The OT Magazine 2025 by Tonbridge School

The

OLD TONBRIDGIAN MAGAZINE

In this issue:

Sustainability has become a major theme within the Tonbridge School Community and beyond. The award-winning wildlife photographer and conservationist, Paul Goldstein (HS 76-80), pictured here behind his camera, has helped Farlie Willett (Sc 20-25) to reﬂect on an increasingly important issue.

AUTUMN 2025

Dates for your Diary . . .

OT Magazine produced by:

Tonbridge Society, Tonbridge School

High Street, Tonbridge TN9 1JP

Welcome from the OTS President

Welcome from the OTS Chairman

From the Headmaster

From the Chair of Governors 11 News of OTs

20 Cover story: Three Portraits of Tonbridge Sustainability

24 Robert Ogilvie

26 What’s in a Name - Oakeshott House

27 Taking over as Housemaster of a new House

28 Oakeshott 25th Anniversary

29 Inspirational Teacher

30 Following the Horses

32 Tonbridge’s Via Sacra: 100 years on 34 My House: Welldon House

36 Anthony Whishaw at 95

38 In the footsteps of Patrick Leigh Fermor

40 Christopher Everett, Headmaster 1975-1989

44 George Austen and the ﬁrst Tonbridge School Library

46 From the Archives

50 The Old Tonbridgian Golﬁng Society celebrates its centenary

52 Letters to the Editor

57 From Tonbridge to the Spice Ports

58 OT Past Events

68 OT Sport

80 OT Book List

83 Engagements, Marriages and Births

84 Deaths and Obituaries

100 From the Chalkface: Rob Stephen

102 Valetes

112 Tonbridge Proﬁles

114 Global Futures

115 Tonbridge Society Business Breakfasts

116 Foundation and Development

120 From the Director of The Tonbridge Society

121 Judde Society

tonbridgesociety@tonbridge-school.org tonbridgeconnect.org

Editorial Team:

David Walsh (editor) david.walsh@tonbridge-school.org

Adrian Ballard adrian.ballard@tonbridge-school.org

Tara Biddle tara.biddle@tonbridge-school.org Bev Matthews beverley.matthews@tonbridge-school.org

Tonbridge Society Team:

Adrian Ballard Director of the Tonbridge Society

Tara Biddle Alumni (OT) Relations Manager

Ian Bradley OT President

Rebecca Gardener Database & Finance Administrator

Richard Hough OT Chairman Bev Matthews/ David Walsh/ Archives & Heritage

Fiona Dix Perkin

Sarah Merriman PAS Relations Manager

Katie Tribe PAS Chair

Yvette Young Development & Operations Manager

Alice Whymark Events & Database Assistant

OTS Committee 2025

Chairman Richard Hough (PH 79-84)

President Ian Bradley (WH 63-68)

Honorary Treasurer Chris Rash (MH 78-82)

Honorary Life President John Gibbs (FH 56-61)

Vice President David Walsh (CR 72-09)

Vice President Phillip Roberts (Sc 62-66)

Committee

Peter Dodge (MH 73-78)

Seb Pollington (PH 80-85)

Dom McCarthy (JH 81-85)

Kurt Seecharan (JH 82-87)

Jono Arscott (PH 83-88)

Philip Cheveley (PS 84-89)

James Tarry (WW 87-92)

Duncan Elliott (HS 91-96)

Peter Jones (WW 95-7/JH 97-00)

Jeremy Cronk (HS 97-02)

Hugo Snape (PH 04-09)

Alex Marino-Hume (FH 09-14)

Editorial

One of the joys of continuing to live close to Tonbridge is being able to attend events at the School, whether put on by the boys or by visiting speakers. One such event was the exciting and inspiring talk by Paul Goldstein (HS 76-80) which he called The Impossible Photograph. Paul has become an award-winning wildlife photographer and champion of conservation, and the photographs he showed on the screen were as truly stunning as his obvious passion for conservation. It is therefore ﬁtting that he bestrides the cover of our magazine as the image for an article by one of our youngest OTs, Farlie Willett (Sc 20-25). Farlie writes about the important issue of Sustainability, what the School is doing to promote it and how OTs have built their careers on it. The conversation between Farlie, Paul and James Spurgeon (FH 79-84) makes for a fascinating read.

Another theme is Headmasters. Published school histories are often crafted through the tenures of successive headmasters, and we can all remember the forbidding and often less forbidding Heads of our own schooldays. Robert Ogilvie, who retired from his headmastership in 1975, ﬁfty years ago, certainly falls into the latter category and one of his former pupils, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles (PS 68-73), writes with great warmth and insight about the impact Robert had on him and the School. At the end of 2024 we lost Christopher Everett, who followed Robert as Headmaster until 1989. His funeral service was an inspiriting occasion, made memorable by the eulogy delivered by Jonny Aisher (FH 74-79), one of Christopher’s Heads of School, which we include in its entirety, along with a tribute from Sir Jonathan Cohen, former Chair of Governors, about Christopher’s impact on the Skinners’ Company. Our current Headmaster, James Priory, also shows his versatility, with both his Skinners’ Day address and a feature article about Anthony Whishaw (MH 44-48), Tonbridge’s most celebrated living artist.

We welcome contributions from our youngest cohorts of OTs and, in addition to Farlie Willett’s article, there is an entertaining account by Sam Beverley (JH 17-22), about his walk across Europe in the footsteps of Patrick Leigh Fermor. The cohort of

the late 1960s is well represented and include David Hawkins (HS 69-74) who regales us with his memories of sneaking out from school to pursue his love of horse racing; and Mark Allbrook (WH 68-73) who continues the regular ‘My House’ series, remembering that Welldon basement.

Our letters pages are growing each year, and this time there are heartwarming tributes to staﬀ who have recently died – Geoﬀ Allibone, Nick Lord and Mike Clugston – citing the quality of their teaching and the impact they had on so many Tonbridgians.

Two centenaries are marked this year, namely the founding of the Old Tonbridgian Golfing Society, and the unveiling of an honored piece of Tonbridge history, the Gate of Remembrance in Chapel to the fallen of the Great War. This memorial was, of course, largely destroyed in the 1988 fire, but it achieved new life, and an even more evocative design, in the wonderfully restored Chapel which rose from the ashes. The OTGS has the largest active membership of our flourishing sports clubs. Two other anniversaries are also rememberedthe opening of Oakeshott House in 2000, and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, whose father George was both pupil and Second Master at Tonbridge, his love of books launching a library at Tonbridge and

inspiring his daughter’s creativity. The obituaries section can often be the one that our readers turn to ﬁrst, and all age groups are represented. Perhaps the most iconic is the renowned author, Frederick Forsyth (PS 52-55), who had a somewhat ambivalent relationship with his alma mater. When I suggested to James Priory that free spirits like Frederick Forsyth can still make the School a more interesting place, he agreed and felt it reassuring to hear a former Second Master expressing such sentiments.

There are the usual pages of past and future events, News of OTs of all generations around the world, and a focus on Giving Day and the philanthropy which has helped Tonbridge since its foundation, and continues to be needed in these more politically unpredictable times. My thanks to all those who contribute to this OT Magazine 2025: and especially to Tara Biddle, our hard-working Alumni Relations Manager; to Ian Bradley, our new President; and to all those who sustain and support our School and Old Tonbridgian Society.

David Walsh (CR 72-09), Editor, The Old Tonbridgian Magazine david.walsh@tonbridge-school.org

Contributors

Mark Allbrook (WH 68-73) went to Cambridge University (Trinity Hall), where he won four cricket blues and then played professionally for Nottinghamshire until 1980. He taught at Hurstpierpoint College 1980-94 (Head of Classics, Housemaster and Master i/c Cricket), then Felsted School 1994-2002 (Deputy Head). Finally, he was Headmaster of Bloxham School 2002-13 and is now retired and living in Cromer, Norfolk. He played in two Cricketer Cup winning teams.

Sam Beverley (JH 17-22) left Tonbridge in July 2022 representing the School in rugby, having captained the 2nd XV, and participating in the Army section of the CCF. He is now in his second year at Trinity College, Oxford, reading Classics.

Martin Cawthorne is a former Tonbridge parent and retired ﬁnancial professional. He has a Master’s Degree in Historical Studies from Oxford, for which he researched the Second World War history of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. His book, The Royal Hospital Chelsea at War is used extensively by the Royal Hospital to tell its wartime story. He has a family tree vaguely connected to that of James Cawthorn, and has extensively researched Cawthorn’s life and his tenure as Headmaster of Tonbridge School 1743-1761. His book James Cawthorn, George Austen and The Curious Case of the Schoolboy Who was Killed was published in 2017.

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles KCMG LVO (PS 68-73) read classics at Hertford College, Oxford. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1977, and served in Cairo, Washington, Paris, Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Kabul. In between, he had several London-based roles, including as Private Secretary to the Head of the Foreign Ofﬁce, as the last Head of the FO’s Hong Kong Department before the handover to China in 1997, and as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary. Since taking early retirement in 2010, he has worked, mainly and currently, for the HSBC Group. He is the author of two books, Cables from Kabul, and Ever the Diplomat.

David Hawkins (HS 69-74) trained as a Chartered Accountant, qualifying in 1981, and spent his working life based with a firm of accountants in East Sussex, finishing as Senior Partner before retiring in September 2021. He played cricket for 35 years for Upper Dicker, squash for many years, including as captain of Eastbourne, and is Hon.Treasurer of the OT Golfing Society. He goes to the horse races regularly in this country, Ireland and France and has a share in several horses.

Nicholas Nugent (FH 63-67) read Law at Queen’s College, Cambridge and is a journalist and author. He worked for the BBC World Service specialising in reporting from and broadcasting to Asia. He is a Reader at the British Library, a member of London think tank, Chatham House, a visiting faculty member at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, India, and contributor to various magazines. He is the author of Rajiv Gandhi, Son of a Dynasty; Vietnam, The Second Revolution; and The Spice Ports.

Rob Stephen (CR 16 -) read Classics at Cambridge where he was a choral scholar at King’s College; whilst at school he represented England U16s for rugby and played for Cambridge in the 2012 Varsity Match at Twickenham, kicking 14 points in an ultimately losing cause. Rob recently completed an MA in Sports Leadership and has had articles published in the sports section of The Sunday Times and Wisden’s Nightwatchman Quarterly. He gives regular talks to the School on a range of topics, is in his sixth year as Master in Charge of Cricket and is Assistant Housemaster in Hill Side.

Patrick Francis (PH 66-71) taught at Sherborne for many years. At various times he was Head of History, a Housemaster and, most enjoyably, Master in Charge of golf. He is the author of two books - Vivat Shirburnia: Sherborne School and the Great War (2014) and Old Yet Ever Young: A New History of Sherborne School (2020).

Farlie Willett (Sc 20-25) left Tonbridge this year, having run the Green Committee and English Society, as well as representing the School in rugby and captaining the 1st VIII Cross Country. He holds a place to read English Language and Literature at Lincoln College, Oxford later this year, with a particular interest in ecocritical literary theory.

WELCOME FROM THE OTS PRESIDENT

I was amazed when Richard Hough asked me if I would consider serving as President of the OT Society for the year 2025-2026. For a start, I live a very long way from the School – in the north east corner of the Pictish kingdom of Fife – and very seldom venture as far south as London, let alone into Jutish Kent. I also feel that I am considerably less qualified for this high public office than my distinguished immediate predecessors, Gerald Corbett, Anthony Seldon, Peter Fincham and Sherard Cowper Coles. Apart from anything else, they are all quite a bit younger than I am. My contemporary Robert Rogers (aka Lord Lisvane) was six years younger than me when he held the office and my immediate thought was that I was both too far away and too old to discharge the presidential duties.

However, my fondness for my alma mater, and the encouragement of Richard Hough and others, prevailed, I agreed to his request, and I am delighted and honoured to serve as OT President for this coming year.

Research in the archives suggests that I am the first clergyman to hold this role for more than a hundred years (and the first ever Church of Scotland minister to do so). The OT Society had two ordained presidents in its first ten years – William Alexander, Bishop of Derry and later Primate of All Ireland, in 1890, and Cecil Wilson, Bishop of Melanesia and subsequently Bishop of Bunbury in Australia, in 1898. The only other clerical OT president seems to have been Henry Russell Wakefield, Bishop of Birmingham, who served three terms from 1922 to 1924. Described by the Archbishop of Canterbury as ‘not a very refined or scholarly or cultured man’, he was a man of decidedly right-wing views, being President of the National Council of Public Morals and the Christian Counter-Communist Crusade, and referring to Roman Catholics during the First World War as ‘guests of the nation’.

In me, by contrast, you ﬁnd a committed and life-long liberal in both politics and theology - I stood as a Liberal candidate in Sevenoaks back in 1974 and have written speeches for several Liberal and Lib Dem party leaders. Before ordination in 1990, I had a spell in the BBC, six and a half years on the staﬀ of The Times, for which I still write, and three very happy years teaching history and general studies at Cranleigh School. Since ordination, I have been Head of Religious Broadcasting for BBC Scotland and taught church history and practical theology at Aberdeen and St Andrew’s universities. I ended up as Principal of

St Mary’s College, the Divinity school at St Andrew’s University, and Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History there. These various roles have been combined with unpaid ministries in various parish churches and with writing numerous books on subjects ranging from Celtic Christianity and hymnody to Gilbert and Sullivan and musical theatre. I still regularly take church services and conduct funerals around Fife and I hope to make it to my fiftieth published book before my arthritic fingers (or, more accurately, finger, as I have never learned to type properly) finally give out.

My time at Tonbridge (1963-1968) coincided with the McCrum years. I have written about it in the Autumn 2022 edition of the OT Magazine and I would refer anyone remotely interested in my reminiscences to have recourse to their archive copy. I am sure that you, like me, carefully ﬁle your old copies of the magazine which has so ﬂourished under David Walsh’s editorship and is unfailingly full of interesting material. I wrote there of the impact that the Chapel had on me, especially the daily singing of hymns and the weekly hymn practice with Dr Bunney. I was both delighted and moved to read my contemporary, Christopher Reid’s poem inspired by similar memories which appeared in the Autumn 2024 edition. It begins:

Is there a more savage noise, Or a ritual more odd, Than that of several hundred boys From bass to treble praising God? and ends:

Raucous singing beats all sermons! And then what joy to exit under The organ pipes and some old German’s Contrapuntal trumpets and thunder!

During my presidential year, I am looking forward to joining in the (I hope still raucous and roof-raising) hymn singing and preaching in what I will always regard as the new Chapel and to shadowing some lessons. As well as history, which was my favourite subject at Tonbridge and wonderfully taught to me by Richard Bradley (no relation), Roy Ford, Geoffrey Parker and Colin Reid, and Divinity (which I don’t think existed as an A Level or even an O Level subject in my time but now boasts a department of eight and a dedicated building named after that great clerical OT, Owen Chadwick), I have asked to shadow a physics or chemistry lesson. These were my least favourite subjects at School. I was ejected from a physics lesson by Mr Snowball for mucking around when I was supposed to be measuring the boiling point of naphthalene, and from a chemistry class by Dr Marsden for waving at the lab assistant, Geoff Sales, and getting a fit of giggles. I need to atone for these sins, which have haunted me for 60 years, and also pick up a bit of scientific education, however late in life.

I shall also enjoy enormously meeting fellow OTs, especially those of my own vintage, and communing with some of the present pupils in the school. We are a very lucky lot. I will certainly always be enormously grateful that my parents chose to send me to Tonbridge and it is a wonderful privilege and delight to be able to re-connect with the school in my twilight years.

Professor Ian Bradley (WH 63-68)

FROM RICHARD HOUGH OTS CHAIRMAN

Welcome to the 2025 edition of the OT Magazine. Thanks, as always, to David Walsh and his editorial team for curating a publication which is rich in both content and variety. It really is a great way to stay connected with the OT community.

I wrote last year about the move towards more bespoke OT events to supplement our flagship events, such as the OT Dinner and OT Reunion. These smaller gatherings are an excellent way of reconnecting with friends from years ago, not just those we are in regular contact with. At the 40 Year Leaver Drinks’ last Spring, for my vintage, I bumped into John Smith (FH 79-84), who I had last seen marshalling the midfield in the Hockey 1st XI on the grass pitches of Martin’s. He had just returned from 25 years working overseas for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, with a focus on climate change management. Also there was James Spurgeon (FH 79-84), our right winger in that same team, who went on to become an environmental economist and now runs his own sustainability consultancy, which is featured elsewhere in this magazine. At the Summer Lunch in June, I spoke to an OT who had signed up with some reluctance as he hadn’t been to an event since leaving Tonbridge. He enjoyed the occasion so much that he is keen to return next year. There is something for everyone at these events and rekindling friendships forged by a shared education can really be quite powerful.

We have had a full calendar of OT events in the last 12 months. Whitworth celebrated its 50th anniversary last July, with 300 guests including three of the four living housemasters. Oakeshott had its 25th anniversary celebration after Skinners’ Day this year. We have hosted get togethers for 5/10/15/20/40 year leavers, all of which have been wellsupported. There have been sector drinks covering law and media, with more scheduled in the coming months. With support from OTs based overseas, we have held reunions in New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Paris, Zurich and Canada. There are plans for gatherings in Bermuda, The Sunshine Coast and Nairobi at some point in

Autumn 2025, and in Sydney to coincide with the Ashes test next January. Our OT Dinner was held at Lord’s last October, hosted by Gerald Corbett and the Headmaster, with a range of OT generations in a packed Long Room. It was a ﬁtting venue for the President to re-live one of the great Senior House League victories of the modern era! The OT Dinner will return to Lord’s next October. Another repeat event is the OT Carol Service which will take place at St Giles in the Fields in early December following the success of the last two years. Over the last 12 months, over 1300 OTs have attended an OT event, which is a marked improvement on previous years. However, with over 17,000 OTs on the school’s database, there is still much to play for in terms of promoting engagement of OTs with each other and with Tonbridge. Please consider coming to an event in the next few months. If you have any ideas on how we can make OT events more accessible, do let me know.

The OT sports clubs continue to be very active, with inclusion being a welcome theme. For those younger OTs embarking on careers and for whom quality school pitches are now in the rear-view mirror, please do contact the clubs which interest you. They can all offer competitive sport in a friendly environment and with facilities that will be difficult to match elsewhere. Congratulations to Ben Earl (JH 11-16) for being selected to represent the British Lions on their successful tour of Australia - the first OT British Lion since David Marques (Sc 46-51) in the late 1950s - and to Ed Smith (WH 90-95) on being named as the next President of the MCC.

Among those OTs we have lost, I would like to pay tribute particularly to Christopher Everett (Headmaster 75-89), who passed away last November, aged

91. Succeeding Robert Ogilvie, Christopher was a highly respected and popular Headmaster of Tonbridge, and also a former President of the OTS. Another OTS President was Sir Brian Jenkins (MH 49-54), who died last November, after having had a distinguished business career, becoming Lord Mayor of London in 1991. Tributes to these and other OTs who have passed away in recent months can be found later in this magazine and on Tonbridge Connect.

I would like to thank Gerald Corbett for his signiﬁcant contribution as our President over the last 12 months. As well as hosting a memorable OT Dinner, Gerald has been fully involved with the School and at our various committee meetings, providing his valuable wisdom to all our discussions. We welcome Professor Ian Bradley as our new President, whose ﬁrst event was to host our Summer Lunch in London. It was a very convivial occasion and showed the merit of daytime events for those who live outside London. We held our AGM on the same day and I am delighted to report that Jeremy Cowdrey was appointed as President-Elect, succeeding Ian next June. Jeremy will be President for the OT Dinner at Lord’s next October.

Finally, I would like to thank Tara Biddle, Adrian Ballard and the entire Tonbridge Society team without whose help we would not be able to arrange the diverse schedule of OT events currently on oﬀer and which is key to encouraging engagement among OTs.

Hough (PH 79-84) OTS Chairman

Richard

FROM THE HEADMASTER

James Priory reflects on the school year just past in the speech he gave on Skinners’ Day 2025.

To start with an ending and to end with a beginning is the challenge I have set myself, inspired by a theme explored in Chapel, as we approach the end of the academic year and the beginning of a summer, I am sure that everyone is much looking forward to.

Whilst not known at School for being the most adept at using digital technology, even my most loyal colleagues have looked rather shocked when entering the Headmaster’s study recently to see an electric typewriter gleaming on my desk, its retro effect compounded by the resonance of the

cash-till-like ‘kerching’ when the carriage shoots back into position and the keyboard ‘ratatatats’ a new line of text.

Whilst I vividly remember learning to use such machines at school, this isn’t mine; more excitingly, it once belonged to the writer Frederick Forsyth (PS 5255) who has sadly passed away at the age of 84, fabled for writing espionage thrillers like The Day of the Jackal and the Dogs of War.

Forsyth was a brilliant linguist. He also liked to keep secrets, including the

Vespa motor-scooter he hid in a shed on a nearby Tonbridge allotment so that he could steal away for flying lessons and even escape the whole school run, affectionately known to this day as the CRAS. When most people return to school after leaving, it’s to attend an alumni reunion. For Freddie Forsyth, it was on his ﬁrst solo flight in a Tiger Moth in which he decided to dive-bomb the School, scorching across Martin’s, soaring over the sacred turf of the Head and narrowly missing the pepper pot on the then Chapel roof.

Head Boy, Ethan Glucina (PS 20-25); Headmaster, James Priory; Master, The Rt Hon The Earl of Woolton; Chair of Governors, Gavin Rochussen

Forsyth relished the research involved in creating his stories, but he disliked the actual process of writing, typing his novels in a near frenzy of 30 to 40 days, eager to distance himself from the keyboard when they were done. Forsyth’s electric typewriter, therefore, represents an ending. Story told. Job done. Machine no longer needed. And that’s why I am starting with it.

It is said that as humans we are drawn to the shape and structure of story. It was the literary critic John Sutherland who pointed out that our inclination to hear “tick tock” instead of “tick tick” reflected a deep-seated desire for a sense of purpose and direction. Not the evanescence of social media’s version of TikTok, but the profound tick-tock in our search for the beginnings and endings that deﬁne our experience.

“My time of day is the dark time,” sang Sky Masterson in November’s outstanding production of Guys and Dolls: “when the smell of the rainwashed pavement/Comes up clean and fresh and cold”. He could have been describing the pre-dawn of the Novi Sleepout for Porchlight and the slightly damp cardboard city constructed overnight in the Quad.

What says tick to Sky Masterson, however- the start of his day- says tock to the villagers in Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain, brought to life in an astonishing performance by the Symphony Orchestra in March, as a lone tubular bell chimes the approach of dawn and the relief that comes with the ending of the witches’ sabbath.

From the precisely measured quarter of an hour in which the boys performed their entries for the festival of House Drama, colloquially known as Fifteens, to the even more intense Four Minutes to Win It in our ever-popular Science Communication competition, stories can be told in remarkably short spaces of time. Try having to explain

the relationship between data and diamonds or the weird world of tardigrades in a handful of minutes and you soon ﬁnd yourself making decisions about where to end and where it is best to begin.

Max Clark knew about starting and ﬁnishing when he ran a recordbreaking 100m in 10.5 seconds on the Wilmot Athletics Track this term, and we wish him well as he now competes for a place in the U20 4x100m relay team in the forthcoming European Championships.

Beginnings and endings were harder to pin down on the Firth of Forth in the May half-term break, as our sailors braved 40mph winds in the RS Feva National Championships. The paintwork of the Forth Bridge is infamous as a never-ending project and at times the race itself seemed to dissolve in stormy water. Our boys now head to the World Finals in France, and some even sail to Norway where ship’s bells will mark half-hour intervals to keep them awake and on course.

The Junior Production of Peter Pan beguiled its audience with children flying in full theatrical-style out of the nursery window and over the rooftops of wartime London, no doubt dodging Forsyth in his Tiger Moth. But it was the menacing tick tock of Captain Hook’s nemesis, the Crocodile, which threatened to steal the show and the whole notion of time with it.

From stealing to giving: what a difference a day makes. This year’s Giving Day was the ﬁfth in a series launched in 2021 and it was inspiring to see what was made possible thanks to the energy and generosity of pupils, staff, parents, alumni and so many community partners and schools. What makes Giving Day so meaningful is that it doesn’t start and end in 24 hours: it is a distillation of what happens across an entire school year.

That’s why ISI Inspectors who visited in October identified not one but two significant strengths of the School based on their time talking to pupils and evaluating their experience: the excellence of the Sixth Form curriculum and the academic enrichment it provides (Fine Minds); and the development of the boys’ confidence, communication and leadership skills through our programme of community engagement (Good Hearts). In other words, what begins here does not end here but extends far beyond the boys’ time at school and into their lives and the lives of others.

What we do and what we learn here matters. It has been exciting, therefore, to see Sustainability become such a focus both within and beyond the classroom, from the solar panels installed on the TSC roof to the recycling of waste, conservation of energy and community projects to create places where wildlife can thrive. We started the year with the award of an Eco Flag with distinction, and we end it with a national award for Sustainability from the Boarding Schools Association.

We have also seen an expansion in the range and quality of university destinations to which our boys aspire, energised by the guidance they receive and by initiatives such as university fairs, our partnership with MIT’s Global Teaching Lab, Tonbridge Society business breakfasts and careers mentoring. The percentage of boys progressing to the Top 100 universities in the QS World rankings has grown from 50% in 2020 to 71% last summer and from 25% to 48% of those progressing to the Top 50. We have plans to focus even more imaginatively on careers education and university guidance from next year.

As we come to the beginning of the end of this year, I would like to thank my colleagues - our extraordinary teachers and our outstanding support

staff - for the collective impact that they continue to have on the experience and development of our pupils.

We say particular thanks to those who are leaving us this summer, some having given a lifetime to the School.

Connor Collins has enjoyed a full and, we hope, fulﬁlling year on our Graduate Teacher programme in History. Elle Lycett leaves us enthused to pursue a full-time PGCE in Art at University College, London. Jonathan Lewis will be warmly remembered by all those boys whom he has encouraged and coached in his role as Head of Learning Strategies and EAL. Will Law has been an inspirational Head of Languages, and we wish him well as he translates to senior leadership in his new role at Caterham. Natalia Gerard and Rochelle Thomson have given valuable service in Learning Strategies and EAL, respectively, Mrs Gerard relishing her pastoral role in Brecon and Parkside. We wish her well in her move to the West Country. Mat Parker has made a lasting impact on the School as Commercial and Operations Director, establishing the preeminence of the TSC as a sports facility, growing the Recre8 programme and Tonbridge Events, and even ﬁnding time for his real passion, Basketball, as coach.

Matthew Newlands, Physics Technician, has been part of a conscientious and highly qualiﬁed team supporting learning in the Barton Science Centre for twenty years. Fiona Dix Perkin has inspired with her love of Early Modern History and, though she now retires after 26 years’ service, looks forward to supporting the development of our Archive as we prepare for our 475th anniversary in three years’ time.

The following staff might be forgiven for thinking they have earned a resting place in that Archive. Chris Henshall, formerly Head of Geography, Housemaster of Smythe and currently Chair of Common Room, refuses to become geology and prefers to climb it instead, seeing his team win the Independent Schools Climbing competition in style this year. We wish him a full and active retirement after 29 years at Tonbridge.

Richard Hoare, formerly Head of Modern Languages and International Co-ordinator, distinguished teacher of French and Spanish and devotee of world cinema, retires after thirty years, thrilled to see the Tennis Club, which he leads, enjoy one of its best seasons ever with wins against Sevenoaks, Whitgift and Epsom. Wimbledon next, perhaps? Charles Wright, who has also been fundamental to the Modern Languages Faculty for thirty-one

years, retires and re-tyres as he looks forward to extending his epic bike rides and, no doubt, putting his conservation skills to good use too. Like Mr Hoare, Mr Wright will be much missed in Old Judde next year.

Adrian Schweitzer, Teacher of both Classics and Mathematics, former Housemaster of Parkside, veteran hockey player and coach, has decided to draw stumps, hanging up his gown after forty-four years, but not before signing off by opening the batting for the Common Room XI this season. A former Master in charge of Hockey, it has given him great pleasure this year, I know, to see the 1st XI Hockey team win the Frank Mason Tournament on penalty flicks, and the U14s become national ﬁnalists in Nottingham.

As Dr James Burbidge, Head of Classics, observed in a moving tribute, it would only need the service of eleven more Mr Schweitzer’s to connect us with the Tonbridge School Common Room in 1553. A remarkable thought that makes me think again of the Forth Bridge - and a series of arches going backwards and forwards in time, without beginning or end. We wish Adrian and his wife, Carolyn every health and happiness in a welldeserved retirement.

This is also an opportunity for me to thank the Governing Body for their counsel and support, especially in a year of challenge and change for schools in our sector. Their commitment as governors to the high quality of educational experience we provide has been exceptional.

Particular thanks are owed to those governors who complete their time on the board this year: Professor Helena Gaunt, Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, whose grandfather, Sir Walter Oakeshott, will be celebrated in our 25th anniversary reunion for Oakeshott House; James Thorne, who has helped to build such a strong partnership with The New

Harry Jones (FH 20-25), Simon Jones, Tracey Jones, David Paterson and Marjorie Paterson, after the presentation of the Paterson Sword

Beacon School, who celebrate their own 125th anniversary this year; Matthew Dobbs, who has expertly chaired the Finance and General Purposes Committee, helping to navigate economic challenges and sustain a clear and steady course; and Dr Stephen Spurr, who has contributed much wisdom in his role as Chair of the Education Committee, supporting curricular changes and supercurricular enrichment, encouraging us to consider the very best in international standards as we develop all that a Tonbridge education means. And my thanks, too, to our Chair, Gavin Rochussen, who continues to be tireless in his commitment and so generous in his time and support.

“Oh! write, write. Finish it at once. Let there be an end of this suspense.”

You might be forgiven for thinking that we are back with Frederick Forsyth and his electric typewriter. But, no; those are the words of Fanny Price in Jane Austen’s novel, Mansﬁeld Park, as she reads a letter from Edmund and urges him to get to the point.

Endings have their value because they provide the vantage point from which we can understand the journey we have been following.

It was T S Eliot who wrote in the ﬁnal part of Four Quartets:

“What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from.”

For Eliot, that place was Little Gidding, a seventeenth century religious community in Cambridgeshire founded by Nicholas Ferrar, the son of a merchant, a Skinner no less. King Charles I sought refuge there in the Civil War as did Eliot, spiritually, in 1936. In his imagination, Little Gidding was a place that was rich in history but where endings could also become beginnings.

In celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary this year, I have been deeply struck by the role that Tonbridge played in educating her father, George. Orphaned at the age of six, George Austen was inspired here by the Headmaster, Rev James Cawthorn, a passionate advocate for learning and the arts. George was chosen as a pupil to recite poems for the Visitation of the Skinners. Later, he would return from Oxford to become Second Master and collaborate with his former Headmaster in creating Tonbridge’s ﬁrst library. As a father he was a great supporter of his daughter’s literary ambitions, allowing her full access to his own 500-volume library and even gifting her a writing desk. No “kerching”; no “ratatatat”; but the freedom to imagine and write.

It feels right, therefore, to think of Tonbridge as a place where stories begin. And not just those of Austen and Forsyth. As part of our Skinners’ Day programme, visitors are invited to watch the premiere screening of a new ﬁlm made throughout the year by the Film Making Society - a serious creative enterprise which, thanks to donor support, will have a new home in the Vere Hodge Centre after this

summer, with a state-of-the-art editing suite and cinematic lounge. Our aim? To provide a focus for the creative arts and a pathway into the creative industries; but most importantly, to promote the art of telling stories as a skill for life.

This time last summer, I embarked with pupils and staff for Sri Lanka to visit the Child Development Centre we have helped to create in partnership with Child Action Lanka on the east coast in Batticaloa. Amidst madcap bus journeys taking children home to their villages, encounters with elephants, and a street cricket festival in which my own innings ended before it had even started, I have one particularly powerful memory.

In the middle of the centre in Batticaloa is a giant ﬁg tree around the roots of which pupils and staff set themselves a challenge to build a permanent stage: open air, bedecked in lights, a large, circular space. Once built, that space came to life for the children as a place for drama, dance, storytelling and song. It came at the end of our time there, but it was absolutely a beginning, just like Tonbridge School was a beginning when Sir Andrew Judde created it in 1553. In the same way that Skinners’ Day is a beginning for our Upper Sixth leavers as they propel themselves into the next important stage of their journey.

There is a prayer I like to use in moments like this when we feel we are at a crossroads between ending and beginning: For all that has beenthank you. For all that is to comeyes.

FROM GAVIN ROCHUSSEN CHAIR OF GOVERNORS

It has been three years since I had the privilege of being appointed as the Chair of Governors and it is excellent to have the chance to reflect on the first three years to OTs. As some of you will know, I had the pleasure of three sons enjoying a Tonbridge education, so already knew what an incredible school it is. I have in the last three years seen many more boys flourish.

Hearing about the remarkable achievements of the boys on Skinners’ Day, and hearing James’s speech, also printed in this magazine, gave me a point for reﬂection – on both the successes and developments that have taken place over this past three years, and how much the School has evolved since my time as Chair of the governing body.

My personal highlights this year have been hearing the Symphony Orchestra play; attending the annual CCF Inspection Day, witnessing the launch of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy which won the Sustainability in Boarding award (British Boarding Association 2025) and seeing the ﬁrst ﬁlm produced by the Film Club, soon to have its new home in the Vere Hodge Building thanks to a generous supporter.

The academic strengths of the School are constantly invigorated by the wealth of talented staﬀ who share their passion for learning and subject matter expertise. This has been supplemented by external connections, including world experts; our partnership with MIT’s Global Teaching Labs Programme since 2024; and last, but not least, our OT network. Examples include the annual Tonbridge School Science Conference, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, with 180 students from 15 schools and the Science Technician Convention, now in its 3rd year, which attracted 140 staﬀ from 70 schools.

In 2024, 94% of all A-level grades awarded were A*, A or B, with 75% of those being A* and A. Notably, almost half of the cohort (81 boys) achieved straight A* and A grades. GCSE results were similarly impressive, with 46 per cent of all grades being the highest possible grade 9. Furthermore, 72% of grades awarded were 9 or 8, the equivalent of an A*.

Such academic prowess earns the boys accolades in national and international competitions. This includes a strong track record in the International

Mathematical Olympiad, Science Olympiads, the National Spanish Debating Competition, Oxbridge Debating Competitions, and respected writing awards, as well as entry to prestigious summer programmes, including the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and the Senior Students Physics Challenge. This year, our Upper Sixth students have received the most oﬀers for Medicine and Dentistry in over a decade; with 15% receiving Oxbridge oﬀers.

Over two-thirds of Tonbridge leavers go on to study at institutions that feature in the top 100 of the QS World University Rankings, with around 40% securing places at universities ranked in the global top 50. These statistics not only reﬂect the exceptional calibre of our students but also demonstrate the School’s commitment to fostering academic excellence and a truly global outlook.

Tonbridge’s success has extended to the sports ﬁeld, with boys competing at a national level in a wide range of sports, including athletics, hockey, golf, fencing, shooting, sailing, and Ultimate Frisbee. This year’s productions (Guys and Dolls, Lord of the Flies, Joseph K and Peter Pan) have been exceptional, yet enrichment opportunities go beyond the extensive co-curricular programme, with a wide range of residential trips and House Competitions for the students to enjoy. The quality of these experiences on top of the extraordinary outcomes achieved were reﬂected in this year’s excellent review by the Good Schools Guide (2025).

Yet, Tonbridge is about more than academic and co-curricular success. The cornerstone of a Tonbridge education is the Community Engagement Programme, which was praised as a ‘signiﬁcant strength’ in the School’s recent ISI inspection (2024). This year, our ﬁfth Giving Day raised £465,000 to support our Foundation Awards Programme which gives academically able, intellectually curious boys access to

a Tonbridge education, when their ﬁnancial circumstances would otherwise make the School out of reach. Beyond this, our community showed its generosity in many ways, from hosting Community Concerts for the elderly, to boys volunteering their time to be reading buddies and learning mentors for local primary school children. Other large initiatives included raising money for Child Action Lanka (CAL) and completing this year’s Novi Sleepout which raised £19,000 for the homeless charity, Porchlight. All these and many more examples are summarised in our ﬁrst Community and Partnerships Impact Report which was produced this year.

Having merged with The New Beacon in 2021, we now have a rich and varied programme of engagement across all our feeder schools, which includes subjectlevel support, taster sessions and sports tournaments.

As well as investing in our local and wider communities, we are continuing with our development programme. This summer, work commences on an exciting and ambitious project to extend the Ferox dining room, resulting in over £1 million invested per house in the last three refurbishments. This follows last year’s completion of Hill Side, the 2023 opening of the Eliza Acton Cookery School and the redevelopment of The Cawthorn in 2024.

We have been very pleased that as a recent survey has shown, we have got the enthusiastic support of our parent body but we, as a Governing Body, have also had to grapple with the external challenges of VAT and the changes in National Insurance which have meant careful management of the ﬁnances of the School, but with a clear new vision to keep Tonbridge at the forefront of independent education. We will be launching that vision in the coming months as we look toward 2028 and the 475th anniversary and beyond to the 500th.

NEWS OF OTs

Lawrie Elsdon-Dew (FH 06-11) was awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal for protecting embassy officials in and around the British Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, when fierce fighting broke out there in April 2023.

The official citation reads: “He was on his first overseas posting when, on the morning of 15 April 2023, intense fighting erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Residents of the city, including British Embassy staff and families, found themselves in the midst of all-out urban warfare. When the fighting began, Mr Elsdon-Dew was at home a few miles from the Embassy. He drove through the fighting to the Embassy/Residence compound, and took shelter there together with a number of Embassy staff and families, who had been in or next to the compound when the conflict started. The area around the compound rapidly became the scene of the fiercest fighting, involving not just intensive small arms fire but also the widespread and indiscriminate use of artillery. Throughout the nine-day ordeal, Mr Elsdon-Dew was a model of courage, commitment and professionalism, establishing himself as the leader of the group trapped at the Embassy/Residence compound and volunteering to lead on a range of difficult and dangerous tasks. These tasks required regular movement between Embassy buildings and included leaving

the compound on foot to assist a diplomatic spouse who, having been evicted from their place of shelter, had suffered a panic attack on their way to the Embassy. Mr Elsdon-Dew escorted them to safety at great personal risk to himself.”

Lawrie has built an impressive career since leaving Tonbridge in 2011, for a place at Pembroke College, Oxford to study Theology. In May 2015, Lawrie joined the Prime Minister’s Ofﬁce at 10 Downing Street, serving as a Special Advisor in the correspondence department under David Cameron.

In 2016/17, Lawrie pursued a Master’s degree in International Relations at St Andrews University, Scotland. Following his postgraduate studies, he returned to government service, joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Ofﬁce in 2017. There, he dedicated two years to mastering Arabic, including time spent studying in Jordan. From 2020 to 2023, Lawrie undertook his ﬁrst diplomatic posting at the UK Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan that culminated in the revolution in May 2023.

Since returning to the UK, Lawrie has worked in the Political Unit of the Foreign Ofﬁce. His expertise has now earned him the role of Head of the Political Team at the British Consulate in Jerusalem, a position he will assume in 2026. The King’s Gallantry Medal is awarded to civilians for acts of exemplary bravery. The investiture itself was held at Buckingham Palace in December 2024.

The Hon. Jeremy Cowdrey (PH 73-78) will become President of the OT Society in June 2026. After studying at Durham University, he began his career in the City and rose to become a partner at Cazenove. He went on to pursue a range of personal and creative interests. He was a member of the Back Up Trust development board, served as a school governor and produced the feature ﬁlm Summer in February, based on the novel by Jonathan Smith. Jeremy has been Deputy Chairman of Kent Cricket and remains involved with the club. He is currently developing a new musical and an independent ﬁlm. His career and life since Tonbridge reflect a belief in the power of story, sport and service to inspire people across generations.

Dr John Kirkaldy (FH 61-65) spent a lifetime teaching History and arts subjects. He did VSO in Jamaica; ﬁrst at the University and then at a school/adult centre. There then followed working at the University of NSW in Sydney. John has mainly taught since then at the Open University and has a PhD on the role of the media reporting Northern Ireland. He now ﬁlls his time writing reviews and short stories. A few years ago, he eventually did a gap year: visiting 14 countries, working in three and underwent the traditional bungee jump in New Zealand.

Kim Craven (Sc 67-71) and his brother Blaise (Sc 69-72) visited Tonbridge in the summer to watch a Cricketer Cup match and are pictured here with James Priory. Blaise was a leading OT golfer, while Kim used to be a leading tennis umpire, including umpiring Wimbledon ﬁnals.

Peter Fincham (SH 69-73) is CoExecutive Producer for the ﬁfth series of Clarkson’s Farm, a television documentary series shown on Amazon Prime Video. Alongside Jimmy Mulville, comedian, writer and producer, Peter has also fronted the podcast Insiders: The TV Podcast, an exclusive peek into the world of television.

Richard Ellison (FH 73-78) has been elected as President of Kent County Cricket Club for 2026. He played in eleven Tests for England between 1984 and 1986, as well as scoring over 6,000 runs and taking more than 570 wickets for Kent, before retiring in 1994 to teach at Millﬁeld School.

Tony Marcoff (Sc 70-73) has been elected a Life Member of the British Haiku Society for services to haiku and tanka over many years. His new tanka collection dreams from Babel and beyond has recently been published.

Christian Bridge (Sc 70-74) is the proud husband and father of Caroline and Tom, a mother and son team who took part in Race Across the World 2025 shown on BBC1. Caroline and Tom travelled from The Great Wall of China to the southern tip of India without phones, bank cards or plane travel and on a very limited budget.

Paul Goldstein (HS 76-80)

Won two awards in the British Wildlife Photography Awards with his images ‘Bus Pass’ (see above) and ‘On the Monet’.

Lars Pertwee (FH 77-81) is Landscape and Public Realm Senior Director in the Diriyah Company, Saudi Arabia, reviewing all landscape and public realm design across the Diriyah development. He previously worked as Senior Landscape Architect with the HOK Planning Group in the Middle East, including work on the New Doha International Airport.

Richard Higginson (WW 77-82)

played hockey for Scotland Over 60s in the 2024 World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, representing Scotland in the Hockey Masters World Cup. He won his ﬁrst international cap against Ireland in June. Scotland missed out on a quarter ﬁnal place after losing narrowly against Germany, but he scored against Australia and Canada and added six more caps to his international tally.

Henry Pollard (Sc 78-82) will be the new Chief Commoner for the City of London Corporation. During his year in ofﬁce he will act as an ambassador at ceremonial occasions, and work to uphold the rights and standards of City Corporation elected members.

Dominic Jermey (SH 80-85) has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Dominic’s previous diplomatic postings include serving as HM Ambassador to Afghanistan and to the United Arab Emirates. He was Director General of the conservation science NGO, the Zoological Society of London, from 2017 to 2022.

James Clark (Sc 82-87) is currently working in Gaza for UNOPS (United Nations Ofﬁce for Project Services). Their mission globally is to help people build better lives and bring a sustainable peace. His wife and children are based in Kenya, but he currently lives in Amman (Jordan) or at a UN house in Gaza, depending on requirements. After university, he graduated from Sandhurst and joined his regiment, where he progressed to Major before retiring from the forces some ﬁve years ago. Since then, he has worked for the UN throughout East Africa (Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan), and the Middle East.

Jono Arscott (PH 83-88) played for Chile in the 2024 South American Cricket Championship and won the man-of-the-match award against Uruguay. He was Head of English at The Grange School, Santiago, Chile, but is now moving to Sandford School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as Head of Pastoral.

Sean Buchanan (JH 83-88) has been appointed Chief Scientiﬁc Ofﬁcer of Belharra Therapeutics in San Diego, California. He will lead Belharra’s research organization as the company progresses its lead immunology and oncology programmes, advances activities with its pharma collaborators, and enriches its Searchlight chemoproteomics platform

Patrick Carr (JH 83-88) retired from his career as an IT consultant in March 2024 to concentrate on his new career as an author of romantic comedy novels. Writing under a pen name, he is published by Boldwood Books, has 12 titles out with more on the way, and has sold over 500,000 books since 2022.

Toby Evetts (JH 83-88) after several years in advertising and design in London, moved to California in 2002 and became an app developer in the ﬁlm industry. His company, Chemical Wedding, makes software for directors and cinematographers, and was honoured with an Emmy Award in 2018. He is also currently working on bringing Stephen Fry’s Mythos series to life as an app.

Andy Pincott (HS 83-88), truffle farmer, wine judge and Instagram wine influencer @affordablewinehunter. He is one of the top ﬁve Instagram wine influencers in the UK with 100k followers.

Bruce Urquhart (MH 85-90) met with four fellow OTs from the 1985 Manor House entry known as ‘the flock’, named as such because of their close friendship. Here they are 40 years on – Bruce, Toby Robeson, Ed Rash, Julian Stow, and Richard Arthur. Bruce was visiting from the USA, where he is a software engineer for IBM.

Jamie Singer (PH 85-90), partner at Onside Law, was proﬁled in the law section of The Times for defending leading tennis player Jannik Sinner on a doping charge.

Richard Warlow (JH/WW 85-90) is the executive producer of The Leopard, the six-part epic period drama on Netflix, set in the 19th Century Italy and based on the classic novel by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. Richard was also the creator and lead writer of the screenplay.

Mike Warriner (Sc 86-91) has kindly hosted several Tonbridge students interested in film at his business, Spitfire Audio. He is also closely involved in the Film Making Programme run by Vikram Jayanti (Sc 68-72). Mike has been the COO/CFO of Spitfire Audio since 2018, which creates virtual instruments and sample libraries for music makers, partnering with the world’s finest pioneers and studios, including Hans Zimmer and Abbey Road.

Paul Shea (PS 87-92) is the founder and managing partner of Beechbrook Capital, which is the new sponsor of the Cricketer Cup.

Andy Zaltzman (SH 87-92) - on right is a British comedian who largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has been ever-present as a statistician for BBC Radio’s Test Match Special in 2025 and presents Radio 4’s The News Quiz. In 2024 he appeared as a contestant in Taskmaster, winning the series.

Charles Preston (PH 89-94) and John Preston (FH 89-94) are directors and founders of Bohemia Canvas creating innovative and interesting tented structures inspired by architectural influences from across the globe.

Ed Smith (WH 90-95) will become President of MCC in October 2025. He is only the third Tonbridgian to hold this position, following Jack Davies in 1985 and Colin Cowdrey in 1986.

Chip Nazmi (MH 90-92) returned to Tonbridge for the ﬁrst time in July, pictured here with his Housemaster, David Walsh. Having studied at Nottingham and KCL, he is now the in-house Counsel for Cushman Wakeﬁeld in Chicago having previously been with Kimberley Clark and Mayer Brown.

Keane, Tom Chaplin (HS 92-97), Tim Rice-Oxley (HS 89-94) and Richard Hughes (JH 89-94) are touring to celebrate 20 years since the release of their debut album Hopes and Fears.

Neil Taylor (PH 95-20) is Founder of social impact business ‘Me & My Old Man.’ A few years ago, I asked my dad to write down stories from his life. He began enthusiastically, then suddenly stopped. Dementia had quietly taken hold. Before long, he passed away, just six days too soon to meet my youngest child. In the emotional turbulence that followed, I realized it was now my responsibility to share my dad's life with my son. But there were too many gaps, too many stories left untold. It struck me how rarely we pause to capture the voices and stories of those closest to us - until it's too late.

This insight became the seed for Me & My Old Man, a social-impact business built around one simple yet powerful mission: connecting families around the stories that matter. I guide families through gentle, semistructured conversations, and craft them into audiobooks. Over the past year, I’ve recorded hundreds of hours with families across the UK and abroad. I've seen ﬁrst-hand how hearing loved ones' stories fosters deeper connections. Start asking questions now of your loved ones. Record their voices while you can. And if you need help capturing these stories, I’d genuinely love to connect: www.meandmyoldman.co.uk.

Dan Warne (PH, 96-01) not only starred in the new Foundation Awards promotion ﬁlm this year with John Bartlett (MH 61-66) and Laurence Turlej (WW 09-14) but this year saw his business Sessions appear in the Sifted fast-growing companies list at number 31. The company also announced a partnership with Deliveroo and Netflix in 2025. Dan founded Sessions in 2019 as a growth platform for original food brands and experiences.

Courtesy of Lord’s website

Rory Laughton-Scott (HS 00-05) delivered a talk to the OT community called ‘Future Prooﬁng your Career’. Rory set up his business called The Career Agent in 2017, and has helped 250 individuals to build new careers to date, including a number of OTs. Rory also provides recruitment services for small-medium businesses, as he links the right people with the right businesses. www.theemployeragent.co.uk

Jon Perriss (CR 00-16) has been appointed Head of St Catherine’s School, Athens.

He was previously Head of Langley School in Norfolk.

Ben Cowley (CH 00-05) is co-founder of Pace Six Four, a specialist motorsport marketing agency.

He has worked with brands, venues, teams and drivers in Formula 1, and other championships.

In 2024, Pace Six Four was named ‘International Agency of the Year’ at The Race Media Awards – a category recognising agencies that have delivered the most value to clients in the motorsport industry.

Chris O’Donovan (MH 02-07) ﬁrst started working on Sustainable Finance when he took over the responsibility for developing government policy on it at HM Treasury. During that time, he negotiated new legislation in Brussels, co-authored the UKs inaugural Green Finance Strategy and acted as an advisor to former BoE Governor Mark Carney during COP26 in Glasgow. Chris now works for Citibank in their Sustainability and ESG team working on a range of issues in the EMEA region.

Fergus Butler-Gallie (PS 05-10) appeared on Start the Week on Radio 4 talking about his latest book Twelve Churches: An unlikely history of the buildings that made Christianity.

Fergus is Vicar of Charlbury in Oxfordshire. He was married to Madeline on 12 July 2025.

Theo Saville (HS 08-10) is the co-founder and CEO of CloudNC, a London tech ﬁrm whose CAM Assist software has gained hundreds of customers in US engineering ﬁrms. This helped to boost American manufacturing by enabling engineering machinists become much more productive. CloudNC employs more than a hundred people and has a factory in Chelmsford.

Richard Brookes (CR 08-15) is Executive Head of the Wakeﬁeld Grammar School Foundation. He can be seen in this photo of Tonbridge Chemists past and present taken after Mike Clugston’s memorial service in August 2024. (From l to r) Linda Goodwin, Richard Brookes, David Robins, Andrew Worrall, Lisa Alford, John Pearson, Peter McManus, David Robinson, James Fisher.

James Green (MH 10-15), a major league paintball player, has recently been signed by ASG Aftermath. James has had success in Europe and is looking forward to the challenge of the US ‘scene’.

Hugo Cheyne (MH 10-15) won a Foundation Award to Tonbridge before reading Economics at Warwick University. He has just started an educational technology company called Trailblaze, a fun and guided maths world that ﬁnds and ﬁxes knowledge gaps using AI. www.trailblaze.education

George Bourne (FH 11-16) rowed in Cambridge’s Blue Boat in the 2025 Boat Race. Cambridge won by an impressive 17 seconds. George said: “We had such a nice press as we came past Fulham Football Club. We were really relaxed, really calm and you could feel yourself moving away, which is the best feeling in the world.”

Ben Earl (JH 11-16) played in the ﬁrst and third British Lions tests against Australia for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. The last Lions tourist from Tonbridge was David Marques (Sc 46-51)

Charlie Ord (Sc 14-19) is an FPV Drone Pilot, who builds and operates custom-made drones for large brands such as McLaren F1, Puma, and Honda. He also recently worked as a Director of Photography on a short documentary which has won six awards including a craft award for cinematography from the Royal Television Society.

Dom Lewis (MH 12-17) his team, the Royal Thames YC Academy, have just won the UK Team Racing National Championships. The event is the pinnacle of Team Racing, with world renowned teams in attendance. Most impressively, his relatively junior team beat teams who were winning this event whilst he was still at school!

Tom Nicholls (WW 09-14) works for ACUA Ocean as a naval architect, designing and developing unmanned surface vessels for ocean monitoring and data collection, based in Plymouth. Their prototype hydrogen powered USV Pioneer was nominated for the Concept Vessel Design of the Year award at the Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo 2024. She is designed to carry, launch and recover a variety of remote vehicles with a range of uses such as seabed monitoring for offshore infrastructure and sensors for a range of oceanographic surveying techniques.

Tom Rigney (WH 16-21) rowed as stroke in the Oxford Isis Boat for the Men’s Reserve Race in The Boat Race 2025.

Hamish Yeldham (PH 16-21) who has just left Durham University, has been awarded a scholarship to play rugby at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA.

Olly Teare (OH 17-22) recently graduated from York University. He founded Off Topic Media whilst at university, working on political campaigns in Washington D.C., managing content for celebrities like Paul Hollywood, and helping footballers ﬁnd a second career off the pitch. He is now trusted by highproﬁle clients to guide their online image and expand their career possibilities.

Ollie Sykes (HS 18-23) is a professional cricketer at Surrey, who has played in the 2025 County Championship.

Old Tonbridgian’s Rufus Nolan (CH 16-21), Ollie Todd (PH 16-21), Jacques Behling (WW 16-21), and Old Salopian Tim Clarkson Webb are 5,000 miles into their rally to Oskemen, East Kazakhstan in their Skoda Fabia, ‘Felicity’. They have embarked on this rally to raise money for the Cool Earth Charity and push themselves outside of their comfort zone.

With a car which had to cost no more than £1000, no phones, a couple of maps, and a toolkit they don’t know how to use, they have been battling through issues with the car, ﬁnding places on the side of the road to camp, and facing every language barrier from England to Azerbaijan.

Sam Seecharan (OH 19-24) made his debut for Notts Outlaws in the T20 Blast in July. He is combining professional cricket with a degree in International Security Studies at Nottingham University and starts his second year in October 2025.

George Thomas (WH 21-23) is at Edinburgh University until 2027, studying Social Anthropology and Politics. He has founded an educational consultancy called Future Bright Bookings geared to easing UK University admissions through a network of mentors who provide tailored support to applicants. futurebrightbookings@outlook.com

Stanley Southgate (MH 19-24) received the award as Best Intern after undergoing the Short Commissioning course at RMA Sandhurst in November 2024. He has joined 1st Battalion, Process of Wales’s Royal Regiment, currently based in Cyprus.

Tim Maw (WH 85-89) was part of the Highest Bike Ride Expedition which set a new Guinness World Record in September 2024.

Tim writes that: “The Himalayan base camp of Putha Hiunchuli is a place of immense beauty; a green valley with a small stream where our tents were mere dots in a huge landscape of ice capped peaks. Visually, it was hard to comprehend that we were at 4,907m, higher than the world’s highest ski resort and 100m higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. With only half the 21% oxygen enjoyed at sea level, even minor exertion reminded our team just how far we had come on the arduous ﬁve-day trek from the airstrip in Juphal, eastern Nepal.

Three days into that trek we stayed at the Tenzing Norgay school in Kakgot, perhaps one of the highest and remotest schools in the world and now the beneﬁciary of our £20,000 fundraising effort over the last year. Without heating or glazing, it closes for four months each winter. However, the priority was a reliable and fast satellite internet link and a boarding house for children who live more than a day’s walk away from the school. With weekday accommodation they will have the chance to receive an education.

For this challenge, Guinness World Records stipulated that our European team of six should each carry their own mountain bike without sherpa assistance and that meant an additional 14kg as well as our climbing gear. We each had a climbing sherpa

and together with Nima, the lead Sherpa, the team had a reassuring 47 Everest summits between them. However, only two had set foot on Putha Hiunchuli so for most of us this was a new mountain to attempt. Apart from Neil Laughton, himself an Everest summiteer, it was also our ﬁrst foray above 6,000m into what is classed as ‘extreme high altitude’.

We were the only team on the mountain in 2024 which added to the joy of solitude. We continued our acclimatisation through the stunning glacial valley that led from Base Camp to Camp 1 at 5,400m, climbing high and sleeping low with successive rotations up the mountain. Grey, slushy moraine underfoot covered the ice, making these sections more hazardous than the crevasses on the gleaming white snout of ice that formed a new glacier at the top of the valley. Our climbs above Camp 1 always began with poor visibility and snowfall, ascending a steep section of loose boulders for four hours to reach a massive slab of slippery rock that led to ‘crampon point.’

Here harnesses and crampons were ﬁtted for the roped section up to Camp 2. I remember that it was a particularly gruelling day so I was pleased to dump the bike and descend to Base Camp for two days of rest before a summit bid. The second visit to Camp 2 was marginally better without the bike and

with the beneﬁt of the acclimatisation. That evening I played chess with Neil at 6,216m, beating the ofﬁcial Guinness World Record for the ‘Highest Board Game’ by 199m.

As darkness fell, we were hit by a blizzard which delayed our departure until 2am. Climbing in high winds and deep snow with the bikes, was particularly arduous. At 7am, only three of us remained. Neil was ahead with Nima and I had a tough decision to make as my rate of ascent would put me on the summit at nightfall, far too late in the day for a safe descent. At 6,500m the only visible higher peak was Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain in the world at 8,167m. Already exhausted, I took in the view before sadly turning back for the ninehour descent to the safety of base camp.

Neil and Nima summitted at 3pm and rode their bikes in deep snow at 7,246m, setting a new world record. They returned to base camp the following afternoon in quite bad shape and stated that summitting Putha without supplementary oxygen had been harder than Everest with oxygen. For all of us, it had been an extraordinary and fulﬁlling month but the greatest achievement will always be the changes we have brought to the school in Kakgot.”

Full story at www.timmaw.com

THREE PORTRAITS OF TONBRIDGE SUSTAINABILITY

One of our youngest OTs, Farlie Willett (Sc 20-25) writes about a theme which has become increasingly important within the Tonbridge School Community and outsideSustainability. With the help of two OTs whose businesses and wider commitments are ﬁrmly embedded in this process, he reﬂects on what Tonbridge has already done and will aim to do in the future.

Sustainability at Tonbridge

Sustainability is a nuanced, rapidly changing and evolving issue which can only really be judged in the context of the environment in which it is being considered.

Tonbridge School is one of many environments where improvements in sustainable practices are a key aim; like any other institution, the School has responsibilities in the areas of waste management, energy efﬁciency, and conservation, all of which, as a student, are becoming increasingly apparent. The School’s work with partners such as Countrystyle, a local and sustainable waste management service, and Join The Pipe, a global

company whose focus is on reducing water pollution and ending plastic waste, have helped us work towards these ideals. Internally, and at the heart of the School’s sustainability movement is the Green Committee, founded by Robert Oliver (CR 99-24), now a Green Party Councillor in Tonbridge, which gives an opportunity for the boys themselves to voice their concerns, and bridges the gap between staff and student with regards to sustainable decision-making.

While Tonbridge is making signiﬁcant improvements in the areas of decarbonisation, waste management and improving biodiversity, it also has a

responsibility to its students and staff in educating and engaging them about sustainable issues, as well as highlighting its importance in life outside school As the environmental crisis seemingly worsens, the School’s job is to ensure that each year a cohort of boys go out into the world with an appreciation of the role of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in the working world, irrespective of degree or career. Thus, the effectiveness of Tonbridge’s sustainability efforts should be judged, in essence, in two senses - how good is it at School, and how does it serve boys beyond School?

Solar panels on Tonbridge School Centre

Sustainability after Tonbridge

Although a sustainability agenda has only been present at Tonbridge in the last few years, it was interesting to discover that Old Tonbridgians in Paul Goldstein and James Spurgeon are eminent in this ﬁeld. I had the great privilege of interviewing them both.

I spoke first to James Spurgeon (FH 79-84). James studied Biology, Chemistry, and Geography for A Levels, and went on to a degree in Zoology at Exeter University At the same time, he noticed a ‘global noise’ surrounding sustainability. He recalled frustration over a planned conservation expedition with the School to the rainforests of Ecuador being cancelled at the last minute, though clearly this didn’t limit the development of his sustainable ideals. During his early career, he moved from a specific focus in the scientific side of sustainability, to a broader one, becoming more economics focused, with his own ideas developing in tandem with an international move towards green initiatives.

Now founding director of sustainability consultancy Sustain Value, he works specifically in environmental valuation, both marine and terrestrial, a concept which initially sounded nebulous. To elucidate, he gave a specific example; “Coral reefs are arguably one of the most valuable forms of natural capital, certainly in terms of habitats. One estimate puts their value at US$ 10 trillion a year, derived largely from fisheries, tourism and coastal protection, which in turn support considerable real-estate value.” Despite this, he clarified that, of course, “there is no direct market value for many of the valuable services provided by nature’’ and thus, the human

element involved in managing natural habitats often mismanages them with a focus on prizing profit over conservation. James argued that instead there needs to be, with regards to investment in the environment, a broad and deep understanding of the links between nature and its considerable value to the businesses and societies that it supports – “we would not survive without it.” Derived from James’s means of coral valuation, using a variety of valuation techniques to ascertain the loss of societal values without the reefs in place, is the idea of environmental insurance, the deeply holistic process of not only asserting the value of, say, a reef, but rigidly fiscally protecting it. Again, this idea of giving a monetary value to nature is grounded in economic pragmatism. Such a process may not seem right, but it is increasingly being seen as essential to help justify conservation of the natural world that humanity is dependent on. By placing a money value on the various benefits to humans provided by coral reefs, such as fisheries, tourism, and protection of coastal properties and infrastructure, decision-makers are more likely to ensure the reef’s protection and sustainable use. Thus, sustainability for James must be rooted not just in nature and the environment itself, but also on the people who depend on it.

Picking up on this idea of pragmatism as a motivator for sustainable

James Spurgeon in Indonesia

behaviour, Paul Goldstein (HS 76-80), wildlife photographer and conservationist, argued that conservation can only take place within a community when it is able to benefit effectively from such behaviour: “until local people feel a significant financial warmth from wildlife, why the hell should they look after them? They’re just trying to put food on the table. But if they feel a proper warmth from wildlife - their father has a new job as a ranger and their sister works in a safari camp - they can’t imagine life without their spotted or striped neighbours”. For Paul, this change can’t come about without a fundamental social attitude shift which, in turn, can only be motivated by finance. Many people have marvellous ideas about persecuted species but without pragmatism, money and transparent appropriation there is nothing. He has huge pedigree with wildlife, derived from his Bengal Tiger Foundation and of running a number of eco safari camps in Kenya. He cites the example of the rhino, where traditional cultural practices in China and other Southeast Asian countries have left an

indelible mark on this innocent mammal. Their horn, per ounce, may be more valuable than cocaine but a live rhino, for tourists, with all the ancillary beneﬁts calculated, is far more valuable than lying butchered in hideous Wuhan wet markets It’s these kinds of injustices, though, that give Paul his fuel: “People are fuelled by diﬀerent things: some by companionship, some by love…some are driven by ambition. I’m fuelled by rage [because] there are just so many injustices in the animal kingdom and until the end users as well as the poaching gangs are properly and publicly outed and put away for years, it will not stop.” Thus, both OTs are clearly grounded in the principle of economic pragmatism. As Will Biddle (PH 76-81 & CR 04 -), Tonbridge’s Head of Sustainability put it:

“Sustainable practice also goes beyond decarbonisation and conservation. As detailed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it’s about addressing the disparity of life experiences for human beings.”

A clear trait that the two OTs display is a desire to have boots on the ground.

Paul, having left the School with, in his own words “not many qualiﬁcations,” spent his year off working on a children’s camp in the US, which he recalls, after ﬁve years of a Tonbridge education, was a crucial and necessary growing up process. He saw things, at a relatively early age, that shocked and angered him and were early foundations in his ever-developing rage. Fast forward to his current job, an award-winning wildlife photographer, conservationist, guide and founder of Kicheche Camps in Kenya, it is clear that Paul’s interest is in genuinely affecting tangible change.

As seen in the photo of him, James last year visited two islands in Indonesia, working for the Asian Development Bank to value their coral reefs with a view to developing a novel form of coral reef insurance. This would allow them to be restored quickly should they be damaged by a cyclone or extreme marine heating. Both James and Paul, to ground their sustainability in economic pragmatism, want direct, substantial action.

‘In flight’. Thousands of greater and lesser flamingos take off over a misty Lake Nakuru at dawn

How then does this circle back to Tonbridge? If the two attributes of sustainability that we are to take from these OTs are economic pragmatism and direct action, how do these ideals feed back into the School that produced them.

Sustainability beyond Tonbridge

We must not forget that, as Paul recalled, only forty-or-so years ago, there was “really no perception surrounding sustainability anywhere”, and so to now be in a place within the School where there is an ofﬁcial School Head of Sustainability, a flourishing Green Committee, and a number of ongoing initiatives (and, to be entirely meta, that the front-page article of the OT Magazine centres around the growth of sustainable ideals), shows that, at the very least, something must have changed.

Looking back to those two attributes, it is clear that economic pragmatism is behind much of the recent sustainable action at School. The reorganisation of waste management streams two years ago has already offset its own cost through the lower bin collection rates, and the introduction of solar panels on the TSC roof earlier this year (installed by Powercor) have already begun to save the School over £80,000 annually.

Equally, is the School’s flourishing Conservation Society and Green Committee, both of which attract signiﬁcant numbers of boys on a weekly basis, not evidence of the fact that direct action is key at Tonbridge? Three key things can be said of sustainability at Tonbridge: it is valued, it is thriving, but most importantly, it is growing. Watch this space.

‘High roller’ A lilac breasted roller uses a Burchells zebra as a hunting platform

ROBERT OGILVIE MA DLitt FBA

On the ﬁftieth anniversary of Robert Ogilvie’s ﬁnal year as Headmaster in 1975, Sherard Cowper-Coles (PS 68-73) pays tribute to a giant intellect and personality.

Robert Ogilvie was a giant intellect, and a giant personality. He was a truly great classicist, and a real Scot, from head to toe. He believed in excellence, but had a sense of humour and sense of proportion. Despite his towering presence, he got on, and got on well, with all manner and condition of people – and schoolboys. And he was immensely kind, as well as generous with his time and money, particularly towards boys whom he felt needed his help and support.

Tonbridge was so lucky to have had someone of such national and international distinction succeed the great Michael McCrum as our Headmaster when Michael went to Eton in 1970, and to have been with us from then until he moved back to his beloved Scotland, to St Andrews as Professor of Humanity (or Latin), in 1975 – 50 years ago this year.

Just as McCrum had come to Tonbridge from serving as Senior Tutor of his College at Cambridge, Corpus, so Ogilvie came from his college, Balliol, Oxford, where he too had been Senior Tutor, and a classicist. He brought with him to School House his wonderful wife, Jennifer, who died in March 2025, and three beautiful young children, Isobel, Alexander and Charles – with the boys later coming to Park House.

For all the superﬁcial similarities in their cursus honorum, Ogilvie was rather diﬀerent from McCrum. Whereas McCrum’s father had been in the Navy, Ogilvie’s father, Sir Frederick, had

succeeded John Reith as the BBC’s second Director-General, before going on to head a house – Jesus – at Oxford, a distinction shared by Lady Ogilvie. They sent the young Robert to Rugby, where he excelled. Thanks to a bizarre system whereby the best classicist in the school became Head Boy, irrespective of age, Robert found himself leading the school at an age when he was far from prepared for such prominence and responsibility. He once conﬁded to me that it had been a challenge from which he never fully recovered.

McCrum had been more self-contained, a ruthless manager of his own and other’s time, keeping his feelings (of which he had many) under careful control. Robert was more spontaneous, in his pursuit of a particular classical allusion, or in announcing that he would take the afternoon oﬀ to play golf at Leeds Castle. Sloppy academic work, or gratuitously oﬀensive behaviour by some of the rougher boys in the school, upset him.

Robert Ogilvie

For Robert Ogilvie, the civilisations of Greece and Rome – their literature, above all, especially Latin, but also their history, their architecture, their sculpture, latterly their archaeology – were what he lived, breathed, and used to inspire generations of grateful pupils at Oxford, Tonbridge and St Andrews. He was a proliﬁc author – of books and articles, for journals learned and otherwise – and indefatigable editor of ancient texts, mostly for the Oxford University Press. At a separate desk in the Headmaster’s study, he kept up his academic output in parallel with running a great public school.

So many of us have such happy memories of academic and other adventures with Robert Ogilvie. I saw a lot of him over the three years up to my last term, Summer 1973, when I worked with him as Head of the School. Being taught by him, whether in a classroom, or digging for Roman marching camps in Agricola’s Scotland, or dining with a visiting preacher, or Forum Lecturer – almost inevitably from Balliolwas an utter joy, because he gave us the impression that, rather than transmitting information at us, he was accompanying us on our shared intellectual journey. I learnt so much, about so much, from him.

What we all also appreciated so much was his kindness and courtesy – in my case, to my decidedly non-academic mother, and my two, less academic, brothers. We all adored and appreciated him as a truly great Headmaster. And there were many, many other instances of such kindness, of a man who cared deeply about the welfare and well-being of his pupils. He would not hesitate to invite boys to stay in Tonbridge or at his beloved Erracht near Fort William, which he rented from Donald Cameron of Lochiel. Or even to allow a senior boy in need of transport use of Jennifer’s Mini!

All of which only increased the whole Tonbridge community’s sadness at his

premature death, at St Andrew’s. A few weeks after I heard the terrible news a heart-breaking letter from him reached me in Cairo, addressed simply to me at “HM Embassy, Cairo”, revealing a bit of how downcast he had been, and giving a clue to what had gone wrong. Another clue perhaps was the way he signed oﬀ a letter to another friend: “Eheu fugaces… labuntur anni” [Alas, the ﬂeeing years slip away].

As a boy, I had noticed his fondness for whisky and a glass of wine, but never saw it aﬀect in any signiﬁcant way his outstanding performance as Headmaster of a great school. I saw him resort to drink for consolation and support, for example when the infamous demonstration was staged during the Annual Inspection of the CCF in1971. With what I know now, I wish we had all done more to help such a truly great man, whom it was such a privilege to have known, been taught by, and worked with and for.

In my ﬁnal Headmaster’s report, he wrote in Latin (which my mother didn’t understand) simply “ut si sic omnes!” [if only all were thus]. And that, despite or perhaps because of the frailties, was how so many of us felt, and still feel, about the late, great, Robert Maxwell Ogilvie.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: OAKESHOTT HOUSE

There are many buildings and playing ﬁelds at Tonbridge with names that mean little to recent Tonbridgians. Here, on the 25th anniversary of its opening, David Walsh (CR 72-09) tells us about Sir Walter Oakeshott.

Although Tonbridge boarding houses have little connection with historical ﬁgures from the School’s past, with the obvious exception of Judde House, the names of the day houses are more personal. The most recent of these to be founded, Oakeshott in 2000, pays tribute to one of the most scholarly Tonbridgians, Sir Walter Oakeshott.

Tonbridge has always had day boys since its foundation, but their original lowly status in a largely boarding school was emphasised by the names given to them – initially alphabetically as Day Boys A-K and L-Z, and then re-named in 1918 Day Boys A and Day Boys B, arranged by the distance they lived

from the School. Not until 1925 did a day boy become Head of School, Leslie Rowan. It was David Somervell who in 1932 suggested further lifting day boy prestige by re-naming them Welldon and Smythe, ‘an inspired change which killed Bugs A and Bugs B at a stroke and gave them an identity linked with great names in the history of the School’, one a distinguished Headmaster, the other an early benefactor. As day boy numbers continued to increase as a proportion of the whole School, this trend continued in 1974 with the opening of Whitworth House and then Cowdrey House in 1994.

By 2000 Martin Hammond believed there was a strong case for a ﬁfth day boy house, partly because the existing day houses were over-crowded but also to enable ‘a liberating ﬂexibility, year on year, in the boarder/DB entry’. Fortuitously a large house, 18 Dry Hill Road, had come on the market and Martin persuaded the Governors, in the form then of the Tonbridge School Committee (TSC), that this was too good an opportunity to miss. The TSC approved the purchase and Martin’s recommendation as to the name of the new house. He recalls that it was “my suggestion that the new House should be named after Walter Oakeshott, given his status as one of the most distinguished OTs of the 20th century, and his continued and revered association with the School through the Skinners’ Company, which made it that much more likely that the Governors

would agree the nomination. I was personally keen too, in view of tenuously shared experience of Winchester, Balliol, and St Paul’s”.

Walter Oakeshott entered Judde House in 1917, a grim and depressing wartime environment with food and fuel rationing, Oakeshott writing that ‘we must have been hungrier than any generation at school ever was’. He left as Head of School in 1922, winning a Classics Exhibition to Balliol College, Oxford, where he took ﬁrst class honours. He became a teacher at Merchant Taylors’ School and then at Winchester in 1931 before being appointed High Master of St. Paul’s School in January 1939. He found out after his appointment that the School would be requisitioned in the event of war and therefore his ﬁrst job was to organise its evacuation to Wellington, where it spent the whole war. In 1946 he returned to Winchester as Headmaster before becoming Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford from 1954-72, as well as serving as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.

A renowned scholar, Oakeshott is best known for identifying the only extant manuscript of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur in the Fellows’ Library at Winchester. He wrote scholarly treatises on many subjects, but his most abiding interest was in medieval art history, authoring two studies of the twelfth-century Winchester Bible. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1971

Walter Oakeshott

and was knighted in 1980 ‘for services to medieval literature’, although it could have been for many other achievements. In 1936 he had taken leave of absence from Winchester to serve on an inquiry into unemployment sponsored by the Pilgrim Trust and assisted the future Archbishop William Temple in writing up the ﬁndings, which were published in 1938 as Men Without Work.

Walter Oakeshott continued to take great interest in Tonbridge through the Skinners’ Company, of which he was Master in 1960-61, and inﬂuenced strongly the deliberations of the Court until his death in 1987. A Minute of the Tonbridge Governors in 1989 on whether to restore the Chapel organ after the ﬁre said this:

‘Mr Oakeshott held his fellow Governors spellbound by describing how important was the function which a school chapel had in aﬀording to children at an impressionable age a stimulus to the imagination…..the organ had made a pre-eminent contribution in extending sensibility beyond the frontiers of the tangible world, and awakening a boy’s spiritual perception, whether or not endowing him with religious faith’.

A gentle, courteous man of instinctive personal modesty, he inspired many people as teacher and scholar and had a great gift for friendship. Although capable in administration, he had no great taste for it, but he shone as a teacher and inspirer of the young, especially of those who came to share his own keen appreciation of artistic beauty. Perhaps some of the Oakeshott students in the twenty-ﬁve years since the house opened will have been inspired by so scholarly a Tonbridgian.

TAKING OVER OF A NEW HOUSE

Oakeshott House started with 38 boys, Paul Todd (CR 94-06) its ﬁrst Housemaster from 2000-2006. Paul here recalls those early days

Martin Hammond, the Headmaster, had just told me that the school was planning a twelfth House, a new Day House, and I had arrived at Tonbridge six years earlier, as Head of Physics, and had only recently taken on the role of Head of Science, but Martin soon convinced me.

A suitable building was found, and a name chosen, but the feasibility of the project depended on planning permission. We were on tenterhooks for several weeks, and I remember getting conﬁrmation in a phone call while I was running a school ski trip that Easter.

The summer was taken up with choosing furniture and ﬁttings. I drove up to East London to buy a bar billiards table, remembering from my days in student bars how you could use them in a smaller space than other table-top games. I pored over colour charts to design ties which were different from the other eleven houses – and was delighted with the outcome, even if the House colours attracted the nickname ‘ketchup and custard’.

Recruitment went well, and September saw us occupying the twelfth bay in the Chapel, the third upstairs lunchroom in the Orchard Centre, and an equal place in tournaments and events.

The support of colleagues was essential when establishing and running Oakeshott. The House Tutor system meant that much of the daily work fell on the Tutors, and, especially, in the ﬁrst years, on the exceptional Charlotte Chisholm, James Cockburn and Robert Oliver, to whom I shall forever be grateful. And the House

team extends beyond the Tutors – in our case, we had the daily comforting presence of Pat, the outstanding Oakeshott cleaner, helping to keep us all sane.

But a House is really a collection of pupils, and I was proud of those first cohorts and their determination to succeed. It takes character to change your House. Some boys moved through pioneering spirit, some through the opportunity to re-invent themselves a little. I will finish with one of my most treasured memories. One year, when appointing the new Head of House, I outlined the qualities and potential which had made me select him for the post, finishing with “I know that if I broke you open, I would find the word ‘Oakeshott’ written through you like a stick of rock!” Months passed, and I completely forgot about it. Then, one day, I went down to the playing fields to watch one of the (innumerable) House Matches in some sport or other, and saw this pupil giving a team-talk to a huddle of Oakeshottians before kick-off. The others were listening intently as he spoke, so I inched close enough to hear, without letting him see me. “Now come on, team,” he was saying, “I know that if I broke you open, I would find ‘Oakeshott’ written through every one of you”.

OH 25TH ANNIVERSARY

On Sunday 6 July 2025, around 185 Oakeshott OTs and their families, former parents, current parents and pupils gathered to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Oakeshott House. Guests enjoyed drinks and a hog roast on the Upper Hundred, followed by an entertaining speech from the Headmaster. Some guests even managed couple of innings of cricket on the Head before lightning stopped play. Former Housemaster, John Bleakley and current Housemaster, Graham Barnes joined the festivities.

(L-R) Alex Mason, Rupert Loveland, Matt Bond, John Bleakley, Will Brown, Cameron O’Brien, Chris Adam

(L-R) Iain Lewis, Charles Kingston, Thomas von Rein, John Bleakley, Freddie Adam, Cameron Greenshields, Ollie Turner

(L-R) David Wilkinson, Michael Cotter, Paul Lewis, Will Donald

(L-R) Alastair Couldrey, Jonny Suart, Hugo Brown, John Bleakley, Alex McDonald, Robbie Smith, Andrew Hatton, Peter Candy

Benoit Alteirac, George, Graham Barnes, Wendy Alteirac

Jack Moﬀat, Gareth Lewis, Iain Lewis

Michael Bascom serenading Bev Matthews

Oakeshott 25th Anniversary

James Priory, John Warren, Sharon Warren

INSPIRATIONAL TEACHER

Looking back now, from a vantage point of over half a century, I realise how blessed I was to have such ﬁne teachers at Tonbridge, especially as a sixth-former. Both my A-level History teachers, Geoffrey Parker and Colin Reid, progressed to headships, as did Peter Pollard, one of my English teachers. The other was Jonathan Smith, whose distinguished career as an author is well known to OTs. And Vivian Anthony, who taught me Economics, went on to be a highly respected Secretary of the Headmasters’ Conference.

I recall English lessons with Peter Pollard with particular fondness. The English Department had only recently acquired rooms at the top of Dry Hill House and Peter was undoubtedly proud of his new domain. He arranged the tables in his classroom in a rectangle so as to create a seminar-like ambience and he encouraged his pupils to enter into the give and take of discussion and interpretation. It was an arrangement which also lent itself well to reading aloud from our set texts. Indeed, as Gerald Corbett recollected in the last issue of the OT Magazine, Peter was not at all averse to taking a leading role himself: “Today we will study Hamlet. I will read the part of Hamlet!” He was also brilliant at reciting Chaucer when we studied the General Prologue and the Wife of Bath’s Tale.

This is not to suggest that Peter was lacking in modesty. Far from it. Like my

other sixth-form teachers, he set high standards academically but he also had a great pastoral concern for his students. Rooted in his deep Christian faith, he was noticeably kind, supportive and courteous, never resorting to any belittlement of his pupils, even when they committed obvious howlers. He was also very welcoming to a new boy from India who joined us in the middle of the school year. The newcomer, a diminutive and somewhat exotic presence, soon established himself as the leading light in the set. His name? Vikram Seth.

After I left Tonbridge, Peter was one of the few teachers I kept in touch with. When sending a Christmas card he always took the trouble to enclose a proper letter in his characteristically neat handwriting and he was also always interested to hear about how I was getting on after I became a teacher

myself. Many years ago, by which time Peter was Headmaster of St Elphin’s at Matlock, I asked if I could stay with him and Hilary on my way to a conference in Edinburgh. It was during the Easter holidays and Peter had already gone to their own cottage in north Yorkshire. However, he insisted that I would be welcome to stay with Hilary and their two young sons in Derbyshire before going on to spend some time with him in Thornton-le-Dale. Needless to say, thanks to their kindness and generosity, I had a delightful stay in both places. Although it was History rather than English that I had chosen to pursue at university and beyond, it was Peter as much as any of my teachers at Tonbridge who had inspired in me a lifelong love of literature and who encouraged my ambition to join the teaching profession.

Peter Pollard

FOLLOWING THE HORSES

David Hawkins (HS 69-74) has been an avid fan of horseracing since his Tonbridge days and has recently written a book about his journeys to every racecourse in Ireland. Here he tells us about this passion and how it started.

Not many people know, including most OTs, that Tonbridge held horse-racing meetings between 1851 and 1874. In its delightfully bucolic prose, the Southeastern Gazette reported on this as follows: ‘The Castle, with its ancient keep, the beautiful woodland scenery which adorns the sides of Quarry Hill, interspersed with ﬁelds of golden grain, were objects well calculated to feast the eyes of the assembled thousands, independent of the attractive sports of the ﬁeld.’ These days few would wax lyrical about the beauty of Quarry Hill. It was noted, too, by the Gazette that some gentlemen subsequently enjoyed a most excellent dinner at the Rose and Crown. Plus ca change.

My own ﬁrst race-course experience was many years later, namely the Derby Trial meeting at Lingﬁeld in May 1966. Charlottown, a leading fancy for that year’s Derby, was very badly ridden and narrowly beaten. I can vividly remember its jockey, Ron Hutchinson, being given a particularly unpleasant reception when he returned to unsaddle: he was replaced by Scobie Breasley for the Derby itself and ran out a comfortable winner.

Thereafter, I went racing quite regularly to such local race-courses as Lingﬁeld, Fontwell, Plumpton, the now defunct Folkestone and the long-forgotten rustic track at Wye.

Fortunately, when I arrived at Hill Side in September 1969, I met the late and much-lamented Alastair Down, who went on to forge a legendary career as a racing

journalist and presented horse-racing on ITV and Channel 4 for many years. I was also friendly with Jim Holland, who was in Welldon, another horseracing fanatic.

We started going regularly to the down-town bookie, Joe Coral. But, with many winter race meetings starting before lunchtime, we also opened a telephone account. Jim found a small betting shop in Tunbridge Wells – ironically, almost directly opposite the entrance to Skinners’ School. I remember taking a bus there and depositing £5 on the ﬁrst day of my ﬁnal Lent term - and another bus there to pick up £10.20 on the last day of that term. I must have fed countless 2p coins into the payphone in the Sixth Form Centre each break-time during that term!

Unlike Eton, which has Windsor racecourse on its doorstep, there

were no racecourses near Tonbridge. However, my mother generously collected my brother Nigel, Alastair and me from Hill Side on various Saturdays to attend Lingﬁeld races some thirty minutes away. Alastair clearly enjoyed this arrangement as he wrote one of his typically entertaining pieces on his schoolboy trips there in the Racing Post in 2008.

He also claimed to have frequented The Chaser pub at Shipbourne, although perhaps less often than he made out! This iconic pub was so named because of its proximity to the renowned training centre at Fairlawne, near Plaxtol, run by Peter Cazalet, who trained many winners there for the Queen Mother. Jim told me recently that a former housemate, Richard Rendall, sometimes rode out at Cazalet’s yard on his way to school.

David Hawkins on the left and Jim Holland (WH 69-74) on the right

Jim also explained how he and Alastair managed to persuade the late Reverend Edward Turner, who was giving a divinity lesson, to allow them to listen to the Derby on Jim’s transistor radio. Turner also taught economics, and the pair managed to convince him that racing had real connections with economics. The year was 1971 and the brilliant Mill Reef prevailed.

Since leaving Tonbridge in 1974, I have continued to follow horse-racing and have travelled miles to do so. While some football fans aim to visit every league ground, I decided to go to every racecourse in the country (there are around 60) and completed the list almost 30 years ago.

the son of four-times Champion Jump Jockey, Josh Gifford - who took over his father’s stables and now trains at Findon near Worthing.

More recently, Edward Wray (MH 8186) has become very well-known in horse-racing circles. He co-founded Betfair, the online betting business, that in 2016 undertook a multi-billionpound merger with Flutter, the owner of the controversial Paddy Power Irish betting business. No doubt, there are other sons of Tonbridge with horseracing involvement - please forgive me if I have omitted them.

Back in the 1970s, many racecourses had poor facilities. Nowadays, most are much more attractive and comfortable. While Ascot stands out, even my local racecourse at Plumpton has improved dramatically over the years. Two of my favourites are Punchestown in Ireland and Auteuil in Paris - both have superb racing and iconic settings.

At that time, I had been to the odd racecourse in the Republic of Ireland. An aunt had recently moved to the Clonmel area, breeding some horses – that was the start of me becoming an owner. I had a share in two horses with her and travelled over regularly: we had four winners. I then decided to visit every racecourse in Ireland –there are twenty-ﬁve in the Republic and just two in Northern Ireland and vowed to write a book about it. I completed the circuit about ﬁfteen years ago and recently published a book on the twenty-seven racecourses entitled From Ballinrobe to Wexford

Alastair Down clearly ended up having a very successful career in horseracing, while Jim Holland and I have had some modest success as owners. Of other OT’s, I should mention Edward Gillespie (FH 66-69), who managed Cheltenham for some 30 years, and Nick Gifford (FH 85-90) –

Having retired three years ago, I am now spending considerable time at racecourses, not least as I currently have a share in four horses. The highlight has been Regal Flow who retired from racing three years ago and now loves to run around my aunt’s ﬁelds near Taunton. He won seven races for us including the 2018 Midlands National at Uttoxeter, worth £75,000. He was 10 lengths clear coming to the last jump - a nervous time for an owner. Like the 1851 dinner in the Rose and Crown, the celebratory champagne, provided by the course, went down well as I watched - very happily - a replay of the race!

Regal Flow

Clonmel racecourse

Saturday 10 October. Down in the car to Tonbridge. Beautiful day and a wonderful run along the Dorking, Redhill and Reigate road. There are now too many motors on the road and they all go so fast. It’s really very dangerous driving now. Arrived at about 12.30 pm and were able to go round and look at our house, 21 Lansdowne Road, and then into lunch with Sloman. Sloman in uniform with an MC. Bishop Wakeﬁeld, the late Bishop of Birmingham in khaki.

I inspected the Guard of Honour, then a short service in Chapel and there I unveiled the memorial by letting two Union Jacks fall. All the boys in uniform. I had to make them a little speech in Big School after the ceremony. Very diﬃcult speaking to boys on a solemn occasion. I just told them about the spirit which animated the men who died and that we mustn’t look upon things as all sad, because they all gave their lives willingly.’

TONBRIDGE’S VIA SACRA: ONE HUNDRED YEARS ON

David Walsh (CR 72-09) commemorates the centenary of the unveiling of the First World War Memorial in 1925.

These words were written by Major-General Sir Edmund Ironside, KCB, CMG, DSO, Commandant of the Staff College, about the day on which he unveiled the Tonbridge School War Memorial, known as ‘The Gate of Remembrance’, on 10 October 1925. Ironside (DB 1893-96) was the most senior military OT of the time. The unveiling came during a Chapel service attended by the whole school, staff, OTs and families of the dead. The Tonbridgian commented in a prophetic editorial in November 1925; ‘When the service was over, one was left only with a feeling of great pride and deep longing – pride in Our Dead and the School which made them men, and longing to be worthy, one day, to call them brothers’.

Boarding schools had a particularly intense relationship with their war dead. Tonbridge was half the size it is now, and boys spent more time here, with no half-terms or exeats, making a more closed, inward-looking community. Many boys had gone straight from school to battleﬁeld and were dead within a year. It is unsurprising that those who had known them at school felt their loss intensely. Charles Lowry, Headmaster since 1907, would have known most of the Tonbridge dead, as well as many from his previous schools, Eton and Sedbergh, more than two thousand young men, which caused his health to break down in 1917.

The ﬁrst discussions about commemorating Tonbridge’s dead were held in Skinners’ Hall as early as July 1917. As a

1925 Gate of Remembrance

result, ‘The Tonbridge School War Memorial Fund’ was set up to provide a permanent memorial at the School and education at Tonbridge for sons of OTs who had died. At further meetings, the celebrated imperial architect and OT, Herbert Baker (JH 1875) was present to outline his vision of a Memorial Cloister at the entrance to the Chapel, but his scheme was rejected by the Skinners’ Company, on grounds of expense, and it was not until 1920 that a new designer, Henry Wilson, was engaged. Herbert Baker took his War Cloister vision to Winchester College and created what is arguably the ﬁnest war memorial in the country, now Grade 1 listed.

Wilson submitted his initial design in June 1920, his estimate coming in at about £3000, less than half the cost of Baker’s cloister. In the wake of the war, arguments arose in many schools over the chicken-and-egg situation of how much money could be raised for commemoration and how most appropriately to spend it. Should the memorial be something symbolic, purely commemorating the dead, or something of tangible beneﬁt for the future, such as a new building?

At Tonbridge these debates went on for at least ﬁve years and not until early 1925 was the structural memorial ﬁnished. The total sum raised came to just over £12,000, relatively modest compared to some schools, Winchester raising over £80,000 for War Cloister, while Charterhouse collected £75,000 for their new Chapel.

Henry Wilson is regarded as one of the most versatile architectcraftsmen of the early twentieth century. Trained originally as an architect, he was drawn into design and craftsmanship, serving as President of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society from 1915-22. He designed his ‘Gate of Remembrance’ as an archway into the Nave, so that boys would walk through and remember the men it commemorated. It was a large structure, full of symbolism. He described his concept:

The Gate of Remembrance forms a Via Sacra. It appeals to sentiment and beauty, and to the imagination and reverence of those who pass through it to pray in the Chapel. The memorial has been planned to present the idea of Duty and Sacriﬁce. The bronze group standing triumphant upon the dragon is made up of St. George, a youth and two Angels, as symbolic of the conflict with evil. The youth with belted sword, to show that his warfare is over, is representative of all the youths who offered themselves so nobly in the service of their country. Above St George is the Divine Mother, typifying all the Mothers who have given their most precious possession for their country. Above the Mother is the Son descended from the Cross, opening his arms to welcome the host of youth who have passed over in the conflict..

On either side of the Gate were panels containing the names of the dead, while across the opening are the

words: ‘They gave us peace by their warfare and by their death life’. In the main School corridor photographs of the dead lined the walls, further ensuring that post-war school life would be physically and emotionally shaped by memorials to the dead. These photos have now been moved into a Memorial Book on display in the Chapel each Remembrance week. After the Second World War two stone screens were added alongside the existing Gate of Remembrance, with 301 names inscribed.

The 1988 Chapel fire was so devastating that the architect, Donald Buttress, had to design a new war memorial, using as much as could be salvaged from the wreckage. The result was in keeping with the spirit of the restoration of the whole building. The Gate of Remembrance itself no longer stood, but the bronze figures of St George and the Angels, superbly crafted by the Berbedienne Foundry in Paris, were expertly restored and guard the impressive new 1939-45 memorial tablets of names. Other parts which also survived to be used by Buttress included the figure of Christ, now set above the gates into Chapel; the fire-damaged alabaster plaque of the Divine Mother; the twelve 1914-18 name panels; and the eighteen Angels set into the new double gates into the Ante-Chapel. Thus, Wilson’s idea of a Via Sacra is preserved in a different but powerfully emotive entrance, the old components skilfully blended with the new.

The 1939-45 memorial guarded by the original bronze ﬁgures

New war memorial at entrance to Chapel

MY HOUSE –WELLDON HOUSE

Mark Allbrook (WH 68-73) recalls Welldon House in the late 60s and early 70s.

As an innocent ‘Novi’ (classical training says it should be ‘Novus’, but ….) arriving in Welldon in September 1968, my memories are somewhat selective and not necessarily historically accurate but they are nonetheless deeply embedded in the developmental psyche of my early life. My ﬁrst weekend at Tonbridge coincided with the most serious flooding of the Medway for many years. The High Street was flooded; army amphibious vehicles were deployed there, smashing many shop windows. Apparently, Michael McCrum’s wine cellar was deluged causing all the labels to float off the bottles. And as for Welldon, well, as the only subterranean House in the School, heavy rain on

Saturday night caused torrents of brown water to pour in through doors and windows. Duckboards were floating in the changing rooms and new shoes were sodden on my ﬁrst trip to Sunday morning Chapel. Quite a start! Welldonians had to go to Chapel on Sundays whereas Smythians were excused – always a source of angst! I do remember piling up the stairs from Welldon into Big School for my ﬁrst Headmaster’s Assembly which began with Michael McCrum flourishing a postcard bearing a photo of Dartmoor Prison and he thanked whichever boy present had sent it to him in the summer holidays; all it said on the reverse was: ‘Wish you were here!’

Welldon was just a series of rooms under the Memorial corridor. The Housemaster’s study was on the stairs up to the Niven Room. Down the stairs

from the corridor were: the PCR, the SCR and the JCR, two changing rooms, a shower room, drying room and that was it! Those of us who lived within the conﬁnes of the Parish of Tonbridge as dayboys, wearing our light blue and dark blue livery, were consigned to a troglodyte existence for 5 years. We even had to wear our barges as we walked to School, which caused some awkward confrontations with the local lads. Our one school meal a day was taken in the ‘Grubber’.

There were two Housemasters in my time in Welldon. The first was Gifford Wood, who taught Geography in a somewhat physical way and not the Geography either. Known to all and sundry as ‘Beak’, (his aquiline nose went before him) we tended to become expert in forging his initials on order forms when he was nowhere to be found. He was a passionate rowing coach, which made us ‘dry bobs’ difficult for him to identify with. In fact, during my time at Welldon, the sports profile of the boys transformed from oarsmen on the ‘Mudway’ to those whose sana corpora found expression and delight on the Fifty and the Head. So abject were the ball skills of the House that the Junior House Leagues Cricket team was dismissed for no score, zip, zero in the summer of 1968, just before I arrived. Smythe had batted first and scored 84 in their allocation of overs. Things picked up once the class of ‘68 arrived and Welldon won Senior House Match Cricket before I left.

1970 SHM winners: Left to Right: Howard Mackenzie (obscured), Tim Alexander, Simon Whittaker, Robin Buckland, Bobby Goodale, Peter Young, Robert Summers, Charles Stuart-Buttle, Patrick Blackford, Paddy Campbell, Peter Stuart-Buttle, Tony Buckland, me in white cricket jumper! and Ian Fuller.

Giﬀord Wood and Gilbert Hoole

Gifford Wood’s other passion was wine; I was lucky enough to join his wine tasting group and became a lifelong oenophile as a result. I shall always be grateful to him for that and when I eventually reached the giddy heights of headmastership myself, encouraged two of my colleagues to form a school wine tasting society. Gifford was succeeded by classicist John Smalman-Smith for the second half of my time in Welldon and I was his Head of House in my ﬁnal year. He also taught me Classics which I went on to teach myself later in life. Classics and Wine – those Welldon Housemasters have a lot to answer for!

Although the primacy of the Praepostors was already beginning to break down in the questioning social turmoil of the late 60s, the PCR fag still had to wash up the mugs and I had the dubious privilege of cleaning the Captain of the XV’s rugby boots for each Saturday match (5p per boot!). He was Nick Witney who went on to win a rugby ‘blue’ at Oxford – I’m not sure who cleaned his boots at Balliol! By the time that Tim Alexander, Paddy Campbell, Robin Buckland and I became Praes the regime had softened somewhat. One of Nick Witney’s fellow Praes was David Whitehouse who ended up at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. I visited him there, fell for the College and ended up becoming a Hall man myself. So a House at Tonbridge can often have a

significant impact on one’s later life. Other Welldonian memories: roll call every morning when those present whose names were called out had to answer, ‘Sum’. Mass games of ‘round the table’ ping-pong in the JCR. Punishments were ‘circuits’ of the Head. The annual torture that was the Cras when runners had to negotiate the ‘field of sods’. I recall one Junior Cras when Welldonians, Richard and David Macnamara, two of the most competitive twin brothers imaginable, were in the lead; smothered in mud and spittle, they raced each other down Martins towards the finish, eventually exchanged an exhausted look and crossed the line holding hands to win before collapsing in a heap together.

In my final year there were five sets of twins in Welldon, one pair in each year: My year: the Homewoods, then the Briggs, the Macnamaras, the Whittakers and the Powells were the Novi. Also twins Andy and Bobby Goodale were in the year above me! Musicianship never really filtered down to the basement House; however, participation in the House Shout was de rigeur and one year, in his wisdom, John Cullen, Director of Music, decided that each House would ‘sing’ a number from West Side Story. Welldon was allocated Maria, whose first line is ‘The most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard…’ This was ironically quoted by the adjudicator as he placed us last!

Although Welldon was just a basement, I recall my time there with much affection and I suppose that we had virtually all the beneﬁts of a Tonbridge education which the boarders had; in fact, the only things I didn’t do at school were prep and sleep. However, it should be noted that, when Whitworth opened, brother William transferred at once and my other brother, Johnny, chose to avoid the subterranean life as well!

Rev James Welldon (HM 1843-75)

Welldon House 1972

ANTHONY WHISHAW AT 95

James Priory (Headmaster 2019-) celebrates the life and work of Anthony Whishaw (MH 44-48), Tonbridge’s greatest living artist.

It started with the self portrait of a young man framed in a mirror: his face cast in shadow from the brim of a wide straw hat, his red shirt unbuttoned, his gaze seemingly inward and earnest.

It ended by realising that within this portrait of the artist as a young man are multiple ﬁgures: the schoolboy at thirteen who crossed the date line from Brazil to Tonbridge and discovered a love of art and the gift of a marksman’s eye; the father who retreated to rural Kent with his sculptor wife to plant a garden and create a cottage studio in which to return in his imagination to Spain; and the Fellow of the Royal Academy, until recently still to be found in the Kensington studio he had occupied for six decades where race horses and giraffes were once tethered, and where he has relished the adventure of exploration and experiment in paint which he has been following since school days.

Look at the back of one of Anthony Whishaw’s paintings and you will see that he crosses the date line continuously. Each canvas bears a record of the years in which he has revisited and reimagined what he is creating. Like his paintings, Whishaw (MH 44-48), Tonbridge’s most celebrated living artist and now 95, remains a work in active progress.

We were thrilled to stage an exhibition in Old Big School Gallery in honour of Anthony Whishaw’s work in Michaelmas Term 2021. From Tonbridge to Tate, curated by Selina Skipwith, told the story of the relationship between Whishaw’s life as an artist and his educational experience at school.

Cartoons showed Whishaw taking whimsical aim at his masters and their

foibles, ever a lover of caricature and wordplay. Early oils of Kentish hop ﬁelds and street views from his boarding house showed Whishaw inspired by his Art teacher, Hervey Adams. Bulletins reporting Whishaw’s prowess in the Shooting Club explained why bullets had literally been shot into works collaged with targets saved from school days. And a letter from Albert Rutherston, Ruskin Master of Drawing at the University of Oxford, endorsing Whishaw as an artist “of exceptional promise”, showed how he was supported with a Judde Scholarship, progressing to the Chelsea School of Art and then to the Royal College of Art from which he graduated in 1955 in the company of Frank Auerbach and Bridget Riley.

Included in that exhibition was Whishaw’s self-portrait, one of only two he has ever painted, which I had gratefully collected in a visit to his Kensington studio in the summer of 2021. Despite facemasks still being worn, I remember the delight of meeting Anthony in his studio, an exuberance of humour and colour, as he and his daughter, Zoe, introduced me to a lifetime’s work crowded on the walls, and to the space in which he and his late wife, the sculptor and teacher Jean Gibson (1935-1991), had lived and worked alongside each other for so many years.

Later that same day, I visited an exhibition, With Spain in Mind, dedicated to Whishaw’s fascination with Spanish culture and landscape at the Royal Academy where, since his election in 1980 and fellowship in 1989, he has exhibited work every year in the much-loved Summer Art Show. Anthony and his wife, who met at college, toured Spain together on a Lambretta scooter. I was fascinated,

but I could not stop thinking what I would say to the security staff if they found me walking around the exhibition with a self-portrait of the artist in a plastic bag. It was a mild relief to return to Tonbridge, the artist safely with me, peering from under his Hispanic straw hat.

Four years later and I received another invitation to visit, this time to a cottage which had provided Whishaw and his family with an escape from London in Monks Horton, a remote hamlet north of Hythe. Overlooked by Cobb Hill, the cottage lies near the ancient pilgrimage route to Canterbury. A stone beside two lime trees in the churchyard of St Peter now marks Jean Gibson’s grave.

The garden was a work of artistry in itself: cobbled pathways guarded, sentinel-like, by a marble head sculpted by Gibson; lawned rooms enclosed by hedgerows for badminton and books; vegetable gardens leading to a copse planted, painted and occasionally shot at with air pellets by

Self-portrait

Whishaw from the long window installed in his studio.

As the cottage was being prepared for sale, Zoe Whishaw had generously offered to donate items from her father’s studio which might be of interest to students at Tonbridge. Together with Fian Andrews, Head of Art, we collected Whishaw’s imposing easel; a table festooned with brushes, tools, tins and powders for creating his mixed media works; posters from his travels in Spain; a luggage case covered in labels which he and his mother had used to travel from

Brazil; and the paint-spattered cassette recorder with which he listened to classical music and jazz as he worked. We even discovered the air rifle with which Whishaw had made his mark on multiple works, inspired by an interest in spots, dots and what he once described as “searching for the centre.”

Thanks to these items, and many more besides, the Art Department has been able to create a wonderful studio installation in the Vere Hodge Centre in tribute to Whishaw’s life and work. With the support of an anonymous donor and the generosity

of the Whishaw family, we have also been able to acquire the marble head from the garden in Monks Horton, now installed in Skinners’ Library Garden, and additional works including a portrait of Whishaw’s mother, painted around the time of his first self-portrait, and one of the works inspired by his schoolboy success in the Shooting Club, Taking Aim I.

As Whishaw celebrates his 95th birthday, continuing to paint daily, I am sure that he and his family will take great pleasure from knowing that current students continue to be inspired by his creative energy and generous vision. This summer, Ben Adams (OH 20-25) received the Gilt Pen at Prize Giving on Skinners’ Day and the Whishaw Art Prize having won a place at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford where Rutherston once penned a letter in support of a young Anthony Whishaw as he embarked on a journey that has brought him and us full circle, back to Tonbridge and back to that elusive centre.

AW in his studio in Kensington

Marble head in Skinners’ Library Garden

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR

Sam Beverley (JH 17-22) spent part of his gap year walking to Istanbul. Here he recounts his amazing experiences.

On my gap year I walked to Istanbul. Completely alone over two thousand miles but for a tent, a solar panel and a spare pair of pants, I tramped my way across Europe, encountering armies, dogs, police and slightly dodgy shipping containers. I did not have much in the way of reason behind such supreme idiocy, merely the idea that I did not want to go to Southeast Asia and a determination to do “something different.” I had read Patrick Leigh Fermor’s trilogy (A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water and The Broken Road) in which he narrates his hike from the same start point in the 1930s. I decided to see if I could do the same, but quicker. So, having taken the Eurostar to Amsterdam, I arrived at my start point: Hoek van Holland.

It was lashing down with rain, and within minutes I was soaked to the bone. Completely unfazed, I marched along to my stopping point for that evening, a vineyard. With ﬁfteen miles done, aching feet, chattering teeth and completely soaked passport, phone and wallet, I was greeted by a perplexed Dutchman who pointed to a ﬁeld of vines, told me not to bother their pet pig and promptly hopped in his car and disappeared. I had a blister the size of an AA battery between my toes, it took me half an hour to put up my tent in the middle of a gale, but I had done it. I took out my pen to write in my newly acquired travel journal and spent the next hour detailing exactly how much pain I was in, where this pain was, and how excited I was for tomorrow!

The ﬁrst few days of walking were simply characterised by pain, and the

flat monotony of the Netherlands did nothing to help my sour mood. My boots were brand new, and I was pretty much exclusively walking along paved cycle paths. On the fourth day, after a mammoth 33-mile effort, I plaintively phoned up my dad and thought about coming home. It was the ﬁrst of three times where I would waver.

Soon things would change, for now I was in Germany. Being a red-blooded Englishman, brought up on a potent mixture of ‘A Bridge Too Far’ and the like, I had always viewed the place with a certain amount of suspicion. Walking through a “haunted” forest in Wesel I came across an old staging area from the war, from where recruits had been sent into battle. In this forest, long dead recruits had carved messages into the trees, with the simple FRITZ + MARIA in a heart facing me. Throughout Germany I would come across quiet war graves in every town, full of names and ages - the overwhelming majority my age. The German countryside brought history to

life: crumbling castles adorning every valley, old plague shrines, stones with the writing long since eroded. As I marched my way across the beautiful hills and plains, I relished some of the beauty I had been seeking. I absorbed myself in the sights and in the traditional architecture of the tiny villages. The war re-surfaced in Austria when I walked past Mauthausen concentration camp. That very evening in the campsite, some Germans on holiday insisted I share their ﬁre and their bolognese and most importantly their beer. Given I had had a cucumber and nine Bounties for lunch, I was not too disobliging.

By this point I was walking 25-mile days comfortably and sometimes throwing in 30+ milers. I decided to rush to the border with Slovakia for no reason at all, and would walk 36 miles to a campsite right on the border. Two non-existent bridges and a closed campsite later, it was dark and the nearest place to stay was an old Roman town on the other side of the Danube. Rather than being sensible and just pitch my tent, I decided to reach it. And so, after three more miles, I dragged myself in at midnight. The next day I had to wrestle with a choice: another thousand miles of poor decisions, or the simple phone call to my Mum who would be more than happy to arrange my return. I again made the right decision.

In Hungary, I was strolling across the countryside when guard posts started appearing and odd-looking signs. Then the ground started to have tell-tale marks of tracked vehicles, and I could hear the baying of dogs on the wind. I emerged on the other side to a sign in

three different languages: “Military Area, No Entry, Life Hazard”. Whoops.

I had my first real taste of fear in Romania. It started just before the border, when a man in a beaten-up car pulled alongside me and told me to be careful; along this stretch of border, police and illegal immigrants often had fights. He zoomed off, leaving me choking on dust. I carried on past a clearly disused border crossing, and saw in the distance a man picking up hay with a pitchfork. He had clearly clocked me, but didn’t stop from his task so I assumed all was well. As I passed, he fired out some rapid Romanian at me. I merely smiled and said no problem and carried on. His tone rose but I didn’t pay any heed, merely muttering, ‘Apologies, I am an Englishman!’. Now he was shouting. I turn and there he is, tomato red, pitchfork levelled. It transpired that I had entered Romania illegally by accident, and a policeman sent me back to the official border crossing, but that evening a Romanian gave me a double room for free in his hotel.

The other problem I faced across Romania were the dogs. The sheep dogs are bred to tear bears apart and weigh 50-65 kilos. These would appear in packs of up to six and with murder in their eyes. All I could do is do my best impression of Gandalf; frighten them by waving my staff and shout threateningly. Thankfully the shepherds were normally close by and would call off the dogs. Near towns I was not so lucky, for the strays have no-one to call them off and this can be frightening when they swarm.

The third and last time I properly wavered was also in Romania. I was walking along the Danube and was being savaged by mosquitos; my legs were black. I was ready to quit, there were far too many. Right at that moment, an old man on a bicycle blasted me with enough insect repellent to kill a small horse and motioned me to follow. We arrived at an empty ﬁeld with two shipping containers, one with showers, the other his house. Speaking through Google Translate, it became clear to

me that after I had a shower, I could go to his shipping container and watch television with him. What we were to watch, however, was rather odd, such as men squeezing their eyes to see who could ﬁre a tear out the furthest. Then he indicated that he wanted to show me a video of all the sheep he had lost. He opened his phone and proceeded to show me a page full of homosexual pornography. I stayed for ten more minutes before returning to my tent, and kept a vigil. The next day, as he walked me into town, he suddenly said, “I thought you were going to sleep with me”.

Halfway through Bulgaria I was struggling through a village when I saw a heaven-sent sign indicating a hostel was not far off. Upon my arrival, the host immediately declared that I was not to pay anything and that he would show me all the local sights. I spent two days in immense luxury: chauffeured around the local town of Gabrovo; dangling my feet in his pool; feasting on Bulgarian potatoes. Life was good. On the eve of my departure, my host suddenly told me that it was a terrible idea to carry on over the mountain as the path was rife with bears. Others in the hostel vigorously agreed with this. After I had made it quite clear that I would not be swayed, my host disappeared and returned

carrying a rifle and a kukri as protection. I did thankfully realise that these weapons might cause problems further down the road at the Turkish border crossing, where I would be interrogated by police on suspicion of terrorist intent.

Turkey flew by. As had been the trend over the trip, the people kept getting more friendly the further east I went. In Turkey this took the form of people constantly offering me a bathperhaps they were trying to tell me something. Just before I arrived in Istanbul, I was walking through a town hunting for a kebab when a child approached me on the street offering me a chilli. Clearly, he saw immense amusement ahead. What he didn’t account for was a red-blooded Englishman on the cusp of his conquest of the continent. I ate the entire bowl and requested more. His face fell. Smugly I marched onwards to Istanbul and to the steps of my ﬁnal destination, a tall thin hotel for £15 a night. The air-conditioning was not functional, the television out of order, and the loo some kind of obsidian masterpiece. That evening, I gorged myself on a kebab for two and felt very satisﬁed.

The end of my walk was as anticlimactic as the beginning. I had arrived in Istanbul and it was over. I was tired but not overly so. I am very glad I did it, for it was the most amazing experience of my life. It was the freest I have ever been and ever will be. I am particularly grateful to my parents for letting me put them through so much stress, and to the friends who got me through. I do not think I would have returned a sane man if not for Leo Black sending me pictures of sausages at every interlude, and phoning me to the point of exhaustion. The hospitality I received from strangers reminded me why I was doing this wild goose chase and showed me a new side to a part of the world the media portrays too often as evil and dangerous.

Sam with riﬂe and Kukri

CHRISTOPHER EVERETT HEADMASTER 1975-1989

The following words are adapted from what was written by Andrew Edwards (Sc 73-78 and CR 85-20) to sit below the portrait of Christopher Everett, now in the Skinners’ Library

Christopher Everett, who died on 16 November 2024, was Headmaster of Tonbridge from 1975 to 1989. He arrived at Tonbridge via Winchester, the Guards, Oxford, the Diplomatic Service (with time spent in Lebanon and Washington), and the headmastership of Worksop College. The fourteen years of his headmastership saw the further embedding of high academic standards at the School, and the steady dissemination of Tonbridge’s burgeoning reputation as one of the ﬁnest boys’ schools in the country.

He was formidably tall, formidably intelligent and unfailingly optimistic. Above all, he created a happy school: he could converse with boys about any subject under the sun, always knowing more than them of course, and he had an extraordinary power of recall. Two major developments in terms of facilities occurred at this time. The old playing fields the other side of the Hadlow Road - Baths Fields - were sold and the land between the School and the railway line was purchased from the local farmer. There was some scepticism about the quality of the soil down on the flood plain, but the Headmaster’s solution was a masterstroke. Lacking the manpower of the ‘Irish navvies’ who had helped to level the Head in 1838, he decided to line up boys and masters, hand out plenty of buckets, and ask them to sweep up and down the fields picking up all stones of any size. A few muttered of slave labour and stalags, but the operation, on the coldest day of the century, was a stunning success, and the School now had all its playing fields in a contiguous zone between the main school and the river to the south-west.

The second decision with far-reaching consequences was to move School House from its home in the main school to a new site, between Clare House and what is now Welldon, along the London Road. It seemed a shame no longer to have boys resident in the old school, but the advantages were obvious: the School House boys could be managed much more eﬀectively in their new house, and the resultant space could provide classrooms for multiple departments - History, Geography, Classics, Economics, Politics and Business Studies. It is clear now what a wise decision that was.

Not even Christopher could control the elements, however, and two dramatic events were to follow: ﬁrst, the drama of the 1987 hurricane and, secondly, on 17 September 1988 the burning down of the Chapel. As Barry Orchard writes: ‘Christopher Everett was magniﬁcent. He rallied the boys, spoke on television and showed all his powers of leadership to get the School back to normal as quickly as possible.’ His stature among his fellow Heads saw him becoming Chairman of Headmasters’ Conference Schools (HMC) in 1986 and made CBE in 1988. He resigned in 1989 to take on the role of leading the Daiwa Foundation.

Christopher remained involved in Tonbridge through the Skinners’ Company of which he became Master in 2002, and as President of the Old Tonbridgian Society from 2017-2018. His advice on all matters remained consummate.

CHRISTOPHER EVERETT

Christopher Everett died on 16 November 2024. The following eulogy was delivered at his funeral by Jonny Aisher (FH 74-79).

Christopher was a brilliant man and, perhaps unsurprisingly, he had many brilliant friends, countless brilliant colleagues and pupils and a brilliant family. But sadly none of those is stood before you today to deliver the eulogy, literally to speak well, for the person whose life and love we celebrate today.

But as an early pupil from his Tonbridge days, as a fellow member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners and as a friend of the family for the later half of his extraordinary life and someone who loved him dearly, I hope I can pull together some reﬂections that will echo in each of our hearts the personal memories that we will all be treasuring. And in doing so I would like to recognise my indebtedness to those who’ve kindly shared their own thoughts about Christopher or delivered similar tributes in recent weeks and years, particularly Noel Dobbs, Senior Past Master of the Skinners’ Company and David Tennant, for many years doyen of the Tonbridge School Common Room and Founder Chairman of the Parents Arts Society.

There is, of course, a long and impressive list of distinguished achievements which will be familiar to many of us and any one of which would have been suﬃcient for an ordinary career, but I suspect what really draws

us here today in our shared grief and gratitude is Christopher’s kindness, his charisma and his underpinning deep Christian faith. And, if I’m honest, there’s also an opportunity (for me at least) to try to put right a bit of guilt and regret: I’m probably not alone in not ever having quite managed to convey to Christopher in his lifetime just how much his friendship and guidance meant - the listening ear, the almost instant grasp of whatever the issue was, the subtle suggestion or, if appropriate, the simple and direct instruction! So I’m sure I speak for many of us in wanting Christopher’s family to know the full measure of the inspiration he has been to us, especially if at times, as is so often the case in teaching and especially in boarding schools, we might have taken priority over the family.

It’s hard to imagine Christopher as anything other than an imposing scholar, but there were apparently some early years which Alex has assured me were solidly middle class (they lived in Surrey) and remarkably uneventful (assuming we put aside a world war!). He had a younger brother and sister, his mother was something of an intellectual and his father was the local doctor, so I suspect that care for all those around him and that energising interest in everything began at an early age. And the war rationing may have been partly responsible for his remarkable lack of acquisitivenesspossessions mattered very little, people and principles were everything.

He and Billy grew up near each other and met while in their teens (at a Gin Rummy party?). They were clearly a perfect match as evidenced by Billy’s own formidable independence and clarity of thought expressed to her nanny, with a stamping of the foot: “I do not want to marry that Christopher Everett!” (“That’s all right dear,” was the wise reply, “You don’t need to and he hasn’t asked you yet.”) Luckily he did and by then she had the right answer, so they married in 1955 while he was still an undergraduate and over the next nearly seventy years the family grew from the four children to eleven grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. Billy’s loss in 2022 made those last couple of years of declining health even harder, but it was amazing to see how positive and perceptive Christopher remained throughout, with

no let up in his sense of humour. James Priory, one of his successors at Tonbridge and a faithful visitor to Tonbridge House, shared two lovely snippets of recent conversation:

C: (in his late 80s!) I am slowly but surely ceasing to be a Headmaster. J: But once a Headmaster, always a Headmaster, surely?

C: (leaning forward with a wry smile) So my children would say.

C: And how are the Common Room? Are they congenial?

J: Yes, of course, but do you have any advice on how to sustain such relationships? (A long pause)

C: Hope.

But Christopher’s career didn’t begin in schools…

He was a scholar at Winchester, and an Exhibitioner at New College, Oxford after National Service in the Grenadier Guards where he received their colours from the Queen and carried them at the Coronation, meaning Billy was also there (and the ticket still sits in one of her many marvellous scrapbooks).

In 1957 Christopher joined the Diplomatic Service, serving with distinction in the Middle East and Washington, where he was private secretary to the ambassador, and in the Planning Staff, at the heart of the formulation of foreign policy. He was almost certainly tipped for the top, and Kim Philby, before his defection to Moscow, famously described him as the cleverest man he’d ever met and proclaimed that some job that was being considered for him would be like tying a racehorse to a donkey cart. Christopher always modestly claimed he wasn’t quite sure what Philby had meant, but I hope the donkey cart wasn’t boys boarding schools, which is where he then moved in 1970, first to Worksop and after five years to Tonbridge. Charlie tells me that Christopher had always wanted to be a Headmaster, but it’s still a remarkable testament that he moved straight into the top job with no previous schoolmastering experience.

So I ﬁrst met him nearly 50 years ago where his phenomenal memory meant he very quickly knew all 620 of our names, and he got to know our parents too. He had enormous presence and

charisma - wonderfully captured in the portrait that hangs in the Skinners’ Library at the School - and his enthusiasm and personality meant he was able to recruit some outstanding staﬀ. The academic results were certainly good, but he was just as keen that the boys should be well-balanced and he promoted art, drama and music alongside sport, generously commissioning a number of works for the Choir and Orchestra. He wanted Tonbridgians to be self-assured without being arrogant, well-rounded and charming: good fun at a party and yet invaluable in a shipwreck. As it turned out, he himself provided that leadership in disaster, rallying the community when the School Chapel was devastated by ﬁre. He was made a CBE and was Chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference.

After Tonbridge he faced a quite different challenge when he was appointed in 1990 the first Director-General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundationacquiring premises, hiring staff and designing programmes, principally enabling British scholars to benefit from intense exposure to Japan. The current Director-General writes with regard to Christopher, ‘he was not only a highly effective manager, but also an unfailingly delightful man, much loved by all who worked with him’. Stepping away from Tonbridge meant he could step into the Skinners’ Company where rose quickly to become Master in 2002-03. His phenomenal work rate continued well into his 70s and 80s and now whenever the Company’s Court considers whether there should perhaps be a term limit or an age for stepping down, someone will mention Christopher and the proposal is quietly shelved. Alongside the many committees he served on, he chaired the Company’s girls’ comprehensive school in Hackney and was the driving force behind persuading Lord Adonis, then Minister of State for Education, that increased competition meant the school was ‘failing’ and should close and that the Skinners would then sponsor a new co-educational academy in the north of the borough, partly financed by Skinners from the sale of the old premises.

Christopher so impressed all with whom he had contact with that he was recruited to join the Learning Trust, which had been set up to run education in Hackney, where it had become highly politicised.

He was also a great champion of the transformational work here in Tunbridge Wells at the Skinners’ Kent Academy, where he galvanised an important body of friends and supporters. And, of course, his support for Tonbridge and those who came after him was unstinting.

As I said earlier, there is a long list of other roles he played at various times and I will doubtless have missed some out: Chairman of the Civil Service Selection boards, a member of the Home Office police, prison and fire service interview promotion boards, and of the Home Office Higher Executive promotion boards; he served as a JP in Nottinghamshire and Kent, was a Fellow and Council member of the RSA, a Council Member of the Dyslexia Institute, Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers and Honorary President of the Royal British Legion Tunbridge Wells branch. For many years he chaired the Professionals Aid Council and the Guild of Aid, small charities reaching a limited but often overlooked section of society and housed, rather appropriately, behind Oxford Street in St Christopher’s Place. Somehow, in addition to all of the above, he found the energy and time over the years to be a governor, and often chairman, of around 20 primary and secondary schools. But it was at Tonbridge that I was lucky enough to experience a year of living with the Everetts. I think my boarding house was full or perhaps I just needed special attention! There were the two bright boys, like father like son, away boarding at Winchester and two girls, a slightly terrifying prospect to this shy teenage boy. Fortunately Victoria was largely grown up and gone and Alex was kind enough not to fluster me with too much maths homework help. If Charlie was home I might be allowed to run him a bath, but Nick returning home would have been more challenging as I was in his room. When it did happen - I think the Winchester term ended early due to a severe ‘flu epidemic - I was preparing to vacate when Billy explained that wasn’t necessary as my education easily trumped Nick’s comfort and he would sleep on a z bed in the lounge!

That lounge was probably the only place I ever saw Christopher relax, and it was just once a week to watch Match of the Day late on a Saturday night, and even

then I suspect it was only so he could engage us boys in lively conversation about our favourite teams after Chapel on Sunday. Although I slept in their house, I continued to eat in my own boarding house, though I was allowed to breakfast with the Everetts on the weekend, when Billy would to show me the proper way to butter my toast, pour tea and so on. She also taught me how to write and respond to formal invitations and I practised by inviting her to breakfast in the little flat I had as Head of School; she thanked me afterwards by composing a sonnet. I probably had an inkling at the time that the Everetts weren’t a standard family, but looking back now, I can see how incredibly lucky I was. And I hope I didn’t get in the way. It was quite a large, rambling house and Christopher was usually holed up in his office. So much so that when one of Alex’s friends was staying and Christopher bumped into him in the hall, greeting him enthusiastically and asking how long he was staying, the answer was “I’ve already been here five days”.

Christopher was extraordinarily supportive and quite radical too. He had faith in me to be a very young Head of School when I stayed on a term after my Oxbridge exams, he allowed wine at my 17th birthday party in my Head of School ﬂat (“as long as Mrs Everett and I are invited”) and even gave me the opportunity - though I’m not sure I asked for it - to teach some of his fourth form Latin classes. Unthinkable in today’s more risk averse and strictly governed environment, but probably not all that normal back then either. And normal is not a word that would ever apply to Christopher. There wasn’t really time for hobbies, though he did love walking and watching ﬁlms and read prodigiously. There were family holidays in Wittering though, as Alex puts it, he didn’t always fully participate, and I think that may have been sartorially too.

I’ve nearly come to the end - the slightly terrifying point or more likely the very helpful moment in a meeting or presentation when Christopher would gently interject with a “Forgive me, I have probably completely missed the point” before deftly and succinctly identifying the key question that we had missed and often answering it too!

That intellect, that attention to detail and unwavering care for those around him earned him huge admiration and aﬀection at every stage even, or perhaps especially, in those last years in Tonbridge House where there was a wonderful and mutual warmth, love and respect between him and the team supporting him. He had an unshakable optimism about humanity and he never stopped wanting to make things better. You could talk about anything to Christopher, no subject was oﬀ limits and his views were never predictable. He may have looked like an establishment man, but he was always fun to have a conversation with.

Two ﬁnal thoughts: I was always very struck by the fact that once he and Billy had fallen in love, he wrote to her every day until they were married. And then on his last evening, as I came to join the family around his bedside and he was almost on his way, I greeted him with the famous closing phrase of Catullus’s beautiful poem at his brother’s graveside “Ave atque vale” (Hail and farewell) - and there was just a twitch of recognition, or perhaps he was trying to tell me I hadn’t quite got the pronunciation right!

How fortunate we are, Christopher’s friends and family, that his outstanding and full life had room for all of us.

CHRISTOPHER EVERETT AND THE SKINNERS’ COMPANY

Sir Jonathan Cohen (Chairman of the Governors 2007-2017) has contributed this tribute to Christopher.

The brief given to me is to write about Christopher Everett with particular regard to his promotion of education outside Tonbridge School and his work and inﬂuence within the Skinners’ Company. This restriction is necessary because Christopher’s life was so full and encompassed so many diﬀerent areas that a very much longer article would have been needed to cover all his activities. He is the only person that I have ever publicly described as a polymath, a view that was evidently shared by Kim Philby who, after meeting him in about 1960 when both were at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies, reportedly described him as the cleverest man that he had ever met.

After National Service and Oxford University, Christopher joined the Diplomatic Service where he forged the beginning of what could have been an outstanding career but instead he became the Headmaster of Worksop College before moving to Tonbridge in 1975. He was an outstanding headmaster and chaired HMC in 1986, a remarkable achievement considering his late entry into the world of education. For that work he was awarded a CBE in 1988. Upon leaving Tonbridge in 1989, he became the ﬁrst Director-General of the Daiwa Foundation, fostering AngoJapanese educational exchange. He was quickly snapped up by the Skinners’ Company to join the Livery and he became Master of the Company in 200203. He was the ﬁrst of what is still a very small number of non-Skinners who have received that accelerated promotion.

His work for the Company was unstinting and covered very many areas. At diﬀerent times, he sat on no less than 12 committees and many ad hoc groups and working parties in addition. His most lasting and challenging work was his chairmanship of the Skinners’ School for Girls in Hackney. The school was on a split site separated by a 10-minute walk, which raised many problems. Local politics had resulted in a worryingly reduced numbers of pupils. Christopher persuaded Lord Adonis, then Minister of State for Education, that the school should close

and be rebuilt on a brand-new site as a large mixed school. He steered the very complex negotiations through to completion and he so impressed all with whom he had contact that he was recruited to join the Learning Trust which had been set up to run education throughout the borough of Hackney.

Such was the demand for his leadership and personal skills that he became a governor, and often chairman, of no less than 20 secondary and primary schools. It is a mystery how he made the time to do that alongside his work for many national and local boards and committees.

I saw him as the guiding light of the Skinners’ Company. He never sought to dominate the Company’s activities in any way but he was regarded as the font of wisdom. I cannot recall an occasion when something that he disapproved of became Company policy. He sat on the Sir Andrew Judd Foundation, which holds most of the School’s assets, and he was instrumental in ensuring that the Foundation’s investments maintained their value. When I was Chairman of the Governors I made several attempts to invade the capital to avoid the school having to borrow funds for projects. On occasions Judd Foundation made loans on favourable terms to the School, but I never succeeded further than that. Christopher’s gaze was always focused on the long term.

Christopher was a towering ﬁgure. He was of course very tall but what really made him stand out was his intellect, politeness and generosity. He had time for everyone and sitting next to him at a meal was always a pleasure. After every Skinners’ Day he would write to me in his neat handwriting expressing his delight at the performance of the School and everything that was going on. He was the only member of the Court who used to do that. It was quite unnecessary but typically kind and supportive.

Christopher was a great encourager of the young. He made himself available for everyone regardless of everything else in his diary. He gave his advice freely but never pressed it upon the recipient. His very wide range of interests and knowledge made him a natural focal point for those seeking guidance. Time spent with Christopher was always time well spent.

GEORGE AUSTEN AND THE FIRST TONBRIDGE SCHOOL LIBRARY

In the 250th anniversary year of Jane Austen’s birth, Martin Cawthorne, a former Tonbridge parent and author of James Cawthorn, George Austen and the Curious Case of the Schoolboy Who Was Killed, writes about the Austen family’s association with Tonbridge School.

It is well known that Jane Austen’s father, George Austen, was a pupil at Tonbridge School, and after studying at Oxford returned as Usher, or Second Master. What is less well known is the important role Jane Austen’s father played in the development of the ﬁrst purpose-built school library at Tonbridge, the Cawthorn Library opened in 1756. George Austen would later establish his own library in the study of his rectory in Steventon in Hampshire, to the great beneﬁt of his literary inclined, youngest daughter, Jane.

The story of how George Austen helped Headmaster, James Cawthorn, realise his vision of a ‘room for books’ has unfortunately been overshadowed by much mythological schoolboy nonsense. Septimus Rivington, great nephew of one of Cawthorn’s pupils, in his History of Tonbridge School published in 1869, describes a Headmaster of ‘great strictness and severity’. Rivington has done much to influence subsequent historians of the School, but his description of Cawthorn is at odds with much of the contemporary historical evidence. This

instead describes a talented and progressive 23-year-old, who after teaching at the highly vocational Soho Academy in London became Headmaster of Tonbridge School in 1743, two years after George Austen was enrolled as a pupil.

At Tonbridge, a bright and conscientious George Austen found ‘patient discipline and sound instruction’ from a Headmaster who was quick to recognise talent and ‘ever ready to applaud merit’. James Cawthorn, conscious that his young

Blue plaque on the Cawthorn, formerly the Old Library

pupil had experienced family tragedy in his short life, losing his father when he was only six years old, took every opportunity to promote Austen’s interests with the Skinners’ Company. This support helped George Austen win a coveted scholarship, reserved for a boy from Tonbridge School to study at Oxford, where he matriculated at St. John’s College in 1747.

During the eighteenth-century printing technology developed enormously, and the price of books fell accordingly. This meant that whereas previously only schools attached to major theological institutions, such as Westminster and Winchester had the means to afford libraries, they now became more common, Eton College opening a purpose-built library in 1729. Dedicated, ‘rooms for books’ became an increasingly essential prerequisite for any school which aspired to become a destination academic institution. The capital costs of building and stocking a school library were however prohibitive, and the Worshipful Company of Skinners, who regularly found themselves subsidising an often loss-making Tonbridge School, were understandably reluctant to commit the funds required.

James Cawthorn, however, in 1755 submitted a notably different request from those of his predecessors to build a library at Tonbridge. Independently wealthy and with deep personal connections to booksellers and publishers in London, Cawthorn offered to underwrite the ﬁnancial costs from his own funds, whilst also seeking the patronage of his publishing contacts to supply books. The Skinners’

Company, although a little uneasy with this somewhat proprietorial approach by their ambitious young Headmaster, nevertheless agreed to the proposals.

Building a school library was a highly ambitious undertaking and Cawthorn recognised that he would need practical support as he embarked on such a major project. Consequently, he turned for assistance to his young protégé, George Austen.

In 1754 Austen took an extended leave of absence from his studies at Oxford to return to Tonbridge before building work began on Cawthorn’s Library. George Austen, as Cawthorn’s deputy, supported the Headmaster throughout the period during which the ﬁrst library was established at Tonbridge, and remained connected to the School until

Cawthorn’s untimely death in a riding accident in 1761.

Tonbridge School nurtured George Austen’s love of books and learning, and a young George Austen in turn repaid Tonbridge by helping to establish the ﬁrst library at the School. In later life, Austen’s daughter Jane, born at Steventon in 1775, would be the beneﬁciary of this nurturing of a love of books. When George retired and moved from Steventon to Bath, Jane Austen commented: ‘My father has got above 500 volumes in his library.’

George Austen helped to establish the ﬁrst library at Tonbridge School, and his own lovingly treasured library of books subsequently helped to nurture and develop the literary talents of one of Britain’s most much-loved authors, Jane Austen.

Ben Whitrow (Sc 50-55) as Mr Bennet with his family in Pride and Prejudice Courtesy of The Telegraph, Credit: Allstar Picture Library

FROM THE ARCHIVES

NEW ARCHIVES AND HERITAGE ROOM

The School showed its commitment to preserving its heritage by moving the archives hub to a newly refurbished space in part of the previous Masters’ Common Room. This space comprises an ofﬁce and storage space for the School Archivist, Bev Matthews, and a display area where books, documents and other objects can be viewed by members of the school community and by outsiders. As Tonbridge School moves towards 2028 and the celebration of 475 years of education on the same site, so the value of its historical collections can be more fully appreciated.

Cricket memorabilia loaned by the family of Colin Cowdrey, including his blazer worn on the 1956 tour of South Africa, bat, sweater and celebration china plate.

The oldest book in the School’s collection from the original Skinners’ Library, the 1479 Jenson Bible.

View of new Archives Room

CEREMONIAL CHAIR

This chair, which sat in the School Shop for many years and is now in the Archives Room, seems to have been used on ceremonial occasions such as Common Room photographs and Skinners’ Day. Can anyone shed further light on its origins?

NOVI HISTORY COURSE USES SCHOOL GREAT WAR ARCHIVE

David Walsh, who works as an honorary archivist at Tonbridge, has devised a module by which Novi history sets can link their study of the Great War to documents within the School’s archive. The module is based on the letters and experiences of Harold Rayner (Sc 04-09) who was killed on 1 July 1916, the ﬁrst day of the Battle of the Somme. The image above shows three of his letters to his mother in June 1916.

PRAES’ PHOTO 2001

One of the biggest banes of an archivist’s life is unnamed photos. There are many such in our collection, mainly house and team photos from the last hundred years or more. One more recent one is this Praes’ photo with Martin Hammond (Headmaster) and Nigel Lashbrook (Second Master), taken in 2001. Please can someone name all the praes in the photo above?

FREDERICK FORSYTH

The archives contain memorabilia from Frederick Forsyth (PS 52-55), the acclaimed writer of The Day of the Jackal and many other books, who died in June. His full obituary can be read in that section of the magazine, but says little about his time at Tonbridge with which he had a somewhat ambivalent relationship. He recalled his ‘contempt for harsh and arbitrary authority’ at Parkside but praised the School for the strong academic grounding it gave him. At Tonbridge, he was clearly something of a wild spirit who found it hard to be contained within the strongly rulesbased and hierarchical environment, which was true of most schools in the 1950s, but it could be argued that learning at Tonbridge the art of flexing conventional boundaries served him well in later life.

He won a scholarship to Tonbridge in Modern Languages in 1952, took his O Levels a year later and his A Levels when he was only sixteen, academic promotions common for brighter boys in those days. By the time he left in 1955 he was fluent in French and German, and had taken a Russian O Level, all great preparation for his career as a foreign

correspondent and writer. In his autobiographical memoir The Outsider, published in 2015, he wrote that ‘Tonbridge, whatever its failings, was academically excellent, and a teacher who had served on the Arctic convoys offered Russian as a third language’. When he was interviewed at Clare College, Cambridge, for what would have been a certain place to read languages, he made it clear to his interviewer that he did not want to go to Cambridge but wished to join the RAF. This decision prompted many furrowed and disappointed brows at Tonbridge and an interview between his father and Headmaster Lawrence Waddy. Forsyth wrote in his book: ‘My father spoke very briefly. He said: ‘’If my son wants to become a British ﬁghter pilot I intend to give him every

conceivable support. Good day to you.’’ I left school that December’.

This love of flying was nurtured in the Tonbridge CCF and winning an RAF flying scholarship, which gave him thirty hours of paid flying tuition at Rochester. Forsyth kept a Vespa motor-scooter hidden at Tonbridge in an allotments’ shed, using it to travel to flying school. On his ﬁrst solo flight in the 1955 summer holidays, while still a pupil, he records his delight in dive-bombing the School: ‘I approached over Martin’s. I think I was about six feet up. There was a quick blip to clear the line of elms between Le Flemings and the ﬁrst XI cricket pitch, the sacred turf of the Head…The Tiger Moth climbed the wall of the Old Big School, nearly clipped the roof,

books to an appeal for a cancer charity, along with a typewriter on which one of his books The Deceiver had been written in 1991. It is believed that the typewriter was bought by Anthony Hudson, a contemporary of Forsyth in Parkside and later President of the Old Tonbridgian Society, and that this and a letter of veriﬁcation found its way back to the School when Anthony died. Above we show a photo of the typewriter, along with the veriﬁcation letter

THE OLD TONBRIDGIAN GOLFING SOCIETY

CELEBRATES ITS CENTENARY

The OTGS was founded in 1925 with a subscription of 10 shillings for life membership. Our ﬁrst President was Maj-Gen Sir William Ironside and the principal reason for our formation was to take part in the new Halford Hewitt competition for old boys’ teams which had started during the previous year. The competition was a foursomes knockout competition for teams comprising ﬁve pairs per team. In 1925 fourteen schools entered teams and the event has now grown to 64 teams of ten which makes the competition one of golf’s largest amateur events.

We were rather unsuccessful for many years and failed to progress past the first round until 1929 despite the presence of Alec Hill who played in the 1938 Walker Cup and Frank Pennink and Guy Thompson who both played for England. It was not until 1936 that an OTGS team reached the semifinals. World War 2 intervened and we became a rather better golfing side once the Hewitt resumed its course, although very little success came our way. In 1963 Geoff Clay arrived on the scene and his Hewitt record bears witness to just what a magnificent player he was. He shares the record of individual wins in the Hewitt and also the record for the number of matches played in the event. Along with Ed Richardson he was probably the outstanding player to have played Halford Hewitt golf for Tonbridge.

However, the Halford Hewitt is but a part of what makes the OTGS such a respected and loved old boys’ golﬁng society. Richard Stocks became our Hon. Secretary in 1964 and the society provided many different events for OT golfers. We held Spring and Autumn

Meetings and played matches against a few clubs and old boys’ societies. We became a more inclusive society and OT golfers of all abilities very much enjoyed what was on offer. Richard remained as our Hon. Secretary for some 29 years and was also Captain

and later President too. His contribution was enormous and the Society is greatly indebted to him in so many ways. Tony Monteuuis followed Richard as our Hon Secretary and despite having a shorter golﬁng pedigree he broadened the scope of the

Back Row (l-r) : Tim Jenkins, Nick Kemp, John Lloyd, George Taggart, Simon Ellis Seated (l-r) : Sean Baguley, Geoﬀ Clay, Martin Yates, Peter Saggers, Blaise Craven

Halford Hewitt winning team in 1990

OTGS significantly, introducing more matches and meetings and an annual knockout competition, and by the time he stood down after 19 years in office the OTGS was widely perceived to be one of the most active and successful old boys’ golfing societies. Since then both Johnny Allbrook and Adrian Cooper have each served admirably as our Hon. Secretary for five years and we continue to flourish thanks to their efforts.

By 1980 golf had become a recognised school sport and when George Taggart, later a golfer with a magniﬁcent record in the Hewitt, arrived at Tonbridge he was allowed to forsake cricket and concentrate on golf in his ﬁrst year at the School. George was joined at school by some other talented golfers and in the ‘80s the School team won the Hill Samuel Cup for public schools with a team of Taggart, Richardson, David Wood and Simon Ellis – and also the Aer Lingus Championship with Richardson, Wood and Duncan Ellis to the fore.

With so many talented boys coming through to the OTGS we rapidly became a major force in the Hewitt and in 1990 we at long last won the Hewitt to long-overdue acclaim. The pairs in our winning team were Geoff Clay and George Taggart, Nick Kemp and John Lloyd, Blaise Craven and Tim

Jenkins, Martin Yates and Simon Ellis, and Peter Saggers and Sean Baguley. A great celebration followed with a dinner in Skinners’ Hall and the OTGS team (London buses come to mind) won the Hewitt again 8 more times between 1992 and 2016. George Taggart played in all those winning teams and has more winner’s medals than any other player in the Hewitt’s 100-year history.

Our Hewitt team is now under the enthusiastic leadership of Christo Lloyd (son of John) and he is working hard to build a new young team to ensure that Tonbridge remains a feared opponent in the years to come.

In other competitions we have had some great and some poor records. Despite winning the Grafton Morrish event in Norfolk (three foursomes pairs per school rather than five as in the Hewitt) in its first two years (1963 and ‘64) and again in 1989 we have been extremely unsuccessful in this event since then which is puzzling. However, and rather better, we have had many good results in the Darwin competitions (contested by the first 16 schools to play in the Hewitt) at Woking. The Bernard Darwin is for teams aged 55+, the Senior Darwin is

for teams aged 65+ and the Veteran Darwin for those aged 75+. Our Bernard Darwin team created a remarkable record by winning in ﬁve consecutive years (2006-10) with the same team of 6 players. The team was Geoff Clay and Tim Jenkins, Johnny Hubbard and Tony Monteuuis and with strength at the end, Martin Yates and Peter Saggers. We have also had considerable success in the Senior Darwin and last year we won the Veteran Darwin with Richard Stocks and David Evans as the winning pair in a competition where strokes are awarded for age as well as their actual handicap. Their smiles were broader than Woking’s fairways as they collected their prize.

Our membership ranges from the younger OT golfers (who beneﬁt greatly from very generous subsidies from the society) to the more senior golfers. With the large number of events available to golfers with a wide range of ability we have golf for OTs of serious ability as well as those who simply enjoy playing golf with nice people on very good golf courses. The priority is that all those who play in our events should have an enjoyable experience.

Richard Stocks and David Evans Veteran Darwin

Martin Yates, Tim Jenkins, Peter Saggers, Jonathan Hubbard, Tony Monteuuis, Geoﬀ Clay

Bernard Darwin team

Letters to the Editor

We welcome letters on any matters raised in this edition or others relating to the School or OTS tonbridgesociety@tonbridge-school.org

Dear Editor

I was flicking through the Autumn 2024 edition of the OT magazine and was somewhat taken aback to see my picture on page 47 as part of the team in the BP Buildarobot competition from 1985!

The team, from left to right, was:

Edward Wray (MH)

David McCulloch (WH)

Tim Sargeant (JH)

Paul Tollerﬁeld (WH)

From memory, I think Garﬁeld served the drinks out of a “pub” called The Boar’s Head…..

Best wishes

Ed Wray (MH 81-86)

Dear Editor

It is not usually wise to contradict a Headmaster, but I cannot allow one sentence in Mr Priory’s speech at the celebration of Whitworth House’s Jubilee to pass without correction. When he said that Mr E.E.A. Whitworth is the only Tonbridge Headmaster to have had a House named after him, he had clearly forgotten that Dr J.I. Welldon was also a Tonbridge Headmaster, as signiﬁcant in his time as Whitworth in his. One might add that, for twenty years, we had Knox House, named after no fewer than three Tonbridge Headmasters.

I was sorry to see my old friend Peter Morgan (PH 56-61) write so bitterly about the efforts (ultimately doomed of course) of Dr A.W. Bunney (CR 1941-67) to keep jazz out of the School, or more particularly out of his Music Department. It is worth remembering that Directors of Music all over the country were making the same doomed efforts: it is well known that one of these, a man twenty years younger than Dr Bunney, provoked the same resentment as Peter Morgan’s in the heart of Ken (now Lord) Clarke, at Nottingham High School. Despite what some think their shortsightedness, Directors of Music like these nonetheless inspired enormous respect and affection for the tremendous work they did in promoting classical music of all types. For some of us, Dr Bunney is one of the heroes of Tonbridge in our time.

Best wishes

Paul Thompson (WH 55-60)

Dear Editor

REFLECTIONS ON TONBRIDGE CONNECTIONS

Iimagine that like many OTs, I have spent little time looking backwards to my school days. I thought the role of school was to grow boys into conﬁdent, rounded young men, eager to move on, explore new horizons and take their next steps in life. I have only rarely returned to school – initially to play sport for the OTs against the 1st XV and to row against the 1st IV (in the days when Tonbridge rowed). I kept in touch with a small but dwindling cohort of school friends. But regular contact has only been maintained with two people: a fellow member of School House, with whom I am still climbing annually in the UK and the Alps (we have been walking and climbing together since 1973, starting on the old climbing wall and at Harrison’s Rocks); and with the late Canon Edward Turner, the former Second Chaplain (CR 69- 81), who sadly died in 2023.

Nevertheless, when I have looked back it has been with a mixture of affection and gratitude. I enjoyed my time at school and the opportunities it gave me, academically, culturally, socially and in sports. However, whilst my younger brother and I were both sons of an OT, neither of us sent our own children to Tonbridge. My son and two daughters decided that they wanted to be at the same school, nearer our home in the West Country, in particular when I was abroad. And my brother decided to send his two sons to Sevenoaks, attracted by co-education and the International Baccalaureate. In spite of this, as I reach my dotage, a series of more recent occurrences have illustrated how far the connections of Tonbridge spread, even in the rural depths of the Somerset/Devon border where I live. After over eight years of friendship with a near neighbour, a chance mention of school days to his wife led to the discovery that he and I were both OTs. Martin Jacoby (FH 52-56) has had a distinguished career as a teacher and naturalist. Possessed of a deeply enquiring mind and a sharp intellect, he continues to challenge and advocate true scholarship. We both read Zoology at University, and amongst much else that I have learnt from - or in debating with - Martin has been a new regard for the pivotal work on evolutionary genetics by

Bill Hamilton (SH 49-54). I live in a remote hamlet called Ashbrittle, which until recently had been part of the Wellington Deanery. Together with nearby Stawley, Kittisford, Greenham and Bathealton, our Parishes had been admirably ministered from 2020 until his ﬁnal retirement in 2023 by the Reverend Martin Beaumont (Chaplain 00-11) as our vicar. Sadly, Martin died last year, and I was sorry to miss his funeral and the eulogy given by Andrew Edwards (Sc 73-78, CR 85-20). Martin brought the same qualities to our rural parishes that had endeared him to generations of Tonbridgians and the Common Room, and he is deeply missed within our community.

My next connection is perhaps more tenuous. Our house sits opposite the village hall and a classic BT telephone box, the latter re-purposed as a book swap stall. Looking for something to read on a recent long flight out to Australia to visit my children, I picked up An Equal Music by Vikram Seth. To my shame, I had not previously read any of Seth’s work, nor was I aware he was an OT (Sc 6970). However, his lyrical homage to music composition and making struck a chord. It was as a member of the school choir, trips to London for concerts, house concerts, playing LPs in the old Music School - and a Jeff Beck concert at Tonbridge Castle, that I developed an eclectic love of music, ranging from Madrigals to the Blues, from bel canto to prog rock.

Finally, just over a year ago I had been invited by a retired naval friend to the annual dinner of the Exeter Flotilla, a regular gathering of retired Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Here I was coerced into singing by the President, a fellow retired Royal Marine, Colonel Ian Moore CBE, of whom I was aware but with whom I had never served. As we sang ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’ from the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta ‘The Gondoliers’, I commented that I had not sung anything like this since school. He asked where that had been; ‘School House, Tonbridge’ I replied, at which he said snap (Sc 54-58)! We had both been in the old School House, at the heart of the school, although by my time we had our own dedicated House Master, the incomparable Jack Ind. Ian was the son of an OT too, and it was with some difﬁculty that I held him back from bursting into a rendition of the school song!

Jeremy Robbins (Sc 71-75)

Dear Editor

I congratulate you on the latest edition, Autumn 2024, of the Tonbridgian.

It made such excellent reading that I couldn’t put it down! Being as old as I am, much of the content is outside my sphere, but nonetheless riveting. May I make one small suggestion, and that is the inclusion of a map, or sketch layout, of the School as it is today, as some of the places may not be familiar to us oldies. For example, mention is made of The Cawthorne, which I think used to be the library in my day - once upon a time was the chapel. Am I right?

Again, thank you.

Yours sincerely

David Dawson-Taylor (FH 47 - 52)

Dear Editor

I AM VERY SADDENED AT THE DEATH OF GEOFF ALLIBONE

“Can I borrow your dictionary Mr Allibone, I have forgotten mine”.

“Take one of your shoes off and put it in the bin Goldstein”.

“Why sir”?

“So when you limp out of my class you’ll remember to give it back to me”.

Utter genius, I have never forgotten and this was from 1978.

Outstanding teacher, housemaster and man - and this from a Hill Sider.

“Over bowled” he used to cry across the Head – the only umpire I ever knew to say that.

They don’t make them like Geoff anymore

Paul Goldstein (HS 76 - 80)

Dear Editor

Geoff Allibone, or ‘Reg’ as we loved to call him, was truly a legend. His impact upon all of us Parksiders has been, and will continue to be, lifelong. I recall how, following my disappointing A level results, Geoff nevertheless wrote me a fair and touching ﬁnal Housemaster’s Report, which showed he really understood me. His personal message relayed his faith in how my entrepreneurial skills would bring me success.

It was a compliment, yes, but also characteristically set an expectation upon my endeavour and selfregard in future that has been the backbone of my approach to business and life opportunities ever since. Lord knows how but this has led me from international mountaineering expeditions in my late 20s, cutting-edge nursing care for terminal cancer in my 30s, risky new build property development in my 40s, through to the current day in Bansko, Bulgaria, where I am living full-time and building an apartment management business in my 50s with an experienced Banskalii tourism professional.Geoff’s love of classical works, their reading aloud, and his joy gained from immersing both us and himself in their daily life - the detail, sounds, smells, morality and intellect of those ancient worlds - made him a truly inspirational teacher. Perhaps, had we paid sufﬁcient attention at the time, we’d have perceived he was also acting as our spiritual guide.

We only live this life once, and Geoff lived it well.

Yours sincerely

Giles Pittman (PS 84-89)

Dear Editor

When the sad news that Nick Lord was very poorly reached me, I pondered for a couple of days on whether or not, and even how, to write to him. I did nothing, not realising the urgency. Now it is too late and is cause for some personal distress.

As Housemaster of Ferox Hall, I asked Nick to be the living-in House Tutor in the new accommodation block. One of my best decisions: ever present, ever reliable and always genial company. He continued long past my time in the House and other Housemasters have doubtless beneﬁted from his steady hand. Nick was for me an oasis in an occasionally choppy sea of 60 boys in various stages of adolescence. He always brought calm common sense and perspective to what could, from time to time, become an inward-looking, closed society.

Although a very private person, he was always sociable and such easy company, often with a lively, impish wit. Happy on his own, no doubt engrossed by numbers, he may have seemed to the casual observer to

have been lonely. Never. Nick much enjoyed the society of others.

He had deep-seated ideas but never sought to impose them on anyone else. He was such an able and distinguished mathematician, yet it was hard to draw him out to talk about his achievements in that ﬁeld. Once, I managed to winkle out of him the disappointment of his doctoral thesis. It must have been a dreadful time for him but he just smiled in the telling of it. So typical, a balanced acceptance of the rough and smooth of life with the same good grace.

I understand that Nick was going to retire in 2024. He deserved a long and fulﬁlling retirement.

Instead, he leaves a long list of very fortunate boys who owe him so much for his patient and skilful classroom teaching. And just as long a list of colleagues and friends who will be deeply saddened by his departing. I am one of them.

Yours sincerely

Peter Commings (CR 72-00)

Dear Editor

I am deeply sorry for the loss of Nick Lord.

Mr. Lord taught me A Level Mathematics when I joined Tonbridge at Sixth Form from 2002 to 2004, where I managed to achieve an A, due to his excellent teaching. His patience, kindness, and encouragement have remained in my heart, without which I doubt I would have achieved what I did during my time at Tonbridge.

Memories of challenging Nick to random mental arithmetic problems versus the calculator and always getting the answer right—of course—triggered a delighted “Ah, goooood!" response that still brightens my day even now.

Since leaving Tonbridge, I went on to study Medicine at the University of Birmingham and have specialised in Anaesthetics, where I strive to emulate his style of teaching for the new doctors who come through my Anaesthetic room.

Yours sincerely

Dr Yu Hin Man (PS 02-04))

Dear Editor

Dr Clugston is hands down the teacher of whom I have the fondest memories throughout my entire education. I have absolutely no doubt that his brilliant and enthusiastic chemistry classes during my time at Tonbridge set me on the path I have followed to this day - still using chemistry every day in my career as a pharmaceutical patent attorney. I am grateful to have been taught by him.

I vividly remember to this day our class’ attempts to blow “Dr C” off-course with mentions of Formula One (“Sir, I think that Damon Hill is deﬁnitely the equal of Michael Schumacher. Do you agree?”) or NFL (“Sir, do you think that Jerry Rice is just a little bit overrated?”). After an occasionally lengthy aside, Dr Clugston would always successfully re-direct the class focus back to matters of chemistry, bringing everyone along with his infectious enthusiasm and passion for the subject.

Yours sincerely

Matthew Train (SH 96-01)

Dear Editor

I was really sad to read the news about Dr Clugston and Mr Lord. Looking back on my time at school, it’s unbelievable the calibre of some of the teachers we had. Being taught GCSE chemistry by Dr Clugston, who I’m sure would have held an Oxbridge professorship if he’d chosen to stay in university academia, is mind blowing, and quite frankly made the quality of teaching at university seem disappointing!

I still have very fond memories of Cluggy calling “time out” during lessons to animatedly discuss a technical detail about Formula 1 or NFL tactics!

I was always hopeful that I’d be taught maths by the legendary Mr Lord, but sadly it wasn’t to be.

Tonbridge has lost two of its brightest and best teachers this week with the deaths of Dr Clugston and Mr Lord. My thoughts and best wishes to both their families.

James Pigot (WH 05-10)

Dear Sir

It is always a pleasure to receive the OT magazine – it’s arrival on my doormat will guarantee a long pause in my daily routine as I flick through the pages and catch up on news.

The Autumn 2024 edition was no different, but I am deeply saddened to read of the deaths of some of my teachers that moulded my life at school. I’d like to share some of my recollections.

I recall that Geoff Allibone sometimes taught me Latin in my Novi year for about as long as either of us could tolerate – it was never my strongest subject and, although he encouraged us all to continue with our studies, I believe we both knew, deep down, that it was not for me.

Mike Clugston tauaght me A-level Chemistry and here is a man that I will never forget. “Cluggy” (as he was known in the boys’ circles) was the best Chemistry teacher I could have asked for. His enthusiasm for the topic was beyond infectious and I credit him with my continued interested in science, technology, and all things nerdy! We both shared a love of motorsport, which came to the fore in the classroom. One of our regular lessons spanned the Friday afternoon slot and often my fellow classmates would suggest I get Cluggy onto motorsport as soon as we got into the class – we were all tired at the end of the week and sometimes learning was too much to ask of us teenage boys. It was never a problem, I would simply start by asking what the greatest moment in Formula One was that Mike had witnessed (he would always respond with Niki Lauder’s overtaking manoeuvre at the 1974 Brands Hatch Grand Prix). We would emerge an hour or so later without any chemistry having been spoken about. Some boys (Mike Osborn, it was you) would even manage a quiet snooze! Cluggy was our friend and mentor, and it always felt like he really understood us –he had our backs.

Mike also inspired me to continue with my involvement in motorsport and I was a regular at Brands Hatch, working there as a marshal. It was here that another unforgettable moment happened, several years after I had left Tonbridge. A British Touring Car event was on, and I was located to monitor an area of track at the back of the grid, near the pit entrance. It was during the grid walk prior to the race that I spied Cluggy with a group of boys. I immediately introduced myself and to my great surprise Mike leapt from under the bonnet and greeted me with a magniﬁcent smile and his usual energy. There I was in my orange overalls, looking the part, getting introduced to bunch of boys from Tonbridge on a weekend outing to see the Vauxhalls. I wondered if the tactics to dodge an afternoon of chemistry lessons had evolved into a day at the races! Mike saw an instant opportunity for me to give an impromptu 10-minute lecture to the boys on the safety aspects of motorsport and the role played by volunteer marshals like me.

God bless you, Mike. I loved your lessons and your endless enthusiasm, and I still have my signed copy of your textbook somewhere in the house. Nick Lord was also responsible for me passing Maths A level, as well as being a very kind house tutor in my early days in School House. I was one of those Novi that had the delight of being “taught” cricket in his U14 side. Cricket with Mr Lord was a real treat, and he made us all feel special despite our obvious lack of ability. His classes were always great fun and he sparked in me a certain joy in the beauty of mathematics, which lives on to this day. The photo in the magazine does indeed show that jacket, shirt and tie combo that became his trademark attire. Thank you for such happy memories and God bless you Nick.

Best Wishes

Charles Clark (Sc 84-89)

FROM TONBRIDGE TO THE SPICE PORTS

Nicholas Nugent (FH 63-67) recalls how a love of history instilled at Tonbridge, and a working career in Asia, led him in his retirement to research and write The Spice Ports

My book The Spice Ports owes much to a career spent working in Asia, but some seeds of the idea were sown during my time at Tonbridge. I studied English, History and Economics for ‘A’ levels then stayed on an extra term to take the Cambridge Entrance Exam as was usual at that time. Geoffrey Parker, who taught me European history, was kind enough to give me extra coaching during the summer holidays, evidently thinking I was scholarship material. I did not get a scholarship but did get a place at Queens’ College, Cambridge. I have no doubt that a recommendation from my Housemaster at Ferox, Mike Bushby, himself a Queens’ man, played a role as well. As important as helping me gain a place at Cambridge, Geoffrey Parker instilled in me a deep interest in European history that has stayed with me and lies behind my hesitant claim with this book to regard myself as an historian.

After school I took a short-term volunteer post at Doon School in northern India whose then Headmaster, Chris Miller, was himself an OT. One of my pupils, Vikram Seth, went on to study at Tonbridge on his way to becoming a distinguished novelist. Later that gap year I spent time in hospital in Delhi recovering from hepatitis, which gave me a chance to educate myself on Indian history by reading among other books Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India

When I graduated from Cambridge in 1971, graduates could no longer count on ﬁnding jobs so I decided to defer the process and took up a second voluntary post overseas as a logistics ofﬁcer in Indonesia with the United

Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF. It was routine for us volunteers, after learning the Indonesian language, to be sent ‘to the provinces’ and in my case I was posted to the island of Sulawesi (which features as Celebes in the novels of Joseph Conrad) with a brief that covered the fabled Spice Islands.

It was there that the idea for The Spice Ports was born. I planned to tell the remarkable story of how European yearning for oriental spices, especially clove, nutmeg and mace, led to the development of ships that could sail across oceans, of navigational instruments and of the maps and charts without which pioneering sailors would never have found their way to islands as remote as the Bandas or Ternate and Tidore in the Moluccas. In the 16th Century these and surrounding islands were the only places in the world where those spices grew.

Just as intriguing was how traders from Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and England fought each other for access to these spices, demonstrating how control of the source enabled the country which held it to charge high prices in Europe for these highly valued commodities. The power of the monopoly was so great that the infant Dutch republic surrendered the island of Manhattan to the English in a deal to preserve their monopoly control of nutmeg from the Spice Islands. At times it is an ugly story featuring slavery and brutality and greed involved in the colonisation of other people’s lands, but it is also an important story.

I went on to have an Asia-focused career at the BBC World Service, working with teams producing programmes in the languages of the continent from Persian to Japanese. I spent time as the BBC correspondent for Southeast Asia in Singapore and South Asia Correspondent based in Delhi and authored books on Asian subjects.

When I retired from the BBC I started work in earnest on The Spice Ports, which I describe as a geographical history. It depends on European history taught me at school as well as Asian history, which I taught myself. I started collecting antique maps to enable me to understand what little geographical information pioneer explorer-traders like Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus and Francis Drake had to go on. My maps supplemented by images from the British Library’s archive illustrate the book throughout.

Which reminds me to credit another revered Tonbridge teacher : Geoff Allibone. He never taught me Latin (at which I was useless!) but I met him at an OT cricket match and he agreed to translate some of the inscriptions on 16th and 17th maps which gave me a boost in my research. The Spice Ports, Mapping the Origins of Global Sea Trade, is now published by the British Library in a beautiful edition with nautical overtones, and by Brandeis University Press in the US. I am sorry that neither Geoff lived to see to what each in their different ways had contributed.

120-Venice BH 1572 ex Altea

OT EVENTS

OT Dinner in The Long Room, Lord’s Cricket Ground

10 October 2024

Alex Glaister, Charlie Adam, Olly Turner, Michael Cotter, Sam Colley, James Mitchell, Seb Herran, Nico Bryan, David Wilkinson

Peter Hamilton and Peter Grimsditch

Peter Pragnell, Peter Dodge, Aidan McCabe, Mark Nieman, Rory Love

Toby Pettman, Julian O'Riordan, Ben Earl, Marcus O'Riordan

Charles Bretton, Charlie Davies, Gerald Corbett, Trevor Rudd

Richard Burnett, Felix Antelme, Lawrence Tan, Will Morris, Fred Johnson, Adam Rochussen

Dan Howlett, Harry Marshall, Ben Robinson, Ben Wildblood, Benny Smallwood, Tom Tribe, Freddie Geﬀen, Marc Purves, James Pollington, Sam Gilliland

Simon Lee, Paddy Butler, Joﬀy Sale

OT Summer Lunch at The Mercer, London

5 June 2025

OT Dinner USA at Knickerbocker Club, New York 22 October 2024

Anthony Fincham, Sherard Cowper-Coles, James Priory, Gerald Corbett

Ian Bradley, John West

View of the room

Ian Hooper, James Priory, Anthony Davis

Nico Riordan, Luke Riordan, Ary Sahni, Gabriel Riordan, Ignacio Jayanti, Charles Doubleday-Potts

OT Drinks in New York 08 May 2025

Edward Moore, Brigadier Anthony Vivian, Richard Dalzel, Danby Bloch

Table of OTs from the 1980’s

OTs who attended included (from left to right in photo) Nick Denton Clark , Will Adams , Ignacio Jayanti, Alastair Maclay, Nick Bellamy, Christian Haigh , Joseph Li, Nico Riordan, Luc Riodan, Anthony Davis, Matt Seaton. Also in attendance was Charlie Myers.

Philip Keevil, Peter Keevil, Todd Gillespie

OT Events in Hong Kong

Tonbridge and Benenden Alumni Drinks at The Hong Kong Club

OT Undergraduates Drinks

Dinner and Horse Racing

Alex Cheuk, Martin Clintch, Michael Lee, Anthony Chung Nigel Reid and Brian Pang

Recent Leavers

Austin Chu, Marwick Hui, Harrison Tsoi, Alex Cheuk, William Chan , Clayton Tse ,Wesley Mok – all School House

(l to r) Neil Taylor, Andrew Scheiner, George Cottle, Micky Thomas

(l to r) Nikolai Ahrens, James Morton, Stephen Pilnik, Aidan McCabe, Nicholas Denny, Mark Summers, Nick Sloane, Evgeny Kudinov

(l to r) Nigel Reid, Michael Attwood, Tony Nichols, Vikram Patel, Vincent Chau, Gareth Reid

Jean-Baptiste Defour Giles Bateman Jose Peran, Simon Owen Alexander Summerﬁeld Dominique Legrand

OT Pastoral Outreach at Universities

University of Edinburgh

28 October 2024

Universities of Leeds, York and Shefﬁeld

30 October 2024

University of St Andrews

29 October 2024

OT Carol Service, St Giles in the Fields, London

2 December 2024

(from l-r): Ian Parsons, William Winter, Ian Taylor, John Crisp, James Simeons, Lawrence Cavill Grant, Peter Anscomb, Anthony Pak

(from l-r): Brian Anderson Rupert Short Jeremy Harmer Julian Bacon Stephen Edlmann

Five Year Reunion for 2019 Leavers in London

6 February 2025

Charlie Cocke, James Fisher, Ollie Jeremy, Jack Dalton

Toby Sampson, Jack Hough, Rufus Pullen, Barney Toomer, Jack Kerrigan

Will Biddle, Max Behling, JB Defour, Josh Endenburg, Matt Oster

Ten Year Reunion for 2014 Leavers in London

11 February 2025

Fifteen and Twenty Year Reunion for 2004 and 2009 Leavers in London

27 February 2025

Laurence Turlej, Will Morgan, Paddy Holland, Will Biddle, Will Lynn, Donal Hickey, James Johnstone, Chris McKenzie

George Moss, John Bleakley, Ed Kevis

10 Year Leavers with John Bleakley and Will Biddle

OT SPORT

OT CRICKET CLUB

OTCC has enjoyed a busy summer with a lengthy run in the Cricketer Cup, as well as the addition of ﬁxtures outside the Cricketer Cup.

OTCC VS SHERBORNE PILGRIMS

OTCC’s season began with a fixture against the School 1st XI on the Saturday of Easter weekend. OTCC posted 314-8 from 50 overs, with Ed Owen-Browne scoring 99 and Will Nolan with 86. The School were then bowled out for 261 with two wickets each for Tom and James Pollington. OTCC also hosted Eton Ramblers in a friendly fixture on The Head in June. Eton were bowled out for 260, with three wickets for Ali Owen-Browne and two each for Will Tyler and Joe Shamash. OTCC were always in the chase, but fell 26 runs short despite decent knocks from Hugh Howard (37) and Mike Nolan (33). Four days later, OTCC locked horns with Sherborne Pilgrims at Trinity Fields in Wandsworth – this was the second edition of the fixture following last year’s game. Batting first, OTCC posted 168-7 from 17 overs with 50 retired from Tom Nicholls and 45 not out from Ed Hyde. Sherborne fell short of OTCC’s total, with Hugo Pettman being the pick of the bowlers and Matt Rowe taking a spectacular catch in his first game of cricket since leaving Tonbridge in 2016.

HALL OF FAME PIONEERS

Two Old Tonbridgians, Colin Cowdrey and Nicholas Heroys, were recently inducted into the Cricketer Cup Hall of Fame for the 1967-1979 era. See below for the words used at the awards ceremony about both Colin and Nicholas:

Colin Cowdrey - “Our third inductee is proof of the attraction of the Cricketer Cup in this era to the greats of the game, even when they were still playing county and Test cricket. He played 19 times for Old Tonbridgians between 1972 and 1978, scoring 795 runs at an average of 44, with one hundred and seven ﬁfties, and played in two winning ﬁnals in 1972 and 1976”.

Nicholas Heroys - “Our next inductee would have a good claim to captaining this Pioneers side, as he captained his club, Old Tonbridgians, in four winning ﬁnals. He played 45 CC games between 1967 and 1981, taking 90 wickets at only 13, with a best of 7-28, as well as scoring over 700 runs”.

2026 SEASON

Thank you to all those OTs who have played for OTCC throughout the season. We are looking to expand our non-Cricketer Cup ﬁxture list – please do get in touch if you have any ﬁxture ideas. To keep in touch with OTCC news, please sign up to our page on Tonbridge Connect and/or follow our Instagram page ‘oldtonbridgiancricketclub’

OT Cricket contact Ed Hyde (FH 11-16), Hon Sec OTCC bighyde@hotmail.co.uk

Top (left to right): Matt Rowe, Will Martin, Hugo Pettman, Harry Dix-Perkin, Tom Nicholls

Bottom (left to right): Dilip Varma, Ed Hyde, Eddy Gray, Joe Baldwin, Hugh Howard

CRICKETER CUP REVIEW

OTCC VS OLD MILLFIELDIANS

In the Cricketer Cup, OTCC had a fixture in the byeround for the first time in recent years. Uppingham Rovers travelled to The Head. Freddie Geffen top scored with 95 to ensure that a tricky fixture was negotiated with a winning margin of 82 runs. Old Brightonians were up next on The Head in Round 1. OTCC looked to have posted a below par total of 186, however OTCC took Brighton’s final six wickets for 14 runs (a recurring theme throughout the campaign) to win by 98 runs.

A Cricketer Cup crunch ﬁxture was up next in Round 2 as OTCC travelled to Malvern – the two most successful sides who have been in the competition since its outset. Again, OTCC batted ﬁrst and set what seemed to be a below par score of 206, despite 54 from Ben Robinson and 36* from Will Roxburgh on debut. Old Malvernians were cruising to victory at 106-1 from 24 overs, however OTCC’s bowlers had other ideas.

Some tight bowling meant that the match went down to the ﬁnal ball with Old Malvernians needing 4 to win. Will Nolan kept his nerve with the ball and had the Malvern batsman caught at short third man to end a thrilling contest.

The away days kept coming with Repton Pilgrims up in the Quarter Finals. Repton won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny day in Derbyshire. After 41 overs, Repton were 217-2, however OTCC went on to take 8 wickets for 9 runs in 5 overs to bowl Repton out for 226 in 46.3 overs. Sam Hadﬁeld (4-29) and Marcus O’Riordan (3-48) were the pick of the bowlers.

In reply, OTCC lost two early wickets, however a stand of 111 between Marcus O’Riordan (48) and Will Nolan (68) steadied the ship. Hadfield (33) and Bevan-Thomas (42*) then saw OTCC home. OTCC returned to familiar territory in the semi-finals with Old Millfieldians travelling from the west country. OTCC posted 223-9 from 50 overs. Another below par total?

There was no need to worry, as OTCC’s spinners took 8 wickets to suffocate the Millﬁeld inningsSam Hadﬁeld (4-40), Tom Coldman (3-32) and Ant Bissett (1-35). OTCC eventually winning by 23 runs.

Top (left to right): Anthony Bissett, Toby Pettman, Hugo Snape, Tom Coldman, Sam Hadﬁeld Bottom (left to right): Ed Hyde, Freddie Geﬀen, Joe Baldwin, Will Nolan, Ollie Morgan, Harry Bevan-Thomas

CRICKETER CUP FINAL 2025

Old Tonbridgians

288-6 (50 overs) lost to Old Bedfordians 291-8 (49 overs)

The OTs reached the Cricketer Cup Final for the third year running but again could not cross the line. This was a very close match against old rivals Old Bedfordians who won the Cup for the first time. The aggregate of 579 runs is the largest in any final in the Cup’s 58-year history. Three OTs made scores over 50 in their total of 288-6 on a glorious day in the incomparable setting of Arundel Castle – Harry Bevan Thomas 71, Ant Bissett 60 not out and Freddie Geffen 58. In reply Bedford were in control at 191-2, with 23 overs to go, but three wickets for Tom Coldman, and two for Sam Hadfield, who also made a brilliant running catch, as well as a brilliant legside stumping by Ed Hyde, pegged them back to 246-8. A gripping finale ensued with spectators on the edge of their seats as Bedford inched their way towards their target, finally winning with six balls to spare. James Priory accepted the commiserations of James Hodgson, the Bedford Headmaster, who was once Housemaster of Manor and master-in-charge of Tonbridge cricket. The cup and individual prizes were presented by Paul Shea (PS 87-92) who is the founder and managing partner of Beechbrook Capital, the new sponsors, and by former Sussex captain Johnny Barclay, now President of the Cricketer Cup. Both men could reflect on a competition in great health, for the passion both sides brought to the game was testimony to how much they cared about the competition (and the OTs remain top of the Cricketer Cup Merit Table 1967-2025!)

OTCC XI at 2025 final. Back row from left - Ed Hyde, Ollie Morgan, Harry Bevan-Thomas, Will Nolan, Ant Bissett, Sam Hadfield, Freddie Geffen. Front row (from left) - Joe Baldwin, Tom Coldman, Hugo Snape, Toby Pettman, Ben Robinson

Sam Hadﬁeld makes brilliant catch

Harry Bevan-Thomas top scores with 71

Ed Hyde brings oﬀ brilliant stumping

Will Nolan celebrates a wicket

James Hodgson (right)

Photos by permission of the Cricketer Cup

OT FOOTBALL

After promotion back to the Premier Division last year, the 1st XI returned to where they belong this season, but as is often the case, adjusting to life among the top teams was no easy task. The ﬁrst half of the campaign proved challenging, with the side struggling to ﬁnd their feet against some of the strongest opposition in the division. However, after Christmas the team built real momentum and began to show their quality.

Notable wins included a superb 5-2 home victory over Old Johnians, a hard-fought 2-1 away win at KCS Old Boys - secured by a dramatic lastminute winner from Kieran Bailey - and an emphatic 4-1 performance away at Old Bradﬁeldians on the ﬁnal day, which ensured Premier Division safety on goal difference. In fact, by the end of the season, the team topped the division’s form chart - a fantastic base to build on for next year.

In the Arthur Dunn Cup, the 1st XI received a first-round bye and then secured a solid 2-1 win in the second round. The quarter-final brought a mouthwatering home tie against rivals Old Alleynians at Tonbridge, in front of a strong crowd. The match started perfectly when Mike Scott stunned everyone with a sensational strike from 40 yards on the byline inside three minutes. Moments later, Kieran Bailey slipped Olly Turner through to deftly chip the keeper, before Harry Balcombe made it three inside the first 10 minutes with a towering header from a

corner. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to beafter 80 minutes of relentless Dulwich pressure, Old Alleynians mounted a comeback and won 4-3 with the ﬁnal kick of the game.

The 2nd XI enjoyed a dominant league campaign from start to ﬁnish, storming to the Division 4 title by an impressive eight points. Winning 13 of their 16 league games and conceding just 15 goals all season, they set the standard throughout. With such a clear focus on the league, a repeat of last season’s deep cup run proved elusive - but the success of the league campaign more than made up for it.

It was also Sam Colley’s ﬁrst year as captain of the Vets, and he led the side to an excellent season, culminating in reaching the Plate Final. Though they were narrowly beaten on penalties, it was a strong showing and a hugely encouraging year for the Vets’ group.

Off the pitch, the club continues to thrive. This year we were the most represented club at the League Awards Dinner - a fantastic sign of the Club’s spirit and growth. On the night we proudly collected the Division 4 Cup, the Fair Play Award, and Sam Colley deservedly picked up the Referee’s Player of the Year award.

It has been another successful and positive year for the Club - none of which would have been possible without the work of many behind the scenes. Particular thanks go to Michael Cotter, Sam Colley, Alex Glaister, David Wilkinson, Hal Dewdney, Jack Oatley, and as ever, our Club Chairman James Mitchell.

OT Football contact Olly Turner (OH 12-17) Club Captain turnerolly@gmail.com

Top: Gordon Rieck, Tom Tribe, Angus Balfour, Felix Saro-Wiwa, Olly Turner, Jamie Lavers, Seb Herran, Paul Lewis, Jamie Monkhouse

Bottom: Henry Weston, Kieran Bailey, Mike Scott, Harry Balcombe, David Wilkinson, Byron Doughty, Alex Holder

OT GOLFING SOCIETY

2025 is the OTGS’s Centenary, so it is a special year for the Society.

In addition to our usual meetings and matches this year, to mark our Centenary we held our threeday Spring Meeting at Royal St. George’s and Royal Cinque Ports rather later in the spring than usual, in the hope of good weather; an extra and special Centenary Meeting at Walton Heath Golf Club in June; and will be holding a black tie Centenary dinner in London on 11 September.

The decision to delay the Centenary Spring Meeting to early May was fully vindicated, as glorious weather was experienced throughout and the meeting was both fully subscribed and greatly enjoyed by those taking part.

At the AGM during the meeting, retiring Captain William Marle (Sc 71-76) passed on the Captaincy of the Society to Jim Baird (MH 87-92). One of Jim’s initial duties was to present the trophy to the winner of the handicap singles in the main event – Robert Quantrell (91-96):

Centenary Captain Jim Baird presenting the Field Cup to winner Robert Quantrell

Prior to that, in the Halford Hewitt tournament in April, we were faced with an exceptionally difficult draw, but our first team sadly were unable, just (the deciding match went to the second extra hole) to overcome Epsom in the first round. It was, however, good to have two young first-time players in the team – Tom Bushell (JH 10-15) and Ed Greenslade (OH 19-24).

Dinner guests at Centenary Spring Meeting

Our other representative teams in the summer events at Woking – the Bernard Darwin Trophy (for over 55s) and the Senior Darwin Trophy (for over 65s) each got through their ﬁrst rounds but, not being at full strength, were unable to progress to the semiﬁnals. We wish our Grafton Morrish team well in that competition in September.

In May, our annual match against the School took place at The Wildernesse Club. The combination of youth and strength usually prevails over experience and guile in this match, and so it was again this year, with the School winning by the narrow margin of 3-2. John Emms (Sc 66-71) kindly attended to present the Chris Emms Trophy (played for in this match in memory of his late brother), and he awarded it to the Captain of the School Team, Bertie Deen (Sc 20-25) (whose immense hitting was a wonder to watch): In addition to the above, our usual list of friendly matches has been

held against a number of clubs and other schools’ golﬁng societies. Most popular is our match in the Three Schools Challenge - a triangular contest against the Old Salopians and the Old Alleynians at Tandridge GC in April. With the expertise in particular of the pairing of David Golding-Wood (PS 69-74) and Mark Fleming (MH 74-78), we secured victory for the Tonbridge team.

Another highlight of this Centenary year has been the extra and special meeting at Walton Heath Golf Club in late June. Ably organised and made possible by Ed Higgs (FH 87-92) and other OT/Walton Heath members, a large turnout enjoyed the opportunity to play at this splendid venue on exceptional terms. The day was blessed by beautiful weather, a wide range of age groups playing, and pleasingly a number of new members to OTGS events participating. The main event was won by immediate past Captain William Marle.

We have over 350 members of the OTGS, with a wide range of ages, golﬁng abilities and located throughout the British Isles, but we are always keen to hear from other OTs who play golf and would like to add some friendly, society golf to their other golﬁng activities. Anyone interested should go on to the OTGS website - www.otgs.org.uk - to see what the OTGS has to offer, and complete the simple form under ‘How to Join’. It is not just for lower handicap players by any means, and new members are always made most welcome.

OTGS contact Adrian Cooper (FH 66-71) Hon. Secretary – OTGS art.cooper@btinternet.com

Bertie Dean, Captain of the winning School team, having received the Chris Emms Trophy, with John Emms and OTGS President, Tony Monteuuis in the background

Ed Higgs, Dominic Rapicano and Benjamin Brenton at Walton Heath for the Special Centenary Meeting in June.

William Marle receiving his winnings from Captain Jim Baird at the Special Centenary Meeting at Walton Heath in June.

OT SAILING

Generations’

21 September 2024

OT Sailing Contact

Nick Pointon (WH 84-89) nick@pointon.net

On a glorious September day with plenty of sunshine and warm breeze, our annual Nick Turner Generations’ Cup was contested. We were treated to a competitive complement of OT sailors, including Artem Vasenin, Ed Coates, Will Arndt, David Jackson, Alex Barone, and Nick Pointon. Our Tonbridge 1st team was under no illusion that this would be yet again a tough year to contest the cup. Following some informal practice races and long overdue catch-up conversations, the teams were selected to compete for the cup. Despite the ﬁeld of excellent OT sailors, our current boys put in a good showing, being in strong positions at times whilst racing. The OTs quickly got to grips with the Firefly again, putting with some effortless and damaging conversions, much to the delight of the spectators. After some closely fought races, the OTs cleaned up with a 2 – 0 win. It was great to see many of our more recent OTs back at Bough Beech, and we were delighted to hear of the various sailing successes they have achieved since leaving Tonbridge.

5-6 October 2024

Having won the Fairview Fleet in 2023, the Tonbridge boat was promoted back to the Sunsail Fleet (our rightful home we feel). We were delighted that the crew this year contained some younger OTs who are new to the Arrow Trophy, furthering the OTSA’s mission to broaden access and provides younger OTs with subsidised opportunities to take part in yacht racing.

The team comprised Alistair Impey (OTSA secretary) on helm, with Ed Males as navigator and tactician. Alex Masters, Artem Vasenin and Nick Pointon were in the cockpit, and Max Aylmer assisted by our 2 ringers, Jacques Miller and Max Waller, formed the youthful (and crack) bow team.

Saturday’s fleet racing started well with a 4th place ﬁnish in the ﬁrst race, which put us in contention for Sunday’s match racing (the top four boats qualify). However, in spite of some excellent work from the helm, tactician and crew we were unable to maintain this position coming 6th, 7th and 5th (out of 10) in the subsequent closely-fought races. In an attempt to jolly our spirits, Artem inadvertently

Nick Turner

Cup

Jonny Moss (CR 13 – present day)

Arrow Trophy

Artem Vasenin

Oscar Wright - Buz Oﬀ

inflated his life vest leaving him trapped on the rail.

On Sunday, with the top four boats off competing in match racing, we were hopeful that the Tonbridge boat would do well in the fleet racing. We made a bright start in the 1st race rounding the final windward mark in 1st place, but unfortunately the wind gods did not favour our downwind leg and we were overtaken by Marlborough to finish 2nd. In the 2nd, and final, race we were perfectly set up for a competitive start, expertly shutting all the other boats out at the committee boat end of the line; but sadly the Uppingham boat had a different plan and collided with us shortly before the start. Although the damage to our boat was only superficial and not our fault, the racing rules meant that we were obliged to retire from the 2nd race and we recorded a ‘Did Not Finish’.

In spite of our retirement, overall, Tonbridge came 2nd in the Sunsail Fleet - a great result - and because the 1st place boat was excluded from silverware for having too many ringers, Tonbridge won the Charterhouse Bowl, which will be presented later this month.

As ever, it was an excellent weekend, with good company, dry and sunny conditions and fair winds. Richard (MH 66-71) & Ursula Hollis provided a wonderful and convivial dinner on Friday night at their house in Cowes, and B&B for those not sleeping on the boat. And the Arrow Trophy dinner on Saturday night was held once more in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s premises in Cowes, which are newly refurbished and look sparkling.

Many thanks to everyone who took part and many congratulations to the whole team for a great weekend’s sailing.

Miller

Artem Vasenin

Max Aylmer

Round The Island Race

7 June 2025

With a day to go before we set sail for Cowes and the 2025 Round the Island Race, the weather forecast was looking extremely unpromising. Gale force 8 south-westerlies were predicted gusting up to 39 knots along with heavy rain and lightning. These winds, along with 2 knots of contrary tide, would be right on the nose for the initial leg from Cowes to the Needles, making challenging conditions right from the start.

With the events of the 2024 RTI race fresh in our minds - the conditions were similarly bad and the OTSA boat ended up ripping a sail and retiring not long into the race - we discussed our options and decided to withdraw our entry, with the promise that we’ll reenter in 2026. So our entry was unsuccessful for the 2nd year in a row.

In the end, the much-promised gale didn’t arrive and the weather was a relatively benign 13 knots much to our frustration. In another boat, the Maxi 1300 called Buz Off, Oscar Wright had an excellent race with the weather holding up and close racing all-round the track, ﬁnishing 4th in ISC 4B. Well done, Oscar and team!

Meanwhile we have our ﬁngers crossed for 2026. 3rd time lucky.

Nick Pointon (WH 84-89)

The Old Tonbridgian Sailing Association exists to encourage and foster the enjoyment of both competitive and leisure sailing amongst Old Tonbridgians. We provide subsidised opportunities for younger OTs to gain experience in sailing and racing on larger yachts, which might otherwise be too expensive.

If you would like to join us, and we hope you will, or would like further information, please contact Nick Pointon (WH 84-89) or subscribe to the OTSA updates on Tonbridge Connect.

Nick Pointon (WH 84-89) Nick Pointon

Arrow Trophy Artem’s Lifevest

OT SQUASH

The Old Tonbridgian Squash Club celebrate another successful 2024/2025 season. This year saw the welcome return of the John Lewis Partnership to the calendar along with two ﬁxtures back at Tonbridge with Old Tonbridgians taking on current boys.

As always, the Old Salopians brought their competitive edge to the courts at Southbank and Lords, while The Wine Trade ensured post-match celebrations were as memorable as the games themselves with a delightful wine tasting.

We are always keen to welcome new recruits of any ability, and it has been fantastic to see fresh faces bringing energy and enthusiasm to the club this season.

Whether you’re a squash novice relying on beginner’s luck or a seasoned player with a deft touch, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to Alex Mount or Ollie Marsh (details below) to get involved.

The photograph above is the Old Tonbridgians v Tonbridge. Good to see some future OT squash players in the making.

OT Squash contacts Alex Mount (PS 05-10) alexanderspencer.mount@gmail.com

Ollie Marsh (JH 05-10) oliver.marsh1992@gmail.com

Tonbridge at the front - Left to right, Ben Brownsdon, Tristan Cubillo, Maxwell Barton and Charlie OTs at the back - Left to right, Alex Melkonian, Alastair Mavor, Alex Mount, Ollie Marsh, Sachin Rawson

OT SHOOTING

Truth be told, it isn’t really about the shooting, even though the Old Tonbridgian Riﬂe Club takes its shooting seriously. As is probably the case with all OT societies, sporting or otherwise, it’s about the intangibles that make life better.

For us it’s the opportunity simply to be with others, clustering around a common interest which in our case is the rariﬁed world of target rifle shooting. The Annual Schools’ Veterans Match is shot at ﬁve hundred yards with the centre of the bull a mere six inches across.

All the shooter must do to get a perfect score is put ten shots into that tiny circle, slightly more than one angular minute across. But there are a few things that get in the way, starting with the shooter himself.

With no telescopic sights allowed, and no sandbag to put the rifle on, the ﬁrst thing the shooter must do is point the rifle at the target without introducing any tension into his ﬁring position. Called ‘natural alignment’ it’s one of the hardest skills to master. Then

there’s the breathing: regular and steady with no big breaths to distort the aim. And then, when the hole in the rearsight is perfectly in line with the ring of the foresight and with the bull precisely in the centre, the trigger release. A good trigger release is not so much an action as a thought that translates to the rifle being ﬁred at just the right moment.

And that should be all that’s needed for a perfect shot. Except there’s the wind that will push a bullet one way or the other by an angular minute or two or three. Flags down the range help with judging wind direction and speed, as does watching how the mirage is moving. If only the angle of the wind didn’t change and the speed stayed constant, the shooter might with luck hit the bull every time. But nature isn’t like that. The beginner will adjust his

sights based on what happened to his last shot but the expert waits until he can predict what the wind is about to do before taking his shot.

And this is why we shoot, for the sheer joy of the sport, shooting at the wonderful and historic Bisley ranges and of comparing notes with our mates behind the ﬁring point. “How did it go?” we ask the shooter walking back from his detail. “Oh, not bad. But I’m sure I can do better next time.”

Why not come and have a go?

OT Shooting Contact Henry Dodds (PS 70-75)

Secretary

otrcsecretary@gmail.com

Ben Meredith (right) is a big fan of an ice cream while shooting, even if it’s Ian Mitchell’s.

A grand day out: Charles Poulton, Ben Meredith, Will Kemp and Duncan Pierce behind the six hundred yard ﬁring point at Bisley.

The OTs at work, two shooters (from left to right Sean Williams and Ian Mitchell) with two wind coaches (Ewan Gadd-Chapman and Matt Flegg). Teamwork and camaraderie at the same time.

OT RACKETS

OT RACKETS TOURNAMENT 2024

On Saturday 30th November 2024, 24 OT rackets players returned to the School for the annual OT Rackets Tournament – this was the highest number of OTs involved in the tournament for a number of years. It was great to see Will Montgomery back on court and partnering up in a doubles match with Olly Howick. Equally, the number of recent leavers in attendance was very strong.

Matches took place on both courts from 9am – 6pm, with the results of the ﬁnals as follows:

A Singles Final

Sam Seecharan beat Tom Astley 15/6

B Singles Final

Charlie Elmitt beat Alex Macpherson 15/5

Doubles Final

Julian O’Riordan & Ed Owen-Browne beat Ben Robinson & Sam Pike 15/5

The tournament concluded with the presentation of trophies, followed by drinks at The George and dinner at the Ivy House. Four additional OTs (Mark Agate, Ollie Sykes, Barney Toomey and Max Behling) joined for dinner. As always, thanks to Dave Makey and Leo Walsh for organising and hosting such a great day.

OT Rackets contacts

Ed Hyde (FH 11-16) Secretary bighyde@hotmail.co.uk

Dave Makey (CR 80-present), Rackets Professional dave.makey@tonbridge-school.org

OT FIVES

Tonbridgian Fives has enjoyed another vibrant year, with exciting matches against the School, the Rugby Fives Association and recently the Jesters (as part of their Southern Tour); augmented by the arrival of one of ﬁves’ highest ranked players, James Tilston (a regular player with the Executioners, St Pauls, London), who has just about adapted to the OT pace of play; and highlighteda large feather in the OT cap – by a gold medal in the National Grand Masters for our very own Neil Arnott (MH 63-68) (paired with Chris Horrocks). Other notable achievements included Abbie Evans (President of the Oxford University Fives) not only continuing her captaincy of Oxford University, but becoming the ﬁrst female President of the OU Rugby Fives Club.

The OT’s were again well represented in both Cambridge and Oxford Past vs Present matches (OT Ian Jackson bringing his spreadsheet wizardry to organisation of the former). While the OT’s suffered narrow losses to both the RFA and the schoolboys, they were triumphant against the Jesters on a Saturday morning, winning all but one of their singles and doubles matches; the Jesters claimed they had been handicapped by the previous night’s revelry (although surely a 3am swim in the moat at Hever Castle might be considered ﬁtness training?). The Tonbridge courts were then delighted to host the other Jesters matches in the afternoon (against Alleyn’s and Derby). It was wonderful to see such a festival of ﬁves, with some top ten singles players, leading ladies, and a few veterans playing at Tonbridge. The Club extends its sincere thanks to the School and especially to Tara Biddle and John Shafer for being such accommodating hosts.

OT Fives Contact Neil Arnott (MH 63-68), (Hon) Sec OT Fives neil.d.arnott@gmail.com

(l to r):

Neil

Adam

Gareth

Standing (l to r):

Richard Maltz, Ed Hyde

Eddy Gray, Tom Woodthorpe

Barney Todd, Jack Hough

Barney Toomer, Max Behling

Sam Pike, Tom Launder

Ollie Sykes, Alex Macpherson

Rob Adams, Jake Hazari-Webb

Will Shields

Sitting (l to r): Charlie Elmitt, Tom Astley

Julian O’Riordan, Ben Robinson

Ed Owen-Browne, Jack Francis Henry Bushell

Mathieu, Martin Wilkinson, Michael Studdard, John Keyes

Arnott, Ian Jackson

Hayes-Newington

Walters

OT REAL TENNIS

OT Real Tennis continued to ﬂourish throughout the 2024-25 season, with matches of handicap singles and doubles organised against the Queen’s Club, Petworth House and teams from the Hong Kong and the Skinners’ Company real tennis clubs, as well as entries into the annual National Schools’ Alumni tournaments.

A spirited match against Queen’s in October saw several OT wins, with George Nodder impressing in the singles to secure a drawn match overall.

At Petworth House at the end of November, with eight players-a-side, and each player in action before and after the excellent lunch provided by Charles Fuente’s wife Jan, we were all square at the half-way mark but won three of the last four rubbers, with Charles Fuente and Alastair Hume winning the deciding rubber by 8 games to 6, to ﬁnish an excellent day’s tennis with a ﬁve/three win.

In the Triangular tournament versus Real Tennis Hong Kong and The Skinners’ Company played at Queen’s in March, Hong Kong took the title, though Richard Dalzell and Sam Lowres delivered a strong performance in the ﬁnal rubber to secure second place.

For the Henry Leaf, the National Schools’ Alumni Open Doubles tournament, we fielded our strongest pair for some time, with Alex Hume and Ed Hyde representing the OTs. In their match against a formidable Eton pair, they stormed through the first set 6/1 but they were narrowly defeated by 2 sets to 1 by the eventual quarterfinalists.

The highlight of the season was the OTs performance in the Cattermull Cup, the National Schools’ Alumni Handicap Doubles tournament played at Middlesex University in early April. The OTs were represented by Richard Dalzell and Sam Lowres with a fine mix of youth and experience; they beat pairs from Haileybury, Wellington, Charterhouse and Sherborne in the group stages before moving on to beat Epsom in the semi-final 6/4, 6/3 and then Harrow in the final by 6/2.6/5thereby securing long-awaited silverware for the OTs.

We also now have representation Down Under! Alex Hume, having temporarily suspended his singing career and fresh from his real tennis apprenticeship at the MCC court at Lord’s, now appointed as the professional at the Sydney Real Tennis Club, in Cheltenham, New South Wales. He would be delighted to see any OTs visiting Australia to call by for a hit at the original racquet sport on the newest court in the world.

Those who represented the OTs in the 2024-25 season included (in approximate handicap order) Alex Hume, Ed Hyde, George Nodder, Charles Fuente, Michael O’Dwyer, Richard Pettit, Sam Lowres, Richard Dalzell and Alastair Hume.

We are always looking for new players so, if you would like to join our merry band, please make contact with George Nodder.

Alex Hume on court in Sydney

Richard Dalzell and Sam Lowres with Cattermull Cup

OT Booklist

Boulder Awe

Tobias Aisbitt-Waugh (Sc 02-07)

Born of the fervent wilds of Dartmoor, where the collection was coaxed and chanted into life, Boulder Awe reaches meaty tendrils out into the muck and magic of our human experience. It features the poem I am the land from the short ﬁlm of the same name, as well as the phantasmagoric illustrations of Elin Manon.

The Kind Wasp

Ed Bingham (SH 92-97)

Living above a Spanish café, one wasp is determined to prove there is good in everyone. Feared by humans and fellow insects, can he show that even wasps have a purpose? And, above all, that they can be kind?

Packed with little-known facts about one of nature’s most misunderstood creatures, comes a heartwarming tale of courage and kindness.

God Save The King

The Sacred Nature of

the Monarchy

Professor Ian Bradley (WH 63-68)

This book explains the signiﬁcance and meaning of monarchy in its allimportant sacred and spiritual dimensions and explains the Christian symbolism of the coronation, and the unique signiﬁcance of Christian monarchy in the history of the British Isles. God Save the King explores the theme of sacred kingship, its origins in primal religion, its central role in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and its representation in modern popular culture. The book also analyses the particular relationship in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth between sovereign and church, the monarch’s traditional roles as protector of Protestantism and Defender of the Faith, and how these are being reinterpreted in the context of a multifaith and multi-cultural Britain. With the inclusion of fascinating details of sacred engagements in the annual royal calendar and little-known rituals, this book represents a celebration and an exploration of sacred monarchy.

A Bigger Bird

Keith Brown (WH 81-86)

A Bigger Bird - suitable for two-to ﬁve-year-olds - follows Tabs the Cat as she navigates through the days of the week discovering that size isn’t everything! It is based on misunderstandings resolved as Tabs catches a bigger bird each day which she presents to her family and mistakes their horror at catching it at all as an imperative to catch a bigger, more impressive, bird. It follows the traditional format of text on one page and the picture on the facing page to facilitate concentration on the pictures for the younger end of the readership and ease of reading for the older end.

Bowieland - Walking in the Footsteps of David

Peter Carpenter (CR 92-21)

From Beckenham to Berlin, Carpenter’s captivating tribute to David Bowie takes the reader on a mesmerising meander through the places that played a signiﬁcant role in the music icon’s life. Following open heart surgery, poet and writer Peter

Carpenter was given one instruction‘Walk, if you want to stay on this planet’. And so when his hero and inspiration David Bowie died in 2016, he knew what he had to do. The man who was to so many a companion and guide had left no shrine, no focal point of understanding. To reconnect with Bowie, he would take a walk into the past, to the streets, towns and places where David Jones became something more. Walking to recover, to stay alive, Peter realised he was also recovering his lost hero.

In Bowieland, Carpenter’s peripatetic trampings seem to echo Bowie’s own wandering creative spirit, the walks often uncovering hidden layers, and making fresh connections to key Bowie stories.

Keane - Hopes and Fears Lyrics and History

Tom Chaplin (HS 92-97)

Tim Rice-Oxley (HS 89-94)

Richard Hughes (JH 89-94)

In 2004, Keane released their debut album, Hopes and Fears, to widespread critical acclaim. Hopes and Fears went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and has become one of the most beloved albums of the 21st century. Now, with full album lyrics, including B-sides and rarities, original notebook scans, photographs and ephemera, alongside unprecedented insight and behind the scenes reflections from the members of Keane, this beautifully presented hardback book celebrates the 20th anniversary of this iconic album.

The Man Who Tested Parachutes – Charles Agate and the Development of Britain’s Airborne Forces for D-Day and Arnhem

Andrew Colley (CR 1986)

This tells the extraordinary story of the man who volunteered in 1941 to test parachutes as part of the war effort despite being in a reserved profession at the time. Agate went on to make a world record 1601 jumps up to 1946, many of them using untested and prototype equipment. He also trained thousands of young recruits for D-Day and Arnhem as well as SOE agents.

From Ballinrobe to Wexford - An Englishman’s travels around the Irish racecourses

Each chapter in the book is dedicated to a racecourse, with information

about its history and geographical location. All Irish racecourses are covered. The author shares his experiences of travelling around Ireland, and the many amusing events that occur en route. The friendliness of the Irish people is a recurring theme along with the lovely welcome they always give you at pubs, restaurants, hotels and coffee shops. The author shares his knowledge of the different racecourses, and tips for making the most of a race day. Past race meetings the author has attended are described in detail, with anecdotes which gives readers a real insight into what to expect.

A Queer Case

Robert Holtom (FH 01-06)

A gripping 1920s-set whodunnit, this debut features a queer sleuth who must solve a murder in a mansion on London’s Hampstead Heath without revealing his sexuality, lest he be arrested as a criminal. Selby Bigge is a bank clerk by day and a denizen of the capital’s queer underworld by night, but he yearns for a life that will take him away from his ledgers, loveless trysts and dreary bedsit in which his every move is scrutinised by a nosy landlady. When someone is found strangled on the billiards room floor after a party it doesn’t take long for Selby to realise everyone has a motive for murder. Can Selby uncover the truth while keeping his own secrets buried?

David Hawkins (HS 69-74)

The Manifesto House: Buildings that Changed the Future of Architecture

Owen Hopkins (Sc 98-03)

Manifesto houses reflect new visions for how we can live. Often extreme and uncompromising, they are vehicles for innovation, new ideas, and new ways of doing things. Most houses are the product of multiple layers of norms and expectations built up over time, whether methods, materials, and technologies or social, cultural, economic, and political pressures. Yet at various moments, houses have been built that break with the past and do something different— houses that stand outside of these expectations and instead are conceived to embody whole new theories or agendas. We call these “manifesto houses.” For the ﬁrst time, this compelling thread in the history of architecture is surveyed by Owen Hopkins.

Life – A Fifty Fifty Path?

Dr John Kirkaldy (FH 61-65)

A Fifty-Fifty Path? debates how much Luck and Chance plays in our lives and how much choice we get. Luke Sheppard is an academic historian, who decides on retirement to ﬁnd out what happened to Julie, with whom he had a passionate encounter over thirty years ago. He sets out on a path of discovery with consequences he could never have foreseen. A life spent analysing the past does not prepare him for what he ﬁnds or how his life will change.

Fishers of Men

Peter Longley (JH 57-62)

Fishers of Men is the middle book in Peter’s Flavian Trilogy. In novel form, it provides a fascinating commentary on the origins of Christianity that is both challenging and yet plausible, incorporating traditional beliefs, ﬁctitious thoughts, and new controversial interpretations. With vivid prose and compelling characters, Fishers of Men offers a captivating glimpse into the ﬁrstcentury Roman and Judean worlds.

Shibboleth

Thomas Peermohamed Lambert (PS 11-16)

A darkly comic tale that brings the satirical English campus novel into the divided, multicultural, hyperactive present day. Edward is a shy, quietly droll student at Oxford. Thanks to a quirk of his family history – a lone, dead grandparent from Zanzibar – he ﬁnds himself enthusiastically adopted by the wealthy, privately educated upper echelons of the student body. Several of Edward’s fellow students are determined to remake him to suit their own prejudices and ﬁxations: to Youssef he becomes a pious Muslim, to Angelica – and her AfricanAmerican best friend, Liberty - he is reimagined as an expert in African history and champion of civil rights.

Truss at 10 - How Not To Be Prime Minister

Sir Anthony Seldon (HS 67-72 / CR 89-93) with Jonathan Meakin

Drawing from exclusive interviews with key aides and allies of Liz Truss, Anthony Seldon delivers a revealing

account of the shortest premiership in British history. Liz Truss’ disastrous premiership was the shortest and most chaotic in British history. The aftershocks of her time in ofﬁce are still felt today. How did she blow her opportunity so spectacularly? Based on exclusive interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, and focusing on the critical steps that led to her demise, this gripping behindthe-scenes work of contemporary history gives the deﬁnitive account of Truss’s premiership.

No Time

Kieron Winn (SH 82-87)

Kieron Winn’s second collection of poems explores how the malleability of early life evolves into shape and pattern. Decades are bridged by a return to the scenes of childhood holidays, or by reading a grandfather’s wartime letters. There are poems marking the conjunction of public and private events, and others about the joys and losses of middle age. Rigidity is melted by tenderness, and the fluency of living is challenged by illness. One reviewer stated that ‘Kieron Winn’s poems have the unmistakable ring of the real thing. And once they have got to you, you never forget their combination of exact emotion with perfect form.’

Engagements

LLEWELLYN-LLOYD

The engagement is announced between Thomas, son of Mr and Mrs J LlewellynLloyd, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent and Alice, daughter of Mr and Mrs G Watt, of London. (OH 05-10)

Marriages

MARINO-HUME

The marriage took place between Alexander Hume and Charlotte Marino on 7 September 2024 in Budleigh Salterton, Devon. (FH 09-14)

Births

PIGOT

The marriage took place between Dr James Edward Pigot and Miss Rebecca Joan Millar on 7 December 2024 in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. Dr Alex Chan (SH 04-09) was best man and Mr Alexander Buck (OH 04-09) was an usher. (WH 05-10)

WATTS

On 6 August 2024 to Kerry (nee Long) and Alex, a daughter Isla. (WW 08-13)

CHAN

On 2 January 2025 twins to Connie and Deryck, twins Michaela and Matthias. (JH 07-09)

SEPHTON

On 7 March 2025 to Harry and Lily, a son Rory John D’Alton. (WW 05-10)

HEVEY

On 25 November 2024 to Lizzy Hevey and Marcus Chapman, a son Oscar James Gareth Chapman.

(Librarian 2017 - present)

SIXSMITH

On 26 February 2025, to Lucy Clubb and Adam, a daughter Iris Rose.

(CR 22 – present and CR 14 – present)

NODDER

On 27 September 2024 to Lucy (nee Bowes) and George, a daughter, Isla Sophie Wissler. (PH 03-08)

Deaths & Obituaries

The following deaths and obituaries section covers notiﬁcations that we were made aware of between 1 May 2024 and 30 June 2025. For more recent obituaries and notiﬁcations, please see our website at: tonbridgeconnect.org/news

MORELAND, Michael, Captain OBE MA RN

(SH 36-40)

Died peacefully at Dunkirk Memorial House on 14 October 2025, aged 102. He served in the Royal Engineers in WWII, then joined the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Captain. In retirement he was Director of the Somerset Red Cross, Somerset County Councillor and Deputy Chair, Deputy Lord Lieutenant, and founder Chair of Somerset Care and Somerset Redstone Trust. His wife Pat died in 2016. He leaves four children, John (Sc 68-73), Jane, Clare and Lucy and six grandchildren.

The following obituary was written by Mike’s daughter, Jane.

Michael (Mike) Moreland was born on 19 June 1922, in Southborough, Kent, the second son of Claud and Hilda Moreland. He was sent to Tonbridge in 1936 as a day boy joining Smythe House and excelled at Mathematics, drawing and the Sciences. His final year coincided with the first year of the Second World War and he was left at home with his mother as both his father and his elder brother were posted to help with the war effort.

Mike was called up in September 1940 but spent the next six months at Cambridge University. Then, after intensive military training, he was

commissioned in the Royal Engineers. In April 1942 he was drafted overseas and arrived in Egypt in time for Alamein in October 1942, the turning point of the war. Mike and his Company kept moving ahead to clear and rebuild roads as the Germans were driven back through Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

By September 1943 they were in Italy and supported the push north. On a reconnaissance near Naples Mike was thrown from a jeep and suﬀered a spinal injury. He spent a few days in hospital and received a surprise visit from his brother, Peter, but no treatment. Eventually, in September 1944 he ﬂew home to the School of Military Engineering in Ripon, where he saw out the war. At the end of the war, he applied for a regular commission but by the time the commission came through he realised he’d prefer to return to Cambridge to complete his degree

On completing his MA he had a brief dalliance with the steel industry in Port Talbot but missed the organisation and camaraderie of Forces life. In 1948 he re-enlisted but this time in the Navy. During a posting in London he met his future wife, Pat, and they were married on 9th May 1953. He moved into the instructor branch to avoid overseas postings. The family expanded: John in 1954, Jane in 1957, Clare in 1959 and Lucy in 1964.

Mike was closely involved with innovations in ship design, manning and operations. One particular innovation has enabled Royal Navy ships to refuel at sea while maintaining a good speed. This methodology is still in use today, with the Royal Navy being one of the few maritime forces able to do this

manoeuvre safely and eﬀectively. In 1966 he was awarded the OBE In 1973 Captain Michael Moreland, aged 52, after 25 years’ service and with limited opportunities for promotion, took early retirement.

After a stint as the Director of the Somerset Red Cross he was elected as a Somerset County Councillor. He joined the board of the Southwest Regional Health Authority and in 1990 he became a Director of the Somerset NHS Trust, one of the ﬁrst to be formed. Within a couple of years he helped to mastermind the formation of Somerset Care. Somerset became the ﬁrst county to privatise its residential care homes. He was its Founder Chair. He commented later in life that this was his most satisfying ‘career’.

At the age of 80, in 2002, Mike Moreland retired fully at last and his attention turned to caring for Pat, golf, bridge and his beloved allotment garden and greenhouse In March 2016 Mike and Pat moved to Kendal but Pat died at the end of August, after 63 years of married life. After a couple of years Mike’s own health deteriorated and he accepted that he needed to enter a care home. He survived six years in three homes, in Kendal, Silverdale and Bishops Lydeard, through the pandemic and two bouts of COVID.

In June 2022 he received, much to his delight, a card from the Queen for his 100th birthday. By the time he was 102 he was noticeably weaker and in the early morning of 14th October 2024 he died, un-medicated and in his own bed, just as he wanted, proud to have served his Queen and his country. He is survived by his son and three daughters.

DAVID, Keith

(SH 40-43)

Died in New York on November 15, 2024, several hours after celebrating his 98th birthday with his adoring family, visiting friends from the UK, and his favourite hazelnut cake.

The following obituary is written by Keith’s daughter Elizabeth “Bicky” Brodie David.

While much of his adult life was spent far from Kent, Tonbridge remained with him. He was known to hum “here shall Tonbridge flourish” when confronted with a particularly significant challenge. An especially unflattering report from Tonbridge on his cricketing ability (“He is beginning to develop an idea of the game”) hung on his office’s wall for over half a century, evidence of both his love of the School and his unyielding ability to laugh at himself.

He supported the rebuilding of the School’s Chapel after a ﬁre in the late 1980s. He made his gift in honour of Cyril Bernard Gordon, his tutor at Tonbridge (a former mathematical wrangler at King’s College, Cambridge) who was perhaps the single greatest inﬂuence in Keith’s life. In addition to serving as an extraordinary model of brilliance, humility, and gentleness, Mr. Gordon showed Keith what a life of the mind could look like — and the joy and importance of deep thought as the basis of both action and a good life.

After leaving Tonbridge in 1943, Keith joined the Royal Air Force, where he trained as a ﬁghter pilot in Cornwall and served on overseas duty in India where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Delhi University. In 1947, he moved to New York and began his commercial career at Cunard, the great transatlantic shipping line.

He founded his own shipping company, Sabre Shipping, in 1958. Sabre swiftly became a respected independent player in global trade, with routes connecting North America, Europe, and Asia. Sabre oﬀered competitively priced service outside the powerful shipping cartels that dominated the seas through conference systems. Keith’s operations in Japan and Southeast Asia in particular put Sabre on a collision course with a major Japanese shipping conference, which was engaging in

price dumping designed to eliminate independent competitors. Many in the industry either capitulated or stood aside. Keith did neither. In a campaign marked by a blend of strategy, tenacity, and moral clarity, he took on the conference system in the US and Japan — and won. His success not only protected Sabre, but also helped to recalibrate fair competition in global trade. The case became a landmark in American maritime law and the global shipping industry.

While continuing his work as a shipowner, in the 1970s he began to explore the arts. He briefly (and humblingly) attended art school. He then went on to film school and became an independent filmmaker, releasing The Other Barred, a documentary on the unethical confinement of animals in urban zoos, a subject then largely overlooked in mainstream discourse. Though never widely distributed, the award-winning film developed a small but lasting following for its moral clarity and aesthetic restraint.

By the 1980s, his focus had turned to academia. He attended The New School’s Graduate School for Social Research, whose Board he later joined, and then went to Yale to work towards a PhD in political philosophy. The topic of his dissertation, ‘The philosophy of action’, was an apt subject for a man whose life represented the marriage of ideas and action. In the early 1990s, he lectured and taught seminars on continental philosophy at Yale. This period was a return to the deep thought, the life of the mind, that Mr. Gordon had introduced him to so many decades before at Tonbridge.

In the last several decades of his life, he continued work on his shipping operations but devoted increasing time to reading and writing. His focus, however, was the joy of his family life with his wife, Katherine Anne Brodie

David, who predeceased him, and his daughter, Elizabeth N. G. Brodie David, born in 1986. They lived in Manhattan, where Keith served on the Board of Carnegie Hill Neighbours, and Millbrook, N.Y., and spent cherished summers in England. In the very last years of his life, he became a grandfather and was besotted with his granddaughter, Virginia K. B. Devlin, who adored him.

His beloved wife once noted that an anagram of his name was “the avid kid.” Even in his late nineties, he lived up to the moniker. He remained full of energy, ideas, optimism, humour, appreciation of beauty — and the most extraordinary love for, and from, his family.

MEW, John Roland Chandley (Professor) (SH 42-46) Died peacefully on 25 June 2025, aged 96. Father to William, Michael and Rosemary and grandfather to Alﬁe (WW 13-18). “Orthodontist, Pioneer, Builder of Castles, A Life Lived on His Own Terms.”

The following obituary was written by his son, Mike Mew.

Professor John Mew was a man of remarkable independence, imagination, and resolve - a pioneer in both orthodontics and life. Though best known for his bold ideas about craniofacial development, John’s character was shaped early on, not least during his time at Tonbridge. A student in Smythe House during the Second World War, John left his mark on the School in ways both mischievous and memorable. Early in the war his classroom was in the bell tower – the bell was due to be rung as a sign of a German invasion - where he discovered a hidden panel concealing the bell rope. Seizing the moment, and his ruler, he rang the invasion bell during lunch, much to the confusion of staﬀ and delight of pupils. Later in the war, he served as a motorcycle dispatch rider, parking at a friend’s house and walking in, as motorcycles were forbidden by school rules.

After qualifying in dentistry at University College London and training in maxillofacial surgery, John turned to orthodontics, only to ﬁnd a profession he felt had lost sight of the causes behind facial underdevelopment. In response, he developed a radical new approach known as Orthotropics, which placed posture, function, and breathing at the heart of craniofacial growth. His core belief: that guiding a child’s development early, naturally, and noninvasively could lead not only to straighter teeth but to healthier, more conﬁdent lives.

For decades, his views were dismissed by the mainstream. He lost his licence to practise as an orthodontist and faced fierce professional opposition. Yet John stood firm - principled, driven by science, and always concerned first with the wellbeing of children. In recent years, his ideas have gained unexpected and widespread attention. The viral phenomenon known as mewing, a term derived from the family name, has introduced millions of people worldwide to the principles he spent a lifetime exploring. What began as a fringe theory is now the subject of growing research, public discussion, and clinical application, led by his son, Dr Mike Mew.

Beyond his professional legacy, John’s life was ﬁlled with colour and adventure. He was a GB downhill skier, a Formula 1 test driver, an America’s Cup sailor, and a passionate student of anthropology. Perhaps his most eccentric and beloved achievement was Braylsham Castle - a medievalstyle moated home in East Sussex, which he designed and built himself, stone by stone. A place of imagination and welcome, it became a hub of conversation, laughter, and inspiration for generations of visitors. John raised three children, William, Michael and Rosemary, each accomplished in their own right and bound together by a close, enduring connection. He formed friendships across all walks of life, drawn to people as much as they were drawn to him - by his curiosity, his generosity, and his refusal to judge.

John Mew was a builder - of castles, of ideas, of family, and of movements. To know him was to witness a life lived on principle, with energy, humour, and bold vision.

DAWE, Ernest Francis (Francis) (WH 43-48)

Died on 21 January 2024, aged 93. Much missed.

FARRAR, Douglas Bernard (Doug) (MH 43-48)

Died on 3 September 2024, aged 94. An excellent sportsman who will be missed by his family and friends.

MACCARTHY, James Plantaganet (WH 43-47)

Died on 7 November 2023, aged 93. Much missed by his family and friends.

GINGER, Maurice Rankin, Major (retired) (PH 44-48)

Died peacefully at home on 21 September 2024, aged 94. Maurice had an interesting military career in the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and a full and varied life after he left the army. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

The following obituary is adapted from tributes given at Maurice’s funeral service by his daughter Stephanie.

Maurice was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He leaves his wife of nearly 70 years, Shirley, children, Stephanie and Bruce and grandchildren Leo, Sebastian, Ollie, Jack, and Maddie.

Upon leaving Tonbridge Maurice chose the army over following his father Norman into the ‘exciting’ world of insurance. After oﬃcer training at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the First Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. His army career took him to Austria, Korea, Ghana, Hong Kong, Germany, and the Congo, where he inspired loyalty through an aﬀable charm, intelligence and dry wit.

Maurice was introduced to 16-year-old art student Shirley Parr in 1952 at a local hockey match by a mutual friend who nonetheless warned her not to get involved with the handsome oﬃcer as Maurice was often abroad and “very likely to have a girlfriend in every posting.” Shirley took no notice and after a rocky courtship – including a tense separation when he was posted

to Korea, Maurice proposed and they married in 1955, with the oncesceptical friend Anthony Bannister delighted to be Best Man. Daughter Stephanie was born in October 1956 and by early 1957 they were sailing from Liverpool for the British Gold Coast where Maurice helped transfer of the newly-independent Ghana.

They embraced life in the tropics. Maurice and Shirley both discovered an unexpected ﬂair for rally-driving across the African bush. But there were challenges too, with the tragic death of their second baby daughter Stacey in 1960 and Maurice’s departure for active service in the Congo not long after. After spending eighteen months in Hong Kong he was posted to Germany to the British Army of the Rhine where their son Bruce, was born in August 1962. After a stint at Tidworth Barracks, Maurice’s ﬁnal posting abroad was to Borneo in1965possibly the most challenging of his army career – where he fought in impenetrable jungle during the Indonesia/Malaysia confrontation alongside the Nepalese Gurkhas. He retired from the army in 1968. And with it came the start of a new chapter.

He then spent twelve years running the Robert Nursing Home in Birmingham, earning the respect and loyalty of his staﬀ. A man of few words when it came to personal achievements, Maurice’s greatest reward was always in the bonds he forged and the trust he inspired. In 1980, Maurice and Shirley took on a new venture, embracing the “Good Life” in their own unique way, opening Ginger’s Canal Stores in Northamptonshire, borne from their love of the British Waterways.

In their quest for self-suﬃciency he layered hedges, staked beans, chopped logs, tended sheep, built chicken coops, made beer. And as the front man in the shop, championing

Shirley’s artistic pursuits, framing her paintings, planting wild-ﬂower spinneys, editing and publishing her books while all the while boosting sales in the shop with his warmth and wit.

In 1992, Maurice and Shirley retired to Mathon, where Maurice embraced village life, regularly reading the lesson at church and singing in the Men of Mathon choir. His popularity was such that he had all the old ladies of Mathon vying for a seat next to him in his long-standing role as a Hospital Driver. He was, in many ways, ahead of his time: an early adopter of green tea, sarongs and additive-free bread years before it was fashionable. And how he loved a gadget – even better a gadget at a bargain price! Not for nothing was he descended from the McLeans of Coll.

Chess was another lifelong passion. Master of the obscure chess opening, he was never happier than when explaining the benefits of the ‘Sicilian Defence’ to a genuinely interested youngster. He served as Team Captain, Secretary and Chairman at Malvern Chess Club. In recognition of his dedication, he was made Honorary President in 2015. But as in everything Maurice never sought the spotlight. His mellifluous voice, love of dancing –and talent for the twist (even at 90) and prodigious general knowledge and love of crosswords was well known –he could until recently recite the whole of Kubla Khan – an ability he put down to his Tonbridge days. But above all, he was a man whose warmth and wit made him the heart of any room. He was not diminished by old age and was an officer and a gentleman to the last. Many people will miss his humour, his twinkling blue eyes and his generosity of spirit. He leaves behind a legacy of love, laughter, and enduring friendships that will continue to inspire those who had the privilege of knowing him.

PAYNE, Richard William Newth (HS 44-48)

Died peacefully on 5 February 2025, aged 94. Much-loved father of Andrew, Sarah, William, Timothy and Annabel, and grandfather.

BRYAN, David Gerald (Sc 45-49)

Passed away on 13 May 2025, aged 93. Father to Malcolm, Sally and Graham. Much missed by family and friends.

WHITING, Derek Alan OBE (Sc 45-49)

Died peacefully at home, very well cared for and in comfort on 23 June 2025, aged 93. Much loved husband to Clare (née Forbes), father to Francis and Alex (FH 81-85), he was a leading light of the Harlequins Rugby Football Club from the 1950s.

IBBOTSON, Jonathon Salisbury (JH 46-51)

Died on 28 November 2024, aged 91.

The following obituary was written by Stephen Passmore (Sc 73-78)

I met Jon late in his life after a request to see if there were any other Tonbridgians in Auckland. We met for very pleasant lunches and I am honoured to write a few words on a well lived life. We found friendship in being expats with dispersed families sharing stories of the journeys that bought us to this end of the planet.

Jon Ibbotson became Head of House, a School Prae and in the Cross-Country VIII whilst at the school. He was born in York to Joan and Lancelot Ibbotson. His father was General Manager of the Western Region Railways, and later the Southern Region. He worked closely with Dr Richard Beeching, the infamous chairman of British Railways who recommended closure of many railways. Jon boarded at Fan Court Prep School before going to Tonbridge. Whilst at School Jon bred orange mice which he kept in the gardening shed, and when holidays came around, he had to let them all go free. This was just the start of a life-long love of natural history and the environment, especially the gardens he created.

Jon secured a job as an international trainee for Unilever, a position that involved extensive travel to Africa, the Caribbean and the UK. Jon married Jenny and soon moved to Wellington, New Zealand, where their first son, Martin was born in 1960. Another son, Patrick arrived in 1962, then in 1966 the family moved to Australia with Jon again working for Unilever. The family lived in Turramurra, a northern suburb of Sydney, where Jon created his first garden virtually from scratch in the Australian bush. Later the family moved to Albury, where Jon worked for the Mars Corporation. The garden in Albury was well established which was probably a disappointment for Jon’s creative gardening skills, but Albury did provide great opportunities to fish, another of Jon’s passions.

Jon was the man responsible for putting Mars Bars in the fridge during summer, a genius marketing ploy and a huge success in Australia. His boss wanted him to move to Germany, but Jon was not keen so, at the end of 1980, the family moved back to Sydney. Here Jon started his own consultancy with clients including Harris Farm, a wellknown Australian grocery chain, and also Watties, one of the largest food producing companies in New Zealand.

WILLARD, John Albert (PH 44-48)

Passed away in February 2025, aged 94.

On ﬁnishing school, Jon was awarded an exhibition to study at Oxford, recognition of outstanding academic success. However, the award did not cover all costs, so Jon enlisted in the Army (Ox and Bucks Light Infantry), serving during the Suez crisis. He had nothing but praise for his sergeants and became known as an excellent marksman. On his return to England,

In 1986, following a separation, Jon moved to Auckland to work with Watties, then Goodman Fielder. Jon’s career ended with some consulting and expert witness work. In New Zealand, Jon met Bobbie who has been a constant support and love for many years. Jon and Bobbie travelled, sailed, played tennis and generally enjoyed life to the full. Jon was an accomplished painter, and when Jon downsized into a retirement home apartment, he had numerous paintings that needed a new home. The retirement home manager was very pleased to take them, and the hallway now boasts several of Jon’s paintings.

JUDGE, Michael J

(HS 48-52)

Passed away peacefully at home in his sleep on 17 December, aged 90. Michael had suﬀered from dementia for ﬁve years, during which time he was supported by his wife Lorraine. Brother of Victor (HS 44-48) and father of Edward (Sc 75-80) and the late Georgina. Grandfather of Ollie and Max.

The following obituary was written by Lorraine Judge

Michael Judge was born and started life in Bromley with his parents, Justin and Phyllis Judge, and elder brother Victor (HS 44-48). His father Justin, a solicitor, was senior partner in the family ﬁrm Judge and Priestley. Michael followed his elder brother Victor to Tonbridge School where he studied Classics and won an Exhibition to Worcester College Oxford. In his ﬁnal year he played Macbeth for a week in the School play, although his most memorable performance was apparently impersonating Al Jolson singing “Mammy” at a House concert.

On leaving Tonbridge Michael served two years National Service and when made an officer was stationed at Plymouth. Sadly, his father died at this time, and it was agreed that rather than going to Oxford he should become a solicitor and join Victor in the family firm, which he did in 1959 having passed his finals with Honours.

In 1959 Michael met his Lorraine at a party in London and after a whirlwind romance of nine weeks they married in 1960. Two years later Edward (Sc 75-80) arrived followed by Georgina. Apart from his work Michael played rugby at Westcombe Park Rugby Club and rose to captain

the Extra A XV. He enjoyed many years playing tennis, hacking in Knole Park, skiing in Scotland and Europe, spent weekends on his cruiser on the Thames, ﬂy ﬁshing with brother Victor, playing Bridge at Andrew Robson’s Club in London and travelling the world on family holidays.

Michael was president of Bromley Law Society and declined National President because of work commitments. For 6 years he was a Sevenoaks Conservative Councillor. He chaired the Tonbridge Masonic Lodge twice. He was a dedicated supporter of Bromley Round Table and with six others started a successful car hire company called U Drive. Later he became a member of Rotary and Probus. He was founder member of both the Sunrise Club and Advocacy First, a charity for those who could not speak for themselves.

Thirty-ﬁve years ago, Michael and Lorraine became Catholics and for nine years, after training, spent the ﬁrst week in May with the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta attending to sick pilgrims in a hospice in Lourdes

Retiring at the age of 71 Michael stayed on the solicitor’s register to enable him to help others and was recognised by the Law Society for achieving 60 years. Georgina, his cricket and rugby companion through seven of his retirement years, sadly died in 2012. Edward and Belinda’s sons Ollie and Max were a joy to him. He was a big man with a big heart and to quote the ending of Edward’s eulogy “You have led a long, happy, successful life in which you helped more people in your professional and charitable careers than we will ever know.”

JENKINS, Brian Garton GBE (MH 49-54)

Died peacefully on 25 November aged 88 in Suﬀolk. Husband to Ann, father to Julia and Charles (MH 86-91), grandad to Isobel, Freya and William. Lord Mayor of London 1991-1992. President of the Old Tonbridgian Society from 2009-2010. Memorial service to be held in the City of London in the spring.

The following obituary is adapted from The Times:

At 9.20pm on Friday April 10, 1992, the City of London was rocked by a huge IRA bomb detonated outside the Baltic Exchange, the shipping market in St Mary Axe, killing three people and injuring more than 90. Still in black tie, Sir Brian Jenkins, the Lord Mayor of London, rushed to the scene from a dinner with the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths and said: “This great city will be up and running as usual on Monday morning.” He co-ordinated rescue operations with the police and installed free telephones in a marquee outside Guildhall for the 5,000 displaced workers.

He would display the same energy and pragmatism to secure the best deal possible for the Square Mile in the upcoming European single market — he wanted the European central bank located in London, but could not match Germany’s muscle in lobbying for Frankfurt — and in his early interest in computers. Jenkins realised their potential for his employer, the accountant Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) as well as the Corporation of London, the City’s local authority, and in 1978 he wrote what would become a standard textbook, An Audit Approach to Computers. It was translated into ﬁve languages but Jenkins had no illusions about its literary merit, jokingly recommending it for insomniacs.

He also broke new ground as a senior partner of Coopers, taking a more aggressive approach to marketing in what had been a cosy consensus among the big accountants, and launching a £1 million advertising campaign for Coopers’ auditing services. “We were not getting our fair share of the work,” he said.

Courtesy of The Times

Brian Garton Jenkins was born in 1935 in Beckenham. He was the son of Owen Garton Jenkins, a wholesale ﬂorist, and Doris. Brian had a brother, Martin (MH 55-60). During the Second World War, Brian remembered sheltering under the stairs with his mother and grandmother and, after the war, being taught how to peel and eat a banana.

He was educated at Tonbridge School, where he was a scholar and leaving exhibitioner, and won a state scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford. Between school and university, he did National Service as a Royal Artillery second lieutenant in Gibraltar. A keen schoolboy actor, he failed to persuade his godfather, a London theatre producer, to help him into acting. So, on the advice of his then girlfriend’s father, he joined Cooper Brothers in 1960, qualifying as a chartered accountant after three years.

At a party in a London basement ﬂat in 1964, Jenkins met Ann Prentice, daughter of JPM Prentice, a distinguished amateur astronomer who in 1934 discovered the nova star Herculis while sitting in a deckchair overnight in a remote Suﬀolk garden. Ann was a non-executive director of NHS trusts in southeast London, a governor of St Saviour’s & St Olave’s school in Southwark and chairman of the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust, which provides nursing and residential care in the London borough of Lewisham.

They married in 1967 and had two children. Julia is a consultant anaesthetist at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, and Charles is global head of human relations for the asset management arm of Pictet, a Swiss private banking and financial services group. Julia said: “Family holidays were generally spent at our Suffolk home with Dad on garden construction — building walls, laying York paving or cobblestones and listening to Test Match Special on the wireless. There was usually a 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle on the go on the kitchen table.”

Jenkins, a partner at Coopers from 1969 to 1995, was chairman of the London Society of Chartered Accountants, and president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and the British

Computer Society. In 1995 he became chairman of Woolwich building society, leading its conversion into a public company and listing on the stock market in 1997. After only three years it was taken over by Barclays bank, where Jenkins was deputy chairman until 2004.

Between 1987 and 1988 he was a Sheriﬀ of London and, as well as being Master of three livery companies, the Chartered Accountants, Merchant Taylors and Information Technologists, he was closely involved with three charities: Community Service Volunteers, the Order of St John and St John Ambulance and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). As CAF chairman he launched the Charity Bank, taking the ﬁrst ceremonial deposit from Gordon Brown, the Chancellor. In 1991 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross.

Stocky, and with a helmet of white hair, Jenkins had a 4,000-volume library comprised of detective ﬁction, humour and London, and a formidable collection of cigarette cards and London tram and bus tickets. When he started working in the City, stiﬀ detached collars were still compulsory, but he had a trick to make them last longer. “As articled clerks,” he said, “we used to buy paper collars at Woolworths in Cheapside and turn them inside out to wear on day two.”

SAYERS,

Michael (SH 49-56)

Died on 14 December 2024, aged 87. He had not enjoyed good health for some time and he died after a fall which caused an inoperable haemorrhage. Son of distinguished economist, Richard Sidney Sayers who was well known as an academic and author and Professor at the L.S.E. and who inspired Michael in his interest in economics. Following Tonbridge, Michael qualiﬁed as a Service Translator and completed his National Service in the Royal Air Force, going on to a career at British Rail and Sealink, from 1958-1986. Michael then worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland where his interests were valued by his employers. He retired in 1997 and enjoyed life in Norfolk and many overseas holidays. Husband to Lorna.

JOHNSON, Richard Home Warton (Dick) (MH 50-53)

Died on 28 December 2024, aged 89. Much loved husband of Dione and father of son Julian and daughter Hilary (deceased). Brother of Roland

PERTWEE Christopher Ferens DL (FH 50-53)

Died on 21 December 2024, aged 88. Beloved husband of Carole, father to Mark, Julian and Nicholas (deceased), Gramps to Tara, Alice, Harry, Alex, Tom and Ella.

PROWSE, Noel Martin Barrington (PS 50-55)

Died on 2 January 2025, aged 88. Twin brother to the late Nicholas (PS 50-55), brother to Duncan (FH 61-66) and cousin to Anthony Prowse (SH 59-64). He will be much missed by his family and friends.

JACKSON, Ian William (MH 51-56)

Died on 6 September 2024, aged 86. Ian was an ardent supporter of the OTGS and was Captain from 19821984.

FORSYTH, Frederick McCarthy (PS 52-55)

Died on 9 June 2025, aged 86. Spy, war reporter, and writer of thrillers and spy novels including The Day of The Jackal and The Odessa File.

The following obituary is adapted from The Guardian

Frederick Forsyth, who has died aged 86, became well known as a political and social commentator, often with acerbic views on the European Union,

international terrorism, security matters and the status of Britain’s armed forces, but it is for his thrillers that he will be best remembered.

Forsyth’s manuscript for The Day of the Jackal was rejected by three publishers and withdrawn from a fourth before being taken up by Hutchinson in a three-book deal in 1971. Even then there were doubts, as half the publisher’s sales force were said to have expressed no conﬁdence in a book that plotted the assassination of the French president General Charles de Gaulle – an event that everyone knew did not happen. The skill of the book was that its pace and seemingly forensic detail encouraged readers to suspend disbelief and accept that not only was the plot real, but that the Jackal – an anonymous assassin –almost pulled it oﬀ. In fact, at certain points, the reader’s sympathy lies with the Jackal rather than with his victim.

It was a publishing tour de force, winning the Mystery Writers’ of America Edgar award for best ﬁrst novel, attracting a record paperback deal at the Frankfurt book fair and being quickly ﬁlmed by the US director Fred Zinnemann, with Edward Fox as the ruthless Jackal. The 1972 paperback edition was reprinted 33 times in 18 years and is still in print.

It was a formula that readers clearly approved of, with the subsequent novels in that original three-book deal, The Odessa File (1972) and The Dogs of War (1974), being both bestsellers and successful ﬁlms. Novellas, collections of short stories and more novels were to follow. These included The Fourth Protocol (1984), which had a cameo role for the British spy-in-exile Kim Philby and was also successfully ﬁlmed, with a screenplay by Forsyth.

Born in Ashford, Kent, Frederick was the son of Phyllis and Frederick, shopkeepers – his mother’s dress business operated on the ground floor and his father sold furs on the first floor. He was educated at Tonbridge School, where supportive teachers and summer holidays abroad ensured that excellence in French, German and Russian. At the age of 16, he enrolled on an RAF flying scholarship course that brought him a pilot’s licence by the age of 17 and eased his way into the RAF proper for his national service,

where he ﬂew Vampire jets as the youngest pilot in the service. However, when he failed in his ambition to be posted to a frontline squadron, he opted for a change of career and in 1958 entered journalism as a trainee with the Eastern Daily Press.

In 1961 he set his sights on Fleet Street, and his fluency with languages (which now included Spanish) got him a job with Reuters press agency. In May 1962, he was posted to Reuters’ office in Paris, where De Gaulle was the target of numerous assassination attempts by disaffected Algerians. The experience was not lost on Forsyth, but before he could put it to good use there were other jobs.

The Reuters’ office in East Berlin was a plum posting for any journalist in 1963 as the cold war turned distinctly chilly, despite the attentions of the East German security services. However, when he returned to Britain in 1965 for a job as a diplomatic correspondent with the BBC, it was Broadcasting House rather than East Berlin which he found to be “a nest of vipers”. His relationship with the BBC hierarchy was antagonistic from the start and deteriorated rapidly when he was sent to Nigeria in 1967 to cover the civil war then unravelling. Objecting to the unquestioning acceptance of Nigerian communiques that downplayed the situation, by both the Foreign Office and the BBC, Forsyth began to file stories putting the secessionist Biafran side of the story as well as the developing humanitarian crisis. He was recalled to London for an official BBC reprimand but returned to Nigeria as a freelance at his own expense to cover the increasingly bloody war and to write a Penguin special, The Biafra Story (1969).

He returned to Britain for Christmas 1969, low on funds, his BBC career in tatters and with nowhere to live. On 2 January 1970, camped out in the ﬂat of a friend, he began to write a novel on a battered portable typewriter. After 35 days The Day of the Jackal was ﬁnished, and fame and fortune followed.

In 1973 he married Carrie (Carole) Cunningham, and they moved to Spain to avoid the rates of income tax likely to be introduced by an incoming Labour government. In 1974 they

relocated to County Wicklow in Ireland, where writers and artists were treated gently when it came to tax, returning to Britain in 1980 once Margaret Thatcher was ﬁrmly established in Downing Street. By 1990, Forsyth had undergone an amicable divorce from Carrie, and claimed to have lost £2m in a share fraud. To recoup his losses, Forsyth threw himself into writing ﬁction, producing another string of bestsellers. He was appointed CBE in 1997 and received the Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 2012. In 2016 he announced that his memoir The Outsider (2015), which revealed that he had worked as an unpaid courier for MI6, would be his swansong.

He acquired a reputation as a pungent pundit, both on Radio 4 and in a column in the Daily Express, on topics as the “oﬀensive” European Union, the leadership of the Conservative party, and the state of Britain’s prisons. He was an active campaigner on behalf of Sgt Alexander Blackman, “Marine A”, who was jailed for the murder of an injured Taliban ﬁghter in Afghanistan in 2011. Forsyth maintained that Blackman had been made a scapegoat by the army from the moment of his court martial. In 2017 the conviction was overturned. Often concerned with military charities, Forsyth wrote the lyrics to Fallen Soldier, a lament for military casualties in all wars recorded and released in 2016.

Despite having declared Forsyth’s retirement from ﬁction, his publisher Bantam announced the appearance of an 18th novel, The Fox, in 2018. In 2024 The Day of the Jackal was extensively reimagined by Ronan Bennett for a Sky TV series, with Eddie Redmayne taking the place of Fox. In 1994 he married Sandy Molloy. She died last year. He is survived by his two sons, Stuart and Shane, from his ﬁrst marriage.

ANDREWS, David Norman Martindale (PH 54-59)

Died on 5 February 2025, aged 84. Much loved husband of Maria and father of Francesca and Thomas (WW 14-19).

HANCOCK, Peter Graham, Cmdr (PH 55-59)

Died on 11 May, aged 83. Husband to Julia, father to Jo, brother to Bruce (PH 52-56) and cousin to Michael (HS 5761). Peter will be much missed by his family and friends.

McDONALD, James Bruce (PS 58-63)

Died on 27 August 2024. Devoted husband of Vikki, loving father of Henry, Alexandra and the late J.J. and proud grandfather of seven.

BOLTON, Mark Andrew (JH 60-64)

Passed away on 21 April, 2025, in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, aged 78. Beloved husband to Denise, father to Ann-Maree and Jane and adored grandfather. Brother to Nicholas (JH 52-55) and David (JH 56-59). A proud OT who often reminisced over happy times, especially many sporting events. He will be forever cherished and missed.

CALDWELL, Philip John Grifﬁths (PH 60-65)

Passed away on 29 April 2024, aged 77. Beloved husband to Lesley, adored father to Gemma and Stephanie, grandfather to Rupert and Beatrice. Grandson to William Caldwell (DB 11-14).

EWBANK, Michael James (SH 60-65)

Died on 3 July 2024, aged 78. Much missed.

BROWN, Roy Drysdale (HS 61-65)

Died 28 November 2024, aged 77. Much loved husband to Carol and father to Alexander and Cameron. A distinguished industrialist and engineer, Roy was also a Governor of the School.

BASDEN-SMITH, Ian (SH/HS 64-68)

Died on 29 January 2025 after a short battle with cancer, aged 74. Husband to Diane, father to Emma, Lucy and Anna, much missed by his family and friends.

The following obituary was written by Diane Basden-Smith

18 August 1950 – 29 January 2025

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Ian BasdenSmith, who left us at the age of 74 after a short battle with cancer. Born in Tunbridge Wells, Ian’s life was marked by a profound love for family, a vibrant career, and an enduring passion for the great outdoors. Ian’s educational journey began at Rosehill Prep School and progressed through Tonbridge School from 1964 to 1968, residing in Smythe House and later Hill Side. He pursued a rewarding career in accountancy, obtaining his ACA qualiﬁcation in 1972 and becoming an FCA in 1977.

He embarked on his career path with Creasey Son and Wickenden (19701973), before joining Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co (1973-1977) postqualiﬁcation. His professional journey saw him at Samuel Montague & Co (1977-1987), where he was seconded to operations in Hong Kong. Ian continued his career at Morgan, Grenfell & Co/Deutsche Bank from 1987 where his work frequently took him to Paris and Frankfurt, enriching his professional experience.

In 1976, Ian married Diane (née Blessley) in Woking, building a life together that spanned 49 beautiful years and blessed them with a loving family. A passionate golfer, Ian was a valued member of Tandridge Golf Club for over 20 years and an active player with the Old Tonbridgian Golﬁng

Society. His appreciation for the outdoors extended to ﬁshing and tennis, while in retirement, he found joy in beekeeping at his Kent home and fostering a lifelong admiration for butterﬂies and wildlife.

Beyond personal interests, Ian dedicated his retirement years to community service and charity. He served as a trustee of The Brain and Spine Foundation, a governor at Ide Hill Primary School, and as treasurer at St Martin’s Church Brasted.

Ian leaves behind his wife Diane, three daughters Emma, Lucy, and Anna, and ﬁve adored grandsons Jack, Arlo, Rafe, Max, and Aaron. He will be profoundly missed by family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing him. Ian’s legacy is one of love, dedication, and an infectious zest for life. His memory will forever remain in our hearts. May he rest in peace.

CRICHTON, Jonathan Hugh Kennedy (Johnny) (JH 69-73)

Died on 12 September 2024, aged 68. Much missed by his family and friends.

DOWN, Alastair Gordon (HS 69-73)

Died on 1 November 2024, aged 68. Ebullient racing journalist and broadcaster who won a string of awards. The Press Room at Cheltenham Racecourse was named after him and he attended the opening the week before he died. He is survived by two daughters and a son.

Alastair Down, racing journalist, was born on February 9, 1956. He died of undisclosed causes on November 1, 2024, aged 68

The following is an edited version of Alastair’s obituary in The Times:

Alastair Down brazenly admitted to wanting to study horse racing rather than politics and philosophy at the University of York, declaring at his interview that his choice had been inﬂuenced by seven racecourses being within easy reach.

Down gained a 2:2 degree, which proved of little worth. The world of racing journalism into which he moved without formal newspaper training, one which he was well suited to through his gregariousness and love of a celebratory drink, did not require higher education. He settled instead on working for Raceform after leaving university, and ran a betting syndicate.

From an early age he liked a bet. “We met in remedial maths class at school,” said Hugh Boucher, a lifelong friend. “Alastair was very well read and interested in lots of things but was a dreadful mathematician and never passed his O-level. So it always amused me that he could calculate exactly what he would get back from a successful bet, including taking the tax oﬀ. We bonded over that.”

Down had taken an interest in “a couple of decent racehorses” that Boucher’s parents owned, but riding one of them, or indeed any others, held no appeal. “My father wouldn’t have been interested in keeping his weight down to become a jockey,” his daughter, Camilla, said. “I once saw him riding and it was a jarring experience.” So he settled on journalism and presenting racing, becoming as cheery and familiar a presence on television as John McCririck, his co-host on Channel 4, as well as a fêted writer for Sporting Life, winning a string of awards.

Alastair Down was born in 1956 and grew up in Bromley, Kent, the son of Gordon Down, an insurance broker, and his wife, Pam, a keen gardener. Alastair was sent to Tonbridge School, where he was “a fearsome ﬁrst XV prop forward” according to Boucher, “but had no other interest in taking exercise” and was taught by the longserving head of English, Jonathan Smith, who found him “very charming, warm and articulate”. There was no dissenting from this description in

racing circles. “My father loved meeting people and chatting to them and had so many friends,” his daughter said. “He was not a diligent person but had an outstanding brain.” Down’s writing was enhanced through voraciously reading poetry as well as the history of modern warfare and, despite his insouciance at university, politics. Part of one holiday was spent in argumentative discussion about the role of helicopters in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a lifelong Liberal Democrats supporter.

Down undertook sub-editing shifts on the sports desk of The Sun before he joined Sporting Life in 1981. The editor, Ossie Fletcher, whom he believed was the only person he knew who smoked more than his 60 Marlboro Reds a day, asked him to start work in the second week of March. Down managed to put this oﬀ until after the Cheltenham Festival had taken place. By now his family had moved to Evenlode in the Cotswolds, pleasingly close enough to what soon became his favourite meeting.

The bar-room pleasantry ingrained in the sport swiftly appealed. “My father had an enduring love and interest in wine,” his daughter said. “He was an enthusiastic drinker and his knowledge of wine was deep — he was fascinated by the world of winemaking, the diﬀerent houses and their history, especially old world wine.” For the most part, Down relished working for Sporting Life, yet not long after the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) made him Writer of the Year in 1994 — he was to win this award another four times — his career looked in jeopardy.

Down had written an article stating that a horse named Top Cees, trained by Lynda Ramsden and ridden by Kieren Fallon, had been a non-trier in the Swaffham Handicap at Newmarket. Mirror Group, the publishers of The Sporting Life, were sued for libel. The case took three years to come to the High Court, where a jury found in favour of the plaintiffs. Damages totalling £195,000 plus costs estimated at £300,000 were awarded. Yet his career was not affected.

Nor was his career impaired by his repeated missing of deadlines. “From day one I was famous for holding up

production and have done it ever since,” he admitted, brushing oﬀ threats of dismissal. And when, shortly after the High Court case, Mirror Group bought Racing Post and closed the newspaper arm of The Sporting Life, Down remained in employment. In addition, he started to work for Channel 4, initially as a newspaper reviewer and subsequently as part of its presenting and commentating team. This lasted until 2012, when Channel 4 Racing employed a new production company and Down and McCririck, with whom he got on well, were dropped.

Down was separated from his wife, Frances (née Werner) a primary school teacher and author whom he had met through Boucher’s wife, Fiona. She and their three children, Camilla, a solicitor, Clare, a civil servant, and James, who is in ﬁnancial services, survive him. A third daughter, Saskia, whose mother worked in the same oﬃce as Down, was murdered in a terrorist attack at Fishmongers’ Hall, London, in 2019. Down never fully recovered and fell back on alcohol and literature.

“He adored Tolkien and his books were a place of solace throughout his life,” Camilla said. “In the copy of Lord of the Rings he gave me for Christmas when I was 11, he wrote: ‘I ﬁrst read it when I was your age and think it is a wonderful story, beautifully told. But more than that, it is a book to which I have returned again and again, both when happy and in times of trouble.’ ”

A week before Down died, he attended the opening of the press room at Cheltenham racecourse which was named in his honour. He was deeply touched.

ALLBROOK, William

Reginald (WH 70-74 and WW 74-75)

Died on 22 April 2025, aged 68. Husband to Heather, father to Georgina and Harriet, grandfather to Rory, Rowan and Rosie and brother to Mark (WH 68-73) and Johnny (WW 7580). He will be much missed by his family and friends.

The following obituary was written by Mark and Johnny Allbrook

One of the ﬁrst intake into Whitworth, Will transferred from Welldon as a Prae

and was later to become Whitworth’s second Head of House. He coxed the 1st IV on the Medway and ran in the Cross-Country team. After Tonbridge he read History at Kent University, followed by a varied career, ending up as an independent marketing consultant. He loved his motor bikes, climbing and walking. He completed the Three Peaks Challenge recently (Ben Nevis, Snowden and Scafell Pike) and ascended many Scottish Munros. He completed the London Marathon in 2002 for Age Concern.

HILL, George Rupert (Rupert) (PH 71-76)

Died on 15 December 2024, aged 65 from cancer. Devoted husband to Louise, stepfather and step grandfather.

The following obituary was written by Rupert’s father, George.

After leaving David Kemp’s care at Park House, and serving as a school prae, Rupert spent four happy years at Mansﬁeld College, Oxford. He then taught in the south of Sudan for two years. On his return he spent a year at Abingdon School before taking up a Geography post at Dover College. The following is an edited version of a tribute from Dover College, where one of the Headmasters under whom he served was Jack Ind (CR 63-81): ‘Rupert began his career at Dover College in 1986 as a teacher of Geography and a resident tutor in Leamington House. He retired in 2021, marking the conclusion of a remarkable career that spanned decades and left an indelible mark on every aspect of College life.

Rupert started his pastoral journey as a tutor in Leamington House before taking on the role of Housemaster of Crescent House, a position in which he excelled. His leadership was defined by total commitment, care, and an unwavering dedication to his pupils He later became Senior Housemaster and a vital member of the Senior Management Team, further cementing his influence and leadership within the college. Fittingly, he concluded his pastoral career as Leamington Housemaster, steering the house with grace and determination through the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdowneffortlessly adapting to the demands of the time.

cricket, Rupert also coached and refereed rugby, hockey, and soccer, and served as Master in Charge of Fencing. His enthusiasm for sports was boundless, and countless Old Dovorians will cherish memories of his energy, encouragement, and dedication to fostering excellence on the ﬁeld.

BUIST, Simon Lawrence (Wing Commander RAF) (WH 72-77)

Passed away peacefully in hospital, surrounded by his family, on Tuesday 3 September 2024, aged 65. Beloved husband to Janet, dearly loved dad to Sarah and Andy and grandad to Annabelle and Olivia. Brother to David (SH 67-72) and John (SH 72-77).

For many, Rupert will be remembered as a passionate sportsman. His involvement in College sports was extensive and impactful, reﬂecting his deep love for physical education and team spirit. Cricket was his greatest passion, and he dedicated many happy years as Master in Charge of Cricket, nurturing generations of players and fostering a love for the game. Beyond

Rupert’s influence extended well beyond sports. He served with distinction as Chair of the Common Room, a teacher of Mathematics, and for several years, Head of Geography. His wisdom, guidance, and willingness to support colleagues were invaluable, earning him the deep respect and admiration of staff and pupils alike. Rupert’s commitment to the broader life of the College was equally impressive. He led numerous trips and activities that enriched the educational experience for so many pupils, including geography field trips, expeditions to Norway and the Alps, ski trips, and a hockey tour of Barbados. He also participated in the Oxford Hockey Festival, coached the Commoners’ Cricket team, and organised countless theatre outings and Common Room trips - all testament to his tireless dedication to creating a vibrant and dynamic school community. GR Hill was more than a teacher and housemaster; he was a coach, mentor, parent, and grandfather who touched countless lives through his devotion to Dover College and its pupils.’

He was married late in 1998 to Louise and spent his last years as a devoted stepfather to four young people and grandchildren who adored him. His retirement was brief, happy and fulﬁlled; there was always plenty to occupy his life, until cancer struck in the summer of 2024.

BULLOCK, Sebastian Francis (SH 79-83)

Died peacefully surrounded by his family on 19 February aged 59, having fought a courageous battle against pancreatic cancer. He was a hugely well-respected member of Cheltenham College from 1998; Housemaster, teacher of Economics, Duke of Edinburgh leader, rowing enthusiast, and latterly, Cheltonian Society & Development Director. He leaves his wife and three children.

The following is an abridged tribute by one of Sebastian’s colleagues at Cheltenham College, Dominic Faulkner, at a reﬂection service for current staﬀ held in Chapel on 7 March:

Sebastian was part of the college community for nearly 30 years. He was hugely well-respected in the many diﬀerent roles he fulﬁlled at College, especially as House-master of Boyne House, teacher and Head of Economics, Duke of Edinburgh leader, rowing enthusiast, and latterly, Cheltonian Society & Development Director. His loss is felt deeply by us all. Thirty years ago, Sebastian and I passed the same selection course into our Army regiment. I didn’t know him well at the time but was soon in awe of his ability and speed in the hills. He was an enigmatic character, rarely giving anything away and modest in the extreme. In those early days I never recall seeing him tire. Just as with Everest, he was drawn to the most demanding of challenges and

completed them with typical understatement and humility. I learnt a huge amount from him when I joined College a couple of years after he did. It has been a privilege to travel and climb with him in Norway, Peru, the French Alps, Nepal, Tibet and of course those countless days in Snowdonia and the Beacons.

One of our first College trips together was to Norway. I had planned a suitably arduous trek in the Hardanger with a dozen pupils and on the first night we camped in a remote spot. I had struggled more than usual with my weighty rucksack and, feeling exhausted, collapsed into my tent for an hour. On emerging, Seb was nowhere to be found. One of the boys pointed toward the mountain on the far ridgeline. ‘Sir, Mr Bullock said to tell you that he thought the day had been quite light and he was going for a run to stretch his legs.’ Later that evening, I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or relieved when I unpacked my bag to find a mid-sized boulder placed at the bottom. He loved a practical joke and had a great sense of humour. On Sebastian’s Everest summit day in 2006, I was in basecamp, watching events unfold. He and his climbing partner Chris had set off from the top camp the previous night, timing their ascent to reach the summit for dawn. Their pace was such that they arrived in the dark – after all that effort I’m not sure they had much of a view. Their descent was more eventful. Not far below the summit, Chris suffered with a blocked oxygen mask and resulting hypoxia. This scenario, in the so-called death zone, is every climber’s worst nightmare. I can still recall the strain in Seb’s voice on the radio, followed by an hour of agonising silence. Three thousand metres below there was little we could do to help. Later, with the mask cleared and Chris revived, Seb’s follow up call referred only to ‘a spot of bother.’ He never again mentioned the incident. He did not warm to being labelled a hero.

‘If only ﬁghting cancer was like climbing a mountain,’ he wrote to me in a letter last summer. For a man used to meeting challenges head on, he was confronted very cruelly with something insurmountable. Even then he maintained his characteristic dignity and his legendary work ethic never left him.

WARD, Bradly

(HS 79-84)

Died on 14 January aged 58. Much loved husband to Jill, father to Jake (HS 06-11), Angus (HS 08-13), Hugo (HS 10-15) and Oli (HS 13-18). Brother of Howard (WW 75-80) and son of Heather and the late Roger (HS 52-56). Much missed by his family and many friends.

The following obituary was written by Matthew Hardcastle (HS 79-84).

Bradly’s family has a strong attachment to Tonbridge School and to Hill Side. He was very proud of the fact that his father Roger (HS 51-56) and mother Heather, who owned a pig farm near Meopham, were able to send Bradly and older brother Howard (WW 75-80) to the school. Brads and his wife Jill continued that tradition with gusto, sending all four of their boys Jake (HS 06-11), Angus (HS 0813), Hugo (HS 10-15) and Oli (HS 1318) to Tonbridge, maintaining the Ward dynasty both on the sports pitch and off it. Fielding a strong Old Hill Siders cricket team was not difficult with five Wards often on the teamsheet.

Brads joined Tonbridge from Hilden Grange as a day boy in Whitworth but in the Upper Fifth joined Hill Side, where the House prospects in sports instantly improved. Arguably the most gifted, all-round sportsman of his year, Bradly represented the School 1st team at cricket, rugby and hockey. Had it not

been for hamstring and back injuries in his last year he would probably have played in the 1st team at all three sports throughout the Sixth Form. He captained the School at cricket and was picked for Southern Schools in his last year but was unable to play due to injury.

Brads approached sports and indeed, life with a laid back, ‘have a go’ attitude, and he was always a man you wanted on your team. He made batting at times look ridiculously easy, but could also infuriate the master in charge with an impetuous demise (often going aerial), having made a promising start. Oﬀ the ﬁeld, however, he always found something to smile about and fun to be had, most memorably when the team arrived at the 1983 cricket festival with bleached hair after a group experiment with lemon juice.

On leaving school, cricket dominated Brads’ life, alongside a career in the City. He was oﬀered a contract with Sussex CCC, which took precedence over university, and a stockbroking job in the City with James Capel. He played over 20 Cricketer Cup games for the OTs between 1984 and 1993 including two ﬁnals, Kent league cricket for Beckenham and played his way into the MCC, paving the way for many future sightings at Lord’s.

His other sporting love was golfanother game that he could make look so easy with his languid swing and trademark ‘hover-jab’ putting style. Competitive oﬀ a 6 handicap at Rye, few will forget the bone-crunching handshake yet warm smile on the green having lost again to Brads.

Brads maintained close links with many OTs, most notably at Lord’s, Twickenham and Rye. He will be missed not only by the Tonbridge community but also by the very wide network of friends he developed through work and at home in Goudhurst. In 2000 he left Winterﬂood Securities, where he had worked for a decade, to start a second career, cofounding a property company specialising in block management, which he sold to Foxtons in 2022.

Our thoughts are with Jill and the boys, his mother, brother and sister Josie. Brads was loved by us all and will be dearly missed.

BOLDT, Andrew Dominic (FH 91-96)

Sadly died on 13 February 2025, aged 47 at the Countess of Brecknock Hospice, after a year-long courageous battle with cancer. A devoted husband to Tiﬀ and father to Ralph, Amber and Molly. An adored son, brother and friend to many.

The following obituary was written by Ed Goodworth (SH 91-96), Jeremy Mavor (FH 91-96), Adam Hunter (PH 91-96) and Tiﬀany Boldt.

In September 1991 the 21 boys of 3B filed into Mr James’ classroom for their first lesson. Some more nervous than others. All of them expectant with intrigue as to what Tonbridge would hold in the coming years. None could have foreseen the friendships and memories that would start to be forged that morning. Boldty appeared made for Tonbridge. Intelligent, good at sport, confident and popular. He took to Tonbridge like a duck to water. His natural intelligence meant that he took academic life in his stride, and he was one of the first names on the team sheet for the A’s at all sports; he was a triple colour in rugby, hockey and cricket by the end of the lower Sixth, and played for the 1st XI at hockey and cricket in the 5th form. He went on to captain the 1st XI at cricket and was Head of House in Ferox Hall. For all his talents and achievements, Boldty had a self-assured confidence that never

came across as conceited or arrogant. He was comfortable in his own skin and followed his own path in life, guided by, but not overly inﬂuenced by others. He was kind and engaging to those he encountered and perhaps it was these qualities, above all others, that allowed him to continue to see personal and professional success throughout his life.

However, it is important to be clear that Boldty was no angel. He always had a twinkle in his eye. Evreux in October 1992 saw a mix of the ﬁrst signs of Boldty’s fondness for a party and some local Calvados leading to not only a number of us incurring the wrath of Mr Austin but also sacriﬁcing our next couple of Saturday evenings. As ever Boldty was too charming to remain in trouble for long.

Jump forward then, to the Ferox Upper 6th common room in early June 1996. The lesson-free gap between Chapel and break time was meant for revision, but perhaps not for Boldty and a few others. The fry up was cooked up, the VHS was started, and the unmistakable theme music was turned up. A sudden burst through the door interrupted proceedings: “What the hell do you think you are doing? Why aren’t you revising?” screamed a frustrated housemaster (Bill Burn). Without hesitation, Boldty calmly replied, “because we’re watching Return of the Jedi, Sir!”. Boldty and co were swiftly despatched. He coasted to three As.

From the outside Boldty looked like, if there is such a thing, a typical Tonbridgian. He followed a well-trodden path to Durham, and having coasted a little more to a 2:1 and made any number of friends, secured a place at Accenture on their Graduate Programme. There followed a few successful years and then a year or two at EY, but Boldty was not one to be constrained by convention and was determined to control his own destiny.

He met his wife Tiﬀ in 2004, they fell head over heels and married a year later in 2005, and three kids followed in quick succession, Ralph 17, Amber 14 and Molly 12. In 2008 he set up his own successful insurance broking business (Insurance Tailors) and went on to sell it 12 years later. He had no prior experience of the insurance industry (save for a few beers with the Tonbridge crowd in the Lloyds market) – but that did not deter him.

In 2011 they moved as a family from London to Hampshire where they settled just south of Andover. He started a second business, teamed with Humphrey Bowles called Guardhog (2016), and third Truvi (previously called Superhog) in 2019 which have proved to be even more successful. But it’s important to note that, despite working all hours of the day, Boldty’s biggest and most important love above all has always been his family. He always made sure he had time to give them and show them his love of life. They too have inherited his love of and aptitude for sport, with Ralph becoming captain of the 1st XV at Canford this coming September. To enhance his business internationally Boldty moved with Tiff and Molly to Barcelona (while Ralph and Amber remained at school in the UK at Canford) in 2023. A move partly driven by his desire to grow the business, but equally his desire for adventure, penchant for a flamboyant shirt and above all to do things a little differently. Wherever he went, he made friends with all and his ability to connect with people transcended nationality or background, possibly a skill picked up from his slightly itinerant childhood following his (sadly deceased) father around to various postings with the Foreign Office to as farflung places as Nigeria, Malaysia, Singapore and Barbados.

The Boldts were settled and having a ball in Barcelona when they received the diagnosis of his tragic illness. Typically, he faced it head on, with incredible courage, dignity and unwavering optimism. He and his wonderful family continued to astound all of us with their positivity and refusal to let his illness get the better of them. With Boldty’s passing, our lives will be poorer, but they are so much richer for having known him. Boldty’s life has reminded us of the wonderful friendships that we developed at School. His approach to life, even now continues to lead and have an inﬂuence over all of us. He certainly would have approved of the gatherings his passing has prompted, the drinks and memories that have been shared, but above all the sense of fun that underpins and dominates those gatherings no matter how tragic the circumstances.

Our thoughts are with his wife Tiﬀ and incredible children Ralph, Amber and Molly, and also with his mother, Jan, his brother, Stuart, and Stuart’s family. Boldty was good at everything he did, but his greatest skill was with people, as a family man and a dear friend. We will miss him greatly but will endeavour to live life as he would have wanted us all to.

HOOPER, Charles Edward (Charlie) (SH 05-10)

Died on 15 February 2025 at home in Hitchin, aged 32. Son of Fiona and Martyn, brother of Will (SH 02-07) and partner to Ghislaine. Deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

The following obituary was written by Fiona Hooper, Charlie’s mother.

A Drama Scholar at Tonbridge, Charlie could mostly be found, seen and heard in the E M Forster theatre. Charged and trusted with challenging roles, contemporary alumni may remember his moving Novi park attendant in Alan Bennett’s ‘Playing Sandwiches’; his Lower Sixth Dr Bruce in Joe Penhall’s ‘Blue/Orange’ or his ﬁnal year eyes-gouged-out performance as King Lear’s Earl of Gloucester.

A stalwart of Arvon Foundation writing courses, Charlie became the ﬁrst recipient of the James Naylor Memorial Prize for Creative Writing, before moving onto Jesus College, Oxford where he studied English Language and Literature, becoming an award-winning actor and published poet. During his time at Oxford he founded the Jesus College Creative Writing Society.

Never without his trusty, tatty satchel, notebook and paperback, Charlie loved to travel, to explore and experience diﬀering cultures and to return with something he’d collected from wherever he went. He spent much of his gap year in India followed by travelling through large parts of Eastern Europe in his quest to connect with the gothic settings of some of his favourite novels.

Charlie was known for making and having friends from all walks of life and for introducing them to his eclectic taste in music and his passion for reading - whether it was his extensive knowledge of the Beat Generation, the lyricism of his hero Byron or the voice of Seamus Heaney.

At the time of his death Charlie was working in technology-driven information services for the legal profession.

A Service of Remembrance was held in St Augustine’s Chapel on 10 May. Attended by many alumni and masters, recently retired Head of Piano and organist David Williams closed with the haunting Philip Glass ‘Mad Rush’ as a poignant reminder of Charlie’s ﬁve years at Tonbridge.

Charlie’s involvement in securing Oxford educational scholarships and opportunities for students from Gaza and his commitment to fairness and opportunity is being continued by his family and friends fundraising in his name for Gaza Great Minds Foundation.

Described by one of his masters as having a ‘quick wit and humour to brighten some of the longest days’, and another recalling how his ‘probity and thoughtfulness were always underpinned by a sense of enquiry, an attempt to broaden and deepen his awareness of the world around him, and the ways in which it was possible to help others’, we can appreciate how Charlie’s myriad friends will miss his ability to make others laugh and think, his sense of style, his kindness and generosity.

Charlie is survived by his parents, Fiona and Martyn, his brother, Will (SH 02-07), his nephews, Franky and Jesse, his partner, Ghislaine, and their rescue dog, Scorseby.

LONGLEY, Richard Ian (Dick) (CR 69-05)

Died on 14 April 2025, aged 85. Much-loved husband of Helen, beloved father of Jenny, Jeremy (WW 79-84), Jacqui and Jonny (WW 82-87) and much-loved grandfather and great grandfather.

The following obituary was written by Jonathan Smith (CR 67-02)

Was there anything Dick Longley could not do? He was an outstanding academic, a brilliant scientist. He was outstanding in his schooldays at Dulwich College, before winning a major scholarship at Jesus College, Cambridge. He took all this in his stride, as he did as Head of Physics for many years at Tonbridge. His colleagues and his pupils recognised an exceptional person.

He could play any game, golf, tennis, squash, rugby, you name it, and play them all at a high level. While he was at it he played the guitar and he sang well. He was, everyone agreed, simply remarkable on computers, awesome, a legend. I wouldn’t know too much about that, but I do know that he was very well read and that he loved poetry. He read, widely, every day. He always had a novel on the go.

And yet there was, it seems to me, an even more unusual aspect to Dick. Given all his apparently eﬀortless gifts, he could have been accused of being, once in a while, superior in manner or tone. Yet in all our years of friendship I never once, not once, at School or on holidays, heard him make a mean or unkind or dismissive remark. He left all that to the rest of us.

He never pushed himself forward. He wasn’t interested in the politics of any community. He had no time for all that. It never came up. Instead he made a practical contribution. He was a leader of the Community Service Group, the CSG, but in this as in much else he took no credit. He shunned the limelight. While others were feted he went on working, working quietly, absorbed in whatever came to hand, with his clarity of mind shining through.

As a matter of course he ran the extra mile. For example, every Easter he organised the annual Reading Party,

ﬁrst of all up in the Lake District, leading us on memorable walks, map in hand, climbing the fells every afternoon, always looking for a new challenge. But the mornings always brought hours of silent study. And then for years he took the Reading Party down to North Cornwall, a part of the world Dick knew intimately. All this was organized with no fuss. It just seemed to happen. If it was stressful he never showed it.

If you ever wanted help with your prep, well, the Longleys had all bases covered. The sciences, the arts, languages, maths, divinity, having diﬃculty? Ask the Longleys. They’ll help, they can explain. I’ll ask Dick. I’ll ring him up now. Hi, Dick, do you have a moment?

Helen, Jenny, Jeremy, Jacquie, Jonny, what a family. And what an extraordinary man Dick was.

OGILVIE, Jennifer Margaret (nee Roberts)

Died peacefully on 23 February 2025, aged 90. Wife of Robert (Headmaster 70-75), and mother of Isobel, Alexander (PH 76-80) and Charles (PH 78-83).

EVERETT, Christopher Harris Doyle CBE (Headmaster 1975-1989)

Died peacefully on 16 November 2024, aged 91. Beloved husband of the late Hilary (Billy), father of Victoria, Charles, Nicholas and Alexandra, grandfather of 11 and greatgrandfather of four.

HAWKINGS, John Manwell, Dr (School Doctor 83-95)

Died on 2 June 2025, aged 89. John was the Senior Partner of Warders Medical Practice, Tonbridge, for many years and Medical Oﬃcer to the School from 1983-1995. Father to Jenny, Cath and Richard (SH 76-81).

BARBER, Tim (Reprographics Manager 94-25)

Died in hospital on 2 March 2025, aged 65, following a late diagnois of cancer. A much loved colleague and friend, Tim had very recently retired

from his role as Reprographics Manager after almost 31 years at the School. A gifted designer and a lover of music and bands, Tim was one of the founding members of the School Staﬀ Band.

The following obituary is written by David Williams (CR 82-24)

Having decided to retire just before his 66th birthday in July it seems even more sad that Tim’s planned retirement event was ﬁrst postponed, then ultimately cancelled for the saddest of outcomes. None who visited his Reprographics Department in the Vere Hodge Centre will have planned a quick trip! Tim’s loquacious manner, even slightly teasing and provocative conversational style drew out varied and interesting views from visitors who might otherwise have expected a business trip but ended up with stirring up chats about Trump, Tories, and any other topic which caught his attention that day.

Sitting in ‘that’ chair, he meticulously crafted all the very many tasks assigned to him, not least the very substantial School magazine, The Tonbridgian. While all those other important, even vital print jobs came his way we may never be able to quantify the vast amount of them. Everything from department booklets, schemes of work, senior management policies, Governors’ public and private documents and, of course, the School budgets - he told me that was one of the reasons his door had the key and coded lock.

Tim began working at Tonbridge School in 1996. His ﬁrst venue was a rather makeshift printing facility underneath the Smythe Library. Rather dank. Not purpose built but a functioning room nonetheless. The new and much smarter VHC venue gave him and the School the wherewithal to deliver a better service which, as these things do, grew in tandem with demand. Coming from a design and technical draftsman background Tim was an ideal candidate to manage projects which required that kind of expertise. So very soon after his arrival he was invited to do the ‘origination’ of the School magazine. Origination means basically to prepare all the necessary elements of document design in preparation for ﬁnal printing – the whole process. This he relished and turned his hand to many other jobs which came his way advising on so many constituent parts of each piece of work. The good oldfashioned ‘hard copy’ could not be changed once it went to print so his work had to be as immaculate as possible. This I discovered when we worked on The Tonbridgian magazine when I was editor – his exacting standards were very evident!

Perhaps the most visible part of his work were the famous covers of that publication. We received many other school magazines and none was a patch on his brilliant work. Fun. Clever. Creative. Masterful technical proﬁciency at its best, on show and for all to see. He was also known outside his department for his very keen musical skills contributing to the House Music Competition in the popular Staﬀ Band each year. He had even made his own guitar quite recently. His colleague, Jody Taylor, says of Tim that “he was a larger-thanlife character with a big heart who was very kind”. Those who worked with him found him a great manager who was compassionate and supportive. We are all very sad at the loss of such a long-standing personal friend and colleague.

BEAUMONT, Stephen Martin (Martin), The Reverend (CR 00-11)

Died peacefully from a brain tumour on Friday 30 August, aged 73. Much loved husband of Ruth. Martin was a much-loved and inspirational Chaplain and teacher of Religious Studies. He will be sadly missed by so many.

The following obituary was written by Andrew Edwards (CR 85-20)

Martin, who died on August 30 2024, led a life characterised by selﬂess and unconditional service both to God and those in his care. His countless acts of kindness never seemed to be the result of conscious decisions, rather the natural and instinctive acts of a fundamentally unselﬁsh and loving soul devoted to serving others. I have never known someone so universally loved and respected as Daddy B.

Although most of his professional life was spent in the southern part of the country, Martin was, of course, a proud north-easterner. His own school days were spent at Pocklington, in the Yorkshire Wolds; then the reading of Theology at King’s College, London, and training for the priesthood at St Augustine’s, Canterbury, before his ﬁrst curacy took him back to a parish on the edge of Newcastle.

School chaplaincies started at Marlborough College, and continued for well over 30 years, with a stint in between as the Domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter. Three further ﬁne schools followed: Taunton School, Haileybury College and eleven memorable years at Tonbridge School. After retirement from Tonbridge, Martin became vicar at Chiddingstone before moving down to Milverton in the West Country.

There is, of course, something of a variety between the experience of a great industrial city, the life within a public school, and indeed the lives of those in rural parishes. Martin’s genius was to be able to talk with great clarity and directness, and often with humour, to all people. At Tonbridge the boys were in Chapel four times a week, ﬁve if you were a boarder, and Martin considered that a key part of his role was to provide the time and opportunity for quiet reﬂection, not

always to provoke deep, spiritual insight, for he knew of course that not all boys listen to every word all of the time, but to provide some moments of safety and refuge: of protection from the insistent chattering demands of the busy institution, whether it be that imminent block test, that timed essay, that ‘conversation’ with the Housemaster, those relentless seven period days, the noise, the questions; simply to help them through the stress of growing up in a hectic workplace with a thousand other souls. Himself the exemplar, Martin showed all of us the values of Christian compassion and humility, through the Scriptures, through personal anecdote, via characters and stories from history, and through the works of a wide range of writers.

One that I know he felt particularly inﬂuenced by, who featured in many addresses, was the Trappist monk and civil-rights activist Thomas Merton. Martin was himself drawn to contemplation and retreat, but his chosen path was a life of contemplative action. There was nothing of the Anchorite recluse about him: Martin loved people; every boy who walked into chapel received a warm and welcoming smile; his football and rugby teams (particularly the forwards) were enthusiastically driven on and refereed by Martin in his characteristic old-school Northern rugby shorts. I am reliably informed

that the only thing that made Martin properly cross at School was the boys’ wasting of food!

Throughout all of this, constantly by his side since marriage in 1982, was Ruth. Ruth has had her own highly successful career as a nursery teacher but she also provided unconditional support for Martin, personally and professionally. Always beside him, whether literally or metaphorically, Mummy B was unceasingly loyal, loving and supportive. Indeed, despite Martin’s epic struggles with technical stuﬀ including remote controls, and his inability to stay awake during evenings, I always felt Ruth joined the rest of us in being slightly in awe of his balancing act: the member of a family, the school chaplain, the teacher, the walker, the vicar, the amateur actor, the art connoisseur, the cook, the tutor, the rugby coach and, of course, the (slightly soft) dog-owner of springer spaniels. To quote Ned, Rowan and Ham Beaumont: ‘We have never known a master as universally loved and respected as ours.’

In Ruth and Martin’s house, Hilltop, in Milverton, there is a tall, narrow bookcase. Nestling there is a volume of poems by Edward Thomas, a favourite of Martin’s, killed in 1917 in France. His greatest poem, As the Team’s Head Brass+

FROM THE CHALKFACE

I imagine that most people remember the moment when they were offered their first job, eliciting feelings of excitement, fear, trepidation, relief, alongside other emotions. When offered a permanent teaching post at Tonbridge, I experienced all of the aforementioned feelings –particularly fear, given the heavyweight reputation of Tonbridge’s Classics department, led formerly by John Taylor (known to me initially through his famous textbooks) and now James Burbidge.

I imagine not many, however, are told when they are offered their ﬁrst real job that they were by no means the strongest candidate interviewed for the role. Thanks, Tim. It was reminiscent of the manner in which the news of passing my driving test was delivered: “you have passed (with 14 minors)”. Tim Haynes was quick to assure me that I was being offered the role based on my potential as a schoolmaster, and I think his delivery was, in fact, on message: a teacher’s fundamental role is in the classroom and that was where my efforts ought to be focused predominantly, and he sensed, correctly, that I would need no encouragement to throw myself into life outside of the classroom.

The longer I’ve taught, the more I have come to appreciate the sheer privilege of spending my working days teaching languages which form the bedrock of so many spoken today (including, most

notably, our own), and introducing young minds to ancient authors such as Homer, Cicero, Virgil and Catullus: aside from the pure joy of reading these texts for their own sake, their relevance remains steadfast and their truths everlasting, even in this increasingly complex world. Whether it is Cicero’s description in his pro Caelio of youth being too often led astray by the array of pleasures on offer, or Catullus’ deliberately futile attempt to put a number on the number of kisses he craves from his woman Lesbia, what it means to be human clearly has not changed that much in the last couple of thousand years.

When speaking recently to an OT who was in the midst of changing university courses – and therefore possible career direction, too – I found myself reflecting on the nature of working at a school like Tonbridge. It was the end of the Lent Term last year and, aside from ensuring that public exam sets were prepared with revision resources for

the Easter holidays and continuing to try to motivate my other students through to the end of the term, I was ﬁnalising the administration for the upcoming cricket season, pushing ahead with the organisation of a house ski trip, preparing to give a Seminar Talk to the Third Year about the importance of playing sport and staying active during the exam season, and battling with Tonbridge’s National Rail ticket ofﬁce to try to print out 70 tickets to get Hill Side up to London to see The Lion King; duty nights continued, as did the march of the U14B hockey team; complex tactics ahead of the crunch netball match between staff and the Praes were being prepared, as was the preliminary set list for the staff band ahead of the Skinners’ Day staff party.

When I was considering what career to pursue, I was adamant that it needed to have variety and flexibility. Now, although teaching from home in one’s pyjamas has ceased to be an option for teachers post-COVID and there is not much flexibility in terms of when I turn up for work (term dates are ﬁxed well in advance), there is flexibility in how and when I go about my work and trust that it will be done. I hope the above gave a glimpse into the variety involved. People talk a lot about the hybrid career today and say that fewer people will stay in one profession or career for life. I’d argue that within a school like Tonbridge it is possible and, indeed, essential for teachers to be fulﬁlling multiple different roles at the same time. It can lead to tough choices when two equally immovable priorities face

Rob Stephen (CR 16 – present day)

up against one another, but such is life and so it should be.

Just as members of the Common Room are stretched, so, we hope, are Tonbridgians. The boys are exposed to a dizzying array of opportunities: they are able to do it all, pretty much, in their Novi year but inevitably will have to narrow their focus gradually as they move up the school. With luck, they won’t ﬁnd themselves having to make too many heart-wrenching decisions about which GCSE to take, what sport to play, or whether to continue committing to school plays or focusing more on a particular sport, as hopefully there is time in the day to do it all.

The model of teachers taking on the majority of responsibility for coaching sports and running other co-curricular pursuits is at the heart of what makes a school like Tonbridge what it is for many reasons, but one of the most signiﬁcant, I believe, is the impact it has on participation: the educational empathy it builds between teacher and student is hard to overstate. Yes, it may be hailing it down outside and the prospect of trudging down to Knott’s for rugby may not seem at all appealing, but if I as your teacher will be down there then so will you, and we’ll make the best of a less-than-ideal situation.

In fact, what’s good for the students is also good for us teachers. Although there are days when I might rather not be out on a sports pitch in inclement

weather, if we believe that physical exercise, sport and play are integral parts of an education then, alas, we have to acknowledge that with a climate like ours we will get wet and cold at times. For us teachers, the walk, fresh air and daylight will do us good; for some, it also offers the chance to roll back the years and prove “we’ve still got it” all those years on from when we last set a competitive foot on a pitch or court.

It may sound old-fashioned, but some of the most memorable moments are not those when glory is achieved but when adversity is overcome. And adversity will always have to be confronted when learning a new skill, and it should therefore be essential that teachers (and, indeed, parents) continue to take on new challenges themselves. Dave Alred, erstwhile performance coach to Jonny Wilkinson and Luke Donald, was interested to discover that, in a room full of forty or so elite academy football managers, not one said that they were currently learning a new skill across any ﬁeld of human endeavour. As Alred remarked, ‘How can you empathise with the learner if you have no recent recollection of learning anything yourself?’

Jo Spence, former Master of Dulwich College, described the academic life of a school as being primus inter pares (‘ﬁrst among equals’) in the context of everything else which goes on at a school. For me, the tension was always between sport and music, and at King’s Canterbury I was lucky not to have to miss too many of either due to clashes. Ash Wednesday was the one service of the year when, as a young chorister, evensong clashed with a school rugby ﬁxture. If you had asked me then which I would prefer to do, rugby would have won hands down. The urgency brought about by the intrinsic competitiveness within sport will generally win out, for good or ill.

I remember Ian MacEwen pointing out to me the signiﬁcance of the physical make-up of a school campus. Walk into King’s, Canterbury and you will have already spotted the Cathedral from a mile off (literally); music is

central to school life. Make your way into Tonbridge School and what grabs your attention? I guess it depends on from which direction you approach the School, but the Chapel certainly does not dwarf the nearby buildings as a Cathedral does, whilst, as Ian suggested, there do happen to be three large patches of grass which somewhat dominate an otherwise built-up area.

One career I did not anticipate ticking off while working at Tonbridge – or at all, for that matter – was that of a model. However, as the brilliantly creative editorial team of The Tonbridgian continues to work their magic, I found myself in the art department being photographed alongside my Classics colleagues for a Gladiator II-inspired Lent Term front cover. With Adrian Schweitzer’s retirement this summer (132* in the currency of school terms), in just my nine years at the school the department will have lost almost ninety years worth of Tonbridge teaching experience from the departures of just three colleagues.

But one of the remarkable and humbling aspects of an institution like Tonbridge is the way things move on so swiftly: however irreplaceable someone may seem, the brutal, inexorable march of time takes no prisoners. Such an institution with its strong traditions and cultures will always be greater than the sum of its parts, and it is a privilege to play a part in driving forward a school with such history: anyone who has had a connection with Tonbridge will, as the School Hymn goes, have ‘felt themselves rewarded / So long as Tonbridge throve’.

Rob Stephen

VALETES

The following members of staﬀ have given more than seven years’ service to the School and are now leaving.

Adrian Schweitzer CR 81-25

In the same year as Adrian Schweitzer came to Tonbridge in 1981 as the youngest member of the Common Room, Margaret Thatcher had been Prime Minister for only two years, and Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. I am not sure if Adrian’s forty-four years of active teaching at Tonbridge have ever been surpassed, but certainly not by someone who managed to look so youthful to the end.

Adrian came to Tonbridge from Charterhouse and Oxford, where he read Classics and won four hockey Blues, followed by a PGCE in London. It was a measure of his intellect and versatility that he combined the teaching of Classics with some Maths, this flexibility a boon to many Directors of Studies. He had to work hard to learn the Maths necessary to keep up with the tyros of the department, but that he was able to teach the subject to Lower Sixth level shows how accomplished a Maths teacher he became.

When John Taylor came as Head of Classics in 1992, Adrian was still the youngest member of the department. John and the current incumbent, James Burbidge, have beneﬁted from Adrian’s ability to teach Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation to classes of every ability. James writes that ‘the department and the boys have been very lucky to have someone with Adrian’s breadth of knowledge, apparently inexhaustible energy and conscientious concern for the progress of his students’.

Adrian started pastoral life as a School House Tutor, moved on in 1989 to become Senior Student Housemaster of Knox and then from 1994 to 2009 Housemaster of Parkside. His years in Parkside coincided with big social change through the development of ever more sophisticated mobile phones, allowing easier communication between boys and parents, but meaning that housemasters spent increasing amounts of time responding to parental concerns. Adrian remembers installing a second phone box in Parkside, which soon became obsolete. He was acknowledged as a caring and conscientious housemaster, in the van of the shift of

emphasis to a kinder atmosphere, with less emphasis on rules and hierarchy. He also devised and oversaw a £500k development to modernise the house, as well as taking the initiative in integrating Hong Kong boys into the boarding house way of life, even organising the ﬁrst school trip to Hong Kong and China alongside Parkside parents. Many Parksiders will be grateful for the care Adrian took with them.

Tonbridge hockey has always punched above its weight, turning out a series of ﬁne players on excellent facilities. Adrian is a very good hockey player himself, as testiﬁed not only by his four Blues and regular place in county teams, but also by his longevity. He is still playing hockey for Marden, as well as representing England in the Over 55 Home Internationals in 2014. He was master-in-charge of Tonbridge hockey from 1982 to 1995 and then again from 2015 to 2021, guiding the revolution from grass to astro. Jono Arscott, as pupil and colleague, writes that ‘for a long period Adrian was Tonbridge hockey. Boys loved his effortless style

and the way he made the game so enjoyable. He wanted to win but knew that sport was there to be enjoyed’. In summer Adrian coached cricket for ten years, but later gravitated to tennis and golf, including running the latter club.

Adrian married Carolyn in 1982 and she has been an invaluable support to him in Knox and Parkside. They have three children – Tom, Nick and Alice – and now a grandson Myles, born last year. In recent years they have prepared for retirement by moving to Lamberhurst, but Adrian has continued with a full range of teaching and sporting commitments, as well as being Chairman of Common Room for ten years. His strong Christian ethic, evident in many years helping with the Christian Fellowship at Tonbridge, has led him to become a churchwarden at St. Mary’s, Lamberhurst, and he is now training for the Licensed Lay Ministry. Adrian has seen many changes at Tonbridge in his forty-four years, but he has done much to keep the School on its ever-rising trajectory and will be greatly missed.

David Walsh

Fiona Dix Perkin

CR 93-98 and 04-25

What a good year 1993 was for Tonbridge School. Martin Hammond recruited Richard Evans, Kay Moxon and Fiona Dix Perkin, familiar to most of us as Fi. For over 25 years, successive generations of Tonbridgians have had the privilege of being taught by Fi, whose warm good humour and approachability belie the rigorous scholarliness and professionalism at the core of her teaching.

Fi joined the School from Cambridge University with an impressive academic record having been taught by, amongst others, the distinguished early modernist John Morrill. She quickly established herself as an excellent teacher of the Tudors and Stuarts. There surely can be few teachers who have possessed such a secure grasp of their material; she was immersed in the period. More generally, she has always been a superbly organised teacher, and lessons have always been immaculately prepared. Early mornings would often ﬁnd Fi stationed by the photocopier producing a whole plethora of interesting resources for her classes. Her thoroughness and diligence were amply illustrated by her ﬁling system, a thing of real wonder and beauty. Whilst she will always be associated with the early modern and medieval period (the Crusades was the other of her specialisms) she was also a brilliant Novi and GCSE teacher, delivering a very wide variety of courses to equally high standards. In addition, she has become something of an expert on School history and was instrumental in preparing a challenging and thought-provoking quiz on this subject for the Novi visit.

Fi has not only excelled in the classroom. She has been a passionate advocate of history and the history department outside of it. She has been a regular attendee for almost all of our visiting lecturers and was also instrumental in using her extensive contacts to organise ﬁrst-rate talks from eminent scholars such as Professor

Richard Rex and Professor Jonathan Phillips who spoke on Martin Luther and the Second Crusade, respectively. History trips have also been an area where Fi has shown real dedication. She has joined or organised many trips to London and particularly enjoyed taking sixth from groups to the National Portrait Gallery to study Tudor and Stuart portraiture. In short, over the last two decades or so Fi has been an integral part of the history department, and we were very lucky that she came back to the school in 2003 after taking a career break to bring up her children. Her flexibility and phlegm have sometimes been needed, and it is testimony to her endurance that she has served under no less than eight heads of departments.

Fi’s commitment to Tonbridge sport should not be overlooked. She is a ﬁne tennis player and a real enthusiast and ran the tennis club very ably in her early years at the school. She also coached hockey and was Master i/c of what was then called mixed sports- a refuge for rugby refuseniks. That she has been at Tonbridge a very long time is evidenced by the fact that she is one of the few remaining members of staff who performed in the legendary version of “1066 and All That” directed by Martin King; Fi tells me the cast found it very amusing!

In many ways, it is hard to write a valete for someone who is hard working, honest, sincere, helpful and professional and these are the qualities that will make her a muchmissed colleague. However, her decision to leave whilst at the peak of her powers is understandable. Over the years, she has somehow managed to juggle a heavy teaching load with family commitments. Of late, however, family has been taking more of her time, and it is a sign of her caring personality that she has chosen to stand down to spend more time with her parents and grandchild. We wish her the very best.

Robert Oliver

Charles Wright CR 94-25

If you know anything about Charles, then you’ll probably have guessed that he’d really rather not have this article written about him, thank you very much. And yet, the time has come (“at last”, he’d say) for him to unplug his HP Elitebook – “we didn’t have those back in the eighties, and we were all the better for it!”; wipe the last irregular verb tables off the board – “it was easier when it was chalk: you knew where you stood with chalk”; and shred all those back copies of the Anglo-East German Friendship Magazine – “unless you want them, of course. There are some really interesting articles: for example, in this edition from 1976, you can ﬁnd out all about how…”.

Charles arrived at Tonbridge in 1994 as Head of German and quickly established a reputation as an outstanding teacher and an effective and organised administrator. Boys not lucky enough to be taught by him might otherwise have known him as their loyal and devoted Tutor in Cowdrey House; as one of the public exam officers, a responsibility supremely well-suited to his fastidiousness; as a stalwart of the cycling club; or as a commissioned officer in the Army section of the School CCF. Latterly, swapping firearms for firewood, he has turned his hand to conservation.

Never one to rest on his laurels – or anything at all, as those who have seen the energy and dynamism with which he teaches will know –Charles took it upon himself to learn Spanish, breezing through the GCSE and A level qualiﬁcations and eventually teaching the subject himself. If he weren’t so modest and self-effacing, he’d tell you that his Spanish A level score placed him amongst the top ten candidates in the country; and he might also mention that in addition to French, German, and Spanish, he taught History to exam level. He has lived and breathed all the subjects he has taught and has enjoyed the opportunities for ﬁeldwork that have presented themselves to him over the course of his career: leading trips to Munich; accompanying trips to Salamanca and the south of France; and more recently to Berlin, where he seemed alarmingly at home in the Stasi prison at Hohenschönhausen.

The impact he has had on generations of pupils is impossible to overstate. Boys in the Novi who couldn’t tell their asado from their Ebro left his classroom five years later confidently discussing German poetry or the intricacies of the subjunctive. He made even the most sceptical Second Year wonder if the pluperfect might actually be something worth knowing about. His love of language, his razor-sharp intellect, and his wit have inspired and nurtured the same in others. Writing this short article as we enter speaking exam season, you can still see the delight he takes in the confidence and success of his charges.

Thank you, Charles, for the decades of brilliance in the classroom, and beyond; your boundless kindness; and your deep, stubborn refusal to take any credit. We’ll miss the quiet, steady presence of someone who made the school a better place, without ever needing to be the centre of it; and we’ll miss you as a teacher, a colleague, and a friend more than words – in any language – can say.

William Law

Richard Hoare CR 95-25

30 years ago, a fresh-faced Richard joined the ranks of the Tonbridge staff. Having gained a First in Modern and Medieval languages at Oxford, he cut his teeth on teaching practice at Eton and a six-year stint at his old school Dulwich College.

In 1995 the School appointed Richard as the Head of Modern Languages along with the role of Head of French. He has always been passionate about giving students the chance to experience and enjoy the culture and language of a country directly. To that end he has run a vast number of trips and exchanges to Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, Biarritz, Santiago de Compostela, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Salamanca and most recently Valencia. He has (mostly!) fond memories of these trips. Along with soaking up the culture in country, Richard has been passionate about teaching French and Spanish cinema back in the classroom. He has introduced generations of Tonbridgians to European cinema where the works of directors such as Truffaut, Renoir, Almodóvar and Saura have given another vibrant dimension to his A level teaching.

In 2007 Richard became the International Coordinator, a role aimed at overseeing the international boys and the Exchange Programme. He successfully organised exchanges with schools in Australia, China, India, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. He also accompanied Barbara Pring and the international boys to destinations such as Milan, Edinburgh and Strasbourg. Richard also introduced the alternative assemblies for boys of other religions, and this recognition of other faiths has been pleasing for him to witness.

Richard became a tutor in Whitworth House in 2007 and spent eight years nurturing and guiding the year groups in his charge. In 2011 he took on the role as Master in charge of Tennis. A keen (and annoyingly good!) player himself, he has built the club into a popular and successful one. It is in this domain I have had the most dealings with him. He is ruthlessly efﬁcient at organising the club from training sessions to matches. If there is half a chance of squeezing an extra ‘D’ team match in during the season, you can bet he will make it happen! I love the

fact that he encourages boys to play matches at all levels. I have joined Richard on many a trip to Vale do Lobo for the preseason tennis camp (another initiative of his), where again, his enthusiasm and willingness to join in has been admirable. Unlike me however, he was less willing to join in with the Karaoke (15 all!). Success for the boys at the national winter league ﬁnals in Bolton and winning the Phillips and Clark cups (the latter twice) at the ISTA’s have been testament to his commitment and hard work.

Beyond tennis Richard has coached hockey teams for 30 years. He has also coached rugby teams for over 20 years including the 2nd XV, the 3rd XV, U15A’s and U16A’s. He fondly remembers an unbeaten season with the U15A’s where a late try by an unlikely saviour (prop Henry Kevis) clinched the victory at Wellington!

Something has to give, and surely actual teaching has had to take a back seat…. Not so, Richard displays the sort of dedication that we all ought to aspire to. In one year of Richard’s tenure, the French department topped the Eton Group for A level results, and the department was described as a ‘hidden gem’ by the Good Schools’ Guide. As a colleague related to me, he always seems to be thinking ahead and working out how he can get the best out of his pupils. As Head of Languages, he freed up the Novi languages’ choices so that boys could choose to study any two languages from French, German, Mandarin and Spanish; he also introduced Mandarin as a full GSCE and A Level subject. Outside of school, he was a committee member of the Independent Schools Modern Languages Association and held the post of Chairman for three years. Richard was also a consultant for QCA and helped set up a post A level languages’ qualiﬁcation.

Richard has been a huge asset to Tonbridge, and he has given his all to the beneﬁt of pupils and the School in general. He has been a fantastic colleague and a dear friend to many of us. Big shoes to ﬁll (particularly tennis shoes….). Game, set, and match to Mr Richard Hoare.

Jon Woodrow

Being at a loss to know where to start when writing a valete for someone as ‘legendary’ at Tonbridge as ‘Hensh’, I approached him for some help and received a logically structured and factually detailed response which I could have used nearly verbatim.

Chris is an exceptional Geographer, particularly on the Physical side of the discipline. This was clearly demonstrated at a ‘Guest Dinner’ 25 years ago, where a geomorphology lecturer had to concede defeat in an argument about the evolution of an obscure (at least, to me) landform on the Welsh coastline; the decisive points relied on Hensh’s superior knowledge of the location from having dangled off it on the end of a rope.

In the classroom Chris has never given less than his all, driving the students hard and generating a huge amount of marking for himself, which he would regularly do at 5am so that he could be ready to welcome the ﬁrst Smythe House boys at 7.30am. His driving passion has always been to inspire the brightest students to wish to study Geography. His methods might be ‘old school’, but the outstanding results that his students achieve have overwhelmingly justiﬁed his approach. His meticulous record- keeping shows that he has sent 25 students to Oxbridge to study Geography.

Chris came to Tonbridge from King’s Taunton, where he had been Head of Geography. He had also taught at Cranleigh, been an alpine climbing instructor (earning his Mountaineering Instructors Certiﬁcate in 1987), kitchen porter and barman and taught in Kashmir in 1978/79. Whilst there he led some of his young pupils up a 5000m mountain. One who had never previously climbed a peak, went on to set up his own mountaineering company,

eventually becoming President of the Himalayan Club!

Chris was an outstanding Housemaster of Smythe House for 15 years, putting the welfare of his students ﬁrst whilst robustly demanding the highest standards from them. He was particularly proud of the termly house magazine (which he almost single-handedly wrote) and gave many thought-provoking chapel talks. he continued to be hugely involved in coaching sport; overall he coached 36 seasons of rugby (ﬁve of them unbeaten) teaching the dark arts to generations of back-row forwards, including Ben Earl. He coached athletics, football and hockey, but his great passion has been the Climbing Club, again winners of the Public Schools Competition this year. Many of his students have gone on to run university climbing clubs, and three became wellknown rock climbers. Not content to go gentle into that good night, in the last few years Chris has also been Chairman of the Common Room, striving to maintain the collegiate spirit of the teaching body through encouraging social events, and supporting colleagues to the best of his ability, with intelligence, moral integrity, wisdom, wit, and Mancunian tenacity.

No encomium for Chris would be complete without mentioning trips, as he gave up three years’ worth of holidays to give boys life-changing

experiences in the natural environment. Chris is in his element in the outdoors; still able to climb a sports grade 7a in his 60s, he has led 33 rock climbing trips, all of them without using travel companies or instructors but teaching students how to live on a shoestring and take responsibility for their own safety, often in climbing Meccas of Greece and Spain. He has camped on glaciers in Iceland, trekked through Peru, and taken fourteen cohorts of Smythe and Welldon boys to the Lakes, always pushing boys beyond what they thought they were capable of achieving. He led 6th formers along the entire 180km high altitude GR20 route in Corsica, camping and carrying all their gear.

Chris will be living close to Tonbridge in his retirement, with Hilary his wife of nearly 40 years. His son Thomas (an OT) now teaches in London, and his daughter Mary is based locally and has recently added looking after a grandchild to his retirement plans. He plans to ﬁnish the remaining Munros, and hopes to still be climbing 7a in his 70s. I would not bet against it.

Chris Battarbee

Chris Henshall

CR 96-25

Chris Martin

Teaching Assistant 01-25

We say farewell to Chris, after 24 years in the Design, Technology & Engineering department at Tonbridge.

When I was asked to write this farewell, I felt honoured: but then, suddenly, I realised how little I really knew about Chris, even though I had worked with him for all that time. And so, I asked him if I could interview him for the piece. I visited him at home and spent a very enjoyable time –with lunch – quizzing him, exercising both his memory and his patience.

A Lancashire man by birth, Chris started out as an apprentice with Mullard in 1959, whilst studying at the Accrington and Burnley FE colleges. He then went on to hone his design skills working in a wide variety of industries as a design engineer. He moved into managerial roles, starting out as Chief Engineer in a Shefﬁeld forging company, eventually becoming production manager with various companies including ARC and Boral, where he became general manager of the Southern region.

Initially based in Accrington then Shefﬁeld, Chris moved down south to work for Marley roof tiles as works and quarry manager in Sevenoaks, and settled in Tunbridge Wells with his wife Shiona, who is sadly now in care.

He developed an interest and expertise in the manufacture of building blocks and pavers, and in 1991 he formed his own company for the manufacture of specialised blocks for retaining walls. After ten successful years he wound the company up and joined the School. His job title was “Teaching Assistant & Technician” – but I can vouch for the fact that what he did was far more than that. His broad engineering experience and skills meant that he could advise boys during all stages of their projects and help to teach them how to use the many different machines in the workshop.

He became an accreditor for the Design & Technology Association, where he visited schools all over the south-east to train teachers how to use machine tools without slicing their fingers off, and issuing proficiency certificates to those who survived the course intact. Indeed, he was instrumental in guiding (and accrediting) all of us in the department: it was clear that there was no tool or piece of equipment in the workshop that he hadn’t mastered (including wood turning, as shown in the picture). Not only that, but he also maintained them in tip-top (and safe) condition.

Being from that remote and strange part of the country between Nottingham and the Scottish border, Chris always called a spade a spade –or, perhaps more appropriately, called a hacksaw a hacksaw. He never used three words when one would do, and what he said invariably made perfect sense.

I always found it relaxing and therapeutic to watch Chris work, because he went about his job calmly, methodically and quietly - I never once saw Chris lose his rag or shout. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and is quick to retaliate in the face of nonsense: but he always preferred a disparaging look to a verbal assault.

Chris said that what he enjoyed most about working at Tonbridge was helping the boys to design their projects and overcoming problems with the manufacture. His contribution to the department was immensely valuable, and there is no doubt that his presence in the workshop will be missed.

We wish Chris a very happy retirement, and every happiness with his wife Shiona, three children, ﬁve grandchildren and one greatgrandchild.

David Faithfull

Matthew Newlands Physics Technician 05-25

After 20 years of dedicated service as a Physics Technician, Matthew decided to retire this year, parking his apparatus trolley in the Prep Room for the ﬁnal time at the end of the Summer Term.

Matthew joined the Physics Department in September 2005, appointed by Alastair Ronn, and made a strong impression from the outset. Before coming to Tonbridge, he worked for EMI Defence Systems in Hayes as a graduate apprentice, followed by an international role at Hewlett Packard, marketing Test and Measurement Lab equipment. With this experience, he quickly grasped the technical equipment used in lessons and proved adept at both repairing and improving apparatus. Most importantly, having earned a degree in Physics from the University of Birmingham and a Master’s in Microwave Engineering from UCL, he was no stranger to the quirks and foibles of physicists, and adapted seamlessly to the unique personalities within the team. His calm and pragmatic approach to last-minute requests and technical challenges made him an indispensable part of the department.

Drawing on his engineering experience, Matthew often made thoughtful suggestions and offered clever alternatives that soothed many a flustered teacher and prevented unnecessary overhauls of carefully laid plans. This invaluable skill made him a trusted and relied-upon member of the team. You could say, we grew to rely on his practical support.

Apologies for the pun - but Matthew would have approved. His fondness for wordplay was well known, and his disarming humour brought a sense of fun to the Prep Room. With a cheeky smile and a glint in his eye, he could often be heard quipping, “You want how many springs? Well, that’s going to be a stretch…” or “The pressure’s on to get the bicycle pumps to your classroom!”

When he was promoted to Senior Physics Technician, Matthew took on an even greater role in supporting lesson delivery. He worked effectively with several different Heads of Physics, adapting easily to their varying

priorities. He particularly enjoyed collaborating with teachers to design new experiments or improve existing setups. His wisdom and experience were also sought during the planning of the Barton Science Centre. The superb facilities we now enjoy— especially the well-designed prep rooms— owe much to his input.

Of course, with any major construction project comes upheaval. The move to the temporary science buildings on the Upper Hundred, followed by the return to the BSC, was a logistical challenge. Matthew oversaw the move for the Physics Department, which was planned with typical care - though once was enough, he might say!

Living locally, Matthew often popped home to walk his dog at lunchtimes. In fact, his connection with Tonbridge School stretches back even further than his two decades of employment. As a teenager, he had a paper round with the old newsagent by the miniroundabout on Shipbourne Road - popular with the boys, and now a One-Stop - and delivered newspapers to the boarding houses and main school. He recalls that there wasn’t quite the same demand for copies of The Guardian back then as there might be today.

Despite the many changes he’s witnessed over the years, one constant has remained: the joy of supporting the education of motivated and intelligent boys. That, he says, was the enduring appeal of the job.

Now retired, Matthew has promised to visit the department from time to time - whether passing through or attending an event in the EMF Theatre. When he does, we can expect a few puns about retirement. Though naturally, none of them work.

Nick Waite

Commercial and Operations Director 08-25

Mat joined Tonbridge from Bromley Mytime, where he was Group Services Manager responsible for eight leisure facilities. From the outset, he brought a dynamic and capable presence to the School, with a clear focus on service quality, efﬁciency, and team development.

In April 2008, he oversaw the opening of Tonbridge School Sports Centre (TSC) as its ﬁrst Manager, playing a central role in shaping its identity and operation. His impact grew further in 2012 when he became Commercial Manager, working closely with Marie Wallace to create Tonbridge Events, which has since become a key part of the School’s commercial activity.

Beyond Tonbridge, Mat is a committed and accomplished open-water swimmer. A highlight came in the form of a six-man English Channel relay swim in 2012, completed in 13 hours and 37 minutes, with ﬁve boys from the School, under the guidance of George Lawson (JH 0712). This milestone spurred him on to solo swims of Lake Windermere (2013) and the Straits of Gibraltar (2019).

In 2016, Tonbridge School Centre won the Flame Award for Regional Centre of the Year, hosted by UK Active, rare for an independent school, which was testament to his standards and leadership (Mat is pictured holding the award). That same year, he was appointed Commercial & Operations Director, with wide-ranging responsibilities including TSC, Recre8, Facilities, Events, Catering, Grounds and Gardens, Safety & Security, and Reprographics. Few roles have been as broad or as embedded in the day-to-day life of the School.

Mat also made a lasting impact in sport at Tonbridge, dedicating 17 years to coaching basketball. Under his

guidance, the teams achieved two unbeaten seasons, a testament to his coaching skill and the strong rapport he built with the boys.

The successful delivery of the Cawthorn Project is a testament to Mat’s exceptional project management skills. His visionary leadership and operational foresight played a pivotal role in transforming the historic Chapel building from a worn-out lecture theatre into a vibrant, modern space for teaching and support staff. Today, the Cawthorn stands as a graceful and inviting environment where staff can collaborate, exchange ideas, and build on shared knowledge and experience. It is in this space that Mat’s legacy will continue to resonate for years to come.

Throughout his time here, Mat has shown a rare

ability to combine strategic thinking with practical execution –always with good humour, fairness, and a strong sense of purpose.

Although not retiring, he has relocated to Cardiff to be closer to family and to seek out the next exciting challenge. We thank him warmly for his many contributions and wish him every success for the future.

Alex Lloyd

Mat Parker

Natalia Gerard CR 16-25

Natalia joined the Learning Strategies Department at Tonbridge in September 2016 from Beech Wood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells.

Natalia is an outstanding teacher, Learning Strategies mentor, tutor and Senior Student Housemaster. More importantly, she is a great person: friendly, fun and fantastically dedicated to supporting students and colleagues.

In the Learning Strategy’s department, Natalia has been a highly valued colleague and mentor to her students. Natalia’s skills as an educationalist are second-to-none. She is knowledgeable, insightful and capable of applying theoretical knowledge and newly learned skills into the workplace in an effective and inspirational fashion. She ﬁghts hard for the interests and needs of her students. She has run the Learning Mentor Programme which has provided the opportunity for many Tonbridge students to support younger children from local primary schools in recent years. Her infectious sense of humour has always been appreciated by her colleagues in Learning Strategies in both good and harder times.

Natalia has truly raised the bar as the Senior Student Housemaster in Brecon. While there was an initial culture shock on discovering quite how feral Parksiders can be, Natalia soon had her ﬁve Parkside Sixth Formers whipped into shape. This was rarely resented as her high standards came wrapped in a bubble of care and concern for the wellbeing of each term’s set of boys. Natalia is well aware that the way to a man’s heart is his stomach. Meat platters at Havet have been popular but grilling Polish sausage on the Brecon

ﬁre-pit followed by toasted marshmallows has been a knock-out, no matter the weather. A single term in Brecon has proved too short for many a Parksider in Natalia’s time in post. She has been a superb and model tutor to boys in the 2nd and 3rd Year and has formed one half of the self-declared ‘Dream Team’ on duty in Parkside on a Wednesday evening for several years with Henry Swales. Parksiders particularly appreciate it when she has been accompanied by her faithful hound, Nala.

Natalia has contributed signiﬁcantly to the broader life of the school. She was one of the early adopters of the cookery classroom, introducing students to her loaded nachos in the aftermath of the pandemic: delicious! Her tutees have certainly beneﬁtted from her culinary passions. More recently, Natalia has been instrumental in pushing the school towards creating a Bereavement policy and a support group for students. She has sung for the Staff Band and contributed immensely to the general bonhomie of the Common Room. She has a raucous sense of humour and does hilarious impressions. Natalia is incredibly generous with her time and showers her friends with invitations and gifts, often with a Polish theme. She loves life, ABBA – Natalia is always up for an impromptu karaoke session – and Las Vegas. Her impeccable professionalism is warm, rather than cold, and, ever so occasionally, a glance down from her stylish clothes to catch a glimpse of her socks give you an insight into her underlying feelings…

Christopher Thompson

Will Law

CR 18-25

Will joined Tonbridge from St John’s, Oxford via Aiglon College, Switzerland in 2018 as Head of French and tutor in Judde House. I had the task (he might consider it more a privilege) of being his Common Room ‘buddy’ which quickly allowed me to establish what those Tonbridgians in his sets soon came to understand; here was a bright, young thing.

As would be expected of a colleague combining a sharp intellect with oodles of energy, Will not only impressed his students, but also the Headmaster, who quickly promoted him to Head of Languages in 2019. In his academic leadership roles, Will has established high standards and, unsurprisingly, languages results have enjoyed a steady, upwards trajectory since he took the reins; highlights including the doubling of A* grades achieved in A Level French, and the department topping the School’s GCSE performance tables in 2022. Oxbridge numbers have remained strong, as has the enrichment offering in languages both here at school and abroad in the varied programme of overseas trips enjoyed by Tonbridge linguists, where he has led or accompanied trips to Montpellier, Grenada, Berlin, and Paris. Perhaps the most notable impact, and one that Tonbridge will continue to enjoy after his departure, is the talented and united faculty that Will has helped recruit and shape. It is evident to colleagues and boys that the Languages Faculty is more than a place of high academic standards, it is also a happy and fun part of the school, and Will should feel proud of the culture he leaves behind for the boys and his colleagues in Old Judde.

Not being a linguist personally, my ﬁrsthand experience of working with Will as a colleague involved another of his passions, the theatre. I have been lucky enough to work with him on two productions: The History Boys in 2019 and Waiting for Godot in 2021 His energy and love of language make him

an infectiously enthusiastic director, and I consider myself lucky to have been able to work alongside him, and some very talented Tonbridgians, on two memorable pieces of drama.

I have myself been subject to this contagious enthusiasm but for another of his passions. Twice he has persuaded me to join him in Chapel to attempt to explain and celebrate what is for many teenage boys simply unfathomable; why they should, like me, fall in love with Eurovision. Eight years ago, I could never have imagined myself even watching the Eurovision Song Contest, and yet twice he has somehow inspired me to stand in front of 800 Tonbridgians to explain why I’m now an aﬁcionado.

Perhaps it is this ability to inspire that will remain my most enduring sense of Will. Many such ruminations reflecting on a soon to depart colleague might, rightly, reflect on the qualities of the inspirational teacher, and this would certainly be ﬁtting for this valete. More so for Will, however, is his capacity to inspire colleagues (who are almost inevitably his friends) to take on what they might otherwise not have considered possible, or simply not considered at all. It is this steady and understated capacity to inspire the best in others that Tonbridge will miss.

Will arrived at Tonbridge a young, single, dare I venture, relatively inexperienced teacher. He leaves not only having established himself as an academic leader deserving of his promotion to Deputy Head Academic at Caterham School but having been lucky enough to ﬁnd along the way his delightful partner, Freddie, and their almost equally delightful dachshunds, Winnie and Rosie. We wish them all the very best for their next chapter at Caterham and hope to see them return to visit soon and often.

Chris Ashurst

PROFILES

This year we are proﬁling six of the pen winners from Skinners’ Days between 2000 and 2025 who have gone on to undertake academic, entrepreneurial and creative careers.

TIM SMITH-LAING (SH 99-04)

won the parcel gilt pen in 2004

Tim says: ‘I was in all honesty so extremely hungover from the Leavers’ Ball the night before that the trip to the stage to collect felt like it might be my last trip anywhere. A queasy moment. I was delighted, all the same. Mostly, I was glad that I had managed to live up to getting the Ainslie ﬁve years before. It felt like conﬁrmation that I had kept up my end of the bargain. Only very slightly disappointed that it was more or less impossible to write with a solid silver quill.’

Tim is a writer, arts critic, and teacher based in London. After Tonbridge he took his BA in English Literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He moved to Oxford, to take an MSt in early modern literature at Balliol College, followed by a DPhil in late medieval and early modern mythography at Merton College.

Outside Oxford, he undertook research at the École Normale Supérieure and teaching at Sciences Politiques in Paris. As a college lecturer in literature at Jesus College, Oxford for three years, he taught early modern literature, cultural history, and the theory of criticism, before leaving academia to concentrate on writing full time in 2013. Since leaving academia, he has published on subjects ranging from early modern philosophy to Hieronymus Bosch, Paul Valéry, and The Monkees. A book critic at The Daily Telegraph, he is also a regular contributor of features and reviews on art for Apollo and Frieze,

and has published ﬁction, poetry and essays in The Junket, as well as teaching Latin in state primary schools for the Latin Programme

He is a regular guest lecturer at the Royal Academy of Art and currently holds a post as a senior lecturer on the joint Royal Academy and University of Maastricht Executive Master in Cultural leadership.

DR PAUL MERCHANT (WW 03-08)

won the parcel gilt pen in 2008 Paul says: “Skinners’ Day 2008 is now something of a sunny, happy blur, but I do remember feeling delighted and honoured to receive the gilt pen. The prize pens are a reminder that knowledge and understanding are precious - both in their own right, and because they allow us to try to make the world a bit better. I’ve carried that idea with me from my time at Tonbridge until today.” After Tonbridge Paul undertook both his undergraduate and PhD at Queen’s College and St John’s College, Cambridge. He wrote his MPhil dissertation on the fragmentary imagery of the body in the works of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño.

He joined Bristol University in 2017 in the Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies. His doctoral research formed the basis of his ﬁrst monograph, Remaking Home: Domestic Spaces in Argentine and Chilean Film, 20052015 (forthcoming).

His work explores how culture can help us imagine new ways of relating to our environment and responding to ecological crisis. He is currently working on a book about cultural responses to the Pacific Ocean in modern Chile, and Peru. This book, tentatively titled The Ocean to Come: Pacific Futures in Chile and Peru, will show how the Pacific Ocean has long been a laboratory for imagining alternative futures in those two countries.

BEN SPELLS (Sc 06-11)

won the silver pen in 2011

Ben says: “It was an honour to win one of the prize pensI was shocked to be chosen. It’s travelled with me ever since, safely locked in my tuckbox!”

After Tonbridge he read Mathematics at Lincoln College, Oxford. Ben now works at the British Embassy in Beijing. Before joining the Civil Service in 2015, in Civil Service HR, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Exiting the European Union. At the Foreign Ofﬁce,he worked on the Myanmar Desk, in the ofﬁce of the Permanent Secretary, at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York and as Head of the Northeast Asia team, before starting Mandarin training and moving to China in 2023.

CHRISTIAN HAIGH (HS

07-12)

won the parcel gilt pen in 2012

Christian says: ‘I was candidly very surprised to have won a prize pen. I never thought I excelled in any particular area of academics (I still don’t, though my belief in lifelong learning and desire not to pigeonhole myself into any particular discipline has served me well). I took as many classes as I could, often against my teachers’ better judgment, and mostly because I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up (similarly, I still don’t). Ultimately, that laid the foundation for much of what I do today, where on any given day I’ll work with software engineers, AI, lawyers, investors, wealth advisors, and business owners, and have to be just knowledgeable enough in any given area to have a seat at the table. I’m incredibly grateful for Tonbridge’s belief in me, and the subsequent opportunities it has opened up for me since leaving.’

After Tonbridge, Christian spent time as an Organ Scholar at Saint Thomas’s Church Fifth Avenue, in New York City and St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia.

Christian Haigh is now the CEO and co-founder of Compound Planning, a digital family ofﬁce that manages more than $3 billion for high- and ultra-highnet-worth clients. Under his leadership, Compound provides a client-centric approach by blending the personal touch of a dedicated advisory team with a beautiful digital planning experience.

Christian is also a co-founder and General Partner at Legalist, a private fund sponsor managing approximately $1 billion in assets. He has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Y Combinator and has overseen 400+ investments across Legalist’s various funds. Christian has been pivotal in managing challenges and leveraging technology to enhance ﬁnancial services.

JAMES ALVEY (CH 09-14)

won the gilt pen in 2014

James says: “Of course, you never expect to win the pen - a closely kept secret beforehand - so at the time, I just felt very grateful. On reflection it was certainly a very proud day and a lovely way (along with a game on the Head) to close the chapter at Tonbridge before starting at Cambridge.”

After leaving Tonbridge, James went on to study Maths at Cambridge, where he ended up specialising more and more in theoretical physics. Once he graduated from his Masters in 2018, he had several PhD options in London and chose King’s College.

He was fortunate to work on a really wide range of topics over those ﬁrst three years of his research career, albeit all asking the same sort of fundamental questions: What is dark matter? What processes were at play at the start of the Universe? What happened in the latter stages of the Universe’s evolution? This breadth opened up a lot of doors for his ﬁrst postdoctoral position, and in the slightly complicated global setting that was 2021, he got on a Eurostar to Amsterdam to work on a new set of data analysis techniques called ‘simulation-based inference’.

Across three enjoyable years living in the Netherlands (with a short stint as a visitor at CERN), he used these tools to develop new AI-powered ways to analyse data from gravitational wave (ripples in spacetime) experiments.

He now has a ﬁve-year research fellowship back at Cambridge (as well as a teaching fellowship at Gonville & Caius) to work on advancing these pipelines to analyse the next generation of gravitational wave data. In the era of agentic AI, he feels this is a really exciting place to be positioned research-wise, so we will see where the next 5-10 years takes us.

KIERAN ORR (CH 10-15)

won the silver pen in 2014 Kieran says: “Being awarded the pen was a valuable vote of conﬁdence as I headed out into the world of university and scientiﬁc exploration. I carry the memory with me when facing particularly thorny research problems.”

Kieran read Chemistry at the University of Oxford, undertaking master’s research with Professor Andrew Goodwin and Dr Hamish Yeung (now University of Birmingham) investigating the mechanism of metal-organic framework nanoparticle formation using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. He then moved to the University of Cambridge to carry out his PhD research with Professor Samuel Stranks using a range of synchrotronbased diffraction techniques to understand the defect chemistry in halide perovskite materials used or solar energy, lighting, and detector technologies.

Kieran joined Stanford in June 2024. Moving across the Atlantic, Kieran’s Energy Fellowship research will focus on improving solid-state electrolytes for batteries and fuel cells. Key challenges for these technologies include replacing the harmful and flammable liquid electrolytes currently used as industry standards and achieving fast charging to improve commercial competitiveness, especially in the transportation sector. Substituting current ion transport media with a highly conductive solid-state electrolyte has the potential to address these challenges, drastically improving energy storage and energy conversion devices. However, the precise mechanism of ion hopping in solids is poorly understood, having been studied primarily from theoretical and computational standpoints. Kieran will employ a suite of atomic-scale sensitive real-time structural probes making heavy use of SLAC’s X-ray diffraction capabilities to gain a detailed, mechanistic understanding of how ions are transported through solid electrolytes.

GLOBAL FUTURES

(PREVIOUSLY UNIVERSITIES AND CAREERS)

Portia King, Global Futures – Careers Coordinator, reviews the past year and reveals the help in careers’ advice given by OTs and how she tracks them down.

The Universities & Careers department is as busy as ever with an increase in interest in overseas universities as well as our home-grown establishments.

One of the gratifying things of working in the department is the number of OTs that remain in touch and are happy to assist with events, joining us for online careers evenings from around the globe. This past year we have run talks on Law, Medicine, Engineering, Finance and the Civil Service and were joined by James Craggs (PS 16 -21), Harry Oliver KC (FH 89- 94), Alastair Mavor (WH 0207), Christopher Sneddon (OH 18-23), Graeme Paterson (MH 02-07), Christopher Tacon (CH 09-13), Iain Edwards (CH 96 -01), Peter Jones (JH 95 -00), Alﬁe Mew (WW 13-18), Ed Culliney (FH 09-14), and last but by no means least David Moran (MH 72-75). As OTs they ranged from recent leaver Christopher Sneddon, still studying towards his medical career, to David Moran who, having led an amazing life as our ambassador to several countries, is now the UK’s senior adviser at the Caspian Policy Centre in New York.

There are several ways I can track down OTs who I think may be willing to help, but by far and away the best route is to use LinkedIn. Most professional people have a proﬁle and it’s a quick and easy way of sending a request. Having the Tonbridge School Alumni – Old Tonbridgians Group to scroll through is such a brilliant tool.

Those that have joined are already indicating their willingness to keep in touch with both the school and their peers. With a quick look I can see their CVs and make contact. Not only do I use it for our events but recommend it wholeheartedly to OTs looking for a mentor to give some advice about a sector and potentially some work experience or even a job. A great academic record is one thing, but with so many graduates all hitting the jobs market at the same time each year, it can be hard to get noticed. A bit of timely advice and networking can make all the difference and it’s nice to know there are so many willing OTs happy to help. I have the LinkedIn page open all day every day and refer to it constantly. A simple request to join, sent to The Alumni Relations Manager, Tara Biddle Tara.Biddle@tonbridge-school.org or me, the Careers Adviser, Portia.King@tonbridge-school.org will get you in and you can start ﬁnding old friends and useful contacts from a huge range of sectors.

Even Silks like a selﬁe, Harry Oliver KC (FH 89-94)

TONBRIDGE SOCIETY BUSINESS BREAKFASTS

In January 2024, the Tonbridge Society launched the Tonbridge Society Business Breakfasts. These events are held in London and are open to members of the Tonbridge Community. Our speakers have been very popular and the breakfasts are an opportunity for OTs to network and catch up with peers.

Our sincere thanks to parent Michael Helou of Sidara for kindly hosting us at the Holborn oﬃce, and to all who attended these events. We look forward to welcoming you to future Business Breakfasts.

Jake Brewer (WW 11-16): ‘Geopolitics: Assessing the Impacts of the US Election’. On Tuesday 19 November 2024, Jake delivered an extraordinary presentation, offering clear and insightful analysis of the global geopolitical landscape following the recent US election.

Ben Jeffries (SH 09-14) and James Campin (SH 09-14): Tech and Media Investment - Where We Are and What's Next’. On Wednesday 23 April 2025, Ben and James delivered this thoughtprovoking Business Breakfast ﬁlled with sharp insights on the future of influencer marketing and tech investment.

If you wish to speak at or host a Business Breakfast in the future, please contact Adrian Ballard, Director of the Tonbridge Society.

Gori Yahaya (JH 98-03) and Rory Laughton-Scott (HS 00-05): ‘FutureProoﬁng Your Career’. On Thursday 19 June, Tonbridge contemporaries shared practical insights on career development, self-presentation and the skills needed to thrive in today’s evolving workplace.

£19.2m has been raised

22 YEARS OF THE TONBRIDGE SCHOOL FOUNDATION

MAKING A DIFFERENCE SINCE 2003

Thanks to the generosity of more than 3,500 people, almost £20m has been raised for The Tonbridge School Foundation over the past 21 years.

3,747 donors

£2.5m was bequeathed in legacy gifts

204

Judde Society members have pledged a legacy

This remarkable achievement reflects the belief and commitment of Old Tonbridgians, parents and friends and we are particularly grateful to the early pioneers whose contributions laid the groundwork for this success. Since its inception, the Foundation has supported a variety of projects with a commitment to excellence for our students and the wider community to which we belong. Today, it is a source of immense pride and an integral part of the School’s vision.

Over the 21 years, the Foundation has worked in partnership with the Sir Andrew Judd Foundation in shaping Tonbridge. Its support, alongside our community, has made the projects possible and has been vital to delivering a world-class education to Tonbridge.

While new facilities like the Tonbridge School Centre, Barton Science Centre, and Smythe Library are visible landmarks of this support, the true impact extends far beyond bricks and mortar. The Foundation Award programme has grown signiﬁcantly, from just three recipients in 2003 to 72 in 2024, reflecting a commitment to widening access to a Tonbridge education.

All our students seize the opportunity to thrive, achieve outstanding academic results while developing the softer skills essential for life. This is a testament to the collective spirit that continues to shape the future of Tonbridge and helps to maintain its place as one of the country’s leading schools.

TRANSFORMING LIVES

Providing means-tested Foundation Awards for talented and promising boys who would otherwise be unable to attend Tonbridge.

“Tonbridge has changed my life and has had a huge impact on my family.

Their pride says everything about what this opportunity has meant to us. Thanks to a Foundation Award, I joined Tonbridge and received an education I could only dream of.”

Etornam (Sc5) Head of School

NURTURING FINE MINDS AND SHAPING FUTURES

Establishing an inspirational space for the Smythe Library, Learning Strategies and Universities & Careers Departments.

INSPIRING INNOVATION

Creating the state-of-the-art Barton Science Centre, a facility dedicated to teaching and discovery.

DEVELOPING SPORTING TALENT

Enhancing the School’s sports facilities to increase participation and to offer a wider range of sporting opportunities.

“Tonbridge has shaped the lives of boys for generations, mine included.

The Foundation Awards Programme continues to oﬀer talented boys lifechanging opportunities regardless of their background. It is one of the most meaningful ways, we as OTs can give back.”

Gerald Corbett (JH 65-70)

Looking ahead to 2028, we’re excited for what we can achieve together as we

celebrate the Foundation’s 25th anniversary and the School’s 475th.

TONBRIDGE SOCIETY

A COLLECTIVE CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY AND IMPACT

Giving Day is extremely important to all of us at Tonbridge. It’s a time when we come together with partner schools and organisations to share learning, build connections and reﬂect on what we can achieve together. It is also a moment to give back, to recognise the value of partnership and service and to shine a spotlight on the Foundation Awards Programme, which opens the Tonbridge experience to young people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Held over 36 hours on 1 and 2 July, this year’s Giving Day saw more than 620 Old Tonbridgians, parents, staﬀ, students and friends raise over £460,000 to help provide means-tested places for boys who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Tonbridge. Since Giving Day began in 2021, it has raised more than £2.5 million, a testament to the generosity of our community.

Whilst the digital fundraising was going on, Tonbridge students and staﬀ worked alongside local partner schools, churches and charities. Over 700 pupils from 15 nearby primary schools took part in activities on site led by Novi and Lower Sixth students. At the same time, Second and Third Year boys volunteered in the local community, supporting a range of projects with partner organisations.

One particularly valued visit was to Long Mead Primary School, where Tonbridge students regularly support younger pupils as reading mentors and learning partners.

7 0 0 OVER

pupils from 15 nearby primary schools took part in activities on site led by Novi and Lower Sixth students.

£460k

RAISED FOR MEANS-TESTED PLACES FOR BOYS WHO OTHERWISE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO ATTEND TONBRIDGE

“Our children get so much from days like this, working alongside Tonbridge boys, having role models to look up to and giving them activities they wouldn’t do normally. All the one-to-one attention and kindness that the boys show to all our children is lovely to see.”

Karen Follows Head, Long Mead Primary School

“An amazing day out at our projects, seeing ﬁrsthand what can be achieved by our boys in such a short space of time. Truly inspirational to see spaces transformed, lives changed and a real sense of community.”

Current member of staﬀ

“It’s wonderful to see all the boys thrive from giving their time and energy and enthusiasm into the day; such a brilliant project!”

Current Parent

“Giving Day has really showed me how important it is to help other people in our community, and it has been great to see everybody work together to complete all the projects.”

Josh (WW2)

“It makes me proud to be part of a school that does something like this.”

Guy (OH3)

Boys and staﬀ taking part in Giving Day 2025, both on site and out in the community.

Adrian Ballard

Director of the Tonbridge Society

When I look back at my Report in October 2024 for the OT Magazine it was when we were on the cusp of the highest turnout for an OT Dinner in decades and the engagement has not slowed down in 2025. Following my mantra of ‘engage, enrich and enhance’ we certainly have been engaging OTs, alongside parents, in the 2024/25 academic year.

The successful events in the previous year have proved to be the same in 2024 with a repeat of the OT Carol Service in London up to 150 attendees plus this year, all in great voice, to the Oakeshott 25-year Reunion in July with over 180 in attendance at that, following on from the 300 for the Whitworth 50th Reunion in 2024.

Excellent for a House half the age. If you were in Judde, Hill Side and Parkside your anniversary reunions are planned for the next three major house events at the School in early July 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.

Thanks in large part to the leadership and support of the OT Chairman, Richard Hough and Treasurer, Chris Rash, along with the active OTS Committee, we have a bumper plan for OT events in 2025 and 2026 and that will just increase as we near the 475th anniversary of the School and the 150th OT Dinner in 2028. The Long

Room OT Dinner of 2024 will be back in 2026, with the big Tonbridge Reunion for those who left before 1980 being the ﬂagship event this autumn on 8 November.

One of the great successes of the last year has been building up the global network of OTs and holding our ﬁrst reunions in Barcelona, Paris, and Zurich to add to the established ones in Dubai, Hong Kong, New York (a record turnout in 2024) and Singapore. There are already plans for a number of those to be repeated in 2025 and 2026 and with the addition of Bangkok and others globally. The whole idea to build up to a global reunion in one day in 2026 when there is a reunion in each time zone on the same date the same local time of 6.30pm with the baton being passed around the globe. In November, the Tonbridge Society and OT Team will be seeking your views on what else you would like to see in terms of events in 2026 and beyond, perhaps by sector, year group, house and regionally in the UK - let us know your thoughts. Finally, in terms of engagement, we are pleased to say, that in the coming months we will be launching a mobile app for Tonbridge Connect making it very easy for OTs to book events and link with old friends directly from their mobile.

In terms of our enrichment activity, we are close to having a full set of careers information on recent graduates so we can help them in their search for a career path as well as enriching their lives with the Tonbridge Business Breakfasts of which we hope to hold ﬁve in 2025 and 2026. We are working closely with the Global Futures team, formerly Higher Education and Careers, to oﬀer advice and mentoring into the future. We are also very pleased that the enhancement

(fundraising) part of our work is going well.

We have in the last year secured the funding for the Film Editing and Screening Suite to help the film making programme run by Vikram Jayanti OT, grow as part of the Tonbridge offering. If you work in film or media do let us know, we are keen for OTs to be involved in this project. The Suite will open to the students in October 2025. Finally, many of you would have seen the new Foundation Award (Bursary) films about how widening access in the past helped the lives of OTs John Bartlett, Dan Warne and Laurence Turlej and current student Eli, and I hope you found their message resonated and you feel able to support the programme which now supports 72 students. Thank you to them for being involved in what I am sure you will agree were amazing videos made by OT, Ed Christmas (WH 96-01). It was wonderful to see such an upturn in OT support from these for the Foundation Award Programme and the ‘Ambition to Impact’ Campaign, if you did not see them then please click on the QR codes below to watch them:

The Giving Day raised over £460,000 in July. This is the ﬁfth year of this important day for the School to be involved out in the local Tonbridge community, whilst raising funds to widen access to deserving, talented boys to our incredible School. My ﬁnal thanks are to all the PAS and OTS volunteers, the wonderful Tonbridge Society team, and David Walsh for this excellent publication.

ELI’S FILM OT’S FILM

THE JUDDE SOCIETY –ANNUAL LUNCH AND EXCITING PLANS AHEAD

The Judde Society was established to recognise the generosity of Old Tonbridgians, parents and friends who have pledged to leave a gift to Tonbridge School in their Will. With over 200 members, the Society celebrates the enduring legacy of those who wish to make the ‘ultimate gift’ and one that continues to transform the lives of students for generations to come.

Each year, members gather for the Judde Society Annual Lunch, a highlight of the calendar. The most recent lunch, held at the newly refurbished Skinners’ Hall, welcomed members to enjoy drinks on the Roof Terrace followed by an elegant lunch in The Court Room. The Headmaster, James Priory, reflected on the profound impact legacy gifts have had on the School, especially in supporting students through the Foundation Awards Programme.

Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce a series of regional lunches across the UK, offering members more opportunities to come together, hear from the School, and share their ideas for its future.

New members are always warmly welcomed. If you are considering leaving a legacy to Tonbridge or would like to learn more about the Judde Society, please contact Yvette Young or Adrian Ballard in the Tonbridge Society Ofﬁce. We look forward to seeing both familiar and new faces at our upcoming events.

The Annual Judde Society Lunch at Skinners’ Hall, April 2025 L to R: James Priory (Headmaster), Douglas Hadler, Jolyon Drury and Paul Dawson

L to R: Neil Arnott, Penny Carson and Susan Farrant

tonbridgesociety@tonbridge-school.org