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OLD JOHNIAN THE

The Magazine for Alumni of St John’s School

T H E OL D JOH N IAN MAGAZIN E

FROM THE HEAD’S

DESK I am writing this at the end of my first year as The Head of St John’s and it is an interesting point at which to reflect on the warmth of the welcome I have received into the St John’s community. My own connection with St John’s stretches back to childhood when I competed on St John’s playing fields as a local schoolgirl. Fast-forward a few years and, as my teaching career progressed, I remained aware of St John’s and watched the changes taking place with interest. I was immediately drawn to the role of The Head at St John’s because I could see that it would blend the professional challenge of leading an exceptional school with a very personal sense of belonging and familiarity. My family was instantly made to feel at home here and my conviction that this would be a special community to belong to has certainly been proved to be true. Throughout its history, St John’s has been progressive in its approach and never has this been more important than today. The challenge for schools now is to retain the ethos and values which are at their heart, while being innovative in the way they prepare young people for life in an ever-shifting landscape. It is heartening that one of the most significant changes at St John’s in recent years, the introduction of Lower School, has proved so successful because this demonstrates the value of seeking new ways

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to meet the changing needs of our pupils and their families. Being a vibrant community of boys and girls from ages 11 to 18 has added an exciting new dimension to school life and we are delighted that we will be welcoming a larger Lower Third (Year 7) intake in September 2018. We are fortunate at St John’s to have exceptional facilities for our pupils but we are also ambitious about building the very best learning environment that we can. Our Director of Estates will be creating a masterplan to ensure that our setting supports and enhances the delivery of the highest standard of education in the coming years. I am also pleased to say that work has now begun on the new swimming pool and this is scheduled to be completed in summer 2019. I have really enjoyed talking with the many OJs I have met at various events this year; I have been struck by the loyalty, kindness and enthusiasm you have for St John’s and it speaks volumes for our school community that we have such a committed alumni. I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and I look forward to meeting many more of you at future events. Mrs Rowena Cole The Head

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EDINBURGH FRINGE The John’s 11 theatre group went to Edinburgh to perform at the Fringe Festival. The show, Not To Be Seen Outside the EU, was a short, light-hearted comedy about a dystopian post-Brexit Britain.

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The group flyered on the Mile and enjoyed interacting with creative and interesting people, swapping flyers and hearing them talk with passion about their performances. They also adopted some unorthodox flyering techniques including lying on the ground, coating pillars entirely in taped together flyers, and resorted to some good old fashioned begging. Despite initial worries over its reception, the show was a hit with the audience and was almost full every day.

NEWS

STEM TRIP TO THE INSTITUTE OF CANCER RESEARCH Girls from the Lower Sixth took a trip to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). The day focused on encouraging girls to take up STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers. The first talk from Professor Raj Chopra explained how the ICR contributes to breakthroughs in cancer treatment. He explained that the human genome sequencing now takes two hours, so malfunctioning genes can be pinpointed and genetic predisposition to cancer identified. The second speaker, Dr Olivia Rossanese, explained how school-level biology feeds into the work of the ICR to develop new medicines. The third speaker, Dr Florence Raynaud, spoke about the role of chemistry in developing new treatments. She highlighted professional avenues to work with the ICR and advised the girls to study something they were passionate about as specialising comes later.

“My experience at the Young Furniture Makers’ exhibition was amazing and I was honoured to have been put forward and to present my piece. It was fascinating to be able to meet so many interesting people and to see the wide variety of creativity in their designs.”

YOUNG FURNITURE MAKERS’ EXHIBITION Saskia Hawkins was awarded joint winner of the School Design Prize at the Young Furniture Makers’ Exhibition in London. She received the award, a gift voucher and a cheque for St John’s, from acclaimed product and furniture designer Sebastian Conran. The Young Furniture Makers’ exhibition was held at Furniture Makers’ Hall and the Dutch Church in Austin Friars. Over 120 young designers and furniture makers were invited to exhibit and showcase their work.

Designer Sebastian Conran in his West London Studio Saskia Hawkins

The girls then went on a tour of the Medical Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Screening labs and got the chance to see experiments in action. They also used microscopes to examine living human cells.

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ST JOHN’S AT SANDHURST A pupil and a member of staff from St John’s were proud participants at a dinner at Sandhurst. Cadet Sergeant Emma Sinclair and teacher Lt Col Ainsley Rawlings were invited to represent the ‘future’ at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Centenary dinner to honour the Past, Present and Future of women in the British Army alongside representatives from seven cadet forces from schools across the country.

The St John’s Pistol Shooting team

NATIONAL FINAL OF THE BRITISH SCHOOLS’ PISTOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

“It was incredibly inspiring to be surrounded by so many extremely capable women, young and old, who have shaped and are still shaping the role that women play in the military.”

The St John’s Pistol Shooting team competed in the National Finals for the Schools’ Pistol Championships at Stoke Mandeville Stadium on 17 January 2018. They had been selected for this event by coming second in the South East regional qualifying event. The St John’s team had a fantastic shoot to win the silver medal in the Senior Final alongside Glyn School who won gold and Ellesmere College who won bronze.

“We are so happy after a hugely successful competition. We had over 500 entries for the Championships overall, with 80 teams from 217 different schools.” British Shooting Commercial and Events Co-ordinator, Gorgs Geikie

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SINFONIA IS A FORMIDABLE FORCE Members of the Sinfonia played with style and maturity to an appreciative audience on Tuesday 20 March in the Old Chapel at St John’s tackling some extremely demanding repertoire. The concert opened with Mozart’s overture from The Magic Flute, and was followed by the first movement of Beriot’s Violin Concerto, played by Jimena Rodriguez-Foronda. Her playing was truly outstanding for someone of such tender years and she commanded the performance from start to finish with beautiful phrasing and dexterous virtuosity.

The St John’s Sinfonia

The string quartet then played a movement from Mendelssohn’s string quartet No.2 in A minor. This ensemble is fast gaining notoriety for their playing and this performance was no exception. The concert finished with the mighty Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven, which pushed the players’ ability to the extreme. The performance was professional in all aspects, with some outstanding individual contributions from members of the woodwind and brass sections especially. TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

RUGBY SEVENS 2018 SURREY PLATE WINNERS In the Surrey Sevens, the U18 Eagles faced tough competition. The team started well with a win against Harris City Academy 45-0. In the next match against Harrow, the Eagles lost 12-26. The players created a recovery plan for their following match against Beechen Cliff, who were runners-up in 2017 and one of the best teams. The strategy paid off and led to a win of 50-21. Unfortunately the stellar effort was not enough to qualify for the cup quarter finals by a margin of three points. The team was entered instead into the Surrey Plate competition.

“I am very pleased to come away with two medals, but am also looking to keep improving as the season goes on.”

King’s College Wimbledon proved to be a challenge with big and powerful players in the quarter final, but the Eagles ran in seven tries and ended 47-0. In the next match, St John’s was determined against Dulwich and won 24-19.

Rugby Sevens 2018 Surrey Plate Winners

By the final against Caterham the team was attacking and defending with power, taking a 24-5 lead in the final moments; even two late tries from the opposition was not enough to catch up and St John’s was crowned 2018 Surrey Plate winners.

WORLD CRICKET ACADEMY FOR GEDDES

SENIOR SCHOOL PLAY On 6 and 7 December the Senior School gave an impassioned and impressive performance of a reinterpretation of Oedipus by Sophocles. Earth in the future is a barren wasteland ravaged by climate change. At a press conference Oedipus declares he will remedy the environmental curse; a quest which ultimately leads to his destruction. Chorus groups mastered the growing unease of the play and the curtain fell on the broken and haunted Oedipus accompanied by Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush and the lyric Look at Mother Nature on the Run in the 21st Century. Luke Grob’s performance in the lead role was masterful. The chilling portrayal of Tiresias by Harry Edwards was full of venom. Isabelle Hammersley gave a shocking representation as The Messenger, Megan Wrigglesworth’s emotionally conflicted Shepherd gave the final scene tremendous pathos and Oliver Gordon was comically sycophantic as The Stranger. Libby Thornton’s and James Gardner’s powerful performances (as Jocasta and Creon) were incredibly mature from Lower Sixth pupils. The entire ensemble was phenomenal and the Drama Department is very proud of all involved.

St John’s 1st XI cricketer Ben Geddes travelled to India in February to spend a week training with the World Cricket Academy in Nagpur. This Elite training camp is overseen by Zubin Bharucha, (Head coach of IPL side Rajasthan Royals) and is designed to give the players an insight into the way the World Champions of cricket play, practice and prepare to enhance their game. Ben was the youngest member of the touring party, which includes three professional players and eight academy hopefuls.

JUMPING FOR GOLD Michael Anderson competed in the Surrey Indoor Athletics Championships where he took on the Long Jump and, despite being a year younger than many in the competition, he snatched the silver medal with a lifetime best of 6.06m. In his favoured Triple Jump he leapt an outstanding 12.78m and took gold.

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Director of Cricket, David Hammond commented, “This is a wonderful opportunity for Ben to test himself against some of the most talented young cricketers. I have no doubt that the whole experience will set him up well for the future”.

A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC AT CADOGAN HALL A large audience of staff, family members and friends gathered in gleaming Cadogan Hall on Friday 4 May, a glorious spring evening, for the School’s second Celebration of Music in as many years. The breadth and depth of pupil musicianship and endeavour shone through a concert that was a testament to the hard work and diligence of the superb body of people who make up the music department.

First among them must be the Sinfonia. Playing Beethoven to Bruch, via Beriot and Mozart, it is extraordinary to think that the group was formed but three years ago. Ismael Rodriguez-Foronda led the orchestra brilliantly, and for the first time, whilst his sister - Jimena Rodriguez-Foronda - dazzled the audience as the violin soloist in Bériot’s Violin Concerto No. 9 in A minor. Alex Semple, winner this year of both the Concerto Competition and the Forbes Senior Music Competition, gave a heart-rending account of the middle movement of Bruch’s famous Violin Concerto in G minor. The Lower School Choir, on excellent form, sang two movements from Andrew Carter’s Benedicite, which propelled the first half towards a confident display of musical fireworks from the Swing Band, together with soloists Isobel Galloway and Eddie Jones.

Cadogan Hall

The concert’s second half proved no less enthralling. The Schola Cantorum have, perhaps, had their finest year to date and proved as much with a beautifully measured and serene performance of Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs. The string quartet played a movement from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, before the massed voices of the Chapel Choir and Choral Society engaged fulsomely with Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore.

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Despite our limited numbers we covered the subjects broadly and one of us even took up Craft Design and Technology (CDT), much to the surprise of the boys; it was the first time a girl had done this subject. We girls quickly learnt solidarity was the quickest route to survival, helping each other with classroom locations, timetables and strange new routines. The boys in our year viewed us with disappointment; they had expected a large intake of females and were only rewarded with a smattering of one or two females in their classes. We hardly turned their heads! Being such a small group of girls, it quickly became apparent that we had our work cut out. We were expected to be present in everyday life at St John’s and with so few of us, we had to work hard to cover all the bases. Four of us, including myself, joined the CCF in the Army and the rest opted for the Navy. Interestingly none of us chose the community service option, instead heading straight for adventure.

R.M.Butler M.A.Langley V.J.Evans S.J.Carrington J.J.Quiney K.H.Bacon L.Antrobus C.E.Rayner T.Oozeerally S.LBeech S.A.Ford K.E.Alden N.R.Wilkinson S.A.Lufflum V.A.Norgan C.Stevens S.A.Lambourn A.H.Turner H.L.Rossetti Mrs.V.A.Shore Mrs.C.J.Richards T.Rowell,Esq. Mrs.D.J.Burgess B.Robinson

THE EIGHT GIRL INTAKE OF

’93

In the spring of 1993, I sat in the office of the retiring headmaster, Mr Brown, discussing the opportunities an education at St John’s Sixth Form might offer. We’d toured the School and left to the words, ‘Yes I’m sure she will be fine, we look forward to seeing you in due course’. Come September things were looking quite different along with a new headmaster, Mr Tongue, in charge.

Around the time my GCSE results came out, we received a phone call from the Hallaton Housemaster to inform us that, due to the recession, numbers for intake were still low, and to help increase solidarity amongst the girls would my parents consider my boarding? Initially against the idea, my mum only relented when a close friend reassured her that I had the right character to cope and, living nearby in Reigate, she could pop up and visit. I was intrigued by the idea of living away from home and suddenly my world was opening up. St John’s offered me the education and the extra

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curriculum activities not then offered at most girls’ schools such as the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), arts, sports and a swimming pool. It seemed to me St John’s had a lot to offer and I was excited at the prospect of things to come. The first week was like an experiment: the bell tolled incessantly calling us to and from lessons, meals and break times. We had two prep sessions either side of dinner, Saturday school in the morning and Sunday evening chapel. There was not much time to think about things and we had to acclimatise quickly, fitting in to our new life governed by the bell.

We were all required to audition for the choir as St John’s had a strong musical presence and female voices were required. I tried my worst at audition despite being quite musical, having been told practices would occupy most of my lunch breaks and require attendance at weekly Sunday Chapel. Unsurprisingly, I was accepted along with four others to join the ranks of soprano and alto. During my time we sang many beautiful pieces – some of which I still remember today – and we travelled as guest choir to cathedrals singing anthems for choral recitals. It is fair to say I enjoyed the singing immensely! Sport featured regularly in the timetable through the week with matches on Saturday afternoons. St John’s was required to provide a team not only for netball and hockey, but also lacrosse which only one of our number had ever played before. Sporty or not, we had to pick up this bizarre sport which felt a little like golf but running around. We had three good lacrosse players on our team and the rest of us made up numbers. I remember one wet afternoon waiting to hear whether our impending match was cancelled and one of the girls moaning that she did not even know how to play. She was quickly told by the enthusiastic sports mistress that, like it or not, she was in the team even if she could only stand on the pitch holding her stick. I quickly learned the benefit of a team sports. We had a goal to work to which was receiving our sporting colours; half colours were a maroon jumper or full colours a green jumper. By the end of my two years I had earned my full colours at netball and felt very proud. The boys too were

very sporty and we enjoyed supporting each other’s matches and at end of term we joined in mixed matches which were great fun. We were offered the chance to partake in CCF Army camp and three of us jumped at the chance to spend four days in Wales. On arrival at the gates, females were split out into their own barracks which can only be described as small airport hangars with rows and rows of metal bunk beds, green army issue blankets and strict instructions to make our beds ready for inspection. We counted the bunks, 63 in total, and we three squirrelled ourselves up at one end squealing with excitement at being the only occupants.

We were eight girls in total, the smallest intake to date, and we could not have been more different, thrown together in a David and Goliath battle, eight of us against the eighty boys in our year. The instructors were terrifying and I was shaking with fear as we were drilled with the boys through our marching paces. I remember when the instructor marched up to me and whispered in my ear that it was now my turn to command the drill. I had to shout instructions at the top of my lungs to boys ranging from my year down and they miraculously followed my instructions. To this day I am not sure why I was selected; I think the fear was written all over my face but being in the Army is about receiving instructions and following them through. We then practised skills in pairs and the boy I was paired with told me to ‘run’ which I did until I reached the end of a long field totally on my own only to turn and see all the boys creased up laughing at the sight of me many hundreds of yards away, still running. Geography was a popular topic, with three girls taking this subject. The teacher was our much loved and well-respected Housemaster, Trevor Rowell, who worked tirelessly with us, encouraging us to make the most of our abilities. We were lucky that his enthusiasm for the subject resulted in amazing field trips to countries such as Norway and Morocco. We girls opted for the Norwegian experience and spent a week under canvas climbing glaciers, crossing the Arctic Circle and ending up in a town called ‘Hell’. Much fun was had and I have to admit sometimes girls were TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

My true nature is a little rebellious. I forget how I ended up with a Saturday night detention, but it was much to the delight of the boys who were all pleased that the girls weren’t given the soft touch. This meant staying in on Saturday night attending detention until 9pm. At 7pm I joined the line outside the hall and was horrified to see that there were around seven junior boys all gazing up at me, oh the humiliation! A teacher arrived and the door was opened to a room of desks for us to complete extra work. I filed in behind the boys ready to take up my desk but was stopped and the teacher passed me a Snickers bar and told me to go back to my room. A thankful release and a great story to tell on Monday to the boys who were all ears to hear how my Saturday night had turned out!

at an advantage if they came from families with brothers, as in my case. It was us who let down the boys’ tent in the night, but they got their own back by locking us out of the minibus at the coldest point on the Arctic Circle. To help pay for an expedition in my gap year, I did a fundraising initiative of pancake making from Hallaton House and for a time at break us girls tossed and served pancakes through the kitchen window, giving the boys a rare peek into the girls’ house, which was strictly out of bounds. We had queues of boys hungry for pancakes and a glimpse of our house, which only served to fuel their opinion that we lived in cosseted luxury. Mostly we tried to conform and adapt, and the girls in the year above were hugely encouraging in our first year, helping us to cope with new teachers and routines. We formed strong friendships with one another, quickly seeking each other out in times of difficulty and realising that at times we were all quite alone.We encouraged each other at lessons, pushing ourselves beyond our capabilities in order to win the boys’ acceptance. One of the girls was particularly skilled at CDT and on receiving a high mark for her work, all the boys crowded round her surprised that she had done so well. These moments were worth savouring and won us important credit.

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Two years quickly flew by and towards the end I passed my driving test, giving me the freedom to take my car to school and we often hung out on the road enjoying our new-found maturity. We sat our exams, then in the summer we girls went on holiday to Dorset together, our last time as a group before we took up our places at university. It was sad parting as we had become entwined in each other’s lives during those school years but we remained good friends and met up with each other well into our early twenties before jobs, marriage and finally children separated us. We even had a partnering among us, with a marriage in 2006 between one of the girls and a boy from East House, romance blossoming after school years. Of course, we still keep in touch and I am comforted by the fact I can pick up the phone and call my friends, announcing myself with only a ‘Hello’ to hear the familiar voice ‘Hello Joanna’ on the other end, taking us right back to running in and out of each other’s rooms, shouting ‘have we got the right text books?’ and sharing the ups and downs of the day. My parents told me that in those two years I grew in confidence as well as learning new skills ready to tackle future life. I have since then felt a strong solidarity with the other girls and proud of the achievements we eight made in those two years at Hallaton House. We all came out considerably better and stronger than when we went in, ready to progress on to further education and life beyond the cloisters of St John’s and the tolling of that bell! Joanna Colvile (née Quiney) Hallaton 1993-1995

RICHARD HORTON, FORMER PHYSICS TEACHER AT ST JOHN’S, LOOKS BACK AT SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYED IN THE ’70S I joined the physics department at St John’s in September 1973 when it had just two other members of staff: John Durling (Head of Science) and Eric Kilner (later to take over the art department).

THE ‘YELLOW PERIL’ At my job interview with headmaster Ted Hartwell, I was given the choice of joining the CCF or taking charge of the sailing club which had been vacated by my predecessor. I chose the latter and found that the transport to our sailing venue, Thames Young Mariners, was via an ex 1950s Bournemouth Corporation Leyland Tiger coach driven by French master Brian Love and nicknamed ‘The Yellow Peril’. Brian was keen to both take his PSV licence and also find someone to share the driving load and I agreed to join him on the PSV training course at Epsom Coaches in the following Easter holidays. The company agreed to train us in return for our working for them during the summer break and we spent an enlightening period, with duties ranging from bussing workers to factories to taking groups to the Proms. Back at school we shared the driving which mostly consisted of ferrying teams to rugby, cricket and sailing matches. So, what can we say of the technology of YP? Perhaps the function which affected us most was the lack of power steering which certainly built up the arm muscles on the 6+ tonne beast. The vacuum brakes did not enhance its stopping ability but, as the maximum speed was just over 50mph on a level road, only long, steep descents gave cause for any real anxiety. Heating was very rudimentary, the pupils would say non-existent, but this was not a major problem for the driver (apart from the de-misting of the screen) as the physical effort involved kept one warm. The gearbox was of a constant-mesh type so double de-clutching was essential, an art most drivers now do not acquire unless one is a rally driver. After a couple of years driving together, Brian Love left St John’s for pastures new and I continued to drive YP for the following year until it became apparent that no

other member of staff was willing to take his place and that the way forward was clear; we must sell YP and purchase a couple of mini-buses which staff were happy to drive.

Leyland Tiger coach nicknamed ‘The Yellow Peril’

THE STROWGER TELEPHONE EXCHANGE Today we take for granted that telephonic communication is ubiquitous but, when I joined St John’s, there were just a handful of external lines and no internal system at all. There were remnants of an old handset and cables in the bursar’s department, which used push-buttons to connect the instrument to a few key locations across the school, but all the other instruments had been removed prior to the 70s. The bursar told me that he had considered installing a new internal system but that quotes had been prohibitively expensive so I suggested that we could probably build a small system of our own using redundant electro-mechanical equipment which was being replaced across the country by electronic telephone exchanges. He agreed to fund a pilot system, most of the cost of which would be cabling for the main building, and so I sourced and built a small ‘Strowger’ exchange. [Almon B Strowger was a Kansas City undertaker who in 1891 invented the first automatic telephone switch. The incentive lay in the fact that he was losing business as the local manual exchange operator was a relative of a rival undertaker and was directing business to him!]

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A group of day-boys agreed to give up some of their holiday time to help install the cabling in the main building. Fortunately the old system’s multicore cable still existed in many of the outlying buildings (except the science labs) so this was pulled back into service. After a few months’ work the exchange was sited in the lobby of the School Captain’s room and old series 300 telephones were purchased from the GPO (at £1 each) for each extension. The system now comprised 35 extensions, the locations of which may be seen on the directory listing below, and was still in use until the 1980s, by which time I had sourced a redundant uniselector exchange from Yorkshire Chemicals in Leeds that was transported to St John’s by minibus.

THE AMATEUR RADIO STATION

THE SCHOOL’S FIRST COMPUTER

The Mitsubishi Melcom 83 computer

When ‘Niki’ Nikiforos joined the mathematics department he started a computing club. Programming was taught by completing lines of code which were punched onto cards and sent to a local university to input into their mainframe computer. Niki was approached by a parent with the offer of a redundant small business computer and, knowing my interest in electronics and computing, he asked me if I would be prepared to install and run the machine in school. We duly transported the machine from Guildford to Leatherhead in a school minibus and I set about re-wiring the units together and getting to grips with its machine language named COOL. The machine was a Mitsubishi Melcom 83 computer and turned out to be less than ten years old. By this time I had been given the use of a small room next to the Dining Hall and this is where the machine was installed. The system was quite different from current standards in that it had no solid state memory, just a disk with multiple read/write heads. Also, the memory was arranged not in bytes but in ‘words’ of 12 numerical digits, there being room for 1,000 of these on the internal disk. In addition there was an external disk unit of 10,000 ‘word’ capacity. There was no computer monitor as such, just a numeric display showing one twelve digit ‘word’. Main input/output was via an electromechanical keyboard/printer or punched paper tape.

The telephone exchange and internal telephone directory!

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There was an upcoming open day and so I set myself a small project to demonstrate the machine to visitors by writing a program to play the game ‘Bulls and Cows’, the original ‘Mastermind’ game. The first real use of the machine was a project given to some of the boys to write code to print out the rotating plan for seating in the dining hall.

I had held my Amateur Radio licence since my own school days and set up a small station in our house on Linden Pit Path. On discussing the hobby with some of my pupils, I agreed to start a small club in school (members included Jonathan Creaser, Jonathan Arnold and Jonathan Hotopf) and an Eddystone EC 10 receiver was purchased and placed in the same room as the Melcom computer. On occasion I would bring my Yaesu FT101B transceiver into school to make a few international contacts but I have always regretted not having had the time to teach the Radio Amateurs Examination course to the pupils. However, the exposure to the hobby had a long lasting effect on at least one member of the club

showed that for the price of a two up two down terraced house in Leatherhead, I could afford a three bedroom detached new build near my northern roots, so I set about looking for suitable positions which culminated in my moving to Harrogate Ladies’ College as Head of Physics in the summer of that year. However, I did not lose contact with St John’s because a master who joined the School in the same year as I departed, Dr Jon Nuttall, made contact regarding the network operating system hardware and software I had developed at HLC and which St John’s subsequently adopted on their Research Machines 380Z and 480Z computers. As an aside, the St John’s physics technician Marcus built the hardware to our design – those who knew Marcus will never forget his willingness to help with technical projects and distinctive appearance! My 34 years at HLC afforded the time to expand the interests pursued at St John’s, in particular, the founding of a substantial Amateur Radio club and station within the school, with outreach to some 200+ schools who started their own clubs through the STELAR organisation. The highlight was HLC being chosen to coordinate the eight schools who linked via Amateur Radio with Helen Sharman GB1MIR when she was on the Mir space station in 1991 – videos of our contacts with astronauts may be found at www.G3XWH.com Returning to St John’s on three occasions over the past ten years I have been most impressed with the progress of the School on many fronts. It is clearly going from strength to strength and I wish it every success in the future.

as Jonathan Creaser went on to obtain the callsign M0XXJ. As a postscript, I have seen an article published in the early 1920s in the Wireless World magazine which mentions a school radio station at St John’s, Leatherhead but does not state whether it was receive only or had a transmitter. At this time, Mill Hill School had a very famous pupil, Cecil Goyder, who made the first UK to New Zealand contact by Amateur Radio.

DEPARTURE In 1978 I reluctantly decided to leave Leatherhead; firstly because there was no prospect of obtaining a more senior departmental position and secondly wishing to get a foot on the first rung of the property ladder. A little investigation

Richard Horton’s QSL card showing the light aircraft he built in the 1990s. G3XWH is his callsign.

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interview

ALEX MACQUEEN Alex Macqueen is best known for his roles as Julius Nicholson in The Thick of It and Neil’s Dad in The Inbetweeners, his long-running part in the medical TV series, Holby City, and for being the new Master in the Dr Who Audio Series. He has appeared in Peaky Blinders, The IT Crowd and worked with directors including Woody Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Armando Iannucci and Richard Curtis. But, he says, much of his theatre training really began at St John’s. WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF DRAMA AT ST JOHN’S? I joined St John’s for the Sixth Form in 1990. The headmaster at the time was David Brown and his secretary, Rosemary Farrant, was a friend of my parents and suggested that I might enjoy joining the School. Mr Brian Joplin, Head of English, was appointed the year that I arrived at St John’s and went on to transform drama at the School. The scale of drama increased dramatically. The great thing about St John’s was that you were allowed to put on plays of your own. Mr Joplin would oversee a little but with a very gentle hand and he gave us the confidence to produce and direct.

“I knew the value of studying hard and that if I concentrated and applied myself the rewards could be very substantial.”

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The main play I performed in was The Relapse, a restoration comedy by Jon Vanbrugh where I played the character, Worthy. It was a highly professional production and the quality was outstanding. We were really pushed hard. We did a play a term – a school play and a house play. There was an outdoor drama society then, though there was nothing outdoor about it! I spent my whole time acting until I scaled it down at A levels. Bill Chubb’s theatre trips were fantastic. We saw everything there was to see – all the great plays. I saw brilliant acting which made me want to be an actor. That’s where I learnt stagecraft, by watching and observing great actors perform. So, in many ways I feel that I trained for acting through Bill Chubb.

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WHAT OTHER MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF ST JOHN’S?

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PUPILS AT ST JOHN’S?

Being at St John’s was hugely important to me and gave me enormous opportunities. I made some great friends who are still friends today. There were some great teachers too. Brent Stevens was an inspired history teacher and Pat Noble gave me the geography prize two years running!

We’re not on this planet for long. You must pursue your intention to do what will make you happy, as opposed to what will make you rich. If something stirs in your soul, is a real desire, put this first. We have such a short life, do what makes you happy and make that your priority.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO TO UNIVERSITY INSTEAD OF DRAMA SCHOOL?

WHAT ABOUT ACTING?

For me, going to drama school felt a little precarious. I believed I was far better served to have something behind me as a backup; economically imperative, in fact. So I went to university and studied English at Durham – which were the happiest three years of my life. It was better that I didn’t get into Oxford. I had such a great time and it was where I learnt about how to become an adult human being. It was a different time then, without university loans, and I know the landscape has altered now. But I would say, if you can go to university, go! Then I went to Cambridge (Pembroke College) where I studied International Relations, by which time I felt I could compete in that environment as a player. I got sponsorship to set up my own theatre company while I was there, Cambridge University Theatre Company, which was a lot of fun. Sometimes you have to start your own ball game and bring your own football.

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE ACTING AS A CAREER? I didn’t straight away. I went to law school and did school pupillage and practised for a year but

If you really, really want to do it, then do it, but it can be intensely punishing and you have to learn to deal with rejection. Peter Capaldi said he had asked Cher how she coped with success and she told him that it was not how she dealt with success that was important but how she coped with failure. A life in acting is about failure management.

Alex Macqueen in Black Mirror (2011)

then I left it. It was an easy decision to make. I was envious of friends who were acting. I had seen Orlando Bloom at a premier of Lord of the Rings – we were at the National Youth Theatre together – and I just thought I must give it a go. So I went to the Edinburgh Fringe where three friends won the Perrier Award. Back in London I was invited to go to a theatre party which I didn’t really feel like going to as it was a cold, dark, winter evening but I thought I needed to go. In the foyer I bumped into a casting director who had seen me at the National Youth Theatre and she got me an audition for an Utterly Butterly ad and I got the part. This then put me into the sights of Armando Iannucci when he was casting for The Thick of It, which led to Peep Show and then The IT Crowd. I think you have to put yourself in the way of luck.

when you see your heroes being caught up in controversy, like the #MeToo campaign. I had no insight whatsoever, but he has been exonerated. Michael Caine is another hero. I was glued to him when he was performing (in the film Youth which came out in 2016). He makes you want to be first class. It is incredible to be around someone who is a hero.

BUT YOUR CAREER SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL…

WHAT ABOUT THEATRE WORK? I KNOW YOU’VE ALSO WORKED WITH KENNETH BRANAGH.

DO YOU GET ASKED FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPH A LOT?

YOU HAVE DONE A LOT OF COMEDY. WAS THIS SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO?

YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF IMPROV TOO. DO YOU ENJOY THAT?

No, it wasn’t planned. But after the Utterly Butterly ad, comedy parts came my way so I have done quite a lot of them. After playing ‘Neil’s Dad’ in The Inbetweeners I got offered a lot of similar dad parts! I have done just as much drama, too.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH WOODY ALLEN AND MICHAEL CAINE? I am deeply delighted to have worked with Woody Allen. He had been a fan of The Thick of It which is how I got to audition for his film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. It is difficult

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Yes, I was in a play called The Painkiller at the Garrick with Ken and Rob Brydon which was fun, but I prefer working on TV and film. I love the detail of TV and film which you can’t focus on so much in the theatre.

I love it. You can make material fly and become more spontaneous. If you don’t have to remember the exact lines it means you can give a much more relaxed performance, I think so anyway.

Don’t believe it! I was rejected for the National Youth Theatre before I got in. And there have been things I’d have loved to have been in like The Crown and Game of Thrones. But I do feel very lucky.

Not autographs so much but I get asked to pose for selfies. Of course there are times when you’re not in the mood but I think to myself, how many times does, say, an accountant get a stranger coming up to them in the street thanking them for doing their job. It is a privilege. We are delighted that Alex Macqueen will be our guest speaker at the OJ Dinner at St John’s on Friday 12 October to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the foundation of Monty House.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE? DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS? I want to do some more directing and I am currently writing a comedy about two funeral directors on the run. I deliberately haven’t watched Six Feet Under (American comedy drama TV series). But it can take years for this sort of thing to get off the ground.

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FROM THE

ARCHIVES TAKE A WALK BACK THROUGH TIME

MYSTERY ARTIST REVEALED! In the late 1990s a large oil painting of the front of the School and the Old Chapel was spotted at a local antiques fair and subsequently acquired for the School. No information about the artist or date of the painting was available – just the words ‘Artist: Johnston’ on the back. For many years, this painting hung in the front office, then in 2009 it was transferred to the School Archives. The identity of the artist remained a mystery until local resident Andrew Clegg contacted us in the summer of 2017 with details of a painting of St John’s, which he had recently purchased from a gallery in America. This unusual view of the School from Linden Pit Path showing the back of the Dining Hall and the Churchill (now Gloucester) House building bore a striking resemblance to our painting by ‘Johnston’.

With great excitement, we compared the two paintings side by side and with details of the artist named as Brenda Johnston on the second picture, we realised that we had a match and at a stroke our mystery was partially solved. Brenda Johnston studied at Epsom School of Art in the late 1940s and again in the 1950s. She attended Reigate School of Art in the 1960s, had a number of solo exhibitions and showed her work at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. From 1970 – 1980 she was a member of the Leatherhead Art Club. We still do not know the exact date ‘our’ painting was created, but it may predate the view of the rear of the School which we know was painted in 1973. We would love to find out more about these two paintings of St John’s and discover why Brenda Johnston chose the School as her subject. Andrew kindly agreed to lend us his painting of St John’s by Brenda Johnston for our Heritage Day exhibition in September 2017.

HERITAGE DAY 2017 Visitors to the Heritage Day event on 9 September were treated to an exclusive exhibition of rarely seen original paintings, drawings and prints of the School, spanning over 160 years of history. Featuring paintings and drawings by former local artists Geoffrey Fletcher and Brenda Johnston, together with those of renowned artists and etchers including Edward J Burrow, Dennis Flanders and Bryan de Grineau, these images trace the growth of the School from its small beginnings as a Choir School for the Sons of Poor Clergy attached to St Mark’s, Hamilton Terrace in 1851, through its various locations in London until it finally became established in Leatherhead in 1872. Views of the School before and after the fire of 1913 show the small but significant architectural changes made to the main building as it was rebuilt in 1914, and officially re-opened by HRH the Duchess of Albany on Speech Day, Wednesday 1 July 1914 just a few weeks before the outbreak of the First World War. Limited edition prints of various views of the School, commissioned in the 1980s, 1990s and 2012, were also on show.

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The decision to form an Officer Training Corps (OTC) at St John’s in 1912 was made possible by the return in 1911 of former pupil Lancelot Townshend Driffield, a Captain in the Special Reserve, to teach at St John’s.

Cyprian Bourne: Assistant Master, died of wounds in 1917

Victor Bedwell: Albany Scholar, and winner of the Craven Scholarship at Exeter College, Oxford, killed in action in 1916

Joseph Gedge: the first officer killed in WWI

Frank Allan: school captain, scholar and athlete, died of gas gangrene in 1916

FORTHCOMING BOOK: ST JOHN’S SCHOOL LEATHERHEAD AND THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1918 To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in November 1918 we plan to publish a fully illustrated book to commemorate those OJs who served at home and abroad. Stories of those who died and those who survived will be told and illustrated with first-hand accounts and images from the School Archives. In total 769 Old Johnians, 21 members of staff and three governors are known to have served in the First World War. Of these, 162 were killed in action or died of wounds. This book will be a tribute to a generation of pupils and staff who were called to serve their country, and the sacrifices they made.

His military experience gained at Cambridge, at Derby School and St Edmund’s, Canterbury, enabled the headmaster to obtain the consent of the Army Council to provide an OTC contingent. Service in the OTC was compulsory for all boys over the age of 14 and as the war progressed, training and drill occupied much of their time outside the classroom. The impact of the war on school life is told in this book through letters and stories from former pupils and the pages of the Johnian magazine which chronicled the events of the war years. Lessons, sports and games, school meals and the newly introduced House system will all feature, illustrated by some of the wonderful lantern slide images taken by one of the masters, Eustace Coddington.

Lieutenant Commander Eric Gasgoine Robinson VC

HOW YOU CAN HELP We aim to publish and print this book in the autumn of 2018, initially as a limited edition run of 250-300 copies. This large format illustrated book will be a further memorial to those Old Johnians, both pupils and staff, who served their country at home and abroad in the First World War. To help with the financial expense, we are seeking donations to help with the costs of this publication which include professional book design, copyright costs and printing costs. We welcome contributions from OJs and friends of the School and hope you will be able to help us. All donors will have their names inscribed on a page within the book. Additionally, benefactors who make a contribution of at least £100 will be recognised by the School with the gift of a first edition of the book. We anticipate that the selling price of the book will be around £25, but the final price will be confirmed nearer the time. If you would like to support this project, please contact the Development Officer, Naia Edwards:

nedwards@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk

The book is the result of many years of meticulous research into the lives of those OJs whose names appear on our Roll of Honour Boards in the Old Chapel. Included in the text will be a brief history of the School up to 1914, details of the formation of the Officer Training Corps in 1912, the devastating fire of 1913 and the re-opening of the buildings by the Duchess of Albany on Speech Day, 1 July 1914, just a few weeks before the start of the First World War. The book will contain original documents, anecdotes and photographs, many of which have not previously been published. School memorials to the First World War will feature, and an updated list of the Roll of Honour will be published. Victoria Cross winners, GH Woolley and EG Robinson, will be remembered, together with tales of other young officers who gained distinctions and medals for their leadership, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity.

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2nd Lieutenant Geoffrey Harold Woolley VC

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The further significance of these previously unseen photographs lies in the fact that nearly all the boys who appear in the photos later served in the First World War. Those in the 1912 1st XI cricket team all saw active service and seven were killed in action.

Photographer David KnightsWhittome by kind permission of the London Borough of Sutton Archives

1st XI Cricket 1912 Back row: GS Middlemiss; CEVK Peberdy; KC Gill; VLS Bedwell; SC Squire; LPS Bourne. Front row: CLN Roberts; CFE Clarke; WH Round; HJ Barnard; EWC Turner

RESCUED FROM OBLIVION:

The four young men who survived the war went on to have varying careers. Their names are recorded on the 42 illuminated handwritten panels produced in 1918, listing Old Johnians who served all the armed forces up to and including the First World War.

100 YEAR OLD GLASS NEGATIVES FOUND IN A SKIP! In February 2018 I was surprised and delighted to be given a set of nine glass photographic plates dating from 1912 – 1914. These old glass negatives of St John’s School cricket and football teams and a prefects group had been rescued from a skip many years ago, together with those from other schools in Sutton and Carshalton. This was a hugely valuable donation as we have very few original photographs from that period, possibly because of the School fire in June 1913 which destroyed much of the main building, including the library where all the School photos were held. We found that we now had photographs of the 1st XI cricket and football teams for 1912, the 1st XI football team 1914 and the 2nd XI cricket and football teams for 1912 – 1914 and the Prefects in the Summer Term 1912. On closer examination I realised that they also formed part of a large photographic archive of over 10,000 glass plates which belonged to photographic artist David Knights-Whittome, as I had spotted a couple of similar photos on Flickr in 2016. David Knights-Whittome owned shops in both Sutton and Epsom from around 1904 until 1918 and took thousands of photographs of local people, places, institutions and schools. He was granted a Royal Warrant and photographed members of the Royal Family, describing himself as ‘Photographer to the King’. In 1918 he gave up his photographic business and moved away

Biographies of Godfrey Stewart Middlemiss, Kenneth Carlyle Gill, Victor Leopold Stevens Bedwell, Stanley Charles Squire, Cecil Llewellyn Norton Roberts, William Haldane Round and Eric Walter Carpenter Turner can be found on our commemorative War Memorial Archive website at www.stjohnsleatherheadatwar.co.uk

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from the area. His huge collection of glass plates was left in the cellar of his shop and was acquired by Sutton Archives in 1978. The plates then remained untouched in a basement store for over 35 years, until in 2014 Sutton Archives was awarded £95,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to clean, rehouse, digitise, catalogue and research the collection. Details of this project can be found on the Past on Glass blog: www.pastonglass.wordpress.com/ and the photographs they have digitised are available on Flickr: www.flickr.com/people/pastonglass/ I made contact with Abby Matthews, the ‘Past on Glass’ project officer, at Sutton Archives who kindly offered to scan the glass plates we had been given. Old glass negatives are fragile and need to be scanned with a large flat-bed scanner with a transparency lid or by using a camera and a light box to produce the best results. At first sight, I thought that our negatives were damaged as I could see what looked like greasy finger marks around the faces on the emulsion side of the plate. Abby explained that this was a common re-touching process before the advent of photoshop, where the photographer applied ink, either with a brush, or smudged quite literally onto the surface of the plate with a finger which actually served to enhance the portraits. The results when professionally scanned are remarkably good as you can see from this image of the 1912 1st XI team (above).

War Memorial Panel 1918

Leonard Percival Spencer Bourne was one of four brothers who attended St John’s, three of whom served in the First World War. His brother 2nd Lieutenant Austin Spencer Bourne was listed as ‘wounded and missing’. Austin died of wounds on 23 April 1917, but his body was never identified and today his name is on the wall of the Arras Memorial, along with 35,000 other men with no known grave. Leonard won an exhibition to Sidney Sussex College Cambridge to read Classics in 1913, enlisted in 1915 and gained promotion to Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Manchester Regiment. After the war he was a merchant in India and East Africa and then Senior Partner with the Mackinnon, Mackenzie Company, Calcutta. LPS Bourne was awarded the CBE in 1949, in recognition of services to the UK Community in India. He died in Southwark, London, in 1970. Charles Edward Vernon Kingsbury Peberdy served as ‘Acting’ Captain in the 4th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and was wounded six times. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO and MC. Appointed manager of the Rugby Boys’ Clubs in 1937, he later served in the Royal Pioneer Corps, with the rank of Major, during the Second World War. He remained a keen sportsman all his life and was a Vice President of the Old Johnian Rugby Club. The Revd Harold Jeune Barnard was a School Prefect, Captain of East House, a member of the choir and played 1st XI football and cricket from 1912 – 1914. When war broke out he joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1916 and Assistant Staff Captain in 1918. After the war he gained a BA in 1925 from Christ’s College Cambridge and was ordained in 1926. In 1929 he was appointed Organising Secretary to the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society in the Diocese of Canterbury and in 1931 was appointed Chaplain to the Forces, stationed at Woolwich. He regularly played cricket for the Old Johnians and the Army and in 1937 was awarded his Army Cricket Cap. Charles Frederick Empson Clarke came to St John’s in 1906 and played for the 1st XI cricket team in 1912. He left the School in 1912 for All Hallows School, Honiton. During the First World War he was a Lieutenant in the 9th Gloucestershire Regiment and was awarded the MC. In 1939 he was promoted to Major in the Royal Artillery. Charles Frederick Empson Clarke died in 1969 in Derbyshire, aged 73. Sally Todd School Archivist

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IN BYGONE DAYS

25 YEARS AGO

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE PAGES OF THE JOHNIAN MAGAZINE 75 YEARS AGO

Johnian Summer 1968 (cover page 1968)

MAJOR D A SEAGRIM VC Early in the term there was announced the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Major D. A. Seagrim for conspicuous gallantry at the Mareth Line. A special holiday was given in his memory. The headmaster wrote to Mrs Seagrim on behalf of the School and received the following letter in reply:

A memorial service was held in the School Chapel for OJ Billy Rivers (1912 – 1917) who offered his services free of charge to the School as Bursar during the Second World War and later was a member of the School Governing Council. There were just 32 girls in the Sixth Form, but the netball team had an outstanding season:

7, Nelson Terrace, Westward Ho.

‘The first team won nine out of twelve matches. Our most glorious moment being the win over Charterhouse, whom St John’s had never beaten at netball before. We also won the runners up plate trophy in two tournaments. In the Eastbourne tournament we beat Charterhouse again by one goal in the final.’

Dear Mr. Carter, I am very grateful to you and the School, and in this I know his brothers join, for your kind letter and sympathy. My son Derek and his two elder brothers have very happy memories of St John’s and I know he would feel glad and proud to know you were all remembering him in such a happy way.

St John’s welcomed a new headmaster, Chris Tongue. Following the opening of the Sports Hall in 1992, the old gym was transformed into the ‘Anthony Hope Theatre’ with a new façade. The School play, Timon of Athens, was directed by Brian Joplin, with Andrew Noble taking the leading role and a new school uniform was introduced.

CCF 1968 - inside page with news re CCF and cartoon

Yours very sincerely, A. H. Seagrim

BUILDING THE FUTURE

The following announcement in the London Gazette is quoted from The Times of 14 May 1943: The King has been pleased to approve the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Major (Temporary Lieutenant Colonel) Derek Anthony Seagrim, The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment).

50 YEARS AGO FROM THE JOHNIAN 1968: Membership of the CCF became voluntary, over 100 boys volunteered for the new style CCF and Fred Jode, Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the CCF, retired after 22 years’ service.

ST JOHN’S SCHOOL 1851-2018 An illustrated time-line charting the growth of the School through its buildings was installed in May 2018 on the hoardings along Linden Pit Path and Garlands Road, which surround the building works for the new swimming pool. Using images from the School Archives, this display shows how the School has transformed from a small choir school with just eight boys attached to St Mark’s Church, Hamilton Terrace, north London in 1851 to a fully co-educational school in Leatherhead with 770 pupils in 2018.

Fred Jode, Malta 1967

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valete

SCOTT LOMAS

TEACHER OF CLASSICS AND HEAD OF WELLBEING

W E B I D F A R E W E L L T O T E A C H E R S L E AV I N G

CAR OL INE T OWNS HE ND

ST JOHN’S FOR PASTURES NEW

At the end of every academic year, we have to bid farewell to a number of members of staff who have served the School with dedication, intelligence and generosity. We would like to thank all our departing staff and wish them well for the future but I would also like to mention some individuals here. Nick Smith departs after 14 years at St John’s. He joined in 2004 as Director of Music and Assistant Housemaster, later becoming a Housemaster, before relinquishing his pastoral role to focus on developing the School’s music provision. As Director of Music he has overseen a wonderful array of musical talent at St John’s and he has contributed further to school life by coaching 2nd team rugby and 3rd team cricket, in addition to being Common Room President for the last three years. Simon Bland leaves us with an extraordinary musical legacy and we also owe him a debt of gratitude for his enthusiasm for croquet which has established the popular house croquet competition on the Quad! Constance Chapman has only been at St John’s for two years but has left her mark having been involved in every aspect of school life as a tutor, a valuable member of the Classics Department, leading the wellbeing programme and even coaching and umpiring sports teams. Richard Gregory, who leaves the Chemistry Department, has contributed widely to the outdoor education provision of the School, notably DofE, and will be pursuing his passion for skiing by becoming an instructor in the Austrian Alps. Gary Wade, a man of kindness and intellect who will be sorely missed in every aspect of school life, leaves us to study for a PhD. Housemaster of East and Head of Boarding, Ash Vargas, has provided pupils with an exceptional level of care over his decade with St John’s.

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Finally, I would like to express my particular thanks to Martin Clarke. Martin intended to retire at the end of last year but postponed his retirement to support me in my first year as The Head of St John’s. He has served St John’s for 28 years and I have learnt a lot from him and have greatly appreciated his wisdom, guidance and experience. Martin has a no nonsense approach and high expectations because he has always wanted pupils to be the absolute best they could be and I know many OJs credit him with playing a part in the success they have had in their adult lives. St John’s will miss him.

CONSTANCE CHAPMAN

TEACHER OF MATHS

MARTIN CLARKE DEPUTY HEAD

HEAD OF LOW ER SCHOOL

TIM COOK PART TIME ENGLISH TEACHER

GARY WADE TEACHER OF RS

REBECCA DAVIDSON

HA RRI ET PA SK ELL H E A D O F G E O G RA PH Y

TEACHER OF BIOLOGY

Rowena Cole The Head

SIMON BLAND

STEF JONES

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

CL AR E GR E E NWOOD

ED SYKES TEACHER OF CLASSICS

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

NICK SMITH

RICHARD GREGORY

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

TEACHER OF CHEMISTRY

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90S

O LD J O H N I A N

NEWS 10S

James Anderson North (1987-1992)

00S Clive Boden Former staff (1986-2004)

Joe running a fundraising event

Joe Witt North (2012-2017) I am currently studying Geography at Durham and fundraising to climb Everest Base Camp for Hope for Children, to raise money and awareness for a charity whose work improves the lives of tens of thousands of children every year. Everest Base Camp sits at 5,364m above sea level and this will probably be the most challenging experience of my life. I will be braving altitude sickness, constantly at odds with my flat feet, and facing the fairly obvious consequences of walking up a steep hill non-stop for 10 days. My fundraising target is £3,000, of which some will go towards travel costs and accommodation at Kilimanjaro, but beyond that, every penny I can raise for this charity will go a long way towards improving the lives of children in countries around the world. Hope for Children’s goal is to improve access to healthcare and education and they do this in a number of ways – funding sports days and community projects in the Philippines, running schools in Tanzania and fighting child labour in Ghana. They also provide grants to disadvantaged families and carers of disabled children within the UK. Hope for Children is a fantastic charity, their “Stories of Hope” are truly inspiring. Any donations would be very welcome: https://duck2018.everydayhero.com/uk/everest-base-camp-trek

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70S

Now retired from paid work, I have a farm on the Portugal/Spain border. In late June I have to follow a rota for the irrigation of my vineyards from a solar-powered borehole, which my wife can’t understand, and commitments to pruning and supporting the vines which she can’t do, so I can’t leave the farm in summer. This is a sadness to me because as RAF Section Commander for many years I would love to join with Peter Lutton, Patrick Noble and Barry Williams to show the youngsters the value of experience, to enjoy their company again. My times spent with the CCF, especially on camp, were the best times of my enjoyable teaching career. We did hundreds of them, great for NCO training and good fun for cadets in summer. One of the best, we used to take cadets down to the River Mole and get them to make rafts with barrels and poles so they could cross over - Army or Navy vs RAF, happy days, huge fun!

Since leaving school I followed my stepfather into insurance broking. I’ve been working (on and off) for the same company for nearly 25 years. I handle Marine War and Terrorism insurance and basically find insurance for large tankers, cargo ships and bulk carriers going to ‘war areas’ or areas that are deemed highly dangerous. It can be interesting and my son is fascinated that I insure ships against being taken by pirates! I have two great children, Molly (11 going on 18!) and Barney (8), and we live in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. I have taken them a few times to visit the old school and they think it looks like Hogwarts!

80S Nick Fenton North (1979-1984) I emigrated to Australia nearly 25 years ago and now live on the Sunshine Coast about an hour north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. I have a magnificent life style, located close to the beach in sub-tropical weather with a loving wife Silvi and our two sons, Ben (18) and Daniel (16). I run a small Sales company specialising in the supply of Road Transport equipment. Life has been good to me. I thoroughly enjoy the newsletters and the School magazine which keeps me up to date with all the School’s achievements and successes, of which I am extremely proud to see and read about.

Jonathan Allcock East (1968-1972) I have now retired and am a full-time carer for my wife who is disabled and has a number of health issues to contend with. I worked for Barclays Bank International Ltd and Barclays Bank PLC for 30 years in various roles (mainly in overseas operations) finishing off in Corporate Banking – Risk Management before being made redundant. My next appointment was with Oaklands College in St Albans where I was an Exams Officer for three or four years dealing with GCSEs, GNVQs, A levels etc which certainly kept me on my toes for a while. We then moved to West Sussex (the Festival Theatre at Chichester was the clincher) and I worked part-time for Northbrook College, Sussex, firstly as the Personal Assistant to the Clerk to the Corporate Governing Body then I moved to the Learning Resource Centre to support students using the Library and college IT facilities for their studies. One has to be really up to the mark with IT and Library systems to carry out this type of role and, fortunately, I had a good grounding in the required skills. I really enjoyed this position, but when I was diagnosed with emphysema last year, I thought that our long delayed decision to try to move had to take priority hence my retirement which has, in fact, turned out to be quite busy so far. When I think back to my time at St John’s School, I realise what tremendous advantages I gained from being there. I am afraid that I was one of those obstreperous, rebellious teenagers (symptomatic of the time) – not very strong academically and pretty useless at sporting activities and did not appreciate at the time all that I was absorbing. But I did get a good handful of O levels and not too bad A levels. I developed a love of the classics because of one terrific teacher – Frank Hayden – who taught us classical Greek. To this day, I still have a feeling for the classical languages and what they have contributed to our learning and the language we speak today. Those who enjoy other languages can often really appreciate the meaning and the beauty inherent in much spoken and written English. The education that I and others received was not just in the classroom but part of the environment: sports, societies and clubs, CCF, Service, Chapel, extra-curricular, Common Rooms, Dining Hall and so on. I grew to realise what a tremendous benefit I had been granted over the years after I had left the school and moved on. I have tried to live by the principles that my parents taught me, reinforced by my education at St John’s and pass on my thanks to all at the School for helping to make me what I am.

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Stephen Couling West (1973-1978)

14 July 2018 marks 40 years to the day I left J-School. I lost touch with most of my school friends but in recent years some have come back into my life thanks to the Internet and it has been very good to hear stories of their lives. Most have been considerably more stable than mine. Here is a potted history. I took a gap year before going to University College Durham to read Politics and Sociology. In that gap year I lived in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, USA with an Episcopal Priest and his wife. In many ways I feel I grew up there, having had my childhood in England. Three years at Durham was a most enjoyable time - too much time rowing and drinking but I did scrape a Third. I also joined the Royal Navy as a Late Joining University Cadet Entrant. There followed nine years in the RN, during which time I was deployed in the Mediterranean, Falkland Islands (twice) and West Indies. I also did some time in submarines until I was no longer fit for service due to claustrophobia. My Naval career ended rather abruptly as in those days gay men and women were still not allowed to serve so I was dismissed in September 1989.

Five days later I joined the office of HRH the Prince of Wales and organised the first Prince of Wales’s Summer School in Civil Architecture. This was a six-week course for young architects held in Oxford, Rome and a renaissance villa just north of Rome. Another followed in 1991 and in 1992 I was the Project Manager for setting up the Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture. In September 1992 I went to the University of York to take a Master of Arts degree in Conservation Studies (Historic Buildings and Landscapes). On completion of that I took off on a tour of the world - an adventure I had dreamed of doing since I was a teenager. This took me to Australia for the first time.

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On return I ended up back at the Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture and remained there until September 1998. After that the wheels fell off my life and I realised I had to do something about my drinking. To date I have been clean and sober for 19 years. 1999 was a challenging year but I survived it and in early 2000 I went to stay with a friend in Sydney for a six-week holiday which turned into a six-month period of networking around the heritage world of New South Wales, ending in an offer from Design 5 Architects to join the firm as Conservation Projects Manager. After three years there, I spent six months working for a friend in a national Refugee Advocacy Centre which, in a strange way, led to the next job as CEO of the Sydney School of Arts, the oldest adult education centre in Australia. Over the next four years, I turned it into a Centre for Social Change and it became the venue for over 200 third sector organisations.

Education Centre, a place on Sydney Harbour to teach children how to be safe on the water. We completed this project 30 June 2015 and I returned to England three weeks later for a twomonth trial to see if it was time to come back. I am still here! At the end of that period I came to Scotland for a volunteer week with Trees for Life, a small and vibrant charity aiming to restore the Caledonian Forest over the next 250 years. I so enjoyed everything about this charity and the work that in February 2016 I moved to Findhorn on the Moray Firth to work with Trees for Life. I think I have found that sweet spot in life where I do good work with lovely people in beautiful locations.

And I suspect the adventures are not over yet. MY LIFE WITH TREES FOR LIFE A CHARITY WORKING TO RESTORE THE CALEDONIAN FOREST

It was then time for another adventure and I joined a 47-foot Beneteau yacht as a crew member and sailed with her across the Pacific from the top of the Panama Canal. On returning to Australia I discovered Permaculture and took a certificate in Permaculture Design. And then another twist took me into the Anglican Franciscan Order (the Society of St Francis) where I was a Novice for over a year. In the end this was not for me but, on leaving, my friends at Milkwood Permaculture asked me to come back and set up an Organic Market Garden for them. This was a lovely project but only for a year, after which I moved closer to Sydney to repeat the project on another property. Completing that, I was asked to join the Maritime Office of the New South Wales Government to convert the old Ships’ Pilot Station into a Boating Safety

Around 12,000 years ago - give or take a few millenia - the earth began a slow process of warming. As the ice retreated, the tundra gave way to forests. Pioneer species came first - mostly birches, rowans, willows followed by alder, aspen, hazel, thorn bushes and lastly by the slowergrowing climax species of pine, juniper, oak, holly. By 6,000 years ago the British isles were largely covered by a dense forest in which roamed many animals large and small including wolves, bears, lynx, European bison, aurochs and other wild cattle. The gnawing of the beaver created pools and lakes all over that land.

And then came man. We do not know exactly when the first humans crossed the land bridge but that invasion was the beginning of the end of these mighty forests. It is estimated that at 6,000 years ago most of Scotland was covered by forest. The Romans called it ‘silva caledon’ from which came “Caledonia”. There is now a mere 1% of the original Caledonian Forest left. In the early 1980s Alan Watson Featherstone, a member of the Findhorn Foundation Community, was spending time in Glen Affric walking amongst the trees of one of the largest remnant sections of Caledonian Forest when it dawned on him that he was walking in a dying forest. It was dying because there were no young trees anywhere - they were being eaten by deer and sheep. In 1986 the Findhorn Foundation held a conference on the state of the environment at the end of which everyone was asked to make a commitment to do something. Alan stood up and declared his intention to start a project to restore the Caledonian Forest. Trees for Life was born, although the name was not chosen for a couple of years, and actually came about from the first magazine published to raise support for the project. The official birth of the charity came on the day in 1990 when David Bellamy shut the gate on the first ex-closure created by Trees for Life in Glen Affric to protect young trees by keeping the deer and sheep out (hence ex- rather then enclosure). In 2008 Trees for Life was left a substantial legacy, with which it purchased an estate of 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares or 4 square kilometres) in Glen Moriston at a place called Dundreggan. Here there are a number of reforesting and research projects and a nursery that produces 70,000 trees a year. This is the main operating base.

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As of this spring Trees for Life has planted over 1.5 million trees on the Dundreggan Estate and in partnership with the Scottish Forestry Commission and RSPB Scotland in Glen Affric and other locations across the Highlands. The ultimate aim is to reforest 1,000 square kilometres in the next 200 years. Some project!

• As a Group Leader - we take groups of up to 10 volunteers for a week each into either Glen Moriston or to our remote cottage in Glen Affric. In that week we live together as a small community cooking, eating, playing, laughing and doing conservation work; this might be planting trees, cutting out exotic, invasive species, building fences, taking down old fences, survey work and a variety of tasks in the nursery; • As a Contractor - I sometimes go with a small group of friends and spend a few days planting trees in areas too remote or difficult for a Conservation Week; • As an Office Volunteer - there are often times when an extra pair of hands is needed in and around the office; • As a stand-in Employee - I am currently the temporary Field Projects Office whilst he is on sabbatical in the USA.

WHY TREES FOR LIFE AND WHY NOW? In my adventurous life, one thing has led to another in a somewhat unstructured, but always exciting, way. I am able to bring to this organisation a number of skills from previous experience - group leadership, outdoor educational work, conservation work and an abiding love of nature, management and administration. For many years I worked in offices - my office is now a barren hillside waiting to be planted with young native trees. I am doing good and important work with lovely people in beautiful locations.

I became involved with Trees for Life in 2015. The year before I had read Feral by George Monbiot (I recommend it highly to anyone interested in re-wilding) in which he writes most enthusiastically about the work of Trees for Life, so I went on a volunteer week and it changed my life. I had just returned from living in Australia for 15 years and was looking for direction. After that week I resolved to move to Scotland and join Trees for Life. I work for the charity in a number of ways:

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Trees for Life welcomes anyone of reasonable fitness (the work on the hillsides is strenuous) and our volunteers age from 18 to 80. Each Conservation Week I collect a bunch of strangers at Inverness station at 13:00 on Saturday and the following Saturday I say farewell to a group of new friends. There are sometimes tears, but always smiles from a wonderful week. It is an extraordinary inspiration to work with people who care deeply about the appalling damage we have done to that natural world and who come with a burning desire to do something about it. Come and join us for a life-changing week: https://treesforlife.org.uk

60S Robert Howells South (1966-1970)

Murray Moor Surrey (1957-1962)

I was sorry to have missed the 60s reunion last year. I have been based in the US since 1991, and after 25 years in corporate life I started a marketing consultancy in 2017. I also run the New York branch of a Cambridge University alumni group for entrepreneurs. My wife and I live in northern New Jersey, just outside New York, and have two grown children and a granddaughter.

I enclose a snap of me devouring a plate of Morton Bay Bugs (a Queensland delicacy strangely named being not unlike a small lobster). My wife of 50 years, Angela, and I have spent most of our working lives here in Brisbane; Angela as a dietitian and university lecturer and myself in various export marketing roles in the mining industry.

CRICKET TOUR OF HOLLAND, 1969 The old joke has it that if you can remember the 60s you weren’t there. However, next year (2019) will not only be the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Woodstock, and President Nixon’s first year in office, but also of the 50th anniversary of the St John’s cricket tour of Holland. This was probably the first overseas tour by any St John’s team. I think it is fair to say that St John’s, perhaps because of its comparatively small size, was not known for its sporting prowess in the late 60s. (In retrospect, the high quality of the teaching in the Sixth Form was probably the school’s greatest strength at that time, but that is a story for another day.) But cricket was about to become the exception. Perhaps that gave Mike Comer the confidence to venture outside our normal comfort zone. Or it might have been that Derek Pitt, for whom it was often difficult to tell whether a sporting tour was an excuse for new cultural experiences or the other way around, persuaded Mike to try something different.

We came to Australia as expats with Shell in 1980 and loved it so much we decided to stay on to raise three children and now eight grandchildren. In retirement we are blessed with a (mostly!) decent climate and plenty of outdoor activities with golf at the head of the list for me. For those younger OJs considering an escape from northern climes I would say give Australia a go. It may not suit everyone, being a long way from almost everywhere (apart from New Zealand!), but it does offer a magnificent lifestyle for work, leisure and for raising kids. Greetings to all, especially those who can still remember those “swinging sixties” when life seemed so much less complicated than it does today.

Sometimes the most modest of documents can give interesting historical insights. So it is with our tour joining instructions. Harold Wilson’s government (and I am all too conscious that he is as distant a figure for today’s Johnians as Lloyd George was to us) had imposed strict currency controls and so we were instructed that £15 was the maximum we could take out of the country. The tour itinerary indicates that we played four matches in a week on matting pitches. I can’t remember much about them – but one memory remains for some reason. We were being driven round Amsterdam by one of our opponents, who pointed out the Amsterdam Hilton. “That’s where John and Yoko had their Love In (the previous spring)”, he told us. That we certainly knew all about, although it was perhaps not the cultural experience Derek had in mind.

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50S

Dr Colin Peace North (1949-1954)

troops to retreat from the high ground and out of the village and surrounding countryside. Following our tour, and after refreshing ourselves with a few pints of fine Belgian beer, we returned to the original Allied front line to attend a production of the excellent First World War play Journey’s End, written in 1928 by R.C. Sheriff, which had not previously been staged near any of the sites of the French or Belgium battlefields.

Patrick Gardner with OJ Richard Younge and brother, Robert Gardner

Right: A scene from Journey’s End

Patrick Gardner Surrey (1955-1959) In October 2017 my brother Robert Gardner and I, together with fellow OJ Richard Young (South House 1954-1958) and another friend, made our annual trip to visit the First World War battlefields and Commonwealth cemeteries.

The situation was further exacerbated by appalling ground conditions. A period of almost three weeks of continuous heavy rain had turned the battlefields into a quagmire so deep that the troops regularly sunk up to their knees and were often unable to move forward. It proved impossible to bring up supplies, guns or ammunition to the front line and many horses and men fell and drowned in the mud. Eventually however, after suffering incredible losses, they finally overcame the German troops and captured Passchendaele, driving the surviving German

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Four of the six Peace boys enjoyed their time at St John’s (not quite the Morgan numbers). We had one sailor and one adventurer, one vet, one farming lecturer and orthopaedic surgeon and a real estate manager. J School was good for all of us under Joey Chappells’ North House enthusiasm. Always ready to take on Tom Peacock and his great East House. He was a wonderful chemistry coach. If only I had been a mountaineer.

Horses, surgery, Pony clubs, hunting and racing and, of course, the modern Pentathlon. We went with the British teams to Montreal where our athletes claimed a gold medal. Then toured South America so my wife could see her parents in Argentina and for them to see our three offspring – this turned into a lecture tour and ended with us accepting a teaching post in Guelph, Ontario. After four years at university and 32 years in our practice with all sorts of patients, we are still working, rather slowly, but it’s a great life.

OJ VIP MISSION IN MENORCA

Being the centenary year (1917) of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, we decided to make a return visit to Ypres and the Menin Gate ‘Last Post’ ceremony, as well as taking a guided tour of the Passchendaele battlefields. Thousands of British and Allied troops were ordered to advance up towards the German lines that were dug in in front of the village of Passchendaele, and to capture the village situated on the top of the ridge. The German positions were situated at the top of the salient with a clear view of the advancing Allied troops which had no natural cover for over two miles and, consequently, the Allies suffered tremendous casualties.

For the first time in its history, R.C. Sheriff’s good-humoured and heart-rending portrait of life and death on the Western Front made the return journey to the place that gave it its unassailable authenticity.

I spent two years in the Royal Navy before tackling the six year Cambridge Veterinary course. I discovered the Olympic sport of modern Pentathlon taking part in the 1955 – 56 Nationals which the RN won. I played rugby in and out of the University team with the same results at High Jump and boxing without ever achieving the ultimate ‘blue’. The modern Pentathlon took me round the world and we trained the first ever Cambridge University Team partly at J School.

After graduating as a veterinarian I moved to Yorkshire into the James Herriott country. He and Seigfried were neighbours and became friends. Later I moved via London to tour the USA and returned to take up racehorse surgery in Newmarket.

This outstanding production was initially scheduled to appear in 2017 only during the one week we happened to visit Ypres. It was staged in an original First World War ammunition store, close to the front line of the Allies position. The store had seating capacity for around 100 audience members and drew the attention of the Daily Telegraph’s theatrical critic who wrote an excellent article about the play and its unique setting. This resulted in play’s producers making the decision to re-enact the production in 2018 during the centenary year of the end of the First World War. Journey’s End depicts the terrible final days experienced during the German offensive throughout March 1918. The Allied soldiers occupying these trenches suffered unimaginable hardships but those who survived did so with great determination and bravery. The following day after our visit to Journey’s End, we spent a morning visiting a number of immaculately maintained and very moving Allied Cemeteries around the Passchendaele area before returning home after a memorable visit.

OJ Ian ‘Jim’ Warren (West 1955-59) was a host for a special visit by Viscount and Viscountess Stanhope of Mahon to Menorca in October 2017. They were making their first tour of the island to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first Viscount Stanhope creating Stanhope of Mahon – the island’s capital and major port. At the time of the appointment in 1817, Menorca was under British rule and the first Viscount was Governor of the island, which was an important naval base for British fleets in the Mediterranean. Both Nelson and Admiral Collingwood visited Mahon, the latter taking up residence for a time. His house still remains and is now a hotel. Today, there are many reminders of British rule, including the impressive and almost intact naval dockyard and the naval military hospital, the first of its kind in the world, situated at the entrance to the harbour on the Isla del Rey. Ian, who has lived on the island for many years, has been deeply involved in the restoration work of the hospital and the photograph shows him in front of the hospital building with the Viscount and Viscountess (Lord and Lady Harrington).

Mrs Deborah Hellyer, former British Consul on the island, who was prominent in organising the three day visit, paid particular tribute to Ian for his contribution and to his work for the hospital at a special banquet in honour of the Viscount and Viscountess. Among the guests, who both have associations with Menorca, were OJs Robert Gardner (Churchill 1953 - 56) and his brother Patrick (Surrey 1855 - 59), a former governor of the School.

Viscount and Viscountess Stanhope of Mahon with Jim Warren.

Robert Gardner Churchill (1953-1956) TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

Patrick Heigham Surrey (1956-1960) I joined the Rifle Club to avoid cricket! However, I wasn’t a bad shot and represented the School at Bisley in the Team 8. Staying with a British friend who had emigrated to Canada, his neighbour was in the Toronto Police and invited us to visit their Armed Response Unit, where we saw the armoured vehicles, & rifles with mirrors to see what might be around the corner!

We were treated to their short range target practice facility and invited to have a go. We both opted for 10 rounds each with the Heckler & Koch MP5 machine pistol. Switching the selector to single shot, I managed a two inch group close to the heart target. Then they offered me a job! I replied that I preferred shooting at something that wasn’t likely to fire back!

OLD JOHNIAN

GOLF REVIEW As an introduction, it might first be of interest to know what gave rise to the creation of the OJGS - a question often asked. It was around the time of the millennium, emanating from matches played against the Old Lorettonians and the Old Alleynians, that surprise was expressed by our opponents that the Old Johnians were not more involved with Old Boys golf.

40S Michael Meurisse West (1946-1950)

GRAFTON MORRISH 2017 AND 2018

You may be interested to know I was honoured by the Her Majesty The Queen as a recipient of the Maundy Alms in March at St George’s Chapel Windsor.

30S P J Cashmore North (1935-1942) I was one of three Cashmore brothers who were at St John’s. My brother, John (North), was Victor Ludorum twice and captain of athletics, boxing and swimming. I followed into North House, as did my other brother, Dick - the intelligent one. He went on to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he got a PhD. I am the sole survivor at 93. But my sister is 97 – my J School number at school! Whilst at North I was very pally with PJ Boothman (see article in the 2017 OJ Magazine on page 14 ), he having the same initials and same birthdate - 9 September. His father was an air commodore in the RAF, and Pat was keen to go into the RAF; he even persuaded me to go into the air cadets, although I was already a sergeant in St John’s army cadets, and in the ‘Home Guard’. My brother, John, went into the Indian army and later fought with the Aussies

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down to Singapore. In February 1942 he got to Sumatra in a sampan and that is where he was presumed killed. So, instead of going to the RAF, I followed John into the Indian army and, in due course, found myself fighting the Japanese in the Arakan, Burma. Whilst there, I used to watch the RAF bombing the Jap positions (in fact an Indian pilot bailed out of his plane and landed on our hill position, much to his relief, as he thought he was landing on a Jap position!) I always wondered how Pat Boothman was getting on in the RAF. I soon found out. The week before I was leaving Bombay, to go on demob, I opened a copy of the ‘Times of India’ and saw the obituary in January 1947 of Squadron Leader P J Boothman, DFC and bar, only son of Air Commodore Boothman, who was killed trying to land in a dust storm at Karachi. The interesting thing was that whilst I was shooting at the Japs on the ground, my friend Pat was shooting at them from the air, in the same area of Burma.

In 2017 our team was agonisingly close to qualifying for the finals again, missing out by one point and finishing as best non-qualifier. It all hung on Eton holing a monster putt on the final green to pip the OJ team by a single point. The three OJ pairs of James Wallace/Richard Warren, Peter Richardson/Graham Warren and Stuart Hibbert/Andrew Wildey scored an aggregate of 75 stableford points (foursomes off scratch) which in most years would probably be sufficient to qualify.

Grafton Morrish Qualifier. From left to right: Stuart Hibbert (Captain), James Wallace, James Smart, Richard Warren, Andrew Wildey, Peter Richardson

There certainly seemed to be sufficient interest which encouraged Stuart Southgate to explore the position. The first step was to apply to join the Public School Old Boys Golf Association (now known as The Grafton Morrish Golf Association), which has around 150 members including the schools who are traditional sporting opponents of St John’s. In 2005/6 the OJGS was formally established with the underlying aim being the playing of (foursomes) matches mostly against fellow Old Boys sides. Importantly, of course, the door was then open to participate in the Grafton Morrish Trophy, the major Public School Old Boys competition, which attracts an annual entry of around 110 schools. Since 2005/2006 the OJGS has qualified twice for the finals and the competition remains an important focus for the Society each year. Short reports of our participation in the 2017 and 2018 events follow below.

In 2018 an arguably slightly stronger team did not have such a good day on very quick greens at Royal Wimbledon, finishing with an aggregate score of 69 points, and missed qualifying by some six points. The team consisted of James Wallace/ Richard Warren, James Smart/Peter Richardson and Stuart Hibbert/Andrew Wildey. Thanks go to Stuart Hibbert, and his assistant Andrew Wildey, for captaining the team. Stuart remains optimistic about the future with several new, low handicap golfers becoming available to add to our squad.

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MEMBERSHIP

OLD JOHNIAN

Our membership database currently stands at around 70. This healthy figure, reflecting a number of new recruits, should be more than sufficient to fulfil our relatively small fixture list without difficulty: yet match managers continue to encounter problems raising sides. Despite efforts to encourage members to participate in matches, there remains a reluctance to be proactive. However, our experience suggests this is not an uncommon problem in Old Boys golf more generally and just has to be faced.

FOOTBALL In May, (OJFC’s second season as an Old Boys club) playing in the FA Arthurian League came to an end, and what an end it was.

MATCH RESULTS - 2017 The results for the season turned out to be satisfactory. Three matches were won versus the Bar GS, Old Epsomians and Old Cranleighans and two lost versus the School and Old Alleynians. The School match was a notable reversal of last year’s result and it was encouraging that the Old Epsomian match was a success following its cancellation in 2016. In the main, player availability was slightly better than hitherto.

MATCH RESULTS – 2018 At the time of writing the season still has some way to go. Of the matches played, wins have been recorded against the School and the Bar GS. The School match was a particularly good encounter between two well matched teams with a high standard of golf played. Worthy of note that OJ Match Manager, Humfrey Malins, to his credit but not without difficulty, had got together a relatively young team. The match was again played at Effingham GC to whom we are grateful for hosting the match and making all the arrangements. The match against the Old Alleynians is still to be played. Sadly we will not be playing either the Old Epsomians or the Old Cranleighans this year. The former cancelled because they could not raise a side and the latter because they could not find a suitable match manager to take over from the present incumbent who has retired. We may have to look for two new fixtures in future. In general our own match managers have not found it an easy year for raising sides but we are grateful to Humfrey Malins, Richard Vosser, David Glasscock and Barry Smart for all their efforts in this respect.

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SOCIETY DAY Last year Stuart Hibbert arranged a successful Society Day at Effingham GC on the first Sunday of October. After a good lunch, 20 members played in fours with the age of each playing pair falling in the same decade (i.e. age 20, 30, 40 etc.). The better ball stableford score of each pair to count. The winners were: Peter Richardson and Stephen Vickery (50s) 43pts on countback, 2nd Richard Warren and Robin Jones (30s) 43pts and 3rd Rob Harradine and Jason Gabb (30s) 42pts.

played on some of the best pitches around, referees and linesmen for each game, a trophy presentation with League representatives, and a decent spread in the bar after! An incredible day to be part of.

Pictured from left to right Humfrey Malins (OJ Match Manager), Jason Gabb, Angus Lonsdale, Ross Adams, Rob Harradine and David Scrivens (Chairman OJGS)

Having claimed the Division 5 title in their inaugural season, the club secured the Division 4 title with three games to play and a League Cup to claim their first double.

It is planned to hold a similar Day in 2018 on Sunday 30 September at Tyrrells Wood GC. Depending on numbers the format is likely to be the same with golf after lunch.

The League was very much a three horse race for most of the season with OJFC sitting in second for majority, but a consistent and strong finish to the season with important wins over rivals Old Suttonians at St Johns School, and Old Rugbeians, secured top of the table and a second Division title and promotion in two years.

AND FINALLY The usual message goes to any golfing OJs out there who have not joined the Society. We would be delighted if you were to join us. All handicaps welcome. Please contact the Development Office who will help you get in contact. My thanks go to all those who help run the Society. We also remain very grateful to the School for their financial support which helps greatly in keeping match costs more manageable, and to the Development Office for their help during the year. David Scrivens Chairman OJGS NB Short reports of all the Society’s activities are available in the OJGS section of the School website. They will show you the array of top courses on which we play our matches and also, of course, those members involved many of whom you may know well.

SEASON STATS

Played 21

OJFC were unfortunate to go out of one of the Cup competitions early via a double header however, made amends in the David Woolcott Trophy. An impressive run saw the Club knock out the likes of Old Alleynians (in the snow), and thump Old Harrovians at Hampton School’s unbelievable 4G pitch in the semi-finals. The final was played at Old Merchant Taylors School vs foes Old Rugbeians, who were beaten 2-1 on the day. A first double for OJFC. The Arthurian League host a Finals Day (Super Saturday) every year which consists of 4 finals back to back

Won 16

Drawn 3

Lost 2

The Club would like to thank everyone who made the journey to support and watch OJFC lift the Cup! Celebrations continued into Clapham post the final win for the end of season social and awards night. As always, a great event celebrating the years success together and the announcement of awards such as Player of the Season, Boards Player of the Season, Goal of the Season, Roy Keane Award, Dennis Bergkamp Award, and many more. Thankfully, the club had another opportunity to celebrate a few weeks later at the Annual League Dinner in London attended from teams across all Divisions. OJFC were strongly represented by nine Club members at the yearly event for an evening of food, drinks, speeches from the League and guest speakers (Steve Claridge), and trophy presentations. A thoroughly enjoyable evening all around. In September, OJFC will embark on the new season in the Arthurian Leagues 3rd Division, where they’ll play the likes of Old Epsomians, Carthusians, Tonbridgians and Wellingtonians. A challenge the Club are very much looking forward to. For anyone wanting to get involved with the club on or off the pitch, then please do get in touch via our Facebook Page or via oldjohnianfc@gmail. com. We are growing and want that to continue!

Goals 63

Against 28

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OLD JOHNIAN

RUGBY After an encouraging first season in Surrey 3 which saw OJRFC solidify our mid-table position, our 2017/18 goal was to achieve promotion, but it soon became apparent this was going to be an incredibly competitive league. Unfortunately our first games pitted us against the two relegated teams from Surrey 2 - Old Caterhamians and Worth Old Boys. Both had used the summer to regroup and were intent on getting back up at the first opportunity (the fact they finished third and fourth is testament to the increasing strength of Surrey 3), and we fell short on both occasions. We then embarked on a five-game winning streak – putting away the likes of Merton, Old Glynonians, Horley, Croydon (89-5!) and London Media, with the last being played in front of a packed crowd at St John’s HQ – still the best surface on the circuit.Buoyed by this streak, we were third in the table with the top two to play before the Christmas break – Old Rutlishians and Met Police. Both games were very tight contests and could have gone either way, but alas they didn’t go in our favour. All in all – an encouraging first half of the season, however victory over a ‘top 4’ side still eluded us. The second half of the season unfortunately coincided with an unprecedented number of injuries to key players which disrupted any progress and swiftly put an end to any promotion hopes. At one stage we had 22 players unavailable through injury or otherwise – and it was a minor miracle we were a) able to put out a team and b) remain unbelievably competitive in every game, with the highlight being a 5-0 away win over Merton in monsoonlike conditions. We finished the season in the lower half of the table yet there’s a serious amount of talent in this squad and it will only be a matter of time, hopefully next season, before we’re in the promotion mix. In other news, an OJRFC U21 side acquitted themselves very well against Old Ruts and Chobham – losing 13-8 to the latter in appalling conditions. It was great to see the youngsters back on the pitch and playing with customary OJ flair – we hope to see some of them in 1st XV colours next year.

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RIFLE CLUB We also ran another successful charity touch tournament which was contested by a number of OJ teams and a couple of invitational sides. The Cup was won by The Strollers, and the Plate was claimed by last year’s Cup winners, Hakuna Mataga. It was a fantastic day out, with over £1,000 raised for the side’s chosen charity - Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance (taking us to £1,500 raised in the last two years) - and we look forward to hosting a bigger and better tournament next year. And so all eyes turn to next season with a number of developments. We have appointed a new Head Coach – Seth Stoltenberg – who has quite the reputation working with Queensland and ACT development sides in Australia. He’s very attack-minded and keen to throw the ball around, so should fit in well! We’ve also focused on recruiting new players who we hope will take the club forward in the years to come, and we now have a bigger playing squad that should help us achieve our goals of a promotion and winning the Cup. The U21 competition, which includes most rugby clubs in Surrey, will be back in early September, with subsequent games to be held around university holidays. These tend to be very enjoyable playing and social occasions and we look forward to welcoming more OJs to the fold. Pre-season starts on Wednesday 1 August at our home, Wimbledon RFC. Extra touch sessions and conditioning ‘homework’ have already started which should mean it comes as less of a shock – but let’s see. If you would like to play / become a member of OJRFC then please get in touch with James Duncan – jamesduncan8@hotmail.com / 07905 527309 or find OJRFC on Facebook. We train every Wednesday with nearly all of our games in the Surrey/SW London area. But most importantly – it’s an incredibly social and inclusive club where OJs (and non-OJs) play good rugby and enjoy each other’s company. Oh, and we do love a good tour too.

SMALLBORE 2017/18 We are delighted to announce new arrivals to our ranks – James McCarthy who was a strong performer in the St John’s CCF shooting team, and older members from the early 1990s will remember Adam Fowler who has re-joined the club and staged a fierce return to shooting after some 20 years away from the sport. He was a prolific talent whilst at the School and has lost none of those skills. His averages are such that we are now making him known to the selectors of county and GB teams for consideration. Members have won gold and silver medals over the year. Jon Tapster won the Surrey County Championship in 2017 and the team won the team league in the summer of that year also. Having won the BSSRA Fletcher Cup in 2016, we lost it to Old Watsonians in 2017 to come 3rd overall and were runners up in April 2018. In the national competitions, Stuart Pearson continues to compete in the National Smallbore Imperial meet and is a regular in the Surrey County squad. Both he and Adam Fowler shoot regular 50 and 100 yard competitions with outstanding results. Jon Tapster ventured into the Eley national competition to finish 20th in the knockout stages and qualify for the Final to be held in August.

A view of the 600 yard firing point at Bisley

His averages are such that we are now making him known to the selectors of county and GB teams for consideration. TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

Pete Roberts competing in The Surrey Civilians at Bisley

John Tapster at the Surrey County Championship

telling runs on the wing in Rugby house matches. Quite recently, and in his retirement, he told me how much his experience as a chapel server in the days of Ken Meicklejohn’s chaplaincy had meant to him and how much he still valued Ken’s influence from those days. We both took lessons in string playing from Mrs Carter in a room off the corridor to the Old Chapel, though neither of us was destined to achieve great things as instrumentalists. The most notable musical experience from those days was choral under the direction of Dr LHB Reed, a humorous, talented and lovable eccentric, whose contribution to chapel life and that of the School and indeed the town, was immense.

FULLBORE 2017/18 Diary commitments have proved a challenge to us fielding as many teams in 2017 as we would have liked. However, we competed in the Surrey Schools (3rd) in May, the Civilians (2nd) and the Astor (3rd) in June. A few of our members shot with Surrey RA in June in the RAF Total Oil Challenge, helping Surrey win back the oil drum from London in 2017. The shoot in 2018 saw London win it back again! We fielded two teams in the NRA Schools’ Veterans coming 9th and 5th for the first and second teams respectively. Several of us shot the Imperial Meeting which followed, with Jon Tapster finishing 50th in the Grand Aggregate and making it through to the final of HM The Queen’s Prize. Looking forward to the Imperial for 2018, it looks as if we will be able to field a few teams since Jon Tapster, Stuart Pearson, Philip Hakim and Adam Fowler are all shooting the full Meeting.

OLD JOHNIAN

Masonic Lodge ‘The Old Johnian Masonic Lodge is actively looking for new members to join. We are keen to welcome existing Masons as well as anyone who has an interest in being an Initiate - you don’t have to be an OJ! We meet four times a year in Covent Garden, but soon hope to hold one of those meetings as an annual event at the School. We are a friendly and welcoming Lodge of about 20 members. If you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please do contact the secretary: Mark Cooper (mark@ cooperandlansbury.com).

obituaries

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THE REV’D CANON GORDON MANLEY 1933 - 2018 South (1946-1951) Gordon Manley was born in 1933 at Oldham in Lancashire, where his father was headmaster of the Bluecoat School. I first knew him in the early forties at Surbiton, where we were both pupils at Shrewsbury House Preparatory School. Then, in the late forties, we both arrived in South House at St John’s, where Donald Grigg was our housemaster and Jack Carter was headmaster. Gordon was always a serious scholar and duly graduated to the elite Classical Sixth. I do not remember him as a notable games player, but he certainly ran fast on the athletic track, and, as a tall and strong man, made, as I recall, some

Those were the days of compulsory National Service and in 1953 Gordon I duly reported to the New Infantry Barracks in Canterbury as recruits in the Buffs (or Royal East Kent Regiment). Much later, when he was an Honorary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral, he took me to the nearby village of Littlebourne to show me the font where he had been baptised by his grandfather, the vicar there at a time when Gordon’s father was a master at the King’s School. Gordon always homed, one way or another, back to Canterbury and Kent. And one experience that tugged him back we shared. We were allowed out of barracks on Sunday evenings and regularly went down the hill into the city and the cathedral to be part of the little congregation at a homely, informal evensong conducted there by the Dean, who was at that time, Hewlett Johnson, the famous “Red Dean”. We treasured this experience, its value thrown into sharp relief by its extreme contrast with the mundane and relatively brutish background of basic infantry training. Neither of us had great military inclinations, but we both were in due course commissioned, Gordon specialising in Air Photography, whilst I went to Nigeria. We were destined to resume our connection when we both matriculated at Cambridge in 1953, he from Christ’s College and I from Magdalene (where his father had been an undergraduate). TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

Gordon read theology at Cambridge and his first post was a Curacy in Bristol after which he was delighted to be asked to return to his college as Chaplain. The Very Reverend Robert Grimley knew Gordon at Christ’s and later served as his curate before becoming, in time, Dean of Bristol. He has allowed me to use extracts form his obituary notice for Gordon:

My strongest memory of Gordon is the enthusiastic way he tackled life. “Gordon served as Chaplain of Christ’s from 1961 to 1966. He was a deeply serious and sensitive person, but people’s first impressions of him were often shaped by his boyish enthusiasm, which could swiftly help him to establish cordial relationships with those drawn from every aspect of College life. He never lost that vigour and human warmth: it characterised his ministry. During his time at Christ’s he married Susan Carter, whom he had got to know during his Bristol curacy, and they enjoyed entertaining members of Christ’s at their flat as well as in his College rooms. Her whole-hearted support for his ministry continued into their subsequent parish life, and on into retirement. After Christ’s he became Vicar of Radlett, a prosperous Hertfordshire commuter parish, where articulate men and women who had risen in their professions brought considerable skills to the running of the parish, and ensured that parish policies and theological teaching were subject to lively debate. From there he and Susan, and their three children, moved to Faversham, an ancient town just outside Canterbury; its fine mediaeval church has a very beautiful and finely carved spire, which is a notable local landmark, instantly recognisable over a wide area and the subject of great local pride. During Gordon’s time it was necessary to launch a major campaign for funds to save and restore the spire and it was his personal drive and respected place in the town’s life that ensured the campaign’s triumphant conclusion.”

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Another friend, Michael Driver, recalls Gordon’s life and chaplaincy: “I was a freshman at Christ’s in the year that Gordon became Chaplain and later when I attended his induction in St Albans I assumed that future contact would be minimal. In 1976 we moved to Barfrestone on the outskirts of Canterbury and shortly afterwards I met Gordon at his induction to a parish in Faversham. Eventually Gordon retired to a house in Canterbury. I helped him with some alterations and he helped me at St Nicholas Barfrestone where, as Church warden, I was responsible for finding Clergy to take services.

DR HUGH MORGAN RICHARDS 1933 - 2017 Churchill (1946-1951)

Chapel life was presented as something to be enjoyed not only the services but breakfast sausages in the Chaplain’s rooms after Sunday communion. He would appear on the touchline or the towpath giving generous support to teams or boats, a presence that you knew cared about you enjoying the contest, whatever the result. In the same vein you knew this was someone you could approach to ask for advice or to discuss a problem, someone removed from the formal academic relationships yet with a clear understanding way in which the Congregation at Barfrestone took to him.” My own friendship with Gordon flourished again in retirement when we spent good times together as he showed us treasured places in Canterbury and Kent. As an honorary canon of the cathedral and Retirement Officer of the Diocese, looking after fellow clergy who might welcome support, he remained busy, with that characteristic vigour hardly diminished, assisting at the Cathedral and serving in local parishes, until close to his sudden death. His funeral in St Paul’s Church was crowded with fond and grateful clergy of a certain age. Bishop Richard Llewellyn, another former curate of Gordon’s to reach high office, said of Gordon’s family life: “Their dining room was not large, but was never too small to welcome children and grandchildren to Sunday Lunch.” Those Sunday Lunches were very special occasions, notable celebrations of Gordon’s truly remarkable devotion to the roles of father and grandfather. John Vallins South (1945-1951)

Service. He was seconded to the 5th Inniskillin Dragoon Guards in Sennelager, Westphalia, Germany. During this posting Hugh met Christine, daughter of Col. Geoffrey White, the British Resident for the area. They were married in 1961. After completion of his time in the army they moved to Warwickshire in England where Hugh developed an interest and passion for the public health service and of extending health care to communities rather than individuals. During this time they had a son Nicholas and two years later twin sons, Christopher and David. For the final year in Warwickshire, Hugh attended the London University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to obtain the necessary post graduate qualification before uprooting the family to Peace River, Alberta where Hugh was Medical Officer of Health for a northern health unit. After three years the family moved to Edmonton where Hugh attended the Public Health Laboratory at the University Alberta. In 1970 Hugh was invited to become the Medical Officer of Health in the South Central Health Unit in Kamloops, British Columbia. During this time he studied for and obtained his Specialist Certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. After four years in this position he was asked to join the Department of Public Health in Victoria BC, moving up to become Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Health and, in 1981, the Provincial Health Officer.

‘Gorffwys mewn heddwch’ (Rest in Peace) It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Hugh, beloved husband of Christine, much loved father to Nick (Aleda), Chris (Rinah) and David (Karen). Grandfather (Taid) to Breanna, Shayna, Kara and Thomas.

Hugh was born in North Wales, second son of a Welsh country clergyman. His early education was in Wales and later at St John’s School in Leatherhead. Hugh attended St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London where he attained his medical degree before being recruited into the Royal Army Medical Corps for National

During these years Hugh was awarded several prestigious medals and prizes for Meritorious Service and lifetime contributions to Public Health in British Columbia. From 1975 onwards Hugh and Christine belonged to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club where they, with their boys, spent many happy years learning about the local waters and exploring beautiful places for summer trips. They sailed twice around Vancouver Island and began to dream and plan for further cruising. Upon retirement in 1993 Hugh and Christine set sail in their Vancouver 32ft sloop Demelza to achieve a life time dream to sail around the world. Hugh wrote a book about their seven years on board called Reflections on Three Oceans. The family would like to acknowledge the assistance of Beacon Services, Dr.Valerie Cowan and the Palliative Care Unit in Saanich Peninsula Hospital for their outstanding care, love and kindness to Hugh and the family.

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JAMES MORWOOD OJ 1943 - 2017

STEWART BARLOW 1974 - 2018

Surrey (1957- 1962)

West (1987-1992)

James Morwood died tragically in Greece in September 2017 while enjoying a morning swim in the sea. He won a Scholarship to St John’s in 1967, where he studied Classics and from there went up to Peterhouse Cambridge with an Exhibition. While at St John’s he was not noted for sporting prowess but his long rangy frame did contribute to several wins by Surrey in house cross country events.

Stewart’s career, like a fine wine, took a while to develop. His first full time property job started in 1999 with a company called Gooch Webster based in London’s fashionable West End. After stints at Rogers Chapman and Nelson Bakewell, he joined DTZ, later to become Cushman & Wakefield. As his career developed further so did his reputation amongst his peers. One of Stewarts work colleagues mentioned the main reason he joined DTZ was to have the opportunity to work with Stewart as, “at the time he was one of the leading tenant agents in the market.”

At Peterhouse, James sat Part I of the Classical Tripos under the tutelage of Ted Kenney and then switched to English for Part II, where he was taught by the Shakespeare scholar, Anne Barton. On graduation he took a diploma of education at Merton College, Oxford. He joined Harrow School in 1966 teaching Classics and English. After a number of years he found himself teaching both subjects at Sixth Form level - he described it as a “dream job”. He produced many house and school plays at Harrow, working with outstanding pupils such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Curtis, with whom he also edited The Harrovian. When he was offered the post of Head of Classics in 1979 he reluctantly accepted it although it meant relinquishing teaching English, which he loved. It was while at Harrow that he wrote The Oxford Latin Course in collaboration with Maurice Balme which proved to be popular in schools and universities in the UK and USA. He also began a long association with the Joint Association of Classical Teachers Greek Summer School at Cheltenham and Bryanston which continued until his death. He left Harrow in 1996 to take up the post of Grocyn Lecturer at Wadham College, Oxford, teaching Greek. He retired from this position in 2003 but meanwhile had been appointed Dean of Wadham. His first attempt at retiring from this post in 2005 was a failure because the college was unable to find a volunteer to replace him, but he did finally retire in 2006, becoming an Emeritus Fellow. This extension of his Deanship had the advantage of providing him with two retirement parties.

Angus Mitchell and Dominic Snell with Stewart Barlow at his wedding

James was an inspirational teacher and author and made an incomparable contribution to the survival of Classical studies into the twenty-first century. Throughout his time at Oxford he published widely across the classical field. As well as an update of The Oxford Latin Course for the American market, he published 30 other texts, including translations of Euripides for Oxford World’s Classics, the Oxford Latin Pocket Dictionary and a number of studies of Latin poetry. He was much sought after as a collaborator because of his enthusiasm and insatiable work ethic, quite apart from his dedication to good food and wine. BM 24 January 2018

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When the club went into administration and was relegated in 1999 he remained committed to the club, becoming a core member of the team and they went on to win a record breaking 86 league games in a row. Towards the end of his playing career, he was made a club Vice President in recognition of his commitment and service to the club.

Stewart joined St John’s as a boarder in West House in 1988. He took to all parts of school life with enthusiasm, heading up the Army Division in the CCF and latterly becoming West House, House Captain. It was clear from the beginning that he was a sportsman and as a county squash player from the age of 11, he had a natural talent for ball sports from a young age. However, his talent on the rugby pitch wasn’t properly witnessed until he was 16. As a late bloomer, he metamorphosed from Little Stew, the smallest kid in the year, into Big Stew and propelled himself from the 3rd XV into the 1st XV almost overnight.

He continued to play rugby, joining Richmond FC where his fearless big tackling style soon earned him the nickname of ‘Bosher’. After school, having decided not to pursue a career in the Army, Stewart took a year out before joining Kingston University. When Richmond joined the Premiership in the late 1990s, he was integrated into the professional squad, representing the 1st XV on a number of occasions – notably against the teams of Leicester and Bath featuring players such Martin Johnson and Jeremy Guscott.

It was at work that Stewart met his future wife Charlotte. They met in 2005, when she was his graduate trainee or, as Stewart put it in his wedding speech, he was Obi Wan Kenobi and she was Luke Skywalker; he was the master and she was the apprentice, teaching Charlotte the ways of the Force or being a chartered surveyor. Quite apt for someone that registered their religion as Jedi! They shared many things in common, in particular a mutual love for cycling. This was fortunate as since hanging up his rugby boots, cycling had become an almost obsession for Stewart. He was a social rider but with a competitive instinct and would often cycle up Box Hill in the hardest gear, dropping everyone as he went. In 2014 Stewart was diagnosed with an inoperable form of brain cancer. With the loving help of Charlotte, his family and friends he managed to obtain a good quality of life until the very end and despite it all he kept his wicked sense of humour and massively infectious laugh. He was fearless in everything he did and always took every challenge head on. Stewart and Charlotte were married in October 2016, it was a beautiful day and it was clear to all to see how in love they were. His son Samuel was born in June 2018. Dominic Snell West (1987-1992)

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ALAN (GERARD ALAN MURRAY) CLUBE 1943 - 2017

for National Service, Alan started a career in education, moving to Africa in 1957 with his family (Gillian and his eldest son, Nicholas) and first teaching at St John’s College Houghton, Johannesburg. He then moved to a new boarding school which was being opened for Europeans at Iringa, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), St Michael’s and St George’s. Four years later (end of 1962) the family returned to the UK and Alan took up a post at Rossall School (Fleetwood). Although intending to stay for three years before returning to the Colonies, Alan was to teach at Rossall for the next 29 years being, at various stages, a housemaster and head of mathematics. Early in this period Alan and Gillian’s two younger children were born, Laurence in 1964 and Amanda in 1969. Later Alan and family had an exchange year at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney, Australia where he enjoyed the classroom experiences, training the 16Bs rugby team (who had an unbeaten season) and a lot of rugby refereeing.

OLD JOHNIAN

EVENTS OLD JOHNIAN DAY 2018

Old Johnian Day 2018

Surrey (1950-1955) My cousin Alan sadly died in September 2017, after a short illness. He was born on May Day 1936 in Merton, South West London, and after early years moving between there, Alresford (Hampshire) and Ayrshire (Scotland), his family settled in Leatherhead in 1948. After two years at Downsend School, he started at St John’s in 1950, joining his brother Victor who had started two years earlier in Surrey House. Alan was enthusiastic about sports including rugby, swimming and water polo. He developed interests in mathematics and the sciences, the latter particularly encouraged by the tutorage of Tom Peacock (chemistry) and W.O. Clark (physics). Alan went on to Christ Church, Oxford, to read Mathematics and, during this period, to marry Gillian Plastow. After Oxford, and having been notified by the War Office that his qualifications meant he would not be required

NOTIFICATIONS J ANDREW LAMONT

Shortly after Alan left Rossall in 1991, he was invited to return to Trinity Grammar to run, and raise money for, their Foundation, which he did for the next six years. This involved extensive travel throughout Australia and also to South-East Asia, particularly Malaya and Japan. Thus Alan and Gillian added even more to their circle of international friends. On their return to the UK, they lived for a short period in Slough but then settled in a cottage in the small village of Syresham, Northants. Until recently Gillian continued her lifelong activity teaching the piano, while Alan involved himself in village life, playing golf, keeping up with the family and writing an unpublished book. Alan is survived by Gillian, their three children and eight grandchildren. David E. Thomas North 1955

PETER JOHN HEBERT East (1943-1947) Philip Hebert notified us that sadly his father, Peter John Hebert, died on 21 March 2016.

Churchill (1949-1953)

WILLIAM PARKER

Peter Jones (Churchill 1948-1952) notified us that his friend Andrew Lamont died in 2017. They were both in the team of four who cycled to the Chateau de Courances in August 1952. Peter Jones writes: Andy was the son of a clergyman. He married in Wiltshire and became a successful estate agent and valuer, establishing his own business in Cheshire which has now passed down to his younger son and grandson. He has left a widow, Audrey, and two sons and a daughter.

South (1941-1943)

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Mrs Parker called to notify us that her husband, William Parker, died at the beginning of March 2018 aged 91.

LIONEL PIMM West (1934-1938) Mike Pimm notified us that his father, Dr Lionel Pimm, died in April 2018 just 3 weeks before his 95th birthday.

OJ Day was held on a beautifully sunny Saturday afternoon at the end of June; the perfect day for drinking Pimm’s on the Quad, having a barbecue and meeting up with old friends! This year OJ Day, the annual reunion for OJs, was a little different as the CCF had organised a St John’s Challenge for anyone who wished to have a go. Those brave enough to accept the challenge had a go at laser clay shooting, a giant inflatable obstacle course and command tasks. Many OJs – and staff – as well as their children took part and we were particularly impressed to see the Head and Deputy Head compete against each other on the assault course, both completing it in great style! The croquet match saw serious competition between OJs and current pupils with OJ Geoffrey Strutt (South 1956-1961) acting as referee. The OJ team won but all agreed that the game had been most enjoyable and for some of the pupils, it was a great first introduction to the game. The new prefects provided tours for OJs to show recent developments in the School as well as the exhibition of A level and GCSE art in the Library

and the splendid Archive Exhibition in the Dining Hall. This included a display of historical paintings, drawings and prints of the School and a fascinating display about the School in the First World War. Sally Todd, our archivist, was on hand with Neil Pudney, former Head of Grounds, to talk about the history of the School during this time, and to give sneak previews of the material they have uncovered which will be included in the book they are currently writing on St John’s and the Great War. It was a great pleasure to see OJs young and old and their families enjoying their return to St John’s and everything on offer. But at last the day had to end and Chair of the OJ Committee, Mark Cooper, was delighted to present a prize to the winners of the St John’s Challenge, staff member Chris Williams and his family. Other winners included OJ Phil Hauxwell (Surrey 1992-1996) as best male shot and best female shot was Sarah Partridge married to OJ Roger Partridge (Surrey 1977-1982). We look forward to seeing more of you at OJ Day next summer.

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EXPLORING LONDON Our series of fascinating walks around London have continued this year and are very popular with OJs. In October we joined Blue Badge Guide, Viv Haxby, for a walk through the heart of the City of London. We heard about the origins of the City 2000 years ago with the arrival of the Romans, the development of the City as a market place and the birth of City institutions such as Lloyd’s Insurance Market and the stock exchange. The walk took us past a number of beautiful Wren churches and Viv described how the City suffered two disasters and was rebuilt. We also learnt about the City’s ancient system of governance and the role of the Lord Mayor today.

BENEFACTORS’ DINNER The School was delighted to welcome more than 90 recent benefactors for a special drinks reception and dinner in the Dining Hall on Thursday 1 February. After dinner The Head gave a speech in which she thanked the benefactors, who represent all parts of the St John’s community, for the significant financial support they have provided. At the time of the dinner, the funds raised amounted to £384,176 over the past two years; these funds make a huge difference to the School and its pupils, enabling not only the creation of even better facilities and opportunities for our pupils but also allowing us to develop our commitment to widening access for pupils from low income families.

It was another excellent day bringing to life the engrossing history all around us.

In March, Viv took us on an enlightening walk through the area of Spitalfields and Shoreditch. It was riveting to hear about the waves of immigrants who have shaped this interesting and vibrant area of London - from the Huguenots of the seventeenth century, to the Eastern European Jews and the Irish of the nineteenth century, the Bengalis of more recent years and the hipsters of today! Towards the end of May, we took the Thames Clipper for a river trip from the London Eye Pier to Greenwich. At Greenwich, Viv took us on a walking tour around this famous heritage site, taking in the Cutty Sark, the Royal Hospital, National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House to see a few paintings and then the old town to see the market. It was another excellent day bringing to life the engrossing history all around us.

THE 1851 SOCIETY LUNCH In mid-October, we were delighted to show our appreciation to those who have pledged a legacy to St John’s by inviting them to our annual special lunch hosted by The Head. It was one of Rowena Cole’s first opportunities to meet with OJs and it was a very enjoyable occasion. All who pledge a legacy to St John’s are eligible to become a member of The 1851 Society and we are grateful for their commitment and generosity to the School community. If you have included St John’s in your Will, and would like to become a member of The 1851 Society, please do let our Development Office by emailing Naia Edwards (nedwards@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk). You can also find out more about leaving a legacy to St John’s on the inside back cover.

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TH E OLD J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

FORMER SCHOOL CAPTAINS GATHER AT ST JOHN’S

OJ DINNER 2017 The annual OJ Dinner was held on Thursday 16 November and was a wonderful occasion. Nearly 100 OJs returned to the School to enjoy pre-drinks in the Old Chapel, followed by a walk through the new Lower School to the Dining Hall for a delicious meal. After dinner, toasts were made to The Queen, the Duchess of Gloucester as patron of the Governing Council and to St John’s. Chairman of the OJ Committee, Mark Cooper, then invited long-standing staff members Patrick Noble and Sally Todd, who have given so much to the School, to become Honorary OJs. An OJ tie was given to Patrick Noble whilst Sally Todd was presented with flowers in the OJ colours of green, white and burgundy; any ideas for a female alternative to the OJ tie would be welcomed! Rowena Cole, The Head, was then introduced and made a speech which was warmly received by all the OJs.

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BUILDING CAREERS NETWORKS One of the many advantages of being part of the St John’s community is the way that it creates opportunities to share expertise and broaden experiences both while pupils are at school, and beyond as they venture into the world of higher education and work. At our Careers Fair in November, we were delighted to welcome OJs who left St John’s in or after 2012, so that they could benefit from careers advice alongside our current pupils. The Fair featured 50 representatives from a wide range of careers including architecture, engineering, finance, medicine and politics. There were also representatives from less traditional areas such as the computer games industry and the diamond industry. It was a fantastic opportunity to talk to professionals, many of whom were also OJs, who offered insights into what it is really like to work in a variety of professions.

It was a huge pleasure to welcome 36 former School Captains for a tour of St John’s, led by the current Captains, and a special tea to celebrate the hanging of the Honours Boards in the Dining Hall on Saturday 12 May. It proved to be such an interesting and enjoyable day and it was wonderful to see so many former captains together at the School. The Honours Boards, which list the names of 203 Captains of the School from 1909 until the present day, are a fantastic record of the achievements of the young men and women who have made such a positive contribution to the running of St John’s over the years. Amongst the former School Captains present were Mike Comer, Captain of the School in 1946-47, Colin Bourne, the first day boy to be School Captain from 1959-1960 and three brothers, William, Edward and Henry Harris, who were each appointed Captain of the School. In her welcome speech, Rowena Cole, The Head, reflected on the important role that School Captains have played in guiding and leading the pupil body throughout the School’s history. Many of the School Captains had sent in memories of their time in office and these had been made into a wonderful display by school archivist, Sally Todd, which were enjoyed by all. Many more reminiscences were exchanged on the day and a toast was made to all School Captains past, present and future!

TOURS OF THE SCHOOL We have held several guided group tours of the School throughout the year led by Patrick Noble. OJs and former parents have enjoyed seeing the new developments, including the Lower School, and hearing all the news of life at St John’s. These have been followed by the opportunity to watch sports matches on the playing fields and to enjoy the famous match teas afterwards. For those who have not been able to attend the official tours, we are always delighted to see OJs and to give you an individual tour. For safeguarding reasons, you will need to be accompanied, so do please contact us beforehand to arrange this via development@ stjohns.surrey.sch.uk.

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OJ Committee ’18

FORTHCOMING EVENTS THE 1851 SOCIETY LUNCH WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER, 12.00PM, ST JOHN’S SCHOOL This year at our annual legacy lunch hosted by The Head to thank those who have chosen to support the School by leaving a legacy to St John’s, our Archivist Sally Todd will be giving a slide show and brief talk on her forthcoming book about the School in the Great War.

LONDON WALK: WAR, WARRIORS AND WESTMINSTER - WEDNESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER Viv Haxby will be conducting another fascinating London walk, this time around Whitehall and Westminster on the theme of the Great War as we approach the centenary of the end of the First World War. Some of London’s most significant landmarks are located within this area and you are warmly welcome to join us. We will be meeting in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery at 1.45pm for 2.00pm start and finishing outside Westminster Cathedral at approximately 4.00pm. Tickets cost £15 and can be booked on our website.

OJ DINNER 2018 - FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER, 7.00PM, ST JOHN’S SCHOOL

The OJ Committee represents the interests of OJs within the School, providing advice on events and feedback to help St John’s improve links with the OJ community. The committee meets twice a year, usually in October and February.

BATTLEFIELD TRIP TO YPRES: 8–11 OCTOBER Richard Hughes, author and former history teacher at St John’s, is leading this tour of the First World War battlefields to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the War. Staying at Arras and at Ypres and taking in the Flanders Field Museum, attending the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, visiting the Belgian trenches and the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, it promises to be a fascinating and moving trip.

Anthony Airey (Sy ’72)

David Birchmore (E ’00)

Jamie Calder (N ’96)

Ted Caplan (Ch ’11)

Emma Charles (S ’09)

Mark Cooper (Ch ’95)

Bryony Crutcher (S ’05)

Patrick Noble (staff 1975-2016)

Andy Farrant (N ’82)

Richard Francis (Ch ’57)

Patrick Gardner (Sy ’59)

Viv Jemmett (W ’05)

Jessica Mott (S ’10)

Andy Peake (W ’61)

Ed Sanderson (E ’99)

Peter Thorne (S ’62)

LOWER SCHOOL FESTIVAL OF LESSONS AND CAROLS IN THE CHAPEL - FRIDAY 7 DECEMBER, 6.30PM, ST JOHN’S SCHOOL CHAPEL All OJs are invited to attend the Lower School Festival of Lessons and Carols. With beautiful singing by the Choir, and readings by the children in the Third Form, in the candlelit setting of the Chapel, this special service provides a moment of stillness and calm before the Christmas festivities ahead. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served in the Dining Hall afterwards.

CH A IRMA N

This year, the OJ Dinner will be celebrating the 45th anniversary of the foundation of Montgomery House and we are delighted that Alex Macqueen (Monty 1990-1992) will be our guest speaker. Best known for his character as ‘Neil’s Dad’ in The Inbetweeners, Alex Macqueen has appeared on stage, film and TV, including Holby City, Peep Show and The Thick of It, to name a few. Richard Rhodes and Mike Comer, the first housemasters of Monty will also be attending the dinner and we do hope you will be able to join us at St John’s. Tickets for the dinner are priced at £40 (£20 concessions for leavers from 2012 onwards) and include a drinks reception and three-course meal with wine and coffee. Tables seat up to 10 so if you want to reserve a table for you and your contemporaries, please visit the School website.

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Get involved... Olly Metcalfe (Ch ’12)

Phoebe Fielding (H ’12)

If you would like to join the OJ Committee, please contact the Development Office on 01372 385450 or email development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk

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Supporting St John’s St John’s has a long tradition of benefaction, dating back to our foundation in 1851 as a charity school to provide an education for the ‘sons of the poor clergy’. We are proud that the tradition of making a St John’s education available to those who would not otherwise be able to afford it continues to this day. We are passionate about widening access to St John’s and creating life-changing opportunities for young people. We want to open doors and unlock potential so that as many promising young people as possible, regardless of their background or ability to pay fees, are able to benefit from everything that a St John’s education offers. With that goal in mind, our current focus is on raising funds to extend our bursary provision and to enable us to widen access still further. Throughout our history, over 4,000 families have received financial support and, today, nearly one in ten pupils at St John’s receives some kind of help with fees. Over the next few years we will be significantly increasing the amount of money the School allocates to providing this support. At St John’s this is a team effort – we do not have major endowed funds to draw upon so we need the support of the St John’s community to enable us to raise the funds that will make a transformational difference to the lives of boys and girls today and in the future.

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We are enormously grateful for the financial support, involvement and charitable giving we receive from parents past and present, OJs, staff and friends. In 2017-18, thanks to the generosity from donors, we were able to support 18 Foundationers and six fully funded Awards for non-clergy children. But we are always approached by more pupils than those we are able to help and we want to be able to provide more. From legacies and major donors to regular giving and small gifts, when we come together as a community we can make an enormous difference. If you would like more information about fundraising priorities or would like to discuss how you can support us please get in touch.

Email: development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk Telephone: +44 (0)1372 231552 Post: Development Office, St John’s School, Epsom Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8SP

Please do not hesitate to contact the Development Department (development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk) for more information, or to discuss your bequest should you wish to aid our charitable work.

A LASTING LEGACY Leaving a gift to St John’s in your will has the power to change lives. A legacy is one of the greatest gifts you can make and is a lasting testimony to your affection for the School. You can allocate your bequest towards the area of greatest need, or you may wish to support our bursaries, new buildings and facilities, or a particular subject at the School. We will always honour your wishes, but would ask that requests are kept sufficiently general that we can be sure to use your gift effectively and for maximum benefit. Leaving a legacy to the School gives you the opportunity to: • Give something back to the School • Join other supporters in The 1851 Society • Provide more than you might have been able to do in your lifetime • Donate in a tax efficient way • Be part of the successful future of another generation

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The 1851 Society To recognise those who have chosen to remember St John’s in their will, we launched the 1851 Society. Named to mark the year the School was founded, membership will be automatic to all who make us aware of their intentions. Each year, members are invited to a lunch hosted by the Headmaster, to recognise their commitment and support of St John’s.

Why I left a gift in my will… ‘When I was making my will, I felt it was important to include a bequest to St John’s. I wanted to give something back to the school that helped me so much in my formative years, and to ensure that boys and girls in the future can continue to benefit from the education a school like St John’s provides. I would encourage all OJs to consider a bequest to the School. It is a way that we can make a lasting difference to a place that has meant a great deal to us.’ Bernard Lewis (E ’59)

T H E OL D JOH N IAN MAGAZIN E