General Sir Roly Walker Chief of the General Staff
Off the ground
Jan Kryca – Drone entrepreneur at 22
The Ryan Theatre 30 Years On
Giants
Byron - Mad, bad and dangerous to know?
Sector spotlight OHs in Uniformed Services
Email us at oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk
Connect with us and the global OH community on ohconnect.org.uk
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Visit harrowschool.org.uk/oldharrovians to:
Find out more about the Harrow Association and view the regularly updated events calendar.
Read the latest issues of The Harrovian, Follow Up! and the Harrow Record.
View The Harrovian archive at theharrovian.org
Learn about multi-generational Harrow families at harrowfamilies.org
Read digital editions of Contio dating back to 1770 at harrowcontio.sds.websds.net
Access digital material relating to Harrow and WWI at harrowschool-ww1.org.uk
President
Timothy Bentinck MBE (Moretons 19663)
Chairman
Adam Hart (West Acre 19771)
Board
James Darley (The Park 19843)
Pierre Ali-Noor (West Acre 20013)
Peter Hedley (West Acre 20083)
Harry Melsom (Elmfield 19983)
Mumtaz Habib (Bradbys 20033)
Phillip Gajland (Druries 20103) Karim Wilkins (The Knoll 19843)
Director
Will Landale (The Grove 19783) landalewjf@harrowschool.org.uk
Harrow Association Officer
Shama Alimohamed alimohamedsp@harrowschool.org.uk
Communications Manager
Jessica Bellringer bellringerjr@harrowschool.org.uk
Data Management Officer
James McLeod mcleodj@harrowschool.org.uk
Digital Communications and Events Officer
Thomas Clifton cliftonted@harrowschool.org.uk
Financial Managers
Debbie Hannaway hannawayd@harrowschool.org.uk
Colin Kidd (Maternity cover) kiddcj@harrowschool.org.uk
Administrative Coordinator Parul Jobanputra jobanputrap@harrowschool.org.uk
Telephone us on +44 (0) 20 8872 8200
Visit us: Harrow Association, 5A High Street, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex HA1 3HP
Dear fellow Old Harrovians
The last twelve months have been busy and highly productive for the Harrow Association as the sheer volume of OH events worldwide held since last June bears testament. The COVID years resulted in a backlog of House dinners, and I am delighted that we have now all but caught up. Highlights of the year –and there were many – include the Forty Years On On Songs and Dinner evening held on the Hill in October and a wonderful reunion of pre-1965 OHs which included Mike D’Abo (Bradbys 19573) giving the inaugural performance of his new Harrow Song, Beyond the Hill, to the universal delight of OHs and current Harrovians gathered in Speech Room that night. Read more and view photos on page 37.
This year’s Follow Up! shines a spotlight on OHs who have dedicated part, if not all, their professional lives to public service – ‘Uniformed Service’ to be precise. Given Harrow’s rich history of producing influential public servants over the 400 years and given the challenges of the disrupted world we now live in, this focus seems particularly appropriate at this time. I hope you enjoy reading about several Uniformed Services’ OHs who have kindly shared their unique experiences from page 58.
I am often asked what the HA ‘does’ and what, indeed is its purpose. It is an important question and is why, during the year, we produced the short HA video, now available on our website, laying out the aims and activities of the Association. I encourage all members to take five minutes to watch it.
As always, I am sincerely grateful to members of the HA Board who generously give their time and expertise to guide and support Will Landale and his executive team in 5A. A special thanks, indeed, to James De Broë-Ferguson (The Grove 19813) who, after seven years, has now handed over the baton of HA Treasurer to Phillip Gajland (Druries 20103) and to Will Orr-Ewing (Elmfield 19983) who retires from his commitment this year too, after seven years.
In finishing, may I express my appreciation to you. As I read this year’s Follow Up!, and savour the extraordinary breadth of OH activities over the last 12 months, I conclude that the success of the HA is a function of your achievements and, in particular, your participation in HA events. Thank you.
Stet Fortuna Domus
Adam Hart (West Acre 19771)
Front cover: Sir Roly Walker KCB DSO ( The Grove 1983³ )
They say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’… and, for me, the last two years have flown by, As Adam says, we have been flat out organising events over this period, with more than 1,500 OHs attending at least one HA organised gathering during the last 12 months alone.
Looking forward, supported by the Board, the HA team is keen to build our clubs and societies further and especially those that are industry/career focused. Second, we want to expand our careers and employability offering to younger OHs in particular; and third we are always looking for ways to enhance the connections between OHs and the School. If you can help, or have ideas, I would love to hear from you.
Finally, we are always delighted to see OHs back on the Hill – if you would like to visit, please get in touch and one of us will gladly show you around your favourite old ‘haunts’ (some refurbished) and the new developments which really are very impressive.
Please do come and see us!
Will Landale (The Grove 19783)
Editors: Jessica Bellringer, Catharine Robinson, Will Landale ( The Grove 1978³ ). Design: The Circus. UK Print: Lavenham Group.
Advertising enquiries to: editor@harrowschool.org.uk
Contributors: Damian Elwes ( West Acre 1974³ ), Daniel Shailer (Rendalls 2013³ ), Sir Roly Walker KCB DSO ( The Grove 1983³ ), Jan Kryca ( Moretons 2016³ ), Paul Hicks ( Druries 1954³ ), Richard Wilson ( Rendalls 1985³ ), Gabriel Crouch ( The Head Master’s 1987³ ), John Hedley-Whyte ( Moretons 1947² ), Peter Flach LVO MBE ( Moretons 19662 ), Henry Cummins ( West Acre 19813 ), Will Reynolds ( Moretons 1982³ ), Adam and Toby Parsons ( Moretons 1982³ ), Simon de Labilliere ( The Grove 1983¹ ), Christopher Brawley (The Grove 1993³ ), John Lee ( Druries 2000³ ), Edward McBarnet ( Bradbys 2009³ ), Lorenzo Bergamo Andreis ( The Park 2009³ ), Dr George Linfield-Brown ( Lyon’s 2011³ ), Gareth Tan ( Moretons 2019³ ), Michael Wright, Douglas Collins, William Young, Peter Hunter, Joseph Wragg ( The Grove 2017³ ), Parul Jobanputra, James McLeod, Shama Alimohamed, Thomas Clifton and Felicity Benjamin.
Photographers: Will Cooper.
Due to space constraints we have not listed the OHs who supplied correspondence, career biogs, event reports or their own news and images for News in Brief, but we are very grateful to them.
K Au-Yeung
AP Doan
FCA Edstrom
AAT Greaves
GS Harrington-Myers
Y Huang
DD Kainth
MA Leof
H Liu
SWE Long
AJR Ludlam
A Maker
AWNA Porter
J Quartey
HCDM Rogberg
RM McGougan
PJ Mulqueen
C Mutombo-Ramazani
CP Nelson
S Ordonez Velasco
DP Rawal
D Sun
JKW Abass
FK Abualsaud
M Baygual Nespatti
MJR Bloomfield
AE Chandresinghe
R Ishikawa
RJN McCorquodale
CJ Ni
HS Romantsov
LH Smedley
TN Stockmeier
KPRJ Tuipulotu
HAM Webster
W Yi
AO Ajibade
NJD de Labillière
JW Everall
SP Gordon
SF Guo
JHW Herschel
JD Lanni
OD Olorode
GO Paton-Smith
BA Stratton
CFB Thompson
M Tkach
RAK Yeung
YK Zeng
FM McKie
V Plyushchenko
MRK Quist
A Rudraraju
VJ Van den Berghe
KPJ Yeung
This photograph has been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be ordered online at gsimagebank.co.uk/harrowschool using the security token: ibn3wm2024
SO Alaka
FC Boegh-Nielsen
JG Christie
HNJ Duckworth
CM Griffin
ACH Kong
KYB Niyarepola
OBG Proctor
THE KNOLL
JM Alexandrov
AK Arthur
ZN Ayoub
EYT Chua
AWH Coventry
AA Cox-Lang
MA Fulford
RP Hammick
E
Hu
LYON'S
DJ Banda
JS Changbencharoen
CO Edu
HS Miell
MH Morgan
OJ Olutunbi
MM Puri
IZK Akbar Khan
AT Amusan
A Anderson
CJ Baker
VJR Ballingal
JoT Brockwell
H Burt
JFG Edwards
MN Ackah
OO Akindele
JL Balogun
ZEO Banton
CB Childs
HJL Emerson
NM Finch
TAA Mackay
THE PARK
A Anikin
ORH Bailey
SWG Brindley
N Evlanchik-Kutepov
MD Farah
JOJ Felton
KB Henson
FJR Hewer
Y Song
WS Stabb
XYW Wang
OHJ Wickham
EK Yeo
UU Zampa
TP Zolboo
NOI Lawrence-Ojo
B Leong
D Nakhmanovich
MG Nnatuanya
K Rana
J Smallwood
BD Taylor
MO Tinubu
LA Safronov
K Srithong
ORA Sutherland
ZXO Uduehi
LBR Waschkuhn
Y Ying
MZT Newington
OD Oyegade
SL Phillips
JH Posner-Kane
AS Sohal
AHL Stanhope
N Usatiuk
LGO Mills
S Othman
GH Simpson
SJD Smith
HL So
GJ Storey
AM Stratton
CJ Tack
H Jang
HOC Macdonald
JS Madan
LGJ Mazrani
J McWilliam
V Puri
JHM Scott
BYP Tam
RENDALLS
JT Basslian
OG Chambers
JTA Codrington
FNJ Dinan
DGA Emus
JR Gethin
KS Hanbury
MH Hong
WEST ACRE
OAA Adejolu
JZK Amihyia-Marsden
CHY Chau
GCHW Clark
LJ Cox
CP Elliott
M Higuchi
CO Hope
MF Hotham
L Jose
CH Leung
OH Mitchell
CJF Scott
FR Sloss
AJ Young
J Hyun
OTE Jones
HA Maclean
SE Murray
KS Parker-Delves
WH Wright
Over 450 beautiful photographs which include rarely seen artefacts from the Harrow School Archive, Old Speech Room Gallery and views from across the estate.
THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK is a visual biography of Harrow School. From its founding to the present day, photographer Will Cooper takes us on a journey that delves deep into Harrow’s archives and collections, buildings and traditions. We visit the quieter corners of the School, rediscover familiar friends, uncover the unknown and travel through time to enjoy rarely seen artefacts from the School’s collections.
From Byron’s slippers to Churchill’s letters, from the Fourth Form Room to Lyon’s, these stunning photographs make up a unique record of 450 years of Harrow School.
To order your copy visit harrowschoolenterprises.com/a-photographiccelebration-of-harrow-school or scan the QR code.
Postage and packaging will be an additional £4.40
HERE ARE A FEW STATISTICS ABOUT THE OH COMMUNITY THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE OF INTEREST OVER
EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN 2023-2024
400
53
684
33 FOLLOW @OLDHARROVIANS ON INSTAGRAM
1,539
OLD HARROVIANS AND HARROW ASSOCIATION MEMBERS ATTENDED AN HA EVENT
3,676 OHs VISITED THE HILL IN 2023-2024
OHs LIVE IN 92 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
THE TOP OH CAREERS ARE:
Are you using OH Connect the dedicated online networking platform for the global Harrow community?
4,972
OHs ARE SIGNED UP TO OH CONNECT 62% OF ALL CONTACTABLE OHs
1,312
IN THE LAST YEAR NETWORKING CONNECTIONS WERE MADE THROUGH OH CONNECT
1,086
OHs HAVE SENT PRIVATE MESSAGES THROUGH THE PLATFORM
64% OF ALL OHs ON OH CONNECT ARE ‘WILLING TO HELP’
58 OH BUSINESSES ADVERTISING ON THE BUSINESS DIRECTORY
722
OHs HAVE BOOKED AN EVENT THROUGH OH CONNECT
A selection of the letters and emails the Harrow Association receives throughout the year. If you have a story or note you’d like to share with the OH community, send your correspondence for future issues to oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk. Correspondence may be edited.
DEAR EDITORS,
Nearly 80 Years On!
John Lewis-Barned (Bradbys 19412), my father, was at Harrow during the Second World War years. He moved to Druries when Bradbys temporarily closed during the war because the School contracted as some of the teachers volunteered. He vividly recalls going up on the roof of the School for fire-watching duty in case incendiary bombs fell. From there, the boys could see London burning on nights when the city was being heavily attacked. John remembers one of his greatest heroes, Sir Winston Churchill, visiting the School. Even now, he marvels that the then Prime Minister could drive there with a solitary policeman as his escort – unthinkable today. He fondly remembers Sir Winston giving a speech to the boys, which left a lasting impression. He still talks about swimming in Ducker, which I believe is now derelict.
At the age of 96, among my father’s most treasured possessions was a very loved and worn copy of the Harrow School Song Book, which he carried around with him most of the time. Until recently, he could bash out Forty Years On on the piano and still knows the words to this and many other Harrow songs. He fondly remembered the music director, Henry Havergal, who made a big impression on him and nurtured his enduring love of music. Recently, a kind friend bought my father a newer copy of the Harrow School Song Book, which he also loved and carried around with him. For his birthday, we had a cake topper made with a copy of Harrow Marches Onward. He loved it and devoured it with great relish. John seemed inspired by this tune as he went marching –nearly 80 years – on!
My father passed away on 25 April 2024 but I was comforted to know his memories of Harrow brought him such joy in his later years.
Suzi Lewis-Barned
DEAR EDITORS,
I recently returned to the School for a memorial service for our beloved "Mates", Gillian Whitmee (Harrow Matron 1983-2010), whom so many of you associated with the School will remember. As a Rendallian in the second part of the 80s, I was lucky enough to have Gillian as my Matron for almost the entirety of my five years at Harrow. She truly was a wonderful person.
At the memorial, various speakers talked eloquently about their fond memories of Mates. And, without exception, all their stories reminded us of Gillian's almost infinite capacity to want to help others. When I think back now, I wonder if this desire to help others sometimes rubbed off on those around her in some small way, even if they weren't aware of it at the time.
For example, I would credit Gillian with giving many of us in our Rendalls year group the confidence to eschew the well-worn path of Corps (CCF) and instead plump for a stint of Community Service. At the time, Community Service was generally regarded by the boys as a poor cousin to the Corps, but Mates fully supported us in treading the less worn path and I think 7 or 8 of us ended up doing a couple of years' Community Service, once a week, down in Harrow. It was an experience I think we all enjoyed and one that hopefully gave us some insight into what Gillian always knew about the value of helping others. Of course, as teenagers it's possible some of our motives were slightly less altruistic... a cup of tea, a KitKat and a chat with an elderly person in need of companionship always seemed infinitely preferable to dragging ourselves through a muddy assault course!
A few years later, the experience of Community Service helped lead me to volunteer for the Harrow Branch of the Samaritans. For those that don't know, Samaritans
DEAR EDITORS,
Hello from South Australia
I’ve just returned from the local Post Office, where I collected a wonderful surprize – a birthday card from the Harrow Association, signed by Will Landale and Douglas Collins, sending me many happy returns for my 80th birthday. I’m emailing to say many thanks for their wishes and that the card of a hat hanging on a bush outside West Acre brought back many fond memories. One of the memories is captured in the attached, which I think must have been a picture of the Harrow vs Eton golf match that I organised way back in 1959.
The Harrow team are in the photo and the names I remember are of myself, David Ross-Collins (sadly deceased) and Michael d’Abo (Bradbys 19573), with whom I went on to form A Band of Angels and made records with, one of which actually still features on YouTube.
Wishing you every success with The Harrovian digital archive. I think it is a wonderful resource and hope to browse it in the days ahead.
Best regards,
John Baker (West Acre 19573)
is a UK charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide. Primarily, this is through our telephone helpline but we also speak to people via email and through various outreach programmes. In 2022, Samaritans volunteers spent almost one million hours responding to calls for help.
Twenty-eight years later and I'm pleased to say that I am still a volunteer at Harrow Samaritans and currently also serving on the Board of Trustees. A lot has changed in Harrow over those 28 years, both on the Hill and in the town, but Samaritans are still there, offering emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Similarly, I believe Harrow School continues to offer boys the opportunity to do Community Service via its Shaftesbury Enterprise initiative, helping those most in need in the local community. I think Gillian would have approved!
We will miss you, Mates. Rest in Peace.
Conrad Freethy (Rendalls 19843)
If anyone would like to know more about Harrow Samaritans please do have a look at our website here: samaritans.org/ branches/harrow/or feel free to contact me personally via the Harrow Association.
In December 2002, Henry van Straubenzee (Elmfield 19973) was killed in a car accident, aged 18, just five months after he left Harrow.
At his thanksgiving service at Harrow, attended by approximately 1,000 friends and family, a substantial amount was raised at the collection. This was the very start of the idea that Alexander (Bradbys 19643) and Claire van Straubenzee developed into a memorial fund to raise money for the school in Uganda where Henry was to have taught during his gap year. Soon after the Harrow service, many of his school friends took part in various fundraising events, which swelled the coffers.
The first project was a four-classroom block as a one-off donation to Bupadhengo Primary School in Uganda. This would provide schooling for 400 children and give them a much-improved learning environment. Often, Ugandan children suffer from parasites if they sit in the dirt outdoors, and, as rain is plentiful, teachers will send children home when the mud makes lessons impossible.
From this starting point, the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund developed into a full-blown registered charity, with Prince William and Prince Harry, who had both known Henry very well, becoming patrons.
Claire and Alexander first visited Uganda in 2008, when they were able to see first-hand how the building work had flourished. More schools had been added to the HvSMF “club” and a structure for a plan had developed. Schools needed living accommodation to attract good teachers. Hygienic latrines were provided and segregated to allow, particularly girls, better privacy. Dormitories were built, bore holes constructed and beds, desks, textbooks and many other resources acquired.
Gradually, a strategy took shape, which was to invest in poorly equipped secondary schools, so that local primary schools could feed into them. This proved to be highly successful, with two of the secondary schools expanding from single-figure enrolment up to over 1,300 students. At the other end, 15 new nursery schools were built, attached to a number of primary schools.
This rapid progress could not have been achieved without significant grants and donations. In 2011, Harrow School Chaplain, Fr James Power, suggested that the charity should be the beneficiary of the 2011 Long Ducker. This was hugely successful and £77,000 was raised thanks to the generosity of parents of the runners. In addition, the following year, the Harrow Development Trust raised £50,000 from Churchill Songs, thanks to Douglas Collins and his team. Claire and Alexander will be in their 70s this year, and they have decided to close the charity in July 2024. The HvSMF club consists of 51 schools, and the charity has completed over 1,800 separate projects totalling £3.4m, with 35,000 children annually receiving an education in HvSMF schools.
Although Thomas (Elmfield 19953) and Charlie (Elmfield 20013) have been trustees of the charity, it was decided that their current jobs and expanding families would preclude them taking over. The legacy of the charity will be school buildings and resources, which will last for decades.
They will also fulfil the original purpose – a lasting memorial to an Harrovian whose untimely death has given hundreds of thousands of African children hope for the future.
Claire van Straubenzee was awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List for services to children’s education in Uganda.
henryvanstraubenzeemf.org.uk
At the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year, a newly refurbished Speech Room reopened after a seven-month refurbishment project in commemoration of the School’s 450th anniversary.
To support this magnificent heritage project, the HDT invite Old Harrovians, parents and friends of Harrow to sponsor one of the many new chairs in Speech Room. All donors will be recognised with a brass plaque bearing their name on the chairs.
If you would like more information or to sponsor a chair, visit harrowschool.org.uk/support/ heritage-speech-room or contact hdt@harrowschool.org.uk 020 8872 8500
OHs have been sending us their news throughout the year. If you have news from 1 April 2024–31 March 2025 that you would like to be included in next year’s Follow Up!, email oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk.
JA Kirk (The Grove 19503) celebrated 55 years of marriage with Gillian on 13 July 2023. Andrew was ordained for 60 years at Michaelmas 2023.
MTSJ Dury (The Grove 19522) has a charity website simplymypoems.co.uk containing poems that he has written over the past 20 years, some recorded by the HA President Timothy Bentinck (Moretons 19663) and broadcast for charity as far afield as Australia and the USA. Mark's project this year is to reach out to children’s hospices and cancer care. The Head of Therapy at Demelza, the group of hospices in Kent, Sussex and London, has adopted Mark's work for the children in their care.
MJH Weedon (Druries 19542) 'MoleMan Mark' finally retired, aged 83, from his business after six years keeping West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire lawns mole free!
AF Anderson (Rendalls 19582) joined his two sons, James (Rendalls 19883) and Mark (Rendalls 19923), and his two grandsons, current Harrovians, Ollie (Rendalls 20233) and Alex (Rendalls 20223) in running Long Ducker, making it three generations braving it for this amazing event. Andrew started training using the Couch to 5k app. Having suffered a heart attack the year before, Andrew was advised to take it gently. On the day, Andrew ran 5k while walking the rest, with the whole family finishing together. At the age of 79, Andrew was the oldest person to have completed it –a very proud moment indeed.
PT Streeter (The Head Master’s 19602) has been appointed to the Advisory Board of Restore Trust, the pressure group active within the National Trust.
TC Naunton Morgan (Newlands 19621) was awarded the Prix Galien UK 2022 for the Best Digital Health Software for red dot® V2 Clinical Analysis Software, the UK life sciences' most prestigious awards for innovation.
MJ Brown (Bradbys 19643) has changed specialty and university after 30 years as Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in Cambridge researching into hormonal causes of high blood pressure. Morris is now an Endocrinology Professor at Barts and the London Medical School, where he participated in this year's 900th anniversary, while remaining an Emeritus Fellow of Gonville & Caius College in Cambridge. His research was recognised by the International Society of Hypertension's Robert Tigerstedt Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and this year by the American Endocrine Society's Gerald Aurbach Award for Outstanding Translational Research.
HD Blair (Elmfield 19651) was made a Chevalier of the Ordre du Merit Agricole by the French Ambassador to the UK, Helene Duchene, at a ceremony in London on 23 January 2024. The award was in recognition of his life-long dedication to the promotion and commercialisation of French wine. Hew was buying director of Justerini & Brooks Ltd for 25 years and Chairman for 12 years until his retirement in 2022. The Ordre du Merit goes back to 1883 and is second only to the Legion d’Honneur, which was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
ES Griswold (Druries 19653) retired in 2022 after nearly 40 years working as an estate agent in Connecticut, USA, and has recently joined the Board of Directors of the Lyme Land Trust, a private non-profit that holds land in trust for the protection and preservation of areas of the lower Connecticut River estuary. This area of Connecticut has enjoyed a resurgence of wildlife, including beavers, bears and bobcats.
PRC Flach LVO (Moretons 19662) was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the King's Birthday Honours List 2023.
SCW Howes (West Acre 19683) departed Gran Canaria in January 2023 and rowed solo and completely unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean to St Lucia in 72 days, breaking the previous record by 43 days. In his 68th year, Simon became the second-oldest independent solo unassisted rower in history to row any ocean on the planet. He raised over £100,000 for a local charity, the Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust. Simon's book, entitled Atlantic Rower, will be available to buy online from June 2024.
N Obolensky (Druries 19701) continues to build his successful organisational leadership development firms, Agile Plus Leadership International Ltd., both in the UK and China. Nick was recently awarded the title of Thought Leader by the Agile Business Consortium, a membership organisation of 20,000 member companies. His book Complex Adaptive Leadership continues to be a bestseller both in the West as well as in China (titled there as Future Leadership).
RWA Curtis CBE (Rendalls 19702) has written the screenplay for a new Netflix film That Christmas, an animated Christmas fantasy comedy directed by Simon Otto, to be released in 2024. His last movie Genie, based on Bernard and the Genie and directed by Sam Boyd, was released in November 2023.
REI Elliott (The Head Master’s 19781) was elected Master of The Haberdashers' Livery Company in November 2023.
RP Douglas-Miller (The Park 19783) has been promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister at DEFRA, and awarded a life Peerage in December 2023.
JF Grenier CBE (Newlands 19813) was awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2022 for services to Early Years Education. Julian is Headteacher at Sheringham Nursery School and Children's Centre.
GA Chambers (Rendalls 19821) sold his Covent Garden-based company Black Diamond after starting it 33 years ago. Black Diamond became the leading marketing agency for travel and tourism globally and was also responsible for producing over 300 hours of TV programmes. Guy and his team were pioneers in the extreme sports industry, especially skiing and snowboarding, which then morphed into tourism. Guy is now embracing the tech industry with a new company, Mogul.global, specialising in delivering all aspects of AI, web and platform development. Guy has been reliving his Harrow years again for the past several years with his three sons Adam (Rendalls 20173), Oliver (Rendalls 20193) and Charlie (Rendalls 20213), who have all recently been through the School.
BJ Whitmee (Moretons 19822) has been working for US insurance company AmTrust since 2017 and is based in London. Bruce has recently been promoted to CEO of AmTurust’s UK subsidiary writing insurance business globally. Bruce has two very young children, Samuel, who is twoand-a-half years old, and Poppy, who is 14 months.
DW Turns (The Knoll 19823) left Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in July 2023, after 16 years, to take up a position as Senior Lecturer in International and Operational Law at the Swedish Defence University. After a few months of working remotely, David moved from Bristol to Stockholm in January 2024 with wife Christine.
WA Bethell (West Acre 19823) has been appointed the Head of Compliance for the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
LA Kunzig (Druries 19833) competed in the Tag Rugby World Cup in August 2023, representing GB men's over-50s, who came fifth and won the shield. The week-long competition was hosted in Ireland at Limerick University and included more than 1,600 competitors from over 20 countries. The teams consisted of under-21s, unrestricted, over-30, over-40s, over-50s and over-60s, with menonly, women-only and mixed teams competing. In March, Louis represented GB men's over-50s again in Bath against Ireland.
WJ Mitchell (Rendalls 19843) Leslie Stephen and the painter Gabriel Loppé climbed Mont Blanc in August 1873 in order to witness the setting sun from the summit. In July 2022, William re-enacted the climb by following Stephen's northface route, which is now heavily crevassed and dangerous. Together with a specialist landscape painter, James Hart Dyke, they arrived at the summit at 8pm and stayed until 10.15pm. An art dealer and author, William has climbed several of the peaks first ascended by Leslie Stephen and recorded in his seminal 1894 book The Playground of Europe.
JJ Keith (The Park 19843) has left the world of advertising, after having been a TV commercial and advertising director for 25+ years with his own company, to pursue his passion for photography. JJ is working on a combination of personal creative projects as well as high-end portraiture, events and some brand work. He started his project entitled Open Britain: Portrait of a Diverse Nation last year and, in that time, has photographed 90 migrants. It will be displayed in an exhibition in the summer. You can see it on Instagram @openbritain.
GF Chandler (The Park 19852) is living in Hastings, being very active, playing badminton, rowing and practising Tai Chi. Gregory has also taken on a couple of voluntary jobs, at The Stables Theatre and Shipwreck Museum, is reading books by Virgil and Hemingway, and playing alto sax and chess.
CAF Siewertz (Bradbys 19853) released the album, Get Out Into Yourself, under the name Caesar Spencer, in April 2023. This was an Anglo-Franco affair and was well received by critics. Defying easy categorisation, yet imbued with a warm feeling of familiarity, it finds the solo artist presenting 11 tracks of cinematic baroquepop and classical songwriting for the ages. Continuing a long line of artists, from Scott Walker to Lee Hazlewood, Morrissey to Peter Doherty, who have looked beyond their patch for inspiration and a deeper sense of connection, Caesar is a songwriter whose music could not have been born from residing in one country alone. An Englishman born in Peru, Caesar Spencer also happens to be Swedish, but now finds himself in France.
JH Blount (Elmfield 19873) released his new album Who We Used to Be and single Beside You from the album on the same day in October 2023. James then released singles All The Love That I Ever Needed and The Girl That Never Was. James also published his "non-memoir" Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story: A Non-Memoir
An in-depth documentary about his life and career, titled One Brit Wonder, was released in UK cinemas for one night only in December 2023. He set off on a worldwide concert tour of his new album on 6 March 2024.
TR de la P Beresford (The Park 19873) is now Director of Digital Strategy for the Bible Society.
A Chulani (The Park 19893) is delighted that the company he co-founded. First Water India, ended 2023 as the number one long-only equity fund on a three-year rolling basis with a dollar CAGR of 35%, as per BarclayHedge.
SBL Evans (Rendalls 19923) reached the summit of Mount Everest on 17 May 2023. After six months of preparation and a month of gradually increasing rotations to ever higher camps, standing on the peak at 8,848m (29,032 feet) was a truly incredible experience. Although a very tough climb with numerous icefalls and high levels of team attrition, good weather allowed a smooth final summit attempt. Schuyler still recalls sitting in the Rendalls library thumbing through an old book about Hillary, and, 30 years on (40 would have been too convenient), feels very privileged to have made the same climb successfully.
AH James (Elmfield 19903), the Harrow rep in Peru, launched Sechura Rum Ron Agricola Blanco, the next adventure on his distilling journey. Alex designed and built the distillery with the help of local metal workers. He won Best in Category at the American Distilling Institute, and Berry Brothers & Rudd are stockists in London. His son Max (Elmfield 20233) started his first year at Harrow, so those Chemistry lessons may be brought to bear one day. Harrovians passing through Peru are welcome to get in touch and visit the distillery.
GR Schaad-Jackson (The Park 19913), following the success of the Cooking Smarter Not Harder programme last year, has extended the same coaching to Spanish speakers. It helps busy, healthconscious foodie men learn to cook healthy and tasty meals daily, without spending ages thinking, cooking or cleaning. In order to extend the repertoire of culinary experiences he offers, or rather to balance out his passion for hosting, Gregory developed and launched Sizzlin' Street Eats: Tex-Mex BBQ remastered. Alongside his existing sourdough Neapolitan Pizza street food pop-up stall for weddings and other parties, he can cater delicious food for up to 200 people in any 3x3m space. Have you got a special occasion coming up? As an OH Gregory would be delighted to offer you 25% off for events over 50 people.
HBII Cheape (Bradbys 19933) rowed solo and unsupported across the Atlantic in 49 days to make him the 'fastest Scotsman' to row across the Atlantic solo. Starting in the Canaries, he rowed an average of 55 miles a day to Antigua, arriving on 31 January 2024. Supporting charities was a main purpose of the race, and Henry raised over £110k for Global Canopy, Sustain and The Nomad Conservation fund. Seven weeks of solitude, with only waves and whales for company, made for a few interesting dreams – and was an extreme way to lose two stone!
SM Cunliffe (Rendalls 19941) co-founded and established the conservation nonprofit organisation Conserve in 2020/21, in an attempt to develop a better way of ensuring the longevity and effective management of our planet's most valuable natural assets. The conservation world seemed overly reliant on philanthropy and the goodwill of, at times, fickle donors and their short-term funding cycles. In 2023, Steve set up Mauritius-domiciled Natural Capital (along with the investment holding company Natural Investments) to attract longer-term impact investors into the conservation project space. The investordriven approach has sustainability at its core, ensuring that the natural capital upon which we all rely is properly valued and secured in perpetuity. naturalcapital.earth
RDB Mackay (The Park 19953), having built a name as the 'go-to' local portrait artist over the past decade, was approached in April 2023 by Hermès' flagship store in New York and commissioned to illustrate the pets of their Palm Beach store's clientele over a twoday 'WOOF Day' event. It culminated in 39 hand-painted illustrations of customer's four-legged friends in a record, rapid turnout of artwork. Selected artworks can be seen on Rory’s instagram @rorymackaydesigns.
NMN Chandiramani (Newlands 19953) continues to develop his hospitality business in four countries. It now operates close to 50 vacation rental properties and offers services to the wider tourism market.
JRL Cottingham
(The Head Master’s 19973) had a busy 2023. He became the Managing Director of the family business, DK Engineering, the world's leading and largest specialist in historic motor cars (specialising in Ferrari).
James also co-founded Carhuna, an online auction platform for cars, aimed at the premium end of the market. This allows dealers to list and run their own auctions of classic, performance and prestige cars under their own brand using the platform’s technology and marketplace. This creates a safer buyer's environment by providing a more transparent auction process than its competitor platforms. James also competed in the Dubai 24-hour and Spa 24-hour car races, as well as taking part in the British GT Championship (the highest-level GT car racing in the UK). He won three of his nine rounds and led the championship until the last round, ultimately finishing second or a 'ViceChampion' driving a Mercedes AMG GT3 with Jonnie Adam. As a result of his racing success last year, James has earned a seat with the factory McLaren team this year, driving their official entry in the World Endurance Championship (in the McLaren 720S LMGT3), which consists of eight rounds around the world including the most famous of them all, the Le Mans 24 Hours in July (other rounds are, Qatar, Italy, Belgium, Brazil, USA, Japan and Bahrain).
JVO Sims (The Knoll 19983) has become a studio potter and set up Clink Street Ceramics in 2014. James’ studio is in Central London, where he makes ceramic art exploring British sub-cultures. His work was exhibited by Max Radford Gallery in 2023. He also sells his work through his website clinkstreetceramics.co.uk and has a public display in Clink Street, where he shows his own work and hosts a programme of displays by guest ceramic artists.
RA Syms (The Knoll 19993) has founded Alchemy Aero Corp., a Miami-based investment platform focused on commercial aviation assets. He will be relocating to Florida with his wife, son and daughter.
JE Stafford Allen (The Head Master’s 19993) ran the 2023 London Marathon as a guide runner for fellow military veteran Rifleman Paul Jacobs GM, on behalf of the charity Blind Veterans UK. Paul, who served in The Rifles, was blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan in 2009, and was awarded the George Medal for bravery. He plans to be the first British war-blinded veteran to summit Mt Everest in 2025. James served for six years in the Grenadier Guards, serving operational tours of Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012. He was inspired to become a guide runner by his blind sister Felicity, who died in 2019. Guide running is fun and rewarding. If you would like to become a guide runner, visit the 'Become a Guide Runner' section of the England Athletics website.
CJ Casely-Hayford (Druries 19993) will be working as a mentor with Paul Smith's Foundation on The Fashion Residency at Studio Smithfield –an innovative business development programme for fashion designers, realised in partnership with the Mayor of London and Projekt and supported by GQ. Six designers will receive a free studio space for 12 months, combined with a comprehensive mentoring programme of over 40 hours of group seminars and one-to-one tutoring in topics including legal, finance, production, communications and more, delivered by a team of industry experts.
FF-K Choi (West Acre 20003) was promoted to Director at the Hong Kong Accounting and Financial Reporting Council in April 2023.
RJM Alhadeff (The Grove 20023) founded Jackfruit Finance in 2021 with the objective of making affordable loans available to low-cost ($30–200 per term per student) African private schools. These schools serve as important alternatives for families seeking better educational opportunities than underfunded public schools offer. Jackfruit's mission is to ensure that children all over the continent have access to high-quality education. Over the next three years, it aims to reach 3,500 schools, benefiting 1,260,000 students across Africa. Jackfruit Finance is revolutionising education finance by utilising technology and innovative approaches to bridge the financial inclusion gap in the educational sector.
OHs have been sending us their news throughout the year. If you have news to feature in next year's Follow Up! email oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk
S-DR Liddle (Moretons 19993) is cofounder of Capi Money, a financial services platform for importers based in Africa. The company went through Y Combinator last summer, the San Francisco start-up incubator. Scott lives in Marseille with his wife Clémence.
RML Taylor (The Head Master’s 20033) started a new role as Director of Cricket at Uppingham School in September 2023, after completing his role as Head Coach of Women's Cricket at Loughborough University.
LUR Williams (Moretons 20033) starred as Hugh McHaffie in The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre, which then transferred to the West End.
S J Stirrat (The Head Master’s 20033) had a successful expedition to Sri Lanka with his luxury jewellery brand Blackacre, which continues to go from strength to strength. Recognised as ‘London's rising star jeweller’ by Spears Magazine, Sam continues to push his vision in a new era of responsible jewellery. Outside work, he and wife Jess welcomed the birth of their son Frederick in March 2023.
BPS Jones (Newlands 20033) has been appointed Priest with primary responsibility for St John's, Gowerton and St Barnabas', Waunarlywdd in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon.
GW Thomas (West Acre 20053) was appointed a regular member of the awardwinning Early Music Ensemble Stile Antico in September 2023.
NA Henderson-Williams (Bradbys 20053) was flying for US domestic airline Sun Country Airlines in Minnesota. In June 2023, Nick moved to United Airlines, one of the largest carriers in the world with over 17,000 pilots and 1,000 planes. His previous airline had 600 pilots and 54 planes, so it was quite the jump and “has been fantastic so far.” When Nick joined United, he originally stayed on the Boeing 737 that he was flying at Sun Country, but he has recently transitioned to the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 combined fleet. This has allowed Nick to fly much larger aircraft across the Atlantic. His dream of flying into his childhood airport of London Heathrow became a reality on 14 March 2024, when he flew into London for the first time as a pilot. It was six-day trip that consisted of four flights: Newark to London, London to Chicago, Chicago back to London and then finally London
BH Williams (The Head Master’s 20063) has been shooting (as Director of Photography/Camera Operator) for the Oscar-winning production company Slick Films. The feature-length documentary, Rockall: The Edge of Existence, directed by Aaron Wheeler, follows the story of Cam Cameron during his attempt to survive on the UK's most remote and arguably most dangerous island for a record 50 days to prove his strength to himself and to inspire his family. This story attempts to understand the nature of adventure itself and weigh up the true costs and benefits of such a journey into the unknown. Rockall is the UK's most remote island. A desolate rock, standing at 17m tall and just over 300km west of Scotland, it is out of reach of almost all helicopters and propellor planes, making boat the only means of access. After two years of filming including two weeks at sea during the expedition, the film is currently in post-production and will soon be seeking distribution partners. View the trailer at rockalldoc.com
back to Newark. It was a fantastic experience and he thoroughly enjoyed it. A local photographer captured Nick's take-off on a stormy London morning, as well as a few photos of the trip, along with his pilot wings ceremony following completion of training.
AHP Olesen (Rendalls 20083), CEO and Co-Founder of Babylon Micro-Farms Inc., hosted Vice President Kamala Harris at their factory in Richmond, Virginia, for the White House National Small Business Week event to highlight sustainable technology manufacturing. Alexander was invited to give the opening remarks for the Vice President's nationally televised address. He also gave a TEDx talk on the Next Generation of Vertical Farming.
S Popat (West Acre 20083) has been promoted as White House Producer for PBS NewsHour, having been a producer for Vice News – based in DC. Shrai is a graduate of King's College London and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. In July 2023, he received a News and Documentary Emmy nomination for his work on Vice News Tonight, as well as a GLAAD nomination for his work on the second season of Transnational.
A Guedroitz (Newlands 20093) is Co-Head of Fundraising for Insulate Ukraine, a charity bringing warmth to damaged and destroyed homes in Eastern Ukraine through an easyto-build and innovative window solution, designed at the University of Cambridge. They have installed over 21,000 emergency windows across Eastern Ukraine. They started the building work themselves in Izyum in January 2023; today, 40 local workers are employed over four cities: Izyum, Kherson, Nikopol and Lyman. The windows keep people warm and safe, let in light, and do not shatter. The goal is to keep communities alive. The design of the window was invented by a friend, an Amplefordian and Cambridge PhD student. The windows cost $15, which includes materials, salaries, logistics and overheads.
CT Sham (Moretons 20103) was crowned winner of the Monte-Carlo Music Masters in June 2023. The competition, reserved exclusively for finalists of significant international competitions, concluded on a high note with Aristo captivating audiences and judges alike with his extraordinary artistry. In August, he commences an Artist Diploma at the Julliard School in New York.
Itoje (The Grove 20113) launched The Pearl Fund: The Maro Itoje African Education Programme in June 2023. The charity aims to generate a multi-million-pound investment in the education of children in Nigeria, offering long-term support to help break the cycle of poverty. The fund will support a new cohort of 40 children from one of Lagos' most deprived areas to start school annually, with a particular focus on ensuring orphans and fatherless children complete both primaryand secondary-school education. In December 2023, Maro launched art gallery, Akoje Gallery, with Khalil Akar in London. Maro was intrinsic in England's achievements during the Rugby World Cup 2023, with the team reaching the semi-finals and finishing in third place overall.
(The Park 20113)
S Shashoua (Rendalls 20123) signed to Albacete Balompié on a two-year deal in August 2023.
OEG Tippett (The Park 20123) climbed El Capitan in Yosemite Valley five times, including three times by himself, in the summer of 2023. One solo climb up a fairly challenging route took ten days, and another was the first time a Briton had climbed El Capitan solo in a day without practising the route beforehand.
BA Tejuoso (Bradbys 20123) graduated from the University of Oxford with an MBA degree on the 2 March 2024. It was a fantastic year at Oxford, where Bolawa led the Oxford Africa Business Forum as a Co-Director, and he also played a pivotal part in the Oxford University Polo Team winning the Varsity Trophy at Guards in June 2023. Bolawa has now been promoted to a more senior Business Development role at an oil, gas and mining conglomerate that operates across various African countries.
JEJ Glover (Rendalls 20133) captained Oxford rugby as they took on Cambridge in the Varsity match.
TC Santini (The Park 20143) and J H A Gibbs (The Park 20143) began a completely unsupported cycle ride, in August 2023, from London to Oslo, covering over 1,200 miles through eight countries. Tom and Joshua are completing the challenge in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Alzheimer's Research UK. They are carrying all necessary supplies on the back of their bikes, including their tents and cookers.
CFMMT Vunipola (The Knoll 20143) joined Bishop's Stortford as attack coach in June 2023. He will continue his role at Saracens.
IHS Obatoyinbo (The Knoll 20143) signed for Stade Montois Rugby in September 2023.
AWH Johnson-Watts (Lyon's 20143) co-founded Oti Green alongside a friend T Rushman. Oti Green is a company striving to deliver sustainable and repeatable carbon removals and storage through nature-based solutions and high-integrity carbon credits. Their pilot project is 2,000ha of sustainable teak reforestation in Ghana crediting through the Gold Standard, directly addressing six sustainable development goals and ten indirectly. It was designed in line with their goals and morals as a company, which they believe will help bring real, high-integrity credits to the voluntary carbon market.
MT Powell (The Grove 20143) was awarded a Gibbs Prize for being Proxime Accessit in FHS (Finals) in Modern Languages at the University of Oxford in 2023. Monty was awarded a Studentship at Christ Church to study for an MSt in German.
ARCO Christie (Bradbys 20153) won the Calcutta Cup playing for Scotland in the Six Nations.
PRS Cartwright (The Grove 20163) ran the London Marathon on 21 April 2024 in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
GDC Davies (The Head Master’s 20163) has been appointed President of Nottingham University Judo Club. George will lead Nottingham University later to defend their title at BUCS as last year's men’s division reigning champions.
TN Sheopuri (Lyon's 20163) ran the London Marathon on 21 April 2024 in aid of Cancer Research.
TEL Munday (West Acre 20163) ran the London Marathon on 21 April 2024 in aid of Cancer Research UK.
AJG Seymour (The Grove 19873) and Sara, a son, William Martin Ross: on 16 November 2023
S Lovat (The Park 19903) and Petra, a daughter, Farra Salma Fraser: on 2 October 2023
DW Nash (Rendalls 19922) and Clare Lawrence, a son, Sebastian Nash: on 15 September 2022
JB Goodhew (Moretons 19953) and Katie, a daughter, Flora May Elizabeth Goodhew: on 6 October 2023
NMN Chandiramani (Newlands 19953) and Katerina, a daughter, Bianca Nina Ioanna: on 20 March 2024
BR Broadhead (The Grove 19963) and Laura, a daughter, Edith Minnie Emma: on 12 May 2023
CRGD Turner (Rendalls 19963) and Miranda, a son, Henry Peter Mark Down: on 8 April 2023
ATL Heber-Percy (Elmfield 19973) and Lily, a son, William Bryce: on 25 September 2023
ER Pleydell-Bouverie (Elmfield 19973) and Imogen, a daughter, Octavia Lily: on 20 May 2023
HG Melsom (Elmfield 19983) and Sarah, a son, Frederick: on 21 October 2023
HTF Woolley (Moretons 19983) and Hannah, a son, Frederick George: on 25 November 2023
OE de G Compton (Elmfield 19993) and Fleur, a son, Wolfgang Montagu Robin de Grey: on 5 June 2023
CBM Ward (The Grove 19993) and Clare, twin daughters, Isla and Olivia: on 16 January 2022
AG del Balzo di Presenzano (Moretons 19993) and Emerald, a son, Niccolò Ludovico: on 11 May 2023
HJ Savory (Moretons 19993) and Rosalie, a daughter, Mara Diana Annabel: on 16 May 2023
HAP Sewell (Elmfield 20003) and Fiona, a son, Theodore Sebastian Phoenix: on 30 March 2023
OHT Van der Wyck (The Knoll 20003) and Charlotte, a son, Otis Hector: on 19 September 2023
ZU Mirza (Moretons 20003) and Amna, a son, Zaviyar Mirza: on 20 January 2024
EAO Goodsell (Newlands 20003) and Mary, a daughter, Cecily Margot Elizabeth: on 19 July 2023
JS Winn (Newlands 20003) and Franzi, a son, Henry Balthazar: on 10 January 2024
JH Robinson (Rendalls 20003) and Sarah, a son, William Peyton Howard Robinson: on 9 October 2023
HA Sampson (Druries 20013) and Lily, a son, Rowan Alexander: on 12 July 2023
CA van Straubenzee (Elmfield 20013) and Daisy, a daughter, Elfreda Violet: on 30 January 2024
M Firman (The Grove 20013) and Alice, a son, Alexander Christopher: on 6 September 2023
NAFS Manduca (Newlands 20013) and Zoe, a daughter, Margot Grace Falzon Sant Manduca: on 28 February 2024
JMO Eden (The Park 20013) and Helen, a son, Francis John Robert: on 14 September 2023
BT Busk (Druries 20023) and Lucy, a daughter, Elektra: on 20 April 2023
AWM Dean (Elmfield 20023) and Olivia, a daughter, Claudia Isadora Primrose: on 3 January 2024
WH Seligman (Bradbys 20033) and Charlotte, a daughter, Isabel Lucile Freer: on 29 May 2023
BL Sewell (Elmfield 20033) and Alice, a daughter, Heidi Lyla May: on 24 May 2023
HCF Linnell (The Grove 20033) and Rebecca, a son, Freddie Harvey Francis: on 7 September 2023
GJ Woodhouse (The Grove 20043) and Celia, a daughter, Winifred Sarah Rosemary: on 27 July 2023
AM Fedorciow (Moretons 20043) and Charlotte, a son, Alfred Winston Rupert: on 21 September 2023
GW Thomas (West Acre 20053) and Emily, a son, Joshua: on 7 June 2023
SG Hardy (Druries 20083) and Sarah, a daughter, Elizabeth Katherine Mary: on 17 November 2023
CJA Virgin (Elmfield 19843) and Sarah Higginbotham: December 2023
WIJ Morgan (Bradbys 19923) and Elizabeth King: June 2023
AWH McNeil (Elmfield 19933) and Rachel Wilson
G Harrap (The Knoll 20003) and Courtney Hopkins: July 2023
ETS Allen (Elmfield 20023) and Laura Dean: March 2024
CJI Owen Edmunds (Druries 20033) and Emily Johnson: September 2024
EGR Massey (Moretons 20033) and Emily Crookshank: June 2023
BPS Jones (Newlands 20033) and Grace Lomas: August 2023
WS Staley (West Acre 20033) and Francesca Abbley: June 2023
JH Wrigley (Moretons 20043) and Lucia Keene: September 2023
RD de Rosiere (The Grove 19733) and Marie du Bourg de Bozas: 4 May 2023
RGA Garnett (The Knoll 19913) and Maria Victoria Withams: 7 January 2023
AES Bush (The Knoll 20033) and Sarah Martin: 20 May 2023
CDA Stevenson (West Acre 20033) and Natasha Barry: 12 August 2023
CWJ Rubin (Bradbys 20043) and Constance Campbell: 14 July 2023
JG Thomas (Druries 20043) and Apoorva Chaudhry: 22 October 2023
ER de S Robinson (The Park 20043) and Camilla Anne Snell: 6 April 2024
LG Garvin (Elmfield 20053) and Courtney M Waugh: 27 May 2023
TJ Ellaway-Newton (The Knoll 20083) and Lucinda Ellaway-Bell: 10 June 2023
PMO Wood (The Head Master's 20053) and Isabella Wedgwood: April 2024
GP Vieux-O'Connor (Newlands 20053) and Stephanie Ellis: October 2022
EJ Mason (The Head Master's 20063) and Iona Judd: July 2023
AJ Lawrence (Elmfield 20063) and Eva Rosito: September 2023
JOJ Fitzpatrick (The Knoll 20063) and Sophia Turner: August 2023
JP Orchard (The Park 20063) and Phoebe Lindsay: January 2024
TFA Falkner (Druries 20073) and Rosanna Trower: November 2023
Ben Jones (Newlands 20033) and Grace Lomas
SPJ Palmer (Elmfield 20073) and Sophie Wimble: December 2023
OS Holmes (The Grove 20073) and Charlotte Williams: June 2023
OJK Ratcliffe (The Knoll 20073) and Katya Churchill: March 2024
OJK Harrison (The Head Master's 20073) and Helena Katherine Menary Stewart: December 2023
HJR Dettmer (Rendalls 20073) and Alice Gray: February 2024
JFL Breeden (Moretons 20083) and Ellie Stonell: July 2023
FH Kerr-Smiley (Elmfield 20053) and Brilliana Harley: 2 July 2022
CJ Baird (The Head Master's 20073) and Annabel Rose Middleton: 2 December 2023
MCT Blencowe (West Acre 20073) and Lovi Poe: 26 August 2023
BD Hawes (Moretons 19253) 22 March 2010
HSS Trotter (The Head Master's 19371) 27 February 2024
RJ Pratt (The Head Master's 19381) 30 November 2023
J Lewis-Barned (Bradbys and Druries 19412) 25 April 2024
J Patrick (The Park 19433) 13 November 2023
DL Harland (The Knoll 19432) 27 July 2022
WRI Crewdson (The Park 19453) 23 November 2023
J Rivers-Kirby (Bradbys 19463) 22 September 2023
DDB McLeod (Moretons 19463) 2 January 2024
DGW Cooper (Bradbys 19472) 7 June 2023
JD Cumming (Rendalls 19473) 7 July 2023
JJ Benn (The Head Master's 19473) 3 October 2023
AH Blount (Elmfield 19473) 18 December 2022
DL Green (West Acre 19473) 2 January 2022
RA Aisher (Bradbys 19481) 26 June 2023
JJ Usher-Smith (The Head Master's 19483) 25 January 2024
PJ Mercer (The Grove 19492) 12 June 2023
CA Strang (The Grove 19492) 22 March 2023
HN Broughton (The Head Master's 19493) 21 October 2022
I Fitzlyon (Rendalls 19493) 15 March 2023
MCA Blair (Elmfield 19493) 1 March 2024
NJF Robinson (The Park 19502) 23 September 2023
AJA Bond Gunning (West Acre 19502) 4 March 2024
C Byford (Druries 19503) 27 August 2023
RC Lanphier (Elmfield 19503) 30 December 2023
JJ Dobbin (The Grove 19512) 13 April 2023
AG Keighley (Moretons 19512) 24 April 2023
JR Ferard (The Head Master's 19512) 14 September 2023
CD Field (The Park 19512) 29 December 2023
BA Smouha (Newlands 19513) 1 June 2023
SHE Clarke (Elmfield 19513) 21 August 2023
IHC Lawson Johnston (Moretons 19513) 2 May 2023
KRL Webb (Newlands 19513) 18 December 2023
N Longe (Elmfield 19513) 23 September 2023
JH Jones (The Grove 19513) 2 February 2024
J Donovan (The Park 19521) 25 January 2024
JYR Strover (Rendalls 19522) 2 March 2024
CC Maconochie-Welwood (The Grove 19532) 22 October 2023
PCE Fishbourne (Moretons 19533) 25 June 2023
NF Nicholson (Elmfield 19533) 27 November 2023
N St JWR Lane (Newlands 19533) 9 February 2024
FTP Spencer (The Knoll 19541) 18 March 2024
PH Copsey (The Head Master's 19543) 5 May 2023
GR Petherick (Elmfield 19543) 29 January 2024
J Chisholm (The Head Master's 19543) 30 January 2024
GW Trinder (Rendalls 19543) 29 March 2024
AH Briscoe (The Head Master's 19552) 5 January 2024
PJC Moray (The Park 19553) 25 July 2022
GM Reid (Moretons 19553) 1 December
MR Allfrey (Moretons 19562) 14 February 2023
TG Tyrwhitt-Drake (Bradbys 19563) 20 September 2023
DA Cameron of Lochiel (Elmfield 19602) 20 October 2023
DPH Trollope (Moretons 19602) 6 March 2024
DTL Hardy (The Grove 19603) 17 September 2023
MK Whitelock (Elmfield 19612) 17 April 2023
PJ McSwiney (Newlands 19612) 2 July 2023
PTG Copeland (Elmfield 19613) 2 February 2024
RE Denman (Bradbys 19613) 12 February 2024
NG Stogdon (West Acre 19613) 23 March 2024
DJ Carmichael (The Park 19623) 21 July 2022
AJF Stebbings (Rendalls 19643) 9 June 2023
I Spencer (The Grove 19643) 12 December 2023
DF Chaplin (Elmfield 19653) 3 August 2023
TM Franks (Rendalls 19652) 8 November 2023
BR Bhanubandh (The Head Master's 19662) 17 December 2022
H Fane (The Grove 19663) 15 December 2023
RP Lithgow (The Grove 19683) 9 October 2023
TH Joss (Moretons 19683) 24 January 2024
HJD Holmpatrick (The Grove 19692) 21 March 2024
BH Simpson (Rendalls 19721) 12 July 2023
BI Donald (West Acre 19722) 1 June 2023
DA Winner (Moretons 19733) 4 December 2023
PRA Woolland (Moretons 19733) 23 February 2024
PC Goddard (West Acre 19742) 1 July 2023
RB Cordell-Lavarack (Bradbys 19791) 14 September 2023
NJ Leigh-Hunt (West Acre 19853) 7 June 2023
RGXMP de Lisle (The Park 19993) 27 August 2023
CW Waldron (The Knoll 20053) June 2023
LCL Stirling (The Grove 20133) 31 August 2023
John Lewis-Barned (Bradbys 19412) 25 April 2024
BC Broughton (Harrow Association Administrator 1974–97) 14 August 2023
MA Crofts (Physics Master 1968–99) 7 December 2023
MJ Duncan (Assistant Master Maths 1968–2002, Organisation Master 1982–92, Director of Studies 1992–98) 29 January 2024
DK Baines (Physics Master 1976–99)
AJD Rees (Head of Economics 1966–80, Director of Harrow Development Trust 1995–97) 9 July 2023
Why not add a book written by a fellow OH to your reading list this year?
JA KIRK (The Grove 1950³ )
R MACKESON (The Head Master's 1955³ )
Frankie Dettori is certainly one of the late-20th- and early-21st-century's truly great international jockeys. Italian by birth, he rode his first winner there; we have been lucky in England that he came to live in Newmarket at the age of 15 and has ridden mainly in this country. A popular figure, he has done much, quietly and privately, for disabled people. He is a good example, by any standard, of a superb sportsman both on and off the racecourse. Perhaps most famous for riding all seven winners at Ascot on 28 September 1996, his record in the English classics over 30 years gives a true indication of his ability and dedication. Frankie Dettori: British Classic Winners devotes a double-page spread to every winning ride, and there is a section of photographs of Frankie aboard his winning mounts by the racing journalist John Crofts.
Andrew's 23rd book, A Tale of Two Worlds: Why Contemporary Western Culture Contends against Christian Faith (London: Kingdom Publishers, 2023) presents a fresh approach to the perennial question about Christ and culture for a contemporary set of circumstances. The book explores the New Testament, Jesus Christ, biblical theology, and the reality of the world today.
RNS ADDA (Newlands 1962³ )
This book is a superb record of greatness in the saddle over 30 years.
Robin says of his recently published book, The Bumpy Road to Success –an entrepreneur's tech start-up journey: "I originally decided to write a story about my business exploits for my family. Then, as I embarked on my latest venture, I found I was going to many networking events and meeting young people starting out and some making a great success. They are all super enthusiastic and around the age I was when I started out; it seems that the new generation of entrepreneurs and investors are one large community, meeting on a regular basis and sharing ideas freely. This prompted me to write this book, coupled with my experiences in my new business." Robin's book is available on Amazon.
AP DONEGALL (Elmfield 1965³ )
Patrick spent his early childhood in County Wexford. In Heaven and Earth he recounts tales of a pack of lively characters such as an ill-mannered royal photographer who was shown the door by a grand butler, a drunk priest being chased by the police, a former Royal Navy officer whose scoring at a horse event became hilariously blurred by a bottle or two of whiskey, and an eccentric gymshoe-wearing daughter of a millionaire businessman. They share pages with gentlemanly huntsmen of the old school accompanied by their equally elegant but almost always high-spirited ladies. As if there weren't already enough amusing diversions, there's even an Irish cricket match or two. These are just some of Patrick's stories. All will entertain, amuse and keep the reader turning the pages. But Patrick is no detached observer just writing of past people and events. Heaven on Earth is a homage to his beloved Wexford. Towards the end of the book, he considers carefully how his part of the country has developed and changed, the issues it, and Ireland, face and his hopes for the future.
@oldharrovians
Find more photos for almost all of these events on OH Connect, where you will also find details of upcoming events, so you can feature in these pages next year!
Elmfield House Dinner
Cavalry & Guards Club – 18 May 2023
Nearly 150 Old Elmfieldians attended the dinner at the Cavalry & Guards Club for an enjoyable evening catching up with old friends, reminiscing and singing Songs.
A big thank you to all who contributed to the success of the evening including current House Master Alastair Campbell (2017 ) and former House Master Mark Tremlett (2007 17).
Thank you also to James Virgin (19843) for organising the dinner, Robert Portal (19812) for chairing, Archie Orr-Ewing (19823) for leading Songs, Adrian Petch (19483) for saying grace, Hadley Dean (19853) for speaking and Christopher Shell (1980 1) for playing the piano.
OH Drinks in Los Angeles
The Club Bar at the Peninsula, LA - 27 July 2023
Ruby Polatin, Associate Director of the Harrow Development Trust joined OHs for drinks in LA.
Harrow 450 Irish Dinner
Rathenny House, Co.Tipperary, Ireland – 17 June 2023
On Saturday 17 June, the Harrow 450 Irish Dinner took place in Tipperary, hosted by Philipp Letman (The Park 20163) and Patrick Lehrell (Moretons 20173).
We hope all OHs and guests who were able to attend had an enjoyable evening singing Songs and catching up with old friends.
Thank you to the Lehrell and Letman families for organising the event.
OH Singapore Drinks 21 September 2023
Thank you to Nick Hadow (The Park 19691) and Nick Malcomson (The Park 19793) for organising an excellent gathering of Old
Cavalry & Guards Club – 14 September 2023
With a five-year gap since the last Druries House Dinner, the evening was well attended with over 120 Old Drurieans present.
Ranging from current Upper Sixth boys to Richard de Robeck (19563), who was kind enough to read Grace, it was wonderful to see so many Old Drurieans from different years, as well as former House Masters David Elleray (1991–2009) and Mark Ridgway (2009–19), along with current House Master Brendan McKerchar (2019–).
This was the first dinner since MJMR retired, and was therefore an opportunity for one of the old boys from his tenure to share some thoughts. George Ellis (20093) rose to the challenge and delivered a truly hilarious speech that set the tone perfectly for the rest of the evening.
We were vociferously reminded that it was also the first chance we had to give thanks and celebrate the life of John Leaf (JFL), House Master 1968 79, which we duly did, ensuring those ‘Spikemen bold’ could show their thanks during the singing of Silver Arrow.
We would like to thank BTM for his update confirming that Druries remains the best House on the Hill, and Justin Chan (20203) and the current Head of House (and England Rugby Under-18 Captain) Kepu Tuipulotu (20193) for their toasts.
In addition, we would like to thank our Master of Ceremonies for the evening Jamie Newall (19861) and the incredible pianist Mark Liu (20193), whose accompaniment to the songs was both faultless and flexible enough to accommodate the range of musical abilities in the room.
Hong Kong Club – 25 September 2023
A record number of OHs gathered at the OH Hong Kong Dinner 2023 for an enjoyable evening, singing Songs and catching up with old friends at the Hong Kong Club. We were delighted to welcome Ann Haydon, Head of Harrow International School Hong Kong, to the dinner. Thank you to Andrew Kuk (Bradbys 20003) for organising the event.
Rendezvous Lounge and Bar, The Landmark, Bangkok – 27 September 2023
Thailand-based OHs gathered in Bangkok for a most enjoyable evening of drinks and dinner, Wednesday 28 September. Thanks to Marco Sucharitkul (West Acre 19813) and Supakorn Vejjajiva (West Acre 19812) for organising.
The Imperial – 13 October 2023
OH students in Exeter joined William Landale (The Grove 19783), Director of the Harrow Association, for drinks in the popular university bar.
– 1 October 2023
OH students in New York and Boston gathered for dinner and an opportunity to catch up with OH friends in the area, hosted by William Young and Ruby Polatin from the Harrow Development Trust.
3 October 2023
OH Student Drinks in Boston Source, Harvard Square OH Student Drinks in New York Song'E Napule, New York –All the World's a Stage: A Gala Celebration of Shakespeare's First Folio Speech Room – 4 November 2023
Marking the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio, and to celebrate the life and work of Jeremy Lemmon (The Knoll 19493), this unique production brought together excerpts from all 18 of the plays that would have been lost without the First Folio’s publication and reflected on the ‘Harrow Shakespeare’ story through the generations. Directed by Toby Deacon (Newlands 20003), the company comprised Old Harrovian actors including screenwriter and director Richard Curtis (Rendalls 19702) and members of the OH Players, alongside current Harrovians. OHs performing included Omar Ait El Caid (Bradbys 20213), Dominic Chambers (West Acre 20053), Tom Cleeve (The Grove 19772), John D. Collins (The Park 19562), Henry Deacon (Bradbys 19953), George Ellis (Druries 20093), Jack Firoozan (Rendalls 20123), Tom Inman (West Acre 20083), Louis Kunzig (Druries 19833), Ben Leonard (The Grove 20173), Tom Noad (Druries 19923), Adrian Petch (Elmfield 19483), Christopher Poke (Rendalls 19653), Ricky Ritchie (Newlands 19632) and Laurence Ubong Williams (Moretons 20033).
Harrow 1973 2nd XV Rugby Reunion Lunch
Harrow School – 4 November 2023
Fifty years on, OHs who were members of the 1973 Rugby 2nd XV team reunited on the Hill in celebration of their 1973 undefeated season. The group enjoyed a tour of the Fourth Form Room, Speech Room and the OSRG, followed by lunch in the Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall. In the afternoon, they braved the weather to watch the Colts beat Radley on the Sunley, followed by tea and then dinner on the Hill in the evening.
Thank you to Julian Taylor (Elmfield 19702) for organising the event. Those in attendance were Julian (Elmfield 19702) and Philippa Taylor, Edward (Elmfield 19702) and Nichola Pleydell-Bouverie, Simon (Rendalls 19691) and Christine Garrett, Simon (The Head Master’s 19692) and Lucy Fosh, Chris Wheeler (Bradbys 19702), Rick (The Head Master’s 19702) and Sally Lawson-Cruttenden, Guy Thomson (Moretons 19703), Colin McLean (Druries 19683) and Nick Kingsley (Bradbys 19691).
For OHs who joined the School from 19833 and/or left in 19882
There was a tremendous buzz throughout the entire evening, catching up with old friends was glorious. The School were in great voice; swaying during Ducker, and snapping their Song Books shut for Forty Years On were brilliant. The XII and the boy speakers were excellent, and the Monitors were charming as they ushered us into drinks and kept us amused.
The service in the Shepherd Churchill was excellent and very friendly, and the food was delicious; the huge slabs of beef were very tender and the wine never never stopped flowing.
Charlie Laing (The Head Master’s 19833) gave a toast to absent friends, and Richard Howell (The Knoll 19833) gave us a rendition of Five Hundred Faces, which he first gave 40 years earlier. Tom Stillwell (The Grove 19833), who had been his understudy, also gave it a go, but his voice struggled to hit the high notes after only a couple of lines.
I am not sure what time we left, but it was by mutual consent and at no time were we hurried, or made to feel anything except completely welcome. All the photos are of happy smiling, laughing faces, enjoying renewing old friendships. All in all, it has been the highlight of many a year.
Louis Kunzig (Druries 19833)
Moretons House Dinner
Royal Automobile Club – 15 November 2023
More than 220 loyal Moretonians gathered in the RAC for the House’s first dinner since the pandemic. The evening was a tremendous success, as memorable as it was hugely enjoyable.
Almost eight decades spanned those guests who entered the House in the late 1940s to those still there, and many families, several with Moretons connections going back to Victorian times, were present in two or three generations; it was particularly heartening to see the very strong turnout among younger OHs.
We were also fortunate to be joined by two former House Masters and several other true friends of the House. George Attenborough (1984–96) was very sadly unable at the last minute to make it, but his health was affectionately toasted.
Spirited drinks in the Committee Room launched the evening in due style, before all repaired to the splendour of the recently refurbished Mountbatten Room where, after grace by Keith Hindell (19473), an excellent dinner was served.
Our guest of honour and Harrow Association President, Tim Bentinck (19663), then regaled us with some highly
entertaining reminiscences of life on the Hill – plus ça change – and off it, before current House Master Simon Sampson (2022 ) reminded us why, 222 years on, Moretons remains unquestionably the best House on the Hill.
After the traditional toasts led by the Head of House, Valentine Ballingal (20193), Simon Berry (1996 2006) and Philip Evans (2006 18) conducted us deftly through Songs, with the remarkable skill and tremendous enthusiasm of the singing no doubt inspired by the presence at the piano of the legendary Aristo Sham (20103).
One of the evening’s highlights was Noel BolingbrokeKent’s (19533) superb rendition, 70 years on, of Five Hundred Faces, which he first sang as a new boy before Churchill.
Our thanks to the RAC for their warm welcome and kind forbearance – Pall Mall 'rang again and again with the tramp of the (2)22 men' until almost midnight − and, as ever, to the superb HA team, led by Will Landale (The Grove 19783) and Shama Alimohamed.
Andrew Ballingal (Moretons 19743)
Cavalry & Guards Club – 21 November 2023
Following a somewhat inconvenient lockdown interruption, we had the pleasure of coming together as a House at the Cavalry & Guards Club for what turned out to be a thoroughly successful and enjoyable evening. Thanks to the fine organisation of William Landale (The Grove 19783), Shama Alimohamed and the HA team, we had the highest recorded turnout of the mighty Rendallians.
We were grateful to Anthony Anderson (19522), as our most senior guest, for giving grace so eloquently. As House dinners go, it was undoubtedly a special one. We had the opportunity to thank Simon Taylor (2012-23) for his extraordinary contribution to the Rendalls legacy. Simon will be remembered with considerable fondness by the many generations that he oversaw. This was particularly evident by the queue seeking an audience with him on the evening! We had the opportunity of welcoming Alex Turner (2023 ) as the new guardian of the House and hearing his fine words. We wish him all the best with his challenges ahead.
On the evening, Freddie Dinan (20193) and Cameron Ellis (20183) kindly delivered the toasts. The House were in fine voice and remarkably in tune as we disturbed the peace of the Cavalry & Guards with School Songs. Andrew Park (20203) played the piano wonderfully with Jack Hargreaves (20173) and Seb Phillips (20173) mastering the art of stitching us all up with the 'put-ons'.
As always, it was an evening of old faces...new stories (as well as a few old, embellished ones!). Most importantly, there was much laughter. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to attend. Undoubtedly a triumph!
Charlie Smith (Rendalls 19791)
Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, Sydney – 18 November 2023
Thank you to our OH Australia reps, former Harrow Association Administrator Suzanne Benson and Andrew Dick (The Park 19753), for organising the dinner. OHs in attendance spanned all ages, and all Houses were represented.
Harrow Association Christmas Carols
St Stephen Walbrook Church – 4 December 2023
It was wonderful to welcome so many OHs, former parents and associate members for carols, mulled wine and mince pies for the annual Christmas carols in the beautiful St Stephen Walbrook church. Special thanks to Nick Robinson (The Head Master's 19841) for playing the organ and to Ed Lyon (The Knoll 19923) for performing two breathtaking solos. The collection at the service raised £1,600 for children's charity Street Child, founded by Tom Dannatt (Bradbys 19923).
Harrow Songs New York
Racquet and Tennis Club, New York – 11 December 2023
OHs, parents and members of the wider Harrow community enjoyed an evening of Harrow Songs in New York with the School XII. The special evening, hosted by the Harrow Development Trust, included a breathtaking performance by internationally renowned pianist Aristo Sham (Moretons 20103).
The Head Master’s House Dinner Cavalry & Guards Club – 18 January 2024
The Head Master’s House Dinner was a wonderful way to start the year, a midwinter pleasure and a fine evening. The attendance of so many OHs, from the 1950s onwards, joined by boys from The Head Master’s today, was a symbol of the School’s continuity and the affection for the House that so many of us feel. It was a pleasure to meet old friends, to celebrate the School and the House and to join Chris Pollitt (2019 ) and all his predecessor House Masters. The venue was perfect, our hosts being both gracious and generous of spirit. Long may this tradition continue and bring on the next The Head Masters House Dinner!
Andrew Gallagher (The Head Master’s 19752)
Jetty Lounge, Dubai Marina – 26 January 2024
It was wonderful to gather so many OHs in Dubai for drinks with the Head Master and his wife Madeleine, along with Will Landale (The Grove 19783), Harrow Association Director, and Doug Collins, CEO of the Harrow Development Trust.
The Scotsman Hotel, Edinburgh – 27 January 2024
There was an excellent gathering of OHs in Scotland for a match against the School XI at Fettes College followed by dinner at The Scotsman Hotel. The whole weekend was huge success, perfect weather, bright sunshine and clear blue skies... and 5-2 win for the School XI.
Harrow School – 4 February 2024
Thank you to the many OHs who returned to the Hill to take part in Founder's Day, maintaining one of Harrow's longest-running traditions. As well as the obligatory Harrow football, activities on the day included opportunities to fence, play golf, rackets, fives, squash and water polo, visit the OSRG, see art exhibitions in the Pasmore Gallery, and watch the House instrumentals competition − all ending with a well-deserved pint in the Works Department bar.
House Dinner
Cavalry & Guards Club – 22 February 2024
The Bradbys House Dinner took place on Thursday 22 February 2024 in the magnificent surroundings of the Cavalry & Guards Club in Piccadilly and was attended by a 100-strong cohort of Old Bradbeians and current Sixth Formers. We were delighted to welcome House Master, David Earl (2016 ), former House Master David Wendelken (2009−16) and HA Director Will Landale (The Grove 19783) to attend the dinner and to update all present with news of Bradbys’ achievements over the last few years, be that in the world of academia, the arts, or on the sporting front.
The evening commenced with a champagne reception followed by dinner in the impressive dining room for which grace was said by our oldest Bradbeian guest, George Rothman (19492), who was attending with his son James Rothman (19763). Following David Earl’s
speech, the Loyal Toast and Toast to the School were made by Head of House Charlie Nelson (20193), who scored a memorable century at Lord’s last summer, and a Toast to the House was made by the youngest Old Bradbeian present, David Liu (20183). The Nelson family were also represented by Charlie’s father, Rob (19833) who was congratulated for his England success at winning the Over-50s Cricket World Cup tournament held in South Africa in 2023. Songs were sung to the excellent and amusing direction of David Wendelken, with Chris Shell (19801) playing the piano. The evening was a highly enjoyable event bringing together a number of younger Old Bradbeians and a few older ones, and we thank the HA for their excellent organisation of the dinner. We look forward with anticipation to the next Triennial dinner.
Michael Sharron (Bradbys 19791)
Harrow Association Songs pre 19653
Speech Room – 29 February 2024
For all OHs who joined the School before 19653
The School and the HA welcomed back over 100 OHs and their guests to the Hill for Songs in Speech Room. The OHs in attendance all joined the School in 19653 or earlier. The most senior OH having joined the School in 1947.
The event has been heralded as one of the great Harrow evenings, and this is in no small part down to all those OHs who made the trip back to the Hill to join the boys in the magnificently refurbished Speech Room, followed by dinner in the Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall.
Song-writing legend Mike D'Abo (Bradbys 19573) delivered a rousing performance of his new composition Beyond the Hill. Mike was supported by a band of Harrovians, and the whole School sang Happy Birthday to him on the eve of his 80th birthday.
Cavalry & Guards Club – 21 March 2024
Of all the many great recurring Harrow occasions, the Triennial House Dinner must be near the top of the list when it comes to providing enduring pleasure and entertainment to generations of Old Harrovians. The Park House Dinner on 21 March this year was just such an occasion, helped no doubt by the (unbiased) view of those attending that The Park is still the best House on the Hill!
The event was held at the Cavalry & Guards Club and such had been the demand for the evening that we filled the room to its maximum capacity. For those of us who now seem to be dangerously close to being on the “senior” table, it was great to see so many younger Old Parkites attending nearly 60% of the guests had left the School in the last 20 years. At the other end of the age scale, our senior Old Parkite on the night, Anthony Speelman (19543), was determinedly doing his best to represent an entire decade (the 1950s) on his own!
The magic of these evenings is always the opportunity to see old friends and contemporaries, and to be transported back by common memories to the time
Harrow Biennial US Dinner
Racquets & Tennis Club – 22 March 2024
It was wonderful to see so many OHs at the Harrow Biennial US Dinner to hear news from the Hill, catch up with old friends, reminisce and sing Songs. The Head Master Alastair Land, his wife Madeleine, and Ruby Polatin and William Young from the Harrow Development Trust enjoyed meeting so many members of the OH community who had travelled from far and wide to attend.
when our days were so ordered and our lives so much simpler. Our memories were further rekindled by an excellent speech from current House Master Ben Shaw (2015 ), who gave us all a glimpse of life in the House today and guided us through Songs no mean achievement when the effects of good food and wine were starting to become apparent by that stage in the evening. If there is a downside to these evenings, it is merely that there never seems quite enough time to get round to speak to everyone you want to. Before you realise it, it is time to say goodbye but at least you can rely on the fact that the next House Dinner will be round again soon. And somehow, as you move towards the “senior” table, the gap between each dinner seems to be getting shorter!
John Batting (The Park 19722)
Harrow Giant Talk: Lord Byron – 200 Years On, by Peter Hunter
Speech Room – 19 April 2024
Commemorating the bicentenary of Byron's death, this fascinating lecture delivered by former Harrow Master Peter Hunter (1985–2018) was followed by a drinks reception held in the Old Speech Room Gallery. There, Old Harrovians and Byron enthusiasts alike had the opportunity to interact with one another and explore the School's collection of Byron memorabilia. Those who were unable to attend can view a recording on OH Connect.
Peter Walker (The Park 19621) Memorial Dinner Plumber Manor, Sturminster Newton – 26 April
This annual event, involving members of Peter’s family and close friends, took place at the magnificent setting of Plumber Manor, ancestral home of Richard Prideaux-Brune (Elmfield 19592), which he and his wife Alison have turned into a highly successful hotel and restaurant. The aim of the evening is to remember and celebrate Peter’s life, cut short when he was only 67. Peter’s sons Harry and Charlie, the latter being a well-known and respected explorer, both attended the dinner, with with Harry flying over from Hong Kong especially for the occasion.
Peter’s brother-in-law, David Fellowes, organised the dinner and, working alongside Richard Prideaux-Brune. gave us a superb and memorable evening; Plumber Manor enjoys a very high reputation for its excellent food and service so it was a very spoiling evening for us. Richard joined us for Songs, organised by Peter’s brother Johnny (The Park 19651), which were lustily sung, much to the amusement of the other guests in the house.
Other OHs present included Colin Liddell (The Head Master’s 19613), Pierce Brunt (The Head Master’s 19621), Richard Packard (The Head Master’s 19602), Chris Nichols (The Park 19621) and Tony Haslam (Druries 19621).
Tony Haslam (Druries 19621)
The numerous OH clubs and societies continue to be very busy bringing OHs together to enjoy activities and gatherings across all social, sporting and professional categories. Visit the Groups section of OH Connect to hear from club secretaries and join clubs and societies of interest to you.
After a seemingly endless winter, the Harrow Wanderers saw in the new season with drinks at the Apollo in Clapham Old Town on 18 April. It was great to catch up with familiar faces and look forward to cricket this summer. Many thanks to Will Thompson (The Park 20073) for arranging it all.
2024 is another anniversary year for the club as it celebrates the 100th edition of the Northern Tour on 4 -7 July. In 1924 the Harrow Wanderers played the Yorkshire Gents at Escrick Park and a hundred years later, this annual fixture will be contested at the same venue. Other familiar opponents will be the Hawks and the Aysgarth XI, and we are particularly delighted to see the return of the Newby Hall XI fixture. The General Election has delayed the planned celebrations until 2025 but we look forward to announcing a revised programme of events later in the year.
The campaign to add the Harrow Wanderers name to the Cricketer Cup began on Saturday 9 June with an away victory over Downside Wanderers. As ever,
our captain Lalit Bose (The Head Master’s 20083) has assembled a fine squad of young talent and we wish them every success as the competition progresses.
We started the season with our Speech Day fixture against the School on 25 May and the Goose Match, also against the School, concludes our season on Sunday 8 September. In between, we have a great list of games in London and around the country.
For more information about the club and to get in touch, see the Harrow Wanderers Group at OH Connect. We look forward to hearing from you!
This year’s Alumni Run brought together ten OHs to the ‘spiritual home of cross country’ Wimbledon Common.
The Alumni Run brings together old boys from 50 different schools across the country. With spirits high, the team gathered for photographs before massing on the start line with 250 other runners. With many a Long Ducker behind them, the five miles on the paths of the common didn’t prove to be a problem for the OHs.
This year, despite stiff competition, the OHXC team finished well in sixth position. Our scoring four were George Grassly, Hamish McCreanor, Quentin Baker and
William Gasson. A special mention goes to Quentin Baker for finishing 2nd and Jonathon Riddell-Webster for finishing 3rd in their respective age groups. The best news of course was, once again, leaving the foe from Windsor in our dust.
It was great to have some new faces this year, so whether you are a fitness-mad athlete or a Sunday plodder then do consider joining us in the future.
The next Alumni run is 14 September so please contact the HA office or join the OH Cross Country page on OH Connect if you are interested in joining.
George Grassly (The Knoll 20133)
On Wednesday 6 December, members of the OH Property Club gathered for drinks in celebration of the club's 15-year anniversary.
Thank you to Michael Sharron (Bradbys 19791) and Peter Ferrari (Druries 19742) for organising the event and to Jamie Newall (Druries 19861) for hosting the evening. We hope all OHs who were able to attend had a wonderful time catching up with friends and networking with others in the property sector.
OH RUNNERS (L to R)
Hamish McCreanor (The Park 20181)
Jonathon Riddell-Webster (The Grove 20183)
Angus Denison-Smith (Elmfield 20133)
Johnny Farrar-Bell (Moretons 20043)
George Grassly (The Knoll 20133)
Quentin Baker (Moretons 19893)
Frederick Heffer (Elmfield 20143)
William Gasson (The Head Master’s 20123)
Matthys Du Toit (Elmfield 20143)
Naman Sharma (Lyon’s 20183)
If you are interested in becoming a member of the OH Property Club, visit the OH Property Club group on OH Connect ohconnect.org.uk/groups/2/
On Tuesday 4 June the Biennial Dinner took place at the Turf Club, London SW1 with guest speaker George Aberdeen (Moretons 19963) Founder of Kinrise.
The Old Harrovian Property Club is back in full force and has an exciting roster of events planned for 2024:
September: Beers & Curry evening in London for younger members.
Autumn term: Field trip for Harrovians, visiting a London development scheme
October: Committee members will be present at the Harrow School Careers Convention.
Wednesday 4 December: Christmas Drinks, again by kind invitation of Jamie Newall (Druries 19861) in The Boltons, London SW10. Further updates will be shared by email with members.
John Macpherson (Rendalls 19993)
As another season of OHAFC football draws to a close, with momentum building for sustained progress both on and off the pitch, the club can look back with pride over the past 60 years that have seen its remarkable growth from rather humble beginnings into one of the largest clubs in the Arthurian League and the largest of all OH sports clubs.
Following 30 years in hibernation, the re-established Old Harrovian Association Football Club took the field on Saturday 5 October 1963 at Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green for a friendly v Lancing Old Boys 2nd XI, winning 4-2. The original club was founded in 1859 but disbanded following Harrow’s decision in 1927 to replace Association Football ‘soccer’ with rugby. It was not until 1972 that soccer was again played at the School on an official basis, for the last two weeks of the Easter term. In 1998, as the game enjoyed an exponential rise in popularity at all levels, it was awarded major game status.
In these early years, there were those who perceived that soccer was a threat to Harrow football or rugby or both. In his Notes on the 1965/66 Season, Club President Charles Clover Brown wrote: ‘The OHAFC is in no way opposed to rugby football. We are, of course, very proud of Harrow’s fine rugby record and the successes which have been achieved against some of the most famous of rugby playing schools. However, there is no doubt that a number of Old Harrovians wish to play soccer after they leave the School and the Club has been formed to cater for their interests.’ These sentiments still clearly exist today.
Such was the level of enthusiasm among 1962 and 1963 leavers for kicking the round ball for the first time in five years that the club attracted subsequent generations and rapidly gained momentum. An inaugural Easter Tour to Etretat, France, in 1964 and the first Annual Dinner in 1968 confirmed the importance of ambassadorial and social sides to the Club’s activities which continue to flourish today. Featured prominently have been overseas tours mainly to continental Europe but also to Florida in 1981 and Buenos Aires and Rio in 2003. There have been 47 Club Dinners; since 1992 these have been held at the Imperial Hotel WC1, Stamford Bridge and, most recently, The Hurlingham Club in 2019. Queen’s Club was the venue for the 2024 edition.
Efforts to secure a home ground were rewarded when John Lyon School permitted the club use of its facilities on Sudbury Hill for the 1964/65 season. The pitch was narrow, sloping and normally waterlogged, and the Secretary became familiar with the groundsman’s depressing Friday evening telephone message:
“You’ll never get on it, Mister.” Despite these difficulties, JLS would be home until 1975, after which more than a dozen different venues were hired until 2002 when the club secured a permanent home on the Philathletic Ground in return for members having contributed significantly to the School’s AstroTurf Appeal.
Ten years later, members provided generous support for construction on the Phil of the Charles Alcock Pavilion, a great facility for post-match hospitality. This followed two years of drainage works on the Phil and the creation of two superb pitches to be used by both the School and the OHAFC.
In 1965, the club entered The Arthurian League playing against the old boys of footballing strongholds such as Brentwood, Charterhouse, Eton and Malvern, acquitting itself well in the early years before becoming League Champions in 1978 (the only ‘non-soccer’ school to achieve this distinction), 2004 and 2010. Over the years, all four of the club’s teams have put silverware on the shelf, most notably the Arthur Dunn Cup in 2007. The Old Harrovians were founder members of this prestigious competition in 1902. The 2nd XI won the League Cup in 2006 and 2011 with remarkable victories along the way over teams from higher divisions, and OHAFC won the League’s Veterans Cup in 2012 and 2016 with the 2007 Dunn side well represented.
Since 2012, the ‘FestiPhil’, a four-team festival-style tournament on the Phil involving a total of up to 60 old boys and current Harrovians, has proven hugely successful and a great chance for the club to meet and evaluate potential stars of the future. Ten editions of the tournament have now been held and the standard continues to impress every year. This season has also seen the recommencement of the annual fixture between the OHAFC and the Harrow Masters on the Sunley Field, the Old Boys running out 5-2 winners this time around in a competitive game enjoyed by all.
Three XIs are fielded regularly on Saturdays in The Arthurian League, with the over-35s Veterans side providing further opportunities for players to prolong their enjoyment of the beautiful game. This season, all three sides will finish in mid-table in their respective divisions, the 3s still with a Cup semi-final to look forward to in early April. The Vets were very unfortunate to lose 3-2 to the Old Wyekhamists in their own semifinal in March.
Given a committed group of enthusiastic club officers, the School’s highly supportive grounds management team and with Harrow now a two-term soccer school resulting in over 40 leavers joining the OHAFC each year, a prosperous future for the club can be expected. Most importantly, the one constant over the past 60 years has been the fun and lasting friendships which have developed among the different generations of OHs playing for the club.
All levels of ability are accommodated and School and university leavers can expect a warm welcome when they join. Further information can be found at ohafc.com.
David Lederman (Newlands 19883)
During 2023, the OHGS celebrated its centenary. The society was founded in 1923 by FMM Carlisle (Elmfield 19022) assisted by Henry Henriques (West Acre 18993), to enter a team for the Halford Hewitt competition, the pre-eminent amateur foursomes tournament, involving 64 schools and which celebrated its centenary in 2024.
OHGS caters for OHs of all ages and ability, and its relationship with the School means many younger OHs are getting actively involved. Harrow now fields a superb team for the Halford Hewitt. Membership is also about having fun with your peer group and the fixture list, of nearly 30 entries, gives plenty of opportunity to play on the best courses in the UK.
The key meetings, spring at Royal St George’s, autumn at Royal West Norfolk and the Association Day at the New Zealand are all well supported with the under-30s having a discounted cost.
The highlight of the year was the Centenary Dinner at Brooks’s, in November, presided over by our President Jamie Warman (The Grove 19693). Over 80 attended the dinner, which included ten guests, and 15 of the diners were under 30. My thanks to the centenary committee and to the speakers, who included the Deputy Head Master.
The OHGS celebrated the day of its centenary at Sunningdale, with 40 OHGS golfers in attendance.
After golf and lunch songs were sung and new memories made. The OHGS heads to Long Island and Philadelphia in May 2024 on tour to play some of the best courses in the USA.
2024 will be another successful year for the society; why not visit the website OHGS.org.uk and contact one of the match managers. My thanks to the committee, and the match managers, who make this all possible.
John Macpherson (The Grove 19803) Captain
After a long period of hibernation, the OH Law Society was relaunched in October 2023 at an informal evening drinks event at The Devereux near Temple. Around 30 OHs displaying the full spectrum of the OH Law Society's membership (preeminent Silks,
The OH Philanthropy Society has been established to bring together Old Harrovians with an interest in philanthropy. An initial drinks was held at the Harrow Club and heard Tim Dalton (Newlands 19923) speak on the School’s approach to public benefit and community engagement, through Shaftesbury Enterprises. Ed Simpson, the new Executive Director of the Harrow Club, the youth club in Notting Hill founded by Old Harrovians, who has led a significant restructuring at the Club, highlighted the programmes the Club is implementing around educational opportunity and combatting gang culture. The Club operates five sites across Chelsea, Fulham, Kensington and Westminster. The Club and the related charity, the Harrow Mission, which both celebrated 140 years in 2023, are the oldest expressions of Old Harrovian philanthropy, and there are currently opportunities to provide mentoring. The Society is looking to hold two further events this year, focusing on OHs within City Livery Companies and OH connected charities focusing on Africa. OHs interested in the sector are warmly welcome to suggest further programme ideas to Alexander Trotter (The Head Master’s 19802).
senior solicitors, in-house lawyers and even a recent OH who took time out from his freshers' week festivities to join us) enjoyed catching up over a glass of wine or several. Pierre Ali-Noor (West Acre 20013) and William Landale (The Grove 19783) spoke briefly by way of introduction and to restate the aims of the society, namely to provide a forum for OHs involved in the legal sector to network and to provide mentoring and advice to OHs aspiring to a career in the legal sector. Membership is open to all OHs involved in the legal sector or those who are hoping to work in it.
Pierre Ali-Noor (West Acre 20013)
The OH Sailing Association celebrated a commendable second place in this year's Arrow Trophy in the 37ft class behind Tonbridge. Great fun was had by all in perfect sailing conditions in the Solent. If you would like to join the OH Sailing Association, contact Tom Holtby (The Head Master's 19761) on OH Connect for further information on how to get involved.
The Byronics, the OH LGBT+ society, joined up with a number of other schools for a fantastic Christmas party back in December in a beautifully decorated west London studio space. Apart from ordering far too much stollen, the evening was a great success, with OHs young and old attending.
The next event will be a summer party on the evening of 9 July on the terrace at Aqua on Argyll Street, London, bringing together alumni groups from Harrow, Eton, Radley, Winchester, Bedales, Sherborne and Shrewsbury, with the addition of St Paul's and Westminster this year.
Join the group on OH Connect if you are interested in finding out more.
Highlights of this year’s OH Players programme included central involvement in All the World’s a Stage, a gala performance in Speech Room to mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, in honour of Jeremy Lemmon (The Knoll 19493).
If you would like to get involved in the Society’s future projects, please contact Chair Louis Kunzig (Druries 19833) via OH Connect.
One of the HA’s key aims is to build membership of existing, and to (re) establish new HA Clubs and Societies (C&Ss).
We are particularly interested in professional / career-focussed C&Ss (Finance, IT, Law, Retail, etc). If you can help in any way, please do get in touch with Will Landale direct: landalewjf@harrowschool.org.uk
Below are our most recent ‘new’ C&Ss. If you are interested in joining one of these, or indeed any C&S, please either contact the person indicated or sign up on OH Connect.
The inaugural meeting of the OH Performing Arts and Entertainment club took place at The Cut bar, at the Young Vic Theatre, on Tuesday 30 January 2024. The club presents an informal opportunity for OHs working in the performing arts and entertainment industries to network, share experience and connect. Director of Drama Adam Cross and Harrow Association President Timothy Bentinck MBE (Moretons 19663) were joined at the gathering by a number of OHs in the industry to discuss ideas for the development of the club. If you would like to get involved please contact Adam Cross at APC@harrowschool.org.uk
The OH Perceval Society is the vibrant group for Old Harrovians of African and Caribbean descent.
Named after our notable alumnus, Spencer Perceval ((Harrow 1774), our society is a community connecting generations of OHs.
Whether you graduated years ago or are a recent leaver, the OH Perceval Society is your gateway to rekindling bonds, sharing experiences, and contributing to a legacy of excellence that spans continents and decades.
Our raison d’être is threefold: to strengthen ties among our distinguished alumni, to foster meaningful connections between alumni and the School, and to support students preparing for life after the Hill through robust networking opportunities.
By joining the OH Perceval Society, you become part of a positive network for mentorship, collaboration and lifelong friendships, ensuring that the spirit of Harrow continues to thrive within our global community.
The OHCC (The Peddlars) is approaching the end of its inaugural year and now has the bones of a great club. We are looking to flesh out those bones with as many new members as possible in 2024.
Although one can’t put a price on being part of such an athletic and elite outfit, we are delighted to say that the annual cost of membership is currently zero of your finest pounds.
Following on from a successful two-day ride from Carlisle to Edinburgh last June, we are looking to have one or two large rides per year, with lots of smaller ones organised by any member from anywhere in the world throughout the rest of the year. That might be a Sunday morning loosener in Richmond Park or an impromptu London–Brighton.It might be a local charity event or a more serious sportif somewhere else in the world. We encourage all members to get involved and rally the troops at any time.
The club is open to riders of all abilities, and it is fair to say that the current average standard in the club would best be described as “Enthusiastic!”. Nobody ever gets left behind. In fact, often it’s a bunfight to bring up the rear of the peloton.
We have a presence on various platforms including: Strava – strava.com/clubs/ohcc and Zwift – zwift.com/clubs/ For more information or if you have any questions, please find us on OH Connect ohconnect.org.uk/groups/43/feed or get in touch via the HA
It is with great pleasure that we announce the relaunch of the OH Racing Club.
Harrow has a particularly strong affinity with and history surrounding the world of international racing and the revitalised club will ensure that this connection goes from strength to strength.
With over 20 years’ experience working in the thoroughbred industry, James O'Donnell (Druries 19913) and his team at The Kingsmoor Club are well placed to spearhead the initiative: “The OH Racing club has existed in various guises for generations. We will revitalise the club, bring the OH community together to entertain and inspire them. Club members will have the opportunity to own affordable shares in the OH syndicate horses (flat and jumps). We aim to do this not only in the UK, but in other international racing locations where there is an interested OH community.”
Members will also be invited to a variety of social events on and off the racecourse, trainers, gallops and sales visits. Through the School’s Turf Club, current boys will have the opportunity to get involved with racing and receive industry education and careers advice. Any OHs wishing to express an interest, offer assistance or find out more, please contact James O’Donnell (Druries 19913): james@the-k.world
Harrow School is currently one of the best rugby schools in the country, if not the world and has a long pedigree of producing club and international players. Against this backdrop, we are delighted to announce the launch of the OH Rugby Club.
The OHRFC aims to establish both a playing squad and a supporters’ section. The playing squad will enter various tournaments during the year to compete with the likes of the alumni from Wellington, Epsom, Hampton, etc. The supporters’ section will be invited to support not only the OHRFC, but also the School. Of course, the OHRFC will gather periodically to network, discuss rugby and put the world to right!
If interested, please either get in touch with Toby Ferneyhough (Elmfield 20183): tobyferneyhough1@gmail.com or sign up on OH Connect.
Harrow, built on its declared purpose to prepare boys ‘for a life of public service…’, has a distinguished history of producing ‘uniformed’ public servants. Today, Harrow has a highly successful and active Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and is able to introduce a variety of uniformed service career options to Harrovians who might be considering such a career path.
On the back of this, the HA is keen to establish the OH Uniformed Services Club (OHUSC). This club will aim simply to bring together all OHs who have served or are currently serving their country in frontline organisations (eg the army, navy, air force, police, ambulance or prison services) and, importantly, through this new Club, to inspire current Harrovians to consider a career path of this nature.
Do please read about the experiences of some such OHs in the sector spotlight on page 58 and, if interested either in joining this club or helping to run it, please do so on OH Connect or contact Will Landale directly: landalewjf@harrowschool.org.uk
Damian’s paintings transport us into the worlds of artistic geniuses and capture the sublimity of creative experience. He chooses a moment in time when an artist is being innovative and examines what is going on.
The news each day seems full of doom. Damian Elwes (West Acre 19743) prefers to focus on another part of reality: human creativity. He uses the artist studio as a metaphor for all the problem solving, resourcefulness and innovation that is happening in the world each day.
Damian made lots of art at Harrow and he illustrated several magazines. After studying Literature at Harvard, he met Keith Haring who encouraged him to become a painter. Soon he was exhibiting his early paintings beside those of Jean Michel Basquiat at the Fruitmarket gallery in Edinburgh.
Instead of going to art school, Elwes spent two years traversing Paris and painting the studios of every artist he could find. In 2018 his museum exhibition at the Museé en Herbe in Paris attracted more than 100,000 visitors. His upcoming show is at Unit London, 3 Hanover Square, W1 (from 11 July31 August). Many of the paintings can be seen in the April edition of Vogue Portugal. They will also be visible at damianelwes.com
This edition of Follow Up! coincides with the 26th anniversary of my arrival on the Hill to lead the fundraising and development activities for the School. Much has been achieved in that time, under the guidance of five Head Masters. It started with the attractive and complete reformation of the Vaughan Library, included the addition of a 12th boarding house, Lyon’s, and this past year has seen the beautiful and elegant redecoration of Speech Room – where, as I write, we have welcomed back OHs and families to visit the brass plaques they have purchased for the back of many of the chairs (an opportunity that remains open, see page 13).
This summer, we have witnessed the completion of yet another milestone project, the building of the School’s new Biology and Chemistry Schools; state-of-the-art, brilliant and ultra-modern new facilities.
All these achievements are only made possible by the financial generosity of our many benefactors who contribute from all parts of the Harrow community. My colleagues travel around the UK and to far corners of the globe to meet OHs and families, listen to their tales and enlist their support, and this year has been no exception with trips to the US, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Switzerland, and a trip planned to Nigeria in Autumn.
So, as I commence the 27th year of my Harrow Development journey, I extend grateful thanks to those many benefactors who have, over the decades and indeed centuries, ensured the continuing success and future of this great school. Your support really does set us apart as a supreme centre of educational excellence.
Stet Fortuna Domus
Doug Collins, CEO Harrow Development Trust
2022/23 44% INCREASE ON LAST YEAR
12.2m RAISED
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO REPORT ON A VERY SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF GIVING IN 2022/23 AND ARE GRATEFUL TO THE MANY GENEROUS DONORS SUPPORTING HARROW’S AMBITION TO TRANSFORM LIVES THROUGH BURSARIES AND BUILD FOR THE FUTURE WITH AMBITIOUS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
£700k
4,394
HARROW SCHOOL HAS HAD A TREMENDOUS, POSITIVE IMPACT ON MY FAMILY – my father and my uncle went through the School, I followed, and my eldest son is at Harrow currently. The more I have learned about the School – as a pupil, then as a parent, and most recently as a Governor – the more I have been struck by the dedication of the School, and of everyone associated with it, to helping boys achieve and succeed, in whatever form that may be, to grow, and to thrive as young men and, ultimately, as adults.
When I was invited to become a Governor, I only had a partial sense of this, but I could see how my son was benefiting from his time at School, and accepting the invitation was an easy decision. Since then, I have become more familiar with how the School operates, including financially, how it prioritises the experience it offers its pupils over and above anything else, and the wholehearted dedication to this cause that the Head Master, the Senior Management Team, the Masters, and my fellow Governors exhibit. No one is doing this for anything other than the benefit of the boys, and that is extraordinary. What is even more extraordinary is that it has been the case for over 450 years. That is a humbling realisation – that for centuries Harrovians have enjoyed the experience and the education they benefited from because of the dedication and the generosity of others.
Insofar as I can, I intend to express the debt of gratitude I feel on behalf of those members of my family who went through the School before me, as well as those who will come after, by dedicating my time, and my financial support, to Harrow. I would urge you, as far as you are able, to do the same. The Harrovians of the future will thank us for it.
James Seppala (Druries 19923), current parent, Governor and Harrow Development Trust Trustee
“That is a humbling realisation - that for centuries Harrovians have enjoyed the experience and education they benefited from because of the dedication, and the generosity of others.”
Did you know that you can leave a tax-free gift to Harrow in your will?
A gift to Harrow School is your opportunity to make a lasting contribution, helping to safeguard Harrow's future for generations to come.
Simply tell your Solicitor or will-maker that you would like to remember Harrow Development Trust (Registered charity no. 296097) in your Will.
In September, a ceremony was held to celebrate the life of Robert Dick (The Park 19523) with a mulberry tree planted on the estate and a plaque unveiled in the squash court in honour of his bequest towards the improvement of the squash courts.
Later the same month, we welcomed a number of families and friends of those who have left bequests to the School for a tree dedication ceremony. The ceremony took place at a new pinetum on the Upper Redding Fields, now home to a collection of conifers from around the world.
We will invite all those who inform us of their intention to remember Harrow in their will to join our Edward Bowen Society. They will also receive invitations to special donor events.
If you would like to find out more about joining the Edward Bowen Society and making a commitment to leaving a gift in your will visit harrowschool.org.uk/leaving-a-legacy or call the Harrow Development Trust office.
“ Even though I left Harrow in the 1990s, I have decided to include a large bequest to the School in my will. The plain fact is that Harrow did wonders for me and I would like to give something back.”
An Old Harrovian member of the Edward Bowen Society
This month, General Sir Roland Walker KCB DSO (The Grove 19833) will become the highest-ranked official in the British Army, Chief of the General Staff, after seven tours of duty and a rapid rise through the Ministry of Defence over almost as many years.
Like most boys, however, when Walker joined the Combined Cadet Force as a Remove, he relished getting away from the classroom as much as anything. “Jumping in a coach, driving out to Surrey, stopping in a layby and setting up a patrol for the night,” he remembers, “that was the bit of it I enjoyed the most actually: getting out of school and into the field. You’d cook on your stoves, sleep under a basher and then in the morning there’d be some quick attack.”
Even before Harrow, Walker felt himself oriented towards a career in the military, growing up in a house “with lots of pictures of people in uniforms.” Excluding his father, generations of Walkers served as army officers. “I think that framed it,” he says, “but then at School I joined the CCF and found that kind of weirdly enjoyable.”
“I’m not sure in the early days I was particularly good at it, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the training, the physicality of it, the teamwork,” he says. “It’s a big old school and those Houses are big old houses, but actually this was something that you could feel a part of.”
Today, Harrow cadets choose one of four branches, but when Walker joined the CCF in the 1980s most boys ended up in the Army, led by ex-soldier Major Bill Davis: “a very good influence,” Walker remembers. There were Navy cadets, but they didn’t see much waterborne action. “As far as we could tell, they went off in a corner and tied knots or something like that. Never seemed to be particularly naval,” he laughs. “Nobody ever got anywhere near a ship.”
By the Fifth Form, Walker had an Army scholarship to Sandhurst, soon bolstered by a university cadetship, which he took up after Harrow at the Royal Agricultural College, studying rural land management. This was a “strategic approach,” he says, in case training didn’t work out, or he got injured on Sandhurst’s “make or break” officer course.
Walker graduated an officer and, just six years after leaving Harrow – including a gap year cutting Christmas trees in West Calder in Scotland and hitchhiking from his birthplace in Kenya to Cape Town – he was on the ground in Northern Ireland.
As much as a new officer might want to impress other Sandhurst graduates and higher ups, Walker quickly realised the priority was earning the respect of his soldiers. “It’s about making sure that you, in their eyes, are up to the mark,” he says.
Throughout these early years, he never doubted choosing a military career, only, he admits, his own ability. “My worry was at that critical moment I would be the one that made the mistake and other people would suffer.” Confidence in himself and his training came over time, seeing good decision-making pay off. He also focused on a simple mission: whatever the circumstance, “take immediate action, respond appropriately, and make the problem go away.”
Walker would go on to serve two more tours of Northern Ireland, three in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. For his last tour in Ireland, and on every tour of Iraq, Walker went as a member of the Special Forces, serving in several specialist military units after volunteering for selection in 1997. If popular images of Special Forces training today are dominated by the brash beasting of US Navy Seals’ Hell Week or Channel 4 documentary SAS Who Dares Wins, Walker says the reality couldn’t be more different.
“There’s no shouting,” he remembers. “At every phase they make it as easy as possible for you to walk away with no shame. They’ll shake your hand and say ‘thank you very much for volunteering but this isn’t for you. Don’t worry about it, I’m sure someone else will have you.’”
Each theatre of conflict sits differently in Walker’s memory. By the 1990s, the Troubles were more menacing than
Our job is to look as far as we can to the horizon, try and spot the dark clouds and then do everything we can to make sure those dark clouds never actually settle overhead.”
actively dangerous. His tours in Northern Ireland were, he says, “relatively low tempo” and a good place to “cut my teeth.” Iraq he describes as “basically dangerous”. Nonetheless, it was an environment where good decisionmaking paid off. “I felt we had control of our destiny and so you could make your own luck. That was basically the skill.”
Walker’s tour of Afghanistan was both the hardest and, he says, the most dangerous. He recalls a “green on blue” attack, when a policeman working with his team turned on them and killed five men, including his Regimental Sergeant Major. While the remaining soldiers were treating casualties, the Taliban attacked their checkpoint, a space no more than 20m x 20m in size. Reinforcements then mistakenly killed a number of local villagers they took for Taliban fighters.
“Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong that day, that evening and the following morning,” he says, but the recovery effort (from young, new soldiers to doctors) was ultimately inspiring. “On my side, it was the tour the greatest number of people were killed, many of whom I knew, so those are the lows. But the highs: we're seeing a situation change for the better because you and the troops have done the right thing.”
Walker was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in Afghanistan.
Then, in 2018, Walker began what he calls a “second career” working at the Ministry of Defence, serving as Director of Special Forces, then Deputy Chief of Defence Staff responsible for military strategy, and earning his knighthood in 2023. It’s a transition he remembers for being “mentally much more taxing than physically”.
In the weeks before Christmas, Walker was appointed Chief of the General Staff, just two months after Hamas attacked Israel and with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinding on. It is not lost on him that he is assuming the responsibility at a tense geopolitical moment. He isn’t pessimistic, he says, or optimistic either – just pragmatic.
“Our job is to look as far as we can to the horizon, try and spot the dark clouds and then do everything we can to make sure those dark clouds never actually settle overhead,” he says. Some things are easier to predict than others. At a certain point the Russian invasion was inevitable, for example, but Hamas’ attack on 7 October was entirely unexpected.
Ultimately, like his first days trying to live up to soldiers’ expectations after Sandhurst, Walker sees his new role as a question of doing everything he can to solve problems for the greater good. “You’re playing heads-up rugby,” he says. “You’re ducking and diving and wheeling and dealing – trying to find the best way to make the problem go away.”
Over 400 years, Harrow has built up a distinguished roll-call of Giants of Old who dedicated their lives to public service. OHs today who have chosen ‘Uniformed Services’ (army, navy, air force, police, etc) for at least part of their careers are continuing this tradition, living up to those who went before them in every sense. In the pages that follow, you will read about a small selection experiences and the
COLONEL PETER FLACH LVO MBE (Moretons 19662)
Despite disliking the School corps, Peter joined the Army. It allowed him to continue the sports he enjoyed, including polo, skiing, rugby, cricket and rifle shooting, in between working on tanks and doing Northern Ireland tours. After Staff College, he married, but his wife died of cancer, leaving him to bring up a two-year-old son. He opted to move into acquisition, a job that offered him the regular hours he needed to plan childcare. This role included the managing of a £4bn US/ UK project to procure a reconnaissance vehicle. He then left the Army to join General Dynamics UK as Director of Marketing.
In 2004, he and his son, Edward (Moretons 20023), were on the Harrow cricket tour to Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit and Peter narrowly escaped with his life when he was washed 2km inland. Following the death of his second wife, also to cancer, he took up a post at Cranfield University lecturing on the MBA course to concentrate on raising his daughter. Meanwhile, he rose to be the Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, which he commanded at the Her late Majesty The Queen’s funeral in September 2022.
HENRY CUMMINS (West Acre 19813)
Henry was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst into the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in 1987. He majored in armoured warfare and reconnaissance during his 27 years as a soldier; since joining the Royal Air Force Reserve as a Wing Commander in 2017, he has served in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe, and has been awarded the US Bronze Star Medal and a KCVS.
He has served as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, has a Masters in Defence Administration (Cranfield University) and is a graduate of the Advanced Command Staff Course.
As a civilian he is an Executive Coach and runs a number of micro businesses, including a car park. Between 2015 and 2016, he led the Digital Eagles at Barclays Bank – their digital evangelical arm. He is married, has three children and lives in rural north Northumberland. His interests include current affairs, most house music, fast horses and dogs, destructive gardening and history. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for Northumberland. Henry is an optimist, and is never quite as good as he thinks he is.
WILL REYNOLDS (Moretons 19823)
After leaving Harrow, Will studied History and Law at Oxford Polytechnic, graduating in 1991 with a BA Hons degree. He completed a year at Guildford Law School but chose a career with the Metropolitan Police. Following in Sir Robert Peel’s (Harrow 1800) footsteps, he found himself posted to frontline policing in South London, a world away from the privilege of the Hill, and a sobering experience. After passing his detective exams, Will entered the world of CID. On being promoted to Detective Inspector, he was posted to Brixton Police Station. In 2011, Will became a nationally qualified Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) specialising in the investigation of homicides. While an SIO, Will was involved in the investigation of over 100 murders. In 2018, he joined the Met’s Professional Standards Unit where he investigated allegations of police corruption and serious misconduct. Will’s final posting before retirement in October 2023 was leading the Mets “Cold Case” Homicide Team. His team secured highprofile convictions at the Old Bailey, using double jeopardy legislation and advances in forensic technology to finally solve murders committed in 1991 and 1994. Will rejoined the Met in 2024 as a civilian. He is currently an investigative coach, training the next generation of Met detectives.
ADAM AND TOBY PARSONS (Moretons 19823)
Identical twins, Adam and Toby Parsons, sons and nephews of Old Mortonians and grandsons of a Metropolitan Police Special Constable, were both awarded British Empire Medals in her late Majesty’s New Year’s Honours List in 2022 for services to policing. Both joined the Metropolitan Police as Special Constables in September 1989 and retired in March 2022 with thirty-two and a half years’ exemplary service.
During that time, with hard work and tenacity, they have experienced all the dangers faced by regular police officers, including armed suspects, burglars, robbers, major incidents and terrorists. Both passed in March 1990, and also passed out of the elite Hendon’s Driving School as response drivers trained in pursuit, a rare privilege for Special Constables, in recognition for their hard work. They attribute their success working in this challenging environment down to the work they did in Harrow’s CCF, where they both attained the rank of Senior Under Officer, heading up the CCF in the Easter and Summer terms of 1987. They look back fondly on their time on the Hill and benefitted from the School environment which they state ‘made them into well-rounded individuals equipped to take on the challenge of being a police officer in London.
MAJOR SIMON DE LABILLIERE
(The Grove 19831)
Having graduated from The Grove in 1987, Simon took many of the skills that he learned at Harrow School to the Army, and Army Aviation in particular. He qualified as a reconnaissance pilot in 1991, serving in Germany as a Gazelle recce pilot for the British Army on the Rhine and in Northern Ireland working with the police and military in the counter terrorism role. A posting to Wattisham saw him convert to the Lynx Mk 7 anti-tank, before qualifying as a helicopter instructor at RAF Shawbury after which he went on to teach advanced helicopter tactics at Middle Wallop. Following that he attained his first Masters Degree in Aerospace Systems Engineering which led to a role as the lead Mission Systems Trials Officer at Boscombe Down responsible for Test and Evaluation of the Apache Mk 1 prior to its entry into service for the Army Air Corps. Command of 655 (Lynx) Sqn followed in the counter terrorism role back in Northern Ireland, and following a few staff positions he was then posted as the Army nomination for Staff College in India and subsequently as the Military Advisor to the British High Commission, India. Recently, he was the lead for aviation air and ground training policy in the Army Air Corps, before final roles as the Military Advisor to the Ethiopian Peace Support Training Institute, Addis Ababa and Lead UK Training Deliverer for Southern Africa countries.
CHRISTOPHER BRAWLEY
(The Grove 19933)
Colonel Chris E. Brawley left Harrow in the summer of 1998 after serving as a School Monitor and Head of House of The Grove. “Being Head of House in The Grove gave me a tremendous love of service and a passion for mentoring others. I thought the best way to continue that would be in the Army.”
In 2002, Chris became the first Old Harrovian graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations in 2002. Chris served as a rifle platoon leader and scout/sniper platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division after the initial invasion of Iraq, and later commanded an infantry rifle company in southern Afghanistan from 2008–09. In 2014, he graduated from the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College with a Master's of Military Science. He commanded two battalions, a paratrooper battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division and later the 1st Ranger Battalion under United States Army Special Operations Command. He has spent most of his career in the special operations community, including 11 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has 13 combat deployments with 66 months of combat experience. Chris is slated to take command of 1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in the summer of 2024. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star for Valor, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, the Ranger Tab, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Upon graduating Harrow in 2005, John went to the US where he read Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, before returning to the UK to study Masters in Management at London Business School. At both schools, he was inspired by his peers who were either aspiring ROTC candidates or esteemed former military officers studying for their MBA degree. Little did he know at Harrow that one day he would be following their footsteps, because he gave up on his Rifle Corps at Harrow at the earliest opportunity!
In 2012, he returned to South Korea, the country of his birth, to quickly study the language and translation skills and applied as the interpreting officer for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). As one of the biggest allies of the US with heavy US military presence, South Korea has long partnered with the US in its defense against its main adversary, North Korea. Given the high language barrier between the two, however, interpreting officers have been pivotal in maintaining this ironclad military alliance since 1953.
Since his commission as a lieutenant, John served as the Close Air Support (CAS) liaison officer between the ROKAF and the US Air Force’s Air Support Groups. He also participated in numerous combined exercises, including Key Resolve, Foul Eagle and Max Thunder, and bridged the air and ground operations with the US Air Force and US Army. He also acted as a translator for foreign militaries looking to acquire Korean fighter jets, ultimately leading to USD 1.6 billion sales.
After almost 4 years of service, John has moved to real estate fund management and currently works at the Seoul office of a US private equity.
EDWARD MCBARNET (Bradbys 20093)
After reading Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, Ed briefly returned to Harrow as a beak before attending Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 2020, commissioning as a Warfare Officer in the Surface Fleet.
Since then, Ed’s service has taken him to Portugal, the USA, Italy, Germany, Spain and Madeira. He has served in three ships (HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Enterprise and HMS Scott) on operations in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the North Sea.
In 2023, he spent a six-month secondment to the Army’s 77th Brigade as a specialist Russian linguist (a language he learned at Harrow). That year, he was also selected to join the Royal Navy’s Intelligence branch.
The Navy has given Ed the opportunity to take up the Nordic skiing discipline. He has represented the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in biathlon and cross-country skiing at the Inter-Service Championships in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, and now captains the service’s team.
He is also a keen footer player and returns to the Hill to play whenever he can.
Ed has been on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier during F-35 jet operations, escorted a Ukrainian defence minister on an official visit to the UK, and cruised the Savannah river in an experimental stealth boat. He looks forward to many more exciting opportunities in the Royal Navy.
LORENZO BERGAMO ANDREIS (The Park 20093)
Lorenzo’s journey into the military began at Harrow in 2010 when he first joined the CCF. Under the watchful eye of Adrian Davies, Lorenzo applied for and was awarded the Army Sixth Form Scholarship, securing his place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His time at Harrow taught him the foundations of leadership and the importance of making a good leader.
Lorenzo went to the University of Bath where he commissioned into the Army Reserves. During his studies he had the opportunity to Nordic ski in the Arctic Circle, learnt how to skydive, became a qualified jungle guide in Central America and completed the French Army Reserves commissioning course in Saint Cyr as part of an officer’s exchange.
In 2019, Lorenzo commissioned into the Coldstream Guards where he spent the first part of his career in Central London. Shortly after moving to Windsor in 2021, he deployed on operations in Mali working alongside the French military in conducting counter-insurgency operations within the Sahel region. On returning to the UK, he was promoted to Captain and deployed immediately to the Falkland Islands as a Company Second in Command for the Coldstream Guards. Lorenzo commanded a half-company for the late Queen’s funeral as well as His Majesty’s coronation. Lorenzo is currently the operations officer for the Airborne Brigade.
DR GEORGE LINFIELD-BROWN (Lyon’s 20113)
George earned an academic scholarship to study at Harrow, which broadened his horizons and provided him with foundational skills necessary to succeed as a doctor. While at Harrow, George was Head of the Medical Society and an active member of the polo team.
In 2018, George was awarded his medical degree from the University of Bristol, and later commissioned as a medical officer in the Royal Air force in 2020. Early in his career, George was deployed to an intensive care unit to care for critically ill patients with coronavirus during the pandemic. Thriving in this adverse and highly stressful environment, George decided to pursue a career in anaesthetics, and transferred to the British Army in 2022 to begin his post-graduate training.
George’s time practising military medicine has been challenging but thoroughly rewarding and, at times, a real adventure. His roles have included delivering high-fidelity simulation training to fighter pilots, and a recent deployment to the Baltic states where he was the clinical lead of a pre-hospital treatment team.
The team provided medical care to an armoured battlegroup. Since returning from deployment, George has settled into anaesthetics training at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
In his spare time, George captains the Army Medical Services polo team, a sport he discovered a passion for at Harrow. A highlight included travelling with the Harrow team to the Genghis Khan Polo Club in Mongolia. George remains very committed to increasing inclusion within Army polo, advocating for “more new blood, less blue blood”.
GARETH TAN (Moretons 20193)
Joining Harrow in the Lower Sixth, Gareth managed to leave in 2021 without ever having participated in CCF. He nonetheless could not escape National Service – mandatory as it is for all Singaporean males. After Basic Military Training, he applied and was selected for Specialist Cadet School where he underwent basic infantry section leader training and numerous outfields to both jungles and disused housing blocks.
Upon finishing the first portion of cadet training, he was assigned to the training wing of the Singapore Combat Engineers to undergo specialisation. The bulk of his cohort became bridging engineers but, after testing and interviews, Gareth joined the EOD Commanders’ Course, learning how to operate EOD robots and how to defuse IEDs. After graduating as a Third Sergeant, Gareth was posted to the 36th Battalion (EOD) of the Singapore Combat Engineers for regular operations. While in the Singapore Combat Engineers, he also joined the Organising Secretariat for the National Day Parade 2023 which happily provided stress of a different variety to EOD.
Gareth completed his full-time military service in 2023 and looks forward to returning as a reservist. He is currently reading law at St John’s College, Oxford.
If you receive a Facebook message from someone who claims his uncle is a Gambian governor and who would like support for a local branch of the Red Cross, you would probably ignore it.
For Jan Kryca (Moretons 20163), however, an email from Sheriffo Mboge was the beginning of a lifechanging opportunity.
“Looking back, I was very gullible,” Kryca says, “but it turned out to be true. That was sort of my ticket into The Gambia.”
After just over a year, Kryca, still an undergraduate, was launching drones across Gambia River, slashing waiting times for vital medical treatments by over ten times. Arda, a drone delivery network software he piloted with the Gambian government, was the culmination of a journey through Harvard’s lecture halls and the world of venture capital to Western Africa – a journey that began with flying drones over a lake behind The Copse.
Kryca founded Harrow’s Drone Society with Wayne Wen (The Park 20163) in their Shell year with a few hundred pounds from the Design Technology & Engineering Department and a group of boys united by an enjoyment of tinkering.
“At the start of Harrow, I was getting into building, flying drones, but the DTE Department was really what allowed me to take that passion further,” he remembers, “because you've got 3D printers, you've got laser cutters, you've got all the tools and” – with the help of DT beaks Rob McMahon and Tom Knight – “you've got someone to teach you how to use them.”
Getting off the ground was not always as easy as Kryca makes it sound. One of the society’s first drones was unceremoniously smashed into the roof on its maiden voyage. Analysis of the wreckage showed one motor was not soldered on properly, fell off and started the
I’m trying to solve the problem of tough logistics. Who’s going to suffer from it the most?” The answer Kryca landed on was The Gambia.
spiral. Kryca didn’t want to name names. Before long, however, the society was in the air and Kryca was starting to think beyond school. “When you're tinkering with any technology and it starts working, then starts working more reliably, you begin to think: okay, this is actually a pretty capable little piece of kit.” The next question for Kryca: “What could this be useful for?”
The answer came during the coronavirus lockdown. Back home in Warsaw, Kryca remembers queuing for Covid tests to fly back to Harrow after the Christmas holidays. Minutes turned into hours, waiting for a test that only takes seconds. The holdup, he realised, was not science or technology, but logistics. Suppliers claimed it was only economical to deliver large batches of tests to testing centers that had run out completely. In between deliveries, tests were halted and queues grew.
“That’s when I started tinkering and seeing if I could get a drone to carry some Covid tests,” Kryca says. “That’s what I was doing from February to June 2021.”
Around the same time, Kryca’s father Bogdan (Moretons 19823), also an entrepreneur, recommended a book by Peter Thiel: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (2014). Kryca pauses to paraphrase his favourite line. “In order to get your first customers, your first users, you should think about who suffers the most from the problem you're trying to solve.”
The Gambia (one of few countries whose proper name comes with definite article attached) resembles
a sliver cut out of Senegal 100 miles south of Dakar on the West Coast of Africa. From the Atlantic, it follows the Gambia River inland: a body of water which was its raison d'être as a British colony and now presents a poisoned logistical chalice, according to Kryca.
He explains it like the Seven Bridges of Königsberg, a logic problem that has plagued mathematics classrooms for centuries. In it, Euler asks you to design a route through a Prussian city without crossing any one of seven bridges twice. In The Gambia, “There’s only one bridge,” Kryca says, “and that bridge is just over 100 miles from the capital city. The majority of people live before that bridge, so the majority of people have to go this weird, all-theway-around route.” That takes almost 200 miles – along a predictably busy road – or you can try the ferry, which is unpredictable at the best of times.
To the delight of countless maths teachers, Euler’s problem has no solution. But Euler did not have drones. Flying medical supplies over the river could cut a five-hour drive to under 20 minutes. Through Sheriffo and the help of another OH, Shubh Malde (Elmfield 20163), whose family had operated an agriculture business in The Gambia, Kryca and his team visited the country for the first time. With the attention of Gambian officials, they just needed to get permission – by proving it could work.
In the meantime, Kryca had to go back to Harvard University. “But what my mind was really on was how I could come back to Gambia and pilot drone delivery to
these guys,” Kryca admits. “I’ve got a government minister telling me that I can use his Ministry of Health as a testing ground for my idea. Even from my limited understanding at 19, I knew that was a pretty rare setup.”
Kryca enrolled in a Harvard class specifically for young entrepreneurs who wanted to build their own startups: a class which also produced the first company to let international students build credit scores with a debit card, and another which computer generates educational material. Still, Kryca was itching to get back to flying drones over the River Gambia.
“I then learned from my friend about this interesting group of people called venture capitalists,” he laughs. Months later, two firms cut Kryca a cheque for almost a quarter of a million pounds. He took a leave of absence from Harvard. The university encourages these breaks for professional development.
After flight testing in Poland, the team travelled to The Gambia for a first launch in Spring 2023. The Gambian Minister of Health used Arda (which Kryca describes as “like lime” for launching drones) to fly a rabies vaccine over 25 kilometres in under a quarter of an hour: six times quicker than an ambulance burdened by traffic and poor road quality.
“That was the culmination point,” Kryca says. “That’s when we kick-started drone delivery in The Gambia.” The success made Arda the youngest-ever team to launch an autonomous drone delivery, and might have saved a life.
During a period of half a year, over the routes where Arda was deployed, The Gambia reduced transportation times for medical equipment by an average of six times. Over the particularly tricky stretch of river that attracted Kryca to The Gambia, equipment arrived up to 15 times quicker.
As with Harrow’s Drone Society, it wasn’t always plain sailing. On his first visit, it wasn’t even clear Kryca’s equipment would be allowed into The Gambia. “It was pretty unclear at the airport trying to explain what the purpose of my drone equipment and tools was,” he recalls, especially arriving with suitcase full of drones as countries around the world were going in and out of lockdown.
Kryca will be back at Harvard soon, he says. And with drones becoming more ubiquitous – around the world there is now one successful drone delivery every 90 seconds – he hopes to find more thorny logistical problems drones could solve. They’re secret for now, but just three years after leaving Harrow, Kryca says he’s found a calling.
“I can’t really imagine myself doing anything different.”
The Harrow community in the US is growing rapidly, as more and more Harrovians choose to undertake their further studies over the pond. The Harrow Association, supported by the Harrow Development Trust, have hosted a bumper year of events in the US, not least because our new HDT Senior Associate Director hails from Boston.
The US is not a small place, and so we have focused our attentions on the East Coast for this article. Read the fascinating career histories of four OHs based in New York and New Jersey.
PAUL HICKS (Druries 19543) MANAGING DIRECTOR AT J.P. MORGAN
AFTER GRADUATING FROM HOTCHKISS SCHOOL IN THE US, I SPENT A YEAR AT HARROW ON AN ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION EXCHANGE PROGRAMME. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY EVENTFUL TIME ON THE HILL WAS HEARING PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL TALK IN SPEECH ROOM ABOUT SOME OF HIS WARTIME EXPERIENCES, EVEN QUOTING FROM HIS “FINEST HOUR” SPEECH.
Entering Princeton as a sophomore, I balanced my studies with rugby (learned at Harrow) and captained a team that won the Bermuda Cup in 1958. After considering a career in the US Foreign Service, I decided to keep my options open and went to Harvard Law School.
My year abroad inspired me to discover more of the US, so I joined a law firm in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, I decided to leave the practice of law and headed back to New York City, where I started a 30-year career with J. P. Morgan.
Morgan had recently expanded through a merger and already had America's top 100 companies as clients. The merger also created one of the world’s largest trust and investment operations, which was the division I joined in 1966. Fortunately, Morgan encouraged “intrapreneurship”, encouraging development of new products and services. That enabled me to develop and run a financial planning service for senior executives of client companies, as well as senior Morgan officers. The experience led to a position in human resources as head of compensation and benefits for US and international employees.
Toward the end of my Morgan career, I joined the private banking division, which drew on my varied experience in providing services to high net worth clients. Then, as my swan song, I returned to the investment management division, marketing a tax-efficient product to corporate clients that added substantial assets to their portfolios.
After retiring from Morgan in 1997, I started a third career as a writer of books as well as articles for newspapers and academic journals. One of my earliest successes became a chapter in Harrow: Portrait of an English School, published in 2004. I have seen the bonds between Harrow and the OH community in the US grow steadily since 1984, when the visit of the Head Master, Ian Beer, drew more than 80 people to a dinner in New York City.
American financial support for the School also grew when the Harrow School Foundation in the US was established by former School Governor Geoffrey Simmonds (Moretons 19423), whom I succeeded as Chairman. It is very gratifying to see Harrow’s ties with the US continue to expand through the current team.
EXHIBITION AND PRODUCTION DESIGNER AND DEPARTMENT HEAD AT MOMA PS1
I WAS THE FIRST IN MY FAMILY TO ATTEND HARROW SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, BUT I SETTLED IN QUICKLY, FEELING MOST AT HOME IN THE ART SCHOOLS. I WANTED TO PURSUE CDT ALONG WITH ART FOR MY A-LEVELS, BUT DUE TO MINOR SUBJECT CONFLICTS, I COULD ONLY CHOOSE ONE. REFLECTING ON THIS, I'VE SPENT MUCH OF MY LIFE RESISTING THE IDEA OF CHOOSING BETWEEN PRACTICALITY AND EMOTION, AND AM INTRIGUED BY THE FUSION OF BOTH.
After Harrow, I studied at the Chelsea School of Art and Design and later at Brighton University, earning a BA in Fine Art. During my time at Brighton, I began helping graduate students with their end-of-year exhibitions, laying the foundation for my future work.
Realising that a Fine Arts degree didn't offer great employment prospects, I spent time in Rome learning set design and construction techniques. Returning to Brighton in the mid-90s, I briefly built props for nightclubs and raves before recognising a need for my skills in London. I started as an art handler/exhibition installer at the South London Gallery in 1997 and, over the next eight years, worked for various galleries and institutions across London, Liverpool, and Venice. Eventually, I settled into a groove working mainly for White Cube while earning my Master's in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2005.
In 2003, I met my future wife Pyaari, an American and fellow artist, at Goldsmiths, marking the beginning of my journey to the US. After graduating, we spent time between London and New York, and I got to know and experience this idiosyncratic city. The borough of Queens, which is where I work now, is the most diverse urban centre on Earth with over 700 languages spoken. It was the closest thing I could find to a global community and reminded me of my upbringing, having moved around so much as a child – I was born in Saudi Arabia and had lived in Ivory Coast, Italy and Austria. It felt both familiar and new, especially since my wife grew up there after emigrating from India.
During one of my early visits to NYC, I visited PS1 Contemporary Art Center, which inspired me with its unconventional approach to exhibiting art. The museum was originally an old school built in 1892 and the place was an inspiration to me. Many places in London during the 1990s were having exhibitions in abandoned industrial buildings and here was a place that had been doing it since 1976. In 2006, I married Pyaari, and shortly after,
“ The borough of Queens, which is where I work now, is the most diverse urban centre on Earth with over 700 languages spoken. It was the closest thing I could find to a global community and reminded me of my upbringing, having moved around so much as a child ‒ I was born in Saudi Arabia and had lived in Ivory Coast, Italy and Austria. It felt both familiar and new.”
I was offered a job as Chief of Installation at PS1, now MoMA PS1. Over the years, I progressed to become Exhibition and Production Designer and Department Head, working closely with artists and curators to address the unique challenges of each exhibition.
By embracing my natural skills and interests, I found a job at MoMA PS1 that combines my passions: artist-led spaces, experimental approaches, and collaboration with diverse personalities. MoMA PS1 has become synonymous with New York for me.
GABRIEL CROUCH (The Head Master’s 19871) DIRECTOR OF CHORAL ACTIVITIES AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
I COME FROM A FAMILY OF STRING PLAYERS—VIOLINISTS, VIOLISTS, AND CELLISTS—SO I’M INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL THAT HARROW GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE WORLDS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE I WAS RAISED IN.
One reason I’m such a happy musician now is that I was able to build my own pathway. Harrow offered me Classics and Geography, Cricket and Golf, Theatre and Rock Music, bringing me into the orbit of peers who remain my closest friends, and ultimately providing the platform to build my musical life.
I learned to sing as a choirboy at Westminster Abbey, continuing until my voice broke in my first two years
JOHN HEDLEY-WHYTE MD FACP FRCA ( Moretons 19473)
PROFESSOR AT HARVARD UNIVERSITYAFTER LEAVING HARROW IN 1952, I ADVANCED TO HONOURS NATURAL SCIENCE TRIPOS AT CLARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, BY A ROTHSCHILD SCHOLARSHIP, AND WAS TUTORED BY THE LATE SIR MICHAEL P STOKER. I RECEIVED A BA IN NATURAL SCIENCES IN 1955, GRADUATED MB B.CHIR IN 1958. I WAS A SURGICAL HOUSE OFFICER AT BARTS UNDER SIR CLIFFORD NAUNTON MORGAN.
In 1959 I married Tessa Waller and shortly thereafter we left England for Harvard Residency programs in Boston—Tessa in Pathology at Children’s Hospital under Sidney Farber and I in Henry K. Beecher’s Anaesthesia Department at the Massachusetts General Hospital. I was recruited to head a new Harvard Academic Department of Anaesthesia at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital in 1968. As Anaesthetist-in-Chief I directed the Residency Program, established the hospital’s Blood Gas Laboratory and was a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) Technical Committee 121 on Anaesthetic and Respiratory Equipment. Cambridge awarded me the M.D. in 1972. In 1978 I was appointed David S. Sheridan Professor of Anaesthesia and Respiratory Therapy at Harvard.
at Harrow. In my Lower Sixth year, I discovered a serviceable falsetto singing voice, which excited the Music staff at Harrow. The Countertenor voice is rare and precious in the singing world, and I enjoyed a brief six-month career before a mysterious physiological change at seventeen derailed it. Nevertheless, those six months earned me a Choral Scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, where I embraced singing as a newly-minted baritone.
At 21, a baritone position opened in the King’s Singers, a massive stroke of good fortune, offering me the perfect musical home. During my twenties, I travelled the world, performing in great concert halls and collaborating with renowned musicians, conductors, and composers. Frequent performances in the USA and interactions with High School and College choirs deepened my appreciation for the inclusive way music is taught there. This ethos inspired me when I moved on from the King’s Singers after eight years and a thousand performances, taking a job at DePauw University, a Liberal Arts College in Indiana. After five years, I became the Director of Choral Activities at Princeton University.
Over the past fifteen years, I’ve built a multi-layered choral program at Princeton catering to all abilities and interest levels, while also teaching Opera and Conducting. I still sing and conduct worldwide, but this work is my passion. It’s especially thrilling that more British-educated students, including Harrovians, are looking to the US for their University careers. I hope more will experience the benefits of a Liberal Arts education like Princeton’s in the future.
I stepped down as Anaesthetist-in-Chief in 1988 and moved to another Harvard Teaching Hospital, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Roxbury. I held a concurrent appointment as Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. This move enabled me to devote more time to international standardization activities. Under my chairmanship of ISO TC121’s Subcommittee 3 on Lung Ventilators and Related Equipment (which just held its 100th meeting), we expanded its scope to include medical alarms, pulse oximeters and other patient monitoring devices, sphygmomanometers and clinical thermometry. The trend toward outpatient surgery in Harvard Teaching Hospitals and elsewhere prompted my convening a Harvard Committee to Study Standards for Outpatient Surgery and Anaesthesia. During that period, I authored several studies of surgical outcome based on large collections of data, under the mentorship of Professor Frederick Mosteller. For many years I participated in an ongoing interdisciplinary seminar under his direction. In 2004, I undertook the chairmanship of what became known as Harvard’s Technology Assessment in Healthcare Seminar. More recently, I have authored a series of medical historical papers published in the Ulster Medical Journal
Tessa and I reside in Concord, MA, close to Thoreau’s Walden Pond. We remain in our respective posts as Professor of Pathology and David S. Sheridan Professor.
“ My Harrow experience taught me the importance of historiography and those who make history. During my time at Harrow, I had the privilege of meeting many distinguished visitors including Sir Winston Churchill, General, later Baron Montgomery, and Jawaharlal Nehru.”
Joseph Wragg (The Grove 20173), now in his second year at Oxford studying Ancient and Modern History, benefited from a full bursary at Harrow and is signed up to be a telephone caller in the Harrow Development Trust’s upcoming telephone campaign. He reflects on his Harrow and Oxford experience and his advice for leavers heading to university this year.
About 36 hours before writing this article I was standing atop the Great Tower of Magdalen College, Oxford, singing May madrigals to a crowd perhaps tens of thousands strong, continuing a tradition that has lasted the nearly 550 years of the college’s existence. However, before the singing had begun at 6am, I was still struck by the sight of Oxfordshire revealing itself beneath the mists before my eyes – despite it being the second time that I had done this. Few people have the privilege or opportunity to study at Oxford University or Magdalen College, let alone sing at May Morning, just as very few people have the privilege to attend such a school as Harrow.
My education since the age of nine has benefited from generous scholarships and bursaries, most notably a music scholarship from Harrow that constituted a full bursary. This always meant that I would be caught between two quite divergent educational and cultural worlds, something that I realised most when I went to university. This, despite my studying Ancient and Modern History, first and foremost came from my learning and love of music. My engagement with the Music Department, through playing the violin and viola and singing, provided the chief of my passions at School, and indeed at university. Harrow offers such a plethora of opportunities for those who are (or indeed aren’t) musically minded. One need only to look at the glorious tumult of October! at Churchill Songs, the ubiquity of performances in St Mary’s Church and Speech Room, and the beloved Glees and Twelves and House Instrumental competitions to see that Harrow School and music-making are undeniably intertwined. Certainly, the same could be said for sport, art, drama and the vibrant co-curriculum as well. It is this culture of togetherness, fellowship if you will, that is so valuable
from my educational perspective. Combine that with the confidence and ability fostered by such an experience during one's teenage years, and the truly important values such as courtesy and humility that the School promotes, and one is almost prepared for anything when the leap to university comes. So, when I remember my time at School and think of all those still there and those about to leave, I say take your chance! Whether your passion (for passion is so important) is for the arts, for academic study, for sport or for something else entirely, pursue it beyond (or at least alongside) the day-to-day and the mundane. If I had not pursued my passion for music and history, can I confidently say that I would be at Magdalen, let alone singing on May Morning?
So I say to Harrovians still at School, realise the possibilities that have been laid out before you, and seize them as eagerly as you can, for otherwise you might regret it forever. Not everything in life is about Biology homework (apologies to the Biology beaks, I only picked this subject out as I detested it!), as stressful as it may seem at the time. Childhood, university, and life beyond even, is about passion. I am under no illusions about what a great privilege it is to have a Harrow education – not every child has the people or institutions in their life to allow them to reach their true potential. I certainly do not know how different my life would have been without my bursary at Harrow, so perhaps take a moment to notice how few years you have at school and at university, and how best you can maximise your own potential.
The 2024 Careers Convention is taking place on Sunday 6 October 2024, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at the School, in the Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall. All Fifth and Sixth Formers from Harrow and selected partner schools will attend, looking to explore as wide a variety of career options as possible.
Head of Careers and Employability, Michael Wright, is looking for representation from as many industry sectors as possible and would be delighted if you would come back, talk about your professional experiences and offer your advice.
If you can help, please could you confirm your present role, company and industry in an email to Michael Wright at WrightMD@harrowschool.org.uk.
The Harrow Association is working with James Darley (The Park 1984³ ), HA Board Member and CEO and Founder of Transform Society, the UK’s only specialist network promoting careers in public service, an online Careers and Employability event for OHs of all ages in September.
The event will include sessions by experts with advice on the jobs market, help with their applications, and an opportunity to network. We’ll be in touch with more information in coming months, but, in the meantime, if you think you would be interested in attending and have any ideas for what areas would be of most value, please email oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk.
OHs currently at university or recent graduates are invited to take up a one-hour career-consultation session with Andrea Darley, an expert in the field of graduate recruitment.
Email andrea@graduaterecruitmentsupport.com
For all other OHs at any stage of your career, Alastair Hill (Elmfield 19843), pioneering career and performance coach and founder of Aha! Ltd, offers one-hour sessions to discuss your current life and career goals and offer guidance and support.
Email alastair@ahaltd.co.uk
The Careers Talk programme is ongoing, and the Careers Department is always keen to hear from OHs willing to talk to boys at the School about their chosen career path. Contact Michael Wright at WrightMD@harrowschool.org.uk if you’d like to help.
Thank you to the following OHs who returned to the Hill this year to give talks.
Thank you to Oscar who returned to the Hill to deliver a talk to the Medical Society entitled You Can't Be a Doctor! Oscar is an NHS Doctor as well as a member of the BBC Good Morning Live team where he provides viewers with medical advice. He also heads up the OH Medical Society.
GRANT CHIEN ( THE PARK 19983)
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BENTALLGREENOAK IN HONG KONG
Thank you to Grant for visiting all the way from Hong Kong and delivering a talk on careers in fund management and real estate.
Grant is Managing Director of BentallGreenOak in Hong Kong, a real estate fund management company which manages USD81 billion globally on behalf of over 750 clients clients across 27 offices.
JAMES DARLEY ( THE PARK 19843) CEO AND FOUNDER OF TRANSFORM SOCIETY
Thank you to James who gave a careers talk to Sixth Form boys, providing valuable insights into the current state of the graduate market. James is CEO and founder of Transform Society, the UK’s only specialist network promoting careers in public service. James also led a Shell Interdisciplinary Day addressing the challenges posed by the current cost of living crisis. Boys also heard from representatives from Harrow Citizens Advice Bureau before spending the day, in groups, coming up with practical ideas that could help people overcome the effects of the cost of living crisis.
LOUIS KUNZIG IV ( DRURIES 19833)
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SCIAKY ELECTRIC WELDING MACHINES LTD
Thank you to Louis for delivering a Careers Talk on the subject of ‘Custom craft: Supplying bespoke welding systems and standard machines in automotive and aerospace industry’.
TIM BULLOCK ( RENDALLS 19823) PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Thank you to Tim for giving a virtual careers talk to Harrovians on the subject of ‘Cancer Immunotherapy: A career on the cutting edge of biomedicine’. Tim is a Professor of Pathology at the University of Virginia. His research disciplines include cancer biology, experimental pathology, immunology, infectious diseases/biodefense and translational science, and he holds a PhD from Thomas Jefferson University.
DURING A THUNDERSTORM on the evening of 19 April 1824, George Gordon Lord Byron (Harrow 1801) died – and the world lost a poet, an icon of the Romantic movement, a man who epitomised the fight for freedom, a national hero to the Greeks and perhaps the first ever “celebrity”. He was “mad, bad and dangerous to know”, according to his lover Lady Caroline Lamb. Notorious in his lifetime, he is still, rightly, a member of Harrow’s pantheon: a Giant of Old.
How should we remember him 200 years on? What part did Harrow play in nurturing his rebellious genius? What was he doing to meet his death in Messolonghi?
William West. Lord Byron in Pisa.
HARROW SCHOOL OWNS A REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF BYRONIANA which illustrates many significant moments in his short but adventurous life.
Arriving on the Hill in 1801, the only son of an impoverished, widowed mother, speaking in a Scots accent and with a disabled right foot, he was at a disadvantage. He was bullied and at first hated the School. He found his self-esteem by drawing round him a “Theban band” of younger admirers – the embryo of the private army he would create and pay for when arriving in Greece twenty years later to support their fight for freedom against the Turks. His Harrow friendships were “passions” for him, such as his life-long attachment to John FitzGibbon, Lord Clare (Harrow 1805).
But he was also deeply susceptible to girls, refusing to come back to Harrow when, aged 15, he fell in love with a Nottinghamshire neighbour, Mary Chaworth, suffering badly from what his mother dismissed as ‘love – desperate love, the worst of all maladies’.
He developed a high sense of his dignity and complained bitterly when his tutor Henry Drury called him a “blackguard” (for talking in church): ‘Let him take away my Life than ruin my character’, he fumed. His generosity led him to forgive and forget: it was Drury whom Byron wanted to take the funeral of his little daughter Allegra whose body he had shipped back to Harrow from Italy.
His love of melodramatic verse was voiced when declaiming the “storm scene” from King Lear at Speeches; and his desire to compensate for his disability got him into the 1805 cricket team, where, ‘most confoundedly beat’ by Eton, his own contribution of nine runs – he claimed he had made 18 – was negligible. It was at Harrow he began to write poetry, escaping ‘the drilled dull lesson / Forced down word for word’ for the inspirational peace of the Peachey stone in St Mary’s churchyard.
His love of Greece was first nurtured during his Mediterranean travels 1809–11 after leaving Cambridge. Whilst in Athens, he deplored the mutilation of the Parthenon by his fellow Harrovian Lord Elgin (Harrow 1805). ‘Free-born men [i.e. Englishmen] should spare what once was free’. For Byron, Greece was ‘the promised end of valour and of liberty throughout all the ages’. Elgin had showed scant respect for Greek heritage and the cradle of freedom.
During his travels in Albania, he purchased the uniform which he wore to be painted by Thomas Phillips, thereby creating the image which sealed his legendary status as a romantic and military hero.
“I WILL CUT MYSELF A PATH THROUGH THE WORLD OR PERISH IN THE ATTEMPT”.
Returning to England, the poetic fruit of his travels, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, was published and was a literary sensation. ‘I awoke one morning’, he wrote, ‘and found myself famous’. Lionised by London society, women went “stark mad” over Childe Harold , a thinly disguised alter-ego: Byron and Harold ‘shared the maddest, mirthful mood’ which launched the term “Byronic”, without which Heathcliff and Mr Rochester might never have been imagined.
During “the London years”, Byron spoke in the House of Lords: controversial and contradictory, a poet not a politician, the aristocratic landowner defended the stocking weavers and frame breakers rebelling against mechanisation; the Protestant, with a Presbyterian upbringing, spoke up for Catholic emancipation.
“I was born for opposition”.
His affair with Caroline Lamb was the talk of 1812; but he grew bored of her, and she was out of control: ‘What a little volcano’, he wrote to her about her heart ‘that pours lava through your veins’. About this time he produced one of the most beautiful lyrics of the Romantic period in praise of his cousin, Anne Wilmot: ‘She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies; / And all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes’.
But in 1816 he left England for good, an exile. His rackety life was catching up with him. During his short, disastrous marriage to Annabella Milbanke (which began with what he termed a “treacle moon”), he had, she later claimed, admitted “the kind of feeling” for his half-sister Augusta “which has a mixture of the terrible which renders all other insipid”.
At Harrow he had fought his schoolmates to defend a bust of his great military hero, but travelling down through Europe by Waterloo, he reflected on the fall of that other great celebrity of the 19th century and expressed his ambivalence towards him in his Ode to Napoleon: ‘Oh! Ne’er may tyrant leave behind / A brighter name to lure mankind’.
A bound volume of Byron’s manuscript amendments to four original proofs of the Ode is one of the Old Speech Room Gallery’s prize possessions.
Byron’s love of romance is captured in the dramatic stanzas of Childe Harold where he imagines the Duchess of Richmond’s ball on the eve of the battle: ‘There was a sound of revelry by night, / And Belgium’s capital had gathered then / Her Beauty and her Chivalry…
Byron’s years in Italy were perhaps his happiest. His affair with Teresa Guiccioli (his assignations with her took place whilst her husband had his afternoon nap) gave him contentment and he revelled in the warmth and freedom he found there: no more did he have to suffer the English winters ‘ending in July / To recommence in August’.
In Genoa, where he lived during 1822-23, he made the decision to go to Greece. As he wrote to his friend Douglas Kinnaird (the original owner of the portrait by WE West which dominates the OSRG), he was anxious ‘to leave his family more than a name and to be able to do good to others’. Greece had been ‘the only place he had ever been contented in’.
After a lifetime of sybaritic enjoyment, of passionate, if short-lived, relationships with both men and women, struggles to control his weight and a growing awareness that he had yet, despite his literary successes, to find real fulfilment (‘By that God who made good me for my own misery and not much for the god of others’), one sees a magnificent gesture, and indeed redemption, in his willingness to give his wealth, resources and his life for what he called “the Cause”.
Harrow owns six letters Byron wrote after arriving to a hero’s welcome in Messolonghi where he was presented with a magnificent ceremonial sabre by Prince Alexander Mavrocordatos.
Messolonghi was a mosquito-infested, swampy town by a lagoon where ‘the stink, the bad air made it pestilential’. The letters are simultaneously comic and tragic: he suggests that if they don’t die ‘martially’, they will perish ‘marshally’. He ‘catches cold swearing at the Greeks in the rain’, who would not turn out on
a holiday to unload military supplies which had arrived from London. Byron shamed them into helping by labouring himself. He complains often about their factions and the frustrations caused by misinformation, idleness and greed.
The cold developed into muscular pains and fever. Byron’s doctors recommended bleeding: they drew off two and a half litres of his blood: “Come on, you damned set of butchers!” he cried, as more leeches were applied to his temples. Purgatives and emetics were prescribed; but his weakened body (‘I have been more ravished myself than anybody since the Trojan war’) could not withstand such treatment - and he died. He was 36. His faithful valet William Fletcher cut off a lock of hair which today, returned to the Hill, can be seen in the OSRG.
Today we look back on Byron with wonder. He’d have been a nuisance as a Harrovian and was rather too pleased with himself. As a young man he indulged in dangerous liaisons and treated women disgracefully.
He was a brilliantly amusing letter writer and is as sharp, insightful and readable today as ever. His poetry is dramatic, autobiographical, satirical - and he can tell wonderful stories. He fought for freedom. His voice still speaks as fresh and compelling as two centuries ago.
“I will cut myself a path through the world or perish in the attempt”.
Ceremonial sabre presented to Lord Byron at Messolonghi, 1824
Lock of hair cut from Byron’s head after his death
Already a portentous year thanks to George Orwell, 1984 saw a devastating famine in Ethiopia, the identification of the AIDS virus, the miners’ strike, and the IRA bombing of the Conservative Party conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. But it was also the year of Ghostbusters, Purple Rain, The Terminator, Torville and Dean’s ice-dancing triumph at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, and the unveiling of Apple Computer Inc’s revolutionary Macintosh personal computer.
Not all these events passed entirely unnoticed by Harrovians. Appeals for aid during the famine in Ethiopia was the subject of some not entirely sympathetic contributions to The Harrovian
An article with the inflammatory title ‘Let Them Starve’ (17 November) stated: 'Why on earth don't we just leave Africa to sort out its own problems?' Although there were a couple of articles opposing nuclear weapons –‘Nuclear war is a grim and unpleasant subject. Britain must take the lead in ending this madness.’ (27 October) – and a prescient feature warning against excessive burning of fossil fuels – ‘A threat greater than nuclear weapons’ (24 November) – what got Harrovians really going in 1984, though, at least those who bothered to read The Harrovian, was an argument about what The Harrovian itself was for.
It started with the miners’ strike. ‘Why the Miners are Right’ in the issue of 12 May argued that:
‘The national media has portrayed the miners' strike as principally a personality clash between a "lunatic" trade union leader and a resolute old American businessman and has thus completely obscured the real issues. The reality of the situation is that, for various reasons, the miners have been forced to take a rigid stance and have the courage to continue to stand up for what they believe in…The closing of these mines will lead to the collapse of whole communities which are founded on the mining industry and to the bankruptcy of small firms who depend on the N.C.B.'s contracts to stay in business.’
This was swiftly followed in the 19 May issue with a letter complaining that:
‘I cannot be the only Harrovian to have taken his fill of left-wing articles turned out by the trendy Marxist faction who currently appear to have control of our School magazine. The latest example of this is the article
on the mining dispute… It does however seem a pity that the views of so many should be badly represented by so few.’
After another piece on the miners’ strike and other contentious subjects such as ‘police brutality’, the argument seems to ratchet up several notches, with the 6 October issue containing ‘An Apologia for The Harrovian’:
‘There has recently been a great deal of opposition in Harrow to the 'Harrovian’…Nor is this antagonism limited to within the School. Several other people have taken to complaining about subversive views expressed by some of the editors…Essentially the 'average Harrovian' (a term which I find both distasteful and insulting, but which I now feel to be justified) wants the magazine to pander to his idee fixe. Is the purpose of The Harrovian merely to write material supportive of boys' convictions and so to fill that short hiatus between conviction and dogma?... May I pick from the number of articles written recently one that drew much attention and denigration – the one entitled 'why the miners are right'...There was an uproar in the School from people who foresaw the beginnings of proselytism as this institution became a hot bed for leftist intrigue… Articles such as those on the miners that are disparaged in the minds of the 'Average Harrovian' have one great attribute – they are read; they provoke reactions and often useful criticism. The quicker we shed our puerile dogmas the better!’
A riposte to this article came in the 20 October issue ‘Where The Harrovian is Going Wrong’ with the writer asserting:
‘This article, I can safely say, is the echoing of the thoughts of a good three-quarters of the School's pupils…I am referring to the article ‘An Apologia for The Harrovian’ , in which the author attempted to refute any suggestions that The Harrovian was there to give material supportive of a boy's convictions, because, to quote, "it would be an intellectually enervating process to produce". May I point out to the author that the idea of producing a magazine is not so that the editors
can have "a bit of fun", but to produce something that will be read and enjoyed by the majority of people in a community…What the magazine fails to include nearly every issue are writings related to the School and life here on the Hill. I for one, and 90 per cent of all other Harrovians, do not want to pick up a "school" magazine to read about politics.
It was followed the next week (27 October) with ‘An Editor's Defence’:
‘I would like to point out to the writer of ‘Where The Harrovian is Going Wrong’…what the magazine's policies and aims really are so that they may reconsider them in an objective light…In last week's issue there were two articles on the School, one on politics, and one on the poet T. S. Eliot; there were two articles written by members of the Upper School, two by members of the Lower School…I am sure that most readers will have realized how narrow our correspondent's viewpoint was…The mere publication of his article shows that we do not aim to restrict viewpoints differing from "the chosen few's" and that we are always willing to consider suggestions... As for "bias", The Harrovian has no magazine policy in the same way that The Spectator, or The New Statesman, do; instead, it merely reflects the opinions of its writers and if an individual Harrovian feels that his view is passed by unacknowledged, it is his own fault. We are always prepared to print letters of complaint and are extremely grateful for all contributions from non-editors.’
This provoked an exchange of views from supporters of each side. The issue of 27 October featured a letter from ‘An Inter-lectual’ arguing that:
‘I agree whole-heartedly with the point made in ‘An Apologia for The Harrovian’ that the magazine must not simply truckle to boys' views – it must not only voice popular opinion on a subject but also express radical views... a magazine which simply gives news, benefiting the Old Harrovians, would be very boring for those who know most of it.’
Old Harrovians who started at the School in 19843 - don’t forget to book for your Forty Years On Songs and Dinner on Thursday 10 October.
See OH Connect for further details.
The first hint in The Harrovian of possible plans for a new theatre was in the issue of 8 June 1985, when the review of a School performance of Nicholas Nickleby, which had taken place in Speech Room, begged ‘But please, no more epics until we have more comfortable seating in a new theatre.’
Before the advent of the Ryan Theatre, Speech Room was the School’s main theatrical arena, with occasional forays into open-air spaces, and with Shakespeare the principal diet. Although opportunities for acting were limited, the School regularly welcomed visiting companies from the West End and the universities, and the tradition of the School Shakespeare Play was established with a performance of The Tempest in 1938.
In 1982, Martin Tyrrell (1982-2013) was appointed the School’s first Head of Drama, cementing drama’s increasingly prominent place in School life. During his first year of tenure, the Rattigan Society for the Schools’ most committed senior drama enthusiasts was established. His leadership also saw the tradition of the House Play flourish, with Houses putting on plays from a wider range of authors, and boy-produced plays became more common. In 1990, he initiated an annual event at which Shell boys from every House staged series of presentations; this has now developed into the Shell Drama Festival. With this burgeoning of dramatic endeavour, it became evident that a dedicated space for putting on plays had become necessary. In an attempt to address this, a Drama Studio had been created in the basement of the Economics Schools in 1984. It seated 100 and had separate areas for sound and light operation as well as storage space for costumes. But increasingly ambitious stage
sets with sophisticated lighting designs, as well as the popularity of the productions, soon showed the limitations of this space, and the calls for a purpose-built theatre became too loud to ignore.
After much consideration, it was decided that a new theatre should be built in the location of the Old Gym beneath the Old Schools near the heart of the School.’
Local architects Kenneth W Reed & Associates were appointed to produce the initial plans, and the project was finally completed by Andrew Reed, Kenneth Reed’s son, and Tim Turner. Andrew was the principal designer for the theatre itself.
Having received a donation of £500,000 from former School Governor Sir Peter Green (The Grove 19382), after whose late wife Aileen Pamela (Ryan) Green, an actress, the theatre was eventually named, and with a scheme to
“ THE COSTUME DEPARTMENT HAD ASKED FOR A CROCODILE COSTUME BUT DIDN'T GET ONE. WHAT THEY DID GET WAS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER PADDLING IN, STOMACH DOWN ON A SKATEBOARD, TRYING TO LOOK THREATENING AS HE TICK-TOCKED HIS WAY ACROSS THE STAGE."
raise the rest of the necessary funds, Ian Beer (Head Master 1981-1991) went public with plans for the new theatre. These plans involved demolishing the existing houses on the chosen site and building new ones that would be sold to cover some of the cost of construction. The plans also featured an underground carpark for visitors to the theatre.
Anne Hall Williams, who has for many years been closely involved with Harrow drama, relates:
‘I was directing a play that the Head Master, Ian Beer, had a role in. He telephoned me to say that he might be late for that night's rehearsal because he had to go and see the Chairman of the Harrow Hill Trust and, in his own words, sell the idea of the proposed new School theatre to him. There were, Ian knew, some reasons why the Trust might be unhappy: there would be a building where before there had been none, and some rather picturesque cottages
would have to be demolished and replaced by town houses that the School then intended to sell to part-fund the building of the theatre.
When Ian arrived at the rehearsal, he told me he now expected that the Trust Chairman would consult his committee and members, see how they felt and then raise any objections with the School.’
Six months passed and, no objections having been received, the School assumed that all was well and moved onto the next phase, which was to post leaflets through the letterboxes of all the residents who might be affected by the new building, to let them know what was going to happen next. People on the Hill were divided; there were some families where half were sympathetic towards the School and the other half towards the protesting residents.
Changes to the plans, including abandoning the proposed carpark, were made, but planning permission was initially refused. It was only after an Appeal to the Secretary of State for Environment in May 1989 that the building was given the green light.
The construction process was slow and complex, and it was not until May 1994 that the first “test run” production was staged. And what a production it turned out to be.
Anne Hall Williams recalls:
‘The play was Peter Pan, a Christmas favourite of many a London theatregoer for years, and now it was coming to Harrow complete with flying children, crocodiles, a fairy, pirates, a lagoon, and an underground tree house.
But there were problems, the biggest of which was that the boys who were going to fly only had four hours in which to learn how to do it: not, as it turned out, long enough. Stage management, tasked with the job of making the large window in the first scene fly open apparently all by itself, never had the time to work out how to do that either.
When the play started in front of an excited and expectant audience, all seemed to be going to plan and the tall windows did open, and Peter Pan did fly in. It was when he tried to fly out followed by Wendy, Michael and John that things started to go awry. The windows flew open on cue but, just as Peter arrived, they slammed shut in his face. The boy who was working the harness tugged frantically at it to avoid a crash, which meant that Peter now flew gracefully backwards, then forwards, then backwards, almost taking out the flying Michael and John in the process.
Wendy, meanwhile, was having problems of her own because she had somehow tangled the straps of the flying harness in the long folds of her nightdress, so that she made her entrance with her thin and very bare legs flying to and fro across the stage, and, to add insult to injury, her wig of long brown hair fell off. Eventually, the actors were lowered down to the stage where Peter Pan and the others climbed through the window and walked to Never Never Land.
There was more to come. The costume department had asked for a crocodile costume but didn't get one. What they did get was the Loch Ness monster paddling in, stomach down on a skateboard, trying to look threatening as he tick-tocked his way across the stage.
Captain Hook, looking terrifically evil in his long black wig, entered to poison fairy Tinkerbell asleep in her little house, which was positioned just in front of the curtains, drawn to conceal the scene change behind. Unfortunately, just as he reached the little house, the curtains opened and, as they parted, they took the house with them, so the poor Captain had to gallop across the stage in order to retrieve it, which he managed to do just before it vanished into the wings. And so this wonderful production went on.The audience reached the stage where many could physically laugh no more. The actors on the stage were beyond brilliant, courageously soldiering on, surmounting each obstacle that came their way and acting their heads off.
The cast thought that when news of the various disasters got out, nobody would come to see their play on the following night. They were wrong: the queue of people wanting to see the second performance stretched around the block.
As the early bumps were smoothed out, 1994 saw a number of very successful productions including a Rattigan Society production of the musical City of Angels, starring a young Benedict Cumberbatch (The Park 19903). This, according to a letter in The Harrovian, ‘demonstrated to everyone, including its critics, the extreme usefulness of the Ryan Theatre for Harrow School…proving wrong those who thought that a new theatre would be a waste of money’.
The Ryan’s official opening was a Gala performance over two nights in November 1994. Sir Winston Churchill (The Head Master’s 18822)’s daughter, Lady Soames, was Guest of Honour, and the event featured scenes
from a range of plays including The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan (The Park 19252) and Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer (The Grove 19372), as well as extracts from Shakespeare. Again, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Park 19903) was much in evidence on stage throughout the evening.
The new theatre led to an increase in the number and range of drama productions, not only by the boys but also occasional performances by the Old Harrovian Players, often in conjunction with the Rattigan Society and visiting companies. Notable was a Rattigan Society/ Old Harrovian Players co-production of Terence Rattigan’s The Winslow Boy in 1998, starring the distinguished actor and Harrow parent Peter O’Toole, who described the Ryan Theatre as “a fine playhouse”.
In 2014, the Ryan staged a celebration of its 20th anniversary with a gala evening,Twenty Years On. Performed by members of the Rattigan Society, it featured scenes from the rich variety of productions staged at Ryan from over the years and across the ages, including Twelve Angry Men, Wind in the Willows, Sucker Punch, Amadeus, City of Angels, Our Country’s Good, Another Country, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Recruiting Officer, The Crucible, A Servant to Two Masters, The Tempest and, of course, The Winslow Boy
The advent of the Ryan had a profound effect on Drama at Harrow. A Level Theatre Studies was introduced in 1994. GCSE Drama soon followed. In 2019, Drama became, for the first time, a timetabled curriculum subject in the Shell year, so Harrovians now have the opportunity to study Drama on the curriculum throughout the School. The first Head of Curricular Drama, separate from the Director of Drama, was appointed in 2022. The Ryan Theatre’s technical facilities now afford boys the opportunity to follow assessment pathways linked to technical design, as well as performing.
The Rattigan Society has gone from strength to strength, now offering an annual programme of wholeSchool productions formed from companies across Houses and year groups. Recent productions have included Journey’s End, Shakespeare in Love and Chariots of Fire, with the Ryan’s technical capabilities facilitating ambitious production designs transporting audiences to, respectively, a WWI trench dugout, an Elizabethan amphitheatre and an Olympic Stadium! The Junior Rattigan Society is now a training ground for talented and enthusiastic actors and technicians in the Lower School – recently mounting a varied range of productions including Lord of the Flies and Hamlet House of Horrors.
House Plays have continued to develop and now, each year, six of the Houses produce fully staged individual or combined productions. Directed by beaks, these plays provide opportunities for boys of all levels of experience. The Shell Drama Festival is now supplemented by the House Scenes competition, for which boys from all year groups present a diverse range of self-produced work. In 2018, the Ryan Theatre hosted the first Harrow Fringe, a showcase for boy-led performance work, with original writing accompanied by theatre for young children, improv comedy, and ‘Son et Lumiere’ technical displays.
Today’s Ryan Theatre is staffed by a team of expert designers, technicians and acting professionals, which has allowed generations of Harrovians to develop their skills and experience in all aspects of the theatre.
Today’s Ryan Theatre is staffed by a team of design, technical and administrative professionals, in addition to drama beaks, which has allowed generations of Harrovians to develop their skills and experience in all aspects of theatre-making. The all-boy Theatre Production Crew plays a major part in all School productions. The aim on any performance evening is that, from guiding audience to their seats, to cueing the show from headsets, via performing, it is boys who run the show. Staff are on hand only to supervise and advise.
The Ryan Theatre now also runs a developed programme of partnership work. External school and community groups regularly make use of Harrow’s theatre facilities, and the Drama Department mounts a series of projects in which Harrovians collaborate with peers from partner schools. Each June, the Primary Shakespeare company brings six local primary schools to perform on the Ryan’s stage and, for the first time in autumn 2024, the Ryan will host a showcase from community arts groups across the borough, in association with the Young Harrow Foundation and the John Lyon's Charity. 2018 saw the department staging its first production designed to tour local primary schools, devised by a company of boys from across the years. The Jeremy Lemmon Project, established in 2019 and named after one of Harrow’s most distinguished Shakespeare scholars, exists to support drama training, creative collaboration and access to higher education across secondary schools in the London Borough of Harrow.
Undoubtedly, the existence of the Ryan Theatre has inspired a generation of Harrovians to enter the performance professions – as actors, directors and script-writers, but also producers, designers and technicians. OHs involved or with an interest in the performance industries are warmly invited to join the OH Performing Arts and Entertainment Society, established in 2024 in line with the Ryan Theatre’s 30th birthday.
For many other Harrovians, whose professional lives have taken other paths, the Ryan Theatre has provided confidence-building, the development of collaborative and creative skills, technical discipline, and many happy memories!
The Grove and Lyon's House Play 2021 Shell Drama Festival 2020
Our Shared History
Billings & Edmonds have been the Outfitter to Harrow School since before the First World War, when we served parents from our West End store. After the Second World War we acquired a tailors, known as Stevens, located at Harrow on the Hill. This shop would become, Stevens, Billings & Edmonds and since the 1980s, it has been simply known as Billings & Edmonds. We have collaborated with Harrow School over the last century to evolve the uniform and sportswear.
Service & Quality Ethos
Since 1896 our Company’s founding ethos has been to deliver excellent quality clothing with first class personal service. Today, by offering excellent value for money and maintaining strong relationships with House Masters and Matrons, we continue to deliver Harrow boys excellent service throughout the year. Billings & Edmonds strives to showcase British craftsmanship and where possible, we purchase uniform from British suppliers. Most recently we were recognised by being awarded Best UK Schoolwear Retailer runner up.
Memorabilia & Award Items
We stock a very comprehensive range of Harrow School memorabilia, including House cuff links, Old Harrovian silk ties and socks. In addition, we stock over one hundred society and award ties, as well a Harrow golf society clothing. Our spacious store, which includes a sports shop, is located at the southern end of the Hill opposite the green verge and we have a small customer car park at the rear of the shop that you are very welcome to use.
1976 - 2026
IN 2026 WE WILL BE CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OLD SPEECH ROOM GALLERY
Designed by Alan Irvine, the Gallery houses the School's collections of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities; prints, drawings, engravings and books; watercolours and oil paintings; textiles and sculptures, as well as memorabilia relating to Lord Byron (Harrow 1801) - and much more. It also displays loans from Harrovian families such as the Codrington silver and the H B Harris Chinese ceramics collection. The Gallery plays a fundamental part in the aesthetic education of the boys where they can learn about collections care, cataloguing, research, conservation and exhibition production.
We are very keen to have any recollections from Old Harrovians about their memories both of the OSRG and the School's extraordinary works of art.
Were you, as a boy, inspired by the objects you saw hanging on the walls or displayed within the showcases?
Perhaps your future career was suggested by seeing the Greek vases, the Turner watercolours – or Churchill’s Distant View of Venice?
Please send us any memories or impressions you have of the OSRG and the Harrow collections (even a couple of lines!) which we hope to incorporate within our anniversary publication.
Email Curator Julia Walton at osrgcurator@harrowschool.org.uk.
Julia Walton, Charles Marsden-Smedley (The Park 19723) and Peter Hunter (Harrow Master 1985-2018)
Sign up to and keep an eye on OH Connect for developments to our events programme. To ensure you receive invitations and news of upcoming events that may be of interest to you please ensure we have your most up-to-date email address. Email oldharrovians@harrowschool.org.uk.
HARROW SONGS, LOS ANGELES
10 JULY 2024
The California Club, Los Angeles
OH HONG KONG DINNER
20 SEPTEMBER 2024
Hong Kong Cricket Club
OH CAREER WEBINAR
30 SEPTEMBER 2024, 6-7PM
UNIVERSITY DRINKS
OCTOBER 2024
Edinburgh
LYON’S (INAUGURAL) HOUSE DINNER
4 OCTOBER 2024, 7PM
Mosimann’s Club, London
FORTY YEARS ON SONGS AND DINNER
10 OCTOBER 2024
Speech Room For OHs who joined the School from 1984 - 1989
HARROW SCHOOL CAREERS CONVENTION
6 OCTOBER 2024
Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall, Harrow School
THE GROVE HOUSE DINNER
8 NOVEMBER 2024, 7PM
Cavalry and Guards Club, London
HARROW GIANT TALK
Lord Nicholas Soames on Sir Winston Churchill (The Head Master’s 18882)
25 NOVEMBER 2024
Inner Temple, London
HARROW NIGERIA DINNER
NOVEMBER 2024
Venue tbc
LONG DUCKER
3 NOVEMBER 2024
HARROW ASSOCIATION CHRISTMAS CAROLS
MONDAY 2 DECEMBER 2024, 7PM
St Stephen Walbrook Church in the City of London
DAY
9 FEBRUARY 2025
Harrow School
HARROW FOOTBALL TOUR
FEBRUARY 2025
OH NORTH ENGLAND RECEPTION AND SONGS
FEBRUARY 2025
Venue tbc
OH MIDLANDS RECEPTION AND SONGS
APRIL 2025
Venue tbc
SPEECH DAY
SATURDAY 24 MAY 2025
Harrow School
LORD’S ETON V HARROW MAY 2025
OH SOUTH WEST RECEPTION AND SONGS
SEPTEMBER 2025
Venue tbc
OH SOUTH EAST RECEPTION AND SONGS
OCTOBER 2025
Venue tbc
HARROW GIANT TALK
Hugo Burnand (Rendalls 19771) on Royal Photography 'from Beaton to Burnand'
OCTOBER 2025
(THE HEAD MASTER’S 18882)
SAVE THE DATE IN CELEBRATION OF 150 YEARS SINCE HIS BIRTH
BY LORD NICHOLAS SOAMES25 NOVEMBER 2024 • INNER TEMPLE • LONDON
