; Raymond Calverley in canoeing; and an incredible run of outstanding cricketers: David Green, England Captain Mike Atherton, Mark and John Crawley, Gary Yates and Mark Chilton.

Lacrosse also deserves a special mention as something of a ‘forgotten sport’, the school being called ‘the chief Northern lacrosse school’ by The Sportsman in 1906. Happily, there has been a revival in recent years with the first match for over thirty years being played in 2006. It’s impossible to do justice to all the many sports that have been played at MGS: no mention of badminton, squash, cross-country, hockey, cycling, basketball, golf, table-tennis, fencing, martial arts, podex (see MGS in 50 Objects #49), orienteering, and controversially, chess (is it a sport? – discuss…) in which ex-MGS boys Jonathan Mestell and Daniel Fernandez are respectively current Grand Master and International Master.

It seems fitting to end with Samuel Dill’s proudly optimistic statement made in his final year of 1888: ‘the school’s great weakness – the absence of a common life outside the classroom – is in the process of being cured.’ We can now safely say that the curing process is over, and MGS’s sporting heritage is in peak condition.

Thanks to John Shoard and Jeremy Ward for their knowledge and advice.

Left: The ‘2nd XII’ lacrosse team of 1926-27.

MGS won the Schools’ Lacrosse Challenge Shield in 1927, 1928 and 1937

Otto Smart School Archivist,

ext 361, archives@mgs.org

From the High Master The proverb ‘History repeats itself’ has not been attributed to any particular author, but it was thought to have been popularised in the mid-1800s, and by 1865 it was already considered a cliché.

Right (from above): Extract from ‘MGS: A History at 500’; Edward Langworthy

This period was one of the most challenging MGS had faced since its foundation. A scheme was introduced in 1867 to extend the education offered: the division into the modern and classical sides was introduced, and 250 foundation scholarships were established to ensure that the School’s aim of educating the poor boys of the city was maintained.

The trouble with this move was that it left the School in dire financial straits.

The foundation scholarships started to deplete the School’s endowments and the income from fee payers was barely enough to keep the School going. It was calculated that the break-even point would require a growth in numbers to over a thousand, but with no money to fund the buildings necessary to house them, this offered no solution.

The School’s saviour came in the form of one of the city’s great philanthropists, Edward Langworthy. The wealthy mill owner funded the new buildings the School so desperately needed with a gift of £10,000, a huge sum. On his death in 1874 he left a further £10,000 to the School.

Dr Martin Boulton 84-86 High Master

It is interesting that one of our present challenges almost exactly mirrors the problems faced in Langworthy’s time.

Through our efforts over the last two decades we have built up funds to pay for bursaries in the order of £25 million.

This is funding around 220 bursaries, not far short of the 250 foundation scholars of the mid nineteenth century. The fund is not, however, sufficient to provide those places in perpetuity. This issue is what the next stage in our bursary appeal aims to address: we want to raise sufficient money to provide an endowment for our bursaries, so that each place is funded in perpetuity.

Given this aim, it seems fitting to use our past benefactor Langworthy’s name to honour those who have pledged legacies to the School, in the hope that history will repeat itself.

An extract from the will of Edward Langworthy:

‘... I bequeath to the trustees of the Manchester Grammar School £10,000 upon trust, to invest the same in their names in or upon such securities as they shall deem most advisable, and to divide the income arising therefrom into 20 equal parts, in order to constitute 20 annual scholarships (each of such parts constituting one scholarship), which scholarships respectively shall be open to general competition among the students at the Manchester Grammar School, and shall be tenable during the space of one year as a reward for proficiency shown by the student to whom the same shall be awarded, in one or more of the following branches – viz., classics, mathematics, physical science, and modern languages ...’

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The School Today

Left (top to bottom): Winners of the International Vocab Express Championships; (L to R) Lewis Khan (Y8) and Tom Plaut (Y6)

For more stories like these visit mgslife.org

Yeah (500 Years)

The new Mike Atherton Sports Hall

Pupils Lewis Khan, 12, and Tom Plaut, 11, hit the right notes with the launch of their very own MGS-inspired single.

Old Boy Michael Atherton OBE, who went on to become England cricket captain and is now a decorated journalist, unveiled the new, stateof-the art hall in November.

The song, which is called ‘Yeah (500 Years)’, was written in commemoration of the School’s 500th year anniversary and is available to download on Soundcloud.

The track, which includes solo performances from pupils James Swarbrick on drums and vocals, Sam O’Connor on bass, Dipyaman Bannerjee on trumpet, Matthew O’Reilly on horn and Evan Zhang on piano, also featured 23 other musical MGS pupils including the School’s Year 7 strings group, brass group, percussion group and guitar group.

Vocab Champs At this year’s International Vocab Express Championships, MGS came third in the Genius Cup and sixth in the Challenge Cup, amassing the highest number of points in the School’s history.

Boys also won individual language cups for Latin, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew and Arabic and, as a School, MGS came third in Italian and Spanish.

The Vocab Express Championships sees more than 320 Schools and 35,000 students from around the world taking part in a multi-lingual vocabulary learning competition, involving 13 different languages.

The previous sports hall was damaged during severe weather in 2014 and in its place, a two-storey facility has been built with facilities for four cricket nets, an indoor hockey pitch, basketball court, five-a-side football pitch, volleyball court and six badminton courts.

Upstairs there is a large multi-use space, which will be used by the Junior School for meetings and assemblies and also for hosting functions and fixtures both by the School itself and local clubs.

Speaking about the new sports hall, Michael said: ‘Sport has always played a fundamental role in MGS life and this has been reflected by the number of talented sporting figures the School has produced across such a wide range of disciplines. This facility will provide an excellent venue for MGS to host other schools, for pupils to hone their skills and to one day go on to represent their School, county or even country. ‘I very much enjoyed my time at MGS and I’m proud to have been asked to come back and officially open the sports hall which will be used by the School for generations to come.’

Founders’ Day 2015 The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev. Dr David Walker OM, and the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev. Robert Atwell, presided over two services in Manchester Cathedral at the heart of the city centre close to the site of the first incarnation of the school when it was founded in 1515.

Above: (L to R) Harrison Engler (Y13), Oliver Kingsley (Y13), Michael Atherton (79-86), Sam Povey (Y13)

Above (L to R): OMs v MGS Chess match; The 49th annual commemoration service at Exeter Cathedral

OM Sections London & South East London events return to a more traditional format in the coming year. The London Section AGM and Supper, open to all OMs in the London area, return to the Cheshire Cheese on Thursday 3 November at 6:30 pm. Golfers will return to the fairways of Woking Golf club on Tuesday 5 July to compete for the ‘Owl Trophy’. The summer pub evening will take place at The Crown and Shuttle, Shoreditch on Thursday 26 May from 6:00 pm. Robin Forrest and Julian Acatopulo (82-89) have kindly agreed to sponsor the drinks. On Friday 13 May there will be an informal lunch with a brief address by the High Master at the Turkish restaurant, Antalya in Bloomsbury from 1:00 pm.

In a break with tradition the Annual London Dinner will take place in the Clive Room at the East India Club on Thursday 8 September.

For more detail about the events above please visit mgs.org or contact the Development Office.

Midlands An informal lunch was held at The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham in October when 3 OMs and 2 wives had a convivial time and it was agreed that this event should be repeated four times a year.

Any OMs and guests are invited to join us at The Old

Joint Stock, Birmingham from noon for lunch on the following dates during 2016: 1 June, 7 September and 9 November. Please let John Wilson know if you are likely to attend on 0121 475 3700 or john@wilson7743.fsnet. co.uk

South & West Our annual commemoration service was held in Exeter Cathedral on Sunday 12 July.

Almost 80 people attended for the service and lunch.

Afterwards the Section AGM was held. The final accounts were approved, and a donation of the residual funds to Exeter Cathedral was agreed. Geoff Brogan was elected chairman and John Smith vice-chairman.

For our autumn social event, on Saturday 26 September, 16 of us went down the Big Pit, the national mining museum, at Blaenavon, south-east Wales followed by lunch at The Hardwick, a gastropub near Abergavenny.

The 50th annual commemoration service in Exeter Cathedral and wreathlaying at our founder’s tomb will be on Sunday 26 June 2016, followed by lunch. All OMs and guests are welcome.

Lunch bookings can be made online at mgs.org For any information on the event or the South & West Section, please contact Paul Gelling (01291 626951 or p.gelling@ btinternet.com ).

OM 20/30 Club

Chess

Our monthly lunches at the Freemasons Hall, Bridge Street continue, meeting 12:30 pm for 1:00 pm with the exception of April and no meeting in August.

The 2015 Old Mancunians’ Chess Event took place on Saturday 21 November. Andy Horton won the individual title, and the 1970s Old Mancunians won the team title and the Clements Cup. A full report is in the Ulula supplement.

Wednesday 27 April: MGS Musical Supper Evening with Guests at 5:00 pm Friday 20 May: Robert Lewis, Solicitor Friday 10 June: Lunch at MGS with members of staff Friday 15 July: John Horsfield – ‘Reflections on MGS and its history…’

Friday 16 September: Russell Jones – ‘Greetings from Nigeria…’

Please add the dates in your diary and talk to your school pals about our lunches, we are very friendly. If you want more information about our informal group, please contact Alex Wells on 01298 812886 or alex_wells@tiscali.co.uk

Manchester Lodge Old Mancunians with Mount Sinai The Lodge offers OMs the fellowship of Freemasonry.

For further information please contact Paul Rose

paulrose6395@gmail.com

Thursday 30 March 2017 is a possible date for the next encounter. This would be a team event starting at the School at 3:00 pm and lasting around 3 hours. Teams are composed of players who started at the School in a particular decade – if you are reading this and can get together another two fellow chess players from the decade you started at MGS to make a team, please be in touch.

We will be organising social get-togethers in London in the interim. Peter Webster

peter@thea.ltd.uk

USA The US Section is now up and running! Please register on mgsglobalconnect.org so that we can organise events and build the network on the other side of the Atlantic.

Contact Robert Garson rg@gs2law.com

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Owl drop ins With all the events of 2015 we could fill the whole of TOM listing those we met or came into contact with through the various 500 year celebrations.

Without wishing to offend our more local Old Boys I will give a nod to some of the long haul owls who came back for school visits or the dinner.

Both entering MGS in 1953, Anthony Neild (still local) and Brian Wood (now in Canada) remain friends and returned together in September for a school visit. Other Old Boys at the Dinner from the USA and Canada included Simon Collins, Charles Dean, Neville Ford, Mark Renton, Charles Pollick, Jonathan Shields, Christopher and Geoffrey Tolley, John Woods, Geoffrey Bolter and Christopher Williams.

Representation from across eight European countries came through Rodic Bark, John Bitton, David Brunt, Thomas Evenson, Solly Gubbay, Steven Joseph, Stephen Kaiser, Simon Levy, Martin Lewis, Richard Mayne, Vincent Miller, Daniel Musson, Peter Nicholson, John Storer, Guy Thompson and Brian Woolley, who all joined us in November.

Martin Allinson, Clive Eckersley, David Marks, Peter Thewlis, David Wylde, Nigel Wallwork and Saul Richman helped us to chalk up another seven countries at Old Trafford.

As the owl flies, we reckon the longest trip to be Auckland to Rusholme, a 22,582 miles round journey. Ian Wright (45-52) and his wife visited us. Ian had time to reflect before emailing us after his return to New Zealand, noting the differences since his departure in 1952, particularly the addition of the Junior School and the reduction in junior and middle school class sizes which were around 38 in his day compared to 24 now.

Hopefully, the example of all these internationally-based Old Mancs will encourage some of you closer to home to pay us a visit soon.

John Whitfield (76-83)

Left: (L to R) David Hoffman (83-90), Paul Thompson (Staff since 1989), Gordon Davies (83-90)

From the Other Side of the Desk What does MGS look like, 25 years on, from the teacher’s side of the desk?

On Friday 20 November, we were among a number of OMs who came back to MGS for the Teach-aLesson Open Day, as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations.

As alumni of the Classics sixth form (88-90), we were inspired to follow in the footsteps of teaching luminaries including (among others) H.B. Moore, William Duggan, Nick Munday, Phillip Dunlop, Douglas Herne and Paul Thompson.

Studying classics had been important for both of us, and not least because of the accompanying MGS Classics trips. So for our first lesson, we discussed the importance of place in understanding classical civilisation – which included photos from our respective travels around the Mediterranean (and some MGS boys on a Roman loo).

Our second talk was a workshop for a sixth form Psychology option about careers. We continued the Classics theme by basing this around the Ancient Greek proverb ‘The Fox knows many things; the Hedgehog one big thing’, challenging the boys to decide if they are a fox or a hedgehog… or just an owl.

We also very much appreciated the opportunity to have an extensive guided tour of the school. Alas, fierce squalls and rainsodden playing fields stymied our attempts to revisit the route of the Gatley, but we did get to reminisce with Harry Bardsley, who was heroically manning the school-drive gates, about times spent on the MGS grounds during more clement weather!

We had a really enjoyable day and would certainly encourage other OMs to take up any future opportunities that MGS offers. On behalf of all OMs who presented at the Open Day, our thanks again to the staff and pupils for hosting the event within an MGS school-day and making us feel so welcome.

David Hoffman and Gordon Davies (83-90)

Left: (from left to right) Julie Wright (MGS), Ian Wright (45-52), Madelaine Wright, Brian Taylor (45-50), Brian Wood (53-59), Anthony Nield (53-60), Jane Graham (MGS)

pet Update te snip of u n i m e p A thre elestial Ma at of ‘A Cy’ performed Hallé the Sk incentenary viewed the Qu t can now be concer life.org at mgs ng recordi A full e released will b this year. later

OM Communications We’ve renamed our letters page to reflect the fact that OMs now communicate with us via a wide variety of means – not just letters (although they are still very welcome, of course, and we do save the used stamps for a local charity).

We think that you will enjoy reading, and contributing to, our new website at mgslife.org where the widest range of MGS memories can be celebrated. Here are some short extracts to give a flavour of some of the memories that OMs have shared recently:

David Ravenscroft (48-55) Sixty Years on – Reunion Lunch It’s 60 years on from the year that twelve boys left Mod VI Div I, all headed for Oxford or Cambridge either directly or after National Service (as the two gap years were known in those days!) We met for lunch – crucially each of us had circulated in advance a 1,000 word max autobiography. The only problem after five hours and more, no doubt helped by excellent food and wine, was how to break up the party …

Ian Thorpe Development Adviser & Editor of OM Communications, ext 570 i.thorpe@ mgs.org

Mark Saxon (58-65) Music at MGS When I arrived at MGS in 1958 music was not high on the list of priorities in the school. There was no choir, no orchestra and no tuition … The advent of David Cawthra as the first Director of Music was a breath of fresh air. He was young, energetic and enthusiastic and to my mind looked the part with his hair which was grown long at the front, flopping up and down in time to the music …

John Rosenfield (61-69) Two Form Masters I purchased MGS – A History at 500 and very nearly dropped it when I saw the picture of Cuthbert McGregor Seton. That face from so long ago seemed so very familiar. He was the first man to make his subject come alive; he described the events of the middle-ages as though we were living through them and taking part … The photograph of Billy Hulme shows him smiling, adorned with pipe, gown and horn-rimmed glasses.

His reputation was that of a disciplinarian, and I was all too aware of his ‘armoury of wooden spoons’. But from the start I was also aware of a deep, underlying kind-heartedness towards his boys …

David Rothwell (69-75) MGS Sports Day 45 Years on

Holiday Mystery Solved

It looked like MGS Sports Day from afar, but it certainly didn’t sound like it. Walking up the main drive I was greeted by the sound of calypso music wafting across the grounds creating a distinctly carnival atmosphere … For many years I had toyed with the idea of revisiting the scenes of my minor successes, but these dreams had never so far turned into reality. However, the year marking the 500th anniversary of the founding of the school was different. What a glorious occasion it was with the warm sun beaming down from a blue sky punctuated with fluffy white clouds …

We were delighted to learn that the uniformed boy in the holiday photo published in the last TOM was Denys Lomax (37-43). He was awarded a Foundation Scholarship and his family were so proud that he wore his uniform on holiday in the summer before he joined MGS. The photo was taken in the Isle of Man but in 1937 at Port Erin, not in the 1950s at Port St Mary as the original article stated. During this holiday, High Master Douglas Miller, by an amazing coincidence staying in the same hotel, made himself known to Denys and they talked about his future education at MGS.

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Fifth Annual Ian Leverton Lecture On Friday 26 February we held our annual Ian Leverton lecture. This year we were very fortunate to have a speaker from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The theme of the lecture was the role of languages at GCHQ and the critical work they do to protect the United Kingdom. The representative also gave some valuable advice for boys on how to pursue a career with GCHQ through the study of languages at A-Level, university and beyond.

The Ian Leverton lecture was attended by all sixth form linguists but also by students from three other schools. This was the first time that we were able to offer the lecture to a wider range of students as all students in Year 10 also attended the same talk in the afternoon. In addition, our boys were extremely fortunate to benefit from a question-and-answer session at the end of the lecture.

A number of Y9 and Y12 students were treated to a taster session in Korean, where, after forty minutes, they were able to demonstrate that they could read, listen, speak and write in Korean. I know that the boys found the various events extremely valuable and it gave them a taste of how the many languages they study could play an important role in their future careers.

Katherine Tinslay (MGS Staff since 2012)

Above: A close-up of the Enigma keyboard Š GCHQ 2015

In memoriam Since the last TOM we have been advised of the recent deaths of the following OMs. We would welcome offers to supply brief obituaries or memories for Ulula.

Maurice A Andrew 42-50

Peter H Higginbottom 36-39

Thomas M Ashworth 44-49

Reginald A Hilton 29-35

David M Baker 33-37

Ian B Howe 56-63

Melvyn H Barlow 52-59

Derek O Hull 35-40

Michael G Blank 69-75

Timothy N Leech 62-67

Alan D Bott 43-50

Richard Lowe 46-49

Ian Boyd 44-50

Alan McAnulty 42-46

Douglas D Brown 44-49

Peter A Meredith 62-68

Warwick R Burton 66-73

Geoffrey A Morris 43-49

Richard Callison 52-59

Frank W Murphy 41-48

Peter A Chadderton 56-62

Peter R Nuttall 40-45

Robert D Cherry 40-44

Donald B Oswald 42-46

Geoffrey Clarke 48-55

H Lindsay Perks 43-49

John D Clarke 55-62

Keith E Perrett 44-52

Brian W Clegg 44-51

John Pollard 36-43

Kenneth W Cowley 39-44

S Tony Rose 47-52

Michael A Donnan 50-57

Dylan H Samuels 12-14

G Mac Elder 47-54

Ian H Simpson 58-65

Peter M Erlam 50-56

Thomas Stansfield 37-42

Malcolm Evans 44-52

Frank Tunstall 35-41

Ian R Forsyth 72-79

Stuart Westley 35-42

Ronald D Gee 39-43

John F Whitelock 45-49

Jack Goldberg 34-41

George J Wild 52-58

Anthony S Goldstone 50-56

Stephen A Wilshere 35-42

William Grimshaw 33-38

Dennis I Wrigley 41-47

Bernard T Handley 36-42 Alan M Harris 45-51 John B Heron 43-51

Staff Peter A Farquhar 70-83

Robert (Bob) Hesketh 63-70

Left: (from top) The photograph from our last issue, in which we asked for your help in identifying the mystery boy; the mystery is solved – Denys Lomax (37-43) and High Master Douglas Miller (24-45)

Forthcoming events

Music events

History book

Tuesday 19 April Guitar and Harp Concert.

Pre-ordered copies of the MGS: A History at 500 are now available for collection from the Development Office at the School. If you would still like to order a copy (Priced £30 excluding p&p), please contact Julie Wright in the Development Office.

2016

Wednesday 27 April MGS Summer Concert.

OM Football Tournament.

Friday 15 April.

Drama events

Troop One Reunion Lunch.

Saturday 23 April.

16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 May Year 8 Shakespeare Festival.

20/30 Club Supper.

Wednesday 27 April.

Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 June Bugsy Malone a Junior School Production.

1970s Reunion Dinner.

Saturday 7 May. London Luncheon.

Friday 13 May at Antalya in Bloomsbury.

London Pub Night.

Thursday 26 May at The Crown and Shuttle, Shoreditch.

20/30 Club Lunches.

Friday 20 May, 10 June, 15 July and 16 September, see page 8 for more details.

Manchester Pub Night.

Thursday 16 June, venue TBC.

Dates and times of events are subject to change.

For confirmation and ticket reservations please see the Box Office at mgs.org

Noteworthy Old Mancunian Ties Old Mancunian silk ties are available at the cost of £20 in the UK or £22 overseas including p&p.

Hugh Oldham Commemoration Service in Exeter Cathedral and lunch.

Sunday 26 June, see page 8 for more details.

London Dinner. Thursday 8 September at the East India Club.

Old Boys’ Dinner.

Saturday 19 November.

For further details and to book your place visit the Old Mancunian section at mgs.org

Many of us are shoppers on the internet, and by using the Amazon.co.uk website through the icon link on the School’s own website (mgs.org ) up to 10% of the value of any purchase made is automatically given for the direct benefit of the Bursary Fund.

Correspondence to Julie Wright at MGS, Old Hall Lane, Manchester, M13 0XT or 0161 224 7201.

L to R: Simon Jones, ext 240 or s.jones@mgs.org Julie Wright, ext 241, j.wright@mgs.org Jane Graham, ext 243, j.graham@mgs.org Ian Thorpe, ext 570, i.thorpe@mgs.org Laura Rooney, ext 571, l.l.rooney@mgs.org

Ulula 2015 Ulula which includes the ’50 Objects’ series and coverage of 2015 events is still available to purchase from Julie Wright in the Development Office.

Manchester Golf Day at Mottram Hall. Tuesday 28 June.

Golf Day at Woking Golf Club. Tuesday 5 July.

Amazon.co.uk

Get in touch ...

Please contact Julie Wright.

Gift Aid We are grateful to the significant number of Old Boys who donate regularly to the Bursary Fund. We are obliged to remind you that Gift Aid regulations require you to let us know if you no longer pay sufficient tax on income and/or capital gains.

Please notify any changes to the Development Office.

L to R: Rachel Kneale and Mary Ann Davison School Archivists, ext 361, archives@mgs.org