ONA 96

Drawn Into History Roisin Inglesby (03-05) on curating precious historical artworks for the royal palaces Also in this issue: Bill Elliott (52-88) | The Oldest New Sport | ONA Now and Then

Issue 96 | Spring 2016

ONA Magazine Issue 96 Spring 2016

Contents

ONA Magazine is the magazine for the Old Novocastrians’ Association Editor: Jane Medcalf All correspondence should be addressed to: The Development Office, Royal Grammar School, Eskdale Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4DX Telephone Development Office: 0191 212 8909 email: ona@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk The Editor reserves the right to edit, alter or omit all submissions to the magazine.

Copy may be carried over to the next edition. The Editor’s decision is final.

Contribute!

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We are always looking for articles and news from Old Novos to include in the magazine, so send your contributions, via email (if possible) to: ona@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk or to the Development Office at the school.

Please include relevant pictures if possible. They will be returned as soon as the magazine has been printed.

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The deadline for acceptance of copy for the Summer 2016 issue is 7 March 2016.

Copy may be carried over to a future issue.

Special thanks to David Goldwater (5162) for his research and contributions to the ONA Magazine, particularly on his search for A History of the RGS in Its People.

The ONA Magazine is available online Please note that the magazine is circulated both in hard copy and by email to many members of the Association. Each edition is added to the ONA website shortly after circulation. By submitting an article or news for inclusion the contributor is accepting that it will be available through both formats and will also be accessible beyond the Association membership through internet search engines or any member of the public viewing the ONA website. www.ona.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk Cover image: © Historic Royal Palaces Please note that the ONA Magazine content does not neccessarily reflect the views of the school or the ONA and is based on personal experiences, recollections and memories of its contributors.

Design www.infinitedesign.com

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President’s Welcome News and Congratulations ONA Now and Then Drawn Into History A History of the RGS in Its People Grace Darling Descendant The Oldest New Sport Obituaries

Welcome

Happy New Year! Welcome to the spring edition of the ONA Magazine.

Throughout autumn, the calendar was dominated by rugby, with the world cup at St James’ Park, Scottish RFU using the fantastic new sporting facilities at the school and our own ONA celebrations with the John Elders memorial game, hosted at Novocastrians RFC where a fairly youthful ON team coached by Jim Pollock (67-77) took on a veteran Novos RFC side and ran out 66-19 winners. We look to even the sides up in 2016 and establish this as annual fixture. Importantly, a great time was had by all in the clubhouse afterwards!

Rugby continued in our thoughts with the 90th annual ONA Dinner in October with the usual full house enjoying the hospitality at school and former England full back, Jonathan Webb (74-81) giving us an insight behind the scenes of a Rugby World Cup. A raffle raised over £2,000 for the Bursary Campaign with a print of the school signed by the Scottish team. Before we change allegiance too much we are pleased to hear the ONA will also be represented in the coming Six Nations tournament as Paul Gustard (84-94) joins the coaching staff at Twickenham.

As the end of term drew near, a Christmas lunch was enjoyed by a large group of ONs at the Northern Counties Club, including the Headmaster, Head Boy and Head Girl. Please come and join us at one or more of our monthly Friday meetings.

We have also taken delivery of the entire upgraded merchandise range and all items are now in stock. Everything is available for delivery with details to be found on page 3.

The next major event we look forward to is the annual London ONA Dinner on 4 March – following last year’s success, it is being held again at The East India Club. Growing in popularity every time and with an increasing contingent travelling from further afield – mostly from Newcastle, but some as far as Hong Kong! This dinner is fast becoming established as an unofficial school reunion for many residing in the south and with tickets subsidised for undergraduates it would be great to see a few more recent leavers. Any parents reading this, please pass this information on as it could be the most reliable way to get in touch with our newest members! Details to be found on the back cover of this magazine.

Chris Rutter (92-02) ONA President

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

News and Congratulations We are delighted to have recently heard from…

Maurice Robinson (seated left)

Rene Robinson and Laurence Pallister (53-63) who recently returned to school for a tour in November. Rene is former head of English and NOVO editor, Maurice Guy Robinson’s (34-72) widow. She wrote to say that it was, ‘Quite moving to be in the old school again!’ She and Laurence reminisced about the NOVO and Mr Robinson’s English room, Room 3.

Geoff Marsh (38-39 and 44-48) who

wrote to say he, ‘has given up showing his ‘old roses’ (RNRS former national champion!) and now specializes in clematis’. He wrote further to say, ‘Everything vertical in his modest bungalow garden (except his trouser leg!) has a clematis growing up it!’ Geoff is also writing poetry.

Our congratulations go to…

Jamie Robson (01-11) who was in the news recently when receiving the Queen’s Medal from HRH Prince Charles for highest results in his year at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He’s now been commissioned in to the Parachute Regiment. Jamie spent five years in the CCF under the watchful eye of John Camm. During his final assembly as Head Boy in 2011 he said, “This school will be more than just memories. It has shaped what I have done, who I have become, and what I will do in the future. When I leave, I will not just take memories away, but something much more. The spirit of this school is something that will remain with me until the day I die”. (See issue 83).

Chris Marshall (03-08) Abu Dhabi

Harlequins’ winger who gained international honours for UAE in the Asia Sevens Series Bowl.

Paul Gustard (84-94) on his appointment

as England rugby defence team coach.

Aidan Robertson QC (73-80) who has been appointed Visiting Professor in the Law Faculty of the University of Oxford, where he teaches the postgraduate Competition Law course. He continues in full-time practice at the Bar as a silk at Brick Court Chambers, London, specialising in EU and Competition Law.

Jamie Robson receiving the Queen’s Medal from HRH Prince Charles at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

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Sarah McDonald (06-11) who was selected to represent England in the 1,500 metres in Bratislava and received her first senior England vest.

ONs, Kate Jarvis (02-04) head of PSHE and John Hammill (83-93) on their recent marriage in December. The ONA sends congratulations and would like to wish them both a long and happy life together.

Bernard Trafford, Headmaster, said: “It’s good to see two ONs display in their choice of partner for life the high standards and exquisite taste that they developed at school! We are delighted that John will be there to cherish and support a colleague we value highly”.

Kate and John on their wedding day

Meeting after 51 years: far left meets top right In the spring of 2014 I read an article in the ONA Magazine (see Issue 92) about a reunion of the medical Sixth Form of 196364. About seven of the 13 boys in that class had managed to make contact. I got in touch with the school office who forwarded my note to David McKinlay (56-64), who was on the phone to me within hours and by the end of the week many of us exchanged emails about where we were currently; that made eight of us connected up again.

My wife, Miriam and I had just completed the Coast to Coast walk, from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay and informed the group we were planning to walk Hadrian’s Wall in 2015. Doug Trotter (54-64) is a regular walker too and over the winter and spring we discussed how we would get together on some of the walk. Doug lives conveniently in Cockermouth which made it easy for him to meet with us, who were holidaying up north from Hove in Sussex.

Miriam and I set off from Segedunum at the east end of the wall and headed west. Night stops were at Heddon, Chesters, Housesteads and Lanercost.

On the morning we left Lanercost, Doug left Carlisle along the trail heading east. There was a lot of excitement and expectation in both converging individuals. After a couple of hours we saw a lone figure in the distance at about the appointed time…

Doug saw the two of us approaching… and after 51 years we met up again in the middle of nowhere like Stanley and Livingstone. In fact our rendezvous was actually on the wall. It was quite remarkable to meet up like this and a bit emotional.

We had been at primary school too, at Akhurst, a name which will resonate with older ONs. (It was a feeder school into the RGS for eight-year-olds. Mrs Akhurst ran the prep school and her husband

L-R: Tony Book and Doug Trotter

E ‘Dickie’ Akhurst (19-57) taught French

at the RGS.) The walk for the rest of the day was full of reminiscing about days of yore and personal life histories.

Doug and partner Liz, accompanied us on the last day from Carlisle to the end of the path at Bowness.

Later that evening, David McKinlay and his wife, who had come up from Lancashire, met up with us for further nostalgic tales of the past.

By Tony Book (54-64) and Doug Trotter (54-64)

ONA Merchandise To order from our new range of merchandise, please send a cheque payable to ONA, confirming your delivery address and contact details. For further details please email: ona@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk.

Limited Edition Prints

Scarf

480x330mm unframed £60 or 2 for £100

100% double thickness wool £35

Cufflinks

Socks

T Bar, enamel gilt plated, school crest £29

100% cotton £9

Bow Tie 100% pure silk, self-tie and ready made options available £29

Tie 100% pure silk, slip-stitched, fully lined £29 Polyester ties are also available.

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

ONA Now and Then buildings with commercial loans, repaying them through fee-income over a period of years. And many parents can afford those The school is looking and feeling confident, expensive trips: yet many cannot. then! But it does not forget its past, nor its The school always finds funds to ensure need for help and support from its former that bursary holders – those enjoying the students. How good it is to read Peter opportunities the RGS offers thanks to the Alberti’s (45-52) account of the 1952 financial help from the Bursary Campaign, Norway trip. The more I read about the RGS trips and expeditions in that era, the because their parents do not have the more I’m convinced that they were unusual income to afford independent education otherwise – can also participate in major for their time in number and ambition. trips if they are an integral part of a team, of There’s a strong link with the trips we offer a musical ensemble, whatever. But it costs. nowadays. Travel is easier, of course: for Sadly, while we are able to offer a dozen example, we can routinely put 90 or 100 We started last year anticipating two or so new bursaries in a year, we are students, if we wish, on a plane to South events in particular. First there was the nonetheless turning away several times Africa – as we shall do this summer, for a matter of completing our amazing new tour offering rugby for boys and netball for that number – children who would satisfy sports facility, duly finished in the summer. girls. Last summer saw yet another of our entry requirements and would thrive at those ambitious expeditions organised by the RGS, but whose parents cannot afford Second, we all knew that, sometime over fees and whom we cannot help because World Challenge but again led by RGS the next 12 months or so, the school we lack the funds. staff: the last was to the Himalayas, and would face a major inspection by ISI, the there is another trip already planned for Independent Schools Inspectorate.

This is the aspect of excellence that the 2017, this time to Malaysia.

Inspection is designed to take a snapshot school cannot develop from its own of the school as it really is: but the school resources. In every other respect it shines, Other articles in this edition are typical of knows that, with more than 400 regulatory the RGS, both past and present. Martin acknowledged as clearly the outstanding standards to meet, compliance is Tate (69-77) found an unusual sport in real school in the region, and will continue to nowadays almost as central a focus of the tennis: we have a number of current do so. But in order to help forthcoming process as the more human judgement of students pursuing sports outside the generations of students from less affluent the opportunities the school offers to its homes to thrive at school and then to mainstream but at the highest level: most students and what they achieve. distinctively, at present two reigning world go out and make their mark in the world champions in acrobatic gymnastics, half of and their contribution to society, we As 2016 begins, we can be satisfied that desperately need ONs and other donors a four-man U19 team. both events have passed successfully, so to support them through the Bursary that we can move forward. The school was Having read of Bill Elliott’s (52-88) Campaign. indeed inspected at the beginning of contribution to the school, I am delighted December 2015: it is fair to say that the to report that in 2015 the RGS sent more We know that our very success report triumphantly confirms every quality of its 18-year-old leavers into engineering sometimes acts against us: potential that we attribute to the school. Have a look courses at university than any other, even donors sometimes say to us, “But you’re on the school website www.rgs.newcastle. beating medicine. If that isn’t about helping doing so well. You obviously don’t need sch.uk. my help”. We do. The school is in to meet a crying national need, I don’t astonishingly good shape: but we still know what is!

We can use that accolade to move further need the help of ONs and others to ensure on along that never-ending journey to that academically gifted children from all Do we make it all look rather simple? excellence in all things. Meanwhile, we are I hope not: it isn’t! ONs reading these backgrounds can seize its opportunities loving the fact that we now have a new six- magazines may feel that the school is and, indeed, add to its unparalleled lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a second richness of experience and achievement. prospering with comparative ease. sports hall, warm and pleasant changing Please consider being part of that.

Yet an institution that isn’t constantly rooms (now, that really is a novelty to those upgrading and improving its facilities doing who remember the old games changing so is in danger of moving backwards, of Bernard Trafford room!), and a superb fitness and aerobics starting to decay. We can fund such Headmaster suite. Already we cannot imagine how we lived without such facilities!

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ONA Now and Then

RGS Norway Trip 1952 I am currently clearing out some of a huge, mainly unlabelled collection of photographs and came across these which were taken on the 1952 RGS school trip to Norway. By Peter Alberti (45-52) I was one of the first year of students not to have been at Penrith, which always seemed to be a dividing mark at the school. The school was back in Newcastle when I started in form 2.2 in 1945.

Dr ER Thomas (22-48) was Headmaster.

Some of the real highlights of my time at the school were the school camps. I went to Swaledale, Dentdale, Eskdale, a history camp in Warwick, a couple of harvest camps in Barton-uponHumber and to Norway. This may have been the first post-war foreign excursion from the school and it took place at the end of my last term. I was also able to fit in one more at Barton-uponHumber that summer before going to medical school.

We set sail from Newcastle on what I believe was called, the ‘vomiting Venus’, a ship notorious for its awkward motion and on arrival in Bergen took a fjord steamer right to the very end of the Sonjefjord. A rather rickety motor coach lofted us up into the Jotunheimen Mountains where we spent the next week walking from mountain hut to mountain hut, simple but comfortable lodges. We hiked along the edge of the snowline, usually just below it, sometimes onto it. At one point we saw a huge herd of reindeer; we met other hikers, including a formidable pair of elderly Looking towards the Jostedalsbreen Glacier

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

British twitchers, were introduced to Norwegian goat’s cheese and had a great time. At the end a bus picked us up and took us to the railway about half way between Oslo and Bergen and we returned home. A memorable trip which I’ve just sketched here, under the watchful eye of Laurence ‘Larry’ Watson (30-71) and ‘Freddie’ Galbraith (18-27, staff 30-31 and 49-68).

Below top: Bergen as seen from the funicular rail Below bottom: Walking on the Jostedalsbreen Glacier

Drawn Into History

By Roisin Inglesby (03-05), curator of architectural drawings, Historic Royal Palaces Above: Roisin Inglesby presenting architectural drawings to a group of visitors. Copyright Wienerberger Ltd Below: Architectural drawing showing the re-medievalisation of the Tower of London in the 1880s. Copyright Historic Royal Palaces

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t would be hard to find a more atmospheric place to work than the Tower of London. Once all the visitors have gone for the evening I leave my office and walk through the shadow of the White Tower, built by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. I walk past the execution spot on Tower Green, believed to be where Anne Boleyn lost her head, and through the vaulted arch of the Bloody Tower, prison to Sir Walter Raleigh and, legend has it, the unfortunate Princes in the Tower. In the winter months I make this journey in the dark and it is by turns beautiful, awe-inspiring, and slightly creepy.

This is not to say that the Tower is deserted after dark.

The site has continually served as a home to many for over 900 years and this tradition is maintained by the present community of Yeoman Warders (better known as Beefeaters), who live within the walls. There are also army barracks on site, all that remains of the Tower’s important military function — it was until the 19th Century the home of the Board of Ordnance, which supplied munitions and equipment to the Army and Navy. In its long history the Tower has also served as a palace for generations of kings and queens, the Public Records Office, a safe house for the Crown Jewels, and the Royal Mint.

In comparison with its thousand-year history, I have only been at the Tower for a very short time indeed. In May 2015, I took up the position of curator of architectural drawings for Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation which cares for the Tower, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, and the Banqueting House in

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Whitehall. I look after almost 30,000 architectural drawings which cover all the palaces, but are all kept together in a vault in the Tower’s Waterloo Block, in a basement underneath the Crown Jewels. The high security is only in part because of the intrinsic value of the drawings. More important is the fact that the space is climate-controlled, as fluctuations in temperature and humidity — common in old buildings — can be very damaging to paper objects.

I’ve been fascinated by history for as long as I can remember, and after leaving RGS in 2005 I studied Modern History at Queen’s College, Oxford. In my final year I became interested in the idea of visual sources and the stories they can tell. After failing (twice) to get a place on a History of Art course at the Courtauld, I worked at Christie’s for a year, a very valuable experience of close contact with the thousands of objects that pass through its doors each month. It was at this point that I discovered the concept of ‘material culture’, a relatively new, interdisciplinary academic approach that seeks to understand the past though the investigation of things. The idea of material culture studies is that the manufacture of your hat or the design of your kitchen probably explains more about your world than the latest government policy or multi-million pound piece of art: it aims towards a democratic understanding of what constitutes culture and focuses on the importance of objects within our everyday lives.

In 2009 I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to study for an MA in the History of Design, Decorative Arts and Material Culture at the Bard Graduate Center in New York (the fact that two out of three interviewers happened to be from Newcastle can’t have done any harm!) and I spent a brilliant two years in Manhattan, before taking a job as assistant curator of designs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The V&A’s collection is one of the best in the world, and I was responsible for about 100,000 design drawings, ranging from 15th Century stained glass designs to designs for 21st Century fashion.

During this time I started to focus more on architecture, and in 2015 curated a small exhibition about Philip Webb, best friend of William Morris and the founder of Arts and Crafts architecture.

Top: Plan and elevation of Subway entrance, Tower Hill, circa1910.

Copyright Historic Royal Palaces

One of the nicest things about working in museums is the day-to-day variety. Some days I spend in the stores, seeking out particular things on behalf of colleagues and researchers. I facilitate public access, which means showing drawings to visitors, but also working on improving the catalogue records and arranging a programme of photography with the aim of one day having everything publically available online. I give talks and tours of the space, and in spring 2016 I am undertaking a threemonth research secondment investigating a group of drawings showing the restoration and re-medievalisation of the Tower in the 19th Century. I’m expected to keep up-to-date with the legal responsibilities of having a public collection, ensuring we have adequate policies for acquisitions and disposals, and the ensuing paperwork.

I’m also responsible for the drawings’ physical well-being,

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

Middle: Part of the 14th Century mural in the Byward Tower. Copyright Historic Royal Palaces Bottom: Architectural drawing showing parts of the Tower open to the public and parts inhabited by Yeoman Warders, 1920. Copyright Historic Royal Palaces

so I work closely with the conservation department to ensure that everything will be kept safe for several hundred years to come! A really lovely aspect of the job is having privileged access to parts of the palaces not normally seen by the public, whether this is the room at Hampton Court once used as a library by Henry VIII, the servants’ quarters in the attic at Kensington Palace, or the spectacular wall painting in the Byward Tower at the Tower of London.

And no, I’ve never seen a ghost!

A HISTORY OF THE RGS IN ITS PEOPLE

by David Goldwater (51-62) A History of the RGS in Its People has concentrated on those ‘who have gone before us’, but, as a complete change, I have thought for some time that there are iconic ‘RGS characters’ who are still very much around. No-one personifies this more than my tutor, Bill Elliott (52-88) – ‘WGE’, ‘Wedgie’, as well as other monikers! I recently looked over the school field from a balcony at one of the brilliant new sports buildings and it was almost the same prospect as that from the upstairs in the old Woodwork/ Biology building – how things at the RGS have changed… and yet, here I was, sitting with Bill in his warm lounge in Benton, 63 years after he had been appointed to run, ‘the Woodwork department.’

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After his father was appointed works manager at Joseph Lucas, Bill and family moved over from Manchester to Newcastle, apparently, in a Belsize Bradshaw car, clearly an important family journey. At Gosforth Secondary School, disliking the raw vegetables served at school lunch, he opted each day to sprint home to Forest Hall for lunch and back, thus beginning his love affair with the running track.

Loughborough came next (1944-46) where Bill captained cross country (holding the cross country record for five years) and ran for the Universities Athletics Union team. After joining nearby Nottingham University’s Air Squadron, flying de Havilland Tiger Moths and American Harvards, Bill, as a member of the RAFVR and the Officers’ Training School at Hereford, was selected to train as an RAF pilot in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia in 1946.

Lured by the 1948 Olympics and the contact with top athletes, after two years he returned to Loughborough to study for his Diploma of Loughborough College qualification.

His appointment at Blyth Grammar School in 1949 brought Bill back to the North East. Here, he was in charge of Woodwork and shared PE. After three years, an appointment in the Woodwork department came up at the RGS and, encouraged by his father, Bill was persuaded to apply. At that time, school sports were primitive and included the sack race and throwing the cricket ball. Fortunately, he was given every encouragement to utilise his experience from Blyth and a standards system was introduced whereby every pupil was able to contribute towards House points. Many ONs will remember being able to take pride in winning even one point.

After the innovation of a pole vaulting pit and this entirely new sport at the school, JR McManus (45-54) achieved a Cambridge Blue and the indoor British record in the sport.

This reflected great credit on the RGS and Bill still glows with pride as he recalls the visit by the combined Oxford and Cambridge Athletics Team (Achilles) for a day in 1955, coaching in the morning and competing on a handicap basis in the afternoon.

‘In the Fifth Form, as a strong fit kid who despite being good at it, did not like rugby, I at last had a choice for winter sport.

I chose cross country, turned out to be quite good at it and went straight into the school team. There were then three happy years running for the school with many trips to odd places, all under the avuncular but inspirational aegis of Bill Elliott. He cared and he really wanted everyone to enjoy what we were doing and get the very best out of ourselves. He would reminisce about his own athletic prowess, running in Rhodesia or getting the entire Achilles Athletics Team to RGS earlier in his career. He knew how to bring the best out of you by making you want to do well for him but never hammering you if sometimes you did not. I recall a trip over to race in Cumbria when we went by cars and stopped off for a break on the way where Bill bought us each a glass of beer.

‘Bill’s enthusiasm to impart to his pupils the appreciation of fine craftsmanship has remained with me throughout university and subsequent working life in a scientific career.’

Dr W Dave Waddoup (60-70) Little things like that helped shape the way I later related to my pupils as a teacher. He is a lovely man and I am very grateful to him.’ Norman Shiel (60-67) It was a constant battle at school with the cricket “high-ups” (as he calls them) concerning the overlap of his elliptical running track with that of the circular cricket boundary.

The Athletics Team competed regularly with distinction at numerous championships around the UK. Bill acted as Chairman at both the Newcastle and Northumberland Athletic Associations. The Running Club gave many present-day ONs their life-long interest in the sport. In 1966, Loughborough College became a University and, Bill, together with John Elders (57-82 and 92-96) and Paul Ponton (71-09), were recalled and awarded degrees.

Moving on to Woodwork, as all students took the subject for three years and many at O and A Level, this subject seems to endure with and brings happy memories to a huge number of Bill’s former pupils. The opportunity arose when the then current Head would not allow Oxbridge entrants to leave after Christmas and several courses were offered in his and other departments, resulting in some spectacular successes. Bill singled out a remarkable cross-bow crafted

by John Armour (52-60).

Top to bottom: The RGS Model Railway Club, circa 1956 WW Kreshmarr (Achilles and German javelin champion) RGS, 1955 JR McManus demonstrates his prowess at the pole vault

‘In Bill’s lunch-hour Woodwork sessions for the Sixth Form, I constructed a rather fine glistening white electric guitar, which Bill insisted that I show the then (Oxon Classics) Headmaster – largely in despair, I suspect, to remind him that valuable activities of a slightly less academic nature were going on, “Over there in the Woodwork block”. The Headmaster concerned conceded his rather sparing approval adding, as a throw-away afterthought, that, “Such subjects were ideal hobbies for gentlemen, but not to be carried too far!” Bill’s enthusiasm to impart to his pupils the appreciation of fine craftsmanship has remained with me throughout university and subsequent working life in a scientific career. It is now providing me with longstanding ‘hobbies’ which I am now indulging (when time permits) in my long awaited retirement. Another of Bill’s persistent mottos, which remains firmly embedded in my psyche, is that the, “Job is never finished until the clearing up is done”. Woe betide anyone who leaves any mess in my environment! So, many thanks Bill; happy memories indeed.’

Dr W Dave Waddoup (60—70)

RGS Sports Day as it was in the 50s to 70s The theatre lighting project – Winner of the BBC Young Scientist competition, 1980

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

Bill launched a Model Railway Club, with a huge layout exhibited on many a Speech Day. Bill Haden (60-72), on being approached about introducing the white-hot subject

of the age (technology), exclaimed, “There will never be any technology at the RGS whilst I am Headmaster!” New opportunities arose with the appointment of Alister Cox (72-94) as Head, but progress was slow until Frank Budden (60-80 and 80-82), the head of Maths, agreed to establish an A Level in Applied Mechanics for prospective engineers. The subject encouraged ingenuity and inventiveness, resulting in the building of a small hovercraft in 1974 which won 2nd place in the national championships. Three years later, a more advanced four metre racing craft was built, powered by a 600cc Reliant engine. Converted into a crop sprayer, at the suggestion of Paul Brown (73-78) and Alastair Wolf (71-78), this craft won the prestigious BBC Young Scientist of the Year competition. It was displayed in the Science Museum main entrance, eventually winning Joint First at the European Young Scientist contest in Eindhoven.

Quite a jump from the towel rails and stools many of us created with… ‘pride’?

‘Bill was simply tremendous as a teacher and I know many pupils had great affection for him, his mannerisms and sayings. It is perhaps noteworthy that some 30 years on his one-liners, teaching approach and his mannerism are quickly recalled by many – witnessed at the Applied Mechanics reunion at the Annual Dinner just over a year ago. (See Issue 93). Also, testament to the man, were the numbers that turned out for it. His classic line, “Wood doesn’t grow on trees, boy!” will be recalled by so many.

Top man all round and a delight to have been one his pupils.’ Rob Blake (79-84) ‘I remember him so well, both as a teacher and a coach and as a warm, friendly man. Bill possessed tremendous enthusiasm and it was infectious. I certainly took to athletics thanks to his encouragement and I was privileged to be a member of the school athletics teams through all age groups. I was not so talented at Woodwork and I am so grateful to him for never laughing at my appalling efforts to make a simple pen- and pencil-holder. Thank you, Bill!’

Alan Castree (53-61) In 1980, two members of the Applied Mechanics course invented a computerized theatre lighting system with help from the Physics department, winning the BBC Young Scientist Competition for the second time. Along with these projects, many highly sophisticated items were produced as aids to the handicapped. One of these was financed by the Prince’s Trust. The Applied Mechanics course ran for several years, launching many applicants into engineering with major industrial scholarships along with university fees.

‘I have very fond memories of Bill’s Applied Mechanics A Level classes. I took the A Level because I wanted to become an engineer and it just reinforced that desire.

I went on to become a chartered engineer working across refineries, explosives factories, aerospace and blast furnaces worldwide. I thank Bill and the team for his

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Above top: ‘Welcome home’ after winning the BBC Young Scientist of the Year 1978. (with the Faraday Trophy from the Royal Institute) Above below: Bill Elliott tests the ‘Blue Scarab’ hovercraft (placed 2nd in the National Schools’ Championships)

‘Bill possessed tremendous enthusiasm and it was infectious. I certainly took to athletics thanks to his encouragement and I was privileged to be a member of the school athletics teams through all age groups.’

Alan Castree (53-61) enthusiasm and dry wit. I loved the competitions he ran – the balloon-powered ceiling tile and making vehicles that would travel exactly five metres – and there was always something going on. Barry Malone (77-84) and I were a team that made kids toys for disabled children with buttons and levers etc., another of Bill’s projects. I’ve just designed and built a hovercraft with my son, from the ground up, inspired by the hovercraft at the RGS’. Phil R Thompson (77-84) writing from Australia.

In 1984 he was approached by Alister Cox who invited Bill to consider launching a Clay Pigeon Shooting Club which proved to be extremely popular, winning several Public Schools Championships and trophies.

Bill retired in 1988 and has remained busy writing and publishing several books on local history, particularly in the area he has lived now for approaching 90 years. A remarkable man, a great personality, a loyal ON teacher and a complete pleasure to be with. Very many Old Novos across the decades will, no doubt, be pleased to add, “And so say all of us!”

ONA Remembers Darling Descendant November 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Grace Horsley Darling. Bryan Stevens (44-49) writes of a modern day connection between the school and this famous North East heroine.

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race Darling achieved instant fame in 1838, when together with her father William Darling, the keeper of the Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands rowed for over a mile on a dark stormy night to reach the wrecked steamship Forfashire, which had broken in two. They managed to rescue nine passengers. She became a national heroine, but less than four years later she died of tuberculosis.

lived at the lighthouse for some years before serving in the Royal Navy. He was a keen local sportsman and later became groundsman to various well known cricket clubs.

He came to the RGS as groundsman in 1927, remaining there until 1953, in charge of the playing fields at the school as well as at Sutherland Park, Benton. As far as I remember, he had only one assistant, although he was also in charge of all the school’s cricket kit and the mighty balls, and had to look after the pavilion as well. Hundreds of ONs will There is a link with the RGS. William ‘Bill’ Horsley Darling remember the kindly pipe-smoking figure who was always busy and who dreaded retirement. But eventually he had to (27-53), born in 1885, was the son of Robert Darling, born go, and he retired to Whitburn. I believe he died some time at the Longstone Lighthouse in 1846, and his grandfather, William Brookes Darling, was a brother of Grace. Bill himself in the 60s.

Grace Darling by JW Carmichael, 1838

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

Imagine a devilish combination of lawn tennis, squash, three-dimensional chess and poker, all played inside a gigantic pinball machine.Welcome to my new sporting obsession, real tennis, sometimes called court tennis (especially in America) or royal tennis. I joined my local club at Hatfield House, the Jacobean pile in Hertfordshire, for social reasons. The addiction came soon afterwards, the first time I hit a ball – no, actually, the first two times I missed.

By Martin Tate (69-77)

Martin Tate on court

The Oldest New Sport

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T

he rules of what is now termed real tennis were mostly formalised in the 1300s. The game was popularised and influenced by Henry VIII in the 1500s. In 1877, Spencer Gore won Wimbledon’s first gentlemen’s singles title but declared, “Lawn tennis is a bit boring. It will never catch on”. However, simplified sports are easier for both learner and spectator. Real tennis declined, and by the 1970s it had almost completely disappeared.

Thousands of courts had been demolished or converted to other uses including squash court, sheep pen, part of a prison, furniture storeroom and restaurant (the Parisian Hotel du Jeu de Paume).

The current renaissance of the game (more players and new courts, despite a price tag around £1.5m) might be a reaction to a standardised world, since the essence of tennis (devotees don’t use the real) is unpredictability.

The court is asymmetric across both axes, both physically and for rules of play. Moreover, courts are slightly different in dimensions, angles of roofs and surface reactions, because most were built in the craft era.

The balls are handmade by the club professionals, who can spend 25% of their working day doing so, although the clever pro can sew and hold a conversation and comment on (or even mark) a match. Unlike lawn tennis, the balls have raised, hand-sewn seams, may not be perfect, have a core of crushed cork (not bouncy latex) with covers (woven, not felt, for strength) that are renewed every two weeks, so grip and the effect of spin varies.

The rackets are asymmetric and highly-strung (by pro hands, machines are too weak) with a tiny sweet spot, so the difference between ‘middling’ a shot and a centimetre offtarget is huge. In the next few milliseconds, you hear the sweet sound (ping vs thunk), see the trajectory and then experience the satisfaction (or dismay). And then put it down to skill or luck.

Court, ball and racket all add to the unpredictability, along with putting spin onto balls by ‘cutting’ shots or using walls, both are critical to successful match play.

Martin on court with HHTC Pros Jon Dawes (L) and James Law

Scoring requires permanent mental alertness as to which rules are in effect during that game, the appropriate tactic for the next shot and remembering previous strokes. There are 10 ways to win or lose a point. Some depend on context – the outcome of previous ‘rests’ (rallies). This context is through the system of ‘chases’, believed to be introduced by Henry VIII as he grew less able to cover the court, which is longer and wider than in lawn tennis. The chase allows the player defeated by the second bounce to record the length and have a second attempt to win the point by ‘beating the chase’ after changing ends.

Despite over 600 years of heritage, the game exploits modern technology. Some pros video lessons to help feedback. There is a scoring app for the web, smartphone and tablet. A joint initiative of the governing bodies in several countries (including Australia, France, the UK and USA) maintains Real Tennis Online. This includes a global database of every player’s handicap and game history, calculators (such as odds to play off), club details, reference documentation, court bookings and secure email so you can reach a potential opponent or doubles partner on any continent.

The right to serve is by no means automatic (no mollycoddling alternation per game as in lawn tennis) but must be won by setting chases and walking from the ‘hazard’ (receiving) end to the service end.

You might consider real tennis as a one-off experience – perhaps to make spectating meaningful – the game is crammed with characters. Or take up the game to prepare for retiring from squash, lawn tennis or badminton, so you can still play a racket sport in your 80s, as some club players do. Precision beats strength, guile beats pace. Rob Fahey is now 47 and has been able to hold the world title since 1994.

Handicapping has always been part of the game, originally to encourage aristocratic wagers. Charles ‘Biboche’ Delahaye, the French Maître Paumier in the 1800s, once played in the full dress uniform of the National Guard, wearing boots and rucksack. He carried the regulation musket with fixed bayonet in his non-racket hand.

The modern handicapping calculator (from 1993) was designed to reflect accurately the probabilities of winning as game point approaches, partly by exploiting Pascal’s arithmetic triangle. It is one of the explanations for the current upswing in popularity. Players of radically different ability can (and do) compete, since each gets a challenge.

There are six dimensions to handicaps, progressively activated as the players’ abilities differ and also to reflect ‘home court advantage’. Conceding points is only one dimension and can mean the weaker player needs only score 24 points to win two sets, whereas the stronger needs 84.

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The game televises poorly, so most people take up the game by personal introduction, and clubs encourage trials because the physical experience is everything.

I began this article by describing real tennis as a ‘devilish combination’ of various sports and games. Let me explain: Lawn tennis – because the balls are yellow; you hold a racket; the count of points; but surprisingly little else.

Squash – shots off the end and side walls; aiming for corners.

3D Chess – the roof slopes; manoeuvring; building attacks and counter-attacks.

Poker – tactical shot selection under match pressure; playing the player rather than the ball.

Pinball – ricochets; managing the fight/flight reaction while a painfully-hard projectile hurtles towards you at up to 140 mph.

Obituaries

James ‘Alan’ Wardropper (40-48) Born 5 November 1929, died 26 July 2015, aged 85

that 120 people attended the celebration of his life; proud numbers, especially if one reflects that most of his contemporaries are by now dead.

I am also reminded that he was a deep thinker whose thoughts were often for others. He assisted in a number of charities and was treasurer of several trusts, including the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

Alan Wardropper, in every way, typical

of our school’s best.

Old friend and brightest star of ‘Sammy’ Middlebrook’s (18-58)

History Sixth, whose schooldays bridged Penrith and Eskdale terrace, Alan Wardropper died peacefully on the 26 July at the age of 85.

I recall our 1947 train journey at scholarship time when he, Brian Redhead (40-48), John Harrison (40-47) and myself shared a compartment, full of hope and history.

In Alan’s case, hope was rewarded, for he would return with an exhibition to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.

After nine outstanding terms at Cambridge he came down in 1951, taking articles with Peat, Marwick and Mitchell, becoming a chartered accountant in 1954 and among the firms youngest-ever partners in 1961, finally retiring in 1988. In 1959 he married Nancy Black (formerly of the Central Newcastle High School) and their three children are by now firmly grounded in business and the professions.

They lived much of their lives where Kenton meets Nuns Moor, moving in 2000 to Beadnell. All I have described confirms Alan’s character as steady, steadfast and loyal: to company as well county, society as well as family, in every way typical of our school’s best.

He was essentially a quiet man, the Typical even in ending his days living greatest and most self-effacing I have known; in all matters moderate, though between Alnwick and Berwick, that coast of seals and seabirds, castles, meagre in none. He would later say, “Of all our circle I was the only one who dunes and sands, to which many have returned like salmon to their native stayed and made a life in the North streams. There, he and Nancy walked, East”. Very true, for post-war Britain golfed, bowled, bird-watched, fished, was slow to revive and many looked played bridge, read, listened to opera southwards for employment. and enjoyed the shy and secret beauty of England’s farthest corner.

With Alan in Newcastle and others starting life elsewhere, this could mean It would however be wrong to fading friendships. It is only owing to Nancy’s assistance that I am now able remember Alan solely for hobbies and pleasures. Even in retreat his life to sketch in the central part of his career. She tells me she received 223 embraced a keen social sympathy, messages and cards on his death and continuing to think of others and to look

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after many charitable projects. His contribution lay not only in giving time to compassionate causes, but in turning his talent for accountancy towards altruistic ends. A conventional career, one may think, untroubled by upheaval or uncertainty, yet a positive and productive one, underpinned by modesty and virtue.

Death has robbed his family of a loving man and his friends of a lovable man, his business associates of a distinguished colleague and the North East of an unobtrusive, yet irreplaceable presence.

By Derek Williams (39-48)

John ‘Richard’ Manley (54-64) Born 3 July 1946, died 7 September 2015, aged 69

I first met Richard Manley in the spring of 1978, shortly after I had been appointed head of Economics at Winchester. He had applied for a job in the department and it was immediately apparent that he was different; apart from anything else, he had spent 10 years working in the ‘real world’, mainly for the Economist Intelligence Unit and Coopers & Lybrand, with a good part of the time spent in Saudi Arabia.

before going into consultancy. He had a great sense of humour and enjoyed life – particularly good food and good wine.

When colleagues had a problem, Richard was the first to offer support, one of the reasons he was so respected in the Common Room.

I left Winchester in 1989, at the same time as Richard became a housemaster, and so I did not see him in his role as a housemaster, though I know that he was hugely committed to the 60 boys in his care. He was also very important to the college as a whole by his exploitation of the far east market. But the life of a boarding He was the first teacher I was involved in appointing – and what a good appointment school housemaster is one of the most stressful around, and eventually it took its it was. He was a born schoolmaster, very good and committed in the classroom and toll on Richard, leading to his early retirement in 1998, though he carried on particularly strong on the pastoral side with some educational consultancy. He outside it, clearly very able, a strong and his wife, Anne initially moved to Devon academic but not afraid to admit to areas but then went to the south of France, where where he was less happy. (For several years, we swapped sets for particular areas he lived until his death. We occasionally spoke on the phone and he was keenly of the syllabus; he hated teaching money interested in what was going on at the (which was a main interest of mine) and I RGS; he was particularly pleased about hated teaching distribution theory, where the lease that we took on the county cricket he was strong; so we just swapped sets.) ground in Jesmond, which he thought was Only three years after he arrived, the a real coup. position of undermaster, a proto-director of studies, became vacant and he was the His last few years were difficult; his health obvious person to take the role. Here he showed himself not only to be very efficient deteriorated and he was not always easy, but it was the Richard Manley of his prime but also very clear about many of the that was remembered at a memorial weaknesses that Winchester had in the service in Winchester in November. The organisation of its teaching. He set about fact that there was standing room only said trying to drag Winchester into the 20th as much as the moving tributes.

Century, with the strong support of a few of us and the strong opposition of many. It is a tribute not only to his ability but also his He is survived by Anne, by a daughter (Carrie) and two grandchildren by his sense of humour and personal qualities first marriage, by a son (Ollie) and two that he managed to get a fair way down grandchildren from his second marriage, the road he had sketched out. and also by his two step-children by Anne and seven step-grandchildren.

Richard had lived very close to the RGS in Lily Crescent and followed his elder

By James Miller (94-08), previous brother, Roger (52-62) into the school in 1954. I know little about his school career, Headmaster but I suspect that he would have found silly school rules rather difficult to tolerate. He left the RGS in 1964 and went on to Birmingham University to read Economics

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

Philip Ashcroft (36-44) born 1926, died 1 November 2015, aged 88.

Robert Brown (48-57) born 1939, died

11 October 2015, aged 76.

Peter Dodds (65-72) born 1954, died 8 November 2015, aged 61.

Ian Dollery (72-82) born 1963, died

18 June 2015, aged 51.

Harry Goldwater (46-53) born 1935, died

24 December 2015, aged 80.

John Kenneth ‘Ken’ Richard Graveney

(34-36) born 1924, died 25 October 2015, aged 90.

Arthur GN Hodkinson DSC VRD (30-

37) born 1920, died 8 November 2015, aged 95.

Robert I Johnson (30-33) born 1916, died 30 August 2015, aged 99.

Rev Michael Frederick Laybourne (4654) born 1937, died 17 July 2015, aged 77.

Stanley Renwick ‘Ronnie’ Nicholson

(44-47) born 1930, died 22 September 2015, aged 85.

David Tucker (37-42) born 1925, died 31 July 2015, aged 89.

Allan Wilson (36-39) born 1925, died

5 July 2015, aged 89.

Malcolm Wood (60-70) born 1951, died

11 August 2015, aged 63.

Derrick Harold Younger (44-50) born 1931, died 6 November 2015, aged 84.

Thomas ‘Tom’ William Graveney OBE (34-36)

Neil Smith (61-68) Born 27 June 1950, died 26 April 2015, aged 64

Born 16 June 1927, died 3 November 2015, aged 88

Neil Smith died unexpectedly at home on 26 April 2015.

Neil did not really like school, but did tell me that he was greatly indebted to Jack Wolstenholme’s (48-75) kindness and his introduction to the music of Dvor̆ák.

I always feel diffident claiming Thomas William Graveney, who died on 3 November, aged 88, as the only (so far) ON test cricketer, but the fact is that he was in the Junior School, together with his elder brother John Kenneth ‘Ken’ Richard Graveney (34-36).

Tom was a native of Riding Mill. The brothers were in the Junior School XI, which then played against local prep schools. After the early death of their father, the family moved to Blackpool, and later to the West Country, and the boys attended Bristol Grammar School. They both played for Gloucestershire, Tom from 1948-60, then for Worcestershire 1961-70, and finally for Queensland 1969-72. He captained Gloucestershire until a dispute led to his move to Worcestershire, whom he also captained in his last few seasons.

He played 79 tests between 1951 and 1969, captaining England on three occasions as a stand-in for Colin Cowdrey. He scored 4,882 runs (average 44.38) with a highest score of 258 made against West Indies in 1957. Those who saw him bat will always remember him as one of the most elegant players of his time. Later he was well known as a TV commentator and finally became the first ex-professional to be appointed President of MCC in 2004-05.

Sadly, his brother Ken died only a few days before him, aged 90. Ken was a considerable cricketer in his own right, mainly as a seam bowler, before retiring early with back trouble, but returned to captain Gloucestershire in 1963 and 64, later becoming Chairman of the club. His son, David played for Gloucestershire and Somerset, before becoming the first man to captain Durham as a first-class county, from 1992 until 94, when he did an excellent job in very difficult circumstances.

By Bryan Stevens (44-49)

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After leaving school Neil studied Modern Languages at Salford University and worked for some time at the European Parliament before his true love, playing and composing music (and drinking beer), drew him back to Tyneside.

I met Neil during the 80s when my interest in Northumbrian piping moved to playing regularly and Neil helped the society produce an LP, New Horizons on which he played two tunes.

His interest in all things Czech lead him to become fluent in the language, visiting friends and folk festivals and playing Czech bagpipes.

Forthright and sometimes uncompromising in his views, Neil was highly respected by Northumbrian pipers worldwide, played in groups and duos and judged traditional music competitions.

It will be a great disappointment to many who can no longer hear him busking on either Northumbrian smallpipes or his beautiful ivory recorder on many high streets or in pubs in Northumberland and Durham.

He was described to me once by a young lady, who was influenced

by Neil’s playing as, “That pearshaped gentleman you saw on Elvet Bridge”.

As a fitting memory to Neil, the Northumbrian Pipers’ Society is planning to issue a book of his tunes in due course, but I leave the last words to his friend and piper, Keith Davidson: “At the funeral party, at the Wheatsheaf in Felling, in respect of his memory a few mourners over-indulged”.

By Chris Calver (60-71)

Ian Robert Alexander (36-45)

John ‘Dic’ D Atkinson (67-74) Born 29 December 1956, died 12 June 2015, aged 58

Born 11 June 1928, died 9 November 2015, aged 87

Born in Newcastle on 11 June 1928, Ian joined the Junior School in J1A in 1936, thereafter sailing through the upper echelons of his year. He was evacuated to Penrith and shared billets with others of his age. Like most of us he came home for the holidays and was one of the few, if not the only one, whose home was damaged in an air raid. He was an able cricketer, gaining his colours in 1945, and Wisden recalls that his batting average was three times greater than the next batsman, while he was second in the bowling averages.

He entered the Geography Sixth Form on our return from Penrith in 1944, but the following year he was offered the opportunity through a family connection to join the firm of Shanks Sanitary Ware in Barrhead, near Glasgow.

It would mean giving up the thought of university and abandoning his home in Newcastle. He seized this chance and studied at night school. It paid off. He became works manager in1965, works director in 1968 and finally managing director in 1975.

He continued playing cricket for the Polloc Club winning the Western Union Championship with them. In later life his garden and bowling were great interests and he was President of his local bowling club.

Only recently he guided the club through a difficult reconstruction with considerable skill and patience.

For many years he was absent from Old Novo events but he came with his wife, Margaret to the, ‘class of 1944 reunion’ in 2008 and the Penrith reunion of 2014 (see Issue 93) where his friends were delighted to see him.

He was a man with a great, but quiet sense of humour, integrity and determination and will be missed by many. He leaves a daughter, son and three grandchildren who were a great joy to him. His wife predeceased him.

By J Chris Emmerson (36-47)

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ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Spring 2016

John started at RGS in 1967, at a time of great change in the world, the Beatles, Carnaby Street, Vietnam, flower power and WD Haden (60-72) continuing to maintain discipline at a time of increasing liberalism. John was already a very accomplished musician and by the age of 12 was playing Schubert and Beethoven sonatas on the piano and knew all the Beethoven symphonies when almost all of his friends recognised were Lily the Pink, Jennifer Eccles and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.

In the first year he acquired his nickname ‘Dic’ during a Maths lesson with form master JR Rowling (63-74).

By the Removes we were affected deeply by the then revolutionary humour of Monty Python, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In, Benny Hill and Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii and often recited it by heart the following morning in Room 13.

John started to excel in Latin in R1 under MAG Griffiths (69-02 and 0506), but I recall he also did well in History under WA ‘Bill’ Feaver (65-71), Geography under ‘Dusty’ Rhodes (67-94), French under Mike Oswald (66-03) and Maths under Mr Liddell (50-78). John remembered having to do boxing for a term in the Removes when he was set against classmate David Webster (64-74).

In our Fourth year, Chemistry teacher Geoff Swinden (69-98) composed some music for our year group music ensemble with Robert Mines (69-74) on trumpet, Paul Robins (69-74) on clarinet, David Jackman (68-74) on French horn, GS on piano, John on bassoon and me on flute. John was a stalwart member of the school First Orchestra, for several years playing bassoon under the baton of

Jack Wolstenholme (48-75) and going

on annual RGS orchestra trips with members of Central High to Bad Waldsee (1972) and in the Sixth Form to Konigswinter (1973 and 74). Perhaps uncharacteristically he attended Littondale camp with me for the whole of blackberry week in 1973 as a Sixth Form helper under Geoff Swinden (in his third year as a Chemistry teacher) and who we both recalled was inspirational about music, photography and the Yorkshire Dales.

In Sixth Form, John studied Classics with Distinction under Messrs ‘Strides’ Griffiths and Don Shipley (52-83) and in his ‘third year sixth’ was awarded an Exhibition to Wadham College, Oxford, where he changed to Part 2 English and graduated with a Double First.

John never married and led what some would describe as an alternative lifestyle.

After periods working as a librarian at the Franciscan International Studies Centre in Canterbury and in the far east as an English teacher he returned to Oxford, which was his home. His funeral in Oxford was attended by classmates Anthony Wasserman (68-74), Michael Clark (67-74) and me. He is remembered by his sister Janette, brother Peter and the nephews and nieces he adored.

By Roland Tate (67-74)

Correction: In the last issue, Christine Watson (née McLennan, a former pupil of Central Newcastle High School) was searching for ONs who might be interested in the Sixth Form country dancing reunion and who will be turning 70 years of age next year. John Douglas (56-94), former Maths teacher wrote after publication that his wife, Jan was not involved in country dancing. It was, in fact, Joy Knowles (52-84) former Junior School teacher.

ONA Diary dates The London Annual Dinner Friday 4 March 2016, The East India Club ‘Far went they forth from the School of the North’ The President of the ONA, Chris Rutter (92-02) invites you to join him at the London ONA Dinner.

Details can be found on the ONA website at http://ona.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk/news-and-events.aspx or by telephone on 0191 212 8909.

Deadline for reservations is Friday 19 February 201 .

The price for the dinner is £59. Subsidised tickets for undergraduates are £39.

Secure a place by sending payment by cheque, made payable to Old Novocastrians Association, providing your name, address, email and years at school. We can also accept a bank transfer, please email ona@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk for further details.

Find our Facebook page at: Old Novocastrians Association

ONA Merchandise Special Offer Tie and cufflinks £50 Bowtie and cufflinks £55 If you are coming to the London ONA Dinner, you can order a combination of a tie or bowtie and cufflinks for a special offer; only available to dinner attendees.

Please email ona@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk to enquire regarding payment and delivery options. We can offer postal delivery or collection at the event.