FP NEWS 2016

DECEMBER 2016

The Magazine and Annual Review of The Stewart’s Melville FP Club

Painting of DSMC Queensferry Road, by Porteous Wood.

Contents: From The Editor’s Desk; New Club Secretary - page 2 | President’s Review - page 3 | FPs In The News - pages 4-7 Down Memory Lane - page 7 | Men of Action - pages 8-9 | British Lions - pages 10-12 | Quiz - page 12 | Rod At The Fringe - page 13 Branch Clubs - pages 14-15 | Crossing The Atlantic Under Sail - pages 16-17 | Seen Around The Club 2016 - pages 18-19 Adventure of Life - pages 20-21 | School Reports - pages 22-25 | From The Archives; Year of 2016 - page 26 Reunions - pages 27-28 | Obsessed by Speedway - page 29 | Extraordinary Reunion; Contract Bridge - page 30 Sports Clubs - pages 31-37 | Obituaries - pages 38-42 | FP Council; Club Contacts - page 43

2

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

From the Editor’s Desk If there is one thing that never ceases to amaze me it is the sheer breadth of the “things that we FPs get up to”. In this issue you will read about a Nobel prizewinner, a speedway enthusiast, adventure on the high seas and action quite literally at both ends of the Earth and, would you believe, stand-up comedy. If variety is the spice of life, it should certainly give you some interesting reading.

The FP News has always been fortunate in hearing from FPs about their endeavours from around the world and that is the foundation of the magazine. My thanks, therefore, go to

New Club Secretary First of all I have to acknowledge the contribution to the Club’s well-being made by Bobby Clark who retired as Club Secretary in November after seven years in that position.

It was in 2009 that Bobby Clark took on the role of FP Club Secretary in addition to his duties as Ground Convenor of the FP Rugby Club. In November Bobby decided it was time to hand over to someone else and enjoy some peace and quiet in his dotage.

It is impossible to acknowledge just how much Bobby (and his wife Susie) have done to ensure the smooth running of the Club particularly in relation to the operations of the Clubhouse and keeping a succession of Presidents in order. Whether it has been social events, activities involving the School, month end lunches, Saturday rugby, affiliated club dinners or anything else in connection with Inverleith, Bobby has been around to ensure that all goes smoothly.

He has also been a regular attendee at all the Branch Dinners. We wish him well in his retirement but don’t be surprised if you still see him around the Club - though possibly a little less harassed!

Well Done Bobby.

Taking over from Bobby is FP Club Treasurer Laura McIntosh

all who have contributed and I look forward to hearing about your exploits over the next year – whether on a gap year overseas, or some remarkable experience or reminiscences from reuniting with old friends and colleagues.

My thanks also go in particular to Bobby Clark for keeping me informed over the years about Club matters, anecdotes etc and to Ian McKerrow, Graeme Brown and Jeff Marsh at the School for digging out information about old - and new - school leavers. The FP Club congratulates the School 1st XV on winning the Scottish Schools U18 Rugby Cup. The Club itself has undergone changes. In July the Club’s website was replaced by a Facebook page as our means of digital communication to you all and which I hope will especially appeal to younger members. It can be found at www.facebook.com/smcfpclub. Also, as you will see below, we welcome Laura McIntosh as our new Club Secretary.

In the meantime I wish you all a very happy and successful 2017.

Bob Young Email: rbc_young@hotmail.com Tel: 01506 463536 Club. In November last year I faced the even more daunting task of following in Bobby Clark’s footsteps as Secretary. Bobby was the FP Club’s Secretary for the past 7 years and had an amazing knowledge of the Club through his long connection with the Rugby Club. Over the last couple of months he has given me a great deal of support during the handover, as have President Bert Barclay and Bar Manager, Denise Mitchell.

Congratulations Bobby on being a wonderful Secretary and enjoy your retirement.

I was born and brought up in Edinburgh, studied accountancy in Dundee before returning to Edinburgh to qualify. I now live in Blackhall, am married to George and have three children, the youngest of whom is in his last year at school.

A quick look at the Club’s healthy financial position demonstrates how Laura has kept a tight control over the finances and is the ideal person to carry on the responsibility of the daily management of the Club which Bobby Clark has done so effectively.

Laura will therefore have the dual responsibilities of Club Secretary and Club Treasurer and says of her appointment: “Four years ago I took on the almost impossible task of replacing the excellent Marian Adamson as Treasurer of the FP

Denise, Bobby and the three Presidents with whom I have worked (Ken Richards, Harry Waugh and Bert Barclay), have all contributed to a very enjoyable working environment. The assistance provided by Suzi Squires in the Development Office at the School has also been invaluable.

With my youngest about to leave school and Bobby’s retirement I was presented with a great opportunity to take on the additional role of Club Secretary. It took some convincing but I am delighted and thoroughly enjoying the joint roles of DSMC Club Secretary and Treasurer. Hopefully I can continue to live up to the success of my predecessors!“ We wish Laura every success in her new position.

Bert Barclay

FP News 2016

3

President’s Review...

The willingness of parents to sign up pupils to future membership of the FP Club remains a healthy 95% plus and now we have the selling point in that it is for life and not just ten years. This helps secure the financial position of the Club to the extent that we have a healthy fund of reserves invested and in the bank. The number of functions booked into the Clubhouse has risen significantly and we can be sure that anyone doing so will receive truly excellent fayre from Joyce Waterston’s catering team and Denise Mitchell as our bar manager.

While our website has disappeared at least for a time we have resurrected the FP Club facebook page and the School Development Office has introduced “ESMS Connect” which is available to former pupils as well as parents and present pupils and we continue to disseminate information regarding events via E mail or by letter at the choice of the member.

As I enter my second year as President and reflect on matters concerning the Club I find it satisfying to report that the Club overall seems in a more comfortable place than we might have anticipated a year ago. On Council itself, not only did we have an influx of new members at the AGM but we now invite two representatives from the School’s sixth form to each meeting which provides a direct link to those who will be joining the Club at the end of the school year.

Of course much of what the FP Club is about has to do with the School. In the past year I have attended most of the major events in the school calendar including Remembrance Day, Sports Day and the Annual Senior School Prizegiving. Also I attended the School’s Christmas Party held jointly with Mary Erskine School, the Boarding House’s own Christmas Party and Annual General Meeting as well as the quarterly meetings of the School Governors, the Melville College Trust AGM and the Kirking of the Master of the Merchant Company. Each and every event leaves one impressed by its excellence and the dedication of the School’s staff and senior management. I was pleased to join staff and FPs at the visit to the Reverend Robert Cunningham’s newly discovered grave in the Glasgow Necropolis and more recently to attend an inaugural debate involving present and former pupils. It was a delight to host the reception for school leavers from both DSMC and MES following their respective prizegivings. I hope we see more of them at Inverleith.

As well as our own annual dinner in September, branch club dinners continue to be held in Glasgow, Aberdeen, London and the Borders. I suppose these appeal mostly to a particular age group but I can confirm that all I have attended have been enjoyable occasions. Each has been addressed by the head boy of the day

or one or more of his deputies as well as either the Principal or his representative.

The boys from the School have impressed those present greatly on each occasion and displayed what appeared a genuine belief in the School’s nine values. The contributions of the current head boy, Ross Thompson and his deputy Andres Vazquez-Brennan, ensured our recent Club dinner was particularly memorable and I understand each will be making a further appearance at a branch club dinner to come. At the dinner, as anticipated, Sir David Tweedie was well received as principal speaker.

For many former pupils, the rugby, cricket and hockey clubs are their main focus. All play in a very competitive environment yet in their different ways are heavily engaged in adding to the game skills and playing opportunities of pupils from ESMS out of school time.

Congratulations to the Cricket Club on winning the East of Scotland Championship and promotion to the East of Scotland Premiership which represents the top end of Scottish Club Cricket. They also won the Active City T20 competition and pre-season indoor sixes for East League clubs. A fine treble.

The Golf club are to be commended for the programme of well supported events and matches they organise. It brings together former pupils of different ages and differing golfing ability playing on different courses. They even allowed me to play in their matches against the School and the Merchant Company, but I did give them two wins!

With regard to this publication, I really think it cannot be surpassed as a magazine for former pupils. It attracts contributions from all ages and in all parts of the World doing amazing things and I always look forward to seeing what’s in store for us with each edition. It is obvious that wherever their careers might take them our former pupils retain an affinity with the School.

Finally, on behalf of you all I wish to acknowledge the work and help of the now retired Bobby Clark, Laura McIntosh, Denise Mitchell, the School Development Office and our FP Council during the past year. For me as President it has been an enlightening experience.

Bert Barclay President

4

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

FPs in the News

Nobel Prize Winner: Sir Fraser Stoddart to a new dimension. Fraser himself has been working on such research for over 25 years.

The work has overtones of science fiction, but holds huge promise in fields as diverse as medicine, materials and energy. Older FPs may remember the 1966 film “Fantastic Voyage”, in which a submarine crew are miniaturised and injected inside the body

Fraser attended Melville College between1950 - 1960, and avid readers of FP News may recall an article which appeared in the 2014 edition about him entitled “It’s All Kids’ Stuff” and to which he was a willing contributor. In it, he described his work as “Molecular Meccano”. He is Board of Trustees Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University, Evanston, Chicago.

Serious Discussion of a scientist in order to save his life. This fantasy is now within reality today thanks to Fraser and his team.

Form gathered in the School’s Tom Fleming Performing Arts Centre.

His talk – entitled “Reflections on Meeting the Queen of Scotland and the King of Sweden” was a kaleidoscope of his life, from early school days, through his knighthood to today’s culmination of the Nobel Prize. The gathered audience was captivated by amusing anecdotes, from his family life, his progress through the world of academia and an insight into how well prepared the Queen was at his investiture as a Knight of the Realm. A recurring theme of his talk was the prevalence of the Borromean rings molecular structure which in fact has appeared in all walks of life through the ages.

Our sincere congratulations go to Sir Fraser who, on receiving the award, was typically shell-shocked, saying: “This doesn’t happen overnight; it takes a very long time and hundreds of very talented postdocs.”

Following his address, Fraser presented competition winners with their prizes and also donated a book, suitably inscribed, to the School Library “The Nature of the Mechanical Bond: From Molecules to Machines” which he co-authored with Carson J. Burns.

To mark this outstanding achievement, it was suggested that Fraser might like to address the boys and girls at the School, and David Gray proceeded to make the arrangements. So, on 15th December, a total of about 450 students comprising the Sixth Form, six SMC science classes and about 100 girls from MES below Sixth

Afterwards, refreshments were served and Fraser was joined by invited pupils and guests – several of whom had been at school with Fraser. The principal guest was Margot Christie who had taught Fraser in the Melville primary school and who was highlighted by Fraser in his talk as his inspiration for a life in scientific research.

In His Element It seems that he has taken “molecular meccano” to new levels because on 5th October, 2016 Fraser Stoddart was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage of Strasbourg University and Dutch scientist Ben Feringa of University of Groningen. The award was for the design and synthesis of molecular machines and their work has miniaturised machines and taken chemistry

Teacher and Pupil Margot and Fraser

Presenting Prizes

FP News 2016

5

Also on the golfing front, James Ross continues to make the news. James completed his degree on a golf scholarship at the University of Texas in Houston and is now a pro on the PGA Latino American tour.

Grant Forrest at the Dunhill

School leaver Eric McIntosh won the Scottish Boys Golf championships last April and is clearly a name to look out for in the future. He has also been offered a golf scholarship to Northwest University in the USA. Kevin Cattenach and his team retained the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Schools Trophy. The final was a tight affair with us beating Heriot’s narrowly. This is the 3rd time we have won this highly competitive tournament in 4 years – a massive achievement. (See also Golf Club Report on page 35)

Grant Forrest After a stunning amateur career our congratulations go to Grant Forrest who turned professional making his debut in golf’s paid ranks in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October held over Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews Old Course. Grant performed exceedingly well among a top class field, made the half way cut, finished 6 under par thanks to almost holing his 2nd shot to the 72nd , ahead of the likes of Thomas Pieters and Louis Oosthuizen and pocketed his first pay cheque as a professional golfer. Afterwards, Grant said: “I poured myself a single malt whisky on Sunday night after arriving home in North Berwick and I felt it was certainly in order after my professional debut in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. I was very happy with the way I handled the week overall.

My amateur playing partner was Brett Desmond and he was a big help as I tried to keep as calm as possible over the first three days. On the final day, my two professional playing partners were Mikko Ilonen from Finland and the Spaniard, Alejandro Canizares.

Mikko actually came over while I was hitting balls on the driving range and introduced himself, which was very nice. I will always look back on the start of my new career with fond memories because the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship really is a special week.

My first pay cheque was for £21,316.67 and my mum, Audrey, asked me if I planned to treat myself to something out of that. However I don’t want to get ahead of myself and I think the money will be best spent preparing for the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School in Spain in November.

I can laugh about it now, but the preparation for my first round was a bit fraught as I arrived at Carnoustie to find that I’d forgotten to put my golf shoes in the car. Luckily, my Manager, Iain Stoddart, was able to get them up to me in time for my warm up but I think that was a good example of how you can find yourself not thinking too clearly when you are so focused on something. Everything went without any real hiccups from then on and you can probably imagine that I now can’t wait to get to Spain for the Qualifying School. My appetite to be playing on the European Tour on a regular basis has been well and truly whetted, believe me!”

QE Winning Team Back row from the left : Alistair Ritchie, David Donaldson, Alan Anderson Front Row from the left: Duncan Hamilton, Kevin Cattenach, Grant Pollock.

Every 4 years the Olympic Games is the highlight of every athlete’s ambitions and this last year’s Games in Rio saw a familiar FP in action.

In canoeing, David Florence, then World C1 Champion, has achieved the remarkable record of having won silver medals in 3 consecutive Olympics – from Bejing in 2008, London in 2012 and now Rio in 2016. He did say that he’d prefer them to be gold, but still very nice to have a collection!

Courtesy of Audrey Forrest Since then, Grant qualified for the Final Stage of Qualifying School, but a 9 over par 3rd round put paid to his chances of playing on the European Tour next year.

Still, its early days yet!

We wish Grant every success in his new professional career.

Florence & Hounslow in C2

6

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

FPs in the News

William Laidlaw Last summer William Laidlaw was posthumously inducted into the Cricket Scotland Hall of Fame.

David Florence in Action David remarked on how challenging the purpose-built course was, and a couple of mistakes saw him out of the medals in the C1 class. However, he earned silver with Richard Hounslow in the C2 category.

It was reported some time ago that David keeps his medals in his sock drawer – just hope it’s big enough!

dealership in Aberdeen but now he owns the franchises of most motor brands operating out of dealerships throughout the East of Scotland.

Over the years, John has supported a wide range of charities including the Archie Foundation to improve facilities for children and their families across Aberdeen, Tayside and Edinburgh.

Our congratulations go to David once more.

Ross Mathews, who left school in 2013 is a professional footballer with Raith Rovers and has started every game for them this season, making 16 appearances in all and netting his first goal for the club, during a 2-0 away win over Ayr United. We wish him continued success throughout the remainder of the season.

Congratulations to John Clark on being awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June for services to business, motorsport and charity. He grew up in the vicinity of Merchiston Mews in Edinburgh and home to the world renowned Ecurie Ecosse race team. His early motor trade experience was with the Ford Motor Company and the Meadowfield Garage, followed by a period with Paddy Hopkirk Motorsport distributors. John then bought and sold used cars from home which led him to purchasing Lothian Sports Cars in 1969, becoming a serious player in the motor trade. His was the first BMW

John Clark

After 40 years of much valued service, Bert Barclay, FP Club President, retired as a director of the Scottish Cricket Union on 13 April, 2016.

Bert’s name had been synonymous with Scottish cricket since 1976 when he became Honorary Secretary of the old Scottish Cricket Union. His long association with the SCU was recognised by the MCC in 2007 when they made him an Honorary Life Member.

In recognition of Bert’s services to the Union, Cricket Scotland made Bert an Honorary Life Member. Well Done, Bert.

Born in 1912, William Laidlaw was educated at Edinburgh Institution and was Captain of the School X1 in 1930 and 1931. On leaving school he played successfully before the war with Fifeshire (as Dunfermline CC were known when they played in the Scottish Counties Championship) and Edinburgh Institution FP CC (latterly Melville College FP CC) from 1932 to 1947. He was an outstanding leg break bowler and this lead to his elevation to the Scotland side in 1936.

He Captained the FP side in seasons 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1947. Records are incomplete, but sufficient to record that he took well over 400 wickets for Melville College FP as a leg break bowler, with over 50 occurrences of 5 wickets or more in an innings. He was also a very useful batsman recording several half centuries and 2 centuries in his playing career with Melville College FP. Latterly he played for Grange and Sunderland where he represented Durham County (long before they became a 1st class county) 26 times in the Minor Counties Championship. He was twice selected for the Minor Counties Select.

In all he played 32 times for his country between 1936 & 1953, a total which would certainly have been higher but for the war years. He captained the side in 11 of these games, including Don Bradman’s last two games in the UK at the end of the Australian’s 1948 tour. Indeed, he took five wickets in the Australian innings during the first of these games, one of six occasions he achieved this feat for Scotland. He took a total of 97 wickets at an average of 23.7, with a best return of 8-117 against Sir Julian Cahn’s XI in 1939.

Bill died in 1992 Bert Barclay

FP News 2016

Samuel Robin Spark

In 1983 he fulfilled a lifelong ambition and commenced on a degree course at the Edinburgh College of Art graduating with honours in 1987. Following this he had a prodigious output creating an extensive body of work. His early work featured Jewish symbolism resulting from his study of Jewish history, literature, painting and his own background of living in Edinburgh with his maternal grandparents who maintained strong Jewish traditions.

Robin Spark was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to Sydney Spark and Muriel, the renowned novelist. His parents had serious difficulties which had a lifelong effect on Robin and in 1945, when he was 7 years old, he came to Edinburgh to stay with his grandparents and attended Daniel Stewart’s College. Following his time at DSC he undertook National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps and then was employed in retail jewellery, the Civil Service and the Scottish Office.

He had a wide range of styles from portraiture to symbolism and abstract.

Some of his work harks back to memories of his early childhood in Africa. There is a large body of work depicting Jewish life and traditions – some large canvasses reveal Jewish celebrations with a remarkable degree of vibrancy. His abstract works are colourful containing intriguing shapes and proportions which he produced spontaneously resulting in unique works of art. His work encompasses paintings

7

in oil, acrylic, watercolour, chalk, pencil and charcoal in addition to print making, lithographs, etchings and photographs. It must be rare to find such a diverse range of art produced by a single artist.

Robin regularly held exhibitions in Edinburgh, Israel and the USA and his work is held in private collection and in galleries around the world including the Royal Scottish Portrait Gallery. Examples of his prodigious output can be viewed on his website www. samuelrobinspark.com .

In recent years Robin did not enjoy good health and, unfortunately, he passed away shortly after his last exhibition held in the Patriot Gallery in June last year entitled “New York, New York!, Samuel Robin Spark, a Retrospective”. This delightful exhibition featured a selection of both early and recent works revealing his multiple styles and attracting a large attendance from those who appreciate modern art.

Sandy Davidson After last year’s success at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Melville Pipers were invited to play at the Visit Scotland Thistle Awards for 2015/16.

They also piped on behalf of The Society of High Constables of Edinburgh for their Spring and Autumn Drill and Mark Miller and Alistair Lothian normally Pipe at their annual Dinner in December.

Photo courtesy of ChrisWatt.com

Visit Down Memory Lane parts of the old school which they hadn’t seen for well over 50 years.

In truth it was very difficult to recall how some of the rooms appeared in those old days as the offices had, naturally, altered much of the layout, but parts of the old playgrounds and the one-time science labs were still there and the staircases & bannisters hadn’t changed a bit!

Melville Street

Miss Pratt (now Mrs McKelvey) was able to visit her old classroom which now features lush carpeting and beautiful paintwork - a

As a follow-on from the 150th anniversary of the Melville College FP Club reception which was held in October, 2015, the Melville College Trust organised a visit to the old school premises in Melville Street on 5th February, 2016.

far cry from the open-fire days of draughts and linoleum.

After the visit a bus took everyone to Inverleith where Melville memorabilia (including umpteen copies of The Chronicle) was available for inspection. There then followed an excellent meal provided by our caterer, Joyce, to round off a fine evening greatly enjoyed by all who attended. Our thanks go to Grant Macrae and Alan Veitch who organised the whole occasion.

The school occupied numbers 3 – 11 but they are all professional offices these days.

However, thanks to a business connection at Johnston Carmichael (who occupy nos. 7 - 11) the visit was centred around those buildings.

And so a large number of Melville College former pupils took the opportunity to visit

Presentation to Mrs McKelvey

by Grant Macrae

Some of the attendees

Contributed

8

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Men of Action John Cruickshank, VC a Catalina flying boat which was recently engaged on an anti-submarine patrol over northern waters. When a U-boat was sighted on the surface, Flying Officer Cruickshank at once turned to the attack.

In the face of fierce anti-aircraft fire he manoeuvred into position and ran in to release his depth charges. Unfortunately they failed to drop.

John Cruickshank

Last year we featured 2 of the oldest FPs known to the Club and, subsequently, others have come to my notice.

One, John Cruickshank, was born on 20th May, 1920 which makes him 96 years old at date of publication, but in researching John’s background I feel he is well worthy of an article in his own right about his remarkable WW2 exploits – and is now the last surviving holder of an RAF Victoria Cross.

John attended Daniel Stewart’s from 1930 to 1938 and whilst serving his Banking apprenticeship with the then Commercial Bank of Scotland he joined the TA in 1939. After further training, he was assigned to the RAF Volunteer Reserve, 210 Squadron, then in March 1943, he was piloting Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats, flying from Sullom Voe. 210 Squadron was used in the battle to keep the North Atlantic and Arctic sea lanes open for supply convoys. On 17 July 1944 he was piloting his anti-submarine flying boat on a patrol north into the Norwegian Sea to protect the British Home Fleet as it returned from the unsuccessful raid on the German battleship Tirpitz, when he came across a German Type VIIC U-boat on the surface and decided to attack. The ensuing encounter resulted in John being awarded the Victoria Cross and the following extract from the citation in the London Gazette on 1st September, 1944 describes vividly what happened that day.

“The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery: — Flying Officer John Alexander CRUICKSHANK (126700), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 210 Squadron.

This officer was the captain and pilot of

Flying Officer Cruickshank knew that the failure of this attack had deprived him of the advantage of surprise and that his aircraft offered a good target to the enemy’s determined and now heartened gunners.

Without hesitation, he climbed and turned to come in again. The Catalina was met by intense and accurate fire and was repeatedly hit. The navigator/bomb aimer, was killed. The second pilot and two other members of the crew were injured.

Flying Officer Cruickshank was struck in seventy-two places, receiving two serious wounds in the lungs and ten – penetrating wounds in the lower limbs. His aircraft was badly damaged and filled with the fumes of exploding shells. But he did not falter.

He pressed home his attack, and released the depth charges himself, straddling the submarine perfectly. The U-boat was sunk.

He then collapsed and the second pilot took over the controls. He recovered shortly afterwards and, though bleeding profusely, insisted on resuming command and retaining it until he was satisfied that the damaged aircraft was under control, that a course had been set for base and that all the necessary signals had been sent. Only then would he consent to receive medical aid and have his wounds attended to. He refused morphia in case it might prevent him from carrying on.

During the next five and a half hours of the return flight he several times lapsed into unconsciousness owing to loss of blood. When he came to his first thought on each occasion was for the safety of his aircraft and crew.

The damaged aircraft eventually reached base but it

was clear that an immediate landing would be a hazardous task for the wounded and less experienced second pilot. Although able to breathe only with the greatest difficulty, Flying Officer Cruickshank insisted on being carried forward and propped up in the second pilot’s seat. For a full hour, in spite of his agony and ever-increasing weakness, he gave orders as necessary, refusing to allow the aircraft to be brought down until the conditions of light and sea made this possible without undue risk.

With his assistance the aircraft was safely landed on the water. He then directed the taxying and beaching of the aircraft so that it could easily be salvaged. When the medical officer went on board, Flying Officer Cruickshank collapsed and he had to be given a blood transfusion before he could be removed to hospital.

By pressing home the second attack in his gravely wounded condition and continuing his exertions on the return journey with his strength failing all the time, he seriously prejudiced his chance of survival even if the aircraft safely reached its base. Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service” Four VCs were awarded to Coastal Command during the war; the others were posthumous.

He left the RAF in September 1946 and returned to his earlier career in banking which he pursued until his retirement in 1977.

John Cruickshank attended the School Remembrance Service at Stewart’s Melville in November 2007 and today he is the last surviving RAF recipient of the Victoria Cross in WW2.

Editor

Remembrance Day 2007 with air cadets

FP News 2016

9

Arthur Christie: Man of Honour One of the oldest members of the FP Club at 95, Arthur Christie comes across as a quiet, friendly, unassuming gentleman who is a familiar face at the monthly Club Lunches at Inverleith. His outward bearing belies a man of incredible bravery and stoicism who has recently been awarded France’s highest honour of Chevalier de L’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur by the President of France in recognition of his contribution to the liberation of France in 1944. His investiture ceremony was held in the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle.

Arthur left Melville College in 1937 after 4 years of relative anonymity and joined the TA in Edinburgh, but his career in banking was interrupted when war broke out. During the War he

found himself in various places, including manning gun emplacements next to Silverknowes golf course guarding the Forth, and by 1943 was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. In late 1943 his regiment found itself posted to the south coast of England as part of the build-up to the D Day landings – although they didn’t know that at the time.

Their training was on Thames Dumb Barges which had been converted to Landing Barges Flak. There were 17 barges in total, each of which had two 40mm anti-aircraft guns and each capable of a top speed of only 4 knots. Ultimately based in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, the barges would engage with any German bombers in the area however the biggest danger was German E-boats (motor torpedo boats). During the D Day landings the barges guarded the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches for approximately 6 weeks, following which they were involved in the relief of the blockade on Lisieux then moved northwards to Calais, Dieppe and into Belgium. Finally they crossed the Rhine at

The Rhind Brothers Recently my attention was brought to the passing of a Stewart’s FP in Australia. His name was J.R.B.L (Jim) Rhind and although he attended DSC for only 2 years, his life makes interesting reading, especially his connection with the world famous Red Arrows – and following his brother into the skies.

His older brother, John, attended DSC for 11 years and, being some 10 years older, was held in high esteem by Jim. During WW2, John flew Lysanders into occupied France, supporting the French Resistance, At Dunkirk he dropped food, medical stores and ammunition on the beaches. He was wounded in the Battle of Britain; during the raid on Dieppe he survived when most of his squadron lost their lives. In February 1945 he was sent to India and then Burma.

There Squadron Leader Rhind was reported John Rhind

missing and officially presumed killed on 10 July 1945. This had a profound effect on Jim and his subsequent life choices.

By all accounts Jim was a bit of a tearaway – possibly due to the fact he was by far the youngest sibling. His love of all things fast moving started when his mother presented him with a 500cc BSA motor bike for his 21st birthday. On joining the RAF, his first posting was to the Isle of Man where he distinguished himself by getting a speeding fine for trying to beat the TT lap record – mortifying his mother when the news hit the Edinburgh papers.

After initial flight training in Canada and jet conversion at Middleton St George, England, he was posted to RAF Wahnhelde in Germany, flying night patrols in Meteor night fighters.

Jim’s enthusiasm and proficiency in flying led to a posting to the Central Flying School at Little Rissington where he became an instructor on Jet Provosts. Synchronised aerobatic displays under the name of the Redskins were his speciality and his highlight came in 1959, organising and flying in 27 separate displays around the UK, including the Farnborough Air Show. As jet aircraft evolved, these displays Jim Rhind on 737

Consul General of France, M. Crocher, presents Arthur with his award.

Lippstadt and met up with the Russians.

It was an extremely difficult task, given the ground conditions and general chaos emanating from the movement of thousands of men, weapons and equipment over a wide area and many men were lost.

Today, more than 70 years later, the typically modest Arthur Christie says of his honour “It’s only because I happened to be there”.

Contributed were to become known as the Red Arrows.

Subsequently, Jim received the Queen’s Commendation for valuable service in the air.

In 1960 a 2 year exchange programme saw Jim, and his growing family, head for Australia where he was an instructor in the RAAF at East Sale. It will come as no surprise to learn that he established another synchronised aerobatic team, flying Vampires, which became known as the Red Sales.

Following other postings in Europe, the Rhind family finally emigrated to Australia in 1967 with the RAAF. By 1971, Jim was considered “too old” for flying duties, so he left the RAAF and joined the Civil Aviation Department as a Regular Public Transport Examiner of Airmen, based in Adelaide. His job took him to Melbourne in 1974 where he was instrumental in the introduction of the first Boeing 737 into Australia and latterly spending much time accrediting simulator processes and procedures on both the 737 and 767 aircraft.

A heart attack followed by a quadruple bypass brought Jim’s flying career to an end – but he was then able to spend more time enjoying outdoor sports and his ever-supportive family.

Sadly, he died on 19th August, 2016.

Editor

Yesterday

Today, Red Arrows courtesy of Pawel Glink

10

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

British and Irish Lions Tours Every 4 years the British and Irish Lions Rugby Team embark on tours to the Southern Hemisphere, rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The touring team is drawn from each of the 4 Home Nations and the FP Rugby Club has, over the years, produced an impressive 6 players, including one who captained the tour.

Lions Logo courtesy lionsrugby.com The next tour takes place in June/July 2017 and to get a sense of what these tours are like, 3 past members have taken the time to put their reminiscences down.

Sandy Hinshelwood

THE LIONS – THEN AND NOW It’s just over fifty years (ouch!) since I was selected for the 1966 Lions.

Formally, we were The British Isles Rugby Union Team (BIRUT). Now, of course, it’s the British and Irish Lions. Mmm! We played thirty-five matches in Australia (8), New Zealand (25) and Canada (2).

The first match was on the 7th May in Perth, Australia and the last on the 17th September in Toronto, Canada. By comparison, the last Lions Tour in 2013 to Australia consisted of ten matches from 1st June to the 6th July. The schedule for the forthcoming 2017 Tour to New Zealand is similar with ten matches scheduled between 3rd June and 8th July.

Our party assembled in Bournemouth in the evening of Sunday 24th April, trained and practiced for the next four days then travelled to London on Friday 29th April.

I am not familiar with the preparation arrangements for today’s tours, but I suspect there is a lot more than four days prior to departure. We did have four further days in Perth before the first match!

Our party consisted of thirty players, ie two full XVs, a Manager and an Assistant Manager. The Assistant Manager had the credentials to be the coach (unheard of in British Isles back then) but the management structure deemed that the captain should be the coach as was the case in Club and International teams at the time. In 2005, Clive Woodward’s party consisted of forty-five players, seven coaches and multiple others for a twelve match tour in New Zealand.

We were, of course, amateur. But we did receive ten bob a day “pocket money”.

This caused severe hardship to some of the players who had to resign from their jobs to make the trip. Others had families and mortgages and somehow had to survive. I can only hazard a guess as to the remuneration received these days.

Professionalism has brought sponsors, some prominently displayed on the traditional red jerseys and the white shorts.

The socks are blue and green to complete the colours of the four home unions. Our jerseys were plain red with the traditional emblem on the left breast.

We were supplied with two pairs of shorts, two pairs of socks and a voucher to buy a pair of boots. Team jerseys were issued on match days and then collected for the next match! We had two blazers, which I still have, two ties, two pairs of flannels. I know that today they get truckloads of kit. But we thought we were very fortunate.

We had a highly successful tour through Australia with seven wins and one draw, including wins in both Test Matches. This

was the first unbeaten record in Australia since 1904 and it has not been matched since. I believe the 31-nil win in the second test still remains the biggest winning margin against Australia.

We should have returned home at this stage as one of the most successful Lions teams ever. We did, however, proceed to New Zealand during a particularly successful period for the All Blacks, not that there are many less successful periods! The forwards were particularly impressive with the Meads brothers, Lochore, Nathan, Tremain and a formidable front row. The backs weren’t half bad as well. We (in)famously lost the tests four – nil which has forever tarnished the reputation of the 1966 Tour.

Scoring vs All Blacks, 4th Test, Eden Park

Sandy in white shorts in Wellington

on

FP News 2016

On the way home, we stopped off in Canada and played two games. We were barely able to field a fit and able XV at this stage and had a one loss and a one win result.

we all came back from that Tour suitably charged up and crucially we had seen the whites of the eyes of the players from the other Home Nations and although we were great pals with them all to a man, we now knew we were every bit as good if not in some cases better. We had the chance to test that theory in the November post the NZ Tour as the All Blacks were visiting the UK, holding them to a 25-25 draw.

Another significant difference back then was that the referees were local. This had been a perpetual problem for Lions sides as there were undoubted differences in interpretations of the laws between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere countries. Referees, I am sure, tried to be unbiased. In one test, the referee called a scrum. Our scrum half asked “who’s putin?” and the response was “ours”!!!

Two years later, I was selected for the 1968 Tour to South Africa. I was extremely fortunate that these two tours were close together and coincided with my Scotland career.

Nowadays, there is a very strict schedule of tours cycling between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa every four years.

Playing for the Lions was very special, a great privilege and one that lives with you forever.

In truth playing against the All Blacks as a flanker (especially at number 7) is like trying to impress as a 100m sprinter in Jamaica… a never ending stream of talent from Graham Mourie to Michael Jones through to possibly the best of them all, Richie McCaw. The original steep learning curve!

Jim Calder

1983 LIONS TOUR TO NEW ZEALAND

1968 Lions in South Africa In 1968, the first game was played on the 20th May and the twentieth, and final, match was on the 27th July. This was still a long tour but significantly less than in 1966.

While most things remained unchanged, it was Eastbourne this time, and we did have a coach who coached! We were successful in the provincial games, winning fifteen and losing only one against Transvaal. The Test Series, however, was lost three – nil with one game drawn.

Obviously the major highlight of a Lion’s Tour is the opportunity to play with and against most of the best players of the time. It is difficult to select just a few from our teams but here are the others who were in both the 66 and 68 sides: Keith Savage, Barry Bresnihan, Mike Gibson, Roger Young, Willie John McBride, Delme Thomas and Jim Telfer.

Spending a total of nearly seven months in foreign countries provided incredible “tourist” opportunities as well. I am sure our training regimes were not as onerous as today so we did have spare time.

Highlights for me included: Sydney Opera House under construction, “Beatles Type” welcome at airport on arriving in NZ, Maori Entertainment, Rotorua thermal area and in South Africa, Kruger National park and visiting Christian Barnard, the heart transplant pioneer, in his rooms.

But for the Lions tours, I might well not be writing this from Sydney, Australia!

Sandy Hinshelwood

11

From the age of 8 it was my dream to pull on the dark blue jersey of Scotland and I was fortunate to be associated with the team when we won the Grand Slam in 1984. We had a group of ambitious individuals who not only wanted to play for Scotland but who had an inner belief that they could win for Scotland. I mention this as it was the Lions Tour to New Zealand in 1983 that paved the way for Scotland to win the 1984 Grand Slam some 59 years since the previous Slam.

The 1983 Lions had 8 Scots selected to join the Tour out of a squad of 30. Of the 8 Scots who toured NZ, 6 played in Test matches, a sign that we were not there to make up the numbers whilst the other 2, namely Colin Deans and Iain Milne were regarded by the New Zealand players as possibly the 2 best players in our squad, arguably the best hooker and tight head prop Scotland have ever produced (WP Nel begins to get close).

Somehow the years have shot past and in 2013 we had a tremendous re-union in Northern Ireland which included a game of golf at Royal Portrush with the Open Golf champion Darren Clarke who proved that he was every bit as good at drinking as he was at golf! A fine fellow whose first love was rugby (Number 6/7) but had to give up in his last year at school to pursue his golf career... looking at the broken noses, cauliflower ears plus various knee replacements gathered round him in the Bar (not to mention his pay packet for winning The Open) we all felt that he had made the right decision!

Good luck to all those picked for NZ in 2017 and here’s hoping that we have a strong Scottish contingent ahead of our next Grand Slam in 2018! Think we need Vern to be the Head Coach!

Jim Calder

By comparison, the Lions Tour in 1989 had a similar quota and so it was no surprise that another Grand Slam was achieved in 1990...Jim Telfer, the Head Coach being the common denominator.

NZ was a Tour that just about finished Telfer in that he was the sole coach for backs and forwards, the norm in the amateur days, but it was a herculean task to ask him to win in NZ when one considers the Tour Itinerary, plus losing 1 or 2 crucial players early on to injury including possibly our outstanding back in Terry Holmes and his Welsh colleague Jeff Squire plus being restricted from getting his chosen best XV on the park. I am sure if he had his time again then he would have had Deans and Milne on the park for the First Test and would not have waited till the Third Test to play the sublimely talented, John Rutherford. So

Finlay Calder, captain

1989 LIONS TOUR TO AUSTRALIA Every so often we gather in the Caledonian Club in London for Dinner.

As the years go by the hair has either gone white or gone completely, most of the waistlines have come under a bit of pressure and yes we have all mellowed but make no mistake, the one thing that burns as strong as ever, is the respect we hold for one another.

12

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Only those who climbed aboard the plane to Australia in the summer of 1989 are invited.

It’s a very special night amongst special friends who shared a moment in their lives.

To play for the British & Irish Lions surely remains the pinnacle of any young man’s rugby ambition, to Captain them is the ultimate privilege. That privilege was handed to me by my great friend Clive Rowlands. I can see him yet coming up to me after the Scotland Wales match in Edinburgh and shaking my hand, ‘’ Finlay ‘’ he said, ‘’ I look forward to working with you in the summer ! ‘’. And that was it, the moment I realised that I was in the running to be included on the tour to Australia. As it turned out we worked rather well together.

Clive alongside Roger Utley and Ian McGeechan formed a formidable management team.

1989 Lions Party Make no mistake, our tour was not without incident or indeed its darker moments but throughout it all we stuck together and, in the end, came out the other side okay.

It was a tough tour, for it had been six years since the Lions had last gathered in New Zealand and during that time rivalries between the nations had over- stepped the mark. In six short weeks we had to put the past behind us and find the resolve to overcome a most difficult opponent. Our hosts had reached the 1987 World Cup semi-finals, and in 1991 they went on to win the World Cup in the UK. As many teams have found before or since Australians are formidable opponents. They maximise what they have whether that be players, pitches or the sheer scale of their magnificent country. Our first game in Perth, the next in Melbourne, then onto Cairns. In the first 10 days we had travelled 8,000 miles playing in all sorts of conditions. All geared to tire you out, all geared to keep you moving.

We played what was,effectively five Test matches on five successive Saturdays for in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia boasted two immensely successful provincial teams. Queensland had not been beaten for over 20 matches before we came to Brisbane. It was a tough match and one that set the tone for the series to follow.

Defeat in the 1st Test was a wake up call but it’s in those moments you are truly tested as a touring party. The tour can go either of two ways, roll over and take what’s coming or dig in. We chose the latter.

Following the defeat, we played down in Canberra where the midweek side, led by the redoubtable Irishman Donal Lenihan, bounced back with a resounding victory.

Wholesale changes followed for the 2nd Test in Brisbane. The first scrum erupted in a brawl and the Lions came out on top in the fierce battle which the game became, and we won 19–12. The final Test in Sydney was an exciting match. We won by 19 – 18, the winning score coming from an absolute bloomer by Australia winger Campese’s error that gifted a try to his opposite number, Ieuan Evans, and the team became the only Lions team ever to come from 1–0 down to win a series.

1989 Victorious Lions The 1989 Lions were the last amateur side to achieve success before the game turned professional in 1995. It’s a different player who tours now for the game has moved on and, in my opinion, much the better for it.

I will look on and, like every other man who has pulled on the red jersey with its unique badge, wish the 2017 Lions only but the very best.

Finlay Calder

FP NEWS QUIZ Previous quizzes in FP News have clearly been too difficult, borne out by the absence of anyone claiming the now legendary bottle of bubbly with an all-correct submission!

This year, the questions are easier – but there is a tiebreaker question at the end which will determine who wins the prize.

There are 6 questions, the answers to which have a connection (loose or otherwise) with the locations of the 5 FP Branch Clubs, plus Inverleith.

Having answered the questions, list the first letter of each answer to make a 6 letter word or name – and say where you have read this name recently.

The prize goes to the first correct answer received by 30th April, 2017.

Questions: • F amous rugby town in the Borders (6 letters) • . …….. Crescent in Edinburgh’s West End (post code EH12) (8 letters) • V ictor’s sidekick in Still Game (4 letters) • T rendy borough in north London (9 letters) • H ome of Aberdeen Grammar Sch ool FPs’ playing field (8 letters) • Capital of South Australia (8 lette rs)

Answers to Bob Young by 30th April Email: rbc_young@hotmail.com Telephone: 01506 463536 And for those who did not see the answers to last year’s photo quiz which were circulated, they were: • F estival Square, Lothian Road, Edinburgh • The clock tower on the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh • The Old Parliament Building Edinburgh from George lV Bridge • Top of Arthur’s Seat • Prince Albert • Site of public executions, particularly Covenanters • Deacon Brodie’s pub, Edinburgh • Statue of woman & child representing the stand against apartheid

FP News 2016

13

From 2016 The Fringe Programme: “Rod Hunter and Les Sinclair, two of Scotland’s more mature stand-up comedians return for the fifth year in a row with their successful Old Men show. This year they are joined by the fantastic and somewhat younger yet still middle-aged Raymond Mearns to bring you an hour of comedy that will appeal to all ages but with a combined age of 172 years there will be inevitable references to parenthood, physical decline, the iniquities of the pension industry and the price of mince.”

Rod at the Fringe around Scotland. Novice comedians are always keen to appear anywhere and particularly at Red Raw at the Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

On my first appearance in Glasgow, Scotland’s top comedian Kevin Bridges had popped in to test out new material and was on two spots before me. I was introduced to him and he told me to “Keep up the good work” It was nice as a 55 year old to get advice from a 25 year old who was much higher up the comedy food chain.

Some of you will know that Rod Hunter is the Secretary of the Stewart’s Melville FP Glasgow Branch. Here he tells us how he got into Stand-Up. Did I always want to do stand up? I was often asked this question when I started doing stand-up comedy at the comparatively advanced age of 55. No, was the answer. Although at Stewart’s I recall occasionally making quips and comments much to the amusement of my classmates and the annoyance of teachers. A more perplexing, but flattering question, asked when I retired from my 9 to 5 job a couple of years ago, Are you doing comedy full time? I had to say that my earnings from comedy in the previous few months had been £10, so the answer was once again, no.

My interest in comedy was fired when I did an evening class in stand -up at University of Strathclyde and I started doing gigs Rod at The Stand

Rod Hunter

Getting established in stand-up comedy is just like anything else, it requires commitment if you are going to be successful. This saw me appearing in all kinds of unlikely places from a pub in Paisley where Class A drugs were being openly consumed and I was trying to gain the audience’s attention while the TV above my head was showing the football, to driving four hours to appear before 15 people in North Yorkshire before returning to Glasgow and getting to bed at 3am.

The vast majority of comedians are a lot younger than me but I did meet up with a couple of older guys (one was a fellow DSMC FP) and we gravitated towards each other and put on a show at the Fringe with an Old Man theme. The shows were free to get in but you had to pay to get out and we made enough to cover our costs and we even got a three star review. Success! (We never wanted our own Channel 4 series).

I often gave lifts to fellow comedians and one of the unwritten rules is you chat in the car, no listening to music. On one trip to Edinburgh I discovered that my companion Ross Craig had left DSMC in 1997 and like me had won the JL White general knowledge prize and the Kingsley Darling prize for scripture knowledge in junior school. What a coincidence, obviously having a vast amount of useless knowledge about stuff is a good grounding for a career in stand up.

I am still gigging but not as regularly as my early years so look out for me at the Beehive Inn in the Grassmarket during the Fringe in 2017.

Rod Hunter

14

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Branch Clubs...

ABERDEEN AUSTRALIA

Valerie was “clearing his goods and chattels”.

Included was a limited edition print of a painting of The School by Porteous Wood.

John wondered if any FPs would be interested in giving the print a new home as he could no longer accommodate it.

I sent an email, with photograph of the print attached, to the Australian Branch membership and was gratified to receive many prompt responses from FPs who were willing to have the print.

King’s College Aberdeen

Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Dinner of 2016, held as usual at the Royal Northern and University Club, was a great success. We were fortunate to have as our principal guest and speaker Melville’s own Ted Bowen, QC and retired Sheriff Principal. He regaled us with his tales of the criminal fraternity and the eccentricities of some of his colleagues on the Bench.

Our Annual Lunch was held on Tuesday 26th April 2016. The venue was Long Reef Golf Club, our favourite location on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. The attendees were Ian Anderstrem, Nick Crombie, Ron Gardiner, Graeme Reid and myself.

Principal David Gray made a welcome return having been absent in China on School business the previous year. One of the nice features nowadays is the attendance of one of the senior prefects, this year Craig Lennie, and he gave a memorable recital of the Selkirk Grace.

Apologies were received from Adrian Doran, Tom Slater, Jim Steele, Brian Hunter, George Will, Ian Johnstone, John Hare, Ron Hunter, Mark Coyle and David McKenzie.

I also received an email from Ron Gardiner (M 1952), also a Queensland resident, who had made a detailed examination of the photograph. The notations stated “Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College”, “1997”, “251/500”, and “Porteous Wood”. This prompted research by Graeme Reid (S 1978) who found an obituary for James Porteous Wood (1920-2005) in the Guardian dated 7th June 2005. He had been an eminent artist with the only downside being he had been educated at George Heriot’s. However, he did leave school at the age of fourteen!

Ron Hunter (S 1952) emailed the suggestion that the print should be held by the Australian Branch of the Club and could be the start of a collection of memorabilia for display at meetings. I circulated this suggestion to the membership and it was met with universal and enthusiastic support.

Valerie showed my email to her father and he was ”very pleased with the picture’s future”.

Australia Club Lunch

Bert Barclay with Craig Lennie The 2017 Dinner will be on Friday 20th January, again at RNUC and guests will be most welcome. A very warm welcome will be given to newcomers to Aberdeen, especially those who have just commenced studies at the Universities. Please get in touch with Mike Wheeler at mike.wheeler@ifb.co.uk The Aberdeen Club Prize for 2016 was awarded to Euan Jarvis who is coming to Aberdeen University to study Business Management and French and we wish him well in his studies.

At the AGM in November 2015 Colin Harris was elected President for a two-year period and Bob Jeffrey Vice-President. Mike Wheeler continues as Secretary/Treasurer. By the time this report is read another AGM will have been held and no changes to personnel are expected.

Mike Wheeler

One of the topics discussed was how we could attract younger former pupils to our event. Most of our regular attendees are “somewhat senior”! Ideas to change the format, the location, the time etc were tossed around as the current arrangement is perhaps somewhat biased in favour of the “seniors”!

No decision was taken but another important topic was our succession plan. I am pleased to advise that Graeme Reid (S 1978) graciously agreed to succeed me in the role of Secretary. Graeme is by far the least senior of our regular attendees and hopefully will be able to encourage younger FPs to join us and can be contacted at gmr1160@msn.com In May 2016 I was contacted by Valerie McDonald, daughter of John Thomson who attended Daniel Stewart’s College from 1929 to 1942. John, who lived in Yeppoon, North Queensland had moved to full time care and

Valerie then organized the shipment of the print to me and it was very sad that while it was in transit, John passed away just a few days short of his ninety-second birthday.

(See Obituaries on page 40) The print is magnificent. It is framed behind glass and the overall dimensions are 680x500 or 2’3” x 1’8” in the old scale.

School Painting, Porteous Wood John will be fondly remembered by the Australian Branch, particularly for this generous donation and the print of the School will be handed over to Graeme Reid as the official badge of office.

Sandy Hinshelwood

FP News 2016

LONDON

BORDERS Kingsknowes Hotel, Galashiels

And We Thought Fin Calder Was Tall!

The Annual Dinner of the Club was held on Friday 22nd April at the Kingsknowes Hotel in Galashiels and was attended by 30 members and their guests. The evening was chaired by our President, Finlay Calder, who in the absence of our intended Guest Speaker, proposed the toast to the School and the Club. David Gray, Principal, replied and his address, as always, was much appreciated by those who have children or grandchildren at School and those who haven’t, alike. We were further entertained by a short interlude in the form of a discussion by two Deputy head boys, Forbes Bell and Matthew McKenna who between them reinforced the gist of one aspect of the Principal’s address.

Bert Barclay, the Parent Club President, concluded the evening with an appropriate speech. Guests for the evening included the Principal, David Gray accompanied this

GLASGOW

Glasgow University The Glasgow Club once again held their Annual Dinner in the Blythswood Hotel on 10th November. Our President Graeme Middleton was in the Chair and we were pleased to welcome some new faces to the festivities along with several regulars.

Unfortunately our guest speaker David Henderson from BBC Scotland and a former pupil was struck down with

15

year by his wife Hélène who we are always delighted to welcome, the Parent Club President, Bert Barclay, and representatives of Border FP Clubs, Jim Mitchell (President Border Heriot’s), and Tom Kerr (President Border Watsonians).

Reference was made above to the absence of our intended Guest Speaker. The Dinner proceeded so well without the additional speech allowing those present more time to socialise afterwards without worrying too much which day they thought they would arrive home on, that at our AGM it was decided to adopt the amended format for future Dinners. At that AGM Douglas Stephen, to whom our best wishes for an enjoyable period of office, was elected President and Finlay Calder, to whom our sincere thanks for all he did to raise the profile of the Club, demitted office.

The 2017 Annual Dinner will be held on 21st April again at the Kingsknowes Hotel in Galashiels, a venue we have been returning to each year as a result of their care and attention in the preparation of the Dinner and also throughout the evening.

All interested in the Club are welcome to contact the Secretary, Finlay Marshall (Tel: 01620 810 310, e-mail finlaymarshall@ giffordvale.wanadoo.co.uk) who would be pleased to hear from you.

Finlay Marshall wisdom tooth problems and couldn’t make it however he has promised to come next year. The gathering heard news from our festivals convenor, Hugh Stevenson, of trips to Paisley and Troon beer festivals. Jim Preacher was able to report that Glasgow had triumphed in the annual intercity golf match with Edinburgh, the contest being settled on the last hole with the final putt.

Despite the lack of a guest speaker Deputy Head Boy Patrick Longmate gave a thoughtful insight to his School experience and reflections on his visit to the Far East.

He was followed by the Principal who as well as reminding us of the values which underpin the School also brought members up to speed with the School’s ambitious plans to open a sister school in China.

The Dinner concluded with a visit to the State Bar. This is a most convivial evening and any former pupils based in the west who would like to get on the mailing list should contact Rod Hunter at Rod@rodcando.co.uk Rod Hunter

The London Club is in good heart with 65 members. With the railway map of southern England showing a ‘hub and spoke’ network from London and long distance commuting the norm, we have members who live quite far from London including Leeds, Worcester and Kenilworth as well as many from the ‘Home Counties’ within 45/60 minutes by train from London. Similarly, because of the great number of flight options available from London we also have a number of members resident in Switzerland, Spain, France and USA. Roddy McDougall’s two years as President are drawing to a close and reflecting the far-flung membership the President Elect for 2016 – 2018 is Alastair Cormack who is Professor of Ceramics at Alfred University located in upper New York State and the Senior Vice President will be Derek Serafini who runs a Technology business in Worcester – 120 miles from Paddington.

Alastair will be the first member to follow his father as Club President with John Cormack having held the Office from 1983 to 1986.

The 2016 Annual Dinner was held on Friday 18th March at The Caledonian Club in Belgravia when 49 members and guests sat down to a lovely meal followed by excellent speeches. Our Guest Speaker was former pupil and noted Zoologist and Broadcaster, Dr George McGavin who gave us a most interesting talk. Rajan Shah, the College Head Boy then spoke briefly and was followed by David Gray, the Principal, who gave us an excellent presentation including the ESMGC plans to open a school in China.

The London equivalent of the Inverleith ‘Last Friday’ Lunches are our Monthly Pub Nights when we gather on the first Wednesday of every month from 6.30pm at the aptly named “The Clachan”, Kingly Street (lying between and parallel to Regent Street and Carnaby Street) with the pub lying just behind the Liberty store – nearest tube Oxford Circus.

We are always pleased to welcome visitors from Scotland or further afield and the StewMel contingent can usually be found at a table towards the back of this busy hostelry often on the small mezzanine area.

Our 2017 Annual Dinner will be held at The Caledonian Club on Friday 31st March and any FPs who fancy a spring break in London would be most welcome – please make contact for further details.

Anyone interested in joining the London Club (the modest £10 subscription has been unchanged for 25 years!) or attending any functions should contact the Secretary, Tom Scrimgeour on 01206 574797 or 07767 392423 or TomScrimgeour@aol.com Tom Scrimgeour The Clachan

16

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Crossing the Atlantic Under Sail

Bob Haywood

It’s the 2nd of December 2015, 18:05 local time and we have just crossed the finishing line in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, having sailed from the Canaries via the Cape Verde Islands.

A crew of four old farts had just completed the longest sea crossing that any of us had ever undertaken.

Before I elaborate on some details of the trip, it might be helpful to explain my interest in sailing. I had enjoyed competitive dinghy sailing in Kenya in the 1970s but didn’t do much more until the 1990s when I was lucky enough to be asked to crew on a 42’ cruising yacht that a friend of mine, Nick, owned and berthed in Barcelona. We had many years of adventures within the confines of the Mediterranean, these adventures normally lasting about two weeks in the summer, in tee shirt and shorts, with the longest time between ports being about 3 days.

Nick was not content with these brief forays and clearly craved a longer ocean passage.

To this end, in 2012 he bought a slightly larger, 45’, but much more sturdy, Southerly 135, Hejira. As soon as Nick had purchased this yacht, which I thought looked the part, he set about carrying out some longish trips around the UK and Ireland with a view to trialling all sorts of new equipment and fittings that he lavished on the vessel. During the winter months of each year, Hejira was taken out of the water and almost re-fitted! A crew was chosen; Nick himself, a very experienced sailor, Barry, also a sailor and marine engineer, Stephen, a doctor, and me, a civil

engineer and nautical speed freak courtesy of my dinghy days.

The biggest adventure that any one of us had contemplated was a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Reasonably exhaustive research was conducted on the best way to do this and we all agreed that for safety’s sake a flotilla or rally type event was the way forward. The benefit of these events is that the organisers fit GPS trackers to each yacht, provide extensive briefings and ensure that each yacht is properly prepared for the crossing. Far better and much more safe than a solo effort.

We chose to participate in the ARC+, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers +. The organisation responsible, the World Cruising Club, has been running the Atlantic crossing for many years and has the experience that we considered a must for our effort.

There are two events each year, the ARC and the ARC+, although they run almost simultaneously. The ARC+ yachts sail earlier, starting in Gran Canaria, sailing almost south to the Cape Verde Islands and then west, on to St. Lucia, the big leg. The ARC yachts sail later, leaving Gran Canaria and sailing west, straight to St. Lucia. Basically, those yachts on the ARC generally sail slightly north of west to get the stronger winds, although these can be more fickle with a high chance that you head directly in to them. The ARC+ yachts, taking a more southerly route, follow the trade winds, which means that for most of the time, the wind is up your tail. There is a trade off either way; winds on the nose can actually lead to a more comfortable motion of the boat, although very strong winds can lead to some ‘heroic’ conditions, whereas winds up your tail can mean the yacht ‘corkscrews’, a motion that is unpleasant,

particularly if you are prone to motion sickness, with stronger winds in that direction sometimes proving to be quite testing.

The ‘shake down’ cruise for Hejira and the Atlantic crew took place earlier in the year when we sailed from Faro in Portugal to Lanzarote in the Canaries via Madeira. This voyage, a distance of over 800 nautical miles, or 1480 kilometres, allowed us to test the yacht and all its systems and, more importantly, test how we got on with each other. Although we knew each other as friends, we were aware that it would be an entirely different matter to share the space on board a 45’ yacht for a period of days with no opportunity to ‘escape’ in the event of a difference of opinion! This trip took us about 6 days sailing (with a fantastic break in Madeira), and certainly provided a test of all nautical situations.

The great adventure started on 1st November 2015, when we departed London for Lanzarote. Having moved the boat from Lanzarote to Las Palmas, we then set about provisioning for the crossing and attending a series of seminars designed to provide advice on many subjects germane to the crossing, but mainly focussed on safety and meteorological matters. It has to be admitted that the reasonably intensive days were balanced by some equally boisterous nights, with a series of dinners and parties to be attended. Departure proper took place on the 8th of November with a fleet of 64 yachts departing for Mindelo in the Cape Verde Islands, some 850 nautical miles (1563 kilometres) south west of Las Palmas. The trip down to Mindelo was accomplished in 5/6 days, arriving on 13th November, representing fairly brisk progress facilitated by strong(ish) winds on the beam, the fastest point of sailing.

FP News 2016

17

trying to adjust the generator! There were also moments of extreme levity; ‘the Doc’ throwing a piece of bread at the shark as a distraction, a flying fish invading the leg of my shorts.

The actual sailing was marvellous. At times we were lucky enough to have enough wind to drive us along at a steady pace, allowing time for ‘normal’ activities to take place. At others, when we were trying to skirt around squalls, we were absolutely creaming along, with all of us on deck handling the sails, no matter what time of day or night it was!

However, the most abiding and strong memory that I have of all of these is the camaraderie. We had a hugely enjoyable time. We took the mickey out of each other endlessly. We didn’t squabble over anything.

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip.

Hejira under full sail, storm gathering Nothing heroic, but steady stuff, certainly enough to test the yacht and our resolve!

The scheduled distance Mindelo to St. Lucia is 2084 nautical miles, 3866 kilometres, so even with a fair wind, the crossing will take some time. In fact, we crossed the finish line in Rodney Bay at the top end of St. Lucia in the early evening of the 2nd December, a total elapsed time of 14 days plus a few hours.

As you may imagine, that crossing, over that length of time with such good company has left some indelible memories, far too many to commit to this text. Having said that, I consider that it would be remiss of me not to outline some of the more poignant episodes!

for me, a desperately bad cook at the best of times, was not a pleasant task. Trying to slice up such things as onions and potatoes in a galley that is bouncing around the sea in a most unpredictable manner is not for the faint hearted. I can only believe that the other crew members must have been ravenous to consume some of the stuff that I put before them! A damned good thing that we took it in turns to prepare the evening meal, as others were considerably more adept! Fishing was carried out exclusively by ‘the Doc’ who stuck to his task stolidly throughout.

He managed at least two sizeable fish, one dory, one tuna, that provided us with good eating. I am minded not to attend his surgery however, having watched him gut fish! The only piece of kit that provided us with any trouble was the water maker. The shake down cruise had not really tested it, nor had the first leg down to Cape Verde. It appeared that the intake allowed air to enter the system, causing a failure in the process.

This was quite a concern, clearly, and it was only the skills of Barry and Nick that sorted it all out and we were allowed showers again!

‘The Doc’ and I shared the middle watch, each night from midnight to 4am. This allowed us lots of time to natter or to become lost in our own thoughts, as the mood dictated. I have to confess to spending many hours musing on such thoughts ranging from ‘what causes all those stars?’ to ‘what is the real meaning of life?’, right through to ‘why the hell am I doing this?’!

It should be borne in mind that for 14 days we saw nothing at all apart from dolphins, sea birds, a shark and each other. No yachts, no merchant vessels, no land, nothing! As I say, this is not to say that the voyage was without memories! For example, cooking,

There were moments of high drama when we realised that a monster shark, and I mean a monster, was trailing along behind us, literally nibbling at the towed electrical generator, and would very probably have had a nibble at Nick’s leg as he stood on the transom

With the next really long leg to St. Lucia scheduled to start on 18th November, we had a few days to top up the provisions (little to be had in real terms in Mindelo, which proved to be quite a green and pleasant backwater), repair any damage sustained (several yachts required significant work to be carried out following the voyage down, although we had suffered none), re-think our fishing tackle (since we had caught absolutely nothing on the way!) and suffer the many social events that just had to be attended, not to mention the inter-boat impromptu drinking sessions! These were great times, allowing us to establish some friendships, albeit fleeting, with other crews.

The big day arrived and again the 64 yachts set off, with a very brisk breeze providing an exciting time as the start line was quite short!

I have tried to give a very brief flavour of the crossing, but for those of you who might want a little more, I would suggest that you look up ‘www.hejirasailing.com’ where a complete set of blog entries can be found, providing much more detail of all things nautical and otherwise. The blog entries that we compiled on the way across won the prize for the ‘best blog’. We were all quite surprised as we thought that we were just taking the mick out of each other and it was quite an enjoyable way to pass the time! It just goes to show!

Our arrival in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, was greeted, as for all boats, with a very welcome rum punch followed by a few beers! Shortly after our arrival, but allowing us enough time to clean (read fumigate) the boat, our wives arrived and we had a very enjoyable holiday in St. Lucia, visiting the rain forest with its nine zip-wire descents, sailing to other idyllic parts of the island and enjoying the local rum!

Stephen, Nick, Barry, Bob Would I do it again? Probably not immediately. I had a great time with a great crew on a great yacht, but it can’t be recreated and I wouldn’t want to do anything that might spoil the memory. I can’t speak for the others, but I believe that we all did what we set out to do; we proved to ourselves that we could cross the Atlantic under sail. It really provided me with an experience, maybe not of a lifetime, but certainly right up there with the best!

Bob Haywood

18

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Seen Around the Club 2016 The Clubhouse The FP Club is inextricably linked with the Clubhouse at Inverleith and as such many members still associate it with their days of various sports at school which not everyone was altogether excited about – particularly on cold, wet days through the winter!

However, the FP Club is not just a sports

club – it is much more than that – and the Clubhouse has become the hub of all the FP Club’s activities. Readers will be familiar with the accolades accorded many times to Bar Manager Denise Mitchell and Joyce Waterston of AJ Catering (previously Exchange House) for the standard of facilities available for all sorts of events.

These facilities are also the envy of the

On the Mondays following these lunches a charitable group known as Rugby Memories meets to talk amongst themselves of the old rugby days. This is designed for dementia sufferers and is extremely well received.

We hosted the Scotland U19 v Japan U19 rugby international on Sunday 20th March which Scotland won .

many visitors and other clubs from the Edinburgh area and beyond.

On average the Clubhouse plays host to an event at least every week of the year, which is a fair reflection of how popular it has become.

So just what kind of events have we seen during 2016?

A Club lunch takes place on the last Friday of each month, with a theme if appropriate.

This is a hot buffet lunch; no booking required – just turn up and pay as you go. Some lunches have a particular theme, for example the regular end of month Club lunch on 28th October had a Halloween feel to it and attracted some strange looking characters.

Certainly, everyone had a good laugh.

The High Constables regularly meet at Inverleith every couple of months.

Each Tuesday morning throughout the winter a Ladies over 60s Gentle Exercise Class is held.

Each Wednesday evening throughout the year a Pilates class is held.

Four times a year a Stamp Auction is held for outside parties. These are big events with good attendances and bids also coming in by telephone from all round Britain.

The annual lunch for The Institute of Physics in Scotland have now held their 14th Edinburgh Lunchtime Rendezvous.

From September to March the Edinburgh Rugby Oldies Society (EROS) holds a lunch for over 100 people entertained by well-known speakers, for which he receives a bottle of Famous Grouse whisky with a special label printed with “Famous Eros Speaker”. Money raised goes to local charities at the end of each season

EROS Chair Howard Haslett presents Frank Hadden with his “fee” (Left)

James Gillespie’s High School for Girls in Edinburgh held a reunion for about 50 girls who left school 50 years ago.

The ESMS School Leavers’ Gathering every year is held on the last day of the Summer term.

Leavers Gathering

The stress of the job had clearly taken a toll on Club Secretary Bobby Clark pictured with his wife Susie

Mr Laurie Brown and his wife Norma, have obviously been affected by the fumes wafting down the Forth from Grangemouth to their Queensferry home.

FP News 2016

The Ravelston Ladies Golf Club held their Annual Dinner at the beginning of November and they have given permission for their “Thank You” letter to Joyce Waterston to be published: “Dear Joyce Fabulous Dinner Your delicious food made Friday evening the success which it was....I have had lots of very positive feedback about the superb food, the very pleasant service given by your staff and Denise and her staff, the comfortable and attractive venue....the dining room looked so welcoming and was warm on a very cold evening.

All the Ladies were so delighted to have had such a lovely menu to choose from....and all so beautifully presented ...as I knew that it would be.....I certainly was able to relax in the knowledge that we would have a fabulous dinner...which we did.

Very many thanks to you, Pat and your staff and to Denise and her staff.

Ravelston Ladies Golf Club”

Joyce Waterston The name Joyce (Waterston) often crops up when plaudits are generously given to the high quality of our catering at Inverleith.

But who is Joyce Waterston?

On leaving school Joyce started work as a junior in a lawyers’ office in Dublin Street, working her way into the typing pool and attending some court work. She also worked evenings, waitressing and doing bar work, which she says had a great social time attached to it !

She met Pat Wilson in 1982 when she went to work part time in the bakery shop Pat had with her husband (Drew). It was the Thoroughbred Bakery at Haymarket and they did hot and cold takeaway food.

When it closed Pat was offered the Edinburgh Sports Club facility serving the members’ lunches and any evening functions. Later, Joyce joined Pat at the Sports Club in 1986, forming the business known as Exchange House Catering. Gradually as they became established they also did outside catering to local offices.

In 2003 the FP Club appointed Exchange House Catering as our caterers and they very quickly established a superior standard and quality of service. At that time, food was prepared at Belford Place and transported down to Inverleith for

There were also regular Club events which are held every year, such as: • Club Dinners for the FP Club, Rugby, Hockey, Golf and Cricket Clubs • FP Club Burns Lunch • Rugby Club Burns Supper • The Rugby Club organises pre-match lunches at Inverleith before all 1st XV home matches • Hockey Club End of Season party • The School Rugby team and the School Hockey boys and girls teams each held their annual dinner in the Clubhouse emulating the FP Rugby and ESM Burns Club Lunch Hockey Club Dinners.

• Annual Christmas Lunch (which is always oversubscribed) On top of all that, there were various birthday parties, ceilidhs, quiz nights, retirement functions and funeral receptions.

You can find out what events are coming up on the Club’s Facebook page: smcfpclub.

To make a booking or just need more information contact: Club Secretary: Laura McIntosh at: Email - smcfpclub@esms.org.uk Phone - 07757 088 838 Bar Manager: Denise Mitchell at: Email: deniseminverleith@ hotmail.co.uk Phone: 07708 199 405 Club Lunch

19

finishing and plating up in the Clubhouse kitchen. Making matters even more complicated was that the month-end Club lunches were served in the upstairs Bar until the number of attendees became regularly 70+, thereby necessitating a move to the Dining Room downstairs.

In 2013, Exchange House moved out of the Sports Club to become permanently based at Inverleith – a move which the FP Club has benefitted from enormously.

Pat retired in 2015 leaving Joyce in sole charge and at that stage the business became A J Catering.

What makes the catering extra special is how Joyce always goes out of her way to make events special. The FP Club Dinner last September (2016) was a case in point, with numerous accolades being heaped upon her.

As you will read elsewhere, the Clubhouse has been extremely active with events during 2016 – both Club-related but also outside bookings from various sources.

What may not be obvious, though, is that during the rugby and hockey seasons, catering is provided every Saturday morning for School teams, parents and supporters, every Saturday afternoon for FP pre-match rugby lunches and rugby & hockey teas, then, quite often, an evening function to round things off! All to the same standard.

To say that Joyce is hardworking is an understatement, but everything is does with a smile on her face – and we celebrate this unsung heroine at Inverleith.

To arrange catering for your event, Joyce will be only too willing to discuss your requirements with you: Contact: Email: joyce@ajcatering.org; Mobile: 07775 675 388

FP Dinner - Hockey Club Table

Guest Speaker Sir David Tweedie

Pre-Dinner Drinks

20

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

The Adventure of Life

Grahame Murphy

I was one of four Australians in a large international team to reach the Geographic North Pole by freefall parachute jump. This world - first event involved a global media campaign with footage sent by satellite from Moscow to all the main Australian T.V. networks. Khatanga in Northern Siberia was the location of the base camp for the whole expedition. Approximately 12 hours was spent on the ground at the North Pole in temperatures between minus 25 and 45 degrees Celsius, while waiting for the arrival of an MI8 helicopter from the Siberian Air Rescue Services. Only a few years earlier had a helicopter ever managed to reach the Geographic North Pole, and each journey from the nearest land involved no fewer than five refuelling stops on the floating Arctic ice pack.

I looked around nervously at my fellow passengers in the big Russian IL-76 jet. It was time to go.

We were directly over the Geographic North Pole, 12,000 feet above the very top of the world. The aircraft was flying at 320 kilometres per hour. The temperature outside, including wind chill, was minus 120° Celsius.

The loud blast of the klaxon immediately caught everyone’s attention – all 83 of us. It really was time to go. We scurried to the rear of the empty air transporter towards the bright light. With the cargo doors now wide open downwards and sideways, the sparkling white of the ice far below was dazzling. On we all shuffled along the floor, towards the end of the fuselage and the beckoning void in all its splendour – sound, sight and suction. There was no time to stop or even momentarily reconsider. It was time to go.

We all fell over the edge and out of the doorway of the aircraft into instant sensory overload. We were plummeting through the deeply frozen Arctic air. We were right on target and would set a world record as the first mass skydive on to the Geographic North Pole.

Grahame at North Pole That was 19 April 1994. As I look back on my life, I see it as comprising two distinct halves. The first half of 40 years up to late 1993 was the small half. Without doubt the second half, 23 years so far, has been, figuratively speaking, the far bigger half.

young children to Sydney, Australia, working my way up to being the Chief Information Officer for the Fujitsu Australia & New Zealand group of companies. It was then I had an epiphany moment one morning in the shower.

A small voice said to me “Why don’t you focus on doing something really worthwhile in life, like helping people to be more effective and making organisations in which they work more successful” - but It would take more than eight years to make the transition away from corporate I.T. executive to fully establish myself as a respected executive advisor and leadership coach.

My naturally tidy mind thought of matching bookends and how wonderful it would be to complement the successful 1994 trip to the North Pole with a journey to the Geographic South Pole. So, in early 1999 when there were many references to the upcoming “dawning of the new millennium”, there was something of a race emerging with the winner being the first person on planet Earth to see that dawn.

The National Geographic Society had targeted remote Pitcairn Island as the first place to see the first light of day on the first day of the year 2000 and their cameras were to be ready at 4:23am on 1st January. However, I looked at the globe and watched my finger trace the International Dateline right down to the bottom.

At the Geographic South Pole, still on the International Dateline, the first daylight would be right on 12:00am. That seemed to be the best place to position oneself and the right time to be there!

My aim was to set off on foot from the coast of Antarctica around the beginning of November 1999 and cross the continent to reach the Geographic South Pole about 1,130kms away and 70 days later. I thought this little bit of cross country skiing would make the trip both respectable and worthwhile. With lessons learned from the North Pole skydive, I found a company that would organise such

I went the full distance at school, joining in 1959 and leaving in 1972. In the senior school I seemed to operate on the periphery of most aspects of school life, scarcely making it into any of the sports teams and not being noted for my intellectual prowess or being deeply immersed in any of my class’s social circles. I emerged from Melville College, just before the merger with Daniel Stewart’s, with a lukewarm set of Highers and scraped my way into university at St. Andrews for what would turn out to be a fairly miserable and short-lived experience.

Pole Skydive Exit

After several years in the insurance sector and I.T., my first real yearnings for adventure pushed me to emigrate with my wife and two

Crossing Antarctica

FP News 2016

21

an expedition. A team of seven participants and two guides was soon brought together, conceptually at least. One consideration was that none of us had spent more than 24 hours in a polar environment before, never mind 68 days hauling a sled 1,130kms from the edge of the Antarctic continent to the Geographic South Pole.

It all gradually took shape and on 4th November 1999 we set off from the edge of the continent – the day that I put on a pair of cross country skis for the first time in my life. I had been told not to worry because there were no corners and no downhills on the way.

I was the only Australian in a team that successfully completed the trek. We travelled, with no support vehicles and only two re-fuelling drops, from Hercules Inlet to the Pole in exactly 68 days. This was the first ever guided expedition of its kind and gave me the honour (never formally substantiated) of being the first Australian person to expedition to both North and South Geographic Poles. In addition, the team set a world record for the first ever crossing of Antarctica to the South Pole by a team of complete novices. Amongst the highlights of the endeavour were the aura of the environment, the satisfaction of accomplishment and the deep bonds of friendship that were formed through adversity. Other points of note, probably not experienced by many people in the world, was the hygienic act of turning one’s underpants inside out at the half way stage after 35 days and the joy of taking a shower after 77 days without washing.

Mt. Aconcagua Camp 2 The first real mountain I ever climbed in my life. I chose the highest mountain in the world apart from the many peaks of the Himalayas.

The ascent of Mount Aconcagua (22,834 ft.) was by what is known as the Normal Route, although 1996 was more known for its high failure rate amongst the various climbing expeditions. Another notable feature of our particular expedition was the involvement by my group in the high altitude rescue of a seriously injured high profile Argentinian climber.

Mt. Cook (New Zealand) December 1996 I was part of a small four-man team to complete an ascent by the Linda Glacier of Mount Cook. This involved a 22-hour summit day with a particularly challenging section of ice climbing. Once again my group was involved in a rescue exercise, this time to locate the body of a climber who fell while close to the summit of nearby Mount Tasman.

Grand Canyon (Arizona) Run Down & Up – April 2003 Spotting a path (the Angel Trail) going down one vertical mile from the edge of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River below, I decided spontaneously to run down it and back up again. Four and a half hours later I completed the exercise, having experienced temperatures ranging from zero degrees Celsius at the top to 25 degrees Celsius at the bottom.

Mt. Fuji (Japan) Run Up & Down – June 2005

Standing at South Pole Some of my other adventures include:Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina) January 1996

While on a short holiday in Tokyo, I visited the base of Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, even though the whole area was experiencing hurricane conditions. Half a day later, when the weather had abated noticeably, and in another spur of the moment decision, I determined to run and scramble as far up the main climbing route as possible. Three hours and forty-nine minutes later I returned, having briefly stopped on the summit to take a photograph for posterity.

Mount Kinabalu (Borneo) 13,435ft Climbathon – October 2011 This was to be the last time the “Climbathon” race event went all the way to the summit

and back, due to the extreme demands of the race and the high attrition rate amongst competitors in previous editions of the event.

Doi Inthanon (Thailand) Run Up – October 2014 Tai Mo Shan (Hong Kong) Run Up & Down – December 2014 Picnic at Hanging Rock – March 2014 I took my family, none of whom had done anything adventurous before, on to Hanging Rock summit (in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney) for a picnic to celebrate my 60th birthday. This followed an early morning run, in recognition of my age, of 60 kilometres.

I have sampled and enjoyed other adventure sports in my life including canyoning, rock climbing, abseiling, bungee jumping, triathlons, downhill skiing and hang gliding and, needless to say, I keep fairly fit.! My training logs tell me I’ve run more than 168,000 kilometres since I stopped smoking more than 37 years ago.

Recently, my elderly mother reminded me of a principle she continually gave me as a child. She would often say to me, “Grahame, don’t let the system get to you”, referring to the various bureaucracies in life, but in a wider context I have taken this to mean don’t just have a relative life, unwittingly following what the usual pattern of school, university, career, family, kids, retirement, grandkids, etc. Instead lead an absolute life, challenge all the norms and maximise one’s God-given potential as a unique human being. Be greatly afraid of the ‘normal’.

Footnote: That day in 1972 when I walked out of school for the last time, I parted company with all of my fellow pupils. It was more through apathy, and lack of active engagement, than any conscious act of separation. Then in 2012 that all changed when the social convenor of my school year reached out through email and made contact. Since then I have been absolutely delighted to have been re-united and connected with my school mates.

Grahame Murphy

22

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

School Reports...

Principal’s Review...

I hope that my annual report to Former Pupils will offer an insight into the life of Stewart’s Melville College. It should act as a historical register of the activity of those who attend the School. It should reflect the quality and diversity of education provided, whether in the classroom or the laboratory, out of doors on trips and expeditions, or through sport, in the Performing Arts, or in other esoteric pursuits. It should show a School with its emphasis on holistic education, personal as well as academic development, rooted in the school’s nine values of enthusiasm, respect, responsibility, appreciation, integrity, commitment, kindness, grace and confidence, which help young people face life’s challenges with inner strength and greet triumph and disappointment in equal measure, knowing that proportion, perspective and perseverance are all required for a happy, successful passage.

The School is alive with evidence of effort, boys knowing that what you do should always be done with the highest of expectations and to the best of your ability, whether it is playing at the Usher Hall, at Murrayfield, or at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Similarly, it performs what is remarkable: a Jazz and Blues festival of near professional standards; the boys’ choir participating in Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Berlin with the Berlin Cathedral Choir and the Popov’s Boys’ Choir from Moscow; an exceptional production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, which, when brought together, remind boys, parents, and former pupils of what young people can achieve when suitably encouraged, motivated and inspired to do so by teaching practitioners of vision and ambition. They prepare boys to look beyond the commonplace and realise that thinking laterally and dreaming beyond what is simple and immediate will instil confidence to attempt the apparently impossible and, in time, to address the great issues which the world spawns as it develops and changes.

In practical terms, the boys performed very well in examinations at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels, having worked prodigiously hard throughout the school year and with a degree of discipline, determination and good humour. On the sports field, Stewart’s Melville rugby finished 3rd in the top conference, a newly established league format which has sharpened the competitive nature of school fixtures, the 1st XI hockey team,

(without a single Sixth Former) reached the final of the Scottish Schools’ hockey cup, losing gallantly to stronger opposition, but stronger for the experience and all intact to renew battle next year. The Ist XI cricket team reached the final of the T20 Scottish cup and had a great season in which they played nearly 20 fixtures, and swimmers, athletes, squash players, badminton, tennis, basketball players and footballers who reached the semi-finals of the SISFA cup, all recorded notable successes. The Performing Arts programme featured our own Scott Hart’s The Lord Provost, the Senior School musical Oliver, the hosting of the CCF Scottish Pipe Band Championships and a splendid Leavers’ Concert in The Merchants’ Hall at which we bade farewell to Director of Music, Jason Orringe as well as to some very talented Sixth Form musicians. Sixth Formers in 2016 have gone on to 36 universities all over the globe to study over 30 courses.

For them, 2016 is their swansong as it is for Bryan Lewis, the Vice Principal and Headmaster of the Junior School, who hands on his mantle to Mike Kane, the Head of Upper School at Stewart’s Melville College. Bryan Lewis has given 42 years of loyal, dedicated and devoted service to the Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools and epitomises all that is best at Stewart’s Melville College: ambition, tireless energy, determination and a great spirit of fun. No project was ever too big, no challenge insurmountable, no task ever left incomplete.

In September 2016, the Schools embarked on a major initiative when Mr. Mike Sims, the chairman of ESMS Governing Council, and Mr. Zhong, chief executive of the Shenzhen Creative Investment Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in the presence of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and the Mayor of Shenzhen, to open an international school in Shenzhen in south east China in the style, spirit and image of the Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools. This is an exciting venture which will globalise our School brand, provide an alternative, secure, income stream for the Schools which will offset the increasing cost of school bursaries, and offer tremendous opportunities for pupil and teacher cultural exchanges. With this development the life and expectations of the Erskine Stewart’s Melville schools enter a new phase.

Although the work of the School is a process and no ending is ever more than a new beginning, the words of the intrepid Elizabethan adventurer, Sir Francis Drake, resonate with the boys at Stewart’s Melville College and explain aspects of their success: “Grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory.” “Never unprepared” is an appropriate motto for schoolboys.

It denotes seriousness of intent and the desire to initiate and complete the greatest of projects.

J N D Gray Principal

FP News 2016

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

The Primary 7 children did a fantastic job raising over £2,600 themselves which, together with overwhelming support from alumni, former and current staff and parents, successfully overtook Mr Lewis’ target of £7,500 raising over £8,600.

The last 12 months have been very busy for the Development Office. We have hosted Engage events and The Ravelston 50th Anniversary Reunion plus a variety of other fantastic events, to name a few.

Mr Bryan Lewis joins the ESMS Development Office Team At the start of the academic session the Development Office welcomed Mr Bryan Lewis to the team as the Director of Development.

He has already been involved in the various projects in progress.

ESMS Connect This year saw the launch of the ESMS Connect networking platform, designed to allow alumni and parents to register to offer assistance to people within the ESMS Community, in particular to our senior pupils as they benefit from our school careers programmes and to our young alumni, as well as giving members the opportunity to search the network to make their own contacts which can help to progress their own business or career. We are very keen that all parents should register and offer help to younger alumni and current pupils and, if you are willing to join the 1,070 who have signed up in the first few months, please visit www.esmsconnect.org.uk.

Engage Events Our business networking programme – Engage - is growing year on year, providing a great facility for former pupils to gain business knowledge and contacts through networking events. This year James Porteous (DSMC 2004) returned to speak at our September Event. By the end of 2014, he had founded Electric Spirit Co, a boutique distillery producing small-batch spirits. His signature gin Achroous is stocked in the likes of The Kitchin, Norn, Bramble and The Bon Vivant, as well as a range of other bars, restaurants and shops across Scotland. His other creations include bespoke drinks for festivals and restaurants, with a focus on small-run production, unusual ingredients and experimentation.

Ravelston 50th Celebration To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the move from Queen Street to Ravelston, a special evening was organised for Mary Erskine ‘girls’ of all ages providing an opportunity for former pupils from across all the decades to meet up with each other, reminisce about their former school days and ponder over the archive materials which were on display.

23

Ravelston 50 ‘Reverse’ tours of the School were organised where former pupils had the opportunity to show the current pupils the part of the School which held their particular memories.

Entertainment was provided by current Mary Erskine girls (and a few boys!) with performances from The Lion King and Oliver.

Guests were also shown a short video of our current pupils performing at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo followed by a live performance by the Tattoo choir.

Ravelston 50 Lion King Memorabilia, which was created specifically for the Ravelston 50th celebration, was on sale, including scarves, shawls and badges, all featuring either the Mary Erskine Tartan or the famous Mary Erskine ship.

The evening was deemed a great success and much favourable feedback was received afterwards.

The Primary 7 Forth and Clyde and Union Canal “Route 66” Challenge This year former Junior School Headmaster and current Director of Development, Bryan Lewis turned 66 years of age and so, to commemorate this milestone, he decided that walking 66 miles in three days was an appropriate challenge. Twenty boys and twenty girls from our Primary 7 year group began the challenge at Bowling near Dumbarton where the Forth and Clyde Canal enters the Firth of Clyde and proceeded to walk for three days back to Edinburgh, where they finished their challenge on Saturday 4 June at Lochrin Basin. The walk was arranged to raise as much sponsorship money outwith School for Access to Excellence, as well as 10% of the money raised going to The Cookie Jar Foundation which helps to provide high quality facilities for the families of children suffering from cancer and who are patients in the new Sick Kids Hospital.

Route 66 Challenge

Royal Military Tattoo Reception The Development Office held a Tattoo Reception on Thursday 18 August for Former Pupils and friends of the Schools who joined us as our guests at a performance of the Royal Military Tattoo, to watch our young choir perform for the fourth year in a row. The performance began at 9pm and was preceded with a reception in the Scottish Café within the Royal Scottish Academy. We are hoping to host another three Tattoo Receptions in 2017 so please look out for further information regarding this in the New Year.

Inspire Lecture Our Inspire 2016 speaker was Alex Hibbert, born in 1986 and a graduate in Biological Sciences from Oxford University who, after a decade of long and novel polar journeys, faced his greatest challenge in the winter of 2010/11 when he and his young team sought the holy grail of polar exploration. Alex talked about the incredible challenges he faced, a major world record for the longest unsupported polar journey, an amazing 1,374 miles in 113 days across Greenland and the remarkable people he met as he faced disaster and triumph. Alex covered all of this and more, including his attempt to recruit and train a successful team of huskies, his whole talk illustrated by amazing photographs. Alex has also been a finalist four times in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

All who attended left feeling both humbled and inspired by his achievements and by his indomitable courage.

Contacts To contact the Development Office regarding any of our initiatives, please contact Suzi Squires in the first instance on development@esms.org.uk or on 0131 311 1131.

24

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

On Parade

Inaugural Debate

Remembrance Day 11th November, 2016

The 11th November is always a special date in the Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College School calendar. Each year on that date, or the nearest weekday to it, the School commemorates those past pupils who gave their lives during armed conflicts from the First World War to the present day. All Stewart’s Melville boys from P4 to S5 and the ESMS Sixth Form pupils, who are based at the Queensferry Road site at that time, line the perimeter of the Front Lawns in total silence. The Service starts at 8.30am with the wreath laying ceremony at the School War Memorial guarded by the School CCF Colour Party. Wreaths are laid by the Master of the Merchant Company, the Head Boy, the Chairman of the School Governors and the President of the FP Club. The Last Post is sounded followed by a lone piper playing “The Flowers of the Forest”. The Service then continues at the School Morning Assembly in the Tom Fleming Centre.

This year the Principal’s address focussed on whether the wars were a glorious sacrifice or a futile one, leaving us all to decide for ourselves. The Head Boy read “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke (Glory) and the Deputy Head Boy read “Futility”

by Wilfred Owen (Futile).

He then read 2 excerpts from the Rolls of Honour from each of the 2 original schools – to an Edinburgh Institution boy and to a Daniel Stewart’s boy – who were killed in action just over 100 years ago and just 2 days apart in September 1916, one at Martinpuich and one at the Somme. They served in different regiments and, rather poignantly, had also each lost a brother during the war.

The Remembrance Day Service follows the same pattern each year, but each year it remains etched in the memories of all who attended.

Contributed

Colour Party Departs

The evening of Friday 16th September saw an exciting new fixture added to the calendar of cultural events at Stewart’s Melville College.

Current pupils and SMC Debaters Tom Collins and Fraser MacLean were each paired with former pupils and stalwarts of Stewart’s Melville Debating Society, Andrew Niven and Ruairidh MacIntosh, for the inaugural DSMC FP Debate.

Following a drinks reception (which provided a very pleasant opportunity for staff, former pupil debaters and their parents to catch up on the intervening years since these boys were stalwarts of SMC Debating Society) Mr Iain Major, Head of Debating at Stewart’s Melville College introduced both teams and with Principal Mr Gray chairing the proceedings, things got off to a dynamic start as Ruairidh and Tom proposed the motion: This House Believes that Jeremy Corbyn should stand down as leader of the Opposition.

In response, Andrew and Fraser utilised their own considerable wit, eloquence and rapid-fire thinking to oppose the motion.

Mr Major and fellow debating coach and RMPS teacher Mrs Laura Crichton were delighted with the aplomb and resilience shown by Tom and Fraser, as they worked with and against the Society’s titans of former years. The gracious, elegant and supremely skilled performances of Messrs. Niven and MacIntosh soon made it clear to all that they are veterans in the field, having progressed as undergraduates to win national and international accolades for debating.

Thus, a sizeable audience of pupils, former pupils, teaching staff, parents, members of the FP club and others within the ESM schools’ community, enjoyed an evening of superb debating with excellent points of information tactically refuted or else energetically accepted, both pairs of speakers wielding a formidable arsenal of verbal and cerebral weaponry. This was followed by a brief but lively floor debate and then the vote. In the end, the motion was carried and over more excellent refreshments provided by Mr Hutchison and his SMC Catering team, debaters and audience all agreed that early on in the debating season, the DSMC FP Debate fully deserves its place in the Society’s busy fixture list!

Sandra Frost

FP News 2016

25

ESMS Christmas Carol Party 2nd December saw 50 FPs and guests attend a reception prior to the ESMS Carol Party at MES, Ravelston. Bryan Lewis, Director of Development, welcomed us and we enjoyed refreshments prepared by the schools’ caterers before making our way to Mar Hall.

The ESMS Pipe Band opened proceedings with a Christmas pipe medley. The Concert Band followed with excerpts from The Nutcracker Suite (during which the 1st XV and 1st XI “danced” on stage), Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Sleigh Ride.

A game of Pass-the-parcel invoked the party spirit with prizes of antlers or Christmas hats.

Children were then invited onto the stage to

sing Jingle Bells while waiting for Santa who didn’t disappoint them, handing out presents as they came off.

The S5 Close Harmony Group sang My Evaline and Hello Mary Lou, followed by the Concert Band playing Fairytale in New York.

The Chamber Choir performed Ding Dong Merrily on High and Winter Hymnal.

The audience was invited to sing carols at different points and, at the finale, joined in a Christmas Medley.

This is a showcase for the talents of the pupils who have been nurtured and developed by the dedicated staff. This is an excellent evening which I would

recommend to FPs young and old and the FP Club congratulated Music Director Jason Matthews for putting on a thoroughly enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

Charles Wilson

The Search Is Over The Rev. Robert Cunningham’s Resting Place May 28th was a significant day in Brian Lewis’ career at Stewart’s Melville. As he himself said, in over 40 years at the Schools he thought he had seen everything connected with the School, however that day he completed his “education” when, along with other interested parties, he was taken to the grave of the Rev. Robert Cunningham, founder of the Edinburgh Institution/Melville College.

had proved fruitless. However, Helen Sayles had been delegated the task of following up a possible lead from a Jean Heron from Stranraer, which had established that the grave was in the Necropolis in Glasgow – resting place of the great, the good and numerous wealthy city merchants from the 19th century. Jean had established that Robert Cunningham’s daughter had been buried in her father’s plot and a photo of the inscription on the memorial stone confirmed everything she needed to know Soon after, the Development Office arranged a visit to the Necropolis to see the site for ourselves and so 7 FPs, 4 School staff and Rajan Shah, Head Boy, joined Robert Cunningham’s great, great grandson and his cousin for an abbreviated conducted tour of the Necropolis (abbreviated because the whole site covers a total of 37 acres of Glasgow City centre land).

Rajan Shah lays a wreath Why is that significant? Well it had taken David McLeish, Head of Primary School, nearly 20 years to track down where the grave was actually sited as searches of local records in Ayrshire, the Lothians etc

The tour ended at Robert Cunningham’s grave where the guests had a moment of silent reflection before Bryan Lewis spoke about the influence that Robert Cunningham had on the ethos of education at Melville College and subsequently at ESMS. FP Club

Cunningham’s Descendants

The search is over for David McLeish President, Bert Barclay, gave an address and finally, Head Boy, Rajan Shah spoke about the significance of the red blazer, an award only made to the Head Boy and Girl and their Deputies, and laid a wreath.

Photographs were taken and we all adjourned to the nearby Cathedral House Hotel for a light lunch before going our different ways.

The search for Robert Cunningham’s resting place was over and David McLeish can now take a well-earned rest from his years of endeavour.

Suzi Squires

26

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

From The Archives Flicking through the pages of old school magazines can turn up some interesting, even surprising, articles.

The following contribution appeared in the Edinburgh Institution Chronicle of July 1936. It was written by a 15 year-old pupil who had started at the school the previous autumn, having spent his early school years in Baden-Baden, Germany. He therefore had first - hand experience of both German and British schools during the 1930s.

His name was Robin Inches (then aged 15) and his observations were quite revealing.

British and German Schools

It is a strange and little-known fact that many well-educated Germans have had their education in Britain.

One would think that the reason for this would be that British schools, altho ugh foreign in nation, yet resemble German schools closely in principle and working. This is not so however . There are great differences between British and German schools.

The main difference is that in Germany the boys are looked after by the mas ters, while here, prefects do that. I think that the German boy likes to be ordered about by a superior in every way, as in the army, and objects to a boy, possibly his equal, being plac ed above him. At any rate, a German school, which introduced the prefect system would not receive very much support. And not only are the masters the only wielders of authority, they are the only ones allowed to punish.

This again is very different from Britis h custom. Perhaps the German boy is once more too proud to be punished by an equal but, on the other hand, an equal is bound to understand you while a master often cannot, and is considered a tyrant if he punishes you severely. This happened several times in the German school which I attended.

Besides differences in the discipline of the school, there are others, some of which have only been introduced recently. For example, every German schoolboy has now to rise when the master enters, and greet him, with “Heil, Hitler!” and the Nazi salute. I won der what would happen if we were orde red to salute our masters and say “God save the King” when they entered!

Politics, too, were introduced into scho ol life some time ago. In my school there was actually a period allotted to the subject of politics, the politics being, of course, from an advanced Nazi view-point. Then there are still other differences for which the Germ an narrow-mindedness is responsible.

So, in a German school, a foreigner is a foreigner in every sense of the word , while in a British school, boys of all nations can be “chums.”

All these instances show that the Germ an school is run on almost the same lines as the army, while the British school is much freer in the democra tic sense of the word. This is probably the reason why many German boys are sent ·to British schools, and why I, for one, prefer a British school, and life there, to a German school and the training it gives.

R.M.I.

Year of 2016 The summer 2016 Brexit referendum clearly weighed heavily on the minds of the very latest recruits to the ranks of Stewart’s Melville College Former Pupils, as for the first time in many years not a single Leaver enrolled at a mainland European or American university to begin a degree course.

With clear messages of uncertain economic and political times chiming with the traditional school exhortations to maximise their potential, the year group achieved a very pleasing set of final examination results, and as a consequence all Leavers who wished to attend university were able to do so, under the expert guidance of the Director of Sixth Form and the Heads of Careers.

Not all of the Class of 2016 stayed in the UK in the short term however, with James Gorrie (Dilworth School, Auckland) and former Dean Park House Head Boy Ruairidh Watt (Knox Grammar, Sydney)

becoming our latest Gap Tutor exports, joining a dozen other boys in taking a Gap Year before embarking upon further study.

Of those who remained in the UK, once again not every Leaver opted for Higher Education, with Kamran Ali taking up a modern apprenticeship in ICT with the RBS, and Patrick McAllister signing up to join Police Scotland. The creative industries (from Fashion to Fine Art) continue to attract growing numbers of our students, with several enrolling at Edinburgh College to undertake HND courses with an option to transfer to the latter stages of a degree programme in a couple of years’ time. Film and Television Studies (Sam Hance), Animation (Juan Esteban Munoz-Garcia) and Japanese (Josh Ward) were amongst the more unusual university course options, although Law, Medicine, Engineering and Business and Finance continued to attract

the largest groups of boys.

Greg Ritchie (Oxford), Ronald Coyne and Oliver Rhodes (both Cambridge) all met the very challenging conditions of their university offers, with London the most popular destination of those heading South (after the traditionally popular choice of the Newcastle universities). In spite (or perhaps because!) of its distance from Scotland’s capital, Exeter once again managed to attract a couple of our Leavers (Max Hancock and Forbes Bell).

Within Scotland, Dundee, Strathclyde and other “younger” universities (Napier, Robert Gordon, Queen Margaret and Heriot-Watt for example) continued their recent trend of acquiring more of our FPs as undergraduates on their more vocationally oriented courses, although the “big four” (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and St Andrews) just held on to the top slots once again as favoured destinations for our former Sixth Formers.

Whatever their short term plans may be, the Class of 2016 rounded off their ESM school careers in style, and will be very welcome additions to the FP Club.

Jeff Marsh

FP News 2016

27

REUNIONS...

Stewart’s Class

of 1964 The Stewart’s Class of 1964 held its 52nd Annual Dinner at Inverleith on 30 December 2015. We could hardly have chosen a worse night meteorologically.

All over the country there were gales and severe floods. However the ‘64 Club members are made of stern stuff and 14 of us made it through storm and tempest, including one from Dundee, two from the “ far west “ and two from South of the Border. We were rewarded with a warm welcome from Denise and Brian and another excellent meal.

L-R: John Crombie, Ian Young, John Coutts, Michael Walls, Laurie Brown, Gordon Stewart, Mike Wheeler & Ken Richards

Melville Class of 1963 We all met up again in October for what, by my calculation, was our 54th reunion having had the first in 1963.

With the passage of time, inevitably we have lost a number of good friends and not all of us enjoy the best of health. Those who don’t are their usual good selves and always great company.

The informal lunch at the Café Royal was attended by 10 and the prize for the longest travellers went to Martin Roberts and Michael Walls, both long-time Home Counties residents. It was also good to see John Crombie who made the pilgrimage all

the way from Barnton!

The evening “do” was held for the third year running at Bruntsfield Golf Club and twelve couples attended that. Bruntsfield is an ideal location for us – the ambience of a private club and top rate cuisine. We are very fortunate to be able to use the club.

With the additional six joining in the evening, that made sixteen “boys” between the two functions, and with a number of normally regular attendees not being able to make it this year that was pretty good.

We’re already looking forward to next year!

Mike Wheeler

After dinner the gathering was pleased to hear greetings from absent friends.

There then followed a discussion of the timing of our meetings. Way back in 1964 it was agreed that we should meet during the festive season since, in those early years, many people were away at university but were likely to come home around Christmas and New Year. This arrangement has persisted ever since.

However, as everyone has now retired and many have moved back close to Edinburgh it was questioned as to whether there might be a more suitable time of year. It was nevertheless agreed to stick with the current formula in 2016.

After a few more refreshments, everyone set off to brave the elements.

Adam McBride

28

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

REUNIONS...

Melville Class of 1966 Standing at the back L to R: David Mitchell, Robyn Aitchison, Donald Muirhead and Alistair Duncan Seated L to R: John Elwell-Sutton, Neil Cavers, Mike Hunter, Bobby Clark, Richard Scott, Ian Romanes (with arms in the air), James Mason, David Nisbet and Richard de Soldenhoff.

The Melville College Class of 1966 held a reunion on Saturday 17th September in the Orchard Bar, previously known as The Northern Bar, at Canonmills in Edinburgh to celebrate still being alive 50 years after leaving school! The evening was expertly organised

by Bill Wallace whose father was a teacher at the School and around 15 people turned up. Although most of the early discussion seemed to revolve around ailments these were soon forgotten as the drink took effect.

Bill had put together a wonderful collection of old photographs including some of the staff and School buildings which were shown on a large TV screen.

The evening was a great success but as one wag pointed out he wondered what the locals thought was going on in the back room where a bunch of old men were poring over umpteen photographs of small boys! How times have changed.

Bobby Clark

DSMC Class of 1986

Left to right: Mr Bryan Lewis; Peter Knops; Andrew Wilson; Brian Gordon; Simon Lloyd-Dickinson; Bruce Howard; David Neilson; Paul Smith; Keith Dobson.

Our 30th reunion was timed to coincide with the official MES date for leavers of all years ending in a six. To that end, the MES organisers had booked Inverleith Pavilion in anticipation of our first joint do. Unfortunately, this was thwarted by the democratic will of their membership! As a compromise, we

were invited to join the “girls” after 10pm for the irresistible doublewhammy of “48 year old hot chicks and an Eighties disco”.

An alternative venue needed to be found and Usqua Bae, below Ryan’s Bar, was eventually selected. As a first, we arranged a buffet to soak up the copious amounts of craft beer and malt whisky consumed ahead of the “Twinning” event.

Facebook has proved a boon in organising this event and we are now in touch with nearly two thirds of our year. We had over 40 attendees in the end, with MES achieving similar numbers.

It has become traditional to award an (imaginary) quaich to the person travelling the farthest to attend. This year was, according to Google Maps, a dead heat between David Neilson (New Jersey) and Stuart Douglas (Ontario). Some of those unable to make the Saturday event met up on Friday night and a small party toured the school in the morning, guided by the retiring Bryan Lewis.

The Boarders were particularly well

DSMC Class

of 1996 The Class of ‘96 enjoyed a wellattended gathering on Saturday 11th June in Edinburgh.

Around 25 of our year group came to the Wally Dug to catch up over a few beers. Some came from around the corner and some from as far afield as Singapore. We were lucky to have a few guests from MES as well - it was great to see the girls and confirm that we hadn’t changed at all in the last 20 years!

There seemed to be broad interest in a tour of the School so we will try to arrange one for the next gathering in 2021. If you’re from the year group please do keep in touch on Facebook or through the FP Club so that you’re informed of the details.

Simon Wray represented in the evening and a “Bug Hut” team photo preceded a toast to Ali Boyle, Lt. Col. Alistair D. Boyle, MBE, who had very sadly passed away just before our 25th.

When we finally arrived at the pavilion in a convoy of cabs, it was uncannily like walking back in time and into a 1980s school disco. A sea of eerily familiar faces, Wham! on the decks, and shoddy moves all over the dancefloor.

A photo booth, replete with dressing-up box, proved a big hit and, when the pavilion closed, “Twinning”, and twining, continued at The Ghillie Dhu into the small hours and beyond.

Brian Gordon

FP News 2016

29

Obsessed by Speedway

Mike Hunter It’s incredible to think that it is 50 years since I last stepped out of that famous front portal of Melville College, having been right through the school from Primary 1 in 1953. We’ve gone in many different directions since then, and as far as work goes I suppose I followed the advice of our careers master of the sixties and worked in insurance.

I have probably put more hours into my hobby, though, than I ever put into my work.

My hobby has been Motorcycle Speedway Racing, not as a competitor but as a supporter and contributor in various guises to the Edinburgh Monarchs team.

There are not many links between Melville College and Speedway, I don’t think, though I was introduced to the sport by Allister Miller (two years below me) and Ian Kydd (my year) who used to show me his Monarchs’ programmes. We had been friends with the Miller family since pre-school days and they were amongst the 20,000 or so fans who used to follow the Monarchs in the early 1950s.

I don’t believe anyone from Melville College has ever competed in Speedway on the track, but Peter (P.G.) Brown, also a prominent golfer and a few years older than me, was team manager for the Wimbledon “Dons” who were one of the most famous clubs in the sport.

In post-war years the sport was very big business. In 1946 the Wembley Lions attracted more supporters on a weekly basis than Manchester United ever have. At Old Meadowbank crowds often topped 20,000 and the Monarchs had the 1951 World Champion Jack Young (from Australia) in the team.

With the arrival of television and a very punitive entertainment tax which for several years took 60% of the sport’s gross takings (far higher than football or any other sport), Speedway went into decline and tracks closed. Speedway finished at Old Meadowbank in July 1954 and, fatally, the stadium was sold by Leith Athletic to the Edinburgh Council, I think for £550.

Speedway returned in 1960, and throughout

the sixties crowds of several thousands continued to attend. I started to go in 1961 at the age of 13, and my life changed from the first moment I saw Speedway.

Monarchs were forced out of Old Meadowbank in 1967 for the very unsatisfactory reason that the Edinburgh Council could only qualify for a £250,000 government grant for their Commonwealth Games Stadium if no professional sports were permitted there ! This was completely ludicrous as the “amateur” athletes were being paid royally, as everyone knew, but the Monarchs were gone and their thousands of fans just had to lump it.

We had two seasons racing at Cliftonhill, home of Albion Rovers, but that was never likely to work long-term and from 1970 to 1976 the Monarchs did not exist. The interest was still there though, the Supporters Club kept going and with greyhound racing at city centre Powderhall Stadium finding times hard, the prospect arose of introducing Speedway to what was a much smarter venue than Meadowbank.

Along with some friends I was able to play a more active part in bringing the sport back, canvassing local residents and speaking about the sport at the Council meeting which made the final decision. I admit I had to take a sick day off work for this as I had no holidays left, but it was very important!

So the Monarchs were born again at Powderhall in 1977 and had 19 summers at this venue, before Powderhall was targeted by developers and financiers and we were thrown out again. During this time my really serious involvement with Speedway began.

In truth this was inevitable because it is a sport where anyone willing to devote time and energy, and not charge for it, will quickly be sucked in and given work to do.

Powderhall Just to complete the story of the Monarchs, we left Powderhall (though we didn’t want to) in 1995, had one very unsatisfactory season racing at Shawfield in Glasgow in 1996 and then moved to the old greyhound stadium in Armadale in 1997. We have been there for 20 years, and as a team have won more trophies than we ever did previously – 5 league titles between 2003 and 2015 and many other national championships. We have made some very shrewd signings in that time.

Meadowbank Considering how small a sport Speedway is now in the UK, and how low crowds are, it is amazing how international the makeup of the teams has become. Last season’s Monarchs’ team had three Germans, one American, an Australian (the captain) and two Englishmen.

No Scots – Scotland has had some very good international riders over the years, but with no training facilities available now (thank the planning authorities primarily – it’s tough enough getting one night a week for a professional venue) there is no chance to give youngsters a grounding in the sport.

At Armadale now we are lucky to get a crowd of 800. What would the promoters of the Meadowbank days make of that? It has become very hard to keep the club afloat and we have had much successful fundraising amongst the remaining enthusiasts to thank for that. Greyhound racing recently ceased at Armadale so again our future is uncertain.

The sport is still popular elsewhere with Poland and Sweden leading the way nowadays, and a thriving Grand Prix series for the very top riders. Monarchs’ captain Sam Masters is good enough to have ridden in a couple of Grand Prix in his home country.

So what have I done? Well this is how you get sucked in if you let it happen. I started compiling the club programme in 1978 and have done so ever since – it’s a time consuming task in itself. (We race every week on Fridays, with away matches on other days). I also produce the match DVDs which can raise valuable funds. I send out the Press releases, organise the Monarchs Grand Draw (which has raised over £300,000 since 1993) and attempt to organise the Hospitality we have at the track (it’s actually two portakabins).

Plus lots of other odds and ends.

I was invited to become a club director in 1996 and so participate in the decisions on the team and on how on earth we are going to cover costs. I have spent more thousands than I care to admit to in direct donations to the club and sponsorship of the riders.

On the plus side I have had 55 years of enjoyment so far and met many, many excellent people amongst riders and supporters. Speedway is a very social sport.

I met my partner Jane through Speedway. It might be expensive and time-consuming to be involved but I hope to enjoy it for a while longer.

Mike Hunter

30

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Contract Bridge at Stewart’s Melville College When a call was sent out some time ago by our previous Secretary, Ernie Wilkins, for information and photographs of Scottish Internationalists, coincidentally in the year that Contract Bridge became an Olympic sport, I took the opportunity to advise him that among our FPs there were three International Bridge players, and to await photographs.

Strangely, he didn’t seem keen.

Fred McLeod & Ian Craig

An Extraordinary Reunion Fred McLeod (DSC1946 to 1956), a weel kent face about the Club as a past president of the FP Club, the FP Rugby Club and past president of the SRU, Fred regularly goes to the south of France to see his son, Graham and his 4 children.

Graham also attended Stewart’s Melville College between 1980 - 85.

Ahmed Graham left Scotland in 1990, and joined his partner’s family in Port Grimaud, some 7 kilometres from St. Tropez.

Initially, he worked in the family- run bar and restaurant on a camping and caravan site near the port and then latterly in a larger bar and restaurant, which was highly successful.

Graham then decided to start his own jobbing builder business, doing work for a variety of customers including some famous names. One of Graham’s employees, Ahmed Boureghida, an Algerian lives in a small town called La Croix Valmer, not far from Port Grimaud.

The town holds a weekly Sunday market.

In June 2016 Ahmed was in a local pub

and got chatting to a Scottish gentleman, who visits France for six months of every year. The Scot asked Ahmed where he worked, and he said that he worked for a Scotsman by the name of McLeod.

The Scot said that he knew a “McLeod” in Edinburgh by the name of Fred.

Ahmed confirmed that Graham’s father was indeed a Fred McLeod. By a great coincidence the Scottish gentleman turned out to be John B. Craig,(who had been at DSC between 1945 – 1957) – in other words, at the same time as Fred!

John, known as Ian, was dux in 1957.

After graduating in chemical engineering at Edinburgh University, Ian went on to Cambridge University, where he obtained a PHD in 1964. Then he and his wife, Jan, moved to Teeside where Ian had joined ICI. During his time with ICI, they lived in India for two years, and in Belgium for four years,retiring in 1996.

Ian and Jan now live in Plymouth, but spend six months every year living in La Croix Valmer, so when Fred visited Graham in July, he made a point of meeting him at the Sunday market and they had a pleasant time reminiscing and catching up on old times. They had not seen each other for 60 years !

Consequently they have now arranged to stay in regular contact and when Fred returned to France at the end of September 2016 he duly met up with Ian again.

It’s a small world indeed !! (as a footnote, Ian’s father was William Craig, who taught maths at the School for many years.)

Fred McLeod

A change of Secretary triggered a fresh approach. I advised Bobby Clark accordingly, to seek inclusion among those so honoured. “Ha, you will expect tiddlywinks to be included next” was the burden of his response. Whether this was Bobby’s attempt to raise the profile of a skilful carpet game to Olympic standards or merely a reductio ad absurdum is not something I have ever asked him. We can guess – only Bobby knows.

Contract Bridge became an Olympic sport in 2008 when the World Mind Sports Games were held in Beijing immediately following the Paralympic Games.

Competitions in five mind sports (bridge, chess, Chinese Chess, Go and Draughts) were held. Strangely London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games did not include the World Mind Sports which were instead held in Lille, at the same time as the Olympics.

The Commonwealth Games followed that Olympic lead, and the first Commonwealth Nations Bridge Championships were held in New Delhi, in 2010 (Scotland winning the Gold medal) and subsequently in Glasgow in 2014. The next such Bridge Championships will be held on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018.

But retournons a nos moutons: I was the 42nd President of the Scottish Bridge Union back in 1981-82, and was the youngest person to have held that position. To date I am the only person to have been elected President and then been awarded a first international cap!

This article is a short history of how Daniel Stewart’s College and Melville College FPs have contributed to Bridge in Scotland since the formation of the Union in 1932, with particular reference to their involvement in the Scottish Cup competition.

The Scottish Cup is the premier competition and was first played for in the 1933/34 season. The winning team that first year comprised three Stewart’s teachers, Charles Stewart, Willie Baxter (19281935) (both Classics) and John A Baird (Mathematics). I have been unable to

FP News 2016

31

Sports Clubs...

John Matheson & Finlay Marshall determine the background of Bertie Cruickshank, the fourth member of that team. Apparently Charlie Stewart, having been intrigued by the newspaper reports of the formation of the Scottish Bridge Union which brought the game to a wider audience, remarked that ”intelligent people like ourselves should be able to play this game, and all we need is practice” – the Staff Room seemed ideally suited.

As generations of Stewart’s pupils will remember, John A Baird allegedly spent a considerable time “in his garden last night”. On one occasion, when I was playing against him, he pulled off a bit of a coup, prompting my comment “I was in my garden last night. The only green you saw last night was the green of the bridge table”. He gave me a look as only a schoolmaster could, and replied “True, Finlay, true, but you can play this great game all your life: when you are young you should be outside enjoying the fresh air”.

I was lucky enough to win the Scottish Cup three years in a row, between the years 1997 – 2000, the first time that feat had been achieved. One of our team of four was David J Frew (M 1961), also a Scottish International player, who tragically died in a house fire a few years later.

Undoubtedly, the best player from Stewart’s Melville is John A Matheson (S 1963), an author of bridge books and thought - provoking articles, and a prolific winner of Scottish Bridge events: following his success in this year’s (2016) Scottish Cup not only a winner of that event a record 16 times, but now also a member of a team (the second to have done so) that has won the Scottish Cup three years in a row!

Finlay Marshall

Harry Waugh, Richard Bee, George Bee, Frances Kerr, David Lawson, David Brown and Dave McKay (Rob Garner missed the photo) – Match v Watsonians 21/11/16

CURLING

2016/17. So far, we have managed wins against Bank of Scotland and DAFS, but suffered a narrow loss to Penicuik.

Club Season

King George IV Knockout trophy

As a result of a fixtures mix up last season the final league game was played at the beginning of this season.

The winners of the Andrew Williamson trophy for season 2014 – 15 were the rink skipped by George Bee and ably assisted by Richard Bee, Frances Kerr and Malcolm McLaren.

Our rink was narrowly defeated in the first round in 2015/16, but this year our rink had a hard fought first round victory against Chartered Surveyors.

Four rinks have again set out to battle throughout 2015/16 to try and win the Andrew Williamson Trophy. The winners were the rink skipped by Ralph Garden, assisted by Rob Garner, David Armitage and Jane Bruce.

In the current 2016/17 season, four rinks have again set out to to try and win the Andrew Williamson Trophy. We are almost at the half way point and all four rinks are closely bunched.

Glenfarclas Division 2 (Midlothian Province) We had hopes at one point of promotion to Division 1, but sadly missed out finishing third and are again playing in Division 2 in

Midlothian Province Bonspiel Having come so close last year to winning this day long competition, it was disappointing for both rinks to underperform this year and we finished in mid table. We have entered two rinks in this day long competition to be held on 30th January, 2017.

F.P. League We won our first match against Edinburgh Accies by 2 matches to nil. Unfortunately we faced stiff opposition in our 2 matches against Watsonians and lost by 3 games to 1. This season we lost out narrowly to Heriot’s, finishing a very close second.

Challenge Match v Watsonians Sad to report that we lost our hold on the Watsonian salver.

Match v Schools We successfully managed to snatch back the shield this year from the schools.

Skip David Brown encouraging Rob Garner and Harry Waugh to sweep harder to get our stone into the house 21/11/16

As ever, we are in need of curlers of all abilities and if anyone knows a curler looking to join a club, please get them to contact our President George Bee on 0131 336 4533 or gbee@blueyonder.co.uk George Bee

32

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

RUGBY The 2015/16 season saw the first XV finish in 6th place in the BT National League Division 1 with 47 points from 9 wins and 13 losses. This was a relatively successful position taking into account player injuries (significantly, to Nick McCashin ) and a young squad.

The 2nd XV (the previous year’s league winners ) finished in 4th place in the BT Reserve League National 2 with 66 points from 13 wins and 8 losses .

The mighty 3rd XV finished in 3rd place in BT Reserve League East 2 with 62 points from 12 wins and 6 losses. Many thanks to Phil Waine for all of his hard work putting out a 3rds team every Saturday - not an easy task!

vs Howe of Fife

Season 2016/17 During the summer months the Rugby Club put in place a new coaching structure under head coach Gordon Henderson, along with Graham Inglis , Nick McCashin and Gavin Sharp.

Unfortunately the Club lost the services of over 23 payers in the summer months from last season’s squads as the lure of premiership and money to the lower leagues was something the Club could not compete with.

vs Accies which should stand us in good stead. We can assure all our friends and supporters that we are determined to turn our fortunes around and remain in the BT National 1 Division come Easter.

So the season got off to a difficult start with 7 straight defeats. However the latter 2 matches against Edinburgh Accies. and Selkirk showed what we could be capable of, and resulted in the next 2 games generating 2 wins before losing narrowly to Dundee High School prior to the autumn international break at 1st XV level.

vs Howe of Fife vs Aberdeen Grammar The 2nd XV have suffered in their league as players have been promoted in to the 1st XV. The 3rd XV All Stars under the guidance of Fin & Jim Calder and Scott Brewster continue to defy age and proving that sometimes experience can overcome the naivety of youth!

The short break for the Autumn Internationals enabled a change of training regime with brilliant high quality guest coaches Chris Leck and Roddy Grant coming to share their skills and knowledge,

Rugby Club Cheese Night All things said, the Rugby Club is in good spirits and recognises that there are many supporters in the background without whom the Club could not function effectively. To name a few, Groundsman Willie Purdie and his staff provide us with one of the best training and playing surfaces in Scotland - a view also shared by near neighbours - Inverleith RFC; our Medical Team of physios and chiropractor; Ground Convenor Bobby Clark who opens and locks up on a Saturday , updates the signage and works the scoreboard; Gav Calder, our exciting match commentator and reporter; Denise Mitchell and her staff and Joyce and the Caterers; Bob Bowie, Lunch Club host, and Don Rolls who organises international tickets for members; and Lindsey Geddes, Business Development Manager.

And last, but not least, Christina Rigby who organises the highly successful Autumn Ball and other events each year, which are essential fund raisers for the Club.

Club Ball Raffle prizes

Lindsay Ross

The Cheeses

FP News 2016

33

HOCKEY CLUB LADIES’ SECTION

Hockey Men

MEN’S SECTION Men’s 1s The Men’s 1s had a difficult time in 2015/16 with a change of coach around the midway point in the season. Unfortunately the guys weren’t able to turn things around and were relegated to National 3.

However they have made a strong start this season and are currently sitting 3rd. They have played 8 games with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, scoring a total of 24 goals and having only conceded 11 – the lowest in their league.

Head Men’s Coach Simon Flynn has continued in his role this season bringing some much needed continuity and development to the squad. In the Scottish Cup, the M1s went out in the first round to Western Wildcat’s M1s losing 6-1.

Men’s 2s Last season The Men’s 2s dropped down from Central league to have a successful season in East District 1 finishing in 4th place. In 2016/17 they are currently sitting in 5th place having played 9 games of which they have won 5 and lost 4, scoring a total of 17 goals but conceding 16.

Men’s 3s 2015/16 was a tough season for the Men’s 3s who finished 10th in East Division 2 but with two teams from their league facing relegation it wasn’t enough to save them and they were dropped to East District 3. This season though they have made a strong start having played 8 league games with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, scoring a total of 27 goals and conceding 16 sitting in 2nd place overall at the break. Having been relegated last year they are determined to show what they can do this season.

Ladies’ 1s The Ladies’ 1s started an exciting new journey in 2015/16, entering National 1 - a first for the Club on either the Men’s or Ladies’ side!

They pulled off several solid performances against some of the top clubs in Scotland but would have perhaps hoped to secure wins in some of their more marginal games. The team finished in 9th place, crucially avoiding relegation after a double header weekend play off against local rivals Cala.

So far the current season sees them enjoying their second season in National 1, competing against the best players in Scotland. Steve Jack, who joined ESM as Head of Ladies Coaching last season has continued in his role and is looking to build on lessons learned last year.

The ladies have had a tough start to the season with a number of games against the top half of the table. They are currently sitting 8th having played a total of 9 games of which they have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 6, scoring 18 goals along the way. In the Scottish Cup they went out in the 2nd round in a closely contested match against Dundee Wanderers.

Ladies’ 2s The Ladies’ 2s enjoyed their second year of Championship league in 2015/16, finishing 3rd in Division B with14 games played, 7 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses.

Hockey Ladies They continue to compete and have made an extremely strong start this season having won 8 of their 9 games and drawing the other, making them undefeated at the Christmas break. They are sitting in 1st place, 7 points clear of the 2nd placed team having scored 28 goals and only conceding 9, the lowest in the league. Long may the winning streak continue!

The 2s lost in the second round of the Scottish plate competition against Cala 1s in an extremely competitive game which ended 1-0.

Ladies’ 3s The Ladies’ 3s were relegated to East Division 2 at the end of last season, suffering from significant availability issues.

So far this season they have had a rough start. They have played 7 games, drawing 1 and losing the other 6, scoring 7 goals along the way and conceding 29 putting them in last place at the break.

Interested in playing hockey?

Have you considered Erskine Stewart’s Melville Hockey Club?

ESMHC are always looking to welcome new players to the Club. We are a friendly Edinburgh Hockey Club playing out of Inverleith playing fields on East Fettes Avenue.

We have 3 Men’s teams and 3 Ladies teams covering varying levels of Scottish Hockey including National, Championship and East District. In addition we have a well-developed Youth Section and both male and female Vets team. We look to welcome new faces and further develop all levels of hockey across the Club, from the sociable team players to the more serious National level players.

Our fees are some of the least expensive in Edinburgh and our focus is equally placed on the social aspect as well as results on the pitch, benefitting from colocation of our pitch and Clubhouse.

If you are interested in finding out more, we would love to hear from you so please contact us at info@esmhc.com. We will be holding a number of social events throughout the summer to introduce new people to the Club; it would be great to see you there!

Website: www.esmhc.com Email: info@esmhc.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ESMHockeyClub Twitter: @ESMHockey Club Captain: clubcaptain@esmhc.com Club Secretary: secretary@esmhc.com

34

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

CRICKET

also be given of 16 year old Toby Hughes, who made his 1st XI debut and performed well as a top order bat and wicketkeeper in several crucial league games during the second half of the season.

Greg Ruthven (33) and Adam McHoul (30) also contributed valuable wickets, while Mike Miller (557 runs), Tom Beaton (480 runs), Kyle McCallum (428 runs) and Steven Parker (404 runs) all contributed well to our batting.

Away from League action we won our third trophy, the ActiveCity Cup, beating Edinburgh Accies in the semi-final before being declared winners in the final against Drummond Trinity by the famed Duckworth Lewis calculations after rain stopped play.

The other cup competitions were less successful, with a first round exit to holders Arbroath United in the Scottish Cup and defeat by Carlton in an entertaining Grange Loan tie watched by a large crowd.

1st XI won Promotion vs Meigle While the FP Cricket Club 1st XI, with a strong squad, undoubtedly underachieved in 2015, they had great success in 2016, winning three trophies – a record.

Their first success was even before the start of the official season, with a first ever winning of the East of Scotland Indoor Sixes. This augured well for the season and hopes were further increased by securing the services of a high profile professional, Tom Beaton, who has played first-class cricket for Western Australia and more recently for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash Australian 20/20 Tournament. Rather surprisingly, Tom’s appointment was the only disappointment in the season, as he had to return early July to Australia. His recommended replacement, Jake Fawcett, who had also played first-class cricket, only lasted three games before he too returned to Australia. In the difficulty of finding a third professional for the season, we were lucky to secure the services for the last three games of Brad Moses, who had been our professional in 2014 & 2015.

Leaving these problems aside, until the start of August the 1st XI made serene progress, winning all of their completed games in the East of Scotland Championship. They looked certainties for the title until their form deserted them with two home defeats by Edinburgh & Kelso. A washed out game the week after meant the Title would be decided at Inverleith on the last day of the regular season with a match against nearest rivals Royal High Corstorphine.

The team rose magnificently to the occasion and won a low scoring game by 47 runs.

This victory meant our 1st XI proceeded to a

play-off fixture the next Saturday at Freuchie for entry to the Eastern Premiership League, the best League in Scotland. Our opponents were Meigle from the Strathmore Union. In another low scoring game they gave us all sorts of difficulties, but the 1st XI again won through, this time by three wickets, mainly thanks to a great innings of 42 not out by Greg Bissett.

So…..the challenge of the Eastern Premiership League awaits us next season.

A major part of the 1st XI’s success was the bowling of Elliot Ruthven. He was markedly quicker than in previous seasons, was our top wicket taker with 34 wickets and earned promotion to the Edinburgh side (known as the Eastern knights), the Scotland Development and the Scotland A sides as an opening bowler. He was joined in the Edinburgh team by professional Tom Beaton and opening batsman Mike Miller, our largest contribution to a district side for some 50 years. Mention should

Tom Beaton & Mike Miller vs Grange

We again fielded 2nd, 3rd & 4th XIs in the East of Scotland Leagues. All finished mid-table, good wins being interspersed with disappointing defeats. Most notable performance for the season was veteran Vic Coltherd’s 460 runs for the 3rd XI, while Euan Robertson & Asdaq Raja scored 244 & 237 runs respectively for the 4th XI. At a more youthful level, 14 year old Sam Tait made his debut for the 2nd XI, bowling very well, including 4-28 at St Boswells in the last game of the season. It was also great to see a number of S2s playing well in the 3rd and 4th XIs, in particular Harry Johnstone, Charlie Phipps and Rory Phipps.

The highest score in one game was achieved by rugby prop Rhys Morgan, scoring 127 for the 2nd XI at Kirk Brae.

Playing numbers were high and we are considering entering a team in the East of Scotland Development League which looks like it will be established.

Our midweek Trojans XI had a very successful season, both in terms of results (8 victories from 11 games played), but more importantly the encouragement & coaching given to the junior players in a team which had a wide span of ages.

Bert Barclay

FP News 2016

GOLF 2016 prove to be another highly successful year for the FP Golf Club with member numbers continuing to grow, outings and social events Malcolm MacColl very well supported, and considerable success within team competitions. As is traditional, the season kicked off with our annual dinner in late March and a sell-out crowd were royally entertained by the excellent Howard Haslett and the Club’s very own chief raconteur, Rory Thomson. A particularly pleasing feature of the dinner was that the attendees ranged in age from their 20s right through to their 90s, all enjoying the hospitality to its full.

For the Spring Outing a party of 32 crossed the Forth to the magnificent Lundin Links where we were treated to blustery conditions, but also a course in fine early season condition. Scoring on the day was highly competitive with Mike Buxton scooping the scratch prize with an excellent 74 and new member, Scott Armstrong, winning the handicap competition with a mighty 44 stableford points ! The Summer Outing to Muirfield was also very well attended with 35 members enjoying fantastic conditions for their early evening round. Scott Gill won the scratch prize with a superb 74, with another member of the Armstrong party (James) lifting the handicap trophy with 37 points.

The final outing of the year saw the Club travel further afield to the splendid seaside links of Goswick in Northumberland. Yet again we were lucky with the weather (the captain even donned his shorts) and the prizes were lifted by Stevie Newlands with a scratch 79 and former Captain, David Kyles, with 36 stableford points.

Turning to team events, I am pleased to say that more than 25 golfers represented

the Club in various matches, and that we enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in our history (although we still can’t seem to beat the schoolboys !) Vice Captain Adam Preedy led us to victory in the inaugural Grand Match which was played at Bruntsfield versus Watsonians and Heriot’s, whilst another new fixture against the Merchant Company saw Tony Kelly lift the trophy on behalf of the Club.

Elsewhere there was success in the Gilbert Archer where we join the ladies of MES to compete with Watsonians, and we retained the highly competitive Edinburgh Cup handicap tournament at Duddingston with Ally Mcleish captaining the side on the day.

35

Golf Club Retreat saw 22 members travel north to Moray for the Weekend Retreat. This was a hugely enjoyable occasion with some very competitive golf not allowed to encroach too much on the socialising. The courses of Grantown on Spey, Moray and Boat of Garten were all superb and even the unfolding events from the Ryder Cup that weekend couldn’t dampen the spirits. The eventual winner of the Retreat trophy was Jim Littlefair, whilst Mike Kidd lifted the much coveted Shankers’ Tankard following a nail biting final match.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the year, however, was that of our scratch team who retained the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Schools Trophy under the leadership of Kevin Cattenach. This is the third time that the Club has won this prestigious tournament in the last four years, and it was made all the more special by the fact that Kevin and the team defeated our close friends and rivals from Heriot’s in the final !

The captaincy of the Club will hand over to Adam Preedy in February of 2017 at the AGM and I am delighted that he has secured the services of Matthew Coyle as his “Vice”. The FP Golf Club is very lucky to have the services of Adam and Matt, and all members are also indebted to the continued hard work of our Treasurer, Jack Mainland, and Secretary, Tony Kelly. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the helm and I look forward to seeing the Club progress further over the forthcoming years. Please come and join in the fun !

The last major Club event of the season

Malcolm MacColl QE Winning Team Back row from the left : Alistair Ritchie, David Donaldson, Alan Anderson Front Row from the left: Duncan Hamilton, Kevin Cattenach, Grant Pollock

36

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE YOUNG Over recent years it has become noticeable the extent to which the FP Sports clubs put time and resources into coaching and developing young players in conjunction with the School but those not involved may not appreciate the extent of their efforts.

So here is a spotlight on each Sports club’s Youth Programmes.

Rugby Lions

The Lions have enjoyed another good season .They are one of the biggest mini rugby organisations in Scotland with around 250 players and 55 coaches participating regularly and the new influx of P1s and P2s show that this is continuing the activities which we have now started to take for granted, such as the running of 3 successful home tournaments.

Participation in 17 away tournaments at multiple age grade levels as well as significant trips to Scarborough (P4 to P6) and to Italy (P7) were again notable highlights. Simon Baig’s successful start to the development of girls rugby within the Lions is also noteworthy and I’m sure we all look forward to seeing his initiatives grow in future.

The Lions committee strongly believe that their success at attracting and retaining players is due to their ethos of developing all players and giving everyone equal opportunity to play in tournaments, rather than selecting the “best” squad to represent the club. In a late development and specialisation sport like rugby it is critical to ensure that kids are not put off at an early age - it is not always easy to pick the superstars of the future at P1 so they all need to be encouraged and developed.

That said , it’s clear when you watch their games that as soon as the kids cross the whitewash they all want to win and it’s good to see that this “ play to win” mentality is not being lost .

The biggest change which I have observed this season has been the improved communication between Lions, Academy and Senior club, building on the coordination work carried out by Bruce Ruthven last year. The Lions are now actively involved and integrated with the Senior club and this improved co-ordination should be a major positive influence in encouraging players on the journey from Lions through the Academy and onto representing the Senior club.

Alister Stewart

Academy The Rugby Academy, launched in August 2015, is the brainchild of Stewart’s Melville RFC Development manager, Bruce Ruthven and Stewart’s Melville RFC Board member Ralph Campbell along with the collaboration of the RFC and the School.

The Rugby Academy focuses on developing younger players by fostering an environment which Challenges……

Develops…. Inspires and Nurtures….. and makes it all Enjoyable. By helping them to improve, they feel supported by the coaches and they get to develop their talents in a safe and structured environment The Rugby Academy is open to ALL who display the required behaviours to make our Rugby Academy a success including enthusiasm, willingness to learn, courtesy and be a team player The key areas of focus during the year were:

Proof of Concept Glad to report this has been very successful.

We have 70+ paid - up members of the Academy (50+ U14 and 20+ U16). This is significantly above our initial estimate and proves there is an appetite for the Academy amongst Stewart’s Melville boys and also from some boys from outside the School.

Particularly pleasing has been the U16s squad which has started from scratch and we have had 5 S3 boys returning from playing at Currie RFC.

Skills The skill session and quality of coaching has been excellent and again better than our initial expectation for the first year. There have been a number of quality coaches at the skills session, namely Edinburgh and Scotland player, Sam Hidalgo Clyne, plus Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors players including FPs George Turner and Scott Riddell. The Melrose 1st XV coach has led a session as well as school teachers Mr. Edwards and Mr. Lingard. The normal weekends have been run predominantly by Bruce with support from FP players which the boys have valued highly. There have also been off field sessions looking at nutrition, hydrotherapy and personal development plans. All the feedback has been positive.

of frustration has been the fixture timetable with the School - an area we are building in the 2016/17 season.

Tour We took an U14 and U16 team to Dublin and played against good Irish and Welsh opposition. Not only were they good fixtures but it also gave the boys a good insight to the joy of touring (without the hangovers!).

A potential Canadian tour is being looked into for July 2017.

In summary A very good start thanks to a lot of hard work and direction from Bruce. We have proved there is an appetite for the Academy and really happy with the number of boys who have signed up. The skills sessions have been excellent .The Tour was a great success. There have been good lessons where we will improve on next season, the main areas for focus being fixtures and how to roll out video analysis.

Our thanks go to the School Principal David Gray and his staff for the interest, support and advice that they continually provide the club with.

If you are interested in joining please make contact with the Rugby Academy Director Ross McNulty via Ross.McNulty@valad.co.uk Ralph Campbell

Hockey What a season it has been so far!

The Eagles finished their season with a 6-0 win over Cala and a 6-2 win over Grange, this resulted in them finishing top of their league with 10 wins out of 10 games! Not dropping a single point, the Eagles scored 40 goals and conceded only 11. Coached to victory by our Men’s 1 player, Richard Wright and his assistant (also M1 and SMC 1st XI player) Jamie Hogarth, the Eagles have now bagged themselves promotion to the U14 A league and are looking forward to that starting after the Christmas break.

Complement School Programme There has been good dialogue between Jimmy Moran and the Academy. By and large, the message from most School teachers has been to positively support the Academy. The School also recently altered kick offs to support the recent Academy lunch at Inverleith. The only area

Eagles The Sabres finished their season with an 8-0 win over Inverleith and a 1-1 draw with Grange, finishing 2nd in their league

FP News 2016

and scoring 23 goals (more than any other team) while conceding just 9. As a result of this successful season the Sabres have also been promoted and will compete in the U14 B league after the Christmas break.

Absolutely fantastic work by all of our Sabres and very much looking forward to a strong season ahead. A special mention to Sophie Atherton who was successful in her trial for the Scotland under 16 squad! And credit to assistant coach and SMC 1st XI goalkeeper Callum Miller.

Our Cubs, our enthusiastic P4/5 players are looking forward to their first competitive matches in December in the Grange tournament. Our younger players are coached by Fran Coleman and Tracey Cameron (both ESM ladies players) and assisted by former youth players, Anna Youngs and Emma Forsyth. Best of luck to all who are playing in the tournament and we hope you have a fun and enjoyable day!

Cubs Sabres The Mavericks finished the season in a very respectable 3rd place just 2 points behind 2nd place Linlithgow and finishing ahead of Dunbar on goal difference (hats off to Ava Yip on such strong goal keeping throughout the season!). Coached by our Men’s 2 player, Ewan Craig, the Mavericks only lost 3 games throughout the season and are looking forward to more successes in the future.

As always, a massive thank you to all of our coaches, Jane M (our ever hard-working secretary), Jane D (who took over our Camps admin this year), the Senior Club Committee, (particularly Club Captain Pete and Treasurer Stuart), our many Duke of Edinburgh and assistant coaches, all parent helpers (who assisted in our fund raising events and those who help on pitch side on Sundays), all our supporters and fans – and of course all of our members who train tirelessly each week!

What a distance we have come over the last few years and we wouldn’t have managed it without all your constant support and enthusiasm.

We hope you have had a great Christmas and look forward to seeing you for another exciting season next year!

Mavericks This year there were two U12 leagues added at Forrester to allow some of the younger players to play some competitive hockey. Our Ladies’ 1s captain, Amy Atkinson and her assistant, Men’s 1 player James Stuart, headed up the ESM Hawks and coached them to a 4th place finish in the higher of the 2 leagues. Scoring an impressive 19 goals in 10 games the Hawks will be looking to build on this and continue their exciting, attacking play after the break.

Hawks

Ally Dodge, Youth Co-ordinator & Sabres Coach

Cricket The Club continues to major in Junior Cricket, masterminded by David Gibson Junior Summer School with Brad Moses

37

and starting with under 10s. Girls cricket has developed to the point where a side participated in five Kwik Cricket festivals at under 12 and approximately thirty girls turned up regularly on Wednesday evenings for an hour of practice. A regular programme of practice and matches is followed at under 11, under 13 and under 15. The under 13 A side proved the most successful on the field and although not reflected in their results a number of talented cricketers are developing in the under 15 side some of whom have been introduced to senior cricket via the Trojans XI, who play on Thursday evenings, and the Saturday 3rd and 4th XIs. As well as supporting girls cricket at MES the Club also supports cricket in the community assisting in the organisation of cricket opportunities in surrounding primary schools and at Trinity Academy. It is hoped that in time the player base of the Club will increase as a consequence.

Lastly two very successful summer school weeks were run during the holiday period.

Bert Barclay

Curling Schools Coaching Vicky Gumley and George Bee are again coaching the Stewart’s Melville schoolboys.

They also took over the coaching of the Stewart’s Melville rink this season and it is hoped that this will in time lead to the schoolboys taking more of an interest in playing curling for the FPs in the future.

George Bee

Golf Each year the FP Golf Club contributes towards lessons at Murrayfield Golf Club for boys in the 4th, 5th and 6th Years, and each year more than 20 boys take this offer up to be the next Grant Forrests.

38

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Obituaries...

Jim Macpherson (S 1952 ) (Died 24th August, 2015)

Don McCubbing (S 1984 ) (Died 11th September, 2015)

Memories from Jimmy Cook:

Don followed his father and grandfather by attending Daniel Stewart’s until in 1976 when he had to leave as his father, John, moved to work in Sheffield.

There he attended the local comprehensive school until going to Nottingham University to study Zoology. This was followed by a Masters degree from King’s College, London in Aquatic Resource Management

I knew Jim from University days when we both did a degree in Agriculture graduating in 1957. We both then went off to do National Service and we finished up in the same Regiment, Royal Signals in Catterick where we both played Rugby for the Signals and finished up winning the Army Cup in ‘59. I know Jim captained the Stewart’s team at some time and played alongside Billy Relph, Chubby Armstrong, Grant Weatherstone and the Sharps. He also played for Edinburgh against the Springboks.

I know he left a silver swagger stick to the School CCF. I think he got it from Johnnie Henderson (sports master Melville) who was his next door neighbour in Corstorphine.

I came back to farming and Jim joined a company which specialized in silage towers. He married in ‘62 but divorced after about 10-14 years when he lived down South. He finally worked for New Holland, got married again to Christine, and retired to the South of France. There he became great friends with Nathan Hines who played rugby in France for Perpignan.

Jim was born on 2nd September, 1934 and he died sadly form a brain tumour on 24th August, 2015. I went down to see him the week before he died but was unable to go to his funeral which was held on 7th September, 2015 at Bentley Crematorium, Colchester, attended by his sister Una, Christine, and his first wife Elise and their family.

Jimmy Cook.

Fred McLeod also wrote with similar rugby memories of Jim, having played with him and particularly recalls an incident “in a match against Aberdeen Grammar School FP, which was always played on a Monday evening at Inverleith. There was an early confrontation at a line -out , with Jimmy opposed by a 20 stone prop who also played for the North and Midlands. At the following line-out, Jimmy managed to land a fearsome blow on his opponent, leaving him flat out. The Aberdeen prop was later removed from the pitch on a stretcher, never to return that evening. There were no replacements in those days.”

By this time Don knew that his passion was to spend his life in fisheries. He moved to the Environment Agency working in the Lake District where he was involved with fish counter work. After a few years he emigrated to British Columbia, Canada.

What he achieved there is best described on his company’s website under the heading of Founder of Instream Fisheries Research Inc. “Don emigrated to Canada in 1997 with the goal of starting his own fisheries consulting firm. His vision was for a business that focused on research and development using creative methods and technologies to improve our understanding and management of salmonid populations. Instream’s first project was on the Keogh River; and this project continues today and constitutes the world’s longest running dataset on the population dynamics of steelhead trout. Over the next 18 years Don built his company into a leader in fish enumeration, particularly the application of resistivity fish counters. Don’s passion was fish and he worked tirelessly pursuing novel methods to effectively manage and conserve salmon. He had a magnetic personality and built relationships with like-minded people from all sectors including government, industry and First Nations. His strong moral code and vision of environment sustainability was an example to all who knew him.”

In 2014 he won a contract with Marine Scotland Science to evaluate the use of fish counters on Scottish rivers. This gave him great pleasure to link the two countries he loved.

Outwith his work he was an accomplished skier, wonderful cook and a truly hospitable host.

When diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2014 his determination to fight this was amazing. Like everything in his life he approached it with grace and his

characteristic optimism that “it will all work out.” In May he travelled with his wife and twin girls to Japan to deliver a paper at a Fisheries Conference and in August he flew to Edinburgh en route to Mallorca where all his family gathered for a last holiday together.

During this he deteriorated quite rapidly and unfortunately never managed to get back home to Vancouver. He died, aged 49, in Edinburgh on 11th September 2015.

His passion, knowledge, ethics and creativity in fisheries research and sustainable management lives on in the countless projects he developed and the people he mentored during his 30 year career. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Miwako, Aila and Zanti as they help to continue the business he set up. His legacy will live on in Canadian waters.

John McCubbing

Cliff Gorman (S 1957) (Died 8th December, 2015) Cliff Gorman’s long involvement with and love of rugby began at Daniel Stewart’s and lasted his lifetime. A 1st XV member in his final year at school he then joined the FPs where initially he played in the junior teams before gaining his opportunity in the 1st XV. For much of the 1960s he was a regular front row player either at prop or hooker in teams featuring internationalists Gregor Sharp and John Douglas and future internationalists Ian Forsyth and Sandy Hinshelwood. Freddie McLeod ,former teammate and ex SRU President, recalled “Cliff was a great character and useful front row forward, a real enthusiast. He also enjoyed the post match socialising and we spent many happy evenings in the old ‘puggy’ bar under the stand at Inverleith.”

After leaving school Cliff first worked for the Leith Docks Commission as an administrator till 1975 when he was appointed Transport Officer with the Highlands and Islands Development Board and relocated to Inverness where he joined Highland rugby club. Then in 1978 he was appointed Development Officer with the Board based in Mull with responsibility not only for that island but also Tiree, Muck, Coll and the Ardnamurchan peninsula.

There was no rugby club in Mull at the time but Cliff was instrumental in setting one up on the Isle of Mull that same year.

He was the driving force behind it and during his time on the island was player/ coach, secretary and treasurer. He was also responsible for introducing the club to 7s and put in place the foundations that would lead the club to setting up its own 7s tournament, now referred to as ‘The World’s Most Sociable Sevens’. Since

FP News 2016

then the tournament has attracted teams from all over the world featuring many internationalists and is hugely successful.

Following another two years spent in Minard, in 1986 Cliff returned to Inverness as Senior Transport Officer for what was now the Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

He rejoined the Highland club and was appointed President for four years till the early ‘90s. In fulfilling that role he was very much ‘hands on’ and was widely respected and highly thought of.

Unfortunately in 1990 he contracted multiple sclerosis which curtailed his activity somewhat although he continued involvement with the Highland club till quite recently.

Away from rugby, his main interests were his family and his long serving role as a church elder. He also enjoyed an occasional game of golf.

He is survived by wife Sandra whom he married in 1967, daughters Lindsay and Shonagh, and three grandchildren.

Jack Davidson

The Very Rev. Bill McDonald (S 1942) (Died 9th December, 2015) Bill was very proud of Daniel Stewart’s College and he kept in touch through the years. He attended the Remembrance Service every November 11th until he was too frail to do so.

His academic career was brilliant. He was Dux at DSC. In the bursary competition for Edinburgh University he was the top candidate.

His studies were delayed by the War when, for 3 years he served in the Royal Artillery in an anti-tank regiment in India and Java. His wartime service meant a great deal to him in spite of the dangers and fighting. I sometimes felt that those years were the most significant for him and he retained a lifelong interest in the writings of military historians.

Bill returned to University in 1946, completing his degree in Classics and awarded a starred First.

Bill could have excelled in any profession – but he chose the parish ministry. After 5 years in Limekilns, a centre of worship for all denominations involving the nearby Rosyth Dockyard, he was invited to be minister of Mayfield Church in Edinburgh – and this proved to be his life work, in spite of several invitations to move elsewhere.

Almost inevitably he assumed a leadership role in the national church – convening the Board of Education and the Assembly

Council. Over many years he was a leading broadcaster; he was Moderator of the General Assembly; he was chaplain to the Company of Merchants, Fettes College, Loretto School and the National Trust for Scotland. He was invited to America, New Zealand and Australia, where in 1995 he was the Warrack Trust Preacher at the Scots Church in Melbourne.

So, minister, great grandfather, father and husband – a scholar – a jazz lover – keen long distance walker – but he also enjoyed his ice cream & chocolate sauce!

In retirement, Bill travelled widely, enjoying the freedom to do so. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughters Sheena and Alison, son Roddy, and his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Patricia McDonald

David McWalter Millar (M 1947) (Died 14th May, 2016) David entered primary school at Melville College in 1934 and left in 1947, interrupted by moving to Morrison’s Academy, Crieff for 2 years from the outbreak of World War Two when the security of British cities was threatened by aerial bombing.

He served as Head Boy in his last year. In his teenage years he knew of the turmoil of war from the safety of Edinburgh. His best friend was John Mackintosh and for three years they shared cycling holidays on empty roads in the Borders and the Highlands, and after going to Edinburgh University they raced a twelve foot sailing dinghy on the grey waters of the Forth, occasionally helping to crew on larger craft.

He took a degree in History, making many lifelong friendships, and followed with National Service in the Education Branch of the Royal Air Force in occupied Germany where he resumed sailing before entering the Civil Service as a clerk in the House of Commons. There he assisted Members of Parliament to frame questions to the Government within the strict rules of procedure, to extract the maximum of information, and his former duties as scorer for the school first XI helped when counting members through the voting lobbies.

He enjoyed life in London, being a generous, gregarious host, playing rugby at London Scottish and sailing on the Crouch, first as a crew and later as the owner of a Dragon class yacht, and entertaining visiting family and friends. He turned from weekend sailing when he married Josephine and they relaxed at a frugal cottage in Sussex for

39

recreation.

When Britain joined the European Economic Community he was seconded to the European Parliament, and by now with two sons, Andrew and Neil, they moved to Luxembourg, as now the site of the offices, and loaded filing cabinets into vans once a month for the parliamentary session in Strasbourg. He enjoyed the developing nature of the work and resumed inland sailing with the family and taking part in the life of the English-speaking church and the international community.

David took early retirement to return to Scotland and settled in Peebles, working in the Europa Institute at Edinburgh University and, with his usual enthusiasm assisted in developing procedures for the forthcoming Scottish Parliament. He was awarded the OBE for services in Europe and became an Honorary Fellow of his old University.

No longer constrained by impartiality in his profession he supported the Liberal Democratic party and stood for election in South Scotland. He returned to sailing in the Clyde and Hebrides aboard a cruising yacht assisted by family and friends, while at home he enjoyed his five grandchildren, classical music, theatre and Scottish paintings, dividing his time between Peebles and New Galloway.

Geoffrey Millar

Ian Howard Wright (S 1939) (Died 26th May, 2016) Ian was born on 3rd April, 1924 in Peking into a missionary family.

His father was a medical missionary in hospitals in Tsangchow and Tientsin.

Summer holidays were spent at the seaside with their relatives the Liddells.

When his father died, Ian was only 12 and the family returned to Edinburgh where his mother worked as a teacher and he and his brother Terry went to Daniel Stewart’s.

At 15, Ian decided to leave school without any qualifications, so that his brother Terry would be able to continue his education, having realised that his mother could only afford to send one child to university. It was a noble gesture and was rewarded when Terry went on to become dux of the school He served his apprenticeship as a mining surveyor after which he went to night school to qualify as a mining engineer. Ian married Eleanor Davie in 1952 and despite both having a variety of different interests, they were both strong members of the Church.

After some years with the NCB in

40

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Wolverhampton and Lancashire, a move to Sauchie in 1967 promised further promotion, however the promise was not kept which was a bitter disappointment after having moved his family in the process.

He later forgave his employer and turned his attention to computer programming.

This eventually gave him some more spare time and he threw himself into playing and setting up croquet in Scotland, a game he had encountered in his grandparents’ back garden in Birmingham. Such was his enthusiasm for the game that Ian became one of the prime movers in setting up the Scottish Croquet Committee as part of the Croquet Association which ultimately led to international matches against overseas teams. He is still widely regarded as the “Daddy” of Scottish Croquet.

Ian’s retirement from the NCB in 1984 sadly coincided with Eleanor’s ill health and, undaunted, Ian took on the role of Carer for nearly 20 years – although they were able to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2002.

His retirement saw the family move back to Edinburgh where Ian became very active in Church and Community work, the Edinburgh Photographic Society, the Computer Club and Probus, whilst also continuing his love of croquet.

Despite being an independent man, Ian always gave his time to help others. He did not consider himself “old” – his definition of “old” was having to sit down to put one’s socks on – and when 86 he was still standing - and at 91 was dancing at his granddaughter’s wedding.

Contributed by Stephen, Joan and Ann

Prof. Sir Tom Kibble (M 1951) (Died 2nd June, 2016) Prof. Sir Tom Kibble, who was 83 when he passed away on 2nd June, was admired as much for his kindness and humanity as well as his contribution to physics. His peers and colleagues say his work reshaped the landscape of theoretical physics.

In July he was posthumously awarded the highest UK honour for physics, the Isaac Newton Medal by the Institute of Physics, for his outstanding lifelong commitment to the field.

He was noted for his work in the development of theories about the Higgs boson and many believe he should have been awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in the Higgs boson team. It was Tom’s vision and insights that led to a deeper

understanding of the Higgs mechanism and connect it with the Standard Model.

Notwithstanding his achievements, he remained a modest man of quiet distinction and dignity, respected by all who knew him, the many students he lectured and supervised and the academics he collaborated with. In very many ways he was an example not just of how to be an excellent creative scientist but how to behave towards others.

His friend and former colleague Prof. Sir Peter Knight of Imperial College London and a former IoP President believes that “he was someone who did not follow fashion.

He really felt that it was important to get to the heart of problems in a systematic way. It was Tom’s vision and insights that led to a deeper understanding of the Higgs mechanism and connected it with the Standard Model and it led to so many other things in physics.”

Readers of FP News may remember an article in the 2014 edition contributed

by Tom Kibble about his schooldays reminiciences at Melville College.

Contributed

John Lemon Thomson (S1942) (Died 9th June, 2016) JLT as he became known in his family had, before leaving school, a much more adventurous time than most of us reading this.

He was born on Friday the 13th June 1924 to an Irish mother Minnie, and a Scottish father, another John. The 13th of any month, especially if it fell on a Friday, became a natural day of celebration for him! His two sisters, Sophie and Ruth, were several years older and he said he had a very happy childhood attending Stewart’s from the age of 5 to 17. The love of sport engendered at school continued into his later years with avid watching of TV coverage of cricket, golf, rugby and tennis, even through the night if necessary, accompanied by The Black Douglas!

The war years brought changes and senior pupils were employed in replacing men who were in the Services such as postmen, over the Christmas period, and forestry workers.

They also did spells of fire watching: because in addition to high explosives enemy aircraft also carried small incendiary bombs which could start destructive fires.

The fire watchers’ job was to spot the incipient fires and report their location so that the fire brigade could attend.

Of his post office work, his first real pay, John tells of delivering parcels from a tarpaulin- covered horse drawn cart in sleet, snow and rain, climbing tenement stairs in

total darkness with a feeble torch to read the addresses. He recalls his mother being taken aback on being told that he’d had a lunch of tripe and onions in the canteen at the Gorgie slaughter house close by the sorting office.

In 1941 he was promoted to postman which involved the sorting of letters as well as delivering them. These young posties also had to clear the post boxes a job which made them feel important. John writes of the joy which letters could bring in wartime and says, ‘I clearly remember delivering a small bundle of letters to a housewife who wept because they were from her husband whom she thought was missing and had now turned up, rescued from a ship somewhere.’

Those of us a bit younger will remember John as the big drummer in the OTC band. About this he says, somewhat disappointedly, ‘It is amazing how many people remember that I played the big drum in the OTC band! I did play for the 1st XV, was Captain of the 1st XI, a school prefect, a member of the shooting VIII, AND I got my Highers the week before I joined the Navy.’

John was one of the few schoolboys allowed to join the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) later to become the Home Guard (Dad’s Army). Being a Sergeant in the OTC and having had some small arms training certainly helped him to be enrolled.

Of this he says, ‘There was a very real threat of invasion and one felt that one had to do one’s bit to defend one’s country.’

As a RNVR recruit John did his shore training at HMS Ganges, a ‘Stone Frigate’ and went to sea in HMS Campion, a Flower Class Corvette, sailing out of Liverpool mainly on Atlantic convoys but also taking part in the North Africa landings. His compulsory sea time, for potential officers, completed he was posted to HMS King Alfred, another ‘Stone Frigate’ and the naval OCTU. He modestly said that he passed out as a Midshipman, at the top of his class, but too young to be graded Sub Lieutenant. Following a navigation course he was posted to HMS Roebuck a destroyer fitting out at John Brown’s yard on the Clyde. He remembers the cheers of the people at the little ferry crossings as the ship sailed down river to the Tail of the Bank. His duty was on the foc’sle with the responsibility for dropping the anchor should there be an emergency. His Captain, John Trevor Lean DSO, was a RN man of the old school and insisted on his two Midshipmen, as was the RN custom, keeping journals which were glorified diaries of their doings on the ship. These were signed by the Captain every Sunday morning and were classed as Confidential Books. John retained his!

His war was not uneventful and included,

FP News 2016

while on HMS Roebuck, sinking a German supply tanker the Brake.

the sort of man, ‘my friend John was’.

By late 1944 he was a Sub Lieutenant and posted to HMS Freesia another Flower Class Corvette as navigator, in possession of a full watch-keeping certificate. Freesia operated in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea and was in Colombo when the atom bomb was dropped and hostilities ceased. His final posting was as Lieutenant to a Tribal Class destroyer HMS Eskimo based at Sheerness.

‘Dad was kind hearted and enjoyed showing many overseas visitors, who often stayed at ‘Sandtoft’, around the area. As we all know, he could be cantankerous and show you the door on a bad day!

Demobbed in 1946 he returned to Edinburgh to train as a seedsman with David Bell & Sons in Leith. Soon he renewed his friendship with Bunny Sandeman and they married in February 1947. Later that year he was working in Belfast where John Patrick was born.

Valerie and Michael soon followed and from Edinburgh the family moved to England for John to open a branch office in Liverpool.

They set up home in Hoylake and as John Patrick said it was a pleasant place to live giving the children every encouragement to pursue their activities which led to their varied lives. John and Bunny built a wide circle of friends through golf, tennis, sailing, service club involvement and the RNVR. It was a talent they had, and helped them fit in when they emigrated to Australia, following John Patrick and family who were in Queensland. They settled in the coastal town of Yepoon and there John got to know his grandchildren who revered him.

Speaking about John at his funeral service, grandson Tim said, ‘I think all us cousins would agree that John was very much involved in our lives … whether it be running a hot bath for us, or tucking us into bed at night during visits with he and Bunny in our early years, to regular text messages and email correspondence in more recent years, when he became quite tech savvy!’

‘John was always a stickler for the rules.

There was a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Proper manners and decorum were very important to John and he impressed this upon us all.’

‘Family was extremely important to him.

And in many ways, he has been the glue that held all us cousins together across the miles.’

Rob Macfarlane spoke of his friendship with John with whom he shared an interest in bird watching. Rob in 2004 planned a birding expedition to Burma; the first to be allowed by that country’s military administration.

Would John like to go along? He did and you’ll find his experiences written up in the Collegian of 2004.

Rob also tells how John traced the Captain of the Brake, Karl Heinz, who had been captured following the sinking of his ship by HMS Roebuck, and eventually met up with his former enemy and his wife Dena. As Rob said that act illustrated John’s humanity and

John Patrick’s final words at the funeral service,

Mum’s ashes were scattered from the rocks at Lammermoor Beach. Dad would regularly walk there, while he was able, to commune with and seek guidance from ‘the water sprite’ as he called her.

Dad’s ashes will be joining Mum’s in the great ocean.

But, ladies, beware as you leave here….. you may see him, balancing on his stick, holding the door open for you, with that wicked twinkle in his eye – maintaining that ingrained courtesy until the last.’

Bon voyage JLT.’ JLT in his words, Family and Friends

Graham Armstrong (S 1967) (Died 1st July, 2016) A Man For All Seasons It’s not easy to lose a friend…but when one dies unexpectedly – and certainly well before “his time” – then it is very difficult to come to terms with. This is especially true for Graham’s lovely wife Elaine and their three children, Amy, Scott and Ross, all in their 20s. Graham was a family man to the core and was immensely proud of them.

He was also devoted to his parents, Jimmy and Kitty who both passed away last year.

Graham was many things to many people.

I first met him in 1977, in the bar at Selkirk Rugby Club, where he was introduced to me during my playing days by Ian Barnes.

Graham always assured me he was the finest kicker Stewart’s had ever seen but I never saw evidence of that! Nevertheless he was a real rugby enthusiast and that meeting led to a “tale of two cities” for Graham, as he soon made almost as many friends in Selkirk as he had back in Edinburgh. He frequently corrected people who said he had attended “Stewart’s Melville”: it was Daniel Stewart’s, he said. He greatly admired the Brewsters, the Calders and the Scotts because he said they were “real men” who could easily take on their mighty opponents from the Border clubs.

At that time I was moving to Edinburgh with the Bank of Scotland and Graham offered me a room in his flat in Comely Bank.

When I called him the next day to discuss this, he said he could not remember our conversation, which must have come from a head knock rather than beer.

Graham qualified as a Chartered Accountant and spent most of his career working for

41

BP in Grangemouth. He had a love of spreadsheets and helped me by pushing me to sit my banking exams - so he was a great mentor as well as a great flatmate.

Graham had an operation in 1985 for bowel cancer, from which he happily recovered and we went on to become each other’s best men at our respective weddings in the 1980s.

Outwith the rugby season, Graham enjoyed golfing at the Royal Burgess at Barnton, where his sons are helping to keep the tradition going by continuing to play. His brothers Ian and Murray are also dedicated members.

More recently, Graham enjoyed walking and cooking, but he never lost his fondness for speaking his mind – “controversial”, some would say; “outspoken” was another term often used. Fortunately he had also a dry sense of humour and loved the company of both his family and his wide circle of friends.

Graham spent many happy summers in Italy and sadly, it was en route to his last holiday in July this year that he died suddenly, with Elaine by his side. He was only 67. “Army” was much loved and will be sadly missed.

David Bell

David M Ross (DSC1955) (Died 16th July, 2016) The family of David M Ross were saddened with his loss on 16th July 2016 after a period of illness.

David was a wellrespected member and supporter of the FP Club having held office for both the Aberdeen Branch and the Parent Club here in Edinburgh, culminating in becoming President in 1996-97.

Born in Trinity on 6th December 1937, David grew up and remained in Trinity whilst attending Daniel Stewart’s College throughout secondary school.

After leaving DSC, he attended Heriot Watt and graduated with an Electrical Engineering Degree. He continued his connection with the FP Club, playing rugby for several years.

He married Maureen in July 1964 and they had two children, Hazel and Ewan. The family moved around the UK in support of David’s career.

David worked for BP for 27 years, starting in Grangemouth and moving to Aberdeenshire in 1976. Taking early retirement in 1991, he continued to work as a consultant and made the decision to finally retire in 2002 and move to St.

42

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Boswells with Maureen.

David had many hobbies throughout his life. He loved being outdoors and had 7 labradors throughout his married life. This allowed him to actively pursue hobbies such as walking and joining organised shoots where he took great pleasure in working his dogs. He particularly enjoyed this during his time in Aberdeenshire.

David also enjoyed playing golf, supporting rugby, and restoring Alvis cars – owning 3 of them in his later life. He was also a great connoisseur of whisky, and always had stories to contribute. He was fortunate to experience international travel during his retirement with Maureen, visiting New Zealand, Australia, USA, Fiji, Chile, Antarctica and the Baltic States.

and others. He subsequently remarried Dr. Margaret Hutton and they spent many enjoyable hours completing their formal Italianate terraced garden at Birdsmill replete with its remarkable artefacts.

One of the highlights of his professional life latterly was the publication of his doctoral thesis “The Semantics of Psychospace” in 2002, on landscape analysis and Carl Jung’s concept of the archetype.

Unfortunately Parkinson’s Disease complicated his final years but he is fondly remembered by all who knew him for his warm hearted and witty company, his incisive intellect and his highly significant professional achievements.

Jack Davidson

Ewan Ross

James Hope (S1948) (Died 23rd August, 2016) James Hope was one of the country’s most renowned landscape architects and one of the first who was born and trained in Scotland. His interest in and love of cultivation and horticulture were doubtless nurtured through his parents on their Edinburgh allotment.

On leaving school he gained a diploma in horticulture leading to posts as head gardener firstly at Tyningham, East Lothian and then the Hope Estate, Edinburgh where he met his first wife June Lorraine. They married in 1953 and together they set up a smallholding at Gogarbank.

Following attendance at night classes, James undertook a Landscape Architecture course at University, and so began a lifelong interest in landscape design.

On graduating he joined the university Planning Research Unit where he developed the landscape analysis method later adopted in various Regional Surveys and Plans, including as far afield as Central Portugal.

In 1971 he published “The Semiotic of Landscape”, on landscape analysis.

He went on to establish his own landscape practice, Landesign at Birdsmill, near Broxburn and was involved in many projects for Livingston New Town and West Lothian, including work on their shale bings.

As a consultant he also worked with London architects Ahrends, Burton and Koralek on a number of projects including Cumins Engine Works at Shotts, a hospital on the Isle of Wight, and the British Embassy in Moscow.

His wife’s death in 1974 was a huge blow to James and their three children who received great support from his parents

David Mauritzen (M 1959) (Died 11th October, 2016) Played in the School 1st XV and also a strong swimmer, after leaving school David went into Banking and travelled overseas with Standard Chartered Bank, working in 11 countries. He retired in 1997 and is survived by his wife Jan, daughter Ashley, brother John, sister-in-law Fiona and sister Sasha.

Contributed

Ernest Nicholas Hodgkinson Lack (S 1941) (Died 19th October, 2016) Ernie (see several recent editions of FP News) is the last of the four children - all former pupils of Daniel Stewart’s and Mary Erskine Colleges - of Lt.-Col. Lewis Albert Hodgkinson Lack, M.B. Ch.B. Ed. (1880-1933), also a former pupil and later high ranking officer in the Indian Medical Service, to pass away.

Ernie served in the RAF during WW2 and in the 50s as test pilot for the twinjet atom bomber. Ernie’s subsequent professional career as a food technology expert with Unilever equipped him with sufficient skills to pass on to food production plants in Germany, Italy, Turkey, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay as a senior consultant for the senior expert service.

Ernie’s elder brother, Andrew Lewis Hodgkinson Lack, M.C. C.P.M., was awarded the military cross while serving for the 3rd parachute squadron royal engineers in 1944 and was assassinated during antiterrorist

operations in Aden in 1967. His sister, Mairi, M.D., served as a medical officer in the Scottish Health Service and died in 1997. His brother Frederik West Hodgkinson Lack, J.P., served as a seaman and later in the Newport steel works died on 12th July, 2016.

Ernie’s German wife Elisabeth, his family and countless friends wish him a happy landing after his final early morning flight departing from Hanover, Germany on 19th October, 2016.

Nicholas Lack, Ph.D.

J.Frazer Madder (M1963) (Died 16th November, 2016) Frazer Madder was born on 17th June 1945. His mother was tragically killed in an accident and after this he lived with his father and stepmother in Eildon Terrace in Edinburgh. He was a keen rugby player and he played on the wing. He was fast, and his proud father could be seen, and heard, regularly shouting instructions to “Give the ball to Frazer” on a Saturday morning.

After school, he worked for the Initial Cleaning Services Group as the accountant and apparently ran a very tight ship.

Frazer’s main passion was cars. He loved his Jaguars and apparently one is still under wraps at his home. He was involved with the Scottish Hill Climb Club, being Clerk of the Course at Doune for many years and was also one of the original pioneers of the Scottish Motorsport Marshalls Club.

He was recently described as “one of the characters of Scottish Motor Sport.”

Latterly, he had suffered several health problems and spent some time in Drummond Grange Nursing Home, although, true to form, he countered his issues in his usual determined manner.

After he left Drummond Grange he went back every day,” to give something back” and he chaired a newspaper group with some of the residents, discussing the day’s stories. He was also a welcome attendee at the annual “Boys” Lunch of the Melville Class of 1963 at the Café Royal Circle Bar. Sadly Frazer’s health problems caught up with him and he passed away on 16th November.

Contributed

Late announcements Graeme Ballantyne (DSC 1963) of Auchterarder died on 5th January, 2017.

Rev. Alan Roy (DSC 1952) died 30th November, 2016 after a life of service to the church in Zambia, Stobswell Dundee, Dunning with Aberuthven and Fife.

FP News 2016

FP Club Council 2016-2017

Back Row L-R: Bob Young, David Clark, Chris Murchison, Stuart Watson, John Archer, Gordon Esselmont Front Row L-R: Laura McIntosh, Bert Barclay, David Gray, Charles Wilson

Contacts Secretary: Laura McIntosh The Clubhouse, 523 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DW Email: smcfpclub@esms.org.uk Phone: 07757 088 838 Editor: Bob Young 26 Maplewood Park, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 8BB Email: rbc_young@hotmail.com Phone: 01506 463536

Branch Club Contacts Aberdeen Secretary: Mike Wheeler Contact: mike.wheeler@ifb.co.uk Borders Secretary: Finlay Marshall Contact: finlaymarshall@giffordvale.wanadoo.co.uk Glasgow Secretary: Rod Hunter Contact: rod@rodcando.co.uk London Secretary: Tom Scrimgeour Contact: tomscrimgeour@aol.com Australia Secretary: Graeme Reid Contact: gmr1160@msn.com

Affiliated Club Contacts Rugby Hockey Cricket Golf Curling

Colin Rigby Contact: rigbyc@hotmail.co.uk Kenny Campbell Contact: clubcaptain@esmhc.com John Archer Contact: john.m.archer@blueyonder.co.uk Tony Kelly Contact: tonykelly045@virginmedia.com George Bee Contact: gbee@blueyonder.co.uk

43

Stewart’s Melville FP Clubhouse Available for Hire

44

Daniel Stewart’s & Melville College Former Pupils Club

Corporate Meetings, Anniversary Dinners, Funeral Lunches, Private Parties and Weddings FUNCTION SUITES - BAR & CATERING FACILITIES For Further Details Contact Laura McIntosh Tel: 07757 088 838 Email: smcfpclub@esms.org.uk