THE OLD
Wellingburian NEWSLETTER
November 2021 | The Old Wellingburian Club | Est. 1897
The President writes: As I reach the end of my two-year term as OW Club President, I would like to give warm thanks to all OWs, the Club Committee, the Headmaster and School staff, the two Chairmen of the School Governors who have held office over this period, and Neil Lyon and Debbie Whittemore – all of whom have helped achieve many positive outcomes for the OW community in a time of great adversity. None of us could have imagined when I took over from Garth Halestrap in November 2019 that, just four months later, the world would be in the grip of a global pandemic. The fact that the Club and the School have risen to this unprecedented challenge and delivered so much is a credit to all concerned. For me, highlights of this period have included the inspiring visit to the School by the Princess Royal on 14th October 2020 to mark the School’s 425th anniversary. It reminds us of the esteem in which the School is held, and a happy reminder of the visits by the Queen in 1965 and the Duke of Gloucester in 1973 and 1996. It has been wonderful to attend various OW sporting events. The Golfing Society was able to hold the Long Johns competition in October 2020, and I have supported the OW team at the Cyril Gray tournament in June this year and the Halford Hewitt tournament in September. The OW Rifle Club was able to participate in the Public School Veterans and the Humphrey matches at Bisley this year. Both the golfers and the shooters have achieved excellent results.
The initiative by the Club to support school leavers with careers advice was a great success. Virtual briefings during the period of restrictions have been followed by face to face sessions, and we are most grateful to all those OWs who took part. We are in the process of setting up an OW Debating Society that will compete periodically against the School; this initiative will be developed under the leadership of Peter Crisp – my successor as President – who takes over the role on 14th November. During my term I have been pleased to meet many of my contemporary OWs in different parts of the country and the Club is developing stronger connections with each year group to ensure that all generations are well represented. I believe we can look forward to 2022 with increasing confidence. The School is prospering and the Club, now with 4,000 members, aims to communicate in different ways and to increase the range of events it can now organise. I encourage you to write to us with your news and any ideas you have about how the Club can be more effective in connecting with you. Julian Amey (57-67, G)
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Wellingburian The Headmaster writes: I write this report for the OW Newsletter in early October, having just returned from the annual HMC (Headmasters’ and Headmistresses) Conference, where one of the guest speakers was Rev Richard Coles (70-78, W). Aside from war, what the School and its students have experienced since early 2020 has possibly been the most taxing, straining set of events that anyone might encounter in their lifetime. The way that the School community has responded to this has been incredible, and has set us on our path to future success. When schools were told to close from 23rd March 2020, our students were immediately receiving online lessons, via a system they had never used before and for which teachers had received training only during the previous month (we had our suspicions!) This meant that learning continued, students stayed in touch with their teachers, and structure was maintained. We missed, however, so much of what school is also about, but at least the weather and lighter evenings meant that people were able to get out for their daily constitutional. We were so delighted to see the students again in September 2020, albeit under relatively tight restrictions. The benefit of being face-to-face again (albeit sometimes behind a mask) cannot be underestimated, and just went to show that many years of educational research, whereby we were all going to be taught via machine or hologram, could be safely binned. With year groups
Your Committee For the 12 months starting November 2021 your Committee comprises Peter Crisp (73-83, Pl), Julian Amey (57-67, G) (Past President, 2019-21), Jon Morris Smith (76-86, Pa) (President-Elect, 2022-23), Richard Jackson (70-81, St) Treasurer), Neil Lyon (80-85, W), Simon Marriott (60-71, St), Joe Smith (98-05, PS), Sophie Timms (82-92, W), Rosie Turner (05-14, N) and Debbie Whittemore, with Clive Westley (59-64, F) in attendance. Your Committee meets five times each year, usually by zoom. We have one vacancy and would be delighted to hear from anyone who might have the time and interest to join. Please contact Debbie for more information.
Aerial Photograph We are very grateful to James Ward (97-07, C) [jameswardfilms.com] for the wonderful photo of the School that appears on the front page, taken using a drone earlier this year.
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Rev Richard Coles (70-78, W) with the Headmaster
having to be ‘bubbled’, i.e. interactions between children of different ages was minimised, and with guidance being as it was, many things could not take place – sports fixtures, Chapel, House Assemblies, singing, trips, etc., all went by the wayside, but we were just pleased to be back together on site. It was hugely disappointing, then, to have to return to remote learning again from January 2021, and this was much harder, with the weather and the lack of light being as it was. Nonetheless, our students showed their tremendous tenacity and the staff battled on. It is worth noting that the students were receiving about 5 hours of online lessons every day at this point, far more than would have been experienced by most children in most schools. The second return of students, in March, was a huge relief and we gladly went about having twice-weekly lateral flow tests as part of the bargain. By this time, and despite everything that had been thrown at us, the School had grown by about 20 students since the start of the academic year, enticed by the quality of our educational offer. We had also completed the creation of a brand new Science lab, just in time to receive students. As spring turned into summer and restrictions eased ever so slightly, we saw cricket and tennis fixtures return (hooray!), as well as Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, Prizegiving and even a dinner for our Year 13 (Upper Sixth) Leavers. Public exams had been cancelled, and in their place our staff wrestled with the enormity of Teacher Assessed Grades, one of the most gargantuan undertakings in my 27 years in the profession. That all paid off, as our GCSE and A level students, after an incredibly determined and focused effort, opened a fantastic set of results in August. And so to a new School year. The onus is very much on enabling as much as possible to take place, whilst not resting on those well-worn laurels. Above the Dining Hall, the new Sixth Form Centre is starting to take shape, and we hope to have it finished before the end of the academic year. It has been great to welcome parents back on site, and to restart so many aspects of life which we hold dear. Onwards and upwards! Andrew Holman
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THE OLD
Wellingburian
Remembering the Old School Last year (2020) we marked our official 425th anniversary. We know the School has been in continuous existence since 1595, and we have a continuous list of headmasters since then – the present incumbent, Andrew Holman, is the 39th. We suspect the School was established some time earlier, between 1549 and 1576, but the evidence is scanty and inconclusive. We do know a fine stone schoolhouse was built in 1619, next to All Hallows’ Church in the town centre, and that’s where we stayed until we moved to our present site under Dr Platt in January 1881. In our first three centuries we were a very minor Grammar School. We produced no distinguished alumni, no scholars of any note. Strikingly few documents exist pre-Platt. This June, however, we received a magnificent gift from Mrs Penny Lyall, in the shape of an original drawing of the Old School, dated August 1836, the year before Queen Victoria came to the throne; a copy appears with this article, and the detail is remarkable. Penny’s father, Humphrey Bashford, was Headmaster here 1956-64, and passed away in 2004; it would be fascinating to know how HJCB had acquired it. What we do have is a later version of the same drawing, showing the aged Headmaster Thomas Sanderson entering the building. In 1864-68 a government enquiry examined all the old English grammar schools, and here is a snapshot of Wellingborough School some 160 years ago: Foundation and Endowment: supposed to have been founded in the reign of Edward VI. In 1595 the town estate was conveyed to new trustees when half of the rents were devoted to the maintenance of a schoolmaster to teach the children of the town. Subsequent endowments of Edward Pickering and William Fisher. School Property: not well adapted.
Subjects of instruction: the 1595 scheme decreed writing, reading, accounts, Latin and Greek. The School is now split into two divisions – the Upper School (for bright boys) offers Greek, Latin, French, German, Mathematics, English literature and composition, history and geography, and writing (no mention of Science). The larger Lower School offers a much more basis curriculum. ‘Average number of scholars who have gone to university = zero’. The Head Master is Rev Thomas Auden, with three assistants. Pupils: 29 day boys and 7 boarders. Fees: £8 per annum for dayboys and £30-47 per annum for boarders. Boarding: the Headmaster may take up to 15 boarders. These are typically the sons of farmers and tradesmen. Four meals a day, meat once a day. ‘Every boy has not a separate bed’. Discipline: ‘Confinement, impositions, and caning, the latter generally in private. Monitors assist in maintaining discipline’. Games: ‘no playground, but Head Master allows boarders to play in a field of 2 acres. Gymnastic bars. Cricket and football played. Drilling taught’. ‘School time, 39 weeks per annum. Study 27 hours per week. Play time, about 22 hours per week’. Parents: 30% from the professional or mercantile classes, 70% farmers or shopkeepers.
Are you on LinkedIn? There are now more than 800 OWs on the “Wellingborough School – Old Wellingburians” network on LinkedIn, an increase of more than 100 in the past year. It is a great way of finding out what others are up to and where they work, reconnecting with old friends, and reading periodic posts from the Club and other OWs.
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Wellingburian The OW London Dinner, 2022
On the Telly
So, no London Dinner in 2020 and no London Dinner in 2021. Will it be third time lucky? The date is pencilled in for Friday 18th March 2022 at the House of Lords, with Peter Crisp and Julian Amey jointly presiding, and we hope the Paymaster General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis, QC, MP (81-86, Pl) will be our guest speaker. Debbie will be in touch with all those who had registered for the 2020 Dinner, and we just keep our fingers crossed.
Congratulations to Hamza Yassin (0408, G) on becoming a regular fixture on television as a noted cameraman and presenter of wildlife programmes. As well as being a CBeebies Presenter entitled ‘Let’s Go For A Walk’ and a Channel 4 Presenter, he is currently to be seen on More 4’s ‘Escape to the Wilderness’.
A Royal Visit On Wednesday 14th October 2020 HRH The Princess Royal visited the School, marking our 425th anniversary. Arriving on the playing fields by helicopter, she met a selection of pupils and staff in the Prep School and then the Senior School, before unveiling a plaque outside the Chapel to record her visit. COVID-19 restrictions meant that everyone presented to her had to wear masks, as did Her Royal Highness, and strict social distancing meant that this was a very different occasion to Her Majesty the Queen’s Visit to the School in 1965. In all the circumstances, we were incredibly lucky this visit went ahead at all, and it spoke volumes about the gritty determination of Her Royal Highness to ‘get on with the job’. All in all, a very momentous day in the history of the School.
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THE OLD
Wellingburian Moving on Since the last OW Newsletter appeared in June 2020, the School has said farewell to many longstanding members of staff. Members of the teaching staff and classroom assistants leaving in 2020 included Mark Baddeley (appointed in 2012); Liz (Maureen) Campbell (1990), Pre-Prep; Paul Dennis (2011), Prep School; Jocelyn Everett (2008-2020), Head of Pre-Prep; Sally Fellows (2000); Andrew Fordham (2014), Prep School; Tienie Fourie (2007); Belinda Gosling (2005), Pre-Prep; Elizabeth Jakeman (2006), Pre-Prep; Sally Jamieson (2005), Pre-Prep; Alan Monaghan (2012); Catherine Ward (2000), Pre-Prep; Steve Whitby (2014), Prep; and Anna-Marie Ystenes (1992-2020), Pre-Prep.
Several longstanding members of the support staff (Admin, Estates, Housekeeping, Music, Sports, etc) also left in 2020, including John Dunk (2004), Rachael Etherington (2005), Andre Gamble (1995), Andy Guest (1987), Steven Hamper (2004), David Haseldine (2004), Janice Hooper-Roe (2002), Jane Hudson (2003), Kerry Johnson (2001), Sarah King (2003), Kelvin Meagan (2003), Glenys Mellows (1997), Sharon Parker (2008), Linda Peters (2006), George Simpson (2006), Vicky Wilson (2013) and Marie Wiltshire (1994). Leavers in 2021 included David Coombes (2004), Lydia Fourie (2007), Karl Leutfeld (2015), Jo Matthews (2005), Nicola Northern (2009) and Karen Potts (1997). Full tributes appear in The Wellingburian magazine.
Mark Baddeley
Jocelyn Everett
Sally Fellows
Tienie Fourie
Elizabeth Jakeman
Alan Monaghan
Kelvin Meagan
Linda Peters
David Coombes
Jo Matthews
OW Club Annual Dinner
Dates for the Diary, 2021-22
We were unable to hold our Annual Dinner in
OW London Drinks: Tuesday 30th November - CANCELLED
2020, and we have decided not to hold one in 2021 either. All being well, our new President Peter Crisp (73-83, Pl) will look forward to holding the Dinner at the School in November 2022, so long as life has returned to some sort of normality by then. The Club’s next AGM is also pencilled in for November 2022.
London Dinner (House of Lords): Friday 18th March 2022 OW Winter Sports Day (football and netball): Saturday 19th March / 26th March 2022 OWs -v- School Cricket Match: Friday, 24th June 2022 (TBC) OW Summer Day 2022: Saturday, 25th June 2022 (TBC) Classes of 2015 and 2016 Reunions: Saturday 25th June 2022 (TBC) OW Hockey Match: Saturday, 25th June 2022 (TBC) Club AGM: Saturday 12th November 2022 Annual Dinner (School): Saturday 12th November 2022
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Wellingburian The School in Wartime In the Michaelmas Term 2020 OW Eshot we included some reminiscences of the School in WW2. These were very well received by many OWs, and for some were a useful way of putting our Lockdown experiences into some sort of perspective. Peter Short (42-51, Pa) remembers: In August 1941, the year before I joined the School, I was with my mother at some kind of fête on the football pitch. The siren sounded and almost immediately the roar of aircraft and the sound of machine gunfire. In a matter of seconds a Dornier, closely followed by a spitfire, roared overhead and disappeared towards Finedon. The enemy crashed between Finedon and Wellingborough. Exciting days for a 10-year-old. John Wareham (41-45, G) remembers: I arrived at the School in January 1941 from Coventry, which had endured many air raids and then the long 12-hour raid on November 14th. Several more Coventry boys joined Wellingborough, and all went into Garne’s. One was my friend Ian Quinney (41-44, G), whose brother Robert (33-37, G) would in 1943 be shot down over Germany, while serving in Bomber Command. The Housemaster of Garne’s was Harry Allsopp, known as Cos because of the way he pronounced the word “because”; his wife duly became “Ma Cos”. The House Captain was Peter Hudson (36-42, G), who would later rise to the rank of Lieutenant-General. The Corps, known then as the Junior Training Corps, was taken very seriously. In June 1944 I was the only patient in the School Sanatorium, when D-Day was announced. I do not recall anything particular about hearing the news of Hitler’s death in the following April, and I was back home in Coventry on VE day. I remember with astonishment and dismay hearing the news that Churchill had been kicked out of Downing Street in the 1945 General Election. And as for VJ Day, I was camping and helping as an instructor with the Army Cadet Force. I had brought with me from School an Army wireless set on which I heard that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. David Widdows (44-48, G) remembers: Towards the end of the war we would look up into the sky, as we walked down to the playing fields between breakfast and Chapel, and watch the American Super fortresses fly over on their way to bomb Germany. 6.
Preparing for War, 1939
There would be up to a thousand of them. They were based in East Anglia but first they flew west to gain height, which took them a long time, with their heavy bomb loads, to reach 30,000 ft. Quite a sight and that happened every morning for quite a long time. They got into formation and flew back over us. On May 7th 1945 it was clear that the war was near its end and after tea a lot of us built a bonfire at the bottom of the playing fields. During prep, in the Hall, someone came in and told us that the war over and that tomorrow would be VE Day. There was pandemonium in the Hall for some time then prep was abandoned. We had a feast in the dorm. VE Day started with a thanksgiving service in the Chapel, after which we were free for the rest of the day. Some of us went to the Lyric café in the town for coffee and in the afternoon went to the cinema. In the evening, after supper, the bonfire was lit. Someone got into the Armoury and soon there were thunder flashes, smoke bombs, tear gas and a lot of things that went bang. Ian Millar (37-42, G) remembers too: Now aged 97, he returned to the School this September for a tour. Looking at the WW2 Memorial in the Chapel, he recalled the names of several of his contemporaries: “F.W. Saxby, he was in Garne’s with me. And Cassan, he came from Weymouth College and we were in the 1940 Tennis VI together”. Frank Saxby was killed in action in March 1944, aged 20, on board HMS Laforey, which was sunk by German torpedoes off the coast of Italy; Cassan was shot down over the Netherlands in June 1944, aged 21. Every single one of those 276 names on the two War Memorials in the Chapel can tell a story.
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Wellingburian News from the School
In July 2020 Lt Col Steve Garfirth retired from the position of CCF Contingent Commander, a role he had held since 2003. He remains on the staff, as head of Music in the Lower Prep School. Steve was the 15th Commander since the Cadet Corps was founded in 1900, in succession to Captain F.J. Mules, TD (1900–19), Captain A.J. Wright, DSO, MC (1919–20), Captain C.H. Oxland (1920–25), Major F.M. Porter (1925–35), Lt Col H.L. Allsopp, OBE, TD (1935–47), Major F.E. Bowman (1947–54), Squadron Leader A. Ogilvy (1954–65), Major G.W. Flex (1966–69), Major D.E. Sherwood (1969–76), Squadron Leader P.B.R. Gordon (1976–83), Major M.D. Hunter (1983–84), Squadron Leader P.B.R. Gordon (1984–87), LieutenantColonel A.E. Ashworth (1987–97) and Commander N.J. Elbourne (1997–2002). The new Contingent Commander is Daniel McGlynn.
The School is very pleased to announce it has recently acquired the freehold of the CoOp playing fields, which abut the southern boundary. The School has rented these playing fields for several decades, but it is a great bonus to acquire the freehold, and this extends the School’s acreage to 50 acres. By coincidence, the School has recently disposed of its interest in Stoneygate Meadow, a small parcel of land to the south of the Dog & Duck. The School had owned this since the 1700s, if not earlier. After 17 years at the helm, Miss Irvin stepped down this summer as Housemistress of Marsh. Mrs Pattison stepped down after 15 years as Housemistess of Weymouth, and likewise Mr Coombes after 8 years in charge of Garne’s. They are succeeded by Hilary Arimoro (Askham; 90-04, W), Joanne James and Lester Williams respectively. As from September 2021 the boys in Garne’s House are located in the Overstone Building. Since Garne’s ceased being a boarding house in 1994, the dayrooms have been spread very inconveniently over two floors, and the Housemaster’s study tucked too far away, with the old dormitories long since converted to classrooms. The new accommodation provides an environment better suited to the needs of modern pastoral care, and all the old honours boards have been transferred to the new home. The old building is still to be referred to as ‘Garne’s Building’, with all the old dayrooms and dormitories now used as classrooms. Dr Jonathan Cox (79-86, C) stepped down as Chairman of the Governors this summer, after eight years in post. He has been succeeded by Peter Tyldesley (75-85, W). And finally, an enormous Thank you to those OWs who kindly took time off work to come to the School in July and talk to pupils about careers advice, including Hugh Anderson, Sophie Bale, Emily Bowe, Justin Chacksfield, Jonathan Claber, Charlotte Fordyce, Jack Gourlay, Dr Sara Misra and Anna Turney. Prefects 2020-21
For several years the School has run an annual Sports Awards evening, and we are delighted to announce that the principal awards are both being renamed in honour of two prominent OWs in the world of sports journalism – the ‘Alison Mitchell Sportswoman of the Year Award’ in honour of the renowned cricketing commentator Alison Mitchell (91-98, W), and the ‘Sportsman of the Year Award’ in honour of the BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan (90-95, G).
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Wellingburian Personalia The copy of the 1986 Chapel Choir photo in last year’s OW Newsletter brought a smile to Diana Wright (Joseph; 82-87, N). She recalls the photo as Rupert Higgins (7687, St) said something funny just as it was being taken, but sadly she cannot now remember exactly what he said! During the Covid Crisis Diana was working as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in General Practice, a very intense period and one the many OWs serving on the front line.
Last year Club President Julian Amey (57-67, G) met up with his contemporary John Reddy (62-67, G), after a gap pf 53 years. Neither had changed one bit! John’s father Richard (30-38, G) and his uncle John (30-37, G) were some of the great footballers of their generation, and were here at the same time as Julian’s father, Robert Amey (35-39, Pa). In September John was delighted to visit Mary Till in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Mary will be fondly remembered by many as Matron of Garne’s, 1966-84. John writes: ‘I am very grateful to Richard and Mike Till for kindly organising this. Over the years my wife and I have kept in touch with Mary, and Geoffrey, until his sad passing in 2017. The Tills were very kind to me when my father died suddenly in 1966; Geoffrey had only just taken over as Housemaster of Garne’s from John Oughton at the beginning of that Autumn term. It was lovely to see Mary again, and we enjoyed reminiscing for quite a while about boys, staff and life in general in Garne’s and the School in the 1960s. Fond memories!’
Andrew Walker (52-62, G) was sorry to read in the last Newsletter that James Axe (53-63, W) and John Elwick (60-65, staff) had passed away. In 1960 Mr Elwick directed Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Andrew played the part of Sir Toby Belch and duly earned the nickname of Belch from his history master, Jack Blake. The cast included David Wheeleker (52-62, W), who would later become Andrew’s brother-in-law. At School Andrew and David were among those who enjoyed a discreet smoke in town, followed by a healthy dose of polo mints to hide the smell; they both duly entered the legal profession, and Andrew went on to serve as a District Judge.
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Christopher Peacock (48-51, F) writes from Australia, where he has lived since 1964. In 1965 he found himself in South Vietnam with the First Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, and was later awarded the Medal For Gallantry (MG). He served for several years in Papua New Guinea until that country received Independence in 1975. He retired from the Army in 1983 and completed a Law Degree which enabled him to assist veterans and War Widows. Chris keeps in touch by phone with John Macrae (42-52, W). Congratulations to Peter Cordrey (61-65, W) on being elected to serve as Master of the Carmen Livery Company in London, for the year 2020-2021. Historically this Company regulated the movement of carts in and out of the City and, like all the livery companies nowadays, it undertakes considerable charitable work.
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THE OLD
Wellingburian Anastasia (Ana) Adams (0613, N) qualified from Leeds University in March 2020 as a doctor, at the end of a six-year course, which she finished three months early due to the Corona virus. She has since embarked on stints at St. James (Jimmys) hospital in Leeds, as well as some of the London hospitals. Her brother Tiger (10-15, F) has now become a golf professional, but his work was badly thwarted by the pandemic. They are the grandchildren of Clive Adams (52-59, Pa).
In February the BBC football expert Martin Lawrenson was sharing his Premier League predictions with Dot Major from electro-pop band London Grammar, also known as Dominic Major (04-09, PS). The band’s latest album, ‘Californian Soil’, was released earlier this year.
Jonathan Holmes (62-67, G) and Charles Holmes (64-67, G) have renewed contact. After leaving school Jonathan studied Arts at Monash University in Melbourne, and has lived down under ever since. He spent his career teaching Art at the University of Tasmania, and has written widely on contemporary Australian art.
The Music Department’s administrator Liz Burleigh was pleased to hear that Ross Harmon (0613, G) has recently released his first single, ‘Lonely World’, available on Spotify, etc. Ross had broad musical interests whilst at School; as well as taking piano and singing lessons, he was a member of Chapel Choir, and frontman for Blues Band. He also made his West End debut this summer in ‘Heathers’ at The Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
In retirement, he and his wife live on the waterfront, facing the city of Hobart. His younger brother Charles (64-67, G) also emigrated down south, and duly became ordained as an Anglican clergyman, with a parish on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Charles and his wife now also live in Tasmania. Last autumn Marco Bertozzi (82-90, St) kindly gave an online presentation to the Sixth Form about his line of work as the Vice-President of Spotify, a key player in the digital media industry. Elder brother Carlo (80-85, St) works in e-commerce in Sydney, Australia. We are pleased to be back in contact with Peter Sweetman (58-63, G). He and his elder brother Mike (55-58, G) came here as their father had served together in the SOE with John Oughton (staff, 38-79) during the War. Peter qualified as a Chartered Surveyor. Thanks in part to Frank Bowman (staff, 45-68) he developed a passion for sailing, and was a member of the British Olympic Team in Montreal in 1976. He and his wife now split their time between Essex and Spain. Elder brother Mike lives in Australia. 2020 saw the retirement of Clive Westley (59-64, F) from the School’s Governing Body. He had been on the Board since 2003 and had several important roles, including many years as chairman of the School Foundation, which oversees the School’s fundraising work. Clive’s sons William and Richard were pupils here in the 1990s. Also retiring was Trevor Baldry, who had served on the Board since 2012. Trevor had previously served as the School’s accountant from 1986. Trevor’s children Helen and David were pupils here.
We are pleased to renew contact with Tony Payne (6069, Pa). After graduating from Cambridge he did a PhD at Manchester and subsequently had a career as an academic, specialising in political economy, in particular issues around development and globalisation,. He retired in 2020 as Professor of Politics and former Pro-ViceChancellor of the Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield.
This June we were very pleased to welcome back former parents, Mark & Jean Smalley. Their eldest son, Richard, was a boarder here in Platt’s, and sadly passed away from Meningitis in 1982, aged 15. Richard’s siblings – Claire (83-85, M), Paul (82-90, Pa) and Hannah (84-92, W) all came here. There is a cherry tree and now a bench outside the Biology Lab in Richard’s memory. We are very pleased to hear from Peter Johnson (63-69, Pa). After studying at Imperial College, London and then gaining a PhD in Physics from Warwick, he moved to Bell Laboratories in the USA as Postdoctoral Fellow before joining the staff at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He is an internationally recognised leader in strongly correlated electron materials and in photoelectron spectroscopy, a process in which an electron absorbs energy from light and is ejected from the material under study, thus revealing information about its properties. In 2011 he was awarded the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society. At the time of writing he is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University.
Personalia continued overleaf...
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Wellingburian Personalia continued... Congratulations to Julia Barnhurst (00-06, M) on marrying Oli Smith at St Peter’s Church in Newton Bromswold in April. They were supposed to get married in 2020 but, like so many others, had to postpone when the first lockdown was announced. It was a real OW affair, with brothers Alexander (01-08, C) and Howard (03-10, C) and sister Georgina (05-12, M) in attendance and, of course their mother Susan – Mrs B, (staff, 99-19). Julia works as an HR Systems Manager in London, although their Essex home has been their workplace for the last year.
The September Lunch Earlier this term an eclectic group of OWs gathered at the School for the OW Autumn Lunch, the first official OW Gathering since the onset of Covid-19 had knocked everything for six in March 2020. One had not been inside the Chapel since he left in 1952, another was returning to the School for the first time in 58 years. The reminiscences flew thick and fast.
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After nearly 40 years’ service to the OW Club, Peter Phillips (54-65, Pa) has stepped down from the Club’s Committee. He was Club Treasurer for many years, and we are most grateful to him for all his dedication and careful management of our finances down the years. This autumn the School bade farewell to James Petrie (93-03, F), who had worked on the estates staff since 2007, serving as the Estates Manager (later as Estates Bursar) since 2016. He takes up a similar role at The Perse School in Cambridge. And finally, our congratulations to James Sales (06-21, G) on being selected to play for Northamptonshire this season. We believe he is the 31st OW to play for the county, and the first since Edmund White (41-46, F).
Those present included: Julian Amey (57-67, G), Graham Bond (61-66, F), Richard Browning (54-63, Pl), Jeff Clark (72-79, St), Jonathan Cox (79-86, C), Peter Crisp (73-83, Pl), John Eady (70-77, C), Clifford Eales (45-53, Pa), Jane Fisher (née Oughton), Michael Fowle (62-67, G), Percy Gilman (58-65, G), Jerry Higgins (57-66, St), John Higgs (49-58, Pa), John Hilsdon (58-61, Pa), Charles Linfield (staff, 73-00), Roger Luscombe (62-67, Pl), Peter Phillips (54-65, Pa), Tony Rowen (61-65, Pl), Peter Tyldesley (75-85, W) and David Waller (77-81, St).
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Wellingburian OW Sport Having seen no OW sporting fixtures in 2020, and after being forced to abandon the OW Winter Sports fixtures (football and netball) against the School this March, it was wonderful to see the re-emergence of OW sport. If anything, there has been a renewed enthusiasm, as OWs have welcomed the opportunity to see each other again face to face. As the following reports show, the OW cricket and golf and shooting teams are in great form, and we look forward to seeing a revival of the football and netball and hockey fixtures against the School in 2022.
OW Cricket June saw the return of the annual OW match against the School. Having seen the playing fields lie empty for most of the preceding 15 months, it was fantastic to have a ‘buzz’ back around the recently refurbished Thatched Pavilion and a special thanks to all those OWs and former parents who made the trip back. The victorious OW team comprised Will Hinton, Matt Mills, Alex Mills, Sean Mulvey, Levi Draper, Cam Blake, Ollie Bevan, Nathan Piper, Harvey Lewis, Ben Dhaliwal and Josh Hewett.
OW Golfing Society We had an excellent victory in this year’s 89th Halford Hewitt, defeating the 11 times winners Harrow by 3.5 points to 1.5 points at Princes GC, Sandwich. Jordan and Sam McGuire won their match 2&1 before Richard Jackson and Aemish Tailor fought back from two down with two to play to win the par 4 19th hole courtesy of a prodigious 3 wood shot by the rookie Tailor onto the green into the teeth of the wind. The stage was now set for Luke McGuire and debutant Ollie Timms to clinch our overall victory, also at the 19th hole, with a par 4 following a deft chip by Timms from pin high left of the green and a courageous eight foot putt by McGuire. The Cyril Gray, staged at Worplesdon GC in June, has the same format as the Halford Hewitt (scratch foursomes matchplay) but each of the 32 teams consist of three pairs and the minimum age is 50. We beat Dulwich 3-0 and St Paul’s 3-0 before losing narrowly 2-1 to Liverpool, the defending champions, in the quarter finals. Congratulations to Andy Billson and Chris Billson for winning all three of their matches. The rest of our Cyril Gray squad was Richard Jackson, Martyn Allen, Philip Saxby, Guy Gillman and Alan Harlow.
This season the OWs re-entered the Cricketer Trophy competition. On 6th June a well-supported OW side took on the alumni of Monmouth College. Our team spanned seven different year groups, Charlie Macdonell starring with 87. Monmouth were bowled out for 197 following a superb all-round bowling and fielding display led by the Knibbs brothers and Primesh Patel. The team went on to win their quarter-final match against the Old Kimboltonians, Nathan Piper top scoring with 43. The team comprised James Sales, Matthew Ingram, John Bowers, Drew Brierley, George Groenland, Alex Mills, Nathan Piper, Levi Draper, Jack Chopping, Cam Blake and Adam Davies. The team was not quite strong enough to win the Semi-Final in July against the alumni of The Leys, who won by 25 runs, but it was a great credit to the OWs, and our thanks to John Bowers and all those who made these fixtures possible.
A group of 18 golfers attended the Spring Meeting at Wellingborough Golf Club in May; this was won by Chris Billson with 39 points with Sam Pepper a close second. Most encouraging of all was the crop of young, new golfers which reduced the average attended age down to an alltime low! The regional qualifying round for the Grafton Morrish, another Public School scratch foursomes competition, was held in May at Gog Magog GC. Unfortunately, we failed to qualify for the finals at Hunstanton and Brancaster. Our Autumn Meeting was held in September at Overstone and was won by Sam McGuire. Chris Billson won the Wright Cup for achieving the highest aggregate total at the Spring and Autumn meetings. We look forward to the Long Johns Meeting on 22nd October at Wellingborough Golf Club. It is great to see OW Golf going from strength to strength. Richard Jackson
OW Sport continued overleaf...
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Wellingburian OW Sport continued...
OW Rifle Club It was a delight to see the return of fullbore shooting at Bisley this summer. We started with the Newbery Bowl in May, with good performances by Susanne Hinde, Russell Hodgson-Jones and Henry Sanders. Spurred on by our Club President Julian Amey, who had been a keen shot when a pupil in the Sixties, the OW Rifle Club saw a good turnout of 20 OWs for the Veterans match in July. The A Team (Charles Asquith, Susanne Hinde, Henry Sanders, Andrew Tompson and Martin Whatton) scored 14th out of 46 entries. Our 2nd Team (Russell Hodgson-Jones, Paul Hooton, Matthew Maisey, Megan Sanders and Peter Tyldesley) were placed 12th out of 27 entries. Our 3rd Team (John Eady, Alex Gooch, Callum Heckstall-Smith, Philip Humphrey and Major Harry Hyslop) were placed 11th out of 17 entries. In the Schools Veterans Aggregate we were placed 6th out of 8 entries.
Congratulations to Russell Hodgson Jones who top scored for the Club with 50.7v, and our thanks to Charlie Asquith, Henry Sanders and Martin Whatton for their organisation of the Shoot and the BBQ in the evening. Well done also to staff member and Great Britain Rifle Team shooter Matthew Charlton on being selected to represent Scotland in the National match at Bisley. Matthew is working alongside the Rifle Club to resume small-bore shooting in the School Range as we emerge from the Lockdown. The Rifle Club is planning a guest day at Bisley next spring for OWs of all ages who wish to come along and have a go. There will be no expectations around prior ability! For more information please contact the Club Captain Charlie Asquith (97-04, G) at thesquiff@btinternet.com. John Eady
The Classes of 2015 and 2016 Our sincere apologies to the 2015 and the 2016 Leavers for the fact that we have been unable to hold your Five-Year Reunions. We are planning to re-arrange this for the Family of Schools Day in the summer of 2022. Watch this space!
2020 LEAVERS REUNION It has been customary in recent years for the School to give the Upper Sixth (Y13) a good send-off in their final week as pupils, centred around Prize Giving and the Summer Ball.
The Class of 2016
The Pandemic had knocked that into six back in 2020, and they had what the Headmaster described as the dampest of damp squibs as a send-off, so the former Head Prefects from that cohort – Louis Jakobson and Cece Morris – asked us if we could help arrange a 2020 Leavers’ Reunion this term. We were delighted to welcome back a large number on Saturday 4th September. It was good to catch up and hear what they’ve been up to in the past year and to wish them well before they all go back to their respective Universities. The Class of 2020
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Wellingburian Memory Lane
1950s
Over the past year we have been delighted to hear from some of our older members, including Ian Millar (37-42, G), Peter Pattinson (40-45, G), Alastair Pattinson (4049, G), John Wareham (41-45, G), Peter Short (42-51, Pa), David Widdows (44-48, G) and Iain Ross (47-50, W). We have also been deeply touched to receive support for the Sixth Form Centre Appeal from this wartime generation, including Donald Balmer (38-44, Pa).
Last year’s article about the digitisation of Murray Witham’s Slide Collection brought much amusement to OWs from the 1950s, and serves as a reminder of how EMW gave individual nicknames to just about every boy in the School. Three examples were John Cowell (5458, Pl) aka ‘Grubby’, Richard Peck (47-55, G) aka ‘Pacer’ or ‘RL’, and David Smith (48-56, G) aka Smiter. To this day, David regrets his birthday was two days away from Don Bradman’s, otherwise EMW would have given him a present of two shillings and sixpence. David notes: “I was not a member of the Elephants Club as my ears did not stick out more than 1 and 1/8 inches. I also avoided having my ears flicked for inattention. There was a termly prize for the boy with the highest number of flicks”.
Thanks to all those who have kindly donated items and reminiscences to the Archives Room over the past twelve months, including Alastair Pattinson (40-49, G) with a photo of the JS Cricket XI of 1941, the family of Roly Evans (51-56, F), Geoff Hayward (48-56, F), Michael Hwang (59-62, F), John Scroxton (54-58, G), Mike Tebbitt (57-62, F), Gerald Timmans (50-57, G) and Alex Woodward (78-89, G). Jeremy Peake (75-85, W) donated several Junior School magazines from the late 1970s. The issue for Autumn 1978 records the retirements of the Matron Mrs York and of Harry Kitchener, and the arrival of Mrs Tyndall. There were 182 dayboys (no girls then) and 57 boarders in the JS that year.
Yesteryear We have received an interesting article about William Warwick James (1874-1965), described as ‘one of the most inspiring and outstanding dental surgeons of his time. A pupil here from 1885 to 1891, in WW1 he became a pioneer in maxillofacial surgery, helping soldiers who had suffered extensive facial injuries, and was awarded an OBE for his work. Practising as a dental consultant between the wars, one of his patients was the writer T.E. Lawrence. WWJ’s younger brother John Egbert James (1885-93) qualified as a solicitor and later served as the Company Secretary of ICI from 1929 to 1945. They were the uncles of Stan James DFC (28-33, Pa) and the School’s great benefactor Douglas James (28-35, Pa).
1940s Iain Ross (47-50, W) has fond memories of the annual Carol Services in his era, the Chapel pews covered in ivy and holly, all lit by candles. ‘As Corporal punishment is no longer allowed, and anyway I am too old to bend over without serious injury, it can now be admitted that a few of us in the Choir climbed out of dormitory windows after lights-out and joined some of the dayboys to go carol singing in the town. There was a party in full swing at one rather grand house, and we were invited to sing more carols, fed intermittently with mince pies. We were unaware that Jackie Blake, my Weymouth housemaster, and his wife Peggy were among the guests. Rumbled from the moment we began singing, while Mr & Mrs Blake were made to hide behind a settee. Happy Days!’
1960s Peter Geiringer (61-66, W) was the Dining Hall prefect in his final year, tasked with setting lines as punishments for those who arrived late or misbehaved. He kept several of these examples and has now donated them to the Archives. Topics included ‘The War in Vietnam’, ‘A frank opinion of food in the School’ (describing the fish cooked by the Underhills as follows: ‘when cut open it smells like boiled wellington boots’), ‘Why it is essential that tea duty should be done’ and ‘Claustrophobia’. They make a fascinating, and hilarious, addition to the Archives. Here is a photo of the Stage Hands who helped with ‘The Mikado’ in 1961, featuring JR Major, JR Castle, JR Lindsay, MJ Bishop, MA Elmhurst, TF Dodds, RM Goodyear, AJW Burton and one unidentified. One OW recalls: ‘Being a stage hand allowed all sorts of misdeeds. Smoking was high on the list. Most of the scaffold poles forming the supports for the wing flats would be full of fag ends. Not to mention firing red hot fuse wire across the stage from electrical points on the electrician’s gallery’. Another recalls: ‘When they dismantled the Stage in the late 1990s they must have found that the scaffolding was full up to the top with cigarette ash’.
Memory Lane continued overleaf...
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Recent times Joe Ramsden (95-05, C) joined the staff in January 2018 as a History and Politics teacher: “When I arrived back at Wellingborough, this time as a teacher, staff I’d known as a pupil kept asking me whether it was strange to be back. My reply was simple: ‘No, it’s lovely.’ Much has changed, particularly on the top floor of Garne’s. There’s no more Garry Bowe; he’s taken his infectious enthusiasm for our subject into retirement. It’s just as well; the exam boards no longer run the Italian Unification course he loved so much. I teach in G3, the room my Dad (Allen; Staff 91-14) taught so many of us in, and though he’s no longer bellowing at pupils about uniform or some other failure on their part, I like to think a part of him remains in that room. One constant is Phil Farley. He still threatens the wrists of all who choose A Level Politics; those essays, copied down from the whiteboard, never get any shorter. The School will continue to change too. To quizzical looks from the pupils, I still call the Junior School just that. It is of course now the Prep School, its main building known as the Prall Building after Mickey, whose ‘Willy, Willy, Harry, Steve...’ rhyme many of us will remember fondly. We look forward to the building of a new Sixth Form Centre too. These are exciting times at Wellingborough. No matter how much our teachers moaned at us, no matter how much they frowned, they did so because they cared. From the other side of Common Room door, I can see that now (and my goodness they did a lot of moaning at me!).”
The Other Side of the Desk Hilary Arimoro writes. ‘When I think back to my time as a pupil here, I have a never-ending list of fond memories; productions at the Castle, long minibus journeys to countless sports’ fixtures, late night Chapel Choir trips, camping with friends on D of E expeditions, passing my parents – Mike and Jean Askham – every day as they were on the Staff, and, of course, being taught by inspiring teachers – not least Chris Martin-Sims, whom I succeeded as Head of Psychology in 2018. When the opportunity arose to return here as a teacher in 2016, I jumped at the chance. I was assigned as a tutor to
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Parker-Steyne’s. The day room did not have quite the same aroma I had remembered from the Girls’ Houses, but most other aspects were the same. The boys threw themselves in to all House events and attending House Singing from ‘the other side’ was entertaining to say the least! The key difference for me in the 12 years since I left is technology. As a tutor I would police the collection of each boys’ phone every morning and deduce which boy kept a forbidden second phone in his locker to use at break. Gone are the days of staff patrolling the graveyard on the other side of the road, but there are many aspects of school life that have not changed.‘
Obituaries We offer our condolences to the families and friends of all those OWs and former staff whose deaths have been notified to us since the 2020 Newsletter. Full obituaries (where available) appear on the Farewell pages in the OW section on the School website: Stephen Bacon (84-89, W; Staff, 94-00), Robert Beaty (50-55, G), Peter Brawn (42-51, Pa), Peter Browning (76-98, JS staff), Andrew Carnell (56-64, Pa), David Chapman (45-51, Pa), Brian Dixon (47-52, W), David Flint (54-61, Pa), John Gaunt (65-70, F), John Gibson (Staff, 69-88), David Hildred (37-44, Pl), Vincent Grove (42-50, Pa), Patrick Hodson (46-50, Pa), Roger Levitt (62-66, Pl), Robin Livett (50-55, Pl), Dr Vijay Lukshumeyah (53-55, W), Philip Mantel (47-51, Pa), Robert Saffery (47-50, W), John Saxby (46-52, JS), Russell Schrier (89-94, C), Michael Scott (51-56, Pl), Anthony Temple (40-43, W), William Ward (48-55, W), Malcolm Ward (52-59, Pa) and Stan Wilford (39-43, Pa). Robert Beaty (50-55, G) died in January, aged 82. The younger brother of John (44-51, G), as a member of Garne’s House he enjoyed playing rugby and breaking every rule in the book. On leaving School he started farming on his own at Little Harrowden. In the years that followed, and with his three sons – Mark (70-79, G), Wilson and Stuart (74-83, G) – the farm grew in size and at the time of his death was over 6,000 acres. He enjoyed country sports; his real loves were his farm and his family, with his wife Jill by his side. Peter Brawn (42-51, Pa) died in January, aged 87, after a long illness. He was a good sportsman here, playing 1st XI football and 2nd XI cricket. He did his National Service in the RAF and then spent the next two years working on the family farm before travelling around the world. Returning to the UK in 1958, he married his wife Margaret in 1962 and they had three children together. He enjoyed playing golf every Saturday morning with OWs Clive Adams & Peter Wildman.
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Wellingburian Peter Browning (76-98, JS staff) passed away in January. He will be remembered by many OWs for teaching English and History in the Junior School, serving as Club President of Bears and coaching many soccer teams. His father was a Captain in the Royal Navy and, as the oldest of four children, Peter moved with his family to various postings including Malta and USA. He returned to the UK to be educated, attending Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire and then Cheltenham College of Education. He had a fondness for Shakespeare, attending many productions at Stratford and the Globe on Bankside. He leaves Mo, his wife, and Alex and Jessica, their children. David Flint (54-61, Pa) died in November 2020, aged 77. After winning a scholarship to the School he studied at Birmingham University and then in London, where he met his future wife. He then embarked on a teaching career in Northamptonshire, culminating as head of a junior school in Northampton. He was a keen musician, playing the organ in several local churches, and was a long-standing member of the Northampton Bach Choir. John Gaunt (65-70, F) died in June 2020, aged 68. After Riseholme Agricultural College, he took over the family farm in Edlington, near Horncastle in Lincolnshire. He worked alongside his brother David (70-74, F) and together they pioneered the farming of potatoes in the region. A keen golfer and sportsman, John travelled widely with his wife Wendy and for 20 years had a love affair with New Zealand which combined golf, boating, bridge alongside a relaxed climate and fascinating friends. He leaves his wife and three children. David Hildred (37-44, Pl) died in November 2020, aged 94. He played in the 1st XV Rugger team in his final term here, and then immediately went into officer training, joining the Gurkhas as a subaltern. He was on a troop ship from India to Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped. He served with the Indian Army until independence, rising to the rank of Captain, and after leaving the Forces he worked in insurance in India until returning to the UK in 1960. He then embarked on a farming career in Berkshire and helped to set up a farmer-owned pig marketing group that now sells and trades over 40% of all UK pigs. His elder brother George was a pupil here, 1933-39.
Peter Keir (73-81, St) died of Covid-19 in April 2020, aged 55. After leaving School he studied Estate Management at South Bank (now London South Bank University). He then qualified as a chartered surveyor, and he and his wife Jacqueline (also a surveyor) relocated to Northamptonshire in 1995. Peter took up a new role with North, Rae, Saunders, establishing a reputation as a highly respected investment surveyor. Our condolences to Jacqueline and their children, James (08-16, C) and Tamarah (07-19, N), and to his brothers Andrew (69-77, St) and David (70-79, St). He would be proud that both children followed their parents into property-related careers – James graduated from Reading with a BSc in Agricultural Business Management (1st Class Hons) and Tamarah is currently studying Real Estate at Reading. Roger Levitt (62-66, Pl) died in New York City in January 2020. His contemporary Andrew Clifton (61-67, Pl) writes: “I remember how he was always immaculately dressed. There was no ‘He’ll grow into it’ phase or ‘Maybe we can get another term out of it’ period for Roger, and he had coloured linings (silk probably) to his suits while most of us made do with regulation grey. I lost touch after we left and I moved overseas, so it was a shock to find out from my brother Nigel that my old pal was responsible for one of Britain’s largest financial scandals in 1990 when his eponymous investment firm collapsed with debts of £34 million. Roger decamped to New York and turned his hand to boxing promotion with mixed success. I shall remember him as the boy who could be charming, could be surly, who was sometimes thoughtful and sometimes selfish. In other words, like most of us. He was a friend, one of the many who made an odd sort of existence bearable.’ Robin Livett (50-55, Pl) died in November 2020, aged 83. A lengthy obituary in The Times in March hailed him as an ‘entrepreneur who lent his Gipsy Moth for the filming of Out of Africa in 1985’. As a boarder in Platt’s, his housemaster Murray Witham took him and others to stand on a railway bridge as the Mallard or Flying Scotsman whistled beneath; this ignited a passion for speed. After qualifying as a surveyor, steadily Robin became a successful property entrepreneur, with interests in France and the UK. For the last 40 years he endured non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Undeterred, he was a keen aviator, flying his Chipmunk, a Tiger Moth and other planes across Europe for meetings. He and Josie had two children, Michele (81-83, M) and Paul (78-86, Pl).
Obituaries continued overleaf...
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Wellingburian Obituaries continued... John Saxby (46-52, JS) died in October 2020, aged 82. One of 26 members of the Saxby family to come here, as a boy he walked each day from home along the Midland Road to the Junior School, before moving on to Aldenham. He then worked for several years in the family Pork Pie business before taking over the running of the family farm at Farndish. John enjoyed many sports, but golf was his passion; he was Northamptonshire County champion at one stage and a keen member of the OW Golfing Society. For several years he was a School Governor, and he served as OW Club President in 1989-90. He is survived by his wife, Zandra and their four children – Will (75-80, JS), Philip (7681, JS), Erica (87-89, N) and Claire (83-91, N). Russell Schrier (89-94, C) passed away in September 2020, aged 44, after a lengthy battle against bowel cancer. Our condolences to his wife Sophie (née Hein; 89-91, N) and to his twin sister Colette (89-94, W) and older sister Louise (89-91, W). At School he was a keen cross-country runner, stage technician and CCF cadet, and captained the Shooting VIII. He graduated from Loughborough with a degree in Systems Engineering. He entered the aerospace industry and worked on a variety of helicopters, including the Chinook upgrade programme. In 2007 he married Sophie Hein (89-91, N) in the School Chapel.
himself in Palestine and Egypt. After a spell with the United Africa Company in Nigeria, he returned to the UK in 1955 to marry Jean. They were together for over 60 years, most of those years lived in Wokingham in Berkshire, where he ran his own car hire company. He was an active Old Boy and attended the final Old Weymouthians’ Club lunch held in 2015, marking the 75th anniversary of the closure of the College. Malcolm Ward (52-59, Pa) died in August 2020, aged 76. The son of E.W. Ward (20-22), he trained as an aircraft engineer, working at Sywell, Cranfield and Boscombe Down during the 1960s and early 70s. His passion for aviation was also his greatest hobby, gaining a pilot’s licence and flying regularly from Brimpton Airfield, near his home in South Oxfordshire.
Tony Temple (40-43, W) was the second generation of his family to attend Weymouth College, and one of the 33 boys who established Weymouth House in May 1940. He spent most of the first thirty years of his life living abroad, first as a member of a services family, later in the Military
Stan Wilford (39-43, Pa) died in June 2020, aged 92. He was awarded a Foundation Scholarship here, at a time when the fees for dayboys were £10 per term. He left in 1943 following the death of his father Herbert and, aged 16, took on the management of the family business, Wilford’s Auctioneers in Wellingborough. His first experience of the auctioneer’s gavel was in 1939, aged 12, at Grendon Village Hall, selling eggs and other produce donated to raise money to purchase Spitfire fighter planes. His son Tim, (66-73, St) succeeded Stan in running the business but passed away in 1999, when the business was sold. Stan lived in Wellingborough all his life and was a highly respected member of Freemasonry. He leaves behind his wife Jessie, two daughters, five grandchildren (two of whom, Carly and Sasha, were in the Prep School) and three great grandchildren – one of whom is now a pupil here, the 4th generation at the School.
The last borrowing of the Reverend’s car
to the bottom of the stone stairs leading up to the Fryer’s dormitories. When the morning bell rang he told Matron that he had hurt his back by simply falling down the stairs.
In 1965 Tim Hall (15) and Charles Horsfall (16) heard that Reverend Basil Pitt, the School Chaplain and Fryer’s Housemaster, left the keys in the ignition of his unlocked Hillman Minx most nights. Senior boys were taking the car for a spin around the playing fields.
The police, having found the rolled Minx, thought this sounded suspicious and interviewed Tim. On leaving Basil Pitt’s study he listened at the door and heard the policeman say “He’s our man”. Struck with the gutwrenching horror of getting caught, his immediate thought was to run away. But, Charles, to his credit, owned up to being the driver. Headmaster John Sugden was persuaded not to expel them; their parents had to purchase a replacement car, the Police decided “no further action”. And Basil Pitt was advised never to leave an unlocked car, with keys in, parked in the Quad among 300 young men looking for adventure.
Not wanting to let the opportunity pass, they too decided to borrow the car. Rolling it down the Senior School Walk, they were ensured of a silent start. Quick exit by the Junior School enabled direct access to the Irthlingborough Road. In the dead of night, drinking coffee to keep awake, they regularly drove to Bedford and back, even clocking up 82mph on one stretch. One particular night their luck ran out. Alas, the coffee buzz was insufficient and Charles fell asleep at the wheel. They rolled the car, throwing Tim out of a window. The trek back to the School was slow and unpleasant, hiding whenever a vehicle came by. Back on site, Tim was helped
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Wellingburian Supporting the School The School Foundation Patron: The Rt. Hon. The Earl Spencer, DL Chairman: Clive Westley (59-64, F) Foundation Director: Neil Lyon (80-85, W) Foundation Manager: Debbie Whittemore Helping the next generation with Bursaries We are extremely grateful to those OWs who have made donations to the School’s Hardship Fund and Bursary Fund over the past 12 months. The parents of approximately 60 pupils, aged 11 to 18, are currently in receipt of a means-tested Bursary, and support from OWs can make all the difference. Saying Thank You Our renewed thanks go to the Douglas Compton James Charitable Trust, the Maud Elkington Charitable Trust, and the trustees of the Sugden Arts Fellowship for their continued generosity to the School.
The new Sixth Form Centre This summer work began on the new Sixth Form Centre, to be constructed on top of the roof of the Dining Hall. The estimated build cost is £1.7 million, and the School is aiming to fund this from a mixture of reserves and bank loans and fundraising. We are asking parents, OWs and well-wishers to support this vital project by helping us to raise £500,000: every penny raised means the School will need to borrow less for this Centre and so be able to crack on with the next project sooner rather than later. The names of all donors will be recorded for posterity on a Wall of Donors in the new Centre. Donations of any size will be much welcomed. It is envisaged that OWs may ‘buy a brick’ for a suggested donation of £425, and a breeze block (i.e. the name will be recorded in a bigger size!) for £2,020. Why £425? Because 2020 marked the School’s 425th anniversary. There are also opportunities for rooms to be named in honour of donors. Neil Lyon is spearheading the fundraising, and he would be very pleased to hear from you if you might be interested in supporting the Appeal: nbl@wellingboroughschool.org. Building for the Future
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Wellingburian Benefactors (£10,000 plus)
Breeze Blocks (£2020)
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Wellingburian OW Bricks
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Wellingburian OW Bricks continued...
Single ply roof membrane Aluminium wing canopy Ventilation louvers powder coated above and to side of windows for natural and mechanical ventilation
Double glazed solar tinted glass
Wellingborough School 6 Form Centre of Excellence Founded 1595
SALUS IN ARDUIS
North-East Elevation
Screen printed woven mesh facade spaced off brick wall behind
Copper horizontal cladding
Copper cladding Stainless steel & glass balustrade Overclad existing concrete in copper
Wellingborough School
6 Form Centre of Excellence
North-West Elevation
Copper horizontal cladding
Do we have your email address? We now send out termly Eshots, full of news about the School and OWs. If we don’t have your email address on our system then you may well be missing out! So if you are not hearing from us by email and would like to be put on our email database then please contact Debbie at the School.
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