Old Olavian

It probably goes without saying that this was one of the more difficult years of all our lives thus far. It will have been especially difficult for those Olavians who have yet to describe themselves as “Old”. My admiration goes to them and all the staff who will have had to do their work in such different circumstances to those which the majority of my readers will remember as our school days.

As I write, I am waiting to be called for my flu jab and, I hope, my third “booster” vaccination. Let us hope that these are successful for all of us, and for all the world.

At least I was able to get back to the job which I feel so lucky to have fallen into during the later years of my life. After a year when I was unable to score any cricket matches for Derbyshire, all county scorers were able to do their job, and the majority of them were able to travel to away matches again, although only from the start of June.

As always, I am very grateful to those Olavians who have sent contributions, more than usual, I think, possibly due to members seeking ways to fill the time they were having to spend at home during this pandemic. I am sure that it is true to say that I was an under-achiever at St. Olave’s and I sometimes wonder what I might have achieved in life if I had been inspired (forced?) to do more. Rex Barker is another who describes himself as one who might have achieved more at StOGS: he has written a very full article describing his achievements in life, and I think readers will agree that he did not allow any shortcomings at school to hold him back.

I would most certainly recommend his contribution to all readers as a story which must be read. Indeed, I would hope that you will find all the stories told by my contributors of interest. Better still perhaps there will be others who would like to share their experiences and achievements during the years since they left our School. I look forward to receiving them.

My thanks go to Veronica Andrews for her help in producing the OO section of this magazine: we are most fortunate to have someone who gives so much of her time and expertise in looking after our interests.

John Brown Editor, Old Olavian

What a year! Never mind Covid, I retired in October 2020 after forty-three years in banking.

Any registered members of the Society will have received a regular newsletter from me and will also have seen some great improvements to our website.

Starting where we left off last October, the Covid restrictions meant the Service of Remembrance and laying of wreaths was held and filmed with just the main participants in attendance. Graham Milne (1963) again represented Old Olavians.

I did not attend any events in the School’s calendar for obvious reasons.

Unlike last year, the Society’s AGM was not cancelled. Instead, it was arranged and held via Zoom. It was the most attended AGM for years, and the minutes are published below. The accounts referred to in those minutes were signed off by our honorary Auditor, Paul Askham (1977), and showed the following: outside chance of a Reunion being held later in the year. I conducted a poll which showed that if a Reunion did take place, there were enough OOs interested to make the event a success. Mr David Craig, the recently retired Head of Classics, agreed to be the Society’s guest speaker, even if the engagement was confirmed at short notice.

Summer saw the significant relaxation of Covid rules, which meant that I could now consider planning the Annual Reunion, if a venue could be found. The RAF club were already fully booked and the School would later confirm that it could be held on the School premises on Saturday 2nd October.

I was not able to attend the Reunion but know that it was a great success. I am very grateful to Veronica Andrews who took on so much of the organising and administration, Graham Milne (1963) who MC’ed for me at short notice, the Parents’ Association who ran the bar again for us, and to David Craig who made the day for so many attendees. Thank you. A number of attendees have shared some of their memories later in this section of the Olavian, and more photos can be seen on our Facebook page, and our website if you are a registered member.

Please let me know if you are looking for something in particular from the Society. It is your Society.

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you all the very best for 2022.

Given the success of the format, I am hoping it is possible to find a way to allow virtual attendance in future.

Since mid-March 2020, I had been working from home, and was lucky that I could. As I said last year, one of the good things to come out of this strange existence is that I have spoken to my old mates from school more than ever before. We have continued to book a regular weekly online meeting slot, affectionately referred to as ‘WetherzOOms’, when we chat and have a beer. I am not sure that I would have remained sane without these guys, as I have continued to ‘shield’.

In May, some Covid rules were lifted, so there was an

Chris Harris (1977)