EVENT REPORTS

Harrow and the Hill 450 Community Day Harrow School – 30 April

2022

Thousands of local residents and friends of the Hill joined a fun-filled community event to celebrate Harrow’s 450th anniversary.

Harrow

450 Son et Lumière

–

Pass it On Chapel Terrace – 25, 26 and 27 May 2022

The School staged a spectacular musical production in a specially constructed open-air amphitheatre on Chapel Terrace. Directed by Toby Deacon (Newlands 20003), written and produced by Oscar Blustin (Newlands 20013) and starring West End legend Rosemary Ashe, the production featured songs and scenes from the School’s history and was performed by a large cast of Harrovians and professional actors, including OHs. It all culminated in a breathtaking light show and fireworks display.

Long Ducker Bike Ride

4 September 2022

The annual Long Ducker Bike Ride saw OHs, beaks, parents and members of the Harrow community taking part to raise funds in support of the Harrow Club. Read more about the Harrow Club on page 72.

Harrow 450 Scottish Dinner

Edinburgh Castle – 30 September 2022

Nearly 100 Scottish OHs and their guests met in the splendour of Edinburgh Castle on 30 September 2022 to celebrate the 450th anniversary. This also gave many the first opportunity to sing God Save the King Guests were welcomed on the pipes by Calum Butler (The Knoll 20153). The Toast to the School was given by the senior OH, James Miller (West Acre 19482), whose reminiscences amusingly reminded us that life on the Hill was rather different then. The Head Master replied with a brief but inspiring message explaining his vision for the future.

Songs were led from the piano by Peter Hunter (Harrow Master 1985–2018) who took the opportunity to celebrate the role played by OHs who had taken part in the recent ceremonials connected to the late Queen's funeral, particularly by members of the King's Bodyguard for Scotland who sang the second verse of The Silver Arrow: "And archers in every glade". The success of the event owes much to the efficient organisation of Jonathan Townsend Rose (Moretons 19723) and William Landale (The Grove 19783).

Peter Hunter (Harrow Master 1985–2018)

Harrow 450 Malaysia Dinner

Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur –6 October 2022

The Malaysian chapter of the Harrow Association celebrated Harrow’s 450th anniversary on Thursday 6 October 2022. The dinner and Songs were held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Kuala Lumpur with 80 Old Harrovians and friends attending. His Royal Highness King Abdullah, the King of Malaysia, and Her Royal Highness, Queen Azizah, the Queen of Malaysia graced us as the guests of honour, alongside their son Prince Muhammad Shah (Druries 20103). It was a wonderful celebration, with good food, joy and laughter. The dinner was followed by Harrow Songs, led by William Landale, Director of the Harrow Association. All the guests thoroughly enjoyed the songs to the extent that both Royal Highnesses even participated and sang alongside the rest of the guests. Looking forward to the next celebration!

Harrow 450 Singapore Dinner Tanglin Club, Singapore – 4 October 2022

It was great to gather 70 OHs and parents in Singapore in the Churchill Room of the Tanglin Club to hear news from the Hill, catch up with old friends, reminisce and sing Harrow Songs in honour of the School’s 450th anniversary. Thank you especially to Nick Hadow (The Park 19691) and John Friedman (The Head Master's 19973) who were instrumental in organising the event.

Harrow Wanderers 150th Anniversary Dinner Long Room, Lord’s – 6 October 2022

After a four-year gestation period – two years longer than intended due to Covid – the Harrow Wanderers Cricket Club was finally able to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a dinner at Lord’s on 6 October. And what an occasion it was! All anger and resentment with the MCC Committee’s decision to discontinue the School fixture with Eton – the oldest fixture at Lord’s – without consulting the members was temporarily suspended, and Club President Richard Compton (West Acre 19703) welcomed 150 members and guests to the Long Room for the dinner. The Master of Ceremonies was the Chairman of the Dinner Committee, Matthew Fosh (The Head Master’s 19712) and the guest speakers were Kumar Sangakkara, former Captain of Sri Lanka and President of MCC, and Chris Cowdrey, former Captain of England.

After a reception in the MCC Museum, with champagne donated in memory of Jack Webster (1946-1981), former Master-in-Charge of Cricket, the diners adjourned to the pavilion, pausing on the way for an aerial group photograph taken in total darkness by a photographer perched high on an adjacent staircase – or was it a drone? Difficult to tell.

When all were settled at their tables, the President welcomed the assembly, outlining the origins of the club, the Northern Tour and commending its many benefactors.

Dale Vargas (Druries 19523), a former honorary secretary of the club, then read a light-hearted tribute to Donny Walker (Small Houses and Mr Oxenham’s 18583), the founder.

The School XII, led by the Director of Music, David Woodcock, then sang the humorous but less wellknown cricket song The Niner. It was the first of five songs written by Edward Bowen to be sung during the evening.

The next entertainment was an interview with Kumar Sangakkara, conducted by Nick Stewart (Newlands 19653). The discussion covered a wide range of topics including Sangakkara’s childhood in Sri Lanka, his life in cricket, and his decision to settle with his family in England. It was an interesting insight into the life and personality of one of the 21st century’s most distinguished cricketers.

Matthew Fosh (The Head Master’s 19712) then introduced his old friend and cricketing colleague Chris Cowdrey. Cowdrey gave a witty, self-deprecatory speech, studded with many amusing anecdotes that hit just the right note with his audience. He was warmly applauded.

After the speeches, the School XII returned to the stage for Songs, accompanied on the keyboard by Hadrian Ho (The Head Master’s). The Wanderers were in good voice and the Long Room rang to the sounds of Willow the King, A Gentleman’s a’Bowling and Giants before ending in the traditional manner with Forty Years On, Auld Lang Syne and the National Anthem.

Huge thanks are due to the Dinner Committee, whose efforts produced a resoundingly successful evening. In addition to Compton, Fosh and Stewart, there were Andrew Cox (The Head Master’s 19923), Chairman of the Harrow Wanderers, James Gillions (Elmfield 19873), who with Jonathan Pool (The Head Master’s 19853) produced a commemoration brochure, and Fred Woolley (West Acre 19573), former President of the Club. It was a memorable occasion.

Dale Vargas (Druries 19523)

Harrow 450 Leadership and Service Day Harrow School – 11 October 2022

Irish Guards Band mark Harrow School’s 450th Anniversary

No fewer than 2,917 Harrovians served in World War I. Of these, 690 were wounded and 642 were killed. In October 1921, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Revd Randall Davidson (Small Houses and Moretons 1862) laid the foundation stone for the School’s War Memorial Building.

Along with a handful of Old Harrovians and parents of boys in the School’s CCF, I was invited to a Service of Rededication to mark the centenary of this event. After a parade by the Harrow Rifle Corps, we were invited back to the Head Master’s house for a reception. He told us that there was going to be Service and Leadership Day the following October as part of the School’s 450th anniversary celebrations, focusing on the role shown by Harrovians in leadership and service. Roads were going to be closed off and the Corps would be marching across the Hill.

During our conversation, Toby O’Connor (Druries 19823) (formerly IG), Charles Clark, James Rous (Elmfield 19863) (both formerly Coldm Gds) and I suggested that we should have a band for the boys to march to. With the School’s strong connections to the Household Division, a Foot Guards band was suggested, along with Lieutenant General Roly Walker (The Grove 19833) who was commissioned into the Micks and commanded 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards to take the salute.

The Head Master was in favour, so I rang Major General Christopher Ghika (Major General Commanding the House Division and GOC London District) about getting a band together and also put Roly Walker in touch with the School. Christopher thought it was a great idea and promised to see what he could do. A few months later, the Brigade Major (London District) and everything was in place. We also managed to get the message out to serving parents of boys at the School as well as Old Harrovians who were serving or who had served to come along and march.

A few months later, the Brigade Major told me that it would be the Irish Guards band that would be playing. I was delighted. With perhaps the School’s most accomplished soldier in Field Marshal Alexander (The Head Master’s 19061) and the last Harrovian to be killed in action, Major Harry Shapland (The Grove 19792), both being Irish Guardsmen, this was especially appropriate.

The sun shone brightly on 11 October 2022. The boys did not know what to expect and were a little apprehensive. Both my sons were on parade. The streets were packed with onlookers. The band played brilliantly, playing St Patrick’s Day and Forty Years On as well as a variety of other pieces of music familiar to the boys. Roland took the salute and he had a chance to speak to a number of the boys afterwards.

The feedback from the boys was excellent, with many of them saying that it was a great day and one which they will never forget, especially marching behind a band. Most importantly, it was a fitting tribute to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

On behalf of the boys, the School and all those present. I would like to thank the Major General, Roly Walker and, of course, the Irish Guards Band for the part that they played in a very special day.

OH Medical Tri-partite Dinner Eton College – 15 October 2022

What a splendid evening. However, it started in a way that, as a GP, is painfully familiar. I was late, delayed by a run-over shift for 111. Despite being in my 40s, the guilt I felt as I dribbled up the M4 to Windsor reminded me of being a Remove late for (2D?) post-break classes, passing The Head Master's House, a mouthful of sweets from ‘The Hill’, my straw pressed against my textbooks as Mr Berry (then House Master of Moretons) would smile archly, "late again Parky?" There is always a sense of occasion with Eton: the reciprocal chants at the annual Lord's fixture, the anticipation of particularly tight matches. No different tonight. The OE orthopaedic surgeon who emerged from a Tesla with his equally glamorous wife kindly guided me to the Election Hall while I fumbled with my bow tie. He pointed out that our dinner venue was frequented by scholars and, he added with some trepidation, those who had sufficiently erred to be sent to the Head Master. The warm welcome on a wet autumnal evening included cocktails and several sumptuous courses including multiple cheese platters. The OEMS president Professor Grey Giddins opened the dinner with an anecdote confirming that for as long as healthcare has been organised, the challenge is most often not what to do for the patient, but more how to get it arranged. Among the conversations and familiar oscillations between celebration and complaining about our career choices, a consensus emerged: medicine, is as ever, a stressful and frustrating career requiring mettle. Furthermore, an NHS career will not easily fund your progeny to attend one of these great schools. However, as a calling, medicine is unrivalled in its challenge, variety, collaborative spirit and camaraderie. There is even occasionally the chance to leave work punctually and now and then an excellent dinner!

Churchill Songs at the Royal Albert Hall

22 November 2022

A spectacular concert that almost didn’t happen. At the beginning of 2022, it seemed doubtful that our five-yearly visit to perform Churchill Songs at the Royal Albert Hall would take place at all. After being closed for a long period during the pandemic, the Hall’s concert diary seemed full. However, thanks to the intervention of two Harrow parents, Col Stone and Mr Da Silveira Pinheiro, we were granted an audience with the Hall’s CEO and Director of Programming. Things soon fell into place and we were allocated the evening of Tuesday 22 November: ideal for the School, a couple of days after the second exeat and two days before the boys’ Trials. In addition, the Hall may have reckoned that our 450th anniversary was a rather special occasion, to go alongside its own 150th year. It was the seventh time the School has celebrated Churchill Songs at the Hall (since 1974, the centenary of Sir Winston’s birth) and the fifth time I had served as its ‘promoter’, meaning that the Hall’s contract with Harrow was signed by the HDT. On each of these occasions, I am always amazed by the organisational effort involved, such as:

The capacity of the Hall is around 5,250 and most of those seats were filled.

Our excellent caterers supplied 1,101 packed meals for boys and staff during the day.

Major Adrian Davies of the HRC organised 52 separate coach trips to and from the Hall, plus a number of van trips to deliver instruments and material.

Mr David Devine and his Custos team ensured the 5,000 souvenir programmes were distributed in all the right places throughout the Hall.

Technicians at the Hall performed around 50 different lighting and sound variations during the course of the concert.

Long-serving beak Peter Bieneman and his office carefully organised specific seating for around 1,000 boys, beaks and staff.

Our Director of Music, David Woodcock, and his musicians held many rehearsals, as did the Readers, as well as the two HRC cadets.

Our ‘Show Manager’ at the Hall, Ms Mo Crowe, who was again on hand to supervise her third Churchill Songs, organised the many moving parts of the day and the concert in her customary quiet and efficient manner.

The surplus revenue from the 450th Anniversary Churchill Songs reached £241,000. These proceeds were shared between the Harrow Club and Young Harrow Foundation and a portion retained for bursary funding at Harrow. For an occasion that, at the outset, may never have happened, it turned into, for many people, the ‘best ever’ performance!

Douglas Collins, CEO of the Harrow Development Trust

Harrow Association Christmas Carols

St Stephen Walbrook – 5 December 2022

Over 150 OHs, parents and members of the School community gathered under the beautiful Sir Christopher Wren dome of St Stephen Walbrook in the City for the annual service led by Fr James Power. Internationally acclaimed tenor Ed Lyon (The Knoll 19923) performed a breath-taking rendition of O Holy Night and joined in with the selection of carols alongside the gathered OH choir.

West Acre House Dinner

Cavalry & Guards Club – 26 January 2023

The West Acre Triennial Dinner, which had unfortunately been postponed due to Covid, took place on 26 January 2023 in the sumptuous surroundings of the Cavalry & Guards Club on Pall Mall. Some 176 years since the House opened as a boarding House, it was wonderful that the dinner was attended by West Acrians of all vintages ranging from those who had recently left to James Miller CBE (19483) (who was perhaps unique in attending a House Dinner with both his son and grandson), as well as by MES (2001–13). As ever, it was a pleasure to catch up with former beaks, contemporaries and West Acrians across the generations. Hamish Haldane, the current House Master, addressed the dinner with an update in relation to the life of the House today, which allowed many of the OHs to reminisce about events and glories twenty (and thirty and forty) years on. With delicious food (even if Andy Shovel's (20003) vegan options consisted only of salad!) and wine that kept flowing, the West Acrians' voices raised the roof of the club in hearty unison.

Until the next time, Stet Fortuna Domus!

Pierre L Ali-Noor (2001 3 )

Founder’s Day

5 February 2023

This year’s Founder’s Day saw a fantastic turnout of OHs for what was a hugely enjoyable day of Harrow football and catching up with old friends. After Morning Prayer, the day began at the Boyer Webb Pavilion where OHs gathered to enjoy bacon rolls and some much-needed coffee, before being joined by the boys for the customary group photo with Head Master Mr Land. The matches kicked-off at around quarter to noon, with it soon dawning on many of the OHs that the years spent away from the Hill had perhaps taken their toll on their fitness levels. Nevertheless, enthusiasm remained high, with plenty of bases scored and some thrilling matches of Harrow footer being vied for. Next, the boys and OHs flocked to the Shepherd Churchill for a convivial lunch with their teammates, and the day drew to a close after some of the OHs got together for well-deserved drinks – very kindly organised by Dr Crowe –at the Works Department bar.

Newlands House Dinner

Cavalry & Guards Club – 23 February 2023

What a memorable evening of celebration for the best house on the Hill. From guest of honour Professor David London (19462) to pianist Yuk-Chiu Lai (20203), over 70 years of Newlanders were united at the Cavalry & Guards Club alongside House Masters past, present and future in Misters Greenstock (1985–97), Higgins (2009–present) and Johnson (House Master elect).

A lively drinks reception commenced proceedings, with the room a hive of updates and stories before we transitioned to enjoy each other’s company over dinner. The highlight – Songs – soon followed, led by Master of Ceremonies Andrew Millett (19783). With this year concluding EWH’s tenure, we celebrated his time at the helm and reflected on the incredible achievements of Newlands over the past 14 years. As Tom Ward (20093) phrased it in his speech, EWH had unfailing pride in our House and, despite his firmness, brought out the best in us. We remain grateful to EWH and we all wish HKJ and Newlands every success in September and beyond. See you in 2028!

Alessio Kenda (20133)

Harrow Aviation Club – Silver Spitfire – The Longest Flight film screening Speech Room – 1 March 2023

The Harrow Aviation Club had the privilege of holding the final event in Speech Room before renovations began – a film screening and Q & A titled Silver Spitfire –The Longest Flight. The film was produced and directed by Ben Uttley (Moretons 19913) with an original score by Harry Gregory (Moretons 20093) and Benjamin Hollway (The Knoll 19883) orchestrating the official song.The audience were treated to a superb spectacle celebrating British engineering, manufacturing, aviation and military dominance of the skies.

The aeroplane they used on this circumnavigation of the world was manufactured in 1943 in Castle Bromwich. This specific plane is iconic, having flown 51 combat missions over its time. It is a Mark IX Spitfire, finished in polished aluminium to highlight the timeless beauty of the design. Notable moments in the film included circling the Statue of Liberty, formation flying alongside F18s, and undercarriage failures upon touchdown in some rather ropey aerodromes. Ben and Matt Smith OBE gave an entertaining account of their stand-out moments to conclude a wonderful event.

Robert McMahon (The Head Master's 20073)

Harrow 450 Gala Dinner and Auction

Regent, Hong Kong – 21 March 2023

It was wonderful to gather over 350 parents, OHs and members of the wider Harrow School community in Hong Kong as we celebrated 450 years of Harrow and our 25-year international education experience in Asia. The auction raised an impressive £1.8 million in ticket sales, sponsorship, bids and donations towards the Harrow Development Trust’s Harrow 450 campaign in support of transforming lives through bursaries and building for the future.

Harrow 450 Giant Talk

Sir Joseph Banks (Harrow 1753) Scientist, Explorer and Botanist

by Head Master Alastair Land

The Royal Society – 13 March 2023

Over 200 Harrow Association members along with members of the 450 Society gathered for the second in our Harrow 450 series’ of Giant Talks at The Royal Society on 13 March. The Head Master's talk and Q & A on Giant of Old Sir Joseph Banks was thoughtful, engaging and at times amusing, and OHs enjoyed the the opportunity to meet with fellow OHs and parents in the receptions before and after the talk.

Peter Walker (The Park 19621) Memorial Dinner

The Grosvenor, Stockbridge – 21 April 2023

A number of Peter’s close friends and relatives meet annually at around the time of his birthday on 24 April to remember and celebrate his life. Covid prevented us from holding this annual event in 2022 but nine of us met on 21 April including four OHs, his two sons, one of whom travelled from Hong Kong to be with us, two of his oldest friends and his brother-in-law. We celebrated the occasion by each recounting a small anecdote of our memories of Peter accompanied by good food and wine. It is a testimony to the bond that exists between OHs that some 60 years after our introduction to the School we remain good friends, though I confess we had to look at our Song Books to recall the words of verse 5 of Forty Years On! The OHs present were myself, Tony Haslam (Druries 19621), Colin Liddell (The Head Master’s 19613) and Pierce Brunt (The Head Master’s 19621).

Chris Nichols (The Park 19621)