Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Meteorological Office tells usthat Spring started on the first ofMarch, but I am still awaiting proof
of that statement. However I can say that itis my very pleasant duty to pen this missiveas the OCA president for 2011.
It is 50 years since I left Collyer’s Schooland I am pleased to say that, although theschool is of a completely different structurefrom when I was a pupil, it still maintainsthe same high educational standard.
I thoroughly enjoyed my seven years atCollyer’s and feel privileged to have had theopportunity of such a good education. Itstood me in good stead for my futureUniversity and professional life. It alsotaught me self discipline which has been aninvaluable asset in dealing with the generalpublic.
I fondly remember those masters whopatiently strove to teach me, namely MessrsTidey, O’Connor, Reese, Lees, Soper, Gosney,Hanratty and Parks, to name but a few.
It has been most enjoyable to meet with
old acquaintances from the past, and,thanks to the OCA, re-establish oldfriendships. The OCA is still a very vibrantorganisation, but constantly needs newmembers from the "Old School" and thestaff and members of the current school. Itwill continue to promote itself and as a newidea we have started having informal socialget-togethers at the Anchor Hotel (formerlythe Bar Vin), Market Square, Horsham onthe first Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm.This idea is the brainchild of Paul Smith, oneof the committee members, and we wishhim every success with this venture.
Any Old Collyerian who is not a membershould seriously consider joining. The costis, by modern standards, trifling - only aboutthe cost of a couple of pints of beer a year -and the benefits and advantages are beyondmeasure.
The OCA Dinner in November attractedover 40 members and was very enjoyableand successful. One met old friends in arelaxed atmosphere and was able to recall
TT he Oldhe OldCollCol l yyerer ians’ians’Associat ionAssociat ion
newsletter
S p r i n g 2 0 1 1
President’s messagefor the Spring
C o n t a c t u s President: John Meese Secretary: Anthony Barnard Treasurer: Clive Barham, 18 Hill Mead, Horsham RH12 2PUMembership Secretary: Mark Collins, 4 Stallett Way, Tilney St Lawrence, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE34 4HTNewsletter: Bill Thomson, 18 Vale Road, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 1JAand Lawrence WindwoodOther Committee Members: Nick Weller, Paul Smith, Peter Ticehurst, John Meese, Derek Sturt, Brian Sturt. College representative: Jackie Johnston (principal)
E-mail is the best way to reach us: please send all correspondence for the OCA [email protected]
Page 2
J o t t i n g s
old times. The food was, as usual, excellent and theconviviality of the occasion, wonderful. It would,however, be better if more Old Collyerians couldmanage to attend this year.
The Summer Reunion is rapidly approaching and thevenue will be Polesden Lacey. This is a magnificentNational Trust property with a beautiful and interestinghouse and extensive gardens. We are told that therewill be live music in the gardens during the afternoon,
and, should the weather be inclement, in the house.This is a great opportunity to renew old friendships andenjoy a site of interest with adequate provision for foodand drink.
Finally, a plug for our website! It is a comprehensivesite with old Newsletters and current information whichwill keep you up to date with our progress.
Have a happy Spring and Summer.John Meese
Margaret YoungFemale teachers were few at Collyer's in the 1950s so itwas good to read Tony White's kind words about MissYoung in his reminiscences. I too have reason to begrateful to her: as a consequence of spending most ofmy second form year in sundry misbehaviour, includingalmost total neglect of 'prep', I became very familiarwith Mr Rees's room on a Saturday morning as wemiscreants waited anxiously for the visit of PAT toenquire as to our reasons for appearance in MeritDetention. At the end of the year I was, unsurprisingly,moved from 2A into 3B where Miss Young was my FormMistress. From the outset she treated me as if, contraryto all recent indications, I might be a reasonablysensible person and, when I stepped out of line, hergentle irony and mild exasperation made my stupidityonly too apparent: any subsequent success I achievedat Collyer's I attribute in large part to her criticalintervention.
Tim Cattell (1952-1959)
Bishops at Collyer’sA past president of the OCA, Roger Gibson, whilesending us his memories which were jogged by BrianSlyfield’s article on the founding of the OCA in the lastissue, added:
“I also much enjoyed Tony White's article - Iremember him and his friends Ian Matheson and(Bishop) Brian Masters, though they were some four orfive years senior to me.
Another Collyerian bishop was J.K. (John) Oliver, whoattended Collyer's for about two years from 1945 untilhe won a scholarship to Westminster School. He wasmy exact contemporary at Gonville and Caius College,Cambridge, and I met him again at our college GoldenReunion in 2006. By that time he had retired from hisposition as Bishop of Hereford and concomitantmembership of the House of Lords.
The French connectionMike Bartlett, who contributed the amazing 1954school trip pictures and memories on page 5, met upwith our secretary and his wife on a recent visit toBritain. Apparently Mike now spends much of his time
travels the world, mainly on cruises, which he writesabout for travel magazines. His post-Collyer’s back-ground is in shipping, having got his ticket at Warsashand joining the merchant marine. He found his way toAustralia., where he managed to build the firstcontainer terminal in Northern Australia. He now liveson the waterfront in Melbourne.
CongratulationsCongratulations to Old Collyerian Robin Allen (1955 -1958) who was installed as Master of the Guild ofMercers Scholars last October. The ceremony took placeat the Annual Installation Dinner at Glaziers’ Hall, whichhas the distinction of being the only City livery hall tobe sited south of the Thames. The modern, but well-
appointed, building hasexcellent views over theriver and as might beexpected contains somefine stained glass, bothhistoric and con-temporary. Eight fellowOld Collyerians andtheir guests attendedand enjoyed anexcellent evening offine dining and goodcompany.
One of Robin's recentduties was to visit theCollege of RichardCollyer, along withmembers of the Guild'sCourt, to meet withstaff and have a tour of
the campus. During his visit he presented the Collegewith a copy of the original charter, which marked theGuild's foundation in 1947.
The Guild is open to anyone who has attended one ofthe Mercers cluster of schools/colleges and formermembers of Collyer’s School or the College of RichardCollyer will receive a very warm welcome. For furtherinformation please contact the OCA Hon. SecretaryAnthony Barnard.
Brian Slyfield's article in theAutumn 2010 edition ofthe OCA Newsletter set
me thinking about some of thefounding committee memberswhose names he mentioned, whomI came into contact with some 40years later.
In 1959 I joined the newly formedOld Collyerians’ Football Club and acouple of years later became itsHon. Secretary. Our mentor wasEric Groves and we had greatsupport from other OCs such asDoug Barnett, Fred Tilling andJimmy Street. Eric persuaded manyof his contemporaries and near-contemporaries to become Vice-Presidents of the club (in otherwords, he stung them fordonations) and amongst them weresome of the illustrious founders ofthe OCA. Soon Eric persuaded meto stand for election to the OCAcommittee - the competition wasnot great and I was duly elected.Committee meetings were held ona Sunday morning in what was thenknown at Collyer's as the BoardRoom - the room opposite theHeadmaster's study wheregovernors' meetings took place; itwas there that I met some of thefounder members whose namesBrian recorded. I considered myselfa junior and insignificantCommittee member amongst thoseaugust personages!
Bob Greenop of course I alreadyknew from schooldays, but amongthe other luminaries still active
were Leslie Lane (who lived inChichester Terrace opposite the flatwhich my wife and I rented whenfirst married), David Bryce and ColR. Manton King (known to hisintimates as ‘Manty’, but I neverdared to be so familiar). It wasrumoured that in his youth ‘Manty’had played football for England; Idon't know whether or not this wastrue, but certainly his pictureappeared in some of the sepia-coloured team photographs ofHorsham FC which adorned thewalls of the large room below thestand at Queen Street.
David Bryce was chairman of theHorsham Building Society and alsoa very keen follower of football. AsSecretary of the OCAFC, I used tocirculate details of England homematches to players and Vice-Presidents and obtain tickets fromthe Football Association for anyonewho wished to attend. Bryce alwaysreplied asking for one of the mostexpensive seats available - I had toapply to the FA for the tickets,sending the money up front, butcould never bring myself to ask himto pay in advance as this might givethe impression that I doubted hisfinancial stability. Of course, whenhe got the ticket he always paid meby return. I believe he used to bechauffeur-driven from Horsham toWembley.
(As an aside from this, in 1964 wehad the opportunity to purchaseadvance tickets for the World Cupto be held in England in two years'
time. Most of the people Iapproached then were non-committal or indifferent - the WorldCup did not feature greatly in theirconsciousness at that time. Howdifferently they felt in 1966!).
One of the other seniorcommittee members I knew,although his name does not appearon the original Committee, was RegAgate, from the family who ran theseed merchants business in EastStreet, and who had lost an arm inthe First World War. Alsoprominent was Roydon Griffiths,whose opinions I remember asparticularly trenchant. Altogether,quite a galaxy, although I am surethe present Committee are equallydistinguished.
Roger Gibson (1946-54)
Page 3
Founders of the OCA40 years on
Richard Collyer Masonic Lodge andChapter
The Richard Collyer Masonic Lodge is almost as old as the OCA,having been formed in 1927, while the Chapter is a mere junior
having been formed in 1958. Both are very active organisations andmeet regularly at Horsham Masonic Hall. The Lodge members wouldbe delighted to hear from any old Collyerians who would like further
details or who might be interested in joining. Full details may be obtained from: Peter R Ticehurst, Flat 32, Bowes
Close, Horsham RH13 5SZ.
DATA PROTECTIONIt is obviously essential that theOCA, like all other membershiporganisations, maintains an up-to-date list of its members. Thesedetails may be stored either inpaper form or electronically andthe storage and dissemination ofthis information is governed bythe terms of the Data ProtectionAct.
One of the O.C.A.'s main roles isto put former pupils and studentsin touch with each other and thisnecessarily requires us to sharethe information we hold on ourdatabase of members. Thesedetails are only ever provided toother members of the OCA andalthough we sometimes getrequests for information fromoutside the Association we neverdivulge such information withoutyour consent.
Those members who have joinedin the last 12 years have givenwritten agreement to the sharingof their personal details to othermembers of the OCA. However,for those of longer-standing, whojoined up long before DataProtection issues were a majorconcern, their agreement to theabove is assumed.
If any member wishes to opt outof sharing their details with othermembers, either now or in thefuture, then please contact theMembership Secretary.
This will be on Sunday 12 June and will be atPolesden Lacey, a National Trust property atGreat Bookham, near Dorking, RH5 6BD. It’s a
1400 acre Edwardian country estate on the NorthDowns with beautiful house, gardens and walks. Wewill meet at the car park there at 11.30am. Payment inadvance not necessary – just turn up on the day. If youare a National Trust member, entry and car parking areFREE otherwise admission charges are :-
Adults £10.80 : Children £6 - for both the house andgardens. For the gardens only it’s £6.66 and £3.33respectively. If you wish you can pay slightly extra(10%) for Gift Aid. Car Parking is £2.50.
There is a full restaurant on site, also a coffee shop &deli. Otherwise you can bring a picnic and eat it on theSouth Lawn and listen to the ‘Lazy Jazz’ session from 2 –4 p.m.. There are also various pubs nearby that offergood eating if you would prefer this.
If you require further information (location, access,dogs etc.) this can be obtained from www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesdenlacey.
We hope that as many of you as possible will comeand spend a pleasant day with us in lovelysurroundings. We can’t promise good weather butwe’re usually pretty lucky.
Derek Sturt
Summer reunion 2011
John Hamer, OBE
Congratulations to JohnHamer on being awarded anOBE in the New Year's
Honours List. John has received theaward for his work as Chairman ofthe Heritage Education Trust. TheTrust promotes good practice inlearning services at historic sites andadministers the annual SandfordAwards for Heritage Education.
John was head of the historydepartment for most of his time atCollyer's (1965-1983), teaching 16thand 20th century history to O and Alevel. John also prepared many can-didates for the Oxbridge entranceexams, helping them get to gripswith the theory of history and theviews of Professors Carr and Elton onwhat history was. History was one of the most popularsubjects when Collyer's became a sixth form collegeand the History team duly expanded. John built up astrong department with a competitive streak. Therewas an unofficial annual contest with the Englishdepartment on which could achieve the most Oxbridgesuccesses. John juggled his departmentalresponsibilities with many other roles at Collyer's,
including housemaster of Collyer'shouse, first form form master, CCFofficer, and later senior tutor andassistant vice-principal
After leaving Collyer's John workedas a senior inspector of schools for anumber of years and acted as aneducation policy adviser to theHeritage Lottery Fund. John has alsospoken abroad for the Council ofEurope about best practice in historyteaching, one trip taking him as faras Siberia.
It's right to view John's award as acelebration of the role of theHeritage Education Trust in buildingup interest in historical sites. Itshould also equally be seen as recog-nition of John's work in promoting
history, not least during his years at Collyer's. All whoremember well his encouragement and support will bepleased he has been honoured.
Nick Weller
Further details of the work of the Heritage EducationTrust can be found on: http://www.heritageeducationtrust.org.uk/
Page 4
Polesden Lacey (National Trust picture library)
Inote the Editor is seeking information on theschool in Avranches which “Froggy” Kenyon had anassociation with, well I was fortunate enough to go
there on an exchange in 1954 having hosted a boy fromthere the previous year.
According to my diary it was called College Littré andwhile I don’t have a photo of the college as it was, theattached photo shows the new wing being constructedin 1954. There was still considerable war damageevident everywhere. We were initially billeted in theschool infirmary, two to a bed, before going on holidayto the homes of our hosts.
I went to a tiny village, Buais, (see aerial photo) nearerto St Lo and Mortain than Avranches to stay with theRobbes’ family in their house with no glass in thewindows[ just timber shutters], no mains water, noelectricity and no toilet, just a communal ditch whichran along the back of the houses. Life was primitive butmainly enjoyable, certainly educational and I learned toeat almost anything. It was best not to see what wentinto the large cast iron pot (which hadn’t been emptiedor cleaned for two or three generations) but theflavours that emerged were fine.
We all returned to Avranches for a few days at theCollege before returning to Southampton via St Maloand Jersey. Hopefully you can decipher the names ofthose who went, nine from Collyer’s and four from
Horsham Girls’ High School.
The copy of the diary page enclosedwith the photographs reads:
Holiday in France, 1954.
April 7th - May 1st.
PartyR.W. Kenyon
Jill Sutton - PerryJean Woollet Pete SimpsonSheila Mackenzie Spud TaylorFrances Ferrol Norman Ward
- BlackwellRoger HuntRobin ElliottEdgar Bland
Page 5
Collyer’s goes to FranceFollowing the mention in the autumn newsletter of school trips to Avranches, France, in the 1950s, organised byR.W. Kenyon, our secretary received the following from Mike Bartlett, now in Queensland, Australia. The reason formy interest is that we lived not far from Avranches for a number of years, and still have our house there. In factBuais, mentioned below, is the next village to our even smaller and, some might say, still more primitive commune, amere couple of km distant. It’s good to know that - just as there’s always an Irish pub - there is a Collyerianconnection wherever you go. Very many thanks to Mike.
In February, Guntur Dwairmien, a Collyer’s student,became UK Senior National Champion at Taekwondo.After four rounds, he beat the reigning champion in thefinal. This means Guntur has, at the age of 18, becomethe youngest ever UK Champion. He has been helped byCollyer’s and the OCA with funding for his equipmentand transport costs.
We asked Guntur for a few words about his sport andabout himself.
Taekwondo is a KoreanMartial art. It is the mostpopular martial art in
terms of the number of practition-ers worldwide. The WorldTaekwondo Federation has 188member nations, Great Britainbeing one of them. I compete inthe Poomsae aspect, where focus,finesse and stability are needed toshow off a sequence of move-ments to the best of the athlete’sability.
I started Taekwondo at the age of9, after a close family friendintroduced me to it. I loved itstraight away and continued totrain regularly. Aged 12, I wasscouted by the National Coach andwas asked to train with them andhave never looked back since.
In 2006 aged 13 I was selected to go to the WorldChampionships to represent GB and hold the record forthe youngest competitor at a World Championships (13years and 11 months) and to date I have six Nationaltitles to my name (2006 – 2010 in the Junior division)and this year’s National title where I was competing inthe senior division for the first time.
In my Taekwondo career I have travelled the globe forcompetitions, recently I gainedsilver medals in the 2010Austrian and Finnish Opens, andhave a career high ranking of10th in the World in 2008 afterthe World Championships inAnkara, Turkey. I have also beenfortunate to go to WorldChampionships in Uzbekistan(2010), Egypt (2009) and Korea(2006) and the Europeanchampionships in Turkey (2007)and Portugal (2009).
In the future I hope to continueto be successful and hopefullybecome a World and Europeanchampion one day.
I would like to thank the OldCollyerians’ Association for yourcontinued support.
Guntur Dwairmien
Page 6
Collyer’s has a champion
In his article in the Spring 2010 newsletter ourHon. Treasurer gave an overview of the OCA'sfinances and set out the case for increasing
subscription rates against a background of decreasingreturns on investments and the rising costs ofproducing, printing and distributing the newsletter.
At last November's AGM your committee unanimouslyapproved these changes and new Life and Long-Term(25 Year) Membership rates will rise with immediateeffect to £75.00 and £50.00 respectively, and annualsubscriptions to £5.00 per year from 1st September2011. The previous rates have been held for over 10years (and in the case of annual subs 17 years) and yourcommittee hope you will agree that they still representexcellent value for money.
For those who pay by Standing Order this will requirea new mandate sending to your bankers and a suitableform is provided on the back page of the newsletter.
Please fill this in and send it directly to your bank. Itwould be useful if having done this you would also letthe Membership Secretary know to avoid unnecessaryreminders. Alternatively, annual members mightconsider this the perfect opportunity to cancel theirstanding order and make a one-off payment for Life orLong-Term Membership.
It was also agreed that printed copies of themembership list would no longer be sent to allmembers on a bi-annual basis. These will now only besent out if requested - either by post (in which case anA5 SAE must be sent) or via e-mail. Please contact theMembership Secretary who will be pleased to assist. Onthe plus side we will now be able to produce a full-sizenewsletter for every issue so do please continue tosend your memories and articles of interest to the Hon.Secretary.
Mark Collins
Subscriptions
Page 7
Annual Dinner 2010
The College of Richard Collyer was onceagain the venue for our Annual Dinnerand as usual this proved to be a most
convivial evening. The bar in the Duckering Halldid a good trade and was the perfect setting inwhich to chat with old friends and to meet someof those attending for the first time, before, alltoo soon, we were invited to take our places fordinner in the student's common room where wereceived our guests in the time honoured way.
From the College we were pleased to welcomePrincipal Jackie Johnston and her husband, Alan;Chair of Governors, Graham Baird; and MattGaffar from the College Council, whilst twoassociations with which we share close links and acommon heritage - the Guild of Mercers’ Scholarsand the Old Mercers’ Club - were representedrespectively by immediate Past Master, AndrewMacmillan, and President Howard Stephens and hiswife, Celia. Our 'new' caterers proved that last year'sexcellent fare wasn't just a one-off designed to create agood first impression, by providing a meal that certainlyequalled and perhaps even surpassed their previousefforts.
The format of the eveningfollowed the familiar pattern oftoasts and short but entertainingspeeches but with one majordifference. We had received arequest from one of our mostsenior members, Arthur Bone(1932 -1940) who asked if hemight be allowed to say a fewwords on the night "having beendelighted and surprised to readthe article about my brother inthe OCA newsletter". He wasreferring to the Spring 2010 issuewhich told the story of 1943's raidby RAF Bomber Command on theSkoda works in Plzen,Czechoslovakia in which hisyounger brother sadly lost his life,
and so Arthur made the long journey down fromBourne in Lincolnshire, accompanied by his good friendPaul Keeley, to talk about his days at the school and tomention just some of the OCs who made the ultimatesacrifice in those dark days of the 1940s: "My friendDavid Kerr who was in a Japanese POW camp - he came
home a broken man, not in spirit,but died early on."; "Chivers - afast bowler, I can still recall theclump of the cricket ball in myhand"; and "Crump - he diedflying a spitfire in Malta." "Andmy own brother Alexander VictorBone who flew Lancaster BomberDB427 - he didn't come back. I'mnow going to bow my head for amoment - I'm listening to the lastpost. I'm thinking about theAfghan conflict and those whohave suffered there. That's whyI'm wearing my medals today."
Thank you Arthur for yourmoving tribute, wonderfullydelivered, which made theevening particularly memorable.
Text and pictures: Mark Collins
RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER BY E-MailWe are hoping to hear from still more members prepared to receive their newsletters by e-mail. All
monies saved on publishing and distribution, as a result of this, can be re-assigned to other usefulactivities of the Association.
And it arrives faster, and in glorious colour.To receive your newsletter by E-mail, please send your name and years of attendance at Collyer's,
exactly as it appears in the Address List, to the Hon. General SecretaryANTHONY BARNARD at: [email protected]
Arthur Bone with OutgoingPresident Gary Jones and
Incoming President John Meese
Arthur Bone speaking
T
n e
w s
l e
t t
e r
TT hh ee OO ll dd
CC oo ll llyyee rrii aa nn ss ’’
AA ss ss oo cc ii aa tt ii oo nn
S p r i n g 2 0 1 1
President’s message for the Spring
he Meteorological Office tells us that Spring started on the first of March, but I am still awaiting proof
of that statement. However I can say that it is my very pleasant duty to pen this missive as the OCA president for 2011.
It is 50 years since I left Collyer’s School and I am pleased to say that, although the school is of a completely different structure from when I was a pupil, it still maintains the same high educational standard.
I thoroughly enjoyed my seven years at Collyer’s and feel privileged to have had the opportunity of such a good education. It stood me in good stead for my future University and professional life. It also taught me self discipline which has been an invaluable asset in dealing with the general public.
I fondly remember those masters who patiently strove to teach me, namely Messrs Tidey, O’Connor, Reese, Lees, Soper, Gosney, Hanratty and Parks, to name but a few.
It has been most enjoyable to meet with
C o n t a c t u s President: John Meese Secretary: Anthony Barnard
old acquaintances from the past, and, thanks to the OCA, re-establish old friendships. The OCA is still a very vibrant organisation, but constantly needs new members from the "Old School" and the staff and members of the current school. It will continue to promote itself and as a new idea we have started having informal social get-togethers at the Anchor Hotel (formerly the Bar Vin), Market Square, Horsham on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. This idea is the brainchild of Paul Smith, one of the committee members, and we wish him every success with this venture.
Any Old Collyerian who is not a member should seriously consider joining. The cost is, by modern standards, trifling - only about the cost of a couple of pints of beer a year - and the benefits and advantages are beyond measure.
The OCA Dinner in November attracted over 40 members and was very enjoyable and successful. One met old friends in a relaxed atmosphere and was able to recall
Treasurer: Clive Barham, 18 Hill Mead, Horsham RH12 2PU Membership Secretary: Mark Collins, 4 Stallett Way, Tilney St Lawrence, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE34 4HT Newsletter: Bill Thomson, 18 Vale Road, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 1JA and Lawrence Windwood Other Committee Members: Nick Weller, Paul Smith, Peter Ticehurst, John Meese, Derek Sturt, Brian Sturt. College representative: Jackie Johnston (principal)
E-mail is the best way to reach us: please send all correspondence for the OCA to [email protected]
Page 2
old times. The food was, as usual, excellent and the conviviality of the occasion, wonderful. It would, however, be better if more Old Collyerians could manage to attend this year.
The Summer Reunion is rapidly approaching and the venue will be Polesden Lacey. This is a magnificent National Trust property with a beautiful and interesting house and extensive gardens. We are told that there will be live music in the gardens during the afternoon,
and, should the weather be inclement, in the house. This is a great opportunity to renew old friendships and enjoy a site of interest with adequate provision for food and drink.
Finally, a plug for our website! It is a comprehensive site with old Newsletters and current information which will keep you up to date with our progress.
Have a happy Spring and Summer. John Meese
J o t t i n g s
Margaret Young Female teachers were few at Collyer's in the 1950s so it was good to read Tony White's kind words about Miss Young in his reminiscences. I too have reason to be grateful to her: as a consequence of spending most of my second form year in sundry misbehaviour, including almost total neglect of 'prep', I became very familiar with Mr Rees's room on a Saturday morning as we miscreants waited anxiously for the visit of PAT to enquire as to our reasons for appearance in Merit Detention. At the end of the year I was, unsurprisingly, moved from 2A into 3B where Miss Young was my Form Mistress. From the outset she treated me as if, contrary to all recent indications, I might be a reasonably sensible person and, when I stepped out of line, her gentle irony and mild exasperation made my stupidity only too apparent: any subsequent success I achieved at Collyer's I attribute in large part to her critical intervention.
Tim Cattell (1952-1959)
Bishops at Collyer’s A past president of the OCA, Roger Gibson, while sending us his memories which were jogged by Brian Slyfield’s article on the founding of the OCA in the last issue, added: “I also much enjoyed Tony White's article - I
remember him and his friends Ian Matheson and (Bishop) Brian Masters, though they were some four or five years senior to me.
Another Collyerian bishop was J.K. (John) Oliver, who attended Collyer's for about two years from 1945 until he won a scholarship to Westminster School. He was my exact contemporary at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and I met him again at our college Golden Reunion in 2006. By that time he had retired from his position as Bishop of Hereford and concomitant membership of the House of Lords.
The French connection Mike Bartlett, who contributed the amazing 1954 school trip pictures and memories on page 5, met up with our secretary and his wife on a recent visit to Britain. Apparently Mike now spends much of his time
travels the world, mainly on cruises, which he writes about for travel magazines. His post-Collyer’s back- ground is in shipping, having got his ticket at Warsash and joining the merchant marine. He found his way to Australia., where he managed to build the first container terminal in Northern Australia. He now lives on the waterfront in Melbourne.
Congratulations Congratulations to Old Collyerian Robin Allen (1955 - 1958) who was installed as Master of the Guild of Mercers Scholars last October. The ceremony took place at the Annual Installation Dinner at Glaziers’ Hall, which has the distinction of being the only City livery hall to be sited south of the Thames. The modern, but well-
appointed, building has excellent views over the river and as might be expected contains some fine stained glass, both historic and con- temporary. Eight fellow Old Collyerians and their guests attended and enjoyed an excellent evening of fine dining and good company.
One of Robin's recent duties was to visit the College of Richard Collyer, along with members of the Guild's Court, to meet with staff and have a tour of
the campus. During his visit he presented the College with a copy of the original charter, which marked the Guild's foundation in 1947.
The Guild is open to anyone who has attended one of the Mercers cluster of schools/colleges and former members of Collyer’s School or the College of Richard Collyer will receive a very warm welcome. For further information please contact the OCA Hon. Secretary Anthony Barnard.
Page 3
B
Founders of the OCA 40 years on
DATA PROTECTION It is obviously essential that the OCA, like all other membership organisations, maintains an up-to- date list of its members. These
rian Slyfield's article in the Autumn 2010 edition of the OCA Newsletter set
me thinking about some of the founding committee members whose names he mentioned, whom I came into contact with some 40 years later.
In 1959 I joined the newly formed Old Collyerians’ Football Club and a couple of years later became its Hon. Secretary. Our mentor was Eric Groves and we had great support from other OCs such as Doug Barnett, Fred Tilling and Jimmy Street. Eric persuaded many of his contemporaries and near- contemporaries to become Vice- Presidents of the club (in other words, he stung them for donations) and amongst them were some of the illustrious founders of the OCA. Soon Eric persuaded me to stand for election to the OCA committee - the competition was not great and I was duly elected. Committee meetings were held on a Sunday morning in what was then known at Collyer's as the Board Room - the room opposite the Headmaster's study where governors' meetings took place; it was there that I met some of the founder members whose names Brian recorded. I considered myself a junior and insignificant Committee member amongst those august personages!
Bob Greenop of course I already knew from schooldays, but among the other luminaries still active
were Leslie Lane (who lived in Chichester Terrace opposite the flat which my wife and I rented when first married), David Bryce and Col R. Manton King (known to his intimates as ‘Manty’, but I never dared to be so familiar). It was rumoured that in his youth ‘Manty’ had played football for England; I don't know whether or not this was true, but certainly his picture appeared in some of the sepia- coloured team photographs of Horsham FC which adorned the walls of the large room below the stand at Queen Street.
David Bryce was chairman of the Horsham Building Society and also a very keen follower of football. As Secretary of the OCAFC, I used to circulate details of England home matches to players and Vice- Presidents and obtain tickets from the Football Association for anyone who wished to attend. Bryce always replied asking for one of the most expensive seats available - I had to apply to the FA for the tickets, sending the money up front, but could never bring myself to ask him to pay in advance as this might give the impression that I doubted his financial stability. Of course, when he got the ticket he always paid me by return. I believe he used to be chauffeur-driven from Horsham to Wembley.
(As an aside from this, in 1964 we had the opportunity to purchase advance tickets for the World Cup to be held in England in two years'
details may be stored either in paper form or electronically and the storage and dissemination of this information is governed by the terms of the Data Protection Act.
One of the O.C.A.'s main roles is to put former pupils and students in touch with each other and this necessarily requires us to share the information we hold on our database of members. These details are only ever provided to other members of the OCA and although we sometimes get requests for information from outside the Association we never divulge such information without your consent.
Those members who have joined in the last 12 years have given written agreement to the sharing of their personal details to other members of the OCA. However, for those of longer-standing, who joined up long before Data Protection issues were a major concern, their agreement to the above is assumed.
If any member wishes to opt out of sharing their details with other members, either now or in the future, then please contact the Membership Secretary.
time. Most of the people I approached then were non- committal or indifferent - the World Cup did not feature greatly in their consciousness at that time. How differently they felt in 1966!).
One of the other senior committee members I knew, although his name does not appear on the original Committee, was Reg
Richard Collyer Masonic Lodge and Chapter
The Richard Collyer Masonic Lodge is almost as old as the OCA, having been formed in 1927, while the Chapter is a mere junior
having been formed in 1958. Both are very active organisations and meet regularly at Horsham Masonic Hall. The Lodge members would be delighted to hear from any old Collyerians who would like further
details or who might be interested in joining. Full details may be obtained from: Peter R Ticehurst, Flat 32, Bowes
Close, Horsham RH13 5SZ.
Agate, from the family who ran the seed merchants business in East Street, and who had lost an arm in the First World War. Also prominent was Roydon Griffiths, whose opinions I remember as particularly trenchant. Altogether, quite a galaxy, although I am sure the present Committee are equally distinguished.
Roger Gibson (1946-54)
Page 4
T
C
Summer reunion 2011
his will be on Sunday 12 June and will be at Polesden Lacey, a National Trust property at Great Bookham, near Dorking, RH5 6BD. It’s a
1400 acre Edwardian country estate on the North Downs with beautiful house, gardens and walks. We will meet at the car park there at 11.30am. Payment in advance not necessary – just turn up on the day. If you are a National Trust member, entry and car parking are FREE otherwise admission charges are :-
Adults £10.80 : Children £6 - for both the house and gardens. For the gardens only it’s £6.66 and £3.33 respectively. If you wish you can pay slightly extra (10%) for Gift Aid. Car Parking is £2.50.
There is a full restaurant on site, also a coffee shop & deli. Otherwise you can bring a picnic and eat it on the South Lawn and listen to the ‘Lazy Jazz’ session from 2 – 4 p.m.. There are also various pubs nearby that offer good eating if you would prefer this.
If you require further information (location, access, dogs etc.) this can be obtained from www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesdenlacey.
Polesden Lacey
(National Trust picture library)
We hope that as many of you as possible will come and spend a pleasant day with us in lovely surroundings. We can’t promise good weather but we’re usually pretty lucky.
Derek Sturt
John Hamer, OBE
ongratulations to John Hamer on being awarded an OBE in the New Year's
Honours List. John has received the award for his work as Chairman of the Heritage Education Trust. The Trust promotes good practice in learning services at historic sites and administers the annual Sandford Awards for Heritage Education.
John was head of the history department for most of his time at Collyer's (1965-1983), teaching 16th and 20th century history to O and A level. John also prepared many can- didates for the Oxbridge entrance exams, helping them get to grips with the theory of history and the views of Professors Carr and Elton on what history was. History was one of the most popular subjects when Collyer's became a sixth form college and the History team duly expanded. John built up a strong department with a competitive streak. There was an unofficial annual contest with the English department on which could achieve the most Oxbridge successes. John juggled his departmental responsibilities with many other roles at Collyer's,
including housemaster of Collyer's house, first form form master, CCF officer, and later senior tutor and assistant vice-principal
After leaving Collyer's John worked as a senior inspector of schools for a number of years and acted as an education policy adviser to the Heritage Lottery Fund. John has also spoken abroad for the Council of Europe about best practice in history teaching, one trip taking him as far as Siberia.
It's right to view John's award as a celebration of the role of the Heritage Education Trust in building up interest in historical sites. It should also equally be seen as recog- nition of John's work in promoting
history, not least during his years at Collyer's. All who remember well his encouragement and support will be pleased he has been honoured.
Nick Weller
Further details of the work of the Heritage Education Trust can be found on: http://www.heritageeducationtrust.org.uk/
Page 5
I
Collyer’s goes to France
Following the mention in the autumn newsletter of school trips to Avranches, France, in the 1950s, organised by R.W. Kenyon, our secretary received the following from Mike Bartlett, now in Queensland, Australia. The reason for my interest is that we lived not far from Avranches for a number of years, and still have our house there. In fact Buais, mentioned below, is the next village to our even smaller and, some might say, still more primitive commune, a mere couple of km distant. It’s good to know that - just as there’s always an Irish pub - there is a Collyerian connection wherever you go. Very many thanks to Mike.
note the Editor is seeking information on the school in Avranches which “Froggy” Kenyon had an association with, well I was fortunate enough to go
there on an exchange in 1954 having hosted a boy from there the previous year.
According to my diary it was called College Littré and while I don’t have a photo of the college as it was, the attached photo shows the new wing being constructed in 1954. There was still considerable war damage evident everywhere. We were initially billeted in the school infirmary, two to a bed, before going on holiday to the homes of our hosts.
I went to a tiny village, Buais, (see aerial photo) nearer to St Lo and Mortain than Avranches to stay with the Robbes’ family in their house with no glass in the windows[ just timber shutters], no mains water, no electricity and no toilet, just a communal ditch which ran along the back of the houses. Life was primitive but mainly enjoyable, certainly educational and I learned to eat almost anything. It was best not to see what went into the large cast iron pot (which hadn’t been emptied or cleaned for two or three generations) but the flavours that emerged were fine.
We all returned to Avranches for a few days at the College before returning to Southampton via St Malo and Jersey. Hopefully you can decipher the names of those who went, nine from Collyer’s and four from
Horsham Girls’ High School.
The copy of the diary page enclosed with the photographs reads:
Holiday in France, 1954.
April 7th - May 1st.
Party R.W. Kenyon
Jill Sutton - Perry Jean Woollet Pete Simpson Sheila Mackenzie Spud Taylor Frances Ferrol Norman Ward
- Blackwell Roger Hunt Robin Elliott Edgar Bland
Page 6
T
I
Collyer’s has a champion
In February, Guntur Dwairmien, a Collyer’s student, became UK Senior National Champion at Taekwondo. After four rounds, he beat the reigning champion in the final. This means Guntur has, at the age of 18, become the youngest ever UK Champion. He has been helped by Collyer’s and the OCA with funding for his equipment and transport costs.
We asked Guntur for a few words about his sport and about himself.
aekwondo is a Korean Martial art. It is the most popular martial art in
terms of the number of practition- ers worldwide. The World Taekwondo Federation has 188 member nations, Great Britain being one of them. I compete in the Poomsae aspect, where focus, finesse and stability are needed to show off a sequence of move- ments to the best of the athlete’s ability.
I started Taekwondo at the age of 9, after a close family friend introduced me to it. I loved it straight away and continued to train regularly. Aged 12, I was scouted by the National Coach and was asked to train with them and have never looked back since.
In 2006 aged 13 I was selected to go to the World Championships to represent GB and hold the record for the youngest competitor at a World Championships (13 years and 11 months) and to date I have six National titles to my name (2006 – 2010 in the Junior division) and this year’s National title where I was competing in the senior division for the first time.
In my Taekwondo career I have travelled the globe for competitions, recently I gained silver medals in the 2010 Austrian and Finnish Opens, and have a career high ranking of 10th in the World in 2008 after the World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. I have also been fortunate to go to World Championships in Uzbekistan (2010), Egypt (2009) and Korea (2006) and the European championships in Turkey (2007) and Portugal (2009).
In the future I hope to continue to be successful and hopefully become a World and European champion one day.
I would like to thank the Old Collyerians’ Association for your continued support.
Guntur Dwairmien
Subscriptions
n his article in the Spring 2010 newsletter our Hon. Treasurer gave an overview of the OCA's finances and set out the case for increasing
subscription rates against a background of decreasing returns on investments and the rising costs of producing, printing and distributing the newsletter.
At last November's AGM your committee unanimously approved these changes and new Life and Long-Term (25 Year) Membership rates will rise with immediate effect to £75.00 and £50.00 respectively, and annual subscriptions to £5.00 per year from 1st September 2011. The previous rates have been held for over 10 years (and in the case of annual subs 17 years) and your committee hope you will agree that they still represent excellent value for money.
For those who pay by Standing Order this will require a new mandate sending to your bankers and a suitable form is provided on the back page of the newsletter.
Please fill this in and send it directly to your bank. It would be useful if having done this you would also let the Membership Secretary know to avoid unnecessary reminders. Alternatively, annual members might consider this the perfect opportunity to cancel their standing order and make a one-off payment for Life or Long-Term Membership.
It was also agreed that printed copies of the membership list would no longer be sent to all members on a bi-annual basis. These will now only be sent out if requested - either by post (in which case an A5 SAE must be sent) or via e-mail. Please contact the Membership Secretary who will be pleased to assist. On the plus side we will now be able to produce a full-size newsletter for every issue so do please continue to send your memories and articles of interest to the Hon. Secretary.
Mark Collins
Page 7
T Annual Dinner 2010
he College of Richard Collyer was once again the venue for our Annual Dinner and as usual this proved to be a most
convivial evening. The bar in the Duckering Hall did a good trade and was the perfect setting in which to chat with old friends and to meet some of those attending for the first time, before, all too soon, we were invited to take our places for dinner in the student's common room where we received our guests in the time honoured way.
From the College we were pleased to welcome Principal Jackie Johnston and her husband, Alan; Chair of Governors, Graham Baird; and Matt Gaffar from the College Council, whilst two associations with which we share close links and a common heritage - the Guild of Mercers’ Scholars and the Old Mercers’ Club - were represented respectively by immediate Past Master, Andrew Macmillan, and President Howard Stephens and his wife, Celia. Our 'new' caterers proved that last year's excellent fare wasn't just a one-off designed to create a good first impression, by providing a meal that certainly equalled and perhaps even surpassed their previous efforts.
The format of the evening
Arthur Bone with Outgoing
President Gary Jones and Incoming President John Meese
and so Arthur made the long journey down from Bourne in Lincolnshire, accompanied by his good friend Paul Keeley, to talk about his days at the school and to mention just some of the OCs who made the ultimate sacrifice in those dark days of the 1940s: "My friend David Kerr who was in a Japanese POW camp - he came
home a broken man, not in spirit, but died early on."; "Chivers - a
followed the familiar pattern of toasts and short but entertaining speeches but with one major difference. We had received a request from one of our most senior members, Arthur Bone (1932 -1940) who asked if he might be allowed to say a few words on the night "having been delighted and surprised to read the article about my brother in the OCA newsletter". He was referring to the Spring 2010 issue which told the story of 1943's raid by RAF Bomber Command on the Skoda works in Plzen, Czechoslovakia in which his younger brother sadly lost his life,
Arthur Bone speaking fast bowler, I can still recall the clump of the cricket ball in my hand"; and "Crump - he died flying a spitfire in Malta." "And my own brother Alexander Victor Bone who flew Lancaster Bomber DB427 - he didn't come back. I'm now going to bow my head for a moment - I'm listening to the last post. I'm thinking about the Afghan conflict and those who have suffered there. That's why I'm wearing my medals today." Thank you Arthur for your moving tribute, wonderfully delivered, which made the evening particularly memorable.
Text and pictures: Mark Collins
RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER BY E-Mail
We are hoping to hear from still more members prepared to receive their newsletters by e-mail. All monies saved on publishing and distribution, as a result of this, can be re-assigned to other useful
activities of the Association. And it arrives faster, and in glorious colour.
To receive your newsletter by E-mail, please send your name and years of attendance at Collyer's, exactly as it appears in the Address List, to the Hon. General Secretary
ANTHONY BARNARD at: [email protected]
Page 8
Membership
Due to data protection restrictions, membership data is available to OCA members only.
Join the OCA to receive the full version of the newsletter,
plus regular membership lists
STANDING ORDER MANDATE
To: The Manager
Bank Name: ................................................................................................................................................................
Bank Address: ................................................................................................................................................................ (i.e your bank)
................................................................................................................................................................
Please pay: National Westminster Bank Plc 47, Carfax Horsham West Sussex RH12 1FD
For the credit of: The Old Collyerians’ Association Bank Details: Account Number 62146556 Sort Code 60-11-17
The sum of: £ 5.00 (Five Pounds Only)
Commencing on 1st September 2011 and annually thereafter every 1st day of September until further notice and debit my account accordingly:-
Account to be debited:
Account number: ...................................................................................................................................................
Sort code: ...................................................................................................................................................
Signature: ...................................................................................................................................................
Date: ...................................................................................................................................................
This Standing Order Mandate supersedes all previous standing orders to The Old Collyerians Association.
