Kingswood Association News (KAN) 2020 by Kingswood School

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS

24.

CONTENTS 16.

14.

11.

58.

Introduction and Welcome

The Executive Committee

Academic Achievement

The Archives: A little glimpse into School menus through the centuries

Featured Article: Michael Bishop

The Association Gap Year Students

Association Day 2019

Reunion Events

Global Reunions

Visitors

News

Lives Remembered

Obituaries

Featured Article: A CD of John Sykes' Music

Headmaster's Cricket

Sports Records

Graphic Design by Studio 74 Creative Design: www.studio74.design | Cover photo by Nicola Carr

INTRODUCTION & WELCOME KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME Dear Old Kingswoodians I sit writing this from the Glasgow IT Room in school where I have been based for the last seven weeks supervising the children of key workers who are in school at this difficult time. It is a very different experience for all of us and I am sure we will emerge from this having learnt a great deal – and not just new IT skills! We all long for school to be open again and to be running as normal. I am even missing managing the daily “run to lunch” across the quad or supervising the racks! I had hoped that my main focus in this President’s Welcome would have been to outline all that was going on to mark the Headmaster’s final term after twelve years of outstanding leadership and immense contribution to the life of this school. However, we are where we are and Simon Morris is spending his final term running a virtual school - this is not what he or any of us could have imagined at the start of this academic year. In typical fashion, Simon has simply taken this task on without any complaint, as he has with so many other challenges during his time as the Headmaster, and is doing an amazing job as we move through these times of great uncertainty. We are all so grateful for his calm and assured presence at this point in our journey and, as I put in an earlier message to the Association, I really cannot think of anyone better to lead the school at this time. The Headmaster’s involvement with, and interest in, the Kingswood Association, has been much appreciated during his tenure. He has travelled to all parts of this country and abroad

to meet former pupils and their families. He has been generous with his time and has always said yes when I have asked whether he could attend or speak at an Association event. I know, speaking to colleagues in other schools, that this is not always the case and I wish to thank Simon, on behalf of the Association, for everything he has done to support us. I have been privileged to work very closely with him over the past twelve years and he is an exceptional man. He has always focused on people and this has been characterised by his interest in meeting so many former students. I look forward to seeing him at some of our events next year when life returns to something more normal. We will, of course, be celebrating his time at Kingswood with an Association event but more of that at a later date. Talking of events, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michele Greene for all her hard work in organising so many successful get togethers this year. We have had several really enjoyable gatherings at the Café du Marche in London and thanks also go to Sophie Graham-Wood for allowing us to continue to use this superb venue. We have had a number of other regional events and I was delighted to be able to attend both the Exeter Lunch and the Scottish Regional Reception this year. A particular highlight for me was the Christmas Reception at the Apex Hotel where over 200 Old Kingswoodians gathered 1

Gordon Opie, Deputy Head (KS 1976-81) together for a most enjoyable evening. The list could go on but Michele just pops the date in my diary, organises the event, and then moves onto the next plan. Thank you Michele for all that you do to keep the Association connected and for your support of everyone involved. I would also like to thank Chester Lewis (the Chairman) and the other members of the Executive Committee for all their hard work. Those who know me well will know that I am not a great fan of long meetings and Chester keeps all of us focused and on task and then volunteers to do most of the work himself – you cannot ask for much more from your Chairman! I hope that you are all safe and well and please do contact us if the Association can do anything to help you or your families. This is a very special community and we will get through this period. I very much look forward to working with the new Headmaster, Andrew Gordon-Brown, and helping him to get to meet as many of you as possible. Gordon Opie, Deputy Head

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 INTRODUCTION & WELCOME

CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME It is with great pleasure that I again get to write to you at the beginning of this Kingswood Association News magazine. Once more, these pages are filled with the reminders of a busy year that has gone past in the Association calendar; full of smiles and Old Kingswoodians meeting together, whether they be close friends, old friends or new faces, but with a common history. I think this is particularly poignant because, at the time of writing, we are all confined to our homes in some of the most uncertain and socially difficult times of recent history.

2019/2020 was “packed full of amazing gatherings by the Old Kingswoodian community.

In the same way as much of society, we have had to postpone our upcoming events until after the summer. However the Executive Committee and the Association Office at the school are still active, and we encourage you to reach out if there is something the Old Kingswoodian community can do for you, or vice versa. I hope these pages serve as a reminder of good times gone by and a preview of what we can look forward to once life returns to normal. 2019/2020 was packed full of gatherings by the Old Kingswoodian community. We held the first 40s and 50s event at Café du Marche in London, where we have also held the 20s and

30s event for many years. We followed the 40s and 50s event with a well-attended 60+ London Autumn Lunch at the same venue. All events enjoyed the same friendly and fun atmosphere that we have come to know at this great location. Association Day 2019, held at the school in June, was met with glorious weather which accurately represented the day. We had a large number of people returning to see the school and old school friends, including 1979 and 1989 reunions. The Exeter Lunch and Scottish Regional Reception were also enjoyable and well-attended events, showing the breadth and depth of the Old Kingswoodian community across the UK. The end of 2019 was marked with a Christmas Reception at the Apex Hotel Bath, with a record attendance of over 200, most leaving the school within the last 10 years. And lastly, earlier this year, it was fantastic to see a Hermitage House reunion, fittingly held in the Association Hall in Kingswood Prep School. It is the Headmaster’s last year at Kingswood School and I would like to thank him, on behalf of the rest of the Executive Committee and the whole Association, for his commitment, support and guidance. From first-hand experience, I have watched Simon Morris take so much joy from his interactions with all Old Kingswoodians. His recognition of the importance of the Association to the wider Kingswood community has been instrumental to everything we do. We wish him and his family all the very best on their next step. 2

Chester Lewis (KS 2010-12) The Association will endeavour to support the new Headmaster in every way and work with him to continue to progress and build the Old Kingswoodian community. As ever, my thanks also goes to all those involved in running the Association, particularly the Executive Committee, Michele Greene and the School, but also to all Old Kingswoodians for your continued support and good spirit. Lastly, I would like to send my very best wishes to all Old Kingswoodians, their families and their friends during these difficult times. As I cannot think of something more fitting myself, I leave you with the message from Her Majesty The Queen: “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.” Chester Lewis

INTRODUCTION & WELCOME KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

HEADMASTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WELCOME Dear Old Kingswoodians I sit writing this, my final contribution to Kingswood Association News, in the office which has been my second home for the past twelve years. The view towards the Chapel and the city of Bath beyond is absolutely stunning in the late April sunshine. But it is far, far too quiet. The welcoming and attractive buzz of a busy and lively school is missing; the prospect of an early evening visit to the Upper to watch some cricket is missing; sadly, I cannot look forward to an inspiring Whole School Service in the morning. It is indeed a very different experience running a virtual school and not at all how I had envisaged the final stage of my Kingswood journey. Leading the Kingswood community over the past twelve years has been such an immense privilege, far exceeding anything I could possibly have imagined when Ray Lansley offered me the post in the summer of 2007. It has been challenging, exciting, demanding and uplifting, for all of which I am extremely thankful. There have been significant moments of sadness, but far more of great joy. I have had the opportunity to work with so many hugely inspiring people, whose energy, commitment and generosity have constantly fuelled my own desire to do the very best I can for each and every student entrusted to us. It is of course the strength of our community which both defines us and which ultimately sustains us through the darker moments. Our former students are such a very important part of that. I have relished the opportunity over the past decade or so to get to know Old Kingswoodians of different

eras. Unpretentious, engaged, positive, considerate and openminded are just some of the words we like to use to describe our current students; but they are also very much individuals with the personal drive and ambition to make a real and lasting difference. I sense that this has always been the case. Kingswood certainly encourages a strong sense of values and responsibility towards others, but does not seek to define in any narrow sense what this might look like. I have hugely valued the support of so many Old Kingswoodians during my headship, and no more so than in the face of the significant challenges which we are currently facing. The origins and history of our school tell us of a humble school with noble ambitions which has adapted to all manner of challenges over the past 270 or so years, and I have no doubt that the strengths of those foundations will stand the school in excellent stead as it embraces this latest challenge. I wish Andrew Gordon-Brown every success as he moves from Truro School to take over the reins at Kingswood in September. I hope he will find a school which is both entirely comfortable in itself and confident and optimistic about the future. I certainly hope he will find the same level of professional and personal fulfilment at Kingswood as I have been so very fortunate to enjoy. He will inherit an absolutely firstrate staff who are so committed to delivering our distinctive brand of holistic education. The 3

Simon Morris

Leading the â&#x20AC;&#x153; Kingswood community over the past twelve years has been such an immense privilege...

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collegiate and mutually supportive nature of the staff has been such an important feature to me personally during my tenure, and not least that so generously offered by my Senior Deputy Head and President of the Association, Gordon Opie. No-one could be better placed to induct the new Headmaster in the special nature of the Kingswood ethos, and I particularly wish him well both with this very important task and with his continued distinguished leadership of the Association. With all my very best wishes and much gratitude

Simon Morris Headmaster and Principal of the Kingswood Foundation

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

THE KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION The Kingswood Association is the membership organisation for all students who have experienced a Kingswood Education, we call them ‘Old Kingswoodians’.

In these unprecedented times my first thought is to wish everyone the very best of health. We have all worked for several months on this magazine and are pleased that we have been able to go ahead and publish this edition. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2020 Edition of the KAN, The Kingswood Association Magazine. It has been another successful year for Old Kingswoodians and I hope that you will enjoy reading of their adventures and their achievements. You form an important part of the Kingswood School family. We enjoy meeting you, hearing your news, as well as your memories of the past. We continue to develop our Old Kingswoodian programme and hope that we will have the pleasure of hearing from you, or, even better, seeing you at events when we get back to normal. With best wishes Michele (Editor) E: association@kingswood.bath.sch.uk T: 01225 734283 | 07860 717041 Association Office, Kingswood School, Lansdown, Bath BA1 5RG

 KingswoodSchoolAlumni www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk/ the-old-kingswoodian-association

We wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported the Kingswood Association over the past year. Thank you for making these get togethers meaningful and enjoyable where old school 1.

friendships were relived and new Kingswood friends made. We encourage you to visit the Kingswood website during the year, where you will find a full programme of events - that will keep you entertained. There really is something for everyone. If you have any news to pass on, or a photo from your latest reunion, please do email it to the office as we would be delighted to hear from you. To stay in touch, you can also join our Facebook group.

OTHER MEMBERS

Dear Old Kingswoodians

The Association is run by a committee of volunteers, who are either former pupils or former staff. They meet regularly to discuss how to continue to develop and foster lifelong relationships between the School and its past pupils and staff.

THE EXEC COMMITTEE 2020

EDITOR'S NOTE

1. President: Gordon Opie (KS 1976-81), Deputy Head (Pastoral) Current Staff from 1990 2. Chairman: Chester Lewis (KS 2010-12) 3. Treasurer: Sanveer Singh (KS 2011-13) 4. Simon Morris: Headmaster and Principal of the Foundation 5. Tim Lindsay: (KS 1969-74) is the Representative from the Governing Body

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6. Robin Lewis (Staff 1975-92) 7. Sandy Burgon (Staff 1991-2016) 8. Natasha Brand (KS 2003-10) 9. Kirsty Allen (KS 1979-87) 10. Theo Gammie (KS 2011-18) 11. Euan Gordon (KS 2003-10) 12. Rosie Wakefield (KS 2008-15)

Day to day running of the Association is done by Michele Greene, Alumni and Development Officer who is a former parent. Please contact her by email: mgreene@kingswood.bath.sch.uk or by telephone 01225 734283.

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12.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

LEAVERS OF 2019 The newest members of the Old Kingswoodians.

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

LEAVERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DESTINATIONS, 2019 NAME

COURSE

INSTITUTION

Jennifer (Jenny) Ainsworth Amber Amin Korn Amnauypanit Emma Askew Isabelle (Izzy) Barnes Reuben Barnett Lucy Bean Emily Becconsall Patricia Bertran Charles (Charlie) Bigland Zoe Birch Isabella (Bella) Bird Jack Brain Max Brindley Harry Bristow George Brunskill Gabriel Burge-Swatton Natasha Burke Michael Butler Katie Butterfield Dominic Carruthers Angel Chant Rigam Chhantyal Charlotte Chilton Joseph Cleghorn Samuel (Sam) Cox Finley (Fin) Crowe William Crowther Charlotte Cutter Yongyi (Daisy) Dai Emily Davies Elizabeth (Lizzie) Davis Molly Dickinson Madeleine (Maddie) Edwards Finley (Finn) Feaver Conor Finnamore Anastasia (Ana) Fox Sophie Garcia Lara Glavinova Daniel (Dan) Greenslade Nathan Gregg George Halsey Alexandra (Lexi) Hart Jade Hartley Poppy Hasoon Chak Hei (Jack) Hau Oran Hawkins Annie Hawthorn William Haysom Thomas (Tom) Heal Natasha (Tash) Houghton Thomas (Tom) Hudson William (Will) Jeffery Thomas (Tom) Johnson Isabelle (Izzy) Jolliffe Ema Kavaliauskaite Marcus Kendall Oscar Kenyon Zoey King Joshua (Josh) Knight Helen Lam Lily Landman Harry Leakey Josephine Learoyd Robin Ledbury Max Lister

Aeronautics & Astronautics/Spacecraft Engineering Psychology with Business & Management Chemical Engineering Art Foundation Gap Year; English Literature & American Studies Gap Year Gap Year; Business Studies & Japanese Geography (Science) Computer Systems Engineering (with placement) Mechanical Engineering Law (Crime & Criminal Justice) Biochemistry Gap Year; Geography Gap Year Gap Year Gap Year Foundation in Business Gap Year Computer Science German & Linguistics Gap Year Acting Business & Marketing Management Gap Year Gap Year; Production Arts for Screen Economics English Literature Gap Year Geography Medical Biochemistry Gap Year Business & Management Art Foundation Early Years Development & Learning Gap Year Employment/Vocational Training Gap Year Experimental Psychology Business Psychology Chemistry Law Politics Gap Year Computer Science Gap Year Engineering (Mechanical) Gap Year Geography Gap Year Engineering with an Integrated Foundation Year English Literature with Creative Writing Gap Year Politics & International Relations Gap Year History Architecture Gap Year Gap Year Gap Year; Psychology & Business Aerospace Engineering with a Year in Industry Financial & Business Economics Gap Year; Anthropology Gap Year; Environmental Geoscience Sociology Gap Year English Literature

University of Southampton University of Sussex Imperial College, University of London

University of Manchester Cardiff University University of Exeter University of Bath University of Exeter Swansea University University of Sheffield Swansea University

Oxford Brookes University Birmingham City University University of Edinburgh Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Oxford Brookes University University of the Arts, London Manchester Metropolitan University Cardiff University University of Cambridge Royal Holloway, University of London Oxford Brookes University Norland College

University of Oxford University of Lincoln Durham University University of York Cardiff University UCL, University of London UCL, University of London University of Liverpool Brunel University Oxford Brookes University Loughborough University University of Bristol University of the Arts, London

Aston University Swansea University Royal Holloway, University of London University of Sussex University of Nottingham Durham University University of Edinburgh

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

NAME

COURSE

INSTITUTION

Megan Lloyd-Evans Callum Michie Harriet Mohr Kathryn (Katie) Morton Hebe Mottershead Davies An Nabeshima Tsz Yui (Dominic) Ngan Hal Norman Isabella (Izzy) North Jessica (Jess) Norton Peemapon (Parm) Nunthakunatip Alice O’Gorman Leonids (Leo) Osipovs Lily Palmer Joseph (Joe) Partridge Matthew Pearce Poohpa (Play) Pongsri Robin Pun Simran Rai Chloe Rawlins Amber Rees-Jones Tom Reeves Julia Reid Jasmin (Jaz) Ryan Finlay (Finn) Sayce Daisy Shayegan Boonyakorn (Mardee) Sirinaovakul Jekaterina (Kate) Soldatenko Alice Spratt Veleslav Tachev Lucy Tonge Ho Ying (Nicole) Tse Joanna (Jo) Vaughan Georgette Wakefield Charles (Charlie) Walker Hamish Walker Rin Watanabe Thomas (Tom) Wheatley Zach Wheelhouse Steel Elizabeth (Lizzie) White Ho Ting (Jason) Wong Emily Yates Hau Wang (Howard) Yuen Alexander (Alex) Zikos

History Classics Biomedical Science Veterinary Medicine Apprenticeship, Arcadis Linguistics (International Programme) Aeronautics & Astronautics Gap Year; Politics & International Relations Gap Year Political Science Accounting & Finance Business & Management Architecture Biochemistry (inc. Year in Professional Training) Gap Year Gap Year Gap Year Mechanical Engineering Business & Marketing Management Employment / Vocational Training Art Foundation Art Foundation Psychology with Study Abroad Gap Year Geography English Literature Financial Mathematics Philosophy, Politics & Economics Philosophy & Sociology Gap Year Medicine Nutrition & Dietetics Architecture Forensic Science (with Foundation Year) Business Economics Gap Year Economics & Management Business & Management Gap Year Sport & Exercise Science Mathematics & Statistics Art Foundation Architecture Architecture

University of Exeter University of Oxford University of Birmingham University of Nottingham

Economics & Management Studies Economics & Management Linguistics International Business Management Business & Management Classical Studies & Comparative Literature Biological Sciences Religion & Theology Biological Sciences Nursing (Child) Foundation Built Environment Law Sociology Nursing (Adult) English Literature with Creative Writing Politics & International Relations Modern Languages & Cultures (with Year Abroad) Integrated Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Medical Sciences Civil Engineering Law Film Studies Biomedical Sciences

Cardiff University University of Bristol Newcastle University Royal Agricultural University University of Lincoln King’s College, University of London University of Liverpool University of Bristol University of Warwick University of Leeds Oxford Brookes University Goldsmiths, University of London University of Nottingham University of Leeds University of Leeds Loughborough University Durham University University of Bath University of Leeds University of Bristol University of Exeter King’s College, University of London Cardiff University

UCL, University of London University of Southampton University of Sussex University of Birmingham University of Warwick University of Exeter UCL, University of London Cardiff University

University of Exeter Oxford Brookes University

University of Exeter University of Exeter University of Edinburgh University of Leeds University of York University of Leeds Cardiff University University of Nottingham University of Reading Bristol, University of the West of England Cardiff University University of Oxford University of Reading University of Nottingham University of Bath University of the Arts, London University of Plymouth

POST A LEVEL APPLICANTS Matilda (Tilly) Baines William Barnes Isabel Crane Thomas (Tom) Cronchey Charlotte Fillis Louise Fisher Madeleine (Maddie) Greenway Natasha Harrington Maximilian (Max) Harris Isobel (Izzy) Hirsch Harry Hodges Oliver (Ollie) Jenkins Nicholas (Nick) Johncox Elizabeth (Lillie) Keith Sula Levitt Alexander (Al) Mackenzie Neve Matthews Sebastien (Seb) Nicastro Cormac Paul Charles (Charlie) Roberts James (Jamie) Rowley Archie Smith Grace Tyrrell

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 FROM THE ARCHIVES

FROM THE ARCHIVES A little glimpse into School menus through the centuries… I have been trawling through many folders retrieved from the catacombs of Summerhill. In amongst many documents I found some Food Committee Minutes, from the 1960s. They consist of short informative lists compiled by teaching staff, a representative from each of the five houses and catering staff. In February 1961, they met three times and comments included:

“…Fish this week excellent...” “…Sausage and onion pie was extremely popular. Can we have it more often?…” “…Kippers disliked – small and dry…” “…They would like bread omelettes…” “…Can rice puddings be made free from lumps?…” “…Can curry return to the list?...” A note next to this comment reads:”…N.B. Arrived next day!...”

Kingswood School. It stated:

This discovery was a catalyst to look at other references to food over the years at Kingswood.

“Our design is, with God’s assistance to train up children, in every branch of useful learning.”

In 1749 John Wesley produced a document entitled “A Short Account of the School in Kingswood, Near Bristol”, describing his vision for

John Wesley is so meticulous he even details the students’ diet for each day of the week. 3.

1. Dining Hall, 1892 2. Dining Hall, C1920s. In 1901, the tables were converted into smaller ones and placed across the width with a central gangway, as today. 3. The menu as it appeared in Wesley's document.

FROM THE ARCHIVES KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

On Tuesdays, for example, they would eat boiled mutton! On Saturdays, it was bacon and greens and apple dumplings. And the students were to drink water at meals and nothing between meals.

FIGURE 1

Figure 1 shows the menu as it appeared in Wesley’s document. This contrasts immensely with the fantastic varied menus on offer at Kingswood today. Searching through the magazines yielded the article shown in figure 1 from the Kingwood School Magazine in November 1905, written by E. G. Barber (KS 1869-75) recalling mealtimes at school. FIGURE 2

Interestingly, in the 1870s the concept of a birthday dessert was perhaps a little different from today! (Figure 2) F. L. Gilbert a boy at Kingswood between 1918 and 1923 recalls “The Daily Round” from his school boy diaries for 1922 and 1923. (Figure 3)

FIGURE 3

As you can see the food on offer here at Kingswood has certainly evolved through time. I would love to hear from any Old Kingswoodian who has any food memories during their time at school; any reminiscences would add to the great stories I have already unearthed in the archive. Many thanks Zoë Parsons

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 FEATURED ARTICLE

MICHAEL BISHOP Michael was a pupil at KS from 1937- 45, a Classics Teacher, Housemaster, and later Director of Studies from 1950-87. From 1987 to 2000 he was the Kingswood Archivist. following people for their help in sourcing materials: • Philippa Bishop, who has also been so patient during the protracted period of preparation of this collection. • Zoë Parsons, Kingswood Archivist, who has assisted tirelessly in so many ways with searching and photocopying. • Richard Garforth (KS 1960-66, staff 1973-2015) who has offered valuable insights.

When one of AMB's protégés, Peter Hunter (KS 1950-57), suggested that we should display one of Michael's models with an accompanying plaque in the former Moulton Hall by way of a tangible tribute to the great man, the project mutated over time for various reasons to make a photographic collection of all the extant models in KS and around Bath. To make the photos available it was decided to include them as part of a collection of AMB mentions and articles by or about him in the KS mags from the time he was a pupil and on through his teaching, drama activities, retirement to archival work and then his second retirement ending in tributes on his demise. There has had to be an element of selection, but the printed material

culled from KS Magazines, KA mags, KIF etc together with the photographs has resulted in a book of some 180 A4 pages. AMB's writings during his time as Archivist on aspects of the history of the school alone make it an interesting and possibly valuable historical collection. The copies are not up to KS magazine quality since photocopies from magazines do not come out all that well, but at least the text is legible and the book is really just a 'scrap book' collection. David Brown, the compiler, says: "I hope that this volume, possibly to be regarded as just a scrapbook for all its shortcomings, does justice to the man. I apologise for any errors and omissions. I am grateful to the 10

• Michael Jakins (KS 1957-64) whose photographs form a lasting historical record of all the models we could locate and which add enormously to this publication. Practically all the colour photos herein are examples of his work. The complete set is in the School Archives. • The staff of Beckford Tower Museum, the Museum of Bath Architecture and Bath City Archives, all of whom cheerfully and helpfully tolerated our invasions to photograph AMB's models." David M. Brown, KS 1952-58 Head of Physics 1985-99 Archivist 2000-08

If you would like a copy of this book please contact the Association Office at Kingswood School. Telephone 01225 734283 or email association@ kingswood.bath.sch.uk

GAP YEAR STUDENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

THE ASSOCIATION GAP YEAR STUDENTS JACK BRAIN, THEO GAMMIE AND CHARLIE KNIGHT Jack shares his gap year activities.

I worked from September to Christmas as a Gap Year Student in the Association office. I was not sure what to expect initially, but was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I have learnt a range of online skills, particularly Raiser’s Edge, and I know Michele has appreciated my ability on the computer, particularly when I put names on the 60+ photo! I have also had a lot of fun in the afternoons, helping with sport. I would help with senior games on the Thursday, helping run a football session for the boys who were more interested in football for the spring term rather than rugby. And then I would also help down at the Prep School. I would help coach and ref the games, like the Year 3 girls hockey, to the Year 5/6 boys rugby. It was great fun to have a bit of fresh air, and have fun with the children as well.

I have really enjoyed the job in the first term, as each day was a new task to get on with and research. There is always so much to do to keep the alumni ticking, and it has also been really nice to attend the events, and meet new people and talk to them about their time at Kingswood, and compare to how much has changed.

working as a landscaper during this time. In the summer, I am off to South America, (hopefully), for 2 ½ months, where I will be volunteering in Rio, helping coach football, and then afterwards travelling around the rest of South America, finishing up in Peru, before I fly back, and then go to Swansea University to study Geography.

The event at Christmas at the Apex was a great success. I was unsure how many people would turn up. But in the end we had many more than expected. It was also really nice to catch up with all my friends, and was also nice to see that everyone else had a good time, and I hope next year is even better! I took the spring term off to try to go skiing on a season. However, I was unlucky, and didn’t get any jobs in the Alps for a season, but did manage to get away for a week of skiing over half term with my family. While I was not skiing or at school, I have been

I look forward to returning after Easter as we have lots more events to organise and hopefully attend. Jack Brain

Our first gap year students: (LtoR) Theo, Charlie and Jack

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 GAP YEAR STUDENTS

WHAT ASSOCIATION GAPPERS DO DURING THE REST OF THE YEAR The Kingswood Association has had the pleasure of 3 excellent gap year students, Jack Brain, Theo Gammie and Charlie Knight. Theo and Charlie share what they have got up to on their year off.

The list of countries we have managed to visit is quite impressive. Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, and Nepal.

Here they share a few highlights; Charlie says a particular early highlight was Medellín in Colombia. ‘Despite its troubled history, Medellín has done an incredible job at transforming itself into a safe (by Colombian standards), vibrant and fun city, whilst still retaining its gritty core. As a geographer, I also can’t help but admire the innovative transport project of the city’s cable car system, providing transport to the informal hillside settlements.’ Both keen walkers, they have covered a lot of miles on foot in a huge variety of landscapes. Patagonia ranks up there as one of the most stunning, including Fitz Roy in Argentina. Another highlight was camping at some of the most impressive

campsites in the world, such as the one on the shores of Lago Viedma in Argentinian Patagonia (Fig.6). Getting up for this 3am sunrise was ‘worth it, in every way’. Wondering amongst the mysterious giant Moai of Easter Island, (Fig.5) and admiring long practiced Rapa Nui rituals such as sledging down a volcano on banana trees, on a tiny lump of rock 2000km from the next nearest piece of land, was a perspective changing experience. Trekking the Annapurna Circuit together in the Nepali Himalaya was another highlight. Climbing over the Thorong La pass at 5400m was a physical challenge, and they woke every morning at

FIG. 1

FIG. 2

GAP YEAR STUDENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

5am for spectacular sunrises in the mountains (Fig.3). Theo said ‘I knew the Himalayas would be big, but when you stand under a 8000m mountain in person, and gaze up to it, it’s truly inspiring.’ Charlie and Theo reached the top of Thorong La pass, 5460m above sea level (Fig.1). Theo carried the Kingswood Prep school mascot Rudyard with him on his travels, pictured here in

FIG. 6

Ha Long bay, Vietnam, (Fig.4) and Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal (Fig.2). They both feel the experiences they gained were life changing, and would urge anyone in younger years considering doing the same to contact Michelle at the Kingswood Association for a chat about the Association gap year opportunities. Theo Gammie and Charlie Knight

Both keen “walkers, they have covered a lot of miles on foot in a huge variety of landscapes.

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 ASSOCIATION DAY

ASSOCIATION DAY JUNE 2019

Every year we hold an Open Day / Reunion Day in June. It is a lovely day when we invite all Old Kingswoodians and their families to come along to Kingswood to see the changes that have been made since they were at school. They get a chance to listen to a talk from the Headmaster and Chairman of the Association. Everyone is then invited to have school lunch and to join a service in the Chapel. This is followed by a chance to watch sport on the Upper and then enjoy afternoon tea. It is a great day and we normally get glorious weather. Unfortunately, in 2020 it looks like the Coronavirus means that we will have to cancel this event. Next year we will cover any reunion that was meant for 2020.

ASSOCIATION DAY KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

1979 REUNION

1989 REUNION

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 REUNION EVENTS

KINGSWOOD COMMUNITY SUPPER (MJSD) Four times a year we hold an informal two course supper at Kingswood for the Kingswood Community. This is always a delicious meal cooked by our School Catering Team, and served by the friendly and efficient staff. There is always a warm welcome for any Old Kingswoodians and former parents and staff who wish to join us. At the Supper in September 2019 there was a final farewell to our former Chairman Nick Turner (KS 1976-81), who sadly passed away in April 2019. We gathered together to plant a tree in the Kingswood grounds. His friends and family were able to share their memories of him. In December 2019 we had the pleasure of listening to the Kingswood Prep School Choir singing carols as part of our evening.

REUNION EVENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

THE 1748 LEGACY SOCIETY This is the annual lunch for those who have joined the 1748 Society. Please do get in touch if you have already included Kingswood in your will or are considering leaving a legacy so that we can invite you to future lunches.

EXETER LUNCH 20 of us met for lunch at the Exeter Golf and Country Club in October 2019. Gordon Opie drove the School mini bus which enabled those normally unable to travel to Exeter from Bath to join us. Our host was Mike Crowe (KS 1956-62) and we were thankful to fellow guest Dick Trafford (KS 1936-44) and his wife Sheila who kept us entertained with their interesting take on life! Recent leavers Jack Brain and Emily Becconsall enjoyed spending time with a different generation of Old Kingswoodians. A good occasion and we look forward to next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gathering.

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 REUNION EVENTS

SCOTTISH REGIONAL RECEPTION

Building on the first Scottish Regional Reception in 2015, we had an excellent three course Scottish Dinner at The New Club, in Princes Street, Edinburgh in October 2019. A lovely group of Old Kingswoodians had a very enjoyable evening, some had never met before but bonded over a shared experience of being at Kingswood. We had a mixture of ages, those who have their home in Scotland and others who are at University there. Our thanks to Dr Judith McClure CBE who arranged the wonderful venue.

REUNION EVENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

60+ AUTUMN LUNCH We already hold a 20s and 30s and a 40s and 50s event in London, so quite rightly we were asked when the 60+ Lunch would be. We decided to use the same venue, The CafĂŠ Du Marche, in Charterhouse Square, London as it is owned by Old Kingswoodian Sophie Graham-Wood (KS 1999-2006) and has such a great reputation for food. This restaurant was founded by her dad in 1986 and is housed in a converted warehouse, which was once a storage warehouse for St Barts Hospital. In November 2019, 25 Old Kingswoodians sat down together to enjoy a lovely lunch and many discussions and conversations took place between long-standing friends and those re-connecting again, the common bond of Kingswood firmly in place. Everyone left with a spring in their step, smile on their face and old friendships rekindled.

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 REUNION EVENTS

20s & 30s EVENT An annual event for Old Kingswoodians who are in their 20s and 30s.

Once again we returned to CafĂŠ Du Marche in London for a Reunion of Old Kingswoodians aged from 20 to 39. Some are regular attendees who have attended every year from the very first one and they now encourage others to join us and we are pleased to say that this event never disappoints. We were joined by Simon Morris, Gordon Opie, Jackie Reeman, Angie Wright, Sandy Burgon and Jamie Matthews, all of which travelled to London to catch up with many of their formal pupils.

REUNION EVENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

CHRISTMAS RECEPTION As our Christmas event went so well in 2018 we decided to try it again on the Saturday before Christmas in 2019. We thought this might be a good time as Old Kingswoodians would be returning to Bath to spend the Christmas break with family. How right we wereâ&#x20AC;¦ We had nearly 250 Old Kingswoodians, a large group of which were very recent leavers all joining the Headmaster, Simon Morris, The President, Gordon Opie, and teachers they remembered. They all enjoyed catching up with each other and enjoying the free food and drink on offer at the Apex Hotel in Bath.

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 REUNION EVENTS

HERMITAGE HOUSE REUNION 1.

REUNION EVENTS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

Hermitage House was founded in 1906 and in 1991 it became the Day Preparatory School for Kingswood School. The School moved to its present position in 1995. In February 2020, former colleagues, parents and pupils enjoyed catching up and going over old times while enjoying a delicious buffet in the Association Hall at Kingswood Prep School.

1. Shena Lester, Jayne Langley, Elaine Culver & Alison Tucker

2. David Beresford-Smith, Elizabeth Redman, Judith Beresford-Smith & Patricia Gooderman (nĂŠe Redman) 3. Julie Cook & Elaine Culver 4. Simon Morris, Chrissi Dowling & Harriet Beveridge 5. Carol Waterfall, Zoe Parsons, Paul Greene & Ian Shrubsole

6. Andrew Fraser, Isabelle Turner & Sue Butcher 7. Mark Brearey, Meg Newbery & Simon Morris 8. Alison, Geoff, Anne & Richard Vowles 9. Jo Francis-Pope, Nicky Amery, Mary Wimpress & Carey Clifford

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 GLOBAL REUNIONS

KINGSWOOD SCHOOL VISITS OLD KINGSWOODIANS IN JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA Old Kingswoodians gathered in Tokyo, Christchurch, Rotorua, Auckland, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney in February. Sadly the coronavirus outbreak meant that two very keenly supported receptions had to be cancelled in Hong Kong and Bangkok. 1.

TOKYO DINNER Left to right – Mrs Seki, Changmi, Chris Dixon (1975-84), Shui Mitsuda (1991), Kenjiro Matsumura (1993), Takaya Seki (1972) and Tadayoshi (Taz) Tazaki (1964).

SYDNEY DINNER Left to right – Martin Russell (1952-59), Ian Morris (1973-80), Tony Corcoran, Edwina Morris, Kate Corcoran (1979-82), Mark McConnell (1985-89) and Clive Hunton (1983-89).

GLOBAL REUNIONS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

PERTH DINNER Left to right – Tony Shephard (1956-62), Kip, Jo O’Farrell (1985-90), Loy Faulkner, Ken Law (1978-79), Louisa Chapman (1981-88), Helen Debenham (1993-2000) and Holly Birch (1982-89). 6.

MELBOURNE DINNER

Left to right – Ukari Warman (1993-98), John Heatherington (1954-58), Justin Sandhu (1990-91), Kumud and Dinesh Singapuri (1971-74).

1. Peter (1954-64) and Anne Moody in Christchurch in New Zealand

4. John Shrewsbury (1964-70) in Christchurch New Zealand

2. Steve Frenkel (1965-67)

5. Kip Faulkner (1963-68)

3. Roger (1959-66) and Mary Loveless in Rotorua, New Zealand

6. Ian Morris (1973-80) 7. Chris Dixon (1975-84)

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 VISITORS

1. Becky Lalanne (KS 1993-98) 2. Geoffrey Saunders (KS 1949-57)

3. John Howell (KS 1970-77) 4. Julia Ignatowa (née Sergienko) and Faye Lord (née Tavernor) left in 2004

VISITORS TO 4.

VISITORS KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

KINGSWOOD 9.

Tim Cheater (KS 1967-72)

John Roebuck (KS 1958-66)

Jonathon Aiken (KS 2013-15)

Alastair Begley (KS 2001-08)

Nicholas Hollings (KS 1975-78)

10.

11.

10. Jeremy Fry (left in 2001) 11. Francis Luckcock (KS 1950-58) and his son Tim Luckcock (KS 1974-82)

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 NEWS

NEWS IAN MARTYN (KS 1966-73) In 2012, after a long battle with cancer, my dear wife and great friend of 35 years, Eileen Martyn, passed away holding my hand. During my agonising bereavement time a wonderful lady from Berlin, whom I met at a Tibetan monastery, told me she was going to take care of me and love me back to life.

HUGO TAM (KS 2013-15) Hugo visited in September 2019. He has finished his University degree at Durham, where he had been studying law and is starting his new job, as a training solicitor back home in Hong Kong. Before he starts he is travelling around the UK because he wanted to visit the places that mean something to him, and teachers that have helped him get to where he is now. He also visited Durham where he went to University to see his professors, and thank them for all they have done.

Torquay, writing songs about life, love, loss and spiritual encounters. Jeremy Wimpress informed me I still hold sports records at KS, never been broken since my leaving in 1973. George Hubbock had just arrived at the school, fresh out of Uni at around age 23 years and was given the job to be our X country master.

Indeed, Mirjam, has achieved this and we do live happily ever after.

We became married on 10 June 2017 in The Living Coast, Torquay. In fact other fellow Kingswoodian friends attended and shared this happy day (Tim Lindsay, Neil Hutchings, Nickolas Oliver). I now live between Berlin and

The 2 running photos are courtesy of Nicholas Hall from same year at Kingswood School.

BOB CLARK Kingswood were delighted to welcome back Bob Clark (Jungle Jim) in October. It had been 60 years since he had started at Kingswood as the Sports Master. Bob became the Housemaster of School House, and he left in 1990. We arranged a lunch for him with some of his friends from his time here. Pictured from left to right are; Gordon Opie who took over

from him as Head of PE & Games, Angie Wright who worked with him in the Sports Department, Una Paver who is now the Housemistress of School House, Richard Garforth who was a teacher at the same time as him, Bob, and John Lewis who was the Fonthill Housemaster 1976-94, KA General Secretary & KAN Editor 1995-2006 and Physics Teacher 1972-97.

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ELLES BAILEY Elles came to Kingswood in November 2019 to help with our Lower Sixth Career Seminars. She studied Drama & Theatre Studies at Kingswood, as well as being involved in music and left in 2006.

She is now a touring musician and she tours all over Europe. Her stage name is Elles Bailey but was known at school as Elles Williams. www.ellesbailey.com https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=cCkP5qXJum8

BRIAN SHAW (KS 1951-55) Brian came to visit in August 2019, he had just celebrated his 80th birthday and his two children bought him to Kingswood as part of his celebrations. He is very fit and well and came with old photos to show and remembered lots of interesting facts about his time here. He had gone in the military after Kingswood and he thinks Kingswood prepared him for this.

CAPT DANIEL WARD (KS 1999-2005) Daniel, a serving officer in the British Army, delivered a General Studies lesson to the Sixth Form on 11 October 2019. He related the values he had gained from a Kingswood education to his military career to date, including deployments in Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere. Daniel discussed how Kingswoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adventurous and sporting

opportunities build character and encourage a lifelong ambition to challenge oneself. He related some of his A Level academic studies to his current military employment and emphasised that the analytical skills gained at Kingswood will prepare students for success across a range of employment. His focus was on the values and traits which he believes Kingswood instils in its students. In particular, Daniel credited Kingswoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on humility, honesty and teamwork as preparing him to thrive in demanding conditions alongside international partners. Firmly believing the military to offer opportunities for future generations of Kingswoodians, Daniel is happy to discuss careers in the Armed Forces with any current of former students. Please contact the Kingswood Association for contact details. 29

He was always interested in music, Mr Sykes was the teacher he most remembered and he still plays the piano.

ANTONY HOOPER, (KS 1946-56) & ADRIAN AYLOTT, (KS 1949-56) Reunited in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, February 2020.

CHARLOTTE HATHAWAY

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 NEWS

In 2017 I contributed a profile to the magazine talking about an arts career I didn't realise I had just left (running artistic and youth projects with professional musicians in the field of Scottish traditional music). I was at the start of an exciting 3+ years living in the French Caribbean, on the island of Martinique. I had arrived as a Language Assistant for the British Council but it didn't take me long to buy my own boat and start sailing. Now, as I try to gather my thoughts on what Brexit means for me and my life abroad, I find myself bilingual, classed as an official French Seafarer and am pursuing a career as a professional sailor. Right now I'm a sort of Long John Silver (ship's cook with a mutinous heart), but I strongly believe that we need more

female professional skippers and this is my current aim. When I first came to Martinique I was 30 years old and had started sailing about a year before. After my first year I joined a catamaran as crew to cross the Atlantic back to Europe. The skipper told me that I'd never be able to sail solo because I wasn't autonomous enough. A year and a bit later I manoeuvred cautiously away from anchor alone in my own boat and, with the support of my marina friends (who had all come out in theirs), managed my first solo sail. It was terrifying and I cried real tears because I knew no-one could see me - which in itself felt like an amazing thing. After that I started crossing the channels between the islands,

making international trips around the region, finally ending up in Antigua. Antigua was important because it was where my grandmother had grown up, and where her family's roots had been buried since the 1700s. My grandfather had left Glasgow in the 40s to pursue a new life in the Caribbean, sailing boats and working in the sugar industry. I'd now essentially done the same (except for the sugar part, although I do like rum), leaving Glasgow and tracing the footsteps of grandparents I hadn't really known. I'm now writing a blog about the experience and wondering what my next leap might be. If you're interested, head along to www.charlottehathaway.com and click on 'blog' or 'Ile des Revenants: Island of Returners'.

DR GARTH WILSON (KS 1949-56)

Garth sent the Association this information; Back in 1972 when I was Head of Science at St Mary Magdalene School, Richmond, Surrey, I had a three hour meeting with Mrs Margaret Thatcher, the then Secretary for Science & Education.

Dr Garth Willson MA (Cantab), MRCS (England), LRCP (London)

At the time brighter pupils took General Certificate of Education exams i.e. only approx. 20%. Of the remaining 80% about 50% took the Certificate of Secondary Education and 30% after 11 years of teaching, took

no exams at all, which I don’t think she knew about. Also the GCE syllabuses and CSE syllabuses were in many ways different and CSE did not meld into GCE ’O’ level and GCE ‘A’ level. I managed to persuade her to have only one exam, the General Certificate for Secondary Education, and that all pupils MUST take it.

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TOM O’BRYAN (KS 2002-09)

Tom is a British diplomat, currently posted to the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan is experiencing the worst conflict in the world; conflict-related deaths have more than doubled since 2014, with the Taliban now controlling more territory than any time since the international invasion of 2001. Tom has engaged on UK efforts to support an inclusive Afghan-owned peace process, working towards a political solution to the war. After leaving Kingswood in 2009, Tom studied International Relations with French at the University of Exeter, graduating with first class honours and a Dean’s commendation for academic excellence. He went on to work as a political advisor with the United Nations, serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Tom acted as the UN’s lead observer to ‘la tripartite’ dialogue mechanism between the Congolese government, opposition, and civil society,

amidst a political crisis over delayed presidential elections. In 2015, Tom was selected as a UK Kennedy Scholar to study at Harvard University, representing Britain’s ‘living legacy to President John F. Kennedy.’ Previous Kennedy Scholars include David Miliband and Ed Balls. Tom graduated from Harvard with a Masters of Public Policy, specialising in conflict resolution, peace processes and negotiation. He led a delegation of Harvard

postgraduate researchers and students to North Korea in 2016, learning more about this highly secretive and poorly-understood country and engaging with its people.

graduated “fromTom Harvard with a Masters of Public Policy, specialising in conflict resolution, peace processes and negotiation.

In addition to Afghanistan and the DRC, Tom has also worked in Jerusalem on the Israel Palestine conflict, serving in the Office of the Middle East Quartet formerly led by Tony Blair; in Tunisia, in the wake of the Arab Spring revolution; on the Western Sahara conflict, promoting human rights; and in Washington, DC, with an international human rights advocacy focus. He has published widely on various international issues, including with Foreign Affairs journal, and testified before the UK House of Commons International Development Select Committee. 31

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 NEWS

ROGER W WHITE MBE (KS 1958-66) Roger came to visit Kingswood in August 2019 and it was lovely to show him around and hear of his life in Cambodia. One day he has promised to write his life story for this magazine, but he is far too busy at the moment. His present position is Personal Advisor to HRH Prince Norodom Sirivudh in Cambodia.

ROSS HARDING (KS 2002-07) Ross, Head of Hall House, returned to Kingswood in February to talk to the sixth form about his career from School to his present role of IT Audit Manager at the Bank of England.

JOHN YEO (KS 1968-73) & MARTYN PERKINS (KS 1968-74) Here’s a photo of two friends of more than fifty years – both Upper House!

NICK HOLLINGS (KS 1975-78) Nick visited in January 2020 and was very pleased to meet up with his former teacher Marcus Sealy who is still working at Kingswood.

One a stained glass artist, the other an MP. This was taken in March 2020 before all the madness kicked off.

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KINGSWOOD SCHOOL IN THE LATE 1940'S

By David Newton

My mother was about to join my father in Germany in 1946 when I was told I would be going to boarding school. She had recently met with Headmaster Sackett and was assured that I would be in safe hands. Then began the lengthy task of getting the school uniform and sewing my name tag in every item of clothing that I would take with me. My next memory is of taking the train from Bristol to Bath — a short journey but advised since "new boys" from all over the country would gather at Bath Station by Kingswood staff and driven to the school. Prior to going to Kingswood I had attended Bristol Grammar School and so was quite familiar with the routines of school life, but without boarding. At Kingswood I was assigned to Hall House whose Housemaster was Mr Sedgely who strode around the school, hands clasped behind his back and chin thrust forward, hence his nickname —"the Jaw". At that time the pupils, three hundred or so, were all boys between the age of twelve and eighteen. My dormitory was in two adjoining large rooms each with twenty or so boys of similar age. Downstairs each house had a "common room" also divided between junior and senior boys. A daily routine was strictly adhered to. Wake up bell at 7am. Morning prayers in the chapel. Breakfast. Classes from 9am until 12am. Lunch, then sports on the upper field until 4pm, followed by more classes until dinner at 6pm, followed by "home studies" in the common room. Sports were important, rugby all winter and field hockey in spring; cricket or track and field in summer with limited access to tennis. Kingswood's seven aside rugby had a high national reputation throughout

After sports on the upper field we returned to our dormitory to wash and change. Hall House dormitory windows were behind our beds and washing cubicles and looked out over Lansdown Hill. Frequently Royal School girls in crocodile files were seen sedately walking from their playing fields back to school. From our windows we cheered them loudly on their way, until they broke into a run.

tails. The regular blackboard wooden cleaners were often thrown at inattentive students — as also pieces of chalk; some teachers acquired a high degree of accuracy with chalk. My most embarrassing incident in class was when, newly arrived, I was assigned the essay topic of "being healthy". Somewhere in the essay I wrote that "if you have a hot chocolate and a shower before going to bed you will wake up feeling rosy all over". The teacher wrote across the page "Lucky Rosie" which, to my extreme embarrassment I had to read out to the class. I learned the importance of clarity.

Classroom study numbered twenty or so boys although later in the Upper Sixth the numbers in some of the subjects could be as low as half a dozen. When the teachers entered the room we all stood. They wore the academic gowns and frequently cleaned the blackboard with the gown

We all addressed each other by our surnames as I did to my brother when he joined the school three years later, even though we knew their Christian names. My closest friends were Gary Watson, W. N. Edwards, Hargreaves, Hughes-Jones and, although a few years younger, Nick Fenn.

the public school world. Most of us thoroughly enjoyed the school swimming pool. If weather was so vile as to damage the cricket pitch we all had a cross country run.

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Another friend from another House was Derek Beauchamp. My favourite subjects were English Literature and History and I later passed School Cert with flying colours in the subjects. In English classes we had to learn large chunks of Shakespeare and poetry, something which I did not like doing at the time but that now I am very glad I did. (I can still amaze my children and grandchildren by reciting passages to them)We also read foreign writers and I was fascinated with the American William Saroyan whom I met years later and amazed him by quoting passages of his books from memory. Modern History was taught in a rather dull way by Mr Milne with lots of dates on the blackboard; even so I became quite obsessed by the subject and soon became absorbed by books beyond the curriculum by writers such as A L Rouse on Tudor history. Like all schoolboys of that and earlier generations we were quite brutal with nicknames. Any irregularity in speech or manner, such as a stutter, would be ruthlessly ridiculed. That

ruthlessness applied also to teachers. We discovered that Mr Sackett had not only lost a leg in the First World War and now wore a prosthetic, but also that his middle name was Barrett. A prominent shoe company called Barretts had as its advertising slogan, "Walk the Barrett Way". Immediately students, little monsters as some were, were regularly seen on the playground walking with one leg thrown out in front somewhat like Monty Python and his "Silly Walk". On one awful occasion a newly arrived young teacher was so bombarded at first by innocuously stupid and rapid questioning and later by paper aeroplanes and chalk, that he fled the class through an open window. The window was on the 34

ground floor. He did not return and the students received a severe and angry lecture from Mr Sackett. Although teachers had recourse to corporal punishment it was rarely used. The only time I was fearful of getting caned or worse was walking along a country lane by myself when I saw a girl, probably from the Royal School, and I stopped and had a brief chat. It was then to my horror that along came a teacher and saw us. Horror indeed, I was talking to a girl. I can't remember that such a thing was explicitly banned but we all knew that girls were off-limit. Fortunately the teacher, "Tic" Barnes, was a gentle-soul, and I never heard anything more about it.

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bowed deeply. He then returned the bow and all boys dispersed. One of my granddaughters visiting the school recently said the school and hall reminded her of Hogwarts Academy.

“

...now, seventy years later I look back on my years at Kingswood with thoughts, perhaps tinged with nostalgia, but with warmth and happiness.

Although every morning started with prayers in the chapel, on Sundays there was a full service, we in formal dark wear, occasionally with visiting minister who was heavy on "Sin" to which we were believed to be very vulnerable although how we were to indulge it was unclear. We could only go into Bath on Saturdays and those who were not in the Sixth Form had to wear their school caps. It was said that Bath was a place where the young can't live and the old can't die. Going to the cinemas was forbidden. ln the school basement was the "tuck shop" and parents were authorised to give us a maximum but modest

number of shillings a term for refreshments there. All our meals were held in the dining hall the walls of which carried the names and achievements of past scholars. There was also a carved head and shoulders of John Wesley, hands stretched forward. Rumour had it that one student was severely punished because he had placed a rugby ball between John Wesley's hands. When I later became the Hall House prefect I sat with back to wall and head of the table. The meals were served by maids who all seemed to have come from Wales. The food was sufficient but not noticeably good; the war had only recently finished and rationing was still enforced. We were often served a bland roly-poly sweet confection we called "babies legs". Meat was scarce and what we first thought of as ground beef was discovered to be ground whale meat from Norway. Before the meal started the rollcall was called. At the end of the main meal the house prefects walked to the Hall entrance, turned and faced the duty master on the dais at the far end and

Whenever the school governors met, the much anticipated one day off was announced. We were allowed to go just about anywhere but only to pass through towns, not to stay in them. On one occasion three of us hitch-hiked to Norton St Phillips and had a drink in the George which was reputedly the headquarters in the Monmouth Rebellion. To our horror two school masters came into the bar. We fled. They pretended not to see us. Later in my time at Kingswood I had a bicycle and twice cycled to Stonehenge. I clearly remember sitting alone eating my sandwich while leaning against one of the stones and gazing over the empty fields. I do not know if I was part of a group or if I simply wandered into the public balcony of Bath's criminal court. I do remember seeing the judge don a square of black cloth and condemn the prisoner to death by hanging. My first summer holiday was eagerly anticipated because I was to travel to Germany to join my parents and brother. But tragedy intervened. Although I don't clearly remember the sequence of events, one boy got infantile paralysis and there was fear that it might spread. There was also an influenza epidemic and I spent all my time when not in class walking the fields and lanes desperate not to catch anything which would prevent travelling. Some hundreds of us, boys and girls from across the country were escorted from London and boarded a ship to Cuxhaven, then by rail south to be dropped off and met by parents at cities continued overleaf 

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 NEWS

because I could ride a bicycle. So we crossed the Channel, headed south, first to Paris with L-plates and GB plates dangling off the bike's rear acknowledged with a toot or honk by every car with a GB plate. At roadside cafes we tried to shock the French with KINGSWOOD SCHOOL, JUNE 1948 our enormous Top left: me (David Newton), first left teacher row: Mr Sedgely, breakfasts of right teacher row, second left: Mr Barnes bacon, eggs and sausages. I also had my along the way. I was the only first steak which I thoroughly one left at Munster and saw the enjoyed, only to discover later incredible destruction of the city. that it was not beef but horse. All I could see from the station Finally we stopped at a campsite platform was devastation. I had and beach at Cavaliere for a spent the war years in Bristol couple of happy weeks. Then on and badly bombed as it had through the Riviera, across the been the destruction was slight border to Ventimiglia then back compared to Munster. Then on to across France to home. Burgsteinfurt with my parents to spend a happy summer making Music played no prominent role in friends, as had my brother, with my life at school but had a subtle various German boys and girls. impact. The school orchestra was excellent and music seemed also During the summer 1948 the to be constantly drifting from school celebrated its Bi-Centennial. the two or three "music rooms" The day was sunny and warm used by music students. Mr and the grounds were filled with "Bill"Sykes, an eccentric and wild visiting parents. I remember little appearing music teacher, was of it since I was excited that my an acknowledged composer of parents also had come across some prominence. from Germany and I could show them around. I clearly remember coming down to the common room In the summer after passing my one morning to hear the School Certificate the parents of announcement that war had Derek Beauchamp and myself begun in Korea, followed by bought "mini-motors" for the the music of Wagner's "Rienzi rear wheels of our bikes to aid Overture". Much earlier we had us on our journey to the south all listened to that same wireless of France. We had to take a broadcasting the sentencing at driver's licence test to ride the the Nuremburg trials of Goering, bikes with engine on. I failed. Hess etc. The small wireless in The government wasn't going our common room was the main to give me a licence that would source of news and entertainment allow me to drive a car just

and it was sited over the radiators. Consequently on cold winter mornings we would flee from our freezing dormitories to listen to the news and warm our hands. Mr Sackett had some three hundred boys to oversee so had little time for individual oversight. Nevertheless I well remember a few contacts with him. Asked by him what I read, I proudly replied, "BEAU GESTE by PC Wren sir". He did not admonish me but suggested alternatives. At one point he took me to the grounds alongside the chapel. "I would like to have a big garden here that can provide the school with vegetables" he said and somehow, but now forgotten, I was involved in its creation. Strange that he should have picked me out then since during most of my adult life I have been involved with agriculture. On a later occasion I told him that I wanted to join the Army. He thought I should go onto university. But I felt I had had enough of classrooms and took the examination for Sandhurst, When the results were published, of the couple of hundred or so applicants I was fourth, ahead of boys from Wellington, Clifton, Eton and Harrow. So perhaps Mr Sackett had been right after all. In my first few weeks at Kingswood I was homesick and unhappy exacerbated by an ear infection which required a stay at the school hospital. The kindly teacher "Tic" Barnes and his sister visited me more than once bringing fruit treats and I soon recovered. Today, I sometimes read of the misery of boys at boarding schools. I was not one of them and now, seventy years later I look back on my years there with thoughts, perhaps tinged with nostalgia but with warmth and happiness.

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AFTER KINGSWOOD After school and Sandhurst I served in the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment in Europe and in Malaya during the Emergency, but with the Regiment returning to Europe I resigned to try my luck in the USA. I also married there. After four years in New York City in a variety of jobs we decided to head north to Canada where we had, for a pittance, acquired 400 acres and we became early “back to the landers”. After five years of working in the woods and writing articles about it we moved to a smaller farm nearer the city. There I became Associate Editor of the local newspaper. After a further five years I was approached by a Canadian Crown Corporation which I joined as Director of Primary Development. The work was very similar to that of the UK’s Highland and Islands Development Board. I stayed with them twelve years until they were dissolved and then did work of a similar nature for the Federal Business Development Bank until I retired at 65. During this entire period we farmed, initially raising sheep and cattle and latterly market garden crops and greenhouse production. I also wrote a couple of books on local history. We still live on this 100 acre “Loyalist” farm – half forest with a view of the ocean - where we have raised our six children and now operate a small vineyard. After retirement I became a student at the local university and obtained a BA in History. Mr Sackett would be pleased.

MEETING AFTER 60 YEARS… Bob Kirtley (Hall House 1954-61) featured in the 20182019 issue of “Kingswood Association News” (p. 32), where it was mentioned that he and his wife Helen had moved to Raunds, Northamptonshire, after 16 happy years in France. This item was seen by Michael Jefferson (Hall

House 1955-59), who lives with his wife Caroline only 10 miles away. Here is a photograph after Bob and Michael had lunched together 60 years after they last saw each other, where they both reminisced and explored areas of mutual interest. They look forward to another meeting including their respective wives. Despite Michael’s unkempt hair, they had only consumed one nonalcoholic beer and one glass of wine between them! REUNION OPPORTUNITY Bob and Michael would be delighted if any Old Boys in the East Northamptonshire/ North Bedfordshire/ Huntingdonshire area were to contact them with a view to having a get-together.

SIPHO DLAMINI (Class of 1992) Sipho came to visit on 22 August with his wife and two daughters. He had not been back to Kingswood since he left in 1992. He was very happy that Gordon Opie was around as he had been his sports teacher while here and they had a chance to reminisce about his school days. He is now Managing Director of Universal Music Africa, based in South Africa.

JOANNA WYATT (KS 1996-2003) Joanna and her partner Paul Marks welcomed their son Winston Bruce on 23rd October 2019, a brother for Beatrice.

David Newton (KS 1946-51)

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RECOLLECTIONS OF 50 YEARS WORKING AT KINGSWOOD It was a very hot day in June 1970 when I arrived at Kingswood for my interview with Lowry Creed, the Headmaster. I was shown round by David Barker, Head of Music, who was anxious to tell me that the Music Dept (then under the Dining Hall) had been excavated by the boys themselves. He broke off from his guided tour to separate a sixth form boy from a young member of the catering team who were enjoying a few minutes together where they thought they would be alone. In the distance John Byrt was rehearsing the wind band in the Yeoman of the Guard Overture for Open Day. Mr Creed kindly offered to take me back to the station in his Rover 90: we stopped in the middle of Milsom Street so that he could pick up a prescription for his wife from the Boots branch there. A double-decker bus arrived and could not pass; its driver showing his irritation by using his horn, until the unfazed Headmaster reappeared, waved cheerily at him, and traffic could move once again.

A very popular “Saturday evening feature was the Moulton Hall (now the Heap Library) film show for all boarders: this was before the days of videos...

I was allocated to Westwood; home to a hundred boarders aged 11-14. Phil Arnold, the seemingly austere Senior Housemaster, was not impressed: ‘Another b****y wet musician, I suppose’ he had said to John Bennets, the live-in housemaster, before my

arrival. He would leave notes on my desk telling me about house arrangements, and anything I had to do during evening duties – which was normally telling the boys what they were not allowed to do. After a few weeks he decided that we should hold a fire alarm after the boys’ lights-out time. Once the boys were safely back in their beds, Phil said: ‘After a fire practice we all go to the pub: the prefects can look after the House - they’ll know where to find us’, and he, John and I went to the private hotel which used to exist opposite the Hare and Hounds. It was obvious that I was now deemed ‘ok’, particularly when I offered to buy the first round!

was in Chapel. We collected all the débris into a large paper sack. Regrettably this broke while we were getting it down the stairs under the Tower, and empty bottles, contents of ash-trays, remains of the food the caterer had kindly provided, all cascaded towards the main entrance, making a loud noise of breaking bottles, and smelling like a pub at closing time. While wondering what to do next, we were amazed to see a whole host of cleaners arrive from all over the school, and within two minutes, pristine order had been restored, with an all-pervading smell of disinfectant greeting matron as she re-appeared from Chapel.

New members of staff were always invited to a Saturday evening drinks party with John Gardner, the Second Master. John Bennets had prepared me well: I was to drink what was offered (the host’s favourite was Gin and Mixed), and to return to his flat afterwards for strong coffee, and to let him and his wife (Françoise) know who had been there!

It will be evident from some of this that Health & Safety had not yet become all-consuming; we trusted prefects to look after houses during prep, and to run Occupations (clubs and societies). We did not need parental consent for dangerous activities, or for spur-of the-moment excursions. Peter Wilbourn, who taught woodwork, ran the 1st Cricket XI, and the Crew (rock climbing, canoeing etc), asked me after lunch one day if I had ever been down a cave. I hadn’t. His senior caving club boys were members of the Mendip Cave Rescue Organisation, and were frequently called out to assist with rescuing, so he knew his way round. He told me that he was going to ask his Lower Fifth

Other resident staff lived on the first floor corridor under Hall and School Houses: there were parties there, too. One birthday was celebrated in fine style, and those who were able to miss the compulsory chapel the next morning volunteered to clear up. This had to be done while Matron, a strict teetotaller – and always ready to air her views – 38

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class if they would rather stay in the classroom for the afternoon, or go caving. A ‘no-brainer’, as one might say today! We loaded up the minibus and spent a merry afternoon underground, going through large caverns, very cold waterfalls, deep sumps, and tight ‘drains’. When Phil Arnold died suddenly one Easter, Keith Duchars took over Westwood. The house became much more of a home, partly because we now had the first generation of junior girls attached to us during the day, and partly because Keith and Jackie wanted it to be more ‘familyorientated’ for their own, and other peoples’ children. Table tennis tables appeared in the Day Room, and a television for weekends. A Guy Fawkes bonfire and fireworks night was added to the calendar, with boys scurrying round the woods during weekends prior to the event, collecting wood. Baked potatoes and beans were served afterwards, and a couple of ‘educational’ films (normally Tom and Jerry) were shown before a late bed. A very popular Saturday evening feature was the Moulton Hall (now the Heap Library) film show for all boarders: this was before the days of videos, and I volunteered to organise films from the distributing companies to cater for all tastes, and ages. Luckily my own film tastes were (and possibly still are) fairly juvenile, so lots of adventure films, and the occasional Western, with some comedies. A projection team of about three or four boys ensured that all went well, and they became very adept at (illegally) splicing the reels of film together so that there was no break: there would be mayhem in the Hall if it all broke down. The school was notably ‘Methodist’: a third of the students

were sons/daughters of Methodist ministers, and there were three services in the Chapel on a Sunday: 8am Holy Communion (voluntary); 10.00 Junior Service; and 7.00pm Senior Service. A hymn was sung at the 8am, and choirs sang at the latter two, so all three of us on the Music Staff (all organists) were quite busy. Juniors were not allowed exeats until after the 10.00 service (and then only every three weeks), and Seniors had to be back for 7.00, or 6.00 if they were in the choir. The choir also sat in the choir stalls for weekday morning chapel, providing an excellent lead to the singing. As organists, we were expected to play for five minutes before each service while the students arrived in silence, and to play a suitable piece as exit music. This fostered the love of organ music in many students, a fair number went on to play at University level, and/or as Cathedral Organ Scholars. Well, since then, of course, the school has expanded considerably. From the 422 boys (90% boarders) in my first term, we now have 800 students in the Senior School, with another 358 in the Prep School (which in 1970 39

was a very happy Prior’s Court near Newbury – I always enjoyed going there to judge their Music Competition); and from the 22 teaching staff we now have about 90, with another 33 in the Prep School. Class sizes have risen, and the ever-increasing burden of bureaucracy and accountability has significantly added to the load on staff: parents were normally only invited to meet the staff on the last morning of each term, when collecting the boys for the holidays – a very concise written report was deemed to give them as much information as they could possibly need. School meals have improved amazingly over the years, and I calculate I have eaten my way through about 10,000 school lunches! Zoë Parsons (our excellent Archivist) has kindly given me a list of 350 members of the teaching staff I would have known since 1970. One constant through the years has been the friendship, help and camaraderie of the staff (both teaching and support) - for which I have been extremely grateful. Marcus Sealy (KS Staff 1970-2020)

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on how lucky we truly are to have the simplest of joys.

CRAIG NANNESTAD (KS 2001-06) WRITING UNDER THE NAME OF CRAIG HENRY The Cared For â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Book raising money for the NHS by Craig Henry. Over the course of the last year I have been through tough times. Swelling in my spine caused some nerves to be compressed and cost me the ability to walk, my job and at one point, endangered my life. I spent 34 nights in hospital bed bound and reliant on medication which has changed my life forever and offered me a unique perspective

REV JOHN E. STANFIELD (KS 1931-39) Happy 100th Birthday to Rev John E. Stanfield. John was born on 6 April 1920 in Hankow, China (now part of Wuhan!) John was called up to the army at the beginning of the war in 1941 at the age of 20. He went to India to the South East Asia Command under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. He has written many books telling his life stories.

The book started as ramblings in a blog that I started on my mobile phone. It was a way of helping the time go by and all I did was observe what went on around me and note it down. It was not long before I had collected snippets of a unique environment full of characters, failing resources and the most hardworking and kind members of staff you could have the pleasure of meeting.

If the last year has taught me anything, it is to never lose hope. I have shared rooms with people who have died, been homeless, had Cancer and even drank and smoked inside my own hospital ward. I have taken so much of my life for granted and in sharing my story, I hope others can realise the good around us and forget the bad, because, when all is said and done none of the small stuff truly matters. The Cared For is available from Amazon.co.uk.

After spinal surgery I had a long time to recover so I chose to turn my ramblings into a book charting my journey through the NHS & Private healthcare worlds. It is not a pretty tale, but it is one that is honest and unforgiving. The book is about celebrating the NHS and how no one truly understands how incredible they are until they have touched someone in your life. With this in mind, after independently publishing the book, I made the choice to donate 50% of the books sales to the NHS hospital that I stayed in, in a hope to help future patients like me.

HUGH WRIGHT (KS 1948-57) Perhaps former members of staff, fellow governors of the school and my contemporaries at KS (1948-57) may be interested that a book I have written was launched at Downside Abbey by The Downside Abbey Press on September 28th 2019. The book is called The Webbs of Odstock. They were a Catholic Recusant family from before the split with Rome to Catholic emancipation so the book becomes a history of the treatment of Catholics in England between those dates as well as a history of an important family in the west country and beyond, that has not been written before.

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GRAHAM JONES (KS 1964-70) September 2019 saw the publication of a new book by Graham Jones.

THANK YOU FROM THE ARCHIVE Have you ever noticed the Hatchment hanging in the Gallery above the Dining Hall and wondered what it is and why it was there? Hatchments are paintings of coats of arms, prepared to commemorate people. The frames are square but, unlike pictures, they are hung diamond-wise. This one is here to commemorate Peter Gilbert Summers. This was a tribute organised by David Lane (KS 1951-61), and the artist was Tony Griffiths (KS 1953-59). Peter Summers was the Bursar at Kingswood for 24 years from 1945 until 1969. His great interests, outside the bursary, included pre-history, William Beckford, heraldry, hatchments and bookplates. His obituary in the Kingswood Association Magazine in March 1995 recalls: “…Peter was supremely someone who revealed the pattern, the hidden picture, which other people did not see was there… He was truly a Kingswood man, searching the past for enlightenment and preserving it for future generations. His monumental work was the national survey of hatchments, which resulted in the series of books published by Phillimore Hatchments in Britain - of which he was the general editor for some years…" It is this set of ten books that David Brown donated to the Kingswood School Archive, in December 2019. The school is most grateful for this kind donation. 41

‘Astonishment: Laying Ghosts in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe’ is published by Instant Apostle and combines Graham’s own memories of his childhood in colonial Rhodesia with the very different life story of a Zimbabwean contemporary (the improbably named Astonishment), growing up on the other side of the racial divide.

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DYSLEXIA AND ME THE CIRCLE OF LIFE!

By Phil Roseblade

A short while ago, I took a moment to amuse myself by reviewing my past school reports (as one does!).As an 8 year old in Mrs Brown’s class (Ah…Mrs Brown…) it appears I rarely distinguished myself – indeed it was noted at the end of my Report that I was listed as 43rd out of 43 in the class…not the most promising start to a career in academia! My sister was simultaneously Top of the Class and had just achieved a scholarship to Portsmouth High School for Girls. Hmmm…it would seem I was not on track. Then one bleak Autumn morning I was summoned to the Headteachers Office by Miss Benson – a formidable school secretary. What crime had I committed this time? None it would seem, but nonetheless some form of academic torture programme was awaiting me – an entrance examination for Priors Court School! Some weeks passed until the inevitable brown envelope dropped through the door. A sense of shock pervaded

the atmosphere as with some delight my mother announced I had succeeded in passing. This indeed was a strange and unfamiliar experience for me, but one that allowed me to experience a little pride for once. So the day arrived in early September 1963, when, with a shiny new blue trunk in the boot of the car, we headed off to Chieveley. Greeted by Mr Paine, who later would have to manage my way through the mysteries of Maths, I was escorted to Kite, the dormy that was to be my home for the next 12 weeks. I was very intimidated and anxious, but was also strengthened by the verse 42

my Grandfather had written into the front of a new Methodist Hymn Book he gave me. “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT But why did I have to work so much harder to achieve the same targets as my classmates? Why did I struggle with Spelling, Reading and Written Comprehension? Dyslexia was an unknown learning difficulty in the 60s. Pioneering work by

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Professor Tim Miles of Bangor University was beginning to unlock the kind of problems I was experiencing. He was a founder member of The British Dyslexia Association established in 1972. I had the pleasure of working with him for some years through the 90s. So when I arrived at Kingswood in 1966, my reports continued to be peppered with comments like ‘He has gained good results, but if he is to be at all successful, he must speed up considerably!’ Nowadays, we recognise slow processing speed and other difficulties I was encountering as indicative of Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). We also recognise that students with these difficulties may instead excel at verbal responses in class, as well as in other areas such as practical or artistic subjects. Indeed, that was happening. My interest in singing was flourishing as I was being ably and sympathetically coached by Mrs Ida Prins-Buttle – for me a celebrated member of the Music Department Teaching Staff. Although, I was failing to be able to master reading music (hardly surprising as I was struggling to read at all), her encouragement to continue singing has always been for me a means to release and express my soul. I was also making headway as a member of the Cycling Club and Swords Club. However, academic success seemed to still allude me, and despite extra support from Lowry Creed himself, on the day the next important brown envelope arrived, the reception was measurably less joyful. I had managed to pass just 1 out of 9 O Levels and that was in Religious Education. Well, at least it seemed I was getting my priorities right and was opening the right doors first.

I persisted with my studies the following year as a member of ‘Bridge’ (an elite group of ‘didn’t quite make its’). That was the year that the new Sixth Form Building was opened just below the Library. However, as we as a group had not ‘made the cut’, we were housed in the large first floor common room overlooking the large Quad affectionately known as ‘Fag End 3’! (I wonder why?) Unfortunately, even as the year progressed there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome; I passed just two more O Levels which sadly meant my time at Kingswood had come to end without achieving all I might have hoped for.

And so the adventure began – exactly one year later I followed Alison on the same course, at the same University, with the same tutors. We dyslexics learn to be such good strategists! Indeed, without Alison’s support I doubt I would have completed the course, but qualify I did. For those of you who are unclear about what Dyslexia is and how it affects those with the condition, here is a description:

WHAT IS DYSLEXIA? The word 'dyslexia' comes from the Greek language and means 'difficulty with words'. Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects reading, writing and spelling.

...after another year of hard graft, “I eventually had a grand total of 6 O Levels to my name. One thing was sure, I was persistent! So a new phase of my life began: working at the local hospital whilst continuing my studies at the local college where after another year of hard graft, I eventually had a grand total of 6 O Levels to my name. One thing was sure, I was persistent! It took me 4 attempts to pass my Maths and as yet, an unbroken record of 6 attempts to pass my English Language – but I did it! Time went by as I considered my future career, although the options looked narrow. I had in the meantime met and subsequently fallen in love with Alison, who I was to marry in 1975. She had started to train to teach at Portsmouth University, a career that looked attractive to me. But would I get accepted on the course? After an interview I was offered a place on the basis of 6 O Levels – the last cohort to be accepted with no A Levels!

Dyslexia is characterised by difficulties experienced in learning the relationship between the sounds of spoken language and their written representation. Other notable symptoms are difficulties with short term and working memory, sequencing, rapid naming, processing speed and organisational skills. These processing difficulties can undermine the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills, the ability to read musical notation, and also have an effect on verbal communication and self-organisation skills. The current evidence suggests that these difficulties arise from inefficiencies in languageprocessing areas in the left hemisphere of the brain which, in turn, appear to be linked to genetic differences. continued overleaf 

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Dyslexia is life-long, but its effects can be minimised by targeted literacy intervention, technological support and adaptations to ways of working and learning. Some treatments and activities to improve Neural Integration may be used to alleviate the difficulties associated with Dyslexia. Dyslexia is not related to intelligence, race or social background. Dyslexia varies in severity and often occurs alongside other specific learning difficulties, such as Dyspraxia or Attention Deficit Disorder, resulting in variation in the degree and nature of individuals’ strengths and weaknesses. Alison and I married straight out of University in the summer of 1975. Teaching post were so rare at that time I waited to the following Easter to find a vacancy in a local Middle School in Portsmouth. This however, was the beginning of a long learning and coping curve! Although I enjoyed great relationships with staff and children in the school, the administrative demands were a massive challenge. Although not yet recognised or diagnosed, my dyslexia was an early threat to my career. All to soon that time of year that all teachers look forward to arrived – report writing! I took a deep breath and started. It took me a couple of weeks to complete them, and I handed them in with a sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived. They were returned the following day covered in red pen marks with the comment, ‘if you didn’t know how to spell the word, why didn’t you look it up in the dictionary? Why? Well I didn’t know I couldn’t spell the word, and if I had known I couldn’t spell it, how would I find it in a dictionary anyway? Dictionaries are to teach us the meaning of words, not how to spell them!

After seven years, I realised my career was not progressing as I had hoped following a number of failed interviews. I decided it was time for a change, a complete change. Next Stop – the Financial Services Sector or to be more precise Life Assurance and Mortgage Adviser. I actually enjoyed six years in this very different role engaging with clients and meeting new people. However, it was the collapse of the company I worked for that pushed me back into teaching for a period of eight years before a range of family and work circumstances beyond my control meant that in the mid-nineties, I suffered a breakdown and was retired from teaching on health grounds. After an 18 month recovery period, I reviewed my circumstances yet again and still felt sure my gifting was to work with children. Having shared my story with a friend who was a Senior Teacher Advisor for SEN Children in Hampshire, she suggested I should return to study a post graduate diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties. The thought of returning to this level of study horrified me, but the support I was promised helped to persuade me that this was an achievable goal. Two and a half years later, I emerged with an OCR Diploma In SpLD, qualified both as a Specialist Teacher and Specialist Assessor. In August 1998, I opened ExcelLearn Education Centre to provide a local and personal tuition and assessment service. In 2001, Alison left her role of 11 Years as a Primary SENCo running a department of 15 staff and joined me full-time as a co-director. The centre provides an up-to-date, well resourced and comfortable learning environment with specialist assessment and learning facilities for Dyslexic and SpLD students from primary age upwards.

My difficult school and career path allowed me to empathise with both youngsters and adults I was now coming across daily as I travelled between Independent and State schools, as well as various workplaces providing much needed tutoring and assessment services. Since then, with the help of the amazing technology that is at our disposal today, I have written hundreds of diagnostic reports helping schools, examination boards, universities, and companies provide support and Access Arrangements for children, students and employees toward a successful future. Public awareness of Dyslexia is now so much more widespread, and professional organisations like PATOSS (Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties) train, register and resource professionals to assess and support students and adults with SpLD. Although Dyslexia was virtually unheard of in the 1960’s, I am grateful for all the academic support and character building that I learned in my years at PC and KS which allowed me to develop persistence in adversity, and to build a career that would assist SpLD students to maintain self-esteem and vision at the same time as learning how to overcome and rise above this learning difficulty and forge their own careers against the odds. Phil Roseblade (KS 1963-70) Cert Ed (So’ton) SpLD APC (PATOSS) OCR Dip SpLD Director of Assessment & Tuition – ExcelLearn Education Centre

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WILL SANDY (KS 1996-2003) Will has a multidisciplinary approach to design, working across various sites, scales & styles. With 10 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in the industry, he founded his own landscape architecture and design practice, while concurrently being the cofounder and creative director of design practice, The Edible Bus Stop Studio. Will has worked on projects across a wide design remit, from furniture design and urban interventions, to smallscale architectural projects, with schemes for the public sector, local government and for private clients. He has earned a reputation for delivering engaging design solutions in places that might otherwise be overlooked, transforming them into active, multi-use spaces. Imbued with a sense of humour and playfulness, the design of these spaces

W (LOUIS) G JAMES (KS 1946-52)

brings them back into the public eye â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and into use. With a specialism in high-quality, flexible or temporary projects that engage new audiences, many of my projects have sought to demonstrate the potential of what future permanent public realm design can become, allowing public participation and feedback in schemes from the outset, from which projects then further evolve. As a creative and collaborative practitioner, he has established himself as a forerunner in designing vibrant urban and fringe spaces, proving that

In December 2019 William (Louis) Gabriel James visited Kingswood with his son Jim James. He was awarded the Farmer prize in 1952 and went to Oxford Jesus College with the open scholarship of 1951. His younger brother John James (KS 1950-59) went to Edinburgh and became a celebrated plastic surgeon serving in Africa. He passed away at the end of 2019 and his obituary is in this magazine. His other brother Gordon James

through careful engagement with multiple stakeholders, the gap can be bridged between clients, local government, and community. Will is currently working with the British Council in Caracas, Venezuela on a project entitled Reframing Spaces Caracas. The project is exploring innovative and participatory design solutions to reactive the public realm in the city. This follows previous projects with the British Council in both Tirana, Albania and taking part Unlimited Doha Design Prize in Qatar.

(KS 1948-55) joined the ministry and now lives in Bristol. L- R: Rev Gordon James, Mrs Margaret James, Professor William Louis Gabriel James and Professor John, known as Jimmy James (now deceased).

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MARRIAGES RACHEL MONAHAN (KS 1995-2002) I was in the class of 2002 and got married in the Kingswood chapel on 20 July 2019, with a reception in a marquee on ‘The Middle’ (field). I was the 11th member of my family (Monahan) to attend Kingswood, but the first girl. I started in Year 7 in 1995 and was Head Girl in 2002. My father John was at Priors Court from 1956-59 and Kingswood from 1959-64. He also served as a Kingswood governor for over 20 years. The photo attached shows him walking me down the aisle. One of my bridesmaids was Shona Wilkinson (class of 2002) and her father (Mike, school chaplain when I was at school) married me and my husband, Alex Marley. Other Kingswood alumni guests were Jess Love (née Jess Haines), Toni Waterfall and Gareth Cooper (all class of 2002). One of the photos is of me, Jess, Shona and Toni. My uncle, Peter Monahan (KS 1948-56) was also there and enjoyed returning to the school

for the day. My Godfather, John Kingsnorth (retired teacher at Kingswood) did one of the readings in the service, he is on the right in the picture of my Dad walking me down the aisle. So, there were all sorts of Kingswood connections, which made it very special.

It was the perfect location for our wedding, full of sentimental value and very fitting for us to be married in a school, as both my husband and I are teachers (in London). The front of school and chapel looked stunning and The Middle was very appropriate for a couple who are sports mad.

EMILY BIRD (Class of 2009)

ALICE LUNT (KS 1997-2005)

Emily Bird, KS Leaver 2009 married Tom Davies in Charlcombe Church, Bath on Wednesday 21 August 2019.

On Saturday 5 October 2019, on the Isle of Anglesey, Alice Lunt married Gareth Burton. Alice was at Kingswood 1997 to 2005.

PETER ANDERSON (KS 1950-57)

Peter was married in March 2020, two hours before the Coronavirus lockdown was imposed!

LIVES REMEMBERED KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

LIVES REMEMBERED Michael Pengelly George Keith Brewin Dr Arthur Sydney Welbourne David Sawyer Dr Stewart Smith Robert (Tony) Rees Alan Rees Dr John Winskill Baker William Alexander (Alex) Dolling Professor Kenneth Barrett Saunders David E Bingham John Graham Snaith Richard Martin Reed Ian Thomas Lindsay Peter Wollen William Arthur Hepworth Holroyd Dr Ian MacGregor John Jimmy James Charles H Moss Pakpoom Vallisuta James E G Edwards Max Brigden

(KS 1935-1942) (KS 1935-1943) (KS 1935-1943) (KS 1936-1945) (KS 1937-1945) (KS 1938-1946) (KS 1942-1951) (KS 1944-1954) (KS 1945-1954) (KS 1946-1955) (KS 1947-1952) (KS 1947-1953) (KS 1947-1954) (KS 1948-1955) (KS 1948-1956) (KS 1949-1957) (KS 1950-1955) (KS 1950-1959) (KS 1963-1972) (KS 1972-1978) (KS 1979-1989) (KS 2000-2005)

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 OBITUARIES

OBITUARIES to have served as a marvellous starting line to a marvellous life. With regards, Bayard Brewin

•

William Alexander (Alex) Dolling KS 1945-54 Alex was born on 16th October 1934 and he died on 30th October 2019, aged 85 years.

George Keith Brewin KS 1935-43 Keith had been a long-time resident of the Cleveland Ohio area from the early 1950s forward and had built a successful career in several global consulting disciplines, first in tax law and then in general corporate management. He retired in the early 1980s as VP International Operations at ICI Americas where he had spent the vast majority of his career. He’d managed by his retirement to have travelled to all six inhabited continents, done business in dozens of countries, and had at least as many stories of unexpected adventure. It was a testament to his Kingswood training and fellowship that he left Bath and later Cambridge ready for the world, and the world welcomed him. Keith was a proud father of three and husband to the late Neena Brewin for 57 years. They now can be together again. I am enormously sad to write this but also very proud of my father and the legacy he created for all of us here. I am grateful to the Kingswood community

His parents William and Catherine (Gwen) had five children, Ronald, John, Alex, Peter and Alex’s twin sister Roberta.

On retiring Alex enjoyed spending time with his family, travelling to New Zealand and Scotland. He also loved playing golf with his friends. Throughout his life he was actively involved in the local church and after retiring he held office at Burscough Methodist Church and circuit. His brothers John and Peter followed their father William into the Methodist Ministry. During his last few years illness made life difficult for him and he died peacefully just after his 85th birthday. Written by his daughter Wendy

Alex attended Priors Court, Berkshire in 1945. His two older brothers were already at Kingswood when he started there in 1947. After sitting his Highers he sat the entrance exam to Oxford University and was offered a place at Magdalen College to study History.

•

After two years National Service he went to Oxford in 1955 to read History under AJP Taylor. Three years later he graduated with his Batchelor of Arts in History. At Oxford he met his wife Jill at Wesley Memorial Church and they married in 1960. They have been blessed with three children and three grandchildren. After graduating Alex worked for a year at the Atomic Energy Authority before joining HM Factory Inspectorate where he remained for 35 years until retirement at 60, by which time he was a Principal Factory Inspector. Throughout these 35 years he moved around the UK, working in Stoke on Trent, Glasgow, London, Liverpool and Preston. 48

Nicholas Gordon Edward Gedye KS 1950-56 His father Rupert Gedye also attended Kingswood from 1918-1925. He was in Upper House and was a successful athlete (long Jump - over 6 metres/20 feet I believe), also Cross Country and some Rugby. He did 7th term Oxbridge (he came back for a term after his Upper Sixth year) and got a

OBITUARIES KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

place to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge (Trinity Hall - like his dad before him, and his daughter, who also followed that route). He did 2 years national service, partly in Cyprus before going to Cambridge. His working life after graduation was as a schoolmaster at Durham School (1961-1997) where he was Head of Chemistry and Science as well as being a Housemaster for 15 years (1967-1982). He ran the Old Dunelmians Society both before and after retirement (in 1997). He wrote two books on his family history - he picked up this interest whilst at Kingswood. These books were the result of many years of research. He enjoyed sport (especially athletics and running he ran many half marathons and two marathons. His was married for 57 years and has two children and 4 grandchildren. I think it would be fair to say that Kingswood shaped his future life - in terms of academic success and interests. He was born on 27th January 1937 and died on May 18th 2019, aged 82. Written by his son John Gedye, Head of Classics at Barnard Castle School.

â&#x20AC;˘

John H James KS 1950-59 John James was in Priors Court and later in Bath in Upper House, where his brothers Louis (W.L.G.) James and Gordon James proceeded him. The following tribute appeared in the East African Medical Press in December 2019... Professor Jimmy James 25 Sept 1940-4 Dec 2019

John Henri James, known as Jimmy, was born in Lusaka (then Northern Rhodesia - now Zambia). He was the youngest son of a Dutch protestant Missionary and an English Methodist Missionary teacher. He was educated in Kingswood School, Bath. He attended St Andrews University to study classics but changed to medicine in his first year with no science and graduated in 1966. He started married life as a student being supported by his wife Judith (a teacher). He was left wing, member of the CND, president of the New Left club and was described by 1966 Year Book as "a perpetual president". He took his FRCS Edinburgh in 1972 at which time he was a plastic surgery registrar in Lothian Health board, when he wasn't appointed senior registrar in Edinburgh he went to Aarhus, Denmark instead. From 1977 to 1981 he was consultant reconstructive and leprosy surgeon [and incidentally pilot] with the Flying doctor Service in Nairobi, which he described the best job in the world. He left in order to educate his 3 children in the UK and took an anatomy demonstrator job, again, before becoming a plastic surgeon in Shotley Bridge where he stayed for 14 years. He has 30 papers on burns and reconstruction and he was also an Examiner for MRCR and FRCS at Edinburgh college. In 1996 he upped sticks and went back to Africa (before he was too old!) to go to Blantyre in Malawi to work with Anne Gloag, his ex theatre nurse, to set up a Burns Unit, the Malawi Burns Trust which grew under Jim's vision and became one of Africa's best burns units. He was made associate professor in 1999 and retired 2001. 49

From the inception in 1999 he has been the leading light of COSECSA, he was a founder fellow and organiser and when the college set up a financial and physical base in Uganda in 1991, he was made Secretary General. He worked at the development of the college Mastership, the first to be held in Kampala 2003 and later Fellowship. He went round all the suitable hospitals in the 8 counties for accreditation. They were Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He was masterly in diplomacy, totally open and honest, pretty forceful when the discussion got heated and factions developed and trusted by all. He was also an indefatigable hard worker He was asked 2 questions when he received the Edinburgh College medal which he was justly awarded in 2003: What is the best thing you have done? Marrying Judith and doing plastic surgery. Why have you got the College medal? He did not know. He got it for a loyal servant of the college especially in Africa. He retired in 2009 and went back to Clathy in Scotland where he indulged in his passion for cars, going on road trips with Judith in the Morgan, tending his garden, sailing, having the company of his 8 grandchildren and getting warm every year with a trip to Kenya. Jimmy died after a short illness. He was a fabulous, all round good guy and a Christian in the best sense of the word. Written by Christine Evans FRCS, FRCSEd, FECCSA, retired urologist North Wales and passed to the Association by his brother Gordon James (KS 1948-55).

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Pickfords Removals in Trafford Park. There he struck up a rapport with the manager who took him on permanently, and he learned the business from top to bottom.

Charles Moss KS 1965-72 Born in Wallasey in 1954, Charles spent his toddler years in Plymouth. His father was a naval constructer and they moved from dockyard to dockyard, so in his early years, Charles had no fixed home. He attended Prior’s Court prep school from the age of 9 until he entered Kingswood in 1965. There, he made some good friends and survived a dormitory bully, discovered caving, lighting fires in the woods, and found a lifelong interest in history and geology, but most importantly in learning. He left Kingswood in 1972 for Swansea University from when he graduated in Geology in 1976. That October he married a student he’d met in his first year, and with whom he spent the rest of his life. They went to live in Mossley, Greater Manchester, where his wife was starting in her first teaching post. Charles had no clear idea of what career he wanted, but while trying to decide, he could not bear being idle. His first job was a few months in the local plastics factory, sweeping up the little offcuts. He joined Greater Manchester Police but after a couple of years realised it was not the path for him and for a couple of months, he sold life assurance. That he found unpalatable, so he joined a temp agency who sent him to

In 1981 Charles’s and Alicia’s first son, Sebastian, arrived, and a couple of years later they moved to Llanon, near Aberystwyth, where Charles took up the post of Pickfords branch manager. In 1986 he took his HGV test, left Pickfords and he and Alicia set up Aberystwyth Removals & Storage Ltd., and welcomed their second son, Llewelyn. The storage expanded and they relocated 20 miles north to Ynyslas, where the storage was enlarged and consolidated, and they lived in an old farmhouse on the same site. The business remained small, diversifying into caravan transport for a while, and then including self storage, and always retaining its quality of service. Charles undertook almost every role from Managing Director to teaboy - although he left some things such as the correspondence and advertising to his wife. True to Charles’s outlook on life, the business was run and service provided, professionally and efficiently. It was in Ynyslas that he was able to get stuck into the vegetable gardening that he so enjoyed, and in these years he was an enthusiastic member of Round Table. He ran five marathons, took part in a relief convoy to Romanian orphanages, and began skiing. He enjoyed hill walking in winter, when gardening was in a lull, and always planning ahead. The physical labour of work and hobbies kept him very fit and healthy. He took few real holidays - there were always customers, especially because of the storage, but looked forward to retiring and then 50

doing the travelling - as a spectator rather than a remover. He was always active, always a doer. He would attend to plumbing, minor electrical jobs, all kinds of household repairs and always read the instruction book. He decided that raising store cattle would be a good plan, and did that for two seasons, and then tried pigs for two seasons more. Chickens were next, and he loved the fresh eggs, and he was always proud of his produce, and got a real kick out of passing on the surplus. He loved listening to classical music, reading history, current affairs and events. He had a prodigious memory and was an amazing fount of general knowledge which he latterly enjoyed using in any kind of quiz. He was tremendously devoted to his two boys - both of whom inherited his intellect, memory, analytical mind and love of learning - and latterly two grandchildren, though he didn’t see as much of them as he would have liked after Sebastian emigrated to Australia. He and his wife were not only husband and wife but best friends, prop and stay to each other, a true and happy team. He willingly welcomed his parents in law to live when they were no longer able to live alone, and supported his wife in looking after them until they died. When he decided retirement was the next step, he did a superb job of converting a panel van into a camper van all his own handiwork - and had the van reregistered. And then the hammer fell. All plans for retirement were scuppered by a diagnosis of stage 4 prostate cancer - a very aggressive strain of the disease that showed no symptoms until too late to do anything but palliate.

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Those are the bare bones, but there was so much more to Charlie. Everyone liked him. Everyone. He was fun and knowledgeable and had integrity. He liked Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, could do a perfect imitation of Argus Filch and Walder Frey, and adopted Terry Pratchett’s term “embuggerance” for his illness. He liked order his order - and everything had a file - even the empty ones for the dentist and the optician! He appreciated and cooked good food, with fresh, local (preferably his own) ingredients, and was particular about his gin and tonic. He liked watching football, especially Arsenal, and became an honorary Welshman in the ruby season. He wasn’t exactly sporty, but he got his brown belt in karate, and developed a liking for skiing. He was always a terrible dancer, but he and his wife once won a rock and roll competition. He was a good shot, and despite starting off his hunting career with as much stealth as a bull in a china shop, he grew better and bagged pheasant and duck for the pot. He was disappointed that retirement would be cut short, and he would miss out on the things he had planned but put off while the business was there. He was frustrated by the increasing limitations of the cancer, but as worry and bitterness were pointless, he didn’t dwell on them, or let them spoil what time he had. It wasn’t his nature. He dealt with it in his way, with real pluck, and humour, even at the very end. His last clear words came when we thought he was asleep, and Llewelyn and I were discussing pain relief with the nurse. Charlie piped up without opening his eyes, “I like the taste of oromorph!” He was always the realist, with a zest for life. Alicia Moss – his widow

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Alan Rees MBE KS 1942-51 From The Scotsman November 2019 Obituary: Alan Rees MBE, champion of accessible transport and children’s play. Alan Tait Rees MBE, champion of accessible transport and children’s play. Born: 4 August, 1931 in Shanghai, China. Died: 24 October, 2019 in Edinburgh, aged 88. Alan Rees was one of those men whose myriad achievements made it difficult to define him in a single way but the common thread running through all his work was enablement: he strove to empower others. His particular interests were in the fields of transport and play where, as founding member of the Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance and Edinburgh’s The Yard Adventure Centre, he helped transform the lives of countless people, bringing freedom, mobility and joy to disabled adults and children. But he also played a key role in numerous local and national organisations and was assistant director of Edinburgh Council of Social Services, his dedication to the city seeing him made an MBE in 1996, just one of several awards. The son of Methodist minister Ronald Rees and his wife Janet, a devout Quaker, he was born in Shanghai where his father 51

was doing missionary work. He attended the Dragon School, Oxford during the Second World War and then Kingswood School, Bath, before going up to Cambridge to read Geography at Gonville & Caius College. After graduating with an MA in 1956, he gained a certificate in Social Administration from the London School of Economics and Science the following year. His National Service was spent in the RAF Medical branch in Berkshire, Aden and Nairobi and he then became a community development officer with HM Colonial Service in Tanganyika, now Tanzania, before joining Voluntary Service Overseas in London. He arrived in Edinburgh in the early 1960s as a tutor in youth and community studies at Moray House College of Education, before becoming organising secretary for the Board for Information and National Tests in Youth and Community Service and going on to the Council of Social Service for Wales as a community development officer in the 1970s. It was after he returned to the Scottish capital in 1976 that he really began to make his mark, as assistant director of Edinburgh Council of Social Service, later Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council, a post he held until 1993. As he wrote in his history of the Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance, in 1981 the stage was set by that year’s International Year of Disabled People when an international conference and exhibition, Transport for Special Needs, were held in Edinburgh and sparked many initiatives over the next decade or so. He helped to found the charity Handicabs Lothian (now HcL) which launched the following year to provide accessible transport for people in Edinburgh

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and the Lothians, and served as its first company secretary, then vice chair, becoming chair in 1997. By the time it celebrated its 21st anniversary its vehicles had covered 8 million miles, carrying more than 117,000 passengers and escorts through its Taxicard, Dial-aRide and Dial-a-Bus services. The Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance’s inaugural meeting was held in 1995, backed by many local and Scottish organisations, and a couple of years later the project won a three-year grant from Comic Relief. It went from strength to strength and Rees remained the driving force for many years, receiving SATA’s lifetime achievement award in 2013.

In his leisure time he was an enthusiastic rugby fan and enjoyed sport in general – he took a dip in the North Sea to celebrate his 70th birthday. He was also musical, a fine tenor, and loved spending time in the garden with his family or growing fruit and vegetables. He had travelled extensively, climbed Kilimanjaro three times and was an amateur artist, painting watercolour landscapes and attending Leith School of Art, where he was a patron. He is survived by his wife Alison, children Juliet, Stephen, Jennifer and Martin, and seven grandchildren.

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In tandem with his focus on mobility and accessible transport was his passion for championing children’s right to play. In 1986 he was a founding member of what was then called Scotland Yard Adventure Centre in Edinburgh’s Canonmills. As its chair he was pivotal in establishing the charity to support disabled children and young people by providing an adventurous place to play. And in 1993 he welcomed the Princess Royal when she opened the charity’s new building. He was involved in the International Play Association (IPA), the Scottish Adventure Playground Association for Handicapped Children and the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights, and was awarded the IPA’s certificate of appreciation and the Nancy Ovens Trust ORees was also a member of a wide range of different organisations from the British Acoustic Neuroma Association and British Association of Social Workers to Edinburgh Council for the Single Homeless, Edinburgh Home for Mothers and Infants and the Seagull Trust.

Anthony (Tony) Rees KS 1939-46 Anthony (Tony) Rees, who died peacefully on 17th January aged 92, attended Kingswood School between 1939 and 1946. Born in Hampstead in 1927, Tony was the second child of Ronald Rees and his wife Janet. He had an older sister Joanna, and younger twin siblings Alan, who was later himself Head Boy at Kingswood, and Katharine. Ronald, like his father before him, was a Methodist Minister, and also Secretary to the National Christian Council of China,

promoting missionary work there until the late 1940s. Ronald was aboard ship for home leave when he received the cable informing him of Tony’s birth. Parts of Tony’s early childhood were spent in Canton and Shanghai, although he and his siblings returned to schools in England in 1937. After Dulwich College Preparatory School, Tony attended Kingswood, spending the later years of the Second World War relocated to Uppingham School in Rutland. He had fond recollections of both schools. Three years ago, Tony enjoyed reminiscing over the excellent dvd Fortunate Exile in which former pupil John Walsh (whom Tony remembered well) narrated an inside account of what attendance at a substitute school was like for the ‘visiting’ Kingswood pupils. It was at Uppingham that Tony acquired his love of sports, including cricket and rugby. Fortunate Exile includes interesting footage of a competitive rugby match. Several family members watching the dvd with Tony were reasonably confident that we had identified him as one of the keen young players running onto the field before the match! It seems however that the game concerned was not a ‘landlords v tenants’ fixture. Indeed, Tony commented that Uppingham’s first team hardly ever played Kingswood at rugby, possibly because it might have created bad feeling between the two schools! But he remembered playing against Uppingham’s second team. Tony recalled a regimented term-time evening routine at Uppingham’s Redgate Upper House, which was exclusively for Kingswood use. There the boys had to do two hours’ preparation, then attend evening prayers (Upper Housemaster Douglas Milne presided) followed by a

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cup of tea (or similar) and to bed at about 9 pm. At least those were the house rules! In reality, dormitory raids (7 or 8 boys to a dorm) and pillow fights ensued, identified by special code words known amongst the boys, which led to much hilarity and close shaves with staff. Naturally, nicknames were plentiful for staff, pupils and infirmary workers alike, including one ‘Tubby Townsend’ and the aptly named school nurse, ‘Blister’! There appear understandably to have been some significant logistical challenges in accommodating boys from two schools into one. Notwithstanding that the Uppingham gymnasium was converted for use as the Kingswood dining room, the pupils from both schools somehow had to fit into the main hall for assemblies and concerts. Nevertheless, Tony latterly reflected that the Kingswood pupils did not lose their distinct identity during their exile. Whereas the Uppingham boys were on occasions required to sprint between lessons, loaded with books, and to salute the headmaster (the eminent John Wolfenden who ruled from 1934 to 1944) if he was visible, even if it resulted (as it sometimes did) in books being strewn about the quad, the Kingswood boys were exempt from this, attracting in my father’s words, his ‘halfhearted sympathy’! Having been a little too young to serve in the war, after leaving school Tony completed his postwar National Service for the RAF at Compton Bassett, Wiltshire as a wireless operator. He then went on to Trinity College, Oxford, earning his History degree in 1951. My father then took up successive teaching posts in South Africa and Rhodesia, also teaching hockey. He returned to England in the

early 1960s and briefly taught at St Edward’s School, Oxford. He thereafter settled in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, following his marriage to my mother, to raise my two elder brothers and me. At Cheadle Hulme School, Tony enjoyed a distinguished career for 26 years, teaching History and heading the General Studies department. In 1991 he retired to Walberswick, Suffolk, and later to Oxford. We all feel very proud of our Dad’s enduring status as a Kingswood alumnus! Nick, Tom and Matthew Rees his sons

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L to R: Jan Driessen, Hugh Sackett, Sandy MacGillivray

Leyland Hugh Sackett KS 1940-47 Hugh Sackett was at Kingswood from 1940 to 1947 and his brother Robert from 1940 to1949. Their father Alfred Barrett Sackett, who had been a pupil at Kingswood from 1907-1914, was Headmaster from 1928 to 1959. The following is taken from the British School of Athens (BSA) website: The BSA is very sad to report the death aged 91 early on (western) Easter Day of Hugh Sackett, a pillar of the BSA’s community. Hugh was a major contributor to BSA life for six and a half decades, from his first time as a Student in 1954–55 (on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship), to serving as Assistant

Director (1961- 63), director — but always as co-director — of BSA excavations and surveys, Visiting Fellow (1968), Vice-President and, finally but not least, founding President of the British School at Athens Foundation in the USA. From 1955 until 2018 he taught classics and Greek archaeology at Groton School in Massachusetts, on whose website readers can find a warm tribute to him. He introduced these rare subjects in secondary education to generations of students, several of whom have themselves become archaeologists. In 2014 he was honoured with the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America, the highest award in the USA for Old World archaeology, and the only time it has gone to a schoolteacher. In the best traditions of the BSA, almost everything he tackled was in partnership with colleagues (including John Ellis Jones, Sandy MacGillivray and Mervyn Popham) and reflected his generosity, his love of Greece of any period from the Stone Age till today, his emphasis on precision (he was a master of the art of excavating) and his readiness to share with others of all ages. The many BSA excavations he (co-) directed, and the Supplementary Volumes and articles in the Annual of the BSA that have followed them, show a remarkably prescient diachronic approach, and a rare breadth of vision. They range in time and place from Minoan Crete (Palaikastro) through prehistoric and Early Iron Age Euboea (Lefkandi, following survey) to Classical Attica (the Dema House, following survey of the Dema Wall, and the Vari House) and back to Roman Crete (Knossos): an extraordinary list of major contributions. Palaikastro produced its chryselephantine kouros and

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a rich report. His masterpiece study of early Roman Knossos a millennium and a half later (after excavating the Unexplored Mansion site) increased understanding of the whole island (and the province of Crete and Cyrene) at that time — and made a valuable counterpoint to Gortyna. Lefkandi was revolutionary for virtually every period from Early Helladic III to the Geometric era of the Lelantine War. And the Dema House, early in Hugh’s BSA career, gives us a snapshot of the state of Attica and Athens around 420 BC (when the house was probably built) and the optimism following the Peace of Nicias of 421. Nobody builds a nice country house unless there is a sense of security. Hugh Sackett was a quiet, controlled and outstandingly generous person and, for his colleagues, pupils and co-directors, a rock of stability. He had a happy and creative marriage with Eleanor Davis (née Childs), to whom the BSA community sends its deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers.

Born in Leeds of a strong (and Heap Library connection) Methodist background, his family was re-stationed a few months later to the South London Mission which served the then toughest and underprivileged areas of Bermondsey, Walworth, Elephant and Castle and Lambeth. From that background Sawyer became one of the earliest pupils in 1936 at the newly-founded Westwood, under Clutton Brock*. There can be few left who can recall the starkly contrasting “prep school” and growing “public school” background. Lovely grounds; Maltby’s Vivarium populated by Mendip toads, creatures, grass snakes; no games on Sundays only “walks”, compulsory Sunday chapel seated in the balcony of the Memorial Chapel as well as evening prayers – and compulsory Sunday letter-writing to parents. But this ordered routine was ended by a remarkable war-time evacuation of Kingswood and its effects to scattered destinations in Uppingham (via normally one coach steam train). Family and education plans for living in a peace time longer than the mere 20 years of post-war recuperation allowed, had to be shelved or abandoned. Sawyer and his mother had to return as evacuees to their family in air-raid stricken Hull. His father, now an Army Chaplain, served in overseas campaigns throughout WW2 and missed KS/Uppingham.

David Sawyer, KS 1936-45 Westwood and Hall House As with most of his generation at KS, he was the son of a Methodist Minister, known also to his death as Tom but also as Bob, reflecting 1938 Westwood’s Deputy Head Maltby’s literary fascination with Dickens’ dissolute medical student in Pickwick Papers.

Kingswood, in wartime’s “fortunate exile” as Sackett called it, and Uppingham nationally almost uniquely, managed to function as two separate and different schools right until the KS return to Bath in 1946, with their two quite different Headmasters – the Great War’s amputee Sackett and his memorable bicycle and the much younger Wolfenden in the shadow of Uppingham’s Great War poet, Rupert Brook. Both schools, still

all-boys, had to adjust to career plans being altered or put on hold due to compulsory conscription, with some temporary exemptions, at the age of 18. At the school itself, Sawyer, like others, was a member of a House – Hall – though he and they left Uppingham never having physically occupied their Houses due to being commandeered by the Admiralty. Unnotable, athletically, academically and as a Lance Corporal in the Uppingham Army Cadet Force, as he freely admitted, he became deeply involved in the school’s quite formidable music life in which some distinguished professional instrumentalists and singers featured. As a bass member of the school choir throughout, he participated in solo and group work, especially in one which regularly performed within the Uppingham War Memorial Chapel and from the main Chapel’s balcony, encouraged by Chaplain Davies, as the main choir had rather lost its way after the no. 2 Music Master, Bernard Oram, had moved on. He also led a take up of the French horn which resulted in Donald Helps and Arthur Bevan playing it in professional careers with leading English orchestras after WW2. All three were invited to supplement the Uppingham School Orchestra under Sterndale Bennett. *[Photos already in Archives] Sawyer, already a House Prefect, became Senior Prefect for two terms just as WW2 was ending in Europe. In anticipation he had returned to Uppingham a day before VE Day. Accordingly he was always keen to record that he had joined in the bell ringing which preceded the Thanksgiving Service in Uppingham’s Parish Church that evening. From then on, plans had to be made for the return to Bath in Spring 1946. That was in other hands, but before

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loathed him and his coal-owner class). He also found that the older miners still remembered which pit family had “scabbed” in the General Strike of 1926.

that there was a General Election in June 1945 which the school joined in a mock campaign. In the contest he stood as the National candidate, assisted by Mr Townend’s younger son in producing leaflets and posters. He lost, perhaps not unsurprisingly for a school as Kingswood then was, to the Liberals, with Labour the poor third. (Paradoxically in later life he actually became the Agent for the Liberal candidates in Wimbledon in the General Elections of 1970 and the first in 1974, Heath v Wilson and miners). At the end of the War, the law was changed to allow – and encourage – the continuing conscripts to volunteer for work in the coal mines – as distinct from being so directed by ballot as “Bevin Boys” under a policy determined by Ernest Bevin when Minister for Labour in the wartime Coalition Government. Sawyer volunteered and spent the next two and a half years working underground at 2,000 ft deep Bullcroft Colliery outside Doncaster, and living in a miners’ hostel with scores of other conscripts and regulars on shift work. Up every one of the six-day week at 4.00 am. He was placed on haulage, stone anti-fire packing and reclamation work during which he drove one of the few remaining pit ponies. It was an abrupt change of life, outlook (and language) compared with that at Kingswood/Uppingham. He never regretted the vantage point experience, especially at the time Churchill made his “Iron Curtain” speech (the miners

During this period Sawyer found some relief at the welcoming table (despite 1947 bread rationing) of Rev James Mackay, Minister at Doncaster Methodist Chapel, and Mrs Mackay. They were parents of Angus, a contemporary at Kingswood, a co-singer and a deeply committed actor at Cambridge, who subsequently married Dorothy Reynolds of Salad Days fame. As a result Sawyer was still able to study enough and take a scholarship examination at Magdalene College, Cambridge. It failed its purpose but opened a career there on his demobilisation in 1948. There was, however, an unfortunate consequence. Upon arrival at Cambridge, the firstever medical assessment of undergraduates there revealed that Sawyer had tuberculosis. As a result he went to a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland, for six months after which he resumed at Magdalene. There he read History for two years and was able to switch to Law for a third, only at its end, found to require further final treatment in Norfolk. It would appear that he probably contracted the disease from a specifically identified worker, not just by working in coalmines per se. In that third year, influenced by his legal studies, Sawyer explored the possibility of becoming employed as a Clerk in the House of Commons. This required a two day competitive entry through the top Administrative Grade of the Civil Service. He was fifth equal, but was assigned to the Home Office. His health relapse resulted in the offered appointment being withdrawn. With family help, he then qualified

as a Solicitor after three years of Articles in a Winchester firm with the Diocesan Registrar (for which in 1953 you had both to maintain yourself and pay a Premium in then money of £250). Sawyer joined a public company, Thomas Tilling Ltd, in 1956 as a “tame” solicitor, being one of the earliest to risk disparagement by the profession in doing so. Tilling had been mainly a national group of bus and supporting companies. The 1945 Labour Government had gone to the country promising widespread nationalisation of coal, steel, rail and public transport. It achieved the latter by acquiring the whole and widespread bus and coach interests of Tilling for just under £25m. From the residue of interests left with the company’s private ownership, it built up a UK and widely USA-based industrial holding company consisting of quarries, builders’ merchants, tile manufacturers, scientific and domestic glassware manufacturers, motor franchises, oil industry, medical and dairy equipment manufacturers and suppliers and insurers. With its headquarters at Crewe House, Curzon Street, London and New York City and professional teams, of which Sawyer and his almost unique group of company employed solicitors was one, the company’s voluntary acquisitions reflected the commercial thinking of the time. Suddenly that changed and in 1983 it became the subject of a ground-breaking contested takeover bid itself, then the biggest ever made on the London Stock Exchange. It was strenuously fought but lost, as were some City reputations. Contested takeovers of varying financial and employment magnitudes have since become commonplace. Sawyer was made redundant. However, he was fortunate in being made a part-time partner in a London West End firm of solicitors. He also became a Board Member

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of the Civil Aviation Authority for six years with responsibility as a member and chairman of its worldwide and domestic route licensing Hearings and awards. The first of these resulted in the rejection of an application to fly a shuttle service helicopter between Heathrow and Gatwick. Simultaneously the Board was faced with a major aircraft fire disaster at Manchester Airport which claimed the lives of 55 people, mainly due to smoke inhalation. Public calls for compulsory safety masks were rejected after tests in favour of a wave of other additional safety measures. Later there was industrial unrest amongst UK air traffic controllers and Sawyer was called upon to chair a Committee investigating and resolving grievances over their working hours. A major Control Centre has since been established in Hampshire. CAA’s 1991 forecast of the urgent need for runway expansion remains politically unfulfilled. During this period Sawyer became President of the Kingswood Association. His daughter, Helen, also arrived at the school with the first intake of junior girls. On her moving on to Manchester (now Harris Manchester) College, Oxford as a new Principal was being appointed, Sawyer became involved in its transition as a Unitarian training college by way of new Statutes to full University Collegiate status aimed at providing university facilities for mature students. At the end of his tenure at the CAA, Sawyer spent ten years with a large West London NHS Mental Health Trust as a member/ chairman of the three member lay Review Panels which are required from time to time in formal proceedings to check on the status of patients who are compulsorily detained under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983. Additionally, he was called upon

to participate in formal Appeals and to review, for the Trust Boards, complaints by both vulnerable and challenging patients of treatment by nursing staff members. It was in this period Sawyer married his second wife. As she was a member of London’s Goldsmiths Choral Union, he returned to his interest in choral singing which this Choir frequently performed in the major London concert halls. Finally retiring to the Weald of Kent, the pleasures of gardening, memories of the gardens and woods at prewar KS and of the landscapes in his father’s last Circuit in North Norfolk, he could not resist becoming an active member of the local Campaign for the Protection of Rural England. He was a founding and life member of the Victorian Society and at his death was within the 15th longest-standing members group of the Oxford and Cambridge University Club. He died on 5th January 2020, aged 93, having left a benefaction for the school’s serious musical life and notes upon which the above is based. This obituary was written by David himself with instructions to his family to send them to Kingswood in the event of his death.

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Dr Stewart Smith, 31 January 1927-13 January 2020. The term ‘Renaissance Man’, while a tired and rather overused cliché, can never have been employed more accurately than with reference to Stewart Smith. A trained scientist with a keen intellect and endlessly enquiring mind, he was equally at home when discussing history, culture and politics. He was born Lawrence Stewart Ainslie Smith in Calcutta to Lawrence and Doris Smith. At the age of five, he returned to England for his education, first in Kidderminster where he lived with his grandparents and then from autumn 1937 at Kingswood School, Bath aged 10. His parents were in Calcutta for the duration of the Second World War and he was not to see them from 1939 until 1944, when they returned to England. In 1945 Stewart went up to Oxford University on a County Scholarship to read Chemistry. A member of Brasenose College, he played for the 1st XV Rugby team and rowed in the 2nd VIII achieving his MA in 1948. His first job was as Assistant Chemistry master at Epsom College 1949-52. However, Stewart craved adventure, and was accepted by the Colonial Service (H.M. Overseas Civil Service) onto the Devonshire Course to train as a District Officer. Before his first posting overseas, he met Patsy McDonnell at a local dance and soon thereafter they became engaged. Stewart’s first posting was in 1953 to Singida, Central Province, Tanganyika, East Africa. Patsy followed him shortly afterwards and they were married in 1954 in Singida before he was transferred to Manyoni District.

Dr Lawrence (Stewart) Smith KS 1937-45 56

Returning to the UK in 1956, Stewart worked briefly for Esso

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Research Ltd and then moved to CIBA (ARL) Ltd. as a research scientist working to find new polymers. This work resulted in 3 patents. In 1963 he went back to life as an educator, lecturing in Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry at the Rugby College of Engineering Technology (later to become part of Lanchester Polytechnic, and later still, Coventry University). Determined to complete his PhD which had been started in 1956, Stewart took a year’s sabbatical in 1974-75 to complete his research working under the supervision of Dr Ian Ward, Professor of Polymer Physics, Leeds University. His work on the elasticity of polymers was ultimately to provide research material used by the MoD. He was awarded his PhD in 1976. Teaching, like research, was in Stewart’s DNA and from 1976 until his retirement in 1989 he was Senior Lecturer, teaching degree courses and supervising his own PhD students. Stewart was a committed member of his local church, St Andrews Parish Church, Rugby. He was an ardent bell ringer and member of the Universities Association of Bell Ringers. Such was his passion that he coordinated a programme to raise over £25,000 to recast and re-hang the ring of eight bells in the second bell tower at St Andrews. In order to raise funds he researched and published a family history of Billy Butlin. As well as being an academic he had a wide range of cultural and sporting interests. He was a keen sportsman and rambler, an accomplished horse rider, a member of the local Philharmonic choir and in later life learned both to play the clarinet and to fly glider planes. Cremated on what would have been his 93rd birthday, Stewart is

survived by his wife of 65 years, Patricia, three children, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

•

Professor Peter Spufford KS 1948 -53 Peter Spufford began his career as a historian of money when he was still a schoolboy. He was at Kingswood when he founded the Bath and Bristol Numismatic Society (which is still going) but he expected at that point to become a mathematician. He applied to Cambridge to read maths, and was told that his mathematical ability had already peaked, and they would admit him to read literally any other subject. He thought, and reapplied for history. A historian he was to be, and – despite the odd flirtation in the 1960s with entering the Anglican clergy, or standing as an MP – a historian he remained. He lived in a succession of older and older houses, eventually ending up in one that satisfied him by dating from the 1490s. He travelled the trade routes of medieval Europe, in a camper van but using medieval road maps. He married, in 1962, a fellow scholar Margaret Clark, and despite intimidating medical challenges, their fifty-year marriage was a famously happy historical partnership, the two of them critiquing each other’s work and 57

taking turns with their major projects. His own life’s work was the integration of the physical study of coinage with the history of its circulation as money, and then in turn with the history of the role money had played in the economic development of Europe. (Where, he was always pleased to point out, the first cheques had been written by Italian bankers in the 13th century.) Till then, these had been three separate intellectual areas. He united them, producing among other things the first ever compendium of medieval exchange rates, the first general history of money in the European economy, and a beautifully illustrated volume on medieval trade and merchants (researched during the trips in the camper van).

He had two children. Bridget, to whom he donated one of his kidneys, died in 1989 from the rare disease cystinosis. Francis, a novelist, survives him, as does his younger brother Martin (also at Kingswood) and his much-loved grand-daughter Theodora. In turn, he was himself much beloved, for his matter-of-fact courage, his unvarying kindness and warmth, and his equally unvarying bright scarlet waistcoats. Written by his son Francis Spufford, who is an author and teacher of writing.

•

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 FEATURED ARTICLE

A CD OF JOHN SYKES’ MUSIC

The John Sykes CD is out at last - a world premier recording!

On 3rd April, Albion Records released a CD (also available as a digital download) of piano music and songs by John Sykes under the title 'Fearful Symmetry'.

This was the culmination of years of careful preparation to celebrate the music of Kingswood's own composer, who was Director of Music at the school until his death in 1962, and to help make his tuneful music available to a wider public. The project was financed by nineteen wonderful Old Kingswoodians whose generous contributions totalled nearly £8,000 (made up to nearly £10,000 with Gift Aid). Since John Sykes was a composition pupil of Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music and Albion Records are the recording arm of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society we were able to persuade them to make the recording. They have done us

proud, with an arresting cover to the CD, superb technical quality of recording and first class performances. The music consists of 24 songs and four piano pieces which were chosen as representing some of Sykes' best work. Twenty two of the songs are settings from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Many will remember one of these (Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright - which provided the disc's title) from singing it in Sykes' male voice choir version. Two of the songs are settings of words by his friend Randall Swingler from a group called Homage to Dowland. Swingler was a left wing writer and poet who was subject to close MI5 surveillance

The project was “financed by nineteen wonderful Old Kingswoodians...

- it is not often that one can refer to MI5 when writing about a classical music recording! One of the piano pieces is the popular Polonaise for two pianos called Assyrian Festive Dance because Sykes used it as incidental music to a school production of Jonah and the Whale by James Bridie. It was great fun listening to the recording of this in Cambridge as the two pianists so obviously enjoyed playing it. Another piece of incidental music which many will remember is the

FEATURED ARTICLE KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

Paean composed for Terence Rattigan's play about Alexander the Great, Adventure Story. The most substantial piano piece is his Toccata written during the time he was studying with Vaughan Williams and the disc ends with The Keel Row, a Diversion for Piano - an irrepressibly cheeky piece with hints of Percy Grainger. The music was recorded over three September days in the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge - chosen largely because it could provide two Steinway pianos needed for the Polonaise. (You may be surprised to learn that the pianos were tuned twice each day - this shows the level of care that Albion provided.) The Blake songs from Innocence were

sung by soprano Rowan Pierce and those from Experience by baritone Gareth Brynmor John, allowing us to contrast the Innocence with the Experience songs. Gareth also sang the two love songs from Swingler's Homage to Dowland. William Vann was the outstanding pianist accompanying them and also joined Iain Farrington for the Polonaise Duo, while Iain played the other piano solos - brilliantly, as you can hear. I do hope you will support this enterprise and tell your friends about it - it is not easy selling a recording of music by a composer unknown outside Kingswood circles! P. J. Clulow

HOW TO PURCHASE YOUR OWN COPY There is a promotional video giving short tasters of the music at https:// youtu.be/kj6TSb-V8oQ and the recording in either CD or digital download format can be purchased from Albion Records, online at www.rvwsociety.com/ albionrecords or by post from Mark Hammett, 27, Landsdowne Way, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN40 2UJ. The price on the website is ÂŁ9.99 (which is a bit less than the full retail price) plus ÂŁ3 postage (for any number of discs).

KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20 SPORT

HEADMASTER'S CRICKET Tuesday 25 June 2019 A great result for the Headmaster's XI, who beat the Kingswood 1st XI by 4 wickets. Luckily the rain held off long enough to allow a full days play on a typical damp Upper wicket. We have also published a photo of the first Headmaster's XI in 2010. The Captain was Euan Gordon, now a member of our Executive Committee and also Kingswood Staff.

SPORT KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2019-20

SPORTS RECORDS The School is regularly asked by Old Kingswoodians if their Sports Record has been broken, the following are the Sports Day Records as of 2020.

EVENT

CLASS

RECORD

HOLDER

1500m 1500m

Senior Boys Inter Boys

4:07.6 4:28.8

T. Kingsnorth T. Kingsnorth

1500m

Junior Boys

4.53.0

1500m

Senior Girls

5.08.9

1500m

Inter Girls

1500m

Junior Girls

YEAR

EVENT

CLASS

RECORD

HOLDER

YEAR

1998 1995

4x100m Relay 4x100m Relay

Junior Boys Inter Boys

50.82 46.9

Middle Hall

A. Brooks

2014

4x100m Relay

Senior Boys

45.6

School

1957

E. White

2018

High Jump

Inter Boys

1.80m

O. Warmann

2000

5.18.8

E. White

2016

High Jump

Junior Boys

1.60m

5.15.0

E. White

2015 1982

R. Weston A.Mba Ivina M. Lau

2019 2016 2017

2018 2018

110m Hurdles

Senior Boys

15.5

N. Dakin

100m Hurdles

Inter Boys

15.12

C. Chamberlain

2019

Long Jump

Senior Boys

6.79m

A. McBraida

2011

80m Hurdles

Senior Girls

11.54

L. Gauntlett

2016

Javelin

Inter Boys

48.03m

D. Winchcombe

1987

80m Hurdles

Junior Boys

12.13

C. Roach

2016

Javelin

Junior Boys

33.90m

I. Fendley

2016

80m Hurdles

Inter Girls

12.03

L. Gauntlett

2014

Shot

Senior Girls

8.73m

J. Raskin

1986

75m Hurdles

Junior Girls

13.49

C. Pearce

2016

Discus

Inter Girls

25.04m

E. Morris

2019

400m

Senior Boys

51.2

N. Dakin

1982

Discus

Junior Girls

19.48m

E. Morris

2018

400m

Inter Boys

54.1

I. Martyn

1971

Triple Jump

Inter Girls

10.27m

R. Ousby

2016

Triple Jump

Junior Girls

10.32.

H. Leventhal

2011

Triple Jump

Inter Boys

13.13m

I. Udom

1994

Triple Jump

Junior Boys

11.15m

G. AsamohBondzie

2017

400m

Junior Boys

58.87

G. AsamoahBondzie

2017

400m

Senior Girls

61.59

R. Ousby

2018

300m

Inter Girls

43.16

E. Webster

2018

300m

Junior Girls

43.91

G. Thompson

2019

Discus

Senior Girls

25.74m

S. Saunders

2016

100m

Junior Boys

12.27

O. Parry

2014

Javelin

Senior Boys

49.86m

N. Rigby

1962

100m

Inter Boys

11.4

A. McBraida

2008

High Jump

Senior Boys

O. Warmann

2003

100m

Senior Boys

11.04

A. McBraida

2011

Long Jump

Inter Girls

4.93m

L. Hart

2017

100m

Junior Girls

13.03

J. Cameron

2016

Long Jump

Junior Girls

4.14m

H. Brain

2017

100m

Inter Girls

12.43

I. Leakey

2019

Shot

Inter Girls

8.52m

E. White

2016

100m

Senior Girls

12.40

L. Gauntlett

2016

800m

Senior Boys

2:00.1

S. James

1957

Shot

Junior Girls

8.19m

M.Ducay Perezde Pra

2017

800m

Senior Girls

2:29.45

E. White

2018

Long Jump

Inter Boys

6.30m

O. Warmann

1998

800m

Inter Boys

2:06.8

I. Martyn

1971

Long Jump

Junior Boys

5.22m

H. Maskell

2017

800m

Junior Boys

2.25.3

C. Webb

2014

Shot

Inter Boys

12.70m

D. Winchcombe

1987

800m

Junior Girls

2.53.4

F. Burns

2017

Shot

Junior Boys

1.58m

S. Ewing

2016

Senior Boys

35.61m

T. Sparrow

1980

1.91m

800m

Inter Girls

2.29.28

E. Webster

2018

Discus

200m

Junior Girls

25.93

R. Ousby

2016

Triple Jump

Senior Girls

10.78m

R. Ousby

2017

200m

Inter Girls

26.65

I. Leakey

2019

High Jump

Inter Girls

1.45m

200m

Senior Girls

26.4

R. Ousby

2017

A. James E. Bristow

2010 2010

200m

Junior Boys

24.8

C. Roach

2016

High Jump

Junior Girls

1.41m

S. Smith

2019

200m

Inter Boys

23.59

Z. Hart

2011

Javelin

Inter Girls

29.23m

R. Dixon

2011

200m

Senior Boys

22.89

J. Daybell

2016

Javelin

Junior Girls

21.49m

E. Morris

2018

1000m St/Chase

Senior Boys

2:50.3

T. Kingsnorth

1998

High Jump

Senior Girls

1.55m

R. Ousby

2017

Triple Jump

Senior Boys

13.08m

S. Merrill

2008

800m St/Chase

Senior Girls

2.42.0

L. Hart

2018

Discus

Inter Boys

34.57m

M. Rumanyika

1990

Discus

Junior Boys

23.43m

J. Lane

2016

4x100m Relay

Junior Girls

56.7

School

2016

Javelin

Senior Girls

30.08m

N. Kegode

2006

4x100m Relay

Inter Girls

55.4

Fonthill

2014

Long Jump

Senior Girls

5.19m

R. Curling

1998

4x100m Relay

Senior Girls

55.18

Summerhill

2018

Shot

Senior Boys

12.58m

V. Ajuwa

1998

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