Gigg:News Autumn 2019

Issue 72: Autumn 2019

GIGG:NEWS For all Giggleswickians

The Dark Side of Social Media The Glover Lecture

Remembering their Sacrifice Lest We Forget

Critical Condition Royal Army Medical Corps & Medical Director Col. Richard Fawcett on life and the war on terror INTO THE DEPTHS Alex Reider on Mental Health

DEVELOPMENT NEWS Gigg Global Give Event & Arts Projects

FAMOUS OG Arthur Cooper at Bletchley Park

Mark Ehlinger Carr, 1977 I am honoured to have been elected as OG President for 2019/20. This is my first opportunity to update OG members of all ages, through OG News.

Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing OG President, Richard Warburton, he has given generously his time, and continues to do so both to the school and the OG club. He has set the bar very high. I would also like to recognise the OG Committee. OG Events don’t just happen, and when they do, it is largely through the work of the Committee, in collaboration with the School staff who, generously give their time to make things happen.

For members who may not have picked up this nuance, the OG Club and the COGS, are increasingly collaborating, and by pooling organisational resources, we will see an increase in the breadth of events to which members of each group will access. In 2018, the OG Membership Survey informed us of a wish for more events to be hosted at school, so during 2019/20, in conjunction with the COGS, we will innovate and develop a blueprint for future years, which will attract increasing numbers to return to visit the school, to attend an event, reacquaint with former cohort members, learning about the successes and progress which

Giggleswick School is making.

Ultimately, this will re-ignite their will to share experiences with others, far and wide. Much of what is happening at Giggleswick School may be one of the top-ten best kept secrets in the UK. Increasing the numbers of OGs who are equipped with, and willing to spread that word of its reputation, will be invaluable to the school’s future.

This year, I hope to meet many of you at our OG events: Yorkshire Dinner, Lancashire Lunch, London Dinner and London Drinks Reception, to name just a few. I wish, during this year, to raise the number of young OGs with whom we engage, and who attend events. The younger cohort, whom I have named YOGS, are an important group, their appetite for contemporary events from the OG Club may not, for some, be for traditional, formal dinners.

We have seen an upsurge in numbers attending more informal events with canapés, which some, might argue, offer greater opportunity for networking, re-acquainting with friends, and school staff members.

Mark Ehlinger (C 1975), President

Contents Editorial OG News: Keeping in Touch Feature: Lest We Forget Famous OG: Arthur Cooper School News Feature: Alex Rieder Feature: Cathedral Choirs Sports Shorts In Profile: Henry Marks

2-3 4-7 8-9 10-11 12-15 16-17 18-19 20-23 23

Feature: Col. Richard Fawcett Events Reivew Neil Davidson A Modern Vet Gigg:Circular Events Diary

24-25 26-29 30 31 32-35 36

Cover Image: Col. Richard Fawcett presenting a speech at Nato

GIGG:NEWS Issue 72 Autumn 2019

Headmaster’s Welcome: A New Year – New Challenges elcome to this latest edition of Gigg:News.

I can report that the school continues to thrive with record numbers recruited to both the Senior and Junior schools this September.

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A level results were excellent over the summer, and OGs should also be aware that BTECs studied at Giggleswick not only serve to

provide an appropriate learning pathway for some of our sixth formers but have also ensured that members of last year's cohort achieved places on courses at Durham and St. Andrew's universities. Further proof that there are alternative courses to A levels that serve our pupils just as well in reaching their ambitions.

Success in achieving entry to top universities is just one of the reasons why people are proud of their achievements and perhaps, grateful for the support they received at Giggleswick to help reach their goals. However, these achievements are often being overshadowed in the media as the debate over the future of independent education takes more of the centre stage. The group, Labour Against Private Schools, has been particularly prominent in this and succeeded in passing a motion at the recent Labour Party conference this autumn, that would take steps to undermine the financial viability of independent schools.

One of the responses to this has been to highlight the economic benefits of private education to the local community, (Giggleswick contributes 273 jobs directly to the Craven economy). At the same time there are also strong arguments that questions the social justification of schools such as ours. To this we can point to the 65 children supported by bursaries and the growing amount of partnership work that we are involved in to support other local schools and clubs in their provision for young people.

The strongest arguments, however, for the benefits of a Giggleswick education rest with the products from it: the OGs themselves. It is amongst our alumni that we can recognise that education cannot necessarily by quantified or measured. It is the intangibles that define so much of what Giggleswick is about. We have attempted to articulate this in what we now call our Learner profile. And if you want illustration of what this continues to look like, then just read on‌ Mark Turnbull, Headmaster

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Keeping in Touch From the Editor...

A Treasured Place I have recently been privileged to reconnect with a number of senior OG’s who have not been back to the school for many years.

One gentleman was happy to tell me of his struggles with Alzheimer’s, but his family were openly touched by the animated way that his visit brought out emotions and enthusiasm not witnessed for some time.

Another gentleman told me how he has “had a sneaking love” of the place for 60 years despite the austerity of the times when he was at the school.

After serving the best part of the last two years until recently as Housemaster of Nowell, I have been led to reflect further on the nature of alumni. Supervising the leaving of two more year groups of Nowell boys and considering their needs as they enter the world of work, I also oversaw the refurbishment of the House. Ever mindful of our long heritage, I hung many old photographs of pupils past and present, hoping to give the boys of Nowell a sense of the history of the school. I am even more convinced of the strength of its importance and the responsibility that we all have in maintaining the OG Club and the community that underpins the heritage as well as the future of our great school and its pupils.

The longevity of the OG Club

and, in turn the School, that many of us so love and admire, is the fuel which we can use to re-establish contact with the many YOGS (Younger OGs) whose obsolete contact information we hold. The reason for this is that our younger members are, understandably, busy establishing their own lives and careers; fulfilling professional qualifications, building their careers, starting families and traveling - simply having a life. We move around from flat to flat, digs to digs, job to job, and expect modern communications to follow us. We change our names, our locations our jobs and expect the world to keep up. At the end of it all we retire, our families and friends disperse, we relocate and all the while the technologies that bind us together are ever changing.

The year ahead is again full of activity and events; it has already begun with two events, one in London and the other here in Yorkshire at Headingley Stadium. By the time that you receive this we will be about to head out for Lunch in Lancashire at Northcote. If any of you have ideas about the activities and events that we hold or would like to offer to host or champion one of these please get in touch with me in the OG Office at school. We are always pleased to accept comment and support from all groups within the community.

News from the Development Office What a wonderful first year in post. I have had the privilege of being welcomed by and meeting numerous OGs with fascinating careers and life stories at the variety of events over the last twelve months. As a newcomer, I have been struck by the great

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sense of community and pride amongst the Old Giggleswickians and how supportive everyone is of the School.

To help our community further in the coming year, we are intending to create an “OG Community Directory”, which will sit at the

back of Gigg News 2020.

From Solicitors to fund managers; recruitment agents to estate agents; and architects to art dealers, our OG community will have an opportunity to provide wholly trusted services to one another. If you have a business and would like it to be included, please contact jpbellis@giggleswick.org.uk with your name, your company name, a brief description of the nature of your business and your contact details, so that we can begin to compile the OG Business Directory in time for Gigg:News 2020.

Thank you too for your generosity; through our campaigns this year, the Gigg Global Give and the Telethon the OGs and parents have enabled the School to purchase equipment via the Annual Fund that have an immediate impact on the lives of our current and future pupils at Giggleswick. These provide an education with exceptional experiences that would not otherwise by possible. You can always see how your contributions have made an impact in our news stories online.

Following the success of the Big Give Christmas Challenge in recent years, this year we decided to go it alone and run our own match-funding campaign at the end of the Easter Term, this was the Gigg Global Give. In this way our campaign was not to be confused with other charitable activities in the run up to the festive season. Nor would it undermine the charitable efforts of our many supporters who may wish to support the many excellent causes that campaign at that season of the year.

Our plan was to raise awareness of the new 2019 Giggleswick Annual Fund and to raise funds for the many worthwhile projects that our normal school fee income can never hope to finance in this day and age. These make such a difference to the experience and opportunities of our young people.

The Gigg Global Give like the Big Give, as many of you will know, is a doubling campaign. In this way all the donations that were made in the discrete period from 15th to 22nd March were rendered twice as valuable by the Champion Funds kindly donated by our major supporters including the Old Giggleswickian Club and the Giggleswick School Parents’ Association (the GSPA).

This year’s projects were: G Replacement of the grand piano in the Music School

G A professional-standard dance floor for the

new Dance Studio

G Video recording mast to enable sports performance analysis G Digitalisation of the Performing Arts performance record

G Replacement of the existing projector with commercial theatre projection equipment in the Richard Whiteley Theatre G Mobile 3D printing and laser cutting equipment for the Junior School

G Spinning bikes for the new Dance Studio Through the kindness and generosity of all our donors; OGs, parents, former parents and friends of the school we raised £18000. Thus, most of the projects outlined in the 2019 Annual Fund are now ready to go ahead and are already enhancing the experiences of our students. If you care to visit the school on OG Day or Speech Day later in the year, you will be able to see many of these in action.

This year will see the launch of our Bursary Appeal. Many of you are very aware of the profound effect a bursary can have on a child’s life, affording them the very best education, which they otherwise may not be able to experience. Some of you have already contributed prior to the launch and we are extremely grateful for that significant generosity. We now begin in earnest to fund those pupil places. Some of you reading this, will have benefited from a bursary-assisted place and will already know at first hand the difference that Giggleswick has made to your life, the impact it has made on your career and more importantly upon society as a whole.

Please contact the Development office for more details or simply donate at http://www.giggleswick.org.uk/Bursary-Fund Finally, we are really interested in engaging with OGs from all sectors of industry, with a view to imparting your knowledge at our careers’ fairs or by giving a talk to our school leavers, so that our pupils can understand the breadth of career options open to them. If you are able to spare some time and engage with the students, please contact jabrown@giggleswick.org.uk who will liaise with our careers’ advisor and Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Anne Coward regarding future dates.

Thank you once again for all the help and support that you continue to give. We look forward to seeing you at one of our future events and to welcoming you back to Giggleswick in 2020. So, again thank you from all of us!

Belinda Eldridge MSc Development and Commercial Director

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Project Re: – A President’s Initiative Our data requires almost constant updating, but first, we have to work smart. It seems that OGs whose contact information we have, do come forward, and volunteer information, by contacting their year group cohorts whose information we don’t have, but they might not. Many hands make light work, as the saying goes, therefore. I am reaching out in my Presidential year to invite any Millenial OGs to step forward and volunteer to adopt a Leaver Year list of missing contact information, and by whatever ingenuity, encourage those whose details we do not have, to allow their latest e-mail contact details to be

added to the OG Membership information data base; eTapestry, formerly known as Gigg On Line Re – engage Re – new Re – unite Re – acquaint Re – visit Re – turn Re – kindle Re - member If you know of OGs of your leaver year, whose contact information you have, but who you suspect the OG database doesn’t include, do please come forward and help us with this mission. You can email me: Mark Ehlinger or Jim Bellis, whom many of you know well in the Alumni Office, or through the Facebook and LinkedIn Groups online.

60 Years After!

Graham Cooper revisited the School for the first time since he had left Giggleswick Sixty Years to the day after he had first arrived here in 1958. He left Nowell House eight years later in 1966.

At around 3.00 pm on the 19th of September 1958, as a slightly bewildered 9 year old, I waved goodbye to my parents, and was ushered by Major Moss through the front door of Catteral Hall. Leaving behind my christian name I began my career as a Giggleswick schoolboy, as had so many before and since.

Sixty years later, on the 19th. of September 2018, as your guest, I was back to remember and nostalgically commune down the years with that young boy. The changes that I found were quite remarkable. I suppose I really should not have been surprised, but Catteral Hall in my memory had not changed since I moved up to Big School in 1962. In reality, while the outside looked remarkably similar, once inside, it was almost unrecognisable.

Gone are the dark gloomy passages past the back stairs to the back door, the only door and stairs we junior boys were allowed to use. The middle playroom and dorm 6 had long gone as well , and I think their replacements had subsequently been superseded in their turn. Where we used to spend our spare time and where there was a shabby old ex-ww2 hut used as an overspill dining room, there are now bright cheerful open spaces.

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I wonder if anyone photographed the old buildings as they used to be.

Looking at how the students now live, no-one would believe how it was. I still remember vividly the smell of carbolic soap in the changing rooms and the rows of iron bedsteads lined up, Nightingale ward-style, in the dormitories!

Wearing my dressing gown, upside down in bed in winter with my feet down the sleeves and the body pulled up as an extra blanket, to keep out the cold. Do they still do that, I suspect not?

So many memories, both good – bonfire night, Christmas parties, pre-breakfast swims in the summer term, and bad –blue papers, standing in the hall for half an hour, off tuck for a week for some misdemeanour.

All character building, so they said! The memories that came back would easily fill a book.

Perhaps some 9 year old who started this autumn will return in September 2078 and feel the same nostalgia for the old days when life was rather different!

Many thanks to Jim Bellis and Belinda Eldridge for their kindness and patience showing me round.

Correspondence and recollections of this sort are always gratefully received in the OG Office. Please contact us if you would like to contribute. If you would like to visit the school, please contact me or go through the website enquiries section and I am always delighted to welcome you back – JPB.

GIGG:NEWS OG News Re-Unite & Re-Engage; OG and COGS SCARRIG – 2020 In spring of this year, Richard Warburton and I attended Scarrig, and with the permission of, the Director of Sport, we ran the course, competitively. Obviously, I finished second! More importantly, this paves the way for an OG and COGS Scarrig to be held before on the corresponding day of Scarrig in 2020.

We intend that this should be a TEAM EVENT for OG’s and members of the wider Giggleswick community – COGS. This is an attempt to launch an annual event for all ages, but particularly to draw in the YOGS, veteran runners, former

Scarrig medallists, Staff, Parents, and Friends of Giggleswick School, for better or worse, to the new Scarrig Course. Still 3.5miles (5.25km) distance, a significant element of this circuit is in now in the Ghyll Field.

If you cannot or do not want to visit the school to take part, you could “Run Your Own Scarrig” by running your own 5.3km course at home, even on a treadmill in the gym on the same day or over the corresponding weekend of 29 February. We hope to create the “Global Scarrig”, with participants all over the world, creating a socialmedia buzz. Perhaps too you might consider raising sponsorship, with 50% going to a favourite good cause and 50% to Giggleswick Development (contact Jo-anne Brown at school if you would like to take this further – 01729 8933038 jabrown@giggleswick.org.uk). I hope very much that many running enthusiasts, will step up to join in. The race at school will take place on the morning of Scarrig, there will be a nominal entry fee for runners, and we hope to organise a modestly-priced lunch at school, and to encourage us to stay and support the school races at the start/finish lines during the afternoon, before heading out to the Top-House for well-earned, “re-hydration”.

Mark Ehlinger (C1975) Email: mark.ehlinger@sky.com or jpbellis@giggleswick.org.uk Tel: 01729 893123

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Lest We Forget: 100 years since the World Wars From the pages of the Chronicle... he archive of past Chronicles offers us a vast and at times poignant resource of memories of days gone by that the current pupils might understandably not appreciate, but which bring back vivid recollections for others. The 21st Century sees the School as a multicultural and multi-national establishment, which we celebrate and in which we are aware of the sensitivities of all our members.

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In this year of remembrance, 100 years since the end of the Great War, 80 years since the outbreak of the Second world War and 75 years since D Day it is perhaps fitting that we take a page to remember past times and in looking at the pages of past Chronicles to appreciate the sacrifices made by our past pupils at those times.

July 1944 volume 22 no 194.

EDITORIAL - “This summer term would be easily distinguishable from its predecessors by both the successes of the first eleven and the unusual foulness of the weather, but even up here, where we are undisturbed by the activity which must have transformed Southern England and are mercifully safe from the ravages of the flying bomb, the invasion of Europe must surely take first place as distinguishing event of the term. The restless excitement of June 6th was memorable. The midnight excursions and other activities of the Home Guard provided some little relief from the helpless inactivity of normal school routine, but the irksome feeling of being left in the cold, while others either saw, or were actually engaged in , one of history's greatest days, until the less spectacular aspects of everyday life inevitably reasserted themselves.“

To some extent the School XV of 1941 – 2 sums all these sacrifices up, for if you were lucky enough to come home from the conflict you might well be scarred physically and mentally for life. It was in no uncertain terms a “life-changing experience”. The names that follow are all those that we know of who were involved in the Normandy Campaign of 1944.

PR Womersley (S 1936-39) D Day+4 witnessed the bombing of Caen before the big advance. Survived.

In Royal Navy. Moved to New Zealand RL Greenwood (N 1937-41) Died 12/9/44 Buried in St Desir War Cemetery Normandy, France BS Leuty (P 1934-37) Died 12/9/44 Name on Runnymede Memorial (Air Force Memorial) Surrey UK. JL Lord (P 1924-28) Died 16/12/44 buried in Jonkerbos Cemetery,Netherlands JG Robinson (St 1938-42) Died 6/6/44Buried La Delivrande War Cemetery Douvres, Normandy, France MGH Style (S 1925-29) Died 2/11/44 Buried in Bergen –op –Zoom Cemetery, S Netherlands HG Wiles (P 1938-42) Died 18/1/1945 Buried in Nederweert War Cemetery, S Netherlands D Windle (S 1920-23) Died 8/11/1945 Buried in Celle War Cemetery, Germany.

Chronicle 1945

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Remembering the Fallen 1918 - 2018 In November, fittingly on the eve of Remembrance Sunday which with perfect symmetry fell on November 11th this year, many of us gathered in the Chapel to enjoy and participate in an incredibly moving and beautifully directed and produced occasion entitled “Remembering the Fallen�. Readers will not be surprised that the chapel was the chosen venue for this event as it offered the most magnificent appropriate surroundings for such a production by Barbara Cilgram, Margie Simper and Mike Offland, whose original idea this was.

In a weekend where so much was said about remembrance, it was hard to think what more could be added and yet this evening of reflection and remembrance managed to not only capture the mood of solemnity but to also encourage reflection with grace and humour.

Congratulations are due to all who devised, produced and took part in the event and in doing so enriched the experience of remembrance for all who were present. The powerful nature of the occasion was due to the fact that much of the material used was taken from the Giggleswick's own archives so that we were listening to genuine voices from the period.

The other key element was the simplicity and sincerity of the performances so that it was impossible not to identify the youthful performers with the similarly youthful Old Giggleswickians who were the soldiers of WW1. This was no more apparent than at the start of the programme when the First XV performed a rousing rendition of the School Rugby song "Now Reds" beneath a photograph of their predecessors, 7 of whom did not return from France.

Of the numerous Giggleswickians who went to war, 127 died and they were commemorated in the chapel by cards bearing their names strategically placed on pews in the church and by transparent silhouettes at the end of various

pews, in the spirit of the nationally renowned "There but not There" project. What was most poignant was the fact that each of these names represented not just a single life, but the vast loss of human potential for that and future generations, a point further emphasised by the extracts from letters from the front and from those at home to those serving abroad. Placing these deaths in context became even more moving when the context is the same street in which you live and the names are those which you still hear in your school.

It was therefore a very personal tribute in many respects, set against the wider notion of national remembrance. It was fitting then that there was also an exploration of slightly more unusual aspects of war, such as the reading from Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, which dealt with the problems encountered at a delousing station, or the extract from War Horse by Michael Morpurgo where English and German soldiers combine their talents to rescue a horse and then toss a coin to decide on who keeps it.

Along with a very haunting reminder of the now familiar story of the Christmas Truce, there were also details of the rise of Women's Football and the story of Elsie Inglis, suffragette and medical pioneer who on being told to go home because there was no place for women at the front, instead went on to found a hospital staffed entirely by women.

The evening was an extremely potent mixture of using song, poetry, archives and slides and also featured some moving solos by current students. Equally powerful, however, was the part played by our international students, which served to remind us that this was not just an event of local significance but that it was, and still is, of global importance. Whilst many such events have been focused on past events, this evening was also about the future and never was this clearer than in the choice of hymn, "Lord of all Hopefulness" and the moving closing reading, "A Wish for Peace".

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Famous OG: Arthur Richard Valentine Cooper

oday, students of China primarily know the name of Arthur Cooper because of his leading translations of Tang poetry.

What is less known, however, is that his involvement with the Chinese language and culture was the result of his service as a codebreaker at the now famous, but long secret, Bletchley Park.

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His work decoding Japanese military messages led him to a deep appreciation of Chinese writing and poetry. Little more is known of his literary or wartime work, because of the highly secret nature of his early career.

Arthur Cooper’s translations of Chinese poetry are some of the finest, most faithful and rigorous that have ever been ever attempted.

His translations of Li Po and Tu Fu appeared in 1973 and he was undoubtedly the greatest translator of Chinese poetry since the great Ezra Pound.

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A pupil in Carr House, Arthur Cooper, born February 17th 1916 of AngloIrish parentage, was educated at Giggleswick from January 1930 until July 1934. He was a Praepostor, Chronicle Editor, member of the Debating Society and the Bulidon Club, not surprisingly Cooper was awarded the Waugh Prize for English Literature.

Even at the early age whilst attending prep school at Crowborough, (his family living near Oxford at the time), the young Arthur invented a secret language, which he called Khraan to be used by his 2 closest friends and himself during meals or at formal occasions. This language was based on some vowel

GIGG:NEWS OG Feature substitution, so that “jam” became “yub” with the definite article being placed at the end of the noun in the form of ET; thus ‘cricketet batet’ There is no proof that he and so on. introduced pupils at Giggleswick to this arcane language, although we would be delighted to hear from anyone who did use Khraan! This may have been the beginning of his fascination with cryptology, which was to become his career.

Whilst at Giggleswick, he taught himself Icelandic, having been on a cycling holiday to Iceland when he was only 16 and, in this land of sagas, he developed his love of languages, words and their histories. His older brother, a Russian specialist, undoubtedly stimulated Arthur’s lifelong love of language.

After Giggleswick, Arthur went on to study at the University of Stockholm where he studied Philology and Art History. Whilst there he came across the great Swedish sinologist and philologist, Bernard Karlgren, whose work was a later influence on his own.

Sadly, after only a year in Sweden, Arthur was forced by illness (septicaemia) to return to England. Here under the influence of his brother, Joshua, he pursued his linguistic interests and studied Japanese at what is now famously known as SOAS, the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies.

Around 1936 he joined the Government Codes and Cyphers School where his eldest brother, Joshua Edward Synge Cooper, worked. He

studied Japanese before the war and this skill determined how the war was to go for him. On entering the Foreign Office in 1938, Arthur worked on breaking Japanese codes and ciphers and he was in Hong Kong when the war broke out; he remained in the Far East until the fall of Singapore in 1942 when he was extracted by ship and submarine along with his pet gibbon, Tertius and was evacuated to finally returning to England in 1943. That year Arthur met and married Diana de Vere, daughter of Lieut Col and Mrs Stanley de Vere in Buckinghamshire.

Arthur continued to work in the highly secret area of signals intelligence, with his brother, Joshua, at Bletchley Park, and London. In 1947 Arthur and his family went to Melbourne, Australia, for two 3-year tours of secondment to the Australian Govt. Returning in 1953 they settled down to live in Gloucestershire as Bletchley Park had now become GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters, at Cheltenham With retirement in 1968 came the time to continue his interest in Chinese studies, especially Chinese poetry. He began to translate and publish in this field. A television documentary was made in 1977: Chinese Puzzles: Cotswold Key. In 1978 he produced an essay for the China Society on The Creation of the Chinese Script. At the time of his death in January 1988 he was just completing a dictionary of the earliest form of Chinese script.

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Flower or not flower, mist or no mist, was here - At midnight, came - with day no longer there! Came, as a dream of spring, a time; went, Like a cloud at dawn, no where.

Song lyric by Po-Chuie AD 772846. Translated by Arthur Cooper

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School News

Making a Difference - Volunteering Abroad arriet Phillip (St 2019) and Eve Hutchinson (C 2019), both now members of the OG community having left school this summer, decided to follow their ambitions after GCSEs and applied for once-in-a-lifetime voluntary work across the globe.

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Both girls were lucky enough to be awarded placements, through the organisation; Projects Abroad. Eve’s experience is of particular note to readers as it was partly funded by a grant from the OG Club. Such grants are a function that some OG’s may be unaware of, but most years awards are made to aid meaningful travel and study abroad. The criteria for such grants are very clear: The experience will make a tangible difference to the lives of others and contribute positively to the studies of the recipients in their future. In recent years awards have been made to Miriam Lord (St 2015, who travelled and worked for charities in Nepal) and Alex Sherrell (C 2015, who worked in a maternity clinic in Kenya).

Those experiences led to life affirming career choices by the girls. On their return to the UK recipients are required to make a presentation to their peers via the Sixth Form Lecture programme and to undertake support of others who are planning similar experiences in the future.

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GIGG:NEWS School News This year, while Harriet was working with Hawksbill turtles, Eve headed for Sri Lanka where she taught English to children in a local school as well as helping with athletics coaching, which included working with the Sri Lankan Paralympic team. Eve, whose father, Nick was also at Giggleswick (N 1984) was one of last year’s deputy heads of school. She is a highly accomplished athlete as both hockey player and runner. Her skills were to be invaluable in supporting the young people whom she was working with. Coaching in the cooler early morning at 5.30am and teaching English in the local school from 8.00am to the same age groups, she said: “I focused on phonics with them for the four weeks I was there. After lunch I would plan lessons and coaching sessions as well as completing a weekly progress report on the children’s development. Once a week I would go to Colombo for a teaching workshop.” Both girls lodged with local families during their stay.

On her return Eve completed her Extended Personal Qualification (EPQ) on coaching sport in developing countries ahead of applying to

study Biomedicine at university.

Eve was struck by the cultural differences in her school – especially the punishments, which seemed to her to be particularly harsh. “Their punishments stood out as the main differences in lifestyles. They were using the cane on fiveand six-year olds which I found quite shocking.”

On the athletics field, Eve was saddened by the lack of facilities but impressed by how the young athletes did not let this diminish their efforts or ambitions.

Eve commented: “They were really good, but they have no equipment. They had, literally, five hurdles to use to train the national squad but they don’t let that stop them. They train really hard, every morning before school.”

Harriet and Eve felt their volunteering provided experiences of a lifetime which have given them with CVs that have every chance of helping them to stand out when the time comes. If any reader would like to help support such study projects in the future, please contact the Development Office.

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Life Changing In 1991 when, aged 29, John Gaimster (P 1980) underwent 30 hours of brain surgery for an arteriovenous malformation. He made a good recovery and was able to train as a sports remedial therapist. However, his health took a turn for the worse in 2012, when an acute intraventricular subarachnoid haemorrhage meant a long period of treatment. These health problems have left him with a severe visual impairment, difficulties in walking, muscle weakness and balance problems, among others.

Moving from one challenge to another, John has an intense look of concentration on his face as he tackles a high ropes course. Each of the challenges requires a combination of careful thought and physical exertion which are demanding for the unimpaired, safely reaching the other end. His determination to finish the course shows in his expression. There are

no half measures for John, as he takes a short breather before turning around to re-trace his steps and complete the course for the first time.

Three years ago, this challenge would have been an unthinkable undertaking for John. Since then he's been to the Lake District Calvert Trust for about 20 visits, travelling from his home at Wakefield.

John's wife, Ann, was originally from Crosby near Maryport and he loves coming to the centre, above Bassenthwaite Lake, because of the staff, the facilities and the feeling of being among the Lake District scenery and close to his wife's home area. He also likes being able to relieve the burden on Ann by giving her a break. ‘You can come here and even if you don't do the activities you still feel you've achieved’ he says ‘We all support each other, and smile and it's been a life changer.’

John is a supporter of the new Calvert Trust ABI centre and believes he can continue to make progress. Looking out over Bassenthwaite Lake and the hills he says to his, carer David ‘one day I'm going to walk in the hills again’ - and he will.

Julia Newton, Sports Entrepreneur (N, 85) Starting her career working for NIKE in the United States, Julia Newton is an entrepreneur, director and trustee of a number of companies and charities. Returning to the UK she founded her marketing agency; Shine Communications.

Over 10 years she grew Shine from a team of two to over sixty, winning many awards for employee development..

Shine started as a sports marketing agency with accounts won by Julia. She handled brands such as: Dunlop, Slazenger, Puma, Reebok, and contributed towards the sports maximisation of organisations including, Evian and Vodafone.

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In 2009, Julia was appointed as a business advisor to the BBC One programme Village SOS, which was set up to help some of the UK’s most deprived communities. She spent a year in a former coal-mining village helping to raise funds and setting up a sustainable social enterprise.

More recently, Julia has helped set up a number of charities including the Rural Refugee Network, which has worked both regionally and nationally to resettle refugees from Syria in the UK and she has lately become Chair of UK Taekwando.

GIGG:NEWS School News

Michael Buerk Delivers The Glover Lecture The Dark Side of Social Media When Sir Douglas Glover left the school funds to enable prominent public figures to deliver insightful and challenging talks to the pupils of Giggleswick School that would broaden their intellectual experience, he may not have envisaged the long and distinguished list of speakers who would visit the school. Past lecturers have included Sir Alex Ferguson, Kate Adie, Sir Chris Patten and Lord Melvyn Bragg.

This year’s lecturer is known to many of us for his insightful journalism on paper, in radio and on television. Michael Buerk is best known as a presenter of the BBC Ten O’Clock News and the journalist who broke the story of the Ethiopian famine in 1984/5, bringing that tragedy to the attention of billions worldwide and which led to the Band Aid and Live Aid fundraising events.

Well over a million lives were saved as a result of the international relief effort. More recently he has won many awards for his reporting and has been a constant presence throughout a number of news events such as BBC1’s millennium night coverage, the eclipse and royal weddings.

His long running radio programme on BBC R4, The Moral Maze has addressed the most pressing issues of our time and it was with anticipation that we gathered in the Richard Whiteley Theatre in February to listen to his thought-provoking and entertaining talk.

Examining the dark side of social media In a speech deliberately intended to spark debate, Mr Buerk warned our sixth formers present to be aware of the flip side to technological progress and gave a witty and passionate commentary of how the world had changed in his lifetime. The veteran broadcaster and newsreader bemoaned the rise of fake news and the role of Facebook and other social media platforms in creating what he saw as a false reality where nobody was acting as gatekeeper for the authenticity and accuracy of information.

He questioned whether change was always for the best. In a romp through a range of topics, he highlighted his misgivings on modern art, reality TV, American gun laws and changing news values.

He said: I am a grumpy old man. I say these things to start an argument or a conversation.

In the question and answer session at the end of the lecture, our students and invited guests, quizzed Michael on aspects of his lecture.

Headmaster, Mr Turnbull said: Michael’s lecture was beautifully written, touching on such a wide range of areas and delivered with warmth, humour and humility. He is one of the UK’s most respected and experienced journalists. He added: he was entertaining, intellectually reflective and sometimes provocative. His objective was principally to 'start a conversation' about issues that should carry weight and value within our society.

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Alex Rieder:

Into the Depths eading his story raises the profile once more of the importance of mental health as a contemporary issue. It is one further example of why we must take this issue so seriously and I am grateful to Alex for allowing us to share his story which first appeared in the national press in April.

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Featuring in Sky Television’s Team of the Week back in 2017 shortly before injury, readers of Gigg:News and our social media platforms will not be unaware of Alex Reider’s name.

Likewise, those of us who taught and coached this larger than life character when he was in Morrison from 2004 to 2009 cannot forget the ebullience of his character which was in positive proportion to his large frame that has so successfully proved a perfect fit for a career in the challenging world of professional rugby.

Alex’s combination of honesty and humour can be overpowering as he recounts his descent into depression after a pair of devastating injuries. He hides nothing because he believes more needs to be done to support and understand the role of mental health within rugby. Most players can now recognise the symptoms of concussion but far fewer those of depression, including Alex before the 18-month period that he spent injured.

“You are so sleep deprived down trodden.” the Wasps back-row forward said. “When it goes on for months, sleeping for just two or three hours a night, it is just hell. You have such dark thoughts.”

His first injury was relatively straightforward, a dislocated shoulder suffered against Harlequins in September 2017. Five months later after two operations, he was named on the bench against

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Exeter Chiefs in February 2018. In the 51st minute, he received his summons. He made a couple of tackles. The shoulder was holding up fine. He felt great. A gap appeared in the defensive line. He was through. Images of scoring a come-back try flashed through his mind, but Will Chudley, the Exeter scrum-half, had other ideas and got across to tackling him six minutes into his comeback; his world collapsed.

“I sensed something was wrong, but I didn’t feel anything,” Alex 28, said. “I remember Tom Cruse, who was outside me just shouting; He lost his head. The physios came on and they all turned white. It was like a film where I looked down and my leg was straight, but my knee was pointing to the touchline.”

He had dislocated the entire joint of his left knee. Only the intervention of the Exeter team doctor who is also an Accident & Emergency consultant, saved his career and possibly his leg. At this stage, Alex hoped he had just torn his ACL. but in the ambulance when the paramedics were discussing possible amputation, he understood the severity of his

GIGG:NEWS OG Feature Perversely, Alex’s recovery was helped by teammates who were also suffering long-term injuries. Here he had people he could connect with. He made contact with Jonny Wilkinson, who had suffered terribly with knee injuries of his own.

“He told me to concentrate on areas you don’t normally get a lot of time around so being a better partner, a better friend,” Rieder said. “That’s when things started to click.”

injury. “I went from waking up that day looking forward to the game and having a beer with the lads afterwards to being told that I very well might not walk again.”

The Wasps physio, Ali James said: This is the worst I have ever seen”. All the tendons and ligaments inside his knee were torn. He phoned his fiancée Victoria, who was on holiday and cried for the career he assumed was now finished but a consultation with leading knee surgeon, Andy Williams, provided the hope that he could play again. This optimism proved to be short-lived however, as the slow progress of recuperation did not allow him to see the end point, leading him into a steep personal decline into insomnia.

The long-term injured exist as ghosts around a rugby club he says; “They are both part of the group and apart from it, a teammate in name only.

For an affable individual such as Alex Rieder, that sense of isolation was particularly acute. This affable young man was wearing his smile as a mask.”

“Inside I was broken,” Alex said. “The phone calls soon stop, people stop talking to you in the same way. Obviously everyone sees you at the start and asks after you but gradually you are forgotten.

You can’t attend events, you can’t even make it for coffee because you are on crutches. You are just isolated.”

Struggling to connect with his friends and family, his sense of identity and self-worth were slipping away. “I became a horrid person,” Rieder said.

“The people closest to you, you push away: my fiancee, my family, my friends. I didn’t speak to anyone. To my family I was the rugby guy, to my friends I was the rugby guy, so when you are not that you feel a fraud and push them away.”

For a long time, Alex refused to accept that he was depressed. “I kept denying it because I didn’t want that image.” The nights were always the worst. Questions pounded through his mind. “Am I ever going to play again? Will I run properly again? Am I going to have a normal life? If I lose my contract what am I going to do financially?'

That drew inevitably towards the darkest of questions.”

With the support of his club, his agent, Ben Lewitt, and especially his fiancée Victoria, he realised that all his sacrifice in working his way up from the Championship with Leeds and Rotherham to the Premiership would have been in vain if he did not persevere. “The swelling in my knee disappeared, which was what was holding me back for a long time,” Rieder said. “No one can explain why it disappeared, but it happened at the same time I got my mindset right.”

In March, he made his return in an A League fixture against Northampton. “I have never been more nervous in my life,” Rieder said. “I have never slept better than I did on that night after the game.” Alex’s injuries were both freak occurrences yet grimly inevitable. Plenty more players will go through that same cycle of setback, isolation and depression. “I spent 25 years of my life thinking I that life was rosy,” he said. “So, when depression hit me, I did not have anything in place to help me.

I was a big advocate of talking and I would go to schools to talk and say, 'be open, be open'. But when it came to myself, I was different.”

The Rugby Players’ Association is fund raising and campaigning for its Restart Campaign for mental health. More than 50 players had called its confidential counselling service in the 2017-18 and yet more can be done. Alex wants funding for independent psychologists to visit clubs for those who prefer face-to-face contact. He believes that clubs need to better understand the effects of mental health. “You come in every day and the focus is, 'how is your knee?' They don’t ask, how are you? Yet I was going home and crying.”

More than anything else, Alex says that it is crucial that the dialogue remains open amongst the players, even if everything seems OK on the surface. “You just need to keep talking,” he said.

“That’s all you can do. Keep asking even when they say they’re fine. All it needs is a conversation.

Just speaking to each other and keep asking.

Eventually someone might open up and that can make all the difference.”

We all look forward to hearing of him flourishing on the rugby field once more and wish Alex the very best in his return this season.

JPB

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Catherdral Choirs: Schola Cantorum at Westminster & St Paul’s his academic year, The Schola Cantorum continued their progress around the great cathedrals of the country. In previous years, Ripon, Durham, St. Paul’s, Gloucester, Manchester and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral have all welcomed the best of Giggleswick’s choral talent. This year, after a most complimentary letter from the Canon in charge of visiting choirs at St. Paul’s, “Schola” were asked to return to sing again. Combining this with an invitation to sing in Westminster Abbey on Sunday, 4th August, the Schola summer tour, from 2nd - 5th August, was launched.

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Schola-Cantorum began a momentus year of performance again invited to perform an evening concert in the floodlit ruins of Fountains Abbey in October, where they performed the ever popular

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and haunting Faure’s Requiem, accompanied by a chamber orchestra, which included a harp. The famous Pie Jesu soprano solo was sung by Cressida Edmondson in Year 13. Packed with visitors, the abbey and the National Trust were delighted with the quality of music which they said: Was of a much higher calibre than they had heard in previous years from other school and community choirs. This excellent performance was to provide a perfect overture to what was to come later in the year on tour to London in the summer.

The tour began at St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford. The students were given a taste of life in an Oxbridge College. Impressed by the size of their rooms, one student even had a piano in her room. A group of staff and students was able to take of a

GIGG:NEWS OG Feature guided punt ride from Magdalen College. Later, refreshed by the river Evensong was sung in the College chapel, with Phillip Broadhouse at the organ.

Conducted by Director of Music Margie Simper, on Sunday, two services were sung: Eucharist and Evensong in Westminster Abbey, an amazing experience for all involved. It was something that the students will never forget, singing in its royal foundation, Westminster has such a fascinating history, this was an honour hard to replicate. The Abbey was packed for both services. After Evensong, when the Abbey was closed to the public, the performers were very lucky to be given a private tour by the Receiver General and Chapter Clerk of the Abbey. Later that night the Schola Dinner, was a well-deserved occasion.

St. Paul’s is such a huge place to sing in, but Schola now know how to handle this, having previously sung there in 2017. The echo after the last note of each piece rang out underneath the huge dome for nearly ten seconds and the singers did not want the sound to stop. The service was very well attended because there were many tourists so, despite the nave being so big, it was again completely full. Once more, Schola were incredibly professional and sang beautifully, to the acclaim of all, and Phillip Broadhouse accompanied skilfully on the great cathedral organ. There were over fifty Giggleswick supporters there.

It was noticed that the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby, was in the congregation at St. Paul’s Cathedral! Hopefully an invitation to sing at Canterbury may follow in the future. An invitation from Salisbury Cathedral has already been received and it is a sign of the growing reputation of the Giggleswick Schola Cantorum that it no longer has to apply to sing, but are being invited to do so.

Giggleswick Schola-Cantorum Staff members: Director – Margie Simper, Organist – Phillip Broadhouse, Altos – Barbara Cilgram, Katie Baskeyfield, Bass – Douglas RiceBowen Students members: Sopranos – Sophie Campbell, Imogen Crombie, Erin Cummins, Cressie Edmondson, Grace Forsyth, Sophia Foster, Maddie Goode, India Healing, Claudia Humberstone, Maud Humphries, Briony Moffat, Izzie West, Altos – Rosie Allenby, Tenors: Lewis Hall, Jack Harrison, Clayton Moore, Nicholas Simper, Basses: Edward Morrow, Oliver Newbury, Nicholas Peat, Toby Smith.

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Sports Shorts Two Old Giggleswickians have been enjoying thrilling success since leaving school last year...

Randal Jackson (M 2018) Randal has been enjoying taking part in Royal Ocean Racing club’s Caribbean 600, a 600 mile race around the islands of the Caribbean. Randal was crewing aboard the boat called Liquid, which finished 3rd in class and 20th overall.

Cutter Chaimongkol (M 2018) Cutter has been reported here previously.

Described in the motor racing press as “Thai ace”, Cutter is targeting a title challenge in BRDC British F3 this season, after a strong pre-season testing campaign. Cutter was confirmed as Hillspeed’s first signing for the 2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. The Derbyshire team were delighted to retain his exciting racing skills to spearhead their assault for the 2019 - 20 campaign. He has also finished his first year at Loughborough College where he is reading for a Music degree! He won the 'Rookie of the Year' award last year and is continuing in the British Formula 3 series, this season.

Very fast in pre-season testing, Cutter topped the time sheets at every circuit visited after multiple podium finishes in the previous season. He ended his maiden season in a very strong ninth in the overall championship with his team based out of Hathersage in Derbyshire.

Having

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progressed through Hillspeed’s successful driver development programme. First joining the squad a couple of years ago with a structured testing schedule prior to his race debut in the 2016 BRDC British F3 Autumn Trophy, the 20-year-old has established himself as a very promising talent. He had a sensational season-best second position at the legendary SpaFrancorchamps in Belgium, notably, highlighting his consistency on track, Cutter scored points in each of the 23 races contested in 2018.

GIGG:NEWS Sports News

Messing Around in Boats!

Rowing is not a sport that is on offer at Giggleswick, the Ribble is rather too shallow and rocky, and when it’s not too shallow it is too dangerous. Thus, we have understandably fostered very few oarsmen and women. The most recent to participate in Oxford v Cambridge races are Izzy Vyvyan (C 2009) and Charles Ford (Head of School S 1998). So, it is with great pleasure that we recognise the differing efforts this year of two “young” oarsmen from different decades, who competed on the tideway in London in April. Ian Edmondson (C 1987) competed in the Veterans’ race for Cambridge, whilst Fred Markanday (N 2013) competed also for Cambridge in the lightweight race.

The Lightweight Boat Race, between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge was founded in 1975 and raced over 2000 meters in Henley-on-Thames until 2018. For the first time on 23rd March 2019 the race

was held on the Tideway in London over the same 4.2 mile Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake as the open weight University Boat Races.

Fred, reading a PhD at Queens College in Materials Science only took up rowing since he arrived at Cambridge last year. The Lightweight race, under glowering grey skies and with the BBC helicopter hovering noisily overhead is used as the BBC technical test, complete with imaginative practice commentary from Andrew Cotter!

The Veterans’ crews are selected from full graduates of the respective universities who must have passed their 35th birthday on the day of the race. The average age of the crew must not be less than 42 yrs.

Cambridge, the Challengers were joined by returning Olympians Tom Middleton, Matthew Parish and Nicholas English, who has an opportunity to race again with newcomer Iain Edmondson since winning together at Henley Royal for Cambridge University.

The defending Champions Oxford were the younger crew by an average 7 years, and also half a stone heavier, with an impressive all-Olympian stern four. The pedigree of both boats was considerable, boasting a wide range of Blues and no fewer than seven Olympians in total; Ian was in good company!

Rugby Sucess The Rugby season has been brought to our attention by the continued success of the national team in Japan. However, it is good to report some successes for our alumni. Alex Rieder appears elsewhere in this edition; he has returned to play already scoring a try for Wasps after 2 years side-lined with serious injuries. George Hedgley (M 2014) is captaining the first team containing six OGs at Wharfedale in National League Division 2, whilst Alan Hudson (P 2018) Deputy Head of School in 2018 is playing for Doncaster Knights

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in the Greene King Championship. Last, but certainly not least the Davidson brothers (Tom S 2008, Will S 2011 and Robbie S 2013) who have also been mentioned here before, this summer together represented the national side of Latvia, the land of their grandfather’s birth at the Baldones Stadium in the 2019 FIRA Championship. Latvia won the game 38-3 making it three games unbeaten, whilst Tom Davidson was also awarded Man of the Match for his performance. This was after an excellent season assisting Preston Grasshoppers to a seventh-place finish in National League 2.

Old Giggleswickians win the Birkdale Bucket 2019 - A Proud Day! The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a very important moment in our recent history, leading as it did to fundamental realignments in Middle Eastern politics. There is a little-known spinoff of this geo-political event; The Public Schools’ Golfing Society’s Birkdale Bucket.

in 1980, and he had intended to retire gracefully after this year’s competition, (his fortieth), but as it is he that has the Bucket down in Cornwall, he will have to return with it in 2020! Thank you, Bill for keeping Giggleswick in the event over the years.

During the crisis, petrol rationing at that time meant that none of the Schools had sufficient fuel to play their individual respective interschool matches through the season, so it was decided that “one big bash” was the answer to keep these fixtures alive.

The OGGS will be back in 2020 to defend their title, and long may the tradition of the Birkdale Bucket continue. If you would like to be part of the Giggleswick Team, and your handicap is 20 or less, drop Jim Bellis a line at the School, and he will connect you with Alex Driver.

The Birkdale Bucket is a very well established, Golf Competition for the former pupils of Stowe, Uppingham, Sedbergh, Oundle, Pocklington, Wrekin, Worksop and of course Giggleswick School. Held every year since 1957, despite the name, it has been held at Woodhall Spa, for many years.

Nick Jefferies (C 1970)

Always held in March, it often coincides with the final matches of the Six Nations Championship. With the best four scores to count for each team to win the coveted Bucket, (it’s a toy bucket bought in Southport in 1957!) there is a best individual award; the Hinchcliffe Spade. Giggleswick have only won the Bucket twice, (1965 and 1980), and we have never won the individual award. But, every dog has his day, not only did we win the Bucket, but Alex Driver (M 1994), won the Spade as well!

Congratulations to Alex on his magnificent performance, ably supported by the rest of the team, Bill Haggas (N 1962), Brook Coward (M 2014), and Nick Jefferies, and non scorers Chris Harwood (C 1971), and Gary Burton (S 1966). It really was an emotional moment for Bill Haggas to receive the trophy. Bill has attended the event every year since our last winning year

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The OGGS plays 16 fixtures including the Birkdale Bucket, across the country from March to September. If you would like to join the OGGS and play at any of these or the annual Scottish tour Bob Barker would be delighted to hear from you. 46 Meadowfield, Stokesley, TS9 5HH or bob@mvprint.co.uk or rbdynosaur@aol.co.uk

GIGG:NEWS Sports News

Euan dominates on the Fells Euan Brennan (M 2019), had another dominant year of cross country and fellrunning. It is fitting that on his leaving the school this summer we take stock of his singular achievements this year.

Euan joined Giggleswick in Y7 and has been totally devoted to his running. He has made huge progress over the years under the watchful eye of Alastair Scholey, at Ilkley Harriers and more recently he has been attending training sessions in Leeds with the same cohort as the Brownlee brothers. Euan’s carefully managed, training programme has guided him to the top level of his sport. He won both the English Schools Fell Running Championships at Giggleswick, the Yorkshire Junior Men’s Cross-Country Championship and finished in the top six in the Inter Counties (6) and the English National Cross-Country Championships (4). Euan has had great success for England at Mountain Running events, finishing 50th in IAAF World CrossCountry Championships, in Denmark where he was 3rd GB runner. Euan is ranked 5th in Cross Country at U20 in Great Britain.

In Profile Henry Marks Henry Marks (M 2005) Creative Director at Marks Design Henry Marks (M 2005), is one of a litany of young designers and artists who are successfully forging careers for themselves and who were nurtured in the Design and Art Departments at Giggleswick under David Knight & James Huxtable.

Being hugely passionate about Art and Design, I arrived at Giggleswick with an art scholarship which after three years became a sixth form design scholarship. Leaving Giggleswick in 2005 with an unconditional place at Northumbria University to study Interior Architecture, I graduated with a first In 2008 and went into the design industry. I was working in museums and exhibitions, designing alongside renowned architects on some amazing UK and international projects, including the ‘War Horse’ exhibition at the National Army Museum, ‘Macan’ Indonesia’s Museum of Modern Art and ‘Abdullah al-Salem’, now open in Kuwait the largest Museum in the world at an area of 13 hectares.

After several years experience and whilst working as a freelance designer in London, I decided to “go it alone”, founding ‘MARKS DESIGN’ specialising in in commercial Interiors and

exhibitions. I designed a sound exhibition for the Kaiser Chiefs for the York Art Gallery last year, with a second exhibition now open ‘Making a Masterpiece’ running until 26th January 2020.

This year my first commercial project has been nominated for the North’s Inspired Spaces award 2019, shortlisted top 20 out of the North of England. It’s a 5,000sq ft office space in Leeds Dock, over two floors designed for a company called Journey Further around their moto 'Clarity at Speed'. It creates a multi-functional work environment. My main project this year has jumped up a scale to 25,000sq ft which I have been granted planning permission for to enter the building through the rear of an old Route Master bus!

You can follow my work - Marks Design on Instagram as _marks_design_ If you would like to vote for Henry’s Inspired Places entry you can do so by going to: http://wshe.es/UY5juJCu

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n addition to tours of duty to Afghanistan Richard has undertaken military duties in Romania, Michigan (USA), Gibraltar, Germany, Finland, Ascension Island, Cyprus, The Maldives and Serbia. In 2018 he was appointed as a UK delegate to CIOMR (NATO organisation) and sits on the scientific committee. Within this role he represents UK military interests around the world including Brussels, Quebec, Florence and Budapest.

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When not fulfilling all these duties he is Emergency Medicine Consultant at one of the top five major trauma centres in the UK - the Royal Stoke University Hospital. He has also volunteered for Manchester City FC and obtained a PGCE in Clinical Education, becoming a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

He completed his specialist training passing the Fellowship in Emergency Medicine (FRCEM) in 2015 and in October 2015 he was appointed at Royal Stoke University Hospital. Becoming the joint Training Programme Director for EM trainees in the West Midlands (2016-2019), he regularly works as the department Trauma Team Leader.

Not surprisingly this has led to Richard becoming something of a TV star appearing in a number of TV documentaries, the most recent of which was the acclaimed channel 5 documentary ‘Critical Condition’. Series 2 and 3 are currently filming and are due to air over the upcoming months.

After Giggleswick (Shute, 1992 – 2000) Richard read medicine at Liverpool University, graduating in 2005. During those first few years of university he rowed, competing at national and international events and was awarded full colours in 2003. He was also awarded colours for triathlon after

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Richard Fa Critical Cond

Shute 2000 FRCEM, FIMC RCSEd, M MBChB, PGCE, GCGI, VR Richard Fawcett is a Lieu the Royal Army Medica Director of 208 Field Ho

wcett: dition

MSc, Dip RTM RCSEd, R. utenant Colonel within l Corps and the Medical ospital

GIGG:NEWS OG Feature having been the triathlon captain for 2 years.

Following graduation, he took a first appointment at Whiston Hospital and joined the Army Reserves. 2 years later he deployed to Afghanistan on his first of four tours of duty.

In 2007, I spent 4 months in Afghanistan as part of ISAF as part of the multinational campaign against the war on terror. Half my tour was spent in the field hospital in Camp Bastion as a medical officer. The second half was spent embedded with an infantry unit of the Grenadier Guards and with ANP (Afghan National Police) on the front line as the only doctor for 200+ soldiers.

After that tour he started his specialist training in Emergency Medicine (EM) passing the Diploma in Immediate Medical Care (Dip IMC) from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh (RCSEd) in 2009. In August 2011 he deployed back to Afghanistan to Camp Bastion, working as the emergency department registrar, dealing with major trauma on a daily basis, regular major incidents and mass casualty situations.

In 2012 Richard started flying for the Midlands Air Ambulance as an HEMS doctor. Between 2011 and 2013 he also worked part time for Manchester City Football Club. In January 2013 he obtained a PGCE in clinical education from Edge Hill University and became a Fellow of Higher Education Academy.

In September 2013 Richard was back in Afghanistan for another 4-month tour, as the clinical lead for MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team). This is recognised as the most advanced pre-hospital care job in the world, working in one of the most extreme environments. This is a helicopter (Chinook) based platform carrying a 4-person medical team to perform advanced pre-hospital care procedures while retrieving severely injured soldiers from the front lines in Afghanistan.

In 2017 Richard passed an MSc in Disaster Health Care from the University of South Wales and the Diploma in Retrieval and Transfer Medicine (RCSEd). He is now an examiner RCSEd’s faculty and in 2019 obtained a second fellowship in Immediate Medical Care (FIMC) also one from the RCSEd. He takes time to speak at international conferences and has several medical publications.

To top all this, in November 2015 Richard married Cara (a GP). His best man was Mark Dunsmore (Shute, 1995-2000) and in May 2018 Hugo Fawcett was born.

Twitter: @docfawcett Email: richard.fawcett@uhnm.nhs.uk

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Events Review 2018-19 London Dinner at the Lansdowne Club, 6 April 2019 For many this is the social highlight of the year, with the opportunity to visit “the smoke”, take in some culture and enjoy a vibrant gathering with old friends. This is the reason why this occasion is so popular, not simply with our members from the Home Counties, and many travel from the north to join the party. The problem that we face of course, is keeping the event refreshed and interesting to all and so we have varied the venue in recent years. Next year on 18 April we will be back at the house of commons once more and we would welcome suggestions from our members as to venues and formats that

would be attractive and possible. This year though we were at the Lansdowne Club in Mayfair. An elegant new (to us) venue.

Forty of us gathered to hear the Headmaster and Richard Warburton speak to us about the school and the importance of alumni achievement. The striking thing about this occasion is the positive atmosphere, conviviality and enthusiasm that builds, no matter what the size of the gathering. The gathering after the dinner in a local hostelry recommended by Tim Jackson extended the celebration into the “wee small hours” and further exemplified the natural magnetism of all ages of OG’s.

Yorkshire Dinner at The Falcon Manor, Settle 22 November 2018 This was a return to “home” turf for the Yorkshire Dinner after many people had suggested that they would like the opportunity to gather back in the environs of the school.

The fifty OG’s, partners and friends of the school who gathered all said how much they enjoyed the venue and the convenience of the travel! This we plan to keep doing, probably on a biennial basis, with the intervening years events being held at different venues around the county. Indeed, in 2019 the Dinner was held in the Presidents Suite at the Headingley Cricket Ground.

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GIGG:NEWS Events Opening of the Hartley Fitness Centre November 16. With Olympic & Commonwealth medallist Johnny Brownlee, Stephen and Gary Hartley (C 1978 & C 1980).

A little over two years ago we heard the sad news of the death of long term Giggleswick supporter, Mike Hartley (Gigg News 2015). Mike, a highly accomplished sports man with bat, club or ball, a former England Rugby triallist, had been a life long supporter of Giggleswick and we were delighted to hear subsequently from his sons that Mike had done us the honour of leaving the school a legacy.

The plans were already afoot to renew the school fitness centre and base it at the new sports hall, so it seemed eminently appropriate that Mike’s legacy should be put to this use. The fitness centre is truly at the heart of the school’s daily life and

all ages of pupils use this magnificent facility which would not have been possible in it’s current level of provision without Mike’s generosity. We were pleased to be able to welcome Gary and Stephen Hartley to represent the Hartley family when Jonathan Brownlee came to the school in November to formerly open the facility. Jonathan was excited to see such avaluable facility being put to such good use and remembered with some fondness his clashes with Giggleswick pupils on the cross country courses of Yorkshire when he was a pupil at Bradford Grammar School.

Lancashire Drinks at A.J. Bell Stadium, 2019, 8 March This year was the turn of Lancashire to host a drinks event and as a new departure at the behest of our President for the year we gathered at the A.J. Bell Stadium outside Manchester to enjoy a rather more rustic but highly convivial evening watching Sale Sharks playing against Leicester Tigers. It was good to meet up with a number of younger OG’s attending who do not normally join us, to rub shoulders with regulars such as David Stockdale and Bob Barker. We were also able to enjoy watching an emphatic win for the Sharks and look forward to repeating the event next term

when hopefully we will be able to see one of our own playing for Wasps against the Sharks.

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OG Day 10th Anniversary Alumni Gathering and Dinner 29 June 2019

Beautiful sunshine welcomed over 250 OGs and their guests back to Giggleswick for the annual gathering of OG’s friends and families from across six decades. This year featured a particular gathering for the leavers of 2009 and it was wonderful to see so many old friends catching up on life after Giggleswick and enjoying memories of their time at school, and a delight to see so many new faces, with some making their first visit back to school for 50 years.

After a memorable and moving Chapel service with the school, as usual tours of the school by our Lower Sixth were followed by lunch in the dining hall. In his speech, the Headmaster thanked Richard Warburton, this year’s OG Club President, for his dynamic commitment and support for the school and Richard passed on the chain of office to Mark Ehlinger who will be followed next year by Gary Hartley.

The afternoon highlight is the School v OG cricket, with clay pigeon shooting, tennis, the

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bouncy castle and face painting, all rounded off by afternoon tea on Top Pitch. The cricket was as ever a lively and exciting game not settled until the final overs. The gathering around the steps of the pavilion has become an increasingly lively and convivial moment in recent years.

For the second year there was the dramatic Tug of War between a school select side and an Old Giggleswickian all-comers side. An enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch the spectacle in front of the cricket pavilion during the cricket tea break. The competition whilst fierce was a tough contest and the school were seriously handicapped by some of the best performers in this discipline being leavers who were already departed. So, the willpower (and considerable weight!) of the Old Giggleswickian team meant that they were proudly able to retain the title first won last year. This popular event has already become a fixture at future OG Days, bringing back all the emotive memories of the Tug of War

GIGG:NEWS Events competitions during their time at school.

The evening brought the leavers of 2009 back to the Hobson Room for their dinner attended by 46 OG’s, partners and friends. This was a very entertaining occasion which began with a gin bar on the patio. The evening was compared by Jim Bellis and Neil Gemmell was invited to propose the toast to the OG’s, reminding them with his unique wit of the times that they had left behind. Tom Coxon our Young OG Governor and a member of this cohort had originated the idea of the event and

he gave a similarly entertaining response and toast to the school. We hope that the leavers of 2010 will very much wish to hold a similar occasion this year in 2020.

Thank you as ever to everyone attending, it was a pleasure to see you back at Giggleswick and we look forward to seeing you all with boots for Tug of War, Cricket and Tennis kit and in good heart on Saturday 27 June 2020, when we do it all again. If you have any ideas for innovations for the day please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Dog & Gun Show at School 9 June 2019 The second “Royal International Giggleswick Dog Show & Clay Shoot” was again held on Top Pitch in the shadow of the Chapel in early June. There were an impressive 155 canine entrants strutting their stuff in the many and varied classes, from Waggiest Tail to Best Gun Dog, Working Dog and “Supreme Champion”.

Judged by Vet Simon Thomas from Penrith, the owners knew that they had been properly scrutinised.

At times the “arena” was so crowded with entrants, it was just like the M6 on a bank holiday - nose to tail! The many and varied pooches, both short in leg and nose, and long in back and coat, paraded around the packed arena to show off their skills and lap up the attention. Pasha the Afghan Hound, owned by Mr & Mrs Steve Blessington, was the star of the show, taking the title of “Best Pure Breed” before being crowned the “Supreme Champion” at the end of the day.

The Clay Shoot, again brilliantly supervised and managed by Robert Lambert and Richard Warburton was very well attended and we were lucky that the hitherto “moist” weather gave way to a very fine day so that alternative arrangements in the Catteral Pavilion were no necessary. The eventual champion shots were Graham and Imogen Crombie, who won the pairs shooting event.

Again, the GSPA, masterminded by Mrs Sarah Crombie and family provided sustenance for the dog handlers and shooters.

Many thanks to Richard

Warburton for his assistance and inspiration with this exceedingly cheerful and entertaining event. After a week of unseasonably wet weather, nothing could have raised the spirits more than this fun and happy event, bringing together our parents, pupils, staff, Old Giggleswickians and the local community.

Prizes were kindly sponsored by Field to Home of Settle and Settle Country Store.

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Neil Davidson: Miracle Man n 31 July 2017, Neil Davidson (P 1978) experienced a cardiac arrest while sleeping. His son, Oliver, who had learned CPR in school 10 years prior, saved his life with his quick provision of CPR. Neil was taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital, before being transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he made a full recovery and earned the nickname in hospital of ‘Miracle Man’ for surviving against the odds.

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He credits his survival to his son and the paramedics who came to his aid, and is determined to raise awareness of the value of lifesaving CPR training in schools to make sure everyone has the best chance for survival. One year on, Neil, his wife Janice and son, Oliver have met up with paramedics Sally and Liz to reflect on the night that changed his life.

I don’t really remember the day at all, he said. It is a little strange! At 3am, Neil suffered a cardiac arrest in bed. Janice awoke to find him unresponsive and yelled for help, at which point their son Oliver ran in. Oliver had learned CPR at school when he was 16. He had never used it, or practised it since the day that he learned it - but when he saw his father in distress, his skills were quickly put to use. He dragged Neil off the bed to perform CPR. Yorkshire Ambulance Service paramedics remember the occasion vividly, especially the rain and the sharp turn on the staircase - and the difficulty of carrying Neil down it! Neil was shocked four times with a defibrillator and taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital, where he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, to make a miraculous full recovery, thanks to the excellent care he received.

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Neil knows how incredibly fortunate he is to be alive - something that he is acutely aware of every day. “I know how lucky I am that my son learned CPR and that Yorkshire Ambulance Service were on the scene so quickly to restart my heart.” He is also quick to thank all the staff who cared for him in the A&E department, cardiology ward and intensive care units at both Calderdale and Leeds General Infirmary.

It has completely changed my life - CPR is so important when you have had a cardiac arrest. I have my own defibrillator now inside my body, but everywhere I go, I ask ‘where is the nearest AED and can anyone here do CPR?' It’s important for Neil to give back and ensure that as many people as possible learn life-saving CPR and defibrillation, so that more lives like his have the potential to be saved in the future.

In August he held an open CPR day at his local rugby club, and recently held a Comedy night to raise money for the Calderdale Cardiology Ward 6 – this helped him total £20,000 raised for new equipment. The 11th August marked one year since his emergency heart valve replacement another milestone in his survival.

Since surviving, Neil is learning new things every day. He meets and thanks all the incredible individuals who contributed to his survival, and he’s making time to appreciate all the events that he would not be around for without this lifesaving treatment - his wife’s birthday, their wedding anniversary, and his Granddaughter’s second birthday, which he missed the first of while in the ICU!

A Modern Vet Mike Davis Vet and Sheep Breeding Entrepreneur

ldroth, just outside Giggleswick, is an unlikely location for a cutting-edge international business, yet somehow it attracts custom from the other side of the world.

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The path to selling frozen sheep embryos on the side of a hill in Eldroth was never going to be dull, but that of Mike Davis (Paley 1979) started conventionally - veterinary medicine straight after school. After a few early jobs, a chance phone call from an equine practice in Australia saw him head there, followed by stints in Colorado and New Zealand before returning “married and penniless” to beg a job at his Dad’s practice in Settle. The idea was to stay for six months to a year, get established again, then move off to an equine practice somewhere, Mike says. At the time the horse world was just starting to build around here, there were more horse people moving in and all these little farms were diversifying, and I sort of hit that space. I started my own horse practice attached to Dad’s and that grew and grew. We meant to stay for six months and we’re still here.

‘Here’ is a sheep farm. I’ve always been a frustrated farmer, Mike explains, Giggleswick’s long holidays lending themselves to casual work.

We bought this place in 1991, derelict but with land, which gave me an opportunity to start farming as well. My wife ran the farm while I was vetting. Having chosen the particularly meaty Beltex breed. Mike travelled to Holland and Belgium to buy stock before addressing the question of how to improve his flock’s quality.

Mike explains: One way of accelerating genetic gain is artificial insemination using semen from anywhere in the world, and embryo transplant.

Buy maybe four really good ewes, super-ovulate the ewes with hormones so instead of producing one or two eggs they produce eight or ten for you to inseminate. Six days on you anaesthetise the ewe and flush the uterus, collect the embryos and look at them under a microscope, then put one

of those into a much lower standard of ewe so she becomes a surrogate mother and carries it as her own. Out of four quality sheep you produce maybe twenty or thirty lambs without having to buy twenty or thirty high value, expensive sheep.

The process isn’t particularly commonplace.

There are probably four vets that do a lot of it in this country. We used one of those for years and I watched them; I’d done some horse breeding and horse semen evaluation, and I was thinking ‘maybe I should give this a go?’

Mike describes the surgery as “basic” but the embryology as “challenging,” with a high cost of implantation. The embryos are transplanted at six days so being able to evaluate one as viable – or not – is a big call. Nevertheless, he set up Craven Sheep Breeding with a vet in Skipton and fits it in on a seasonal basis around his other veterinary commitments.

Mike’s farm breeds high quality lambs for breeding beside a commercial flock reared for market; the best ones tend to go to Europe, the more ordinary stay in the UK. He also runs a semen bank from his rams, which he sells along with frozen embryos all over the world. Given that his customers come from as far afield as Chile & New Zealand, sales and networking are yet more duties. In reality though, Becki (C 2009), his daughter, does much of this using social media.

Mike feels embryo transplantation will only ever be a niche approach given the realities of farming itself: economically “diabolical,” even before Brexit. If we leave without a deal and go on to WTO tariffs, we become very vulnerable,” says Mike. The EU, where two thirds of UK production goes, has 42% on lamb. The market will probably collapse and the sheep industry, disappear overnight. We shall see.

Neil Ratcliffe P 1994

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Gigg:Circular Retirements David Knight Director of Art A man of so many parts 1996 – 2019 David Knight led the Giggleswick Art Department for 23 years; joining Giggleswick from teaching at Felsted School in Essex. He had begun his teaching career at Christ's Hospital School- where he actually taught a very young bursar- Matthew Hodge.

Perhaps his greatest challenge was the monumental task of the transfer of the Art department from its old premises to is new location in the buildings previously occupied by the old “San”. David oversaw this move to the new 'Glover Art School' with its light airy atrium gallery space, and outside decking, open plan classrooms and specially designed ceramic studio area, which he had envisioned from the outset. David's leadership was crucial in establishing the cohort of professional ceramicists in residence; encouraging the best of contemporary potters to work with Giggleswick students- this has included artists from all over the globe- from Sweden's Hanne

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Manheimer, and New York based Caroline Allen to Matthew Wilcock winner of Britain's Best Potter on the Great British Pottery Throwdown.

In addition to establishing regular evening prep sessions, holiday 'open days' in which pupils could come and work, and workshops with professional artists, David offered encouragement and guidance to a multitude of pupils embarking on the first stages of their careers within the creative industries; seeing them go on to flourish on the best Foundation courses and Art and Design degrees in the country, and abroad. From Fine Art, and Textiles to Automotive Design, Silver-smithing, Theatrical costume design and ArchitectureGiggleswick pupils have benefited from David's advice and passion to select the best creative pathways for their development.

A prolific artist in his own right- David’s paintings have exhibited around the country, and even featured on the TV show Grand Designs. As David and his wife Margaret, head for the Isle of Lewis to focus on their own artistic careers in their, let’s face it, idyllic beachside studio, we hope they will remain regular visitors to the school.

Beyond David's talents as an artist, and the amazing patience and kindness brought to his role as subject lead for Art, he contributed to a range of sports and games at Giggleswick over the years. Initially a runner, David then lead mountain biking at Giggleswick, taking tours to the Scottish Highlands, and impressing pupils with his amazing collection of biker's kit and thousands of copies of mountain bike magazines. Squash was always his passion, with David regularly taking on other squashplaying staff and pupils, organising matches and House squash.

A man of so many parts; David is also famous for his love of chess, playing several online and several 'IRL' chess games each week, contributing to an approximation of 100000 chess moves during his time at Giggleswick!

His passion encouraged pupil chess players, not simply in challenging him across his legendary home-made chess board (as David remains a highly talented woodwork specialist too) but also in reading chess books- on Soviet and American strategies, political analogy and international chess tactics!

Mags Rowles

Christopher Harwood (C 1971) OG Club President 1989 Chris Harwood has stood down from his membership of the OG Club committee, which began as soon as he left school in 1971.

Mr Dutton, then a committee member with the foresight to see the need for young blood to be involved, invited Chris to join the committee, thus began an unbroken commitment of forty-eight years. During that time Chris has supported the club unstintingly through his work for many years until recently as organiser of the Yorkshire Dinner. He has also been a guardian of the OG Club constitution and of course he is a keen supporter of the OGGS. Chris had a lively and typically involved year as President during 1989 – 1990. His presence at meetings has always brought an air of affable wisdom and measured thought to our deliberations

Jane Farmer A Craftswoman 1995 - 2019 Teaching is an art form and Jane Farmer is a master craftswoman – if you have never seen her teach then you have missed out.

Her standards are unswervingly high and she always sweats the small stuff. No one enters with hair down, shirt out, chewing gum or with prep not done. She says the word ‘but’ is a small word with a huge impact. In fact, Jane is a small woman with a huge impact, particularly as Head of English who led from the front – she took naughty boys and made it easy for the teachers in her department to teach.

A can-do attitude was Jane’s mantra; poetry by heart evenings around the camp fire; American

which we have always benefited from.

He continues to be a frequent presence on the grass tennis courts at school especially on OG Day, where he is happy to take on all comers in his customary entertaining but none the less competitive style. We can only offer our heartiest thanks to Chris for his years of commitment and service to the school that he loves.

film evenings; Renaissance week - Jane was willing to put her full energy into creating opportunities for pupils to love learning. Quickwitted and experienced, Jane knew how to get the best out of everyone in the department. But, it was never about her – she is never motivated by her own ego, rather she encapsulates the idea that it is much better to do good in a way that no-one knows anything about.

The bottom line is that Jane just loves what she does. She is incredibly generous with her advice, time and help for younger colleagues, recently a card arrived from a group of former colleagues who all sent their best wishes to her on her retirement because she played such an important role in shaping their enjoyment of their Giggleswick careers. Many of us have benefited from Jane’s words of wisdom on many occasions, how to be positive on the telephone and we all enjoyed every minute of working with her.

So we have to wish her farewell – we do this with a heavy heart but also recognise that there are exciting times and adventures ahead for her with Mark. As Brian Pattern might say, ‘You have translated each other into light and into love go streaming. Remember – You are your best thing!’

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you. And we most certainly love Jane!

Anna Wood

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Deceased JOHN EMMOTT ATKINSON (S, 1938) DECEASED JANUARY 2018 John entered Beck House, then the Prep School in January 1934.

COLIN H BAKER (S, 1956) DECEASED 04/09/2017 Colin, a doctor, born 23 March 1938, died on 1 January 2019 ROGER ALAN DYSON (C, 1961) DECEASED SEPTEMBER 2017 AGED 74 Born 20 July 1943. Brother of REH Dyson, he attended Nelson Primary School before Catteral Hall in September 1952. A House Senior, Roger was a member of the Visual Arts Society and Founder

Henry Willis (S, 1944) died on 23rd June 2018 was the last living family member of the Henry Willis & Sons organ building family dynasty. He died near his home in the District of Tamil Nadu, India at the age of 91. Born January 19, 1927, to Henry Willis, III and Constance Willis in London he was educated at Westminster School, and Giggleswick School, he left school in 1944 to join the Army. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in 1945 and commissioned to the Queen’s Royal Regiment in 1946, where he was placed in charge of a Japanese prisoner of war camp and the repatriation of British prisoners.

Joining the family organ building firm in 1948 as a labourer (at the insistence of his father) he then trained as a pipe maker and voicer.

Sent to manage the Liverpool Branch in 1954, he was to oversee the restoration of the great 1855 concert organ in St. George’s Hall, which had been severely damaged by bombing.

Returning to London in 1965 due to his father’s worsening health, he began the search to construct a purpose-built n factory in Petersfield, which he opened in 1968.

Henry was invited to attend, and became one of the founding members of, the American Institute of Organ builders.

His last appearance in Washington, D.C. was in 1993.

His wit and entertaining style were notable during lectures and demonstrations. His wife, Barbara, did her best to keep Henry wellbehaved, during times set aside for evening socializing!

The firm survives Henry in Liverpool where it relocated to in 2001. A Freeman of the City of London and Master of The Worshipful Company of Musicians, he was the longest holder of the Livery. Henry and Barbara moved to India in 2008 where his family had been coffee planters.

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Editor of 'Itch of Wit'. A Corporal in the CCF, he Left in July 1961, becoming a Lecturer at Nelson & Colne Art College. A resident of Rimmington, Roger was a Trustee of the Pendle Building Trust and, Pendle Heritage Centre.

GEORGE-PHILIP HARGREAVES (S 1950) DECEASED 20 JANUARY 2019 George born in 1933, entered Giggleswick in 1946.

GEOFFREY EMANUEL MITCHELL (ST, 1944) DECEASED 24 SEPTEMBER 2019 AGED 91 Born in Halifax on 15 November 1927, Geoffrey arrived at Catterall Hall in 1938 moving to ‘Big school’ in September that year. Joining the Grenadier Guards in 1944, he served at Windsor Castle, transferring to the Corps of Military Police who had been recruiting guardsmen. This was where Geoffrey’s love of motorbikes was realised as he became a Despatch Rider.

On demob he returned to Yorkshire to the family business, following his father and grandfather. He invested in 3 business ventures, a garage, a haulage and taxi firm, and a travel agency. Over the years the first two were sold with Scotts Travel Services remaining in the family until 1980, when he retired.

During his military service he met his late wife Barbara who was serving in the ATS. They were married in 1951 and had 66 very happy years together. In 1983 they moved to Thornton-Cleveleys where they enjoyed retirement.

Latterly he mastered the computer, the world wide web, windows and “Office”, writing his book ‘Hearth, Home and Happiness’ , the story of his life told through the places he had lived.

WILLIAM (BOBBY) ROBBINS (ST 1968) DECEASED OCTOBER 2017 Passed away in October 2017 aged 67. Born in Norfolk on 24 July 1950, William’s father died at a young age, his mother moving back to her family in the Ribble Valley. After Giggleswick William went to study law at Manchester University. A keen guitarist, he supplemented his income as a student by playing in the bands, Wild Honey and Jeep. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1975 he become a partner at Birchall’s, which grew from 4 to over 300 employees. Enjoying skiing (on snow and water), wind surfing, travel and spending time with his family, on retiring, “Bobby” did consultancy work as a solicitor devoting his time to building a house for him and his wife Heather.

LUCY JOANNA THOMPSON (C 1990) DECEASED 11/12/2017 Lucy lived in Harrogate working as a manager of a retail business there.

STEPHEN THOMPSON (TOWN/SHUTE 1948) DECEASED 21/04/2018 AGED 87 Passed away on 21st April 2018 aged 86. Stephen, born on 7 November 1931, of Parkers Farm, Bank Newton, Gargrave.

RACHEL WALNE NEE‘ PENNEY (ST 1992) DECEASED 03/03/2019 Rachel died suddenly in Adelaide on 3 March 2019.

JOHN WATTS (N, 1941) DECEASED Born in January 1925.

Marriages

Births

Holly Clarke (C 2007) to David Thornberry On 19 May 2019.

LUCY BROWNHILL (ST, 2009): Wolf John Garrod, born 24 July 2019.

Jane Farmer (Staff 1995 - 2019) to Mark Evans On 7th August Chrissie Hickling (St 2009) to David Fox On 5th May 2019

Rebecca Holden (C 2011) to Tom Stead On 24 July 2019 at St Stephens Parish Church, Skipton. OG’s present included: Hannah Hirst (C), David Hickling (P), Ellie Gorman (St), Ruth Heaton (C), Fergus Voigt (S), John Marshall (S), Ben Shepherd (S), Joe Stamper (P), Sam Sharp (S), Katie Brownhill (St), Roberta Jenkins (C) all 2011.

Ben, Harris (S 2010).

Ted Illingworth (N 2010) to Beth Lazenby On 30th August 2019 at Ripley Castle followed by a marquee reception at Ted’s family home in Hampsthwaite. Thirteen OG’s present included Billy Seddon (M 2010), Tom Marsh (N 2010), Alex Rieder (M 2009), Teddy Stamper (P 2007), Chris Holmes (S 2005), Lewis Crowther (S 2005), Sam Jenkins (N 2004), Ben Thornton (N 2001), Stuart Illingworth (N 2006), James Illingworth (N 2004), Simon Walker (N 2005), Jeremy Hopkinson (C 1984) and James Harr (N 2011).

Ian Jenkinson (P 2007) to Lucy Cottam On 22nd June 2019 David Lea (S 2006) to Catherine Borthwick On 26th May 2019 Natasha Macbean (C 2000) to Jason Bertram On 17th November 2018 in Bloomington Indiana.

Natasha is Postdoctoral researcher at Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement and Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources and the Environment SNRE.

Victoria Richards (St 2006) to Richard Horsfall (N 2004) On 8th June 2019 at Spirit Lake, Surrey.

Lizzie Jervis nee‘ Gray (St 2006) and Rachael Parker (St 2006) were bridesmaids. Tom Richards (P 2002), Tim (N 2000) and Simon Horsfall (N 2003) were ushers, Fergus Edmondson (N 2006) was Best Man and Adam Bicker (N 2002) was the Celebrant. OGs present were Lauren Horsfall nee‘ O’Toole (St 2003), Kate Robinson nee‘ Moseley (St 2005), Edie (C 2007) and Rufus (N 2010) Edmondson.

Victoria and Richard live in Croydon. Victoria works as a film marketing creative at Zero Degrees West in Holborn.

Charlotte Topham (St 2004) on 23rd August to Richard Wilson (P 2003) At Stainforth Parish Church and afterwards at the Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle. OG’s present included Ben Topham (M 2002) and Carla Dickens (St 2004).

Engagements Tom Strickland (S 2010) to Arian Lawson (St 2010) April 2020 David Hickling (P 2011) to Hannah Hirst (C 2011) July 2020 Rupert Bunday (Staff 2012 - 2017) To Ellie Kirk (Cat 2006) July 11th 2020 at St’ Peter’s Church, Leck, Cumbria Callum Wilson (M 2008) to Paula Powell April 2020 Tom Shepherd (M 2009) and Dr Tahreema Aslam Alex Rieder (M 2009) to Dr. Victoria Strawson Heather Sharp (St 2015) to Ben Marsden Giggleswick Chapel, July 2020

Picture Conundrum Who is this, when was it taken and what was the occasion? Bonus points for who took it! Answers on a post card please

Events Diary September 19 London Drinks Paternoster Chop House

October 4 Yorkshire Dinner Directors’ Suite, Headingley Stadium, Leeds

November 10 Remembrance Service Giggleswick Chapel

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Lancashire Lunch The Northcote Hotel

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Donors’ Reception Richard Whiteley Theatre

February 29 1512 Society Lunch & Scarrig Giggleswick School

Old Giggleswickian Committee

March TBC OG Gathering Yorkshire Sculpture Park

April 18 London Dinner

President: Mark Ehlinger (C, 77) Richard.warburton@tiscali.co.uk President Elect: Gary Hartley

Past President: Richard Warburton (M, xx).

Richard.warburton@tiscali.co.uk

House of Commons

May TBC Foundation Golf Day Bentham Golf Club

Chairman: Neil Ratcliffe Honorary Treasurer: Dina Pejcinovic (N, 84). dina@banksand.co.uk Honorary Secretary: Tamara Ratcliffe (nee Markarian) (St, 00) tammy.ratcliffe@hotmail.com OG Committee: Bob Drake (P, 64) Isabel Beanlands (nee Marshall) (C, 07) Hugh Massey (C, 70) Nick Jefferies (C, 70) Phoebe Lebrecht (St, 08) John Edwards (C, 1986) Anthony Briggs (N, 1964) If you would like to become involved with the OG Committee in any way please contact OG Liaison Officer Jim Bellis (01729 893123 or jpbellis@giggleswick.org.uk) or Club secretary Tamara Ratcliffe nee’ Markarian (tammy.ratcliffe@hotmail.com)

TBC Sports Day Papes Fields, Giggleswick

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Speech Day Giggleswick Chapel

June 27 OG Day Giggleswick Chapel 10:30am Further information on any of these events can be obtained from the OG Office. Contact jpbellis@giggleswick.org.uk or phone 01729 893123. Information for booking and payment can also be found on the school website, go to; http://www.giggleswick.org.uk/Alumni-Events

Giggleswick School, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 0DE Tel: 01729 893000 Fax: 01729 893150 Email: admissions@giggleswick.org.uk www.giggleswick.org.uk