BRISTOLIENSES THE OLD BRISTOLIANS’ MAGAZINE Winter 2019 Issue 56
In this issue: Going it (almost) alone One Hundred Years On Medical Elective Report A new school at the Bartholomews
Failand or Golden Hill? Leavers’ Dinner 2018 Five years in the USA Food & Fitness
Our Wedding News
Thoughts from the Chair
GEOFF WRIGHT
LONDON DRINKS 2018 : SPORTS CLUB UPDATES : FOUNDATION NEWS : POPPIES’ MAP Bristolienses - Issue 56
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Editorial
Contents Editorial 2 From the President 3 Thoughts from the Chair 4 Jeremy Levett Interview 5 Failand or Golden Hill? 6 School at the Bartholomews 7 Five Years in the USA 8 Goodbye Jan Duncan 9 Going it (almost) alone 10 Leavers’ Dinner 2018 11 London Drinks 2018 12 Food & Fitness 13 Foundation News 14 Dominican Trip 15 Medical Elective Report 16 One hundred years on 18 Poppies’ Map 19 Sports Club Reports 20 AGM Notice 23 Luncheon Club Report 24 Merchandise 25 Where are they now? 26 OBs’ News 27 OBs Around the World 28 OB Wedding News 29 Obituaries 30 Honorary Members 34 Past Presidents 34 OB Management Committee 35
Inserts this edition:
Annual Dinner 2019 Flyer Annual Dinner 2019 Booking Form
The ‘new look’
Editorial
Bristolienses Issue 55 received many favourable comments on both its content and appearance, and I must thank Tony O’Callaghan again for the skill he put into the design. It is my wish to increase the range of articles and to have contributions from a wide range of Old Bristolians, particularly recent and relatively recent leavers to learn of their career path. Melanie Guy and Ian Rolling have both helped me in my quest and I am pleased to publish articles from Sophie Heath, nee Enever (20002007) – Food and fitness, James Harrison (2002-2010) - Going it (almost) alone and James Graham (2006-13) – Studying in Harvard and working in Washington. Ian Southcott has written what he
Geoff Wright calls a ‘whimsical article’ about the sports grounds, Failand or Golden Hill?. If any readers would like to submit similar copy for the next magazine, I would be delighted. So, over to you Tony! I am hoping this issue is a worthy successor.
Geoff Wright (1956-1966) Bristolienses Editor
Views on this edition and ideas for the next? Please write in with your views on Bristolienses Issue 56 and any ideas you may have for our next issue in the summer
Thanks to Dan, current BGS Yr 10 student, for our cover image Bristolienses - Issue 56
Drop us a line ‘to the Editor’ on the OBs’ email: obs@bgs.bristol.sch.uk 2
From the President From the President
It’s a dull November
morning as I write this, but my spirits are not downcast as I am reflecting on the year I have had so far as President and yes, I admit it, taking some of that energy from Strictly! Just the Sunday night show is enough to give one a boost! My editor says to be fairly brief so I can’t mention too many details about the luncheon club, dinners, remembrance services, meetings, this magazine, careers events, the new Headmaster and so forth but I will say that loyalty, commitment and service are themes that run through all of these and I am so proud to be part of it all! The regular luncheon club gatherings remind us of friendships and connections with the school over many years. Dinners at other local schools have shown me how liked and respected we are within the community. This magazine is impressive in showcasing a wide range of events and experiences and I have asked
Melanie Guy
several young OBs to make a contribution to this edition.
Remembrance was particularly moving for me, having three opportunities to be involved: at the luncheon club at our OB memorial ground, at the Sunday service also at Failand and at the superbly informative and emotional School service. If you have not yet seen the plaque on the outside wall of the clubhouse then you should most certainly do so – 142 names of OBs who sadly lost their lives during WW2 (huge appreciation and respect to Tony Stirratt for all his work on that project).
May I wish you all the happiest of times for the coming year!
Melanie Guy (1989 - 2016) Ex - Staff
There is something uplifting about having a new Headmaster in the school and we so enjoyed having lunch with Jaideep Barot in early November. We wish him every success as he leads the school through its next phase! There are two further things that I must just mention, careers events and the annual dinner. Naturally I am delighted that Careers support from OBs (and to OBs) still continues, so if you haven’t attended the L6th event yet or been involved with Mock Interviews please consider doing so! Date for L6th event – February 1st 2019. We would love to see you there! Also look out for the next Networking Breakfast on 6 March 2019 held at the school which Anna Freeman and Pete Jakobek organise. Not only are they useful and informative but a real joy to attend! The annual dinner (16 March 2019) will be extra special this year as Josie Goddard (OB and rising opera
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singer) will be entertaining us and believe me when I say you will not want to miss her performance! 2010 leavers please note that date and come along!
DO WE HAVE YOUR UP-TO-DATE EMAIL ADDRESS? The Old Bristolians’ Society can save significant sums of money by using electronic communication rather than print and postage. If you are willing to allow us to email you, please email obs@bgs.bristol.sch.uk to give us your up-to-date details. If you’re not sure whether we’re up to date, just email us anyway. This small effort on your part will reduce our adminstration costs and free up more money for the causes in which we all believe.
Thank you! 3
Thoughts from the Chair Thoughts from the Chair The autumn term is
always full of events and as a parent of a student in the Upper Sixth, this term seems particularly full with all the extra things university choice and application entails.
There have been a number of events remembering the centenary of the armistice both at school and at the Memorial Ground. The School service, led by different members of the history department, was most poignant and the current 1st XV were used to symbolise the youth of soldiers who fought and fell. On a lighter note there has been the school concert held at St Georges Brandon Hill, finishing with Mozart’s Requiem and demonstrating the wide range of musical talent within the school. Likewise, a performance of Revelio, held in the MacKinnon Theatre, showcased the talents of the dance students. Now, at the time of writing, we are looking forward to the Carol Service, the London Drinks evening, the end of term and Christmas. Beyond then, of course will be Charter Day and the Annual Dinner. It has been a pleasure to see the new Headmaster, Jaideep Barot, settling in so effortlessly. He has
held a number of informal lunches to meet and get to know different Old Bristolians and we look forward to working closely with him and the School over the coming years. After working as the Society’s administrator for fifteen years, Jan Duncan decided to retire in early October. We thank her for all she did and wish her well for the future and this was formally done at the luncheon club on 5th October. Anna Freeman is temporarily working additional hours to fill the gap. The incorporation of the Sports Club is coming ever nearer to completion and the various papers are now with the Society’s solicitors. I hope that when I next write I will be able to say that it has happened.
Finally, although some weeks of 2019 will already have passed when you read this, I send you my very best wishes for the rest of this year.
Geoff Wright (1956-1966) Chairman
Bolthole for sale? Looking to the horizon can be a tricky thing when immersed in the day-to-day routines of work and family life.
What I have observed of colleagues and friends who have recently retired is that those who make the transition appear the smoothest and most enjoyable are the ones that have given the next phase some careful thought and preparation, rather than suddenly waking up after their last day at work and thinking ‘Now what?!’. So, with about 5 more years left at the coalface in the NHS, I’m tentatively trying to begin those preparations. One recurring (pipe?) dream is to build or renovate a small basic dwelling, such as a cabin or bothy or outbuilding, somewhere in the countryside, within a couple of hours’ striking distance from Bristol. The aim would be a long term project in which there is as much value in the process as there is in the end product. It could be by the sea, or in the woods. But places like that, or opportunities to create them, don’t seem to be ten-a-penny. When I was discussing this over a beer with friends, they suggested putting something in Bristolienses, to see if any OBs out there might have a lead, or might know someone who knows someone, or have a helpful suggestion, or even a suitable plot of land for sale - I’d love to hear from anyone reading this if they have any of the above! Many thanks.
Reg Bragonier (1978-1982) R_Bragonier@hotmail.com
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Jeremy Levett - Illustrated World of Mortal Engines Interview with Jeremy Levett, co-writer of The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines
In December we were fortunate to be able to welcome back Jeremy Levett OB who attended BGS between 2003 and 2008. His visit coincided with the release of “The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines” a book he has co-written with author Philip Reeve. The book has been launched at the same time as the Hollywood film Mortal Engines directed by Peter Jackson. Jeremy spent a day with us and had a chance to meet up with some of his former teachers as well as
current staff and pupils. We also took the opportunity to catch up with him to talk about his journey in producing the book. Jeremy’s first encounter with Philip Reeve was at a book event at BGS just after he had finished school. He had always been a huge fan, he describes Philip as his “childhood idol” and was keen to come and meet the author in person. They struck up a conversation, exchanged details and became pen-pals.
write and this is what set him off on a journey that has been “a dream come true”. Jeremy still works for the Civil Service but has plans for two books in the future exploring two different themes: a space adventure and a reflection on growing up on the internet.
Anna Freeman
Foundation Manager
Jeremy and Philip continued to correspond throughout his time at University and when Philip’s publisher approached him about creating a short pamphlet called The Codex Traction, a sort of encyclopaedia/ history of the World of Mortal Engines, featuring all those things you “Always Wanted To Know But Could Never Be Bothered To Ask, like, how did Airhaven get airborne?”, Philip asked Jeremy to help him to write it. The latest collaboration between the two authors “The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines” is a fully illustrated expansion on this, “It’s much bigger, longer, more comprehensive and has been enormous fun to write. Especially the Australian cities...” Jeremy told us that at School he never really believed in himself but thanks to very supportive English teachers he was encouraged to
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Failand or Golden Hill Failand or Golden Hill? There is a practice often
found in magazine articles or interviews, where the respondent is asked to reply to questions such as are you a saver or spender, prefer the Beatles or the Stones, hotel or villa etc, etc, the aim being to provide some clues to the character of the interviewee.
to with the need to pile on to a green double-decker, numbers 83 or 145, to travel those few miles to its hallowed turf. The pavilion seemed to have more character and the sun seemed to shine more or perhaps that was just word association…..
what are your memories of these ‘fields of dreams?’
Ian Southcott (1964-1971) Secretary
Which was your preference and
Adapting this approach to the school’s playing fields, the question is which was your preference Failand or Golden Hill? For at least part of my time at BGS (1964-1971) we were sometimes bussed to Failand on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday afternoon and sometimes we had to make our own way to Golden Hill. Although no doubt somebody out there will know, I am not sure when Failand came on stream and, for that matter, when Golden Hill ceased to be one of the school’s sports venues, I believe it is now the site of one of the major supermarkets where ‘every little helps’. Failand was new and the changing rooms smarter and warmer but it will always remain in my mind the place where the sado-masochistic art of cross country was practiced; cross country will always be associated with very cold, very wet and very muddy days.
Failand c1970’s
Failand c2015
Golden Hill c1950’s
In addition, and being a hockey player in the days when an even, synthetic surface was a mere figment of somebody’s imagination, Failand was the site of an opposing goal keeper breaking one of my front teeth, a battle scar I bear to this day. Golden Hill on the other hand was more fun and more chaotic to get
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Golden Hill c1960’s
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The New School at the Bartholomews ‘Was Robert Thorne
founding a wholly new school, or merely assisting the transfer of an existing one to more commodious quarters? Unless new evidence comes to light, no definite answer is possible.’ (Hill’s History page 8)
But after reviewing what evidence there was, Hill does conclude that it was in fact ‘not a new creation, but a school which had been in existence over the Frome Gate for some time before the 1530s’. I have always agreed with this view, largely because after tracking the names of the Masters through the
City accounts (the Mayor’s Audits) I was surprised to find that the premises over the Frome Gate which Moffat apparently used for his school for a very short time were referred to as a School for many, many years afterwards. I was therefore always alert for earlier references to Moffat and his school
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– Moffat in particular, because as a personal friend of the Thornes and a beneficiary in their wills he is the key figure here. And then, completely by coincidence and in an unrelated enquiry, I came across the Fox Deeds in Bristol Archives. It’s a miscellaneous collection of very old pieces of paper, and there are three documents which contain information of interest. Number 35 is a deed of 2 November 1513 by which Thomas Norton Esquire grants to William Fathyr, Clerk, and others, various properties near St Mary le Port; it is endorsed ‘Rockwell’s House the almes and that which was the scoole house all do passe by this deed’. Well, there would have been more than one school house; more to do there.
of children in 1532) twenty years before the date of the Charter. This would certainly have interested Peter Hill. The third document is a stray from the Mayor’s Audits. It lists Officers’ fees due at Christmas; it is not dated but it must be much later. There is Mr Moffat again, ‘Item to Mr Moffett for his Annuitye, 6 shillings and 8 pence’. So he is retired (he was paid about £5 a quarter as Schoolmaster of the Grammar School) and this is his pension. I hope he had an additional income, but I think the Thorne Brothers had made sure he did.
Anne Bradley
Archivist Immediate Past President
Number 97 is the will of David Leyson. Dated 13 February 1513, and this has a specific reference to his new house that he ‘lattely held in Christmas streate … wherin Thomas Moffatt, scolmaster, now dwelleth.’ So our first Master, Thomas Moffat, was a schoolmaster in Christmas Street (the address of his room over the Frome gate which he had for the teaching
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Five Years in the United States Studying at Harvard and working in Washington I had certainly given
my parents enough warning. Three years prior I had decided to apply to study in the United States, and three years later here I was about to do exactly that. Naturally, the weekly Skypes had been arranged, the Harvard sweaters reluctantly bought, the pounds of British chocolate smuggled through the American border, but we knew there was still a lot to be figured out. The American adventure started in a very un-American way: an international program at Harvard - an ‘American’ family to teach me, as my parents couldn’t, how on earth bank accounts, phones, dancing and so forth, work in the 50 United States. In summary, they’re all worse, more expensive or both. With that pessimistic attitude I was thrust into the wider student population, honorary American certificate in hand. I am happy to report home that since that day some friends have been made, zero cooking skills have been obtained (Harvard houses us in catered dorms throughout) and four Thanksgiving dinners have been attended. However, my ‘work’ as cultural ambassador is unfortunately not complete, despite reinforcements in the form of Matt Bennett (O.B. 1989-1996), pictured, who visited during my third year. In an attempt to strive towards completion, please spread the following messages: I did live in a city that’s not London, I do know my weight
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in stones only, and I certainly do not exaggerate my accent when in the company of people I’m trying to
impress, unless I’ve had a pint. While I intended to study biochemistry, the beauty of the liberal arts system is the ability to change one’s mind, and a combination of a few good professors, a few bad professors, and an itch that hadn’t yet been scratched led me to become an economics student. Four years later I turned in my final thesis project on Harvard’s housing day, pictured – a day in which freshman students find out which house (dorm, college, mouse-infested attic) they’ll be living in for their remaining three years. All the associated fake rivalries and beverages come out to play, and, though I attempted to share my findings on Public vs Private operation of passenger railways (prime suspect: East Coast
Mainline, always been an interest of mine), we had bigger priorities at hand: namely savouring the final weeks of misguided priorities before graduation, and my move to Washington, D.C.. After four years of Boston winters, I was grateful for a new city and a warmer (ish) climate. While D.C.’s White House has changed quite significantly over the past years, which, as a favour to myself, I’ll leave at that, the city itself is surprisingly unaware. The usual wide streets, clean, airy feel, and bottomless brunches of the north west of the city feel a lifetime away from the monthly protests of the Capitol. It’s this (relatively) relaxed feel; this mild southern influence, that drew me to the District, and a large part of why I’m planning to stay.
Of course, one must also make a career in a city where rent exists, and I’ve been fortunate to do
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Goodbye Jan Duncan just that. I currently work as an associate at The Boston Consulting Group. Yes, I know I moved from Boston to D.C. to do so, despite the name. I’m now part of that infamous group of people called management consultants, which I’m sure many of you have come to know and love. I’ve chosen to play to my interests in public transport, and work heavily in travel and tourism. I’ve been fortunate to work in operations and revenue management departments in US and Middle Eastern airlines, as well as rail companies in North America. My interest has developed into a passion, and, though my tenure typically remains generalist, I’m glad to have learnt a lot about one specific industry. The tricks to get a good price on my flights back home aren’t a bad thing either. It’s hard to say where the next step may be - airlines do have a habit of being all over the place – but my five years in America have been an adventure that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Other O.B.s have been in the neighbourhood far longer than me, and I’m certainly not qualified to give any advice, but that hasn’t stopped me in the past. I’ll leave you with this: dollars are not monopoly money, and American chocolate somehow manages to be twice as calorific and half as good as even Sainsbury’s Basics’ attempt. Happy belated Thanksgiving, and for anyone in the market for a marshmallow sweet potato casserole recipe, or, god-forbid, a conversation about my time here, feel free to email: jamesmilangraham@gmail.com
James Graham (2006-2013)
Jan Duncan retired on
5th October from her role as office administrator for the Society. At the first monthly lunch of the new season, Jan’s contribution was recognised in an address by our President, Melanie Guy which was followed by the presenting of a gift and a bouquet of flowers.
the lynchpin for collecting input for Bristolienses and for the not inconsiderable chore of chasing up contributors and monitoring deadlines.
Jan joined the OB’s office in 2003, having previously worked for the Friends of BGS. During her time with us she looked after personal records on the database, oversaw the setting up and running of the Direct Debit process for taking annual membership subscriptions through BACS and Melanie Guy and Jan Duncan enjoyed contact In recognition of her work, Jan was with members over the telephone, made an honorary member of the by letter and e-mail. As a result, Society some years ago. she knew a wide range of Old Bristolians both in this country and We thank Jan sincerely for all that overseas and she was the name she did for our benefit and hope they knew when contacting the that she will continue to be a Society. frequent attendee at the lunches – and maybe at some of the school’s In addition, Jan was responsible key occasions. for ordering stocks of ties, scarves, cufflinks and other such memorabilia for sale to the Mike Burmester (1953-1964) membership.
Past President
She acted very successfully as
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Going it (almost) alone...
James Harrison
Wednesday 13th January 2016, should
have been a really good day; finally, all the parts for my kit car build were arriving (that’s another story in itself!). All was going well, until I got a call from my then manager to inform me that the exciting, innovative tidal turbine development company that I work for was being closed down and in a few short months we would all be jobless. That turned out to be a day of really mixed emotions!
we start a business” meetings started. As the weeks went by fewer and fewer faces remained at these meetings, until there were only four remaining. Those four, myself included, formed the team that started Blackfish Engineering Design. A complete mix of individuals with a wide variety of different skills. I probably represent the stubborn individual who doesn’t like being told what to do, so being my own boss was ideal. Others had eyes on specific business opportunities, were fedup with careers going nowhere in large organisations and we all felt we could offer engineering design services that were better than anyone else out there.
After the news had sunk in, we
Exciting as it was starting a new business there were some daunting moments. For example, the day you get set up in your first office (yes, a tiny space in Staple Hill), look around the room at one another and realise, that for all intents and purposes, no-one outside that room knows you exist! Those first few months were the hardest, trying to convince people that your newly formed company is capable of delivering their engineering
looked around the office at each other and realised we had a really strong team that had worked well together and achieved so much – maybe we could make a business out of this? The lunchtime “can
projects, despite the fact they have never heard of you. Then when you find someone who is willing to work with you, what are you supposed to charge? Needless to say, the
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discussion about the rate for a first job went on for a while! However, once a business is up and running, I can honestly say there is nothing more rewarding. It is an emotional rollercoaster, simply because you care that much more about each project and each proposal. A rejected bid in a competitive tender, hurts for a few days, but a win makes you feel over the moon! Every job well done and positive feedback from clients, fills you with more confidence and provides yet further encouragement. I’m afraid, I cannot sit here and write to you to say that running your own business is for everyone and it’s a piece of cake, because, unfortunately, it’s not. You may start a business focused on a passion or a skill you have, but I have found that the time you get to dedicate to that is less than you might think. The commercial aspects drain a serious amount of your time and attention – perhaps more so for me, because I was an engineer rather than any sort of business person. However, even as I am rapidly learning, it still takes a considerable amount
of my time. Contract terms and conditions, setting hourly rates, paying employees, pensions, insurance, accounting software and office maintenance are not in
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Leavers’Dinner 2018 School Leavers’ Dinner 2018
the forefront of your mind when you start a business, but they all demand your attention. In many ways that makes the moments you get to spend (in my case) actually solving engineering problems even more special. In the case of Blackfish, we take on engineering challenges within renewable energy projects – with a particular set of expertise for offshore renewables. Working on projects I am interested in, having been chosen from the crowd by a customer and delivering the perfect solution is a thoroughly gratifying process. There are four joint Directors at Blackfish, so we have always had each other to talk to and discuss things – I think this is vital when you are setting up “on your own”. Even if you are setting up
The 2018 event - to
which the Society made a financial contribution - had an even more than usual special flavour as one of the leavers was the Headmaster, Rod MacKinnon.
In his valediction he played an extract from Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” with the words “it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life”. He believed the message of the song befitted the moment. Rod reflected on his time as both a teacher and headmaster. He told the Upper Sixth that the Old Bristolians had done a lot for them and now they were about to join its ranks. He exhorted them to keep in touch, come back to the school, talk and network. Head of School, Hugo Holdsworth, is clearly a man with an eye for the unusual. He had calculated that those who had joined in year 7 and attended the school for the past 7 years had enjoyed 163,800 school lunches and attended 1,764
assemblies. Justin Harford, master of ceremonies and Head of the Sixth Form, conducted the evening with his trademark skill and aplomb. He thanked Michele Milton and her brigade for the catering, the Lower Sixth formers for serving at table and Jane Hicks for organising the whole evening so thoroughly and successfully. He paid tribute to staff members about to depart, including four who between them had served for 120 years. Graham Fellows, Rick Sellers, “Captain” Carrie Rosser and John Lever (Leaver-geddit?).
As ever, he left us with the Harford “three thoughts”. How could the formal part of the evening end more powerfully than that? Well… we went on to sing two verses of “Jerusalem” and the school song – twice! Time to reach for the tissues.
Mike Burmester (1953-1964) Past President
completely alone, make sure you have someone to talk to about your business, who, at least to some extent, understands what it is you offer and what you want to achieve. With some support, a passion and a clear goal, I would encourage anyone to start a business if they feel the market opportunity is there for them. Don’t be afraid, be committed!
James Harrison (2002-2010) Justin Harford, Roderick MacKinnon and Melanie Guy enjoying the School Song
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London Drinks 2018
2018 LONDON DRINKS This year we celebrated the start of
the Christmas season with a drinks evening at the Golden Lion in St James’s, London. The evening was well attended with OBs from last year’s leavers mixing with others that left 60 years ago. It is hoped that we can meet together more regularly in 2019, to provide networking opportunities for young OBs.
Peter Jakobek (Staff 1982 to date) Assistant Head: Alumni & Events
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Food and Fitness I was always the “sporty one” at school
and it wasn’t until around year 10 that I found my interest in academia. Human biology was fascinating to me – I was finally learning something that I could make sense of and relate to real life. It therefore felt natural for me to combine my passion for the human body (physiology) and sports by undertaking my degree in Sport & Exercise Science. When it came to refining my subject area nutrition was an obvious choice and something I loved to study - I think anyone who is very active has an interest in food; food is fuel at the end of the day! It helped that I was (and am) a big foodie, one of my favourite things to do is to go out for a nice meal with family or friends. I didn’t quite get enough to satisfy me at
BSc level so I decided to stay on at Loughborough and do an MSc in Sport & Exercise Nutrition to further my knowledge. Whilst I was there I tried to get as much experience as possible – a lot of volunteer work, and even some paid work presenting to sports clubs and running nutrition workshops. It was clear that this
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was what made me tick. Applications to various jobs began in the final stages of my Masters year, and I had a tough decision to make. I was offered a part time unpaid role working with GB athletes in London or a paid role in industry working for a sports nutrition brand. It was such a difficult decision – I thought at the time the former was my “dream job” but I just didn’t know how I was going to make it work because the time commitment changed across the year so much so that it would be difficult to keep a part time job alongside. So I had to go with my head and go for the paid role. I packed up my things and moved to Cambridge where I worked in industry – it didn’t feel like my dream job, but I gained a lot of experience in marketing, food regulation (which I actually really enjoyed!) and generally learning how a business works. I was also lucky enough to continue my practice as a nutritionist as the company I worked for sponsored Cambridge rugby club (one of the things that attracted me to work there) so I used to give talks and run oneto-one sessions with them which was great. While I was working there I decided to further my study and completed a PGDip in Human Nutrition alongside my job – I feel in nutrition (and life!) you should never stop learning! Once this was complete I wanted a new challenge. Whilst I love nutrition, exercise has always played a big role in my wellness and I think the two must go hand in hand to form a balanced and healthy life. So to be able to give a more holistic offering I undertook a diploma in Personal Training. I felt I had enough qualifications now to set up on my own, so I took the
leap and went part time in my day job and set up my consultancy. This was tough going but I was doing what I have always wanted – helping people feel great and improve their health! I offer both nutrition advice and personal training – and love doing both together as I feel they complement one another. Whilst doing this I was also busy planning a wedding, and once married we were ready for a new chapter. We moved back to Bristol a year ago (Bristol has always felt like home!). I now work for a company where I can use all my skills – I put on events where I combine fitness and food, manage the development of an exciting cooking education programme for children and also manage product development. I am sure there will be more progression and more studying to come – but that’s what’s so exciting about life, you never know where it might take you next!! If you’re interested in some simple healthy recipes or wellness tips, please follow my Instagram @sophiejanenutrition, see you there!
Sophie Heath (nee Enever), MSc, RNutr, CPT (2000-2007) sophie-jane.co.uk
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Foundation News Foundation News
Our first recipient Hope, who is currently studying in the Upper Sixth, used the funds to help towards a trip abroad to find out more about becoming a doctor. She has prepared the following report on her trip.
Anna Freeman
As many of you will
know we are really fortunate at BGS to receive support from Old Bristolians for bursary awards and also capital investment that contributes to the extras that make an education at BGS so special. In addition, what you may not know is that we also receive gifts which are for academic enrichment. Examples of these are John James Tools of the Trade awards and prize donations, both financial and in the form of trophies and travel awards. This year thanks to a generous donation from the family of Hugh Boyd OB (1936-1943) a new academic enrichment award has been instigated. After studying at BGS Hugh went on to study Zoology at Bristol University. He spent the first part of his career working for what is now the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the rest of his life in Canada working for the Canadian Wildlife Service. The annual award is available to Year 11 and Sixth Form students for those who could not otherwise afford to fund additional travel or training in an academic subject; either arts or science, either abroad or in the UK. It provides a real opportunity for pupils to access funds to extend their experience beyond the School curriculum.
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We couldn’t achieve this support for our current pupils without the support of generous Old Bristolians and large or small every gift counts. So thank you to the many of you have given and continue to give. If you want to find out more details about how to give a gift to BGS I am happy to have a confidential chat and to provide the relevant details and discuss how your gift could be used.
Anna Freeman
Foundation Manager 0117 933 9637 afreeman@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
During the summer
I spent two weeks in the Dominican Republic with Gap Medics. I flew out through Miami, arriving in La Romana on Saturday evening where I met with other students who were on the programme and got a taxi to the Gap Medics house. I spent the Sunday relaxing around the house catching up on jet lag. I spent my first week in Dr. Antonio Musa Hospital Regional, the largest hospital in La Romana, in the paediatric clinic. During my time there I saw many children who had poverty related illnesses such as iron deficiencies, skin infections, waterborne diseases and parasitic infections. This was very striking as they are conditions which you do not commonly see in young children in the UK, and for those that get ill they have many treatments readily available. There was very heavy rain on one day, which meant that my mentor could not get in to the hospital, so I shadowed in the emergency department with another doctor. When in the children’s emergency room, it became obvious that the nurses were undertrained, they particularly struggle inserting cannulas, which can be very distressing for the children. I spent some time on the neonatal ward
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Dominican Republic Trip
which was emotionally challenging as I saw a birth that resulted in the baby passing away which could have been prevented if that baby had been born in the UK. In the afternoons and evenings during the week and on the weekends, I took part in lots of different activities which was a great way to get to know the people I was on the trip with and to relax after long mornings in the hospital. We did many activities including visiting an orphanage to play games with the boys living there, doing yoga classes, ATV buggying, swimming in the pool and the ocean, a catamaran cruise and visited the largest island belonging to the Dominican Republic. Every evening we ate together as a large group, eating out on Friday night at a local restaurant, making friends from all around the world: I now have friends who live as far away as Australia and South Korea! I spent my second week in Hospital Dr. Arístides Fiallo Cabral which is a smaller hospital near the centre of La Romana. I got to see surgeries,
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regular ward rounds, wound clinics and spent time in the emergency department. I saw many patients who were suffering with problems arising from poor management of their diabetes, some of which were critically ill. There were many gang and crime related injuries, both those of people who were brought in for wound care from prison to emergency cases, which showed how much of an issue police corruption and a poor justice system is. In surgery I saw hernia operations and cyst removals which were performed in poorly supplied theatres and by surgeons with a lack of understanding about disease control.
my desire to study medicine and has given me another perspective on what it is like to be a doctor and the impact you can have on a patient’s life.
Hope
My mentoring doctors set up a practical skills session where we learnt how to check someone’s blood pressure, how to listen to lung and heart sounds, give intramuscular injections and how to do stitches on pig’s feet. They also allowed us to take their blood and to clean patients infected diabetic legs and open wounds. This was a great learning experience and taught me many practical skills. I had an amazing trip and loved every moment of it. It reinforced
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Medical Elective Report - Malawi and Tanzania In June of 2018 as
part of my fourth year of medical studies in Newcastle University, I and my fellow students began a 2-month medical elective. I took this opportunity to spend 2 months in East Africa to see first-hand the challenges faced by developing countries in providing Heath Care to their population. We were fortunate to be able to split our elective and spend 4 weeks in Malawi and 4 weeks in Tanzania. This meant we were exposed to two very different health environments with very different medical infrastructures and populations. We spent the first 4 weeks in Malawi in a village called Knoktakota. We were working with a charity that ran village clinics for children that are unable to get to hospital due to the long distances involved. Our day started at 7am when we packed up the jeeps with medication and supplies. We then all bundled in and made the bumpy journey to one of the hard to reach villages. This journey could be up to 3 hours on single track dirt roads. When we finally arrived in the village we were welcomed by over 200 children and mothers singing a welcoming song. It was an amazing experience to see hundreds of people using song and dance to educate one another about health issues. Each village had their own take on these health songs so it was always a treat hearing the variations. We would be encouraged to join in by clapping and some questionable
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Rebecca is top left in the picture above
dance moves. Once we had been welcomed we then set up the clinic. This involved us sitting on chairs or as I preferred a shaded spot on the ground under a tree, and then the chaos would begin. The children would be weighed using scales hung from a tree and registered. Then they would line up in front of us and the consultations would begin. English was not spoken in the
villages so all consultations were carried out in Chichewa. This made for difficult but often fun consultations and my attempts to use the few Chichewa words I had learnt was often a cause of great hilarity. We saw lots of infectious diseases with malaria being the most common. Sadly, we saw a huge amount of really bad skin conditions, as well as lots of malnutrition. On the days, we weren’t visiting the villages we ran the HIV clinic.
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Medical Elective Report - Malawi and Tanzania Here the children had a full health check and any health problems were addressed. This was also an opportunity to provide some health education and an opportunity to talk to the children. Only 49% of children between 0-14years are receiving treatment so this service was desperately needed.
asking the parents to pay up there and then. It was very difficult and sad to see when families couldn’t afford investigations or medication and would simply have to go with out and self-discharge. On more than one occasion the students rallied round to pay for a patient’s medication.
We also had the opportunity to go to a school for albinism and provide health education. In Malawi, there is a great stigma associated with people who have albinism, often leading to children being ostracized from communities.
During the weekends, we took the opportunity to explore. In Malawi we got to go to Lake Malawi on more than one occasion and took the opportunity to make our way up to Livingstone which was a village on the top of an incredibly steep mountain which had breathtaking views. In Tanzania, we had the opportunity to track some of the famous chimps in Gombe and see where Jane Goodall carried out her research. We also made our
Following this we went to Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania. Here we were placed at Buganda Medical Centre which is a teaching hospital. Unlike Malawi health care is mostly provided by private hospitals and people need insurance to pay for investigations and treatment.
way to Rubondo to see if we could locate “The Big Five”. These countries and their cultures are so lively and colorful it was a privilege to fully immerse ourselves in it for such a long time. I leant a lot about the different cultures and loved every minute of living in these beautiful countries. Everyone we met was so welcoming and loving. The lessons I learnt are invaluable and are something I will take forward and apply to my career in medicine, I can’t thank you enough for your generosity in helping to make this incredible trip possible.
Rebecca Walsh (2007-2014)
If people didn’t have insurance or the ability to pay they were discharged from hospital. Our days started at 7:30 am where we went for morning report. After this I then joined the 30 or so Tanzanian medical students for breakfast, which would inevitably include a chapatti, a delicious version of pancakes, and chia tea. After breakfast, all of us would trundle back to the ward round lead by the chief and await our turn to be quizzed. We saw a lot of diseases that we would never see in the UK and as well as more extreme presentations of common diseases. I learnt a lot about the importance of selecting the optimum number of investigations to make a diagnosis as a lot of the time you were
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100
One Hundred Years On
The November lunch
took place at the memorial ground at Failand where the guest speaker was Roger Angerson. He spoke comprehensively about Bristol’s war hospitals in WW1.
The President spoke movingly about the significance of the memorial ground and its history and placed a wreath at the base of the memorial.
The School’s Remembrance service took place the next day in the Great Hall following the time-honoured order of service. A contingent of
Afterwards we assembled by the plaques in front of the pavilion where our President, Melanie Guy, hung a wreath of poppies. Don Furze recited “They shall not grow old…” before asking us to observe a minute’s silence. On a glorious November morning, on the 11th day, some eight hundred people attended the Remembrance ceremony at Failand, consisting of junior players, their families, Old Bristolians and friends. They stood facing the plaques
of the relevance of sacrifice in battle to those at this assembly as well as the importance of Remembrance. He concluded by reading John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”. It was a most moving occasion.
Mike Burmester (1953-1964) Past President
Don Furze; Melanie Guy; Tony Stirratt
Old Bristolians were present. The address by the History department featured a group of staff and students on the dais alongside members of the 1st XV dressed in their kit. As those in “mufti” recounted the progress of WW1 one by one and then sat down in the main body of the Hall, the sportsmen intermittently left their places too to sit down with the others. A powerful image of the increasing numbers of fallen as the War continued.
Major David Godfrey (OB) of The Rifles and Ian Rolling
on the pavilion wall to observe the silence and to listen to the trumpeter’s Last Post and Reveille.
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Jasleen Singh read her poem The Indian Soldier; she had been at Buckingham Palace the previous Friday and was interviewed on the BBC programme from Westminster Abbey on the Sunday evening before the service began. At the end, the Headmaster spoke
Melanie Guy and Mike Burmester
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See all the details of the fallen including photos and videos on our website - www.throughthegreatwar.bristolgrammarschool.org.uk
Poppies we have placed on the Western Front
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Sports Club Reports
Hockey In September we held
our Club Days to kick off the season, with around 60 people attending the senior event. On the Sunday 100 juniors plus their parents and families joined us at the pitch for hockey, BBQ and games. We were able to welcome a number of new members to the Club over the weekend and raised £70 for Clic Sargent – a great start to the season.
On December 10/11th the Club will have some outstanding Christmas jumpers and tinsel on display in our pre-christmas training celebration, followed by dinner in the Club House.
Jan Bowen
enough to prevent them being relegated. Jack Harvey found himself leading the side more often than he had anticipated and was particularly proud of both his 5 wickets vs Bedminster and his fantasy cricket performance which saw him finish runner-up in that competition. Player of the Season, Ben Harris, shone behind the stumps and really grew into his new role as a top order batter, scoring lots of runs in the latter part of the year.
Cricket
On the pitch we have had a mixed start. Our Ladies teams are all comfortably mid-table with some really good hockey being played. Our Mens sides have some good performances from our 1’s and 2’s with a strong start, with the rest of our sides competing well in their Leagues. We are excited about our new development side in the M6, who are bringing through some of our juniors to senior hockey.
Our Juniors have been outstanding with our U12 winning their Avon tournament and U10 competing strongly in November. Our U14 boys started their England Hockey (EH) championship with a 13-0 win and there has been some great hockey from our U14 and U16 girls teams in both Avon and EH championships. We continue to hold our mixed hockey knockabouts on Monday evening, just for a bit of fun, together with our friendly games on Sundays. Hockey is an amazing sport where a fully mixed team can play together. Off the pitch we have had a couple of nights out in Bristol, celebrating Halloween and attending the Winter Ball, and have plans for Christmas jumper crawl in December.
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Chairman OBHC
2018 was very much
a mixed bag for the club, with a number of excellent performances and results across all of our sides balanced out by significant availability issues which resulted in the 4th XI having to concede 3 games across the season – the highest number experienced since 2012.
Stu MacArthur and Will Penny did an excellent job in rebuilding the 1st XI, putting their faith in the youth system by selecting both Finlay Yates and Ollie Meadows for every game they were available as well as handing debuts to Kunal Barman and Freddie Vaughan. Missing out on promotion by only one point on the final day of the season was both unlucky and unfortunate but stands them in great stead for a strong title challenge in 2019. Gareth Griffiths was undoubtedly the team’s star performer taking 32 wickets at an average of 16. The 2nd XI finished the season strongly, but sadly this wasn’t
Randal Leonard’s magnificent unbeaten century away at Bedminster (on the day England beat Sweden to advance in the World Cup) was the undoubted highlight of the 3rd XI’s season, though sadly a certain Aussie ex-International had the last laugh in leading the home side to victory that day. Nonetheless, the contributions of a number of younger players as well as stalwarts such as Jonnie Sheeran meant that a safe, lower-mid-table position was secured come the end of the season. The conjoined twins of Rob Simpson and Murray Bishop – both new recruits to the club – provided a significant number of runs for the 4th XI when they were available, not least away at Winterbourne when their unbeaten 282 run partnership helped us to chase down the home side’s 346-8 with 2.3 overs to spare. Despite the aforementioned cancellations, a final day victory against the already-crowned league champions thanks to an excellent all-round bowling and fielding display – led by Ian Vaughan and Archie Joslin – ensured a place in Division 14 was retained. As I stand down as Chairman, I need to say a massive thank you to
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Sports Club Reports each and every one of our fantastic volunteers. Our captains do a tremendous job in leading their teams both on and off the field and the effort put in behind the scenes is incredible. I know it is hard work, and I have really appreciated everything that they have done this year in particularly difficult circumstances. Equally our youth coaches – particularly Randal Leonard, Alex Harris, John Meadows, Richard Glynne-Jones and Paul Snelling – all do an excellent job and give up their time selflessly in order to help develop the next generation. Gaya Barnes deserves a special mention here too – we simply could not run the youth section without her! My thanks also go to everyone who has, in some way, volunteered over the last two years. I won’t try and name all of you, but whether your role has been part of the committee or simply doing the odd job around the club, I appreciate what each and every one of you has done and thank you all. Hopefully I am leaving the ship in a good position, and it will certainly be in good hands with Ross Dallimore in the chair. I look forward to 2019 with an air of excitement, and look forward to seeing you all back in winter nets in the near future. Sadly we need to record the loss of three vice presidents this year. Our best and long time grounds man John Trott along with Don Saunders and John Graveney. We must also mention Rick Sellars on his retirement as BGS Director of Sport and thank him for his support.
Craig Strachan Nov 2018
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Rugby As I write this, the rugby
world reflects on the fifteenth anniversary of that drop goal. There is barely a rugby fan who can’t remember where they were when they heard Ian Robertson’s iconic commentary of Jonny Wilkinson’s 2003 World Cup winning drop goal for England vs Australia; “This is the one, it’s coming back for Jonny Wilkinson...He drops for World Cup glory... IT’S UP, IT’S OVER, HE’S DONE IT!”
Though many of us remember that drop goal and that moment, maybe even the pass from Dawson, this famous moment was the pinnacle, of course, of multiple campaigns; the World Cup in 2003 as a tournament, with its highs and lows for the English squad and the 2003 Six Nations where England swept all before them. Whilst the drop goal is the memorable moment, it was of course the result of years of hard work by many to reach the point in time when the ball was flying back to Wilkinson. Years of toil and planning, hours of practice and preparation, days upon days of training had gone into making that moment possible.
without the support and hard work by the whole team, working as a functioning quasi-organism. In terms of a season-to-date type of round up, all three Senior teams sit around mid-table at the moment, having lost a few close games and won a few as well. Availability and a few injuries haven’t gone our way on a few occasions but that’s the nature of the beast really. Our Vets and Mini & Junior sections continue to go from strength to strength, and we are actively recruiting at all age groups from 5 years old to 50 years young to bolster our numbers and strengthen our team, so that we can put ourselves in the position to receive that pass, and make that drop goal. If you’re still reading, and have dragged yourself back from Ian Robertson’s commentary, and it has stirred an interest to put on the boots again and give rugby another run, we’d love to hear from you.
Tristan Fowler (1993-2000)
Chairman, Old Bristolians RFC 2004-present.
If I haven’t lost you all to YouTube while you relive that moment time after time, and in a slightly convoluted segway into the report on the Old Bristolians’ RFC season to date, the context behind all of this is the necessity in any environment to work as a team to deliver the results, and that whilst one man may be remembered for the winning kick at goal, none of it would have been possible
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Sports Club Reports - Clubhouse redevelopment update As many of you may be
aware, the Old Bristolians Sports Club and their member teams play their sports not far from the Bristol Grammar School grounds in Failand. Guaranteed to be at least five degrees colder than anywhere else on earth, it’s where we call home and our clubhouse is the epicentre of it all providing hot showers and hot meals, (cold pints though), and the chance to relive the glories of that afternoon many moons ago. The clubhouse itself is beginning to look a little tired and run down, and due to growing sporting sections, the pressure on the facility is growing. In the last 18 months or so a small but dedicated committee has been working hard to draw up plans to redevelop the building so that it is fit for the next 40 years, and these can be viewed at
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http://www.obsportsclub.com/ index.php/club-redevelopmentplans/. The plans have been given the green light by both the RFU and England Hockey, to enable us to press ahead with hunting of grants, loans, donations, and other fundraising avenues required to reach our goal. In broad terms we are looking to extend the existing building on three sides on both levels to provide eight fully ensuite changing rooms downstairs with separate referee changing and physio rooms, and a larger function space upstairs along with a terrace which will look out over both the rugby and cricket pitches. Our fundraising efforts began in earnest a few weeks ago with the Old Bristolians’ Sports Club Winter Ball; an event held in the grandeur of the Great Hall for 320+ people that raised over £15,000 in the process to be split equally
between CLIC Sargent and the clubhouse redevelopment plans. The date marked very nearly ten years since Robbie J Stuart passed away, so it seemed only fitting that an event was held in his memory and to focus on the future of the Sports Club at the same time. The number of people who ate their dessert with no hands on the night is testament to the lasting effect that Robbie has had on many of us, and the money raised will help both causes hugely. We hope to have a spade in the ground in early 2020 and, funds/ weather/circumstances willing we anticipate opening the doors sometime later that year. If you feel that you can help the project in any way, be it advice, wisdom, funds or time, please email Redevelopment Committee chairman Tristan Fowler on tjhfowler@hotmail.co.uk
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Annual General Meeting Annual General Meeting
The Old Bristolians’ Society Notice of Annual General Meeting Tuesday, 5th March 2019 Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of members will be held at Bristol Grammar School in room M20 on Tuesday, March 5th, 2019, commencing at 19:30. Please come along and support your Society. Please bring this Agenda to the Meeting.
Agenda 1.
Apologies for absence.
2.
Approval of the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on March 6th, 2018.
Report of the Society Committee.
3.
4.
Honorary Treasurer’s Report and Statement of Accounts to 30 September 2018.
Election of Officers of the Society.
5.
6.
Election of two representatives of the Old Bristolians’ Sports’ Club.
7.
Appointment of Honorary Auditor.
8.
Any other business within the scope of this meeting.
Nominations of members, duly seconded, to act as Officers of the Society should be in writing and sent in an envelope marked ‘Officer Nominations’ to the Honorary Secretary at the OBs’ Office, Bristol Grammar School, Bristol BS8 1SR to arrive no later than Monday, February 18th 2019. Officers presenting themselves for re-election do not need to be formally nominated. Ian Southcott (1964-1971)
Honorary Secretary, Old Bristolians’ Society
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Lunch Club Report Old Bristolians’ Lunch Club Report There was an excellent attendance for the first lunch of the new season in October when our speaker was BGS Archivist Anne Bradley.
She talked about the task that she set herself in her year as OBs’ President, to create a fifth panel to record the names of those OBs who fell in battle but whose names were missing from the existing memorial, 43 in total. The panel is different from the others and is mounted on the wall of the Great Hall near the doors at the top of the stairs. It is made of bronze, extremely heavy, and cast by the Bristol firm of Wards. It was unveiled at the Annual Dinner in March 2018. Anne has done a huge amount of research to track down details of those OBs who would have been at the School in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She wanted to find out what had happened to them, where they were buried, or their names commemorated. Their ages ranged from the very young through to the older officers. The first name recorded is Archie Seward Armfield and the last in alphabetical order George Russell Walker. In thanking Anne for her excellent presentation and research, Bruce Perrott said that when he was first at work, some colleagues had fought in the First World War. In hearing the details of these OBs, ‘it kept their memory alive and put flesh on the bones’. For the second time, the November lunch was held at the OBs’ Pavilion at Failand on the second Friday to tie in with Remembrance weekend. Our guest speaker was Roger Angerson and his talk was appropriate for the occasion, telling us of the war hospitals that were
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set up in Bristol to deal with the casualties from the Great War. It was initially thought that the ‘war to end all wars’ would last only a few months and that existing hospitals would be able to look after any casualties. However, it soon became clear that this would not be the case and two hospitals came in to being. The Beaufort at Fishponds and another at Southmead.
These were run on a strict military basis with fully trained staff and up to date equipment. In addition, there was a hospital at Cleeve Hill in Downend staffed by Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurses recruited locally. Later, a further 14 hospitals were required for the ever growing numbers of casualties. Soldiers injured on the Western Front were assessed and reassessed many times behind the lines, and only those who might survive the journey were moved to channel ports. They were reassessed there and once again triaged before making the channel crossing. On arrival in England there was a further assessment before they were loaded on to ambulance trains under the cover of darkness and taken to centres such as Bristol.
There the trains waited in sidings until the station was quiet and night had fallen. The truth of the war was not to be shared with the public! Although this may seem a caring process, the aim was to get them fit to return to the lines. Not all soldiers were keen on that idea! An amazing number of 173,600 men were treated in the hospitals and of these only 164 died from their wounds. (Testament in part to the multiple triages.) Roger showed a number of slides of life in the hospitals, many from Downend. Cleeve Hill House had been home of the Cave family and when the military authorities were looking to requisition large houses, the family moved out to live at Sidbury in Devon. After the war the estate was sold and the house demolished. The final slide was of a cheerful looking Tommy recovering well from his wounds. The caption read “Are we downhearted? No! Not at Bristol!” After the lunch a minutes silence was held at the war memorial and OBs’ President Melanie Guy laid a wreath beneath it.
Peter Tucker (1952-1958)
Lunch Club Dates Old Bristolians’ Lunch Club Diary Dates
The OBs’ Lunch Club at Redland Tennis Club continues from January - OBs and their guests are welcome to attend. Please arrive at 12.30 for lunch at 13.00. Contact John Crichard on 0117 968 7451 to book your place(s) or for further details.
2019 4 January 1 February 1 March 5 April 10 May 7 June
Lindsey Hennifer-Heaton - New Aerospace (Concorde) Museum at Filton Ann Revill - tba Will Tavare OB - A Gloucestershire cricketer Professor Gareth Williams - ‘A Monstrous Commotion’ Commander Philip Unwin RN (Rtd) - S.S. Great Britain Claire Mills - ‘Unseen’ modern slavery
4 October, 8 November & 12 December - speakers tbc.
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Old Bristolians’ Merchandise The OBs’ Office has a good supply of OB ties and enamel crested cufflinks and badges.
Enamelled crested cufflinks
Maroon/dark blue crested ties Polyester striped ties
£23.00 £12.00
£8.00
£21.00
Silk pre-tied bow ties
£21.00
Enamelled crested badges
£5.00
Silk ties
All prices quoted include postage If you are interested in purchasing any of the above items, or you require further information, please go to the OB Community Website www.alumni.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk or contact the OBs’ Office see back cover for contact details
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now?
Where are they
Where are they now? Christopher Bewley (2001-2012)
Christopher left BGS in 2012 (having been here 11 years) and is already a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) - a credit to the maths teachers at BGS. He also runs a cricket team at Mercers - a London actuarial firm where he now works.
AJ Dean-Revington (1996-2003) AJ has been touring with his band “The Wandering Hearts” to great acclaim and sold out shows. They also recently played in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry.
Matthew Harrill (1987-1994) Matthew published another book, “Eyes Have No Soul” and his next book “Thornfalcon” is due to be published early next year.
Emily Hollaway (1997-2004) Emily is a Communications Officer at NHS, working at North Bristol NHS Trust. She was the first person at BGS to be awarded School Colours for dance achievements and now she has won the Supporting Southmead Hospital award at the Exceptional Healthcare NBT awards. Emily has now organised two major dance shows in the last two years to raise money for Southmead Hospital and put them on in the MacKinnon Theatre, the latest for Stroke Research at Southmead.
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Mark Hoskins (1970-1977)
Mark has recently published, “Bristol Rugby: An Official History”. The book chronicles the 130 year history of Bristol Rugby.
Mike Howie (2004-2011) Mike came in to school recently to help judge the House Singing Competition. Mike is currently in Austria performing in a play called “Wild Weekend” by Clive Duncan. The company are also touring in Hungary, Italy and Germany.
Alan Lock (1991-1998 ) Old Bristolian Alan Lock is a regular speaker at the school’s Sixth Form lecture series. His ‘Seeing Beyond Limits’ talk focusses on the importance of overcoming adversity and finding ways to tackle new challenges. Alan, a former Royal Navy officer, lost much of his sight at the age of 24 due to a rare genetic condition. Since then, Alan has completed a number of endeavours, including becoming the first blind man to row the Atlantic and to reach the South Pole from the coast of Antarctica. Now Alan has embarked on a markedly different adventure and has launched his own bespoke gifts business. His enterprise, Icarus Originals Limited, offers fine British-made cufflinks with a difference. The launch product has been melted down entirely from the iconic RAF Tornado jet and combines advanced 3D scanning and printing with the heritage of traditional hand-finishing and craftsmanship. “I have always wanted to have a crack at running my own business, especially making something physical, but always thought my sight would prevent this,” said
Alan. “However, as I try to emphasise in my talks at BGS, there is always a way around everything if you try hard enough.” Given Alan’s background, he has earmarked a percentage of each sale to go to the charity Blind Veterans UK (www.blindveterans. org.uk) and wanted to offer these to the BGS community with a 20% discount via the code ICARUS BGS. So, if you are searching for a truly unique gift, please take a look at www.icarusoriginals.com
Amos Miller (1983-1990) Amos has been appointed Head of Brass at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
David Scagell (1942-1950) David attended BGS between 1942 and 1950, which he then followed with two years on National Service in the RAF. He then became a civil servant and joined the Prison Commission which became absorbed into the main Home Office, serving the total (then allowed) of 40 years. He was awarded the Companion of The Imperial Service Order. (I.S.O.) by the Queen on 29 November 1990 at Buckingham Palace.
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OBs’ News OBs’ News
Some of the Class of 63
On 3rd October 2018, six of us from the Class of 1963 met for lunch at The Priory in Portbury: Barrie Dudbridge (Prefect and Captain of Booker’s Athletics), Bob Heath (Prefect), David Powell (Captain of Dehn’s), David Proops (Captain of Rugby), Martin Evans (Prefect) and me (Captain of Lucas’s). A wonderful chance to share current health status and then reminisce about our contemporaries, notable masters and sporting achievements (avoiding at all costs that ‘the older I get the better I was’). Yes, life’s rather good! It is now to become an annual event. Our thanks go to Anna Freeman and Peter Jacobek of the OBs for bringing us together after more than 50 years after chat with a few of us at a recent OBs’ Annual Dinner and then facilitating our first get together at Bristol Golf Club when Andy Johnson also joined us. We would love to welcome other contemporaries at future events. Two of us, David Proops and I, have starting hill walking together, affording additional reminisces of early editions of Ten Tors on Dartmoor, arduous training in Snowdonia and other CCF adventures. In June 2016 and 2017, we walked The Ridgeway from Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon. This year, Barrie joined us on a 60 mile section of Offa’s Dyke heading northwards from Llanthony Priory. Next year on the Wales Coastal Path? That first week of October turned into a memorable OBs’ week for me. On Monday, October 1, I was honoured to be a guest at the Quarterly Dining Club of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (in their magnificent Scott Room, overlooked by the portrait of Sir
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Walter Scott, Past President). Among the others present was Prof John Coggins (1962, Captain of Warren’s, Captain of Athletics; former VP for Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Glasgow). John asked me to remember him to contemporaries at the OBs’ monthly luncheon on 5th October at Redland Tennis Club. There I managed a good chat with David Trott and other contemporaries. Do other OBs also recall caving in the Mendips with Harry Dunnicliffe, travelling in his proper Defender? A memorable week to reflect on the personal legacy from BGS 1956 to 1963! I have been resident in Melbourne, Australia since the mid 1980’s but visit UK for a few months each Summer. I look forward to hearing from OBs’ living in or passing through Melbourne.
Geoff Bolland (1956-1963)
whom they had studied with at BGS and to network with many OBs and learn from their experiences in the workplace. At the Dinner I, as an aspiring lawyer, had the opportunity to speak with two current judges of the Court of the Appeal and a senior lawyer at JP Morgan who is now the Alderman and Sheriff of the City of London. I also spoke with several OBs who are now successful barristers or solicitors. It was fascinating hearing their insights about careers in law, and the advice that they had for those like me about to embark on that path. I would recommend that all OBs, especially those who left BGS recently and are starting to look at potential careers, attend OBs’ events and take advantage of the great opportunities for alumni.
Shanuk Mediwaka (2009-2016)
My email is: bolland3a@outlook.com
OBs’ events offer great opportunities for recent alumni In April of this year, I went to the Old Bristolians’ London Dinner. It was fantastic to meet with OBs from a range of generations, hearing their stories of their time at BGS as well as of their careers since leaving BGS. I was particularly pleased to reconnect with former teachers, and to see a number of OBs who had been at BGS at same time as I had been. However, it would have been fantastic to see more OBs who had left BGS in recent years, so that they could have the opportunity both to reconnect with those
WHERE ARE THEY NOW and OBs’ NEWS?
We always love to hear about what our OBs’ are up to - drop us a line on the OBs’ email: obs@bgs.bristol.sch.uk And send us pictures too!
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Old Bristolians around the World The following overseas contacts are keen to hear from fellow OBs in their country/continent:
Canada
South Africa
Martin Dash (1963-1970) is trying to develop a Canadian network of OBs’.
USA
Please contact Martin at: 12146 Osprey Drive, Richmond, British Columbia, V7E 3S6, Canada.
Chris Taylor (1952-1961) asks if any readers know of any OBs’ living in South Africa who may not be paid-up members and do not therefore receive the magazine, it would be appreciated if they could pass on his contact details.
Dr Richard Paul Mason and Peter Williams are developing a US network and are keen to hear from other OB members in the USA. For information please contact: Dr Richard Mason (1951-1957) Home telephone no: 617-803-8425. Email: thepaulmason@hotmail.com Peter Williams (1951-1958) 112 Birchside Circle, Locus Grove VA 22508-5150 Home telephone no: 1-540-872-7117 (landline) and 1-540-237-2627 (mobile) Email: anglodane@adelphia.net
Residence phone number, direct dial from the UK is 001-604-2754670, home office fax number is 001-604-275-5684. Email: martincharlesdash@hotmail.com
Australia Phil Ohman (1972-1979) 44 John James Loop, Macgregor, ACT 2615, Mobile +61 422 309 455 Email: phil@missionsupport.org.au
Furthermore if any OBs’ are planning a holiday in the Durban area, please ask them to get in touch as it may be possible for us to organise another Dinner. Email: chrismal375@gmail.com Tel & Fax: +27 31 5394960 Mobile: +27 84 657 6188
Phil is also happy to be the NZ contact
Support bright young people “It’s a great gift to have a really good education” U6 Leaver
“Since he started at BGS my son has grown into a mature young man, keen to rise to the challenges the School sets for him. I am delighted, and very thankful to the Michael Booker Bursary Fund for making this possible.” Father of a Year 10 bursary student
To find out how to give a one-off donation, regular gift or leave a gift in your will please get in touch: Anna Freeman Foundation Office Bristol Grammar School University Road Bristol. BS8 1SR. 0117 933 9637 afreeman@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
“I have gained so much from BGS - great friends, confidence and a love of learning.” Year 10 Bursary Student
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OBs’ Wedding News OBs’ Wedding News
Tom Paterson (1997-2004) married Hattie Appleby
Vikki Donaghy (2005-2011) married Alex Mobsby
Andy Shelton (1996-2003) married Claire Culpin
Mike Georgio (2002-2007) married Janna Connolly
Frances Beedie (2001-2003) married Chris Hunt. Ellie Foster (2003-2010) bridesmaid and Jo Foster (1982-2016) proud mother to both girls
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Sophie Lau (2001-2008) married Michael Newman (1999-2008)
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Obituaries
OBITUARIES We record with sadness the deaths of the
following Old Bristolians and extend our condolences to their families and friends. William John Ainsworth (1956-1963) Dr. Anthony Dickens (1946-1956)
Dorset. He considered moving, but decided that Canford and Dorset suited him. He was Housemaster of School House for 15 years and led the Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions. An accomplished singer at the School, including playing the title role in a production of “The Mikado”, he was a chorister at
Brian Peter Jesse Farminer (1943-1949) John Grenfell-Shaw (2004-2011) Peter Ross Victor Jones (1945-1950) Neil Murison (1941-1946) The Right Reverend Peter Nott (1945–1949) Ian Scott (1956-1962) Anthony (Tony) J. Williams (1951-1957) William John Ainsworth (1956-1963) Always known as John, he was born in Bristol the son of a teacher, and after the Grammar School went on to Exeter College, Oxford to read Modern Languages. Disregarding his father’s advice, he entered teaching and spent his whole career of 43 years at Canford School in
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Wimborne Minster for some years. He never married, but was a very popular uncle, and he was highly-respected by his peers and pupils. Sadly, his retirement years were clouded by chronic and severe depression, and he became increasingly reclusive with his boon companion, his border terrier, Sarko. Over 100 people crammed the crematorium chapel in Poole for his funeral, and his sister Pat said that it was a heart-warming experience. Dr. Anthony Dickens (1946-1956) Anthony Dickens was born in Bristol in 1938, the son of a Bristol
Channel pilot from Pill. He attended BGS from where he went on to study Medicine at Bristol University, graduating in 1963. He met his wife-to-be Diana there, and they married in 1964, settling initially in Bristol where he worked in various roles until he was appointed as the Northern Ireland Secretary for the British Medical Association, and moved to Belfast. He remained there until 1972, when he returned to London, relocating the family to live in Hemel Hempstead. In 1976 he moved to the UK Medical Research Council where he was involved in tropical medicine and research funding. In 1984 he moved to Brussels, ending up as Head of Division in Medical Research for the EEC, looking into the viability of proposed research projects and dealing with their funding. He remained in this role until he had to retire early due to ill health in 1997. By then the family had returned to Bristol and he could devote his time to becoming involved with the SS Great Britain, travelling the country lecturing to raise money for the Trust - he became a Trustee and was closely involved with making the ship the amazing success she is today. Latterly, he was a Trustee of the Matthew and took huge pride in both ships. He also travelled widely with his wife and supported numerous charities and organisations. He leaves his wife, two children and five grandchildren.
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Obituaries Brian Peter Jesse Farminer BA LCP FRSA (1943-1949) Brian Farminer, known as ‘Frank’ to some of his schoolmates, was born in 1930 in Portsmouth. With the family relocating away from a prime target of the Luftwaffe, he joined Bristol Grammar School in 1943. He earned his nickname for his brutal honesty, once telling a teacher that he did not think much of his teaching style – an observation that was swiftly rebuffed with a smack to the head. He was a talented violinist, but his passion was rugby, much to the angst of his violin teacher. By the end of his school career he was the head cadet of the school’s Air Force contingent and a member of the 1st XV. He was eventually made a prefect, but only after he had assured the Headmaster of his virtuousness – claiming that the plethora of girls seen regularly on the back of his motorbike was a case of mistaken identity and he had in fact been giving his sister lifts to school – not so ‘Frank’ after all! After two years of National Service, he went on to complete an English degree at King’s College, London and this, combined with further study in sociology and an enthusiasm for psychology, led him to teaching. He soon became the Head of Lower School at Kingsdale, then the Head of English at Henry Compton, using his spare evenings to teach in prisons. In his early 40s he became Headmaster of Brondesbury and Kilburn Comprehensive and was then asked to take on Aylestone in North London. Here he became deeply involved in reforming the education system to aid multiethnic groups. He was a major contributor to the report on ‘Why Black Pupils Fail’ and worked with
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the Commonwealth Institute to increase the diversity of teachers – a project that was taken on by HMI and launched in the boroughs of Inner London, Brent and Birmingham. The scheme saw teachers from each borough undertake an exchange programme with teachers from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. He successfully transformed Aylestone into ‘Queens Park Community School,’ enabling adults to become involved with the school in classes during the day and evening. Retiring in 1989, he found time to return to music and was one of the founding members of the Middlesex Masonic Choir. He volunteered as a Wandsman of St. Paul’s Cathedral and played an active role in a large number of societies, including Probus and the Worshipful Company of Turners. He travelled far, had an insatiable appetite for life, loved to laugh and was a huge personality to all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, three children and three grandchildren. John Grenfell-Shaw (2004-2011) We are deeply saddened to learn of the death in an accident of one of our recent pupils, John GrenfellShaw. John attended Bristol Grammar School from 2004 to 2011 and was a member of Scott’s House. He was an exceptionally talented student and studied Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Russian at ‘A’ level. He had a brilliant, enquiring mind, taking every opportunity that school could afford him. He then moved to Cambridge University to study Maths and continued at Trinity College where he was a PhD
student in the Maths Department. He was always looking to challenge himself physically as well as academically and early efforts in schools’ orienteering competitions brought him much enjoyment and success. Once at Cambridge, John enjoyed rowing, as well as being a successful member of Cambridge University Cycling Club. John was a regular visitor to Bristol Grammar School, returning to advise current pupils thinking of studying Maths at University and sharing his experiences of applying to and studying at Cambridge. We will always be grateful to him for the impact he had on the life of the School and our students, even after leaving BGS. John will be greatly missed by his parents and younger brother Luke as well as his many friends in the Old Bristolian community. Our thoughts are with all the Grenfell-Shaw family and his friends at this sad time. Peter Ross Victor Jones (1945-1950) Peter Jones was born in 1933. During the Second World War, while his father was in the RAF, he and his mother moved to his grandparents’ in Bristol, and in 1945 he obtained a scholarship to BGS. He led a busy life, playing cricket and singing in St. Mary Redcliffe choir in addition to school work. He left in 1950 and aged 17 joined the RAF as a trainee pilot officer, qualifying to fly jets before gaining a driving licence. After national service, he spent much of his working life in retailing, at first with Debenham’s, meeting there, and in 1958 marrying, Iris, another trainee and his partner for over sixty years.
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Obituaries They moved to Australia as “ten pound Poms” in 1960 but, always restless, returned to Cardiff and then Dublin, only to go back to Australia and settle in Bundaberg, still in retail management. He joined Rotary and became President of the Bundaberg and District Progress Association, also serving on the board of the Wide Bay Sheltered Workshop. He took up flying again, learned gliding and enjoyed fishing. In search of a new challenge, Peter took up the management of the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary, a major tourist attraction on the Gold Coast. It had been given to the Australian National Trust by its owner, and Peter developed it further while enjoying driving the scaled-down steam and diesel locomotives carrying visitors around the Sanctuary, for which he had to gain the necessary qualifications while reviving his childhood interest in railways. Further varied employment in Tasmania and back in Queensland followed, finally in commissioning, building and selling homes to meet the population explosion in south-east Queensland. Carefully-garnered savings allowed retirement in Runaway Bay, with Probus and boating on the Broadwater. He became Queensland President of the Australia-Britain Society and was invited to lunch with the Queen. Peter had a full social life including attendance at the Old Bristolians’ Annual Dinner but his last years saw him battling the physical consequences of diabetes. As he lost sight and mobility, he took solace in his love of music, the English language, family, friends - and ice-cream. To the end he retained his sharp mind and reasoning and was thankful for his
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lot, above all the dedicated care over many years of Iris and then of the staff of the BUPA nursing-home where he died. As a man of faith he recognised his mortality; he’d had “a fair go”. Edited from the eulogy delivered by Peter’s son Trevor Neil Murison RWA (1941-1946) Neil Murison, left the School after School Certificate and went on to study at the West of England School of Art. He taught at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in the 50’s and 60’s and then became a lecturer at the West of England School of Art, retiring in 1987 as Head of Foundation Studies at Bower
Ashton which was then part of Bristol Polytechnic. He was Director of the RWA’s New Gallery from 2003 to 2009, and was made an honorary member in 2000. His paintings, largely inspired by many trips abroad and by his love of the tropics, have been exhibited across the world; he held more
than forty solo exhibitions and his work features in collections such as those of the Bank of America, Oxford University, the Government
of Portugal and Bath University. He worked in acrylic, using it sometimes like watercolour and sometimes opaquely like oil, but always rich in colour. For over thirty years he was President of Clevedon Art Club, which has paid tribute to his wise, experienced guidance. He was a fine, dedicated artist and a sympathetic and knowledgeable tutor. A charming presence, he was a loyal family man and friend and a wise, kind and gentlemanly person. He is survived by his wife. The Rt Rev Peter Nott (1945 - 1949) Born in Belfast in 1933, Peter Nott attended Bristol Grammar School until his family moved to London, when he transferred to Dulwich College before going to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He was commissioned to the Royal Artillery and served for four years in the regular army. He left the army in 1958 and started theological training at Westcott House, Cambridge, also taking a theology degree at Fitzwilliam House (now College). After a curacy, he returned to Cambridge as fellow and chaplain at Fitzwilliam until becoming Rector of Beaconsfield in 1969. Seven years later he was appointed Suffragan Bishop of Taunton, and in 1985 became the 70th Bishop of Norwich, serving until retirement in 1999. He was a thoughtful preacher and exemplary pastor and always involved in the wider community. While at Taunton he became President of the Somerset Rural Music Association, and he also served as President of Mencap. He was Archbishop’s Adviser to the Headmasters’ Conference, and returned to his old school to preach at Charter Day.
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Obituaries He took a great interest In rural affairs, including the problems of small village churches, in both Somerset and Norfolk. In 1996 he published Bishop Peter’s Pilgrimage, an account of twenty weeks spent during a year visiting every part of his diocese, conducting services, conferring with clergy and churchwardens, meeting civic leaders, visiting schools, addressing meetings and ministering to the sick, all in the context of a spiritual encounter between a bishop and his flock. An accomplished artist, he illustrated the book with black-and-white drawings and watercolours. On the church’s place in politics. he said: “If there was no tension between Church and Government, one would suspect that the church was not doing its job.” He was true to his word, criticising government over rural policies and changes to Sunday trading laws, and for failing to do more to tackle what he described as “the tragedy” of homelessness. He was president of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association in 1996 and served as vice-chairman of the Archbishop’s Commission for Rural Areas, looking at aspects of the church in the countryside, which produced the report Faith in the Countryside. Sandringham is in the Diocese of Norwich, and Bishop Peter came to know the royal family, which led to the invitation to conduct the marriage of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor in 1999. Earlier an opponent, he became a supporter of the ordination of women. He had to grapple with a severe crisis in his diocese’s finances, and his administrative and pastoral skills helped in dealing with the amalgamation of parishes and the future of historic churches.
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After his retirement to Wantage in 1999 he served as honorary assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford. He is survived by his wife, Elzabeth, his son and three daughters. Edited from tributes in the press Ian Scott (1956-1962) Ian Scott died last June at the age of 72 after a short battle with CJD. He always excelled in education, leaving BGS for St. Catherine’s College, Oxford and then enjoying a career as a language teacher at Clifton College. Ian was an accomplished all-round sportsman, and passionate about the local countryside and its historical landscape, sharing these interests widely with family and friends. His legacy lives on through his elder daughter Isabel (1988-1996) and twins Cecilia and Edwin (2017). Fittingly, Edwin is in the successor House to Booker’s, now Scott’s! Donations in memory of Ian may be made to Brain Research UK. Colin Scott (1962-1968), Ian’s brother Anthony (Tony) J. Williams (1951-1957) Tony was born in Bristol but, just after starting his junior schooling, the family moved to Devon where Tony passed the 11+ and obtained a place in one of the area’s leading grammar schools. Tony had dreams of moving on to Newton Abbot Agriculture College and eventually working in farm management. However, fate intervened as his father was promoted back to Bristol in the summer of 1951 and Tony started at BGS in the September and over the next six years played an active role in the rugby and
cricket teams both for Osborne’s House and the School. On leaving in 1957, he spent several months gaining work experience on a farm in the Gurney Slade area before being persuaded to abandon agriculture and enter the insurance world where he was to meet his life-long partner, Vivienne. During this period of his life he received his call-up papers, one of the last to have done so, and, after settling in and performing basic training, was assigned to the Intelligence Corps only to be discharged after being diagnosed with a migraine problem. After returning to the insurance world for a short while, Tony moved on to Bristol Siddley, but decided that the clerical world was not to his liking and moved into sales, where he became an area manager for Green Shield Stamps. After leaving Green Shield and taking sales positions in other companies, he decided to start his own TV aerials and cabling business, “Wales and the West Wholesalers”, with which he remained until his retirement. After leaving BGS, Tony played rugby for Old Colstonians until he was persuaded to return to the team of his alma mater, where he played a number of seasons at fly half for the OB 1st XV until a broken leg suffered at Keynsham ended his playing career. Tony was a good friend and provided amusing and convivial company and will be much missed by those who knew him but most of all by his wife, Vivienne, his son Andrew, daughter Helen, grandsons Daniel and Matthew and sister Margaret. Don Furze (1995-1962)
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Honorary Members of the Society J R Avery N A Baldwin Mrs M Barrington R Berry Mrs R A Booker Mrs A V Bradley M N J Burmester J A F Burns R J Chambers R A R Cockitt N Cousins R A D Cox J J Crichard G Davies Mrs J H Duncan J C Edwards J A E Evans D Furze K T Gerrish R Gillam D K Golledge J E K Goodbody G A Hodges L R Jacobs P Z Jakobek
Staff 1951-1959 Headmaster 1975-1986 1970-1980 OB Sports’ Club Archivist 19941953-1964 Staff 1972-2005 1957-1964 Staff 1963-1997 1964-1972 Staff 1973-2013 1944-1951 OB Society Auditor OB Society 2003-2018 1941-1950 1941-1952 1955-1962 1946-1957 OB Sports Club 1959-1967 Bursar 1979-1993 1953-1960 1930-1938 Staff 1982 –
P Key R F Kingscott R D W Lacey C C Luker R I MacKinnon C E Martin D J Mascord D M Nott J R Parrott K D J Prowting Dr A Primrose P J Revill K G Robbins I Rolling M Sisman R W L Smith N Stibbs A F Stirratt P M Tottle P J Tucker E A Warren D L J Watts G J Willmott D Yeandle
OB Sports Club 1948-1953 1951-1962 1962-1969 Headmaster 2008-2018 Headmaster 1986-1999 Headmaster 1999-2008 Staff 1968-2005 1975-1982 1950-1958 Headmistress Junior School 2001-2011 Staff 1969-1998 1949-1958 Staff 1970-2007 1953-1959 1954-1965 1964-1972 1942-1952 1960-1968 1952-1958 Staff 1954-1988 1945-1955 1974-1984 1964-1971
Past Presidents of the Society 1900 Herbert Ashman Bart 1901 Charles McArthur 1902 C E L Gardner 1903 Bourchier F Hawksley 1904 The Rev T W Openshaw MA 1905 Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith GCB, MA, BSc 1906 Professor H Lloyd Tanner DSc, FRS 1907 The Rev V P Wyatt MA 1908 Sir Hartman W Just CB, KCMG 1909 Philip W Worsley JP 1910 W Nicol Reid 1911 The Rev A W Oxford MA, MD 1912 T B Silcock BSc 1913 The Rev Canon F E Brightman MA D Phil, DD, FBA 1914 The Rev A B Beaven MA 1919 Sir Holman Gregory KC 1920 Sir Cyril Norwood MA, D Litt 1921 George Langford 1922 Col T H Openshaw CB, CMG, MS, MB, FRCS, LRCP 1923 The Rev Canon G A Weekes MA 1924 The Rev Canon Peter Barker MA 1925 D S Davies MD, LLD, DPH 1926 Col T M Carter OBE 1927 R C Hobbs 1928 Oscar Berry 1929 Sir Duncan Grey LLD 1930 Cyril Rootham MA, MusD 1931 Wilfrid E F Peake 1932 Sir Cyril Norwood MA, D Litt 1933 J Sumner Dury JP 1934 T Reaveley Glover MA, LLD, DD, Litt D 1935 Rear-Admiral V H T Weekes CB, CMG 1936 Charles W Stear 1937 E W B Gill OBE, MA, BSc 1938 Brigadier A L W Newth CBE, DSO, MC, TD, DL, JP, Legion of Merit (America) 1939–1945 Col G S Castle MC, TD, DL 1946 Brigadier M Angell James VC, DSO, MBE, MC, DL
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1947 The Right Rev Henry McGowan MA 1948 The Right Hon Lord Gridley KBE, MIEE, MP 1949 J E Barton MA, Hon RIBA 1950 Rev Canon J M D Stancomb MBE, MA 1951 Sir W Marston Logan KBE, CMG 1952 Professor T F Hewer MD, FRCP, FLS 1953 Leslie Morris MA, BSc 1954 Sir Oliver Franks PC, GCMG, KCB, CBE, MA 1955 R C W Cottle 1956 Sir W Ivor Jennings KBE, LittD, LLD, QC 1957 H P Lucas BSc 1958 The Right Rev Bishop D B Hall BA 1959 C R Setter JP, FIOB 1960 Sir Douglas Veale CBE, MA 1961 Dr John Garrett MA, DLitt 1962 C H Clements 1963 E H Totterdill FCll FIArb 1964 K W Jones ACIS 1965 Very Reverend D E W Harrison MA 1966 Alderman L K Stevenson 1967 H C H Punchard 1968 Col J B Cossins MBE 1969 J Angell James CBE, MD, FRCP, FRCS 1970 Philip E Maggs 1971 Edward V Colman 1972 Vivian H Ridler CBE, MA, FSIA 1973 Sir Paul Osmond CB, MA, CIMgt 1974 M E Dunscombe TD FBOA, FSMC 1975 Air Vice Marshal W J Maggs CB,OBE, MA 1976 R A Dolton 1977 D J Mann CBE, MA 1978 Dr J Mackay MA, DPhil 1979 Professor B H Harvey, CBE, MA, MSc 1980 J C Higson 1981 M L Booker MA 1982 The Very Rev S H Evans CBE, MA 1983 J B Ackland OBE, FRIBA 1984 G F Jarrett TD, MA
1985 D W Williams OBE, TD, DL 1986 E H Dehn BA 1987 J R Cottle MA 1988 P F Stirratt BSc (Econ) 1989 Major General I O J Sprackling OBE, BSc 1990 K J Stidard AE, DMS, MIMgt 1991 T L Beagley CB, MA, FCIT, FIRTE(Hon) 1992 M B Nichols FCA 1993 J R Avery MA, FRSA 1994 A F Stirratt MA 1995 Professor Keith Robbins MA, DPhil, DLitt, FRSE 1996 E A Warren MA 1997 K G H Binning CMG, MA 1998 K D J Prowting FCA 1999 His Honour Judge P N R Clark MA 2000 R Lacey MA 2001 M Sisman LLB 2002 C E Martin MA 2003 J A E Evans MA 2004 R F Kingscott Dip Arch (RWA), ARIBA 2005 R A R Cockitt BSc 2006 Professor Sir Nicholas (‘Nick’) Wright MA, MD, PhD, DSc, FRCP, FRCS, FRCPath, FMedSci 2007 D L J Watts JP, MA, FRICS 2008 D Pople MA 2009 P J Reville 2010 K T Gerrish BA 2011 N A Baldwin 2012 G E Ratcliffe BDS. DDPHRCS 2013 D Furze MBCS, CITP 2014 D Yeandle OBE, MA, MCIPD, FRSA 2015 M N J Burmester BA, ACIB 2016 J D Perkins MA 2017 Anne Bradley MA (Oxon)
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OB Management Committee 2018-2019 Officers
Assistant Head of School (Old Bristolians and Events) Peter Jakobek pjakobek@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Sports Club Representative Don Furze 103 Manor Road, Keynsham Bristol BS31 1SF
President Elect John Sisman
AROPS Representative Peter Jakobek pjakobek@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
H +44 (0) 117 986 5222
Immediate Past President Anne Bradley
OB Archivist Anne Bradley
Michael Burmester c/o OBs Office
Chairman Geoff Wright c/o OBs Office gwright@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
O +44 (0) 117 9339610 M +44 (0) 7799 918906 O abradley@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Vice-Chairman Tbc
Committee Members
President Melanie Guy melguy14@gmail.com
Treasurer and Membership Secretary Nick Fitzpatrick The Canal House, 64 Muirhill Limpley Stoke, Bath BA2 7FQ h +44(0)1225 723795 ndfitz@gmail.com Secretary Ian Southcott The Gables, Farm Street Fladbury, Worcestershire WR10 2QD h +44 (0)1386 861061 m +44 (0)7774 095205 iansouthcott@aol.com
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Careers Co-ordinator Romesh Vaitilingam 89 Berkeley Road, Bishopston Bristol BS7 8HQ H +44 (0) 117 983 8777 M +44 (0) 7768 661095 romesh@vaitilingam.com Bristolienses Editor Geoff Wright gwright@bgs.bristol.sch.uk
Co-opted Members
Marcus Cryer marcuscryer@galliardresorts.com Anna Freeman Temporary OBs’ Administrator O +44(0) 117 9339637 afreeman@bgs.bristol.sch.uk obs@bgs.bristol.sch.uk Ian Rolling 24 Causeway View, Nailsea Bristol, BS48 2XG H +44 (0) 1275 790580 ianrolling@blueyonder.co.uk Richard Leonard Richard.leonard@ukgateway.net Trustees Julian Portch Jack Prowting Richard Smith
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Old Bristolians’ Office Bristol Grammar School University Road Bristol BS8 1SR
+44 (0) 117 923 7037 obs@bgs.bristol.sch.uk www.alumni.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk
A FEW FORTHCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY...... OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 4 January 2019 12.30pm PRESENTATION OF A LEVELS Great Hall Wednesday 9 January 2019 6.30pm OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 1 February 2019 12.30pm OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 1 March 2019 12.30pm BGS NETWORKING BREAKFAST 1532 Foyer Wednesday 6 March 2019
Visit the Old Bristolians’ Community website@
www.alumni.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk
CHARTER DAY Bristol Cathedral Friday 15 March 2019 2.30pm OBs’ ANNUAL DINNER 2019 Great Hall Saturday 16 March 2019 Details and booking form insert enclosed OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 5 April 2019 12.30pm LONDON DINNER May 2019 Details to be confirmed OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 10 May 2019 12.30pm OBs’ LUNCH CLUB Redland Tennis Club Friday 7 June 2019 12.30pm
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Register now to see photos from past events, hear about upcoming reunions and connect with old friends
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Bristol Grammar School is a Registered Charity No. 1104425