Saint Ronan’s
The Public Hanging of the Headmasters Headmaster
Artist
Unveiled by
Tribute
The Revd Crick (1883-1909)
Toby Ward
Philip Gadsby
Philip Gadsby
Stanley Harris (1901-1926)
Unknown
James Harris
James Harris
Dick Harris (1926-1957)
Piers de Lazlo
James Harris
Gospatric Home
Sir Richard Vassar-Smith (1957-1971)
Juliet Bonham-Carter
Juliet Vassar-Smith
Jeremy Lucas
Sir John Vassar-Smith (1971-1997)
Juliet Bonham-Carter
Sir John Vassar-Smith
Simon Bennie
Also: Millie Butler-Gallie, Head Prefect Colin Willis, Chairman of the Governors
1883: Revd Crick founds the School
1909: Stanley Harris takes over as Headmaster until his death in 1926
1957: Sir Richard Vassar-Smith takes over as Headmaster until 1971
1926: Dick Harris, the school’s third Headmaster, until 1957
1971: Sir John Vassar-Smith becomes the School’s fifth Headmaster, until 1997
about the artists Toby Ward Toby is a well-known portrait painter, the father of Felix in Year 7 and the son of another distinguished artist, John Ward. Toby paints both people and places. His portraits include President Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, amongst others. He spent a month working with the United Nations Peacekeeping force in central Bosnia, drawing and recording the life and work of the soldiers. He has also been commissioned to draw and paint important landmarks, such as Chastleton House, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Ritz. Toby’s picture of the Reverend Crick sees him outside Saint Ronan’s in Worthing. He is reflecting on the growth of the School and is clearly proud of what he has achieved; excited to think about its future. Unknown When WTV first arrived at the School at the end of 2002, he found this picture in the cellar (!), reframed it and restored it to its rightful place in the Headmaster’s Study. It’s a shame thatwe don’t know the artist. Clearly a work of tremendous talent and feeling, it conveys the warmth and high regard in which Stanley was held. Piers de Laszlo Piers was a pupil at Saint Ronan’s from 1966-1971, before moving to Harrow. He is also a painter by descent, as the grandson of the famous 19th Century portrait painter Philip de Laszlo. Piers is a prestigious and talented artist and is based in Portugal, where he has saved historic buildings in a small fishing village from being destroyed by developers. Piers has painted Dick Harris sitting in a deck chair and ‘woven’ into the canvas behind him are the words of “Harry’s Prayer”. He sits looking contented, relaxed and above all, kind, in front of the School, which he brought to Tongswood after the war and gifted to all of us on his death. Juliet Bonham Carter Juliet’s husband was at Saint Ronan’s in the early 1950s, at the time of the cross-over between Dick Harris and Sir Richard. Juliet is a well-established portrait painter, and was recently commissioned by the Governors of Port Regis to paint Peter and Liz Dix on their retirement. Juliet’s style is very distinctive and belongs to the period in which Sir Richard and Sir John were Headmasters. The way the Headmasters dominate the frame gives a clue as to the strength of their personalities as they lead the School through these vital years. Thank You The School would like to thank all those Alumni, Parents, Staff and Friends who generously donated money towards the 130th Anniversary Portrait Appeal. ADAMS-CAIRNS, Mrs I; ALLEN, Mr D; ARCHIBALD, Major D; ASQUITH, MR R; BADEN-POWELL, Mr R; BAILY, Mr M; BARKER, Mr T; BATTISCOMBE, Mr C; BAXTER-DERRINGTON, Mr P; BENYON, Sir William; BLICK, Mr J; BLOCK, Mr N; BLOCK, Mr R; BONHAM-CARTER, Mr R; BORTHWICK, Sir A; BRADSTOCK, Mr R; BRANDT, Mr P; BRIDGE, Mr D; BRIDGEMAN, Mr C; CAMPBELL, Mr M; CHARLESWORTH, Miss C; CHICHESTER, THE Hon A; COBHAM, Mr R; COLLINS, Mrs R; COLLYMORE, Mr PK; COTTER, Mstr M; DACRE, Mr J, Mr A, Mr & Professor P; DAKIN, Mstr H; DAVDISON, Mstr R; DE GALE, Mr D; DE GALE, Mr W; DUMBRECK, Mr J; DUNCOMBE, Mr D; DUTTSON, Mr D; ELWORTHY, Mr S; FINDLAY, Mr M; FLETCHER, Mr R; FOX, The Revd C; FRANKS, Mr D; GALE, Mr C; GELL, Mr J; GOODFELLOW, Mr A; GORDONFINLAYSON, Mr R; GOUGH, Mr J; GUNTHER, Mr P; HALL-TAYLOR, Mr A; HEATHCOAT AMORY, Mr M; HOME, Mr G; HOWE, Mr CK; JOARDER-WHITE, Mstr A; KEMBER, Mstr W; KIMMERLING, Dr R; KIMPTON, Mr J; LANCASTER, Mstr H; LAWFORD, Mr H; LEGH, The Hon D; LOHMAN, Mstr B; LOWES, Mr D; LOWES, Mr T; MACARTNEY, Mr G; MACLEAY, Lt Cdr N ; MACLEAY, Mr R; MACPHAIL, Mr J; MACPHERSON, Mr A; MADDAN, Mr A; MAGNUS, Sir Laurie; MARTIN, Mr John; MARTIN, Mr James; MCCONNEL, Mr A; MONCKTON, Mr T; NEAME, Mr J; NOURSE, Sir Martin; PAGE, Mr C; PARSONS, The Revd. D; PRICE, Mr R; ROXBURGH, Mr A; RUSSELL, Dr A; SHINGLES, Mr J; SIMPSON, Mstr W; SMITH-WRIGHT, Mr R; SNELL, Mr C; STATMAN, Mstr S; SWINEY, Mr M; TENNANT, Major Gen M; TENNANT, Mr D; THE ALLINSON FAMILY; THE BICTON EVACUEES; THE BRASNETT FAMILY; THE CHATTERTON FAMILY; THE JOYCE FAMILY; THE KENT FAMILY; THE LORD REMNANT; THE MCNEISH FAMILY; THE PLATT-HIGGINS FAMILY; THE TRELAWNY-VERNON FAMILY; TURNER, Mr R; ULMANN, Mr W; VALE, Mr S; VASSAR-SMITH, Miss J; VASSAR-SMITH, Sir John; Viscount DE L’ISLE; WADE, Mr M; WALKER, Mstr E; WARD, Mr R; WATERS, Mr D; WATNEY, Mr C; WATSON, Mr & Mrs J; WATSON, Mstr T; WEBSTER, Mr J; WHEELER, Mr M; WHINNEY, Mr C; WHINNEY, Rt Revd M; WILLIAMSON, Mr A; WILLIAMSON, Mr D; WITHEY-STEVENS, Mstr R & Miss A; WYATT, Miss T
The Speakers Philip Gadsby Philip is the eldest great-grandson of the founder, Revd Crick, and the son of the late Patricia Crick. The Crick family became reunited with Saint Ronan’s in 2009 when WTV posted an article about the Founder on the Net. Since then, Philip and his sisters have been interested in their great-grandfather’s legacy and have helped build up the School archives.
James Harris James is the nephew of Stanley and Dick Harris and was a Ronian himself at the time that the School was evacuated to Bicton. James and his wife, Primrose, now run the Mallet Court Nursery near Taunton. They have one of the largest collections of maples and oaks in the country and have been awarded three Gold Medals at Chelsea, amongst several other accolades. James is a lifelong supporter of the School and donated the grove of specimen trees which are planted along the drive, in memory of his family’s part in the Saint Ronan’s story.
Gospatric Home Gos was at the School during the Bicton and early Tongswood years. He is a great supporter of the School and his father’s pictures of the three locations of the School (Worthing, Bicton and Hawkhurst) can be found on the stairwell in the main house. Gos has spent much of his life working to help better the lives of others, notably in his tireless work helping the homeless. He is also involved in raising awareness and funds in memory of the legacy this country owes to the Huguenot immigres. Without his help the Alumni list would be smaller, as he has coordinated many of the recent Bicton Old Boy events, including the gathering of the Bicton Boys’ memories.
Jeremy Lucas Jeremy was at Saint Ronan’s between 1960 and 1965 and finished up as Head Prefect. He is the son of another old Ronian, Laddie Lucas, the famous World War Two Spitfire Ace. Jeremy’s sons were also at the School and both won scholarships to Eton. Despite a hugely successful City career , Jeremy has always found time to support Saint Ronan’s and has served on the Governing body for over 15 years. We are indebted to him for all his help.
Simon Bennie Simon was at Saint Ronan’s between 1973 and 1978 and was also Head Prefect. Simon is currently a Housemaster at Benenden School and a teacher of English. His elder daughter, Rose, left last year, but we still have Phoebe to keep us on our toes!
Speeches WTV To start proceedings, I invite Philip Gadsby to unveil his great grandfather’s portraits painted by a current Saint Ronan’s parent, Toby Ward.
Philip Gadsby Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Philip Gadsby; William has kindly asked me to say a few words about my Great Grandfather The Reverend Philip Crick who founded this wonderful school in 1883. I am accompanied today by one of my sisters Jo Gunning. Reverend Philip Crick “The Founder” of the school was born on 5th May 1855 in Suffolk, the youngest of three sons of the Reverend Henry William Crick, who was the Rector of Little Thurlow, a village between Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge, “The Founder” attended Bury St Edmunds School, where he was Head of School in 1873/74, from School he followed in the footsteps of his elder brothers as scholars to Cambridge in the Founder’s case to Pembroke College, from where he graduated in 1878. Following the Founder’s Graduation he was made a Deacon and started a journey through life that would include a number of schools. Initially The Founder seemed to move quickly through positions, he was an assistant master at a school in Dublin in 1878, the next year he came back across the Irish Sea to be a master at my Alma Marta, Bradfield College, not that I was aware of it at the time, after his time at Bradfield in 1881 he was ordained as a priest and became Chaplain at The Oxford Military College, in Cowley. 1882 was a seminal year in the life of The Founder, he became an Assistant Master at Somerset College, Bath however far more importantly he married on 2nd February my Great Grandmother Antoinette Plant. The Founder’s wanderlust was over and he decided to settle down, it is recorded that he was “Desiring to start a school on his own”. Not wishing to let the grass grow under his feet, The Founder by January 1883, 11 months after getting married settled, with my 7 week old Grand Father another Philip Crick, in a semi-detached corner house in Worthing, West Sussex. (No Oscar Wilde Jokes Please). The school in principle was founded, there remained a number of things to sort out, the name of the school? The Founder’s home was called Pen-y-arth, not the most inspiring name for a school in Sussex. The Founder’s Mother was reading the Walter Scott Novel St Ronan’s Well, St Ronan’s seemed a good name for a school so the sign writer was instructed to paint St Ronan’s. There remained the question of school colours / crests and other shall one say tribal symbols, to keep things familiar for The Founder basically these were plagiarisms of Pembroke College, Cambridge’s where the Founder had been educated. As an aside here it is interesting to note that the second third and fourth headmasters were also Pembroke men. So come the start of the winter term in September 1883, the school opened, with 5 boys and 6 desks, the school records show that the boys were Angel F, Angel C, Abbot R, Amey A and Warmsley J. Three years later the school was progressing well and the first assistant master was appointed and a school magazine was published. (I understand from William that all the old school magazines are being scanned and will be available on line soonThe
Speeches school continued to thrive, so much so that in September 1887, this is 4 years after the first 5 boys started, the school moved to a purpose built building in the Heene district of West Worthing; the school had views across the channel and was 400 yards from the bracing sea. The next year 1888, they also managed to purchase 2 acres of land across the road and in the year after a further 3 acres of land was purchased. So here we have a picture of a school with about 35 students in an idyllic setting, near to the sea, with 5 acres of grounds for team sports and other activities, what could go wrong? The water supply. Unfortunately Worthing that had become a borough in 1890 of 16,000 souls, today it is over 100,000, had problems with its water supply and there was a typhoid epidemic that eventually killed 188 people. Under reasonable parental pressure, the school decamped to three houses in St Leonard’s on Sea that had previously been used as a school. Here the students had the run of a gymnasium, a swimming pool, that required 20,000 gallons of SEA Water to fill and there was a fives court. The school returned to Worthing in 1894, having experienced the facilities in St Leonards, improvements were made to the school; a Gymnasium block was erected, this brought not just a Gym but also a Reading Room, Staff Room, Classroom and Grub Store. The Founder had five children, my Grandfather Philip Charles Thurlow Crick, who won scholarships both to Winchester and in the Founder’s footsteps to Pembroke where he excelled gaining the top ranking in the Classical Tripos in 1904. My Grandfather went on to be Dean of Clare College, Bishop of Rockhampton and then Ballarat in Australia, in both these Sees he was involved in the founding of schools, so something rubbed off. Philip returned to the UK and was Assistant Bishop of Derby, sadly he died early at the age of 54. The Founder’s second son Douglas, born in 1885 also followed the family trend, a scholarship to Winchester, in a change to family tradition Douglas obtained a Scholarship to New College, Oxford, then getting back on family track he was ordained, Douglas was Bishop of Stafford in the 1930s then Bishop of Chester through the war till 1955, Great Uncle Douglas married Evelyn Vernon, who I am informed is William’s second cousin twice removed, it’s a small world. The family gene to start schools, that seems to have passed me by, was still alive and well in the 1980’s Richard Edwards, Douglas Crick’s Grandson, the other Great Grandson of the Founder started a Theatre and Dance School back in Worthing. The Founder had three daughters, Edith Antoinette, Victoria Mary and Kathleen. All of my Great Aunts were characters and lived full lives. In 1904 when the Founder was 49 he made a very important decision for the school, he appointed Stanley Harris to the staff, no doubt you will hear more about Stanley from James Harris, suffice to say he was in a way the David Beckham of his day, as in 1905 he was Captain of the England Football Team.
Speeches The Founder then it seems to me had decided to retire from teaching in the near term; to put his final imprint on the school with religious roots a Chapel was required. The Founder set about raising funds for a school chapel, this he did successfully; it was built and paid for within 18 months. Five years later in 1909, The Founder at the age of 54 put in train his plans to retire from teaching and Stanley Harris was made Headmaster. Following his retirement from St Ronan’s The Founder returned to work as a parish priest, or should that be began work as a parish priest, initially he became Rector of Boulge with Debach in Suffolk for a couple of years, then he was Vicar of Whorlton, near Barnards Castle in County Durham from 1912-1916, Curate of Edenbridge, back here in Kent in 1918-19, then he took his last living, coming full circle in a way he became Vicar of St Andrew’s Waresley in Bedfordshire a parish that was in the gift of Pembroke College, he was in post from 1919 till his death at the age of 70 in 1925. That is the story as far as I know of my Great Grandfather the Founder of this school. Having had the pleasure of meeting William and discussing him, there are a number of things that we cannot really understand… How is it that the Third Son of a vicar can afford to have a purpose built school built within 4 years of starting a school with 5 students, then how did he fund the purchase of 5 acres of land in Worthing? Whatever the answer to that question is, all I can see at the moment is that the land and buildings in Worthing, when sold in 1945, enabled the school to move to the beautiful setting it finds itself in now.
WTV I now invite James Harris to unveil the portrait of his Uncle Stanley, who was Headmaster from 1909 to 1926 and then to say a few words.
James Harris I never knew my Uncle Stanley Shute Harris. He was born on 19th July 1881 -132 years ago. He was the eldest of five children and his father Sir Charles Alexander Harris was on the Permanent Staff of the Colonial Office and in 1917 became Governor of Newfoundland. In 1895, he entered Westminster School where he excelled as a scholar and sportsman, captaining the 1st X1 Football in the 1899/1900 season. In 1900, he went up to Pembroke College Cambridge where he read Mediaeval and Modern Languages. He was an Association Football Blue for three consecutive years -1902 to 1904, and he captained the Varsity side for the 1903/1904 season. After coming down from Cambridge, he started his teaching career at Saint Ronan’s under the headmastership of The Reverend Philip Crick. He continued to play amateur football for his club the Corinthian Casuals. He also played for England. He won six full international caps and captained the side. He was an accomplished cricketer. I was delighted and in awe to learn that he had played against W.G. Grace although he does not appear to have scored many runs!! The family tradition is that he was offered as an amateur to captain Sussex but he turned it down as he had to have a career.
Speeches In 1909, at the age of 28, he acquired the school, still quite small from the Reverend Crick with the financial assistance of his father and thus became the school’s second headmaster. During Stanley’s headship the school grew in both numbers and reputation. He was hailed as one of the most remarkable headmasters of his age. He was a member of the Council of the Association of Preparatory Schools and became its Chairman. In March 1920, he was struck by a serious illness –a sarcoma. Notwithstanding several operations, the outlook was bleak. In January 1921, he had the Service of Spiritual Healing. The haemorrhage which had started stopped and did not return. No trace of the malignant disease remained nor could be found. Stanley was a deeply committed Christian and strongly upheld Christian values. Whatever your beliefs may be, in the family we always believed that he was being given time to complete his work. In August 1923, he wrote a small book ‘The Master and the Boys’ in which he set out his educational philosophy. One example –boys must be responsible and rely on each other. This can be exemplified in the playing of games -an important part of the curriculum. At the end of 1925, his illness returned –it was then a different form of sarcoma. This time there was to be no recovery; even though there was another Service of Spiritual Healing. He wrote to the parents to tell them of the position. ‘…if it is the will of God, I can yet be spared to continue my work at Saint Ronan’s; on the other hand I am also perfectly prepared for the other alternative since we know so little of what lies beyond this world or for what we may be wanted’…‘I have had such wonderful proof since the beginning of my illness of the devotion and love of the parents … towards the school’. ‘I am leaving all my property and the school to my brother Walter Bruce Harris who has been a Housemaster at Lancing. He knows and believes in my methods and he is a long way the best Housemaster of any man of my acquaintance in England and he could in my opinion run Saint Ronan’s on the same methods which I have always attempted to employ; namely, the appeal to a boy’s honour as the foundation of everything. There only remains one more thing to express my unspeakable gratitude to Saint Ronan’s parents in their manner of dealing with me’. Stanley died on 4th May 1926 at the age of 44. In June 1928, the Stanley Harris Memorial Scholarship was established at Pembroke College and endowed with a gift of £2,800 worth of stock Now called the ‘Harris Fund’ it continues to support undergraduates. In 2005, a Stanley Harris Scholarship was established at Saint Ronan’s which is awarded to children wishing to apply for a place in the Preparatory School. Stanley’s legacy to Saint Ronan’s is the qualities and principals which I have mentioned. It is this which makes Saint Ronan’s a very special and outstanding school.
WTV …Thank you James. Your work today is not yet done as I would like you to also unveil the portrait of your Uncle Dick who took over from his brother in 1926 and lead the school until his death in 1957. One of his former pupils, Gospatric Home, will then say a few words.
Speeches Gospatric Home I FEEL HUGELY HONOURED and surprised to have been asked by the Headmaster to say a few words about Harry. I have to tell you that I was never the Head Boy, nor did I ever play for any first sporting team during my very happy 5 years at St R., indeed the only signs that I was even fleet of foot appeared after Sam Twining’s father (who was my Godfather) had plied Sam and I with Devon Cider at a delicious lunch before the Sports Day at Bicton in 1942. By the time the 100 yards sprint for 9 year olds came I had only one aim in life as I sprinted into the lead and carried straight on from the finishing line and back into the house with one small room as my target! I first met Harry when I was 5 years old, at Worthing, and have total recall of him showing me around the school with my parents and instinctively liking this friendly man with the big eye brows. Harry had a remarkable empathy with boys. I bore the unusual and lengthy Christian name of Gospatric. It was Harry who swiftly re- christened me Gosh, a pleasantly monosyllabic name with a touch of fun in it. That small act meant a lot to me and like so many of my contemporaries I felt utterly at ease with this erudite, generous hearted, trustworthy and relaxed father figure whose mantra was to convince rather than to compel. His Christian principles came through to us in his sermons which were remarkably memorable and in the early encouragement he gave us to be financially charitable. He provided us all with Bible reading notes from the Bible Reading Fellowship- and here are some I still have-, they taught one so much and so clearly. When his brilliant brother Stanley was first taken ill with Cancer Dick wrote him a quite remarkable letter pledging him in the event of Stanley dying that he would, if Stanley was agreeable, be ready to leave Lancing and take over the Headmastership of St Ronan’s. He redeemed that pledge quite magnificently with that remarkable and loyal team of his “Vint” ,” Jevvy”, “Hoody”, “Pooley”,”Mrs Vas”, Jack and not forgetting Finch the ultimate gentleman’s gentleman. The move of the entire school from Worthing to Bicton- in term time- and conducted in war time and all achieved in one single day was in itself a remarkable achievement. No other Prep school did an evacuation in term time! Harry also resisted attempts to persuade him to move the entire school to Canada. He felt strongly that boys should remain close to their parents in wartime so he wrote to all the parents and firmly told them so. The standard of teaching was always of the highest. Harry, quite apart from his 3 successive Blues for Cambridge also took first class Honours in History. The quality of the men this small school helped to educate was exemplified by the exceptional war record of its former pupils. While 38 lost their lives 81 of those that served were commended for their courage and they received no less than 15 DSO’s. 13 M.C.s and 7 DFC’s. Names like Airey Neave and Laddie Lucas are still deservedly remembered to this day. Leaders in the Church, in Politics, in the Services, in Industry, Commerce and the Professions abounded. Before the war had ended Harry realised just what a country estate with woods and a farm not to mention existing
Speeches playing fields could do for boys. He had witnessed the advantages of Bicton over Worthing so he sold the latter and acquired Tongswood and then left it in his will in perpetuity for St Ronan’s to continue and flourish. And flourish it has under the next four headmasters. Most importantly he moved the Chapel brick by brick from Worthing to here. Let me close by reading you a letter from Harry to me which he sent on the eve of my going to my Public School for the first time. Written in his own distinctive hand writing I suspect that my contemporaries will each remember having received a letter like it. It speaks volumes .
WTV I now invite Juliet Vassar-Smith, the first girl to ever go to Saint Ronan’s, to unveil the portrait of her father who was Headmaster from 1957 to 1971. The portrait has been painted by Juliet Bonham-Carter, the wife of one of his former pupils. Jeremy Lucas, Head Prefect in Autumn 1964, will then say a few words.
Jeremy Lucas Ladies and gentlemen - It is a pleasure and a privilege to have been asked to say a few words about Sir Richard Vassar-Smith, headmaster of St Ronan’s from 1957 – 1971. Sir Richard, known as Sir Rich to us boys (I was at St Ronan’s from 1960 – 1965) was a very fine headmaster of St Ronan’s. He was a big charismatic personality who was very obviously in charge but inspired great affection and respect from masters and boys alike. My brother, who as a journalist has much sharper descriptive powers than I, describes him as “a barrel-chested lion of a man, the quintessential sporting Baronet, straight out of Fielding; the kind of Englishman you don’t come across nowadays”. And that’s right. But he also had a very well-developed sense of humour, warmth and kindness and injected a lot of fun into school life. And also, I would say, with Lady Vas (Dawn) his wife, who was universally loved by all the boys - more than a touch of glamour, most obviously manifested in his case by his Sunbeam Alpine sports car which he drove with panache, as did Johnny and Julie theirs - his son and daughter, who both drove the same model. In fact (and I’m sorry, here I’m straying into an anecdote about Johnny rather than Sir Rich) I was once sitting with Lady Vas, in her sedate Humber saloon I think it was, at a crossroads when a tell-tale Sunbeam Alpine shot past on the main road and Lady Vas remarked drily “there goes Johnny with his high performance driving”. Definitely a go-faster family! Sir Rich taught me divinity and had an undoubted ability to bring the familiar bible stories to life for a small boy, the more so because of his addition of humour which made what was taught stick in the mind. My other recollections include him reading to us, I think once we had become prefects, such Boys’ Own fare as Bulldog Drummond and John Buchan in his study on Sunday evenings as we sat, all ears, in rapt attention around him. And should there be any disturbance after lights out one of his stentorian warnings from the corridor was enough to ensure total silence thereafter. Sport was a very important ingredient in Sir Rich’s life and I certainly remember him coaching the first teams at football, rugby and cricket with skill and enthusiasm. He had after all played football for Cambridge and the Corinthians. He was also a keen golfer and long-standing member of Rye. The only problem he encountered in later years when coaching football was that he was by then wearing glasses which were apt quite frequently to be
Speeches destroyed by an imperfectly executed header! So how did Sir Richard come to be headmaster of St Ronan’s? Well… he had been a pupil of the School from 1918 to 1921 and his mother (Mrs Vas) had run the domestic side of the School from 1923 to 1948 so the connection was strong and obvious. But I suspect that it was the fact that W B Harris – Harry – his predecessor as headmaster, had been his housemaster at Lancing that encouraged him to re-join Harry at St Ronan’s after the War in 1946 and quickly become his junior partner, taking over as headmaster in 1957 when Harry died. There is no doubt that running a prep school, with its opportunities for sport and jollity, suited Sir Rich down to the ground – far better than had the arid pastures of banking in which he had spent a few years before the war at Lloyds Bank, where his grandfather had been Chairman. And his ebullience and his enthusiasm for school life transmitted itself to the boys and made one feel that one was part of something special and unique and I sense that is still very much the case with the St Ronan’s of today – a golden thread, if you like, running through the 130 years of the school’s existence. Those are my humble and probably rather ill-expressed thoughts about Sir Richard Vassar-Smith, a fine headmaster and a fine man, much missed by all who knew him.
WTV Sir Richard handed the reigns of headmastership to his son Sir John in 1971 and Johnny ran the school until his retirement at Christmas 1997. I am delighted that Johnny himself will unveil his portrait, also painted by Juliet BonhamCarter, which will be hung alongside his father’s as a pair. Simon Bennie, Head Prefect in Summer 1978, will then say a few words.
Simon Bennie Sir John, ,with the greatest respect, for the purposes of this occasion I feel I must refer to you as Johnny Vas, as this is who you were to my generation – and it was your father who had the handle! The only way to approach this is through my own memories of some of the time over which you presided, and these could not be as they are had you not been at the helm. St Ronans in the 1970s was a very different establishment to the school of today. I was one of 90 boys on the roll and all were boarders. Health and safety directives were non-existent and we were proud of being neither ‘riskaverse’ nor ‘risk-aware’. Instead, caution was generally thrown to the wind and the order of the day was not ‘take care’, ‘but crack on and have a go’. I remember idyllic hours spent mucking about in Tongswood, damming the stream or building a camp, and long, long afternoons of cricket, rugby, ‘French and English’ and ‘British Bulldogs’. If you grazed a knee or fell in a bed of nettles or on one memorable occasion for me, speared your foot with a garden fork while digging potatoes in the allotments, you picked yourself up, brushed yourself down and learned from the experience. It was a school full of teachers with nick names and eccentric habits drawn straight from a boy’s own comic: Ticker
Speeches Boom, a memorable history teacher who would explode if you got the date wrong, Henry Hussey, the classics teacher, who would roar up the drive in his Triumph motorbike every morning much to the amusement of the boys who would gather at the window to watch the gravel fly and who would keep us spellbound with tales of Perseus, Hercules or Theseus and his Minotaur in the Great Space after lunch on a Thursday; Marc Portal, a most brilliant science teacher who I will never forget trying to explain to a boy in a lesson on human reproduction how spermatozoa find their way through a man’s trousers; immortal Monsieur trying to teach French with the aid of a battered set of ‘Asterix and Obelix’ and taking us for long late summer walks to pick blackberries; Tim Milling the softly-spoken maths teacher and master-in-charge of shooting. As a member of the first eight, I will never forget him staring down his telescope at the targets and muttering the words ‘peacher’ or ‘driller’, when your shot found the bullseye; Johnny Vas was a first class Geography teacher who made the incomprehensible business of reading an ordnance survey map something of a revelation and whose slide shows of subsistence farming in the Sahara or of Place Farm at Diss in the Lake District were always eagerly anticipated. Subsistence farming, if memory serves, involves mixing the blood of a goat with its milk or something of that sort – splendidly macabre! It was a school full of fun, laughter, friends and pillow fights and midnight feasts. Three to a bath come bath night – we weren’t bothered – and competitive games of table tennis and billiards in the Great Space. The memories are cherished: the Choir treat on Hastings beach gorging cherries and skipping pebbles into the waves; Dr Who, Top of the Pops and airfix model building in Lady Vas’s room and queuing outside Lady Vas’s room to recite the Creed in exchange for a lollipop – word perfect mind you. We had our idiosyncracies: come a general election, and there were quite a few in the mid to late seventies, the prefect on duty that day would turn his red sash inside out, so as not to be seen flying inappropriate colours – oh and a half holiday was expected when the right side won. And presiding over it all, Johnny Vas, camera in hand, with his wide smile, boundless energy, words of encouragement and just a touch of the mad professor – I think it was the hair that did it. One of Johnny’s greatest strengths was that he was and still is able, I feel sure, to relate to boyish enthusiasms, recognising the poet’s conviction that the child is father of the man. His love of photography, his fascination for computers and his interest in the Space Race all rubbed off on the boys in his care and added to the mystique of his charm. My mother, to this day, still recalls looking forward to coming and picking me up from school for the weekend, not only to see her son, but also to see him doing something adventurous or outdoorsy in a photograph displayed amongst the host of other photographs of all the boys on one of the huge noticeboards that would greet parents on their arrival at the school. Every boy was there, and she says you could tell that whoever was responsible for the display had gone to great lengths to ensure that this was the case. Johnny coined affectionate nick-names for all the boys that made us feel unique, special: Bennie-boy, Puggy Noel, Roxy Roxburgh, Raiky etc. The St Ronans teaching and support staff had a language all of their own – they didn’t swear, but used the term ‘bally’ instead: ‘oh bally this and bally that’. And when a piece of work was overdue and a threat required, the phrase ‘I’ll have your guts for garters’ usually did the trick. Thankfully, St Ronans in the 1970s wasn’t averse to a little social engineering. I’m reminded of when my mother phoned the school to see if she could arrange for her rather shy son to meet another new boy during the summer holidays to make the first day at school a little less daunting. Johnny’s lovely sister Julie Vassar-Smith, took the call, and thinking this a good idea and knowing that another new boy lived but a short distance away from my
Speeches home at the time, kindly passed on his parents’ contact details. He could have been anyone; it might have been a disaster. As it happens, we met over the summer and have remained the closest of friends ever since. We were each other’s best man at our weddings and we are each godfather to the other’s daughter. In fact, I have to admit, all my closest friends are St Ronan’s boys. Now I don’t know whether this means I’m rubbish at making friends – my daughters’ reading of the situation or that I simply don’t go out enough, but of one thing I’m sure, the friends I do have I wouldn’t trade for the world and so I have a lot to thank you for Sir John. And do you know, I’m not the only one whose closest friends are old St Ronan’s chums. Could it be that Johnnie Vass, more than ably seconded by his wonderful family and charismatic colleagues did in fact succeed in making these days the happiest days of our lives?
WTV Next is a few reflections from this term’s Head Prefect, Millie Butler-Gallie. Millie won both an art and an academic awards to King’s earlier this year and will start in Canterbury in September.
Millie Butler-Gallie It seems incredible that this Sports’ Hall was only built three years ago, and is just one example of how the School has developed over the years I have been here. I remember when I first came to St Ronan’s; all the girls were cramped into a tiny claustrophobic changing room, which is now the IT room, “Colossus”. Even though the facilities were not as good as they are now, when I came here I was attracted to the school because of its principals and the opportunity to enjoy things in such a beautiful environment. Unlike other schools, St Ronan’s actually makes the effort to try and make everything we do here fun, exciting and enjoyable. It would be a lot easier to just sit all of us in a classroom and have test after test, yet the staff help us to experience new things and do not just stick to the syllabus. An example, Mr Andrew even showed us the effects of thermite. If the year 8s remember anything about Chemistry it will be the small explosion of that home-made bomb. St Ronan’s has provided me and my peers the opportunity to excel in anything we want to do. I am not going to lie, to begin with our year was somewhat “eclectic”, however we have all achieved great things in our time here. We have received 14 awards to senior schools, 100% passed the Cranbrook Test and everybody got into their first choice school at CE. We’ve become,variously, music scholars, art scholars, academic scholars and sport scholars. This was only possible because our teachers have put so much into our school life. I previously spoke about the principals of St Ronan’s and I believe these define Saint Ronan’s today and have done in the past. In the back of the blue book are a set of points that the school feel really matter. We are gentle, we are kind and helpful, We listen, We are honest, We are hardworking and We look after property. The family ethos of the school is highlighted in these points. The year groups talk to one another more than other schools. The older ones are gentle and kind to the younger pupils. I have seen people acting as though their friends are their brothers or sisters. Here at St Ronan’s we are all one big family and this makes the school a happy environment to be in. It is almost as if we pupils do not see it as a school, but rather like a home. From what all the other speakers have said about their time at Saint Ronan’s, it is clear that there is something special that has lasted through the generations. As a leaver I draw to the end of my experience at St Ronan’s and I can say that my time has been hugely fulfilling. I do not think I have missed out on anything or any opportunity. The time you spend at prep school is the longest time you spend in your education, more than your senior school and university years. Therefore we have to make the
Speeches most of it and I feel all the leavers have greatly benefitted from coming here. Our year group has been a kind one and I think we have all pulled each other along. I know that I have been able to make friends at this school whom I will still be in touch with when I am returning to Alumni events and that is very special. Finally, I would like to thank Mr and Mrs TV, the other Staff, Governors and Parents for appreciating what makes Saint Ronan’s special for us, the pupils, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work in preserving what we love about it. Floreat Saint Ronan’s
WTV As many will know, on his death in 1957 Dick Harris placed the entire Tongswood Estate into a Charitable Trust for the benefit of the school. Forty years later Johnny Vassar-Smith did the same with the school itself. Colin Willis, the Chairman of the Board of School Governors, will like to now say a few words.
Colin Willis Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and thank you Headmaster and guests for that journey through the School’s history. As ‘tail-end Charlie’ in this line-up of speakers, I will endeavour to keep my contribution short. Modesty prevents William continuing the story beyond his arrival in the Spring of 2003 and I now take great pleasure in recalling some of the achievements William and Emma have made over the past 10 years in ‘minding the magic’. As we have heard Dick Harris placed the Tongswood Estate in a charitable trust while Sir John VasserSmith added the School in 1997 thereby ending its time as a proprietary school. Six years later William inherited this legacy and with then only 164 children in the school, there was a real danger that the School might not weather another recession. However, today we stand at over 320 children. Staff numbers have grown commensurately from 30 to 60 with a sizeable number of other music, Sport, catering staff supporting us. We opened the pre-Prep building in January 2007 and the Sports Hall was first used in the summer of 2010. Design and Technology was introduced in the Autumn of 2011 and we are now a fully accredited Forest School thereby making good use of some of our 230 acres –and not to forget of course Paradise Farm and the recent arrival, the bees! All of this would not have been possible without the great effort of all the staff and the support of you the parents. Behind the scenes there are 12 on the Board of Governors of whom 3 are former pupils and 5 former parents. 5 of our number are present or past educationalists, and our professional backgrounds range from medicine and architecture through to banking and accountancy. We exercise our governance responsibilities though a number of sub-committees. The Curriculum Committee closely monitors the quality of our educational offering and aims to review all subject areas over a 2 year cycle. The recent successes of our Scholarship results both academic and musical attest to the work of this group. The Development Committee is charged with monitoring the progress of the School’s 2013-2017 plan, the Building Committee worries over maintaining this wonderful listed building while Health and Safety does what it says on the tin. And last but not least the Finance & General Purposes Committee keeps a close eye on the School’s finances and has the unenviable task of recommending the level of fees to the full Board.
Speeches And what of the future? Well, undoubtedly we are still in austere times, but the continuing confidence in the School in terms of numbers means that we can continue to invest for the current and future education of your children. One of the next big items on the wish list is, of course, an astro turf and I hope that the Ball in the Autumn will begin the process of raising funds to make this dream a reality. Above all, the Governing body and the Staff will strive to maintain the ethos of St Ronans as a family school with an informal and happy atmosphere where staff are approachable and mud unremarkable. A place where the children enjoy school, relish the opportunities offered and are inspired to work hard, to be kind, gentle courteous and honest . Floreat Saint Ronan’s.
WTV Year 7 (Midway in old money) are now going to perform an abridged version of Much Ado About Nothing over by the Maples on the Front Lawn for those that would like to watch. For those who would like to have a tour around the school, Year 8 have kindly offered to be your guides and I ask you to simply wait behind to be scooped up! Could I close with a final thank you and that is to all those who contributed to the Portraits fund thereby enabling us to commission such wonderful works of art and capture key moments and key characters in the Saint Ronan’s story. Floreat Saint Ronan’s.