The Salopian no. 157
Transcription
The Salopian no. 157
THE SALOPIAN TITLE HERE 1 Issue No. 157 - Winter 2015 T he death on Friday 11th December of Michael SchützerWeissmann has formed a melancholy coda to the Michaelmas term. For his family, for the English faculty - which Mike headed for 17 years from his arrival at the school in 1988 - for generations of former pupils, and for the whole current school community, the loss of an extraordinary man, whose humanity, wit and wisdom enriched so many lives will be irredeemable. In Mike were wedded harmoniously a towering moral strength with the deepest humanity. Prodigiously well read, and a profound thinker on matters both spiritual and temporal, he combined the scholarship of a don with a disdain for pretentiousness and intellectual humbug. An innate respect for his fellow men – I never heard him speak ill of anyone – was, perhaps ironically, allied to a Swiftian sense of satire. Nowhere was this seen to better advantage than in his now rather poignantly named Shakespearian pastiches As You Leave Us and Lots Leave us Lost written for private performance at leaving parties for fellow English Faculty members held at Marycourt, a frequently-used haven for so many of us from the hurly-burly of day-to-day Salopian life. Countless Salopians owe much of their ‘real’ education to time spent in his architectural seminars, the legendary Building Society, tapping into his vast knowledge of French wine, or, in the case of the School’s Roman Catholic contingent, simply chatting to him over lashings of bacon and eggs in Marycourt after early Sunday Mass in the Cathedral. In so many ways Mike was paterfamilias to the Common Room as well as to his extensive family, to whom we send our warmest good wishes. David Gee’s City on a Hill, published in September and reviewed by both Martin Knox and Professor Colin Leach in the following pages, implicitly invites readers to reflect on change and constancy in the Salopian scene. The idea that the “The One remains, the many change and pass” - a spell well-known to anyone brought up at the knees of Frank McEachran – lies at the heart of this portrait, written by a man whose understanding of Shrewsbury is unrivalled. Values held dear by Mike Schützer-Weissmann - decency, humanity and gratitude for the gift of life - are unchanging. Never indeed have they seemed so important than today, when we consider the wider world beyond the bounds of Shrewsbury School. Within the Shrewsbury microcosm, we can see those values illustrated in the heartwarming tale accompanying the adjacent picture, which I feel Mike would have enjoyed. The first two are evident in the actions of the sheep’s rescuers, the last, one must assume, is being instinctively felt by the sheep himself, if only he were able to articulate it. I will leave readers to extract whatever symbolism they can from the front cover photograph. The platform seems solid enough, but perhaps it might be better just to enjoy the view! Front Cover: Guyana Expedition 2015, Kaieteur Falls. Inside Front cover: As members of the newly relaunched Rovers Club kayaked and canoed down the Severn on Field Day, a drowning sheep was spotted in the river standing neck deep in the water, which he looked as if he had been in for several hours, unable to climb up the steep bank to his home field. Manhandled into a canoe, he was released up a rather easier bank on the opposite side of the river which he eventually scrambled up, gradually regaining strength in his legs. The farmer will wonder how his opposite-bank-neighbour’s sheep has ended up in his flock: there are no bridges between Montford Bridge and Welsh Bridge along this 17km stretch of the river! CONTENTS Academic News 4 City on a Hill 6 Salvete8 Valete9 Spanish Study visit to Argentina 12 Classics Trip to Greece 13 Drama14 Evensong at The Queen’s College 16 Leavers concert 17 House Singing 18 Shrewsbury in Malawi 18 Expedition to Guyana 19 Pringle Trophy 23 Old Salopians in WWI 24 Life beyond Shrewsbury 26 Relaunch of the Rovers 28 Cricket29 Tennis37 RSSBC38 RSSH41 Athletics44 Equestrian Success 45 Hockey46 Shrewsbury School Foundation 47 Director of the Salopian Club 48 Salopian Club Events 49 News of Old Salopians 51 Arts & Activities Committee 55 Old Salopian Biologists 55 The Making of a Runner 56 Sponsored charity row 57 Cycling across Europe 58 Old Salopian Football 59 Old Salopian Yacht Club 61 Sabrina62 Old Salopian Hunt 64 Old Salopian Golfing Society 66 Saracens69 Publications71 Obituaries72 Editor Richard Hudson Churchill’s Hall, Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury SY3 7AT 01743 280630 rth@shrewsbury.org.uk Assistant Editor Annabel Warburg Obituaries Editor Martin Knox Salopian Club Nick Jenkins (Director) Old Salopian Club, The Schools, Shrewsbury SY3 7BA 01743 280891 (Director) 01743 280892 (Administrator) mail to: oldsalopian@shrewsbury.org.uk Design: www.grand-design.eu Print: www.lavenhampress.com 4 SCHOOL NEWS Academic News Exam results This year, we celebrated our best ever A Level results, with 86.1% of the exams awarded the top A*, A or B grades and 25% of all exams gaining the top A* grade. There were many individual success stories, not least the 19 pupils who gained at least three A* grades and the 55 pupils who gained an A* or A in all their subjects. Both last year’s joint Heads of School, James Plaut and Esmé O’Keeffe, gained an A* in each of their subjects. James was studying English, Geography and History, whilst Esmé studied French, History, Latin and Spanish. Impressive too was the performance of Ronald Chen who gained six A* grades, in Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry, A.Arridge (Rb) T.C. Breese (PH) G.W. Cabral (Ch) N.J. Chen (I) X. Chen (MSH) A. Chumbala (SH) T.H. Dodd (Rb) F.T. Galbraith (EDH) Physics and Chinese. All 12 pupils with offers from Oxford or Cambridge Universities achieved the required grades to meet their offers. The School’s AS results from the Lower Sixth pupils were also impressive, with 65% of grades achieved at A or B grades. 38 pupils gained A grades in all their subjects and 80 gained nothing less than a B. Lower Sixth Examination prizes were awarded to the following candidates who achieved outstanding scores in their AS subjects: S. Hazar (I) B.G. Jones (S) L.B. Kell (EDH) T. Lam (MSH) K.L. Lee (M) L.J. Mattinson (Rb) H.A.P. Newbould (Ch) O.C. Papaioannou (EDH) It was also another strong year for GCSE results, with 64.3% of the exams awarded an A* or A grade and over a third of all exams (34.8%) awarded the top A* grade. Six pupils, Nicholas Davis, Mathew Hedges, Ben Jones, Andrew Kim, Fintan Simmons and Thomas Tulloch, each gained 10 straight A* grades, and 30 pupils gained either A* or A grades in all their subjects. Thomas Tulloch’s other major achievement during the summer was winning H.F. Partington (PH) A. Pototskaya (G) M.R. Pownall (MSH) B.E. Sansom (PH) V.U.Taujanskaite (MSH) A.Vechamamontien (M) Y. Xu (EDH) T. Zhou (EDH) a European gold medal as part of the GB eventing team. (see page 45) After the GCSE examinations, Honorary Scholarships were awarded to: R.W.A. Carter-Motley (Rt), M.W. Hedges (Rb) and A.D. Howells (MSH) and Honorary Exhibitions were awarded to: E.M.C. Plaut (S) and M.J.B. Yale (S). GCSE Examination prizes were awarded to candidates with an outstanding number of A* grades: R.A. Arkwright (O) A.J. Aslam-Baskeyfield (Rb) W.S. Bedson (Rb) J.S. Bray (Rb) E.L. Chapman (Rb) P. Cope (Ch) N.W. Davis (PH) B.M.W. Jones (Rb) E.G. Kerr (EDH) H. Kim (S) R. Lim (MSH) J.J. Mattinson (Rb) M.H.J. Morris (Rb) S.K. Randawa (MSH) M.J.B. Redhead (MSH) L.H.E. Robb (MSH) S.T.F. Russell (Ch) F.J.J. Simmons (Ch) R.F. Smith-Langridge (EDH) C.M. Speed (I) A.K.C.O. Stock (I) J.S.Thevathasan (PH) A.J.Thomason (Rt) T.A.W.Tulloch (Rt) S. Williams (O) SCHOOL NEWS Academic Extension Programme The Academic Extension Programme is a new initiative, designed to challenge academically ambitious pupils to think beyond the confines of their studies and to broaden their horizons. It is compulsory for Academic Scholars but it is also open to any pupil; we are delighted that a considerable number of other intellectually curious boys and girls have chosen to take part in this year’s programme, which focuses on the Middle East. At the beginning of the Michaelmas term, a group of Fourth and Fifth Formers were given an overview of the complexity and diversity of the various modern conflicts in the region, starting with the Iraq Wars, through to intervention in Afghanistan, the rise of ISIS and the current migration crisis. Each pupil in the group was given a copy of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was the topic of discussion in the second half of term. In November we were delighted to welcome Major General Richard Nugee, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff and Defence Services Secretary, who gave a fascinating lecture on ‘Should Britain intervene against the Islamic State?’ Next term we look forward to a talk by Tim Marshall, former Diplomatic Editor of Sky News, who will offer his unique viewpoint on the situation that the Middle East faces. Omnibus Gladstone Competition Guy Cabral (Ch UVI) beat stiff competition from Classics pupils across the country in September to come runner-up in the Omnibus Gladstone Competition - the UK’s premier national Classics essay writing competition. His essay was on the importance of the Vindolanda Tablets, a set of wooden ‘booklets’ considered to be the oldest surviving hand-written documents in Britain. They were discovered near Hadrian’s Wall and give a unique insight into frontier life on the northernmost edges of the Roman Empire. On hearing the good news, Guy who is applying to read Classics at Oxford - said, “It was a complete surprise and I am absolutely delighted to be runner-up. It was a fascinating process to delve into the private and personal correspondence between Roman soldiers and their families; it showed me that in many ways, people have not changed that much over two millennia.” International Young Physicists’ Tournament Shrewsbury School represented the UK once again in the finals of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament in Thailand in July. Competing against 26 other teams from countries all over the world, they returned home with a bronze medal. Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 2015 At the end of the Summer term and after a busy AS exam schedule, a group of Lower Sixth students entered the 2015 Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. They performed remarkably well, amassing a total of eight Gold, 20 Silver and 27 Copper medals – which topped even last year’s excellent results. Set by an experienced team of teachers and university chemists, the paper is designed to be accessible to Lower Sixth students but also to take them significantly beyond the syllabus and encourage them to think about science in the way they would at university. It is endorsed and sponsored by St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Mathematics Challenge Competitions Chloe Chen (MSH UVI), Tom Dodd (Rb UVI), David Gao (I LVI) and Evelyn Xiong (G LVI) triumphed in the Regional Final of the Senior Team Maths Challenge at Keele University on 18th November. They now progress to the National Final, which will be held in London on 2nd February 2016. Chloe Chen also achieved the School’s top mark (115 out of a possible 125) in this year’s Senior Mathematical Challenge paper. A total of 126 Shrewsbury pupils across all five year groups sat the paper this year; 115 of them performed well enough to place themselves in the top 60% of the country and receive a certificate. A special mention should go to Tianci Wang (SH III) who was amongst the 19 Gold certificate winners; an impressive achievement for a Third Former. 5 6 SCHOOL NEWS CITY ON A HILL A Portrait of Shrewsbury School by David Gee, with Foreword by Eric Anderson; Greenbank Press (2015); xv+316 pp. Hardback, £25.00. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9523699 - 8 - 1 Martin Knox (Staff 1971-2003) writes: Everyone knows the story of David Gee, who came to Shrewsbury in 1958 for a term’s teaching practice and stayed for a lifetime. The headmaster, J.M.Peterson, impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the young History graduate, offered him a permanent position which he was only too happy to accept. Nearly six decades later, the fire still burns. In a Dayboys production of The Mikado, David once played the part of Pooh-Bah, “Lord High Everything Else”, an apt term for one who has served the School in many roles, all of them with success. His latest triumph is this wide-ranging survey of Shrewsbury School life in a period which he is uniquely qualified to chronicle. As he points out in the preface, the second half of the twentieth century has been erratically served when it comes to maintaining detailed records and he has spent many, many hours piecing together a jigsaw puzzle of facts and opinions into a coherent picture. In the last edition of The Salopian, David spoke of how the book came to be written and outlined the structure he has adopted, treating each facet of school life under a different heading, rather than presenting a chronological narrative. With apologies to those who missed it, I will avoid repetition of what he had to say, other than to stress that City on a Hill is not an autobiography. Indeed, in places the author even refers to himself in the third person. It is, however, unmistakeably David Gee’s book, imbued as it is on every page with the values which he holds dear and which he believes flourish at Shrewsbury as nowhere else. Well he would, wouldn’t he? An easy jibe, but one which does not hold, for David is too much the historian to rely on his own uncorroborated opinion to make his point. In the chapter on the ethos of Shrewsbury, he quotes a number of distinguished witnesses, all testifying to the qualities that make it no ordinary school. Speaking for myself (and not claiming distinction), I share David’s view that personal relations grow in a richer soil on Kingsland than elsewhere and that within the gates a bond of uncommon loyalty is forged. Like him, I formed this opinion early and have not since had cause to change it. Forty-five years ago, life at Shrewsbury was not like the fictitious world of “If”, but it was no easy task to persuade the sceptical outsider. We must be grateful to David Gee for producing such a well-researched, deeply considered account of how the School has evolved in his time. City on a Hill is a handsome volume, for the production of which congratulations go to Richard Hudson and his Greenbank Press. They have provided a frame worthy of the portrait painted by the tireless historian. Many Old Salopians and past and present members of the Common Room have made contributions, too, for, prodigious though David’s memory is, he does not know everything and does not pretend to. His thoroughness and his humility have combined to give us an insight into just about every activity promoted by the School during the period. Of particular interest are the interviews with all of the surviving Headmasters and it is only a pity that Donald Wright, who was at the helm during the turbulent sixties, died just before David started work on his project. The reader is left in no doubt, however, about the value of that great reformer’s contribution. One does not have to have known the men concerned to enjoy the four sketches of Common Room “characters”, chosen for their eccentric approach to the profession on which they made their highly individual mark. Unorthodox, idiosyncratic, even subversive, they could scarcely be less like the author, who nevertheless treats them with admiration and affection. David is himself conservative in his ways, a man who sees no reason why today should not be like yesterday and expects much the same of tomorrow or so he would have us believe. Behind the routines and the favourite sayings, however, lies more than a hint of selfparody, as there is in his affectation of mystified ignorance of the topics of the day. In fact, he has his finger on the pulse like no-one else; were it not so, he could not have written this book. It might be supposed that a necessarily retrospective work would be smothered in nostalgia, that the past would be preferred to the present at every turn. It is not like that. True, there are times when it can be discerned that the passing of one tradition or another is lamented, but for the most part, David Gee is content to record that at a certain time, people spoke and behaved in a particular way. That they no longer do so is not of itself a bad thing. In the Wessex novels, Thomas Hardy depicted customs and crafts which had gone for ever. His manner was wistful and yet he was mindful of the hardship which had gone with them. So, too, do we find here a realistic appraisal of life at Shrewsbury. The Old Days were not all “good” and this history is mercifully free of the attitude so readily adopted by Old Boys - of any school - that “it never did me any harm”. Many readers are likely to turn to the area of greatest interest to themselves and the format allows this kind of selective approach, but I caution against neglecting any chapter, for much of the pleasure to be had in reading the whole lies in discovering unfamiliar aspects of the little world that is Shrewsbury School. Inevitably, the author’s preferences are reflected in where the emphasis is placed. Events which bring the whole school together are especially admired, be they traditional or innovative. The Speech Day tent is an example of the latter, but the Call-over is a re-enactment of an ancient ritual (with the practical purpose of ensuring that everyone stays till the end). The Tucks, Sponsored Walks, the St Mary’s service are further instances of ways of fostering the community spirit which is such a central theme of City on a Hill. While it is true that they are all compulsory, it is worth noting that the last time Shrewsbury reached the final of the Boodles ISFA Trophy, the turnout in support (a hundred miles away) was 90%. No other school comes near. SCHOOL NEWS A glance at the index section (David is very fond of tables and indexes) will reveal just how thorough and how up to date is the coverage. Famous names from the past are there, certainly, but so, too, are the men and women, the boys and girls who are responsible for carrying on the Great Tradition. They will find their efforts appreciated and their achievements applauded. The period under review has had its moments of controversy and these are dealt with even-handedly and with restraint, as one would expect from a writer sensitive to the feelings of others. One would seek in vain for gossip and speculation in City on a Hill. De Salopia nil nisi bonum. Shrewsbury may have given the world “Private Eye”, but nothing could be further from its ethos than this text, which is a celebration of common purpose carried out with goodwill. There have inevitably been frustrations, tensions and disappointments along the way, and sometimes darker clouds have gathered; it could scarcely be otherwise in more than half a century of human endeavour, but Shrewsbury School has overwhelmingly been a happy and successful example of its kind. With good cause has David Gee followed the advice of St Paul to the Christians at Philippi: “… whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any praise, and if there be any virtue, think on these things.” Professor Colin Leach (O 1945-51) writes: Those with very long memories may recall that, in 1932, a book was published under the title Shrewsbury: The Last Fifty (later wisely changed to “Recent”) Years, chronicling the period since the momentous move to Kingsland in 1882. It was an important, even crucial, move, amounting, indeed, to a new Foundation: but it was not a “revolution”, and the school of Butler, Kennedy and Moss had changed its location but not its modus operandi. By now, of course, we are all familiar with the phrase “Public Schools’ Revolution” – there has even been a book with virtually that title - and in this excellent book David Gee has shown how, at Shrewsbury, the latest 50 years have indeed constituted a “revolution “ rather than a more decorous, Darwinesque, “evolution”. Of course, even a revolution will be foreshadowed, and although It was with the arrival of Donald Wright in 1963 that the major changes were instituted, David shows that in the closing years of Peterson’s long reign there were already harbingers of what was to come; the early chapter called “The Public School Revolution” neatly sums up what may be described as “Before and After”. As the reviewer can vouch, a boy arriving at Shrewsbury in, say, 1950, would have found a school that was well-nigh identical to the one that his father (shall we say) had entered in 1920: but by 1980, that could no longer be said, and even less could it be said by 2010, or today. It is David’s achievement – and it could have been done only by someone who was permanently on the Site – that he shows in riveting detail how the “old order” has been swept away, both in and out of the classroom. “Douling”? The Pink Book? Compulsory Corps? The School’s arcane vocabulary? Hall Crier? Hall Constable? Colour Exams? All these, and much more, are gone, and have been replaced by a regimen more in keeping with our times – especially with the introduction of girls, a subject of the highest importance which is covered by Jeremy Goulding in his contribution to A View from the Pentagon (see below). Here we are taken, in no fewer than 33 chapters, into (eg) the expansion of the Site (new buildings), The Bloxham Report, The Basic Year, Academic changes (the reign of classics ended long ago, but there is very much more to it than that, as a full chapter shows), and Administrative changes, largely brought on by the “deluge” of government directives: the five admin staff of 1954 had become 60 by 2014 – and 43 members of Common Room had become 123: huge changes, even allowing for a larger school. Thus, it is unsurprising that fees have risen so sharply: hard to believe that, in 1945, fees were just £180 per year! As to what the future will bring, David is, as ever, keenly aware of the problems and challenges that may lie ahead, not least with the demise of so many Preparatory Schools: the analysis on page 107 is essential reading. Will the School become ever more international? (The location of the Schools has many advantages, but also some disadvantages, especially with the number and lengths of “half-term” breaks). But this long (and superbly illustrated) book is far from being a mere assembly of facts: for example, we are given a splendid chapter on “Four Salopian Characters” – Hugh Brooke, Frank McEachran, Mark Mortimer, and Michael Hall, all of course well known to the author. Individual Headmasters are given their say – including, rather bravely, the most recent ones (Simon Langdale, Ted Maidment, and Jeremy Goulding) – or are assessed in A View from the Pentagon (it is here that, rightly, David also pays tribute to that most Salopian of Salopians, Michael Charlesworth, who must himself have regretted many of the changes which surrounded him); there is a shrewd chapter on the growing importance of Dayboys, in terms of numbers, organisation and identity, in which David himself played a major part; as for Music, Drama, Visual Arts, Craft, Design and Technology, where would they have been fifty years ago? David deals generously with Chapel, The Shewsy and Sports, less so with the Library (adequately dealt with in earlier histories): financial matters, too, fall outside the author’s self-imposed remit. The many Appendices provide enough information to satisfy the most gluttonous fact-hunter (the Carmen Salopiense is there, but not Mark Mortimer’s indecorous parody). And although the Contents page is helpfully complete, your reviewer would have welcomed an Index. In his Preface, which is itself of the greatest interest, David tells us, among much else, that it has been his aim to “focus on the visible, daily life of the school” (and) “the personalities who have created, sustained and transmitted its distinctive ethos”: he has succeeded triumphantly, while being fully conscious of how, in the world of the email, the “smartphone” , the internet – and long exeats - maintaining our ethos will be no easy matter: much time has passed since the Bloxham Report (in which “Hartfield”, ie Shrewsbury, featured so prominently), actually captured the School’s ethos with no little acuteness. Again, “rolls” have to be maintained – and so do academic standards (again, see the chapter on Academic Changes). All this and much more will be found here, and it is tempting, if irrelevant, to wonder how former Headmasters would view the huge changes of the latest 50 years: the reviewer, without any mandate to speculate, suspects that John (Lord) Wolfenden, at least, would be looking upon them with a benign eye. Of course, the natural “constituency” of the book’s readers will come from Salopians, whether present or past, but I have no doubt that it will be studied keenly at many other schools as well. This book has clearly been a labour of love, by a man who has devoted his working life to the School, and where he has himself played a deeply important and distinguished role. There is much more to be said: but I conclude by congratulating him warmly on what will surely be a lasting achievement. Floreat Salopia! 7 8 SCHOOL NEWS Salvete Morgan Bird joins us as teacher of Philosophy and Theology from the Royal Grammar School Guildford where he was teacher of Religious Studies and Head of Young Enterprise. He has been heavily involved in playing rugby at a high level throughout his school and university life and has also coached and refereed the game. In athletics, Morgan has been coaching long jump and javelin. Morgan still has a keen interest in the Arts (he has an Art Foundation Diploma), and headed up the Photographic Society at RGS. Andrea Bresso is our Hispanic Fellow for 201516. Andrea has a degree in Law and is a Junior Associate at a law firm. She has been working in Argentina as a SpanishEnglish translator. In her spare time, she enjoys hockey and swimming. Emma Davis joins us as a new teacher of Girls’ Games. She holds a PGCE in Physical Education and a BA Hons in Physical Education in the Community from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham. She was previously Head of Girls’ Physical Education & Sport and Head of House at Bedstone College. She has participated in hockey, netball, cross-country and athletics to a high level and has a vast selection of coaching qualifications in a wide variety of sports and recreational activities. Sara Fletcher joins us as part-time teacher of Biology, from New College Sixth Form in Wellington. She has a BSc Dual Honours in Neuroscience and English Literature from the University of Keele and completed her PGCE at the University of Chester. She enjoys running and competes in half marathons regularly; she is also keen on netball, hockey and rounders. Patrick Graham is our 2015-16 Graduate Sports Coach - Rowing. Patrick was M2 Rowing Coach at New College Oxford last academic year. He has rowed for ten years, representing Great Britain v France at the age of 16. He has a BSc in Sport, Coaching and PE from Oxford Brookes University. Mai Le is the new Harvard Fellow for this academic year. Mai has a degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and spent ten months in Germany as part of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange. Mai played division 1 Varsity soccer and for a semi-professional team whilst in Germany. She has also been involved in coaching soccer as well as debating, a cappella singing and ballroom dancing. Harry Mackridge joins us as Head of History from the Merchant Taylors’ School. He has a first class MA in History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. At Merchant Taylors’ School, Harry was also Oxbridge and Enrichment Coordinator as well as i/c Debating, in which he led the school to the national finals at Cambridge. He has also been involved in coaching football up to 1st XI level, as well as cricket with the juniors. He was also charity fund raising co-ordinator. Kimberley Onions is one of our Graduate Sports Coaches. She has a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science from Heriot-Watt University. She coaches netball and has been involved in athletics, running and gaelic football. She has also been involved in charity work and has formed a long-term relationship with a mental health charity. Ben Purser returns to Shrewsbury, from Claremont Fan Court School in Surrey, as fulltime teacher of Art. Ben taught in our Art faculty on a part-time basis from 2008-13. He has a MA in Fine Art from the University of Wales and a PGCE from the University of Buckingham. He is a keen chess player and enjoys mountaineering and football. Lauren Walker is one of our Graduate Sports Coaches for this academic year, with a degree is in Sports & Exercise Science from Manchester Metropolitan University. Lauren has been playing football for Aston Villa’s Women’s Super League team and has been a county tennis player and a keen participator in athletics and cross-country. Lauren has also been working as a Sports Scientist at Stoke City Football Club. Nicholas Welch comes to Shrewsbury as full-time teacher of Mathematics from the Abraham Derby Academy. He has a BSc in Mathematics and a PGCE from Warwick University. Nick was head of Key Stage 5 in his previous post as well as the annual Maths challenge and is keen to be involved in Shrewsbury’s UKMT Maths challenge. He ran the badminton club and is an amateur astronomer. He also enjoys playing the trumpet. Stephen Wilderspin joins us as Head of Football and teacher of PE, from Thomas Telford School where he was Director of Football and BTEC Sport Programme Leader. He has a BEd. (Hons) in Physical Education and Geography. He was also teacher i/c Extra-Curricular Physical Education Programme in his last post, as well as i/c Cricket. He is part of the England Schools U18 International Football Management team and has coached at Shrewsbury Town FC. David Wray joins us as teacher of Chemistry. He has a 1st class MChem from St John’s College, Oxford, where he completed a Master’s project in organic synthesis. He joins us from the University of Manchester following completion of a PGCE. David has extensive experience of working as a private tutor and he has been a Program Assistant for Oxbridge Academic Programs. During his time at Oxford, David rowed, coxed and coached at the St John’s College Boat Club. He has also been a keen amateur boxer while at university. He rose rapidly through the ranks of the Air Training Corps, which he attended up to the age of 19. SCHOOL NEWS Valete Struan Hellier The following is the text of the leaving tribute given by Second Master Mike Tonks: ‘Struan has fulfilled a multitude of roles here at Shrewsbury. He joined the ‘Faculty of Fun’ way back in 1999 as a raw recruit to teach ‘A’ Level. Three years later he was appointed Head of Faculty where he guided a disparate bunch of ‘philosophic wannabees’ with a firm but gentle touch. During this time he brought his own personality and intellectual stamp to the department and this included a move away from the traditional New Testament studies toward a combination of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. In 2005 he took the plunge into Housemastering at Churchill’s Hall. Here again his calm, methodical and measured approach was hugely appreciated by pupils and parents alike. In 2007 he moved across to Port Hill where he was Housemaster until 2011. The challenges of running a day house are different to those involved in boarding but Struan’s easy manner and openness of approach ensured the House was hugely successful. Struan was then appointed Head of Sixth Form, a role that he has undertaken for the last four years. Working closely with the other Heads of Section, this initiative has been invaluable in providing an additional layer of support for pupils and Struan has worked terrifically well to encourage all members of the Sixth Form to greater independence and to manage the transition from school to higher education. In addition to all the above he has made time to support the Outdoor Pursuits programme, umpire cricket and keep goal for the staff football team. As I think most of you know, Struan has taken the decision to step away from teaching, for a year at least. He is off to pursue a Masters based in both Canterbury and Paris – messy job but someone’s got to do it! Struan will be a huge loss to the school but it is my sincere hope that he finds his way back to the classroom or perhaps a lecture theatre/seminar room at some time in the not too distant future.’ You may not know this but Struan has had a number of letters published in the Times. My personal favourite was his response to one individual, clearly a young earth creationist, who believed the world was only a few thousand years old. Struan’s letter reads thus; Laura Whittle ‘Sir, Like Matthew Hyde I too have yet to read a well referenced and reasoned refutation of James Usher’s thesis that the world is only about 6,000 years old. Then again, I have yet to see a formal refutation of my son’s thesis that Noddy really did go to Toyland. Scientists always seem to avoid the really important questions.’ I stood here two years ago and said a few words by way of farewell to Chris Conway. At that time I described Chris as one of the standing stones of Shrewsbury school, one who has provided strength and stability to the community. In a very similar way Struan too has been at the very foundations of life here in the Shrewsbury School of the 21st century. He has fulfilled many different and highly significant roles and I suspect he possesses an almost unique insight into Salopian life. Struan is the sort of person whose glass is always half full. Whatever the situation he sees the positive, the possible, the productive and how to move forward. Then again years of being a Liverpool fan I guess you have to find some way of looking on the bright side of life. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Struan. A genuinely rare breed. A compassionate gentleman with a powerful mind – quite simply, an ideal colleague. Ask his students and they will speak to his clarity of thought and his incisive mental faculties. His patient approach that ensured every member of the class whatever their ability was actively engaged in the process. The following is the text of the leaving tribute given by Director of Studies Martin Cropper: ‘Laura arrived at Shrewsbury School aged 17 for her History interview with Mike Morrogh. However, this wasn’t an attempt to be Shrewsbury’s youngest ever Head of Faculty, but rather a trial Oxbridge interview while she was at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. She arrived for real in 2006, and in the subsequent nine years, a defining feature of Laura’s commitment to the school has been the sheer quantity of different areas of Shrewsbury life that she has been involved in: trips to the Battlefields, Italy, Berlin, Paris; four visits to the Shewsy, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Medic Malawi; running Charities, staging the first two fashion shows, helping to run Quod, involvement with Community Action; netball, boys’ rowing, girls’ rowing, playing the flute in the orchestra; running School Debating for five years and editing the Public Nose; 9 10 SCHOOL NEWS Professional Development mentor, Assistant Housemaster of School House and … Head of History. I remember overhearing some of my Fifth Form set talking a few years ago about teachers. They were comparing notes on their most organised teacher, and alighted on Miss Whittle. But let’s turn the clock back to 25th April 2007, in the week of Laura’s first school inspection. Not surprisingly, she had a meticulously prepared lesson for Period 1, and was lucky enough that the inspector decided to attend that very lesson. Less lucky was the fact that Laura, of all people, had overslept and didn’t turn up to the start of the lesson. She eventually arrived some time into the lesson to find the inspector sat at the back. But half the class were missing. A happy ending though – the pupils were so astonished that she wasn’t there that they had gone off in search of her, and the inspector ended up forming a positive impression of how caring Salopians were towards their teachers. In 2011 she was appointed Head of History in succession to Mike Morrogh. Numbers taking History have hit record numbers, and she has successfully introduced the Pre-U. The profile of the faculty has been high, with a strong series of trips and lectures, and plenty of pupils going on to study History at university. As Head of Faculty she has combined a passion for the subject with a keen eye for detail on the administrative parts of the job and a very supportive approach to those working in her faculty. We have enjoyed her own writing over the years. When Mary Sidney Hall was opened, Martin Humphreys asked her to write an article on Mary Sidney, which was published in the Salopian. And then there is the weekly bulletin for lower school tutorials this year. I had asked her to instigate this last September and had suggested that she got her Public Nose team to write it. A week into term, she sent me the draft of the first week’s article on Scottish Independence, which was strikingly impressive. The email correspondence went as follows, and reflects Laura’s positive, can-do approach: writing and it was fun to do. Glad you liked it!” In the past couple of years she has extended her academic role, joining the Academic Committee and taking a leading role in the Sixth Form and lower school essay competitions that have been created in the past three years. Outside of school, she has been involved with Pre-U examining. Even though Laura was pretty much straight out of university when she applied, perhaps it’s not surprising that her CV was already very full. Amongst other things, she had been involved with running her college May Ball. This should have given us a clear idea of how well she would be suited to working in the Shrewsbury Common Room as she elaborated by saying, “Worked closely with jugglers, magicians and comedians.” I suspect we have each of those here! July 11th saw Laura’s marriage to Nick Wakeling, formerly of the English Faculty at Shrewsbury. We were disappointed when Nick left us for Charterhouse, where he is now Head of English, and we are disappointed again to see Laura following in his footsteps to join the Charterhouse History department. We wish Laura and Nick every happiness in the future – and if it turns out that Shrewsbury does a better line in jugglers, magicians and comedians than Charterhouse, we would be delighted to welcome them both back here in the future. Steve Biggins Laura – “Is this the kind of thing you imagined?” MC – “It’s terrific. Precisely what I wanted. It’s very impressive for a pupil. Or did you write it yourself?” Laura – “…I wrote it myself. The pupils wanted to write about other things, so I did it. To be honest I enjoy Tom Taylor, Robin Moulsdale, Robin Trimby, Mark Dickson, Mark Lascelles … all hard acts to follow, but Steve Biggins had an outstanding five years as Master in Charge of football at Shrewsbury School between September 2009 and June 2015, achieving an incredible amount in his time, leaving football at Shrewsbury in very rude health indeed. Steve arrived with a flourish and won the Boodles and Dunthorne ISFA Cup in his first year in charge of the team. This was a squad that played attractive attacking football and had a wonderful cup run including a memorable semi-final victory away at Millfield on penalties. The final was a fine occasion; a magnificent 3-0 victory over Repton at Milton Keynes Dons in front of the whole School. Those that witnessed this knew that it was the start of an exciting era for Shrewsbury School football. Steve took great pride in improving the technical abilities of each player and instilling in them the fundamentals of the game. His sides were always composed on the ball and understood their game plans. Steve was a fine school master too and his teams always played in the right spirit. He was a calm but authoritative presence on the touchline (under the watchful eye of his ever present wife, Wendy) and he had a knack of winning tight games with the nous gained from a hugely successful professional playing career with Shrewsbury Town, Derby County, Oxford United and a spell in Sweden. Statistical analysis is now king in the modern professional sports era and Steve’s “opta index” stats would rate very highly in terms of his “win ratio”. Coaching in schools is about more than this though, and Steve had the gift of creating teams that were greater than the sum of their parts and bringing enjoyment and a sense of purpose to every training session. Steve could only be described as the consummate professional in terms of his attention to detail in preparation of his teams, but also in his care and concern shown to colleagues and the way that they prepared their teams and got their boys to play football. He was always on hand in the common room to discuss the merits of 4 4 2 versus, 4 5 1 or 4 3 3 and ever ready to supply coaching drills to enhance various aspects of performance. An innovator too, he introduced heart rate monitors in training, video analysis of matches, swimming pool cool downs after games, the use of a sprint coach in preseason training, improving nutritional advice for players and helping boys to pursue their dreams of football scholarships to the USA. Pre-season camps were successfully introduced to rotate yearly with overseas tours that included Valencia, Villa Real, Barcelona, Sweden and Qatar. Teams also got a chance to play on the indoor pitch at St George’s Park, a real thrill. SCHOOL NEWS Steve was an excellent administrator, very able at organising the day to day detail that goes into running a successful football programme including the allocation of pitches for House matches, liaison with groundsmen, the ordering of new kit, the sorting out of the very intricate fixture list, liaising with KH over food, the organisation and payment of referees, plus dealing with parents and their concerns over their sons’ progress in the football teams. At all times Steve remained enthusiastic, upbeat and positive in his dealings with his colleagues, staff and boys and had an infectious enthusiasm, evident even on a cold muddy day in November. The following is the text of the leaving tribute given by Head of Mathematics Jerome Armstrong: ‘Mike arrived at Shrewsbury in September 2009. He has been a huge asset to the Maths Faculty with all year-groups and abilities, not only keeping the very brightest further mathematicians on their toes - that’s no mean feat - but also motivating his fair share of bottom sets to thrive at GCSE. He is a perfectionist in his work, deeply committed to both his subject and his pupils, and very highly regarded by both. I also am very grateful to him for running the Powell Prize in Mathematics with such enthusiasm for the last four years. Steve has retired from teaching and running football, but is still very much part of the football fabric at Shrewsbury as coach of the U14A team. It has been a huge help to our new Master in Charge of football, Steve Wilderspin to have Steve on hand to help pass over the admin, but also to know that the key age group of the U14As is in incredibly safe hands as Steve is acutely aware of what “the end product should look like” in the 1st XI and therefore has been a huge boost to our coaching structure. He was a most caring tutor in Oldham’s Hall, offering countless trips and meals along with regular academic guidance. He has given his time to many Talargerwyn trips and acted frequently as either the Oldham’s or school photographer at a number of events. Many of you will have seen Mike’s stunning panoramic montage of the quarry taken from the top of the main school building during the deep freeze of December 2010. There are exciting times ahead for Shrewsbury School football, but the foundation and the groundwork laid by Steve Biggins is there for all to see and he can leave the post with his head held high, knowing that he made a huge difference to football at Shrewsbury School. During his first year as a live-in tutor, he put his ninja skills to good use one night which has gone down in legend. A certain little miscreant was after his Assassins target at 2 am. Water-pistol in hand, he searched for an open window in Oldham’s to climb through. He chose poorly. Within seconds, the intruder had been disarmed, defenestrated, depostored and stuck into a triple headmaster’s detention. Will Hughes Mike Wade Mike has been running the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award since his arrival, running three or four expeditions a year. In addition, he has helped on Outdoor week and the Bronze weekends. Nick David and Jo Billington have greatly valued his services; he has been deeply committed to the award, and his support has been beyond the call of duty. On the diving front, he has been a very active instructor with Rhodri Burke and the sub-aqua club, undertaking many dives at Stoney Cove. He’s probably the most widely-travelled of any of the team, and has been diving all over the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, the Far East and the Red Sea. His contribution here will also be greatly missed, as will that to hockey, a sport he has coached regularly these last six years under the pseudonym “Darth Wader”. Mike is moving to Surrey to care for his father. We will miss him enormously, and wish him all the very best for the future. Angeles Martinez Angeles (Angie) was a first-rate Hispanic Fellow who made an enormous contribution to the Spanish Faculty and more widely in the School, not least as a dedicated tutor in MSH. In her primary role of preparing the Sixth Form students for their oral exams she remained cool, calm, collected, and above all cheerful even when flogging the same old questions and topic areas, and occasionally an ill-prepared if not quite dead horse. Angie was a great help in other areas of Faculty life and it was great fun working with her, not least when videoing bespoke listening materials and watching her try to avoid the giggles. Angie will be sorely missed when she returns to Argentina and we wish her all the very best for the future. I don’t think she’ll miss our climate - in my mind’s eye I shall see her shivering and asking me if the temperature will ever rise - though I’m sure she’ll be back for a real ale or pint of Guinness at some point or other. Stuart Cowper 11 12 SCHOOL NEWS Spanish Study Visit to Argentina During recent years, we have built up a strong exchange partnership with San Bartolomé School in Rosario, Argentina. During half term, 15 pupils spent a week there enjoying warm hospitality from their host families and exchange partners, and a hectic schedule of linguistic, cultural and social activities. by two days in Buenos Aires. In this fascinating capital the group enjoyed a historical tour of the city, a tango show, a visit to Eva Peron’s resting place and the national museum of fine art. The partnership with San Bartolomé has evolved into much more than an opportunity to perfect Spanish language skills. Lasting friendships have been formed and another A s well as bilingual lessons and sports activities at the school, special highlights included an Argentinian football match at Rosario Central’s stadium, ‘cowboy’ horse riding at a country estancia, tango dancing lessons and an Argentinian empanada cooking class. A day spent at the Desafio Foundation project, which helps children from shanty towns integrate better into society, was a valued addition to the party’s schedule during this fourth Argentina trip over the last six years. The week in Rosario was followed generation of Spanish pupils has been inspired to consider Gap year work at San Bartolomé School and Latin American travel. Particular thanks to Grove Matron Maureen Donahue for accompanying and a huge well done to all pupils who participated wholeheartedly. Mike Wright SCHOOL NEWS Classics Trip to Greece Despite the rigours of the Tucks and House Singing on the last day of the first half of term, 12 Classicists and two members of staff managed nevertheless to reach Athens by mid-morning the next day. There they enjoyed lunch by the Acropolis and a visit the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon. From Delphi we travelled on to the Peloponnese and the advantage of visiting Olympia on a rather damp morning was that we had the running track to ourselves. It was also fascinating to find out about the use of the site over time and see where the Olympic Flame is lit in modern times. The Parthenon in all its glory The group then travelled to Delphi and the mysterious power of the place was felt by all. Its position nestled on the side of Mount Parnassus emphasised the effort undertaken by all, ancient and modern, who travelled to consult the Oracle, participate in the Games or merely visit the sites. The Temple of Apollo, Delphi Exhausted, we returned home the following day having increased our knowledge of Greece, with our appetites whetted for more! Sarah Latcham Angus Kincaid trying out the acoustics at Epidauros Warming up at Olympia As we travelled deeper in the Peloponnese, we travelled further back in time from the Classical to the Homeric period. This included visiting Mycenae, the home of Agamemnon, and Tiryns, where Diomedes lived. For a ‘modern’ slice of history we explored the Palamidi Fort (a Venetian fort built between 1711 and 1714). The final classical site we visited was Epidauros where we were treated to Angus Kincaid (Ch LVI) reciting ‘The Jabberwocky’ to test the acoustics of the theatre. The group at Delphi - Back Row: Mr Matthew Clark, Lucas Paul (Rb V), Victor Scheibler (I V), Guy Cabral (Ch UVI), Sam Russell (Ch LVI), Lexi Bothamley Dakin (G IV), Livi Bothamley Dakin (G IV), Eric MyintMaung (Ch IV) - Front Row: Will Sturrock (M LVI), Fintan Simmons (Ch LVI), Jetty Russell (G IV), Rosie Smith-Langridge (EDH LVI), Angus Kincaid (Ch LVI) 13 14 SCHOOL NEWS DNA Junior School Play Dennis Kelly’s DNA is a hugely challenging play, both for the actors and for the audience. It tells the story of a group of teenagers whose lives are turned upside down the day that they accidently commit a murder. Part thriller, part comedy, part meditation on modern adolescence, it follows the group as they attempt to cover up what they have done, and ultimately, are led deeper and deeper into their deception. T he action takes place in a disused quarry, which has been colonised by students from the nearby school. Niki Holmes’ extraordinary set, built by Kieren Harding and painted by sixth form art students Erin Leatherbarrow, Sarah Jackman and Meg Elliott, reflected the incipient violence of the play. Festooned in broken dolls and daubed with gothic graffiti, it provided the perfect backdrop for the unfolding story. The play was written in 2007 – since then, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have become ubiquitous in teenage lives. Director Helen Brown chose to reflect this in the screenshots that were projected across the stage, showing how the real world functions in parallel to the cyber world, and sometimes, what is recorded becomes more real than what actually happened. The appeal of the play rests on the realism of its characters: to anyone who spends time with teenagers, each of the characters is instantly recognisable, from the glamorous ‘Mean Girls’ to the geeky misfits. The core of the play is the relationship between Leah (Tilly Reynolds) and Phil (Angus Warburg). Tilly captured Leah’s nervous insecurity perfectly, giving her speeches both humour and pathos. Kelly borrows the convention of a chorus from Greek tragedy, and provides a laconic commentary on the action from the perspective of Mark and Jack (Freddy Williams and Harry Wasdell), They provide the voice of the insiders, in contrast to the outsiders they victimise and eventually destroy. Otto Rothwell Hurley played Brian with endearing innocence and vulnerability, while Aaron Clark’s brutalised Adam was genuinely unnerving. This was a convincing performance from a very talented young cast; the senior actors should look to their laurels as this group progress through the school. Richard Hudson SCHOOL NEWS POSH chilling violence as Alistair. The characters outside the club were played with sympathy and understanding by Dan Iles, Emily Skelton and Tash Tudor. It is through their eyes that the audience see the club, and the growing contrast between the boys and their ‘honest, decent, hard-working’ counterparts. ‘Posh’ by the British playwright Laura Wade, is a controversial play to stage in a public school: after all, the object of its satire is us. Julian Chesshire’s production was brilliantly provocative, forcing its audience to question all of it presumptions and prejudices. The play is a thinly veiled fictionalisation of Oxford’s Bullingdon Club, a student drinking society that counts some of the most powerful men in the country among its members. Re-imagined as the Riot Club in the play, the club hosts a group of wealthy, entitled boys on the verge of becoming Men Who Matter. Over the course of an evening, the boys get drunk, expound their political views and eventually act on those views – resulting in the murder of their landlord and the rape of his daughter. The characters are gradually exposed as weak, shallow and utterly selfish; if the play is holding a mirror up to its audience, it is not a mirror that we want to look into. The production demonstrated some incredible ensemble work from the members of the club; all ten actors fully inhabited their characters throughout, and gave the piece real dynamism and energy. It is difficult, in such a production, to single out particular actors for praise, but mention must be made of Harry Lane Fox’s perfect comic timing as Toby, and Julian Chesshire’s The dinner is framed by the presence of Jeremy, an ex-member of the club, now in the House of Lords, who keeps an avuncular eye on the club’s doings. Played by James Fraser Andrews of the English Faculty, he reminds the audience that the club cannot be explained away as a group of silly little boys making mistakes: membership of the club confers entry into the highest echelons of the Establishment. This was one of the finest pieces of student theatre I have seen, made all the more impressive by the fact that it was directed and produced by the students themselves. It did everything that good theatre is supposed to do: it engaged us, entertained us, and made us question who we are and what we do. Helen Brown Rehearsing Great Expectations The musical - a challenging commitment? Yes. An adaptation of a well known and well loved depressing novel? You bet. A production involving the best of Shrewsbury’s artistic and musical talent? Sure. What am I doing here? I’m in the mist of contemplating such questions when the shout of ‘No jazz hands!’ floats over the music and curtails someone’s overzealous attempt at Las Vegas showmanship. We have been rehearsing hard for weeks and have just reached the first tap number. If you are reading this and can tap dance then congratulations; for you have reached a level of coordination that some of us can only aspire to. Yet, in the face of adversity, the cast are enthusiastic and determined; slowly getting the hang of it while Mr Moore, unperturbed by the apparent chaos on stage, jazzes his way through the ragtime rhythm. After practising for a while our perseverance pays off and to our own surprise we realise that we look like people who actually know how to tap dance and I suppose now we do. One of the greatest things about the musical is that it involves almost every artistic discipline; from the creation of the set to the singing of a ballad. It is something which not only many different people get involved in but also furnishes them with a toolkit of new skills. Once again, my contemplation of the benefits of the musical increasing our knowledge of useful things such as tap dancing and consequential wondering about when and where I could ever use this skill again, is interrupted by the proclamation: “We are going to learn a new number!” Learning a new song or “number” is always a fun experience as people have to make a choice. Whether to read the music or the 15 16 SCHOOL NEWS words. There are some talented people among us that can do both and hats off to them but for most of us the decision runs along the lines of ‘I could mumble the tune’ or ‘I could sing a tune to the words’. This leads to some interesting results. Luckily this situation doesn’t last for long as the tunes are memorable and soon we are belting out the new song. Dr Brown, Mr Moore and Miss Archer have more than matched the cast’s enthusiasm and this has helped navigate us through the busy preparations. It is not easy coordinating a cast of 30 people through a complex theatrical production but we can have no complaints in the way that they have done it. Dr Brown sets the scenes and helps us deepen our character’s individual personalities. Mr Moore spends his waking hours working on one song or another and giving time with those who need to grapple a new ‘number’. Miss Archer walks through her coordinated choreography while people look on with expressions of bemused anticipation. achieve the most complicated musical that Shrewsbury has ever put on in the shortest amount of time that we have ever had. It is odd that even as he says this that he sounds upbeat. Yet, as I look around I realise that the cast, far from looking despondent, are just as upbeat as Mr Moore. I think to myself ‘what a bunch of loonies’, but I am one of them and what can I say? Tap dancing is fun. Fintan Simmons (Ch LVI) I snapped out of my daydream thinking about the merits of having experienced members of staff leading rehearsals in general when it occurred to me that I really should be concentrating on this one. Mr Moore, addressing the cast, is describing how we are attempting to Evensong at The Queen’s College, Oxford On Wednesday 30th September, the Chapel Choir travelled to Oxford to sing Evensong in the beautiful chapel of The Queen’s College The 70-strong choir was in very fine voice and the unaccompanied Bogoroditsye Dyevo by Rachmaninov provided a wonderfully atmospheric start to the service. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by the 17th century English composer Adrian Batten showcased several of the School’s finest singers who took the solo parts, and when the congregation joined the choir in the final hymn, the body of sound was stunning. The service was attended by over 120 of the wider Shrewsbury School community who filled the chapel, and a dozen of the Old Salopians who are currently studying at Oxford University enjoyed meeting The Queen’s College, Oxford their former teachers who had accompanied the choir to Oxford. After the service, the choir enjoyed a well-deserved meal in the college dining hall, while the Headmaster and senior staff hosted a reception in the college. The fine early autumn evening meant that guests could enjoy their refreshments in The Queen’s College Fellows’ Garden. It is hoped that the wider Shrewsbury community, to include Old Salopians, parents and friends of the School, will wish to support other forthcoming musical events, and the presence of a large audience or congregation really heightens the experience for the pupils taking part. The Choir will sing Evensong in Manchester Cathedral at 5.30pm on Friday 29th January with a reception afterwards; there will be a Chamber concert in the Holywell Music Room in Oxford at 7.30pm on Friday 12th February, with a reception beforehand; and on Sunday 28th February at 7.30pm, the School Symphony Orchestra and Choral Society will perform Verdi’s Requiem at Birmingham Town Hall. For full details please see the School website www.shrewsbury.org.uk/ shrewsbury-music. Martin Cropper SCHOOL NEWS Leavers’ Concert 2015 for encouraging real singing. Harry is going on to take a leading role on the London stage, well deserved. In addition to the solo numbers, three of the performers came together for an extra item, in which Ed Carroll’s baritone was heard to particular advantage. Dan Lo gave us a rare opportunity to hear the Maidment Building organ, before the leader of the school orchestra, Calvin Chan, stepped up for a solo item, a Chaconne by Tomaso Vitali. It was obviously composed as an opportunity for display and Calvin threw himself into it with all the confidence which he has developed over the year. One could even sense that he blossomed within the performance, as he became more animated with every trill brought off. The audience responded rapturously to Calvin’s bravura finale. He was to be heard again in the mellow composition for string ensemble with which the concert ended. Calvin Chan (I) N othing quite marks the passage of time like the annual Leavers’ Concert, for the echoes of the New Boys’ evening (as it then was) have no sooner died away than we find the same performers on stage to bid goodbye. In the case of Sixth Form entrants, they seem to have been here but a matter of weeks. In that short time, however, they not only learn a great deal, but they perform – frequently and rewardingly, none more so than the ubiquitous Henrike Legner, whose singing and playing have been such a feature of recent concerts. She led the way on Monday last with a reprise of her soprano solo in Bach’s “Jauchzet Gott”, first performed with the String Ensemble at the Wigmore Hall in March. As before, in this and two further Baroque items, there was some confident, stylish singing and playing. It was farewell, too, to one who may reasonably be described as the finest musician ever to have attended Shrewsbury. Much praise has been heaped on Galin Ganchev over the past five years, all of it merited. Great has been the sense of wonder in audiences large and small at his scintillating technique; his profound musicianship has brought tears to many an eye. He signed off with a Humoresque by a fellow Bulgarian, Pancho Vladigerov, which only the most accomplished could attempt. Much use was made of the top end of the keyboard, with intermittent cascading to the other extreme. It sounded at times as if the composer had wilfully created an obstacle course to trap the soloist. Galin emerged unscathed, effortlessly, it seemed, though it cannot have been. After the concert and the general congratulations which followed, Galin was presented with a large portrait of himself by Jane Robbins, an unprecedented gesture by the Music Department, honouring a special talent. In time to come, people may read this and wonder what the fuss was about. To them I repeat what I wrote in 2011: “You will think that I exaggerate. You should have been there”. Those fortunate enough to have been there in the intervening years will know what I mean. Martin Knox Charlie Davis and Finn MacCormack were joined by JFM for a pleasing example of chamber music, the sonata for clarinet, cello, and piano by Brahms, which was followed by a saxophone solo (about time we had one) from James Plaut, who has not let his year as Head of School stop him developing his musical talent. There was more saxophony in the second half, when a quartet (of whom only Alex Bird is leaving) played an arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The different moods of the piece were captured in a beautifully blended performance. The supply of wind groups of varying size, but uniform excellence, seems to be inexhaustible. We also heard Dominic Dootson at the piano in Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata, played with a delicate touch and a fine sense of the arching structure of the movement. The rise of singing has often been noted in recent times and there were offerings from Harry Al-Adwani, Teddy Briggs, Ed Carroll, and Jess Walker, all of whom reached out to the audience and created a sense of theatre – and not a microphone to be seen! Full marks to the Music Department Galin Ganchev 17 18 SCHOOL NEWS House Singing This year’s House Singing Competition took place in front of the customary packed House on Friday, 16th October. Hopes and expectations were as high as ever, and the main prizes were awarded as follows: Overall: Emma Darwin Hall Entertainment: Mary Sidney Hall Unison Song: Emma Darwin Hall Most Improved House: Ridgemount Part Song: School House Most Outstanding Soloist: James Fearn (Ingram’s Hall) Best Arrangement: Alex Bennett and Angus Hay (Radbrook) Shrewsbury and the Shewsy in Malawi, July 2016 Since 2010, Shrewsbury School has been supporting the work of Medic Malawi, a charity based in Shrewsbury which supports a hospital in Mtunthama, serving 100,000 people in rural Malawi, a clinic and nutrition centre, two schools and an orphanage. In July 2012 and again in 2014, a group from Shrewsbury travelled to Mtunthama to spend time working alongside staff in the projects, helping with the daily routine tasks and making friends with many of the children who live there. When they visited in 2012, the Shrewsbury students asked what was needed next, and when told ‘an eye clinic’, they stood in the space where the walls would be. Two years later, the money for that clinic had been raised at the School, through an African Ball, non-uniform days, cookie sales and sponsored events. When the next group arrived in 2014, they were proud to see that the Shrewsbury School Eye Clinic had been built. Trachoma and cataracts are now treated here, two of the preventable eye problems which are all too prevalent in Malawi. Patients arrive at the clinic unable to see and leave with their sight restored. The next trip to Malawi takes place in July 2016 and will be a joint venture between the School and Shrewsbury House in Liverpool. Sixteen Salopians will be joined by five young people and two members of staff from the Shewsy. The Shewsy have been busy fundraising for the trip, doing regular bag-packing at local supermarkets and running a tuck shop in the Youth Centre. There are also plans to sell sweets around the doors in the local community and to organise a ‘sleep in a box challenge’ during the winter, when the girls will sleep out overnight with cardboard boxes and sleeping bags, gaining an insight into what it would be like to be homeless, raising awareness of homelessness and raising funds for the Malawi trip at the same time. SCHOOL NEWS Biology Department Expedition to Guyana American Pygmy Flycatcher G uyana is the eighth leastpopulated country in the world with a population of just 735,554, 90 per cent of whom live on the coast. 85 per cent of Guyana is covered by natural rainforest which is contiguous with the forests of Suriname, French Guyana and parts of Columbia, Venezuela and Brazil. This vast area, the Guiana Shield, is the world’s largest tract of undisturbed tropical rainforest, boasting very high biodiversity and holding 10-15% of the world’s fresh water. Large numbers of species are endemic (live nowhere else) and the area contains 278 species of mammal (148 of which are bats), 1004 species of bird, 269 species of amphibian, 2,200 species of fish and 15 – 20,000 species of vascular plants. Darwin said in his Voyage of the Beagle that “nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist than a journey in distant countries” and while Darwin never made it to Guyana, it is clear that few countries can offer more exciting opportunities to a biologist or adventures to a young traveller. It was with this in mind that 22 Salopians and four staff members travelled to Guyana in July to contribute to conservation work in the protected Iwokrama Forest and in the area around Surama village. The objective was to work alongside scientists to gather data contributing to an annual monitoring programme used to understand changes in abundance and diversity of wildlife, as well as the effects of “reduced impact logging”. The expedition started with a great adventure – a day trip to Kaieteur Falls – one of the world’s greatest, most unspoilt and least known waterfalls. The falls are about 60km from the Brazilian border and not far from Mount Roraima, the inspiration behind Conan Doyle’s Lost World. At 251m they are four times higher than Niagara Falls, twice as high as Victoria Falls and about 100m wide. A group of Salopians visited the falls exactly 20 years ago, where they celebrated the 60th birthday of the legendary Salopian Schoolmaster Michael Hall. The falls do not form part of the Operation Wallacea itinerary but having been inspired as a member of that group of Salopians in 1995, I was keen to return and ensure that a new generation of Salopians had the same experience. The journey involved chartering three light aircraft and flying from Georgetown for about an hour across an endless expanse of rainforest. The excitement was tangible as we circled the falls and watched the water tumbling as if in slow motion into a huge cloud of spray through which rainbows arced. Once on terra firma, we toured the falls taking in Richard Case (PH 1991-96) at the Kaieteur Falls during the School’s 1995 expedition to Guyana. He is now a Biology teacher at Shrewsbury, Housemaster of Radbrook, leader of the School’s 2015 Guyana Expedition and author of this article. The 2016 expedition group are pictured at Kaieteur Falls on the front cover of this magazine. 19 20 SCHOOL NEWS different views as well as the unique flora and fauna which included giant bromeliads containing endemic golden frogs and carnivorous plants. There were no safety barriers, no shops and we were the only people there. It was such a privilege to see the falls as Charles Barrington Brown might have seen them when he discovered them in 1870 – that’s something none of the other great waterfalls can offer and an experience none of us will forget. After returning to Georgetown, a tenhour drive south took the group to Iwokrama Research Centre where three days were spent training to gather the skills to gather data accurately, sleep safely in the forest in hammocks and use machetes (or cutlasses as they are known). The health and safety presentation we had on arrival was pretty sobering given the long list of incredibly scary things that could happen to us but ended with cheerful reassurance from Scot Sveiven, a specialist on forestry and our superb expedition leader. An excellent series of lectures by the resident scientists enabled us fully to appreciate the importance of the work we were doing. The Centre was situated in a clearing surrounded by rainforest on a broad sweep of the mighty Essequibo River which was 200m wide even though we were 200km from the sea. From the moment of our arrival, we were surrounded by wildlife with woodpeckers, macaws, parrots, hawks, giant cane toads, howler monkeys and agouti at the forest margins as well as caiman in the river. Walking at night revealed a different set of organisms including a beautiful but very dangerous fer de lance snake well camouflaged on a tree trunk. A further three-hour drive south in two Bedford four-tonne trucks took the team to Surama, an Amerindian village belonging to the Makushi Tribe which has set up an awardwinning ecotourism project to bring income to their remote community. We spent the following three days carrying out surveys for mammals, bats and herpetofauna. The mammal day involved walking along a transect (a straight line through a habitat) recording evidence of mammals including their tracks with jaguar expert, Matt Hallett. Matt is studying for his PhD at the University of Florida and has built up an extensive network of camera traps to study the behaviour and distribution of jaguar. He had unbelievably sharp eyes and his tracking skills were truly impressive. Each group spent the afternoon setting up camera traps with him, which revealed the many details which need to be considered when locating a trap. The work of the bat groups was nocturnal so their morning was spent hiking up Surama Mountain – a steep climb in stifling conditions but well worth it for an amazing view over the forest and rare sightings of macaws at eye height. In the evenings mist nets were opened and checked every hour Finn McCormack handling a cat-eyed snake into the small hours and bats caught were bagged and taken back to camp for identification, weighing, and wingclipping with bat expert Stef Bonat. The area has one of the highest levels of bat biodiversity in the world and one group was lucky to catch a rare Hugo Moran counting dung beetles vampire bat, although it escaped from the mist net before it could be bagged. The herpetology groups walked along transects by day and night attempting to catch any snakes, lizards and frogs spotted. Peruvian herpetologist, Alfredo Martin Beraún Rivera did most of the catching but he let us handle the nonvenomous species such as the Amazon tree boa, blunthead tree snake and cat-eyed snake. During downtime in the heat of the day, cool drinks and comfortable hammocks in the bar of Surama Ecolodge provided a chance to rest and rehydrate. The team then walked deeper into the jungle, spending a further three days at Carahaa Landing – a jungle camp on the banks of the Burro Burro River. As river levels had risen due to the daily torrential showers, we had to take to boats to make our way through the flooded forest. The camp had an opensided wooden structure in which many SCHOOL NEWS hung their hammocks. A few opted to build bashas in the forest as we had be taught, with a tarpaulin roof. At Carahaa Landing each group surveyed birds, forestry and dung beetles. The bird groups were up at 5:15am to open mist nets and checked them every hour until 4pm. The birding was brilliantly led by Guyanese ornithologist Meshach Pierre who proved to be an excellent and engaging teacher. Each bird caught (except hummingbirds which are too fragile) was bagged and returned to camp for ringing. One of the highlights was catching the magnificent Amazonian royal flycatcher which, when captured, initiates a mesmerising display, erecting its colourful crest and slowly tilting its head from side to side. Scott Sveiven led the forestry surveys and took each group to find the incredible yellow-banded poison dart Amazonian Royal Flycatcher frog with its striking black and yellow aposematic colouration to warn off predators. Entomologist and genetics expert Dan Fitzpatrick led the day’s “poo crew” to catch and identify dung beetles. The beetles were caught in in pitfall traps baited with human faeces. Tom Sykes with a Manakin The final three days were spent carrying out a survey of aquatic fauna on the Burro Burro River, sleeping in primitive jungle camps. Drifting down river was uncomfortable but a fantastic experience. The boatmanship displayed by our guides to negotiate fallen trees and navigate through the flooded forest was impressive, as was their ability to spot wildlife. At times we had to crouch down to pass under huge logs blocking our route and machetes and, at one point, a chainsaw had to be deployed to overcome the obstacles. Four species of Kingfisher darted ahead of us, macaws flew above us in pairs squawking noisily, capuchin monkeys jumped up and down on their branches glowering with rage at our intrusion and at one point, giant river otters glided across the river. Our stay at Sandstone Camp proved eventful when a fer de lance was spotted by a guide in the camp, just metres from where we had dined. Too dangerous to relocate, they sadly had to kill it using a long stick cut at one end into a sharp 21 22 SCHOOL NEWS Yellow-branded Poison Dart Frog Jess Moeran admiring a giant millipede wedge. The chief guide, famed for his unerring aim, aimed to hit just behind its head but missed, and the snake struck three times in rapid succession covering a surprising amount of ground as it did so. Fortunately all were at a safe distance and the guide didn’t miss his second attempt. Minutes later a second snake was found at the edge of the camp which was also killed. Everyone kept their eyes peeled after that, particularly when walking the 20m trail to the long drop in the dark. During the night, our guides set up nets and caught some huge piranha and payara which also known as a vampire characin due to its fearsome fangs that particularly when salted and cooked on the fire. After a final night at Surama, we returned to Georgetown for our flight home. Such trips can never be 100% risk free, despite exhaustive and meticulous risk assessment and careful management to control risk. One boy managed to fall into a septic tank when it collapsed under his weight. Fortunately, he managed to avoid complete immersion or injury (apart from some grazes) and recovered swiftly after a very thorough shower and disinfection of his grazes by the expedition doctor. A few of the party also became ill to varying degrees Brazilian Wandering Spider can grow as long as six inches. Both made excellent eating. Our second camp was less eventful and we were able to bathe in the river and relax once our surveys had been completed. A number of the boys were shown huge beetle grubs living inside palm nuts by the guides who insisted that they were good to eat. The grubs were used to good effect by WMS as bait but they did taste surprisingly good, Joe Davies with a huge Black Piranha on their return with histoplasmosis, despite not being exposed to any obvious source of infection (it is usually encountered after visiting bat caves). Fortunately, all have now recovered. We encountered numerous hardships ranging from heat rashes caused by the intense heat and heavy humidity to insect bites, deep mud, dodgy tummies and grim long drop toilets. With the exception of histoplamosis, I think all would agree that without the challenges, the expedition would not have been nearly so rewarding and all those on the team endured the hardships with dignity and patience. They really proved themselves to be worthy ambassadors and it was clear that they relished the opportunities they had to learn to gain new biological knowledge, memories for life, insights into a little known country and a new appreciation of the world and their place in it. Where next? Galapagos and Ecuador 2017! SCHOOL NEWS Royal Marines win the Pringle Trophy For the third time in 15 years the Shrewsbury School Royal Marines section has won the highly prestigious Sir Steuart Pringle Trophy. Last year they came second by just a few points. The two-day competition is held each year at the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, and aims to bring together all the Royal Marine Detachments in the country from 18 schools, including Charterhouse, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester College, Pangbourne and Canford. The teams are treated as if they are in their 28th week of recruit training and are assessed across 12 stances, including battle exercises, section attacks, battle first aid, endurance and drill. The Shrewsbury team had worked very hard in preparation for this competition and had put in many hours of early morning and late night work. Their Commanding Officers Lt Tom Corbett and Captain Jonny Longfellow were delighted at the news of the win. It is worth pointing out that much of the training is delivered by the senior cadets themselves, with CCF officers in an oversight role. Sgt Ben Remnant, Senior Cadet in charge of the Pringle Trophy team, describes the competition: Having risen at 0500hrs on the first day, we ate swiftly and then took transport to our first checkpoint. We then had a short march to our 0730 stance. On arrival, however, there was no stance to be found and valuable time was spent trying to locate it. (We were later told that the Corporal hadn’t set it up in time.) We then moved on to the next one: Section Attacks. This went successfully, with the Corporal’s only pick-up point being that the FSG (fire support group) hadn’t followed the proven route taken by the assaulting fire team. We then settled into a good rhythm and the round robins of tasks were swiftly over. With hindsight, we felt that the Leadership stance had gone poorly. Having moved a casualty from our current location to Gibraltar rock a kilometre away, the Corporal running the stance had debriefed us by saying that we had lacked urgency and he was surprised that our time had been so swift. On the other hand, in our debrief after the First Aid stance we were told that there were no pick-up points and the Corporal was happy to mark us 20/20. On return to camp there was a brief interlude to shower and eat, and we turned our attention to our half lovats and injuries (the majority of which hadn’t been picked up during the day, but had been caused by rather a violent glow stick war on Friday night) in preparation for drill and the Back Row L-R: Capt Longfellow, Cadet Craik, Cpl Hayward, Cpl Morris, Cadet Hardcastle, Lt Corbett. Front Row L-R: Sgt Bambridge, Sgt Gilliat-Smith, Sgt Remnant, Sgt Lechmere, Cpl Hartwell endurance course, which would take place on Sunday morning. With a routine established the previous day, we rose and dressed into our half lovats for our drill test at 0730hrs. In drill you are marked on unity and precision, and we felt confident that we were in a better state than in previous years, as we had spent a minimum of ten hours practising on Porthill tennis courts. The Corporal seemed pleased with our efforts and also tested us on our corps knowledge. We then moved out onto Woodbury Common where we were timed as a team round two miles of the endurance course, which is one of the four commando tests at the end of a Marine’s training. If he fails, he has to retake the whole course in a new batch of recruits. We overtook Sherborne School and were hot on the heels of Royal Hospital School and so felt that we had posted a competitive time to retain the trophy that we had won last year. Prize giving was at 1300hrs, when we were awarded first place in both the First Aid and Leadership stances, and were placed first overall. After a quick debrief and photo, we left Lympstone as a tired but immensely proud and pleased team. 23 24 SCHOOL NEWS Old Salopians in World War 1 Each week on the School website we publish the names and short biographies of the Old Salopians killed 100 years ago during the First World War, and these are included in the weekly eNewsletter sent to all staff, pupils and current parents. This is part of a four-year project in collaboration with St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury. A short Service of Remembrance is held at St Chad’s every Wednesday at 5pm, when the OS names are included among others from Shropshire whose 100th anniversary of death falls that week. The following Old Salopians will be remembered at School and in St Chad’s between January and June 2015. Corporal Harold Garnock Potts, M2/098045, Army Service Corps. Churchill’s, left in 1901 and was admitted solicitor to a practice in Broseley, Salop. Died in the United Kingdom, 6th February 1916, aged 32. Buried at Broseley Cemetery, England. Grave C.E. I. 433. Lieutenant John Frith Sidebotham, 6th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry School House, Praepostor, Cricket XI and Fives VI, left in 1910 and was on the staff of Messrs. James Greaves, East India Merchants, of Manchester and Bombay. He went up to Hertford College, Oxford and twice captained the lacrosse team against Cambridge. He enlisted in 5th K.S.L.I. and was gazetted to the 6th in January 1916. The Salopian remembers him as “one of the most modest boys and men. But his friends here and the staff of the School House and the boys at the Mission in Liverpool* knew his value better than he knew himself”. He was “a very loyal Salopian, who taught, without knowing it, the power and the honour of an entirely unselfish life”. Killed in action by a shell explosion during a bombardment in Belgium, 12th February 1916, aged 24. Buried at White House Cemetery, St. Jean-LesYpres, Belgium. Grave III. Q. 4. * Shrewsbury House, inaugurated only a few years earlier by the Revd Digby Kittermaster Captain John Arthur Walker, 10th Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers Moser’s, “a quiet, unobtrusive boy”, left in 1909 for Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and at the outbreak of war at once joined the O.T.C; he was gazetted November 1914 and promoted Captain July 1915. His Commanding Officer said, “He was beloved by both officers and men. His was one of those rare natures that one could not help loving”. His Chaplin also wrote, “As a friend his loss is inestimable and as a soldier he was a born leader of men the memory of whom should ever be a source of inspiration to all who knew him”. Killed in action by the explosion of a shell while encouraging his men in Belgium, 19th February 1916, aged 24. Buried at Reninghelst New Military Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. B. 8. Lieutenant Gilbert Kingsley Lloyd, 2nd Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry School House, left in 1889. Served through the South African War with the Shropshire Imperial Yeomanry as Lance-Corporal in charge of a machine gun (Medal, 3 clasps) before going to Saskatchewan, N.W.T. Canada. Commissioned into the K.S.L.I. and gazetted to 2nd Lieutenant, he saw much fighting in France. Died in Salonika, Greece, of appendicitis, 21st February 1916, aged 35. Buried at Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria, Greece. Grave 1804. Captain Alfred Henry Parsons, 2nd Bn. 9th Gurkha Rifles. School House, left in 1900. B.A., Keble College, Oxford. Present with his Regiment at Festubert and Givenchy Wood. He was severely wounded in January but returned to his duty; and then was killed in action in Mesopotamia 8th March 1916, aged 33. Remembered on Basra Memorial, Iraq. Panel 51. Second Lieutenant Richard Arthur Maurice Lutener, 6th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry School House, left in 1914 for Keble College, Oxford. Commissioned in December 1914, he went to the front in July 1915 and was shot by a sniper in Belgium, 6th April 1916, aged 20. Buried at Essex Farm Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. B. 4. Lieutenant Arnold Mathews, 14th Bn. Cheshire Regiment. Baker’s (now Severn Hill), Huntsman, Football XI, one of the best runners the school has seen and Head of the Science Side. He left in 1913 for Corpus Christi College, Cambridge with a science scholarship and was there awarded the Careswell Scholarship. Along with many other OS he enlisted in the ranks of the 5th Bn. K.S.L.I. but after a few weeks he obtained a commission to the 14th Cheshires. “Unassuming and quite regardless of himself, he gained the sincere esteem of his contemporaries” – The Salopian. He took part in the fighting on the Tigris front on 5th and 9th April and died of wounds received, in Mesopotamia, 14th April 1916, aged 21. Remembered on Basra Memorial, Iraq. Panel 14 and 62. Lieutenant David Henry Carmichael Monro, 29th Bn. Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) School House, left in 1903 for Oriel College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar in Lincoln’s Inn, and then joined the Nigerian Civil Service. Retiring after three years due to ill health, he then joined the Canadian Army in 1914, going with them to the front in September 1915. Died of wounds in Belgium, 4th May 1916, aged 31. Buried at Reninghelst New Military Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. B. 18. Captain Victor Eustace Reynolds, 10th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own) School House, left in 1896 to enter Slade School of Art and then worked for some years painting in Paris and Florence. He took the post of Art Master at Haberdashers’ Aske’s and Life Master at evening classes in Lambeth Art School. He enlisted on the outbreak of war and obtained his 2nd Lieutenancy in May 1915, gaining rapid promotion. “He married a daughter of the Late Frank Holl, R.A., and leaves a little son” – The Times. Killed in action in France 4th May 1916 aged 36. Buried at Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres, France. Grave IX. G. 2. Second Lieutenant Edward Pitcairn Jones, 5th Bn. attd. 9th Bn. Rifle Brigade. School House, Head of House, left in 1915; exhibitioner to Oriel College, Oxford. SCHOOL NEWS The OTC in 1916 From The Salopian: “Initially he showed talent as a rower but this was swiftly cut short for medical reasons; he narrowly missed out getting his School Colours for football which was a shame due to his ‘natural activity’. …He was entirely fearless and unselfish and there was no one whose respect he did not win… He died of a very painful wound, but he found time to think of everyone but himself, making light of his own sufferings and facing death with perfect readiness and absolute faith.” Died of wounds in France 13th May 1916 aged 20. Buried at Avesnes-LeComte Communal Cemetery Extension, France. Grave I. A. 19. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander George Stuart, 40th Pathans, I.A. and G.S.O.I Churchill’s, left in 1890 for Trinity College, Dublin. The Salopian comments: “His contemporaries will remember him, somewhat frail in body, but with the spirit and qualities of a true Irishman and deservedly popular with all who knew him.” He received his first appointment to the Royal Scots in 1893, was gazetted Captain in 1900, transferred to the Indian Army in 1904 and was promoted Captain in 1912. He held Staff appointments in India (Medal and clasp), and after the outbreak of war was mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service. Killed in action in Belgium 4th June 1916 aged 43. Buried at Westouter Churchyard And Extension, Belgium. Grave II. F. 6. Captain Leslie Woodroffe MC, 14th Bn. attd. 8th Bn. Rifle Brigade. Master from 1909, with a 1st in Mods. and a 2nd in Lit. Hum. from University College, Oxford. He took a keen interest in the OTC (Captain) and had been a considerable time at the front, gaining the MC at Hooge. From The Salopian: “Few men of his age had a larger circle of acquaintances, and it may truly be said of him that all his acquaintances were friends… It is no surprise to us that at Hooge, where he won the Military Cross, he was as calm as if on parade in the stress of that disastrous day… His keen interest in all that concerned the life of others… won for him his unique place in our affections. It is impossible to imagine a better friend, or a more loyal servant to this School, and the thought of how well he was known and loved here cannot but be some consolidation to a family which has to mourn for three sons whose lives have been given for their country.” Died of wounds in France 4th June 1916. Buried at Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension, France. Grave I. J. 66. Private John Furlow McConnell Sergeant, 20660, 10th Bn. Canadian Infantry. Ingram’s, 2nd VIII colours, a nephew of the Housemaster, he left in 1910 to go to Canada. He enlisted at the outbreak of war. Killed in action in Belgium 5th June 1916 aged 23. Remembered on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. Panel 24 - 28 - 30. Second Lieutenant Arthur Chaplin Banks, 2nd Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Pickering’s (now Churchill’s) Head of House and Football 1st XI. He left in 1914 for Sandhurst. His commanding officer wrote, “I have lost one of my most gallant officers, and a born soldier. The enemy blew an enormous mine, followed by a terrific bombardment. They lifted the barrage and made a strong infantry attack. They got a real bad beating. Your son had his platoon up and went for them. He had killed four Germans himself before he was killed, and they were all lying together. I have reported his gallant conduct to my Brigadier.” Killed in action in France 22nd June 1916. Buried at Gorre British and Indian Cemetery, France. Grave II. A. 1. Captain Edward Maurice Gregson, 4th Bn. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Moser’s, left in 1906 to become a Surveyor and Mining Engineer. Gazetted to 2nd Lt in 1914 and promoted rapidly, he took part in the fighting at Festubert and he met his death leading a reconnaissance party near Rivière, Arras. A message to his father from his fellow officers read, “We are all very proud of him and of all that he did on that night”. Killed in action in France 28th June 1916 aged 27. Remembered on Arras Memorial, France. Bay 7. For more details about the School’s commemorative project, which includes a link to the St Chad’s website, please see www.shrewsbury.org.uk/osww1 25 26 SCHOOL NEWS Life beyond Shrewsbury Dympna Nightingale, Higher Education and GAP year adviser, talks about her demanding role in guiding Shrewsbury School pupils to the next stage of their education. many parents, university decisions can be a minefield. It doesn’t matter whether you have already had older children going through the process – every case is different and we have all got to remember who is actually going to university! It is the students who must take on the responsibility and be proactive about what they want to do when they leave school and get excited. So much information is available, and so many careers events and talks organised for them; fortunately, I have to say the majority of students are aware and on board. A typical day in the life of Higher Education Adviser… Hold on, there isn’t a typical day! What I love about my role in the Careers Department is the variety: the challenges, the highs and lows – and the stress! Employed as a music teacher many moons ago meant that I only came into contact with musicians and never got the chance to meet the rest of the School. Since taking on the role of Higher Education Adviser, a lot of my work now is dealing with the pupils, sometimes as year groups but mostly on a one-to-one basis. It is so enjoyable to have these conversations and get to know the pupils better and understand their decision-making in the process. I also get to meet lots of parents which I very much value. Leaving school and finding that ‘next step’ is a worrying, exciting, frustrating time for all concerned. There are no right or wrong answers, but in the Careers Department we hope that pupils and parents alike feel that we are approachable and that they can ask us at any time for help and guidance. Most of my work is UCAS-based. (UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service; and this is the central organisation through which all applications are processed for entry to higher education in the UK.) So attending conferences, visiting universities, keeping in touch with Old Salopians and getting their up-to-date perspectives on courses and institutions is important. For Over the last two years, the proportion of Shrewsbury School students going on to Higher Education in the UK has been about 94%. For many pupils, making a decision about which course to study is the difficult one. If they get this right, the university choice will fall into place with purposeful research, Open Days, and use of our latest resource Unifrog, to which all our Sixth Form have access. I encourage the pupils to understand the higher education ‘jargon’ and know the difference between single honours, joint honours and sandwich courses and the thousands of variations of modules as well. It is also important to know what kind of universities there are. Russell Group (24), for example, are the traditional red-brick, while the 1994 Group (11) are research-intensive universities, and the Million+ Group (19) tend to be the former polytechnics from before 1992, which have a more hands-on approach. The top ten choices of courses among Shrewsbury School pupils applying through UCAS in 2014 were: History, Human and Social Geography, combinations within Business and Admin Studies, Classical Studies, Law, Management Studies, combinations of Social Studies/Business/Law with languages, English Studies, Chemistry, combinations of three subjects, or other general courses. Many Shrewsbury School pupils also apply for traditional disciplines like Medicine, Law, History, English and Languages. There is, however, a growing trend of applications for Psychology, Sports Science, Fashion, International Relations, Politics and Music Technology. The ‘newish’ disciplines are degrees in Events Management, Renewable Energy, 3D Product Design, Hospitality and Creative Arts. The top ten university choices by our students in 2014 were Bristol, Oxford, Manchester, UCL, Durham, Oxford Brookes, Exeter, Leeds, Warwick and Kings College, London. Other university acceptances were Bristol UWE, Cardiff, Imperial College, Reading, Edinburgh, Southampton and York. As part of the Careers programme at School, I invite speakers from different universities and institutions to speak on a wide range of disciplines; this usually works out at an average of 16-18 talks during a pupil’s Sixth Form. I feel it is important for pupils to attend as many of these talks as possible: even if they are interested in only one course, they may at least use these talks as a way of finding out more about what a particular university is like and what it can offer them. There’s always a chance to ask that burning question. The first talk in the Careers programme is usually a general one on university and what is it really like. For Michaelmas 2015 I invited James Seymour from Aston University, an Admissions Tutor with many years of experience. I have also invited back Old Salopians to review their first year at university and speak about the ‘ups and downs’ of it all, what tips and hints they would give to the present Sixth Form. It is amazing how quite a number of pupils have concerns and wobbles about the practicalities of going away to university, how they are going to manage their time effectively and responsibly and be successful. Obviously it is not ‘cool’ to discuss this with their peer group, but in a one-to-one chat I hear it all. So I hope that by listening and encouraging, I can dispel the SCHOOL NEWS fears. University is not for everyone though; so having the Careers Fellow in place to seek guidance and look at all the alternative options is paramount and vital. I try and visit as many UK universities as I can and one question I ask is why students occasionally leave before completing their courses. The two main reasons seem to be that they are not enjoying the course and homesickness. Pupils need to investigate all areas of the course before they list it as one of their five choices on their UCAS forms: the modules and how they are delivered and examined; the opportunities to link to other disciplines; the chance to learn something new; the opportunity to study abroad. Homesickness was not an answer I expected, but I do understand that pupils need to feel as if they belong and fit in. In addition to the Michaelmas term Careers talks, I also run two major conferences on ‘Studying in the USA’ and ‘Studying in Europe’; these take place in alternate years. There is a growing interest in both the USA and Europe because of possible scholarships (USA) and less expense (Europe). Last year 28,640 UK students went abroad, either to study or take up an internship as part of their course. They include 15,566 students on the Erasmus Project. Professor Rebecca Hughes, the British Council’s Director of Education, said: “This latest evidence confirms that a growing number of the UK’s students are recognising the huge value to be gained from international experience. The UK needs graduates who have the skills and confidence to compete globally and can compete against foreign talent that may speak more languages and have wider international experience.” We ran our first European Conference in June 2015 with representatives from Holland, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Spain. One of the most popular destinations is Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and the five most popular USA universities are Harvard, Columbia, New York, University of California Berkeley and Yale. Maastricht charges fees of around £1,500 a year, whilst Trinity College, Dublin levies a service charge of £2,500 a year and is ranked as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. I have visited a number of institutions in Europe, looking at international courses taught in English. They are worth considering: the positives are lower grade entry requirements, lower costs and more contact time with lecturers. The negatives: they kick more students out at the end of first year and there is sometimes a greater bout of homesickness, as Dutch students go home at weekends and therefore there are fewer students around. I also did a tour of nine USA universities and colleges last October to get a feel for different American campuses. I was very impressed with the student ambassadors I met there, how enthusiastic and informative they are on the campus tours, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to network with Admissions Tutors and make good contacts. If pupils are even remotely thinking about going to university in the USA, we run a SAT programme at School during the Michaelmas and Lent terms, which is delivered by the Harvard Fellow. (SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test; the SAT is one of two admissions tests – the ACT (American College Testing) being the other – required for admission to most US universities.) Finally, every university has a Careers service and it is important that pupils check this out early. When I was at university, the norm was to start thinking about a job in the third year, but now many employers make job offers to their second year summer vacation interns. So pupils need to get ahead of the game in terms of networking, work experience and internships from their first year at university. Those opportunities will make all the difference on a CV. As I write, I would like to take this opportunity to bid farewell to Dr Kate Daubney, the Careers Fellow, as she leaves to start a new chapter of her life. She has been a fantastic and tremendous colleague to Karen Scimia and me in the Careers Department and an absolute fountain of knowledge, guidance and wisdom on preparing pupils for the world of work. She will be missed and leaves huge boots to fill. Dympna Nightingale 27 28 SCHOOL NEWS Relaunch of the Rovers In May 2013, when we proudly reported the news that Adam Booth (PH 1995-2000) had reached the top of Mount Everest, Adam responded by thanking the members of staff who led the Rovers, the School’s mountaineering and adventuring club, for ‘lighting the flame’. On 3rd November, we were delighted to welcome Adam back to Shrewsbury to kindle that flame in a new generation of Salopians, as the historic Rovers - first formed in 1934 - was officially relaunched to the whole School. the 1953 Expedition, who formed the first summit pair with Tom Bourdillon. They got to within 300 feet of the summit of Everest before faulty oxygen equipment forced them to withdraw. A few days later, second pair Hillary and Tenzing made history. Martin Hansen and Adam Booth A dam recalled his own sense of excitement when, at the age of 15, he attended a similar relaunch of the Rovers. Inspired by Master-inCharge Mr Hansen’s vivid descriptions of climbing Ben Nevis, he signed up immediately for the Rovers and spent the next few months learning the basics of climbing and mountain safety, leading up to his first Rovers Expedition – the climbing of the Three Peaks, Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. A new and life-changing passion had been born. Further trips followed during what became one of the golden period for the Rovers, travelling to remote locations to take on challenging mountains, typically camping at a high altitude on the way to a summit. They scaled the highest mountain in the Picos De Europa, Spain and the following year climbed Galdhøpiggen, the highest mountain in Norway. In 2013, Adam climbed Mount Everest, reaching the summit on 13th May, sixty years almost to the day after the first successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. On hearing the news, Mr Hansen expressed the utter delight and pride of the staff who had been part of the Rovers. “The news that he’s summitted Everest has quite stunned us. The pupil has certainly exceeded the Master.” At the Rovers relaunch on Monday, Adam paid special tribute to Mr Hansen, who still teaches at the School, for the role he and the Rovers had played in first inspiring him with a love of mountains and mountaineering. Some of Adam’s inspiration has also come from two Old Salopians: Sandy Irvine (S 1916-21), who famously took part in the 1924 Everest Expedition with George Mallory; and Sir Charles Evans (DB 1932-37), Deputy Leader of Adam spoke of his sense of connection with those other Old Salopians and their experiences on Everest, and in a few brief sentences and images he was able to convey something of the scale of their achievements. He spoke about his own experiences entirely modestly, however. So it was perhaps not until the end of his talk, when he showed a five-minute film of his final gruelling hours of climbing Everest and euphoric arrival on the roof of the world, that his audience caught a proper sense of the sheer enormity of his own achievement. Current Salopians keen to follow in Adam’s footsteps and join the relaunched Rovers have some exciting expeditions to choose from later this year, including an introduction to winter mountaineering in the Cairngorm Mountains during February half term for Fifth and Sixth Formers; a Junior Rovers Adventure in North Wales for Third and Fourth Formers in March; and an 11-day expedition in July called ‘Land, Sea and Skye’ - sailing, hillwalking, mountain biking and climbing in the Cuillin Mountains on Skye. Annabel Warburg SCHOOL NEWS Cricket Following our winter tour to the UAE and South Africa (see summary below) the 2015 season ended on a very high note, when we beat Eton College on the final day thereby retaining the Silk Trophy for a record-breaking third year running, after what may be best described as a mixed season. But whilst we did not fare well in cup competitions, elsewhere we played consistently well. (A more comprehensive report can be found on the Sports section of the school website). Shrewsbury School Cricket Tour to UAE & South Africa-December 2014 1st XI Played 12 won 11 Lost 1 Drew 0 U15 XI Played 12 won 6 Lost 6 Drew 0 The School’s cricketers had a highly successful tour of the United Arab Emirates and South Africa in December 2014. It was the second time they had visited the UAE and the fifth time the School had visited South Africa. It was the longest tour (6th to 23rd Dec) undertaken to date and included some 24 matches in total. All matches were played in perfect conditions and none lost to the weather. In all, 29 boys travelled and the group was comprised of a 1st XI and a U 15 team who had been practising at least twice a week in the Neville Cardus Indoor Cricket Centre since October 2014 to prepare for the tour. The 1st XI won 11 of their 12 games during their two and half weeks away. The U15s, being less experienced and much more of a developmental squad, still managed to win half of their 12 games, with 3 of those losses going down to the last over. 1st XI ALL MATCHES Played 27 WON 18 Lost 6 Drawn 2 / Cancelled 1 •50/40 over Matches Played 16 Won 12 Lost 4 Drawn 2 / Cancelled 1 •T 20 Matches Played 4 Won 3 Lost 1 • U17 Cup Played 4 Won 3 Lost 1 9th April Shrewsbury v St Edward’s WON by 3 wickets St Edwards 207 for 5 (C. Cooke 3 for 27) Shrewsbury 208 for 7 (G. Hargrave 100 n.o.) Pre-Season Festival (Shrewsbury) 10th April Shrewsbury v Worksop WON by 94 runs Shrewsbury 220 for 8 (Panayi 48 Lewis 45) Worksop 126 (Home 5 for 21) 11th April Shrewsbury v Worcestershire Academy LOST by 9 wkts Shrewsbury 186 for 9 (Adair 48 Lewis 42) Worcestershire Academy 190 for 1 12th April Shrewsbury V Millfield Match Abandoned Shrewsbury 218 for 8 (Westbury 106) Millfield 189 for 3 15th April Shrewsbury v Myerscough Old Trafford WON by 77 runs Shrewsbury 239 for 9 (Home 49, Adair 70) Myerscough 162 all out (Westbury 3 for 18, Home 3 for 34) 26th April Shrewsbury v M.C.C LOST by 10 runs MCC 218 for 6 Shrewsbury 208 for 8 (Adair 77) 29th April Shrewsbury v Free Foresters WON by 64 runs Shrewsbury 212 for 7 (Hargrave 51) Free Foresters 148 all out (Adams 3 for 18, Westbury 4 for 20) 2nd May Bromsgrove v Shrewsbury WON by 100 runs Shrewsbury 229 for 6 (Adair 83 n.o. Home 55) Bromsgrove 129 (Home 4 for 39) 3rd May Shrewsbury v St Mary’s Walsall HMC T20 WON by 9 wkts Mary’s 75 for 6 (Cooke 3 for 8 including a hatrick) Shrewsbury 76 for 1 6th May Shrewsbury v Denstone Match Cancelled 8th May Shrewsbury v Ellesmere U17 Cup WON by 9 wkts Ellesmere 107 for 8 (Cooke 5 for 22) Shrewsbury 108 for 1 (C.Home 45 n.o.) 9th May Shrewsbury v Repton WON by 42 runs Shrewsbury 227 for 3 (Westbury 111) Repton 185 all out (Lloyd 3 for 30, Home 4 for 40) 13th May Wrekin v Shrewsbury U17 Cup WON by 8 wkts Wrekin 103 for 6 Shrewsbury 104 for 2 18th April Bloxham v Shrewsbury T20 WON by 128 runs Shrewsbury 190 for 6 (Westbury 66, Humes 37 not) Bloxham 62 all out (Lloyd 2 for 2, Home 4 for 9, Durman 3 for 2) 16th May Shrewsbury v Sedbergh WON by 10 wkts Sedbergh 153 (Brunskill 3 for 26) Shrewsbury 154 for 0 (Westbury 101 n.o. Lewis 51 n.o.) 19th April Shrewsbury v Warwickshire CB XI WON by 30 runs Shrewsbury 219 for 3 (Westbury 108, Lewis 44 n.o.) Warwickshire 189 for 9 20th May Shrewsbury v Denstone HMC T20 WON by 6 wkts Denstone 97 for 8 (Jacob 4 for 16) Shrewsbury 100 for 4 22nd April Shrewsbury v Shropshire CB Development XI WON by 8 wkts Shropshire 158 for 7 (Jacob 3 for 24) Shrewsbury 160 for 2 (Adair 68 n.o. Hargrave 57) 22nd May Shrewsbury v Saracens XI LOST by 3 runs Saracens 222 for 5 (Panayi 3 for 33) Shrewsbury 219 for 6 (Hargrave 76 n.o.) 29 30 SCHOOL NEWS 3rd June Shrewsbury v Myerscough Preston U17 Cup WON by 7 wkts Myerscough 160 for 7 Shrewsbury 163 for 3 (Garrett 63 n.o. Panayi 56 n.o.) 5th June Shrewsbury v Malvern HMC T20 LOST by 29 runs Malvern 149 for 4 Shrewsbury 120 24th & 25th June v Uppingham (Two innings) Match Drawn Shrewsbury 299 for 7 dec (Westbury 112 Hargrave 41 Lewis 40) Uppingham 161 (Panayi 3 for 47) Uppingham (Following on) 316 (Lloyd 3 for 43) Shrewsbury 120 for 4 27th June v Brighton GS Melbourne T20 WON by 24 runs Shrewsbury 137 for 8 (Westbury 57) Brighton 127 all out (Lloyd 3 for 19) 6th June Shrewsbury v Malvern WON by 80 runs Shrewsbury 222 for 3 (Hargrave 59, Lewis 80 n.o.) Malvern 142 all out (Home 3 for 27, Westbury 4 for 22) SILK TROPHY 13th June Manchester GS v Shrewsbury WON by 1 run Shrewsbury 207 for 3 (Westbury 100 Adair 58) Manchester GS 206 for 6 19th June Shrewsbury v Sedbergh U17 Cup LOST by 3 runs Sedbergh 236 for 9 Shrewsbury 233 for 4 (Adair 60 Panayi 54 n.o. Hargrave 53) 20th June Shrewsbury v Bedford LOST by 8wkts Shrewsbury 107 all out Bedford 110 for 2 29th June v Oundle WON by 106 runs Shrewsbury 233 for 7 (Westbury 57, Hargrave 73) Oundle 127 all out (Panayi 4 for 13) 30th June v Hilton College Durban LOST by 84 runs Hilton 257 for 9 (Lloyd 4 for 42) Shrewsbury 173 all out (Hargrave 48) 1st July v Eton College WON by 6 wkts Eton 238 for 9 (Durman 3 for 23 Lloyd 3 for 25) Shrewsbury 239 for 4 (Lewis 74 Hargrave 68 Panayi 39 n.o.) WISDEN STATS 2015 40 & 50 over Matches Bowling Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Best Bowling C. E. Home 104 10 413 28 5-21 G. D. Panayi 155 20 554 29 4-13 O. E. Westbury 139.1 21 569 28 4-20 D. J. Lloyd 199 28 663 31 4-42 P. J. Jacob 69 3 311 12 3-24 D. L. Durman 67 6 282 10 3-2 C. E. Cooke 106 8 512 12 3-27 Batting & Av Inns NO Runs Highest 100s O. E. Westbury 55.15 21 2 1048 112 6 G. P. Hargrave 49.46 17 2 742 100* 1 G. P. G. Lewis* 35.64 21 4 606 80* H. R. D. Adair 34.00 22 3 646 83* G. D. Panayi 26.69 16 3 347 48 C. E. Home 26.44 13 4 238 55 1st XI Player Reports George Lewis (Captain) had a good tour of South Africa in December and grew into his job as Captain as well as improving his batting throughout the 2015 season. His final innings against Eton helped us retain the Silk Trophy and will live long in the memory of those present that day. Batting more at 4, he illustrated greater consistency and adaptability than in previous seasons. George’s presence was vital and he cemented together any cracks that appeared. He leaves us with the distinction of winning three Silk Trophies and a HMC T20 National title. The contribution made by George and his elder brother Henry has been outstanding during the past six years. SCHOOL NEWS Oliver Westbury (Vice Captain), our leading run scorer, has played for the Shrewsbury School 1st XI for two seasons. In that time he has scored nearly 1900 runs. In the current season, he scored 1124 runs in all forms of cricket including six centuries (scored against Millfield, Manchester GS, Repton, Sedbergh, Uppingham and Warwickshire Academy) at an average of nearly 47. who bowled with greater control than in previous seasons. His selection for the Silk Trophy campaign was as much about his potential as about his results. He certainly gave his all during the season and was rewarded with a Silk Trophy title. Charlie Cooke did extremely well in South Africa and started the season well. He supported Panayi and often out bowled him when the ball swung. His contribution in the early part of the season was very important but communication issues and firmer grounds reduced his impact. He will need to be even more committed if he is to make the team this summer with much more competition around for the seam bowling slots. He has also taken 30 wickets with his off spin at an average of 22 this season and was selected to play for the MCC Schools XI v ESCA XI at Lord’s and now moves on to a winter in Perth and a year in the Worcester Academy where he will try to secure a professional contract. Jamie Humes had a challenging season after a slip in a warm-up curtailed his contributions and although not at his best, did much to bolster the final push towards the Silk Trophy triumph. At his best, for us, he was a first class wicketkeeper and batsman (one of the very best we had at school since I have been in charge) but with a preparation schedule that was too relaxed and disjointed throughout the summer he rarely produced what he was capable of. Nevertheless, his contribution to our successes over recent years is noted and respected. Dan Durman, after a very positive winter tour, was not the ever present player we had hoped for last season but still made an impact and can be proud of his contribution to the 1st XI over two years. He is a skilful cricketer who batted, bowled, fielded and kept wicket well during his career. I hope that he continues to apply himself and thereby achieve the sort of bowling performance that kept us on track in the Silk Trophy this past summer. Charlie Adams had an outstanding winter tour and brought stability to the team’s lower order. He often played a vital batting role in ensuring we got a total or slowed down the progress of the opposition. Strong and reliable, Charlie always gave of his best and despite his lack of real opportunities as the season drew on, he was always a key player in the team and a resolute character. Fred Earlam did not travel on tour but found the zeal to compete for a place in the spring. He added to our fire power and from time to time showed us what he was capable of. Fred proved to be a gifted stroke player measure of penetration, but I will be looking for far more this time around. He is an experienced campaigner and he must seek to influence matches at this level with the ball, bat, and in the field. With 31 wickets in the longer format matches, his contribution was telling and I would ask that he continue to delight us with his very positive yet relaxed application. George Panayi, already in his third season in the 1st X1, took on more responsibility than before and produced a number of all round performances to attract the attention of national selectors. A great winter tour in South Africa with us was followed by another one for the England U17s in the UAE where he gained even more admirers. His batting came to the fore this season and I look forward to much more of the same this coming summer. His role as Captain will put more pressure on him but I am sure he will thrive on it and prosper as he did in the final day of the season victory over Eton. Harry Adair started the season very well indeed, but became less influential as the sun appeared higher in the sky. We missed his dynamic input after the initial sprint and I hope that he can return next season with greater maturity and plenty of fast and exciting runs throughout the summer. As in previous years, I know he will put in the hours of preparation required and I truly hope that he will he deliver from April to July both with bat in hand and in the field where he has the athleticism to influence a match. Dan Lloyd continued where he had left over in December. With the ball in hand he offered us control and some George Hargrave illustrated his class with bat in hand, time and time again throughout the season. His final innings for the school against Eton highlighted his growing strength, excellent technique, mental strength and increasing authority. He certainly built on his Bunbury reputation and looked like a professional in the waiting. Asked to do more wicket keeping in 2015 than he, or we, thought, he coped well with the work load, but further work on his technique and communication will help him become a better all round batsman wicketkeeper this year. We look forward to more of the same. Charlie Home performed exceptionally well with the ball and looked very accomplished with bat in hand. Much more was to be expected from him over the coming two seasons but his unforeseen departure to Wrekin College has robbed us of seeing him develop even further here at Shrewsbury School and reduced our options for a future captain. Nevertheless, his tireless work ethic and passion should drive him along his cricketing pathway if he can gain greater independence and learn to plough his own furrow. Patrick Jacob returned from South Africa well ahead and despite a season on the fringes he has proved to be one of the most committed cricketers at school. His fielding is ungainly but incredibly effective, but he really does need to offer greater control with his bowling and work hard to be mentally stronger when asked to bat. Andy Barnard 31 32 SCHOOL NEWS SILK TROPHY SUCCESS The 1st XI won the Silk Trophy for the third year running and also became the only school to do so in the 25 years of the competition. Following a good win over Oundle on the first day by 106 runs, we then lost to Hilton College, Durban on day two by 84 runs. Consequently, we needed to beat Eton well on day three. Eton batted first and looked set for a large total after a good start by our bowlers, particularly Dan Lloyd. A good Eton partnership in the middle overs was curtailed by some good bowling (Dan Durman and George Panayi) and catching towards the end of their innings. Nevertheless they finished with a fairly healthy 238. A steady start by George Hargrave and Oliver Westbury was brought to an early end when Westbury (1124 runs this season) was caught behind. Harry Adair gave the innings some momentum and Hargrave moved the ball around well, but when Adair was out there was still much to do. George Lewis (captain and winner of two Silk Trophies) came in and immediately took the initiative against all bowlers, playing strong shots as well as late cuts and sweeps. Hargrave continued to prosper, particularly against the quicker bowlers, but one too many pulls saw him caught off a skier. George Panayi joined Lewis and consolidated for a while and saw the run rate rise from 5s to 7s with some 7 overs to go. All of a sudden Panayi found the measure of the Eton bowlers and, in the flash of his bat, he took 20 off an over and the game swung our way. Both batsmen relaxed a little and with 3 overs to go we only required 2 runs. The ball, having been smashed to the boundary was lost, so a new ball arrived. Unfortunately, it was a nearly new ball and George Lewis edged to slips to be out for a fantastic captain’s knock on 78. Fred Earlam came in and scored a single to secure the historic win. It was our best batting performance of the season and the team, depleted by some late withdrawals, must be roundly congratulated on a magnificent win. The Silk Trophy Winners 1990 Radley College 1991 The Antipodeans, Australia 1992 Eton College 1993 Eton College 1994 Queen’s College, South Africa 1995 Eton College 1996 Eton College 1997 Festival Cancelled (Rain) 1998 Eton College 1999 Eton College 2000 Maritzburg College, South Africa 2001 Kearsney College, South Africa 2002 Eton College 2003 Eton College 2004Oundle 2005 Eton College 2006 Shrewsbury School 2007 Eton College 2008 Eton College 2009 Shrewsbury School 2010 Eton College 2011 Eton College 2012 Festival Cancelled (Rain) 2013 Shrewsbury School 2014 Shrewsbury School 2015 Shrewsbury School From L to R - BACK ROW Mr A Barnard (Master i/c Cricket), Daniel Lloyd, Dan Durman, Jamie Humes, Charlie Adams, Charlie Cooke, Mr P Pridgeon (Cricket Professional) FRONT ROW Harry Adair, Oliver Westbury, George Lewis (Capt.), Fred Earlam, George Panayi, George Hargrave. SCHOOL NEWS 2nd XI Played 8 Won 3 Lost 3 Abandoned 2 This year’s 2nd XI shaped up to be another strong team at the start of the season, with Freddie Adair as captain and many of the bowlers from last year returning to the side. However, it was the batting that was likely to make or break the season, especially with Reiss Rashid injured and with the loss of Freddie Earlam to the 1st XI early on. Unfortunately the fixture list was curtailed by the proliferation of exams and by some cancellations for weather, so only six out of eight matches were completed. Six boys represented the side on six or more occasions, including Nick Pearce, Freddie Rowley, Paul Sharpe, Henry Newbould, James Harris and Antony Koch de Gooreynd. The first fixture saw the team make the epic journey to Millfield on the second Saturday of term. It was a damp day with a dubious forecast, so the match was shortened to a T20 format on arrival. Shrewsbury won the toss and elected to bat. Making a disappointing start, the team slumped to 64 for 7 after 11 overs, with only Freddie Adair and ‘on-loan’ Charlie Adams making it to double figures. However, positive batting from Nick Pearce (17 from 13 balls) and Pat Jacob (30 from 16 balls), able supported by Antony Koch de Gooreynd (9 from 16 balls) took the score to a respectable 137 for 9 after 20 overs. With the weather closing in, Shrewsbury took to the field in buoyant mood, which improved significantly when Harry Schofield took a sharp slip catch fourth ball of the Millfield innings off the bowling of Nick Pearce, who then bowled the number 3 with the last ball of the over to leave Millfield on 2 for 2. Unfortunately at this point the heavens opened and rain put an end to the match. In the second match, Shrewsbury faced a XL Club side that boasted two ex-international cricketers. The XL Club won the toss and elected to bat on a fine, if chilly day, on Chances. Shrewsbury started well bowling tightly and fielding superbly. The XL club were restricted to 69 for 3 after 20 overs of the only declaration game of the season. However, Shrewsbury were unable to get the breakthrough they need to remove the ex-professionals and as the innings wore on, the concentration of the fielding side waned, allowing the batsmen to capitalise on some loose bowling and progress to 216 for 3 after 38 overs, when they declared at tea. Paul Sharpe was the stand-out bowler with 1 for 30 off his 8 overs. In response, Shrewsbury made a positive start reaching 64 for 1 after 10 overs. Several batsmen had starts, Freddie Rowley (30), George Birt (23) Harry Gregson (22) and Freddie Adair was perhaps unlucky to be given out LBW for 30. However, wickets fell regularly and although the run rate was fine, Shrewsbury fell short, ending up 184 all out after 31.1 overs and losing by 32 runs. In the next match, Shrewsbury welcomed Bromsgrove on another very dark and wet Saturday. Again, the match format was reduced to T20. Bromsgrove won the toss and put Shrewsbury into the field on Senior. Having got to 47 for 1 after 6 overs, Bromsgrove were in a strong position, but excellent bowling from Freddie Rowley 4 for 15 from 4 overs and George Birt 2 for 2 from 2 overs, reduced them to 127 all out in 19.5 overs. Shrewsbury made light work of the chase, with captain Freddie Adair in ebullient mood, smashing a powerful 63 not out from 44 balls, ably supported by Henry Newbould 18 from 35 balls and Freddie Rowley finishing a good day on 31 not out from 21 balls. Shrewsbury won by 9 wickets with 4 overs to spare. Further rain meant the cancellation of the match against Wrekin, so the next visitors to Senior were Repton. Again the opposition won the toss and elected to bat. Repton were in a commanding position at 69 for 2 after 17 overs, but once the number 1 and 3 batsmen were dismissed, the innings capitulated. Repton finished on 126 all out after 35.1 overs with two wickets each for Henry Craig, Rishi Trivedi, Freddie Rowley and George Birt. In response Shrewsbury suffered their own collapse as the top order misfired badly, only Henry Newbould making any impression on the score with 20. With the score at 50 for 7 the game seemed to be irretrievable, but just as they had done at Millfield, Pat Jacob (33) and Nick Pearce (34) saved the innings, while Rishi Trivedi and Antony Koch de Gooreynd saw the side home with one wicket to spare. So Shrewsbury claimed an improbable win by 1 wicket. The final match of the first half of term saw Shrewsbury host Sedbergh, who had not lost a game since we last beat them in 2012! Unfortunately the fixture coincided with the beginning of AS exams and a significant loss of players to the 1st XI, which meant the 2nd XI lost captain and top runscorer Freddie Adair, as well as wicketkeeper and opening batsman, Henry Newbould and our saviour from the Millfield and Repton games, Pat Jacob. On a damp day, stand-in captain, Freddie Rowley lost the toss and Shrewsbury was asked to bat. As usual Sedbergh bowled tightly and there were few loose deliveries to capitalise on. Scoring was slow and the Shrewsbury batsmen failed to apply themselves on a slow wicket. When Harry Schofield was narrowly run out, after looking in good touch and Charlie Cooke played a wild stroke and was caught, the score was 56 for 7. A low score looked inevitable, but a final wicket stand of 41 between Ben Sansom (6) and Paul Sharpe (30), helped Shrewsbury to a modest total of 109. Sedbergh were positive in reply and, once the opening batsmen had established a partnership, took only 18 overs to reach their target. On the Saturday after Exeat, the 2nd XI travelled to Malvern to contest what always proves to be a close fixture. Bolstered by the inclusion of Fred Earlam, but without a few of the more experienced senior players due to Exam Leave, the young team batted well, posting a huge target of 275 for 4 after 40 overs. Fred Earlam, opening the batting, scored 113 from 62 balls and was ably supported by Harry Gregson who scored 74 from 66 balls. James Harris posted a useful 34 from 27 and Antony Koch de Gooreynd chipped in with 15*. In reply Malvern made a strong start, getting to 97 after 12 overs, before losing their first wicket. But three wickets apiece for the spinners, Ed Moore and Fred Earlam helped Shrewsbury to dismiss the home side for 220 in 30 overs. Rain put paid to the following match against Manchester Grammar, so next up was a long journey to Bedford. On a grey and showery afternoon it was a desperate shame that we were not blessed with clement weather, as a potentially competitive match was abandoned after only 12 overs. The final match of the season saw the visit of several familiar faces in a strong Saracens team, led by George Thomason. The 2nd XI made a good start with Antony Koch de Gooreynd leading the way with two catches in the first few overs to dismiss Jamie Bird and the dangerous Matt Gregson. Then Harry Croft and George Hanmer pushed the score on to 85 before the next wicket fell. With the score on 132 for 6 after 21 overs, Shrewsbury had a good chance to contain the Saracens innings. However, a 150-run partnership between Steve Barnard (94 from 59 balls) and Henry Blofield (50* from 51 balls) helped the visitors to 301 for 7 from their 40 33 34 SCHOOL NEWS overs. Chasing such a large score was always going to be challenging against such a strong side. The opening pair of Paul Sharpe (37) and Harry Schofield (16) made a good start, but when Fred Adair and Fred Earlam failed to make and impact, the score slumped to 79 for 4 before a flurry of wickets left the 2nd XI 101 all out. So it was a disappointing end to a season which was blighted by weather and exams. Cricket is a game which tests skill and concentration and it was not easy to get any momentum with such a staccato rhythm to the season. Yet there were highlights to savour; Fred Earlam’s excellent performance at Malvern stands out, but the recovery to win against Repton was also sweet. It was a pleasure to work with such a willing U17 XI U17s School Sports Cup 1st Round Shrewsbury v Ellesmere (Home) Ellesmere 107 for 8 (Cooke 5 for 22) Shrewsbury 108 for 1 (Home 45 n.o.) 2nd Round Shrewsbury v Wrekin (Away) won by 8 wkts Wrekin 103 for 6 (Lloyd 2 for 18) Shrewsbury 104 for 2 (Hargrave 37 n.o. Panayi 35 n.o.) 3rd Round Shrewsbury v Myerscough (Home) won by 7 wkts Myerscough 160 for 8 Shrewsbury 163 for 3 (Garrett 63 n.o. Panayi 56 n.o.) 19th June Shrewsbury v Sedbergh U17 Cup lost by 3 runs Sedbergh 236 for 9 Shrewsbury 233 for 4 (Adair 60 Panayi 54 n.o. Hargrave 53) U16A XI Played 6 Won 4 Lost 2 A most encouraging season with a hard-working and committed group of boys. Paddy Jacob, George Hargrave and Charlie Home spent much of the time playing in the 1st X1, but group of boys and testament to their commitment that, despite the increasing pressure of exams, they were keen to pull on their whites for the team. Leading batsmen were Fred Earlam with 124 runs at 41.3, Fred Adair with 109 runs at 27.3 and Paul Sharpe, who started the season at number 11 but finished with 86 runs at an average of 43! Leading bowlers included George Birt with 7 wickets at an average of 8.4 and Freddie Rowley also with 7 wickets, at an average of 14. Many of the Lower Sixth worked hard to improve in the second half of the season and with more maturity and the lessons learned from this year, they will provide a sound foundation for senior cricket at Shrewsbury next season. Matthew Barrett this provided good opportunities for others to come in take their chance. The side was well captained by Harry Gregson who proved to be a force with both bat and ball. Other notable batting performances came from Dan Orchard, Josh Malyon and Oliver Dixon who all played some quality innings at times. The pick of the bowlers was Ross Orchard who bowled with pace and accuracy. Arthur Price produced some decent spells of off-spin and George Pearce and Joe Thevathasan probed away with their seamers. The team fielded very well as a unit and there were some excellent run outs and catches. It is hoped that this group of players will continue to train hard and enjoy their cricket as a number of them could play at a good level in the Sixth Form. U16B XI Played 2 Won 1 Lost 1 The first was a (by now) traditional T20 fixture at Bedstone. We were never sure what a good total was on this ground; while our run rate was always sound, we did lose wickets rather too regularly, particularly of our potentially destructive batsmen, and slowed down in the final overs as a result. We ended up getting to 91. George Pearce 20 off 20 balls, Tom Atkin 17 from 14, George Chaplin 16 from 18. We started to defend this total with energy, not giving width. But, unlike us, Bedstone’s numbers 2 & 3 hung on (George Pearce bowled their #1 for 1 run). Bertie Calvert came into the attack and was the pick of the bowlers (his first over was a maiden) but it was too late as Bedstone were already 74 off 13 overs. Bedstone won by 9 wickets with more than 4 overs to spare. George Pearce 4 overs 15-1. Bertie Calvert 1.2 overs 6-0. After exams a hybrid As/Bs team headed down to South Shropshire again, to play a mixed Lucton/Ludlow team. It soon became clear that we were rather strong for them, so Harry Gregson was retired for scoring too fast while Dan Orchard remained, aiming to make his first 50 playing for Shrewsbury School. Sadly on 44 he tried to get there in one shot and was bowled. Having reduced the match to 16 overs each way we scored 141. Gregson 35 (ret). D.Orchard 44. G.Pearce 21*.We then kept the opposition to 76. T.Atkin 2-0-8-3. J.Malyon 2-0-6-0. A.Price 2-0-15-2. J.Thevathasan 3-1-17-1. B.Calvert 3-0-11-1. U15A XI Played 21 Won 15 Lost 6 I have never before started a review of a cricket season with a quote from G. K. Chesterton. Until today. “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” In today’s materialistic society, there may well be some truth in that statement. However, in the quest for sporting satisfaction, our desires this year were left, in some senses, unfulfilled. Let us get the disappointments out of the way early in the piece. The U15s finished the season with a sole trophy to show for their efforts – the Shropshire ESCA T20 title, won by defeating a strong Ellesmere College side that had beaten them in the County Final 12 months previously. We were caught in a three-way tie at the end of season festival at Uppingham, eventually missing out on the trophy due to run rate, and lost to Malvern College in the semi-final at the Midlands T20 Finals day. I often despair at football managers blaming their most recent defeat on everything from the fixture schedule to the alignment of the planets, but in this case there are some significant mitigating circumstances. The 12-man squad we took to the U15 festival at Uppingham contained seven SCHOOL NEWS by the experience of a Christmas tour to Dubai and South Africa, they are now a group containing some high quality cricketers. The bowling group had relied heavily on Garrett last year, and his absence presented an opportunity for others to seize. Tom Brunskill emerged as the leader of the attack, taking 33 wickets at 11.79. He was economical, penetrative and dependable, and was one of several who deservedly earned a call up to the 1st XI later in the season. Lucien Whitworth improved immeasurably and deserved more than his still impressive tally of 14 wickets at 12.29. He has good control, moves the ball both ways, and will gain more pace as he matures. Rob Ford was the definition of endeavour, working hard on all aspects of his game, and finished with 24 wickets at 22.75. His commitment in the field was exceptional. Ed Stapleton possesses real pace, and if he is prepared to work hard then he can improve significantly. U14s (who will benefit hugely from the experience), and contained only one of our first choice seam bowlers. Had we had just one of the six first choice players who were absent available to us, our defeat by Eton (they chased our total 9 wickets down from the last ball of the game) would surely have been reversed, and we would have returned home as comfortable champions. Having worked so hard to reach the Midlands T20 Finals day, it was, in all honesty, galling to be forced to contest the title with a side shorn of a further three players from earlier in the week in Uppingham. Huge thanks goes to those who stepped in at the last minute to enable us to field a side. The fact that we reached 149-9 in response to 174, set by a Malvern College side featuring three Midlands batsmen, whilst missing an incredible EIGHT first choice players, is a credit to the boys involved, as it is to the quality of cricket at Shrewsbury. The scheduling of the latter stages of this competition needs to be looked at in future, as with a full strength side, and without a whiff of arrogance, we could have been national champions. The 15/6 win loss ratio was in itself impressive, given that injury deprived us of the services of our best batsman and our best bowler for virtually the entire season. Jamie Crawley missed eight weeks due to a hamstring injury, while a stress fracture of the back limited George Garrett to a solitary spell of three overs during the whole campaign. I am not sure how many school sides could have coped with that sort of loss as well as we did. The fact that we did was down to a huge amount of skill, commitment and hard work from the boys. Huge strides were made by many of them, and their attitude and application during what was a long, hard summer, was faultless. Buoyed As far as the batsmen go, it is very pleasing to report that no fewer than nine players recorded scores of 50 or more – an impressive achievement. Jordan Zaza (528 @ 31), George Garrett (468 @ 36), and Lysander Adair (403 @ 31) were the heaviest scorers over the season, but special mention must also go to Daniel Humes (352 @ 27 as an U14, as well as some top quality work behind the stumps), and Jamie Crawley (344 @ 43 in only 11 innings). Tom Brunskill also added 320 runs @ 27 to go with his efforts with the ball. I must also take time to write about our captain George Garrett. During what was an incredibly frustrating time for him personally, he scored runs consistently, captained intelligently, and was an absolute pleasure to be around - as were all the boys. In his final game on tour before injury struck, he knocked over the top order of a top quality South African side, taking 5-10. It does not take much to imagine what he would have done against far lesser batsmen had he been fit this summer. While the issue of availability eventually robbed us of more silverware, it did afford me a chance to see more of next year’s squad in action. While there is plenty of work to do, there is also much to look forward to. Despite my mentions of disappointment for not finishing the season with more trophies, the primary aim will always be player development. We will often rotate the batting order in order to give chances to other players, and we will regularly expose bowlers to bowling at different stages of the innings. As a result we will occasionally lose matches, but this is all part of the learning process. In terms of their progression this season, there is an enormous amount for the boys to be proud of, and the lessons they have learned over the past few months will stand them in good stead for the future. There is every chance that as many as eight of this squad can now press on and look for a 1st XI place.I would like to finish by thanking Andy Barnard and Paul Pridgeon for all their support during the season, as well as Andy Richards and his team for providing facilities that are absolutely deserving of the term “First Class”. Our young cricketers really do have the privilege of playing on some fantastic pitches. Going back to G. K. Chesterton – in a sporting sense, while we must accept that sometimes we do not get all we want or deserve, the fire will always burn within, and we will never desire less. Adam Shantry 35 36 SCHOOL NEWS U15B XI Played 10 Won 8 Lost 2 Will Shawe-Taylor (O) and James Argyle (M) were our opening batsmen and were consistent across the term, starting innings off with patient productivity. Harry Wasdell (Rt) contributed plenty of runs as well as proving to be an organised and methodical captain. Matt Clay (I) and Zak Nicholas (R) were our mid-order big-hitters. Humphreys (Rt), Sykes (Rt) and Wasdell (Rt) provided the seam bowling, with varied success, and Greetham brought some beguiling spin to the attack. A very successful term overall and some especially impressive wins over the likes of Bedford, Millfield and Malvern. Sedbergh was our only ‘block’ defeat when the team was much weakened by depletions to the teams above. U15 Girls XI Cricket Played 14 Won 11 Lost 3 Drew 0 The U15 Girls had a brilliant first season. It started at the end of the Lent Term with the Lady Taverner’s Indoor Tournament where the girls progressed to the County Final. Unfortunately, the very busy end of term logistics unsettled any decent preparation and the girls were narrowly defeated in the group stage. As the summer arrived the girls played five school fixtures and finished the year by competing in the Shropshire Cricket Board U15 Tournament. Qualifying Tournament Results Shrewsbury School v Meole Brace Shrewsbury School: 86-3 (8 overs) Lizzy Ware 15 retired, Mimi Ashworth 15 retired, Phoebe Wasdell 17 retired Meole Brace: 43-4 (8 overs) Emma Graham 2 wickets, Sophia Breese 1 wicket, Rosie Davis 1 wicket Shrewsbury School v Mary Webb Mary Webb: 62-5 (8 overs) Emma Graham 1 wicket, Sophia Breese 3 wickets, Phoebe Wasdell 1 wicket Shrewsbury School: 63-4 (6.2 overs) Emma Graham 10, Sophia Breese 14 not out, Mimi Ashworth 8 Including the two tournaments, the girls played a total of 14 matches and won 11. The most exciting match played was when the girls lost to Moreton in the School Sports National Cup in a closely fought contest. The game started well enough with the opening bowler Emma Graham (MSH) taking two wickets in the first over. Millie Home of Moreton then put on 63 n.o. and Moreton’s final score was 151-6. The heavens opened during Shrewsbury School’s innings and while Sophia Breese (EDH) made an excellent 52 n.o., we could only manage 144 in reply. The conditions really did work against us on the day. After this loss, there were substantial victories against Charlton School, Bromsgrove School, Malvern College (U16) and Shrewsbury High School. Special mention goes to Sophia Breese (EDH) who scored 103 in 4 innings and Nina Lange (G) who scored 40 off 12 balls against SHS. With the ball, Phoebe Wasdell (MSH) had figures of 38-6 and Rosie Davis (EDH) 40-6. Nina Lange also took some rather special, athletic catches and she will be sorely missed next season. This all bodes well for the future of girls’ cricket at the school. Shrewsbury School Girls XI - From L-R Back Row: Tilly Reynolds, Sophia Dixon, Nina Lange, Libby Hedges, Lizzy Ware, From L-R Front Row: Sophia Breese, Katie Oswald, Mimi Ashworth, Emma Graham, Phoebe Wasdell, Rosie Davis SCHOOL NEWS Tennis This term was the first term of tennis where we integrated the new junior girls into mixed squads at U15 level based on standard of play. This was of mutual benefit to both the boys and girls and allowed for more competition in squads. and Henry Clay were unable to produce the good form of their lower sixth year and struggled to contribute enough set wins. Close losses against Warwick, Cheltenham and Uppingham resulted against very beatable opposition. The most successful pair for the first VI this year were Charlie Davis (O UVI) and Ollie Pumphrey (O, U6). This pair started the season as 1st pair of the second team but progressed dramatically and fully merited their 1st pair status by the end of the term. Deserving of a special mention is Alex Loumidis (Rt III) who won both the U15 and U18 school tennis tournaments beating Lucas Paul (Rb IV) in one final and Charlie Davis in the other (see photos). Alex has played a lot of competitive tennis and his shot selection and range of shots are well beyond what you would expect from a 14-year-old. Alex has also played in all the 1st VI matches this year. The team as a whole did not perform as well as anticipated. The team was massively weakened by the long term injury of Alex Webb and were further weakened by the loss of Jack Fox for most of the term with a wrist injury. This meant that Alex Loumidis lacked a regular partner. Unfortunately Captain Tom Robinson The best school tennis team this year were the U15A team who registered excellent wins against Ellesmere, Uppingham, Malvern, Warwick and Cheltenham. The seven 4th formers who played so well for the team were Lucas Paul (c), Tom BromleyDavenport, Jom Umpujh, James Gisbourne, Ally Harris, Mungo Hargreaves and James Powell. Great things are hoped for from this group of players who make up the best seven players from a single year group in my eight years in charge of tennis. On the girls’ side Nina Lange (G III) and Tilly Reynolds deserve a mention for winning the Rugby Tournament U15 and for getting to the semi finals of the Midlands U18 girls tournament. The final of the Rugby Tournament was very memorable as Nina and Tilly saved four consecutive match points and six consecutive points in total to win the trophy. They showed a terrific mental strength that all the boys could learn from. Player of the year was Charlie Davis (PH UVI) who played with tenacity and full commitment. Next year’s captain of tennis is Jack Fox (PH LVI). A Junior first was awarded to Alex Webb for his superb play in third and fourth form. Ridgemount won both senior and junior tennis competitions beating Port Hill and Rigg’s in the finals respectively. Ridgemount were also House squash champions, beating Severn Hill in the final. Myles Harding 37 38 SCHOOL NEWS RSSBC The Summer term provided the usual frenzy of racing and training for the Boat Club, with crews from various age groups racing every weekend. After productive training camps in France for the Seniors and J16s and Pangbourne for the J15s, the boats got their first taste of sprint racing at Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham in a private fixture with King’s Chester. With two coach loads of pupils and two fully laden trailers, the match provided a great opportunity for our novice oarsmen to get acquainted with the venue and the logistics of getting attached onto stake boats and racing six abreast. The crews raced in a time trial over 1750m, followed by seeded 2000m side by side finals. To finish off, the crews raced six abreast in two 500m races, which produced some exciting finishes. T he second weekend of the term saw crews competing at both the national Junior Inter Regional Regatta (JIRR) and the Birmingham Regatta. Highlights included a medal-winning performance by the J14 boys’ quad at JIRR and the first-ever win for the J14 girls at Birmingham. Girls’ Quad Birmingham Regatta the event, Elite Eights, and the J18 Eights event. On the second May Bank Holiday weekend the Boat Club had 14 crews competing at the National Schools’ Regatta. There was a strong showing across all of the age groups, with 12 crews reaching semi-finals and seven crews going on to make the finals of their events and claim a spot in the top six in the country. The best result came from the J14A Octuple, who won a tremendous bronze medal in what is always a tightly contested event. Congratulations to the crew of: Ben Holehouse, Petr Rostokin, Elliot Crossley, Alexander Davies, Josh Evans, Edward Hart, Jack Lockett, Adam Pattenden and Boss Lertthundorn. fastest eight, coxed four, pair and scull at the Regatta to claim the Senior Victor Ludorum, alongside wins for the 2nd VIII and J15 Four. 1st VIII Chester Regatta J15 Four Chester Regatta J14 Quad JIRR The first May Bank holiday weekend saw five Shrewsbury crews race at the Wallingford Regatta. The pick of the results came from the 1st VIII who won their heat in an impressive fashion, beating Abingdon’s, Radley’s and Hampton’s 1st VIIIs in the process. Unfortunately weather conditions deteriorated through the day, which meant the finals were unable to be raced and prizes were awarded based on times. So the crew didn’t get to race the final and lost out on time to the winners of the other heat, St Paul’s, by three seconds. The 1st Girls’ Quad also had an excellent result, coming in third overall in their event. The 1st VIII continued their promising form at the Bedford Regatta where they recorded two encouraging wins by winning both the premier race of J14 A Octuple National Schools The 1st VIII put in a strong showing with a gutsy row that saw them sitting in 2nd place for most of the race in a very competitive field. Unfortunately they slipped down to 5th in the closing stages of the race. Results in brief: J14A Octuple 3rd, J14B Octuple 3rd in Semifinal, Girls J14A Octuple 6th in SemiFinal, Girls’ J15 Scull 26th out of 45 in Time trial, J15A VIII 5th in Final, J15B VIII 6th in Semi-final, J16A VIII 4th in Semi Final, J16B VIII 5th in Final, 3rd VIII 5th in Final, 2nd VIII 6th in Final, 1st VIII 5th in Final, Girls’ Quad 4th in Semi Final, 1st Four 4th in Final. The second half of term saw a successful day’s racing at the Chester Regatta. The School produced the Henley Women’s Regatta The Senior Girls’ Quad took part in the time trial from which 19 entrants would be reduced to 16. The crew was the third fastest down the track, putting them in strong contention in the event. Their first side by side race was against a composite crew from Doncaster, Bradford and Lincoln Rowing Clubs. The girls stormed down the first 500 metres of the course, putting themselves in a strong position and enabling them to lower the rate and control the remainder of the race and secure an ‘easily’ verdict. As the crew boated for their second round against Staines Rowing Club the heavens opened, drenching the course in a heavy rain storm. The girls were not deterred by the soggy conditions and once again put on a display of strong oarswoman-ship, leading the race from start to finish and winning with a lead of three and a half lengths. SCHOOL NEWS 2nd VIII at Henley The win against Staines saw the crew take their place in the semi-final against Surbiton High School, bronze medallists from National Schools. The girls knew this would be their toughest race of the weekend and charged out of the stake boats level with Surbiton. At the barrier Surbiton took a length on the Shrewsbury crew and despite holding them at this length throughout the race, they were not able to take back the distance and lost to Surbiton by one and a third lengths. Henley Royal Regatta The Senior Girls’ squad has continued to grow in strength and performance over the past three years and the Girls’ Quad made history this summer by becoming Shrewsbury’s first ever girls’ crew to qualify for the Henley Royal Regatta. They faced a crew from Henley Rowing Club in their first round race in the event and although they put up a good show, they were unable to turn over the well-drilled Henley crew. Despite the loss, their qualification for the final was a tremendous result that provided an extremely positive end to the season, along with the crew’s result at Henley Women’s Regatta. Girls’ Quad at Henley when needed and were sluggish out of the starting blocks, with Hampton creating clear water between them through the first timing marker. The crew held their rhythm and closed the gap through the middle of the race but struggled to overhaul the Hampton crew that were growing with confidence as the race drew on. Hampton held on to win by threequarters of a length. The result was bitterly disappointing for the 1st VIII who had covered a significant number of miles on the water and time in the gym in preparation for the Regatta. St Paul’s School, 2nd at Schools’ Head and National Schools, produced a storming final to turn over the Schools’ Head, and National Schools winners Westminster in the final. The boys’ 1st VIII were drawn against Hampton School for their first round race at Henley, having been knocked out by Hampton in the second round in 2014. The crew had had the better of Hampton throughout the season and were hoping to repeat their positive run on the hot and humid Wednesday afternoon of 1st July. Home Countries Regatta Paddy George, George Patterson, Toby Thomas, Charlie Johnston, Freddie Bonthrone, Abigail Reynolds and Lettie Tay were all selected to represent Wales at the Home Countries Regatta held at Strathclyde Country Park in Scotland in the summer holidays. Despite some very encouraging speed shown in the lead up to the event, the crew did not manage to reproduce it Athol Hundermark 39 40 SCHOOL NEWS Victoria, Sabrina and Williams Sculls 2015 This annual early season tester from the Greyfriar’s Bridge to the Priory Stone saw competitive racing at all levels, and a chance for those who had trained well over the summer to show the improvements they had made. Patrick George (M) earned the Victoria Sculls (J18) title, ahead of Lower Sixth entrant Matt Rowe (SH) in second and Henry Thomas (Ch) in third. In the equivalent girls’ competition, Lower Sixth Former Alys Howells (MSH) won ahead of Sian Hinton (G) and Abi Reynolds (G), who both raced in the RSSBC quad at Henley Royal Regatta in the summer. The Sabrina Sculls (J16) was won by Ed Lewis (Rb), second placed Max Craik (PH) and third placed Bryce Rutter (PH) were mere seconds behind him. Eleanor Fox (G) was the fastest Fifth Form girl in a time that placed her 4th amongst the Sixth Form. *** we are currently researching the history of the VSW Sculls, so if any OS remember what the course was in their time, or have any old results sheets lurking at the back of the wardrobe, please could they contact the master i/c House Rowing, Rob Wilson (rmw@shrewsbury.org.uk) Tessa Scott-Bell Eleanor Fox Alys Howells Izzy Lewis Ed Lewis Patrick George Adam Pattenden Adam Pattenden (S) and Tessa Scott-Bell (MSH) won the Williams Sculls (J15). Adam’s impressive performance placed him 8th overall. Louis Nares (Rb) and Issy Lewis (EDH) won the Junior Williams crowns. Moser’s Hall and The Grove took the team Senior Challenge Sculls titles. Bumps 2015 The ongoing domination of the Bumping Races by Rigg’s Hall in recent years continued this year with Rigg’s I claiming the Head of the River trophy for the seventh year in a row (another new record). They also claimed the headship in divisions two and three. Whispers on the towpath suggest that this run may end next year, but these rumours have been flying around for at least five years now! Emma Darwin Hall finished as the highest girls’ house, but The Grove will be hot on their heels next year. Rigg’s also claimed the Leadbitter Cup, and The Grove the Birt Trophy – both awarded for points earned in rowing competitions throughout the year. SCHOOL NEWS RSSH “That has to be one of the best days of my life,” says Henry as we sit around a campfire under an African starlit sky. That morning we had been up at first light for a 10km run in a remote corner of Kenya, a herd of zebra and antelopes cantering alongside us as we’d moved as a pack across the Laikipia plains, giraffe and elephants looking on inquisitively as we crossed the finish line. It was breathtaking - not least because we were running at 8,000ft altitude - and for each of us a truly memorable experience. Later that afternoon we had hopped on the back of pickup vehicles and travelled to a nearby conservancy where cameras had clicked enthusiastically as a vast array of impressive African beasts passed before us, culminating in the rare sighting of a cheetah kill right in front of the group. A quick dip in the swimming pool of Shrewsbury parents Aidan and Claire Hartley at their home- Palagalan Farm- and then down to the campfire for T-Bone steaks and boerewors. What a day indeed. T he Hunt had initially travelled to East Africa in October 2013 following an invitation from the club’s first Coach in Residence, Ethiopian legend Sentayehu Eshetu, who had spent a week at Shrewsbury the previous year. He had suggested that we follow up his visit with the ‘return leg’ and stay with him in the famous ‘Town of Runners’: Bekoji in Ethiopia. The inaugural trip had proved such a success that we felt compelled to offer the experience once again, this time to a new group of Salopian runners eager to embrace new challenges and reach new heights in their running. the training base for the likes of Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe in the past, and in fact, the week after we left, over a dozen of the UK athletics team moved in for their three-month training block in Kenya. It is an inspiring place, and has been the breeding ground for countless Olympic gold medalists and world record holders, not least 800m world record holder David Rudisha who went to the local St Patrick’s school. The school has more Olympic medalists than most western nations! If it was heights they were looking for, it was heights they got, with much of our time spent running at an altitude ranging from 8,000ft in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to the lung-bursting 10,000ft in Ethiopia. The impact of training at this height is quite significant, and it is not easy running in those conditions. We were asking a lot from our young up-andcoming runners, but it is to their great credit that they rose to the challenge. The self-proclaimed ‘Town of Champions’ is home to literally thousands of full-time athletes, and there is a unique thrill in training in the same small town as so many of the world’s best athletes. One morning during our stay we were able to meet one such athlete following his morning gym session at the Lornah Kiplagat Centre- Emmanuel Mutai. With a time of 2.03.13, Mutai is the second fastest man ever over the marathon distance yet took the time to speak to our young runners and was remarkably humble in describing his career. The majority of our time in Kenya was spent in Iten to the west of the country, staying at the internationally-acclaimed Lornah Kiplagat Centre. This has been Amongst the highlights of our time in Kenya would be training on the famous Kamariny track that has as its backdrop a good few thousand-foot drop down into the Great Rift Valley with views across the escarpment for hundreds of miles. We were challenged in our running, taking on some long distance runs through the forests of Iten and in speedwork sessions, and indeed some quite tortuous core sessions led by top Kenyan 800m runner Timo Limo. Similarly, when we travelled north to Ethiopia, we were put through our paces in the town of Bekoji where we were reunited with Coach Sentayehu Eshetu. A track session just about killed me as I was cruelly placed in the elite men’s marathon group by Coach (was it something I had said?) and, without even time to question the sanity of the decision was forced into embarking upon the session of 5 sets of 5 laps run at 3min/ km pace. I managed one set before genuinely believing my lungs were about to explode. I quietly drifted down into a more realistic group and hoped that nobody had noticed. Our runners were hugely impressive in the way in which they coped with the demands placed upon them. They earned the respect of the Bekoji athletes (approximately 100-150 turn up for every session) when they completed Coach’s grueling endurance run in the eucalyptus forest, and in turn, we were 41 42 SCHOOL NEWS hugely grateful for the warm welcome we received from the Ethiopian athletes and the town itself. Greeted with cheers of ‘Farangi!’ wherever we went (‘foreigner’) there was sheer delight in the faces of the town’s residents (especially the children) whenever we ran past them. This is a rarely-visited part of Africa where foreigners are very rarely seen. Yet there was no hostility, only hospitality of the very best sort. It was an eye-opener for our students to see a town where horse and cart is the main form of transport, and where electricity cannot be relied upon (one of my favourite memories of the tour was eating a version of what we might call ‘pizza’ in candlelight following a whole-town blackout, listening to the mellifluous jazz of Charlie Parker from one of the boy’s iPods). We saw - both in Ethiopia and Kenya - a level of ambition and determination that is rarely seen in the western world. They have so little, yet dream big. There is an incredible belief that anything is possible. That hunger to succeed is contagious and the young Salopians on our tour were moved and inspired by the people who they met. Perhaps most memorable and inspiring of all was our visit to the Restart Centre in Gilgil, home to just over 100 orphans and street children from the surrounding area. Set up by Mary Coulson in 2008 in the aftermath of horrific post-election violence, this is a quite remarkable place. It was the third time I had personally visited the Centre and each time I have left feeling humbled and inspired in equal measure by both Mary and the Restart children. Many have been subjected to the most appalling something of a ‘vintage’ year group, and we weren’t to be disappointed. At the Restart Centre violence and abuse, many have had that most basic need - a mother and father who love them - taken from them. Yet these are some of the happiest, vibrant, and resilient young boys and girls you are ever likely to meet. Now housed in an impressive new facility in Langalanga, somebody has made sure that the Centre’s motto has been repainted on the walls of the new building - “Think Not What You Are, But What You Can Become”. It was a message that our Hunt runners took to heart, and I have no doubt that their experiences in East Africa over half-term will not only stay with them for a lifetime, but impact upon who they will become. The eleven boys and two girls who travelled with us were a great credit to the School and were terrific company throughout the trip. It was an absolute privilege to take them there. Third Form Race Looking further back to the start of the School year, the Michaelmas term got off to a flying start with the annual Third Form Race on the first weekend in September. This year’s race was set to be a cracker with many assembling on the startline having already shown their mettle in Shrewsbury’s Prep Schools’ Cross-Country Championships. We were quietly optimistic that this could be At the Huntsman’s rallying cry of “All Hounds who wish to run - run hard, run well, and may the Devil take the hindmost!” there was a stampede of runners sprinting towards the Moss Gates in an attempt to establish an early lead. With Huntsman Oscar Dickins (joint Huntsman this year with Ben Remnant) running as ‘hare’, it was Severn Hill’s Sam Western who unsurprisingly emerged at the front of the pack by the Maidment Building. In the chasing pack, amongst others, was Sam’s former classmate from Birchfield Lilian Wilcox who was comfortably leading the girls’ race. These were leads that both Sam and Lilian held for the entire race with Sam coming home for his first ‘kill’ in a swift time of 8.16 over the Benjies course, nearly 30 seconds ahead of Thomas Jackson (Rigg’s) in 2nd with a time of 8.44 and Severn Hill’s Leo Walton in 3rd (8.48). Lilian’s winning time of 9.29 placed her 13th overall in the field - an outstanding achievement - with Laura Elliot of The Grove in 2nd (10.28) and Mary Lees of Emma Darwin Hall just behind in 3rd with a time of 10.34. The team event was won by Rigg’s Hall for the second year in a row with Emma Darwin Hall being crowned victors in the girls’ event. The times across the board were very swift indeed, and compared to previous years suggests that the years ahead for the Hunt look very promising indeed. We are beginning to see the fruits of the Prep Schools’ Championships where many who compete in our event are keen to join the School and our special running club. SCHOOL NEWS Behind Dickins and HuxleyFielding was perhaps the surprise of the day, with Ridgemount runner Harry Adair completing the podium and narrowly edging out last year’s winner Charlie Tait-Harris. Like the leading Riggites, Severn Hill seemed to opt for ‘coupling up’, with Scott Hatton coming home alongside Tait-Harris in 5th place. The Tucks Of course, the major focus of the term is the annual Tucks race, which once again proved a high-octane affair with the top athletes in the School competing for the laurels. Uniquely, of course, the whole School take part in the race, with both pupils and staff toeing the line and tackling the mud, stiles and tarmac of the three-mile course. Dr Gee was first out of the blocks an hour or so before the official line, but given this was his 55th time he had run in the Tucks, we allowed him this concession! As the hooter sounded for the start of the official race, the anticipated frenetic sprint start was once again seen, with all 130 of the 1st Wave runners bidding to get out quickly and squeeze through the small gap at the end of the field first. There were a few fallers at this stage in scenes reminiscent of the Grand National, but thankfully no injuries. The big hitters amongst The Hunt were out in force in a bid to bring home the Hector Rose Bowl for the winner of the boys’ race and the newly-gifted Mobley Cup for the girls. The first winner of the latter was - appropriately enough - this year’s Captain of Girls’ Running Olivia Papaioannou. Despite a niggling Achilles injury the week before, she put in a commanding performance and ensured that her name will be etched on to this new trophy, which has kindly been donated by the Mobley family in recognition of the achievements of their daughter Tory, last year’s Captain of Girls’ Running. Behind Olivia was the ever-improving Passy Goddard of The Grove and, impressively, Third Former Lilian Wilcox in the bronze medal position. This is an outstanding effort from someone so young and bodes well for the future. In the boys’ race, the Rigg’s duo of Oscar Dickins and Freddie HuxleyFielding worked well as a pair together to break up the field and ensure that a Rigg’s runner would bring home the Hector Rose Bowl for the first time since 1998. In the end, it was Huntsman Oscar Dickins who broke the tape first for the ‘kill’ in a very quick time of 17.41 (the fastest time in the modern era was George Mallett’s 17.20 in 2011), with Huxley-Fielding just behind him. After a year of injury, it was wonderful to see this talented runner back in form, and this bodes well for the Hunt’s season ahead. The team event was therefore in the balance and with three runners in the top ten, Rigg’s were hopeful of bringing home the Mallett Team Trophy as well as the Hector Rose Bowl. However, it wasn’t to be, for in a very close affair it was Severn Hill who emerged top by just 6 points, with all of their eight ‘counters’ coming home in the top 40. Churchill’s completed the team podium in the boys’ race, whilst in the girls’ event The Grove were crowned team champions for the second year in a row. It has been a busy and exciting term of running and with The Paperchases, the Old Salopian Race and the Shrewsbury Relays to come, there is plenty more still to come. There is an optimism in the air about the season ahead and with a depth of talent that surpasses all previous seasons, this is perhaps the most exciting Hunt squad for a generation. There is a shared sense of belief, a shared sense of ambition, and we are all committed to our goals. Watch this space… Peter Middleton L-R: Lillian Wilcox, Pascale Goddard, Olivia Papaioannou, Oscar Dickins, Harry Adair, Freddie Huxley-Fielding 43 44 SCHOOL NEWS Athletics With temperatures climbing into the mid-20s at times on Tuesday 23rd June, conditions were very pleasant for spectators but not necessarily ideal for the competitors in the School’s fourth Sports Day since it was resurrected in 2012. Nevertheless, the performances on the day were very impressive indeed, and a number of School records were broken. The atmosphere of cheerful enthusiasm and a general ethos of ‘pitching in’ for the team made for an extremely enjoyable event. The main trophy winners are listed below. and her part in The Grove’s winning 4 x 100m team. In the Junior Boys’ event, School House took the Junior House Trophy just one point ahead of Rigg’s Hall. The Inters Victor Ludorum went to Angus Drummond for his Long Jump gold, his High Jump silver and his part in the Oldham’s 4 x 100m bronzemedal-winning team. The Junior Victor Ludorum – calculated according to the individual who managed to score the most points for his house – was deservedly won by Matthew Brinkley (SH) for gold medals in the 100m, 200m and Javelin (with a record-breaking distance of 33.25m) and a silver in the 4 x 100m. The Junior Victrix Ludorum went to Claire Richards (G) for her three gold medals in the 100m (joint with Daisy McMullen), 200m and the Long Jump The Inters House Trophy was claimed by Severn Hill, just one point ahead of Oldham’s. Pascale Goddard’s three gold medals on the track (200m, 800m – setting a new Senior Girls’ record – and 1500m) earned her the Senior Girls’ Victrix Ludorum, which made a huge contribution to The Grove’s overall House win. The Senior Boys’ Victor Ludorum went to Gene Ratanadaros for his two golds in the Long and Triple Jumps, his 4th place in the High Jump, and his part in achieving a 4th place for Oldham’s in the 4 x 100m relay. The Senior Boys’ House Trophy went to Radbrook, winning by 15 points ahead of Severn Hill. Severn Hill had the last laugh, however, as they claimed the Tisdall Trophy – signalling their victory across all age groups with the highest combined points total of 329, 16 points ahead of School House in second. Ian Haworth SCHOOL NEWS Equestrian success Shrewsbury School’s horse riders have been achieving success on a national platform in recent months, both as a school team and as individuals. Championship on a collective score of 138.7, 16 penalty points ahead of silver medallists France. In the individual competition, Thomas finished in 4th place, less than one penalty point behind the bronze medal winner. Scott Walker, Jack Ashworth, Lily Freeman-Attwood and Thomas Tulloch A t the National Schools’ Equestrian Championships in October, Jack Ashworth (S LVI), Lily FreemanAttwood (EDH III), Scott Walker (M V) and Thomas Tulloch (Rt LVI) beat 17 other school teams in the 1m 10 Team Showjumping Championship – the biggest class of the first day of the competition – to claim the national title. Scott Walker also jumped in the Individual 1m 10 Championship and only narrowly failed to make it into the Final. In the 1m Jumping with Style Championship class the next day, Thomas Tulloch finished 2nd on Kildun Marathon from 32 individual competitors. He then went on to claim the national title in the 1m 10 Jumping with Style ‘Special’ class on Spirit VI, which showcased the top 20 who had qualified in the previous classes. Two weeks earlier, Lily FreemanAttwood came fourth in the 138cm event at the Horse of the Year Show. During the summer, Thomas Tulloch led the British eventing team to gold at the European Pony Championships in Sweden. The GB team finished the Thomas was kept very busy competing throughout the 2015 season, successfully juggling his training and competitions alongside his GCSE exams and his other sporting commitments as a member of the School’s Football and Rugby U16A teams. In June, he won the Charles Owen National Pony Championships for the second year running. He is currently at the very top of his sport and has been selected as one of 50 ‘Rising Stars’ for the prestigious Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport 2015. This is a special mentoring and education programme for young athletes aged between 12 and 25 who have reached an elite level in their sport. The Academy’s aim is “to recognise, celebrate and inspire the next generation of British sporting heroes by giving them the opportunity to work with and learn from the best British sportsmen and women”. It also brings with it a SportsAid Bursary to help with equipment, competition and training expenses. Former SportsAid recipients include Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis Hill, Tom Daley and Ellie Simmonds. Thomas also achieved the notable distinction of gaining ten straight A* grades in his GCSE exams. Thomas Tulloch Thomas Tulloch (on right) proudly displaying his European Pony Championships gold medal. 45 46 SCHOOL NEWS Hockey Sixth will have the opportunity to train and compete in Valkenburg, Holland in the week. 1st XI Hockey Squad 2015: Amy Mobley, Jess Moeran, Imogen Evans, Sophie Cormack, Emily Skelton, Sarah Jackman, Jemima Price, Nell Kirkby, Poppy Holbrook, Katie Edwards, Morgan Butler, Amelia Binns, Molly Beharrell, Sasha Lo, Caroline Reid, Maddie Phillips, Ruchi Scott. 1st XI The 1st XI squad have made steady progress all season with their new coach, Emma Davis. At the beginning of term, she introduced a new playing formation and set of tactics which the girls took some time to adjust to. However, things have really started to click with the 1st XI and they have certainly started to work well together as a unit and produce some great performances. There are a number of new faces in this year 1st XI and a few of them are new to hockey. Yet they have worked hard all season to refine their skills and earn their place in the team. This season the squad has been captained by Amy Mobley (EDH) and Jess Moeran (G). The girls have worked closely with Miss Davis to push the squad. On 9th November the girls travelled to King’s High School for Girls in Nottingham for the Midlands Regionals. In their first match against Oakham, they started slowly and although they picked up the pace, at half time they were down 2-1. This was a frustrating game as the girls managed to get within their attacking D but struggled to convert goals. The final score was 1-3 to Oakham. A slow start but the girls were determined and playing well. Their second match versus King’s High was a dip in the day, with the final score 5-0 to King’s. But their third game versus Solihull was much better – the final score being 2-0 to Solihull. There were a strong side but the girls raised their game and played their hockey. The Shrewsbury defence put in a strong performance to survive a number of short corners. Even though the girls lost this game they were in high spirits. They played well as a squad and supported play when required. Their final game versus Nottingham High School resulted in a win for Shrewsbury (2-0). They found their rhythm and the hockey on display was great to watch. The girls have gone from strength to strength this season and with wins over Oswestry School (5-0) and Bedstone College (3-0), the girls are in high spirits. There are some very strong and talented U15s and U14s developing through the School – it is an exciting time for hockey at Shrewsbury. With the new hockey astro due to be complete and in use by September 2016, this will mean that we will be able to provide more specialised training and matches. In August 2016 the School’s first full Hockey Tour will take place. Girls between Third Form and the Lower Junior Hockey During the October half term exeat, Lilleshall National Sports Centre hosted the Shropshire County Hockey Tournaments for U14 and U16 teams. A number of our regular players were unavailable to play, so we fielded just one mixed Third and Fourth Form in the U16 tournament. Despite only having 11 players and all the girls playing at a higher age group, the team performed exceptionally well, winning through to the final, where they just lost out 0-1 to a strong Moreton Hall side. This meant that Shrewsbury qualified for the Regional Midlands round at this age group for the first time. The U16 Midlands tournament took place at Repton School on 5th November. We drew our first game against Leek High School, won the second game against Nottingham High School 1-0 and lost the final one against Repton 0-2. Although we just missed out on qualifying for the next round on goal difference, this was a solid performance from our young team. All the girls involved are still eligible for this tournament next year, when we hope to go one step further. SCHOOL NEWS Shrewsbury School Foundation Shrewsbury School Foundation is grateful for your tremendous support. Hodgson Hall Hodgson Hall was officially opened by the Hodgson Family on 3rd October 2015, Old Salopian Day, following over two years of fundraising by the Foundation in support of the Headmaster’s ‘2020 Vision’ School Development Plan. Joining the Foundation were donors from far and wide who supported the building of Hodgson Hall. On behalf of the School, the Headmaster formally thanked the Hodgson family for the generous donation that had made the building possible. Howard Hodgson’s warm and amusing speech centred on the wonderful time his daughter Eliza (EDH 2011-13) had while she was at Shrewsbury. He also expressed his delight at having discovered that he is a descendant of the first Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery (d. 1094). The Hodgson Family This was followed by the unveiling of an impressive board where the names of donors to Hodgson Hall are recorded (pictured below left) and a cornerstone (below right) dedicating the building “to all the teachers who have inspired and all the pupils who have been inspired at Shrewsbury School”. Grateful thanks were given to all the donors to Hodgson Hall, and in particular those who had sponsored the classrooms that have been named in honour of former masters of the School: Richard Raven, Reverend Hugh Brooke, Laurence Le Quesne, Dr David Gee, Lyndon Duffield, Mark Mortimer, Robin Moulsdale and Gordon Woods. . “This building is dedicated to all the teachers who have inspired and all the pupils who have been inspired at Shrewsbury School.” Telephone Campaign Chatri Design Centre The Foundation is pleased to report that the second phase of the 2020 Vision plan (which includes five phases) is currently being built on the site of the former Lyle Building to house the faculty of Computer Design and Technology. The Foundation would like to thank all parents and Salopians who have already contributed to the essential works being carried out which will undoubtedly have a great impact on teaching and learning at Shrewsbury School. We are delighted to report that this summer’s Telephone Campaign raised £120,000. During the course of three weeks in July, a team of eleven Sixth Formers and recent leavers spoke to almost 550 Old Salopians and parents. The telephone campaign is a great way for us to stay in touch with the Salopian Community and makes a significant contribution to Shrewsbury’s Annual Fund, helping to support bursaries for boys and girls who could not otherwise afford to attend Shrewsbury School, and projects that will benefit all pupils at the School. The Foundation would like to thank all of those who spoke to our callers, and in particular those who chose to make a gift to the Annual Fund. 47 48 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS From the Director of the Salopian Club Salopian outreach continues apace and across the globe Salopians have been gathering, or planning to gather, in places as far afield as Bangkok and Hong Kong in the East and New York in the West. Closer to home, Britain has been well covered this year, with dinners in Chester, Birmingham, Cambridge and Cardiff, and there have been record attendances at Henley and London events. Meanwhile, as our Sports Clubs continue to play an encouragingly active role, the Salopian Arts and Activities Committee is embarking on an ambitious winter programme of events involving Salopians in the arts – theatre, opera, choral singing, an orchestral concert with the School, and a repeat of the Young OS Open Mic Night. Another activity planned is a World War Two Battlefield Tour to Normandy from 15th to 19th September 2016. All these events will be publicised on our website. Our careers programme will be invigorated with the arrival at the School of the new Careers Fellow, Catriona Dry, to carry on the good work of her predecessor, Kate Daubney, in helping young OS with careers advice and assistance through the Salopian professional networks. Finally, we welcome Sir Peter Davis as President of the Salopian Club in 2016; he takes over from Sir Eldryd Parry. Sir Eldryd has been indefatigable this year in his support and representation of the Club at both the School and OS occasions, culminating fittingly with an OS dinner in the place of his birth, Cardiff. He departs with our admiration and enormous gratitude. Eldryd, diolch yn fawr. Floreat Salopia Nick Jenkins Tom Lloyd (Rt 2009-14) has been awarded the Sidney Gold Medal, the School’s highest academic prize. The presentation ceremony took place at City Drinks in London on 19th November. SIR PETER DAVIS Peter Davis was born in the Wirral and brought up there and in Denbighshire. He was educated at Shrewsbury School (O 55-59), and for many years he was a Trustee of the Shrewsbury School Foundation. He is to be President of the Salopian Club in 2016. After starting work at 17 in Lancashire, in sales and marketing, he ultimately became Chief Executive of three major FTSE companies – Reed International/ Reed Elsevier (1986-1994), Prudential (1995-2000), and J Sainsbury plc (2000-2004). He has also been a nonexecutive director of a large number of major companies and an investor in a wide range of young businesses. He has been Chairman of Business in the Community (1996-2001), the CBI Finance and General Purposes Committee, the Welfare to Work New Deal Task Force (1997-2000), and the Government’s Employer Task Force on Pensions. Outside the world of business, Sir Peter has been Chairman of Marie Curie Cancer Care (2006-2011), (where he is now Life Vice President), Pro Chancellor of Bangor University (where he is now Deputy Chair of Bangor University Council), a Trustee of the Royal Opera House and Chairman of the Royal Opera House Foundation, a Trustee of the V and A, and on the board of Welsh National Opera (until recently chairing their Advisory Board). In 2000 he was awarded an honorary LLD (Doctor of Laws) degree by the University of Exeter, and in 2003 the annual Gold Medal by the Chartered Management Institute. He was made a Fellow of City & Guilds in 2004 and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Sir Peter is married to Sue and has two sons and a daughter. OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Salopian Club Events Old Salopian Day 2015 Old Salopian Day on 3rd October was another great success, with around 150 Salopian Club members and guests coming along to enjoy the programme of events and take a stroll around the site on what turned into a beautiful autumn day. The main focus of this year’s event was the opening of Hodgson Hall, the new academic block, designed by Adrian James (S 1976-80). Champagne and canapés were served and speeches were made by the Headmaster, Mark Turner, and by Howie Hodgson, whose generous donation made the building possible. A number of the classrooms are sponsored by Old Salopians in honour of some of the most inspiring teachers in the School’s recent history, some of whom were present. The guests all welcomed the opportunity to explore the building, which is bright, airy and spacious. Later on in the afternoon, the lecture theatre at Hodgson Hall was put to excellent use for a talk on ‘Rowing the Atlantic’ by Alex Bland (Rt 2000-05). Alex was half of a duo (the other half being Harry Martin-Dreyer (also Rt 2000-05), who spent 50 days rowing across the Atlantic from Gran Canaria to Barbados, completing the challenge on 1st February 2014. They raised over £200,000 split between the charities JDRF, which supports research into curing type 1 diabetes, and Cure Leukaemia. A number of OS described his illustrated talk as the highlight of the day. There was a wonderful atmosphere over lunch in KH, where everyone enjoyed a carvery buffet. The Chairman of the Salopian Club, Peter Stewart, gave the welcome speech and introduced The President of the Salopian Club, Sir Eldryd Parry. Sir Eldryd treated the gathered guests to one of his inspiring and heartfelt speeches, thanking the Club staff for their work over the year and also taking an amusing look at an old rule book and some of the punishments given out in the past. How things have changed! The buzz of chatter dispersed slowly as people walked out into what had turned into a glorious afternoon. The houses were open for visits, as was the Ancient Library and the Art Department, and there was also a great turnout for the OS football matches. Dr Gee was signing copies of his book ‘City on a Hill’ in the Moser Library. All the football matches were tightly contested encounters and it was heartening to see so many OS footballers returning. Meanwhile the OS girls played a 9-a-side hockey match, followed by a netball match. It was nice to see more girls back as they are starting to finish university so are more able to attend. The hockey was a close game, with some flowing hockey. The OS team just came out on top, but there were a few controversial umpiring decisions! The netball was won by the OS team who were solid from defence through to attack. We were fortunate that the world renowned choir Tenebrae were performing that same evening in the Chapel. Tenebrae are managed by Henry Southern (G 2003-08) and the event was sponsored by Richard Baker (DB 1953-58). A number of OS stayed on to watch the performance, which was truly sublime and was set off perfectly by the Chapel’s candelit and atmospheric backdrop. For some Old Salopians this had been their first visit to the School since leaving and for others this is an event they look forward to year on year. We love having the opportunity to entertain so many of the School’s alumni at one time, and the smiling faces, the obvious affection between friends and the glimpses into new associations and connections being made make the event so very worthwhile. We also welcome ideas and constructive feedback, if anyone would like to offer any for next year’s planning. 49 50 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Henley The Henley Royal Regatta, one of the highlights of the sporting summer, was blessed with beautiful sunshine this year and the Sabrina gathering on Saturday 4th July saw record numbers of Old Salopians turn out to soak up the atmosphere. The venison burgers went down a treat and the fizz was flowing, enabling some 240 guests to relax and enjoy the occasion. Unfortunately the Sabrina boat, rowing for the first time ever as an VIII in the Henley Royal Regatta, had been narrowly edged out in qualifying (by less than a second). However the spectators were treated to a demonstration of rowing at its finest, with a ‘row past’ by the 1st VIII of 1960 - the self styled ‘Old Men’s Boat’. The 1960 1st VIII (pictured right) have had a commemorative medal struck, which will be displayed in the Sabrina cabinet in the Pentagon at the Schools. The 1955 1st VIII also attended the lunch gathering. OS Summer Party On Saturday 5th September the young OS gathered for a summer party at the Grand Union Pleasure Garden in Brixton. There was a good turnout of around 80 young OS (plus the odd young at heart guest) and by all accounts a great evening was enjoyed by all. Many thanks to Hugh Faith (O 1997-2002), Felicity Davies (MSH 2008-10) and Henry Unwin (Rt 2001-06) for organising the event, and to Kit Oates (PH 2000-05) for the great photograph. OLD SALOPIAN NEWS News of Old Salopians 1930 - 1949 Raymond Worrall (SH 1938-42) was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur at a ceremony held in York on 8th November 2015. Brian Fawcett (DB 1943-47) wrote to tell us his family news. His three children all graduated with first class honours in Physics from UCL or Imperial College. Of his nine grandchildren, one is at Oxford reading Chemistry and one has just been accepted for Oxford Medical School. One more is studying medicine at Sheffield and another is already qualified and working as an A & E Registrar in Bristol. So one-third of his grandchildren will be medics. His youngest granddaughter is a talented musician and dancer and his other grandchildren are either at university or have already graduated. He has four great-grandsons. 1950 - 1969 Tony Duerr OBE (Rt 1951-56) writes: “Apart from a short spell at Cambridge and an even shorter time in National Service, I have spent my entire working life in our family food manufacturing business, of which I am still Chairman (duerrs.co.uk). The business is now unbelievably 135 years old, thanks to 80 years with an Old Salopian managing director! I retired at 60, leaving my two sons to deal with the demands of the supermarkets. We now produce around 400,000 units per day of jam, peanut butter and cranberry sauce. Happily Mark (Rt 1977-82) and brother Richard (Malvern) have done really well and I am so proud of them. Sadly there is not enough money in the food industry for the fourth generation of Duerrs to attend Ridgemount! I have sadly had to give up golf due to a back problem and have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but life goes on. Richard Hayes (M 1952-57) is now living in Shrewsbury having ‘retired’ in 1999 from parochial ministry in London, ending with two churches in Lombard Street in the City. He is now enjoying assisting in three villages in deepest rural north Shropshire. Richard is Chairman of the Friends of Lord Hill’s Column – a superb Doric monument (43m) surmounted by a statue of Wellington’s friend and most trusted general, Rowland Hill of Hawkstone (5m), which is now needing to be replaced. Richard proposes to walk in April 2016 with one or two others from Lord Anglesey’s Column in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll in Anglesey along Telford’s A5 Holyhead to Shrewsbury road (it has a pavement) ending at Lord Hill’s Column, which was completed in June 1816. They will wear the uniforms of the period of regiments commanded by Hill, and the intention is to raise public awareness and cash to assist Shropshire Council in the work of replicating the statue in Coade artificial stone. ‘Retirement’ is proving to be most fulfilling. some 300 schools nationwide and with its growth accelerating, it aims to double this over the next two years and then reach 1000 schools by 2020. Its start-up grants go to schools which undertake to make Classics permanent after the twoyear grant period and they are spent on retraining non-Classicist teachers to enable them to teach Classics as well as their regular subject. Modern textbooks and teaching styles are a far cry from the grammar-intensive days of yore, and pupils have been taking to it with impressive enthusiasm; second year cohorts are frequently much larger than the first. CFA is a ‘Robin Hood organisation’, raising funds from the better off and awarding them to those in need. Its supporters enjoy themselves; recent fundraising events have included a gala dinner addressed by Boris Johnson and a retrial of Socrates in the Supreme Court with one of the Law Lords presiding. The charity may be of interest to OS whether as potential donors or, for erstwhile Classicists, as mentors to CFA’s teachers. To learn more please write to nicholas.barber@bolero.net.” Peter John Robertson (Ch 1953-58) and his wife, Rosalind, are living an hour and a half south of Ottawa, in the village of Morrisburg, where they look across the St Lawrence River towards upstate New York. He retired from university teaching (English Literature) and is now in semi-retirement estate planning as a Chartered Life Underwriter. Nicholas Barber (SH 1954-58) wrote to tell us about a national charity he chairs. “For anyone interested in raising educational standards in Britain’s schools, you may like to know about Classics for All. Founded by Dr Peter Jones, familiar to some as author of the Spectator’s Ancient & Modern column, CFA provides grants to state schools to introduce Classics, typically Latin, and so address the fact that only 20% of state schools offer Classics compared with 80% of independents. Although only five years old, CFA has already grant-aided Charles I G S Edwards (R 1955-60) married Miss J J Boston on 9th September 2015 at Chelsea Registry Office. Michael Clower (Rt 1957-61) was named South Africa’s Racing Journalist of the Year at the Equus Awards Ceremony in Johannesburg in August 2015. 51 52 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS David Wynn Millward (Rt 1957-62) lives in Llangynyw, mid-Wales and has been included in a new Welsh Arts Council publication, ‘Post-War to PostModern: A Dictionary of Artists in Wales’. He studied Law at Queen’s College, Dundee, University of St Andrews 1963-66 and went on the Royal Academy Schools, London 1971-74, where he won the Griffin Prize 1972, Print Prize 1972, 1973, Connoisseur Prize (Oil Painting) and the Landseer Scholarship 1973. After some years spent working as a copywriter/ visualiser for an advertising agency in London and then as a freelance artist and cartoonist, he arrived in Wales in 1980. In 1982 he set up summer schools in painting, with permission of the Secretary of State for Wales and Peter Greenham, then Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools. Commissions include Deri Woods Park, Llanfair Caereinion 2000; Welshpool High School 2003-04. Group exhibitions include Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London 1985; Royal West of England Academy, Bristol 1985, 1986. One-person exhibitions: Oriel Davies, Newtown 1976; Oriel Ty Cornel, Meifod 2000, 2001; Screenprints: Caereinion Leisure Centre 200306; Montgomery Landscapes and Faces 1969-2006. The first book he wrote and illustrated was The Feast of the Balloon Fish King (1971). He has subsequently illustrated a great many children’s books. Collections include Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery, Brecon; Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport. His work has been purchased by the Welsh Arts Council. Robert Crabtree (I 1957-61) writes: “After thirty-something years, I retired in 2007 from being a full-time vigneron and winemaker here in South Australia. I then moved to the city and went back to university. Working in the Department of International Politics, I was awarded my MA at the University of Adelaide for a thesis on self-determination in Abkhazia. I then went on to work for a PhD on the selfdetermination of the island of Mayotte and its becoming a département of France. This was awarded to me last month, so I have joined at 71 the ranks of older Old Salopian Doctors. I was in Ingram’s from 1957 to 1961 (with little distinction or enjoyment, I have to say). I owe a huge and continuing debt, however, to two great teachers who awakened intellectual curiosity and academic interest: Michael Hart and Arnold Ellis.” Timothy Bigland (Rt 1960-64) emailed to tell us that since he retired in 2005 he has developed an interest in bird watching. “Earlier this year 99 Little Terns fledged in an enclosure on Gronant Dunes, which is adjacent to a LNRR on the Dee Estuary. 135 pairs of Little Terns scraped 135 nests in the sand, with 424 Little Terns there at a given time. It is believed that Sand Eels were plentiful this spring in the Dee because the colony thrived to become the biggest in the UK. At Point of Ayr there were two additional Little Tern Sternula Albifrons fledglings.” Dr Robin Brooke-Smith (S 1961-66) writes that the Kindle and Hardcover Editions of Storm Warning: Riding the Crosswinds in the Pakistan-Afghan Borderlands are available on Amazon and through the publisher I.B. Tauris. 1970 - 1979 Matthew Bowcock (Ch 1970-74) was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014 for Services to Community Philanthropy. He was also recently appointed as a member of the Governing Body of Arts Council England for a five-year term. His wife Helen was awarded the OBE. Nick Randall (O 1972-76) saw his daughter Victoria married on 16th May 2015. The couple’s “go away” vehicle was PER65 – Michael Hall’s old 1955 Land Rover. It was driven by Andrew Racz (G 1992-97) and Victoria was accompanied by her OS brothers, Philip (O 1999-2002) and Christian (O 200712), so it was a truly Salopian event. Paul Vlissidis (Rt 1974-79) writes that “it may interest my fellow OSs to know that I am currently appearing in the Channel 4 show Hunted. I lead the cyber team (I have been doing cyber security for 20 years) tracking the ‘fugitives’.” Richard Stone (O 1977-82) had the very good fortune to be married to Yuliya Teplyuk on 16th April in the Seychelles. Mark Williams (Staff 1977-86) Former Mathematics Master & Masterin-Charge of Cricket and Fives at Shrewsbury, Mark has recently retired from Eton College and has taken up the position of Laws of Cricket Advisor with the MCC at Lord’s. 1980 - 1989 Revd Steve Davies (R 1979-83) followed up news of his engagement in the last edition of The Salopian: “Please find photographic proof of two astonishing events in July, the wonder that Miss Julia Briggs was willing to marry me and the fact that there was a day last summer when the sun shone gloriously throughout.” Now living in Royal Leamington Spa, Steve continues to combine working as a teacher with being Academy Chaplain at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Charles Hill (SH 1980-84) writes: “On 1st September I was given a new posting as Chief Superintendent for Local Policing West - giving me responsibility for policing in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. On almost the same date my eldest daughter, Jenny, joined the Sixth Form at Shrewsbury, in Mary Sidney Hall. So once again I will be paying regular visits to Shrewsbury - both to see Jenny and to ensure that West Mercia Police continues to look after everyone in Shropshire.” OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Simon Frew (PH 1982-87) continues his travels. He is now in Thailand and visited Shrewsbury International School in Bangkok while there. His role as an Ambassador for Four Seasons Hotels continued, with him helping to open their employees’ Sports Day in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He plans to visit Hong Kong, Perth and Bali next and to be back in Shrewsbury at Christmas. You can follows his travels on his blog: http://www.sifrew.com/ Justin Bayliss (O 1985-90) reports that he completed a bicycle ride from Paris to Nice in order to raise funds for a breast cancer charity. 1990 - 1999 Rob Barber (SH 1995-97) announces his engagement to Charlotte BennettDiver on 16th December 2014 in Kalk Bay, Cape Town. He and Charlotte have run Golden Africa in Botswana for the last 12 years, a company running bespoke safaris throughout Botswana. The website is www. golden-africa.com and they would be happy to extend discounts to Old Salopians and their families wishing to come on safari with them. Freddie Mason (O 1997-2002) proposed to Sophia Hargreaves in October and is delighted to be able to announce their engagement. Siôn Charlesworth-Jones (SH 19982003) and his wife Kathryn welcomed their first child, Olivia Rose, on 18th July 2015, weighing 8lbs 6oz. Jonathan Beeston (Rb 1995-00) was married on 13th June 2015 in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster. He and his new wife Fiona held their reception in the House of Lords. They are now living in Corfu. Dr James William Brooke-Smith (Rb 1992-95) is now Assistant Professor of English Literature at the University of Ottawa. Richard Nichols (S 1998-2003) was married to Sarah Lagar on 20th June 2015. He is now working as a lawyer for Clyde and Co. in Manchester. James ‘Bomber’ Ashcroft (SH 199297) and his wife Anna celebrated the birth of their second son Guy Mallory Ralfe Ashcroft on 23rd March 2015. After a number of years working as the News Editor on Shooting Times magazine, James went into the art world and worked on Bond Street in London for a leading contemporary gallery. He now runs his own art consultancy business in London, Ashcroft Art. Jack Fanning (O 1997-2002) is assistant professor in Micro-Economics at Brown University, Providence, USA. He was married to Courtney Sanks on 4th July 2015. Jon Pendergast (PH 1993-98) and his wife Jen welcomed their second child into the world over the summer. Dominic Rilian Pendergast was born on 31st May 2015, a little brother for Sebastian. Jon and Jen are still living in Toronto Canada, where they moved five years ago as part of Jon’s work assignment for SunGard Data Systems. Jon has recently been promoted to head up SunGard’s global professional services business for trading book risk management. 2000 Will Bannister (Rt 2000-05) is delighted to announce that he is due to marry Jennifer Lawrence early in 2016 and that they are expecting a baby boy at a similar time. He is working in the wine trade and is always happy to help any Salopians with any requirements that they might have. 53 54 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Remembering the Queen’s visit to Shrewsbury, October 1952 Kit Oates (PH 2000-05) has a new exhibition running from 18th November until 6th January at Gallery 101, Salvation Army International Headquarters, 101 Queen Victoria St, London, EC4V 4EH. Re:Generation is an exhibition of portraits of tenants from the South Kilburn housing estate, North West London. The estate is undergoing regeneration, placing its residents and the area in a transitional period. The images were originally installed on tower blocks in the area, which are due for demolition. This striking series of portraits captures the different generations living on the estate. J Max Emmerich (Rt 2008-10) is in his third and final year of clinical medicine at Oxford University, having spent his three pre-clinical years at Trinity College, Cambridge. He has just been awarded the Peter Fan Senior Scholarship by St John’s College for academic excellence throughout his time at medical school. He has also just won a £2,000 grant from the Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School to fund a ten-week stint as a visiting researcher at Harvard Medical School, where he will be working on melanoma cancer stem cells (and see p55). Ali Webb (S Hill 2008-13) writes: “I’m currently working as a freelance filmmaker with Fulwell 73, a production company in Camden. I recently filmed a cycling documentary in the Canadian Rockies with some friends, raising money for two hospices. Three guys cycled 2000km from Calgary to Tofino and I’m currently editing the film which we hope will inspire others to live a life of adventure. Our website is www.tofino2015.com.” ust before the beginning of the Michaelmas term, the Marketing office at Shrewsbury was contacted by Gareth Owen, a journalist working for ITV Central News, asking for help with a feature he was putting together to mark the day on which the Queen became the longest reigning monarch in British history. Searching for a Midlands focus, he had come across some evocative Pathé news footage of the Queen’s visit to Shrewsbury School in October 1952 – her first visit to the region as Queen. Might the School be able to find someone who was there that day, and could he come and film an interview with them on the Queen’s Terrace? We were hugely grateful to David Longrigg (Ch 1949-54), Adrian Struvé and Jane Tupper, all of whom agreed at very short notice to come and be interviewed – David Longrigg even travelling all the way from Oxford. He was 16 years old at the time of the Queen’s visit and recalled taking part in the whole school PE display on Central and playing football with the 1st XI on Top Common. Adrian Struvé had just begun his third year as a master at the School (he would remain here until his retirement in 1986) and recalled the excitement and sense of honour felt by the entire school community. Jane Tupper is the daughter of A.E. Taylor, who was Housemaster of School House until his sudden death in March 1952, one month after the death of the Queen’s own father. Jane had returned from university to help her mother organise the lunch for the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, which was served in School House. She has particularly strong memories of the occasion and was deeply impressed by the Queen’s bearing during the occasion – her sense of humour, her evident enjoyment of the day and the interest she took in the people she met. She was touched that, on being introduced to her, the Queen immediately realised the connection with another young member of staff she had met earlier in the morning – Jane’s fiancé, the Revd Michael Tupper (whose obituary is published on page 82). The recording of the ITV Central interview may be viewed on the School website: http://www.shrewsbury. org.uk/news/remembering-queensvisit-shrewsbury-school-october-1952. It includes extracts from the Pathé newsreel that captures some of the excitement of the Queen’s visit: http:// www.britishpathe.com/video/queen-atshrewsbury Also on the School website is a gallery of photos of the Queen’s visit and a series of accounts of the day, including one written by David Longrigg: http:// www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/queensvisit-shrewsbury-1952 L-R: Jane Tupper, David Longrigg, Adrian Struvé OLD SALOPIAN NEWS OS Arts and Activities Committee The first full meeting of the recently formed Arts and Activities Committee took place on Saturday 3rd September, at The Curtains Up in London. The meeting was well attended by some of our most artistically gifted and knowledgeable OS and was organised and chaired by Peter Fanning. A number of interesting and exciting ideas were discussed, from a joint School/OS ‘scratch’ orchestral concert to a possible arts bursary fund for OS. Details of some of the planned events are listed below. Further details of many of these projects will be available shortly. Friday 15th January 2016 7.30pm for 8.00pm: An open mic evening at The Horse & Stables, 124 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7RW Following this year’s very successful gathering, Old Salopians young and T old are encouraged to return to this friendly venue, either to participate musically or simply to enjoy the music provided by others. Anyone who is interested and willing to participate should contact Ali Webb (aliwebb75@gmail.com). Wednesday 3rd February 2016 5pm: Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral Two Old Salopians are currently members of the Choir of St Paul’s (Patrick Craig and Martin Oxenham), whilst Mark Oakley is a Canon at the Cathedral. The service will be followed by a tour of the Cathedral and a gathering at a nearby hostelry. Saturday 6th February 2.30pm: ‘The Mikado’ – English National Opera Fergus Macleod will conduct a revival of this much loved Gilbert & Sullivan production by Jonathan Miller. Old Salopians attending this performance will be invited to an after-show gathering (location tbc) to meet Fergus and to discuss the production. Wives, partners and children are all welcome. Saturday 12th March: Concert performed by a joint orchestra and choir of Old Salopians and pupils from Shrewsbury School, in the Alington Hall, Shrewsbury Old Salopians will be warmly welcomed to come and play with pupils from the School in a concert for choir and orchestra. A rehearsal will take place in the afternoon, followed by a concert in the evening. Accommodation may be available for participants. Further details to follow. Darwin Society Biology Research Evening hree Old Salopians returned on 18th September to Shrewsbury to give talks to the Darwin Society on the theme of research in biology. Max Emmerich (Rt 2008-10) is close to completing his clinical training after studying Medicine at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities. He spoke about his experiences of research projects and internships at every stage in his education, from school holidays and Sixth Form options through to vacations during university and the intercalated courses that are on offer to those enterprising enough to search them out. Max stressed the role of luck in hitting on areas of biology that turn out to be significant - in his case this was a type of membrane-bound pigment that has become an important research tool. He also stressed that to a large extent one makes one’s own luck by being persistent and resilient. William Jones (Rt 2003-08) is currently working towards his PhD in the Department of Ecology and Genetics at Uppsala University, Sweden. He spoke about the classic route into a career in scientific research and teaching through a Masters degree followed by a doctorate. Not surprisingly given WIlliam’s lifetime interest in ornithology, his research field is the evolution of flycatchers, with summers spent collecting data on an island in the Baltic. He conveyed very convincingly the excitement of research into ecological and evolutionary processes where there are many unanswered questions and where human influences on climate are having marked effects. Nick Zoulias (PH 2000-05) completed his first degree and PhD at the University of Manchester and is now doing post-doctoral research at the University of Sheffield. He explained the bifurcation in careers after a doctorate, with some moving away from university and into commercial or other applications of science and others wanting to stay at the cutting edge of pure research. He has chosen the latter path. His field is the control of plant development. Nick spoke eloquently about what he has discovered about gradients of signalling molecules and how they cause plants in the Asteraceae (daisy family) to produce three types of structure in their inflorescences. His research now concerns how genes are switched on and off as a result of these gradients to cause observed patterns of development. A capacity audience of Sixth Form pupils and teachers listened with rapt interest to all three of talks, so we hope to hold another Biology Research evening in the future. Any Old Salopians who would be willing to contribute are encouraged to get in touch with the Head of Biology tsm@shrewsbury.org.uk. Andrew Allott L-R: William Jones, Nicholas Zoulias, Max Emmerich and their Biology teacher Andrew Allott 55 56 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS James Humpish - the making of a runner W hen joining Shrewsbury School in 2008, I was far from the fittest Third Former. Coming 103rd in the New Boys’ Race and 500th in my first Tucks run, the original plan was not to involve myself with the Hunt. I think at the time the feeling was mutual; the Hunt probably didn’t want too much to do with me either. The Benjy course is about 2.25km and at the age of 13 I could take that on in just about 16 minutes – the length of time it would take most to do the course in a brisk walk. By the time I had left Shrewsbury in 2013, I had brought my Benjy time down to 8 minutes and 12 seconds (I can remember every one of those seconds vividly) and I had participated in Shrewsbury’s first ever half marathon, finishing in the top 100 out of approximately 3,000 (a position better than my New Boys’ Race!) in 94 minutes. What had happened? The answer to that question is incredibly hard to pinpoint. I can remember towards the end of my first term signing up to do regular sessions with the RSSH, who were just about to begin their reformation under the newly-arrived Mr Middleton. But I’m not exactly sure why I did. I can just remember the first session having to run 4 kilometres continuously, with Mr Middleton there to make sure I didn’t lag, and finding it incredibly painful and rather embarrassing. But for some reason I didn’t give up. It was also before the time when sport was made compulsory in autumn 2009. If I had wanted to, I could have dodged sport for just a little longer. The inspirational tutelage from Mr Middleton must have had a lot to do with it. The feeling of going just a little bit faster than last week must have had something to do with it as well. Having the support of my friend and the 2013-14 Huntsman, Ed Mallett, must also have helped a great deal too. Some improvement came quickly, which in retrospect isn’t too surprising as it couldn’t have got a lot worse! By Fourth Form I could run for a nice little while, having learned some routes that would later become symbolic of my time at Shrewsbury – the Berwick, the route to Haughmond Hill and Lyth Hill all became routes I could do in my own spare time by the end and served to relieve the tension I was building in tackling A-levels. As I developed and grew older, I tried to deal with running and how to get to grips with it. I think the trick to it was that it wasn’t really a physical challenge. It was obviously physically demanding, and my current physique is incredibly grateful for that. But it was a challenge of character. It required as much emotional and intellectual strength as it did physical. The final time I ran a Benjy, it felt surreal because I didn’t have to think about my direction in the slightest, only my speed, because the reactions to the route were second nature. I’ve worked out I must have done the route near enough 500 times in my five years at Shrewsbury. I really loved the Hunt and the spirit of it and I’d really love to be able to give a full account of why I joined and why I grew to love it, but I don’t feel I can. It just happened. I felt better about myself after a run and more so when I had improved my time. I liked the effects of running much quicker than I liked running in itself. I think it might not have been until Lower Sixth that I enjoyed running for the sake of running. Then I don’t think it was until Upper Sixth that I actually realised I’d actually gained some competence in running. In January 2013, Mr Middleton took me aside and I thought he was going to give me a target for my final running season; something relatively straightforward like a sub-9 minute Benjy. In actuality, he had taken me aside to tell me that he was making me the captain of the 2nd VIII. I was no longer a distant follower in the Hunt, but I was actually taking a lead in it! As months became years in the Hunt, strangely I had learnt to love crosscountry running and it had learnt to love me. I was never going to be the greatest runner in the world, but to make it something I could do when I had once been its antithesis had been something that transformed my whole attitude to sport. I ran the half marathon in my last week at Shrewsbury – a fitting conclusion to my time at the School. I had thought then that that would probably be my final formal running event and from then on I could comfortably retire from competitive running and keep it casual. Since leaving Shrewsbury, I’ve been a student at the University of York, studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics. It’s a fantastic city for running – there are some great routes out into the countryside and following the Ouse has taken me on sights not unlike the ones the Severn took me once upon a time. But there was something missing in the way I was running; I wasn’t pushing myself the way I used to. Quite late into the game – about two months in advance – I decided to run the Yorkshire Marathon. The most I’d really ever run before registering was about 25 kilometres – and that was only because I had got lost once. Supporting the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, in October 2015 I ran the full 42.2 kilometres (or as I prefer to think of it – 19 Benjies!) in 4 hours and 12 minutes. The speed it took me to do the full marathon was in fact, I think, run consistently at a speed above my New Boys’ Race. Seven years since joining the RSSH, a few people have taken an interest in my journey as a runner. I think my determination to run stemmed from a hope to be a little healthier and a little fitter, but as I got into it, it became more of a race. Every week I wanted to race the person I was the previous week and not worry about what everyone else was up to. The Hunt has allowed me to go from the Third Former who barely finished the New Boys’ Race to a passable marathon runner who’s at a quandary as to where to take his running career next. The Hunt let me look at my past record on running and has prompted me to always run hard, and run well, and may the devil take the hindmost! OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Robin Hope’s Sponsored Charity Row In June this year, Robin Hope (Ch 1956-60), assisted by a hand-picked group of maturing oars-people, rowed the 1895 double skiff ‘Tara’ from Cookham to Oxford and back to Henley – a distance of 110 miles and 33 locks – to raise funds for the Felix Fund. T he Felix Fund exists to support any military personnel who have conducted or assisted with Explosive Ordnance Disposal duties. This includes ammunition technical officers, ammunition technicians, ECM operators, drivers, infantry escorts, weapons intelligence specialists, dog handlers, searchers or other military personnel involved in EOD duties. The charity also supports their families. “Cookham to Oxford includes many lovely parts of our river, with the Whitchurch to Goring Reach being particularly attractive in my view. Coming into Oxford by river is also quite special, with the gracious towers to the right as one approaches Folly Bridge. The weather was reasonably kind with some drizzle and short sharp showers, but no stair-rods in midstream. On three upstream days we experienced stiff headwinds and, such are the perversities of British weather, those same reaches downstream had an average headwind. All in all an enjoyable few days with good boating friends, and the chance to experience different parts of the river from our base in Cookham.” “So far we have raised some £8,500 – and with reservations about Scull, Pole and Paddle being used for personal charitable efforts - if anyone wishes to increase the total, this can be achieved through the JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/ CharityRow2015.” 57 58 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Cycling across Europe in a superhero costume Will Hodson (Rt 1990-95) Yes, I have just spent the last four and half months of my life cycling over 8,000km from London right the way across Europe to Istanbul…in a superhero costume. I’ve also been carrying a cuddly toy worm with me. He even has a name. His name is Dave the Worm and he is in fact the mascot of the charity Parkinson’s UK. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s shortly after I left school and part of my world cycle is about raising £100,000 to help them and a number of other charities continue their life-changing work. I stanbul is not the finishing line for me though. In fact, I’ve got around another 92,000km, six more continents and five more years of pedalling to go. So this really is just the beginning. This first leg of my #7ContinentsWorldCycle (everything has to have its own hashtag nowadays, doesn’t it?) has been a complete blast. From the moment I left Tower Bridge at the end of May to the day I touched the water of the Bosporus river in Istanbul in the middle of October, this has been a whole lot of fun. A dream trip in fact. And if this trip is about anything, it’s that with a bit of hard work, you can achieve incredible things. This is the main message I talk about when I visit different schools on my travels; the idea that #WeCanAllBeHeroes (there’s that hashtag again!) - whether it’s not giving up when things get tough, or a simple act of kindness. Heroes come in many shapes and forms. I used to be a primary school teacher in London and engaging children from all over the world with the journey is really important for me. At the very least, by the end of the five years of the adventure I hope children will have learned the names and locations of the seven continents. I also hope they’ll have picked up some confidence and see that if I can make my own personal dream come true, then they can in turn realise their own dreams if they put the effort in. I also hope people might see that the world is not primarily full of dangerous people who are ‘different’ and pose a threat to any visiting foreigners. Sure, there are some bad guys everywhere in the world, but the vast majority of people in every single country (that I have been to so far anyway) are kind, helpful and tolerant – hopefully like you and me. I regularly post stories and pictures online featuring the kind people (or everyday heroes as I call them) I have met in each country I have visited. Most recently in Turkey I have been given a house to stay in for a few days after just a 30-minute conversation with a guy on a ferry boat across the Bosporus. I was also given a Toblerone and a can of RedBull by another guy in a car through his car window later on that same day. This is the kind of stuff that happens pretty well every day in my strange world. The best way I can describe it is that it kind of feels like it’s my birthday every day. It really is amazing how kind people are… everywhere. This is what I experience anyway as I cycle from A to B each day. Maybe it’s the bike, as I think people appreciate the effort you are going to. Maybe it’s the superhero costume, which is undoubtedly a good ice-breaker, especially with any slightly moody border guards. But I like to think that anyone visiting these countries would get this kind of treatment. Just learning a few words (I try and learn at least ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ in each language) goes a long way, and a smile… everyone understands a smile! So, I’ve now got a couple of weeks off the bike in Istanbul. I am doing a few repairs and upgrades to my bike - appropriately called a KOGA World Traveller. I’ve also got to buy some warmer clothes for what I’m calling this ‘hilly and chilly’ next section across Asia from Turkey to Tokyo that will start towards the end of November. A pair of thermal superhero pants are top of the shopping list. Stay tuned via my SuperWebsite www.supercyclingman.com to see how the ride across Continent No.2 (Asia) goes. There is a live map on the website which shows exactly where I am in the world. You can also follow the round the world cycling adventure on Facebook and Twitter. And if you would like to donate to help me towards my fundraising goal of £100,000 for Parkinson’s UK and several other charities, my website includes a link to my Virgin Money Giving donations page. Stay super and remember… #WeCanAllBeHeroes! Will / SuperCyclingMan and Dave the Worm OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Old Salopian Football Club Pictured: OSFC 2nd XI - front row, left to right: Charlie Parry, Mark Tomley, Luke Gerrard, Guy Williams, Jack Brydon, Ben Cooke, Will Speer. Back row, left to right: William Alexander, Oliver Black, Ed Taylor, Nick Corlett (c), George Blakemore, Tom Cox, Freddie Young. I n what is the 1st XI’s third consecutive season in the top flight of the Arthurian League, the team has made a robust start to the season, at the time of writing sitting in the comfort of mid-table and with it all to play for heading into the winter months of November and December. The team has registered wins against King’s College Wimbledon (x2) and Chigwell, whilst also registering a surprising win in the AFA Cup with only ten men on the day (and with the fixture, rather exhaustingly, going all the way to penalties). Turning up with ten men doesn’t happen all that often, but it is no coincidence that the steely Salopian determination never fails to manifest itself in these fixtures. The squad is arguably more settled than in previous years as younger members of the squad - Messrs Blofield, White, Bradshaw and Pilkington spring to mind - are able to turn out more consistently and undoubtedly add a great deal to the squad’s overall performance. It has been a solid but not spectacular start to the season for the 2nd XI. Having amassed six points in their opening five matches, the side is looking up not down and will look to turn draws into wins in their upcoming matches against Old Harrovians and Old Haberdashers. Inspired by precocious new signing Oliver Black, and having secured a lucrative sponsorship with Vimto (see photo for the squad’s new kit), the squad are still aiming to finish in the top two positions that would see them promoted to 2nd Division of the Arthurian League. Unfortunately the Cup run was all too brief; the side fought well but were ultimately undone by a moment of individual brilliance from the opposition in the dying minutes of the game to snatch a 3-2 victory in what was an excellent game of football. The Vets continue to put in impressive displays and will look to go deep into the later stages of the Derrick Moore Veterans Cup. Hot off the press for this report is the news that the 1st XI are through to the second round of the prestigious Arthur Dunn Cup. We were drawn against old foes Malvern and summoned to ‘their place’ for the mouth-watering encounter on Saturday 31st October. 1-0 down at half time to a, shall we say, fortuitous goal, the side emerged for the second half revitalised and having adopted an attacking 4-3-3 formation. We found ourselves in total control of the game as both momentum and the score sheet tilted in our favour: 1-2 to the Salops after 60 minutes, with credit to Adam Parker and Tom Kelly for saving Salopian blushes. Wave after wave of Salopian aggression proved too much for the Old Malvernians, who could consider themselves lucky to have only conceded three OSFC goals in the second half. 1-3 to the Old Salopians was the final score, with Tom Kelly completing a brace for the final goal. With Charterhouse already out of the competition, the door is ajar for a Salopian push for the famous Cup. If you are interested in playing for the Old Salopian FC in London, there are two teams that train on Tuesdays and play on Saturdays at our home ground in Barnes Bridge. Please contact ojheywood1@hotmail.co.uk. The end of season OSFC dinner will be held on Friday 13th May 2016 in Maida Vale, London; always a fantastic evening. Please get in touch with rwhawkin@hotmail.com if you would like to attend any of the Club’s social events – all welcome. Richard McGarry 59 60 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Tour Report - Berlin 2015 discontent from the locals to an OSFC 1st/2nd finish, a hasty retreat by the victorious touring party was quick to follow. After an evening celebrating the first silverware of the year, the 8.30am coach journey to our 2nd Tour game on the Sunday morning was a little muted. Back playing in their first 11-a-side game for over four months and sore from over six hours of football the previous day, the Old Salops were understandably a little rusty. We soon found ourselves 3-0 down by half time. However, after half time, the dramatic turnaround was complete, with Rory Griffiths (who arrived at the ground a Salopian-esque 90 minutes late) running rings around the previously formidable opponents and turning a deficit into a 4-3 victory – his week’s worth of tardy book was waived on this occasion. M uch like the fields of Glastonbury being laid to fallow every few years, the tradition of the Old Salopian Football Club’s annual tour to mainland Europe had been put on hold for the previous three seasons. This year the OSFC Tour was very much back on the agenda. On the August Bank Holiday a spirited touring party of 19 Old Salopians left Gatwick bound for Berlin, looking forward to shaking off the cobwebs of a wedding -and-stag-laden off-season - and getting some much needed pre-season fitness under their (strained) belts. After spending the first evening following the advice of talismanic Nick Corlett, the Salops were well and truly acclimatised to the local conditions by the time the team bus departed the hotel at 8am the following morning. The squad were looking forward to their first taste of German opposition, with only a couple of the touring party suffering from any serious jet-lag. Two OS teams had been entered into a 7-a-side tournament that Saturday, with each team playing a total of 10x15 minute games in a leaguestyle format. Conditions were not favourable to the British tourists, as we were faced with an uncharacteristically German 30 degree sun, some less than objective refereeing and, more worryingly, a tempting German barbeque catching more than one hungry Salopian’s attention. However, fuelled by Bratwurst and Diet Coke, the two teams did themselves proud, swatting aside every team that they came up against, with the likes of George Wade-Smith, as ever, light on his feet and returning veteran Hamish McKenzie tickling the onion bag with regularity. The crunch game arrived when the two OS teams met one another, with the inevitable result being a nervy 1-1 draw with chances for both sides. In the final two games Team 2 - perhaps weighed down by the impressive intake of processed meat - found results harder to come by. Team 1 took advantage by winning their final two games and in doing so secured the famous ‘Golden Ananas’ Trophy. Given the burgeoning Staying true to absorbing as much local culture as possible, the afternoon was spent celebrating another Tour win in a traditional German Beer Garden, with inevitably yet again more Bratwurst. Indeed, as well as the football, over the three days in Berlin the team took in the fallen Wall, the Brandenburg Gate and were particularly fascinated by resident local guide Oliver Heywood’s lessons on ‘queuing etiquette’. The victory on Sunday capped off a thoroughly enjoyable tour and that evening the whole squad relaxed on the banks of the River Spree, mixing with the locals and enjoying some light music and dancing. As a proud former winner, it was my honour to present Alistair Hutchinson with this Year’s TC award; in the future I am sure he won’t forget to pack his razor. Rory Griffiths was the unanimous choice for Player of the Tour, scoring wherever he went. Well done to both of those players. What was especially pleasing was bringing together six different year groups of Old Salopians. Everyone is already counting down the days until the next tour in August 2016! Floreat! Rob Hawkin OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Old Salopian Yacht Club L-R: Mark Telfer, Matthias Borstell, Will Collins, Johnny Moulsdale, John Newton, Tim Becker, Kurt de Freitas, George Hall, James Pitt, Rupert Tildesley - and photographer James Heaven (out of shot) O nce again, the highlight of the OSYC’s year was participation in the annual Boarding Schools Arrow Trophy regatta at Cowes in October. Always a popular event, both on and off the water, Shrewsbury has entered at least one crew for the past ten years and will take over running the event in 2019. The weekend started as usual with a late evening passage from Port Solent to Cowes, and an impressive but futile effort to leave Tim Becker on the dockside, followed by dinner in a local curry house allowing crew members ranging in age from their early twenties to an undisclosed upper limit to form close bonds ahead of the next day’s racing. We hand over at this point to our matchday commentator and enthusiastic crew member, James Heaven, to report on the weekend’s racing. “This year saw the return of Rupert Tildesley to the helm, alongside James Pitt as Skipper and Tactician, the dream team that had delivered the Charterhouse Trophy in recent years. With only one boat entered into the competition this year, consolidating experienced crew drawn from previous years’ racing, as well as a number of new members, confidence was high going into the weekend. In the first race, despite a disastrous start, a gamble to the opposite side of the course saw us fight back from last place up to 8th. Unfortunately this impressive recovery turned out to be our best result of the series. Despite determined teamwork and some superb starts, we found ourselves simply overhauled on boat speed, despite our best efforts to rectify the situation. We suspected that the large picnic and full fridge of cold beer may not have helped, but it did soothe our concerns, along with the excellent company and glorious sunshine we enjoyed for the whole weekend. Relaxing later that evening, we observed the leading crews frantically polishing their hulls of weed and considered how distasteful it was to be seen to be taking these things too seriously, whilst at the same time plotting to do the same next year. It seems things are getting quite serious and we came away this year agreed that it was far more amusing being in the top 5 rather the bottom 5 at the end of the day. Your old school needs you! Please contact David Richards and join us next year, when we will try to enter two boats and make at least one of these quietly, distastefully, competitive. All welcome.” James modestly declines to acknowledge his lead contribution in the stocking of the beer fridge, and neglects to mention the enjoyable Saturday evening dinner in the RORC’s Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, enthusiastically supported by our crew, but we echo his exhortation to Salopians who would like to take part next year to contact the Secretary (david.richards@trinity.oxon.org). Experienced racing yachties are of course especially welcome but we have room for enthusiastic sailors with any level of experience. As ever, a cheery spirit, well-formed winch-grinding muscles, and an ability to hold a steady glass are the core qualifications for Salopian yachting. Beyond the Arrow, we continue to encourage yacht-owning Salopians to offer cruising and racing places on their boats to our members. Will Collins deserves special mention for his generosity in offering crew places on his yacht Dogmatix in the JOG racing series. Several club members have joined Will during the season, even including the Secretary who took part in a bruising but enjoyable race to Alderney in June. We remain very grateful to the Salopian Club for their financial support, enabling us to sponsor participation by our younger members to a very considerable extent. L- R: James Pitt, Rupert Tildesley, Johnny Moulsdale, Tim Becker, Kurt de Freitas, David Richards 61 62 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS SABRINA Sabrina Club AGM Election of new President Rowing news After missing out at Henley Royal Regatta by such a small margin, the majority of the crew are back in training for another crack at the Thames Cup in 2016. It is so important that the basic training is done now in preparation for next year. Circuits are taking place on Tuesday evenings at school, with a personal trainer giving the guys (plus Lettie and Sonya!) a great workout, and outings are arranged for most weekends. The first Head race took place on 31st October at Chester, where our boat came in 2nd and 4th overall in the two divisions, so certainly a step up on where we were last year – especially with having to pull their coxing coach down the Dee! Onwards now to Wallingford Head at the end of November. Many thanks to RSSBC for their support; also thanks to our new Sabrina President, Miles Preston, for his input. Sabrina Competitors A Hagger, J Russell, R Shropshire, J Kynaston, P Wood, R Homden, P Randall, Miss L Tay, P Graham (Staff), Miss S Milanova (Cox, Staff), P Manser (Coach) Future Racing (TBC) 20th February Worcester HOR 27th Feb Runcorn HOR 12th March North of England (Chester) 19th March Head of River (London Tideway) Other Sabrina News Tom Marshall (SH 2007-12) is taking a year out from his studies at Harvard, where he has been rowing The Sabrina AGM was held in the Pugh Boathouse Club on Saturday 3rd October. Many Sabrina members attended. The Club presented Martin Slocock with a special oar blade in thanks for the huge contribution made during his Presidency between 2011 and 2015. The Club elected Miles Preston as the new President. Miles was a member of the 1st VIII in 1967 and 1968, the latter year as Captain of Boats. Also coached by Roger Blomfield, Miles was a member of the School’s coxless four that was selected as the GB entry for the 1968 FISA International Youth Regatta (fore-runner to the World Junior Championships), winning a Bronze medal. Miles subsequently rowed for Leander Club, where he was a member of their 1969 and 1970 Thames Cup winning crews at Henley Royal Regatta. in their Varsity Lightweight Eight, to train at Caversham with the Senior GB Lightweight Squad. At the recent British Rowing Championships he won a silver medal representing Molesey BC in Open coxless fours alongside Mo Sibhi and George Nash (both from the World Championship winning GB 8). They were beaten to the gold medal by a Leander 4, crewed by the likes of Pete Reed and Stan Louloudis (also from the GB 8). Bronze was won by another Leander 4 featuring Will Satch and Alex Gregory (also from the GB 8!). Not bad for a lightweight! Lettie Tay (MSH 2013-15) competed in the most recent Senior Women’s trials in Boston, Lincs, where she came 9th out of the U20s group. Lettie is also training with the Welsh squad in Cardiff. She won in her single at Chester, making her the first female Sabrina winner! OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Bevan Crew Reunion At noon on Saturday 30th May, Sabrina Club members and their families assembled on the banks of the River Severn at the School boathouse to celebrate Nick Bevan’s outstanding contribution to rowing at Shrewsbury between the years 1973 and 1988. Blessed with sunshine and no wind, around 60 (many more wrote letters of support but were unable to attend) gathered for a picnic supplemented by traditional Pimms and other refreshments and food provided by Sabrina Club in the Bowring Clubroom. As President of the Salopian Club and past President of the Sabrina Club for many years, it had been Nick Bevan’s wish to bring together immediately after his Presidency all those whom he had coached during his long stint in charge of RSSBC’s top crew. Nick Bevan’s highly successful record and huge contribution to rowing at Shrewsbury has been acknowledged in many ways, but this was the way he wished to celebrate those years, gathering together crew members he coached and their families in a relaxed familiar environment. He was also keen for those wishing to do so to take to the water again and many took up this opportunity in an eight, a pair and single scull. The 1978 crew were the most organised, with the majority taking to the water. With many attending having gone on after school to row at university, clubs and even the Olympics, the standard of rowing for scratch crews on the day was pretty impressive and certainly received rapturous applause from families and friends on the bank. Many had not been back in recent times to see the impressive Ergo Room where much of the hard work is now done in training and the quality of boats and equipment in the Boathouse needed to remain competitive at the highest level. Nick’s widow Annabel Bevan, together with their children Emily and Oliver and Edward Bevan, attended, catching up with many familiar faces, all of whom had a soft spot for Nick - NVB. The President Martin Slocock said a few words and Oliver displayed fantastic vintage footage recently found of NVB as a pupil at school at Shrewsbury. The day passed far too quickly, with many staying on late to make the most of the occasion, idyllic setting and familiar company. Nick would have thoroughly enjoyed the day! 63 64 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Old Salopian Hunt S ome of us have our names engraved on RSSH silverware, which I sometimes get to present to today’s winners. For instance, in the middle of March, Steeplechases involve a large number of girls and boys who run hard for the best time and to be winning House. I have had the pleasure of pointing out the engraved names, which have all become members of The Old Salopian Hunt. In September I witnessed Sam Western (S) win The Third Form Race and was able to congratulate him as he starts his progression through the years, undoubtedly as an important new member of The Hunt. Consequently, I would lay bets that he will join the OSH in five years’ time! Even when the OSH meet the RSSH on Saturday 5th December this year, it is apparent that this annual interaction is as important as ever and shows that the Hunt becomes part of your life for life. On Sunday 21st June 2015, the third Shrewsbury Half Marathon was held and Team Shrewsbury once again put in a superb performance, with Peter Middleton (Master in Charge of the Hunt) finishing 2nd (for the second year), followed by one of this year’s Joint Huntsmen, Oscar Dickins (R) at 30th and then our own Tom Cousins (PH 2007-12) at 36th. The team of about 30 boys and girls of all ages completed the course, amongst some 1,092 finishers. Photos can be seen on the Old Salopian Hunt Facebook page and all the results can be found on the ‘In The Running’ website. With regards to the OSH Facebook page, photos and comments are always welcome and anyone can join the group to keep in touch with the Club. In addition, the updated OSH website page can be found by going to www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-hunt, where all details and news of the OSH are listed, including the OSH tie, men’s and ladies’ OSH running vests and the new silk OSH scarf. In the last edition of The Salopian (Summer 2015, Issue No.156), I had the pleasure of including recollections from Bob Dowty (SH 1945-50), which everyone I have spoken to has enjoyed reading. Sadly, I have to report that Bob passed away on the Isle of Man on Tuesday 28th July 2015, after a short illness. As a Huntsman for the 1949-50 season, he will be remembered by the Hunt. (see obituary on page 73) Every generation of Shrewsbury School pupils will recall that great test of ‘athleticism’ known as THE TUCKS. Some will tell stories of how they OLD SALOPIAN NEWS avoided it or found short-cuts or even ran all five in their time! Dr David Gee has completed 56 of them and I have just done my 6th, albeit 45 years since my previous, but was pleased to be in good company, including Richard Hudson (pictured above), who will remember that in 1970 we started off through the Moss Gates and had three All-Ups before the Run-In from Tucks Bridge. The Tucks has evolved so that all now compete, including the Headmaster and the Chaplain (above right) and many others on the Staff and beyond, amongst the whole School in this exciting and colourful spectacle. Even though my distinctive OSH running vest was the only one in a sea of 700 or so runners, it did get round Pulley Common and back to Meole Brace, with me still inside it. I can highly recommend that my fellow Club members consider coming along next October to join in this event and to increase the presence of our colours of Green & Gold. Peter Birch (DB 1966-71) 65 66 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Old Salopian Golfing Society “Let us now praise famous men…” At the AGM on 2nd October, the following were elected Vice-Presidents of OSGS: Sandy Bell, Robert Lanyon, William Painter and Anthony Parsons. This foursome join the celebrated company of Tony Duerr, former President of the Society, who has just presented the Duerr Tankard, for the winners of the annual match that is played against Malvern at Blackwell. It is with enormous disappointment that I report a defeat by one point in the match on 11th October. The pain is all the more excruciating, as after 15 years of fierce rivalry, Shrewsbury lead the series 12-3. With silverware at stake, we were defeated 4.5 to 5.5. The tankard is beautifully engraved with the names of the two Societies and Tony’s initials – and to which we should add OBE, awarded for services for eating for England. The OSGS team, with points won in brackets, was as follows: Angus Pollock (2): Harry Lewis (1.5): Charles Hill (1.5): Bill Russell (1.5): Tom Price (1): Martin Cars (1): Andy Pollock (0.5): James Skelton (0): Rupert Haines (0): Charlie Stockbridge (0) Battle will be resumed on Sunday, 9th October 2016. Our photo of John Parker sandwiched between Charles Shaw and James Shaw is an indication of the revelry enjoyed after lunch. The main Senior team event in our Fasti is the G L ‘Susie’ Mellin Salver, where Shrewsbury has an excellent recent record. We have won the Salver six times in the last 13 years as well as being losing finalists on two other occasions, mostly under the captaincy of Peter Worth’s redoubtable predecessor, Christopher Wallace. Peter Worth reports: ”I thought you would like to know we won the Mellin, lost in the second round of the Burles (for over 65s) losing a play off on the 19th and Tim Lewis and John Parker qualified in the Bunny Millard (for over 75s) but lost on the 19th after a great tussle against Downside who were holders. Our photo shows OSGS Captain Angus Pollock smiling through gritted teeth at the winning Malvern Captain. On 11th September, Charles Tustain snatched the Tony Duerr Silver Salver (presented in 1997) from the grasp of Nicky Renton, on a count back on the last 3 holes at Worplesdon. The course and the weather gods were smiling, as well they might at the venerable company that assembled: three scions of the incomparable Shaw dynasty, aided and abetted by Nick Oldham and Julian Sterck, Mellin winner in 2014 but NFI for the winning team in 2015: Nick Renton and his father Tony from Royal Mid-Surrey. We played well to get through to the Mellin final against Loretto where James Shaw and Will Painter, who were unbeaten having played superbly, won yet again in the country. Allan Wright and I ran out of steam and shook hands on the 16th. This left Pollock and Smith who had won all their matches so far, to recover from 1 down with 2 to play. They halved the 17th in par and won the 18th when the opponents tugged their second shot into the rhododendrons on the left. Down the 19th they went - 2 good drives but both second shots were short of the green leaving a chipping and putting contest. Our President played a wonderful shot to 4 feet. Loretto were a little further away with a very makeable uphill putt. Loretto missed and Andy Pollock sunk a brilliant putt for the win. West Hill looked after us extremely well as always but we did miss Anthony Parsons who was paying a short visit to hospital. We look forward to his return next year”. The 4th Annual Triangular Challenge took place at Tandridge GC on 24th April. OSGS side came an illustrious third, by a narrowing margin. The actual aggregate scores for the four pairs in each team were:Old Alleynians 163 pts Old Tonbridgians 162 pts OSGS 158 pts (this would have merited a win in the last two years) The OSGS side was Peter Renshaw, Donald Shaw, Michael Smart, Stephen Shaw, James Shaw, Peter Jeffrey, Ian Falconer and Adrian Cooper (the OT non playing Captain who stepped in for us in view of an OS withdrawal that morning). In the Schools Putting competition on 3rd June at Royal Wimbledon, a tiger team of Will Hawksley, Simon Shepherd, Jonathan Howse and James Pollock (Captain) came 3rd on our qualifying day with 30 pts. This is our best ever performance and marked a fitting swansong for James Pollock, who has assembled our teams in recent years, with a marked blend of patience and competence, intrinsic to the Pollock clan. Manfully, David Warmington raised a team of 8 Salopians to play in the Public Schools Meeting at Little Aston on 24th June. Although we were the lowest handicapped team, we came in on 11th place with a score of 83 points against Uppingham’s winning 110 (3 pairs counting). Our President, Anthony Smith and Mark Ferguson won the best gross score prize with a magnificent 78. A case of class will out for our President even OLD SALOPIAN NEWS paired with a fiery partner, whose email address is Fergmonster. Team scores were;Antony Smith & Mark Ferguson 34 points Richard Bevan & Neil Crawford 24 points Martin Cars & James Mainwaring 25 points Jonathon Hope & Robin Sharp 21 points OSGS Match versus Old Cholmeleians on Friday 3th July At Hadley Wood: OSGS Team Captain Simon Shepherd (O 77-82) writes: I am pleased to report a resounding success for OSGS, by quite a large score, to not very many; we now stand 2 – 1 in the series, in our favour. John Bolton and I will chase the OCs a little harder next year to put out some stronger opponents. Simon Shepherd. There were strong performances from John Godby and the most improved golfer, Leigh Whittingham who has gone from a 24 handicap to being worthy of 15. The length of his driving was much admired though we haven’t yet been able to find out his secret! The other team players were Robin Humble, Patrick Carr and Charles Shaw. Worfield: Winner of the Todwick Tankard: Dan Durman, on his OSGS debut spread-eagled a very select field, with 38 points. Runner-up was Michael Roberts with 34 points. Jonathan Perkins struck his 6 iron at the 3rd hole (145 yards) to within six inches of the flag for Nearest the Pin prize with Robert Lanyon closest to the hole with his second shot at the 18th (320 yards). Meetings Organiser Charles Hill won the prize for the longest drive on the fairway. Mark Davies provided five bottles of wine for prizes, with the generosity of a Riggite, where else? One of these went to Gaby Byrne (EDH 2012-14) who travelled down with her father Jim from Royal Birkdale to sample the delights of Worfield. Another prize for outstanding effort went to Hugh Ramsbotham, former President of The Salopian Club. The open-handedness of the proprietor of Worfield Oliver Eaton (Rt 85-91), was, as usual, magnifico. Jonathan Russell, non-playing Captain, reports in all modesty on the whitewash of the Old Reptonians at Worplesdon on 15th August. “We won the match 8-0, thus retaining our bragging rights having won by a point last year. The stars for us were Nick Renton and, making his debut, The final is always at risk of the weather, but fortunately, although cloudy and cool, the match was played in dry conditions, with the breeze increasing as the round progressed. Both finalists have single figure handicaps (nine and eight), so there was only one stroke to be given – by Malcom. He did not get off to the best of starts, and his ball found steep bunkers with unerring accuracy on all the even numbered holes on the front nine. Not surprisingly, Geoff playing steadily was three up at the turn. Perhaps Malcom’s fortunes can best be demonstrated at the short 12th hole. Here he hit a glorious tee shot into the wind, straight at the distant flag. Unfortunately he hit it so well that it cleared the green and pitched into the grassy bank at the back of the green, never to be seen again. A hole that might have been won was inextricably lost. Congratulations go to Geoff Thomas, a first time winner by the margin of 4 + 3, and commiserations to Malcom, who has promised to try and make it third time lucky in the future. Our thanks go to the Council of The Royal Birkdale Golf Club for generously allowing the Society to play the final on their magnificent Links. Also thanks to Jonty Campion for representing the family at the final. The 4th August marked a special pilgrimage to Crawford Country, otherwise known as The Alwoodley GC, lying tranquilly on Lord Harewood’s Wigton Moor, nobbut a pitch and a putt from the hum of traffic in the city centre of Leeds. The members had the nous to anoint Neil Crawford as this year’s Captain, in the footsteps of his illustrious father Michael, who was Club President. The members have shown additional nous to elect John Smith to succeed Michael as President. The course was in magnificent condition. The company was glorious including Neil Crawford, James Crawford, Henry Crawford (son of James Crawford) and the prizes were awarded by Hazel Crawford. and the 2006 President of the Welsh Ladies Golf Union. STOP PRESS: The Campion Trophy Final 2015. Anthony Smith, President of OSGS writes: This year, by dint of the Secretary’s hard work, it was possible to play the final before the clocks went ‘back’ on 23rd October. Malcom McMullan, who was a losing finalist in 2012, and Geoff Thomas were the protagonists. The latter was accompanied by his mother Chris, a former Welsh Ladies International, The Fasti for 2016 is available on the next page Tim Lewis – Honorary Secretary – Old Salopian Golfing Society timjlewis2014@gmail.com Tel: 01491 641651 67 68 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS OS Golf Fasti 2016 DATE EVENT COURSE ORGANISER Halford Hewitt Draw East India Club Andy Pollock Sun 13 Halford Hewitt Get-Together* Woburn Andy Pollock Thurs 17 Spring Meeting (South) Denham Anthony Parsons Fri 1 Spring Meeting (North) Hoylake Robert Lanyon Thurs 7 -Sun 10 Halford Hewitt Cup* Sandwich/Deal Andy Pollock Fri 22 Triangular Match Tandridge Stephen Shaw Thur 28 Match v The Schools Hawkstone Park Gerald Smith Sat 14 Grafton Morrish Qualifying* Olton (Solihull) Andy Pollock Wed 18 Scottish Tour Luffness New Tim Lewis Thurs 19 Scottish Tour Muirfield Tim Lewis Fri 20 Scottish Tour Gullane No 1 Tim Lewis Thurs 7 - Sat 9 Peter Burles Salver (65 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth Thurs 7 - Sat 9 Bunny Millard Salver (75 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth Fri 8 - Sat 9 G.L.Mellin Salver (55 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth Fri 22 Match v. Old Cholmeleians Hadley Wood Simon Shepherd Thurs 4 Yorkshire Meeting The Alwoodley Peter Ambler Sun pm 7 West Country Tour Westward Ho! Paul Nichols Mon am 8 West Country Tour Saunton Paul Nichols Tues am 9 West Country Tour Saunton Paul Nichols Sat 13 Match v. Old Reptonians Worplesdon Jonathan Russell Sun 21 Match v.ORs & OMs Little Aston Charles Tustain Mon 22 Old Schools’ Competition Trevose Bill Higson Fri 7 - Sun 9 Tony Duerr Silver Salver Worplesdon Tim Lewis Sun 25 Midlands Meeting and AGM Blackwell Charles Hill Fri 7 - Sun 9 Grafton Morrish Finals* Hunstanton/Brancaster Andy Pollock Sun 9 Match v. Old Malvernians Blackwell Angus Pollock Fri 28 Guests’ Invitation Meeting Ashridge Dan Graham Robert Walker Foursomes Cup New Zealand Tim Lewis JANUARY Wed 13 6pm MARCH APRIL MAY JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER Sat am 5 * By Invitation only - Members are asked to contact the Organiser for any event in which they may wish to play. OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Saracens T he Saracens enjoyed another successful year in the Cricketer Cup, reaching a third semi-final in four years. The campaign began in early June with a comfortable victory at home to the Haileybury Hermits. Batting first, the Saracens posted an enormous 312-7. Ben Williams crashed a magnificent 122 and was ably supported by Steve Leach (61) and Ben Chapman (47). The Hermits never got going in reply and, tied down by spinners Henry Lewis, Matt Gregson and Henry Dawson, fell 191 runs short. A much sterner test awaited in Round 2, when the 2014 beaten finalists, the Bradfield Waifs, travelled to Shrewsbury intent on exacting revenge after an agonising last over defeat in the 2012 semi-final. On this occasion, the Saracens batted first and began well. Henry Lewis (64) laid the groundwork for a big Saracens’ total with a composed opener’s knock, building a threatening second wicket partnership with the expansive Ed Pollock (57). Indeed it was a mark of how well these two had played that the boundaries dried up almost altogether when they both departed, such that the Saracens ultimately had to settle for a total of 250. For much of a hot afternoon this looked as if it might not be enough, as the highquality Waifs batting line-up kept wickets in hand whilst scoring with relative ease. However, a pair of remarkable slip catches from Ian Massey (one of which would be amongst the finest ever seen on Senior) seized back some crucial initiative in the middle overs, and when the pressure ramped up in the final ten overs James Aston and in particular Henry Blofield (3-37) kept their nerve to see the side home by 11 runs. The quarter-final tie, away to the St Edward’s Martyrs, was no less closely fought. The home side had first use of a very dry wicket, and had progressed relatively serenely to 116-2, until spinners Matt Gregson (2-39) and Henry Blofield (3-22) turned the game decisively, helped by a fiery spell in the middle of the innings from Steve Barnard (2-52). Gregson in particular was very tough to play, as he extracted exaggerated turn out of the fast-deteriorating wicket. The Martyrs were bowled out for 190 in 43 overs. The Saracens’ reply began in spectacular fashion, with a succession of boundaries from Steve Leach (29 from 13), Jack Brydon (a comparatively sedate 10 from 11) and Ed Pollock (17 from 9). When Pollock was out to the first ball of the 8th over, the scoreboard read 76-3, and the nervous tension amongst the Saracens’ support was palpable. The President was pacing! Thankfully, after the storm came the calm in the form of Ben Williams (64) and Henry Lewis (28), who together with Ben Chapman (17*) showed great skill and poise on a turning wicket to lead the Saracens into the semi-finals with over 16 overs to spare. Sadly for the Saracens, the semi-final was, much like the previous year’s fixture against the old enemy, ultimately a one-sided affair. After rain had postponed the fixture by a week and caused the venue to be changed to Malvern, a somewhat depleted side lost the toss and were invited to field. The Saracens acquitted themselves well in the first hour, despite being hampered by the early loss of wicketkeeper Jack Brydon, who injured himself in appealing for a leg before decision (given not out); and having reduced the Old Malvernians to 68-3, were well in the game. However, we were unable to split the fourth wicket pair of Craig Wood (90) and Will Gifford (101), who built a match-winning partnership of 135 and put some tired Saracens’ bowling to the sword in the final overs, as the Old Malvernians finished on 260-7 (despite Ali Pollock returning well-deserved figures of 4-53). This was to prove too many for the Saracens, who despite at drinks being exactly level with the Old Malvernian score (99-3) collapsed soon afterwards, to finish on 146-9 (with Brydon incapacitated). My thanks to all who played and supported the team this year (and in particular to the two more experienced Saracens, Harry Lewis and Angus Pollock, who did both in the same 69 70 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS day at Malvern when injury struck!). A document recently circulated by the Cricketer Cup committee detailing the records of the 32 schools over the past 5 years shows the Saracens currently sitting 2nd in the league table. This reflects the consistency of the present squad of players and the quality of cricketers presently being produced. On that basis, hopefully another win cannot be too far away… Saracens’ Devon Tour 2015 The annual cricket tour to North Devon was yet again an overwhelming success. In keeping with trends from the previous few years, we were delighted to welcome back a strong group of recent leavers and that was bolstered by debutant tourists Sam Welti, George Hamner and last year’s captain of cricket, George Lewis. This, combined with the key ingredient of ‘senior pros’ who between them boast an extraordinary wealth of tour experience, meant that 2015 truly was an unforgettable tour. The first game of tour was on Monday with the first of two consecutive oneday games against North Devon CC. On a damp wicket the Saracens were asked to bat first against a formidable North Devon XI which included Craig and Jamie Overton, who have both just played a full season for Somerset. Despite debutant George Hanmer being dismissed first ball, by lunch the Saracens were in control at 110-2 with Sam Welti batting nicely and Richard McKay, who was dismissed just before lunch, getting the tour off to a flyer! Some good bowling meant it was slow going after lunch and the Saracens lost quick wickets. A partnership between Henry Lewis and George Thomason steadied the ship and, with some good hitting as the time for a declaration approached, the Saracens finished on 225-9 declared. Enter Steve Barnard with some extremely hostile fast bowling, reducing North Devon to 20-3. The Sarries were on a roll. The game then went through a slow phase, but when the Saracens struck at 110-5 it brought the Overton brothers together. When they quickly put on a stand of 60 the game looked over; but when George Lewis bowled a leg-stump full toss that Jamie Overton hit straight into the safe hands of Scott Corbett, it was back in the balance. Some quality fast bowling from Barnard backed up by wily spin bowling from Scott Corbett and George Lewis did what was required and North Devon were bowled out 5 runs short. The Monday evening was a fantastic affair and buoyed by our win the tour was delighted to welcome back many an old face. Most notably it was an absolute privilege to see Sir Eldryd Parry back in Instow. North Devon CC kindly played host to 50 Saracens young and old. After the euphoria of Monday’s win, and the celebrations to boot, there was a certain lull in the camp on Tuesday morning. North Devon fielded a slightly weaker side but it still included Craig Overton and the club pro. North Devon batted first in the scheduled 40-over game and after some effective new ball bowling from Will Mason and Sam Welti, at lunch the game was delicately poised at 100-4. Two more quick wickets followed, with Mark Prescott and Matt Gregson bowling well. This, however, brought the North Devon combo of Craig Overton and the South African pro together. It was the pivotal part of the game, but the less time spent discussing it the better. It only has to be said that the final 17 overs saw North Devon reach 335-6, leaving the Saracens a mountain to climb. The charge was led by Will Mason, who batted beautifully for 119, and he was supported with an extremely mature 50 from Steve Barnard. However, needing 120 from the last 10 overs and despite a late flurry from Matt Gregson and George Lewis, the Saracens finished 20 runs short. Despite the disappointment of our well-documented winning streak against North Devon coming to an end, it was a fantastic game of cricket with well over 600 runs scored in the day. With Wednesday comes the fixture against the Somerset Stragglers at the picturesque ground, Valley of the Rock. The Saracens won the toss and elected to bat first in a 30-over game. Mark Prescott got the team off to a flyer with a fluent 63 and he was ably supported by the in form Mason. However, some good spin bowling combined with some careless shot selection meant the Saracens stuttered in the middle overs and lost a flurry of wickets in quick succession. Fortunately tour veteran Ben Chapman showed his experience and, batting with the tail, guided the Saracens to a competitive 165. Despite Valley of the Rock being an immensely fast-scoring ground, we felt early wickets could bring us right into contention. George Thomason obliged! He took 4 wickets in 5 overs in what was a superb spell of bowling. The Stragglers responded well and dominated from then on, making great use of some mediocre bowling and extremely short boundaries. The Stragglers won, having lost 7 wickets and with 2 overs to spare. After a long week and two close defeats, it could perhaps be said that the wet and gloomy Thursday morning that greeted us reflected the mood in the team. The usual Thursday arrangement is the T20 day played between the Saracens, North Devon and the Brasenose Strollers. However, in light of the bad weather, the decision was made for the Saracens and the Strollers to play a straight 40-over game. The Strollers batted first and it did not take them long to take advantage of the weary unit that was the Saracens. Despite some good spin bowling from Steve Barnard, the Strollers amassed a total of 255 which was an enormous feat in the conditions. The Saracens put up a brave fight and although finishing 30 runs short, there were notable batting performances from George Lewis and George Thomason, who both played exceptionally well in the circumstances. Overall on a results basis it was a slightly disappointing week, with 1 win and 3 defeats. However, every game was extremely competitive and it was a week enjoyed by all who came. The Saracens openly welcome anyone who would like to come to Devon on the 2016 tour (week beginning Monday 8th August). OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Old Salopian Freemasons The Old Salopian Lodge has had a very happy year, under the Mastership of W.Bro. Nick Randall (O 1972-76). He has now handed over the Mastership to W.Bro. David Westwood (Ph 1978-83). The Installation meeting was a memorable occasion. very little in over 200 years. The Lodge supports a special bursary fund, incorporated into the Salopian Foundation. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 17th February 2016, at our usual venue, the City University Club, 50 Cornhill, London EC3V 3PD. We continue to have four meetings per year, three in London, and one at the Schools. Last summer’s gathering was in the clubroom of the School Boathouse, and open to all. Dr Gee gave a very fine presentation of his now-published book. This was followed by an excellent lunch. The view over the river was greatly enjoyed by all, including visitors from the Masonic Province of Shropshire. Alternatively, please see details of our governing body, United Grand Lodge of England at www.ugle.org.uk - @ UGLE_GrandLodge OS Lodge is undoubtedly an interesting and alternative way of keeping in touch with Old Salopians, and supporting the Schools at the same time. Charity, as well as Fraternity, is a fundamental tenet of what we do, the principles of which are illustrated in the various ceremonies, which have changed Also - www.londonmasons.org.uk - http://shropshiremasons. org.uk - @MetGrandLodge - @ShropshireMason Likewise, the Order of Women Freemasons www.owf.org.uk If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the Secretary, Chris Williams (R 1978-83) on 07956 964937 or at chrisjhwilliams@yahoo.co.uk Publications Adam Baldwin (S 2001-06) Heroes and Villains of Finance Published by Wiley Paperback and e-book ISBN: 9781119038993 People both inside and outside the world of finance are perpetually curious about the larger-than-life characters that built, shaped and continue to populate the industry. Heroes and Villains of Finance is a fascinating dive into the history of money as an institution, highlighting the 50 most significant figures who, rightly or wrongly, are responsible for the financial landscape we live in today. The book reveals how their impact reaches far beyond the financial system itself and has helped shape the course of human history. British Government and has over 100 publications in scientific journals and textbooks. In the 1960s he worked as a professional clarinet and saxophone player, touring, broadcasting and recording with Charlie Galbraith’s All Star Jazz Band, Mick Mulligan and George Melly, and the London City Stompers. This is his third novel, set in a world of drug crime and tangled love affairs in the corridors of Whitehall. Sir John Stuttard (SH 1958-1963) Travels in a Lifetime ISBN-10: 0993374905 Emeritus Professor Martin CraigDowner (DB 1944-49) The Scenes Behind the Power Published by Mardi Books www. mardibooks.com and ebook available from Amazon This autobiographical work records Sir John Stuttard’s experience of travel in the 50 years from 1964 to 2014. His experience was typical of many of his generation: few countries and geographical areas were too dangerous or out of bounds, and travel was, relatively, much safer than it seems to be 50 years on when this book was written. Sir John’s accounts of his foreign journeys provide a picture of the environment in which adventurous travel in the second half of the 20th Century could take place. They include descriptions of performing Shakespeare in Soweto, hitch-hiking from Johannesburg to Salisbury (now Harare), a year in Borneo, travelling on Kitchener’s train from Khartoum to Wadi Halfa across the Nubian Desert, travels in Ethiopia, East Africa, India, Burma, Malaysia, Jordan, Russia, Estonia, Finland, Romania, China (where he spent five years) and a 10,000-mile journey in a vintage RollsRoyce from Peking to Paris, through Tibet, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Martin Craig-Downer made his name as a distinguished scientist for the Sir John says that the book was written for his grandchildren, but it has been “This book is a marvellous introduction to a gallery of fascinating figures from the world of Big Money. The author has chosen a brilliant collection of crooks, entrepreneurs, philosophers, economists and bankers. These highly readable short lives provide an excellent education to any reader who wants to understand the personalities who shaped today’s world of investment.” - Luke Johnson, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners, former chairman of Pizza Express and Channel 4 Television, Financial Times columnist and author of Start it Up. suggested as a ‘good read’ by the London-based Travellers Club. It is available on Amazon. Forthcoming Publication The Divided Self by Peter Fanning Published by Greenbank Press Available from the Salopian Club from June 2016 (Price £20.00) Peter Fanning’s account of life at Shrewsbury School is a personal tale. Moving from his early days as Head of English, ‘The Divided Self’ goes on to chart the changing fortunes of the School under the leadership of four distinguished and diverse Headmasters. The creation of the Grove, Shrewsbury’s first new Boarding House for 70 years, features both the trials and triumphs equally. Then from the Senior Master’s viewpoint comes an intimate account of the tense and dramatic period when Governors first admitted girls, thus ending a 450-year tradition of boys only education. Dramatic tales of the high and lows of life on the Edinburgh Fringe highlight the author’s ‘Other Self’, as a director of theatre, placing Shrewsbury’s reputation firmly on the national stage. Above all, ‘The Divided Self’ is a warm and entertaining portrait of what it was like to live and work at Shrewsbury from 1980 up to the present decade. 71 72 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Obituaries Professor J H Appleton Mr J C Chavasse Mr R Dowty Mr J H C Edwards The Reverend R L Edwards Mr J Egerton-Williams Mr R W Foster-Pegg Mr J P France Mr H S Gibson Mr A J A Gillan Mr N P B Green-Price Mr W R Grey Mr W B Hill Mr D R Howl Mr C R P Jones Mr P J Lawn (SH (SH (SH (SH (DB (I (Rt (Rb (R (Rt (I (SH (SH (S (S (G 1933-38) 1938-43) 1945-50) 1949-54) 1936-40) 1929-32) 1933-37) 1984-89) 1963-68) 1938-42) 1941-44) 1934-38) 1946-51) 1950-54) 1966-69) 1988-93) Professor Jay Appleton (SH 1933-38) Jay Appleton was born in 1919 in Headingly, Leeds. His father was a Curate in the Church of England, who had returned from service as an Army Chaplain in poor health, as a result of which he was transferred to a rural parish in Norfolk. Remote as it was, their new home presented challenges for the family, but Jay was to learn to cope, whatever the situation, a quality that stood him in good stead at various times in his life. That his clergyman parent was a more than useful amateur engineer and inventor meant that some of the developments of the early 20th century came to the village of Stibbard sooner than they might have done. On journeys across England from Norfolk to Lancashire, Jay showed an interest in his surroundings which marked him out as the geographer he eventually became. A scholarship for the sons of clergy made possible Jay’s entry to Shrewsbury as a boarder, where he joined his cousins from Wigan. The journey to school and back was long and arduous, but far from being put off, the young Jay developed a life-long enthusiasm for railways. He did well enough at Shrewsbury to win a place at Oxford, but not before he had accomplished the remarkable feat of teaching himself enough Greek in six weeks to enable him to qualify for a pass in School Certificate, in those days an essential requirement. When war broke out, Jay was confronted by the moral dilemma of one who wanted to fight against the enemy, but who could see the possibility of receiving an order that in conscience he could not carry out. Assigned to a non-combatant unit (and therefore not armed), he demonstrated the extraordinary courage required in Bomb Disposal. There could hardly have been a more dangerous posting in 1940. Vice-Admiral Sir J S C Lea Mr J E Levetus Mr G D Lovett Mr A Metcalfe-Brown Mr R J Moore Mr B B Overy Dr P Owen-Lloyd Dr A M M Plumptre Mr D H Roberts Mr M A Schützer-Weissmann Dr V Simons Mr C H Smith Mr C Vaughan Mr E J Warburton Rev J R V Woods (Rt 1937-41) (Ch 1938-42) (I 1950-53) (SH 1948-52) (R 1947-51) (DB 1939-43) (S 1944-49) (SH 1942-46) (Rt 1958-62) (Staff 1988-2015) (JHT 1939-43) (Rt 1949-52) (S 1953-58) (I 1951-55) (R 1945-50) In 1942, Jay met his future wife, Iris, and they were married the following year. Leaving the Army in 1946, he sought an outdoor life and turned his hand to fruitgrowing. Soon, however, he was struck by the symptoms of severe arthritis, which forced him to abandon life on the land and return to academic life. He applied for a course in Geology at Newcastle University, but before he could take up the place, the course was discontinued, and he enrolled on the Geography course. In the meantime, a remarkable thing had occurred; the extraction of a tooth had cured his ‘arthritis’ for good! By such an accident of fate did the potential farmer become a distinguished geographer. He made such a favourable impression that he was offered a post at the University College of Hull, where he was to remain for thirty-five years. He was a popular lecturer and an able administrator, acting for many years as Admissions Officer. He was an early advocate of what has come to be known as the Gap Year, believing as he did that prospective students would benefit from seeing something of the world they intended to study. His interest in railways came into play in a report on the use of disused lines (of which, post-Beeching, there were many). His proposals became government policy. In 1975 Jay published a book, ‘The Experience of Landscape’, in which he propounded the theory that people have an innate desire to live in an environment where they can observe without being seen. This he traced back to early man in the ‘hunter-gatherer’ stage. It was at once a novel idea and an influential one, and his subsequent writings on landscape aesthetics were widely taken up by landscape architects. Retiring from Hull, where he had become a Professor, he took up writing poetry, though very late in life. He was OLD SALOPIAN NEWS involved in a project started by Simon Warner, a landscape architect, which culminated in an exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society. In a final demonstration of the ‘can do’ mentality, he managed to attend the opening in Kensington. It was a triumphant occasion at the end of a long career. Jay Appleton is remembered both for his academic distinction and for his devotion to the family for which he did so much. Ian Boston (R 1952-57) things made of wood or leather, but his main passions were birds, the countryside and nature conservation, and music. Appreciative of anything from the early Renaissance through to Gilbert and Sullivan, Ian sang in choirs throughout his life. He became much involved in running the local Wildlife Trust and Choral Society, and was Church Warden at his church in South Cockerington for many years. Ian Boston was born in Liverpool in February 1939 and brought up in Cheshire. He left Rigg’s as Praepostor and Head of House, and then went to the Leather Sellers’ College in London. He spent several years in the West Country working for a glove manufacturer in Yeovil, where he met his future wife Margaret, before joining the family tanning business in Liverpool. In 1975 he moved to Louth in Lincolnshire, to manage another tannery in the group, and subsequently bought it when the parent company went into liquidation in the late 1990s. This is now one the few tanneries still in operation in the UK. Ian was an enthusiastic cricketer in his early days and maintained that interest all his life. He also enjoyed good art and loved the visual and tactile qualities of beautiful Robert (Bob) Dowty (SH 1945-50) Robert (Bob) Dowty, who died on 28th July 2015 at the age of 85, was a well-known figure in the Isle of Man, where he had a long-standing connection with the sport of motorcycling. Born in Douglas in 1931, he was educated at the High School in the island’s capital, before moving to Shrewsbury just after the end of the war. He enjoyed his time in Shropshire and right at the end of his life he spoke with fondness of the Hunt runs through the countryside. After Shrewsbury, he did the statutory two years of National Service in the Royal Artillery, a connection he maintained with a further voluntary 12 years in the Territorial Army, just one example of his public-spirited contribution. On leaving the Army, he spent two years learning the motor trade with Humber in Coventry, prior to returning to the Isle of Man to start up his own business, the Island Garages group, which he was to run for the next 30 years. Even before he had left school, he had fallen for the sport of motorcycle racing, a day at the Manx Grand Prix having cast its spell. When he was old enough, he bought a Douglas 90 plus model, which he raced for the first time in 1951. He then invested in a more powerful machine, a Manx Norton, which he named ‘Sally’, on which he competed, with some success, as an amateur rider, both in the Island and in mainland UK. In 1959, the combination of an accident in a race and the responsibility of impending marriage brought his career as a competitor to an end, but he remained an active supporter as an administrator. President of the Manx Grand Prix Riders Association and of the Southern 100 MCRC, at his death he was honoured with a page of tributes in a local paper. On selling his garage business, he took on a number of directorships, working well into his seventies and finding time to do much charitable work. He was also a Justice of the Peace and for a time was Chairman of the Isle of Man Magistrates Association. He was a selfless, humble, gentle man with a wry sense of humour and a gift for being able to get on with anyone and everyone he met, being genuinely interested in them. He was liked and respected by all and much loved by his large extended family. He died just before Christmas 2014, leaving behind his wife Margaret, daughter Mary, son and daughter-in-law Adam and Anitha, and grandson Akil. He will be very sadly missed by family and friends alike. Busy and generous with his time though he was, Bob Dowty never neglected his family and he is remembered with the warmest affection. Holidays in France brought particular joy, as he could combine his love of the countryside with uninterrupted family time. He lived long, he achieved much, he enjoyed life. These were the words with which his son John opened his funeral address. That this life was of benefit to others is abundantly clear from what has been written and said about him. “Sad passing of a good friend to motorcycling,” ran the headline in the ‘Isle of Man Examiner’. Not only motorcycling has cause to mourn. 73 74 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Chris Dumbell (JHT 1940-44) His cousin writes: There must have been something very special in the gene pool of the Dumbell family. Many of the finest attributes of Chris’s father, Philip Dumbell and his mother Marjorie, a creator of beautiful things, particularly needlepoint, were manifest in Chris. Philip Dumbell had a long and fruitful life, surviving well beyond his three score years and ten, and Chris equally had a splendid innings, which sadly ended on 18th August 2015. It could all have been very different. A cutting from The Times dated 10th July 1956 reads: A propeller tore loose from a Trans Canada Airline’s Vickers Viscount on the way from Chicago to Toronto yesterday, killing a woman passenger and injuring five others. The pilot made a safe emergency landing at Windsor, Ontario airport. Like a soldier returning wounded from the battlefield, Chris was reluctant to talk about the accident. Suffice it to say that the lady who perished was seated in the row in front. Chris and his pregnant wife Donna were amongst the injured. Both had poor chances of survival and were on life support. Recovery and convalescence took some time and Chris was left with a leg injury which necessitated long-term changes to his life. He gave up skiing, played more golf and bridge and took up gardening seriously. Never did Chris complain about his condition; he accepted it and got on with life. It was in the summer of 1951 at a large party at the Dubuque Golf and Country Club that Chris first set eyes on the pretty young lady who subsequently became his wife. Chris and Donna became engaged after two months and were married on 29th December. Dubuque became virtually a second home to Chris and Donna. They built a home on the outskirts of the city overlooking a gorgeous piece of the Upper Mississippi River and made probably over 200 round trips to the City. Through Donna’s family connections and involvement with the University, Chris and Donna were well known in Dubuque. They were good friends of the Arboretum and designed an exquisite garden for it. Chris’ father sent him to Iowa to work as an apprentice at a John Deere plant. Here he was tasked with learning about US manufacturing technique and practices, experiences which later contributed most usefully to his working life at Turner Manufacturing. The family firm had been created in the 1890s by Chris’s grandfather. It started out making rather unreliable motor cars. When Chris joined it was a more broadly based engineering company. With Philip Dumbell as Chairman, Chris and his brother Roy steered Turner Manufacturing to a very successful stock market flotation in 1968. The company sadly is no more. Having once been one of Wolverhampton’s finest employers, when full control passed to Dana Corporation, conditions changed. Not wanted as a hands-on manager, Roy did not stay long. Chris relocated to another office, travelled extensively for a short period and was then happy to leave. Dana itself subsequently failed. Retirement from Dana released Chris’s energies for his other interests and activities. In Public Service he was for a number of years a Magistrate and Chairman of the Bench. With Donna he travelled more and enjoyed many happy holidays with his family at their house in the Algarve. Photography was one of his many pleasures and trips were always well researched and recorded in albums. Chris, Donna and family moved to Lower Hall in Worfield in 1964. The house was in need of some repair and the garden mainly grass, open space and a virtual wilderness. Whilst it took vision and some professional input to create the structure and planting, the garden is essentially the life’s work of Chris and Donna. The garden was for Chris one of the great loves of his life. Whereas some home owners cannot wait to sell off the excess garden or tennis court for a building plot, Chris continued to add acreage to his pride and joy. Using his knowledge of engineering, maximum use was made of the Worf and river vistas. The garden has been visited and enjoyed by literally thousands of people from the UK and abroad. During the the weekend of 14th/15th June 2015, 1,400 people came to celebrate a World War 1 display and other artefacts in the Garden Room at Lower Hall. Before any visit, Chris would be out early, making sure that the garden was looking its pristine best. He and Donna were perfectionists. Chris was, over many years, a generous and silent benefactor to the village of Worfield. The Church, where Chris worshipped, benefitted usefully from events, including garden openings at Lower Hall. He was a longserving Vice President of the Worfield Cricket Club, life member of the Bowling Club and Vice President of the Royal British Legion. All of these received his generous financial support. Chris took particular pleasure in allowing couples married in the church to be photographed in his garden. He also liked to receive children from the school on to the lawn to be taught and to sketch. On special occasions the Dumbells shared their good fortune exclusively with the inhabitants of Worfield, including a memorable Millenium party held on New Year’s Eve 1999 with a spectacular firework display, and a few years later a special event to celebrate 50 years of Dumbells in Worfield. More recently Chris was outstanding in his support and devotion to Donna. Nothing was too much trouble for a man, of whom his Commanding Officer in the Navy wrote in 1947: “He is very keen and conscientious, cheerful and capable and has conducted himself to my entire satisfaction.” Quite regularly he would power up his trusty Jaguar and set off for London SW3. He was a fast driver and to be a passenger in the back of his car was a testing experience. He and Donna both derived much pleasure from their London life, which included regular visits to Cadogan Hall for concerts. Chris was devoted to his children, grandchildren and enlarged family and they have been lucky to have benefitted from his zest for life wisdom and generosity. A great life well lived. OLD SALOPIAN NEWS John Edwards (SH 1949-54) John entered School House Shrewsbury from Packwood Haugh in 1949 and clearly enjoyed his time there. His passion for rowing was paramount, especially the days away rowing at regattas. John possessed a special wit and humour much enjoyed by his school mates and even prompted his House Master, Mr Anthony Chenevix-Trench, on one occasion to remark to his parents that if all else failed, their son would find work on the stage. As it turned out, he became an auctioneer and was never happier than on the rostrum with an appreciative audience. Sight problems prevented him doing National Service, so he went to London College of Estate Management followed by a year’s practical with Russell, Baldwin and Bright, auctioneers in Leominster. Eventually he joined his father in the family firm Campbell & Edwards in Llandrindod Wells. John soon settled in with the way of local farmers and buyers at weekly livestock markets in Builth Wells, Rhayader and Penybont and in his prime would carry a ‘poor trade’ which would be admired by all. “He appeared to have complete mastery and control over the auction, an incredible memory for names and kind words, or the occasional ‘put down’ for those who deserve it, always with his special sense of humour.” As new sheep breed societies developed and sheep numbers increased, John decided to move the large annual Richard Foster-Pegg (Rt 1933-37) Richard Foster-Pegg was born in Derbyshire, son of the chaplain to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth. During the Second World War he worked as an apprentice engineer at Rolls-Royce and was involved in the development of the Merlin engine for the Spitfire and of early jet engines and turbines. In the 1950s he worked as a mechanical engineer for the Canadian Government on coal-fired gas turbines at McGill University and later for the Bechtel Corporation and for Westinghouse as a designer of advanced power plants. He acted world-wide as a Keith Fraser (O 1950-55) A tribute written by John Lavelle (DB 1950-56): Ian Grant Keith Fraser; four very Scottish names. His family, luckily for us, decided to settle in Shrewsbury, moving from the Scottish borders where they had been evacuated, and thus began a friendship which endured more than 70 years. Keith was born in Guernsey, but the family had to abandon their home and all their belongings, bar one suitcase, to flee autumn ewe sales to the Royal Welsh Showground at Llanelwedd. Each of these sales took several days to set up on different sites on the showground, involving extra staff to erect sheep pens, co-ordination of catalogues and so on. These weeks heaped a large amount of strain on John, but he also took some pride in knowing that at one time they were the largest sheep sales in Europe. In 1965 his father retired and Campbell & Edwards merged with Russell, Baldwin & Bright across the border in Herefordshire. John became a director and at boardroom meetings became famous for his ‘one liners’, as well as ‘adding enthusiasm and inspiration to his colleagues’. John helped create the auctions at the Royal Welsh Winter Fayre which was on a par with Smithfield’s Christmas Fatstock. Yet some of John’s happiest working moments were conducting furniture sales in the local Church Hall, which were for many regular attendees a social occasion. They didn’t come to bid, but to enjoy John’s kindly banter. He was much missed by the farming community and buyers from many parts of the country when he took early retirement, and he had always been a much loved and respected employer. John died in March 2015 and is survived by his wife Brenda. They lost their beloved only child, Caroline, in 1978 when she was only 13½, leaving a gap in their lives that could never be filled. consultant and lecturer on power generation, as well as working for the Department of Energy as a designer. He was a member of the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Energy and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and had numerous patents in the design of turbines for electric power generation. He died on 20th April 2015 aged 95 and is survived by Frances, his beloved wife of 67 years, his daughter, Perri, five grandchildren and one great-grandson. His son Timothy pre-deceased him. the Channel Islands. Before embarking on the last boat to leave, his father drove the family car into the sea to avoid its capture by the Germans. We were at Prestfelde Prep School together and then at The Schools. Although Keith’s home, Red Roofs, overlooked the School Site, he was a boarder in Oldham’s. An above average wing half, he played for the School 1st X1. I don’t remember him as a serious cricketer but he was a 75 76 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS challenging opponent at beach cricket in Anglesey, ably supported by the Coopers. He was also an above average squash and fives player. National Service followed in the Royal Navy and he saw active service in the Suez Canal aboard HMS Theseus. A return to academia found Keith studying history at Christchurch, Oxford. When my father retired from dental practice, he decided to downsize from the Town Centre. We moved to The Rocks overlooking the old Shrewsbury Golf Club. Who were our next-door neighbours? Keith and his delightful father, Ian, who had recently retired from his ophthalmic practice on St John’s Hill, where we had also lived. Qualifying as a solicitor via a firm in Liverpool and the Guildford Law School, Keith joined Dennis Salt, the oldest firm of solicitors in the town. They eventually merged with Wace Morgan, which involved an office move from 10 Belmont to 2 Belmont to become Wace Morgan Salt and subsequently Wace Morgan. Keith was Senior Partner from 1995 until his retirement in 2002. He had been President of the Shropshire Law Society, was extremely popular and in consequence had a vast array of clients; in every way a solicitor of the old school. Upon retirement he was actively involved in witness support at Shrewsbury Crown Court and also on the Alms House Committee of the Drapers’ Company. Bill Grant (SH 1962-66) Bill Grant, who died suddenly while coaching rowing on the River Wear, was born in Sunderland in 1947 and spent most of his life in the North East. He was brought up in Whitburn, where he lived with his younger brother and sister, Jim and Jann. He went as a boarder to prep school at Knaresbrough in North Yorkshire. A school report from this time shows that while he achieved 95% in maths (a trait inherited by all three of his children), in English he only scored 33%. Apparently there were problems deciphering his writing even then! The rest of his school days were spent at Shrewsbury, where he started to row and also coach. Bill was extremely shortsighted and a sport in which someone else tells you where to go was probably beneficial. He did an engineering degree at Durham followed by a master’s in Business Studies. He continued his rowing both for the college and the university, competing at Henley twice and thus becoming eligible to join the Leander Club, a membership of which he was very proud. During the summers he worked for Brathay Outdoor Centre and took surveying expeditions to Norway, Iceland and Greenland. Bill ran the family jewellery business after his father’s death until he retired in 2007. From 2000-02 he was Chairman of the National Association of Goldsmiths, a role which his father had also held. He was a member of two livery companies and enjoyed attending their formal functions in London and as a Freeman of the City of London was entitled to attend the election of the Lord Mayor. Keith had two great passions in his life other than his family and his professional career: golf and Shrewsbury Town FC. Keith was involved in the Golf Club’s move to Condover, but before that, in 1970, he had been Club Captain. He was President in 1983. Playing in the final of the Club Championship in 1969, which he won, his opponent’s caddy was one Jane Hindley – who later became his wife. He also won the President’s Putter three times and played county golf for Shropshire on many occasions. Father and son are to be found on many of the honours boards. Ian McIntosh tells me that he and Keith were about to celebrate 70 years of continuous support of The Town. We certainly all went together to the two Wembley play-offs against Bristol Rovers and Gillingham. We lost both. At least in the season we have just finished, we gained automatic promotion. Keith was delighted. Our thoughts are very much with Jane, Rachel and Jason, Simon and Leyla and their respective children, Jo, Harry, Ben and Zahra. The numbers attending the funeral service were a tribute to Keith as a husband, as a father, grandfather and as a friend. He was indeed a pillar of the community he served and he leaves it enriched in so many ways. For myself – my thanks for 70 years of wonderful friendship. Bill loved sailing and achieved his day skipper and coastal skipper qualifications. On a sailing course in Salcombe in 1987 he met Jenny. They conducted a three-year relationship 350 miles apart and Bill spent many hours in his BMW on the M1 and M5. Never one to make life easy, he drove south to meet Jenny’s parents the day after the hurricane in 1987. Bill and Jenny married in 1990 when Bill was 42. They had three children, Richard, Catherine and Emma, and Bill delighted in their progress through school. All three children became Sea Scouts and Bill became District Treasurer for the Scouts for a while. The church was always important to Bill. He served on the PCC in Whitburn, became Churchwarden there and was pivotal in building a meeting room within the church. Not satisfied with this, when he moved to the church in Cleadon, he joined the PCC and became involved in the design and building of the Chapter House here. Bill went on to join Deanery and then Diocesan Synod and finally Bishop’s Council. He was also Chair of the Redundant Churches Committee. Once in charge of the family business, Bill had no time to row himself but he maintained an interest and attended Henley regularly. In fact we believe he only missed 1990 when he was on his honeymoon and 1994 when, with a child of 23 months and another of one month, permission was refused! After retiring, he again became an active member of Durham Amateur Rowing Club (DARC) and bought a sculling boat. He obtained his umpire’s qualifications and more recently was working towards his level 3 coaching. These activities involved power boat and first aid courses which he enthusiastically organised for OLD SALOPIAN NEWS other members of the Club as well. After the death of his friend he took over the job of Boat Warden. Bill spent many hours in Durham each week and was very happy cycling up and down the towpath, shouting at people. Bill was a kind, funny and very gentle man. He was easily moved to tears but renowned for his unmistakeable, infectious laugh. He was also very frustrating - there can’t be anyone who knew him well who hasn’t asked a simple question requiring a yes or no answer and five minutes later, after an explanation of the theory and possible consequences of various actions, still had no idea whether the answer had been yes or no! He was meticulous in everything he did, very much an “If a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing properly” sort of person and many of us have benefitted from this attention to detail. Robin Grey (SH 1934-38) Robin Grey grew up in Cornwall, messing around on boats. The reason he went to Shrewsbury was that his family home bordered on to Clement Attlee’s estate and he was friendly with the Atlee boys who attended Shrewsbury. Remarkably, fast forwarding to Cape Town 60 years later, where Robin’s teenage grandson was living, a family by the name of Attlee moved in next door with their teenage son. They were apparently related to the same Attlee family and the two boys became firm friends. A year or so after Robin finished school, World War 2 broke out and he enlisted in the Royal Navy. By the end of the war he was second in command of a small submarine called HMSub Shakespeare and had seen some exciting action in the Far East. Although he had some positive experiences during the war, such as shore leave in Ceylon which was a place he loved, he was a pacifist and abhorred the idea of the war. Denys Haughton Jones (DB 1942-46) Denys was the middle child of William and Gertrude Jones. His father was a pharmacist and ophthalmic optician with a number of chemist shops and ophthalmic practices in Shrewsbury, including on High Street and Pride Hill. During National Service, Denys was stationed at Lossiemouth where he was a photographer with the Royal Navy. His recollection was of being warned that to lose his camera out of the aircraft whilst on flying missions was even more serious an offence than that of a rifleman soldier losing his rifle. He had a lifelong interest in and love for photography. Of Lossiemouth all he would ever say was that it was the only place he could remember where the wind could blow you back uphill on a bicycle! Following National Service, and after qualifying as an ophthalmic optician, he entered into partnership with his But Bill had a constant optimism that people would benefit from knowing how to do things properly, and it is a mark of the huge generosity of his character that he would pour so much energy into helping people without ever worrying too much about whether they would appreciate it as much as they should. His memorial service was attended by more than 300 friends, including Michael Wright and other Salopians with whom he had maintained a lifelong friendship. At a well attended ceremony in September at DARC, his sculling boat was presented to the Club by his family and formally named after him by one of his long-term rowing and mountaineering friends, Nigel van Zwanenberg (S 1962-66). Bill was a very kind and loving husband, an inspirational father and a true and loyal friend. Once the war ended he married his sweetheart Margaret, left her with his family and went off to scout around Southern Africa, then sent for her once he had chosen where to settle. She travelled on one of the last commercial flying boats to make the trip, mooring overnight off the coast of Italy, then on the Aswan Dam, then Lake Victoria and finally arriving on the Vaal Dam near Johannesburg. They subsequently settled in Cape Town where Robin started a successful small business which he ran until he was into his late seventies. Having retained his love for the sea, he sailed his yacht Swansong in Table Bay and further afield several times a week for many years. He and Margaret always felt England was their home and returned to visit friends and family annually in their last 40 years together. At the age of 94 he became very frail and having put all his affairs in good order, took the step of ending his own life, two years after his beloved Margaret had passed away. father. In due course he took on the practice from his father and branched out to run practices in Welshpool, Newtown and Bishop’s Castle in addition to the Shrewsbury practice at 108, Abbey Foregate. He served on the Shropshire Ophthalmic Committee, including a period as its secretary. Denys had a love of travel and much enjoyed driving through Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Italy where he made many friends. With his wife, Hazel, they visited their friends on the continent throughout their married life and continued to enjoy these trips during retirement. In their earlier years Hazel and Denys were members of Shrewsbury Operatic Society, Hazel as a performer and Denys working backstage. Denys had a love of music and over the years built up an extensive and wide collection of music. He died on 6th January 2015, one week short of his 86th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Hazel. 77 78 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Dr Philip Heal (R 1946-51) Philip Heal was born on 21st July 1932 in Exeter, where both his parents were GPs. He went to Twyford Prep School in Hampshire aged eight and then on to Shrewsbury. He was a keen cross-country runner and rower at school and was House Captain of Cross-Country and Athletics. He was made a Praepostor and was a member of a number of societies and committees. After leaving Shrewsbury, he went on to St John’s College, Cambridge to read Medicine, where he met and married his wife, Diana. their families and 11 grandchildren. He was also a much devoted lover of boxer dogs! He died suddenly at home on 7th April 2015, sitting in his chair after driving home from Hereford following a happy family Easter weekend. After house jobs in St Thomas’, Exeter, he did three years colonial service in Uganda, running an up-country hospital in Masindi. On return to England in 1962, he joined his parents’ practice before doing courses in anaesthetics and obstetrics. He was then a founder member of a large GP group practice in St Thomas’, Exeter until he retired in 1992. His hobbies were sailing, walking and painting. He made expeditions to Everest Base Camp, the Ruwenzories and Atlas Mountains. He was a very proud father of his sons and David Howl (S 1950-54) David Howl’s life is an example of triumph over adversity, of turning misfortune to advantage. As a result of a road accident when he was 22, David had his left leg amputated above the knee. Despite this he became an excellent skier and eventually a guide for blind skiers. He was one of the four people at the inaugural meeting of the British Ski Club for the Disabled on 23rd October 1974 and was at the Second Olympic Winter Games for Disabled in Oslo in 1980. He also rode regularly and loved walking and, when terrain allowed, driving in Snowdonia and over the Shropshire hills. He was a great promoter of sport for disabled people, making the most of his abilities and encouraging others to do the same. with a determination not to be defeated. He learned to draw and travelled all over the West Midlands and Shropshire recording buildings and local scenes of interest. He wrote prodigious letters and diaries and most pages were embellished with one of his sketches or cartoons. He also wrote a history of Parkdale in Wolverhampton, where he lived most of his life. Parkdale was planned in the nineteenth century as a recreational area away from the pollution of the many factories, and it was largely David’s persistent efforts and research that prevented the large Victorian houses being demolished and the destruction of the central gardens and sports area by developers. It is now a conservation area and may be considered a memorial to the strength of character that David displayed during his life. As if one setback was not enough, he became ill with Hodgkins Lymphoma, but again he faced pain and hardship Vice-Admiral Sir John Lea (Rt 1937-41) Vice-Admiral Sir John Stuart Crosbie Lea, who has died at the age of 91, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, stretching from active service in the Second World War to retirement in 1980. He was born in 1923, in India, where his father was an officer in the Indian Army, and where his education began. After a few months in Australia, a country which was later to win a place in his heart, his parents separated, his father returning to India and his mother taking the children to England and prep school. From Boxgrove School in Guildford, where he found stability at a turbulent time, he went to Shrewsbury, where he initially followed the traditional Salopian Classical syllabus. When war broke out, however, he was determined to join the Royal Navy, and therefore switched to Science, Maths and Mechanics. He won a place at the Naval Engineering College in Plymouth from where, in only his second year as a student, he was sent to sea for training. Aboard HMS Sheffield, he saw action off Italy and subsequently visited the severely damaged island of Malta. Later in the year, he was on the cruiser Glasgow in the Bay of Biscay when OLD SALOPIAN NEWS it engaged a number of German destroyers. It was, he admitted, a frightening experience. Unfortunately for him, his period of service was too short to qualify him for a campaign medal. In 1946, he emerged from college as a qualified submarine engineer, in which capacity he served in a number of vessels. Graduating from the naval staff college, he was steadily promoted to posts of greater responsibility including a spell in Whitehall in the Operations Division of Naval Staff. Here, as elsewhere, he proved to be a successful team player, a man who got on with people and who retained a sense of humour under pressure. His personal qualities were to be of particular value when, in the rank of Captain, he had the task of preparing the Faslane Nuclear Submarine Base, which involved negotiating with the representatives of the civilian workforce which was operating along with Naval personnel. The project was completed in time. He later became Commodore of the Barracks in Portsmouth, re-named HMS Nelson at his suggestion. From there he moved through various Ministry posts, before retiring in the rank of Vice-Admiral and with a knighthood. family environment that had been lacking in his youth. A practical man, he loved to create or mend artefacts, he was a keen gardener, and when his wife suffered a stroke, he applied himself to cooking. Involvement in the Hayling Island community included work for the local church and membership of the Hayling Horticultural Society, of which he became President. An avid cricket enthusiast, he was a member of the MCC and followed England on tour, was elected President of Navy Boxing, and followed rugby on television with an ardour that was just short of participation. Invited to become a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, he was to serve a term as Master, just one more example of his natural gift of leadership. In spite of the many demands of his career in public life, Sir John found time for his family, and was a most devoted father and grandfather. The collection of tributes from his grandchildren, published at his memorial service, is a very moving record of the contribution to their lives of a man of many talents. With justifiable pride, his eldest son spoke of “a life truly well lived”. Springfield, his home from 1951 on, was a very happy place, where Sir John was determined to create the stable Charles Lepper (Staff 1987) Although Charles Lepper taught English for just two terms at Shrewsbury, from January 1987, he made an unforgettable mark, both in the Common Room and with his pupils. Cheerful, humorous and scholarly, he acted as an interim between the departure of David Smith and the arrival of Stephen Holroyd. Charles had been a professional actor, performing at Stratford with John Gielgud, before losing much of his hearing and being obliged to leave the stage. But the theatre’s loss was undoubtedly a gain for the world of education. There followed a stay at the Crypt School in Gloucester and later at Bradfield College, where he was appointed Head of English. A notably sparkling teacher, he enhanced the role with his many widely acclaimed productions of Shakespeare and later with the celebrated Bradfield Greek Plays. On reaching retirement, Charles Lepper continued to perform his own one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novels. A dedicated freemason, Charles happily joined the Salopian Lodge, continuing as a member for many years. The coat of arms of Shrewsbury School remained on a shield in Charles’ rooms until his dying day. No one who encountered him will ever forget his joie de vivre, his generosity and love of theatre and literature. He died on 27th January 2015, aged 92. John Levetus (Ch 1938-42) The youngest of three, John Levetus was born on 22nd July 1924 to Edward, an import-export merchant, and Gertrude (née Ashton), a former schoolteacher. The family lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb and made many enduring friendships with neighbours who shared their interest in the arts. John performed well at Shrewsbury School, leaving in 1942 with Higher Certificates in Latin, Greek, and History and Ancient Literature, and a distinction in Scripture Knowledge (Greek Text). After a year in the Territorial Army, he served in the Army Intelligence Corps in Britain, India and Ceylon from 1944 to 1946, learning Mandarin at the School of Oriental and African Studies. John then took a two-year History degree course at New College, Oxford, graduating in 1950. After qualifying as 79 80 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS a solicitor in 1954, he spent the next thirty years as a conveyancing solicitor for the General Post Office and, after the split, British Telecom, commuting from Hampstead Garden Suburb (he could do a first-class impression of a Northern Line train) and later Colchester. He was respected as a hard-working and competent colleague. the company of his brother’s family nearby. He became a stalwart of the North Oxford Association community centre, serving on the management committee for more than twenty years and cheering up dull meetings with apt quotes from the masters of comic verse, and staffing the reception desk with characteristic patience and courtesy. John Levetus spent his working life as a solicitor in London before retiring to Oxford. He never married but had strong ties with family and friends who remember him with much affection for his courtesy, quiet humour and remarkable memory. In December 2014, John was admitted to hospital with problems walking, associated with sarcoma. He moved into a nursing home but became ill a few weeks later and died on 9th February 2015. Retirement at the age of 60 brought John a new lease of life. He moved to Oxford to enjoy the cultural life of the city and Henry Oxenham (Ch 1943-47) A family tribute read at his funeral by his son, Hugh. My father was born on 13th April 1929 in Northfield, then a Worcestershire village not yet engulfed by Birmingham. Both his parents came from Wales, his mother Gwyneth from the Vale of Clwyd and his father Bert from Aberdare. His father worked for a firm of Chartered Accountants in Birmingham. His sister Jane was born two years after him. At the outset of war he and his sister were evacuated to north Wales to live with their grandparents to escape the bombing of Birmingham. With the war still on and reaching the age of 13, his parents did not want him to return to Birmingham so he was sent as a boarder to Shrewsbury School. He enjoyed his time at Shrewsbury for he was a keen and talented sportsman, playing soccer, cricket and athletics. He was good enough at soccer to be selected for Public Schools soccer matches in London. After school he was called up for National Service in 1948 and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. He had the good fortune to spend some of the time stationed in Gibraltar; it was an experience that made a big impression on him and in later life he would mention his time there, including hitch-hiking trips through Spain with friends. He had an offer of a place at Clare College, Cambridge and after National Service he went there to read Economics in 1949. After University he became an articled clerk in Birmingham, training to be a Chartered Accountant. He worked at various clients on audits – I remember him mentioning the big BSA factory in Small Heath and the British Rail works in Derby, then making the last the steam engines. In 1956 he married my mother Joan and they settled in a house in Selly Oak, Birmingham. They had three children in the next few years – first my sister Susan, then me (Hugh) then my sister Helen. With a family he needed a less itinerant job, so in 1963 he took a job with a small manufacturing and civil engineering company at Tipton in the Black Country. He worked from then on for the same firm until he retired, not unusual in those days. In retirement Henry became involved in the Housing Association movement. Another activity he loved, a shared interest with my mother, was their involvement in the Birmingham Ramblers Association. Almost every week of the year, for many years, whatever the weather, they would travel with 50 or so other people by coach to a ramble and walk ten or twelve miles. He was the treasurer of the group for many years and led many walks, often recruiting me to help him carry out the reconnaissance of a new route. When his wife’s health declined and she had to have full time nursing care, she went to Horfield Lodge (nursing home) in Bristol so as to be near my sister Helen. My father sold the family home and moved to a flat in Bristol. He had been diagnosed with cancer but he then had a few good years in Bristol while the cancer was in remission. He became a volunteer helper at Horfield Lodge and engaged in various groups and activities with the University of the Third Age. He continued to pursue his great interest in history. When he became more unwell, he too moved into Horfield Lodge and finally into St Peter’s Hospice. My sisters and I would like to thank the staff at both places for the great kindness and care they gave to Henry in his final months. We believe he could not have been anywhere better. OLD SALOPIAN NEWS Julian Plowright (I 1956-58) Julian Plowright was born in Youlgreave, Derbyshire and attended Shrewsbury School for two years from 1956. The following obituary was published in the Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News: Julian had lived in many towns throughout the counties of England before moving permanently to the U.S. in 1990. He had visited Newport a few times prior while working with the BOC ‘Around the World Alone’ yacht race as their film director. He was a crackerjack electrical engineer and mechanic, who worked for a number of years at KVH Industries as an International Sales Manager and then as Estate Manager with his wife, Clare, at ‘Miramar’ on Bellevue Avenue and most recently as owner with his wife of the Newport retail garden shop, ‘mini-SCAPES’. He was an avid licensed amateur radio operator and member of the ARRL Radio Club of Newport County. He just recently passed his second examination, which gave him an important License Upgrade. This ‘hobby’ was just one example of Julian’s many interests and talents. He Richard Senior (O 1944-49) Richard was born in June 1931 in Alderley Edge. When he was two, the family moved to the outskirts of Llandudno. Richard was sent to what seemed to be the best choice of prep school in the region, Woodlands, where, sadly, bullying made him deeply unhappy. In spite of this, he did well academically and Richard passed on to Shrewsbury, but with no expectation that his life would be any pleasanter. Richard‘s first term at Shrewsbury began late: in May 1945, Hitler’s generals had just capitulated, and the School let everyone celebrate at home. When term did start, to Richard’s astonishment, he found life at Shrewsbury fulfilling and enjoyable; no sign whatsoever of bullying, so he could relax and enjoy what the School had to offer. Richard looked back on his four years at Shrewsbury and Oldham’s as among the happiest of his life. Except for Maths, which always remained a closed book to Richard, he enjoyed learning, especially languages. Richard knew that cricket was not for him, so for the summer he opted for the ‘tub club’, starting out as cox, and graduating, as he grew, to being an oarsman. He rowed bow for two seasons, then bow in the School third eight. He was part of the School shooting team, was awarded School Colours, then trumped this by coming sixteenth in the Ashburton Shield at Bisley. He finally shot his last pheasants at Christmas 2006. Richard was taken immediately into the School Choir, as he would delve deeply into all aspects of whatever caught his attention – he was in constant contemplation of many subjects – always ‘working out’ something in his very active and creative brain. Julian loved people, his family, and all categories of music. He was a parishioner at St John the Evangelist and thoroughly enjoyed their choir music and Father Humphrey’s sermons. He loved his movie nights with Clare and jaunts to Ft. Adams and Glenn Park with their two fourlegged kids, Mirabelle and Maximus. He cherished his visits from his daughter Sophie and his long chats on the phone with his brother and younger sister, all of whom he adored. His personal reflection was – “I am not a complex person as some seem to think, I am a simple man with simple wants and needs, but always good music, good food, and drink”. Julian passed away on 19th August 2014, from the effects of cancer. He was the husband for 23 years of Clare Cooke Plowright, who survives him. He is also survived by his daughter, Sophie Calder Plowright, recently of South Carolina, his brother, Chris Plowright of Ottawa, Canada, and his sister, Georgina Plowright of England. could sing in tune, sight-read and had a good treble voice; in the course of time, he was appointed Vice Choregus. Richard had begun piano studies aged four, and had already passed Grade Four by the time he arrived at Shrewsbury. His ongoing piano lessons took place in Alington Hall, where he could hear the School Brass Band working nearby. Attracted by the big brass sound, Richard knocked on the door and tentatively asked if he could join the Band. When F.W. Allsebrook found that Richard mastered the correct lip and tongue technique quickly on the tenor horn, produced a lovely tone and could play anything put in front of him, he was promoted to playing cornet. By the age of 15, Richard was the School’s youngest leading cornet, winning the Silver Bugle title. He also was lead and solo trumpet with the School Orchestra, culminating in him soloing in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto at the End of School Concert in summer 1949. It could be during this same concert that Richard memorably played the Posthorn Galop, using Allsebrook’s own real posthorn and wearing hunting pink, though this item is not listed on the official programme. Friendship with N.L. Williams in Mosers, who played the accordion, led to Richard’s fascination with this versatile but rather neglected instrument, from which he picked up a thorough grounding in harmony. The accordion offered Richard a totally new view of music, as it separated the melody line, played by the right hand on a short keyboard, from the rest, which is played on a series of buttons with the other hand, a brilliant training for Richard’s professional life to come. J. Barham Johnson, Richard’s piano tutor, wisely realised that Richard was destined for what was then considered an unconventional career in music. This came about following a visit by the legendary pianist Alfred Cortot. Richard, as the School’s star pianist, was invited to sit in on Cortot’s rehearsal and at the end was called over to be introduced to the great man. Inspired, Richard began to cultivate his own style, in Cortot’s mould. The following term, JBJ heard Richard sight-reading the Chopin second scherzo in B flat minor that Richard had heard Cortot perform; JBJ recognised that Richard had an innate understanding of the music. Improvisation was officially considered unscholarly, however, 81 82 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS so music lessons were moved off the school campus by the unconventional JBJ to his home, out of authoritarian earshot, and now entailed improvisation and modern (jazz) chord progressions. On leaving school, Richard was accepted by the British Schools Exploring Society for the summer trip to Arctic Norway. Call-up for National Service came next and he successfully made his way through to a commission in the Queen’s Bays, and served his time with tanks on Lüneburg Heath. This was followed with a spell in the family firm, Arnold Clayton, in Manchester, and then a move to London on his first marriage, where he was employed by his fatherin-law as an insurance underwriter. But Richard’s real calling was still a few years away. Shrewsbury and JBJ in particular had already given Richard the background he needed for his future career as a professional musician, but his niche did not appear until the pop music scene underwent its transformation at the beginning of the sixties. Richard was introduced to an agent, who told him that the electronic organ was now the thing. Richard did not need telling twice; as a child he’d fallen in love with the sound of the theatre organ, which he’d first heard live in a Llandudno cinema, whilst waiting for a showing of Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’. Thereafter he had avidly scanned the Radio Times for all broadcasts labelled ‘Theatre Organ’, and sat, ear glued to the radiogram’s speaker, till he knew the names of every player, and could recognise the individual sound of each and every theatre organ in the UK. As his career took off, Richard was being paid good money to play the modern electronic version of these theatre organs, which he boosted with the new Moog synthesiser. Richard became one of a small but significant number of publicschool-educated musicians in the new, swinging pop world of the sixties. His background was neither a handicap nor a help in this egalitarian milieu; what mattered was being able to play the dots at sight, to meld with the other musicians, and to showcase the lead-artists to best advantage. He had the gift of conjuring up the music on the spot, with never a rehearsal or run through. It was always live, exciting, with the high voltage energy of walking a tight rope, which is what thrilled the audiences. For the next thirty years, Richard’s life revolved around his evening job as resident backing-organist at various different venues, as he was head-hunted by one club after another. Mostly the duo of Richard and his drummer were backing young artists who were on their way up, many of whom The Revd Michael Tupper (Staff 1948-79) Michael Tupper, who died on 10th December 2014 aged 94, was one of the stalwarts of the staff for 31 years, from September 1948 to December 1979, for ten of which he was Housemaster of Oldham’s. Already ordained when he came to the School, he was also in fact if not in name Assistant Chaplain, a firm subsequently made it big on TV: Sandie Shaw, Georgie Fame, Ken Dodd, Roy Castle, Faith Brown, Danny Williams, Nancy Whisky and many more. This life-style lasted till the late 1980s: by then it became clear that the end was in sight, as stars who didn’t know Richard had taken to travelling with their own backing tapes. They had learned from bitter experience that there were few musicians of Richard’s calibre who could give them decent support. Finally Richard gave notice he would quit the next time an artist came with a backing tape; this life-style was now over. To supplement his income over these decades, Richard ‘daylighted’ at various jobs. These were usually selling, a skill he had discovered he had a knack for during his brief trial in the family firm, Arnold Clayton. Later, came buying and selling pianos for Dawsons of Warrington. Richard was an enthusiastic and competitive bridge player, and wherever he lived, he sought out bridge clubs to play duplicate. Living in the Home Counties in the 1980s, he founded two new clubs, one of which is still known as Richard’s Bridge Club. He authored a book on ‘How to Start and Run a Bridge Club’ for the English Bridge Union. In his later years, Richard set up online self-help groups for people world-wide who suffer from CFS/ME, a muchmisunderstood illness, with a separate group for their carers. This grew out of his caring for his wife, Annabel, who eventually died of her illness, the first official death in the UK from CFS/ME. She died, harrowingly, by starving herself to death at home, ignored by the NHS. Richard went on to counsel CFS/ME sufferers and their carers right up to his last days. Following the trauma of Annabel’s death, Richard, aged 72, decided to take a year-long round-the-world trip, on his own. He spent six months in Christchurch, New Zealand, where there was a thriving duplicate bridge club, and he was offered a number of residencies playing piano. Returning from this voyage, Richard spent his final ten years in Glastonbury with two pianos and a modern Hammond organ. Here he was able to explore the piano duet and two-piano repertoire with his second wife Susanna and, at last, to relax into jazz improvisation on the Hammond for his own pleasure. Richard is survived by Susanna, by his five children and eleven grandchildren, and by his younger brother Michael. Susanna van Rose and undaunted advocate for Christianity in a time of great change. Michael Heathfield Tupper was born in April 1920 in East Sheen, Surrey, where his father was the vicar. His mother, unusually for a woman of her generation, was an Oxford graduate. Both parents were progressive for their time on social issues, and their strong religious faith meant that Michael and his two sisters grew up in an active Christian environment. Michael was only 11 when his father died; but thanks to a Clergy Bursary he was able to go to Marlborough College. He then read Theology at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and after graduating trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. After a curacy and three years as Chaplain at Monkton Combe, OLD SALOPIAN NEWS he was appointed to Shrewsbury by Wolfenden in 1948. It is his work in Chapel and religious teaching that should be recorded first: it was a contribution of the utmost importance to the life of the School Community. There was in that sphere of School life more change in his time than perhaps in any other: there was uncertainty and experiment, and the ministries of four successive Chaplains differed in their styles and emphases. Throughout that time Michael stood firm and resolute. His faith was clearly proclaimed; the standards by which he lived were plain for all to see; and he did not hesitate to speak up for what he believed to be right, even if sometimes unpopular. For ten years he was Housemaster of Oldham’s, not the easiest of years – 1962 to 1972 – when the School was experiencing both the difficulties caused by the changing mores of British Society in the 1960s and also the force of the reforming energy of Donald Wright. Many old members of the House will testify to his pastoral care and thoroughness, and perhaps above all to the security of knowing that there was a steady hand at the helm. One of his Heads of House was Michael Proctor, now Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. His boys will remember too with gratitude all the work done by his wife Jane in those final years of House catering, when Housemasters’ wives were still hotel keepers at a time when hotel staff had become almost extinct. He had met Jane Taylor when in his earlier days he was resident House Tutor in School House, where her father Tom Taylor was Housemaster from 1948 until his sudden untimely death in 1952. He and Jane married in 1953. In other ways too Michael played his full part in School life. In the Sixth Form his Divinity teaching pointed a path for many to follow into an understanding of the Christian faith, and below the Sixth his teaching as a form master raised the morale of the strugglers and brought results which surprised even the boys themselves. Michael was also an energetic Glynn Yeoward (I 1944-48) Glynn was one of the more senior members of an extended ‘Salopian’ family. He followed his father Cyril Herbert and cousins Michael and Richard Ainsworth to Shrewsbury. Michael was one of Shrewsbury’s more prominent cricketers, and Glynn felt it was a hard act to follow. Subsequently, he was joined by younger brother John Cyril (later High Sheriff of Shropshire c.1982), sons Robin (I 1968-73) and Andrew (I 1970-75), and grandson Christopher (O 2007-09). Glynn’s main loves and achievements at school were football and cricket. He was in the 2nd XI football and was in the 1st House final winning team one year, playing in the forward line with Robin Moulsdale. He claimed on the same evening to have fought in the 1st House boxing final, losing against Brian Hutton, later Lord Hutton (of Iraq Inquiry fame). After achieving his School Certificate, he joined the Coldstream Guards for National Service, including guarding Windsor Castle at the time of HRH Prince Charles’ birth. Following a brief spell working in Canada, he became a cub reporter on the Hereford Times, and subsequently became the news editor in the Birmingham Post. In latter years, he took to writing, completing a number of books mixing fact with fiction on subjects such as the Roman occupation of Shropshire. He continued to play football and cricket (with Ludlow Cricket Club) for as long as possible, and was a regular on the Shropshire cricket scene. House rowing coach, he sang regularly in the Concert Choir, he was in demand as a football referee who could be relied on to keep a firm grip on the game, and he was a major link between the School and Shrewsbury House in Everton, where he was a familiar and much respected figure. On retirement Michael and Jane moved to Bayston Hill, where he had already become involved in parish affairs. His energy was still undiminished, and in retirement as a non-stipendiary curate he joined the vicar in fostering a flourishing parish. The congregation outgrew the small village church, and they raised the money to build a large new church more central to the modern housing. Those were happy and fruitful years. As he wrote at the time: “We are trying to combine faithfulness to the unchanging truths of the Gospel with courage to experiment with contemporary ways of worship and communication.” Also in retirement, he and Jane went regularly to Jerusalem for two or three months at a time to take his turn as chaplain at the Garden Tomb, ministering to the many pilgrims and tourists who visit. In total they did thirteen spells of duty there. When Michael died, Jane received a phone call from an Arab street vendor in Jerusalem who spoke to her for twenty minutes in tribute: Michael’s influence extended beyond the bounds of the Garden Tomb itself. In his last years he became increasingly frail and was cared for and nursed with unstinting devotion by Jane, so that with the help of visiting professional carers he spent almost all that time in his own home rather than in hospital. He leaves his widow Jane, two daughters, a son, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Luther’s words spoken at the Diet of Worms in 1521 could aptly be applied to Michael: Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. In 1953, he married Susan Isobel Garbett, niece of the then Archbishop of York, and is survived by three children, Robin, Andrew and Sarah, and three grandchildren, Georgina, James and Christopher. 83 SALOPIAN CLUB COMING EVENTS More details can be found on the Salopian Club website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-events-0 Sporting fixtures at: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-sport (Click on individual sport) Except where stated, email: jscholes@shrewsbury.org.uk All Shrewsbury School parents (including former parents) and guests of members are most welcome at the majority of our events. It is our policy to include in all invitations all former parents for whom we have contact details. The exception is any event marked ‘Old Salopian’ which, for reasons of space, is restricted to Club members only (e.g. Birmingham Dinner). Supporters or guests are always very welcome at Salopian Club sporting or arts events. Emails containing further details are sent out prior to all events, so please make sure that we have your up to date contact details. Date Event Venue Friday 15th January, 7.30pm for 8.00pm Young OS Open Mic Night The Horse & Stables, 124 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7RW *Wednesday 20th January 5.30pm Salopian Club Committee Meeting London Friday 29th January, 5.30pm Chapel Choir Evensong at Manchester Cathedral, followed by a reception at the National Football Museum. Manchester Cathedral M3 1SX Contact: nbevan@shrewsbury.org.uk Wednesday 3rd February, 5.00pm Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by a tour of the Cathedral and a reception St Paul’s Cathedral, London Saturday 6th February, 2.30pm OS Fergus Macleod conducts “The Mikado” at the ENO, followed by an after-show gathering and a chance to meet him. London Coliseum WC2N 4ES Friday 12th February, 7.30pm School Concert at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, preceded by a reception at the Randolph Hotel Holywell Music Room, Oxford Contact: nbevan@shrewsbury.org.uk *Tuesday 23rd February, 6.00pm Salopian Club Sports Committee Meeting London Sunday 28th February, 7.30pm Shrewsbury School performs Verdi’s Requiem. Birmingham Town Hall B3 3DQ Contact jyoung@shrewsbury.org.uk Saturday 12th March Joint OS/School Concert Rehearsal in the afternoon, followed by an evening concert. Thursday 17th March Schools’ Head of the River Race gathering The Blue Anchor, Hammersmith W6 9DJ Friday 18th March Shrewsbury School Parents’ Association Ball Shrewsbury School *Thursday 14th April OS Birmingham Dinner. Tickets will be available via the website in the New Year. St Paul’s Club, Birmingham B3 1QZ Friday 13th May OS Football Club Dinner London *Sunday 26th June Moser’s Reunion Garden BBQ Shrewsbury School Saturday 2nd July Speech Day/Henley Royal Regatta Shrewsbury/Henley *Thursday 15th – Monday 19th September World War Two Battlefield Tour Normandy *Saturday 1st October Old Salopian Day Shrewsbury School * Salopian Club sponsored events RSSH, Kenya, October 2015 Alington Hall, Shrewsbury School