SOGA News
A Letter from the Chairman
Dear Friends and Members of SOGA
This edition features more jolly gatherings of different generations of Old Girls together with a quick introduction to the new Head Teacher of Coombe House, Darren Harte.
On a recent visit to the school, I was fortunate to meet Mr. Harte who hails from York and has many years of experience in SEN schools. He took over at a time when the school was facing many challenges, but my first impression is that he has the skills and ambition that the school needs. We are hoping to have a more extended interview with him in a future edition of the newsletter. One reason for my journey back to the school was to return some of the cups & trophies that over the years were presented to various generations of girls for excellence in sport, music, drama & academic subjects etc. Mr. Harte was delighted to receive them and plans to start awarding them at the end of the current academic year. These cups represent a strong link with St. Mary’s which he is keen to maintain.
I was also attending a memorial mass and blessing of the newly restored graves of some of the nuns who are buried at Wardour Cemetery. It was a wonderful, if poignant, occasion organized by Sr. Gemma Simmonds, CJ followed by a very jolly tea party in Tisbury.
Finally, now that the last payment against SOGA’s claim from the Liquidators of the St. Mary’s Shaftesbury Trust has arrived, I feel it is a good time to take a backward step from chairing the SOGA committee. I have been extremely grateful for the support and talents of my wonderful committee and all the hard work that they have put into keeping the spirit and memory of our wonderful school since its sad closure. I shall of course keep in close touch with the committee who will no doubt be in touch with SOGA members to announce details of the new ‘captain of the ship’.
If you are in touch with anyone who may not be aware of SOGA’s existence and has not yet registered with us, please do encourage them to get in touch with Chloe Battle, our database officer and as usual, keep an eye on our Facebook & Instagram for more news & photos.
InMemoriam Events
Interviews
To Mairi FriesenEscandell who was married to Fred Sugarman-Warner in Stackpole, Pembrokeshire, whereshegrewup. The ceremony was in the village church with the Reception at home in her mum's gardenafterwards!
Two very important guests were Mairi’s two bestschoolfriends,AnnabelWillis(Mitchell)and LucyFortescue!Allclassof2008.
Brenda Leach - Elaine was a dear colleague and wonderful teacher of junior Latin and French. She was an inspiration to her pupils. She would always try to introduce as much fun into her lessons as possible. French role plays, for example, involved buying baguettes, butter, cheese and ham from her teacher’s desk-cum-‘shop’ , eaten afterwards with obvious delight; or the girls would bring along home clothes to the lesson for a ‘French’ shopping expedition – dressing up had never been more enjoyable.
This mention of food reminds me that as a form mistress she would invite her form in summer to tea at her home in Donhead St Andrew. The scrumptious tea was always followed by riotous games in her large and beloved garden where she would spend hours cutting back digging and planting throughout the year. Her pupils loved her dearly and she in turn loved them. She was not just full of fun but was also a very conscientious teacher, whose pupils always entered the senior school with a thorough grounding in French and Latin; many girls, would go on to study Latin and French at university.
This sense of fun extended to organising highly amusing performances by the staff on Mary Ward Day. Who will ever forget the staff marching straight-faced into the hall dressed as majorettes in time to the sound of “Seventy Six Trombones Led the Big Parade”, all wearing the most extraordinary hats and greeted by screams of laughter?
Mrs Loveday (Maths) writes of her sense of team spirit: “My first memory that comes to mind is the group of us who played badminton with her at lunchtimes, a good stress reliever if one had had a busy morning. She played well, made a great partner, kept careful track of the score and followed the rules. We all improved our game but sadly we never continued once the gym had become the drama studio.”
The daughter of a vicar,Elaine was nonetheless capable of minor transgressions and would occasionally display a careless disregard towards the Highway Code. Despite a strict injunction from the road sign she would look around and then turn left ‘as nobody was coming’. A short cut always made good sense to her and at times like that it made life a great deal more interesting for those around her.
SOGA
PHOTOGRAPHIC
RECORD
Elaine Ollerhead (French & Latin) remembered by friends & colleagues
As a friend Elaine was loyal, thoughtful and a source of strength. She never forgot a birthday or anniversary, knitted cardigans and jumpers for me and my whole family, fed us delicious meals and above all comforted me in my darkest moments of loss.
She was much loved and is greatly missed.
Deborah Radford - Elaine had an amazing capacity for getting the very best out of life. She was always optimistic, amenable and willing to take part in all of the events at St. Mary’s including the riotous spectacles of Mary Ward Day where most of the staff would dress up and be completely themselves! Elaine was resilient and forthright, yet she showed compassion and determination to see things through.
At the end of Elaine’s career at St. Mary’s in 2000, I thought it fitting to ask her to join us on our Choir Trip to Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy. Elaine had spent most of her life singing in choirs, notwithstanding Wyncantores in which she sang with her husband John and for whom I conducted. She was a tower of strength and support to us all and flexible enough to take on the demands of such a trip. We stayed in the Hotel Simplon which when booking the tour was a 3 star hotel but by the time we arrived it had become a 4 star, complete with marble floors and fittings, chandeliers and a fabulous pool. Elaine said: “Do you always stay in such luxury on your choir trips?” My reply: “Not usually as sumptuous as this but I don’t like roughing it!! Elaine’s great interest and knowledge of music meant that I could use her as a reliable page-turner as I was playing the piano for each of the concerts. The fact that Elaine also taught Latin at St. Mary’s meant that I had someone to turn to for any difficult pronunciation in the Latin motets.
Elaine is remembered with much affection. I am sure that many of the girls whom she taught will testify to her organisational skills and valuable French and Latin lessons. She is greatly missed.
BOOK – Now taking orders for second print run
Orders are now being taken for the next print run of the SOGA school photographic record. DEADLINE
Cost - £70 + Postage - please email stephanie.kalber@hotmail.co.uk
Dee Webb was a teacher & Housemistress at St Marys from 1998-2018. Outside school she was a talented Masters Hockey player winning three International Caps for Wales at the World Cup in Canberra in 2016, Europeans in Tiburg, NL in 2017 and then again at the Europeans in Brasschast, Belgium in 2019.
In 2021, after she had fought to recover from gruelling treatment for Breast Cancer, there was only one thought on her mind –
Would she ever be able to play hockey again?
(Dee) “After training for a few months, I played 3 matches for my club in March 2022 at the end of the season and when the new season began in September, I was determined to play in as many matches as possible.
Plenty of strength and stamina training, as well as twice weekly hockey training sessions helped me to regain 90% fitness. However, this was not enough to overcome my loss of confidence when it came to the Welsh over 60s hockey team. They had a new coach who had gelled with the players in my absence and new people had joined the team. 4 bad trials in early 2023 led to me not being selected in the last 18 for the two tournaments this year but I’ve been invited to continue training with the squad in case of injury.
We’ve had three matches since then and I’ve absolutely loved it. The team has welcomed me with open arms and I’ve felt more included than ever before. In the last match on 23 April, I was one of only two players who were mentioned in the post match report as having ‘a great game.’ And as one player told me, ‘a team is only as good as its reserves: it keeps the selected players more determined to stay fit and play well as they know someone is waiting in the wings.’ So my message to all St Mary’s girls. Keep fighting to do the things you love, especially when the odds are stacked against you”
Dee Webb. Teacher 1988-2018
UPDATE: Dee was called up to the Wales team that travelled to the Four Nations tournament in Glasgow in June.
Congratulations to Bernadette (Berry) Moor who is competing for England in the Jazz World Championship competition in Florida from 19th to 22ndApril.Shealwayswasagreatdancer,andtook partintheDanceShowcaseswehadatSMSlatterly. (front row, far left)
Thomasin Foshay (Tutti)
Givendale
JamesUIV-UV1985-1988
I live in Charlottesville, Virginia where I spend a lot of time with my boyfriend William and German Shepherd Martha.
Last summer I started the greeting card company, Toute-Petite. Most days you will find me painting, reviewing proofs or packaging an order to get it out the door.
Sending a shout out to all my Saint Mary's buddies! Would love you to visit or see you in England. Social media has been great but a real life catch up would be wonderful.
ww.toute-petite.com Are
Dee Webb breathes fire for Wales once again!
Jo’s Boys! News from Jo Corlett (nee Richards)
Michael – 2002 leaver
I've recently had my third child, Benjie - little brother to Pom and Edward. Life is very busy! The campaign I co-founded with Richard Curtis called Make My Money Matter is flying along and although I'm not involved in the day to day, I'm so excited by its progress towards helping the pensions industry be more sustainable. We've recently launched a banking campaign too. In my spare time over the last few years I've taken up art for the first time since school including a map of Wiltshire and Dorset which includes a little portrait of St Mary's! It is available to buy @JoCorlettPaintsAndDraws on Instagram and Facebook!
On the feast of the Annunciation 2023 a group of Shaftesbury alumnae and former staff gathered to celebrate the lives of the sisters buried at Wardour Cemetery whose grave stones had been restored. The sistersburiedthereinclude-
SisterDoloresBellis, a Welshwoman, taught English in Rome until the outbreak of World War II. An evacuee sharing the hardships and happiness of Ashburnham and Bratton 194045, she was a founder member of Shaftesbury. After a further spell in Rome she returned as sacristan, also caring for the pupils’ clothes until her death in 1982.
Sister Carmel Brady was posted to Shaftesbury, where she spent the rest of her life working in the laundry and praying fervently for all who asked her help. Her enthusiastic, if unorthodox, fundraising sent disabled children to Lourdes every year.
SisterdeSalesCornelius was the twin sister of Sister Winifred and sister of Sister Paula Cornelius. A pillar of the Junior Schools successively in Hampstead, York and Shaftesbury, she died prematurely in 1946 and was the first member of the Shaftesbury community to be buried in Wardour.
SisterPatriciaDoyle entered the Ascot novitiate from Ireland. Her very dignified bearing led to her appointment as portress in Hampstead, Ascot and York successively. She was evacuated with the rest of the Hampstead community to Ashburnham and Bratton, dying in 1953 shortly after the Shaftesbury foundation.
SisterJohnGilbert was the fifth of the eight Gilbert daughters and the third of the four who entered Mary Ward’s Institute. She was severely dyslexic, but used her considerable artistic gifts in the school and community at Ascot for 40 years. Convinced after the Second Vatican Council that the church, the religious life and she herself needed to change, she moved to Shaftesbury in 1967, where she took up gardening and the charismatic renewal with equal enthusiasm, dying in 1982 and by her own wish being buried in Shaftesbury town cemetery.
Sister Stanislaus Kavanagh entered the Ascot novitiate from Wexford in 1898. She was in charge of generations of small children in England’s Lane as well as acting as untrained Infirmarian, making up with kindness and goodwill what she lacked in professional knowledge and skill. She took part in the wartime odyssey from London to Shaftesbury, dying there in 1952.
Sister Mary Francis McGovern was twin sister to Alice who entered Mary Ward’s Institute as Sister Louis. She spent her life fulfilling domestic duties in England’s Lane, Hampstead and throughout the evacuation, helping to make the foundation in Shaftesbury. She loved flowers and birds, caring for them until overcome by infirmity. She died in 1971 and is surrounded by birds and wild flowers in Wardour cemetery.
SisterAnneReilly was born in Armagh in a family so poor that she had to leave school aged 12 to work barefoot in a flax mill. Her robust manner and explosive temper hid a heart of gold which generations of children sensed. Evacuated with the rest of the Hampstead community, she and Sister Lawrence did noble work in maintaining a laundry service in primitive conditions throughout the war and in the early years of Shaftesbury. Together with Sister Carmel she was a powerhouse of prayer for anyone who asked for that support, dying peacefully in 1986.
SisterCatherineTittell was born in Postbauer in Bavaria in 1883 and entered the novitiate at Ascot in 1905. She was happy in England, but returned to Germany in 1916 to avoid the bitter hostility towards all Germans during World War I, returning only in 1922. A gifted linguist and clever mathematician, she was able to teach almost any subject as a pillar of the staff in England’s Lane, its successor in Fitzjohn’s Avenue and in the newly founded Shaftesbury until her old age, dying in 1970.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.