WHA Yearbook 2023

PATRONS

The Right Hon. the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC FBA

Professor Dame Carol Black FRCP FMedSci

Sir David Wills Bt.

Robert Marshall-Andrews KC 1962-63

Stephen Williams 1985-87

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President of the Association

Charles Gunter 2003-05 SCR 2006-08

Vice Presidents

Professor Julian Rivers, Warden 2009-15

Professor Robert Vilain, Warden 2015-2018

Chair

Andrew Sulston 1988-90

Treasurer

Richard Lockyer 1979-81

Secretary

Dr John Walsby-Tickle 2011-12 SCR 2014-16

Reunion Secretary

Dr Jane Thompson DL TD SCR 1986-98

Independent Examiner Position vacant

Members

Emma Berry 1986-88

Amelia Craddock 2016-17 JCR President

Christopher Embrey 1966-69

Simon Hodgetts 1989-92

Professor David Lane 1979-83

Dr Vinay Mandagere 2015-16

Katherine Miles 2011-12

Patrick Walesby 1979-81

Robert Young 2017-18 JCR President

Co-Opted Members

Dr Peter Relph 2016-18

Rowan Humphreys 2020-21

Eleanor Lam 2021-22 JCR President

Scarlett Jenkins 2022-23 JCR President

Milo Jullien 2018-19 JCR President

In Attendance

Andrew Abbey, Senior Residential Life Manager (Wellbeing)

Tom Steward 2007-08, Chief Resident, Wills Hall 2022-23

CONTACTS

All Enquiries

Email enquiries: wills-hall-association@bristol.ac.uk

Website

https://willshallassociation.org

THE HALL – 2022-2023

Junior Common Room Committee

President - Scarlett Jenkins

Vice President - Savannah Salt-Willans

Treasurer - Evie Hinde

Events Rep - Madeleine Farmer

Equality and Diversity Rep - Rhiannon Jenkins

Sports Rep - Finley Rowland

Welcome to our 2023 Yearbook! I have just been looking at an email about our summer reunion and hoping that the weather outside will be considerably better in Bristol by July, especially when alumni weekend coincides with the Bristol Harbour Festival and one of the busiest and liveliest weekends that the city has to offer. By complete coincidence we have booked Cabot’s replica for a private tour of the harbour on Saturday 15 July – spaces are already sold out. Our guest speaker at a joint dinner for all alumni (in Wills) will be the new Vice-Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch.

The Reunion Weekend continues to be organised by the volunteer Bristol Alumni Network, a collective of the Hall Associations, regional branches and friends with support from the Development and Alumni Relations Office. The network continue to think of new events to organise in and around the city and are always looking for suggestions, or even help. Do get in touch with them c/o uobglobalnetworks@bristol.ac.uk. Our new Chair, Andrew Sulston has started his term in office with vim and vigour and continues to bring together our committee to think about new ways to engage with the membership and support the students. It would be completely remiss of me to not also recognise John Walsby-Tickle and Richard Lockyer, our Secretary and Treasurer respectively, for all the work that they do.

I am writing this during the last days of the Easter holidays and Clifton is very quiet, although as I walked past the Arts and Social Sciences library today it did seem rather busy: exams are just over a month away. I still remember that sense of time ticking away. Before then I will have the pleasure of attending both the end of term formal dinner and service in the Dame Monica Wills Chapel. In our End of Year Bulletin, it was announced that David Dewar’s tenure as Director of Chapel Music had concluded. David has run chapel and choral life since 2019 and, without his hard work, I know that the regular services and the concerts would not have taken place. Members may remember the organ recital that David performed for us before the 90th anniversary dinner. I have been fortunate to be involved in the Remembrance

Day services which David ensured were a fitting tribute to those whose names are recorded in the chapel and those who continue to serve. Ably (albeit pro-tem) stepping into the breach is our very our Chris Embrey, Peter Relph, Claude Barker (current organ scholar) and Rev. Simon Potter from St. Mary’s Stoke Bishop who will continue chapel life until a new incumbent is appointed.

It has been great to return to our in-person events programme after an enforced hiatus. The real pleasure is seeing old friends back together again whilst also welcoming newer members of the WHA to our community. I hope to see you back in the Hall in July and hopefully at the London Reception in the Autumn.

Charles Gunter President

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Dear Wills Hall Association member

I am delighted to welcome you to the 2023 edition of our yearbook.

You will find a range of articles and reports that showcase the diversity and vitality of the hall and our alumni community. The Association has been active with its London reception and fielding teams in the Bristol Alumni University Challenge that you can read about. You will also enjoy some personal stories from Chris Embrey and from Laura Scarlett, who compares her own graduation in 1991 with her son Harry’s Bristol graduation in 2022.

One of the highlights is the announcement of our exciting programme of events for the Reunion Weekend, now in July again, which we hope will appeal to all of you. There is a tour of the Bristol Old Vic and Wills Memorial Building, a boat trip around the Harbour in The Matthew, a hard hat tour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, as well as the usual drinks reception and a combined dinner with the Vice-Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch as our guest of honour.

Our London reception on 12 October will be hosted by Charlotte Bradley at the offices of Kingsley Napley. We hope to add a meeting in Manchester to our calendar as well. Please check our website and social media for more details and booking information.

We are grateful for your continued support and involvement, and we hope you will stay in touch and join us for our events. We also welcome your feedback, suggestions, and contributions to the yearbook and the association. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or ideas.

I look forward to seeing you soon

Andrew Sulston Chair

REPORT BY ANDREW ABBEY Senior Residential Life Manager (Wellbeing)

The highlight of the 2022/23 year by far has been the continuation of the re-establishment of the unique sense of community that is always apparent at Wills Hall following the ending of all restrictions associated with COVID in April 2022. Given that most of this year’s residents will have again had their final years at school impacted significantly by lockdowns, it has been great to see students embracing life at Wills making the most of moving away from home, developing new friendships, many of which will last a lifetime.

As with the previous cohort there is a friendly and lively atmosphere between the students and a politeness and respectfulness towards the staff.

Although not operating as a bar on a routine basis, the refurbishment of the room in which the bar is located has seen that space used once again for social activities, a place for bands to practise and as a bar for JCR organised events.

At the start of the current academic year, the first full day of Welcome Week coincided with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and this contributed to a quieter than usual start to this hectic and special time. The traditional Wills Hall photo took place fully attended and the first Formal was a success with all tickets sold, offering a chance for JCR President Scarlett to introduce herself and set out her ambitious and exciting plans for the year ahead. The Christmas Formal took place for the first time since 2019, with the return of the singing of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, enjoyed heartily by all present A thank you to former Senior Resident, Peter Relph, for coordinating this. A further successful Formal took place shortly after the return from the Easter break.

A special mention should go to David Dewar, the Director of Music at the Dame Monica Wills Chapel since 2019, who after 4 years of leading the choir called it a day in this role at the end of the autumn term. Specifically, David should be commended for rekindling the choir in the year 2021/22 after the pandemic had led to the closure of the Chapel for a full 12 months.

It was good to see the Remembrance Day service well attended and thanks to Peter again and WHA President Charles Gunter for ensuring the Christmas Carol service was a great success with the Chapel full of students.

2022/23 has also seen the continuation of the Wednesday afternoon Oasis group, where the Chapel is made available as a quiet space for students, with church members from St Marys in Stoke Bishop and Woodlands Church kindly giving their time to talk to students, should they wish to do so.

Discussions are now on going, with input from the University Multi Faith Chaplaincy, on plans for the Chapel in 2023/24 and onwards. We are mindful of the plaque within the Chapel which states that the Chapel should provide ‘opportunities of regular worship and teaching for the growth of the spiritual life of students.’

Readers may recall my reference in last year’s Yearbook to a fine Bechstein grand piano generously loaned to us by the family of Dr Roy Followell, a resident in Wills in the 1950’s.

During the latter part of 2022, the family kindly agreed to pay for a substantial refurbishment of the piano, carried out by specialists in Bath. The Bechstein is now back in the Chapel. We are planning to include a short recital on the Sunda y in the reunion weekend, where it is hoped WHA members will have the opportunity to hear this magnificent instrument played. Plans will be drawn up to allow students to access this piano from the start of 2023/24.

For any Wills resident reading this I would recommend you consider joining the Wills Hall Association, as it is the most active of all Halls Associations and gives a great opportunity to continue your links with where you lived in your unique, all important first year, as you progress. Membership is now free and you can access the registration page here: https://www.willshallassociation.org/membership. Can I also recommend you pay a visit to the nearby Botanical Gardens too. Entrance is free to students; they are not large but are a great place to relax with plentiful information and interest.

A reminder too that student support is available 24 hours a day. Students can call our Residential Life team anytime on 0117 428 3300 or 0117 456 9860 or can complete a Request for Support Form online via the University website. Search for Wellbeing Access.

Residential Life is a 24/7 service which supports students living in university accommodation. We support very many students with all kinds of challenges. We help signpost students to appropriate support services internally and externally.

As with all residential students, those living in Wills Hall can arrange face to face appointments in North village or online via Teams with one of our experienced advisers.

Within Residential Life, additional resource is being committed to further develop and deliver community building activities across the University’s resident student cohort, including students of Wills Hall, working with the JCR and our own Chief and Senior Residents.

A thank you to Tom and Ishita, our Wills Chief and Senior Resident team this year, and best wishes to Tom as he embarks on the next stage of his life. We in Residential Life will miss you.

As always, a big thank you to Tracey Brooks and her team in Campus Division, all those who keep the buildings running, to the Security team and to the Catering team who unswervingly provide fourteen meals a week.

JCR PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Scarlett Jenkins

At the point of writing this, I moved into Wills Hall 230 days ago, over 34,000 days after it was first opened. I suspect much has changed since 1929, but I like to think some of that tradition hasn’t been lost to the test of time. Albeit I highly doubt former Wills residents wore jeans and t-shirts to the annual photo, we all still donned the gowns over the top. Much like I doubt they shared events via Instagram but still found a way to get everyone together, nonetheless. I’m sure just like us, the JCR each year has shared ideas in the book room, organised formals and struggled to put together the Christmas tree. What I’m essentially trying to say is this: although our cohort is just a very small part of the history of our beloved Hall, we feel so blessed to be even that, to continue any customs we can, and to walk in the footsteps of 93 years of alumni.

It’s hard to fathom just how much has happened since I first lugged my suitcase across the bumpy cobbles of the quad and up the stairs of Block I. I knew very little about Wills, beyond seeing pictures of the grandeur of the quad and being warned of the chants that would be sung as we walked off the bus. Yes, I instantly fell in love with the beauty of the grounds, and yes, I did have to endure a few drunken renditions of “The Wills on the bus go rah, rah, rah.”

Although the architecture and pomp and circumstance of gowns and formals may be the first thing others notice, I’m sure anyone that’s had the pleasure to live in Wills will testify it’s so much more. Unlike other halls, it’s not just a room you go back home to sleep in, it’s truly a community. I already know I will dearly miss sitting at the breakfast table laughing with my peers about the night before, after a few too many wines or a late night at La Rocca. Or seeing everyone running around the quad after a midnight fire alarm

chatting and playing rugby, frisbee and football instead of going back to sleep. I already feel nostalgic for the impromptu piano performances at dinner time, the competitive nature of inter-block ‘Olympics’, and the snowball fights on the quad. And then of course the formals, quintessentially Wills, my personal highlight of this year. Nothing beats dressing up to the nines, eating incredible food and making memories with loved ones in the dining hall.

Many of us have met our future flatmates, perhaps future husbands and wives, future colleagues, bridesmaids – but most importantly, friends for life. I will look back fondly on my time in Wills, and my time as President, for the rest of my life, for all it has taught me, whom I have met, and how we have all grown in this past year.

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Savannah Salt-Willans

We feel so honoured to have been able to call Wills Hall home for the past few months. We’ve found it to be a welcoming, close-knit community that has inspired firm friendships and fond memories.

Formals were met with great enthusiasm by the students of Wills this year. A special highlight was the Christmas formal, immortalised through Finlay’s beautiful photography, and the Christmas tree which managed to stay up until March. We also were keen to keep the Twelve Days of Christmas tradition alive with incredible enthusiasm and incredibly little musicality.

This year has seen the birth of Wills’ favourite up-and-coming new talent, Red Meringuefeaturing six talented members from both the old and new quad, livening up the bar with crowd pleasers like “Mr Brightside” post-formals. Other notable events throughout the year include the Open Mic night in the first term, which was attacked with gusto by all involved and allowed a platform for our immensely talented J block member singer/songwriter Katie Stone (see Red Meringue and Katie Stone rehearsing above) absolutely to steal the show.

We’ve been very grateful to have had use of the Wills chapel this year, especially for the Remembrance and Christmas Carol services, which were both touching and uniting events in the calendar this year.

EVENTS REPORT

Madeleine Farmer

This year in Wills has been a year for the books and I would like to reflect on some of the events that have made this year special. Firstly, I want to think about our summer tennis tournament which saw some incredible athleticism and skill, perhaps brought out by all that Pimm's. Continuing with sport, how can we forget the charity rugby match: it was great to see the support and enthusiasm from Wills and Churchill alike. Potentially the highest calibre game Coombe Dingle has ever seen? I’d say so.

But our relationship with Churchill didn’t end with sport, it carried on into Valentine's Day with our speed dating event. It turns out Churchill can provide both competitive rugby and conversation; who knew? Valentine's Day didn’t stop with speed dating, it continued with the JCR traffic light party. The red, orange and green stickers were used to signal romantic interest but honestly, I think people just enjoyed decorating their faces with stickers. Finally, we closed pretty much every event in La Rocca – the triangle's most loved club. Each and every Wills La Rocca event has had fantastic music and even better dancing.

DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY REP’S REPORT

Rhiannon Jenkins

Chinese New Year is a wonderful celebration of tradition and culture that takes place across Asia and globally, bringing communities together and welcoming in the lunar new year with a bang. The holiday is seen as an important time for families to reunite. However, for many international students, it can be difficult to celebrate the festival while being so far from home. As this year’s Equality and Diversity Rep (and to bring a little festivity to Wills Hall), I was lucky enough to arrange for the talented Bristol Lion Dance Society to perform.

The Lion Dance society put on an unforgettable show with their two lion dancers and ensemble of drums, cymbals, and gongs. Lion dances are a major Chinese New Year tradition, with the performance thought to scare away bad spirits from the past year, and bring wealth and prosperity to the institutions they perform at. As the performance began in the old quad, the two-man lion dancers jumped into action, getting on each other's shoulders to make it look like the lion was standing. With the lion’s eyes blinking and its mouth moving in time with the beat, it seemed like the lion had come to life right in front of us. The sound of the performance garnered attention from residents who came out to check what the noise was and joined us as we made our way into the JCR bar to enjoy the rest of the performance. The performance included lots of audience interaction, with spectators getting to pet and interact with the cheeky lion. The Lion Dance Society even peeled tangerines onto a plate and shredded up lettuce as a traditional offering. This symbolises them blessing us with good luck in the new year.

It was not only a means for international students to celebrate the holiday as if they were home but was also a new experience for some students who had never seen a lion dance before, allowing them to connect with a cultural tradition they otherwise might not have had .

WILLS v CHURCHILL CHARITY GAME

In 2019, James Johnson (Wills Hall 2019-20) started planning a charity rugby match to be played between Wills Hall and Churchill Hall. He decided to support the Ted Senior Foundation, a charity set up in memory of a Bristol graduate to improve mental health support and suicide prevention (find out more at: https://www.thetedseniorfoundation.org/). The inaugural match was planned for late March 2020 and for understandable reasons wasn’t played until James was a final year undergraduate. The report from that match appears in the 2022 yearbook along with the victory of Churchill Hall over the Wills XVI.

The second game took place on Friday 3 March at a very chilly Coombe Dingle. A quick check with the referee before kick-off reassured all about his impartiality, he was a Goldney alumnus. The Chair of the Churchill Hall Association joined the President of the WHA in the box for a birdseye view of the game with a friendly running commentary provided by rival groups of Wills and Churchill supporters who joined them to watch the match. A large crowd from Wills could be easily spotted on the touch line by their matching headwear. The JCR Committee were selling a surplus of bucket hats which had been found in the store room, all funds going to the charity. It was a strong showing from both teams, with Wills being especially dominant in the first half. Alas (for the WHA), Churchill once again triumphed, and the CHA Chair took great pleasure in presenting the cup to the victorious team. The final score was 31-28, and an excellent evening. Congratulations to Toby Hill for leading the organisation. Maybe 2024 will be a Wills Hall win?

REUNION WEEKEND 2023

Friday 14 to Sunday 16 July

The Bristol Alumni Network invite you to the annual Reunion Weekend from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 July 2023.

Book for the weekend through the Eventbrite booking page (which you can also reach through the WHA website). You can pick and choose the events you wish to attend.

Any queries should be emailed to uobglobal-networks@bristol.ac.uk

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation can be booked at either Wills Hall or The Holmes (subject to availability). If you wish to book for only one night, you will need to book your accommodation at Wills Hall.

Accommodation at Wills Hall

• Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Breakfast is served between 8:00 am and 10:00 am.

• Check-in: Friday 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Saturday 7:30 am to 10:00 pm.

• Parking in the Hall car park costs £5 per 24 hours. Please provide your car details when booking your accommodation to arrange your permit in advance.

Wills Hall Room Type

Price per night

Bed and Breakfast, Single Room, Old Quad (Shared facilities) £40.00

Bed and Breakfast, Single Room, New Quad (Ensuite) £45.00

Accommodation at The Holmes

• Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Breakfast is served between 8:00 am and 10:00 am at Wills Hall.

• Check-in: Friday 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

• Guests should collect keys from Wills Hall, Parry’s Lane, Stoke Bishop, BS9 1AE.

• Parking in the Hall car park costs £5 per 24 hours. Please provide your car details when booking your accommodation to arrange your permit in advance.

The Holmes Room Type

Price for two nights

Bed and Breakfast, Single Room (Shared facilities) £80.00

Bed and Breakfast, Single Room (En suite) £90.00

Bed and Breakfast, Double Room – 4 foot bed (Shared facilities) £120.00

Bed and Breakfast, Double Room – 4 foot bed (En suite) £150.00

Book for the weekend through the Eventbrite booking page.

Please confirm your booking by 5 pm on Thursday 29 June. After this point we may not be able to make any changes or offer refunds.

EVENTS:

Friday 14th July

7.30 pm to 9 pm Reunion Weekend Welcome – Senate House

Saturday 16th July

11 am to 12 pm - Bristol Old Vic Theatre “Peoples Tour” – Bristol Old Vic

11 am to 12.30 pm - Wills Memorial Building Tower Tour (visit A) (now sold out)

1 pm to 2.30 pm - Wills Memorial Building Tower Tour (visit B)

Tours include the Great Hall, Great George, the view from the top of the Tower, the Wills Library and the Council Chamber along with the history of the building and the founding of the University. Please note access to the Tower, including the bell, involves a spiral staircase of approx 200 steps. More information here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/visit/tower- tours/

1.50 pm for 2.00 pm start – 3.00 pm - The Matthew – private trip around Bristol Harbour (now sold out)

3.30 pm – 5.30 pm - Clifton Suspension Bridge “Hard Hat” Tour

6.15 pm - Reunion Weekend Drinks Reception – Grounds at Wills Hall

Reception only ticket - open to all alumni and guests. Guests attending the dinner do not need to buy a separate ticket – this reception is included in the dinner ticket price.

7.15 pm - Reunion Weekend Dinner at Wills Hall

Reunion weekend annual dinner to which all alumni and friends are invited. The guest speaker is the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol Professor Evelyn Welch. The bar at Wills Hall will be open until midnight for post-dinner drinks.

Sunday 16th July

10.30 am - Reunion Weekend Morning Service, Dame Monica Wills Chapel, Wills Hall

Morning Service. All alumni and friends are welcome. The service will be followed by tea and coffee from 11.30 am to 12 pm.

10:30 am - Clifton Hill House Coffee & Garden Tour

12pm - Arthur Graves Memorial Event: Piano Recital, Dame Monica Wills Chapel, Wills Hall

Join us for an informal recital in the Dame Monica Wills Chapel performed on the

Bechstein grand piano recently lent to the university by the family alumnus Roy Followell (BSc 1954, PhD 1958). The recital will be preceded by tea and coffee from 11.30 am to 12 pm.

The recital is supported by the Arthur Graves Memorial fund. Find out more: https://www.willshallassociation.org/graveslectures

1pm – Lunch, Wills Hall

Two course lunch in the Wills Hall Dining Room. All alumni and friends are welcome.

WILLS HALL ASSOCIATION ACADEMIC GRANTS

The Wills Hall Association makes travel and study grants annually for current residents. These are funded by former members’ donations to the Trusts managed by the University for the WHA. The Trustees are the Vice-Chancellor (who delegates to the Finance Office), the President and the Chair of the WHA. Applications are sought in the spring of each year and all residents are emailed about this opportunity by the Residential Life Team.

Grants of up to £1000 per person (for overseas travel) or £600 (for UK travel) are normally available and projects must have an educational or philanthropic dimension. Applications are also accepted for educational courses, whether or not these involve travel (i.e. online courses are quite acceptable).

It is a condition of acceptance that grant-holders must write a short report on their benefits and achievements for publication in this Yearbook, ideally with photographs where appropriate. Unfortunately some of the 22/23 grant-holders have had to defer their plans and we look forward to reading their reports in future yearbooks.

WORKING AS A COVID TESTER Jaan Woodford

With my Wills Hall grant I was able to commute to work and fund my living during private covid testing in London. I was hired by Amazon Prime to test their cast and crew along with five other people. Daily, these people needed testing three to four times to check they were fit and able to work on set. This was very exciting and created many opportunities for me to meet new people and to work during such a hard time.

By getting the grant I was able to fund my travel and be able to enjoy the summer while working these long and tedious set hours. I was very grateful to receive this, and it helped me so much to enjoy it without having the pressure of an empty bank account! Thank you Wills.

LEARNING PYTHON Ivaan Nigam

In today’s exceedingly tech-reliant world, having a high degree of computer literacy and technical knowledge is extremely beneficial for almost any job. Hence, I applied for the Wills Hall Grant to fund an online Python course, a very popular programming language.

Initially, as I was unfamiliar with much of the architecture revolving around computer hardware and software, I used the course to increase my knowledge of how systems work, as represented in the below diagram:

After learning the basics behind it, I was finally ready to begin learning Python. As a complete novice, throughout the course I learned all the main Python functions:

• Variables, expressions, and statements

• Conditional execution

• Iteration

• Strings

• Files

• Lists

• Dictionaries

• Tuples

I even learned a bit about Regular Expressions, but this isn’t used too widely so I did not focus on it that much.

Learning Python was like learning a whole new language: I had to ‘talk’ to the computer and tell it what to do, which is extremely challenging, especially given how easy it is to make syntax errors or to get traceback errors.

Some of my initial mini projects included:

• Making a dice roll simulator:

• Creating simple definite loops and using it to carry out some mathematical functions:

I then moved onto more advanced exercises, such as those involving data structures like strings and files. I created programs to summarise some statistics about files, and then moved on to even more advanced problems throughout the Python course. In these I had to combine all the previous techniques I learned such as dictionaries, iterations, strings and files. Amalgamating all these and using it to analyse data from a file was a very valuable learning experience for me.

Overall, much of my focus lay in manipulating and analysing data using Python – a crucial skill today, where Big Data and data analysis is discussed everywhere. Indeed, as I am pursuing a career in finance/technology, these kinds of skills are invaluable in job applications.

As I am in my second year of university now, I applied for the Wills Hall Grant towards the end of my first year in order to spend the summer holidays learning these skills. This is because second year internships are vital to a career in finance or technology, and my Python course became a big talking point for the 20+ interviews I did while applying for second year internships. I am pleased to say that in part due to the Wills Hall Grant allowing me to teach myself Python, I secured an internship for the summer of 2023 with one of the biggest British companies, BAE Systems. Data analysis with Python really impressed my interviewer during the application process as well, and I am very grateful to Wills Hall for allowing me this opportunity.

BREAKING INTO BANKING

Oliver Downing

Over the course of my 1st year at Wills Hall, I was lucky enough to be awarded a grant by Wills Hall Association to take qualify in the CFI Capital Markets and Securities Program (CMSA). As a student trying to break into the very competitive field of finance and banking, before applying, it is essential to have in-depth knowledge of how financial systems work. This involves learning how publicly traded securities are constructed and how they can be used as a tool for optimising an investment portfolio. This WHA grant has allowed me to earn this globally recognised qualification specialising in financial markets.

The CMSA qualification is designed to improve technical knowledge of different asset classes and how securities can be used as a tool for maximising portfolio returns and minimising risk. Over the course of 3 months, I studied specialities including:

- Equities

- Fixed Income

- Foreign Exchange

- Derivatives, Options and Swaps

- Securitisation

- Prime Services, Hedge Funds and Banking Structuring

Alongside learning the theory behind how these assets are created and how they derive their value, I learnt how different assets can be used in-tandem to implement different financial strategies. This was by far the most valuable part of the course. Whether it was looking at long/short, arbitrage or leveraged strategies; I learnt that combining these financial methods could help to generate a more stable return. A particularly valuable insight I took awa y is that many funds do not seek to ‘beat the market’, but limit losses and financial risk. This explained why many very renowned hedge funds do not consistently generate high returns than simply investing in passive index funds but do perform consistently well over the decades. Even in times of turmoil, they continue to generate more stable returns rather passive funds like S&P 500, which is currently down more than 20%. It is the knowledge that you develop through experience that is uniquely valuable to qualifications like CMSA which otherwise would be difficult to learn for a person still studying at university.

The qualification involved over 200 hours of study before having to sit a proctored exam. I am proud to announce that I achieved 83% in the final exam allowing me to successfully earn the qualification. Now that I have completed this scheme, I have begun further CFI programs studying Data Science for Finance and Financial Modelling. Using machine learning

programming, I have applied my knowledge developed on the CMSA program into building automation tools for financial modelling and portfolio optimisation. I am deeply interested in working in fintech and so the amalgamation of these skills which I have developed will be vital for my success. I am immensely grateful to the Wills Hall Association, and particularly Robert Vilain, for awarding me this grant and I hope that it will serve me well in where I want to go in the future. Thank you.

Do not hesitate to reach out to me via email or LinkedIn if you are interested in learning more: oliver.downing@yahoo.co.uk and Oliver Downing (LinkedIn).

LANGUAGE IMMERSION IN ITALY

Emily Higginbottom

I improved my spoken and written Italian massively thanks to the generosity of the WHA. I attended 20 hours of immersive lessons with native Italian teachers, divided into grammar and oral classes at the language school Parola in Florence. I was in a class of 8 students at a A2/B1 level. I enjoyed participating in group discussions and I made some good friends on my course. I could talk to them without feeling scared of making mistakes. I got more confident in my Italian and I was always surrounded by the language, when speaking to the locals throughout the day for e.g. when shopping for groceries or buying gelato.

In the afternoon, the language school ran cultural excursions and trips to Trattorias to introduce us to Tuscan cuisine. We communicated exclusively in Italian which really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I tried traditional dishes such as Pappa al Pomodoro and Panzanella.

During the week I had some free time to explore Florence and to find out more about Italian history and culture. I went to the Uffizi gallery which was incredible. There were hundreds of paintings, sculptures and pieces spanning multiple centuries. I learnt about important Italian artists such as Uccello, Botticelli and Caravaggio.

I stayed with an Italian host family who were kind and welcoming. My host mum made sure I was always well fed with delicious Italian dishes. My host dad was a jewellery maker and told me about how he made his one-of-a-kind pieces. In the evenings I’d speak to them about my day and they were really impressed with how much my Italian progressed by the end of the week. I picked up a lot of vocabulary from being in a home environment which you can’t learn in the classroom. I made lots of memories in Florence and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

1 During a grammar lesson at the language school

3 Language school trip to the Santa Croce Basilica

2 Traditional Tuscan food

4 The Duomo, Florence

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE 2023

Continuing a tradition begun three years ago during the pandemic, an online University Challenge quiz was held in March of this year. Four teams were whittled down to two in heats by means of something approaching a technological miracle, with Charlie Gunter coordinating the Zoom meeting and an electronic buzzer, Josh Mudie operating an electronic scoreboard from a separate location and Savannah Coombe cueing in the music and picture rounds from her own desk elsewhere. Contestants logged into the buzzer system on their mobile phones. For the final Charlie was on his own and had to juggle all of this on a desktop and two laptops. The quizmaster, reprising his “Bamber Paxman” role from the last two years, was former Warden Robert Vilain.

Wills was represented in both heats: The Wills on the Bus (Tom Rattner, Tom Cox, Robert Loughney and Imogen Bell) and Wills and Friends (Andrew Sulston, Eleanor Lam, Oliva Marks-Woldman, Helen Dunne, Rowan Humphreys). The Wills on the Bus were sadly defeated by Slow and Steady (260 to 115) but Wills and Friends knocked out University Hall Heroes to reach the final (180 to 105). Questions were unambiguously tough. They ranged from astrophysics to zoology, linguistics to physical chemistry, law to film studies, political history to microbiology, literary pseudonyms to teenage text-speak, boy bands to world leaders, maritime disasters to the music composed for the dramatizations of Miss Marple stories – and quite a lot else in between. Robert’s native instinct to insert questions on German literature was kept in check (he snuck one in as part of the maritime disasters bonus set) but he was grateful to his 80-year-old father-in-law Christopher for some timely bonus questions on pop culture and gay fiction, and to his 15-year-old son Nathaniel for a couple of starters on gaming. One round in the final (on Bristol history) was based on questions set by Martin Crossley Evans and sent to the quizmaster some years ago but not so far deployed.

The heats and the final were tense and exiting. In each round the margin between the teams was always recuperable until only a few questions before the end. Sometimes the contestants’ faces looked blank and intimidated – the quizmaster almost ran out of spare starter questions at one point and was contemplating the possibility of having to make some up on the hoof! – and only once did he have to resort to imitating the famous Paxman sneer when it was suggested that Roald Dahl was a 19th-century novelist. Nonetheless, the range of solid knowledge and the remarkably elastic capacity of student and alumni brains to twist hidden memories and faint echoes of facts into correct answers proved immensely impressive. Wills and Friends were beaten by Slow and Steady (190 to 125) but can hold their heads high.

MUSIC IN THE DAME MONICA WILLS MEMORIAL CHAPEL – 2019-2022

David Dewar

This is a reflection based on my tenure as Director of Music in the chapel during those three academic years. The ‘elephant in the room’, of course, being the SARS-CoV2 pandemic striking us during the period. The pandemic affected us in several ways, not least the need, once the possibility of resuming chapel services after they were initially suspended, to ensure that music-making there was a safe as it reasonabl y could be.

In October, 2019, the term started with a very small choir (but, as the saying goes, it was ‘perfectly formed’). The sequence of services was as it had been, a mixture of (a) Choral Evensong (Friday, and fairly elaborate), (b) Compline (sung mostly in plainchant, and less elaborate), and (c) special services, for example, Remembrance, carol services (variably elaborate). The language is purely Book of Common Prayer.

The choir was a maximum of six singers, IIRC, mostly from the previous year (more on that matter later) – nevertheless we were able to make those services happen. The fact that members of ‘Anchorae’ (Dr Peter Relph’s chamber choir) were able to carry on was a great boon – and we all, I think, enjoyed in one of the services singing Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei – a good sing for everyone! I’m particularly grateful to my wife, Hilary, also a professional instrumentalist but also a good singer, who often assisted us in many ways. Our organ scholar, Nadia Nishizono-Miller, at that time in her second year of the scholarship, was a tower of strength and a splendid colleague with which to work.

(We were also able, during that time to start building up the choir’s library of printed music. It was useful that I had an A3 duplex printer. Much of the music, for reasons given below, was available being out of copyright – since the forms of Choral Evensong and Compline can both be adorned with music from late Mediaeval to 19th century sources, with a strong emphasis on the 16th century. For times when my printer would not be able to produce music booklets for special services, Andrew Abbey was able to have the material printed for us, based on an initial copy which I’d put together – we were truly fortunate in this.)

When lockdowns started, naturally the chapel services ceased. It was good, however, that the small group of organists who use the instrument for practice from time to time were able to continue. An organ suffers from not being played – and particularly from changes in temperature and humidity. (In general, a pipe organ, well-built, often played, and with predictable temperature and humidity conditions will last for around 100 years with minimal maintenance. The conditions in the chapel are not so congenial for the instrument, and so Hilary bought a couple of buckets to reside either side of the instrument. It is incumbent on those permitted to use the organ to ensure that the buckets are kept charged with water at all times. This does seem to have helped, though the organ does now again need some remedial attention.

The lockdowns wiped out the latter part of the 2019-2020 academic year for services singing. At the start of 2020-2021 we recruited a new organ scholar (as Nadia had graduated, and departed for a music role elsewhere). We selected a new organ scholar, Charlotte Mason –who set to work honing her musical skills. Though the pandemic continued to make matters ‘interesting’, Charlotte did have a few opportunities to put her musical prowess to the test

but, I’m sad to say, not frequently.

It was not until 2021-2022, by which time Charlotte had departed to other matters, that we could properly contemplate restarting as (fairly) normal. As I’m sure everyone realises, we need principally soprano, alto, tenor and bass (SATB) voices and pretty adept ones at that. (Choral Evensong, for example, requires the singing of three, or so, sets of Responses, one or more psalms (from the Coverdale version), a set of Canticles (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis), an anthem, and a hymn – all of these change each week, and require various singing related skills.) Given that we have, generally, 30 minutes before singing the service, there is not enough time to rehearse everything – thus singers have be able to see the music and sing it

whether or not they have seen it previously. As a result we seek ‘sight-singers’ as the jargon goes, and audition prospective members. After putting invitations to audition around the university and beyond, I think we had around 50 people whittled down from the original applications – whom I then auditioned en masse. Ultimately we were able to begin the year’s services with around ten singers and a couple of extras. I was stunned at how quickly this group of utterly delightful people were able to form an ensemble. Services, whether or not attended by any audience, were a delight to conduct. As a further boon was that our new organ scholar, Katie Fulford (one of several medics that year) was keen and immensely able to acquire the skills needed very rapidly. Working with this group of people was a constant delight.

A particular highlight of this year was Remembrance Day – when one of the choir, who is also an adept trumpeter, was able to signal the beginning and end of the Act of Remembrance with The Last Post and Reveille. By the time of that service, I had become so impressed with the choir, that I felt it would be good to have a concert for Remembrance in the evening of the same day. Accordingly, I invited members of the University Chamber Orchestra to provide a volunteer orchestra to work with the choir in the second half of the concert. I was glad I had done this – they were well up to scratch with other orchestras I had conducted in the past, some of which are professional. The work, for choir and orchestra was the Requiem (Op.49) by Gabriel Fauré. I have not yet met anyone who does not love this work – I certainly do, and the choir picked it up in one rehearsal. We had one rehearsal for choir with orchestra in the afternoon of the day. A concern for me, though, was that Katie had told me she had never played the work before and was somewhat nervous. Among other things, there is always the problem when the organ is at the west end, but the choir and orchestra are at the east end! The conductor, of course, faces east, in front of the players and singers. In the event, I unearthed some CCTV equipment I happened to possess and rigged it up to a 7” screen place on a music stand next to the organ console – with the camera at the extreme south side of the gallery rail. This ‘Heath Robinson’ rig enabled Katie to see my right arm as I conducted – so she could stay in touch. The final piece in the Requiem is the In paradisum, scored for quiet strings and harp, playing arpeggio figuration almost all the way through the movement. It is often played on the organ, with a suitable registration – which stands out, also making the event challenging for Katie. In the event everything went superbly – and the choir gave a magnificent performance. The two soloists (soprano and baritone) were members of the choir. When I thought about this concert, and given the often lack of an audience for services, I thought we might have perhaps 15 or 20 sitting and listening. In the event, the chapel was packed – which was wonderful for the singers and players.

From that point we went on singing the usual services – and a carol service (also packed)

and also made possible again by Andrew Abbey’s good office in getting printing of the booklet done.

Near Easter 2022, we were able again (two of our soprani were capable of hitting repeated high Cs – and the Allegri is a feat of musicality and endurance in this respect) to sing the Miserere mei.

At the end of the year the choir disbanded – and in due course I started advertising, even more widely spread than the previous year, for singers to make up the choir for 2022-2023. I had hopes of a good response as before. Sadly, in the event, we had about eight, if that, volunteers

all soprani, except one bass-baritone. Though we tried one service (as the choir is generally reformed anew each year, the first service is in the nature of a ‘try-out’) and then moved to try to attract more takers, the potential few additional people were also soprano. As I mentioned earlier, we need SATB. Reluctantly we had to abandon the idea of a choir this academic year.

During the course of the year, the A350/M4/M5/A4018 to get from home to the chapel on a Friday afternoon for a rehearsal at 6pm was becoming more and more unreliable. It came to the point where, to have any reasonable chance of getting there on time, Hilary and I would have to leave our house somewhere between 2pm and 2.30pm. Just not sustainable, especially on a voluntary basis. As a result, I have relinquished the role. I have felt immensely privileged to have made music with these musical and caring choir members and very much hope that in their future they will find time for music – and enjoy its beneficial effects.

Finally, I must express very heartfelt thanks to the WHA (especially Robert and Charles) and to Resilife (in particular, Andrew and Tracey who have always been there for guidance, advice, and help).

From L to R: 1. Joe Bevan , 2. Katie Fulford (organ scholar), 3. Dennis Lindebaum, 4. Rebecca Doherty, 5. Annabella Dawkins, 6. Georgia Stratton, 7. Hilary Dewar, 8. Catherine Sears, 9. Ella Styche-Patel, 10. Katie Whitcher

STUDENT LIFE IN WILLS HALL IN THE ’60s Christopher E Embrey

Picture captions follow

Life in Wills Hall in the late 1960s has been well documented by Andrew Sulston and the late Martin Crossley Evans in their book “History of Wills Hall”, where details of hall life during the ‘reign’ of each of the wardens from 1929 to 2017 can be found. The chapter relating to J F Sloane encapsulates my own period in hall perfectly, as do the Wills Hall yearbooks for 1967, 1968, 1969-70 and 1970-71, giving a vivid description of life in hall in those years. The University’s centenary publication ‘Bristol 100 1’, containing as it does the accounts of several notable alumni, has some interesting reflections on university life outside hall, but reflects in many ways the university experience of all of us in that period.

The student population in the late ’60s was rapidly expanding throughout the UK, following the ‘Robbins Report 2’ with many more young men and women from a broader range of backgrounds, which influenced the intake of universities such as Bristol, and Wills Hall in particular. Even in my time, student population of Wills was well represented by young men from independent schools, including the most prestigious ones. Coming as I did from a small, insignificant boys’ grammar school in north Shropshire, being a very young, naïve ‘Shropshire Lad’ had its challenges!

Looking back, it seems sometimes as though I lived in a parallel universe. Moving from a single sex school into a hall of residence of young men only seemed quite normal. Given the very ‘paternalistic’ attitudes prevailing at the time, it was not unusual to find the oversight of the hall warden similar to that of a typical boarding school house master. Even the ViceChancellor, Professor John E Harris, in his introduction to ‘freshers’ on our first day, described himself as our ‘Headmaster’. It was not surprising then to see Bristol students organizing a ‘sit-in’, occupying Senate House for several days, over who could and could not be offered access to the new Union facilities, which ultimately boiled over into a

1 “Bristol 100”: A collection of words and images to mark the centenary of the University of Bristol, published 2009 by the university

2 Robbins Report: the Report of the Committee appointed by the Prime Minister under the Chairmanship of Lord Robbins to review the pattern of full-time higher education in Great Britain.

general gripe about not having enough say in how the Union should be run. The university, as might be expected, retained the final decision on all such matters!

Without a shadow of doubt, the single most significant difference in life then and now was the absence of the internet and the mobile phone. Communicating with anyone involved sitting down and writing a letter, or, if urgent, finding a phone, of which there were two (or possibly three!) for over 250 fellow students! Study was done by reading books, most often in libraries, which required some organisation! Even the things you needed were bought in £ s d!

Hall was populated by undergraduates in all three years, with roughly half in their first year, a third in their second, and the remaining sixth in their third year. In such a community, hall societies flourished, as can be seen in the photographs and articles in the yearbooks. The ‘Freshers’ Smoker, the annual Hall Ball, the visit by the Lord Mayor, the summer croquet match and cream tea being just a few I can recall. The Junior Common Room was represented by a JCR committee, with representatives from each year. (The team for 1967-68 can be seen on the right.)

On my arrival at the porter’s lodge my heart sank when I was told I was to be billeted in an annex to the main part of hall (in what is now the Savile House Care Home). Down House, as it was known, then housed some 35 of us, in mostly shared rooms, along with a tutor, a member of the university staff, to keep a watchful eye and offer support when needed. I was even more crest-fallen to discover that I was, effectively, to share a pair of inter-connected rooms with three others. Little did I realise at the time, however, I was one of the luckiest of the new intake. Not only had I three new friends within minutes of my arrival, but as the days progressed, and each of us brought a new friend to our shared sitting room, our circle of friends widened extensively. Showers hadn’t been invented when Down House was designed! A couple of toilets could be found on each floor, together with a bathroom, each with a bath big enough to take a hippopotamus, and which took so long to fill even a modest level of water, there was time to write home whilst it filled! Most times, a ‘stand-up-wash’ in the wash rooms sufficed; the basins being of similar dimensions to the bath, they also served well when laundry needed to be done. Thus, bumping daily into your fellow students, you became very familiar (sometimes intimately!). Within a matter of weeks, you couldn’t fail to have become part of a vibrant, friendly community of like-minded young people. Down House was family, a ‘microcosm’ of the entire hall community, as witnessed by the reports and photographs in the hall magazines of those years.

Breakfast and dinner (as well as lunch on weekends) were provided in the main dining hall; evening dinners were of course formal, and everyone wore the standard undergraduate gown. For those who needed sustenance outside of these meals, a daily ration of a 1/3 pint of milk and two slices of bread plus a weekly 4 oz of butter could be found in the ‘house pantries’.

As might be expected in a community of several hundred young people, pranks were not uncommon! Breakfast plates being laid out on the grass of the quad to form the letters HAPPY XMAS JOCK concluded one Christmas term! I was not alone in finding my car in the quad under the archway beneath K5 and K6 on the morning of my 21st birthday! The ‘pub-crawl’ to Manor Hall following the Lord Mayor’s dinner sadly often resulted in events somewhat out of control, and served to give a ‘less than positive image’ of us in the wider community.

The Union of course provided a parallel community with debates, social events and opportunities to get involved in the student management. My ‘Union’ diary for 1966-67 shows none other than Sue Lawley as president of the student Union, later to become a familiar face on BBC television, which goes to show the progress of some of our number.

Annually, Wills offered a travel scholarship, which I was fortunate to be awarded, and this enabled me to travel to East Berlin in the summer of 1968, to join a work camp with some twenty fellow students of St Paul’s Church in Bristol. There we were joined by a similar number of students from Marburg University, then in West Germany. My first trip outside the UK, it was sometimes scary, militia bristling with arms being all over the city of Berlin in the eastern sector especially, following the Russian Army invasion of Czechoslovakia that summer. The photographs below show just how dramatically Berlin has changed since the fall of the wall in 1989.

Ostensibly a week of events intended to raise money for a chosen charity, ‘Rag Week’ was a week of great fun, including the memorable pedal car race which took place on Whitchurch Aerodrome. With over 40 pedal cars, built by budding engineers from all over the university taking part, teams pedalled away for some 36 hours continuously. The week culminated in a grand procession of Rag floats organised by the many union and hall societies.

Graduation then, as now, was a wonderful celebration and was accompanied by cream teas for graduands and parents on the lawns of Royal Fort House, followed by a ball in the student union.

These were for me then, and have remained ever since, some of the best years of my life.

Pictures:

1. ‘Living the life of Riley’ - The author enjoying a year in Down 8 (note the provision of the aluminum kettle)

2. Annual croquet match: The author advising his partner on the next move

3. The JCR Committee 1967-68 (author back row, 2nd from right)

4. Rag week 1968: Vet Soc float

5. Rag week 1968: Medics float!

6. Bristol’s Lord Mayor addressing Wills Hall residents in November 1967

7. The author’s car is brought into the quad ready for his use by JCR President Peter Strong and Secretary Andy Brown

8. Reichstag building Berlin in 1968

9. Brandenburg Gate Berlin 1968 (note the rows of barricades)

GRADUATION – THEN AND NOW

Laura Scarlett (née Owen), Wills Hall 1988-89

I graduated from the University of Bristol in 1991, in the Summer that I had taken my Finals. I returned to an unseasonably warm and sunny Bristol in November 2022 for my son’s graduation, five months after Harry completed his Finals. Harry’s exams didn’t take place in the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building as mine had done, but were a series of essays, researched, written, and submitted over consecutive periods of five days. This exam format was a Covid-19 induced change, and also a fitting assessment of 21st Century skills - analysis and synthesis, and critical thinking - rather than testing recall.

Harry and his peers studied hard, as for most of their University experience there was little else to do. The first two terms of First Year went swimmingly, with in-person lectures and tutorials, sports, social, and other extra-curricular societies, and all the joys and japes of First Year undergraduate life. Then in March 2020 the students were sent home, and Wills Hall, Goldney Hall (where Harry was living), and Woodland Road were eerily empty. Harry returned to Bristol in the Autumn. Although lockdown and online teaching continued throughout his Second Year, Harry naturally preferred to be holed up in a student house with five friends rather than stay in his childhood home. It was an intense experience for these young people, who couldn’t mingle with other groups, and it’s a testament to them that they remain good friends.

Of course graduation ceremonies also ceased during Covid. The University played catch-up in 2022, hosting ceremonies for 2020, 2021, and 2022 graduands, including 18 ceremonies in November alone at the rate of three a day. An impressive achievement, especially if all ran as

Photo credit: Ede & Ravenscroft

smoothly as Harry’s ceremony. I enjoyed the organ music at the start, remembering when my student flatmates had performed in Duruflé’s Requiem in the Great Hall. And I enjoyed the contemporary portraits of notable women adorning the panelled walls, delighted to see Lady Hale’s face beaming down. There were differences from my 1991 ceremony (besides the portraits and the time of year). When I graduated, I processed across the stage and presented my clasped hands to the presiding officer, who covered my hands with his. Covid had introduced a no touch approach, with each student bowing and receiving a bow in return. Female graduands in 1991 were instructed to wear a black skirt and white blouse. Not so the class of 2022, and it was joyous to see the girls in their jewel-coloured dresses and shoes. I myself was wearing a magenta scarf, channelling my Mum, who had worn a bright pink dress to my graduation. And then there were the mortarboards, reintroduced last year as part of the University’s graduation dress for the first time since the 1960s. It was a moving moment when the presiding officer invited the room full of young people to don their mortarboards once they had all had their degrees conferred.

The ceremony was a lively event, with parents and other supporters, including fellow students, whooping and cheering throughout. Hand on heart, I cannot now remember if my 1991 ceremony was such a sound sensation but I suspect not.

All in all it was a happy, memorable occasion. Congratulations to all recent graduates of the University of Bristol and all the University staff who have worked so diligently to make sure their graduandsturned-graduates had such fulsome opportunity to celebrate their achievements.

A sea of mortarboards donned by graduates in Classics, Ancient History and History - Nov 2022

Photo credit: Will Scarlett

THE BARNEYS CLUB

2023-2024 CHAIR’S REPORT

Anastasia Lewis-Hackshaw

Following the resurgence of last year, Barneys has had an explosion of activity. This year, we have grown our membership numbers to thirty students. As such, we are enquiring about new avenues of funding to maintain this. The club has experienced this success due in part to an increase in social events where members have been able to socialise and continue friendships outside of Wills Hall.

Students had the privilege of debating and engaging in each other's passions and interests. This passion was reflected in the quality and range of talks presented this year:

2nd October

The Financial Market: The biggest Ponzi scheme in history?

Jess Phillips on Everything You Really Need To Know About Politics

Toby Hill

5th October

The Rt Hon. Lord Boateng: Legacies Of Slavery, ’Hidden Histories’, and Contemporary Racism

14th October Highbury Vaults: Introductory Social

16th October

Che Guevara and The Last Man

20th October Wills Hall Association: London Reception

30th October The Existence of Free Will: Effects Of Time Relativity

13th November Romanticism and its effect on Monogamy

19th November The Eighty Seventh Annual Barneys Club Dinner

22nd November Hope & Anchor: Members Social Meal

27th November The Legacy of Colonialism

Nico Johnson

David Adam

Thomas Griffiths

Guest of Honour: Colonel P.A.

Jobbins, O.B.E

Saim Baig

The Right to Rise Up! A History of Protests in the British Empire Anastasia LewisHackshaw

The White Bear: Winter Social

THE BARNEYS CLUB

EIGHTY SEVENTH ANNUAL DINNER

The eighty-seventh annual dinner of the Barneys Club was held on Saturday, the 19th of November, 2022. It was hosted by The Royal Marines in the Dining Room of Dorset House. Many thanks to our Guest of Honour, Colonel Paul Jobbins, O.B.E., G.M., R.D., for attending. It was heartening to witness several generations of Barneys Club members together, some of them for the first time after the unfortunate events of recent years. The passing and sharing of stories between members is a time-honoured tradition. It was clear that enthusiasm for discovery and keen interest binds us together and draws us to seek solace within Barneys. From the laughter and embraces, the dinner was a long overdue celebration of both history and future promise. Members enjoyed a champagne reception and dinner followed by a series of toasts.

Thank you to our patrons, Dr T.G.B Howe and Mr C.J.A Holroyd.

In Memory of Martin Crossley Evans.

A message from the Chair:

It has been an honour to serve as Chair this year. Barneys has shaped my experience in innumerable ways and has granted me friends for life. I am honoured to be a member of a club that encompasses the vibrant intellects, diverse minds and inclusive faces of the next generation. On behalf of all members, I would like to express my gratitude to Colonel Jane L. Thompson for her longstanding hard work and dedication to Barneys, for without her Barneys would not have survived as long as it has.

I would also like to thank the committee for their work, Georgia Hiseman as Hon. Secretary, Toby Hill, as Vice-Chair and Rowan Humphreys. Special thanks to Andrew Abbey, for without him we could not continue and finally, Rowan Humphreys, as previous Chair and current Treasurer for his support BarneysClub@outlook.com

WHA LONDON RECEPTION 2023

Thursday 12 October 2023 6:30pm-8:30pm

Offices of Kingsley Napley LLP | 20 Bonhill Street | London EC2A 4DN

With thanks to our host Charlotte Bradley

Full details to follow

CONDOLENCES

The Association offers its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the following members of Wills Hall who died recently.

Ken Moolenaar

Philip Quick

John G. Walford

THE 'LEGACIES OF SLAVERY' REPORT

The University of Bristol launched an exercise in November last year, seeking views on whether seven buildings whose names are linked in different ways to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans should be renamed. This included Wills Hall and the Dame Monica Wills Chapel. The consultation ran until 27 January 2023.

This exercise continued the discussion started some years ago by the University about building names and the University logo. A report was commissioned to better understand the links and connections to historical slavery. More information is available here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/anti-racism/legacies/.

We let WHA members know about this by e mail and engaged with many of you on the consultation. The consultation specifically required individual responses be given in an online consultation. We are pleased so many members responded to this by the deadline. Many of us have strong views on this and it was vital we made our voices heard as we did. The University has not yet responded to the consultation. We will keep you up-to-date on developments and if you have any questions, please let any of the Executive Committee know.

MEMBERSHIP REFORM AND SUPPORTING WHA

As a former resident of Wills Hall, you are part of a unique and diverse community of alumni who share a common bond of friendship, memories and pride. You are also part of the Wills Hall Association, the official alumni organisation that aims to keep you connected, informed and involved with the hall and each other.

However, we recognise that times have changed and that the traditional model of paying an annual membership fee to belong to the Association no longer suits everyone's preferences and circumstances. That is why we have decided to remove the membership fees and make the Association free and open to all Wills Hall alumni. The 2022 AGM approved this and left it to the Executive Committee to determine suitable changes to the Constitution which we will be proposing to the 2023 AGM.

We have taken this step for several reasons:

• We have seen a clear decline in membership rates, especially among the more recent generations of alumni, who may have different expectations and needs from the Association.

• Many students today are more wary about committing to long term financial obligations and prefer more flexibility and choice in how they engage with the Association.

• We believe that man y of you are more willing to pay for the events and activities that interest you, rather than for a general membership that may not reflect your preferences.

By removing the membership fees, we hope to make the association more accessible, inclusive and responsive to alumni needs and interests. We also hope to have more conversations with you about how you can support the Association and the hall in other ways, such as by making one-off or ongoing donations, volunteering your time and skills, or sharing your expertise.

We are grateful for any contribution you can make to the Association, whether it is financial or non-financial, large or small, regular or occasional. Your support helps us to support the hall's facilities and student life, as well as to organise events and activities that bring you together with fellow alumni and current students.

If you have not already joined the Association as a member, we invite you to do so here: https://www.willshallassociation.org/membership.

Please use an email address you are likely to have long term access to. It is quick, easy and free, and it will allow you to receive our newsletters, updates and invitations to our events. You can also follow us on our social media and visit our website for more information (https://www.willshallassociation.org/).

If you are interested in supporting the Association and the hall financiall y, we would be delighted to have a conversation with you about the various options and opportunities available. You can contact any of the executive committee members at this address: willshall-association@bristol.ac.uk

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the Reunion. Thank you for being part of the Wills Hall Association and for keeping the Wills Hall spirit alive.

WILLS HALL ASSOCIATION

University of Bristol

The Annual General Meeting of the Wills Hall Association took place in the Michael Wong Pakshong Lounge and online using Zoom

on Sunday, 4th September 2022 at 9:45 A.M.

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Professor A. Julian Rivers, Mr Simon Hodgetts, Mr Rob Young, Mr Christopher Embrey, Mr Donald Kelly, Mr Adrian Mezzetti, Mr Michael Welch and Mr Peter Endean.

2. Minutes of the 2021 AGM

The minutes of the 2021 AGM were published on pages 33-36 of the Yearbook. It was agreed that they were a fair and accurate record. Mr Andrew Sulston proposed their acceptance and Mr Patrick Walesby seconded the proposal.

3. Matters arising from the Minutes

There were no matters arising that were not covered later in the agenda.

4. Chairman's report

The Chairman said that his report would be brief as the President had already given a detailed report of the Association’s achievements in his speech at the Reunion dinner the night before. He reminded the membership that he was stepping down as Chairman, as he wasn’t able to devote as much time to the Association, due to family commitments and his responsibilities as Senior Tutor for St Hugh’s College. He thanked Mr Andrew Abbey and his team for supporting and providing opportunities for students and developing the current pastoral structure to improve residential life in Hall. He particularly thanked the President and the Committee for supporting him throughout

his time as Chairman, and said that he hoped to continue to attend Association events, wherever possible.

5. Secretary’s report

The Secretary agreed with Chairman’s comments and thanked the membership for their continued support of the Association. He encouraged the membership to volunteer for the committee, irrespective of prior experience, as there were a number of positions available. The Secretary also proposed a formal vote of thanks to the Chairman, for his continued support of the Association and all things Wills Hall, since starting as Warden. This was seconded by the President and unanimously supported.

6. Membership subscriptions

A paper from the Secretary was circulated before the meeting by email, proposing that membership subscriptions be abolished for all members. There were no objections to removing the subscription but there was discussion on the proposed wording for the changes to the Constitution. It was agreed that the Secretary’s proposal could be passed in general, allowing the Executive Committee to confirm the required changes to the Constitution, to be voted on at the following AGM. The proposal was seconded by the Chairman.

7. Treasurer’s report

The Chairman thanked the Treasurer and congratulated him on a successful first year. The Treasurer reported that the accounts had been circulated by email and asked if there were any comments. He said that the Association had successfully moved its account to Metro Bank, which facilitated online banking and a cheaper and improved service compared with HSBC. He noted that the cash balance was declining due to the drop in membership but the account balance was still healthy, due to previous stewardship and generous donations. He also reminded the members that the Committee was still looking to appoint an independent examiner, and encouraged volunteers. The adoption of the accounts for the year end 2021 was proposed by Mr Patrick Walesby and seconded by Mr Charles Gunter.

8. The Wills Hall Association Memorial Funds, Trusts and Scholarships

The Chairman reported that he and the President had met earlier in the year to discuss the Trusts and travel scholarships. He said that the general performance of the Trusts had been good, which allowed them to make 8 awards totally around £8,000. This supported current students for a broad range of activities, including training courses, language and educational visits. He also reported that there had been two awards for the Wills 101 Scholarship. The Scholarship was means tested and provided £4,000 and a place at Wills Hall for each successful student. The President said that the names of the

scholars would not be circulated generally but that they would be invited to Association events.

9. Election for the Executive Committee and re-election of the Officers

The following were elected nem con to the Executive Committee for the 2022 - 23 academic session. Mr Charles Gunter remained as President. Proposed by Professor Robert Vilain and seconded by Dr Bernard Lamb.

Officers:

Mr Andrew Sulston Chairman

Mr Richard Lockyer Treasurer

Dr John Walsby-Tickle Secretary

Col. Jane Thompson Reunion Secretary

Committee Members: Mrs Emma Berry, Miss Amelia Craddock, Mr Christopher Embrey, Mr Simon Hodgetts, Professor David Lane, Mr Vinay Mandagere, Ms Katherine Miles, Mr Patrick Walesby and Mr Rob Young.

The incoming Chairman, Mr Andrew Sulston, thanked the membership for electing him and thanked the outgoing Chairman, Professor Robert Vilain for his careful stewardship of the Association.

10. Future Reunion and other Association dates

The Secretary announced that the next in-person event would be the London Reception, held at Allen & Overy, One Bishops Square, on Thursday 20th October 2022. The President said that the date for the Summer Reunion had not been selected yet and that he and the Alumni Network were discussing with the University conference office. Members generally expressed a preference for a July Reunion. The outgoing Chairman suggested that members should email the Secretary if they wanted to express a preference.

11. Any other business 11.a. Vote of thanks

The outgoing Chairman thanked the President and all those involved in organizing the Reunion Weekend, especially The Treasurer and Reunion Secretary.

10.b. Vice-president proposal

The President proposed that the outgoing Chairman be elected as a Vice-president. This was unanimously agreed and seconded by Mr Patrick Walesby. The outgoing Chairman thanked the membership for the honour and said that he was looking forward to the London Reception in October. The meeting was closed and the membership thanked for their attendance.

WILLS HALL ASSOCIATION

University of Bristol NOTICE

is hereby given that the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE WILLS HALL ASSOCIATION will take place at THE BAR (LARGE JUNIOR COMMON ROOM), WILLS HALL

AT 9:45 A.M. on SUNDAY 16th JULY 2023 for the purposes set out in the Agenda

John Walsby-Tickle, Honorary Secretary

† The paper for item 6 will be circulated by email, in advance of the AGM.

†† Nomination forms are available from the Secretary and must be returned no later than Saturday 1st July 2023.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE YEARBOOK

The Yearbook editor would welcome written contributions from Wills Hall Association members and from current members of Hall which they feel would be of interest to readers of the Yearbook. It would be helpful if articles can be in electronic form. Please submit any articles to andrew.sulston1@gmail.com.

HONORARY AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Honorary Members: Mrs Gwyneth Bishop, Mr Michael Hoare and Mrs Sarah Kavanagh (née Price).

Associate Members: Mrs Jill Elvin, Dr Sean Gill, Dr Stuart Goldsmith, Mrs Julie Goldstein, Mrs Audrey Hills, Mr Jonathan Phillips, Mrs Patricia Price, Dr Bill Ray, and Mrs Maureen ‘Pip’ Willoughby.

OLD WILLS CRAFT DISTILLED GIN

70 cl Alc 40% Vol

The Wills Hall Association have commissioned a special gin to celebrate 90 years of Wills Hall. Our partners in this venture are Psychopomp, a successful Bristol micro-distillery on St. Michael's Hill just behind the University.

The base of the gin is the usual juniper and coriander, and the root we opted for was liquorice – and there is a real hint of that on the nose (not so much as to put anyone off who hated Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts when a child!). The dominant theme is ‘trees and shrubs’ rather than flowers – there is apple-wood in there, hawthorn, and elder, and that gives the gin some rich robustness. It's a gin with real backbone. It's not obviously flowery at all, but there are nonetheless notes of rose and lavender. All these plants and shrubs grow on the Downside estate (around Wills Hall) and are clearly visible to residents. Suggestions for ingredients were made by Alan Stealey, Head of Estates, to whom the WHA is most grateful.

“Old Wills” was distilled for the Wills Hall Association

https://www.willshallassociation.org/old-wills by Psychopomp Micro-Distillery, 145 St Michael’s Hill, Bristol BS2 8DB

Please drink responsibly

Each bottle contains 28 units of alcohol

25 ml 40% AVB gin = 1 unit

It is safest not to drink alcohol when pregnant Details can be obtained from drinkaware.co.uk

£33 a bottle (£8:40 P&P per order)

A HISTORY OF WILLS HALL

The late Dr Martin Crossley Evans and Andrew Sulston first published A History of Wills Hall in 1994. The second edition benefits from their additional research, judicious revisions to the earlier text and new chapters on the Hall under Wardens since 1994, and stops just short of the pastoral review of 2018 that dramatically changed the day to day life of the Hall. The History is a lively and informative account of the origins, growth and development of a remarkable community. Its numerous photographs and illustrations will remind some readers of their time in Hall, and inform others about the different stages of the hall’s history. Here you can check to distinguish history from legend, rumour from authentic detail. A wealth of informed and entertaining anecdotes culled from many past residents of Wills supplements a rigorous historical grounding. Anyone connected with the Hall will find much to fascinate them.

The volume is for sale at a mere £12.00. Please email the WHA to order your copy: willshall-association@bristol.ac.uk