Hatfield Record 2020
The Lioness Sculpture Emma Stothard 2019
From the Lioness sculpture exhibition, Millicent Machell
The Idea 30 Years Of Women In Hatfield Hatfield recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the admittance of female students into the College. The anniversary came at a time when we have our first female Master and women make up a large portion of the leadership of the College. The proud and strong, yet nurturing figure of the lioness seems the perfect symbol to pay tribute to women’s contributions and achievements in our College. “Lionesses are a great model. They are strong, They are part of a community, they work together.” Ann MacLarnon, Master
“It is important to have a female counterpart to Timba, to express that women are just as important as men within the college.” Beth Fotheringham, Senior Feminist Rep
A Counterpart To ‘Timba’ ‘Timba’, the wooden sculpture of a male lion resides in Hatfield Dining Hall. He is well known and loved by the community. Professor Ann MacLarnon described how sitting opposite the sculpture at formal dinners prompted her to imagine a female lioness sculpture with the same significance to college culture; “I hope people will gain an affection for her. Perhaps she will get a name, in the same way as Timba does.” 2
Headlines from before and after women were admitted to the College. (UND CK5 1986)
‘All One’ The idea of “All One” comes from “All Male”, a slogan used to protest against the admittance of women into College.”All One” was coined by Andrew Jackson, SCR Secretary and Hatfield alumnus. He matriculated in 1988. However, “All One” has a message of unity that extends beyond the gender divide, also signifying the emphasis on inclusivity of all communities and groups into college life. Ann hopes that the lioness will become symbolic of this.
‘Timba’ in the alcove located in Hatfield Dining Hall
Hatfield Record 2020
Contents
The Master’s Letter
4 12
Notes from the Assistant Senior Tutor
14
Notes from the Chaplain
16
Notes from the Food and Beverage Services Manager
17
Notes from the Librarian
19
Notes from the College Operations Manager
20
Hatfield Junior Common Room
22
Hatfield Middle Common Room
26
Hatfield Senior Common Room
28
College Articles
30
College Awards and Prizes
50
60
College Societies
78
Notes from the Hatfield Development Officer and Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust
98
Hatfield Trust Awards 2019-20
99
The 1846 Club
114
The Hatfield College Map
115
Hatfield Association
116
The President’s Reflections
118
Members’ News
122
Deaths
127
Obituaries and Tributes
127
College Notes
132
CUR/08/20/152
Notes from the Vice-Master & Senior Tutor
College Sport
3
The Master’s Letter
4
Hatfield Record 2020
Storming the Castle on Hatfield Day, June 2019
In the century and nearly three quarters since Hatfield was founded, the College has borne witness to a number of major traumas, regional, national and international, notably two world wars and several periods of severe economic upheaval and downturn. As 2020 began, and the usual rhythm of Epiphany Term at Hatfield got underway, little did we realise that we were heading into another such time. Before term ended, the COVID-19 pandemic would curtail teaching in person and students would be heading off early to homes near and far to beat travel shutdowns, unsure when and if they would return. Spring burst forth in Durham, bringing bright sunshine and blue skies, joyful birdsong and fresh blossom, a seemingly unreal and expectant lull before the rapidly approaching horrors of
an invisible enemy. As I write, during the Easter vacation, we are in the early stages of another major worldwide trauma, and as yet we can barely imagine how deep and enduring its impacts will be. Our College community, in all its constituent parts, is working, as ever, to support each other, and many are giving their time and skills to assist others in the broader communities in which we live. We do not know when we will be able to return to life at Hatfield as it has been through the decades, but the time will surely come for a return to the rhythm of College life that so many generations have enjoyed. For now, though, it is time to reflect on the past year, as full of Hatfield characters, events and achievements as ever. We started the year with our final celebrations to mark 30 years of women in Hatfield as our Lioness sculpture and our first Lioness Scholar both arrived. The sculpture, a celebration created by local North East sculptor, Emma Stothard, arrived with its 5
provides full financial support for a woman from a developing country to study at Hatfield for a masters degree. While higher education is now available for many in the UK, and women have equal access, opportunities are much more limited in developing countries, particularly for women. The Scholarship attracted more than 300 applications from more than 40 developing countries, and, as one of our selection panellists said ‘It was humbling to read the applications for the Hatfield Lioness Scholarship 2019; the quality of the women who applied and their commitment to their communities, both local and global, was so impressive.’ Nahiya, who is studying for the MSc in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding, epitomises this description, from her previous work with Rohingya refugees in her home country to her determination to use her time in Durham to gain experiences and skills she can put to good use for the benefit of others (see page 31). She is a wonderful ambassador for the Lioness Scholarship scheme, and we are now setting about the difficult task of selecting our second Scholar, having secured full funding for another year.
The Lioness Sculpture arrives – the Master, sculptor Emma Stothard and project adviser, Alix Collingwood-Swinburn, the University Curator of Western Art
one tonne underpinning rock and was duly swung over the College wall by hydraulic arm and guided to its designated spot between the Chapel and Jevons Building. From here, following her inauguration and official unveiling by alumna Nicola Candlish, our proud wiry Lioness surveys all to-ings and fro-ings to the bar and café, and revelries in the courtyard. Our first Lioness Scholar, Nahiya Mahmood, arrived from Bangladesh for the start of the Michaelmas Term. Thanks to very generous alumni donors, this Scholarship 6
The creation of the Lioness Scholarship is a wonderful reflection of the values of #AllOneHatfield, our new watchword arising out of our 30 years’ celebrations. Whether it is working to enable potential students from all backgrounds and places of origins to be encouraged to join the College, or ensuring that all Hatfielders feel welcomed and supported to follow their own interests and dreams, to take up opportunities, and to participate fully in College life, our core belief is the value and inclusion of all. This year, again thanks to our alumni and the Hatfield Trust, 28 undergraduate freshers from lower income families received full Hatfield Bursaries, covering core College costs such as the JCR levy, a gown and a ticket to Lion in Winter Ball; and a further 14 received part Hatfield Bursaries. We want all who come to Hatfield to be able to join in. From
Hatfield Record 2020
The creation of the Lioness Scholarship is a wonderful reflection of the values of #AllOneHatfield, our new watchword arising out of our 30 years’ celebrations
next year, we will also have a number of larger Scholarships for particular groups of students from lower income families, such as high standard music performers, or those studying a particular subject. We are determined to ensure all who can best benefit from and contribute to life in Hatfield are able to take part. Putting this ethos into practice, encouraging all our students to take part and to do their very best, our student leaders this year have once again done a superb job. Kathryn Rogers, our first sabbatical Senior Man, has used the fulltime post to lead an enthusiastic and hard-working JCR Exec, making the most of the extra time a sabbatical post permits to represent Hatfielder perspectives fully in university matters, as well as in College, contributing greatly to Hatfield’s overall success. Alongside her, JCR Treasurer Sam Goring, and Vice-President Zhen Wei Chew, have ensured skilled professional management of JCR funds, and orderly behaviour and fair discipline throughout. MCR President, Henry Hoyle has galvanised the MCR to initiate new activities, such as Winter Sessions, and has taken a special interest in helping our many one-year, international masters students to gain the
most from College. Our Welfare Team, very ably led by Kelly-Ann McAulay, has provided a wonderfully supportive underpinning for all our students, from lashings of comforting tea and toast, to informative and attention-catching campaigns from sexual health to destressing exam season. Hatfield, along with three academic departments, took part in an externally funded project on First Generation Scholars last year leading to initiatives for 2019-20. In days gone by, a large proportion of Hatfielders were first generation; it is now a smaller group, more likely, therefore, to feel different, less at home. Thanks to our two student reps on the project, Stephanie Kenna and Declan Merrington, both local first generation scholars, we now have a thriving First Generation Scholars’ Group who get together to talk about their experiences and to support each other. Steph was also our First Generation Intern during the summer of 2019, developing a programme to encourage College clubs and societies to be proactively welcoming and supportive of novices. And how the clubs and societies responded, appointing novice co-ordinators and setting up novices’ sessions. At the Opportunities Fair in Freshers’ Week, all stands were vying to sign up newcomers to try out something new, from getting into a rowing boat, to taking up a pool cue, joining in the new clubs for baking or Hatfield Create for arts and crafts, or going along to the revived non-auditioned choir, Hatfield Voices. There was a buzzing, warm atmosphere in the Burt Room as Freshers discovered what was on offer, multiple welcoming and accessible opportunities for all. We also added several inclusive new themes and variations to our Formal calendar this year, reflecting #AllOneHatfield. Our novel First Generation Formal featured both past and present students who spoke of their 7
International Formal – Yiwen Huan, performer of Uighur dance, was also a finalist at Durham’s Got Talent
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Hatfield Record 2020
experiences. At our traditional Burns’ Night Formal, the toasts to the Lassies and Lads were reimagined in a joint toast, crafted and delivered by Elise Jeffery and Will Hutchings, from our Feminist and LGBTQ Societies. A new-style International Formal comprised three dishes created by Head Chef, Colin Thompson and Food Services Manager, Will Green, based on recipes from international members of our JCR, MCR and SCR, Lucy Elwy, Xue Li and Ladan Cockshut. Anyone worried that a mixture of Chinese, Persian and American dishes might not be digestible was firmly proved wrong. Jilian soup, Persian slow cooked lamb and American cherry pie made for a delicious meal, accompanied by Persian music, a Uighur dance from China performed by Hatfield post-grad Yiwen Huang, and a reading by Lucy Elwy of I, Too by American poet Langston Hughes. What a wonderful celebration of our multinational community. As ever, Hatfielders have been very active on the stage and in the concert hall this year. We’ve had an excellent series of concerts by Hatfield Music Society, with a huge variety of instruments, voices and musical genres allowing everyone to take part. I’ve enjoyed many wonderful evenings at university events involving Hatfield students, including performances of Dido and Aeneas, featuring Lottie Davies, Oklahama directed by Fran DaviesCaceres, and Eugene Onegin, starring Poppy Metherell. Back in the dark days of January, both Hatfield Voices, revived by Chloe Sweetland and friends, and Hatfield Chapel Choir, under Music Director Miles MacLachlan, sang in the 140-strong Colleges Evensong choir in the Cathedral. Among our instrumentalists, Alex Down seemed to be playing in just about everything including on a single Saturday in both halves of a joint University Chamber and Symphony Orchestra concert, as well as in the excellent pit band for Hatfielder Lydia Stephenson’s production of Dogfight. Both Alex and
Lydia also play and sing for Kinky Jeff, and we look forward to the band’s planned new CD recording, co-ordinated by Juliane Deil, and funded by the Trust, once the clouds of COVID-19 lift. Theatre performances have been no less impressive this year, many taking advantage of the wonderfully renovated Assembly Rooms Theatre just across North Bailey. Hatfield was really well represented in the Durham Drama Festival Awards 2020, with best original play, Laika by Aliya Gilmore, best supporting actor, Tom Bracewell and best supporting actress, Isabella Thompson. The weather and other eventualities put a dampener on many sporting events this year, but, as ever, not on Hatfielders’ determination to get out and compete. Rowing on the Wear was very limited thanks to an ever-swollen river, although we had some notable successes in contests elsewhere, such as Tyne United New Year’s Head where both our women’s 1st eight and 1st four both achieved fastest college. Our Men’s Rugby Team bucked the elements and looked set to retain the floodlit intercollegiate rugby cup, storming through to the final against Collingwood, which we were surely set to win, until COVID-19 precautions led to the final match being cancelled. We are still debating the outcome of a very damp Hatfield-Castle Day, based on imaginative creation of results from limited actual matches and previous run-ins. Of course, we are sure who should hold the trophy currently stored in the kitchen of Kingsgate House for safe keeping, but we have yet to finalise the Treaty of Palace Green to formalise matters. Rain has never been allowed to spoil the fun of friendly rivalry. More indoor activities have, however, thrived. Our newly created Hatfield Horizons programme, encouraging the curiosity, new perspectives and development of our students, featured a number of new-style and old-style events. We kicked off with Research Roulette 9
James Close, presenter of the Hatfield Lecture 2020 – Climate Change the Challenge of our Time: From Policy to Personal Action
during Freshers’ Week, comprising pithy 10-minute presentations by Hatfield postgrads and undergrads on their research projects, including several funded by our new-style Hatfield Trust research internships supporting students to spend several weeks in the summer vacation working on an ongoing project with a Durham academic. From Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop, to youth development in Rwanda, to using supercomputers to understand how our body works, the roulette sessions gave our new students, and plenty of others in the audience, real insights into the exciting research Hatfielders are engaged in. Our alumni and friends supported two Careers Conversation Dinners, on working in law and on careers in the arts. Students really made the most of the opportunities to gain insights from our guests into what these spheres of work have to offer, what law employers are looking for, and how to persist through the uncertainties of the worlds of theatre and music. Multiple conversations over dinner continued on long after in the bar. Our two wonderful resident Fellows from the Institute of Advanced Studies, gave our students multiple opportunities, through their public lectures in the Birley Room, followed by conversations over dinner in the SCR with speakers and colleagues, and further lunches and brunches for 10
discussion about working in international NGOs and pursuing a PhD in astrophysics. Hatfield alumnus, James Close, former Director of Climate Change for the World Bank and now Head of Circular Economy for London, gave a splendid annual Hatfield Lecture on climate change, synthesising a huge range of material on the state of play, emphasising positive actions and contributions that we can all make to prevent environmental calamity. At the ensuing dinner in our SCR Dining Room, where we were joined by several of James’ alumni peers, academics from across the University, and representatives of local council and charitable bodies concerned with our climate future, as well as a lively group of our students, conversation could have gone on all night. Our students respond extremely positively to all such opportunities, and we will build on the very goodwill of our alumni and friends to further the horizons of present-day Hatfielders in years to come. Our students contribute in so many ways
The new Hatfield College Colours badge for outstanding student contributions
to College life, and we recognise the most outstanding through College cups and awards at Floreat Dinner at the end of the year (see p. 58), in addition to colours for clubs, societies and teams and honouring first class new graduands. At Floreat 2019, we also awarded our first College Colours. On the initiative of Tony Gray, the Trust and Association funded new badges for these, our highest honours,
Hatfield Record 2020
providing a permanent recognition of winners of our College cups and awards, plus the opportunity to recognise other exceptional contributions. The 17 winners in 2019 (see p. 53) covered all aspects of College life from major new initiatives such as the thriving Yoga and Meditation Society, to superb community service through the Welfare Team, to the awardees of the Michael Crossley Shield and Barrie Wetton Award for multiple, sustained contributions. We also recognised this year the lives and successes of several of our alumni in worlds beyond the walls of Hatfield. In September, many of us, past and present from Hatfield, gathered to celebrate the life of Johnathan Young (1945-2019, see page ), alumnus, tutor, long serving President of the Association, and ebullient Hatfielder extraordinaire. And in January, we were very honoured to be present in the Cathedral as alumnus Chris Kelly was awarded an honorary doctorate (see page 124). Chris flourished in the world of rugby during his student days including captaining an outstanding University First XV, which largely comprised Hatfielders. He went on to champion the game nationally from grass roots to professional level, culminating in his recent year as President of the Rugby Football Union. His ethos of rugby being a game for all epitomises the ethos of #AllOneHatfield carried on into life beyond. To some, Hatfield may just be a collection of buildings on the Bailey, but the essence of the College is its people. This year, we have said goodbye to one of the very, very best, Cynthia Connolly, who after 47 years finally escaped formal service to the College for full retirement. Cynthia was Secretary to three Masters, Tom Whitworth, James Barber and Tim Burt, followed by posts as Assistant Director of Hatfield Trust, Assistant Secretary of Hatfield Association and Assistant Editor of the Hatfield Record. As I said
in my speech at her final farewell dinner (see page 35), she has held offices of state in all arms of the College - a firm tribute to her absolutely unique position in the College family. Above all, Cynthia is beloved by generations of Hatfield students, who remain in personal contact for decades after their graduation. Her knowledge of Hatfield affairs is legendary, and her interest in all Hatfielders the surest expression of #AllOneHatfield. She has done more than anyone to earn the loyalty and warmest affection of our alumni. We look forward to seeing Cynthia in College frequently, now as a free woman, and to enjoy her fellowship, reminiscences and news of all, sitting together on the bench placed in our grounds in her honour. For a College founded on students living as a community and dining together, Easter Term will be very strange this year - all exams will be online, and most students probably won’t be in Durham at all. We won’t be storming the Castle in June, and marriages of new College parents will be delayed. Degree Congregation, the culmination of Durham student life, is postponed until large gatherings and travel are possible again, but when the time comes, we will summon all for a wonderful celebration of our new graduates’ success. The sun will surely shine, the Cathedral will embrace us in its central role, and we will dine together again in Hatfield dining hall. I look forward to seeing our new graduates, including many with whom I shared our very first Freshers’ Sunday nearly three years ago. Until then, may all Hatfielders, young and old, stay safe and well.
Professor Ann MacLarnon Master
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Professor Anthony Bash and alumna Emi Husband (2014-2017) at the London Academy of Excellence
Notes From The ViceMaster & Senior Tutor At the time of writing this report, we are uncertain about the impact of the coronavirus on life at Hatfield and in the University as a whole. I am delighted that Ellen Crabtree has been offered the post of Vice-Principal at Castle. This is a well-deserved appointment, and our loss, which is very great, will be Castle’s gain. I am grateful for the energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism that Ellen has brought to her post. She has been a greatly-valued colleague. She starts her new post on 27 April, the first day of Easter Term. In the meantime, her current post has been advertised and I hope we will have a new Assistant Master in place by – or shortly after – the start of Easter Term. 12
Looking back on the past year, all of us who work at first-hand with students are aware of the complexity of some of the mental health and financial issues that students face. Durham University has in place (what in my view is) a superb system for supporting students and promoting their wellbeing. We are working to help develop resilient, independent students who can manage their own health and wellbeing. We have well-established and valued student support services in the College that are well integrated with the University’s central service, such as the Counselling Service. We even have one of the University’s Mental Health Advisers holding a clinic in the College once a fortnight.
Hatfield Record 2020
The development of our students is also an important part of the work of Colleges and of the University as a whole. This is sometimes referred to as “enrichment” and, through extra-curricular activities, its purpose is to help our students develop “life skills”. The new Durham Inspired Award is one of the ways that the University is encouraging students to develop new life skills and to reflect on and articulate the new skills they are acquiring. I am delighted to write that about 70 Hatfield students have signed up to start the Durham Inspired Award. Our long-term aim – through all that we do in the College – is to equip our students to make a significant contribution to the common good as responsible, mature global citizens. As for the culture of the College itself, we have been reflecting carefully about how to promote a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion. We have started a process of revising our induction programme to include greater emphasis on supporting students who prefer quieter, smaller group activities. Last year, when we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the admission of women to the College, we adopted the slogan “All One Hatfield”, and since then we have been thinking about how to ensure all our students are included in our diverse community. To this end, we have established a student-led network of “First Generation Scholars”, that is, of students who are the first in their family to go to University. Last summer, we sponsored a “first generation scholar” as an intern: she worked successfully on a project to encourage the College clubs and societies to welcome and support novice members. In short, what we are looking to do is ensure that Hatfield is a place where all our students have opportunities to thrive and to be the best they can be.
that on the whole do not have a strong record of participation in higher education and at Durham University itself. We are hoping to expand the scheme next year. I am also looking at introducing another volunteering project. Throughout the year we have held a number of “visit days” for prospective undergraduates and postgraduates. Some of the open days are also residential. Of all the Colleges in Durham, we have the highest number of ‘shared rooms’ in the College. These are proving increasingly unpopular among our students – at least before they come! – and the University has started a programme of slowly phasing out the shared rooms. As a result, next academic year, a small number of our shared rooms will be converted to single use. Our mentoring system continues to thrive. All new students have a mentor allocated to them based, as best we can, on the subjects the students study. Returning students may “opt in” and ask for a mentor. Our mentors do excellent work as “critical friends” and point the students to the College when issues to do with support and wellbeing need addressing. Overall, our work of supporting and promoting the wellbeing of our students is doing well. We are a small team of three – Ellen Crabtree, Brenda Mitchell (the indefatigable, breathtakingly patient, and meticulous Student Support Secretary) and I – and do our best to help our students be “the best they can be”.
Professor Anthony Bash
Our schools’ volunteering project is doing well. This year, about 60 of our students took part in mentoring in local schools 13
Notes From The Assistant Senior Tutor #AllOneHatfield continues to thread its way through the life of the College. The academic year 2019-20 started with its usual aplomb with a fantastic Freshers’ Week, led by Senior Freps, Alex Krajewski and Tom Bracewell. International Orientation, the new branding for International Freshers’ Week, was ably led by Lucy Elwy to help students from overseas settle into Durham. Every new student, both JCR and MCR, was given a Hatfield lanyard which proudly carried ‘All One Hatfield’ on one side, and a printed college calendar with details of events and contact details. Freps worked hard to put a copy of the calendar in every college room so there was no excuse for missing special themed formals, Trust funding opportunities or college events throughout the year! Writing this in April 2020 it would be easy to focus on the seismic changes that have happened to our everyday life following the escalation of COVID-19 in recent weeks. However, as an historian, it’s important that my reflection on the last twelve months does not just focus on the recent significant adjustments to our working practices and residential arrangements. Rather, it’s remarkable how, across the college community, we are seeking new ways to continue our college traditions and sustain our sense of community. For me, highlights of the last year include the launch of Hatfield Horizons, our umbrella term for academic and development opportunities within the College and the enthusiasm and planning put into the Post-Offer Visit Days (POVD) by Senior Reps, Leah Collins and Joe Burnage. POVD Reps worked hard to turn their plans into 14
Hatfield Day 2019, our youngest member, Master Crabtree
I have been inspired by the huge amount that Hatfield students get involved in, and excel at, alongside their studies...
Hatfield Record 2020
Freps 2019 with Freshers’ banner
a ‘Virtual Visit’, available on the College website, through a series of videos filmed before the shutdown. And of course there was Hatfield Day in June 2019, with the youngest Hatfielder enjoying his own t-shirt and role as the newest member of the Tech Team (see photo), and his first storming of the Castle. The annual college day is one of the highlights of the year, a time after exams when students can relax and celebrate the college community. I know that students are working hard to imagine new ways of conveying this spirit with a remote Hatfield Day in June 2020. Speaking of storming the Castle, it is with sadness that I leave my role as Assistant Senior Tutor at Hatfield after nearly four years. In Easter Term 2020, I begin as Vice-Principal at University College (no jokes about college rivalry, please!). I have learned a huge amount during my time at Hatfield. The College is lucky to have some outstanding members of staff who work tirelessly to help students
and it has been a pleasure to work with my colleagues, from porters to catering, operations, housekeeping and support staff in a collegial manner. As well as the privilege of supporting hundreds of students in need, I have been inspired by the huge amount that Hatfield students get involved in, and excel at, alongside their studies. In particular, I wish to highlight the significant amount of work that the first sabbatical JCR Senior Man, Kathryn Rogers, has completed often behind the scenes to make things happen. In addition, I would like to celebrate the absolutely fantastic work of the JCR Welfare Team, this year led by Kelly-Ann McAulay and Jess Clark. The Hatfield pride in looking out for one another and supporting each other continues, and long may it do so.
Dr Ellen Crabtree
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Notes from the Chaplain Miles MacLachlan is our new Director of Music this year, and has continued our tradition of a Chapel Choir that produces excellent choral music. Patryk Korczak is our Senior Organ Scholar. The Choral Scholars are Jess Norton Raybould, Imogen Willetts, Katherine Arnold, Jess Rollett, Kyle Keane, Charlie Bijl, Josh Hill, and Edward Walters. The Chapel Clerk is Charlie Gee. We have seen a modest increase in Chapel attendance this year – the Facebook group Miles has started has helped, and so have his ‘persuasive’ invitations to his friends!
In Easter Term, we held another series of Organ Recitals, and were delighted to welcome organists from Durham Cathedral, Ripon Cathedral, St Chad’s College, and (of course) our own College.
As for the services themselves, our services were well attended for Remembrance Sunday (Archie Taylor, a third year student preparing for Sandhurst spoke), for Advent Carols, and for the Nine Lessons and Carols services at the end of Michaelmas Term. This year, I spoke about the Holocaust on Holocaust Remembrance Day (as the Day fell on a Monday when we have evensong), and (if you would like to read it) a copy of my address is on page 46. In Easter Term, we held another series of Organ Recitals, and were delighted to welcome organists from Durham Cathedral, Ripon Cathedral, St Chad’s College, and (of course) our own College. I tend to give most of the addresses in Chapel – I like to think it’s not because I seek the ‘limelight’, but because it is what the College Chaplain should generally do – and my aim is to reflect on topics that are of contemporary interest in a thoughtful way. I seek to balance questions about faith and spirituality with an eye to issues in current academic debate. This way, I hope what we do contributes to the wellbeing and intellectual curiosity of our students.
Professor Anthony Bash
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Hatfield Record 2020
College bar staff on Hatfield Day 2019 [L-R] Patrick Osborne, Jake Allen, Lucy Baxter, Matthew Westby and Toby Miller
Notes From The Food and Beverage Services Manager Writing my first report for the College’s Catering Department is such a pleasure, being able to share with you what has gone on over the last year and everything we do at Hatfield (yes really - we do more than just serve breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days per week). Hatfield has some great events in the calendar such as our Summer Sessions beer festival in the Burt Room led by Anne-Marie Garrett and the Bar Team who put on a fantastic event of fine beers, music and food which was greatly enjoyed by all (even the staff who were working). Another stand out event is Hatfield Day with its laid-back atmosphere, BBQ, music and everyone having a brilliant time; this is one event nobody wants to miss. The summer saw a lot of change for Hatfield catering. We were very sad to lose two long-serving staff members, Dawn
Rank and Norman Darwin, who worked for Hatfield for 12 years and 15 years respectively. We also saw the departure of our full-time Supervisor, Louise Lennox, who joined St Cuthbert's Society due to the University’s Business Process Review, Phase 1 programme. Although we saw three departures, we welcomed Gillian Blake, our new full-time Supervisor from the College of St Hild & St Bede, who brought with her a wealth of knowledge and experience. We also welcomed David Harrison and Esther Morillas to the Catering Team. During the summer we went through change within our servery area, introducing two new tills and the ability for livers' out and guests to be able to purchase meals in College seven days per week. I am delighted to say that this has been a success and is well received by all. 17
the bold decision to introduce a very small food offering in the Café giving Hatfield students an alternative option at meal times. We also introduced our very own pale ale to the cellars of Hatfield, Hatfield 1846, which goes down a treat with everyone.
Chef, Norman Darwin, with farewell print of Hatfield Dining Hall and retirement bar plaques for Norman and Dawn Rank
Along came September and we welcomed our new students to Hatfield and, with our fantastic team showing them what Hatfield is all about, we were able to build that rapport that the students love to have. After a successful Freshers’ Week, we had our first event in the College calendar, our Michaelmas Ball, which allows freshers the opportunity to see a different side to College and College catering. Students were wowed by the food from our commanding chief officer, Head Chef Colin Thompson, who along with his brigade of chefs produced a mouth-watering threecourse meal with the event overseen by myself. We saw our first Winter Sessions organised by Henry Hoyle, MCR President, alongside Toby Miller and Jake Allen, our Bar Seniors. Hatfielders were invited into a wintery environment with hot mulled wine, aged ciders and fine ales along with fantastic entertainment and food, but sadly no snow. The surge of the Burt Room continues to flourish amongst our students with some new arrivals. Toby Miller and Jake Allen now captain the Bar and are sailing it into a new era after its refurbishment the previous year, and Natasha Bagnall and Libby Morrell take over the reins in our Café, which is proving to be a hit with the students. We made 18
Following the Christmas vacation we launched into Epiphany Term. We hosted popular Formals such as Burns’ Night and our International Formal which were greatly enjoyed by all. We also have our largest event in the Hatfield calendar in the Epiphany Term - step forward our Lion in Winter Ball; led by Anne-Marie Garrett and her team they were able to put on a fantastic night for 500+ students. Myself, Colin Thompson and Maria Golden were able to conjure up a three-course mouthwatering meal that took you to Neverland and back, beautifully prepared by Colin and his brigade of chefs and served by my army of catering staff. The Lion in Winter Ball is such a great event and I would encourage anyone to get involved given the opportunity.
Will Green
Hatfield’s very own pale – Hatfield 1846 (and it’s gluten free)
Hatfield Record 2020
Notes From The Librarian What unexpected and unprecedented times we live in! I sit writing this report from my home office in East Rainton, in lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been nearly four weeks since I’ve laid eyes on the Cathedral towers, even from a distance. Michaelmas and (early) Epiphany Terms simultaneously seem like not long ago and ages past! Despite the crisis, the University and continuing Hatfield College are continuing to provide the best possible service they can to students, albeit remotely. Impressively, various working-from-home technologies were implemented quickly and effectively by the IT Service.
is over, these books will be returned, catalogued and added to our physical collection.
During this lockdown, students are still expected to study, submit work, and pass their (now online) exams. Some were able to get books they needed and took them home before the University physically closed. Others have been helped to access electronic books and articles remotely by Bill Bryson Library staff, but not everything is available online. To help Hatfield students who are really stuck, in early April, with the help of Ann MacLarnon and Janet Raine, we started a remote book ordering service: third and fourth year undergraduates, and postgraduates, may request that I purchase a book for them to be delivered directly to their home address, provided it is needed for their summative work and cannot be accessed electronically. So far five students have used this service in only ten days since it was launched. When the lockdown
To continue to combat books going missing, in September the borrowing computer was moved to be right next to the main door so it’s as obvious as possible. Currently, 386 total books are missing from the past five years, but annual theft has been reduced considerably. The normal June stock check won’t happen due to the lockdown, and what effect this will have on missing books, only time will tell.
Until the lockdown, Hatfield Library was well-used this year by students. In October 2019, the University’s new Teaching and Learning Centre (near St Mary’s College) opened, providing 550 more much-needed study spaces to students. While many college and central librarians thought this might relax some demand for study space, there seems to have been no let-up. In early March, as many students were hurriedly finishing work, Hatfield Library was nearly full most of the time.
By mid-March, just over 80 new books had been purchased for Hatfield. Many were high-demand texts and some were specific requests by students. A further 40 donations (mostly from student graduands in 2019 – thank you!) were also catalogued, and a further 70 remain to be when the lockdown ends. Keeping a collection up-to-date and relevant is one of the 19
cornerstones of any librarian’s job, and part of this includes weeding-out unused and obsolete stock. In early February, nearly 400 weeded texts were taken away for possible resale and/or recycling. We have about 8,600 books, and only shelves for about 9,000, so shelf space is a premium! My gratitude goes out to all those amongst the JCR and MCR who have opted to pay the voluntary library levy, which provides necessary funding for operations, book purchases and staff. For the past few years, Hatfield’s book budget has been supplemented through dissertation binding. In 2019, £1,257 was raised. Due to COVID-19, however, all dissertation submissions were made electronic-only this year, and I expect that most departments will keep this as standard practice going forward. At least some trees will be saved! The Student Library Assistant Team did a fantastic job this year providing friendly service for users and helping me with various much-needed projects. They include returners Quinn Higgins, Declan Merrington, Alex Krajewski, and Patricia Hu who started in October 2018, and Florence Rayner who returned from a year abroad to work again, and Zhen Wei Chew, Alice Earwicker, Chloe Ellison, William Hutchings, and Jessica Muurman who all started in October 2019. I look forward to next year when (hopefully) the student assistants and I can get back to work at Hatfield Library.
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We are always seeking to refresh our collection to ensure our importance to the College and its students. To support that aim we are always happy to accept donations of modern editions of academic books and/or financial donations. Many thanks!
Dr Kevin Sheehan
Notes From The College Operations Manager The past 12 months have been a year of change for the Operations Team within the College as the University’s new Operations Directorate was formed allowing all college operations teams, porters, housekeepers, reception staff and facilities managers, to work as one unit rather than in separate teams as we have done in the past. This has resulted in a number of staff changes within the Hatfield Operations Team and in ways of working within the operations of the College. All staff and students have been extremely helpful and understanding
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during this period of change as we have come to expect from our Hatfield Community and we thank you for this. As a part of these changes we have had to say farewell to a number a loyal members of the College. Louise Charlton, Michelle Crawford, Rebecca Jackson, Katie Petherick and Tracy Robson have all said goodbye, but I would like to thank them for all they have put into the College over their many years of service. This has put our current team in great shape to continue to excel and create a terrific environment in which students can develop their skills and create lasting memories. In addition we have added a number of new members to our team who have all settled in to the College extremely well and are looking at ways we can improve the operation of this exceptional College to continue to allow all our members to enjoy and thrive in this environment. We have completed a number of works in the College to continue to improve our site. Palmers Garth received a minor
refurbishment, which involved the upgrade of all shower areas, decoration of the communal spaces as well as electrical upgrades, to now have it looking like an entirely evolved space. New carpets were fitted throughout the communal spaces in Gatehouse and Rectory, and these were also re-decorated. The Estates and Facilities summer works’ programme allowed improvements to many of our student rooms across the full site. The James Barber House Common Room had an uplift with decoration and equipment. All these works have had a huge impact on improving our site and I thank all involved in completing these. This year our Operations Team has assisted with many events in College such as Hatfield Day, Hatfield Sessions, Freshers’ Week and Lion in Winter Ball to name a few. I would like to thank all those who attended these events across the College and, in particular, thank the students who put these together. I believe what you accomplish is phenomenal and thank you for all the work you put into making these possible. And finally, I would like to congratulate our College Porters who took away the College Officers’ Award for the Best Staff Team in the Staff Awards 2018-19, and also Robert Marsh and Susan Reed who both received awards at the first Operations Directorate Awards ceremony held in January. The full Operations Team has accomplished a number of great things over the past 12 months and all need to be extremely proud of what they have contributed to the Hatfield experience and community.
David Embleton
College Receptionists, Rebecca Jackson and Katie Petherick
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JCR Executive Committee 2019-20
Hatfield Junior Common Room Throughout this year Hatfield JCR has remained at the centre of the Durham experience for our undergraduates and many other Hatfielders. This year has been a strong year of growth for the JCR, leading to even more ways to be involved and it’s been such a pleasure to lead the JCR throughout this period, working with such a wide range of dedicated student volunteers to make this possible. I am sure that through this report you’ll be able to recognise that the Hatfield spirit is still burning bright in our welcoming and vibrant community. The past year has been an interesting 22
time for Hatfield with the JCR getting its chance to see its first benefits of having a Sabbatical Senior Man. Having spent Easter Term 2019 in the role voluntarily in the interim, when I formally started in August no longer tied up with academic commitments, I was raring to go with energy and the luxury of time at my disposal. One of the first challenges I embarked on was working to improve the experience of Freshers’ Week both for Freshers and for Freps to help increase engagement and interest in volunteering in future years. Two of the big focuses over this time were on improving pre-arrival communication with future students, and
Hatfield Record 2020
Sabbatical Senior Man Kathryn Rogers Chair Emily Rose Ball Communities Officer Rian Dhillon Events Officer Lucy Pallent Facilities Officer Jonathan Leung Secretary Goya Verity (March-December 2019) Sports & Societies Officer Jemma Youngman (March-August 2019) Treasurer Sam Goring Vice-President (Welfare) Zhen Wei Chew Welfare Officer Kelly-Ann McAulay working closely with the Senior Freps to ensure that team members were able to access opportunities to develop skills in the areas that they would like to focus on. On a financial side, the work of Sam Goring and the Treasury Team has been impeccable this year. Early on in the Summer break, probably the largest challenge of our time in office arose. Upon close inspection and some reorganisation of our accounts, Sam noticed a significant hole in our cash balance. There was a significant gap in our income from the previous year, attributable to several sources. Sam and I set about finding all the possible solutions to our current financial predicament. We poured over
the accounts and spent many hours discussing the various routes we could take, having multiple meetings with the Master and other members of our College community and leadership. We worked through Freshers’ Week, while also acting as Freshers’ Reps, to find the best way forward. It was from this experience that Sam worked on providing transparency in the way the Treasury operates and endeavoured to improve the procedures in place so that an issue like this would not be likely to arise again. I am pleased to be able to reflect on the events of this past year and consider them to broadly be a success, although it did not always feel at the time as though the result would be as positive as it has been. While we have managed to claw back our financial security, the JCR is still in need of securing new streams of income. One of the big goals going forward will be to find new ways of securing our financial future; something we believe is key to the survival and flourishing of our Common Room in the future. I feel safe in the knowledge that Sam will go on to achieve this as the elected Senior Man for 2020/21. Student-led student support is a key component of our welcoming and inclusive community, facilitated by our eversuccessful Welfare Team. This year has been an exceptional year for the team. Building on the previous years’ successes, the team introduced new initiatives such as a Tea and Toast Culture Night, a Disabilities Awareness Campaign, and the #HatFeelGood campaign to help push its messages even further by engaging a wider range of our community. Sport has featured as strongly as ever within the JCR community, and an active push on encouraging novice engagement has seen an increase in participation across sport in general. Despite the questionable weather, we have seen many successes this year. Our Men’s Rugby Team played incredibly all season, making it through 23
Following last year’s major constitutional debate surrounding making the position of Senior Man Sabbatical for a one-year trial, the JCR saw further high levels of engagement with the discussion around making this constitutional change permanent.
to the Floodlit Cup Final for the second consecutive year (currently unplayed), and it’s great to see our talented rowers training both a men’s and women’s crew to race at HoRR and WeHoRR on the Thames (despite these races being cancelled at late notice). The events we put on are always one of the ways we see the most engagement in our community, and this year has really out-shone previous years with our Grand Budapest Hotel themed Lumley Ball selling out within minutes. Our Michaelmas Ball, targeting first years, followed a similar pattern; the event sold out within minutes and had a waiting list as long as the attendance list. Over the coming year it will be important to work out how we can expand the event to involve all of those who wish to attend without reducing its current financial accessibility. This year’s hugely committed Lion in Winter Ball Committee, chaired by AnneMarie Garrett, delivered an incredible ‘Take Me To Neverland’ themed event. For the first year in recent memory, the team managed to secure sponsorship which has set a great precedent for future years, and hopefully will lead to increased financial 24
accessibility to the event. The evening was packed with a high-quality threecourse meal prepared by our talented chefs, music, entertainment, food and a particular highlight this year – singing waiters who had everyone up on their feet dancing throughout dessert. The event was amazing and I know that many members of our community are currently thankful for the timing of our Ball, allowing us to experience such a key part of the Hatfield year before we were blown into a more chaotic style of working, in line with the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following last year’s major constitutional debate surrounding making the position of Senior Man Sabbatical for a one-year trial, the JCR saw further high levels of engagement with the discussion around making this constitutional change permanent. This motion has been passed and hopefully the JCR will continue to reap the benefits of this role for years to come. Holding a sabbatical role this year has enabled me to feel closer to members in all parts of our community. It has given me time to work on engaging more members in our democratic processes, represent our body to the University to drive change in a direction that works best for our common room, work at a higher level on our strategy and contribute in a more proactive than reactionary way than previous Senior Men. Ultimately, it has enabled me to give so much back to a community that has shaped my life as well as the lives of many others. I am proud of all of the things that we have been able to achieve and look forward to seeing the common room continue to progress and grow over the coming years.
Kathryn Rogers Senior Man
Hatfield Record 2020
Sam Goring (JCR Treasurer), Kathryn Rogers (Senior Man) and Goya Verity (JCR Secretary), directing the queue for Freshers’ Formal 2019
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Speakers at MCR Research Symposium: Tim Armitage, Kathryn Braid, Arya Thampuran, Lindsay Macnaughton, Kleopatra Papa, Emmanuela Wroth
Hatfield Middle Common Room The MCR has had an active and successful year, which has seen repeats of some of the great events we have seen in previous years as well as some new additions to the roster. The induction period got off to an active start with a social event at the Library bar on the Thursday followed by the Induction Dinner on the Friday before the undergraduate Freshers’ Week started. This allowed us to relax into the swing of Durham life and have a bit of fun before the city swarmed with undergraduates the following week. Due to poor weather, the MCR photo was relocated to the Chapel rather than our usual destination of the tennis court. However, we managed to make the most of this space and fit everyone in. We had other events during the week such as a movie night in James Barber House where we watched the stereotypically British ‘Notting Hill’. We were graced with a day of good weather just in time for the BBQ, which, despite 26
issues getting the BBQ to start, went fairly smoothly and allowed everyone time to socialise and pretend that summer was going on for slightly longer. The week ended well with a boat party. Whilst the boat didn’t leave its moorings (another casualty of the poor weather), a good time was had by all and closed the week nicely leaving everyone as prepared as they could be for the year ahead. During Induction Week, the College held a ‘research roulette’ event, which saw presentations take place across several spaces in College and we are proud to have had a considerable MCR representation during these talks! In Michaelmas Term, we also welcomed in an entire new Executive Committee who have all been working incredibly hard to ensure we have maintained a range of high quality events over the whole year, with lots of new ideas being made into
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President Henry Hoyle Academic Officers Benjamin Shaw, James Elliman Chair Amila Wijesinghe Events Officer Phoebe Sanderson Secretary James Elliman Treasurer Aaryaman Banerji Welfare Officer Lorna Flynn realities. Towards the end of the term the MCR hosted the inaugural ‘Hatfield Winter Sessions’ beer festival. A wide range of beer and other drinks were on offer and the event was attended by members of all three common rooms as well as members of the University from further afield than Hatfield. This was shortly followed up with a Pot Luck Christmas Dinner in James Barber House. A great turnout for this saw all of the necessary components of the Christmas dinner arrive as well as a few extras and brought Michaelmas Term to a festive close. The Academic Officers have kept the academic side of postgraduate life thriving with numerous research symposia on a variety of topics from all fields. They have also been working hard with other college MCRs to provide joint MCR symposia, which have been well attended and received some excellent feedback, and have more of these events lined up for the future. The inter-MCR Formal was set to take place on St Patrick’s Day to build on the success of the event last year and this was shaping up to be a really good night.
MCR members at Christmas Formal 2019
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the event unfortunately had to be cancelled, but we are hopeful we may be able to fit something similar in later in the year. Further to these events, the MCR is also looking at investing some money into improvements at James Barber House. With the refurbishment of the Common Room this year thanks to College, we are looking to make the rest of the building more of a social hub for the MCR with provisions of more activities for the Common Room as well as several outdoor activities in preparation for summer. I’d like to give big thanks this year to all of the MCR Exec Committee who have all worked incredibly hard in their roles to contribute to the success we have seen this year whilst making it all excellent fun at the same time, and look forward to more of the same going forward!
Henry Hoyle MCR President 27
SCR member, Malcolm Yorke, at his exhibition opening SCR member Malcolm Yorke speaking at the opening 2019, using the new Birley room hanging system of the exhibition of his paintings and sculptures
Hatfield Senior Common Room 2019/20 has been another busy year for the SCR. We managed to hold two of our three termly SCR Meetings before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped face-to-face activities in Easter Term, which included a very informative talk about student support in Hatfield from Dr. Ellen Crabtree in Michaelmas Term. We formally welcomed our new SCR Treasurer, Julian Hatton, during the Epiphany Term Meeting. Julian is the University’s Colleges’ Finance Manager so we are in very good hands. Hatfield SCR has continued to prove itself a popular SCR choice and we saw a healthy influx of new members, particularly new members of staff in the University. The University is planning to allocate new members of staff to SCRs in future, so we look forward to increasing numbers and lots of new faces. An SCR Presidents’ Group has also been formed this year and we hope this will lead to greater interaction 28
between the University’s SCRs in the future, something that Hatfield has already been doing with great success. Hatfield SCR has again been privileged to host a number of visiting IAS Fellows during their time at the University over the last few years. In Michaelmas Term, we enjoyed the company of Johanna Poutanen of the Crisis Management Initiative, one of the world’s leading independent organisations specialising in dialogue and mediation, and in Epiphany Term we have enjoyed the company of Nelson Padilla, Professor of Astrophysics in the Astrophysics Institute at the Universidad Católica de Chile. Both have actively participated in the life of the SCR and regularly joined us for good conversation on high table. Johanna even went above and beyond duty to join our Social Secretary, Christine, in running some Christmas craft sessions. SCR members turned out in good numbers to listen to
Hatfield Record 2020
SCR members and student guests at high table for Wolfpack (Welfare) Formal
Hatfield Create, a new student society, and we look forward to many more displays of Hatfield artistic skills in the future. Our social events have continued. We have enjoyed walks at Low Force, Teesdale (including a walk to the landscape artwork “Hush”), Upper Swaledale, Chester-leStreet to Durham following the Weardale Way, Bearpark, Croxdale/Hett and Causey Park/Beamish. SCR members attended Michaelmas Sessions (Beer Festival) organized by the MCR and supported the Hatfield café by dropping in for coffee when possible. The lockdown caused by the pandemic has made us think about providing remote activities, and plans are already underway to launch an online book club after interest was shown by a number of members.
the public lectures of our IAS Fellows and participated in discussions over dinner afterwards. The SCR contributed funds to a new art hanging system for the Birley Room which is now able to support exhibitions of art works, including sculpture, very professionally. The inaugural exhibition in the new-style Birley Gallery, by SCR member Malcolm Yorke, at the end of the Easter Term 2019, really demonstrated this to very good effect. The space has since been used to exhibit works by members of
President Sophie Philipson Social Secretary Christine Kent Secretary Andrew Jackson Treasurer Julian Hatton
The College mentors amongst us have been busy helping students make the most of their time at University, with some mentors now fully trained coaches able to support Hatfield students through the University’s new personal development award, ‘Durham Inspired’. Members have continued to support College Formals, with International Formal and Wolfpack (welfare) Formal particularly well-attended. The SCR Executive and the Master have been discussing making cosmetic changes to the SCR Sitting Room to provide a brighter environment for our members and we look forward to firming up the plans and taking them forward once we are back on campus. I’d like to thank members for supporting our activities and to thank the SCR Executive for their work this year.
Sophie Philipson SCR President 29
College Articles
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Hatfield Record 2020
First Hatfield Lioness Scholar, Nahiya Mahmood, with the Master
Lioness Scholarship The time when I took a leap of faith In March 2019, I was in a small town of Bangladesh – Cox’s Bazar. Away from my family for my work with the Rohingya refugees, I had just started in a new position where each day had its surprises, struggles and sense of achievement and I realized I wanted to learn more, to do more. This interest would often come up in conversation and one day, while coming out of an elevator, my friend told me about the Hatfield Lioness Scholarship at Durham University and I applied in April 2019. Little did I know this small exchange would change the course of my life. On 20 June, World Refugee Day, I received
the email confirming my scholarship. Before that moment, I had zero idea that I would find myself thousands of miles away from home exploring new possibilities, learning different things and building a new life in Durham, United Kingdom. Now, this chapter in the UK has so far been one of the most challenging and rewarding in my life because it allowed me to learn more about myself and the people and possibilities around us. When I first arrived, I was constantly looking out the car window- Durham was/is beautiful. It was September and everything seemed as if it were taken from 31
Creating the lioness sculpture – Emma Stothard in her Whitby studio
a postcard or a period movie I had seenthat is how I described it to my friends and family. After more than half a year, my testimony has not changed. I honestly believe Durham University is at the heart of this place- buzzing with people from all backgrounds, personalities, interests. There was never a time I did not find an event or activity of my interest available. My extracurricular activities varied from taking dance classes and learning French to leading discussions on human rights crisis around the globe. It has been quite eye-opening and allowed me to make friends from places I had only known on a map who taught me to cook dishes that I cannot wait to introduce to my family. Outside the classroom, I was discovering many new interests while in my classroom, my pledge towards peace and development was growing stronger. Before doing my master’s, I was working in the Rohingya response operation in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which hosts one of the world’s largest number of refugees. It was then that I realized there was significant 32
gap in coordination and utilization of available avenues in the way government, and international NGOs were pursuing peacebuilding and development efforts. More importantly, given the amount of humanitarian aid, I strongly believed that more sustainable programmes and policies could be implemented. Hence, the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding (CPP) programme at Durham University seemed the most suitable for my interests. CPP offered a practical examination of case studies, policies, different actors of conflict and included topics of reconciliation, mediation, peace process and peacebuilding which is a niche I see myself working and building a career in. Going to a classroom filled with international students every week and being able to exchange ideas on a shared passion, despite coming from very different backgrounds, has been very encouraging and I am looking forward to working with them as fellow professionals in the future. Following these steps to venture out and explore and also following my passion
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would not have been possible without my College - Hatfield. From the day I arrived, I was made to feel like I belong here and that was so important to me. I did have self-doubt, moments of consciousness, but my mentors, College Master and patrons always reminded me that I should be proud of myself and that we are all here to discover ourselves - no one had a magic formula and that is okay. I felt grateful and optimistic. Not everyone believed that this transition for a married Bangladeshi woman would be easy, even possible, but my college did, and I will be eternally thankful for that because it has given a new meaning and clarity to my purpose. I have always been interested in learning about people’s journeys and those that have indulged me in this taught me that there is always a way and we just need to keep looking and be ready to take the leap when the chance offers itself.
I am so very grateful that I took that chance based on an elevator conversation about a year ago. Nearing the end of this journey, I can say that every day, I am emerging as a more independent and confident version of myself. Initiatives like the Hatfield Lioness Scholarship allow women like me to dream and turn that dream into reality, which is not something that women from our backgrounds know to be possible. This scholarship is a reminder that the world has not forgotten the less represented and are rather eager to hear from us. Therefore, I sincerely hope my journey inspires others to take that leap and carry this journey forward because there are miles to go, but we have started with a jump.
Nahiya Mahmood First Hatfield Lioness Scholar, 2019/20
Installing the Lioness Sculpture, September 2019
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University Long Service Award 2020: Cynthia Connolly (47 years) with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge
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Hatfield Record 2020
Cynthia Connolly Hatfield College 1972-2019 Speech at celebratory dinner on 29 February 2020
Cynthia’s professionalism, loyalty, good sense and judgement always gave highest priority to the wellbeing of the College and its members.
For many, including many around this table, this moment would never really come, when Cynthia finally lived up to her word and managed to escape the life of employment, and formal clutches of Hatfield. Indeed, many a wheeze has been used to try to prevent her being able to climb out over the wall, most recently the pleas of Patrick Salaun, now outgoing President of the Association, that he was utterly unable to continue in his role without Cynthia at his side. We are all delighted to be here on this rare and special day, which by no coincidence is February 29th. An already very experienced secretary and personal assistant, Cynthia first joined Hatfield in 1972, under the mastership of Tom Whitworth. She served three Masters as Master’s Secretary; by all accounts three very different men, all of whom were keenly aware of their reliance on Cynthia’s professionalism, loyalty, good sense and judgement, which always gave highest priority to the wellbeing of the College and its members. Cynthia provided hugely important continuity on the sudden death of Tom Whitworth, became a firm family friend of the Barbers, and ensured Tim Burt was firmly linked with previous decades of
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Cynthia Connolly with special edition of the Hatfield Map in her honour, by College Librarian, Kevin Sheehan
Hatfield. June Barber very much wanted to be here today, and sends her warmest best wishes to Cynthia, whom she considers a member of close family. I know Cynthia in turn, is enormously grateful for the friendship and warmth the Barbers have given her, particularly following the sudden death of her own husband Jim. Cynthia finally stepped down from the Master’s Secretary role in 1999, but has continued in stalwart service of the College as Assistant Director of the Trust, Assistant Secretary of the Association and Assistant Editor of the Record. She has held offices of state in all arms of the College - a firm tribute to her absolutely unique position in the College family. When I arrived in 2017, Cynthia immediately welcomed me very warmly into the Hatfield family fold, and I rapidly came to realise what a central role she plays in gluing the Hatfield community 36
together, in maintaining the family links with so many decades of Hatfielders – we estimate that more than 10,000 Hatfielders have matriculated into the College during Cynthia’s time (ref: Michael Stansfield, University Archivist). It is hard to understand how Cynthia manages to maintain so many personal links with alumni, about whom she remembers so many details - names and histories of partners, children and grandchildren, successes and escapades. Just how long is Sunday morning in the Connolly household, given the number of alumni and friends Cynthia rings regularly? Just how many alumni cannot imagine being anywhere near Durham without arranging to meet up? Of course, Cynthia can also be the cause of great trouble… The hardest job I have had since arriving at Hatfield concerned Cynthia. That was to determine the guest
Hatfield Record 2020
list for this evening. You may all think you have a special link with Cynthia, but I can tell you the list of people whom she describes as ‘such a lovely man’ (and latterly woman) is quite excessive. So Janet and I set about drawing up a priority list which was much too long, in the certainty that many would not be able to make the chosen date in the frozen north. We even persuaded Network Rail to schedule its complete shutdown of the London line for this date. But to no avail. Come hell or high water, you were all determined to be here. How could we have been so over optimistic… everyone here is from the first list. Herewith, the final proof that there is indeed an exception to every rule – Cynthia has finally been very difficult! In his oration for the award of an Honorary MA, Tim Burt drew on Shakespearean inspiration to encapsulate Cynthia’s place in the hearts of Hatfielders, and I shall expand from his theme to end: Who is Cynthia? What is she That all Hatfield swains and maidens commend her? Holy, fair and wise is she The heavens such grace did lend her That she might admirèd be Then to Cynthia let us sing, That Cynthia is excelling; She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling: To her let us garlands bring. With somewhat heavy heart at letting go, we all wish Cynthia a long and happy next stage of her Hatfield journey – once a Hatfielder always a Hatfielder has no greater example than Cynthia, who surely has blood of true Hatfield blue.
Once a Hatfielder always a Hatfielder has no greater example than Cynthia, who surely has blood of true Hatfield blue.
placing the bench of honour in the College grounds, we are marking our most beloved College member. Cynthia, you embody with your warmth and keen interest in all Hatfielders, the essence of what makes our College so much more than a place young students pass through. You are beloved by generations of Hatfielders, whom we represent this evening. Please raise your glasses for a toast – to Cynthia. And we hope this gift, a specially commissioned version of the College map celebrating the History of Cynthia Connolly at Hatfield, will serve as lasting recognition of our enormous admiration and thanks.
Professor Ann MacLarnon Master
We have already awarded all available formal honours to Cynthia – from the University, an Honorary MA, and from Hatfield, an Honorary Fellowship. In 37
Message from Cynthia Connolly Prior to working in Hatfield College I worked part-time in the typing pool at Bede College from 1968. At this time Bede College was an all-male Church of England teacher training college. However, once my two children were teenagers I was ready to move to full-time work and applied to Hatfield. After being interviewed in Hatfield Senior Common Room by Dr Tom Whitworth (Master), Sam Stoker (Vice-Master and Senior Tutor) and Johnathan Young (Bursar), I was offered (and accepted) the post of Master’s Secretary. I joined Hatfield College on 10 April 1972. At that time the Administration Offices were on the ground floor of C Stairs and my office is now a student room. Sadly, Dr Whitworth died suddenly on 18 December 1979. Professor James Barber was appointed Master in 1980. I was his Personal Assistant until his retirement in 1996. Professor Tim Burt was then appointed Master and I was Tim’s Secretary until I ‘retired’ in 1999. Over the years, I have seen many changes in College including: the appointment of the first female Master when Professor Ann MacLarnon was appointed in 2017; the admission of female students for the first time in 1988; the relocation of the Administration Offices from C Stairs to Rectory; chairs replacing the benches in the dining hall, and the major refurbishment of student accommodation and buildings. Anyone seeing the dining 38
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Hatfield College working alongside such good people. Hatfield is a very special place and for me, always will be.
hall and annexe now must surely be very impressed. In addition to thoroughly enjoying my job, I also came to know students (and their families) very well. For me one of the many highlights in any academic year was attending Freshers’ Sunday. Here I would meet up with past students who were very proud that their son/daughter was about to start at Hatfield. My late husband, Jim, was a member of Senior Common Room and we really enjoyed the social life that this offered. When Jim died suddenly in 1988 Hatfield was in many ways my saviour. Outside my family it gave me a focus and purpose in life, for which I will always be grateful.
Hatfield Record 2020
Although I ‘retired’ in 1999 I was not ready to stop work completely and it was opportune that I was offered the part-time post of Assistant Director of the Hatfield Trust. As I had worked with three Masters, I also worked with three Trust Directors. The Trust was set up in 1988 by Arthur Moyes who was the first Director. He was succeeded by Barrie Wetton (former Senior Tutor) and then Ian Curry. Again I thoroughly I enjoyed this role. I was Assistant Secretary of the Hatfield Association for a number of years organizing reunions in College and attending various regional events. This enabled me to further develop and deepen my many friendships with alumni. In December 2019, I finally retired. College organised a lovely coffee/cakes morning for me and it was good to see so many people squeeze into the SCR. Thank you all for the lovely gifts that I received. I had a wonderful evening at the Association Winter Dinner on 1 February - thank you to Patrick Salaun (Association President) and alumni for the very generous gifts. On 29 February another wonderful farewell dinner for me in the SCR Dining Room. It was a tremendous occasion and so good to see former colleagues and associates. My thanks to Professor MacLarnon (Master) and to Janet Raine (Master’s PA). During the forty-seven and a half years I worked in Hatfield there have been so many special and privileged moments.
I was delighted to be awarded an Honorary MA by the University in 1999; the degree was conferred by Sir Peter Ustinov in the Castle. I felt privileged to be made an Honorary College Fellow in 2000. I am delighted to be an Honorary Member of both the Senior Common Room and the Association. I have been Assistant Secretary of the Hatfield Association for a number of years and I am pleased that many Hatfield alumni (including JCR Presidents) still keep in touch. I have recently accepted an invitation from Patrick (Association President) to be a member of the Executive Committee. I would like to express my gratitude to Julia Raszewska (former Sabbatical Development Officer) for producing such a magnificent Book of Memories. Julia obviously put a great deal of thought and hard work into doing this for me, and I will always treasure this book. Thank you Julia. Also my thanks to Kevin Sheehan (College Librarian) for the special unique framed map of Hatfield which is displayed on the wall in my living room. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Hatfield College working alongside such good people. Hatfield is a very special place and for me, always will be. Once this terrible COVID-19 virus is over and life returns to some form of normality, and present restrictions are lifted, I will go into College and enjoy sitting outside Rectory on the lovely garden seat bearing a plaque with my name on it.
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From The Archive Flyer for Lion Theatre Company’s performance of Maristan at the Edinburgh Fringe, August 2018
2021 will mark the 175th anniversary of the establishment of Bishop Hatfield’s Hall as the University’s second student community. The increasing enthusiasm for celebrating such anniversaries within the University, often as a vehicle for promoting a fundraising campaign, perhaps begs the question of how such anniversaries have been marked in the past. The College’s 150th anniversary in 1996 is still just round the corner of the mind for many people. Events then included, of course, a dinner, on 22 June, with toasts by Howard Phelps (Chairman of the University’s Council), Sir Peter Ustinov (Chancellor of the University) and the then Master James Barber. In addition, the College choir sang Two for Tea and Blue Moon, and past senior men led the singing of the Hatfield song. All is fully recorded in the following year’s Hatfield Record, and also on a DVD, accessible in the College’s archive. Concerts, exhibitions, luncheons, garden parties, lectures, a specific logo, souvenir leisurewear, and, perhaps most enduringly, Arthur Moyes’s authoritative and highly readable Hatfield 1846-1996,
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all helped to mark that seminal year. The 100th anniversary was perhaps not so extensively remembered, with celebrations lasting just 27-28 August, though it shared a participant, Arthur Moyes, Director of the Hatfield Trust, very much the heart and soul of the celebrations in 1996, who was also present in 1946 as a then Geography student at the College. A special Congregation, garden party, service and dinner featured, but perhaps the most enduring legacies were the formation of the Hatfield Association and the establishment of this very journal the Hatfield Record whose first number appeared next year in October 1947. The 50th anniversary, in 1896, is unmentioned in the archive or histories of the College, but it was evidently not unnoticed at the time as indicated by an intriguing line in then Durham University Journal (7 November 1896), in the Our “Why Not?” Column: ‘Why not celebrate the Hatfield Jubilee by supplying English Beef?’ One aspect of college life, which was perhaps not so prominent in 1996 as now, is drama. The academic, social, sporting,
Hatfield Record 2020
even musical, life of the College all feature prominently in Arthur Moyes’s College history up to 1996, but drama seems to have been something of a late developer in the College with the then Master James Barber citing only in 1994 that the Lion Theatre Company had been formed, and had performed Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus and a Christmas pantomime. It now has a creativity and adventurousness that is certainly second to none. One aspect of that which might be worth reflecting on is, given the lack of a purpose-made theatrical venue in the College, where Lion Theatre has performed its recent shows. Since its freshers performed Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy in the intimate surroundings of the Birley Room in February 2018, it has put on Hamza Adam Rafique’s Maristan at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2018, taken Ella Hickson’s Boys on tour to Birmingham, Oundle, Bedford and London in September 2018, performed Lemn Sissay’s Something Dark in Kingsgate in Dunelm House in December 2018, David Hare’s Skylight in Cafédral off Owengate in February 2019, and taken that to the Fringe in August, and has also performed Jez Butterworth’s Mojo in Durham’s Wiff Waff Bar and Andrew Cowburn’s Tuesday in the Pemberton Rooms on Palace Green both in June 2019, and then John O’Donavon’s If We Got Some Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You in Alington House in October 2019, Kane Taylor’s He Never Married in Caedmon Hall (audience and performers shared the stage) in February 2020 and Philip Ridley’s Mercury Fur at the Assembly Rooms in March 2020. With the exception of the last two, none of these Durham venues are set up as stage facilities, and are a logistical exercise for getting lighting, sound, sets, chairs even, on site. The challenge of this nomadic existence should not be underestimated but on all occasions has been risen to, to critical acclaim. As well as Lion Theatre’s own Facebook pages, record of this now significant aspect of college life is to be found in hard copy of these performances, such as posters,
programmes, reviews, held in the College’s archive in Palace Green Library. What continues also to be added to that archive are memoires, memories, photos and memorabilia of former members of the College. There is now a quantity of artefacts in the archive – details of all this can be found at reed.durham.ac.uk/xtf/ view?docId=ark/32150_s179407x22z. xml – which include academic dress, blazers, caps, ties, scarves, badges, plaques, trophies, bags, a paperweight and even a stick of rock. Incidentally, on blazers, the 28 November 1896 Durham University Journal lamented that Hatfield had ‘decided to change the old blazer which for years has done good service by substituting brass buttons in the place of the old cloth-covered ones. Where will this craze end? First the tennis blazer goes, much to the regret of all old colour men; now the Hall blazer itself is attacked.’ We are always delighted to consider further donations of such material. One of the most significant accessions this year has been a quantity of over 200 photographs from David Bates (Geography, 19661969), illustrating many aspects of life at Hatfield and the University at the time, both the mundane – but still invaluable as a record of what it was like to be a student at that increasingly distant time – and the exceptional, with quantities of images featuring quinquereme races, Rag floats, the Rag Queen Dance with the She Trinity all girl band playing, Geography field trips featuring lots of mud, tricycle races round Palace Green, and what looks like a [?Rag] bicycle throwing contest. If anyone can provide further information on perhaps particularly the last please, your correspondent and posterity would be eternally grateful.
Dr Michael Stansfield College Archivist
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Hatfield Man Hatfield Man 1968 to 1971
Were we All One?
Long time gone but not so long
We met some
Clear memories of a happy time
from the army and private education
despite Saturday lectures at nine
But soon there was no differentiation Fixing romances,
Climbing out
stepping out at dances,
for Shakespeare’s fine ales and stout
the harmony of spirit and convivial company
Climbing in early mornings after other college visiting Homo Hatfieldensis with propensities to excel with balls and oars scoring firsts in chemistry and law.
reaching its zenith on Hatfield Day! Would we have been All One in 1983? at least we would have been younger – considerably Hatfield Man of 1968 would have welcomed change, Our priorities rearranged
Dressing up and spooning at formal Thursday dinners
to demonstrate our credentials because we weren’t all Neanderthals.
but all anxious to leave to be winners of the race to grab a seat in the bar to watch the stars and the flops on our favourite Top of the Pops.
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Laurence Swarbrick (1968-71)
Hatfield Record 2020
Tony Gray, cox for Hatfield-Aidan’s Mixed Eight, 1969
A Crew Ahead of its Time We were certainly not the fastest novice four on the Wear, but we did manage to have quite a lot of fun. We overtook, I think, two other college fours in the 1968 Epiphany Term Bumps, including a particularly incompetent Cuth’s crew who appeared to have been coached in a unique windmill action - and we beat Leeds University ‘D’ in the first round of the Regatta at Yarm. But we never won a pot. However, we had one historic achievement. At that time all colleges were single sex and St Aidan’s was a women’s college. Its students were keen to row but, sadly, Aidan’s lacked a boat house – even a boat. Unsurprisingly, when a group of girls asked if they could borrow a four for regular outings, Hatfield Boat Club enthusiastically agreed. Thus, a set of oars in Aidan’s colours resided in our boat house and around twice a week a crew of attractive ladies took out
one of our boats. I was particularly happy to see that their number three was a girl I knew (from volunteering at Earl’s House, a Dickensian home for children with learning disabilities) and was secretly in love with (quite unrequited, of course). So a bright idea seemed to be to invite their crew to join our crew for Formal Dinner in Hatfield (always turkey on Thursdays) preceded by an outing in an eight (which I would somehow procure – HCBC didn’t own one). Happily they all agreed to this arrangement and I managed to borrow an ancient clinker built craft from Castle. So, on a dull November afternoon in 1968 a Hatfield-St Aidan’s eight set out for a pre-Formal Dinner outing – the first mixed eight on the Wear.
Tony Gray (1967-70) 43
Souvenirs of Hatfield Hall Goss Heraldic China Henry Middleton’s collection of Hatfield Hall heraldic pottery
Anyone who has visited an antique centre or shop will probably have noticed ‘heraldic ware’ - small items of white pottery bearing an extraordinary array of coats of arms of towns and villages from all around Britain. Many of these are of dubious quality, both in terms of their potting and of their decoration, but some do stand out from the rest as having been manufactured to a rather higher standard.
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These latter pieces will almost certainly be from the Stoke-on-Trent pottery of W.H. Goss, and will bear the ‘Goshawk’ trademark on their underside. William Henry Goss opened his factory in or soon after 1858 but it was not until the 1880s that the firm came up with the idea of placing coats of arms of cities, towns and villages around the UK on small items of ceramics which could then be sold as inexpensive souvenirs of the local area.
Hatfield Record 2020
Following Goss’s early success, other manufacturers (the best of whom were Carlton Ware, Arcadian and Willow Art) entered the field and the trade flourished along with the development of mass tourism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, finally petering out after the First World War. Although the pieces with municipal coats of arms are best known and most frequently found, Goss’s later production included items bearing the arms of public schools and universities – no doubt with the intention of attracting a more affluent market. Most of the pieces (of thin white porcelain) are of shapes based on archaeological specimens in the collections of a wide range of provincial museums (for example “Roman Vase from the Guildhall Museum” or “15th Century Jug in Reading Museum”) and are identified as such on the base of the piece. It was the eldest son of the family, Adolphus Goss, who was responsible for promoting this line so strongly. It was he who searched out the museum originals and it was he who found local shops to act as agents – newsagents, tobacconists and fancy goods shops in the vicinity of the institutions concerned. Each agent sold local souvenirs with the correct
My main interest, needless to say, lies with those pieces bearing the (original) arms of ‘Hatfield Hall’, which it has to be said are few and far between and not often encountered.
local arms, but could also commission others if he/she so desired (in Durham the name of “Mrs Sharp, Sadler Street, Durham” appears on the base of a Goss mug bearing an image of the Cathedral Sanctuary Knocker). As well as manufacturing pieces with the arms of the universities and colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, the firm also included Durham University in the range of products they offered. In addition to the University itself, the arms of the colleges (at that time, of course, only University College and Hatfield Hall) were also included. My main interest, needless to say, lies with those pieces bearing the (original) arms of ‘Hatfield Hall’, which it has to be said are few and far between and not often encountered – after more than twenty years of collecting my collection amounts to 11 pieces, an acquisition rate of about one every two years!. All refer to Hatfield ‘Hall’ rather than ‘College’, and probably date from the period prior to the First World War – although any remaining stock would probably have stayed on sale after the change of title to ‘College’ in 1919. As far as I am concerned, pride of place in the collection must go to the large jug, around three inches high, shown on the left hand side of the photograph. This not only bears the College arms on one side but those of the University on the other. It’s further attraction, for me at any rate, is that the shape is identified on the base as being derived from a “Roman Jug in the collection of Maidstone Museum” – a museum of which for some ten years I was Director. The other larger piece, on the right of the photograph, also bears the arms of the City of Durham. I wonder if there are any other collectors of such ‘Hatfieldiana’ out there?
Henry Middleton (1964-67) 45
Holcausts Old and New
Today (27 January 2020) is Holocaust Memorial Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945 The word ‘holocaust’ originally referred to the Jewish practice of making burnt offerings in the period of the Old Testament – burnt offerings were sacrifices made on an altar and were fully burnt up in the process of being offered. Latterly, the word has come to mean any destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. The term ‘The Holocaust’ is taken to refer to the mass murder of Jews, gays, disabled people, travellers, and other minority groups under the German Nazi regime during the period 1941-45. More than six million people died in concentration camps, typically from gassing or starvation. “Holocaust Memorial Day” commemorates the appalling death and destruction not only from the holocaust of 1941-45, but also from holocausts in other contexts in the years following – holocausts such as in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. Over the years, I have asked myself how people can be so abominably wicked (not 46
Over the years, I have asked myself how people can be so abominably wicked (not only towards other individuals but also towards whole groups of people) as to instigate holocausts.
Hatfield Record 2020
only towards other individuals but also towards whole groups of people) as to instigate holocausts. In truth, I cannot give a complete answer. But I can offer some thoughts about what makes holocausts possible, but not inevitable, and this is what I will do in the remainder of this address. First of all, one characteristic of many examples of holocausts is that a minority group has become regarded not only as different from the majority group, but also in some way as less human or less than human. Such thinking arises particularly acutely when people feel deprived, threatened, disadvantaged, or overlooked. This way of thinking can lead the majority group to believe that things would be better if they did not have the minority group to contend with. And so the majority group sets about neutralising – and in some case destroying – the minority group. In Nazi Germany, the Jews were seen as a threat to the state, as the causes of or contributors to social and economic hardship, and as racially inferior and so a threat to the purity of the Aryan race. So, at first, the plan was to “relocate” the Jews; and later the plan was to exterminate them. Now I am not suggesting that regarding others as less human or less than human always leads to holocausts, and it would be foolish to suggest a chain of causation from viewing people critically or negatively to the murder and destruction of those people without reference to other factors. But history shows that the drive to murderous intent can arise from the way people disregard the humanity of minority groups. The minority group is “othered” and so not treated as if equal to or like “one of us”. Psychologically this makes it easier to deal with the minority group in a less than humane way. And note: it is the group that is generally “othered”, rather than John, or Jane, or Jemima, or Jeffrey, who are members of the group.
I sometimes shudder about the way “asylum seekers” or “immigrants” or “seasonal workers” are talked about. I am not suggesting that current thought in Britain will obviously lead us to their extermination. But I wonder what the asylum camps are like; I also wonder about the ways we treat “illegal immigrants” – and more generally I wonder about the way we treat prisoners, the economically disadvantaged, the homeless, and the poor. It may be no exaggeration to say that the way this nation through its institutions behaves towards such groups, though not a holocaust, amounts to a significant measure of the destruction of the personhood and dignity of members of the groups. And we too may be complicit because we know – or choose not to know – about how we treat these groups. Secondly, another characteristic of holocausts is that responsibility for what happens is often so diffused and devolved that it can very hard to identify who is responsible. Maybe you order the metal for the gas canisters that poisons to death Jewish prisoners; maybe you are a train driver who ‘just’ drives the train to Auschwitz; maybe you are the mechanic who repairs the crematoria. If you are (what we might call) a ‘cog’ in a complex organism, your responsibility rarely appears direct and immediate, and for the people concerned it is relatively easy to shut out from their minds their contribution to the consequences of what they do. To put it simply: you can refuse to order the metal for the gas canister, you can refuse to drive the train, and you can decline to repair the crematorium. Maybe you will have to pay a price for your principled stand (and some people did) – but at what price is a good conscience? If enough people make a stand and refuse to be complicit, there will not be – and there cannot be – a holocaust. To put it more practically and with an eye to current affairs, I worry much about 47
a different sort of holocaust that may come. It may not necessarily lead to death on a mass scale but it is likely to result in suffering and deprivation, and the destruction of personhood and dignity. I am thinking of the effect of climate change that is likely to cause appalling suffering, perhaps not to us but to others in less temperate places. I worry about the mass starvation that many in the world will face from climate change. And more mundanely, I worry about what I eat and wear – because by eating and wearing what I do I sustain some appallingly exploitative trade practices. I don’t see or hear the cries of the exploited workers – but it is theirs whose sweat and labour feed me and keep me clothed. Third, holocausts seem to be sustained and implemented by civil servants and officials who follow orders and directives, and so go about the mundane daily business of writing memos, reports, and minutes – or in contemporary terms, writing emails, strategy documents, or policy papers. The tasks turn devising and sustaining holocausts into administrative problems to solve, with the framework of the task set by those in power. Such administrators don’t critically appraise what they are asked to do or why they are asked to do it – they just get on with the task, as the salary for doing it pays the mortgage and feeds the children. They don’t often smell the stench of the corpses or hear the cries of the dying. Hannah Arendt wrote a seminal book in 1963 called Eichmann in Jerusalem. Arendt attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Israel in 1962. Eichmann is regarded as ultimately responsible for the murder of five million Jews in what is called “The Final Solution”. The subtitle to the book is “A Report on the Banality of Evil”. By “banality”, Arendt did not mean that the evil Eichmann perpetrated was banal; rather in her
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view, the person who perpetrated the evil was banal – boring, dull, unoriginal, commonplace. Though her view of Eichmann is problematic – it ignores his enthusiasm and personal commitment to the destruction of the Jews in Europe – her point about the way many bureaucrats go about their business still holds good. To put it simply: if we treat the so-called problem of the “other” as an administrative problem to be solved, we are on a path of thinking that can end with holocausts. We will have stopped thinking of members of the minority group as being people like us, and we will have lost the capacity to think from the standpoint of the members of the group. Last, holocausts are sometimes perpetrated by individuals who believe that the ends they are seeking to attain are right, even if the means – murder, destruction, and genocide, for example – are wrong. In my view, to say that the end justifies the means is a dangerous line of thought. When an end becomes the controlling narrative of one’s actions, one is at risk of failing critically to appraise the ethics of one’s actions. The result can be that one sacrifices one’s own moral convictions for “the greater good”. To give a light-hearted example (and I don’t mean to be trite), this was the issue that Nicholas Angel could not get his head around when it came to Sandford’s Neighbourhood Watch Alliance in the film Hot Fuzz: members of the Watch killed those whose lifestyles or actions put at risk the likelihood of the village winning the Village of the Year Award. One may end up doing wrong – sometimes appalling wrong – for the supposed goal of doing good, not that perpetrators of holocausts ever do good. Ideologues who think like this can become the perpetrators of holocausts, as history shows, for they trample on and destroy those in the way of the end they seek to bring about.
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In my view, to say that the end justifies the means is a dangerous line of thought. When an end becomes the controlling narrative of one’s actions, one is at risk of failing critically to appraise the ethics of one’s actions.
Today we may be perpetrators of a new kind of holocaust. Our modern society is enormously complex; it is an organism that is sustained in varieties of ways of which some – when analysed – are unspeakably wicked. We bleed much of the world for our comfort and prosperity. We close our hearts to the cries of the oppressed and dying. For our own economic advantage we are careless about the consequences of our greed on others. I do not know what we can do to be radically different and not to be complicit in this sort of holocaust. I fear the account we will have to render to God both individually and collectively for the systems we sustain with uncritical greed. We can’t opt out, and go and live in caves.
But we can hold our governments to account; as individuals, we can seek to make responsible decisions as best we are able; and we can seek to ensure that the ethics of what we do or not do are kept at the forefront of our own minds and in public consciousness. Only then will we diminish the new sort of presentday holocausts in their varieties of subtle forms. Only then will we love our brothers and sisters as we ought – and thereby preserve our own humanity.
Professor Anthony Bash Chaplain
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College Awards and Prizes
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Hatfield Record 2020
We were delighted to celebrate the many academic and extra-curricular achievements of Hatfielders. In the summer of 2019, of 321 Hatfield undergraduate students who completed their studies, 76 gained first class honours. Many of these students accepted their invitation to dine at Floreat Formal on 27 June 2019.
Joseph Norbury History Saroja Lily Ratnavel English Literature Charlotte Robson Arts Combined (4 Year) George Skinner History Millicent Sparrow History
First Class Honours
Charlotte Strivens English Literature
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Dominic Whetton Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
Poppy Batty Classics Natasha Bradley English Literature
Atticus Whitmore Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
Matilda Broke-Smith Classics
Faculty of Science
Andrew Cowburn History Sarah Emslie-Smith Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Lola Fabian-Hurst Liberal Arts Lewis Fell-Clark Liberal Arts Edward Hopewell History Francesca McClymont Theology and Religion Piaras Moore Theology and Religion Rebecca Morrish Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Amber Mullins Philosophy
Sean Bvaccas Mathematics (4 Year) Samantha Banfield Chemistry Frederick Beak Physics and Astronomy Jessica Black Mathematics (4 Year) Megan Broatch Biomedical Sciences Isabella Bryan Biological Sciences Samuel Carling Physics Simeon Chan Computer Science Kanza Choudhry Physics and Astronomy Harriet David Mathematics (4 Year)
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Peter Dewhurst General Engineering Jack Dowell General Engineering Phillippa Edge Chemistry (4 Year)
Elizabeth Warwick-Champion Biological Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences & Health
Elizabeth Gallagher Geophysics with Geology
Rupert Bates Geography (Science)
Dularee Goonetilleke Geology
Lily Church Law
Jake James-Falconer Mathematics
Jemima Davison Law
Hannah Janmohamed Mathematics
Patrick Dudgeon Economics
Adam Kirk Mathematics (4 Year)
Thea Hatfield Health & Human Sciences
Alok Kumar General Engineering
Isabella Hudd Politics
James Lawton General Engineering
Jemima Jones Anthropology and Archaeology
Zhenning Liu Natural Sciences
Henrietta Kent Anthropology
Duncan Middlemiss Physics and Astronomy
Georgina King-Smith Geography
Jessica Moore Mathematics (4 Year)
Beatrix Loveridge Economics
Kieran Parrott-Goldthorp Natural Sciences
Toby Musselwhite Steel Geography (Science)
Alexander Powell Chemistry
Jessica Roche Law
Anthony Sa’id Natural Sciences
Clare Routledge Education Studies – History
Anna Simmons General Engineering
Emily Skelton Anthropology and Sociology
Thomas Spriggs Theoretical Physics
Caterina Strada Philosophy, Politics & Economics Abroad
Bechan Thomas Chemistry (4 Year)
Emilie Thompson Anthropology
Erin Thompson Earth Sciences
Rebecca Towey Anthropology and Archaeology
Katie Thorley Biological Sciences
Katherine Turner Geography
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Hatfield Record 2020
Hamish Tyler Economics
Zhen Wei Chew SCR Award
Juliet Vaughan Jones Politics
Adam Kirk Hatfield Trust Trophy
Tom Watling Criminology Beatrice Williams Economics Daisy Wootten Law with Year Abroad Jake de Uphaugh Economics Dominic Whetton Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Atticus Whitmore Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
Alok Kumar Barrie Wetton Prize Theodore Lazarides Whitworth Trophy Declan Merrington Rik Coldwell Award Kleopatra Papa Hatfield Trust Award James Petley Gilbert Larwood Prize Kathryn Rogers Spencer Regan Shield
In addition to celebrating academic successes, names prizes and awards, College Colours, and Clubs, Societies and Teams Colours were awarded to students who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the Hatfield community during their time in Durham.
College Colours
College Colours were awarded to 17 students, 68 students were awarded Clubs, Societies and Teams full colours, half colours were awarded to 44 students and a further 61 Hatfielders received a special commendation. It was good to see many of these students, as well as mentors from the SCR celebrating at Floreat.
Nicholas Harrington
Dominic Berry Georgina Burford-Taylor Zhen Wei Chew Rory Flynn Gabriel Hardwick
Anubhuti Jain Adam Kirk Alok Kumar Theodore Lazarides Lindsay Macnaughton
College Named Prizes and Awards
Ciara McEvoy
Dominic Berry Michael Crossley Shield
James Petley
Georgina Burford-Taylor Cynthia Connolly Cup
Declan Merrington Kleopatra Papa
Kathryn Rogers Arya Thampuran 53
At the Scholars’ dinner on 30 October 2019, 16 students were awarded Baxter Prizes, having been the top two Hatfielders in their year in each Faculty in 2019. These and a further 105 students who achieved first class marks overall were named College Scholars for 2019/20 and invited to attend the dinner along with College Officers and mentors.
Baxter Prizes and College Scholars Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Alfred Renn Physics (4 Year) Bradley Sims General Engineering
Faculty of Social Sciences & Health Philippa Jones Economics Yixuan Sun Accounting and Finance Aurelia Waltham Geography Yizhi Zhang Accounting and Finance
Rhianna Andrews Theology & Religion
College Scholars
Antonia Hamilton Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Sophie Hare Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Oliver Phillips Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Lewis Russell English Literature Harri Thomas Classics
Liberty Allen Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Henrietta Allen English Literature Isobel Asti English Literature Hazel Atkinson Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Natasha Bagnall English Literature
Faculty of Science
Daniel Brooks Liberal Arts (with year abroad)
James Everitt Mathematics (European Studies)
Thomas Burgess Music
Harry Fluck Mathematics (4 Year)
Matthew Callow Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
James Maitland General Engineering Jordan Picken Mathematics (4 Year) 54
Sophie Davies Jones Liberal Arts
Hatfield Record 2020
Jemima Gurney Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Imogen Higgins English Literature Samuel Honnywill History Amy Howlett Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Archie Maxwell Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad)
Ellen Billingham Mathematics Frederick Bloomfield Natural Sciences Kate Burn Psychology (Science) Adam Carruthers Mathematics (4 Year) George Carter Physics (4 Year) Olivia Cavalieri Earth Sciences
Imogen Morgan Music
Jonathan Cherrett Computer Science
Zoe Rucker English Literature
Daniel Clarke Physics (4 Year)
Barnabas Sampson Modern European Language & History (with year abroad)
Philip Colebrooke Computer Science with Placement
John Shelton History Anna van der Star Modern Languages & Culture (with year abroad) Charlotte Way Liberal Arts (with year abroad) Kaler Wong History Maggie Wong Japanese Studies (with year abroad)
Benjamin Collins Physics (4 Year) Rordon Daws Mathematics Lily Denham Natural Sciences Arshpreet Dhatt Physics (4 Year) Alexander Down Natural Sciences Emily Duerden Chemistry
Faculty of Science
Tsz Ming Foo General Engineering
Dipali Ambasna Psychology (Science)
Annabel Fredericks General Engineering
Thavish Annal Physics and Astronomy Cydonie Ashbridge Psychology (Science) Lars Bentsen General Engineering Iona Biggart Psychology (Science)
Eleanor Gray Psychology (Science) Max Hart Natural Sciences Oliver Jones Biosciences
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College Scholars (cont.) Faculty of Science (cont.) Michael Jones Mathematics (4 Year) James Judd Natural Sciences Rebecca Judge Mathematics Kristen Keen Psychology (Science) William Kettle Mathematics (4 Year) Charles Lee Physics Charlotte Lynch Physics (4 Year) Yasmin McGeoch Psychology (Science) Joe Mckeon Physics (4 Year)
Samuel Seldon Natural Sciences Mohammed Zannatun Naim Sheikh Physics (4 Year) Imogen Sheppard General Engineering Zhongwei Shi Computer Science Oliver Southgate Physics (4 Year) Benjamin Spinks Computer Science Jamie Stirling Computer Science Will Stuart Walker Chemistry (Industrial) Benjamin Taylor Physics (4 Year) Gregory Tyler General Engineering Thomas Watson Computer Science Leyna Watson May Mathematics (4 Year)
Rina Mjeku General Engineering
Holly Whitehouse General Engineering
Matthew Moran Mathematics
Michael Woollatt General Engineering
Thomas Morris Computer Science
Yanji Yang Theoretical Physics
Jacob Orgee Chemistry (Industrial)
Katie Yau Psychology (Science)
Henry Paremain General Engineering
Nicholas Yelland Mathematics (4 Year)
Saujas Purohit Earth Sciences Naomi Rescorla-Brown Chemistry
Faculty of Social Sciences & Health
Thalia Seale Mathematics
Lucy Baxter Health & Human Sciences
Honor Seddon Biological Sciences
Aisling Bevan Archaeology (Science)
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Hatfield Record 2020
Major award winners Floreat 2019: Lindsay Macnaughton, Jemma Youngman, Georgina Burford-Taylor, the Master, Kathryn Rogers, Adam Kirk, Rory Flynn, Ciara McEvoy, Gabriel Hardwick, James Petley
Samantha Carswell Sociology
Frances Raymond Sport Exercise & Physical Activity
Felicity Challinor Geography
Florence Risbridger Combined Honours in Social Science
Joseph Gibber Economics
Kanokkarn Rotkaen Accounting and Finance
Quinn Higgins Combined Honours in Social Science
Charlotte Saxby Business and Management
Emily Hutton Geography
Giacomo Saxton Economics with Management
Noa Karet Geography (Science)
Mark Spooner Combined Social Science (4 Year)
Henry Morgan Economics
Robert Sullivan Economics
Henry Newbould Economics with Placement Year
Zoe Tilsiter Geography
Lauren Palacios Economics
Anna Trelawny Health & Human Sciences
Harriet Pandeli Combined Honours in Social Science
Fabian Wegerer Anthropology and Sociology
Adele Parry Education Studies Psychology
Congratulations to all our graduates and prize winners! 57
members who might have fallen behind in their duties, to supporting and advocating for students called in to account for their actions, to interrupting his own enjoyment of Formals to ensure others treat the occasion appropriately. One of Dom’s greatest achievements has been leading the Hatfield Circle of Pride to become a proud, celebratory and central part of our community. I was struck from my first days here, from my first Freshers’ Week, and throughout the past two years, what a wonderful example we have in our LGBTQ Plus members of how community life works for all, and the key role Dom has played in ensuring this.
Floreat dinner 2019 – Alok Kumar and Dom Berry, sporting their awards and their new College Colours badges
Dom Berry Michael Crossley Shield for outstanding contribution to College life Floreat oration by the Master Dom has held an extraordinary array of roles during his four years at Hatfield – both Treasurer and VP Discipline of the JCR, Frep, POVD Rep, Senior POVD Rep, founder of Paint Soc, Keeper of the College Cane and Senior LGBTQ Rep for two years. Dom is ever the ‘go-to’ volunteer, and no doubt there’s more besides. He has made an astounding contribution through leadership, time commitment and skill given to all the roles he has taken on. He brought the large and complex JCR finance matters under control and transparent for others to see – no mean feat and one of those unnoticed areas unless there’s an issue – there were none. The respect afforded to Dom in his VP Discipline role says it all – from following up any Exec 58
Dom has been described as Hatfield’s elder statesman. His passion for College and what its best can be is totally infectious. He is a thoroughly deserving winner of the Crossley Shield.
Alok Kumar Barrie Wetton Award for behindthe-scenes contribution to College life Floreat oration by the Master Right from his first year, Alok threw himself into all aspects of College life, founding the Tech Team that’s now key to all College events and operations. He took on the newly created role of Technical Manager in this first year, followed by a year as Facilities Officer, and has been integral to the behind-the-scenes work of College life throughout his time here. Somehow he’s also managed to fit in being POVD Rep, Frep, and general ‘helper out’ – from Freshers' Week to music events in the bar, to open days, it’s hard to think of any event in College that Alok hasn’t been involved in. I'm sure he'll be running around in the background somewhere at Hatfield Day tomorrow. I first met Alok as a Frep in September 2017, when he took on the furniture-
Hatfield Record 2020
moving job for our Resident Fellow and partner who arrived to take up residence in the D stairs flat on Freshers’ Sunday. Hot off the plane from Australia, they were a little anxious about the booming music under their bedroom window. No problem, Alok to the rescue, and bedroom moved to overlook the river. Alok is also to be seen and heard all around Durham (is there a show without him?), from Purple Radio to Singing in the Rain, Alok’s creativity and technical wizardry have wowed us all, and supported multiple student performances and events. He chaired this year’s LIWB with aplomb, created the wonderful App, and led his team with care and good humour, ensuring that the move back into College was a great success and the ball arguably the best in living memory. Alok shows dedication and commitment to the College with actions that are often only seen by few, but with effects that impact the whole community. He epitomises the selfless, generous and skilful behind the scenes contribution to College life recognised by the Barrie Wetton award.
Dom has been described as Hatfield’s elder statesman. His passion for College and what its best can be is totally infectious.
Hatfield Staff Awards 2018/19: [L-R] Janet Raine, Chloe Sweetland (Senior Man 2018/19), Louise Lennox, the Master, Gary Grayson, Bob Marsh, Claire Fenwick, Kathryn Rogers (Senior Man 2019/20)
Staff Awards In 2018/19 we introduced new College staff awards, which we plan to be an annual event. Many, many staff were possible winners, but the inaugural awards went to:
Students’ Award for the Most Supportive Member of Staff Jointly awarded to Claire Fenwick (Housekeeping) and Louise Lennox (Catering) Master’s Award for the Outstanding Member of Staff Janet Raine (College Office) College Officers’ Award for the Best Staff Team Hatfield Porters: Robert Marsh, John Robert Cook, Joe Edwards, Jeff Higgin, Gary Grayson and Del Ager
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College Sport
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Hatfield Record 2020
Hatfield Mixed Badminton Team, winners of their final match 2019
Badminton Club The year started very strongly for the Hatfield Badminton Society with a record turnout of freshers at the inaugural training sessions. We sustained a high turnout throughout the year and increased weekly training sessions from two to three to facilitate the higher demand. Alongside weekly training sessions we had five teams competing in the various college badminton leagues. The Men’s and Women’s Mixed Team was our most successful team, having won all of their matches in the perfect season, they finished top of the mixed league. The Men’s A Team had mostly new players this year and managed to win the majority of their matches, finishing near the top of their league. The Men’s B Team also performed
well and unfortunately just missed out on a promotion as a consequence of the league being cut short. Thanks to the increase in the number of members this year we were able to fill two women’s teams for the first time, both of which had successful seasons. We hope to have even more teams playing next year. Off the courts we ran socials every few weeks and fortunately we have been able to continue these virtually during lockdown. Overall it was a great year for Hatfield Badminton and we are excited to continue growing as a Society next year.
Sam Pins President 61
Hatfield Boat Club Senior Squad with their pots and pennants after the success at Rutherford Head
Boat Club To say this year has been a frustrating one for the Boat Club would be an understatement. The weather has continually shown us that no matter what time of year it is we can always expect high winds and heavy rain, of course with the ensuing race cancellations. Despite all of this, however, the year has still been highly successful for the Club and has seen excellent results, building on the successes of previous years. Regatta season saw us achieve some great results from all of the squads within the Club. The novices were the first to show everyone what Hatfield is capable of with their impressive performance at BUCS Regatta. Representing Hatfield at the regatta for the first time in a few years, our women’s beginner four raced a solid time trial landing them comfortably in the E final and then followed this up with a third place finish in their final. This was an incredible and very well earned result for a crew who had all learnt to row at Hatfield in the year leading up to the race, and put them in a strong position for the rest of the races to come. Both senior squads rose to this challenge and came out from Hexham 62
Regatta with a win each. The women’s top four had a tight final against Durham ARC which led to much confusion about who had won. However, this was soon cleared up and there were celebrations when we discovered that our crew had won the race! The men’s second eight also had a good time, winning the open 8+ category and showing the rest of the colleges why they were the fastest second eight at Head of the River. Despite this excellent start to regatta season all of our hopes for success at Durham Regatta were soon thrown aside as the rain once again came down in buckets leading to the cancellation of the event. Not to be put off, we still managed to host some fun races between our crews on the Sunday, giving our novices an opportunity to race the seniors and allowing the crews to put their money where their mouths were during the run up to the regatta. What’s more, the men’s top four went on a trip down south to compete at Marlow Regatta on Eton Dorney. As well as being a wonderful day out with some beautiful weather, the crew achieved a solid result in their time trial followed by placing second in the C final, gaining a place on their time trial result and putting the Oxford and Cambridge colleges back in their place. Michaelmas Term followed in a similar pattern to the previous one with numerous race cancellations thanks to drastic quantities of rain. A variety of fun activities maintained morale, specific examples
Hatfield Record 2020
included a fun run to the pub and the timeless event of boathouse cleaning. Novice Cup still managed to take place and was the most successful for Hatfield in a long time, with a win for the men’s top four and second place for the women’s top four. The incredible keenness of the novice squad has been amazing this term and has kept everyone engaged with the sport, despite only being on the water about once a month. Rutherford Head was another event which luckily still managed to go ahead and gave us a great opportunity to show off our rowing prowess. In the morning, the men’s squad secured the fastest men’s college eight by a significant margin over the major competition of Hild Bede and Collingwood. In the afternoon, the women’s top eight matched this result and more, with both fastest college and a win in the band 2 eights category. The men also achieved fastest college four in the afternoon, ending the day with three pennants and a pot in total for Hatfield, our best haul from Rutherford in a long time. Moving into Epiphany Term, we started with a major success for the women. Despite the men’s top eight being beaten by Hild Bede for the title of fastest college at Tyne United New Year’s Head, the women’s squad more than made up for this with wins as fastest college eight, fastest college four and fastest band 2 women’s eight, coming home with a grand total of 23 hats! Durham Small Boats Head was soon to follow and the men brought it back for their side with a win as fastest band 1 four, despite having the worst conditions of the day for their time trial, beating the Collingwood first four by one second. The women finished second overall in their category and the men’s second four came out as the fastest second four. The term continued as we have now come to expect into the Women’s Eights Head of the River with a last minute cancellation on the day of the race. Despite this, the women managed to get a row on the tideway the
Hatfield Boat Club’s winning novice men’s crew
Friday before and were in high spirits for the dinner afterwards. This is particularly disappointing as not only would it have been one of our couple of entries to WeHoRR in the past few years, but they were also the favourites to win fastest college. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, HoRR was also cancelled, at great disappointment to the men’s squad who were aiming for fastest college with a top 100 finish and were well set to accomplish this with a starting position of 76, the highest Hatfield have ever had. I would like to thank the whole Exec this year who have made my Presidency thoroughly enjoyable and have all shown a constant love of the sport despite the challenging conditions we have faced this year. We have a large number of members leaving us this year who have shown incredible dedication throughout their time with the Club, so I’d also like to thank them all for helping to make the Club what it is.
Henry Hoyle President 63
Freshers v Returners football game
Football Club (Men) The 2019/20 season started with yet another wave of optimism. Fresh from being crowned Floodlit Champions the previous March, October meant rebuilding the Club with an even fresher supply of… freshers. Among the bunch were some excellent footballers and some even better lads. The task of leading the Club forward fell on new shoulders too. Sam Ellison stood aside as A’s Captain to become Club Captain, leaving Andreas Conte and Harry Gilbey skippering the A’s. Tom Prentis and Joseph Gibber took over from Will Whipple, also reshuffled to Club Captain alongside Will Kettle who abdicated the treasury to Fraser Graham. Sam Honnywill took charge of the C’s with Alex Carruthers 64
picking up the D’s. Leadership of the E’s was assumed by Harry Vercoe and James Rose. Each had lofty ambitions of promotion or simply survival. It would be amiss to begin this summary without acknowledging that, currently, Coronavirus has led to the cancellation of all college sport and as such many promising narratives within the Club have been cut short. Among these were an A and E team cup run and the B’s push for a top three finish in Division 1. Alas, we may never know how these end but, given the extreme circumstances, HCAFC do retain the title of reigning Floodlit Champions. This is in spite of a gutting 3-1 first-round
Hatfield Record 2020
promisingly with a remarkable 2-1 victory against a St Chad’s A side that were eventually promoted. However, it slowly deteriorated into a relegation battle, of which the denouement was a must win match against Stephenson B. After a hardfought match, the final score of 4-2 to Hatfield ensured survival for another year.
The Ds securing promotion
The D team succeeded in gaining promotion, while keeping a game in hand. A win in their last game would have seen them top the table. This represents a big coup for Carruthers, aided by Vice-Captain Fildes, as they enter Division 3 next season and in doing so ensuring there is exactly one Hatfield team in each of the top five leagues.
exit to St Aidan’s. Brushing this aside, the A’s consolidated their position in the Premiership and found a few gems along the way who are certain to lead the Club to future success. In particular, Sam Perry rose to the challenge and seems set to be a mainstay in the success of the Club for years to come.
Competing in the same league, the E’s did well to maintain their place comfortably. Vercoe and Rose built a strong coalition across the years and finished seven points above the bottom team. Notably, the E’s had an excellent sense of inclusivity and team spirit, with the unprecedented E team social ending the year on a fantastic note.
Turning our attention to the B’s, we arrive at one of the biggest success stories from the year. At one point, two wins away from promotion to the Premiership (something never achieved by an HCAFC B team before) the B’s finished the season in fifth place with a game in hand. This was a particularly impressive performance for a Hatfield B side in the notoriously difficult Division 1 which is dominated by A teams and B teams from the much larger colleges. Given that previous seasons had quickly turned into relegation scraps, this season’s performance was an encouraging sign of the strength and depth of the whole squad.
Elsewhere in the Club, the social side proved as popular as ever. A large turnout was sustained throughout the year, especially when it came to supporting our lads in floodlit. Again, the annual Club tour looks in doubt, as does AGM and old boys. If they are to be postponed, the Club will sign off this year having had a great crack while it lasted. The Club Captains would like to express their gratitude to all those who either played for the Club or attended a social this year. In particular though, we would like to thank all those who are leaving and may not have the send-offs that they deserve and could have expected. We leave the Club in safe hands and are sure that, when normality returns, the Club will be as strong as ever.
The C’s maintained their position in Division 2, consolidating the success of the Miller-Hanway era. No easy feat when considering that Captain, Honnywill, often juggled A and B team call-ups with C team administration. The season began
Sam Ellison, Will Kettle, Will Whipple Club Captains 65
Football Club (Women) This year, we gained a good amount of interest to play for Hatfield Women’s Football Club at sign up. However, we often struggled to field a full team due to losing a large number of third year players. We put a great amount of effort into encouraging members to come to training and matches. We decided to lead the training sessions ourselves this year. It was difficult but rewarding as we managed to secure a few regular freshers and welcomed some newcomers in third year playing for HCWAFC for the first time. It allowed us to gauge members’ strengths and weaknesses that we could progressively work on each week and allow members to find their preferred position on the pitch.
Combining training with other colleges was one of the highlights of this football year as it encouraged more players to train, meant that we could focus on different skills and tactics within training sessions and also made training very sociable getting to know other girls from different colleges. In addition to this, our mixed training group meant that we could ask each other for help with numbers for weekend games if any team was running low. This demonstrated the great spirit and teamwork of all the players from different teams this year! We would like to say a big thank you to Castle’s Football ViceCaptain, Bella Ogier, for being so great with organising the joint training sessions this year!
In our first league match, despite losing 7-2 to St Mary’s, we started the season with a very strong performance. The problem was the lack of players as we only managed to get seven players when we needed eleven. The season was, unfortunately, characterised by cancelled matches due to lack of players from not only our team, but other teams in our league which was a huge shame. Even though we did struggle to get 11 players together for many weeks, cancelled matches did not help with morale for those players that were very enthusiastic to play. For this reason, we continued to hold regular training sessions every week in which we had a good turn out and it led to us combining with Castle and Chad’s football teams for training sessions as they also struggled with numbers.
However, our strongest performance was our win against Collingwood B Team in November, with a 3-0 victory. This was our biggest turn out for a team where we managed to get 11 players out on the pitch. Despite the struggle for numbers, we managed to finish third in our league!
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Captains Georgia Earing and Georgie Gorvin Treasurer Stephanie Kenna Social Secretaries Elouise Brookes and Stephanie Kenna
Hatfield Record 2020
First game of the season, against St Mary’s, for Hatfield Women’s Football team
Our training sessions paid off regarding the interplay in midfield, one-touch football and increased communication between our defending players. Sadly, we will not be able to pursue the 7-aside league that normally takes place at the end of Epiphany Term due to COVID-19, nor the football tour that we were excited to do this year. However, it has been a pleasure to captain HCWAFC this year, despite the difficulties we faced in recruiting players. Hopefully, we can be more successful next year!
Kim Ninh, Harriet Grimsey and Naomi Harrison for their brilliant commitment and enthusiasm, as well as encouraging their friends to join training. Another shout out must go to Zoe Rucker, Mia Connor and Katie Van Riper who also played brilliantly this year. I look forward to having an Old Girls’ Reunion at some point in the near future because once a member of HCWAFC, always a member!
I would like to give a special shout out to the Exec Team, and also to freshers,
Club Captains
Georgia Earing and Georgie Gorvin
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Hockey Club
Hatfield Men’s Hockey Team 2019/20
Hatfield Hockey Club had another successful season in 2019/20. The year started with an influx of eager and talented first years, keen to play a high level of hockey. The high participation levels, training intensity and team atmosphere visible from the first training session boded well for the season ahead. The dedication to training paid off with both the men’s, women’s and mixed team delivering strong 68
performances week after week. Team spirit remained high on and off the pitch, with team bonding nights organised to help the whole Club integrate. This camaraderie between players helped even more during matches as demonstrated through the individual team’s successes. The men’s season, led by Captains, Charlie Stilwell and Ben Watkin, was a tumultuous
Hatfield Record 2020
one for the men in yellow and blue. The team’s early season play exuded a lack of tactical vigour, however a rigorous set of training sessions run by Gregory Tyler soon instilled the squad with a feeling of tactical superiority in the competitive college sphere. Despite a narrow defeat to eventual league winners Collingwood, the side’s chemistry and level of performance continued to grow week on week. The best form of attack was, surely, to develop an excellent and well-organised defence and sure enough, a mid-season adoption of the half court press revitalised our playing fortunes. Whilst Angus ‘The General’ Stahelin provided a bedrock for the team to fall on at the back, veterans in the form of Rob Sullivan and Will Hayward, worked tirelessly up front. A top five league finish remains a fair reflection of the team this
One cannot help but wonder if this group of players could have written a fairy-tale ending to the cup dream of yester year. Pundits will surely mull this question for years to come.
year, however one cannot help but wonder if this group of players could have written a fairy-tale ending to the cup dream of yester year. Pundits will surely mull this question for years to come. The women’s team season was exceedingly successful on and off the pitch, a triumph if you will. Captain, Fenella Slimmon, proved a great fit for the role from the get-go, providing strong leadership skills and well organised training sessions. After being promoted last season to the Premiership, it was a great achievement to win a closely fought battle for second place against Grey, finishing only a few points behind Collingwood. This was largely due to a strong intake of first years into the team this year, notably our leading goal scorers, Sophie Dyason and Emma Behrens. Early in the season, the team’s cohesiveness and passing proved to be our weaknesses, however we were able to improve on these throughout the season. The season was characterised by consistently strong performances, leading to ten wins, notably a 10-0 win against Mary’s and six consecutive wins in a row to finish the season. A special mention must be made to our goalies, Sophie Dutton and Elly Maddock, who did well to keep our opponents scoring to a minimum. Similarly, for the men’s team, it was disappointing to not have the chance to take on Collingwood in the Cup however it is all to play for next season! Whilst it was a shame that the hockey season ended abruptly, we are sure that Hatfield Hockey is in a great position to carry on excelling next year. Though it is sad to see many committed players leave, it is exciting to be welcoming new players for the 2020/21 season.
Rob Sullivan Club Captain 69
First match of the season for the Hatfield Mixed Lacrosse team
Lacrosse Club Hatfield College Lacrosse Club has had a somewhat volatile season this year. Battling against the turbulent weather of the North East, the Club faced a large number of cancellations of key fixtures, consequentially effecting our ranking in the college table. Nevertheless, a committed core of the team skilfully drew 5-5 against Josephine Butler in November 2019, countering some of our previous losses in the season. Further success in the Floodlit Cup exhibited the Club’s first win of the season, triumphantly scoring 13 goals against John Snow’s defence. The fitness and skill of the team was unrivalled, seeing the Club through to the quarter-finals. Unavoidable circumstances unfortunately prevented the Club from fielding a team for the following floodlit game scheduled against Josephine Butler. The misfortune of this was sharpened by the draw against the team earlier in the season; the Club certainly had the 70
capability to secure a place in the semifinals. A narrow defeat on Hatfield-Castle Day was a further highlight in the season for the Club, where the most committed players showcased the College’s teamwork. Although Castle won, it was certainly an enjoyable means of participating in college varsity. Demonstrating further commitment to college life, the Club also featured as the photo for March in the Hatfield College Charity Naked Calendar. Even though the season was somewhat turbulent regarding success in matches, the accomplishments made in the Floodlit Cup, alongside increasing the number of Hatfield lacrosse players certainly places HCLC in a strong position for the next season.
Yasmin Hatton Captain
Hatfield Record 2020
The Hatfield Netball B Team
Netball Club HCNC has had yet another exciting season across all three teams. The A Team has kept its place in the Premiership League. The squad welcomed some new players, from both first and second year, who have earned their places through some stellar performances. The A Team results this season are a reflection of the tough competition within their league, often failing to reflect the players’ talent, hard work and commitment. Having said that,
out of 11 matches played, they achieved four very strong wins, with a highlight being a 30-6 win over Cuth’s B’s and a well-fought 25-23 against Cuth’s A’s! As Captains for the A Team, Emily ThorntonWood and Lily Denham, have made valuable contributions to HCNC. They fostered a positive environment in which the A’s improved in both ability and team spirit throughout the year. They wish to pay a special tribute to Harriet Grimsey, 71
the player of the season. The A Team has continued to play with enthusiasm, grit and determination. The B Team started the season with a completely new intake of players, primarily consisting of freshers. Academic and other sporting commitments clashed with training, initially inhibiting the team’s performance in matches, as players had hardly played together; the season did not get off to the best start. However, the B Team refused to accept defeat so easily. As players became better acquainted with one another, practiced more together, and the team filled positions which had previously been missing, the season concluded with several wins. A particular highlight was the B Team’s final match in which they won against Collingwood C’s. Captains, Matilda Denbow and Caragh Taylor, have been dedicated leaders throughout the year, bringing the team together as a united front. The C Team continued to thrive this year. With a large turnout of freshers at trials, the team was spoilt for choice. Although they have had a turbulent season, with as many losses as wins, they dominated in each of their victories. Some of their best wins were 30-4 against Mary’s and 27-8 against Stephenson. The introduction of some hard-core fitness in training sessions was not a popular choice, but it paid off in matches. The C’s have kept in high spirits throughout the season, even during a match played in which they endured Storm Dennis. The season was topped off by some pints in the new Maiden Castle Bar, despite being its only customers! Daisy Shepherd-Cross and Veronica Parr have been excellent Captains, spreading their enthusiasm throughout the team, during training and matches. HCNC has been a physical and emotional rollercoaster filled with success, disappointment, improvements and injuries. All three teams have demonstrated 72
resilience and sportsmanship throughout. I hope players continue to play during their time at Durham and beyond because netball has always proved a game which develops genuine bonds between people, both as players and individuals.
Niluka Perera Co-Club Captain
Pool Club The Pool Club has had one of its most successful years ever, in spite of the season being abandoned. The C Team romped to a second place finish in Division 2, gaining the team automatic promotion to the promised land of Division 1. This was thanks to Harry ‘the Helicopter’ Fluck and James ‘the Propane tank’ Petley who finished first and second respectively in the Division 2 individual stats. The B Team finished fourth in Division 1 earning them a chance at promotion premiership. This team deserves extra praise as it is comprised entirely of baby-faced freshers and youthful second years – bravo! But, the single best team improvement has to belong to the A Team, who despite playing in the Premiership, amongst the crème de la crème of Durham College Pool, massively improved on our ninth placed finish last season, finishing a breath-taking eighth place. Well done lads, well done. Along the way to this beautiful conclusion the A’s produced two 7-balls, one by me against a very sad John’s student and one by Captain Ben ‘beanbag’ Taylor against a distraught Mary’s player.
Joe Mckeon President
Hatfield Record 2020
Turnout for rounders at Whinney Hill, Saturday morning of Freshers’ Week 2019
Rounders Club The Rounders Club report is a tricky task when you consider the fact that no matches have yet occurred this season. This is usually not quite true due to the Hatfield-Castle Day match, but this year even that had to be cancelled! I will, however, take James Lawton’s, our previous Captain’s lead, and begin with a summary of last summer. We have an A and a B team for Rounders. I am not sure anyone understands the reason for this - there are no try-outs and no team selection. Maybe many years ago, long before my time, this sport was taken a lot more seriously. My best guess would be that it creates many excuses to meet up as a group in the beautiful Durham summer sun and enjoy a game (and maybe a drink). Last year the “A” Team came third in the Premiership. Two wins, one draw, two losses. About as middle of the road as you can go. The “B” Team only lost once and won Division 1. I am not even sure if teams
are promoted in College Rounders? At the end of the season we said farewell to the previous Exec and elected the leaders for this season. Hannah Davis formed part of the Petley-Davis CaptainTreasurer tag team that has also worked so well for Ultimate Frisbee. We also have Lawrence Hill as Vice-Captain, Ella Bicknell as our Coach and Georgia Earing as the Social Secretary. The only game played so far this year was a small event during Induction Week this year. The Club put on a match for the freshers on a cold Saturday morning and I think most were very pleased with the result. The Facebook page for the Club has now reached over 100 members and I am sure we will have success once exams are over.
James Petley Captain 73
Hatfield Rugby Club A Team scrummaging down against Mary’s in Floodlit Competition match on their way to a 63-7 victory
Rugby (Men) Coming into this season, off the back of a last year’s Floodlit Cup win, the target for the year was simple: retain the Floodlit Cup at all costs and carry on our dominance of the college rugby arena. Despite a promising intake of freshers and the return of some old faces from years out abroad, the season got off to a shaky start with a pre-season loss to the Newcastle Agricultural Society, a tough opposition, followed by another loss to Mildert early on. However, this was to be the last of the losing for a while. The coming weeks saw this Hatfield team emerge from the ashes with an electric back line and a backrow to be feared, with a convincing 74
win over a strong Collingwood side 28-12, their first league loss in three seasons, followed by the destruction of St Mary’s 63-7. Towards the end of Michaelmas Term, with Castle’s ban lifted and the Hatfield team gaining momentum, the boys entered the Christmas break with a solid 50-point win over Castle, and sitting first in the top division table. This first term also saw our Banditos team play some tough fixtures including a Floodlit Cup draw against St Mary’s A’s where the Banditos left no prisoners against a confident A Team. Despite being only 3-0 at half time, Mary’s managed to
Hatfield Record 2020
With an intensity not seen for some time, the boys entered the most ferocious game of rugby they had played all season, displaying line speed and aggression that would have struck fear into any team.
pull away as legs began to tire, but the fight never left the Banditos with the game finishing at 17-3, a result to be proud of. An incredible achievement given this Mary’s team faced our A’s the previous year in the Cup semi-final. Reflecting back on this term, it would be remiss if we did not get down in writing the fact that our wizard of a scrumhalf, Nick Whitehead, managed to hit the bar off a left-footed drop goal, a moment to be remembered. The start of Epiphany Term saw our sights set on the quarter-final draw with Van Mildert; after witnessing the Mildert boys in action, the team determinedly undertook two weeks of gruelling prep including sessions in the boat shed, bear crawling in the dark through waterlogged pitches and ice baths. With an intensity not seen for some time, the boys entered the most ferocious game of rugby they had played all season, displaying line speed and aggression that would have struck fear into any team.
It was open season for Ollie Daniels as he consistently tackled down the poor Mildert ball carriers. After an early try from the forwards, several more followed with Hugo Ward, Lachie Neville and Barney Baker following a subtle Barney Sampson grubber into the corner. A gruelling 24-0 win over Mildert, a crucial result in front of a monumental crowd of Hatfielders and alumni. With the bar now set, next up was Grey College in the semi-finals. Despite having already dispatched Grey twice by over 30 points, there was an inkling it would be a fresh Grey side that had been hiding from us all season after their defeat in the Floodlit Final last year, so there was to be no underestimation. On a suitably wet Friday night, with the horizontal rain reducing the voltage of our backline, the hard graft was left to the forwards to grind out a strong 17-3 win. With the extra-long second row, George Figgis grabbed a try as well as others, leaving Grey with only an early penalty to show for their efforts in the pouring rain. The remaining weeks of the term saw the focus shift away from the league in favour of resting bruised and battered players, with the Final to be played against Collingwood in the last week of term. However, as the date neared it was not to be, with all fixtures cancelled due to COVID-19. A heartwrenching circumstance that no one could have predicted, although it has allowed for ample reflection of the year gone. A fantastic year of rugby has been played with commitment shown from all members of the squad from the Banditos to the A’s, a true whole team effort. This squad feeling was reflected on the social side and sets the Club up well to progress into next year, with new leadership, new freshers, and an even stronger desire to retain the Floodlit Cup.
George Orme Club Captain 75
Running Club In the second academic year since the inception of the Hatfield College Running Club, it has already developed strong character. From inter-collegiate Park Run races, 1,500 metre relays, to a HatfieldCastle showdown, there has been plenty for the 74 members to get involved in. Currently in fourth place out of the 16 colleges for the total inter-college race totals, strong regular performances from Elouise Brookes, Alex Down, Alana Mann, Georgina Gracey and Ella Targett have been crucial. A highlight was the moment when, in the 4 x 1,500 metre relays, Andrew Milligan displayed his remarkable engine in the first leg to run the fastest lap by 17 seconds. Strong times from Freddie Bloomfield, Georgina Boyd-Moss and Luca Pittalis also gathered important points. Despite only trailing 21 points behind Castle in third place, Hatfield’s true colours flared on 22 February when we convincingly defeated Castle in the annual Hatfield-Castle Day sporting showdown. Demonstrating the hard work and talent of the current members, our incessant race to pursue a top three college rank continues as we gradually narrow the gap.
Luca Pittalis Captain
Squash Club Having been promoted to the top division for this year, the Hatfield men acquitted themselves well against some of the University’s best squash players. Although
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in the face of strong opposition we did not win many matches, there were some good individual performances from old and new members of the Club alike. This year saw a strong turnout from the freshers, who bolstered our numbers for some important games and showcased the depth of talent in the squad. Participation increased this year thanks to the purchase of some new equipment for the Club, which will serve it well for years to come. Overall it was a fun year and people enjoyed both the social and sporting sides of squash. On the women’s side, the Captain, Genevieve Hull, greatly appreciated the support of those who consistently played in the matches and showed commitment to the team. This allowed them to have a very strong team this year. The Captain would like to thank the women’s most improved player, Aurelia Waltham, for her contributions this year. The President and Men’s Captain remains the same for next year and the next Women’s Captain is Millie Wink.
Charles Gee President & Men’s Captain
Tennis Club The A Team, having been promoted into the Premiership Division, took a few games to find their feet, but finished the season mid- table after some strong wins over Mary's and John's. The B Team had a fantastic season finishing top of their division having not conceded a single match. We very much look forward to building on these successes in the 2020/21 season.
Poppy Metherell Captain
Hatfield Record 2020
Ultimate Frisbee
Hatfield Freshers’ Ultimate Frisbee Team, celebrating second place in Freshers’ Tournament
Knowing that, in terms of results, you simply cannot improve on the performance of last year’s season is certainly not an easy position to be in as a new captain. HUF ran away with the league for 2018/2019, winning every single game on the way. Furthermore, when looking at the A Team photo in last year’s Record I can see that only two faces, one of them being my own, are still around Hatfield. After our 13-3 loss in the first game of the season to Josephine Butler - one of the favourites this year - we knew that a rebuild was necessary. Fortunately for me, this rebuild has been made especially easy by the number of talented and enthusiastic freshers that have joined the Club this year, as well as the progression of several key players in their second year. We managed to reach the final of the Freshers’ Tournament within the first couple of weeks. Hatfield Ultimate has also been expanding into the larger University field as these players have started to attend the DU training sessions at Maiden Castle. I am proud to say that six
Hatfielders have represented the University this year including two players selected for (COVID-19 permitting) nationals, Edward Spinks being the only first year in the squad. With this talent added to the Club, both the A and B teams have found success, particularly towards the end of the season. Each team still has one game to play but the current standings put the A team fifth in the Premier League, with the potential to reach third if the final fixtures go our way. The B Team has secured promotion this year! They sit in second place and could win Division 2 on the final day. I would like to thank Zhen Wei Chew, our JCR VP-Discipline, for his excellent leadership and encouragement of this team. I have great faith that this Club will consolidate the successes this year and will be pushing near the top again next year. Last year also saw the first ever Hatfield Ultimate Frisbee tour! Expertly organised by Ben Taylor and Morgan Thomas, HUF went on a trip to York after exams. This was an excellent trip that culminated in a match with York University. What started as quite a serious affair (York brought a scoreboard with them) suddenly became a friendly when the score reached 7-1 to Hatfield (at which York stopped updating the score!). It is good to know the level of talent we can produce within this small team in a small part of Durham! I would like to end this report by thanking my excellent team for this year. Hannah Davis has been a superb Treasurer and teammate (also see Hatfield Rounders…), Zhen Wei Chew an inspiring B Team Captain and tactician and Jamie AlbaDuignan has been organising fun and friendly socials all year, and hopefully another tour. Everybody HUF!
James Petley Captain
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College Societies
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Hatfield Record 2020
Baking Society Although it was only founded this year, Hatfield Baking Society has had a very exciting year. We aimed to create a place where people could come together in a relaxing environment to bake and enjoy each other’s company. University can be a stressful time, and at Baking Society we believe that taking an hour break to chat with friends and fellow Hatfielders and bake some delicious treats, will definitely help with this stress. We have baked a variety of goods this year, including cakes, cookies, biscuits, brownies and lots more. Additionally, we have collaborated with Welfare and other societies (including Circle of Pride) to create themed nights for those societies; these have gone very well and we hope to continue them. As a new society, we were continually growing and changing throughout the year, and trying to find the best possible way to
Baking Society: Products of a typical Baking Society evening
utilise our sessions and to attract new members. It has been a very productive year in this regard, and we hope that we will continue to grow and perfect the way we run sessions into the future. Despite some mishaps - including some very burnt Christmas cookies and a slightly over-excited smoke alarm – it has been a fantastic first year for Baking Society, and we hope next year will be just as, if not more, successful. Finally, we would like to thank all of our attendees, both regulars and those who just dropped by, for participating and making Baking Society such a nice place to be on a Saturday evening.
Josephine Learoyd Co-President 79
Chapel Choir
Hatfield Chapel Choir at Newcastle Cathedral, October 2019
The Choir enjoyed a successful tour in Northern Italy in August (see page 82), and whilst we were sad to bid farewell to those long-serving members who were graduating, there were many fresh-faced new singers ready to take their places. In early October, a fine range of singers was auditioned and appointed to form the Chapel Choir of 2019/20. Only a few weeks into the Michaelmas Term, the Choir travelled to Newcastle Cathedral to sing both Eucharist and Evensong whilst the Cathedral Choir were on half-term. We sang some wonderful music by Lassus and Stanford in the
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intimacy of the beautiful Quire. The Service of Remembrance this year took place in a packed Chapel with all Common Rooms present; it was poignant and reverent. Music included Harris’ Faire is the Heaven and Guests’ setting of the short poem For the fallen. Throughout term, the Choir had sung weekly Evensongs and new fortnightly Complines featuring a wide range of music, from Lassus and Gibbons to Howells and Bairstow. The Choir also performed in the successful Hatfield Music Society Freshers’ Concert, in which they performed the E.J. Park arrangement of the local folksong
Hatfield Record 2020
Waters of Tyne, which was specially commissioned for the Choir. The term had flown by and both the Advent Carol Service and both Nine Lessons and Carols services were upon us. These were both musical feasts including MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn and Wilberg’s Ding! Dong! Merrily on high! They were well attendedfollowed by the Choir singing at the traditional Christmas Formals.
their continued support. Most of all to the Chaplain, Anthony Bash, who has been a tremendous support, as he is to so many Hatfielders. It has been a privilege to direct the Choir this year; the Choir and I look forward to what the next academic year brings.
The start of the Epiphany Term saw the Epiphany Carol Service, the appointment of our Choral Scholars from amongst the Choir, and the annual Melville Evensong, celebrating the founder of the College, David Melville. The Choir has enjoyed a thriving social life this year, connecting with each other at Formals in Hall and various socials that always lead back to the Sessions Table. Current members of the Choir were able to connect with former singers and organists as they returned to College for Reunion Weekend in February. Warmly welcomed by the Chaplain and the Master, all singers enjoyed a blacktie dinner in Hall and sang both Matins and Eucharist the morning after in the Cathedral. The annual Epiphany Organ Recital Series was successful in raising funds for future residencies and tours; we had a talented set of recitalists with widely varying programmes. Thanks especially go to the organists of Durham Cathedral, Daniel Cook and Joseph Beech; and former Hatfield Director, Tom Coxhead.
Miles MacLachlan
The Chapel is almost as old as the College itself. Every Hatfielder has been through the sturdy, Gothic doorway at one point in their life at College. The role of the Chapel Choir is to enhance worship in the Chapel – to create a warm atmosphere that fosters spirituality, and through music, articulate thoughts and prayers. My personal thanks this year to the Chapel Clerk – Charlie Gee, both Organ Scholars – Patryk Korczak and Anastasia Kell, and the Chapel Choir for their dedication and spirit this year, as well as the Master and the Hatfield Trust for
Director of Music
Hatfield College Chapel Choir Tour to Lake Como, Italy – Summer 2019 College Chapel Choir Tours are always an incredible experience and opportunity for all involved. Last Summer, the Chapel Choir of Hatfield College were graciously supported by the Hatfield Trust to visit Lake Como, in the Northern region of Italy, for a little over a week to sing a number of performances, including two recitals and a Sung Eucharist. The trip was a baptism of fire for the Choir’s new Director of Music, Miles MacLachlan, who was appointed in the weeks leading up to the summer vacation, but his ability to rehearse and conduct the Choir was skilful and reliable – the performances were to be a success. The first performance would be in the format of a formal recital in the Anglican 81
Hatfield Chapel Choir 2019 tour to Lake Como singing in the Anglican Church of the Ascension in Cadenabbia
Church of the Ascension in Cadenabbia, a short bus ride from our accommodation in Menaggio. Armed with a day and a half of rehearsals, the Choir performed a variety of styles of music to a jam-packed church; with music covering a huge period of time – from the Tudor Motet ‘If Ye Love Me’ by Thomas Tallis to a contemporary arrangement of the folk song Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron by John Rutter. A retiring collection saw a huge amount of money raised in aid of the church, as English-speaking natives and British holidaymakers seemingly flocked to the church – much to the merit of the resident Priest, Revd. Roger Williams, who did a huge amount of advertising throughout the summer leading up to the concert.
thought provoking, with the polyphony of the mass setting ringing in the acoustic of the church, and a wonderful sermon on “The Forms of Love: All Human” by Revd. Williams.
The Choir also had the opportunity to lead many of the congregation of the Church of the Ascension through a Sung Eucharist, with the Missa Brevis mass setting by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the anthem Salve Regina by Franz Liszt, and organ voluntaries played by our Organ Scholar, Anastasia Kell, and the church’s home organist. The service was a beautiful and
A final thanks again is reserved for the Hatfield Trust for contributing to the funding of the trip, as it would not have been possible without this support.
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The Tour was rounded off by a short Informal Recital in the Piazza di Garibaldi, in Menaggio where many friendly faces met over the week came to see the Choir perform in the square. The performance would prove challenging, as there was no rehearsal time in the venue – which was bound to be less forgiving than the acoustic of the church. The performance was well received by the gathered crowd, and the friendly and casual atmosphere was a refreshing and satisfying end to the performances of the week.
Kyle Kean (St. Aidan’s College)
Hatfield Record 2020
Hatfield College Charity Committee Hatfield College Charity Committee was established this year with the aim of increasing charity and fundraising opportunities in Hatfield. The Committee was established by Swarnim Agrahari, and she was joined by a team of nine more Committee members: Andreia TavaresSemedo and Anna Noble (Senior Charity Representatives), Ruby Debell and Zein Afieh (Toastie Bar Representatives), Charlotte Way (Treasurer), Rome Mary Estrella (Secretary), Theresa Sommer, Aida Rosnan and Natasja Enthoven (Junior Charity Representatives). In the first term, the Committee raised money for ‘Open Door North East’ through events like Awkward Formal and the Michaelmas Ball Raffle and Auction. ‘Open Door North East’ is a member of NACCOM, an informal network of agencies providing accommodation for migrants who have no recourse to public funds. In the second term, the Committee raised money for ‘Mental Health North East’ through Naked Calendar and Anonymous Valentine. MHNE works to improve and protect mental health services in the North East of England. We also ran the Toastie Bar throughout the two terms successfully with a wide variety of fillings, catering for non-vegetarians, vegetarians, vegans and those with a gluten-free diet. The Committee collaborated with Hatfield Welfare and Hatfield Communities’ Teams to organise Hatfield Inquizition to raise awareness and money for ‘Positive East’, a charity which helps people living with HIV/ AIDS. Hatfield College Charity Committee
helped two Hatfielders raise money for a DUCK expedition. The Committee also collaborated with Durham University Save the Children to raise money for the charity. We hope that what we have started this year can be continued in the future and that Hatfield’s tradition of charity work will continue to thrive.
Swarnim Agrahari Chair
We hope that what we have started this year can be continued in the future and that Hatfield’s tradition of charity work will continue to thrive.
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Part of the Rhythm Section (photo credit: Mateusz Jaworski, durhamphotographer.co.uk)
Kinky Jeff Sax Section at English Ball (photo credit: Mateusz Jaworski, durhamphotographer.co.uk)
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Hatfield Record 2020
Kinky Jeff and The Swingers Kinky Jeff and the Swingers remains Durham’s Premier College Jazz Band despite losing seven of its eighteen members at the end of last year. In 2019, we gained nine new members - eight of them freshers. We have performed 20 gigs over the Michaelmas and Epiphany terms, including Michaelmas Ball, Lumley Ball, Hatfield-Castle Day and playing after Hatfield Formals. In Epiphany, our Producer, Juliane Deil, organised the annual Kinky Jeff Reunion where we had a visit from one of the original members from 17 years ago! We took part in College charity events, including the Naked Calendar and a photo to raise awareness for the Men’s Mental Health Campaign. We organised our own gig at the DSU to raise money for the production of a Kinky Jeff CD, which we will be recording later in 2020, so stay tuned! Our last CD was recorded in 2007 so we are very excited to work on this. We will take this opportunity to thank the Hatfield Trust for funding this project and last year’s tour. Our Musical Director, Ollie Stockley, has been leading the Band to new heights with the introduction of five new Big Band pieces, all challenging in their own way - aiding the improvement of the Band’s musicality and potential. Lydia Rae Stephenson, this year’s President, has produced a Constitution for Kinky Jeff, allowing the Band to adopt a more serious status within the University. It has also facilitated the sustainability of
the Band’s finances, function of gigs and auditions, and clarified Executive roles to aid the operation of the Band. She has channelled her efforts into online publicity through Facebook, more than doubling the amount of page likes (412 to 864) by posting photos of the Band taken during a performance in November 2019. This has resulted in an influx of gig offers and has paved the way for a healthy reputation of Kinky Jeff and the Swingers. Unfortunately, we will be losing three extremely valuable members of the Band at the end of this year: James Petley (Baritone Saxophone, fourth year), Joe Dugas (Tenor Saxophone, third year) and Juliane Deil (Piano, third year). These members have all held Exec roles in Kinky Jeff including President and Musical Director so we will be devastated to say goodbye. On a happier note, our Tour Secretaries, Harry Fluck and Sam Goring, have been successfully organising our annual tour - this June we hope to head to Germany to end what has been, ultimately, an exciting, challenging and kinky year. (Editor’s note: unfortunately the planned tour had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 emergency).
Lydia Stephenson President
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Lion Theatre Company
Mercury Fur
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Hatfield Record 2020
This year, Lion Theatre Company was ready to build on our previous year’s success and enter the new academic year with the buzz straight from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In our first term, we staged If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You by John O’Donovan, directed by our President, Francesca Davies-Caceres. Set in Ireland, yet staged in Alington House community centre, our Production Team built an entire rooftop, including guttering and a chimney. This helped encapsulate the chilling environment that this two-hander created through its 75 minutes running time. The play was a renowned success, touching on troubling themes of masculinity, sexuality, and the effects of the economic social climate on the working class. The importance of creating social theatre that mirrors the contemporary landscape of society was an important element of our choice of programming this year as a theatre company. We wanted to allow room for discussion amongst our audiences for issues that affect those of us within the student body. With that in mind, and a focus on supporting fellow students’ work, we took Kane Taylor’s He Never Married to Durham Drama Festival, winning an award. A story of coming-out portrayed by a grief-stricken protagonist who uncovers a family secret, whilst looking at the homophobic attitudes upheld within society. This was achieved through the use of a soundscape and clippings of news headlines throughout the twentieth century as the main set piece. As a theatre company, we were exceptionally proud to showcase this production in the Mark Hillery Arts Centre.
The controversial play paints a dystopian London, where two brothers host ‘torture’ parties for the wealthy, who pay them in ‘butterflies’. Priestley’s production explored the limits of how far humans will go in order to protect themselves, and the gruesome reality of immoral fantasies. The elaborate set was a massive feat for both the Production Team and Lion Theatre Company, as the complex paintings and backdrops involved huge attention to detail, making it a stand-out production of the year. To end the year off we had managed to secure a workshop with Ellie Keel productions, an award-winning theatre company that would have seen us collaborate with creators of the HOTTER Project. The workshop would have focused on how to create verbatim theatre through the use of movement, and exploring female sexuality. Unfortunately, with our last term cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to go forward with this and our end of year production. As a Society, I am exceptionally proud of everything we have managed to achieve this year, and I believe that we have set a solid foundation for the future thespians of Hatfield. Through Lion Theatre Company we have managed to engage many Hatfielders in various artistic outlets, both onstage and backstage. It has been an honour to serve as its President, and the growth of the Company in recent years is a testament to Hatfielders for all their talents and their dedication.
Francesca Davies-Caceres President
We were also excited to be part of the Assembly Rooms programming for the Epiphany Term. The newly renovated theatre allowed us to showcase the best of our onstage and backstage talents, with an elaborate staging of Mercury Fur by Philip Ridley, directed by Abbie Priestley.
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Lion in Winter Ball On 6 March 2020, 600 attendees enjoyed the highly anticipated Lion in Winter Ball. The Committee worked tirelessly to overcome various challenges, but with the help of such supportive College staff and the JCR, the event was an undeniable success! Inspired by the J.M. Barrie novel Peter Pan, guests were transported to Neverland for a night of nostalgia and lots of dancing!
The field kitchen in the tennis court marquee at Lion in Winter Ball 2020: the Master and the Chef team
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Ffion Morris led the Decorations Team to transform College into the island paradise as each room in Hatfield became a piece of the Neverland map. Guests entered through the gates to be welcomed by the Pixie Hollow, travelling through the starlit
Hatfield Record 2020
with laser tag, karaoke, mini golf, a bouncy castle, ball pit and a Wii games corner. Indeed, Matt Moran created a nostalgic evening of entertainment that I am sure many won’t forget! The success of last year’s app was continued by Ben Spinks, as attendees could request songs for the Silent Disco and ensure they could make the most of the Ball, enjoying all the entertainment we had to offer!
Survivors from Lion in Winter Ball 2020
clouds of the chapel arch to reach the Fairy Garden and Mermaid Lagoon. The Decorations Team’s extraordinary attention to detail did not go unnoticed and allowed for a truly magical experience. Guests were dancing ‘straight on til morning’ with a carefully curated array of musicians, organised by Rachel Doyle, ranging from Hatfield’s own Kinky Jeff and the Swingers to the headliner, Kristian Nairn (otherwise known as Hodor from Game of Thrones). Their hungers were quickly satisfied throughout the evening with heaps of portions of mac and cheese and pizza, and finished off with crepes! Maria Golden expertly organised these food stalls, as well as working with Will Green (College’s Food & Beverage Services Manager) to formulate a fantastic menu for our dining guests. When they were not eating or dancing, our guests were thoroughly entertained
Guests were able to look back fondly on the night thanks to the photography and videography planned by Livia Brunelli; her marketing plan ensured great hype in the lead up to the Ball. Great praise must also be given to Beth Fotheringham in securing sponsorship for the evening, and particularly to Taneisha Atkinson in expertly organising all of the Ball’s essential admin and emails! The night ran smoothly thanks to all of the thorough behind the scenes work in the lead up to the Ball. I am entirely grateful to the Committee for all of their hard work and contributions, not to mention Hattie Pandeli’s tireless supervision, alongside that of David Embleton and a team of security, to ensure that the night ran safely and according to schedule! We hope that all of our guests enjoyed Lion in Winter Ball this year, and cannot wait to see what the future brings for Hatfield’s most legendary Ball!
Anne-Marie Garrett Ball Chair 89
Performers at Hatfield Music Society Christmas Concert 2019
Music Society This year we have overseen many new developments in the Hatfield Music Society, with additional concerts, ensembles, and more casual performances. The COVID-19 situation put a hold on many of our plans toward the latter end of Epiphany Term and the entire Easter Term but I am confident that our Committee has laid the groundwork for encouraging music participation and performance in the future. We began first term with the annual Hatfield Freshers’ Concert, which featured 90
performances of many genres, from jazz classics such as Fly Me To The Moon to Lizst’s Sonetta del Petraca 104 and even featured original songs by one of our Hatfielders. Special thanks go to the Hatfield Chapel Choir for opening the concert with a trio of distinct songs from their repertoire. The Concert was enjoyed by an audience of 60 or so students, alumni, and guests (the biggest audience for a Hatfield concert in the past three years). It was really an amazing night for all involved and I thank the musicians who offered to perform, helped move tables before the Concert, and invited their friends! The next concert was Hatfield’s Inaugural Open Mic Night: an idea that I have always wanted to implement and finally had the opportunity to make it happen (special
Hatfield Record 2020
The Concert was enjoyed by an audience of 60 or so students, alumni, and guests (the biggest audience for a Hatfield concert in the past three years).
thanks to the Hatfield Bar for letting us use the area). It was well attended, with several students stepping up to perform. Special thanks to Full Score for dropping by to deliver some fantastic four-part tunes and Kinky Jeff for finishing the night on a funky high! I have no doubt that this casual style of concert is something the Music Society can use in the future and I look forward to seeing what the next Committee can bring. We followed this with the annual Hatfield Christmas Concert, featuring solos from opera, pop, and classical genres. The Concert also had some great ensemble performances from Hatfield Voices, a Hatfield folk band, and closed with a fantastic jazz trio that improvised their way through some Christmas classics. This unfortunately had to be the last concert of the year from the Society as the COVID-19 situation forced the cancellation of the Epiphany Term Concert and the planned post-exam Easter Concert and Open Mic Night.
Finally, the Hatfield Music Society was able to improve the music facilities in the College. We coordinated the replacement of the piano stool in the Music Room so students could comfortably practice. We also purchased a set of music books, from Disney to ABBA to musicals like Phantom of the Opera and Wicked so groups of students could jam in the Music Room, sing, or even start a performance group. The next steps would have been to purchase guitar hooks and drumsticks to slowly build up the opportunities available to casual student musicians. These will prove especially useful in future Open Mic nights and I hope the development of the music facilities will continue. My final thanks go to Kate Arnold, Concert Manager, and Melody Bishop, Treasurer, for their help and support this year! The concerts would certainly not have run as well and the facility improvements would have been a distant dream without their continued efforts. I have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with them throughout the year and I wish them all the best in continuing Hatfield Music Society’s work in the future.
Zhen Wei Chew President 91
SHAPED SHAPED has expanded its programme and embedded itself into College life this year through events beyond the traditional ‘talk’ format and greater engagement with blog articles. This year, SHAPED has also instituted the new role of Chair, which has facilitated communication within the team and record keeping for the future Exec. We have improved the accessibility and readability of our website (hatfieldshaped.com) to include pages dedicated to Durham University’s Careers & Enterprise Centre links and documents and greater engagement with the uploading of our events. We have dedicated the entirety of the Epiphany Term to opening our digital space to provide Hatfield students with information without needing to be at a physical event. This has been achieved largely through interview-style blog articles (such as ‘Internship Alternatives’ and ‘Revision Tips’) as well as our newly collated ‘Interview Bank’ that features past interview questions asked by current students about internships and graduate employment. This venture has been largely successful with the SHAPED blog, with our page visits quadrupling from the beginning of the year for the new Exec (March 2019) to the end (March 2020). We have begun many new events this year including an academic book fair, a networking workshop, and LinkedIn headshots. These have been very wellattended. Attendance and engagement for our traditional SHAPED events have also seen an increase. Special thanks go out to the Hatfield JCR Executive team this year for the promotion of our events and programme, and to Senior Tutor, Professor Anthony Bash, for his continued support and enthusiasm for the development of the programme. Further than this, we have continued to formalize our student mentoring programme to include regular 92
weekly drop-ins in the Michaelmas Term; we are looking to expand this further in the coming years.
Quinn Higgins Programme Coordinator
Voices Voices continues to provide a fun and inclusive environment for anyone who would like to sing. With the new academic year came an influx of new members who have been engaged throughout the year. The talented pianist, Paul Dirk, joined us and continues to be a vital asset in rehearsals and concerts. Two first year students, Emma Williams and Rosa Marks, joined the Exec and they highlight the active spirit of all our new members. James Petley has ensured Voices remains an inclusive and friendly environment through hosting a number of socials to bring us all together. Finally, huge thanks must go to James Everitt who has been a key member of Voices since it began in 2016, particularly through his engaging musical direction. Voices has developed a wide ranging repertoire this year, from choral to pop, musical theatre to Christmas. The Hatfield Music Christmas Concert provided a great opportunity for us to showcase what we had been working on and, as always, it was fantastic to be part of that event. In keeping with the festivities, Voices hosted ‘Carols at Hatfield’. This has become an annual opportunity for
Hatfield Record 2020
Hatfield Voices Executive Members, James Everitt, Chloe Sweetland and James Petley, in the Solarium, Prior’s Hall, after Intercollegiate Evensong in the Cathedral
everyone to come together and sing carols, regardless of whether they are members of Voices. In January, Voices joined 14 choirs across the University, including Hatfield Chapel Choir, for an Intercollegiate Evensong - this was a very special occasion, and a fabulous opportunity for Voices. As a small non-auditioned, all ability choir, the chance to perform in the Cathedral alongside the University’s top choirs was an incredible experience that will be treasured by all our members.
This has been an exciting time for Voices and the spirit and engagement of the Society is as strong as ever. As the year draws to a close and we say goodbye to a number of founding members, we leave with the knowledge that Voices will be in safe and enthusiastic hands.
Chloe Sweetland President 93
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Welfare Working with Team Welfare this year has been a really rewarding experience. The multi-generational team has been dedicated to ensuring Hatfielders are knowledgeable about support avenues and help make Hatfield home. This year, we have organised a range of campaigns that raised awareness about different topics and issues. This year’s success would not be possible without the support of the Executive Committee, wider teams and College staff. During our first term, we ran the Worksmart Campaign that centred on encouraging people to self-care. We organised regular events such as Tea and Toast, Smoothie Saturdays, Snacks in the Reading Rooms and Welfare Walks. In order to encourage self-care and breaks we coordinated events such as ‘Colour by Numbers’ and Fitness Fridays (with the help of Jemma Youngman, Sports and Societies Officer). After the exam period, we appointed three Senior Welfare Reps (Chloe Sweetland, 94
Welfare: 34% of men would be embarrassed or ashamed to take time off work for mental health compared to 13% for a physical injury (HCRFC, Men’s Mental Health Campaign)
Joe Burnage, and Alex Krajewski), three Senior Campaigns Reps (Pandora Wilson, Minnie Parker, and Livia Brunelli), and two Senior Livers’ Out Reps (Mia Connor and Bradley Sims). They have been an amazing senior team who have worked incredibly hard to organise impactful campaigns as well as running weekly drop-ins to support students. Simply, we would not have been able to accomplish such a successful year without them. The Welfare Team kicked off the year with a Livers’ Out Campaign, with a Livers’ Out handbook, podcast and tips online. During Freshers’ Week, the incoming freshers were introduced to student-led support and the Welfare Team through various talks, ‘chill’ events and a stall with ‘self-care packs’. We also led the parenting night in the first week of term where we matched second years (parents) to first years (children) through subjects, hobbies and interests. Michaelmas Term was incredibly busy for campaigns; we began with the Refreshers’ Week Campaign that incorporated a
Hatfield Record 2020
Movie Night, Bake-Off Screening, Baking Night and a Mindfulness Meander around Durham. We ran the Housing Campaign in line with other colleges that involved a presentation as well as informal ‘Property and Proper Teas’ drip-ins so people could come and discuss housing with Welfare Reps. The Junior Rep applications were of an incredible standard and we eventually chose Sanya Sharma (Treasurer), Thavish Annal and Naomi Harrison (Tea and Toast Presidents), Aida Rosnan and Andreia Tavares Semedo (Marketing and Social Media Reps), Lucy Wallbank (Livers’ Out Rep), Connie Brown, James Reid and Shauna Townsend (Campaigns Reps), Ashley Chew (Secretary) and Bran Blackshaw and Anna Noble (Disabilities Reps). The Wolfpack Campaign was the first as a full team; this brought awareness around looking out for friends whether in Durham or not, with a focus on nights out. It featured a themed formal (with a new Instagram frame and themed drinks!), as well as events such as postcard making. We also ran a new Disabilities Awareness Campaign that included a podcast and sharing posts of celebrities who identify as having a disability. We finished the term with the ‘12 days of Welfmas’ Campaign, which we focused around taking breaks in the summative season. We ran a Christmas Movie Night, Family Formal, Khristmas Karaoke, and Christmas Games to name a few, along with handouts of mince pies and candy canes. The first campaign of Epiphany Term was the infamous SHAG Week Campaign (Sexual Health and Guidance week), promoting sexual health to members of the JCR. We decided to incorporate more information about self-checking and being an active bystander to broaden the awareness of the campaign. Our Tea and
Toast Presidents came up with a ‘Tea and Toast Culture Night’ that was well attended and incorporated tea, spreads and snacks from across the world. The next campaign of the term was the Mental Health Campaign, #HatFeelGood that began with a focus on Men’s Mental Health. This campaign centred on outreach to men in Hatfield’s Sports and Societies to take a photo holding up a statistic on men’s mental health. We also approached various males in College to be part of a poster campaign of ‘If you have time to ‘x’, you have time to listen to/check on a mate’. There was lots of interaction during this campaign and it raised awareness of the need to get people talking about their mental health. The end of this term would have involved the Body Positivity Campaign, but unfortunately, due to unforeseeable events this could not go ahead. Throughout the year, drop-ins run by Senior Welfare and Livers’ Out Reps and ourselves, gave students a chance to talk about any problems they may have and to collect supplies or snacks. We continued the anonymous messaging service which allows support, or for supplies to be delivered completely anonymously. Thavish and Naomi organised Tea and Toast after every formal with the help of our wonderful volunteers. This year has been amazing for us and we are so grateful to those who engaged with Hatfield Welfare this year. It has come to the point when we must hand over our roles, with Jess Clark taking over the role of JCR Welfare Officer and the incoming Assistant Welfare Officer to be appointed later. Wishing Jess and the Team the best of luck for the next year, I am excited to see what they do.
Kelly-Ann McAulay JCR Welfare Officer 95
Guests comparing two Bordeaux wines at The Two Banks tasting session of the Hatfield Wine Society
Wine Society Hatfield College Wine Society is the latest addition to the Hatfield JCR. Anyone interested in wine, be it at a novice or expert level, is welcome. Our plan is to run various tastings throughout the academic year, introducing guests to new wines, explaining the mechanics behind familiar wines, but nonetheless ensuring everyone leaves each event having learned something new. The events are varied in price, themes, and level of speciality. The Society was approved at the end of Michaelmas Term and so we dived straight in with two events in the Epiphany Term. The first was The Diversity of Riesling, which sold out completely. Here we explored the many styles of wine made with the Riesling grape. After the Director's talk at the start, where the regions and classifications were explained, along with some basic principles of viniculture, the guests were given 96
five different Rieslings. The first three, presented by various members of the Exec, were all from Germany. They were ordered in increasing quality and sweetness, the third being a fantastic Auslese. The last two were from France and New Zealand respectively, to demonstrate the grape in different climates and conditions. The Society’s events will take this format in the future. The feedback was all positive, every guest saying they would recommend our events to friends. Our second tasting was The Two Banks, where we were lucky enough to have a guest speaker, William Gee, travel up from London and talk to us about Bordeaux. We sold out the 40 tickets five days before the event, which was a great marketing success. After the guests enjoyed a glass of Louis Roederer Champagne, William explained the various nuances of Bordeaux through five red wines, the final being a
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rather special 2005 Château d'Armailhac. The evening finished with a 2009 Sauternes, contrasting the five dry reds. William was incredibly engaging, balancing the bare bones of the topic with necessary detail. With seven glasses of high-quality wine, it was a rather packed evening (quite literally with 40 people in the Birley Room)!
wine, outlining the difference between Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and other styles. Following the huge success of our first two events, we are feeling the adrenaline rush and we are certainly aiming to push the boat out in 2020/2021 with more ambitious and exciting projects. We encourage Hatfielders and those in other colleges to come and give their support!
Our next planned event is From Beaune to Beaujolais, which will cover the different wines from Burgundy's sub-regions. We are also hoping to host a garden party tasting, which will focus on sparkling
Thomas Walker Chairman and Director
Hatfield Yoga and Meditation Society The Hatfield Yoga and Meditation Society was founded in 2018, and in these two years it has been active in encouraging physical, mental and spiritual wellness amongst the Hatfield community. Through our activities and weekly yoga sessions we have aimed to create a friendly space for people to feel comfortable to join in and feel a sense of belonging. This year we went further in our practices by trying out more advanced yogic techniques together and we progressed immensely. We stretched out of our comfort zones not only physically and mentally, but socially too, cementing new friendships across different years, learning to celebrate the joy of a meditative mind. Our weekly sessions also included a guided meditation and we shared our personal experiences with the whole group afterwards. Throughout the two years that we have been active, our members have reported an improved ability to deal with stress, a pleasant state of mind, and a lightness in
the body. The fact that such experiences are just an hour of yoga and meditation away, and can be shared so easily, are the reasons we created this Society in the first place, and we are delighted that this community engages not only with other people but enables each member to come closer to one’s own self. Other activities have included social events such as a get-together at the Pancake Café, walks around Durham, and attending local events like the Durham Christmas market, all of which have made us come closer as yogis and as friends. We hope that in the future years this Society will continue to share the healthy lifestyles of yoga and meditation bringing its benefits to more people’s lives, and encouraging everyone to include these practices in their daily routines.
Anubhuti Jain President
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Notes from the Hatfield Development Officer and Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust The Trust Office has seen another eventful year this year. With the retirement of Assistant Director, Cynthia Connolly, and the decision to recruit a full time Hatfield Development Officer and Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust, we have said goodbye to some treasured colleagues and welcomed a new one. Bringing with me a number of years working in advancement and alumni relations, I took up the post of Hatfield Development Officer in early March and was warmly welcomed into the Hatfield community to work with our alumni and friends. The 2019/20 academic year has seen the Trust award more than £20,000 in awards and grants to current Hatfield students. This has supported their development in a variety of ways from extracurricular activities such as drama, music, sport and societies to career and academic development whilst ensuring Hatfield remains an inclusive community for all students regardless of their financial situation. One such project of note was Lucas Pittalis’ trip to Mount Kilimanjaro (see page 105) funded by the Norman Richardson Award in partnership with the Rotary Club of Durham. We continued to develop our scholarship offering, supporting our Ramsay Burn music scholar through a summer placement (see page 112), funding dissertation research for our Gant scholar and welcoming our first Lioness scholar 98
in October (see page 31). Not to mention a number of Trust supported internships enabling students to take on a short research internship to add to their career and academic experience during their time at Hatfield. We are deeply grateful to all those alumni and friends who have supported the Trust and College over the last year, whether by volunteering your time, attending College events or giving to the College. You make our work at the Trust possible! In such unusual times as we are experiencing as I write this in late spring 2020, we invite our alumni and friends to connect with us on our social media channels and our Dunelm webpages (see page 134) to keep up to date with all our upcoming events, initiatives and news. While some of our traditional activities may not be possible for the time being, our focus continues to be on supporting our students and College community to the best of our ability and I personally look forward to continuing to work with you all in the Hatfield community.
Grace Norman
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Hatfield Trust Awards 2019-20
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Trust Grants Awarded 2019/20 Each year, the Hatfield Trust supports scores of students with awards to take up a range of opportunities to help in their continuing development. In the last year, over ÂŁ20,000 has been awarded as one-off grants to fund student projects in the areas of academia, sport, music, volunteering, drama and career development as well as enabling Hatfield to be an inclusive community by supporting student hardship.
This is just one of the ways the Trust supports Hatfield students (see page 98 for more information on the work of the Trust). Hatfield students can apply for funds throughout the year from the Trust, either individually or for group ventures. The following selection of reports shares some of the ways our students have benefited from this support in the last year.
Fund awarded per category 7000
6000
Number of students supported, individual and groups, approx:
290
5000
4000
3000 Average grant awarded in 2019/20:
2000
ÂŁ475
1000
0 Academic Development
Inclusive Community
Societies
Career Development
Music
Sport
College Environment
Other
Volunteering
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Harry Ashcroft among competitors at Siss National Ski Cross Championships 2019
Harry Ashcroft (General Trust Award) Undergraduate Programme, Modern Languages & Culture I returned in March 2019 from representing Great Britain in Crans Montana at the Swiss National Ski Cross (SX) Championships. All competitors took the first lift up the mountain, where the course was open for inspection. Here everyone essentially “snowploughs� the course to remove the fresh snow from the night before and to slowly inspect all areas of the course. With the help of your coaches, you figure out the quickest line for each turn and whether you should jump or compress the various gradient changes in the course. After inspection, each competitor is allowed a single training run before the heats begin. Usually you do this in pairs, but some decide to do the training run on their own or even in fours. This is just to help you see how the course skis when
you are going at full speed and to prepare you for the heats when you will be racing alongside three other skiers. Obviously, with only one training run allowed you want to make the most out of it, so whilst you want to race your training partner, you do not want to push the limit too much and therefore crash. Each competitor is seeded on their FIS ranking, so I was in the #74 bib out of 80 male racers. The race is comprised of heats of four skiers, with the first and second placed skiers in each heat proceeding through to the next round until there are just eight skiers left where a small and big final takes place. Consequently, there is a lot of pressure on each heat, as one small mistake will mean that you are out and your race is over. In my first heat I placed second so I qualified through to the next round. However, a mistake midway through my second heat took me from second place to fourth and thus knocked me out of the race. I sadly placed 60th out of the 101
80, which was hugely frustrating as I know I could have done better. Having said that the competition was extremely tough with the top three all having previously won on the World Cup tour. Even Armin Niederer who placed fifth at the Winter Olympics in 2018, could only manage a third place finish. The funding awarded to me by the Hatfield Trust enabled me to compete in the Swiss National SX Championships. Without such funding, I would never be able to afford the many logistical costs that each race presents. For instance, each race requires the purchase of flights, resort transfers, accommodation, ski pass and finally race entry fees, which all substantially add up! The award allowed me to gain more experience competing in Ski Cross at an international level. As I do not live in a ski resort and am only able to ski for a limited time each season, anytime spent on a proper SX course is hugely beneficial, especially when competing against skiers from Switzerland, France, Austria etc. who live in the mountains and ski almost every day of the season. So whilst I may not have done as well as I had hoped to, the experience gained from competing was invaluable.
Charlotte Bray (MCR Research Award) Postgraduate Programme, Theology From 8-10 April 2019 I attended the Society for the Study of Theology’s annual conference ‘Theology and Grace’ held at the University of Warwick. I was able to attend the conference thanks to the generous financial support of the Hatfield Trust. The conference was held over three days, during which I attended plenary addresses by prominent theologians such as Kathryn Tanner, Jenny Daggers, Emilie M. Townes, Philip Ziegler, Linn Tonstad, 102
Andrew Prevot and N.T. Wright. My PhD research explores the idea of sin in Catholic theological discourse, more specifically the idea of structural or social sin. Therefore, the theme of the conference was suited to my research interests as discussions around sin are often intertwined with discussions on grace. Indeed, differences around how one construes sin will often lead to differences around how one regards the presence and action of grace within history, which includes God’s salvific response to sin. Attending the various lectures and seminar papers was incredibly useful for my research. Even when the subject matter did not directly pertain to my topic, there was a wealth of interesting material which helped me to develop my wider knowledge as a theologian. Moreover, two of the plenary speakers attending the conference, Linn Tonstad and Andrew Prevot, are two theologians whose thought I have been researching for my thesis. They were both speaking on a plenary panel that reflected on the limits of the discipline of systematic theology. These two theologians are important for my research because they are prominent thinkers in queer theology and theological thinking around race. These contemporary theologians reflect upon the ways in which systemic racism, sexism and homophobia are embedded in societies. Tonstad and Prevot’s research is particularly important for my own research as, in their own respective ways, they both elucidate how racist, sexist and homophobic cultures can condition identity formation and selfhood, in particular one’s desires, values and will. Unjust cultures or the collective consciousness of a society can therefore shape individual consciousness. The conference was a rare and invaluable opportunity to hear them speak, especially as Tonstad and Prevot are Assistant Professors at Yale Divinity and Boston College respectively.
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The conference was also a valuable opportunity to network and meet with other academics and postgraduate students in my field to discuss our research. What was particularly useful for my personal development was the scheduled meeting of postgraduate students with the President of the Society. In that session we were able to ask questions regarding academic life, as well as gain valuable advice on pursuing a career in academia and on how to successfully present papers at conferences.
from a diverse range of backgrounds. For ten days, we stayed in Pristina to learn about Kosovo and its past as well as exploring the region through a variety of trips. I was excited to see Kosovo first-hand and learn more about a region of which many people have no clue of its existence or believed it was a war zone. Whilst tensions still exist within the region, the trip highlighted the past challenges Kosovo has faced and those that still need to be overcome in the future.
Georgina Gorvin (General Trust Award)
Whilst I encountered minor setbacks (such as having to fly from Greece to North Macedonia as Greece does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, and a cancelled flight due to bad weather), I arrived a day late, thankfully only missing an introductory lecture.
Undergraduate Programme, Politics Last summer, I was selected out of a pool of over a thousand applicants to attend the Kosovo International Summer Academy, held in Pristina, Kosovo. I was one of 55 people representing 28 different countries
As the Academy wishes you to create lifelong international friendships, I was lucky to have two roommates, one from Germany and one from America. Due to
Georgina Gorvin and other attendees at the Kosovo International Summer Academy, Pristina, 2019
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the intense nature of the course friendships were fostered swiftly and everyone quickly became close friends. The course was focused on peacebuilding in post-conflict areas as well as looking at diplomacy, leadership and negotiation through lectures from high-ranking officials, ambassadors, and professors. From speakers including the Former President of the Republic of Kosovo, the Former President of the Constitutional Court, the Head of the OSCE Mission and the Director for NDI in Kosovo, the talks gave useful insights into the society and institutions in Kosovo today. We also spent a day learning about etiquette, protocol and the nuances required in diplomacy. However, my favourite talk was a morning with Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, a distinguished human rights lawyer and prosecutor at the trial of Slobodan Milošević in International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Alongside the lectures, we were encouraged to explore Kosovo with organised trips and numerous visits into Pristina most evenings. We visited Prizren, Kosovo’s second city, explored the Drini River source and the Gadime Caves. However, the most eye-opening visit was to the City of Mitrovica, which is physically divided by a bridge and monitored by international police separating an ethnic Serb majority that functions largely autonomously from the rest of Kosovo. Here it was clear of the ever-present tensions between the ethnic Albanians and the ethnic Serbians. We also visited the parliament and met the Prime Minister, leading to our appearance on national television. Hours after our meeting, the Prime Minister resigned after being called back to The Hague for the third time on war crime-related offences. Not only was this extremely shocking, but this also helped highlight how the war is still very present for the people of Kosovo and its aftershocks are still being felt. 104
Through the support and funding of the Hatfield Trust, I was able to travel to Kosovo to enrich my learning whilst discovering the culture and history of a newly independent country. I have come away with friends from all over the world and travelled by myself in the process. I fully immersed myself in the summer school and it was one of the best experiences I could have ever hoped for.
Stephanie Kenna (First Generation Scholar Internship) Undergraduate Programme, Primary Education I am a first generation student and firmly believe that colleges should have a reputation for being inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of background or financial situation. Throughout the duration of the internship, I was tasked with improving the opportunities for first generation students and novices, to participate in Sports and Societies within Hatfield College. The primary focus of the internship was to make participating within these clubs as accessible as possible, whilst also establishing a presence as a first generation student who could be a point of contact for fellow students from similar backgrounds. This also involved organizing events that targeted members of the college community who may not feel able to engage in a club for various reasons, such as, but not limited to, their lack of previous experience or ability to fund the necessary kit. Glass Jar Painting This event was run on a Wednesday afternoon and was aimed at the students within College who would like to engage with a society that is not a sport. The event attracted 30 students over the course of three hours and was run with the support
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the University returns to normality. This allowed the Club to gain one new member who had never tried the sport before, with numbers predicted to grow substantially when the session runs again in the next academic year.
Glass jar painting session in the Art Room led by SCR Social Secretary, Christine Kent
of one of Hatfield’s SCR members. By organizing this session, I was able to talk to college members and found that a programme which supported societies other than sports would be welcome and appreciated. Cake as Art Another art event was planned and delivered with support from an SCR member. This session was aimed at destressing students during summative season through the medium of artistic expressionism. It presented an opportunity to talk to first year students and gain an interesting perspective of how accessible Hatfield Sports and Societies appear to current students. Funding for Re-Freshers’ Sport Sessions Whilst the success of these sessions was hindered by the flooded pitches and the disruption to the end of term, some students did benefit from the Trust money through the waiving of all participation costs - most notably through the payment of £50 to Hatfield Climbing Club. The Club was able to fund the cost of entry to the Durham climbing wall once in the Michaelmas Term and once more when
The award has helped me achieve a great deal of progress towards promoting inclusivity in Hatfield; there are many more plans to be put in place within the next term and next academic year, most notably, the Sign Language workshop. In terms of my own personal development, I have worked alongside dedicated members of the SCR and have grown in my own ability to organize and run events through College. Using the Trust money has also required me to enhance my aptitude for publishing events and creating advertisements, which were distributed throughout College and across social media. The Hatfield Trust has been an invaluable source of funding which has supported me in delivering my vision for novices and first generation students. The Trust’s commitment to financing such endeavours is one of the reasons that makes Hatfield the strong and dedicated college that I am proud to be a member of.
Luca Pittalis (The Norman Richardson Award) Undergraduate Programme, Biological Sciences The White Mountain: a Film about Climate Change on Kilimanjaro Obtaining a complete understanding of the implications of climate change and using this knowledge to reverse its detrimental effects through the use of natural climate solutions – the mass restoration of natural ecosystems to suck carbon from the air – is not just a nice idea: our lives may just 105
depend on it. Kilimanjaro emphasises the need for this action; its glaciers, which have inhabited its slopes since the end of the Pleistocene, are withdrawing faster than ever. By 2033, it is believed that the last of the snow will sublime into the atmosphere, exposing the barren rock beneath it to the sun for the first time in 11,700 years. Despite the myriad scientific papers and journals – and even news articles – that have covered this story, I failed to find any documentaries or films that talked about it. I wanted to find out what was going on; I wanted to see it for myself. In a time governed by fake news and Cambridge Analytica scandals, I just wanted the truth. In late August 2019, I went to Moshi in Tanzania and began my ascent up the mountain. My plan was simple: to ask the guides whether they had noticed any differences in the ice sheets and to make a short film about it. Fortunately, my guides included Eden and Joseph who had summited Kilimanjaro over 200 and 300 times respectively – they knew the mountain better than anyone. There is no doubt that Kilimanjaro is a unique place. At the summit (or, as Eden referred to it, ‘the office’) there is less than half the amount of oxygen as at sea level and it is therefore incompatible with human habitation – all you see are glaciers etched into the sloping horizon as the rock falls away from view into the clouds. My experience, and film, were made possible by the Hatfield Trust, who referred my application for a travel award to the Rotary Club of Durham who awarded me the Norman Richardson Award. Since I was a young child, I have wanted to make natural history documentaries; I started making films when I was 11, but this one was different. It had a message that I wanted as many people as possible to hear. Forging your way into any career is 106
difficult. In my first year at university, I had reached out to a number of producers, with my CV and films. Despite at times feeling like I was making progress - getting work experience from the executive producer of Human Planet, Dale Templar, and ex-head of the BBC Natural History Unit, Alastair Fothergill, all these opportunities had subsequently been cancelled because of their busy schedules – it is a difficult industry to get your foot in. By writing, directing, filming and editing my own video on a topic that had not been covered before, I challenged every possible aspect of my filmmaking skills. It has also put me in contact with many exciting figures in the wildlife filmmaking world - I have been in correspondence with Sir David Attenborough by letter, discussing the most effective method to convey the message in my film. Whilst I am aware that this is not a conventional way to spend your summer holidays after your first year at university, I hope that the award and the film that I made with it presents climate change ideas that have become half-forgotten within the ever-widening library of scientific papers over the last two decades. Even though my contribution in science communication is small and only to a limited audience, this is work that I would like to continue in the future. As we charge into another Michaelmas Term, the film and experience has enabled me to provide an example of my skills to wildlife film producers that says more than my CV ever could.
Abigail Priestley (General Trust Award) Undergraduate Programme, Modern European Languages & History Last summer, we took the production Hamlet, affiliated with Durham University Classical Theatre, to the Edinburgh Fringe
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On the Royal Mile: cast for Hamlet directed by Abigail Priestley at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019
Festival after a sell-out run at the City Theatre back in February 2019. We wanted to take this production to the Fringe in order to shed light on current discourses on mental health through an accessible art form: theatre. Our production of Hamlet does this: it presents a modern-day twist on the classic, inviting its audience into a haphazard and disorderly world to mirror the turbulence of Hamlet’s madness. It combines Shakespeare’s script and narrative with the experience of living with schizoaffective disorder, exploring the effects of attempting to ‘quick-fix’ Hamlet’s condition. The main obstacle of putting on a production to a professional standard at the Fringe is not only the high production
costs, including publicity costs, venue hire, insurance and props/costumes but also accommodation and travel costs. The total production costs were £1,669. The Hatfield Trust generously funded our full publicity costs, which covered the cost of our flyers, posters and leaflet programmes. I learnt from our experience that publicity is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of the production because it is a crucial way of getting an audience each night, especially when the Festival has over 4,000 different shows throughout the summer, making competition tough and flyering and word of mouth even more important. Without the award from the Hatfield Trust we would not have been able to cover the costs of our publicity and therefore our experience would not 107
have been as valuable or worthwhile without an audience to perform to and people to review and give feedback on our production. Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our version of Hamlet to a wider audience, but it also allowed myself and my team to get valuable experience, exposing us to the professional theatre industry. Personally, I wish to pursue a career in the dramatic arts industry as a director, and the experience of coordinating a show in this professional environment provided me with a better understanding of the industry and the organisation and planning required to put on a play at such a large festival. Organising theatre critics and reviewers to watch our production was very useful; it gave the opportunity to have people outside of Durham, other than friends and family, to provide an unbiased review of the play and give critical feedback which allowed me to make changes to the direction, particularly comedic parts of the play that were not as well received by audiences in Edinburgh as in Durham. For the rest of the cast and Production Team, the challenge of organising a national public event was a characterbuilding experience. As a cast we had to adapt our blocking and staging to a new theatre and learn to adapt and deal with the issues that we encountered with the venue, realising what went wrong and what needing changing for our audience at the Fringe. Gaining resilience and these problem-solving skills will undoubtedly help us in the future with our university studies and make us more well-rounded individuals as we enter the job-market in the future. Whilst at the Festival, we were also able to see a huge range of new types of theatre, especially gig theatre, which was creatively engaging and has given us ideas on how we can be more original and experimental with the theatre we put on as part of Durham Student Theatre.
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Isaac Rudden (General Trust Award) Undergraduate Programme, General Engineering The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a 3,022km race across central Australia, cruising at highway speeds using less power than a hairdryer; with over 50 teams from 24 countries competing in it is easily the largest and most exciting solar race in the world. Owen and I went out with a team of 14 other engineers from Durham University to race the solar powered car that we had been building for two years. Needless to say we were very excited. The race itself began on 13 October 2019, but the teams have two weeks in the pits of Hidden Valley racetrack to make final adjustments and test the car on the track before the race begins. In this time, I worked on finishing off the various electrical systems such as the battery pack and motor, while Owen worked on miscellaneous mechanical jobs such as fitting suspension while also working as
Owen Foo filing the new back irons for the motor (Photo credit: Jack Hillier)
Hatfield Record 2020
‘Ortus’ the Durham Solar Car, making its way south from Darwin (Photo credit: Owen Foo)
our media representative to get plenty of footage of the car and update our social media with progress! During the time in the pits, you form a strong bond with all the other teams from around the world, swapping spanners, fuses, and technical expertise. It may be a competition but there is a great sense of camaraderie between everyone; we all share the same very niche hobby after all! The calibre of engineer at an event like this is insane and it is a real treat to go between garages to see how other teams have designed and manufactured various parts. It is no wonder that Google and Tesla send recruiters to walk between the garages as well! The day before the race begins, everyone must do a qualifying lap to determine their starting position for the race – it is a big
event with members of the public coming to watch everyone race around the track. We placed 15th in qualifying out of the 50 or so teams, so we were feeling chuffed with ourselves! However, the real adventure began the following morning as the cars set off from Darwin Town Hall to begin the 3,022km journey. The race itself is a constant juxtaposition of dull, endless driving through the desert with high adrenaline overtakes of roadtrains. For the unaware, a road-train is a huge truck carrying about four times the amount that a UK lorry would – they sometimes end up 50m long! The rules of the race allow you to drive between 8.00am and 5.00pm each day, meaning wherever you are at 5.00pm is where you must stop for the night, in the middle of the Australian desert. This means 109
car off the road for an hour or so. In these cases, it is all hands on deck as everyone frantically tries to fix the car as fast as possible – the stress in these circumstances feels like it must take years off your life! We kept a steady 15th place throughout the race, making our way between the nine control stops spread across the route. However, at the end of the penultimate day, we made a pretty drastic discovery – our estimation for state of charge was completely off and had been for the entire race. While initially disheartening, we took it on the chin and geared up to take the final day by storm. With more than enough charge in the pack, we were able to drive at 80kph for pretty much the whole day, overtaking a Swiss team to take 14th place!
Isaac Rudden working on the Durham Solar Car electrical system (Photo credit: Owen Foo)
that the team must be fully self-sufficient to camp every night, spending each night with nothing but flat desert for hundreds of miles and billions of stars is a highlight of the trip! For the race itself I served as Race Strategist; essentially sitting in the back of the lead vehicle running simulations of the car to calculate our optimum cruising speed. Meanwhile, Owen was in the media vehicle getting photos, videos, and drone footage of the solar car as it cruised through the Outback. We drove fairly consistently throughout, with only two significant faults taking the 110
At 5.00pm on Friday 18 October, we reached kilometer 2,834 – just 180km shy of the finish line. This marked the culmination of two years of hard work and dedication from just a handful of brilliant young engineers. Despite not making the full distance, as the sunset over the horizon illuminating the array one last time, we were all smiling – proud of what we had achieved. This is a journey and an achievement that will stay with Owen and I for the rest of our lives. We’ve been privileged enough to take part in one of the most incredible engineering challenges in the world and now look eagerly towards the future, keen to get stuck into the next project!
Richard Sheng (Floreat Scholarship) Postgraduate Programme, Research Methods in Anthropology This is my fifth year being a member of Hatfield College and studying at Durham University. During my four years of undergraduate study including one
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to apply for the Master’s programme in Research Methods in Anthropology at Durham. Studying this specific Master’s programme is both challenging and enjoyable. The course offers me the opportunity to explore the most important anthropological theories and studies in the specialised realms that I am interested in. Moreover, it has covered most of the qualitative and quantitative research methods that are widely used in social science study, which I believe will be extremely useful for my future research use (although admittedly, some quantitative methods can be challenging and confusing for an anthropology student). Overall, Research Methods in Anthropology is highly beneficial for me to conduct future anthropological research and has already started to help me look at the topic “identity and diaspora issues among East Asian students in UK” from multiperspectives as my Master’s dissertation.
Richard Sheng, Floreat Scholarship holder and Resident Warden at James Barber House
foundation year, Hatfield College has supported me in many ways from offering essential academic support to creating an inclusive and diverse college atmosphere, which has made an international student like me feel at home. I finished my undergraduate study in Combined Honours in Social Science (International Relations, Anthropology, and Business) last summer and realised that I was not yet ready to say goodbye to Durham and Hatfield. Hence, along with my intention to pursue my interest in studying anthropology, I decided
Besides my academic achievement, being a Warden of James Barber House (JBH), the postgraduate accommodation of Hatfield, has been another great experience for me at Durham this year. Through this opportunity, I have achieved a bigger picture of how Hatfield is trying its best to meticulously look after its students by offering them all the support possible, academically and mentally, especially during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic; for instance, the College has sent extra housekeeping forces to JBH to carry out more regular cleaning operations. Last, but not least, I am also deeply appreciative of the openness of our College in giving an international student this important role. The College’s trust and confidence in me has inspired me, and will keep inspiring me in the future. I am truly grateful to have been awarded the Floreat Scholarship to allow me to spend this meaningful year at Durham. 111
I will keep improving myself to follow the College motto Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis in my future development.
Georgina Yeabsley (Howard Phelps Award) Undergraduate Programme, Sport Exercise and Physical Activity
Emily Whitewick (Ramsay Burn Scholarship) Undergraduate Programme, Music My first three months of my placement year with Nordoff Robbins have been amazing. My job is varied, exciting and has quickly confirmed that I would like to train as a Music Therapist after my undergraduate degree. My average working week is extremely diverse which has given me the chance to experience many different aspects of Music Therapy and charity work. I spend two days a week helping out in therapy sessions. On Mondays I help out in sessions for young adults with a mixture of disabilities and on Thursdays I help out in sessions for elderly people with dementia. Being part of these sessions has shown me how beneficial music therapy can be in the lives of the vulnerable and isolated. In addition to this, I have had the opportunity to help out with the organising and delivery of several successful events. These have included a tough mudder, pop quiz, Boxing dinner and our popular ‘Get Loud’ campaign which saw 12 concerts take place at the same time in 12 different cities across the country. I have also been able to get involved with some more administrative jobs within the Music Services Team that has given me a real insight into the hard work that goes into providing therapy sessions across the country. This placement has already taught me so much about work within the third sector and Music Therapy. The thing I have been struck by most so far is how important it is for me to work in a job that helps others and can make a difference in the lives of people less able than me.
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What an amazing six weeks spent in Lusaka, Zambia working for a charity called Sport in Action! I was coaching both netball and football throughout last summer at a placement site called Chipata. I was coaching a range of children from the ages of four to fifteen. The majority of the children I worked with were orphans or vulnerable, making the experience even more important for their development as well as my own. I used my knowledge and experiences from the past to coach many children. It was amazing to see the development of the children over the six weeks and I loved seeing the children use the skills that I had taught them; for me that was the most important objective and I felt that I achieved that throughout my six weeks. The Howard Phelps Award provided me with the most amazing opportunity. I was able to learn about different cultures, working with different people and learning more about myself. These experiences made me realise that you must be grateful for everything you have in life. The children who I was coaching had very little but they seemed to be the happiest people I have ever met. Coaching in Zambia was very difficult at the start; coaching styles were extremely different to those in England and the language barrier made it very hard especially with the younger children. However, after getting to know the children and the Zambian coaches I learnt a different way to communicate in order to coach my teams. This helped with my development as a coach; I feel I have benefited hugely from being in that environment and I feel I am a stronger and better coach.
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Coach, Georgina Yeabsley, with footballers at Chipata, Lusaka, Zambia
Being in Zambia teaches you different ways of living. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the culture, and the respect that the Zambians have for one another. In Zambia all the children have the utmost respect for the majority of adults and this is due to the culture they have grown up in. That was very important for me to learn as I realised that respect is so important in order for one to develop into a person people look up to.
This award helped me gain the most rewarding opportunity I have ever had and I would not have been able to travel to Zambia without the help of the Hatfield Trust, so I would like to thank the Trust for accepting my application. The experience has allowed me to see the other side of life and to appreciate the facilities, coaching, housing and opportunities that I have in my life. The people I met in Zambia were very special to me I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life.
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The 1846 Club Hatfield College was founded in 1846. Since then, thousands of students have become lifelong Hatfielders, remaining a member of our unique college community. The 1846 Club has been launched so that Hatfielders can continue to support College life through regular giving to the Hatfield Trust. By pledging to donate ÂŁ18.46 annually, quarterly, or monthly, you will ensure that Hatfield can provide the opportunities and experiences that our students need in order to make a meaningful difference in the world long after they graduate.
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There are four tiers of support: Member, Partner, Guardian, and Patron. Each tier comes with different benefits to donors to thank you for your generous support. Simply choose which level of support you would like to pledge to the trust and you will make a difference to the lives of current and future generations of Hatfield students. You can read more about 1846 Club tiers and benefits, and sign up to the Club through the Club webpage: dunelm.org. uk/hatfield-college/donations/1846-club.
Hatfield Record 2020
The Hatfield College Map
The Hatfield College Map shows a birdseye view of the main Hatfield buildings on the Bailey, the nearby Durham University estate, a list of the College’s Principals and Masters, and a cartouche explaining a brief history of the College. The original Hatfield College Map was hand-drawn on vellum in 2017 by our College Librarian, Kevin Sheehan, as a retirement gift for the outgoing Master, Professor Tim Burt. Hatfield and Manuscript Maps are pleased to offer signed prints, which help support the College Trust. The cost of a print is £30.00, with £12.00 from every sale going to the Hatfield Trust.
• First edition print run of 200, signed by the artist, dated, and numbered. • Printed on high-quality, 250gsm light cream paper with an antique ‘laid’ texture. • Print measures 297mm x 400mm. • 14” x 18” mounts (black or blue) can be added for £5, so it’s ready to frame. • International shipping available. For more information, or to order, visit ManuscriptMaps.com
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Hatfield Association The Hatfield Association is a community for all alumni and friends of Hatfield College, Durham University. The importance of a sense of belonging is at the heart of the famous Hatfield spirit. Once a Hatfielder, always a Hatfielder. Year on year our graduates go out in the wider world enriched by the Hatfield spirit to join the network of Hatfield alumni.
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Our alumni are an important part of the College community and, through the work of the Hatfield Association and the Hatfield Trust, they continue to make an active contribution to College life. Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis since 1846
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About the Hatfield Association Hatfield Association was established in 1946, at a time when the future of Hatfield College, Durham University was uncertain - this was the first time that Hatfielders came together and probably the finest proof of the legendary Hatfield spirit.
Our aim Our aim is to ensure we have a strong, active and engaged network of Hatfield alumni (graduates), to facilitate and build strong relationships with the College and to support its educational and welfare aims. To this end the Hatfield Association plays an active role in:
wish to join now we would be delighted to hear from you. Contact us via: hatfield.development@ durham.ac.uk If you are a member and would like to read previous electronic versions of our annual publication, the Hatfield Record, and to receive updates about our work and invitations to events, then please register for access to Hatfield Association’s own website: Register at: hatfield-association.co.uk Getting in Touch If you would like to find out more, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.
• organising annual reunions; • helping to connect members through regular updates and publications; • offering career advice for students through a partnership with SHAPED; • supporting the outreach programme for schools; and • playing an active role in all three common rooms supporting College development. Our Membership Our membership consists of thousands of Hatfield graduates, but we are always keen to connect with more! On accepting membership of Hatfield College as either an undergraduate or postgraduate student you are eligible to join the Hatfield Association by signing up and paying the lifetime subscription fee. If you did not join and pay your subscription whilst you were studying at Hatfield but
Read more at: durham.ac.uk/hatfield. college/alumni/associations Keep in Touch – Don’t Let Go! Once you have completed your university studies in Durham be sure to stay in contact with Hatfield after you have moved on from college by attending our reunions, keeping in touch with us or by visiting us in Durham again. You can also connect with us across our social media channels: @HatfieldAlumni @HatfieldAlumni @Hatfield Alumni HatfieldAlumni
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The President’s Reflections At the time of writing this article the country remains in the grip of the COVID-19 virus and lockdown is still the order of the day with the consequent disruptions to our lives. The Association, as with the rest of the College and University communities, has been affected by the disruptions of the COVID-19 virus and sadly we have had to postpone the planned London After-Hours Reception, which was due to take place in mid-May, as well as the Annual Reunion Weekend and AGM in September. Please keep an eye on the Association website for updates on both events in the near future.
One of the raison d’etre of the Association is to help alumni stay in touch with the College community. Communication technology clearly helps overcome the inconveniences of the shutdown. In addition to the Association’s own website, the College and University have their own impressive platforms and of course, there is a plethora of social network and video conferencing facilities. However, remote working and contact can never replace face-to-face contact!
Events On a positive note, the Association held two very enjoyable events at College:
The Reunion Weekend and AGM These were held for a first time in a long time in September and we will keep the timing of these events under review. At the AGM, we elected Andrew Jackson as President Elect of the Association, unopposed. Andrew has been a valuable member of the Executive over the past few years and he will make an excellent President. I wish him every success!
Cynthia Connolly at the Winter Dinner with Patrick Salaun
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For the Formal Dinner we were fortunate to have Dr Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter as our guest speaker. Carl came up to Hatfield College in 1981 to study History and Politics graduating in 1984. After graduation at Sandhurst and commissions in the Royal Green Jackets, in 1987 he set up, with his father Eric Hunter, Coltraco Ultrasonics, a company which has developed pioneering safety measuring technology widely used in shipping, offshore oil and gas, naval, renewables and power sectors.
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Association Weekend 2019, rowers of now and then: Geoffrey Cullington (1952-55), Henry Hoyle (President of the Boat Club and MCR President), Syd East (1948-51), Lucy Pallent (Boat Club Captain), Ella Bicknell and Juliane Deil
Since that time, the company, which Carl heads as Chief Executive Officer, has gone from strength to strength exporting nearly 90% of its output to 110 countries. In recognition of this success in April 2019, Coltraco Ultrasonics was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales over the last six years, and Carl was awarded the OBE in last year's Queen’s Birthday Honours for Services to Business and International Trade. For his many achievements and his enormous support to the University’s Physics Department, Carl was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 2016 and was confirmed as Professor-in-Practice at the Durham University Business School
from January 2019. Most importantly, he is a valued member of the Hatfield Senior Common Room.
The Winter Dinner The Winter Dinner was held in the Hatfield dining hall on 2 February 2020 with just under 40 participants, and our guest of honour was Cynthia Connolly who retired as Association Assistant Secretary at the end of 2019. Cynthia came to Hatfield as the Master’s Secretary in 1972. Following her “retirement” from that position in 1999 she continued to provide outstanding support to the Hatfield Trust as Assistant Director, and to the Hatfield Association as Assistant Secretary. Her commitment and support throughout the years to the Association 119
Association Weekend 2019: in the Hatfield Boathouse, Presidents of Hatfield Boat Club, Syd East (1952-53) and Adam Kirk (2018-19) Editor’s note: as the Record was going to press we were very sorry to learn of the death of Syd East on 6 August 2020.
was second to none. Cynthia was awarded an Honorary MA in 1999.
so we are not losing her skills and wisdom altogether.
Cynthia’s warmth, discretion and kindness was appreciated by cohorts of students and alumni. She was seen by many as ‘the heart and sweetheart of Hatfield’. Many messages were received from members of the Association all expressing their esteem and affection for her. A compilation book (kindly prepared by Julia Raszewska from the many contributions from alumni and friends) and a cheque, raised from donations of a wide number of alumni, were presented to Cynthia at the dinner.
Johnathan Young
Although Cynthia has resigned from her official post, she has agreed to stay on the Association Executive for the time being 120
Johnathan Young, who was the Secretary of the Hatfield Association from 1973 to 2015, died on 9 September 2019 after a long illness which he bore with bravery, fortitude and typical humour. A full tribute to Johnathan is given on page 130.
Some end of term reflections My term of office ends at the end of June when I hand over to Andrew Jackson, the President Elect. During my five years as President I have been blessed with enthusiastic
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and determined Officers and Executive members who have kept me on the straight and narrow and who have worked hard to make the Association relevant. We have been able to strengthen the Executive, driving down the age of the Officers and Executive and making it more representative. I would also like to thank Professor Ann MacLarnon, the Master of Hatfield, for her support and wisdom! The greatest area of challenge for the Association is falling membership as a result of the change in the rules introduced by the University two years ago whereby freshers have to opt in. Previously they were automatically enrolled unless they opted out. This has resulted in a fall in our income and we need to 'energise' the promotion/information process during Freshers’ Week. We also need to increase our engagement with students and alumni to ensure that the Association is seen as relevant so as to maximise membership, participation and growth. At this time of job uncertainties, recent graduates entering the market place are likely to face unfamiliar challenges. The College is looking to Association members at times like these to help support our students and recent graduates with career development, whether that be through mentoring, career advice, joining one of our virtual discussion events, offering remote internships/work experience and introductions. If you can help or have any other ideas that could help, please contact Grace Norman, Hatfield Development Officer, at hatfield.enrichsupport@durham. ac.uk. (Editor’s note: At the time of going to press we’ve had a wonderful response from alumni. If you have any further suggestions or offers, for now, or for the future, please do get in touch).
Hatfield Association Executive Committee President Patrick Salaun (until 30 June 2020) Andrew Jackson (from 1 July 2020) Honorary Secretary Tony Gray Assistant Secretary Cynthia Connolly (until 31 December 2019)
Treasurer Stuart Wild Membership Secretary & Webmaster Stephen Galway College Forum Representative Tony Gray Hatfield Record Officer Andrew Jackson Co-opted Members David Arkless Nicola Candlish Cynthia Connolly Samantha Dowling Charlotte Furneaux David Imrie Adam Kirk Julia Raszewska Stephanie Wood Ex Officio Members The Master JCR Senior Man MCR President Hatfield Development Officer and Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust
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Members’ News
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Alumni Mike Carding and Tony Gray at Base Camp Everest
GRAY, Tony (1967-70) Email to the Master on 12 November 2019. Please see the photo which records the Hatfield Task Force (Veterans' Division) reaching Base Camp Everest. I have to report that on Friday lunchtime Mike Carding and I arrived at Base Camp Everest, Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis amongst our party and that, naturally, our first act was to sing the Hatfield Song. The picture shows our munching on cookies which I seem to have liberated from the Little Burt Room on a recent visit. You will see that we are suitably dressed for the occasion in Hatfield hoodies. We have had some brilliantly clear weather, seen some wonderful sights and been extraordinarily fortunate in our Sherpa guide - who is terrific in every way. Our trek is now drawing to a close; we are back
in Blighty on Saturday and by mid-day Monday I'll be back in Hatfield for the Durham Colleges' Alumni Association Meeting. Post script: 1. The % haemoglobin oxygen saturation of one Timothy Firebrace is recorded on the local medical database. 2. Back in Kathmandu we managed to visit the Hindu Vidyapeth (HVP) School, where Hatfield students have volunteered over a number of years. We received an extremely warm welcome. Seeing the school was an uplifting and humbling experience, both in the generosity of spirit which prevails there and in what is being achieved academically with very limited resources. And, touchingly, Hatfield is held in high esteem. 123
HUNTER, Carl (1981-1984) Congratulations to Carl who was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for 2019, for services to business and international trade.
KELLY, Chris (1973-76, 1976-77) Oration for the presentation of Honorary Doctorate – 10 January 2020 Chris Kelly came up to Durham, to Hatfield College, in October 1973 to study Economics and Economic History, followed by a PGCE, having fallen in love with the city at first sight of the cathedral. He had played some rugby at his grammar school in Raynes Park in London, alongside cricket, basketball and athletics, but it was at Durham that he really discovered his passion for the game. He has been involved ever since, from playing to teaching, to organising and leading, culminating in his recent year of office as President of the Rugby Football Union. Chris considers that his time at Durham set him up for life, allowed him to follow his passions, and through this to discover and explore his own strengths. And in turn, Chris has given back much to the University and our current students, playing a central role in the campaign to develop facilities for rugby here, and acting as a mentor on the Team Durham Leadership programme. At Durham our pride in our students rests not only on their academic achievements, which we are celebrating today, but also on their participation in so much more besides, be it competing on the sports field or on the river, performing in orchestras and bands, staging plays and operas, or giving their time as volunteers in the local community. It is our ethos 124
that development of the person whilst a student at Durham happens as much outside the lecture hall as within; that through the enrichment the wider student experience brings, pursuing interests they love, our students learn to work together, they create, organise, make mistakes and learn to bounce back, support each other and acquire the skills to lead. Chris Kelly epitomises the Durham way, both during his time as a student at the University, and in so much that he has done and led beyond. As he puts it, ‘How could a humble bloke like me end up being President of the Rugby Football Union?’ The 1970s into the 1980s were key decades in the development of sport at Durham, most notably of rugby. In those days, Hatfield completely dominated the scene, producing future internationals well into double figures. Chris Kelly played for the University First XV throughout his four years, becoming Captain for the Club’s centenary year during which Durham finally broke into the exclusive Oxbridge league, playing the first ever game against Oxford in 1975, which ended in 9-9 draw only after a very last minute try by Oxford. At this time, Chris also played for the combined English Universities team. He went on to play for Harlequins whilst pursuing a career as an economics teacher as well as a rugby coach, firstly in secondary schools and then moving to work with younger boys in prep schools where he found his real niche with enthusiastic, energetic and responsive, younger children. Despite being immensely proud to have been President of the Rugby Football Union, Chris’s greatest love and contribution has been to the development of grass roots rugby, particularly among young people. Early on in his career, he gained the RFU’s top coaching award and coached the London and South East Division 18 Group, also becoming National Selector for the English Rugby Football Schools’ Union. He has served
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The University Chancellor, Sir Thomas Allen, Honorary Doctor of Civil Laws, Dr Chris Kelly, the Master, Professor Ann MacLarnon, and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge
on multiple committees both in the southeast and nationally in support of youth rugby, such as recent roles at the RFU on the Schools and Youth Governance Committee, the Education Development Committee, and the U16 Transition and Strategic Review Groups, as well as being the RFU Representative on the Student Rugby Football Union. Chris also chaired the RFU Player Development Committee for ten years, including a major role in the development of rugby academies, notably ensuring that all academies have Education Officers, and that young players continue to access broader education and qualifications whatever their professional
potential. He has also served on the Club England Committee, the Community Rugby Standing Committee, and the Community Game Board. Chris is especially proud of the RFU’s All Schools programme, which provided £1 million to support teachers and coaches to develop rugby in 750 schools where the game was not played before. Reflecting Chris’s own philosophy, feedback highlights the positive impact of the programme on children’s broader behaviour, and how team playing has helped to develop their confidence. This is but one example among many of how Chris has used rugby to support 125
the development of young people, about which he is passionate. As he says, it could have been another sport, or music or theatre. Somehow rugby grabbed him and through it he has had enormous opportunities, not just for himself directly, but to engage young people, to provide something they love to do and to enable them to gain a wide range of skills for life. Through rugby, players develop strong team skills, students work hard and play hard in support of the team outcome, along the way developing self-esteem, selfdirection, respect for the referee and fair play, appreciation of mutual dependence. In Chris’s own words, ‘Rugby has provided me with a vehicle for life, which really started on the playing fields in Durham’. Talking with others from the rugby world, it is clear that he is held in the highest esteem for his service and commitment to developing the world surrounding a game that many love both to play and to watch, and especially for the impact he has had on the lives of young people. Despite the demands of his teaching career and national rugby roles, Chris has maintained his links with Durham University over many years. For the past eight years, he has been one of our lead mentors on the Team Durham Leadership programme, now a flagship for development across the University. Chris has been involved since the start, bringing his skills both as a rugby coach and as a teacher to bear. He has gone way beyond the requirements of the role with particular students, not only during their time at Durham, but after this during their journey into the workplace. Within the programme he is highly respected by staff and other alumni mentors, but the most important accolades come from individuals who Chris has mentored. And so, I will end with some words from one of his mentees, Erin Kelly, current captain of the Durham University Women’s Rugby Team. In Erin’s words: “Chris is always available to talk; he put me on the right track, he helped me to make 126
my own decisions about what I want to do and how to do it. Chris has a huge range of experience; he’s really open about himself and generous with what he has learnt. He is amazing”. Chancellor, for his service to rugby and to young people, culminating in his appointment to the most prestigious role within English rugby, together with his long time support for Durham University and its students, I present Chris Kelly to you as eminently worthy of the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws.
Professor Ann MacLarnon Master
KENDALL, Amanda (1989-1992) Congratulations to Amanda who was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours for 2020, for services to economic growth.
LAITHWAITE, Anthony (1965-1968) Congratulations to Tony who was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for 2019, for services to the UK and Global Wine Industry.
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Deaths College has been notified of the deaths of the following Hatfield alumni and friends since publication of the last Record. Every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. Groves, Ken (1949-52), 6 October 2019 Hutton, Brian (1953-56), 29 October 2019 Powell, The Reverend Colin (1950-53), 28 July 2019 [See page 127] Rawlinson, James (1966-69), 15 April 2020 Stacey, Mike (1959-63, 1963-67), 31 March 2020 [See page 128] Woodward, Barry (1954-57), 18 May 2020 [See page 128] Young, Johnathan (1963-68), 9 September 2019 [See page 129]
Obituaries and Tributes POWELL, Colin A. (1950-54) The Reverend Colin Powell was born on 11 June 1932 and he died on 28 July 2019. Colin was a very private and reserved person who kept his personal life very much to himself. He was a man of God, a positive thinker throughout his life who had
the Lord as the centre of his existence on Earth. His conversations were very serious. He liked to know what people thought and would ask lots of questions about science and religion. The Bible was always at the heart of his discussions with people; he knew the scriptures very well indeed and loved them greatly. He did not like what he called 'speculation' when it came to interpreting it and he kept very closely to traditional evangelical understandings. He loved reading, especially bible commentaries and history books of a wide range, though the Reformation was probably his preferred period. Biographies of great Christian lives he loved too. His house always had great piles of books scattered about. For such a private person he was usually found in company, especially where a meal was concerned, when he could he avoided being on his own. Colin loved St Chad's in Ladybarn South Manchester and Holy Trinity Platt in Rusholme, Manchester and coped with difficulty because of his failing physical health. He even came when most people would have given up and preached for as long as he could. Lucky for Colin he had a core group of friends who cared for him and offered to ferry him round in their vehicles. He was a very prayerful man who said Morning and Evening prayer regularly with company when he could and was very much missed during his last few months in hospital and a nursing care home. In 1937 he went to Baines Endowed School (primary) Marton and in 1943 at the age of 11 he passed a scholarship for Baines Grammar School, Poulton-le-Fylde where he excelled in History, Scripture and New Testament Greek. He graduated from Durham University with a degree in History in 1953 and a diploma in education in 1954, his college being Hatfield where he spent some of the best years of his life. At that stage he was uncertain about a calling to
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the Church. However he was ordained at Blackburn Cathedral in 1956 and served as a Curate and Vicar in several parishes in the North of England before settling as Rector of St.Thomas's in Cheetham, North Manchester. He retired from the Church of England in 1997 after a few years at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rochdale as its last serving Vicar and enjoyed a very busy retirement. He was asked to officiate at several churches in South Manchester which he did without question saying in this job you never retire. Throughout his ministry he was caring, conscientious, compassionate and had a pleasant manner dealing with parishioners. He was unmarried. His funeral was held on 21 August 2019 at St. Chads Parish Church, Ladybarn, South Manchester and burial at St Paul's Marton, Blackpool. HRH Prince Frederick von SaxeLauenberg GCSL, FRSA., FIIPS (Lon.)
STACEY, Michael J. (1959-63, 1963-67) It is with great sadness that the ViceChancellor announced the death of Dr Mike Stacey who passed away, following a period of illness, on Tuesday 31 March 2020 aged 79. Mike was born in Sunderland and, after graduating with a BSc in Zoology from Durham, joined David Barker’s research group as a postgraduate student, taking his PhD in 1967. Mike set up the department’s first electron microscopy laboratory as Senior Research Assistant, then as Senior Experimental Officer (SEO) in David’s group. Mike contributed his histological skills to a series of elegant experiments carried out in collaboration with the physiologists Yves 128
Laporte (Paris) and Paul Bessou (Toulouse) on the structure and function of skeletal muscle, especially of the sense organs that occur in mammalian muscle and that are essential for motor control. Subsequently, with others in David’s group, he also worked on nerve repair and re-innervation after nerve injury. Mike was an undergraduate at Hatfield College, where he remained for some time as resident Tutor and Librarian. Following the merger of the Zoology and Botany departments, he served as Secretary of the Board of Studies in Biological Sciences and, in 1991, took up the parttime appointment of Vice-Principal of St. Cuthbert’s Society, while remaining as SEO part-time in the department. In 1994, Mike returned full time to the department as its Administrator and as a Lecturer, eventually retiring in 1999. His wife Barbara, their sons Mark and Richard, and their grandchildren survive Mike. Due to the present circumstances, Mike’s funeral was a very private occasion, but the family hope to hold a celebration of` his life as soon as that becomes possible.
WOODWARD, Barry (1955-58) Barry Woodward (1929 - 2020) was a Hatfield student, studying biology on a Civil Service scholarship he was awarded on the basis of the promise he showed over the previous five years when working as an Assistant Scientific Officer at the Brown Trout Research Laboratory on Loch Faskally in Highland Perthshire. On graduating from Durham he took up a position with the then Colonial Service, advising communities in West Africa and the Caribbean on food storage, before changing his career track and joining the British Library in London as a Scientific
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YOUNG, Johnathan C. (1963-66, 1966-72) Dr Johnathan Young died on 9 September 2019 after a long illness, which he bore with bravery, fortitude and typical humour. Johnathan has been a great supporter of the Hatfield College community over many years. He read Geography at Hatfield 19631968 where he served as Senior Man. Subsequently he then served as a College Tutor and then SCR Secretary and later Bursar of Hatfield. He then moved to Leicester University to take on new responsibilities. Barry Woodward at Spofforth Castle, creating ‘great’ art
Information Retrieval Specialist. Short spells at the National Lending Library at Boston Spa and the University of Strathclyde preceded his final move back to Durham where he took up the post of Keeper of the Science Books in 1966. Barry remained at the Science Site library until his retirement in 1991.
Johnathan was also Secretary of the Hatfield Association from 1973 to 2015 during which time he became a familiar figure to Hatfield alumni of many generations. I suspect his heart and soul remained very much with Hatfield although of course he was very much a family man much loved by his children. I was at Hatfield from 1964 to 1967 and so
Together with his wife Muriel he was a highly visible member of the Hatfield and wider University communities. In 2009 he and Muriel were jointly awarded the President's Medal of the Institute of Biology for services to that science. Away from his professional life he was an enthusiastic and capable artist, showing his work at group and individual exhibitions across the region. His beloved Muriel passed away in 2017, after which Barry moved into a care home outside Harrogate where he died of COVID-19 on 18 May 2020. He is survived by his three sons and their families. Simon Woodward Johnathan Young well-turned out with College boater
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came across Johnathan a fair bit. He was always very much our senior and of course very much part of the College rugby scene. We were always a bit in awe of him! Johnathan had told me a few years back when he attended what was to be his last Reunion of his illness and that he was to have some 'heavy' NHS treatment. I spoke to him at the beginning of the year on the telephone and he was eager to hear of the latest news about the Association and College. Tony Gray, the Association Secretary, went to visit him a few months back at the hospice that cared for him in Bradford and brought him up to date with news of events and happenings! Barry Northrop also visited him. One of the traits that characterised him was his boundless enthusiasm and optimism! Johnathan was a great supporter of Hatfield, the Association and the SCR over many years. His rendition of the Hatfield song was legendary and this was sung with vigour and enthusiasm in his memory at the Association Weekend Dinner by all those members present in September 2019. A number of Association members attended his funeral on 23 September at St Oswald's Church, Guiseley where members of his family, including his son Jamie, who also went to Hatfield, gave moving tributes. The journey afterwards to the crematorium was not without incident. The hearse broke down and the coffin had to be transferred to an ambulance by members of the family as the funeral staff were elsewhere. Once at the crematorium the parked ambulance began to move on its own as the hand brake was not on. Johnathan would have rather enjoyed this episode! In Jamie's words, 'Dad was always fantastically different and memorable, so why would his funeral (and the challenges of moving him) be any different!' Patrick Salaun (1964-67)
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Johnathan Young, friend of pigeons
YOUNG, Johnathan A Fresher’s Appreciation To much of our Fresher cohort of 1967 the Senior Man, John Young, personified Hatfield. His deep belief in, and love of, the College – as a closely interacting and supportive community – immediately communicated itself to us, and became part of us too. From the moment he addressed us on the first evening of Freshers’ Week we felt ourselves part of this wonderful College, rich in brotherhood, a community bursting with life, full of colour, humour, cohesive and inclusive – and with some rather odd traditions. Such was his confident ebullience that throw-away lines: the College had not been defeated at rugby “for about fifty years”; “Hatfield Formal Ball is the best social event in Durham”; that whilst able to “represent the University at rugby” he was “not good enough to play for Hatfield”, seemed entirely credible. John’s performance chairing JCR meetings was a study in astute leadership, controlling both the naturally anarchistic and the Newcastle Brown-fuelled
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elements of the room with good humour and a few of his own outrageous (to modern ears anyway) contributions – but also with firmness and wisdom, so that things never really got out of hand. Following a proposal that “The minutes be sung” (taken on a general aye) the JCR Secretary’s warbling voice would carry for a few lines before, the Meeting assuaged, John would steer it back to the agenda. To leaven worthy but rather dull business, urgent concerns might be allowed to be aired: the College Investigator was summoned to verify the reported outrage that the Bursar’s dog was being washed in Rectory bath – and the sports-averse but appropriately-named Mr Wade was elected Captain of Swimming. Thus meetings could always be relied upon for some good fun and were as a result generally wellattended. So when genuinely important matters required discussion it was wellordered and a high level of democracy was achieved – good leadership indeed.
“ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON HATFIELD ROWDYISM” read Palatinate’s headline in the first week of term and, subtitle (shock horror) “THROWING BEER ABOUT” –
Senior Man, Johnathan Young, subjects himself to the terrors of the Sploosh Machine with characteristic sang froid, Hatfield Day 1968
referring to a rumbustious incident at the Union Society bar on the Saturday evening. The rather sanctimonious reporter was then naive enough to demand that Hatfield’s Senior Man answer for this debacle. John began by assuring the outraged readership that he, “Would see the people concerned,” (not, on analysis, a concession of great substance). By way of mitigation he explained that Hatfield had had rather a successful day’s rugby. “The firsts won 26-16, the seconds 40-0, the thirds 50-0,” and before arriving at the Union, (a phrase that will live with me) “Had been generously entertained in Darlington”... “Unfortunately the bigger the win the greater the noise!” Having turned what Palatinate’s reporter had intended to be an abject admission of a disgraceful occurrence into a promotion of Hatfield’s rugby prowess, he concluded, wooing his audience, by quoting from the SRC (now DUS) Handbook: “Hatfield... provides a home for hearties” and asking “Is it not better that they should all be confined to one college?” I challenge any current politician to a more adept performance. I began to know Johnathan (as I now knew him) better several decades later when I joined the Hatfield Association Executive, to which he had been Hon Sec for nearly forty years. His complete devotion to his beloved Hatfield had if anything grown. His energy and enthusiasm sparked off others to enable the Association to host well-organised, well-attended events, years after other colleges’ associations had gone into decline. But what I really began to appreciate was his utter kindness and generosity, as well as his good sense and tact, gently imparting the benefit of his experience. As Cynthia put it, “Johnathan you have a heart the size of a great big golden frying pan.” I couldn’t put it better. Tony Gray (1967-70)
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College Notes
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College Officers
Email Contacts
Master Professor Ann MacLarnon, MA PhD
Master ann.m.maclarnon@durham.ac.uk
Vice-Master & Senior Tutor and College Chaplain Professor Anthony Bash, LLB LLM BD PhD
Vice-Master & Senior Tutor hatfield.vicemaster@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Master & Assistant Senior Tutor Dr Ellen Crabtree BA PhD
Assistant Master hatfield.asstmaster@durham.ac.uk Chaplain hatfield.chaplain@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Fellows Professor Robert Allison Dr Sheila Armstrong Dr Bill Bryson Mr Richard Burge Mrs Elizabeth Burt Professor Tim Burt Professor Sir Kenneth Calman Mr Will Carling Mrs Cynthia Connolly Mr Ian Curry Professor Douglas Davies Lord Richard Dannatt Professor Terry Eagleton Professor John Gaskin Dr Will Greenwood The Reverend Theo Harman Professor Bill Heal Professor Ray Hudson Dr Barbara Laithwaite Dr Tony Laithwaite Dr James Lancelot Mr Barry Northrop Mr Bruce Oldfield Mr Marcus Rose Ms Angel Scott Sir Tim Smit Dr Andrew Strauss Sir John Timpson Dr Jeremy Vine Dame Gillian Weir Mr Barrie Wetton Mrs Yolande Wright
Hatfield Association Officers President Andrew Jackson president@hatfield-association.co.uk Honorary Secretary Tony Gray anthonygray49@gmail.com Membership Secretary & Webmaster Stephen Galway admin@hatfield-association.co.uk Treasurer Stuart Wild stuart.wild@hoge100.co.uk More information about the Hatfield Association including contact information can be found on page 117.
Hatfield Trust Hatfield Development Officer and Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust Grace Norman hatfield.development@durham.ac.uk
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Forthcoming Events A sense of belonging is at the heart of the famous Hatfield spirit. Once a Hatfielder, always a Hatfielder. Our alumni are an important part of the College community and we look forward to seeing you at our events in the near future. To keep up-to-date with what’s on, please visit: dunelm.org.uk/hatfield-college/ events-listing or follow us on your social media channel of choice.
Wedding Receptions, Functions and Conferences We would be delighted to host your special day or a variety of other functions. For further information, please contact:
Event Durham T: 0800 28 99 70 E: event@durham.ac.uk
Keeping in touch @HatfieldAlumni @HatfieldAlumni @Hatfield Alumni HatfieldAlumni 134
Event Durham offers a complete event management service, which provides expertise and support, tailored to your specific needs. Event Durham and the experienced team at Hatfield will work together to deliver a successful and memorable occasion for you.
Hatfield Record 2020
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Cynthia Connolly at her retirement gathering with family, friends and colleagues in the SCR 136