Old Pauline Club News

Following an OPC Special General Meeting in December the Club’s governance structure has changed. The votes in favour were 49 and against 11. The effect of the change is that the Club no longer has a two-committee system with the Executive Committee now setting policy, making decisions and seeking approval at General Meetings. An Advisory Council has been established whose members will advise the Executive Committee on areas where they have expertise. Three sub committees have also been established covering Nominations, Strategy Implementation and Sport.

Executive Committee Profiles

The Club’s new Executive Committee has been appointed with involvement across the membership and the Pauline community in mind. It is diverse and inclusive with different genders represented and with four members under 40, five in their 40s, three in their 50s, three in their 60s and one in his early 70s.

Ed Vaizey (1981-85) (President & Chairman of the Committee) – is a qualified barrister who worked in public affairs, before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Wantage. He served as a Minister under David Cameron, and was responsible for culture, the creative industries, telecoms and technology. He left the House of Commons in 2019 and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2020, where he serves on the Digital and Communications Select Committee. He is a board member of the Tate.

Brian Jones (1961-66)

(Immediate Past President) – is a qualified Chartered Accountant who spent most of his career in the City with Schroders. He is a Freeman of the City of London, a Past Master of the Guild of Mercers’ Scholars and a Vice President of the OPFC. He has been a Governor at Twickenham Prep School for many years.

Sam Turner (2011-16)

(Secretary) – is a qualified commercial pilot flying for a European airline. Having previously worked in schools including St. Paul’s for around 5 years as a rowing coach but also in various roles across the School. Sam lives with his partner on a houseboat in Thames Ditton.

Nick Brooks (1965-70)

(Treasurer) – is a qualified Chartered Accountant and spent over 40 years working in London as an accountant in practice. He started his writing career on retirement in 2018. His second novel – Revenge – was published, under his pen name N S Brooks, at the end of November last year.

James Grant (1990-95)

– (40s Decade) – is Head of Individual Giving & Legacies at SSAFA the Armed Forces charity, the UK’s oldest tri-service military charity. Prior to moving roles, he was Head of Corporate Partnerships & Events. After graduating with a degree in French at St Andrews University, James started his career in commercial events before moving to the charity sector. James is heavily involved in OP Golf and Cricket and is Fixtures Secretary for OPCC.

Sam Hyman (1992-97)

(Surveyor) – has been proprietor of Hyman Developments since 2009 which specialises in new homes in the Cotswolds. He is a chartered surveyor having qualified at Donaldsons/DTZ where he focussed on retail development, compulsory purchase and regeneration. Sam is also Managing Director of VinoVeritas Asia Limited, a Hong Kong based wine company specialising in the wholesale of Italian wine to the trade and private markets. He is Hon. Treasurer of the OPCC and a director of the OP Trust.

Elizabeth Monro-Davies

(Parent) – trained as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer after obtaining a degree from Cambridge University in Law. Following a career break, Elizabeth returned to corporate law at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Elizabeth lives in Barnes and has four sons – two Old Paulines and two current Paulines.

Nog Norgren (1981-86) (50s Decade) – trained and worked as a solicitor at Freshfields before moving on to in-house roles at Merrill Lynch and then a specialist finance company, ETV Capital. In 2011 he set up Norgren Legal. Nog lives in East Sheen and has three sons, all of whom went to St Paul’s.

Ali Palmer (Governor) – started her career in investment banking working in credit risk after gaining a degree in Business Management. Ali was a Partner at Odgers Berndtson where she led the Interim Consumer and Telecoms division. She is now Senior Director of Employee Experience at Avanade, a leading IT solutions organisation. She is an Old Paulina and for many years was Chair of the Paulina League. She is a Freeman of the City of London. Ali is an avid middle-distance runner in her spare time.

Rishi Patel-Warr (2009-14)

(20s Decade) – (he/him) studied PPE, specialising in continental philosophy. He lived in Tokyo for a year, a Zen monastery for 6 months before joining the Foreign Office, where he is now posted in Brussels – but due to return to London shortly. He is passionate about meditation, techno and community organising for the queer, bipoc and now OP communities. He also seeks to represent under 30s on the Executive as well as queer and bipoc members of our community. He would very much welcome any ideas, feedback or input in general on how we can revolutionise the OPC to serve the community in relevant ways and come together in our rare Pauline/a fraternity/siblinghood in fresh, diverse, and exciting ways.

Jehan Sherjan (1989-94) (Thames Ditton) – is currently Insights Director at boutique consultancy SRM Europe, having worked in Financial Services for over 20 years with a focus on customer insight and data analytics. Jehan has been heavily involved with Old Pauline football since 1997 and is the current Chairman of OPAFC. He has also been a member of OPCC for 15 years and is a non-exec director of Colets.

Ellie Sleeman (Development) – is Director of Development and Communications at St Paul’s School. She has worked in fundraising, marketing and crisis management since graduating from UCL, she joined St Paul’s from Wellington College following an eight-year stint as a director at London’s Roundhouse.

Simon Strauss (1968-73)

(International) – graduated from the University of Edinburgh, is a Chartered Accountant and CPA who has lived in New York City and State since 1980. He finances renewable energy and green infrastructure projects (solar, geothermal, EV charging, large-scale desalination). He serves as Co-Chair of his Town’s Conservation Advisory Council and is President of the Colet Foundation, the US charity formed in 1991 to benefit St Paul’s. In his spare time, he races sailing boats, skis and hikes.

Jack Turner (2008-13)

(Sports) – studied Economics at the University of Exeter before completing an MSc at King’s College London. His career has been in financial services and he currently works for a company specialising in payment technology. He has been a regular for the OPCC and is keen to promote OP sports clubs so Old Paulines can continue playing sports after School and university.

Neil Wates (1999-2004)

(30s Decade) – worked in the property sector for 15 years. The first five were on building sites as a labourer and stonemason’s apprentice. The latter ten were in Project Management, as Head of Planning with a firm of Chartered Surveyors and then as Managing Director of his own firm. He is a Trustee of both a UK grant making charitable trust and a charity committed to the alleviation of social violence in East Africa. He is the founding director of Friendship Adventure, a craft brewery and taproom in Brixton. He lives in Thames Ditton and has organised OP Comedy Nights.

Alex Wilson (Staff and AROPS) – is Associate Director of Pauline Relations and Master in charge of cricket. He works closely with Ellie Sleeman and the OPC. He was previously Senior Undermaster and a member of the Classics Department.

Jeremy Withers Green

(1975-80) (Communications and Engagement) – is Atrium’s editor. After approaching thirty years in investment banking, he has worked at not-for-profit organisations for a decade as a trustee.

150th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

The Club’s Annual Dinner in October launched the 150th anniversary celebrations. It was held at School and hosted by Ed Vaizey who announced the launch of the 150th Bursary Appeal. The speakers were the High Master and John Simpson (1957-62).

The Future of… series is up and running with great support for the discussions with George Osborne, Sir Simon Fraser, Matthew Gould, Simon Fox and Patrick Spence in the four that have been held as Atrium goes to print. With politics and Britain’s position in the world, health and the arts covered leaving education to be discussed with the High Master and Lord Baker in May.

The Feast Service returned to St Paul’s Cathedral on the 7th February. The School Choir performed at evensong and a Reception was held afterwards at the Mercers’ Hall for Old Paulines, their guests and Upper 8th parents and pupils. After speeches by Ed Vaizey, the High Master and Master Mercer, Christopher Vermont (1973-78), the School’s Librarian, Hilary Cummings was presented with a first edition of Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie (1894-1900). The OPC is also helping to conserve one of the library’s most heavily used rare books, Thomas Clarkson’s The History Of The Rise, Progress And Accomplishment Of The Abolition Of The African Slave-Trade By The British Parliament Volume II published 1808. Volume II contains the famous diagrams of the Brookes slave ship which were used in the campaign to abolish the slave trade. Every year, this book is taken into lessons where pupils are learning about the slave trade.

On 31st March the Earliest Vintage Lunch returns with all OPs who left School before July 1972 invited to lunch at the School. Ginny DaweWoodings, the Club’s Archivist will be displaying archive material and looking for volunteers for an oral history that is planned to cover the two decades from the return to West Kensington after evacuation at Crowthorne through to the move to the Barnes site in 1968.

Then at the conclusion of the school year, the Pauline Reunion Festival will be held at School and the 150th Appeal Fundraiser Dinner which will be held at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill on 23rd June.

BASIL MOSS (1948-53), OPC PAST PRESIDENT’S MEMORIAL SERVICE

Below are extracts from a description of the service written by Stephen Pidcock (1995-2000).

“You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give”. That was how Richard Cunis (1958-63) fittingly began his tribute at the memorial service for Basil Moss.

In September, more than 500 people filled Southwark Cathedral for a service of thanksgiving for Basil’s life, led by the cathedral’s Canon Precentor, the Revd Canon Andrew Zihni. The tributes to Basil reflected the many facets of his life of service.

As well as Richard Cunis, Giordano Orsini spoke of working alongside Basil for many years at Colets, the health and fitness club with strong links to the Old Pauline Club. Jane Sherwin read the words of his friend and occasional co-star, Marcia Warren. Andrew Puddifoot (1974-79) spoke movingly of the overwhelming importance to Basil of his Christian faith.

Basil’s passion for music was represented by extracts from Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg and Elgar’s Nimrod both played by organist Stephen Disley. Adam O’Taylor (1999-2004) and Peter Teverson (2005-10) performed Somewhere from West Side Story, and Basil’s own setting of the Kyrie and the Gloria was sung by the choir of St Michael’s and All Angels, Barnes, under Tony Henwood’s direction.

Mark Harrop (1981-86) read from Wordsworth’s “…Tintern Abbey” and Peter Mothersill (1970-75) from Revelation 21. Old Pauline Club

Spring 2022

President

The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Past Presidents

C D L Hogbin, C J W Madge, F W Neate, Sir Alexander Graham GBE DCL, R C Cunis, Professor the Rt Hon the Lord McColl of Dulwich, The Rt Hon the Lord Baker of Dorking CH, J M Dennis, J H M East, Sir Nigel Thompson KCMG CBE, R J Smith, B M Jones

Vice Presidents

Professor D S H Abulafia, Rt Revd R W B Atkinson OBE, Professor M D Bailey, P R A Baker, R S Baldock, J S Beastall CB, S C H Bishop, J R Blair CBE, Sir David Brewer CMG, CVO, N St J Brooks, R D Burton, W M A Carroll, Professor P A Cartledge, M A Colato, R K Compton, T J D Cunis, A C Day, S J Dennis MBE, Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE, C R Dring, C G Duckworth, A R Duncan, J A H Ellis, R A Engel, D H P Etherton, The Rt Hon the Lord Etherton of Marylebone PC, Sir Brian Fall GCVO KCMG, B R Girvan, The Rt Hon the Lord Godson of Thorney Island, T J R Goode, D J Gordon-Smith, Lt Gen Sir Peter Graham KCB CBE, The Rt Hon the Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham, Professor F D M Haldane, S R Harding, R J G Holman, J A Howard, S A Hyman, S D Kerrigan, P J King, T G Knight, J W S Lyons, I C MacDougall, Professor C P Mayer CBE, R G McIntosh, A R M McLean CLH, I C McNicol, J D Morgan, A K Nigam, The Rt Hon George Osborne, Sir Mene Pangalos, T B Peters, D M Porteus, R M Rayner, The Rt Hon the Lord Razzall of Mortlake CBE, The Rt Hon the Lord Renwick of Clifton KCMG, A M Rind CVO, B M Roberts, J M Robertson, J E Rolfe, M K Seigel, J Sherjan, J C F Simpson CBE, D R Snow MBE, S S Strauss, A G Summers, R Summers, J L Thorn, R Ticciati OBE, Sir Mark Walport FRS, Professor the Lord Winston of Hammersmith, J Withers Green

Executive Committee

The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey (President & Chairman of the Committee), B M Jones (Immediate Past President), S B Turner (Secretary), N St J Brooks (Treasurer), J S Grant (40s Decade), S A Hyman (Co-Opted, Surveyor), Mrs E J Monro-Davies (Parent), N H Norgren (50s Decade), Mrs A J Palmer (Governor), R T Patel-Warr (20s Decade), J Sherjan (Thames Ditton), Ms E M Sleeman (Development), S S Strauss (Co-Opted, International), J F Turner (Sports), N E Wates (30s Decade), A G Wilson (Staff and AROPS), J Withers Green (Communications and Engagement)

Nominations Committee

The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Chairman), J M Dennis, B M Jones, P J King

Strategy Implementation Committee

B M Jones (Chairman) – other members to be appointed

Sports Committee

J F Turner (Chairman) – other members to be appointed

Advisory Council

Chairman J H M East Professor D S H Abulafia, Rt Revd R W B Atkinson OBE, P R A Baker, S C H Bishop, J R Blair CBE, Professor P A Cartledge, M A Colato, R K Compton, R C Cunis, T J D Cunis, A C Day, J M Dennis, C G Duckworth, J A H Ellis, R A Engel, Sir Brian Fall GCVO KCMG, The Rt Hon the Lord Godson of Thorney Island, Sir Alexander Graham GBE DCL, The Rt Hon the Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham, R J G Holman, P J King, C J W Madge, A R M McLean CLH, J D Morgan, F W Neate, R M Rayner, The Rt Hon the Lord Razzall of Mortlake CBE, J E Rolfe, M K Seigel, R J Smith, Sir Nigel Thompson KCMG CBE

Archivist

Ms G E M Dawe-Woodings

Accountants

Kreston Reeves LLP