Opus issue 6

66

OPUS • Issue 6 • Spring 2012

Announcements OP Engagements / Marriages / Births Alasdair Akass, the school Development Director and his wife Emily, Head of Biology, became the proud parents of a baby daughter, India Elizabeth, on 10 March.

Megan Gael DAVIS (2006) gained a BDS Hons degree in Dental Surgery from the University of Newcastle.

Joanna GRAY (née Mattock) (2004-2008) Former PGS Music teacher Jo and husband Ed are very happy to announce the birth of their son, Theo James Gray, on 29 November 2011.

Dave HOLBY (1990-1999)

And Finally..

Pick of the Postbag It is always heartening to receive your reaction and feedback to Opus. Here we reproduce the letter sent

by Paul Huins OP to the Development Office following publication of the last edition.

Sam BARNARD (1935-1939)

Dear Development Office,

Sam and wife Mary celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary last October with a large family gathering at the Royal Naval Club in Old Portsmouth.

The couple were married on October 20, 1951, at All Saints Church in Bath. Mr and Mrs Barnard met in Bath in 1947 when she was training as a midwife and nurse and he was training to be a physiotherapist.

After the wedding they settled in Portsmouth and went on to have four children, Deborah, Nicholas, Guy and Jane.

They also have nine grandchildren and one great-grandson. Sam captained Havant Cricket Club in the 1970s while his wife was a magistrate in Portsmouth for more than 20 years and a county commissioner for Hampshire East Girl Guides.

World-record breaking land rower Dave Holby (see Opus 3) has married his longtime girlfriend, Lara Wolinski. Dave met Lara, now a midwife, when they were studying Drama at Exeter University.

They were married on 25 June 2011, at a ceremony in the village of Newton Longville, Buckinghamshire.

Christopher Benedict TINDALL (2007) gained a BA Hons degree in Sociology from the University of Newcastle.

Derek WORRALL (1932-1939) Derek and his wife Rae (aged 91 and 90 respectively) celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with a family gathering and a remarkable cake which Rae baked herself. The couple were married on 4 October 1941 at South Harting church. They have 5 children, 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

They still go walking regularly.

I have just re-read Issue 5 of Opus (Autumn 2011) and congratulate you all on a quite exceptional issue of the magazine. In particular, the tributes to the late Wally Bartle recalled one or two personal memories of the great man. I was hopeless at Art, and on one occasion my end of term report read simply: “started badly and got steadily worse.”

Only Wally could have written such a report, full of wit and humour and, of course, totally honest and accurate! I also recall Wally’s superb lectures in the old school hall, which inspired in me and countless other OPs, a life-long interest in masterpieces of art and architecture. It was a genuine privilege to know Wally, and I always had a sense of being in the presence of a true friend and a fine human being.

Paul Huins OP (1954-1964)

A medley of PGS sporting stars The cover of this edition of Opus is a photo mosaic featuring Roger Black MBE OP (1977-1984) on the Olympic rostrum. His Olympic performances include silver medals in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay. The image is made up using photographs of the PGS intermediate athletics squad which won the English Schools’ Athletics Cup in 2007.

The back cover of this issue features a plethora of talented sporting OPs. From left to right: Alex Hibbert OP (1990-1996) Alex was one of the youngest people to complete the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster kayak ultra-marathon. At university he competed at the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Triathlon, won his rowing ‘blade’ and began competitively running long-distance races. He also reached the summit of Mont Blanc and other peaks in the French Alps.

Adam Carroll Smith OP (1995-2002) Former newspaper sports reporter Adam’s literary debut, Chasing Sachin, was published last Autumn to much critical acclaim .It is the autobiographical story of one Sachin Tendulkar fan’s unlikely mission to try to bowl just one ball at his childhood hero during India’s 2011 tour of England. Adam spends a hilarious summer trying to achieve the unthinkable, fending off the unwanted attentions of over-zealous Indian fans and crazed Italian spiritualists - not to mention the dozens of blazered officials and luminous-jacketed stewards - who stood between him and his hero.

Kitty Newton OP (1998-2010) Kitty broke all her age group swimming records at the annual Junior School galas, before coming fourth in the country at the British 50m championships and achieving a bronze medal for 200m butterfly at the Scottish Championships in Glasgow in 2007. She has now returned to competitive rugby, after a seven year break, joining Solent Sirens rugby team last year. Almost immediately she was approached to attend the Hampshire county trials and was selected to play in the fist XV side. This, in turn, led to an invitation to trial for Richmond Rugby Club, the top women’s rugby club in the country, with teams in the Premier, Division 1 and Division 2 leagues. Kitty instantly impressed and is currently playing in the front row at hooker for the 2nd team and is the youngest member of the squad.

Chris Lewis OP (2004-2009) Chris is studying Sport and Exercise Science at Bath University. The former captain of PGS First XV, has also played for Hampshire U14 – U20 sides, Bath University 1st and 2nd teams and Vectis Rugby Club on the Isle of Wight. He has played for Bath Academy and Bath A team and has secured a strength and conditioning placement in the coaching team of London Wasps.

Chris Morgan OP (1998-2008) A graduate of Hampshire’s Cricket Academy right handed batsman, and former PGS cricket captain Chris Morgan is enjoying a career in the sport. In his first season at the Rosebowl, which ended with the opportunity of training in Australia, he scored 284 runs in a month, including three half-centuries.

James Peters OP (2002-2011) James Peters (helm) and teammate Edward FitzGerald (crew) are in the British Olympic Transitional Squad, both aged 18. Their ultimate goal is to medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the 49er class. James already has a clutch of titles to his name in the sport, including 2008 Boys Double-Hander ISAF Youth World Champions; 2008 29er National Youth Champions and 2008 29er Youth Champions.

James Rodley OP (2002-2007) Flanker James Rodley had an amazing season with Stourbridge Saxons last year with a string of back row displays and ten tries in the bag. Little wonder then that he was named ‘Supporters’ Player of the Season.’ Rodley has combined his duties at Stourton Park with training at Worcester Warriors together with a number of A League games for the Championship side this season.

Jamie Farmer OP (1999-2006) Jamie’s clean sweep of 10 A* grades together with his two year apprenticeship contract with Millwall Football Club made front page headlines in The Daily Telegraph in 2009. He has now hung up his boots after completing his two years as goalkeeper for the Lions U18 team to concentrate on his A Levels.

Jeff Blackett OP (1966-1973) Headed up by His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett, the Rugby Football Union’s Discipline department comprises three full-time staff based at Rugby House, Twickenham. In his distinguished career, Jeff has been the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces and a Senior Circuit Judge. He was previously the Naval Judge Advocate from 1989 to 2003.

Jess Chen OP (1997-2006) Now at Oxford University, most recently achieving 3rd place in the Saucony English National Cross Country Championships in February, Jess is a seasoned athlete and member of Portsmouth Athletics Club. She also qualified for the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships. She ended 2007 by winning the U15 event in a top international competition in Bolbec, France and started 2008 by coming fourth in U15 event over 3.3kms at the Hampshire Athletics Association Cross Country Championships.

Mike Wedderburn OP (1972-1983) Mike played rugby union for Harlequins and London Wasps as well as playing as a fast bowler for Hampshire County Cricket Club before an injury ended his professional sporting career. He had stints at presenting on Channel 4 and ITV before joining Sky Sports in 1998, where he usually presents Good Morning Sports Fans. He captained a team of illustrious sporting professionals in the PGS version of A Question of Sport raising money for the Neil Blewett Bursary Fund.

Richard Simonsen OP (1953-1964) See Athletic Support on pages 12 and 13 of this issue for a feature on Richard.

Barbarian Boys Five boys - the most from any school - were selected for the Barbarians rugby squad and toured Zimbabwe last Spring on the first tour of its kind there since political unrest began. Jacob Poulton, Freddie Hooper, Charlie Howard, Alex Wilcockson and Cameron Prentice are all 2011 leavers, though Alex has chosen to return to PGS and fill his Gap Year teaching PE to Junior School pupils.

Mike Barnard OP (1945-1951) As a cricketer, Mike played for Hampshire as a right-handed batsman and a medium pace bowler. As a footballer, he played in the Football League for Portsmouth as an inside left. Barnard played cricket for Hampshire from 1952 to 1966, playing 276 first-class matches for the county and 9 one-day matches.

Barnard played for non-league club Gosport Borough before joining Portsmouth. He made his Portsmouth debut on 26 December 1953, in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the First Division. He played until the 1958–59 Football League season, scoring 26 goals from 127 first-team appearances in all competitions, 25 from 116 in the Football League.

Vicky Colgate OP (1996-2008) Vicky captained the Cambridge University Varsity netball team last year to a decisive light blue victory avenging a narrow defeat to Oxford the preceding year. She has proved to be an inspirational captain, leading the Blues to the top of their division and now facing play-offs against Exeter and Kent for the right to play in the premier league.

Owen Cobbe Former PGS Director of Rugby Owen Cobbe played for London Irish throughout the 1990s, as well as for Irish clubs Blackrock (Div 1), Buccanneers (Div 1) and Wanderers (Div 2) and, closer to home, Havant Rugby Club (South Div 3). He was the winner of the second PGS Strictly Come Dancing Competition in 2008 and is now Deputy Head of Sixth Form at Mount St Mary’s College.

Alexia Yannaros OP (2007-2011) Nominated for Young Sportswoman of the Year at The News Sports Awards, Alexia broke through into the Top10 rankings for UK Girls’ tennis in 2010.

James Priory torch Headmaster James Priory is seen holding a torch from the school archive reputedly used to carry the Olympic flame across the Channel on its journey from Athens to light the flame at Wembley Stadium on the occasion of the last time Great Britain staged the Olympic Games in London in 1948. It was presented to the school by the Bursar of the day, in 1951.

The Headmaster proudly showed it off on the occasion of a visit to the school by John Armitt, Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Delivery Authority, in 2009.

Roger Black MBE OP (1977-1984) See OP Roger is still in the running for 2012 on page 20 of this issue for a feature on Roger.

Eloise Waldon-Day OP (1999-2008) See This Sporting Life on page 23 of this issue for a feature on Eloise.

Ed Leask OP (1955-1965) See the articles on Ed starting on page 14.

The picture shows Ed sailing on Eastney Lake in 1963.

Joe Michalzcuk OP (1994-2001) Joe works for Sky News Radio sourcing, creating and reading sports news for over 300 commercial radio stations across the UK. He has reported on Premier League fixtures for Talksport, Absolute Radio and ITN and is the chief commentator on every single Pompey game on Express FM 93.7 FM and Portsmouth Football Club TV.

Hannah Diamond OP (1999-2008) See News of Old Portmuthians on page 58 of this issue for a feature on Hannah.

Jon Ayling OP (1975-1985) Jon is a retired professional cricketer, righthanded batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler who still coaches for Hampshire Cricket Club. In 1985 Ayling won ‘The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English Schools Cricket’. Jon had a five year playing career with Hampshire in which he took 134 First Class wickets and scored over 2,000 First Class runs.

Rob Burgess OP (1988-1995) Rob graduated from Bristol University in 1999 and worked in a number of jobs in the sports industry, including with the successful London 2012 Olympic bid team. His first job in rugby was in 2005 when he was appointed Rugby Manager at Gloucester Rugby Club. In 2008, Rob joined the RFU when he was appointed England Team Operations Manager by Martin Johnson. He is now Head of Rugby at leading sports agency James Grant.

David Stenson OP (1947-1952) A former President of both Portsmouth Athletics Club and Hampshire Athletics Association, David was responsible for firing the starting gun for the Great South Run from 1991 until last year.

Wally Hammond OP (1914-1921) Walter Hammond was one of Portsmouth Grammar School’s most successful sporting alumni. At school he was soon identified as a natural hitter, but was also a proficient bowler and fielder, coming first in the ‘throwing the cricket ball’ event on Sports Day in 1916. Twelve years later, as a part of England’s strong batting side against the Australians, Hammond hit his record 905 runs at an average of over 113 per innings. Often considered to be the best England batsman of the 1930s, Hammond played in 85 Test Matches in a twenty year England career which included 22 centuries, 110 catches and 83 wickets. From 1933, he headed the national batting averages for eight seasons in succession, a record that has never been equalled.

Jock Clear OP (1972-1982) Jock is Senior Race Engineer working for Nico Rosberg. His career in motorsport began at Lola Cars, where he worked as a design engineer before moving to the position of head of composite design at Benetton Formula in 1989.

In 1992 he worked as senior designer at Leyton House Racing, then joined Team Lotus where he became Johnny Herbert’s race engineer in 1994. When Lotus collapsed at the end of the year, he transferred to Williams F1 and engineered David Coulthard, who won his first Grand Prix in Portugal and finished third in the drivers’ championship. Jacques Villeneuve joined Williams in 1996 and Clear was his race engineer; the Canadian won the world championship the following year under Clear’s guidance.

Simon Faulkner OP (2002-2008) Loughborough University hockey captain Simon Faulkner, son of Olympic gold medallist and England Hockey performance director David Faulkner, was part of the bronze medalwinning side at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. The Loughborough student has been enticed to Germany on a year loan deal with Blue-Weiss Berlin Hockey Club, before returning to complete his studies.